'Unprecedented' fire at oil refinery in Geelong
Firefighters continue to combat a large, uncontrolled fire at the Viva oil refinery in Corio, Geelong, which ignited late last night.
Residents in areas south of the refinery, one of only two remaining oil refineries in Australia, have been advised to remain indoors to avoid exposure to smoke.
Geelong’s mayor, Stretch Kontelj, described the fire as "unprecedented" during an interview on ABC Melbourne radio early Thursday morning.
"Speaking to the management, no one can recall an incident of this magnitude either," he said shortly before 6am on Thursday. "But from reports, it is coming under control."
The refinery confirmed that no injuries have been reported so far and stated there is no immediate impact on fuel supplies.
Matt Canavan defends Coalition’s migration policy
Nationals leader Matt Canavan has defended the Coalition’s proposed stricter immigration measures, describing them as "fair and reasonable" and expressing confidence that migrants would understand the policy.
During an interview on 7.30 last night, when asked about how Australia’s migrant communities might perceive the plan, Canavan referenced the rigorous naturalisation process his Italian grandparents underwent in the 1950s as well as his own publicised Section 44 High Court case, which he said ultimately confirmed his status as a "dinky-di Aussie." He stated:
"It’s fair and reasonable that we set high standards to join the club of Australians and I’m sure migrants here today want to see that …
We have a Government that has put its head in the sand now and has not listened to the Australian people that clearly want change."
Canavan asserted that support for Australia’s migration program is "falling off a cliff."
When the host, Sarah Ferguson, pressed him further on the specific language of a policy described by some as "discriminatory," Canavan responded:
"I think we should discriminate on values …
We shouldn’t discriminate on colour, religion, sexuality, gender, but surely … we should discriminate on people who don’t support democracy, who profess support for terrorism or violence, who don’t believe in equality between male and female genders. People who have those views I don’t want them in our country."
Canavan also referenced a literary quote, saying:
"Having good fences make for good neighbours"
"I’ll comment that the Robert Frost line in that poem was delivered in irony.
But we’ll return to that another day along with many other questions, thank you for joining us …
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories and then Nick will take over.
Matt Canavan has defended the Coalition’s planned immigration shake-up as "reasonable and fair" and said it would be accepted as such by migrants already in Australia. More coming up.
Residents in parts of Geelong have been warned to take shelter due to smoke from an out-of-control fire at the Viva oil refinery in Corio – we’ll be bringing you more details soon.
