Daily News Roundup

Ian Kiernan, an environmental campaigner who grew to international fame for his work and as a yachtsman, has died aged 78 after being diagnosed with cancer in late July.

He is survived by his wife Judy and two daughters Sally and Pip.

Clean Up Australia said its founder’s guidance and humour would be missed but “it was his greatest wish that the work he inspired continues”.

“Ian believed that Clean Up belongs to the millions of volunteers who have taken to their streets, beaches, parks, bushland and waterways to remove the rubbish that is bothering them,” the organisation said in a statement.

“More recently this has extended to the thousands who take actions such as saying NO to a plastic bag at the checkout, refusing a single use item, or who join us via our social media campaigns.

“Fondly nicknamed by Phillip Adams, ‘The Greatest Garbo since Greta’, Ian Kiernan’s greatest legacy is the creation of an informed, concerned, committed, and involved community — sharing his passion for the safeguarding of our most precious asset, our environment.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he met the campaigner “a number of times over the years”.

“His passion for our oceans, which started all of this for him, and Australia’s coastal lifestyle, in particular, is something that I think struck a real chord with all Australians,” Mr Morrison said.

“The thing that I think Ian did more than anything else was tap us all on the shoulder and say, ‘hey, we’ve got to take care of this — this is our responsibility to do this, it’s not the government’s, it’s ours, as Australians’.”

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As the cost of fuel reaches record levels around the country, residents in regional towns are bracing for prices of up to $1.90 a litre for petrol, while diesel is already selling at $2.05.

While the latest price spike has driven metropolitan prices up, regional drivers already paying higher prices face the heaviest hit.

Across the remote north of Western Australia, some bowsers have already reached $1.89, with retailers saying their purchase price has been going up daily.

BP Broome Central manager Kirsten Foy said people were more reluctant to fill up their tanks as they hoped prices would drop.

“We’ve been getting a pretty negative response from people,” she said.

“I usually say my buying price for fuel is going up and I have to increase my prices just to survive.”

For people travelling off-road to some of the region’s remote communities, prices are creeping well beyond $2 a litre.

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Pippa Middleton, the younger sister of Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge, has given birth to her first child, a boy.

Ms Middleton, 35, first came to public attention when she acted as maid of honour at the 2011 wedding of her sister Kate to Prince William, who is second in line to the British throne.

A spokesman for Prince William and Kate Middleton said they were “thrilled” for Pippa and her husband.

Ms Middleton married financier James Matthews last year.

The BBC reported that the baby was born on Monday at 1:58pm local time, weighing 8lb 9oz (3.88 kilograms).

The new baby will be a cousin to William and Kate’s three children — George, 5, Charlotte, 3, and 5-month-old Louis.

This daily news roundup is curated with stories from ABC News.