Nepali tour operator has lost contact with group including 15 Australians, just ‘1%’ hope they have survived
Nino Bucci
A Nepali tour operator says he fears that 15 Australians trekking with his company in a valley ravaged by flash flooding have died.
Sagar Pandey, the founder and chief executive of Himalayan Glacier Trekking, said he has lost all contact with his tour group of 47 people, which included 15 Australians.
The missing Australians are aged 11 to 63.
He has since flown over the area where the tour was staying in a helicopter and said he has little hope they survived. He told Guardian Australia:
The flash flood swept away everything, everything, you couldn’t see any human creations at all.
Still, I have a hope, but like 1%; the rest I don’t have a hope, they are missing and missing and missing.
Key events
Banks tip another rate rise after inflation figures
Unexpectedly strong inflation figures have forced a rethink on interest rates, with three out of four big banks now tipping the RBA to hike rates again by Melbourne Cup day.
AAP reports economists at NAB and Commonwealth Bank followed ANZ in changing their rates forecast on Thursday.
ANZ was the first of Australia’s biggest lenders to switch their call from an extended hold to one more rise on Wednesday, after July consumer price figures showed underlying inflation rose 0.5% in the month, well above expectations.
While ANZ and CBA predict the Reserve Bank will lift the cash rate in November, NAB experts think it will be even sooner, forecasting a hike at the central bank’s next meeting in September.
Even though headline inflation slowed on an annual basis from 3.8 to 3.5%, the broad-based rise in underlying inflation suggests the RBA’s preferred quarterly trimmed mean measure will probably come in above 1% in September, NAB said.
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Henry Belot
Buddhist temple to hold ‘special prayer’ service for Nepalese community in Australia
The Australian Nepalese Multicultural Centre (ANMC) in Victoria will be holding a prayer service in its temple tonight for members grappling with the loss of life.
A spokesperson for the centre in Melbourne’s north-western suburbs says it is “deeply saddened” by the loss of life.
Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this tragedy. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives, and we pray for the safe rescue and return of those who are still missing.
At this difficult time, [we] stand in solidarity with the affected communities, rescue teams and everyone supporting the ongoing response.
ANMC will hold a special prayer today, Thursday 27 August, at 6:30pm at the ANMC Temple. We invite community members to join us in prayer for those who have lost their lives, those who remain missing, the injured and all families affected by this disaster.
May those who have lost their lives rest in peace, and may strength and hope be with all those affected.
Henry Belot
Nepal embassy still verifying total number of missing Australians
Nepal’s embassy in Canberra is still trying to verify the number of Australians who are missing in the region affected by flash flooding.
The embassy’s second secretary, Saroj Paneru, says information is still being collected from tourism agencies operating in the region.
The tourism industry in Nepal is working to collect information about anyone who was in the affected area.
Once we have that data and all the details have been received, we will communicate all of this to the Australian government and the embassy in Kathmandu.
We are now coordinating and collecting all the information about how many tourists and Australians were there.
Henry Belot
Nepal embassy prepares request for Australian government assistance
Nepal’s embassy in Canberra is preparing an urgent request to the Australian government for financial and technical support.
The embassy’s second secretary, Saroj Paneru, said every Nepali government official was working overtime to find and assist people displaced by the devastating floods.
Paneru said the Nepal government was scrambling to calculate the loss and damage caused by the floods and would be urgently seeking international assistance.
We are reaching out to the Australian government and hopefully they will provide assistance to us. We are in communication with them.
First of all, we are just calculating the loss back home. After that, we will have all the details. Then we expect financial, technical and responsive support. We expect all this support in this difficult time for Nepal
We are hoping all international communities and everyone will be providing assistance to us in this very sad time.
Josh Butler
Coalition worried about ‘devastating’ Nepal floods
Opposition leader Angus Taylor and Coalition foreign affairs spokesperson Ted O’Brien have also voiced concern about the floods in Nepal and any Australians who may have been caught up in the disaster.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected by the devastating flooding in Nepal and Tibet, including the families who have lost loved ones and those still waiting for news. We are also thinking of the Australians caught up in this disaster and their families here at home,” Taylor wrote on social media.
O’Brien said in a separate statement: “News coming out of Nepal about horrific flash floods is devastating.”
My thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones and those still missing. We are particularly concerned by reports that Australians are among those unaccounted for and our thoughts are with their families and friends during this incredibly difficult time.
Both men echoed government advice, that Australians in the region should follow the advice of local authorities and contact Dfat’s Consular Emergency Centre if they need urgent assistance on 1300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 from overseas.
Luca Ittimani
Qantas profits slip to $2.06bn as US war on Iran adds to fuel bill
Qantas’ pre-tax profits have slipped $330m to land at $2.06bn for the year to June.
The airline said rising jet fuel costs from the US war on Iran added $610m to its fuel bill. It attracted an extra $190m in earnings from customers who switched to Qantas after cancellations on other airlines, with conflict on net costing Qantas $420m for the year.
Qantas and Jetstar domestic contributed a combined $1.44bn in underlying earnings. The company said Qantas’ unit (or per-flight) revenue increased 5% on the two local carriers from March to June. While Government and big business cut back, leisure customers and the Western Australian resources businesses continued to pay for flights.
Jetstar gained 11% more revenue despite increasing its flight capacity just 4%, supported by “value-conscious customers”, the company said. Half of Jetstar domestic customers paid under $150 per flight, it said.
International flights contributed $650m in underlying earnings, falling from the year before thanks to higher fuel costs. Qantas international revenue grew 8%, mostly from increased capacity, while Jetstar International grew its capacity by 11% and won a 14% revenue increase.
Qantas said its loyalty scheme had grown its underlying earnings by 12% in the year, to $625m, with a 6% growth in active members. Uber was the fastest-growing source of points.
Albanese confirms 34 Australians missing in Nepal, saying ‘information is difficult’ to get
Anthony Albanese just confirmed 34 Australians are missing in Nepal, echoing similar numbers from local authorities.
The prime minister said during an event in Dubbo:
People would have seen some of the footage, which is a truly horrific event. At this point, there are 34 Australians who are missing.
Nepal, you know, is a developing country, it doesn’t have the resources that an event like that would have in Australia.
So information is difficult.
Victoria scraps secret public transport levy meant to help pay for Suburban Rail Loop
Benita Kolovos
The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, has announced he will scrap a levy on public transport users the government secretly introduced to help pay for the Suburban Rail Loop.
The report into the first stage of the SRL – from Cheltenham to Box Hill – revealed the government added a 1% levy on public transport fares on top of existing adjustments in line with inflation on 1 January 2025 but did not inform Victorians.
The auditor general said 60% of the revenue earned was meant go to SRL East but the levy was not been named as one of the government’s value capture methods for the project.
Speaking outside parliament, Carroll told reporters:
I am a premier who levels with Victorians, and I’m going to level with Victorians today. I will abolish the rail improvement charge. There’ll be a proper cabinet process to come, but it’s my intention and the treasurer’s intention to abolish that charge. I’m a premier taking the state in a new direction. Victorians do deserve better public transport. They also deserve to know what their money is buying.
Asked when he first knew about the levy, he said:
The way this charge was created and implemented, there was a lack of transparency. That is why today I’m announcing I will abolish it.
‘This system is going to break’: Ken Henry says GST deal benefiting WA is ‘stupid’
The former Treasury secretary Ken Henry says the GST deal benefiting Western Australia is “stupid” and undermines the “integrity of the system of horizontal fiscal equalisation”.
Henry spoke to RN Breakfast this morning amid an ongoing stoush after the Productivity Commission said in an interim report the Morrison-era GST deal was a mistake that should be reversed. Western Australia has responded with fury, and Anthony Albanese said this week there would be no changes to the agreement while he is in power.
Henry, however, said he agreed the GST carve-out was hurting the nation, telling RN:
If a state, the wealthiest state in the nation, can come to Canberra with a begging bowl and get the rest of the country to put money into that begging bowl being held by the wealthiest people in the country, if that’s how this system is going to work, then this system is going to fail. And one day this system is going to break.
Without a high-integrity system of fiscal equalisation, the Australian federation is going to face some pretty serious challenges.
Home buyers have more power but new listings down as owners hold fire
Australia’s spring property season is shaping up to be unusually sluggish, as sellers retreat from a weak market and unsold homes pile up, AAP reports.
New property listings in the four weeks leading up to August 23 were 8.2% below the five-year average, property analytics firm Cotality data shows.
Advertised stock levels remain elevated overall, suggesting homeowners are holding back from adding to an already crowded market.
Sydney is leading the downturn, where new listings were 14% below the five-year average in the four-week period. Similar pullbacks were recorded in all capitals except Adelaide.
Josh Taylor
‘Reluctant’ approval for Tasmanian datacentre sets marker for national battle
The day before Anthony Albanese secured agreement with states and territories to develop national datacentre standards, a small council in Tasmania was grappling with the existing regulations in the face of strong community opposition to a new AI factory planned for its town.
The George Town council voted 6-1 to approve the plans of Australian developer Firmus to build a 288 megawatt (MW) datacentre at Long Reach, north of Launceston, but said it did so reluctantly.
The AI factory is planned on the former Gunns Pulp Mill site near the Tamar River, and has faced strong opposition from locals. A petition calling to stop the centre going ahead had nearly 6,000 signatures. More than 300 people wrote submissions on the application to the council.
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Some photos from Nepal after the massive flooding
