Latest news with #Launceston
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
Suspect in fatal shooting of Tasmania Police officer Keith Smith remains under guard in hospital
A man remains under guard in the Launceston General Hospital following the fatal shooting of a police officer in Tasmania's north-west on Monday morning. Keith Anthony Smith — a 57-year-old constable with 25 years' service in the police force — was shot and killed while attempting to serve a court-ordered repossession notice at a property in North Motton. Police say the alleged offender — a 46-year-old North Motton man — remains in hospital, and an investigation into the shooting is continuing. The man was shot in the hand by a specialist tactical officer before being taken into custody, and underwent surgery in hospital. Members of the Special Operations Group were positioned at the bottom of a long driveway when Constable Smith, joined by another uniformed officer, attempted to serve the notice. Police Association of Tasmania president Shane Tilley said the tactical officers were being used as "backup". "These are everyday jobs that our members across the state attend," he said. "We don't just turn up to addresses willy-nilly, we do our intelligence checks in the background to assess the risk. "There will be opportunities down the track as part of this investigation to see what those assessments came to, clearly the resource was in the area at the time." Constable Smith is being remembered as a "respected and committed" officer. Mr Tilley said it was a difficult time for his family and the police force. "As you can imagine, his wife is distraught," he said. "They are in a space that they never expected to be in. It was the first fatal shooting of a police officer in Tasmania since 1922. It was also the first time a police officer has been shot in Tasmania since 2006, when a sergeant was shot once in the face and twice in the back — and survived — on the Midland Highway near Pontville after pulling over a driver. The offender, Patrick Arthur Burling, was jailed for 15 years with a 10-year non-parole period. Mr Tilley said Monday's shooting was a further reminder of the unpredictable dangers of police work. Police Commissioner Donna Adams said a professional standards investigation would be carried out. National Police Legacy Day was on Tuesday, and the Sydney Opera House was lit up with a blue ribbon in the evening. Police forces across the country have expressed sympathies to Tasmania Police. "Our deepest condolences go out to the officer's family, friends, and colleagues — and to the wider police family," NSW Police said on social media. "Our sincerest condolences go out to the family, friends and colleagues of Tasmania Police officer Constable Keith Anthony Smith who died in the line of duty," Queensland Police wrote.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
China builds a crude oil war chest amid Middle East tensions
LAUNCESTON, Australia, June 17 (Reuters) - China is continuing to build up crude oil stockpiles as it refines substantially less than what it has available from imports and domestic production. This allows the world's biggest oil importer to buy lower volumes in coming months as prices surge over Middle East tensions. China's surplus crude amounted to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, the third straight month it has been above the 1 million bpd level, according to calculations based on official data. The price of crude oil has spiked since June 13 when Israel launched a series of air strikes against Iran, prompting drone and missile retaliation by Tehran. While the conflict has yet to hit Iran's crude oil production and export facilities, the heightened risks have seen Brent futures rise almost 6% since the close on June 12 to trade around $73.58 a barrel in Asia on Tuesday. In past occurrences of a rapid rise in crude prices, Chinese refineries have responded by trimming their imports and using stockpiled oil. Given the lag of up to two months between when cargoes are arranged and when they are delivered, this means any pullback in China's imports will likely only become apparent from August onwards. While much will depend on the path of crude oil prices in coming weeks, it's certain China has plenty of scope to lower imports and put downward pressure on prices. China does not disclose the volumes of crude flowing into or out of strategic and commercial stockpiles, but an estimate can be made by deducting the amount of oil processed from the total of crude available from imports and domestic output. Refiners processed 13.92 million bpd in May, according to official data released on Monday, down from 14.12 million bpd in April and also 1.8% lower than a year earlier. Crude imports were 10.97 million bpd in May, down from 11.69 million bpd in April, while domestic production was 4.35 million bpd, up slightly from the 4.31 million bpd in April. Putting May imports and domestic output together gives a total of 15.32 million bpd of crude available to refiners, leaving a surplus of 1.4 million bpd once refinery throughput of 13.92 million bpd is subtracted. For the first five months of the year, surplus crude available rose to 990,000 bpd, from 880,000 bpd for the first four months. For the first two months of 2025, China's refiners actually processed about 30,000 bpd more than what was available from crude imports and domestic production, the first time in 18 months that they had drawn on inventories. But the massive surpluses in March, April and May have reversed the earlier draw. It is worth noting that not all of this surplus crude is likely to have been added to storage, with some being processed in plants not captured by the official data. But even allowing for gaps in the official data, it is clear that from March onwards China has been importing crude at a far higher rate than it needs to meet its domestic fuel requirements. An indication of how price sensitive China's refiners are is shown by the expected strong crude imports in June, with LSEG Oil Research forecasting arrivals of 11.72 million bpd. This would be up 750,000 bpd from the official data for April, and the sharp rise reflects the declining trend for crude prices when June-arriving cargoes would have been secured. Brent futures dropped from a six-week high of $75.47 a barrel on April 2 to a to a four-year low of $58.50 on May 5, prompting Chinese refiners to suck up cargoes. Most of these shipments will be arriving in June and July and will likely give the illusion that China's crude demand is recovering. But the weak refinery processing numbers show that it's likely the case that China is storing crude. With the strength in prices amid Middle East tensions, it's also likely that refiners will cut purchases, and also seek out discounted oil from sanctioned exporters Russia and Iran. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- News.com.au
‘Respected' Constable Keith Anthony Smith killed in shooting incident on regional Tasmania property
Tasmania Police has confirmed the identity of the police officer killed during a shooting in Tasmania's north. Constable Keith Anthony Smith, 57, an officer for 25 years at Tasmania Police, was executing a court-ordered warrant on a regional property in North Motton with another officer on Monday. Constable Smith was shot and killed at the property – the first fatal police shooting since 1999. Tasmania Police Commissioner Donna Adams identified the fallen officer with permission from his family. She said the police veteran had previously worked in the north and northwest region of the state before moving to the Ulverstone area about five years ago. 'Keith was a respected and committed officer, and his loss will be deeply felt across our policing family and the wider community,' she said. 'My heart goes out to Keith's wife and family. We will be supporting them in every way we can during this incredibly difficult time.' A 46-year-old North Motton man has been arrested and has been taken to Launceston General Hospital for treatment. No charges have been laid.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
What's not happening to Middle East crude supply matters more
LAUNCESTON, Australia, June 16 (Reuters) - It's often more important in times of heightened tensions in the Middle East to look more at what is not happening, rather than fixating on the dramatic headlines of tit-for-tat air and missile strikes between Israel and Iran. From a crude oil market perspective this means focusing on the fact that so far not one barrel of crude oil supply has been lost, and furthermore it is in the interests of all involved parties that this remains the case. Crude oil prices rose again in early trade in Asia on Monday, with global benchmark Brent futures gaining 2.1% to trade at $75.76 a barrel. This built upon the 7% leap on June 13, which saw Brent rise to the highest in nearly five months as Israel launched a series of drone and air strikes that killed several top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists and damaged nuclear facilities. But it's worth noting that the reaction of physical oil prices in the Middle East was more measured than that in the paper market. The price of Dubai swaps , which is a contract settled against physical prices of Dubai crude, rose 5.8% on June 13 to end at $71.03 a barrel. The gain of $3.86 a barrel for Dubai swaps contrasts with the $4.87 jump for Brent contracts. This smaller gain for physical oil is perhaps a sign that traders and refiners are slightly less concerned about a supply interruption than the paper investors in Brent. Even though physical oil prices rose less than paper, both still had strong increases and these are a rational response to the escalating conflict, especially since it shows little sign of cooling off, with Israeli attacks and Iranian missile barrages continuing. But for oil markets the key is whether the risks of attacks on Iran's crude production and export infrastructure, and of Iran attempting to block the Strait of Hormuz, are realistic or imminent. The narrow Hormuz channel between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and the Indian Ocean beyond that, carry about a fifth of the world's daily oil consumption of up to 20 million barrels per day (bpd). It is the route that OPEC members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq and Iran use for the bulk of their crude and product exports, and there are few viable alternatives. It is also the route used to export liquefied natural gas by Qatar, the world's second-biggest shipper of the super-chilled fuel. However, it is also worth noting that in all the past conflicts that have afflicted the Middle East, the strait has never yet been blocked, although there have been instances when Iran has boarded and detained tankers. It could also be argued that the best option for Iran currently is to keep the market thinking about the risks to shipping through Hormuz, which keeps a premium in the oil price, while actually doing nothing to close the waterway. But what would happen should Iran seek what could be termed a nuclear option and attempt to close the waterway? This would stop Iran from exporting any crude as well as the other countries, and would almost certainly draw in other powers to the conflict. The United States would potentially act to keep the waterway open, and Iran would also sacrifice whatever goodwill it has among its Gulf neighbours, as well as with China, the world's biggest crude importer and in effect the only major buyer of Iran's sanctioned oil. China doesn't engage in loudspeaker diplomacy but that doesn't mean it isn't making its views known to both sides in the conflict, and Beijing will be keen to see a rapid de-escalation. The United States does tend to make its views known publicly, although these are often somewhat confused given President Donald Trump's habit of speaking off the cuff and contradicting his own senior officials. But the message from Washington also seems fairly clear in that they will help Israel defend itself and only enter the conflict if Tehran directly attacks U.S. personnel or interests. Israel has also limited itself to attacking only domestic Iranian energy infrastructure such as refineries and storage tanks, measures that aim to make life more difficult for Iranians but not to harm crude production and exports. This is not to minimise the risks to crude supply in the Middle East, it is rather to recognise that even dramatic situations have in the past led to limited supply disruptions and tensions do eventually ease. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
News.com.au
13-06-2025
- Climate
- News.com.au
Hawks fight back to take win from Crows
AFL: Hawthorn has overrun Adelaide in a hard-fought three-point victory in tough, wintry conditions on a cold Friday night in Launceston.
