What happened on Thursday 21 September 2023
With that, we’ll wrap up our live coverage of the day’s news.
Here’s a summary of the key developments:
Public health and legal experts have expressed disappointment at the narrow scope of the Covid-19 inquiry, with the Australian Medical Association president, Steve Robson, labelling it “half an inquiry” and warning the exclusion of states will “hobble” it.
The former Australian treasurer Josh Frydenberg has confirmed he will not attempt to return to politics at the next federal election.
The New South Wales government is considering following Victoria’s lead by imposing a tax on short-stay accommodation, including Airbnb, to help fund affordable housing.
A judge outside the Australian Capital Territory will be brought in to hear Shane Drumgold’s challenge to the findings of the Sofronoff inquiry to avoid any potential conflict.
The New South Wales Liberal leader, Mark Speakman, has warned Australians to get ready for the impact of a potential no vote at the voice referendum while refusing to back a separate state-based treaty process.
Have a pleasant evening, we’ll be back to do it all over again tomorrow.
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Bushfire crews remain on alert as Queensland swelters in record temperatures
An “enormous number” of crews remain on bushfire alert waiting for a cool change to sweep Queensland after the mercury soared to record levels.
Temperatures nudged 40C in the north-west and other areas hit the mid-30s. Brisbane recorded more than 32C as the conditions that baked southern states and fanned fire conditions made its presence felt in the sunshine state.
Among the hottest places were Julia Creek in the north-west with 39.3C and Winton in the central west on 39.1C, while parts of central and southern Queensland went as high as the mid-30s on Thursday afternoon.
Near the NSW border, Coolangatta had its warmest September day on record after reaching 33.9C, according preliminary data from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Elsewhere in the south-east, Gatton reached a top of 35.9C, Ipswich hit 35.5C and it was 32.5C on the Gold Coast.
The above-average temperatures brought with it a high fire danger, with dozens of blazes across the state, including six that were out of control on Thursday afternoon.
Four of the blazes were in south-east Queensland, including in Dalby, Ebenezer, Rockside and Bahrs Scrub, with the others in Watalgan in Wide Bay and Oxford in central Queensland.
AAP
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Peak medical body labels Covid-19 review ‘half an inquiry’ after Albanese government excludes states
Public health and legal experts have expressed disappointment at the narrow scope of the Covid-19 inquiry, with the Australian Medical Association president, Steve Robson, labelling it “half an inquiry” and warning the exclusion of states will “hobble” it.
On Thursday Anthony Albanese revealed the inquiry would exclude “actions taken unilaterally by state and territory governments”, which the human rights commissioner Lorraine Finlay warned could “deflect responsibility” for some aspects of Australia’s pandemic response.
The scope and powers of the inquiry have already sparked a war of words with the Coalition, with shadow health minister, Anne Ruston, labelling it a “cop out” and the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, accusing Labor of running a “protection racket” for state premiers.
Robson said that “looking at half the equation will hobble the ultimate inquiry”. He told Guardian Australia:
“So much of the healthcare delivery and pandemic response was done by the states and territories … a wide-ranging system-wide inquiry would make more sense.”
“There will be another pandemic, no doubt about it. We need to be ready to go next time … I’m scratching my head how it can come up with a meaningful plan if you take states and territories out of the equation.”
Read more:
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NSW Liberal leader warns people to prepare for fallout of no vote on voice
The New South Wales Liberal leader, Mark Speakman, has warned Australians to get ready for the impact of a potential no vote at the voice referendum while refusing to back a separate state-based treaty process.
Speakman, a former NSW attorney general who is voting yes, expressed concern about the impact of the debate over the federal Indigenous voice to parliament, which he believed was on track to fail.
That would be a “setback for reconciliation”, the opposition leader told the Guardian on Thursday.
“But a narrow win is also a setback for reconciliation if people feel that they’ve been punted in some way. If, as is likely, the referendum fails, there’ll be many, many disappointed people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous.”
Read the exclusive here:
Genre ‘shame’ an impediment to healthy reading culture, according to Indigenous Literacy Foundation
Australia would have a better reading culture if there wasn’t such a hierarchy of books, one literacy advocate reckons.
Even in his Sydney office, Ben Bowen from the Indigenous Literacy Foundation has noticed some books are viewed as better than others. “When someone brings in a trashy romance novel, they do serve that purpose of escape, but there’s almost a shame in that material,” the chief executive told an online forum on Thursday.
Librarians, teachers, booksellers and policymakers are among more than 800 people attending the Volume Symposium to discuss how to get Australians reading more.
According to a recent snapshot from Reading Australia, 44% of Australians have low or very low literacy, while about a quarter of Australians did not read a single book over the course of a year.
The forum comes as research released on Wednesday shows the number of Australians who read for pleasure has fallen.
The proportion of Australians aged 65 and over who read for pleasure has dropped significantly, from 77% to 68%, according to the 2022 National Arts Participation Survey of about 10,000 people.
The portion of people in that age bracket who do not read print books at all has jumped from a quarter in 2019, to 35%. The number of children reading for pleasure has also fallen, from 79% in 2018 to 72% in 2022, Reading Australia figures show.
AAP
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Parliamentary committee backs direct investment to address housing crisis
Investment in public and affordable housing must continue and the federal government should take the lead on bolstering renters’ rights, a parliamentary committee says.
The interim report on Australia’s worsening rental crisis, released on Thursday, made two recommendations for the government which include it take a “co-ordinating role” in rental reform and stumping up the cash for housing the vulnerable.
A right to longer leases, genuine end to no-grounds evictions and eviction grounds being clearly defined form part of stronger protections.
But chair of the inquiry, Greens senator Janet Rice, has proposed a two-year rental freeze as a third recommendation for the committee to endorse.
“Many witnesses told the committee how unrelenting and devastating rental increases can be to a person’s finances and wellbeing,” she said.
“The commonwealth government must listen to the powerful evidence provided by renters at this inquiry and immediately work with states and territories to freeze and cap rental increases.”
Coalition senators said that while they acknowledged the “complex and evolving pressures” on the Australian rental market, maintaining the rights of property owners was essential.
AAP
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Renters venting via TikTok
How can renters across Australia claim some power back from real estate agents? “At least start by making fun of them,” says Jordan van den Berg, who is better known as Purple Pingers, the guy behind a TikTok series that exposes Australia’s “shit rentals”.
For three years, in his comical, unenthused monotone voice, 27-year-old Van den Berg has given those facing the dire rental market some relief by naming and shaming the real estate agents who refuse to fix maintenance issues or do not include the whole truth in listings.
People depressed by the housing crisis can now share their complaints on Van den Berg’s “shit rentals” website – and potentially shame real estate agents into action.
Read more:
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The always incisive Katharine Murphy…
Josh Frydenberg is choosing life, having reintroduced himself to his wife and children and slept in his own bed for more than a year.
In his shoes, I would choose life too. But his decision does have implications for the Liberal party, at least in the short term.
Frydenberg electing to remain in the sidelines solves one problem for Peter Dutton. If the Victorian ran in Kooyong at the next federal election, journalists (being journalists) would expend endless energy blind quoting anonymous sources and filing hot takes about who might be Liberal leader after the contest.
The impeccably networked Frydenberg staying out of the fray (and off the phone) spares Dutton that irritation. It removes a distraction. It allows Dutton to be Dutton.
We get Full Dutton.
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Cassandra Morgan reports for AAP:
On treed land in Wurundjeri and Wathaurong country, locals came together and wiped away tears as John Farnham’s You’re the Voice echoed their hope for change.
The campaign for a yes vote in Australia’s regions has intensified as the historic referendum fast approaches, with voting in remote areas to start on Monday.
A community information session at Djirra at Melton, about 50km west of Melbourne, on Thursday attracted a host of Indigenous leaders who spoke with a sense of urgency about the “momentous” opportunity the referendum represents.
The speakers included Olympian and former senator Nova Peris; Aboriginal author, historian and activist Jackie Huggins; Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation chief executive Jill Gallagher; and longtime Aboriginal corrections worker Shaun Braybrook.
They tried to wrap their strength and resilience around the audience in the face of adversity.
“When I represented Australia, I represented the whole of this country,” Peris told local campaign supporters at the information session.
“I just didn’t represent Aboriginal people. I represented every white person and every multi-cultured person proudly and with dignity and with grace.
“Come October 15, if we are not seen, it is a sad indictment of this country.
“The world is watching.”
The yes movement has rolled out its campaign to all corners of the country in an effort to sway undecided voters and bolster the number of people spreading its message.
The no campaign made no public appearances on Thursday after its last major event in Adelaide earlier this week, where hundreds gathered in the key battleground state.
A primary aim of the yes campaign has been to dispel misinformation, which Djirra chief executive, Antoinette Braybrook, said was intended to inject fear and uncertainty into people’s minds.
“We know that much of what is being reported through the media is misinformation and lies,” she told the information session.
“Our aim is to provide information, clarify any confusion and answer questions.”
Gallagher questioned how Aboriginal people, if the yes vote failed, would ensure their voice and culture didn’t disappear through the decades.
Peris added that if the vote failed, she would feel sick to her bones – however, pleas from the likes of Olympic gold medallist Cathy Freeman for people to vote yes gave her hope the referendum would succeed.
“People need to understand that this isn’t an election; this is a referendum,” Peris said.
“This is an opportunity for Australians to assert their democracy … and right a wrong, [which is for] us – the First Nations people, the first Australian DNA of this continent – to be put on the nation’s birth certificate.”
Early voting centres will open on 2 October and 3.
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Record high proportion of citizens enrolled to vote
With a little over three weeks under the Voice referendum, the Australian Electoral Commission has announced that a record 97.7% of eligible Australians are enrolled to vote.
The roll has increased by 447,447 people since the 2022 federal election, a rise of 2.6%.
More than 8.4 million people on the electoral roll were not enrolled when the last referendum was held in 1999: more than 47% of the electoral roll.
The 8.4 million includes 6.7 million people who were under 18 (or not born) at the time as well as 1.7 million other people who are new to the roll since 1999 - many of whom are new Australian citizens.
Australian Electoral Commissioner, Tom Rogers, said such a complete electoral roll was the result of years of hard work by the AEC.
With many nations around the world campaigning to get even three quarters of their population enrolled to vote, this result is a continuing source of Australian democratic pride.
In between the announcement of the referendum date and close of rolls, approximately 79,000 people were added to the roll with 376,000 other eligible Australians updating their details.”
The youth enrolment rate has also increased to 91.4% which means approximately 1.8 million 18 to 24 year olds are ready to vote and have their say in their first referendum.
In terms of First Nations enrolment, this sits at 94.1% and is the highest it has ever been.
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Peace is not only a noble vision for humanity.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) September 21, 2023
Peace is a call to action.
This #PeaceDay, and every day, let us commit to build, drive & sustain peace for all. pic.twitter.com/1CtqQ26Zbx
Commissioner demands release of UN human rights report
Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner is demanding the government release a report by the United Nations after a visit to detention facilities was blocked by NSW and Queensland, Farid Farid reports.
“The Australian government wants to be a world leader when it comes to human rights, and if we want to do that we actually have to show moral leadership,” commissioner Lorraine Finlay told AAP.
The visit by a delegation from the UN subcommittee on prevention of torture was the first to Australia since it ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture in 2017.
Under its mandate, the subcommittee can carry out unannounced visits to detention facilities and conduct private interviews with people deprived of their liberty without witnesses.
But the October visit was suspended after NSW and Queensland authorities blocked the UN inspectors from entering jails and detention facilities.
Australia joins Rwanda as the only other country where a visit has been cancelled.
“We made a promise to the world that we would comply with that treaty, and it’s important we live up to our promises,” Finlay said.
She said it had been three months since the confidential UN report outlining what the international observers briefly saw was sent to the government, which was enough time for action to have been taken.
“We think it’s important that those aren’t words said in Geneva (where the committee is based), but they’re things that are delivered on in Australia,” Finlay said.
“The real test isn’t whether you can talk about human rights, but putting those words into action.”
She said the UN body was particularly concerned with immigration detention, the conditions of detention in prisons, and juvenile justice.
Finlay said when it came to the detention of asylum seekers, Australia was an “absolute outlier” compared with other countries.
She said that in Canada the average stay in immigration detention was 16 days, compared with 711 days in Australia.
Finlay also described an ongoing “national crisis in youth justice”, particularly in Queensland, where new laws allow children to be detained in police watch houses.
In a 34-page submission sent to the UN watchdog last week, the commission pointed the finger at NSW, Queensland and Victoria for failing to join other states in setting up independent oversight bodies that monitor how detention facilities are run.
The attorney-general’s office has been contacted for comment.
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AAP reports…
More than 100 guests have fallen ill after a mysterious gastro outbreak linked to a function venue in Melbourne’s southeast.
Victoria’s health department has been notified of a gastroenteritis outbreak at The Park Melbourne on September 13 and 16 across separate events.
At least 70 people from each event have reported feeling unwell so far.
The Albert Park venue hosted the annual Australia and New Zealand Burns Association conference last week but the event was forced online for its last day on Friday after attendees fell ill.
Other guests were struck down after a wedding dinner at the venue on Saturday.
An investigation has been launched into the outbreak but the cause of the illnesses is not yet known.
“We are following standard process and working with Port Phillip Council and South East Public Health Unit to investigate the source of the outbreak and ensure all appropriate infection prevention and control measures are in place,” a department of health spokeswoman said.
The health department has not established if there is a link to an ongoing cluster of listeriosis cases in Victoria.
The Park venue manager Bahaa Harb said no issues with health and safety practices were found during a “routine” inspection on Friday.
“We have conducted a precautionary deep clean and have received approval from council to continue trading,” Harb said in a statement.
“We will continue to work closely with the City of Port Phillip to determine the cause of this outbreak and will keep our customers and impacted parties notified of the investigation’s findings.”
Al Gore, the former US vice-president, has described the decision by the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, to water down key climate policies as “shocking and disappointing” and “not what the world needs from the United Kingdom”.
Daniel Andrews dismisses public housing towers plan criticism
The Victorian premier has defended a plan to redevelop 44 of Melbourne’s public housing towers to triple capacity but only set aside an extra 10% of spaces for public tenants, AAP reports.
Federal Greens leader Adam Bandt and state party leader Samantha Ratnam have suggested the plan could signal the “end of public housing in Victoria”.
“Labor’s demolishing public homes and selling off public land with no guarantee all - or any! - new homes will be public housing,” Bandt wrote on social media.
Selling his government’s housing statement atop a Box Hill high-rise apartment building on Thursday, Andrews accused the Greens of spreading misinformation and scaring people:
This is a really big project and a critically important one.
And if your answer is just the status quo and to scare people, that’s not leadership.
Asked by a reporter why all the extra homes couldn’t be earmarked for public tenants, Andrews pointed to the “enormous” cost of redeveloping the towers:
If you don’t have a partnership with the private sector, where will that money come from?
Lots of people want to live on those sites and we can get a mix of housing, a mix of different families living side by side.
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AFL strikes $2.2bn pay deal with players
The deal includes plans for a mid-season trade period, longer contracts for first-round draftees and massive wage rises for footballers.
In the first joint collective bargaining agreement covering both men and women, the average wage of AFLW players will rise to $82,000 by the end of 2027, up from the current $46,000, while their season will be expanded.
By the end of the agreement in 2027, the average AFL men’s salary will be $519,000 from $387,000 last year.
Men’s draftees selected inside the top 20 will now sign a three-year contract, up from two seasons.
The AFL also plan to continue discussions about a men’s mid-season draft after announcing the collective bargaining agreement alongside the AFL Players Association on Thursday.
The AFLW season will extend to 12 regular-season rounds by 2025, and potentially 14 during the deal, based on achievement of key audience metrics (average attendance of 6,000 fans, average broadcast viewers of 100,000).
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KPMG to face another round of grilling by senate inquiry
Consultancy firm KPMG has been recalled for another round of questions at the senate inquiry into consultants in Canberra next week.
The consultancy firm appeared before the inquiry in early June but has been recalled to answer questions about a series of stories that have broken since that inquiry.
In July, KPMG confirmed it had received 88 internal complaints about staff conduct last financial year, with 38 substantiated. The majority of these were classed as “code of conduct breaches” or bullying. Eleven people were sacked and others were issued written warnings or had their pay cut.
In August, the ABC reported KPMG had been accused by two whistleblowers of repeatedly ripping off taxpayers while contracted by the Department of Defence. KPMG told the ABC there was no evidence to support over-billing of Defence.
Last week, Guardian Australia revealed the Victorian government paid KPMG to lead the state’s consultation on changes to tobacco laws, despite a long history of working for big tobacco. KPMG did not comment on the contract.
‘No vision’: Libs lash first NSW Labor budget in decade
The New South Wales government’s state budget, which promises a return to surplus and more money in the hands of essential workers, has been lashed by the NSW opposition as failing families battling rising living costs, AAP reports.
The opposition leader, Mark Speakman, gave his formal budget reply to parliament, saying a Coalition government would have done more to make housing accessible amid an affordability crisis.
He said:
This is a budget of broken promises, dodgy numbers, no vision and lost opportunities,” he said of Labor’s first NSW budget in 13 years.
Speakman said cuts to subsidies, including for the regional seniors travel card and Active Kids vouchers, “forgets families at the height of a cost-of-living crisis”.
He also urged the government to push on with major infrastructure works that defined the past decade of Coalition leadership, including Sydney Metro West, to create jobs and support the growing population.
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Kraken’s managing director ‘both surprised and disappointed’ at Asic’s court action
Earlier today we reported in the blog that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission had taken cryptocurrency platform Kraken to court over its margin trading product and alleged failure to comply with design and distribution obligations.
The company’s managing director for Australia, Jonathon Miller has said the company is disappointed with the matter heading to court, arguing the company believes the product is offered in compliance with the law.
He said:
Kraken takes compliance seriously. We have been attempting to constructively engage with Asic on this matter for some time to ensure our product offering, as an Austrac registered Digital Currency Exchange, remains compliant.We are therefore both surprised and disappointed to have received today’s enforcement action. We believe this product is offered in compliance with Australian law, and will continue our efforts to receive clarity on this matter.
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Regulator against Transurban’s bid for stake in rival toll road firm
The competition watchdog has pushed back against toll road giant Transurban acquiring a majority interest in the only other private toll operator in the country.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission opposed Transurban’s bid to acquire Horizon Roads, the operator of EastLink, on the grounds that it could reduce competition for other players to enter the Victorian market in the future.
The company already operates CityLink and will take charge of the West Gate Tunnel when it opens, while the Victorian government will operate the North East Link, which is also under construction.
If the Horizon deal was ticked off, Transurban would operate every private sector-controlled toll road in Australia, says the commission’s chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb.
She said the commission placed significance on concerns raised by the Victorian government in a submission.
AAP
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NSW could also introduce short-stay tax
The New South Wales government is considering following Victoria’s lead by imposing a tax on short-stay accommodation, including Airbnb, to help fund affordable housing.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, and senior ministers said they were open to imposing a levy to boost revenue and encourage owners to put their properties back on the long-term market amid the ongoing housing crisis.
The treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, has ordered Treasury to study Victoria’s 7.5% tax and examine the impact of similar measures overseas.
“We are looking at what Victoria has proposed,” he said on Thursday.
Read more from Tamsin Rose and Catie McLeod:
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Covid recap
If you missed our earlier coverage on the Albanese government announcing an inquiry into the commonwealth’s Covid-19 response, my colleague Paul Karp has the story here:
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Abortion decriminalised in WA amid sweeping reforms
Abortion has been removed from Western Australia’s criminal code and access will be easier for women as part of sweeping reforms passed by the state parliament.
The premier, Roger Cook, said the amended laws would address inequity, bring WA into line with other jurisdictions and remove unnecessary clinical barriers. He said:
My government’s contemporary reforms will ensure that our state has modern laws that reflect the society we live in.
Under the changes, the number of health practitioners required to be involved in most abortion care has been reduced from two to one. The requirement for mandatory counselling and ministerial and panel approval for later-term abortions has been abolished.
The new laws do allow health practitioners to conscientiously object and refuse to provide treatment, but they must transfer the patient to another service provider or give them information on where to access it.
The gestational time at which additional requirements apply has also been amended from 20 to 23 weeks, to best reflect current clinical practice.
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Dutton: pre-election Albanese promised ‘a proper, thorough investigation’ into Covid response
Dutton continues:
The Morrison government made excellent decisions in relation to many aspects that kept our country in a much better position than most other comparable countries around the world. We should learn from mistakes and learn from the good decisions that were made so that we can be better informed the next time a pandemic takes place.
I think there will be literally thousands of families out there who lost loved ones during the course of Covid who listened to and probably voted for the prime minister based on his promise for a proper, thorough investigation and inquiry involving the commonwealth and the states around the decisions made over the course of Covid.
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Dutton: PM ‘happy to make a mockery of his own words’ on Covid investigation
Peter Dutton is speaking now, responding to the government’s plan to launch an inquiry into the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The significant issue of Covid needs to be properly investigated. That period of our history needs to be properly understood.
The prime minister owes it to the Australian people to have a proper understanding of what happened at a state and federal level in relation to Covid, the policies, the decisions that were being made.
If we don’t learn the lessons of what happened during the course of Covid, good and bad, by every level of government, how do we expect to go into the next pandemic not understanding what had happened in the previous one? It doesn’t make any sense.
And it’s clear that either the prime minister’s been rolled here by Daniel Andrews and the premier of Queensland, or the prime minister is just happy to make a mockery of his own words before the election.
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NSW Liberals hand down budget reply speech
The New South Wales opposition leader, Mark Speakman, this morning handed down his budget reply speech following Tuesday’s state budget. He focused on housing as a key area of improvement after the government was criticised by housing bodies for its modest spend.
Among the policies outlined during his speech, Speakman announced billions in intensives including funding for parks and paths for councils that meet their housing targets.
He said:
We would have looked to invest windfall stamp duty revenue to complement commonwealth funding by establishing a community benefit fund of $2bn or more to incentivise and to reward local communities which achieved their housing targets, helping renters and buyers.
He also said the opposition would have looked at a stamp duty exemption for older buyers looking to downsize, saying:
This will encourage seniors to downsize to a smaller property and help them find more suitable accommodation, reducing affordability pressures by making more suitable homes available to meet the needs of younger families.
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Bureau of Meteorology releases Special Climate Statement on spring 2022
The Bureau of Meteorology has found more than 200 sites across south-eastern Australia last year had their highest total spring rainfall on record.
The findings come as part of the bureau’s Special Climate Statement, which is a formal record of the persistent heavy rain and flooding in eastern Australia during spring 2022.
The heavy rain during that period led to extensive flooding in the Murray–Darling Basin in New South Wales and Victoria, and floodwaters moved into South Australia. Significant flooding also affected parts of southern Victoria, southern Queensland and northern Tasmania.
The gauges of the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee rivers in NSW, the Campaspe River at Rochester in Victoria and the Tamar catchment in Tasmania all exceeded their historical flood peaks.
The Bureau found while the 2010–11 flooding was more widespread nationally, flooding in the second half of 2022 was more prolonged in the southern Murray–Darling Basin, and a greater number of river gauges in the southern Murray–Darling Basin stayed above flood levels for a record number of days in 2022.
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Junee shire council says big banks engaging in ‘social engineering’ through rural bank closures
AAP have this report from the Senate inquiry into rural and regional bank closures which is taking place today in Junee, where the community are not taking the news of their only bank closing lying down.
The Commonwealth Bank told the council fewer than 100 people were visiting the branch each week, and it was no longer profitable as customers increasingly moved online, according to the Junee shire council general manager, James Davis.
So council staff took it upon themselves to count the number of customers at the bank over four weeks while it operated on reduced hours ahead of the planned closure.
They recorded up to 323 customers each week – roughly 26 customers per hour, or one every three minutes, Davis told the Senate inquiry:
The big four banks are meddling in a form of social engineering by forcing their loyal customers into banking practices they do not want or are unable to access.
The Commonwealth Bank halted the closure of the Junee branch earlier this year and has since announced a three-year moratorium on further regional shut downs.
Read more about the issue from our rural network:
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Write ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on your referendum ballot paper, says AEC
Just days ahead of the first ballots being cast in the Indigenous voice referendum, voters have been reminded to only write “yes” or “no”.
Voting in remote areas will start on Monday, with early voting centres due to open across states and territories on 2 and 3 October.
The commission said:
For voters at the referendum, it remains simple – to ensure you cast a formal vote, follow the voting instructions by writing either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on your ballot paper.
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NSW premier insists summit on drug policy still needed despite no funding allocated in Tuesday’s budget
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has conceded he hasn’t read the whole report on the state’s special inquiry into ice (meth), but insists it’s still necessary to hold a separate summit to discuss drug policy.
The premier on Thursday faced questions from journalists about the ice inquiry report and drug reform after Tuesday’s budget contained no funding for his promised drug summit.
Minns said his government had “allocated funding” to hold a drug summit sometime in this parliamentary term, appearing to shut down earlier suggestions the event would be held in the first half of next year.
He said he had been briefed as opposition leader by Prof Dan Howard SC, who led the $10.8m special commission of inquiry into the drug ice, about the 109 recommendations he handed down in January 2020.
That inquiry recommendation is massive. It’s multi-volume, and there’s thousands of pages. And I haven’t read all that.
I’ve made it clear that when it comes to this policy, there are tricky issues to navigate. We’re determined to do it, and we’ll get the experts around the table.
But I’m not ready to announce the summit today.
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Asic to take crypto exchange company Bit Trade to the federal court
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) has taken crypto exchange Kraken’s company Bit Trade to the federal court, alleging that the company failed to comply with the design and distribution obligations in the margin trading product it offers Australian customers on the Kraken exchange.
Cryptocurrency regulation is currently limited in Australia, but many of the crypto operators also offer other financial products alongside their cryptocurrency.
Asic alleged Bit Trade’s margin trading product is a credit facility as it offers customers credit for use in the sale and purchase of certain crypto assets on the Kraken exchange.
Asic’s deputy chair, Sarah Court, said:
These proceedings should send a message to the crypto industry that products will continue to be scrutinised by Asic to ensure they comply with regulatory obligations in order to protect consumers.
Asic’s action should be a reminder of the importance to comply with the design and distribution obligations so that financial products are distributed to consumers appropriately.
Asic alleges that the product has been available since January 2020, and approximately 1,160 Australian customers have used the margin trading product since the obligations came into effect in October 2021, incurring a total loss of $12.95m.
Asic has taken a number of actions against cryptocurrency operators in the past year, while the federal government is still consulting with industry about potential regulation.
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Judge from outside the ACT will be appointed to hear Shane Drumgold’s challenge
An outside judge will be brought to the Australian Capital Territory to hear Shane Drumgold’s challenge to the findings of the Sofronoff inquiry.
The ACT supreme court heard on Thursday that an outside judge needed to be appointed. Canberra has a small legal community and chief justice Lucy McCallum emailed parties earlier this month to say it would not be appropriate for any of the current judges of the court to hear the case.
But she said that the process of appointing an acting judge from another jurisdiction was complicated because she herself had presided over the Bruce Lehrmann trial and attorney general Shane Rattenbury was, at that stage at least, a defendant in Drumgold’s challenge.
To ensure an acting judge was appointed transparently and without conflict, McCallum asked the chief justice of Victoria, Anne Ferguson, to nominate a suitable judge.
Ferguson has nominated Stephen Kaye and McCallum has accepted that nomination. The process of appointing Kaye as an acting judge is now underway.
Drumgold is asking for a judicial review of critical findings made by Sofronoff about his handling of the prosecution of Lehrmann. Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to raping Brittany Higgins and has maintained his innocence. His first trial was aborted due to juror misconduct and a second was called off due to concerns about Higgins’ mental health.
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Pandemic inquiry will look to best practice for future government responses
The Albanese and Butler statement adds that the inquiry was necessary “given the loss of life, dislocation, stress and expenditure resulting from the pandemic”. It would consider the provision of vaccinations, treatments and key medical supplies to Australians, mental health support for those impacted by Covid-19 and lockdowns, financial support for individuals and business, and assistance for Australians abroad, and the role of national cabinet. Albanese said:
The Covid-19 pandemic has been the most significant global crisis that we have faced in decades. Its impacts are still being felt throughout Australia.
This inquiry will look at the government’s responses and will give advice on what worked, what didn’t, and what we can do in the future to best protect Australians from the worst of any future events.
Butler said:
This inquiry will look at what went well in our response to Covid-19, and what we need to do better in the future. The inquiry will help ensure we are better prepared for future pandemics.
The panellists have the collective expertise to take a thorough look into all aspects of Australia’s response – and I encourage members of the public, when they have the opportunity, to have their say about what worked and what, with hindsight, we might have done differently.
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Independent panel members for Covid-19 inquiry announced
In a statement, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the health minister, Mark Butler, confirmed that the independent panel who will conduct the Covid-19 inquiry will be made up of:
Robyn Kruk, who has a wealth of experience in government and in leading independent reviews. Kruk previously held roles as director general of the NSW Department of Health, secretary of the Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, and CEO of the National Mental Health Commission.
Catherine Bennett, Deakin University’s current chair in epidemiology and the University of Melbourne’s former associate professor in epidemiology and director of population health practice. Prof Bennett has also held senior positions in the NSW and Victorian state governments.
Angela Jackson, a health economist with extensive experience in economics and government, including through her current role as lead economist for Impact Economics and Policy. Dr Jackson is a member of the economic inclusion advisory committee and is the national chair of the Women in Economics Network. Dr Jackson was also previously a board member and chair of the finance committee at the Royal Melbourne hospital from 2015-2021.
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Covid-19 inquiry details released
More details of the federal government’s Covid-19 inquiry have been released, including that it will look at the following:
Governance including the role of the Commonwealth government, responsibilities of state and territory governments, national governance mechanisms (such as national cabinet, the National Coordination Mechanism and the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee) and advisory bodies supporting responses to Covid-19.
Key health response measures (for example across Covid-19 vaccinations and treatments, key medical supplies such as personal protective equipment, quarantine facilities, and public health messaging).
Broader health supports for people impacted by Covid-19 and/or lockdowns (for example mental health and suicide prevention supports, and access to screening and other preventive health measures).
International policies to support Australians at home and abroad (including with regard to international border closures, and securing vaccine supply deals with international partners for domestic use in Australia).
Support for industry and businesses (for example responding to supply chain and transport issues, addressing labour shortages, and support for specific industries).
Financial support for individuals (including income support payments).
Community supports (across early childhood education and care, higher education, housing and homelessness measures, family and domestic violence measures in areas of Commonwealth government responsibility).
Mechanisms to better target future responses to the needs of particular populations (including across genders, age groups, socio-economic status, geographic location, people with disability, First Nations peoples and communities and people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities).
But the following areas are not in scope for the inquiry:
Actions taken unilaterally by state and territory governments.
International programs and activities assisting foreign countries.
COVID inquiry finally announced - three member panel, 12 month timeframe - but WON’T examine “actions taken unilaterally by state governments”, the terms of reference say https://t.co/B1zGOSkL32 pic.twitter.com/bwlF8hF3Hs
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) September 21, 2023
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Frydenberg expected to rule out return at next election
The former treasurer Josh Frydenberg is expected to confirm this afternoon he will not attempt to return to politics at the next federal election.
Goldman Sachs (which is where the former deputy Liberal leader ended up after losing the blue ribbon seat of Kooyong to teal independent Monique Ryan) has announced this morning Frydenberg is about to become chairman of the investment bank in Australia and New Zealand.
Frydenberg ruling out a return to political life in the short term isn’t a massive surprise. He has been signalling this direction over the past few weeks in conversations with his political friends, which has filtered through into recent reporting. I hear he’s also told Peter Dutton. I don’t know what he will say when he makes his own statement, but I suspect it won’t be a “never ever” on a return to the political arena.
Frydenberg has long harboured an ambition to be PM. But he’s been telling friends he’s very much enjoying being at home with his still young family – and making a contribution outside the bearpit in Canberra.
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Stan Grant to give 2023 Vincent Lingiari lecture
Former ABC journalist Stan Grant will deliver the 22nd Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture at Charles Darwin University this year, the university has announced.
The annual lecture commemorates the historic Wave Hill Station walk-off led by Gurindji leader Vincent Lingiari in 1966, it said in a statement.
Grant, a Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi man, will deliver a lecture entitled Two kinds of time: how we can meet each other again in Australia that the university says “will explore the clash of understanding between European notions of time, measured in progress and production, vis a vis First Nations’ concept of circular time, an ‘everywhen’ that is imbued with meaning”.
Grant was recently appointed director of the Constructive Institute Asia Pacific and professor of journalism at Monash University, after more than 30 years as a journalist.
The lecture is on 6 October.
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Melbourne train incident cleared but delays remain
It appears the incident with a trespasser that caused major disruption on Melbourne’s train lines this morning has been resolved, but there’s still some big delays being reported.
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Josh Frydenberg promoted to chairman of Goldman Sachs ANZ
The former treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has been appointed the chairman of Goldman Sachs’ Australian business, the Australian Financial Review reports ($).
After Frydenberg lost his seat of Kooyong at the last federal election, he joined the bank as a senior regional adviser for Asia Pacific.
But in an internal memo obtained by the AFR, the bank said that Frydenberg had been promoted, and would now “focus on further deepening and strengthening client coverage across the A/NZ region”.
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‘Why would you boo the oldest continuous culture known to human history?’: Victorian premier
Daniel Andrews is asked about former footballer and media personality Sam Newman’s comments, encouraging Australians to boo or “slow hand clap” during welcome to country ceremonies during the AFL finals over the next two weeks. Andrews said:
Why would you boo the oldest continuous culture known to human history? Why would you do that? Why would you say no to all the wisdom, all the richness that comes from that? I don’t think that would be the right thing to do. That’s not something I do ... When it comes to the views of former footballers, I’d be more inclined to listen to Uncle Michael Long on these sorts of issues than Sam Newman. Like every day and twice on Sundays, I’d listen to Michael Long before I’d listen to Sammy.
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Reports of delays across Melbourne train network
There’s major delays on several Melbourne train lines, with commuters reporting being stuck on stationary trains for more than 15 minutes.
⚠️Alamein/Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley/ Craigieburn/Cranbourne/Pakenham/Frankston/Hurstbridge/Mernda/Sandringham/Sunbury/Upfield:
— Metro Trains (@metrotrains) September 20, 2023
Delays due to a trespasser near the Flinders Street area.
Listen for announcements and check information displays pic.twitter.com/Jtsnke0Vyr
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Andrews blames Greens for housing redevelopment concerns
And a little more on Daniel Andrews speaking about the Victorian government’s housing plan.
Andrews is asked why the government is demolishing 44 public housing towers, which about 10,000 people live in, but only increasing public housing stock by 10% and allowing the build of private apartments on the public land:
I just ask the Greens, in the magic money world that they live in, like what does it cost to redevelop those precincts? It costs an enormous amount of money. And if you don’t have a partnership with the private sector, where will that money come from? We’ve got a perfectly good opportunity. One thing too is that lots of people want to live in the city. Lots of people want to live on those sites. And we can get a mix of housing, a mix of different families living together side by side, in wonderful neighbourhoods. Isn’t that what we want?
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‘Up to the market’ as to which Victorian housing hubs will be built first: Daniel Andrews
More from Daniel Andrews, the Victorian premier, on the state’s housing plan announced yesterday.
Andrews says it will be “up to the market” to decide which of 10 “activity centres” will be developed first:
But ultimately, we want people living close to public transport. We’ve upgraded and essentially we’re in the process of rebuilding our public transport system. We want more and more people to live close to public transport, close to jobs, close to services, close to education, so that they aren’t driving cars - they’re leading a very different lifestyle and a much cheaper and much better way of living. But that won’t be a choice everyone likes and that’s the key thing. Unless you have more houses built and they’re of a high quality and we’ve got real urgency in this space, then people will have less choices. Less choices is not only bad for cost, but it’s also bad for Victorians.
Andrews is asked about the Melbourne city council’s opposition to the Airbnb levy announced yesterday - which also strips councils of the power to impose their own restrictions on short-stay platforms. Somehow, he’s used it as an opportunity to have a crack at the Greens - despite the council being led by two independent councillors:
The Greens political party - they’re always about the fight and never about fixing things. That’s not how we operate. So I don’t want to be critical of councils. I’m not here to be arguing and fighting with them because no one benefits from a fight, they don’t build more houses. Only better decisions, made faster, a real sense of urgency and an affordability partnership between the government and industry and that’s what we have signed up to.
Sounds like he’s back on the campaign trail.
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The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is in Box Hill to spruik the government’s housing statement, which was released yesterday. Today, he’s speaking about the planning controls being loosened in 10 “activity centres” across established parts of Melbourne to allow for more density, particularly near train stations.
The centres are in Broadmeadows, Camberwell Junction, Chadstone, Epping, Frankston, Moorabbin, Niddrie, North Essendon, Preston and Ringwood. He says there will be an extra 60,000 apartments living in the areas thanks to the change:
[The centres] are close to public transport, close to services, close to jobs and we estimate that up to 60,000 extra units can go into those centres, so it’ll be more people than that. Ultimately, this is about going up and out, not just going out all the time, so that our city extends into Gippsland and Warragul and Seymour and Little River.
Andrews says many Victorians want options closer to the city and where they work:
Some people choose a traditional one or two storey larger block - a house and land type offering. Absolutely, we have to support them ... But at the same time, other people want to choose different options. They want to choose different types of housing, they want to live in different places and that’s why it makes sense to have high density and more people living in those activity centers ... they can carry additional families, and additional homes. So yeah, I think we’re going to see more and more buildings that won’t be one or two or three stories [tall].
PM outlines objectives of Covid-19 inquiry
Anthony Albanese was asked about criticisms that the Covid-19 inquiry will protect premiers who don’t want to give evidence.
He told FIVEaa radio:
It’s pretty absurd. One of the things about what happened during the pandemic is that Australians worked for each other, they all made sacrifices. It was a really tough period. From time to time there were attempts to have division, between the commonwealth backing up Clive Palmer over Mark McGowan in Western Australia, over the changes that were brought in.
What we’re interested in with this inquiry - and there’s been more than 20 inquiries already - is bringing together all of the work that’s been done by people like Dr Peter Shergold, the various inquiries that have taken place, there was a commission of inquiry into the Ruby Princess events in Sydney for example. Bringing all that together - what are the lessons going forward that Australians need to learn going forward. What worked? What didn’t work? How do we get better preparedness for the future. That’s the objective here.
Albanese said a royal commission “can take more time” and is “normally headed by a judge”. This inquiry will be headed by an epidemiologist, public service expert and economist.
“The advice we have received is that this is the best form of inquiry,” he said. “It’s correct to say that it’s forward looking. But of course you examine the past to see what the lessons are there. But there have already been so many inquiries.”
Albanese criticised the Coalition for criticising the inquiry before the terms of reference have even been released. He noted that the Liberals were in government in South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania. “So the idea it is somehow inadequate is absurd.”
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Soaring corporate profits fuelling inflation and shrinking wages
Corporate profits have continued to soar, driving inflation while effectively reducing workers’ wages, AAP reports.
The findings from the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work found salaries have not kept up with inflation as companies mark up prices and record sky-high revenues.
The centre’s director, Jim Stanford, said:
Enormous corporate profits fuelled the inflationary crisis and remain too high for workers to claw back wage losses.
Companies in many industries, not just mining, were able to increase prices far above their costs, fuelling the surging inflation that rippled through the economy and now threatens it with high interest rates and possible recession.
Researchers from the thinktank have called on the government to introduce price regulations across the energy, housing and transport industries alongside reform to encourage competition and end exploitative pricing practices by large companies.
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Albanese confirms Covid-19 inquiry to be announced in Adelaide
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking to FIVEaa radio.
Asked about whether the voice referendum is distracting from the work of government, Albanese rattled off a series of announcements this week including on the national reconstruction fund, the social and affordable housing accelerator, and indexation of payments.
Albanese confirmed on Thursday morning he will announce an inquiry into the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, expected later this morning alongside the health minister, Mark Butler.
Albanese repeated his case for the voice:
This is about two simple things, about recognising Indigenous Australians in our constitution. Essentially, saying in our nation’s founding document our history didn’t begin in 1788 … and secondly achieving recognition through an advisory committee. Because we know when you listen to people, you get better outcomes. There’s been a lot of waste over the years in Indigenous affairs. A lot of money with the best of intentions has been thrown at this. But it is not achieving the results that it should, and we will get better results when we actually talk to people directly.
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Service station fire extinguished in Sydney’s south-west
More than 50 firefighters saved a service station and neighbouring homes from a gas bottle inferno in Sydney’s south-west last night.
Fire and Rescue NSW responded at about 6.30pm to reports there were numerous 200kg LPG cylinders alight at the service station on Sackville street. It took three hours for firefighters to gain control of the blaze.
Firefighters and police are still investigating what caused the blaze.
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Australian Banking Association pushes back on criticism of regional bank closures
Anna Bligh, chief executive of the Australian Banking Association, is speaking on RN Breakfast where she is being asked about the closure of bank branches.
More than 1,600 bank branches have closed nationally in the past six years, with 309 of those in the past year.
Asked by Hamish McDonald if banks in regional areas are “really not profitable”, Bligh said:
This is not a question of profit or non profitable. This is about where our customers doing their banking and how are they doing their banking.
Once upon a time, you only had one way of banking and that was to go physically to a branch. Now you can do phone banking, internet banking, banking on your app, you have mobile bankers, you can do a home loan on a video conference.
McDonald later said Bligh’s suggestion bank closures are happening because “that’s what consumer wants” was “rubbish”. Bligh said:
Well, that’s not what the data shows.
There was an element of pressure during COVID when people couldn’t leave their homes, and they had to find a different way of banking. What all the data shows is once they tried those new ones, they’ve never gone back.
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Warning holiday-makers could bypass new short-stay levy
News via AAP:
Holiday-makers could escape paying an incoming levy in Victoria if short-term rental property owners ditch legitimate platforms, one of Australia’s most popular short-stay websites has warned.
In an Australian-first, the Victorian government is moving to impose a 7.5% consumer levy on all short-term accommodation bookings with platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz from 2025 as part of a series of reforms.
Stayz’s senior director of government and corporate affairs, Eacham Curry, said the levy would not address industry regulation concerns and noted most short-term rentals aren’t in areas with the greatest housing need:
The 7.5% increase means owners need only remove themselves from listing on platforms to avoid paying the levy, and the Victorian government may end up getting nothing at all.
Airbnb Australia and New Zealand’s head of public policy, Michael Crosby, said the levy gives hotels a free kick and a figure in line with international standards between three to five per cent would have been more appropriate:
A rate this high could have a negative impact on the appeal of Victoria as a tourism destination, also penalising everyday Victorians seeking a local holiday when many are already grappling with the cost of living.
The premier conceded the levy would not be universally popular but expects the “modest” charge to raise $70m a year to build and maintain social housing.
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Russell Brand removed from Australian wellbeing festival lineup
Russell Brand, the British comedian accused of sexually assaulting four women at the height of his fame between 2006 and 2013, has been removed from the lineup of an Australian wellness festival.
Brand had been due to appear at the Wanderlust festival events being held in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in February and tickets had already gone on sale.
But in the light of the accusations – strongly denied by Brand – a company spokesperson confirmed in a statement that he would no longer be appearing.
It said:
Due to the circumstances that have recently come to light, Wanderlust and Russell Brand have agreed that Mr Brand will not be appearing at the Wanderlust festival.
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ACTU inquiry into price gouging underway
Prof Allan Fels is on RN Breakfast now speaking about the inquiry the ACTU is undertaking into price gouging.
There are hundreds of discussions of inflation about interest rates, monetary, fiscal policy, wages, etc. No one ever actually looks at the actual prices, how they are set, [are] they justified or not? So I want to put the search light on that.
Asked by host Hamish McDonald if Fels thinks the inquiry will “get to the bottom of this” given its not a formal government inquiry, Fels said:
In some cases, other cases, I think there should be a referral to the government to investigate.
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Australian MPs lobby US for Julian Assange to come home
Federal MPs from across the Australian political spectrum have united in Washington DC to call on the US government to end its ongoing pursuit of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, AAP reports.
Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, Labor MP Tony Zappia, teal independent Monique Ryan, Liberal senator Alex Antic and two Greens senators Peter Whish-Wilson and David Shoebridge are in the US to lobby the government to abandon its extradition proceedings against Assange.
The Wikileaks founder is facing historic allegations of espionage.
Senator Shoebridge said the delegation had been clear in meetings that there was “a powerful expectation” that Assange be able to come home and be with his family before Christmas.
Republican congressman Thomas Massie said it was imperative that the matter moved forward.
He said:
The precedent this case sets – to put someone in prison or extradite them for merely publishing facts – is very dangerous.
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Anne Ruston on Covid-19 inquiry: ‘I do not want this to be a witch-hunt’
The shadow minister for health, Anne Ruston, has just appeared on ABC News Breakfast where she asked about the announcement the government is expected to make today launching an inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ruston said:
If they’re coming out with an inquiry this morning, let’s make sure that it has the powers to compel the kinds of witness that is it needs to so we can get all of the details of the commission. I do not want this to be a witch-hunt because that supports no Australians in the future should we be faced with another pandemic.
What we’re saying is – if you want to be genuine about this, make sure that the powers and the scope of the terms of reference are sufficient so that we really can get something out of this that’s going to be genuinely beneficial and not just cherry pick the bets – bits and pieces that government wants investigated.
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More Australian home owners selling up quick but failing to make a profit
New CoreLogic data shows the portion of owners making a loss - after selling their home within two years of buying - rose to 9.7% in the June quarter, compared to 2.7% in the same period of 2022, AAP reports.
The median amount lost on the resale was $30,000.
CoreLogic’s Eliza Owen said:
We are two years on from the height of pandemic-related lockdowns, low interest rates, and have just passed the peak of transitions from low fixed rates to high variable rates.
The portion of homes sold within just two years increased by one percentage point to 8.5% over the past year, however the portion of these short-term resales where the seller incurred a loss has increased more substantially.
Darwin had the most loss-making resales of the capital cities, with 34.4% of homes being sold for less than they were initially bought.
Perth followed in second at 12.3%, while Adelaide was the most profitable city with only 1.8% of sales coming at a loss.
But those who choose not to sell are staying in their homes for longer, according to a Domain report released on Thursday.
The median tenure for houses in Australia has increased to nine years in 2023, up from seven years a decade ago.
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Total fire bans in place as NSW hopes for fire relief
News via AAP:
After days of unseasonable heat and wind gusts, fire crews are hoping for some relief from a spate of fires burning across NSW as a cool change moves through.
More than 1,000 firefighters battled 73 fires into the night on Wednesday.
At least three threatened homes on Sydney’s western fringe and on the Queensland border, with residents told to prepare for fire as blazes burned in nearby bushland.
Firefighters were able to gain the upper hand and slow the spread of the fires with the threat to properties easing by 6pm.
With temperatures set to drop to the low 20s, crews will be hoping for a better day on Thursday.
A total fire ban is in force for the Greater Sydney, Hunter, Upper, Central West and North West regions due to the extreme danger caused by the record-breaking heat.
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Thank you Martin Farrer for kicking things off this morning. I’m Jordyn Beazley and I’ll be bringing you our rolling coverage of the news today.
Renters cut back on discretionary spending as cost of living bites
Australians are cutting back their spending on nice-to-haves as well as essentials to afford higher rents, analysis of transaction data shows, AAP reports.
Renters hit with a 10% increase recorded a 3.4 percentage point decline in discretionary spending as captured by Visa’s Australian spending momentum index.
The index, which charts the number of people in spending mode, also recorded a sharper 5.1% fall in discretionary spending for debit card-holding renters.
The same group was also found to be pulling back on non-discretionary goods, with the index declining 3.5%.
Visa’s chief economist, Wayne Best, said it was unsurprising to see households cutting back as rents were going up.
“The first place that typically gets cut back is discretionary items, things that are nice to have,” he said.
Though a slowdown in spending on non-discretionary items – essentials items – showed how higher rents were really starting to hurt consumers.
“And that’s a concern as you look forward, until we see some break in rent prices, and given the supply and demand issues that are associated with it in Australia, that’s going to take a while,” Best said.
Households hit with big rent increases may be struggling but when all consumers were factored in, the payment processing firm’s spending momentum index for August revealed a larger share of Australians spending compared to a year ago.
The index lifted 5.7 points to 100.5, with discretionary and non-discretionary rates improving.
Best said it was too early to suggest the trend to more cautious spending was shifting, with the year-on-year measures potentially influenced by muted spending during the flooding events last year.
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Australia backs Ukraine at UN’s highest court
Australian officials have joined representatives from more than 30 countries at the United Nations’ highest court as Ukraine challenges Russia’s claims its invasion was carried out to prevent genocide.
Days after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian officials filed a case to the international court of justice alleging Russian leaders were abusing international law by using false claims of genocide in eastern Ukraine to justify its invasion.
Russian representatives have continued to accuse Ukraine of committing genocide.
The Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said Russia was in breach of the UN charter, which protects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each country.
She told reporters on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York:
Nothing Russia says or does can distract from that fact. Russia has been active in its disinformation and misinformation about this war ... [and] what we have seen is countries including Ukraine pushing back on that.
She said the fact the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, had engaged with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un “says something about how desperate he is”.
Officials from 32 countries – including Cyprus, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand – delivered interventions in support of Ukraine at the Hague’s Peace Palace.
The solicitor general, Stephen Donaghue, delivered Australia’s intervention overnight, Australian time, arguing the court has jurisdiction to hear the case.
– AAP
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Australia signs global treaty to protect high seas
Australia has become a founding signatory to a global treaty to protect the high seas, which will enable the establishment of marine protected areas in parts of the ocean outside national boundaries.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, announced at the United Nations general assembly in New York overnight that Australia would join like-minded nations, including Pacific partners, in signing the treaty that has been two decades in the making.
The treaty will be crucial for meeting a global pledge to protect 30% of the world’s coastal and marine areas by 2030. Sixty countries must ratify it for it to take effect.
The Albanese government said it was committing $3m through the Office of the Pacific Oceans Commissioner to support Pacific countries to sign and ratify the treaty.
Wong said:
We have worked alongside our Pacific partners to make this treaty a reality – safeguarding our blue Pacific for future generations.
Australia is working to ratify the treaty and bring it into force as soon as possible.
The environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, said the high seas covered 60% the world’s surface and only about 1% of these oceans were protected:
International cooperation to protect and manage them is crucial. This treaty will enable us to meet our global goal of protecting 30% of our earth’s oceans.
Conservation groups praised the Australian government for taking a “leading role in ensuring this crucial treaty enters into force rapidly”.
At a meeting of the Pacific regional environment programme in Samoa last month, Plibersek worked to secure agreement from Pacific countries, the United States, the United Kingdom and France to sign and ratify the treaty as soon as possible.
Christabel Mitchell, oceans director of the Pew Charitable Trusts, said “this treaty will enable the establishment of marine protected areas in the high seas, which are critically important to protect our global marine life and build resilience in the face of climate change”.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be taking you through a few of the breaking overnight stories before handing the controls to my colleague Jordyn Beazley.
Anthony Albanese and the health minister, Mark Butler, are expected to front the media in Adelaide today to announce a special commission of inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic. Nine newspapers first reported the story and said that the inquiry will be formed of three members – an economist, an epidemiologist and a public administration expert – to examine how Australia responded to the pandemic. But the Albanese government has already been criticised by the Coalition for not choosing a stronger form of inquiry such as a royal commission with tougher investigative powers.
The Australian Electoral Commission has struggled to get Twitter to remove posts that it says are inciting violence against staff and promoting disinformation about the electoral process ahead of the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum, documents reveal. Meanwhile, the Albanese government has been urged to remove the “professional news content” exemption from its crackdown on misinformation on social media, amid concerns that coverage of the voice and Covid-19 has spread false information and lies. And a senior Coalition frontbencher, James Paterson, has warned fellow no voters against attending anti-voice rallies this weekend promoted by a pro-Kremlin activist, arguing the events are a “shameless” attempt to push “wacky and extreme causes”.
The AFL promotion machine is in full swing with the preliminary finals this weekend. But our story this morning shows how the league promotes bets that have an 85% fail rate while taking a cut of the losses, drawing criticism from politicians and harm reduction advocates who want such ads banned.Analysis of the offers promoted by Sportsbet over 90 matches since 23 June reveals punters would have won on 17 occasions, but the betting agency would have profited on 73 games.
