Australia news live: PM to recommend defence department boss as next US ambassador; Otways bushfire still out of control

Smoke hangs over Victoria as out-of-control fire at Carlisle River near Gellibrand in state’s south-west continues. Follow updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has revealed that veteran public servant and former chief of staff to Malcolm Turnbull, Greg Moriarty, will be recommended to the governor general to be Australia’s ambassador to the US, replacing the outgoing ambassador, Kevin Rudd.Albanese told ABC’s Insiders:He is I think an outstanding Australian public servant. He served as an ambassador to Iran and to Indonesia. He’s played a role in Papua New Guinea as well. He was the first, appointed the first counter-terrorism tsar if you look in 2015. He’s been a former chief of staff to a Liberal prime minister. He has served both Labor and Coalition governments and he’s been of the secretary of the Department of Defence and the Aukus deal is central to our relationship with the US. And he’s in a very strong position to be on top of all of that detail.It does worry me. I think what the country needs is more unity and less division. The Liberal and National party have always been focused in recent times on trying to divide Australians and now they’re dividing themselves. You can’t fight for the national interest if you’re too busy fighting yourselves and that’s what we’re seeing on the right of politics at the moment.When the Coalition got what they asked for – which was for parliament to be resumed and legislation to be moved – they then started to break up. They were so determined to make division, they ended up dividing themselves. Continue reading...