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.

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 Nepalese 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.

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.

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.

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.

‘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.

Read more here:

Some photos from Nepal after the massive flooding

Plibersek says government still determining how many Australians in Nepal floods

Tanya Plibersek, the minister for social services, said the federal government is very concerned about the flooding in Nepal.

She said the government was still trying to determine how many Australians are in the area and how many have been affected. Plibersek told RN Breakfast everyone in the region should follow the advice of local officials.

The images are very disturbing indeed. We do know that there are Australians in the area. We don’t know exactly how many.

Macquarie dumps KPMG in favour of PWC

Macquarie Group dealt a further blow to KMPG when the bank said it would reverse a decision to use the embattled consultancy as its auditor and instead will retain the services of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In a statement to the ASX stock market yesterday, Macquarie said its decision followed scrutiny of KPMG Australia’s audit process as exposed by the recent parliamentary hearings in the leaking of client data.

Macquarie said it was concerned about KPMG’s “capacity to deliver the audit”, given that “several key members of the proposed KPMG Australia audit team have departed”, and “a culture that transparently discloses issues”.

Good morning, Nick Visser here to pick up the blog. Let’s get to it.

Australia’s ambassador to Nepal ‘deeply saddened’ by flood disaster

Australia’s ambassador to Nepal, Simon Ernst, says he is “deeply saddened” by the disaster in Nepal.

A joint statement issued by the embassies of Australia, Finland, France, Norway, Switzerland the the UK in Nepal, posted on social media some hours ago by Ernst, says:

We are deeply saddened by the devastating flooding in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts and surrounding areas.

Our thoughts are with all those affected by this disaster. We express our solidarity with the people of Nepal during this difficult time.

We encourage all those in affected areas to follow the guidance of local authorities and official safety advisories as the situation continues to evolve.