Simon Townsend’s family say star children’s TV presenter died ‘surrounded by writers, actors, activists and Italians’

Australia news live: Simon Townsend’s family say star children’s TV presenter died ‘surrounded by writers, actors, activists and Italians’

Earlier, Amanda Meade reported that children’s television legend Simon Townsend of Wonder World fame has died aged 79.

His daughter, actor and dramaturg Nadia Townsend, has provided a statement on behalf of the family, which reads:

Simon Townsend – journalist, television host, producer and conscientious objector, lost a short battle with an aggressive cancer and died on 14 January 2025. He was 79. In his final days, Simon was surrounded by his family – a mix of journalists, writers, actors, political activists and Italians. The conversation to the last was loud, passionate and full of laughs.

[He] is best known for Simon Townsend’s Wonder World, a children’s television show which dominated the Australian afternoon time slot from 1979 to 1987. The show won five Logie Awards for Most Popular Children’s Television series and was a hit with kids of all ages, their parents and even tradesmen who watched it in the pub after knock-off.

The statement notes that he first made headlines in 1967 as a young journalist and conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, “showing up to protests in a three-piece suit.”

When he was conscripted, Simon refused orders, declaring that “wars will cease when men refuse to fight”. In court, he declared himself a pacifist, was deemed by the magistrate to be “insincere” and jailed for a month in Long Bay. This was followed by incarceration in military prison for 28 days in solitary confinement on bread and water. Simon was front-page news and there were “Free Townsend” protests and graffiti in Sydney.

Updated at 19.30 EST

Peter Dutton also said he supports calls for a ceasefire, and “we need to make sure the hostages are released and make sure that the terrorist organisation is not being rewarded”.

We have, in our country, a very strong relationship historically with Israel. The problem at the moment is the government has not seen fit to prioritise that relationship … We should be providing every support we can to Israel and certainly to people of Jewish heritage in our country as well.

Peter Dutton said that Australian’s should not be travelling to Ukraine or any other conflict or war zone:

Australians should not be going to fight in a war zone and if people [have] any intelligence or advice in relation to a family member or in relation to a work colleague who’s thinking about going offshore to fight in Ukraine or somewhere else, they should call the Australian Federal Police or call Crime Stoppers and provide that information.

Dutton says government should ‘take strongest possible action’ if reports Oscar Jenkins has been killed after confirmed

Taking questions from reporters, Peter Dutton was asked about reports that Melbourne man Oscar Jenkins has been killed after being captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine.

The opposition leader said the government should “take the strongest possible action” and that the Russian ambassador in Australia “should be sent packing”.

We should send a clear message to Russia and to other similar minded regimes that Australians are sacrosanct, they deserve to be protected by their government and if they are harmed in this way and brutally executed – as seems to be the suggestion in this case, we wait for confirmation – there should be a strong reaction from the prime minister.

I would encourage the prime minister to be open and honest and transparent in relation to this matter. If it is the case that this Australian has been killed then Australia should respond in the strongest possible terms, and that is our bipartisan position.

Earlier, Anthony Albanese told reporters the government would “take the strongest possible action” if the reports are confirmed.

Dutton addressing media in Victoria

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is speaking with reporters at Halls Gap in Victoria.

He’s been speaking about tourism operators in the region struggling after a wave of cancellations, amid the Grampians bushfires (we had more earlier in the blog here).

Dutton called on state premier Jacinta Allan to “work hand in glove with us” and said the Coalition would support in a bipartisan way efforts to get assistance on the ground, for businesses struggling financially.

The wineries and accommodation places and tourism centres can’t operate without the tourists being here, so a lot of people at Christmas cancelled their holidays. That is the peak period. That’s when many businesses make money and can see them through the downtime. They’ve gone without the business. You can understand there are pleas today.

Severe thunderstorms forecast over eastern ranges of Victoria

Thunderstorms are possible across the entire state of Victoria today, aside from the south-west region, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

Severe thunderstorms are possible and likely over the eastern ranges, with the risk of damaging winds, large hail and heavy rainfall.

⛈️Thunderstorm FORECAST for TODAY: Storms possible over all but far south-west #Victoria.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS are possible (🟡) in the east & likely (🔴) over the eastern ranges. Risk of damaging winds, large hail & heavy rainfall.

Warnings if issued: https://t.co/HLs2UYFQyQ pic.twitter.com/KBXMmQYirK

Updated at 19.36 EST

NSW recorded the highest number of gender-based murders out of any state or territory last year, according to the state’s peak body for domestic violence, yet continues to have the lowest per capita spend on domestic and family violence services.

Domestic Violence NSW said 78 women were murdered due to gender-based violence last year. 25 of those women lived in NSW, which is the most populous state in the country. In the past 11 years, the state has recorded the highest murder toll nine times.

The peak body is calling for an immediate $163m funding injection, highlighting that the NSW current budget for domestic and family violence services equates to just $39 a person. The national average is $53 a person.

Last year, the NSW government committed $230m over four years towards domestic, family, and sexual violence services. But Domestic Violence NSW said the gap between supply and demand continues to widen.

Neesha Eckersley, from Women’s Community Shelters, said its number of unaccommodated women escaping violence rose from 60% in 2022-2023 to 96% in 2023-2024:

Every day, we are confronted with this awful reality of having to turn away women and children who have made that difficult decision to leave because we simply don’t have the resources to support them.

Updated at 19.13 EST

Family memorialises Simon Townsend

Continuing from our last post: Simon Townsend’s family said in a statement he believed being a member of the press was a “noble calling”, taking after his father who was chief subeditor of the Sydney Morning Herald.

Simon carried a notebook and a pen in his top pocket to the day he died.

The statement continued, saying he first began as a TV journalist in 1970 on This Day Tonight, before working for Mike Willesee on A Current Affair.

Simon met Willesee’s secretary, Rosanna Torso, a stunning Italian-Australian known for being Willesee’s fierce gatekeeper. They married and had two children: Michael and Nadia.

One of the great joys of Simon’s life was in 1991, when he was united with his daughter Lisbeth, who had been adopted out when Simon was 21. Characteristically, Rosanna warmly welcomed Lisbeth into the family.

View image in fullscreenWonder World creator and former presenter Simon Townsend (second from right) in 2006. Photograph: SEVEN/PR IMAGE

The family describe Rosanna as “the bedrock of the Townsend family”, and said Simon suffered a debilitating stroke soon after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was “lost” when she died months later in 2003.

Some years passed and he rekindled a relationship with Kerrie Gleeson, a girlfriend from his youth. They lived together for six years. Kerrie died suddenly in 2015, leaving Simon bereft.

While he continued to suffer the effects of multiple strokes, Simon always attended family events and was content being with his children and grandchildren … [He] truly believed his Wonder World sign-off: ‘and remember, the world really is wonderful’.

Updated at 19.03 EST

Earlier, Amanda Meade reported that children’s television legend Simon Townsend of Wonder World fame has died aged 79.

His daughter, actor and dramaturg Nadia Townsend, has provided a statement on behalf of the family, which reads:

Simon Townsend – journalist, television host, producer and conscientious objector, lost a short battle with an aggressive cancer and died on 14 January 2025. He was 79. In his final days, Simon was surrounded by his family – a mix of journalists, writers, actors, political activists and Italians. The conversation to the last was loud, passionate and full of laughs.

[He] is best known for Simon Townsend’s Wonder World, a children’s television show which dominated the Australian afternoon time slot from 1979 to 1987. The show won five Logie Awards for Most Popular Children’s Television series and was a hit with kids of all ages, their parents and even tradesmen who watched it in the pub after knock-off.

The statement notes that he first made headlines in 1967 as a young journalist and conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, “showing up to protests in a three-piece suit.”

When he was conscripted, Simon refused orders, declaring that “wars will cease when men refuse to fight”. In court, he declared himself a pacifist, was deemed by the magistrate to be “insincere” and jailed for a month in Long Bay. This was followed by incarceration in military prison for 28 days in solitary confinement on bread and water. Simon was front-page news and there were “Free Townsend” protests and graffiti in Sydney.

Updated at 19.30 EST

Bandt on potential Israel-Palestine: ‘Ceasefire can’t come soon enough’

Bandt was asked about the prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza. He said “the invasion should never have happened”:

It has led to widespread death and devastation. From the beginning, the Greens have said release the hostages unconditionally, don’t invade Gaza. Because when you have an invasion of an area that is half the size of the ACT, with 2.2 million people walled in, and 40% of them under the age of 15, you’re going to unleash a humanitarian catastrophe.

Sadly, it’s what we’re seeing. We continue our calls for peace, but the invasion could stop tomorrow, if the military decided to stop the invasion, and that’s what we hope happens. Ceasefire can’t come soon enough.

1:11‘Distinct possibility’ of Gaza ceasefire deal this week, senior US official says – video

Search for boater missing at popular river tourist spot

A search is under way for a man who fell from a boat at a popular holiday spot on the Murray River and did not resurface, AAP reports.

NSW police responded to reports that a man, believed to be in his 20s, fell into the water near a boat ramp at Moama about 7.30pm yesterday.

Emergency services scoured waters along the NSW-Victoria border for hours but no trace of the man was found.

Marine Rescue NSW shone a spotlight on the banks of the river as they searched the area by boat, but the operation was paused after it became dark. The search resumed at 8am today.

An estimated 1.5 million people visit the border towns of Echuca and Moama each year, with the two towns on either side of the Murray River functioning as one community. The area is popular with campers and visitors seeking out water sports.

Updated at 18.44 EST

Bandt points to need for national anti-racism strategy amid calls for national cabinet to address antisemitism

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, is also at the childcare centre in Windsor, Victoria this morning.

Asked if there should be a national cabinet held on the issue of antisemitism, he pointed to the need for a national anti-racism strategy:

Every level of government needs to do all it can to fight antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of racism. And that is something that we’ve called for a very long time.

Australia is a proudly multicultural society … the Greens have been calling for many, many years now for a national, fully funded anti-racism strategy … that tackles antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of racism. It’s something that we all need to work towards to ensure that we protect our multicultural community.

Also asked about calls for mandatory jail time for people that vandalise, Bandt said he would leave that up to “largely the state governments that are going to be looking at that”:

I think one of the things that we critically need to do is start with education. We need to ensure that the fundamental elements of our multicultural society, which start at the community level, are protected so we support needs to stamp out racism in all its forms.

Updated at 18.36 EST

Burns says ‘outsiders’ should not ‘meddle’ in Australia’s democracy ahead of election

On the prospect of X’s owner, Elon Musk, getting involved in the federal election, Josh Burns said “Australian democracy is for Australians, not for international people”:

We don’t meddle in other people’s democratic rights or goings on, and we would expect the same for others. So anyone who wants to come into Australia and interfere in our democracy, who is an outsider, shouldn’t.

Updated at 18.33 EST

Burns calls for Australian politics to ‘take a step forward and be more considerate’

Josh Burns was also asked whether he’s worried the next election is going to be a content fought on character assassination rather than on political policy.

He said politics “should be a battle of ideas” and “a contest where political parties come together, we respectfully put forward our ideas, we respectfully come forward and outline our vision for our country”:

Certainly, that’s what I’m going to be doing in McNamara, which is the community I’m privileged to represent. My two candidates who are here today, they believe in our community as well, and we have disagreements on policy, but it’s not personal against them, and it never should be.

That’s the way I’ll be conducting myself, and I hope politics in this country can take a step forward and be more considerate, and we can disagree respectfully, but we don’t have to make it personal as well.

Updated at 18.28 EST

Josh Burns says there are ‘gaps in legal framework’ when it comes to combatting antisemitism

Over in Victoria, the Labor MP for Macnamara, Josh Burns, has been speaking at Windsor community childcare centre to throw his support behind saving the centre from closure.

We’ll bring you more on that later, but in he meantime, he was asked about special envoy to combat antisemitism Jillian Segal’s comments on the front page of the Australia today, calling for tougher sentencing and more prosecutions for anti-Jewish hate crimes.

Burns says he agrees more needs to be done:

There are some laws that obviously I’ll leave to my state colleagues, because many of those laws around what happens in our community is a matter for the state governments. What I would say is that there are clearly gaps in our legal framework. Clearly we have a crisis in antisemitism in this country.

Clearly we have a situation where no one should be discriminated against, but certainly with the rise of antisemitism, we need to tackle it together in a unified way, ideally in a situation like this today, where political parties come together and not squabble over discrimination in this country.

View image in fullscreenLabor member for Macnamara Josh Burns. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

On the prospect of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Burns says he’s very hopeful and “I pray for peace.”

This nightmare has gone on for long enough, and I hope the world wakes up tomorrow and it’s a bit more of a peaceful place. That will be a wonderful thing.

Updated at 18.16 EST

Children’s television legend Simon Townsend of Wonder World fame has died aged 79.

The former ABC journalist launched Simon Townsend’s Wonder World! on Channel 10 in 1979 with mascot Woodrow the Bloodhound and reporters Sandy Mauger, Jonathan Coleman, Angela Catterns and Adam Bowen.

The groundbreaking show made him a household name, delighting young audiences with magazine-style stories which covered a wide range of topics.

Wonder World ran until 1987, winning five Logie Awards and stellar ratings for Ten. His family said in a statement to the ABC:

In his final days, Simon was surrounded by his family and a mix of journalists, writers, actors, political activists and Italians. The conversation to the last was loud, passionate and full of laughs.

His daughter actor and dramaturg Nadia Townsend has been approached for comment.

View image in fullscreenSimon Townsend in 2006. Photograph: Seven

PM asked whether national cabinet will be convened to address antisemitism

Anthony Albanese also fielded questions on whether a national cabinet meeting would be convened to combat antisemitism.

As Sarah Basford Canales reported earlier, the government yesterday held a snap meeting with the NSW and Victorian premiers and the federal police on the matter.

Speaking to reporters, the PM said “what I want is to ensure that any act of antisemitism – it stops.”

I want people who are responsible for these acts to be prosecuted fully, because they’re a crime and people should be held to account with the full force of the law.

Would a national cabinet be convened on the matter? The PM said “we responded with the states that were involved”:

Jillian Segal [Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism]was very pleased. I spoke with her after the discussion that took place and she was very pleased that occurred.

Updated at 18.09 EST

PM criticises Dutton’s call for cuts to public spending

Continuing to speak to reporters, Anthony Albanese is criticising the opposition leader Peter Dutton’s call for cuts to public spending.

He accused Dutton of “cutting wages growth off at the knees” and said cuts would transplant “new taxes on Medicare” and prescribe a “lethal dose of cuts to cost of living support.”

His idea of economic surgery isn’t a scalpel, it’s a sledgehammer or a chainsaw. He wants to take those cuts to Medicare, to cost of living support, to housing, to all of these measures …

Peter Dutton has a plan for massive cuts and even [former Queensland premier] Campbell Newman today, of all people, and what should be a chilling reminder for Queenslanders is saying, maybe there’ll be some issues if you try to cut all the public servants that Peter Dutton has committed to cutting.

Albanese ‘hopeful’ for ceasefire in Gaza

Asked about the prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza, Anthony Albanese said this is something Australia and the international community “overwhelmingly” wants to see.

We have been calling for some time for hostages to be released. We want Hamas to have no role in the future of that region, and we want a ceasefire in the interests of both Israelis and those in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

So we are hopeful of a ceasefire, that would be a good thing. I think that is what overwhelmingly Australians want to see, and indeed, the international community wants to see as well.

Circling back to Anthony Albanese’s press conference in Tasmania, he has been asked about reports that Melbourne man Oscar Jenkins has been killed after being captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine.

The PM said the government would “take the strongest possible action if that can be confirmed”:

Dfat is seeking urgent clarification as to what these circumstances are. I spoke with the Ukrainian ambassador on Monday in my office. We call upon Russia to immediately confirm Oscar Jenkins status. We remain gravely concerned.

We will await the facts to come out. But if there has been any harm caused to Oscar Jenkins, that is absolutely reprehensible, and the Australian government will take the strongest action possible.

Albanese said he “wasn’t getting ahead of the facts”, telling reporters:

That’s the responsible thing for us to do … I’m not someone who’s competing to be shadow foreign minister, I’m someone who’s prime minister of Australia, and we respond to the facts.

I’ve said that we have called in the Russian ambassador already, we are seeking clarification as to whether Oscar Jenkins, any harm has occurred to [him], and we will take the strongest possible action if it is the case that any harm has been caused to him.