Watt addresses BoM website backlash
Josh Butler
The new Bureau of Meteorology website is “not meeting many users’ expectations”, environment minister Murray Watt admits, saying he’d hauled in the BoM’s chief to make some changes.
A refresh of the weather website has many users annoyed, with a large number of complaints about its accessibility and usefulness. Watt said he’d met with the acting chief executive, Peter Stone, “to discuss the public’s concerns with its updated website”.
In a statement, Watt said:
It’s clear that the new BOM website is not meeting many users’ expectations, with a significant range of feedback provided to the Bureau in recent days.
In the meeting, I made clear my expectations that the BOM needed to consider this feedback and, where appropriate, adjust the website’s settings as soon as possible. This includes urgent consideration of improvements to the website’s functionality and useability.
Watt said Stone had taken the feedback on, and said his ministerial office would stay on the case if users remained unhappy.
Australians deserve to have confidence in these important services … I strongly encourage Australians to continue to provide feedback to the BOM, to ensure changes can be made where needed.
Key events
WA governor apologises for 1834 massacre
Chris Dawson has apologised to Noongar people for the Pinjarra massacre.
At a Tuesday memorial service south of Perth to mark the 191st anniversary of the Pinjarra massacre, the state’s governor apologised to the Binjareb Noongar people for governor James Stirling’s “dreadful wrongs”.
“I say sorry to the Bindjareb people, who still feel the trauma of the punishment inflicted on their ancestors that day, when so many innocent lives were taken.”
In 1834, Stirling led 25 armed men in the Pinjarra massacre, firing at Bindjareb Noongar men, women and children for an hour. A number of landmarks in WA are named after the man behind the bloody massacre, including the Stirling Ranges.
A push by local Noongar people to rename Perth’s Stirling council was rejected in 2021.
Describing it as a “skirmish”, Stirling’s records say about 15 people were killed that day. Oral histories place the number much higher, but Mr Dawson said it was impossible to know the exact toll.
Dawson said traditional owners had been waiting to hear the truth of the massacre for more than 190 years. He said this action, and the apology, would be a step toward meaningful reconciliation.
“My call to all Western Australians, is that we speak the truth,” he said.
Read more about the massacre here:
One in 10 Australians couldn’t afford the medical care they needed last year, consumer survey finds
Natasha May
Only one in three people feel confident they could afford necessary care if they became seriously ill, according to new national research released today by the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF).
The group’s national consumer sentiment survey released today also found that one in 10 Australians couldn’t afford the medical care they needed last year.
The report was based on a survey of 5,000 Australians for their thoughts on the healthcare system across a range of areas in late 2024.
It also found nearly half (49%) of consumers reported at least one occasion during the last 12 months when they hadn’t accessed the healthcare they needed, and just over half (51%) were very confident they could get the care they needed if they were seriously ill.
Dr Elizabeth Deveny, chief executive of the Consumers Health Forum, said:
Consumers have told us that Australian health remains deeply unequal, particularly for young adults, people with chronic diseases and people struggling to make ends meet.
The survey is telling us that people are delaying or skipping care altogether because of cost and other access barriers. In 2025 the community expects that people can get healthcare when and where they need it.
Environment minister charts path to pass EPBC laws before Christmas
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Watt will introduce Labor’s new nature laws to parliament tomorrow and remains adamant the reforms can pass before Christmas despite resistance from the Coalition and the Greens.
The Albanese government will immediately push for a 25-day parliamentary inquiry into its planned rewrite of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC Act), which would report back just in time for the legislation to clear the Senate before parliament rises on 27 November.
But the government must first strike a deal with either the Coalition or the Greens – neither of whom are prepared to support the bill without major concessions.
Watt challenged the two parties to support the legislation, saying that five years on from Graeme Samuel’s review of the EPBC, it was “well past time to get this done”.
Every day of delay on these reforms is hurting our environment and costing business time and money. The Coalition and the Greens must decide whether or not they will back these important reforms or team up to delay them yet again. Will they put their own political gain ahead of the environment and business, or will they support our important laws.
Watt addresses BoM website backlash
Josh Butler
The new Bureau of Meteorology website is “not meeting many users’ expectations”, environment minister Murray Watt admits, saying he’d hauled in the BoM’s chief to make some changes.
A refresh of the weather website has many users annoyed, with a large number of complaints about its accessibility and usefulness. Watt said he’d met with the acting chief executive, Peter Stone, “to discuss the public’s concerns with its updated website”.
In a statement, Watt said:
It’s clear that the new BOM website is not meeting many users’ expectations, with a significant range of feedback provided to the Bureau in recent days.
In the meeting, I made clear my expectations that the BOM needed to consider this feedback and, where appropriate, adjust the website’s settings as soon as possible. This includes urgent consideration of improvements to the website’s functionality and useability.
Watt said Stone had taken the feedback on, and said his ministerial office would stay on the case if users remained unhappy.
Australians deserve to have confidence in these important services … I strongly encourage Australians to continue to provide feedback to the BOM, to ensure changes can be made where needed.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the morning’s top stories before Krishani Dhanji takes the reins.
The environment minister, Murray Watt, has hauled the boss of the Bureau of Meteorology into his office and told him that its new website is “not meeting many users’ expectations”. Watt said he had asked Peter Stone to consider feedback from the public and make changes to the site.
A new survey shows that only one in three people feel confident that they could afford necessary care if they became seriously ill, and that one in 10 say they could not afford treatment they needed last year. Natasha May has more details in a moment about the new research released today by the Consumers Health Forum of Australia.
More coming up.
