The day that was, Sunday 2 October
We will leave the live blog there for Sunday.
Here’s what made the news today:
The federal government has called on Optus to tell Services Australia how many and which Medicare numbers were compromised in the company’s data breach, as 10,200 customers are informed by the telco their personal information has already been posted online.
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, has flagged new cybersecurity legislation in response, stating the current laws were “absolutely useless” in the wake of the Optus breach.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has said the federal government’s proposed anti-corruption commission would not be an “exercise in political payback” and has defended the decision to keep most hearings of the commission in private.
Football Australia has condemned the behaviour of the crowd at the Australia Cup final between Sydney United and Macarthur on Saturday night in Sydney, after fans were heard booing during the welcome to country, with some in the crowd observed doing Nazi salutes.
The Hawthorn president, Jeff Kennett, has called the leaking of racism allegations at the AFL club “unfair” and hopes the unfolding saga can be resolved by the end of the year.
Russia’s “sham referenda” have prompted the Australian government to legally support Ukraine in the international court of justice (ICJ) and to put financial sanctions and travel bans on another 28 “Russian-appointed separatists, ministers and senior officials”.
That’s all from us today. We will be back with all the latest news tomorrow. Until then, I hope you have a nice evening.
Updated
A Victorian man has been charged after an attempted abduction of a woman earlier this year, AAP reports.
The 27-year-old Hampton Park man faces a series of sexual assault charges and will face Dandenong magistrates court at a later date.
It is alleged the man approached a 36-year-old woman from behind while she was on a walk through Churchill national park late in the afternoon of 18 June.
He allegedly grabbed her around the waist and put his hand over her mouth as he tried to drag her to the ground.
The woman broke free and ran before calling police.
It is alleged a second woman was also assaulted at the same location that same day.
The man has been charged with two counts of sexual assault, two counts of assault with intent to commit sexual act and two counts of common law assault.
Updated
The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) has welcomed the announcement that the Australian government will impose further sanctions on Russia for its war on Ukraine.
Stefan Romaniw, AFUO co-chair said:
New sanctions and support for Ukraine’s case against Russia with the ICJ are important to ensure Russia is held to account for its brutal and criminal actions in Ukraine.
In Ukraine, the reality is the war is ongoing – civilians and defenders are continuing to die. Only two days ago, civilians were killed and wounded in a Russian strike on a civilian convoy in Zaporizhzhia.
Ukraine needs additional military assistance so it can continue to protect its people, liberate occupied areas, and restore its territorial integrity. To date, Australian military aid has been highly valuable. The Australian Bushmaster armoured vehicle played an important role in Ukraine’s successful counter-offensive around Kharkiv.
We urge the government to consider more aid of this kind.
Updated
#Rain and storms extend across #Australia this week, bringing a renewed #flood risk to the eastern states.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) October 2, 2022
Further weather systems will move through into next weekend, bringing additional widespread rain to the east.
Latest forecasts and warnings: https://t.co/MFqTo1ZCWa pic.twitter.com/t3ffVHyhMW
Former US presidential candidate and environmental advocate Al Gore appears to have endorsed the work of Guardian Australia environment reporter Graham Readfearn with a coveted retweet.
Graham is reportedly staying cool.
Last month, Australia passed a law to cut emissions 43% by 2030. Now, the Aussie state with one of the most carbon intensive energy supplies in the world has made a plan to completely move away from coal. We need to see action like this around the world! https://t.co/HASrdkqANO
— Al Gore (@algore) October 1, 2022
For more on Queensland’s plan to move away from coal – and the premier’s reluctance to discuss coal exports – read the full story here:
Updated
Not sure what is going on in the US but…
Vegemite is trending in the U.S., and I'm here for it! 😆 pic.twitter.com/NXiWTW2L9J
— Prof Michael E. Mann (@MichaelEMann) October 2, 2022
NSW premier promotes swimming lesson vouchers
The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, has appeared at Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre on Sunday to encourage parents to take up a NSW state government voucher program for swim lessons.
The First Lap program has offered $18m in vouchers for swimming lessons during its first year with a $100 voucher for parents of children aged 3 to 6.
“NSW families were quick off the blocks, diving in to the First Lap program and redeeming more than 180,000 vouchers for swimming lesson fees in the first year of the program, giving their children vital water safety and survival skills,” Perrottet said.
“As a father, I know how important swimming lessons are and how helpful the First Lap vouchers are for families.
“This program is one of more than 70 ways for households to save and boost their budgets. My message to families is simple – check to see if you’re eligible for this voucher and redeem it. You’ll save money and could save a life.”
The Royal Life Saving Society NSW chief executive, Michael Illinsky, said it was the right of every child to access a quality swimming and water safety education.
Learning skills such as general swimming techniques and treading water, survival techniques and strategies, floating and rescue skills is vital for Australian children.
The First Lap vouchers help provide many children with their first swimming and water safety experience which in turn leads to a lifetime of fun and enjoyment in, on and around water.
First Lap vouchers can be accessed from Service NSW and redeemed with registered providers. A list of First Lap providers is available on the Service NSW website.
Updated
Can the opposition leader change voters’ minds by pasting on a smile?
Peter Dutton can smile again.
Not only smile, he can laugh. Crack jokes. Remember birthdays. Have nuanced conversations.
He’s not just the Liberal party leader, he’s a family man, an organic farmer. They might be for multimillion-dollar properties, but he has mortgages. In case you hadn’t noticed, Dutton is just like you. Or at least those pushing his image overhaul really hope you think so.
Dutton’s role in previous Coalition incarnations was no accident. He came to the parliament ready to fight. His first speech in 2001 made his position clear, as he spoke about his former career in the Queensland police, showing him the best and worst of society.
“I have seen the sickening behaviour displayed by people who, frankly, barely justify their existence in our sometimes over tolerant society,” he said.
That man now wants to try to win back disillusioned Liberal voters, who voted for more tolerant candidates at the most recent election.
For more on the man who would be prime minister, read Guardian Australia political reporter Amy Remeikis’s examination of the best the Coalition have got.
Updated
Football Australia condemns 'anti-social behaviour' at cup final
Football Australia has released a statement about the behaviour of the crowd at the Australia Cup final between Sydney United and Macarthur on Saturday night in Sydney.
Fans were heard to be booing during the welcome to country, with some in the crowd observed to be doing Nazi salutes.
Football Australia said there was a record crowd of 16,461 and the evening was “by and large a celebration” but strongly condemned “the actions of a small minority of individuals who engaged in behaviour that is not consistent with Football Australia’s values and wider community expectations”.
Football Australia said eight people were evicted from the match, and footage is now being assessed, including that of members of the crowd doing the Nazi salute.
Football Australia said:
Football Australia is working closely with the management of CommBank Stadium and NSW Police to determine strong and swift action on any identified anti-social behaviour, which may also be deemed as illegal in the state of NSW.
Football Australia also acknowledges that the noise level of the crowd during the welcome to country performed by Erin Wilkins before the commencement of the game reached unacceptable levels. We regret that this occurred and are reviewing all available footage and audio to further analyse the incident.
Football Australia said it was working with Wilkins and the Indigenous Advisory Group for guidance on the matter.
Football is for all, where there is absolutely no place for anti-social behaviour in our game or the community at large.
Football Australia will not let the actions of a few cast a shadow over our great game, which is loved by millions across Australia.
Football Australia will be holding discussions with Sydney United 58 FC about the behaviour of certain fans, which could lead to both individual and club sanctions.
Updated
Australian whistleblower David McBride has weighed into the debate over whether hearings at the federal Icac should be public or private.
I was charged with a number of serious offences four years ago. I’m yet to have the issues adjudicated, although there has been plenty of publicity.
— David McBride (@MurdochCadell) October 2, 2022
I challenge anyone for the ALP or LNP to debate me, as to why public hearings for NACC are worse than what I’m going through. https://t.co/dbZkv4wB31
Updated
Man shot and killed by police in Queensland overnight
A man has allegedly been killed by police in Queensland overnight after threatening officers with a knife at Airlie Beach.
Investigators say the 24-year-old approached two police officers on Shute Harbour Road early on Saturday morning.
It’s alleged the man was brandishing a four- to five-centimetre knife as he advanced towards the officers, who drew their weapons and gave some verbal commands.
Supt Graeme Paine said officers fired when the man continued to advance and he was fatally injured from the shots.
Paine said the officers involved were well trained to identify and respond to different threats.
“The officers have done that. They do go through a process, even when it’s a split-second thing,” he said. “The officers do make an assessment and act based on that assessment.”
Paine said police were reviewing CCTV footage of the incident and speaking with several witnesses.
They were investigating if the man had been involved in other incidents earlier in the night and why he was allegedly carrying a knife.
The man had been working in Townsville but was from Western Australia.
Paine said police were also investigating why the man allegedly approached police. A forensic examination of the scene was under way.
The shooting will be investigated by the ethical standards command with oversight by the crime and corruption commission.
Updated
Thousands of students hit with historical debts after computer glitch
More than 10,000 vocational education and training students have been hit with historical debts after a computer glitch.
A system failure resulted in government loans, worth a total of $24.2m, becoming “stuck” in the student payment system, officials say.
Most are for amounts under $2,000, but about 3% of students have debts of more than $10,000.
The loans became repayable when the beneficiary’s income reached a set threshold, however they were only transferred to Australian Taxation Office accounts after a recent IT update.
More than 90% of the loans relate to study in 2017, with a total of 10,252 students impacted.
The skills minister, Brendan O’Connor, said in a statement he had instructed his department to conduct an investigation and attempts had been made to individually notify and offer assistance to students.
I have been made aware that a number of historical student loans have unexpectedly been applied to students’ ATO profiles.
The previous coalition government had student loans held up in its systems for several years after the relevant study was undertaken and we are still discovering and fixing instances of carelessness and incompetence.
I am determined to get to the bottom of what happened in this situation.
O’Connor said the government would make every effort to put the wellbeing of students first.
We understand personal circumstances have to be taken into account and I have directed the department to further investigate the causes of this issue, with a focus on preventing all unfair impacts to current and former students.
The minister said the government was also working with the tax office to ensure issues related to older debts were managed fairly.
The deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley, said the first notices to students were issued on September 12 but the government had been silent on the issue.
The minister has significant questions to answer. He has been silent as more than 10,000 students and 100 providers across the country received communications from his department demanding that students pay up in full or face penalties.
Ley said it was also possible that some debts might not be legitimate but the onus had been put on students to find out if they qualified for redress measures.
– from AAP
Updated
Victorian Liberals propose government debt cap if elected
A legislated government debt cap will be introduced to stop wasteful spending if the Victorian opposition wins the state election in November.
In a joint statement the opposition leader, Matthew Guy, and the shadow treasurer, David Davis, said the Liberal and National parties would include placing a limit on spending to control state debt, which is predicted to hit $167bn by 2025.
This is the biggest debt of any state in Australia, and more than New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania combined.
The interest bill on Daniel Andrews’ debt will reach more than $6bn by 2025, that’s enough to build six Melton hospitals.
The debt cap legislation would prohibit any government from exceeding the legislated maximum without parliamentary approval.
The opposition didn’t specify a level for the cap, saying this would be set once an accurate baseline debt level was known.
On Friday, Davis contacted the Department of Treasury and Finance requesting an urgent update on Victoria’s balance sheet.
Guy previously vowed to ditch the government’s $35bn Suburban Rail Loop and instead pour the money into Victoria’s struggling health system.
Last month, a poll for the Age found the premier, Daniel Andrews, maintained a comfortable lead over Guy as preferred premier by 46% to 28%.
– from AAP
Updated
Catching up on the disgusting news from last night.
— Craig Foster (@Craig_Foster) October 1, 2022
My apologies to Indigenous Australia. I condemn the horrific display of racist hate & stand with our Jewish & other affected communities.
All involved need to be held accountable including the club. https://t.co/t7nEeO5gvy
Police officer charged over alleged sexual assault of child
A New South Wales police officer has been arrested and charged with two counts of having sexual intercourse with a child, following an investigation, AAP reports.
The 28-year-old probationary constable was apprehended at a home about 7pm on Saturday and taken into custody over allegations of abuse involving a 15-year-old girl.
He has been stood down from duties and his employment status is said to be under review after an investigation by the professional standards command.
He was refused bail to appear at Parramatta local court on Sunday.
Under section 66C of the NSW Crimes Act 1900, any person who has sexual intercourse with a child who is of or above the age of 14 years and under the age of 16 years in circumstances of aggravation is liable to 12 years’ imprisonment.
Updated
Australian government to address Pfas contamination
The Australian federal government has released the third version of its national plan to manage environment risks in Australia such as contamination from toxic, long-lived “forever chemicals” such as Pfas.
After more than 50 years of broad use, in everything from food packaging and cookware to paint and industrial products, Pfas chemicals are now ubiquitous.
Less than a fortnight ago, a team of researchers announced Pfas chemicals were detected in all of the 30,000 umbilical cord blood samples used in 40 different studies over the last five years.
Scientists say governments must make sure Pfas chemicals are not in products to begin with.
The head of plastics and human health at the Minderoo Foundation, Sarah Dunlop, says the current situation is an “after-the-crime” approach that leaves scientists and governments scrambling to work out what’s out there, in what concentrations, how dangerous it is, how to clean it up, and how to regulate it.
“It should be the other way around,” she says. “They [chemical producers] should give a full disclosure at the time of the making of the product.”
Crucially, she says, that must include the spectra of their chemicals, the fingerprints that allow substances to be traced back to their makers and the right regulatory settings to be held accountable for them.
At the moment we have to hit in the dark.
Often they don’t provide the spectra ... because it’s proprietary information.
The other thing they don’t do is provide the chemical standard, which you use in your measurement techniques to make sure you really know what you are measuring.
The federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water says it’s working with the states and territories to implement a new standard for the management of industrial chemicals.
Australia is also working towards ratifying the listing of the most researched types of Pfas under the international Stockholm Convention, which seeks to guard against long-lived pollutants that accumulate in animals.
- with AAP.
Updated
NSW council votes to rein in Airbnb rentals
Randwick City council in Sydney’s east has voted to introduce rate variations for owners operating Airbnb rentals which it says is making housing shortages and affordability worse.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports there are 1785 short-term rentals in the Randwick City Council area, but not all these properties were listed with a government registry of short term rentals.
Rental prices in the council area have spiked up to 24% over the past 12 months.
The decision follows others from Brisbane City council to increase council rates of landlords who rent out their entire property for more than 60 days a year by 50 percent. Other councils charge registration fees for short-term rentals with a 90-day a year cap.
However it is unclear whether councils have the authority to charge differential rates in New South Wales.
Updated
Day two of Conservative Political Action Conference in Sydney
Earlier on the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) heard from One Nation’s Mark Latham and his former Sky News colleague Ross Cameron (a session we sadly didn’t catch), British rapper and commentator Zuby and former Labor president/Liberal candidate Warren Mundine.
Mundine, the chairman of CPAC, gave a short speech which touched on criticisms of the free sense of political progressives, and called on conservatives to stand up for their traditional values which he claimed were “under threat”.
Mundine, touching again on yesterday’s criticism of the Labor government’s proposed indigenous voice to parliament, claimed “they want to put unequal rights in the Australian constitution”.
“Anyone here ever been called a conspiracy theorist?” asks first speaker at day 2 of CPAC conservative conference in Sydney
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) October 1, 2022
Large murmur of agreement goes up from the crowd
“Most of your ‘conspiracy theories’ ended up being right, right?”
Another bigger murmur of agreement pic.twitter.com/6Dn6cvQTOy
He was followed later by Ian Plimer, a geologist and professor emeritus at Melbourne University, who spoke against climate science and claimed human emissions of carbon dioxide did not contribute to climate change.
Plimer, in criticising reforms toward renewable energy, told the audience that many solar panels were made by slaves in China
If you’re a supporter of solar you must be a supporter of slave labour.
We have to attack the morality of the other side.
Conservative commentator and teacher Kevin Donnelly is now making a speech against “political correctness”. His speech is titled “I identify as a tree”.
Former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker, One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts, and internet talk-show host Alan Jones are among those due to address the conference this afternoon.
Updated
'We do not have the right laws' to manage data breaches: Clare O'Neil
O’Neil says “we do not have the right laws” in Australia to manage breaches, as with Optus.
Under the previous government, there was a set of laws passed that were meant to be the be all and end all of cybersecurity reform in the country. And the instructions on the labels told me that these laws would provide me with all the powers I would need in a cybersecurity emergency incident.
To make sure that we can repair the damage. I can tell you that those laws were absolutely useless to me when the Optus matter came on foot.
O’Neil says she’s “not making any specific directions for reform” but says “I simply know that we do not have the right laws in the country to manage cybersecurity emergency incidents”.
What we do need is a federal government that has the laws its fingertips to make sure that we can do things, for example, mandating reporting to customers when the data has been breached within a certain time period.
Updated
Bill Shorten urges Optus to work with government
Shorten is laying it on pretty heavily:
We are asking them to a greater transparency, I acknowledge that they had a full-page newspaper ad in the paper on the weekend, but an ad is not a strategy. That is not a plan.
We know Optus is trying to do what it can, but having said that it is not enough. It has been 11 days since the breach, it is peculiar that we still cannot identify who, for example, has had to get, who used the Medicare information and number for identification. We don’t need this tomorrow or the next day, we needed it days ago.
Now is not a time to listen to the lawyers and the damage-control merchants, now is the time to take the high road and work with us in all areas as they have been doing in some.
Updated
Ministers call for Optus to be transparent
Clare O’Neil:
What I would like to say today to Optus’s transparency and accountability is paramount here, it is crucial that everyone who has been affected by the breach is properly notified of that.
We would like them to be transparent about the numbers of people who have had specific identity documents compromised, and that information has not yet been provided.
Bill Shorten is speaking now and says he would like to “reiterate” the call for Optus to ensure full transparency with Australians.
Specifically on 27 September, services Australia of the agency wrote to Optus and said that we need to identify full and completely who may have used Medicare information, or other Centrelink information to get their 100 points of data so they could get an Optus plan.
We still have not received that information.
I understand that Optus is trying to do its best now to fix up some of the problems that have been created. We call upon them to understand that this breach has introduced systemic problems for 10 million Australians in terms of personal identification.
Business as usual, motoring along in third or fourth gear is not enough.
Updated
Cybersecurity minister gives update on Optus data breach
The cybersecurity minister, Clare O’Neil, says that she has been advised by the Australian Signals Directorate and the Australian Cybersecurity Centre that they have completed their technical with Optus and that she wishes to thank the company for its cooperation.
“I spoke with commissioner Reese this morning, but investigation is progressing well and I will that the federal police provided details about that during the week,” she says.
Australian authorities are currently focussed on finding who is responsible for the breach and Optus has contacted the 10,200 whose information has been shared onto the internet.
O’Neil urges those people to immediately cancel their cards and begin the process of renewing any identity documents.
Updated
Federal government considers buy-back scheme for properties in NSW flood zones
The federal government is considering a formal proposal to buy back properties in NSW flood zones, treasurer Jim Chalmers said this morning.
Chalmers told Sky News that the upcoming federal budget was under pressure, but that the government would consider a NSW request to co-fund the property purchase, reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He said:
We received a formal proposal along these lines towards the end of last week, and we’ll go through it in the usual considered and cooperative way.
The people of northern NSW have obviously been through a horrific time when it comes to these natural disasters and the federal government has been there for them under [prime minister] Anthony Albanese‘s leadership.
So we’ll do what we can, subject to the pretty substantial budget constraints that we have, recognising that the funding of natural disaster relief is one of the big pressures on the budget.
He said the October budget would show “the beginnings” of the government’s multinational tax policy and that there would be other conversations around budget savings. Australia is “not out of the woods by any measure” on cost of living, Chalmers said.
The federal government is not expecting or forecasting a surplus in the forward estimates, he said.
Updated
Privacy Act to get overhaul in wake of Optus data leak: Dreyfus
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has flagged legislation to overhaul privacy law in Australia in the wake of the Optus data breach will be brought to the parliament before the end of this year.
Just over a week and a half after Optus revealed the personal information of 10m of its customers was exposed in one of the largest data breaches in Australia’s history, and Dreyfus said the government’s response to the long-running review of the Privacy Act would contain “tough penalties” and changes to make companies think harder about why they are storing personal information.
He said he had yet to hear a reason why Optus had kept data as far back at 2017, and indicated the data should only be collected when opening an account.
It comes as Optus has taken out full-page ads in newspapers across the country, and on digital billboards apologising for the breach.
Customers are still waiting to hear from Optus as to whether they are part of the 10,000 included in an online drop of records by an alleged attacker earlier this week, and if Optus will be paying to replace their identification documents.
Updated
The Bureau of Meteorology expects a trough sweeping over Western Australia and the Northern Territory to head east next week bringing more rain for regions of New South Wales that have already endured significant flooding.
The 7-day rainfall forecast shows that much of #Aus can expect #rain this week. Large parts of the east may see up to 100mm, with higher isolated totals likely.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) October 1, 2022
Upcoming rain will cause renewed or prolonged #flooding for some communities.
Latest: https://t.co/npjrrMlqlD pic.twitter.com/z7BGjd7ACD
Widespread rain expected in #NSW this week, starting in the far west Tue then spreading throughout from Wed. Thunderstorms are also likely in parts bringing locally heavier falls. Check latest warnings athttps://t.co/oQU42MZ21f
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) October 1, 2022
and forecasts at https://t.co/twl2aPexs1 pic.twitter.com/nFLinHzQon
Rain and storms over #WA and #NT are delivering heavy falls as a surface trough drags down moisture from the tropics 🌩️
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) October 1, 2022
This trough will move east across the country, with a renewed #flood risk for the eastern states next week.
Latest: https://t.co/EBqo9nq6RJ pic.twitter.com/42GyuZyw5b
New South Wales state emergency service says those in the south and central west need to remain should remain vigilant over ongoing flood risk.
Updated
Ahead of a press conference with Bill Shorten and Clare O’Neil on the latest with the Optus data breach the pair have put out a statement this morning claiming that the telco is not being entirely forthcoming with information.
Federal government is now publicly ripping Optus over response to the data breach, saying the company “needs to come together with the govt to be part of the solution”
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) October 2, 2022
Statement from Bill Shorten & Clare O’Neil claim Optus not cooperating with requests for more info pic.twitter.com/9ElOO7g16E
Updated
ABC host says two hands are often needed for big knobs.
ABC News presenter Fauziah Ibrahim offered the candid insight while speaking with Associate Prof Alice Motion from the University of Sydney about the biggest science stories of the week.
After a discussion about an anti-malaria drug that developed from traditional Chinese medicine and reports suggesting dogs can smell when a human is stressed, the interview turned to the discussion of the Ig Nobel prize, a satirical science prize for unexpectedly interesting research.
This year the prize was won by a Japanese scientist who investigated the optimal physics for opening a doorknob, leading to the following exchange:
Motion: The summary is that the bigger the doorknob, the more fingers are needed to open the doorknob and there is a limit to the size and shape that have doorknob.
Ibrahim: Well, in certainly my experience, sometimes you need two hands to deal with a big knob.
Motion: Well … yes.
The exchange took place early on Sunday morning and was rebroadcast in full later that day.
For more on this story about one of life’s most overlooked arts, read the full story from Guardian Australia’s science correspondent Hannah Devlin:
Updated
Reserve Bank expects to raise interest rates further
Another rate rise is anticipated when the Reserve Bank board meets again this Tuesday, with many experts leaning towards another 50 basis point hike.
The October cash rate decision, which is expected to see the RBA lift its target from the current 2.35 per cent, is likely to dominate headlines this week alongside CoreLogic’s latest update on house prices.
Due on Monday, the monthly home value index is likely to reveal another drop in property prices as the aggressive monetary policy tightening cycle continues to drag the market lower.
- from AAP
Updated
Yesterday was international coffee day, so if you’re just waking up with some of the good stuff here’s how that happened.
Drinking coffee as a beverage is said to have originated in Yemen in the 15th century in Sufi Shrines. It was there that coffee berries were first roasted & brewed in a way similar to how the drink is prepared today
— Bayt Al Fann (@BaytAlFann) October 1, 2022
For #InternationalCoffeeDay a thread on coffee & Muslim culture pic.twitter.com/cjTf67MdVC
With Jeff Kennett’s speech at a Hawks event making headlines on Sunday morning, it is worth revisiting an episode from 1996 during his tenure as Victorian state premier.
During a cost-cutting drive Kennett’s newly elected government embarked on a plan to close 300 schools across the state.
Among those to close was Northland secondary college, which had the highest Indigenous student population of any high school in Victoria, in Preston
The decision sparked a three-year campaign to save the school that included a mock attempt to enrol kids at Scotch college, the elite private school where Kennett’s sons attended.
A decision by the supreme court forced the government to reopen the school.
The struggle to save the school was retold in a cabaret in 2021.
Updated
Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett plays down racism claims
The outgoing Hawthorn president, Jeff Kennett, has called the leaking of racism allegations at the AFL club “unfair” and hopes the unfolding saga can be resolved by the end of the year.
Speaking at the club’s best and fairest awards function on Saturday night, the former Victorian premier said the club was not in crisis and he described the issue as a “bump along the highway”.
But he told the audience he was “somewhat flabbergasted – and worse” when he read the draft report of the club’s internal review into the experiences of Indigenous players and their partners while at Hawthorn.
Former coach Alastair Clarkson, his then assistant, Chris Fagan, and former development manager Jason Burt were named in the cultural review.
Kennett said on Saturday:
I do not consider this to be a crisis. When I read the draft report … I was somewhat flabbergasted and worse.
It wasn’t a good read. I hope this matter can be resolved quickly by all parties involved.
Kennett said the people interviewed for the report had requested confidentiality and Hawthorn respected that.
Sadly, they made a decision to talk to the press … they named people with whom they had very real issues.
That was unfair to those [people] so therefore we need to have this resolved.
I don’t see this as a crisis – I know this club, I know its history and I know its strength.
We will deal with this and assist in any way we can.
Clarkson said on Wednesday the allegations were “false and deeply offensive” and those close to him knew “how important family is to me”. Fagan, now coaching the Brisbane Lions, released a statement categorically denying the allegations against him. Burt last week released a statement to “categorically deny the conduct attributed to me in the media”.
Kennett said the issues were historic and called on any Hawthorn employees to tell the club at the time if they believed there was inappropriate behaviour.
The one thing the investigation showed was that we have a safe cultural workplace now. So these are issues of the past.
Kennett said he hoped there could be some form of mediation so any issues could be resolved quickly. At the end of his speech, Kennett insisted the Hawks would “overcome” the issue.
Understand this as being a bump along the highway but … it is an important bump and it has to be dealt with professionally.
– with AAP
Updated
Anti-corruption commission won't be an 'exercise in political payback' – Dreyfus
On Mark Dreyfus’ interview on ABC Insiders, the attorney general was asked about the sports rorts scandal and gave his view of what occurred saying: “I thought it was a rort on any view.”
I thought the idea that a decision made in the prime minister’s office when he had no power over the matter with 51 coloured spreadsheets revealed by the auditor general, that looked pretty corrupt to me, but it won’t be my decision. It will be a matter for this independent commissioner to decide if someone refers a matter to her or him, to decide.
Dreyfus made very clear that it wouldn’t be up to him to decide whether the affair was investigated by the new national anti-corruption commission saying he wanted to “make it clear” that “this is not an exercise in political payback”.
This is a very large integrity reform that’s been described as the single biggest reform for decades. It’s not partisan. It’s there to improve standards in Australian public life. We are not setting this up to go after our political opponents. It won’t be for me to decide if something is corrupt – it will be for this commission.
Updated
On Hawthorn, Dreyfus won’t be drawn on whether the allegations require an independent inquiry:
These are shocking allegations, David. These abuses of power in sport, which we’ve seen not just in not ball, the AFL, but in other sports, are a real concern. That’s going from junior to elite.
The sports minister talked on Friday about a new division within Sports Integrity Australia. I think that will be a start. At the moment, the AFL are conducting an independent inquiry.
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Optus data breach a 'wake-up call for corporate Australia', Mark Dreyfus says
On Optus, Dreyfus describes the incident as a “wake-up call for corporate Australia” and flags changes to the Privacy Act.
Keeping the very personal data of customers who had ceased to be customers years ago. I have yet to hear a reason why that was going on. And Optus failed to keep the information safe.
Dreyfus says companies should not treat customers’ information as an asset but as a liability.
Companies throughout Australia should stop regarding all of this personal data of Australians as an asset to them, they should think of it as a liability. This is a wake-up call for corporate Australia.
We will look very hard at the settings in the Privacy Act. I may be bringing reforms to the Privacy Act before the end of the year, to try to both toughen penalties and make companies think harder about why they are storing the personal data of Australians.
It’s an interesting proposition from Dreyfus that contradicts how data is the currency of the modern information economy.
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Dreyfus pushes back on reports in the Murdoch papers this morning that union officials will be excluded from the Icac.
That report this morning is simply, in in one of newspapers is wrong. Union officials are not excluded. Any third party seeking to adversely affect public decisions making in corrupt way will be subject to investigation by the commission.
Dreyfus says activities whether activities in workplaces won’t be covered.
The activities set up under this bill for this commission are directed at the public sector in Australia. It’s not directed at private activity. It’s directed at the public sector and is interaction third parties have with public officials, adversely affecting the way they go about their duties in a formal, honest manner.
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Asked about whether people making donations to get a particular outcome, Dreyfus says the commission will have “the power to investigate any third party seeking to adversely influence the out of a public function and that’s the preface of the commission”.
Donations to political parties in Australia are lawful. They are regulated. There is disclosure requirements. We have said we will lower the disclosure threshold because we want more transparency in donations, I but I don’t think anyone suggests that the mere giving of money to a political party, be it the Greens or the Liberal or the National party or the Labor party should be banned.
Some suggested that but because they should we should go to complete public funding but we’re not. We want more transparency, David, in the giving of donations. We’re not about to ban donations.
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Dreyfus says information collected that relates to national security will be “very carefully stored”:
There’s a whole set of provisions in the bill that – in is the distinction that you have to make for a national anti-corruption commission – it’s potentially going to be dealing with national security information, that’s not something generally speaking that state and territory commissions have to worry about – there will special provisions here to deal with it.
This is actually an interesting point about the differences between state and federal Icacs.
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Speers is asking about the various details of the proposal, including what is meant by “timely” and whether investigations can run for longer than 12 months. He also asks Dreyfus about the proposal for consultation – Dreyfus says of course they’ll be consulting widely with the cross bench.
Dreyfus confirms the commission will be able to tap the phones of politicians “subject to warrant” but won’t say whether this will include encrypted messaging apps like Signal or Whatsapp.
I think everyone needs to watch out. We don’t want corrupt activity infecting our system of government. That’s why we’re creating at long last an anti-corruption commission for Australia.
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David Speers is asking about the “exceptional circumstances” test in order to allow public hearings. Mark Dreyfus is skirting around asking why this has been included – and specifically whether he had expert legal opinion supporting the inclusion of this test.
Dreyfus says it’s about “getting the balance right” and that some legal experts have argued for public hearings, some against. But he also notes that Labor’s proposal for a commission contrasts with the Coalitions on one key detail: theirs wouldn’t allow any public hearings at all.
Dreyfus:
Some legal experts think this is exactly right. Others expressed the contrary view. That that is that is what will be talked about in the committee process we’re about to have.
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Attorney general on federal anti-corruption commission
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, is speaking to ABC Insiders host, David Speers, this morning with the first subject on the proposed anti-corruption commission.
First question: why not make them public?
What you heard me saying is that there is good reasons to hold public hearings and there are. Equally, there are good reasons sometimes for holding your hearings in private.
We think that is getting the balance right and the experience of anti-corruption commissions over the last 30 year less – bear in mind we have three decades of experience to look at – where the commonwealth is the last jurisdiction to get a commission – that experience for those jurisdictions with public hearings is very few hearings are held in public, mostly held in private.
Dreyfus does not explain what those reasons actually are.
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Australia on track to select nuclear submarine by March: Marles
The Aukus program is “on track”, the defence minister, Richard Marles, said this morning, after a meeting with the US defense secretary, Lloyd J Austin III, in Hawaii.
Australia is set to choose either a US or UK nuclear-powered submarine design by March next year, amid ongoing concerns that there will be a capability gap between the retirement of the existing fleet and the acquisition of the new one.
Marles declined to commit to when those submarines are likely to be in the water. He said:
You don’t build a nuclear-powered submarine quickly.
Aukus is “going along very well”, Marles said:
We are on track to making an announcement around the optimal pathway that Australia will pursue in relation to acquiring nuclear powered submarines, to make that announcement in the first part of next year.
The pair also discussed making their defence industrial bases “more seamless”.
Marles said there was “increasing pressure” on the global rules-based order in both Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and in China’s actions in the Pacific:
We watch China seek to shape the world around us in a way that we have not seen before.
Austin said the US and Australia were united on “enhancing deterrence and strengthening security in the Indo Pacific”:
We talked about enhancing our interoperability and expanding our operations and advancing our ongoing posture, force posture initiatives and deepening our defence industrial cooperation.
Aukus has “made tremendous progress over the past year”, Austin said.
Earlier, the two ministers had a trilateral meeting with their Japanese counterpart, Yasukazu Hamada.
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Australia will not accept illegal Russian annexation in Ukraine
Russia’s “sham referenda” have prompted the government to legally support Ukraine in the international court of justice (ICJ) and to put financial sanctions and travel bans on another 28 “Russian-appointed separatists, ministers and senior officials”.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has announced the annexation of four regions in Ukraine after holding illegitimate referenda.
In a release, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, and the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus said:
The regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are sovereign Ukrainian territory. President Putin’s annexation is illegal and any claims that these territories are now part of Russia are baseless and false.
Australia has also filed an intervention in the ICJ case brought by Ukraine against Russia, supporting Ukraine’s claims Russia has violated the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide (genocide convention).
Wong said the additional sanctions “reinforce Australia’s strong objection to the actions of President Putin and those carrying out his orders”. She said:
The areas of Ukraine currently occupied by Russian forces are the sovereign territory of Ukraine. No sham referendum will change this.
Dreyfus said:
Our intervention underscores our commitment to upholding fundamental rules of international law and the integrity of the genocide convention.
Overnight the occupied town of Lyman fell overnight after Ukrainian troops completed an encirclement of 4,000 Russian troops who had been stationed there.
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Good morning
Welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, and the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, have pledged Australia’s support to Ukraine in an application to the international court of justice (ICJ) and added sanctions on senior Russian and separatist officials. In a joint press release, Wong and Dreyfus said Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions was “illegal” and any claims they were part of Russian territory were “baseless and false”.
Former Victorian premier and the Hawthorn football club president, Jeff Kennett, has criticised three Indigenous football players who spoke about their experiences of alleged racism at the club. In a speech at the club’s best and fairest awards on Saturday night, Kennett told his audience it was “unfair” for the players to name names and denied the club was in crisis, saying it was experiencing “just a bump along the highway” albeit an important bump.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss something, so if you spot anything happening in Australia and think it should be in the blog, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2 where my DMs are open.
With that, let’s get started ...
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