Health effects of Pfas ‘appear to be small’, NSW report finds
Natasha May
The health effects of Pfas appear to be small, the NSW Health Expert Advisory Panel on Pfas has concluded in its final report.
Pfas, (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a class of manufactured chemicals used to make products that resist heat, stains, grease, and water – sometimes called ‘forever chemicals’ as they are difficult to destroy and can remain in soil, groundwater, and travel long distances.
The panel convened by NSW Health and advising the Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerry Chant, today released their findings after assessing research from Australia and globally on Pfas.
The panel included science and health experts in the fields of oncology, endocrinology, toxicology, cardiology, epidemiology, pathology, primary care, public health and risk communication.
They found “the body of research for health effects related to Pfas is large and still growing. Based on the substantial research already undertaken, the health effects of Pfas appear to be small.”
They also recommend that at the moment there is no clinical benefit for an individual to have a blood test for Pfas, and that clinical interventions that reduce Pfas in blood are “of uncertain benefit and may cause harm.”
All recommendations have been accepted by NSW Health.
Key events
Taylor Swift’s website counting down to 12.12am on 12 August
In a bit of a departure, pop superstar Taylor Swift just posted a mysterious countdown to her website that expires at 12.12am eastern time in the US on 12 August. That’s in just over an hour.
Swift has 11 albums and 11 eras, prompting some pretty intense speculation about what could happen when all those twelves align.
Taylor Swift performing in Sydney last year. Photograph: Don Arnold/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Trump says gold will not be subject to US tariffs
US president Donald Trump said earlier today gold will not be subject to his round of additional tariffs, days after confusion flared on whether recent hikes applied to certain gold bars – threatening to upend global trade of the precious metal.
Agency France-Presse reports Trump’s comments came after US customs authorities made public a letter saying that gold bars at two standard weights – one kilogram and 100 ounces (2.8 kilos) – should be classified as subject to duties.
Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images
“Gold will not be Tariffed!” Trump said today on his Truth Social platform, without providing further details.
Non-monetary gold is a major Australian export, and the country exported more than $11bn to the US in the first four months of this year, per the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
A White House official told AFP on Friday that the Trump administration plans to “issue an executive order in the near future clarifying misinformation about the tariffing of gold bars and other specialty products”.
More Australians ditching old copper internet connections for fibre optic upgrades
More Australians are ditching ageing copper internet connections for faster fibre optic technology in a move that has increased download speeds across the nation, NBN Co has revealed.
AAP reports more than 430,000 Australian homes and businesses upgraded their connections from older, slower technology over the past year, the broadband wholesaler disclosed in its annual results on Tuesday, which increased the firm’s revenue.
Photograph: Brendan Esposito/AAP
The government-owned entity’s earnings for 2024/25 jumped 8% to $4.2bn, in line with guidance, and its revenue rose 4% to $5.7bn.
The results were helped by growing demand for higher internet speeds on its network, with 2.7 million premises (32%) connected to plans offering 100 megabit-per-second downloads or more, and average spending up by $3 a month to $50.
The shift to faster download speeds and fibre connections also drove higher data usage across the nation.
Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson
Rise in dengue fever outbreaks across the Pacific driven by the climate crisis, experts say
The climate crisis is driving a sharp rise in dengue fever cases across the Pacific islands, experts say, as infections hit their highest level in a decade and several countries declare emergencies.
Pacific Island countries and territories have reported 16,502 confirmed cases and 17 deaths since the start of 2025, according to the Pacific Syndromic Surveillance System (PSSS), which collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other agencies. Infections across the region are at the highest level since 2016, the WHO said. Fiji, Samoa and Tonga are among the worst affected.
Dengue fever, a viral illness spread by Aedes mosquitoes, has been spreading across Pacific countries. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images
Dengue fever, a viral illness spread by Aedes mosquitoes, causes high fever, severe headache, joint and muscle pain, rash and in severe cases can be fatal. Rising temperatures, rainfall and increased humidity are creating ideal breeding conditions for Aedes mosquitoes, even in areas previously unsuitable for transmission.
“Dengue is one of the first real disease-related phenomena that we can lay at the foot of climate change,” said Dr Joel Kaufman, epidemiologist and director of the Center for Exposures, Diseases, Genomics and Environment at the University of Washington. Read more here:
Aussie beef a hot commodity as US imports hit a high
US demand for Australian beef looks set to skyrocket as drought, disease and hefty tariffs hit other top cattle-producing countries, AAP reports.
Australia exported more than 43,000 tonnes of beef to the United States in July, the highest volume since October 2024, according to a Bendigo Bank Agribusiness commodity report released on Tuesday.
The extra demand came at the same time as the federal government announced it would allow imports of US beef that had been raised in Canada or Mexico but processed in America.
Australia faced pressure from President Donald Trump to ease the restrictions on beef as it sought exemptions from wide-ranging tariffs.
As US herd numbers continued to dwindle due to drought in 2025, Americans have also been eating beef imported from Canada and Brazil. But with Brazil facing a 50% tariff, Canada slipping further into drought and a US ban on Mexican beef due to a parasite infestation, America would have to source meat from elsewhere.
Australian beef exports to the US would likely “skyrocket” as a result, according to the commodity report:
That is now three of [America’s] top five import markets affected due to tariffs, a reduced herd or disease.
This presents even greater opportunities for Aussie producers as the US looks to satisfy their own domestic demand with expected falling beef production.
Australian cattle producers had anticipated that opening the gates to US-processed beef would have a limited effect on the domestic market.
Craig Huf, a grazier and chair of the NSW Farmers Association far north coast branch, told AAP after the decision in July:
The US is already importing bucketloads of beef from Australia, so for it to come back the other way is unlikely. So, in the short term, we probably don’t expect it to impact us.
Cattle industry groups have called for an independent review into the government’s decision to lift the US beef restrictions.
Recognising a Palestinian state before a peace process against Coalition ‘principles’, Ley says
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, told 2GB this morning that the Coalition would “never have taken this step” of recognising a Palestinian state if they were in power.
Asked how she would have handled the situation and whether she would have recognised a Palestinian state if she were prime minister, Ley said:
We would never have taken this step. We would never have taken this step because this is completely against what our principles are, which is that recognition, the two-state solution comes at the end of the peace process, not before. And certainly not while we have terrorists in control in the Gaza Strip and hostages trapped in tunnels.
It’s a volatile fast-moving situation … I can only say very categorically right now, this is not a decision [that] the Coalition would have taken or gone anywhere near taking.
Sussan Ley says Albanese ‘out of his depth’ and decision on Palestine does ‘not make the world a safer place’
Opposition leader Sussan Ley sharply criticised Anthony Albanese’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN next month, claiming the prime minister had dismissed Australia’s longstanding relationship with Israel “in an appalling way”. Ley spoke to 2GB this morning, saying:
He’s out of his depth on this … because he has broken with longstanding bipartisan foreign policy. He’s not been straight on this issue. …
This decision does not make the world a safer place. This decision does not expedite the end of the conflict. It does not deliver a two-state solution. It does not improve the flow of aid. It does not support the release of hostages. It certainly doesn’t put an end to the terrorist group Hamas.
Ley went on to say she feels “a sense of sorrow with Australia’s Jewish community”.
Sussan Ley. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Natasha May
The NSW expert panel was convened following reports of chemical contaminants such as Pfas in some Sydney water supplies last year raised concerns for human health, and the panel acknowledged genuine concern in communities about Pfas exposure.
Dr Chant said:
There is considerable concern, particularly in the Blue Mountains community, about exposure to Pfas through drinking water, and NSW Health takes these concerns very seriously.
NSW Health will continue to support local clinicians with information for GPs who may be managing patients with concerns about Pfas exposure including evidence about potential adverse health effects, counselling patients, the utility of blood tests for Pfas and the role of further investigations.
Dr Kerry Chant. Photograph: Nikki Short/AAP
Health effects of Pfas ‘appear to be small’, NSW report finds
Natasha May
The health effects of Pfas appear to be small, the NSW Health Expert Advisory Panel on Pfas has concluded in its final report.
Pfas, (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a class of manufactured chemicals used to make products that resist heat, stains, grease, and water – sometimes called ‘forever chemicals’ as they are difficult to destroy and can remain in soil, groundwater, and travel long distances.
The panel convened by NSW Health and advising the Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerry Chant, today released their findings after assessing research from Australia and globally on Pfas.
The panel included science and health experts in the fields of oncology, endocrinology, toxicology, cardiology, epidemiology, pathology, primary care, public health and risk communication.
They found “the body of research for health effects related to Pfas is large and still growing. Based on the substantial research already undertaken, the health effects of Pfas appear to be small.”
They also recommend that at the moment there is no clinical benefit for an individual to have a blood test for Pfas, and that clinical interventions that reduce Pfas in blood are “of uncertain benefit and may cause harm.”
All recommendations have been accepted by NSW Health.
RBA decision coming at 2.30pm, with strong consensus for a looming rate cut
Patrick Commins
The Reserve Bank monetary policy board meets in mere hours and the consensus is strong: more than three million mortgaged households will get an interest rate cut.
If you’re thinking, “That’s what they said last time and look what happened”, then you’re right.
Six weeks ago financial markets and economists were similarly convinced a rate cut was on the way, only for the board to decide to hold the cash rate steady at 3.85%.
So what makes everybody (even) more confident this time around?
For one, at the last meeting there was a split decision: three of nine members voted in favour of cutting the rate. So it was a close-run thing.
And second, the governor, Michele Bullock, made it clear that (most of) the board members were just waiting for more confirmation that inflation was tracking as expected. Data released at the end of last month showed just that: a further drop in price growth, to just 2.1% in the year to June.
We’ll also get the RBA’s latest set of economic forecasts in the quarterly statement on monetary policy, released at the same time as the 2.30pm decision.
Benita Kolovos
What’s Jacinta Allan’s favourite Snoop Dogg song?
Following the news that Snoop Dogg will headline the pre-game entertainment at this year’s AFL grand final, the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, was asked about her favourite song by the American rapper.
She replied:
I’m going to make a confession. I’m really only a Snoop Dogg fan when he’s collaborating with Katy Perry, which probably gives you the answer. But look, it’s great that he’s coming … It’s an international event, the AFL Grand Final, and having an international act headline that event is another great win.
Man found dead in north-west Sydney in suspected hit and run
NSW Police are appealing for information after a man’s body was found on the side of the road in Sydney’s northwest last night.
Emergency services were called to Yarramundi, about 10kms south of the suburb of Richmond in Sydney’s Hawksbury region, after reports a body was seen on the side of the road at around 11.30pm. Police established a crime scene and say initial inquiries show the man was struck by a vehicle that allegedly failed to stop.
Police have been told a dark-coloured vehicle was traveling in the area in an erratic manner around the time of the incident, and are urging anyone with knowledge of the suspected crash or with footage to contact authorities.
The man has not been identified.
Photograph: Ronnie Amini/AAP
Snoop Dogg to perform at 2025 AFL grand final
Jack Snape
The AFL has secured another international A-list performer for the entertainment at this year’s grand final with the announcement that American rapper Snoop Dogg will grace the MCG.
Snoop Dogg. Photograph: AFL Media
The 53-year-old is an unusual fit with the athletic arena, having become synonymous with marijuana during his three decades in music – especially given the AFL is currently wrestling with its own illicit drugs policy. He has developed a close association with elite sport in recent years though, including appearing at the Paris Olympics where he was a special correspondent for American broadcaster NBC.
Snoop Dogg said of the news:
It’s an absolute honour to be hitting the stage at the AFL grand final – it’s one of the biggest events on the Aussie calendar. Can’t wait to bring the energy and celebrate with the fans. Let’s make it unforgettable.
Read more here:
Benita Kolovos
Victoria government opens consultation on work-from-home protections
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, and treasurer, Jaclyn Symes, held a press conference earlier to announce the beginning of consultation on the government’s plan to enshrine the right to work-from-home into law.
Allan says the consultation will not determine whether working from home should be a right, as it has already been decided it should be. Instead, it will focus on how to “get it right” ahead of legislation being introduced to parliament next year.
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
Victorians can share their views through an online survey or submission on Engage Victoria from 12 August to 28 September. The government will also run online forums for industry stakeholders in 2025. Businesses can register to be involved by 31 August.
Allan said earlier:
We’ve heard a lot about what some in big business think about working from home. Well, I want to make sure that the voices of working people and families are heard.
I also want to hear from businesses – small and medium businesses – in the regions, in the suburbs. We want to make sure that as many voices are being heard, are listened to, as we move here in Victoria to protect workers rights to work from home.
Albanese says Netanyahu’s move to occupy Gaza City key piece of decision on Palestinian state
The prime minister is speaking in Melbourne, saying the government had looked at the “totality” of the situation in Gaza before making its decision yesterday on recognition of a Palestinian state. Albanese said Israel’s announcement last week that it would occupy Gaza City was a key piece of that calculus:
We make assessment based upon the totality of what is before us. The commitments from the Palestinian Authority have been important. The declarations by other countries means that there is momentum towards a two-state solution and towards the international community making that position clear.
A view of makeshift tent camps in Gaza City on 11 August. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
The other thing that is occurring is, of course, the decision by the Israeli government to double down on its military solution without a political solution being advanced or forwarded by the Netanyahu government, with the decision that they’ve made to go in and to occupy Gaza City.
Guardian Australia’s Tom McIlroy has some analysis on that front here:
Luca Ittimani
Channel Seven sees streaming boost as free-to-air continues decline
Rising viewership of streaming services has put pressure on TV advertising revenues but boosted audiences for Channel Seven’s video-on-demand services, Seven Plus.
Channel Seven’s parent company, Seven West Media, released its financial results today and included new research from TV engagement measurement company OzTAM.
Broadcast TV dominates viewing across Australia, making up 61% of TV use compared to 31% for streaming. For the 25 to 54 age group, broadcast TV made up just 47% of viewing compared to 41% for streaming. The remaining 10% or so went to broadcast video on demand (ABC iView, Seven Plus, Nine Now and so on), OzTAM’s research showed.
The rise of streaming and on-demand viewing doesn’t help TV advertising revenue, which Seven West is struggling with, but the company says it has faith Seven Plus can reach that market.
Seven Plus streaming reported 484 million daily active users in 2024-25, up from 380 million in 2023-24, or a 27% rise, bringing a 26% boost to revenue.
The Nightly, SWM’s digital masthead that launched in February 2024, reported a 60% increase in monthly page views over financial year 2025. Jeff Howard, the company’s chief executive, said 80% of its audience growth was outside the company’s home state of Western Australia.
Josh Butler
Scott Morrison says Jewish Australians will feel ‘sense of betrayal’ over Palestinian state
Former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison called the Labor government’s upcoming recognition of a Palestinian state a “hollow gesture” and claimed Jewish-Australians would feel a “sense of betrayal”.
In a post on his website, Morrison claimed the diplomatic shift would not help deliver more aid to Gaza, “nor deliver a viable two state solution”.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Morrison’s Coalition government was defeated by Anthony Albanese’s Labor at the 2022 election.
Morrison wrote:
It will prove a hollow gesture, like for all those who have taken this step before it. None should take any comfort in it. Meanwhile the suffering will regrettably continue in Gaza and the hostages will remain in captivity and be tossed into the graves their captors have forced them to dig. The only winner is Hamas.
In government the Coalition listed Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Our Labor successors have regrettably rewarded them through this action. I know this is not their intention, but it is the result. The caravan of appeasement is not one we should join.
To the Australian Jewish community, I can only imagine the sense of betrayal you must feel. I remember October 7. Am Yisrael Chai.
