What happened on Saturday 20 May, 2023
With that, we’ll wrap up our live coverage of the day’s news.
Here’s a summary of the key developments:
Anthony Albanese has held further meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the second day of the G7 summit in Hiroshima. On Saturday, the prime minister met with leaders including United States president Joe Biden – with whom he announced an agreement to advance climate action – as well as United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres.
Biden apologised to Albanese for cancelling on the Quad meeting planned for Sydney as the two nations signed agreements on a range of issues including climate, cybersecurity, defence and child safety.
New South Wales’ top cop says she will not watch confronting video of a 95-year-old grandmother being Tasered in a nursing home, as the elderly woman’s condition deteriorates in hospital.
Supporters of Victorian MP Moira Deeming have walked out of a Liberal party conference as tensions flare between members over the decision to expel her.
Australia’s trade minister, Don Farrell, said the Australian government would resume its challenge against China’s barley tariffs if Beijing’s promised review doesn’t lead to a complete removal of those imposts, in an interview with Guardian Australia’s political podcast.
Reactions to Stan Grant’s decision to stand down as host of Q&A after receiving “grotesque racist abuse” are continuing to flood in, as media personalities express support for the broadcaster.
Thanks for reading, have a pleasant evening.
Biden apologises to Albanese for cancelling on Quad meeting
The US president, Joe Biden, has apologised to the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, for cancelling the Quad meeting planned for Sydney at the last minute, AAP reports.
Biden told Albanese he was sorry they were not meeting in Sydney after the US president had to cancel his attendance at a planned Quad meeting next week that included the leaders of Japan and India.
“I deeply appreciate the flexibility of meeting me here at the G7 meeting,” Biden told Albanese at a press conference.
“I truly apologise to you for having you to come here, rather than me being in Australia right now.”
Biden cancelled the meeting amid ongoing negotiations with Republicans – who hold a majority in the US House of Representatives - over the debt ceiling ahead of a 1 June deadline.
Biden said he looked forward to hosting Albanese for a state visit in Washington DC later this year.
The White House confirmed the third in-person Quad leaders’ meeting would take place in Hiroshima on Saturday.
Updated
Albanese and Biden release statement
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the US president, Joe Biden, have released a joint statement after the bilateral meeting at the G7 earlier today.
In the statement titled “An alliance for our times” the pair have announced the priorities for the two nations.
Albanese and Biden said:
Our partnership reflects more than one hundred years of trust, respect, friendship and shared sacrifice. Our relationship is founded on a shared commitment to supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific, and a peaceful, inclusive and rules-based international order based on respect for international law and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. It is anchored in shared values of democracy, the rule of law, and the protection and promotion of human rights.
A statement of intent for the climate cooperation through the Australia-United States climate, critical minerals and clean energy transformation pact has been signed. The US “applauds Australia” for creating Environment Protection Australia, the statement says.
The two countries also welcomed the progress made on nuclear-powered submarines under the Aukus partnership, and Biden said he plans to ask the US Congress to add Australia as a “domestic source” in the Defense Production Act, which would accelerate Aukus implementation.
The statement also included details of open sharing of data and collaboration with space technology, condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and said the US coast guard will deploy a coast guard cutter to the Pacific in early 2024 as a humanitarian presence in the region.
Australia and the US will also establish a joint council to combat online child sexual exploitation, with the statement noting it was “increasingly prevalent, commodified, organised, and worsened by the speed, scale, and scope of digital technologies.”
Updated
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi has written to the education minister, Jason Clare, urging him to scrap the ministerial veto power and national interest test in the Australian Research Council’s underpinning legislation to ensure the council has complete independence and autonomy over its decisions on grants.
The report, released last month, found the council had been “dramatically eroded” by controversial grant decisions made by former Coalition ministers, including Simon Birmingham, Dan Tehan and Stuart Robert.
I wrote to the Education Minister, urging him to act on the findings of the Review of the Australian Research Council Act (ARC Act).
— Mehreen Faruqi (@MehreenFaruqi) May 20, 2023
The review recommends that ARC be given autonomy to make decisions over research grants -something the Greens have been calling for for some time. pic.twitter.com/NZDvW8087b
Journalist Julia Baird voices support for Stan Grant
Fellow coronation broadcast panellist Julia Baird has voiced her support for Stan Grant after his decision yesterday to quit Q+A over racist attacks and abuse he has received since the coronation broadcast earlier this month.
Baird said Grant’s comments about Australia’s colonial past were “open, powerful and true – none of the attacks queried accuracy”.
But the vitriol was disgusting. Many have just queried his right to speak at all.
Stan Grant is a brilliant, uniquely insightful, valued colleague. His words about our colonial past during our coronation coverage were open, powerful & true - none of the attacks queried accuracy. But the vitriol was disgusting. Many have just queried his right to speak at all.
— 💥Dr💥 Julia Baird (@bairdjulia) May 20, 2023
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Anthony Albanese and Joe Biden hold bilateral meeting on sidelines of G7 summit
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has held a bilateral meeting with the US president, Joe Biden, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
The Australian and US leaders signed an agreement to advance climate and clean energy action between the two nations.
Albanese is also expected to meet with the US, Indian and Japanese leaders in a Quad meeting after the leaders’ summit scheduled for Sydney next week was cancelled.
The White House said in a statement that the third in-person Quad leaders’ meeting would take place in Japan on Saturday.
“After President [Joe] Biden had to postpone his trip to Australia, the Quad leaders agreed that they would hold their summit in Hiroshima to ensure that the four leaders could come together to mark the Quad’s progress over the past year,” it said.
Albanese said while it would be a shortened meeting, a lot of preparation had already been done.
“We will have, I think, a successful meeting as well as successful bilaterals,” he said.
“I attended virtually the major economies forum, which all of the Quad leaders participated in ... and we were able to talk about some of the things that will lead into the discussions.”
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, said the meeting with Biden came at a pivotal time during the alliance after Australia announced how it would acquire nuclear-propelled submarines through the Aukus pact.
Marles, who is also the defence minister, and the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will meet their American counterparts in the US in July.
Updated
Defecting Tasmanian Liberal MPs guarantee supply ahead of budget
Two Tasmanian former Liberal MPs who defected to the crossbench over the controversial proposed Hobart stadium say a deal they struck with the premier, Jeremy Rockliff, is a win for transparency.
Citing concerns over the controversial $715m Hobart stadium, Bass MP Lara Alexander and Lyons MP John Tucker quit the Liberal party just over one week ago.
The planned Macquarie Point stadium has attracted fierce opposition since being announced last month, with critics arguing the funds would be better spent addressing the city’s escalating housing crisis.
The premier agreed to elevate the project’s status to one allowing greater scrutiny.
“John and Lara [and] myself sat down and we recognise that the project of state significance pathway … allows the parliament to have more engagement, more say, more consultation, on the way forward,” Rockliff said on Saturday.
Tucker said he would not support a no-confidence motion against the government.
Alexander said she would approve the state budget with full funding for the proposed stadium.
Striking the deal meant the upper and lower Houses of Parliament would be able to scrutinise the project, Tucker said.
Labor called the deal a “dud”, saying it offered little to ordinary people, while giving the parliament greater powers.
“We’re pleased to see more transparency, but what they’ve actually negotiated is more transparency for politicians but no extra transparency for Tasmanians,” the party’s leader of opposition business, Dean Winter, told reporters on Saturday.
“We wanted to see the [AFL agreement] fully exposed, so that Tasmanians could make their own decisions about what this deal entails.”
The Greens leader, Cassy O’Connor, said if Tucker and Alexander were truly committed to transparency, they should immediately release the agreement they signed with the premier.
Updated
Albanese to meet Biden
Anthony Albanese is set to meet with United States president Joe Biden this afternoon on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, the Guardian understands.
The prime minister and Biden are set to sign an agreement to advance climate and clean energy action between Australia and the US, when they meet at about 3pm AEST.
The new Climate, Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation Compact will further collaboration in areas that are critical to the global net-zero transition.
The meeting comes after Biden pulled out of a scheduled trip to Sydney next week for the Quad leaders summit, an event which was ultimately cancelled as a result.
Anthony Albanese discusses UN’s role with secretary general
The prime minister has met the secretary general of the United Nations, António Guterres, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
The prime minister reiterated Australia’s commitment to the multilateral system, according to a government-supplied statement.
The pair discussed the role of the UN, as well as the importance of supporting small island nations with finance, climate change resilience and adaptation.
Albanese reportedly outlined Australia’s commitment to address human rights and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable development.
His discussion with Guterres comes after meetings with the leaders of South Korea and Brazil, since he arrived in Japan yesterday.
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TikTok to show more gambling ads
Australian TikTok users will see more sports gambling ads after the company quietly expanded a controversial trial of wagering deals despite widespread criticism.
The decision to increase ads could undermine any federal government action to restrict broadcast promotions, with researchers warning that gambling companies are one step ahead of regulators and are targeting new demographics.
Read more:
Updated
Housing prices rising in capital cities
Property price gains are picking up momentum in major cities as the number of homes listed for sale starts to lift from “extraordinary low levels”, data group CoreLogic says.
Up to the middle of May, home values in Sydney had risen 1.4% on a rolling four-week average from 1.3% at the end of April. For Brisbane, prices increased 1.1%, up from 0.3%. Perth values were up 1%, Adelaide 0.6% and Melbourne’s home prices rose 0.5%.
Read more:
Updated
Australia could contine WTO case should China's review not drop tariffs, says trade minister
Don Farrell says the Australian government would resume its challenge against China’s barley tariffs if Beijing’s promised review doesn’t lead to a complete removal of those imposts.
In an interview with Guardian Australia’s political podcast released today, Farrell expressed confidence Australia would have won its World Trade Organization challenge against the 80% tariffs on Australian barley, first imposed at the height of diplomatic tensions in 2020.
But he said the Albanese government had made a “strategic” decision in April, on the cusp of the ruling being finalised, to pause the WTO challenge in return for China launching its own snap review of the barley tariffs.
The review is due to be completed in July or August.
Asked what would happen if, at the end of the review process, China came back with a tariff of, say, 40% on Australian barley rather than 80%, Farrell said:
“We will renew our application. That’s the understanding … we want a return to what was the case prior to the implementation of these tariffs. We’ve made this very clear to the Chinese that if that result isn’t achieved as a result of this process of review, then we’re going to renew our application in the World Trade Organisation.”
Asked whether he was confident that would be a finding in Australia’s favour, Farrell said:
“Oh, look, I think there’s very little doubt about that. And I suspect one of the reasons why the Chinese have agreed to go down this path is because they probably think the same thing. So look, it showed goodwill on our part, but it also showed goodwill on the part of the Chinese that they were prepared to fast track a reconsideration of these issues.”
Listen here:
Updated
NSW police chief won’t watch body-worn camera footage of Tasering
NSW’s top cop says she will not watch confronting video of a 95-year-old grandmother being tasered in a nursing home, as the elderly woman’s condition deteriorates in hospital.
Clare Nowland, 95, was using a walking frame when she was hit with a Taser at an aged care facility in Cooma in the early hours of Wednesday, after she allegedly failed to drop a steak knife.
The mother of eight is now receiving end-of-life care in Cooma district hospital, surrounded by her distraught family after being critically injured when she was Tasered and fell to the floor.
The incident was captured on body-worn camera by two officers, but NSW police commissioner Karen Webb told reporters she had not watched the video.
“I don’t really intend to, no,” Webb said in Sydney on Saturday.
“I’ve heard what’s in the body worn, and I don’t see it necessary that I actually view it.”
Police would not make the footage public, she said, adding it was protected under the Surveillance Act.
AAP
Updated
Police give update on Clare Nowland's condition
The 95-year-old who was Tasered by police in her Cooma aged care home, remains in a stable condition in hospital, New South Wales police commissioner, Karen Webb, has said, but has warned “the next few days will be critical and it is likely to be very difficult for the family”.
Webb said “my condolences and thoughts are with the family at the moment”.
Webb also said the officer responsible was “not currently in the workplace” but refused to say if he had been stood down. “I can’t articulate the reasons that he’s not in the workplace,” she said. “The officer is being supported by his command and others… his welfare has been monitored”.
The commissioner said detectives from Sydney had arrived in Cooma to investigate, and that “the best detectives in NSW are on this case”, from the homicide squad.
She noted that it was a “delicate and time consuming job” because they had to interview other residents at the aged care facility.
Webb said bodycam footage couldn’t be released as its use was dictated by legislation.
Webb also commented on how the story had spread through the media, including internationally. “It’s a very unusual set of circumstances of course,” she said.
Updated
Families across Sydney are struggling to find apartments, with few affordable three-bedroom units available in the city. And demand far outstrips supply for family-sized places, upending assumptions about high-rise living and how people think about apartments.
Read more:
Victorian Liberal leader booed and subjected to walkouts at Bendigo event
The Victorian Liberal party’s state council meeting has reportedly been interrupted by supporters of Moira Deeming, who staged a walkout to protest against her expulsion from the party.
Deeming was expelled from the Liberal party earlier this month after sparking controversy when she attended an anti-transgender rally in March that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis, who performed a Nazi salute.
Supporters of expelled Liberal MP Moira Deeming have interrupted a Liberal party conference, booing OL John Pesutto while holding up masks of Ms Deeming’s face. @abcmelbourne pic.twitter.com/rUk2YLuD4U
— Leanne Wong (@leanne_wong1) May 19, 2023
Her supporters booed the Liberal leader, John Pesutto, in protest before walking out of the meeting in Bendigo on Saturday morning.
Supporters are also reported to have held up masks of Deeming’s face, and handed out copies of a Herald Sun article by Peta Credlin in which she interviewed the controversial MP.
It was the first such meeting since her fellow MPs voted to expel her for bringing the party discredit.
Liberal members boo and stage a walk-out on Liberal leader John Pesutto at the party’s state council meeting in Bendigo #springst pic.twitter.com/xxAiy5OlJq
— Annika Smethurst (@annikasmethurst) May 20, 2023
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It’s been a big week for Australia’s relationship with China.
The trade minister, Don Farrell, made his first visit to Beijing, where he met with China’s commerce minister.
China also announced it would resume Australian timber imports, while at the same time, its ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, denounced the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine plan as an “unnecessary consumption of the hardworking Australian taxpayers’ money”.
In Guardian Australia’s latest Australian Politics podcast, Farrell speaks with foreign affairs and defence correspondent Daniel Hurst about his trip, and the implications for the future of Australia’s trade with China and beyond.
You can listen here:
Updated
Patricia Karvelas 'felt sick' about racial abuse directed at Stan Grant
Reactions to Stan Grant’s decision to stand down as host of Q&A after receiving “grotesque racist abuse” are continuing to flood in, as media personalities express support for the broadcaster.
Fellow ABC host Patricia Karvelas said she has “felt sick about the racial abuse Stan Grant has experienced and the bullying from media that should know better”.
I like many have felt sick about the racial abuse Stan Grant has experienced and the bullying from media that should know better. Stan and I have often talked about how hostile it is to be identified publicly through the lens of your diversity. The hate has to stop.
— Patricia Karvelas (@PatsKarvelas) May 19, 2023
Tracey Spicer, Craig Foster and Michael Hing have also reflected on Grant’s announcement.
A must read.
— Tracey Spicer AM GAICD (@TraceySpicer) May 19, 2023
Stan Grant has written an eloquent, devastating and moving piece about the appalling racial abuse on social media.
And now, he's walking away. THIS is always the aim of the bigots: To silence powerful voices.
Side note: Shame on the ABC for not backing him up. https://t.co/SvqPu6SYsa
My thoughts on the shameful, relentless racial vilification of leading First Nations journalist, Stan Grant and his subsequent resignation from Q&A.
— Craig Foster (@Craig_Foster) May 19, 2023
It only strengthens the need for change. pic.twitter.com/qXhufWHmck
Stan Grant has announced he will step aside from his ABC duties as he believes he has not been shown support by his bosses. @Hingers, who also works at ABC, shares why it can be difficult to be understood, not only at ABC, but in all workplaces. pic.twitter.com/zlFGidaGTu
— The Project (@theprojecttv) May 19, 2023
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Clare Nowland's condition worsening, family friend says
The condition of the New South Wales grandmother who was Tasered by police while using a walking frame and holding a steak knife has worsened, a family friend says.
Clare Nowland, 95, was hit with a taser at an aged care facility in the early hours of Wednesday, after she allegedly failed to drop the knife.
Nowland is now receiving end-of-life care in Cooma district hospital surrounded by her distraught family after being critically injured during the incident.
Family friend and community advocate Andrew Thaler said Nowland’s condition had worsened and her family remained by her bedside.
“Her breathing has been getting shallower, but she’s still with us,” he said today.
Staff from the Yallambee Lodge nursing home called police after Nowland, who has dementia, is 43kg and uses a walking frame, took a serrated steak knife from the kitchen into a small treatment room.
Police and ambulance officers tried to get Nowland to drop the knife before a senior constable fired his taser once as she slowly approached them, Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter said on Friday.
She fell and her head struck the floor.
The officer who fired the Taser has been taken off active duty. The critical incident investigation has been elevated to “level one” due to Nowland suffering an injury that could lead to her death.
Cotter declined to say whether the officer might face criminal charges, saying it would breach procedural fairness.
The assistant commissioner said he had seen the body camera footage and agreed with a family friend it was confronting. He has declined to release it publicly.
Updated
Man charged after quad bike rider dies in NSW central west
The driver of a ute has been charged with negligent driving after a quad bike rider died in a collision in NSW’s central west.
The quad bike and the ute collided on a rural road in the small town of Bourbah, half an hour south-west of Coonamble around 3.45pm on Friday, police were told.
The 63-year-old male driver of the ute then went to a nearby property to call emergency services.
Police found the body of the quad bike rider on the road, a man believed to be 50 years old who is yet to be formally identified.
A crime scene was established and examined by specialist forensic police and the Crash Investigation Unit.
The ute driver was uninjured and was taken to Coonamble Hospital for mandatory testing.
His licence has been suspended and he was refused bail to appear in Dubbo local court on Saturday charged with drive in a dangerous manner and negligent driving occasioning death.
About a week ago, Clare Nowland was in a hospital bed, knitting needles nearby, chatting with one of her daughters and Cooma’s local parish priest, Mark Croker.
Croker recalls the great-grandmother was about as frail as one would expect of a 95-year-old. He also recalls her gentle nature and her deep appreciation for his visit.
“She was there with her daughter, one of her daughters, and we had a good little conversation between the three of us,” he says. “She still had her knitting there, she was poking along with that to keep herself busy.
Read more from Christopher Knaus and Joyrdyn Beazley here:
Albanese tells South Korean president Australia committed to world without nuclear weapons
Anthony Albanese also met with Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea’s president, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima on Friday.
Enhancing cooperation in the region, and Australia and South Korea’s shared commitment to supporting a stable, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific, were among the topics of discussion, according to an Australian government readout.
Albanese reportedly welcomed president Yoon’s new Indo-Pacific Strategy and his strengthened engagement with south-east Asia and the Pacific.
The pair also discussed the strategic outlook of the region, with Albanese reaffirming Australia’s commitment to strictly enforcing UN Security Council sanctions and Australia’s own autonomous sanctions against North Korea.
Albanese reportedly reflected upon visiting Hiroshima, telling Yoon it was a forceful reminder of why Australia is committed a world without nuclear weapons.
Climate action and regional decarbonisation were also discussed.
Updated
Two dead after caravan fire in Brisbane's outer west
Two people have died in a caravan fire at Upper Brookfield in Brisbane’s outer west, AAP reports.
Emergency services were called to a Galvin Road address around 4.30am on Saturday and fire crews quickly extinguished the blaze.
“Two people were unaccounted for and were found deceased within the caravan, which was completely destroyed with parts of the roof collapsed,” police said in a statement.
Paramedics treated a man for burns to his hands and he was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
A crime scene has been declared as investigations continue to determine the cause of the fire and whether it is suspicious.
Updated
Albanese discussed clean energy in first meeting with Brazil’s president
Anthony Albanese is in Hiroshima meeting global leaders on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
Yesterday, the prime minister held talks with Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. It was the first time Albanese met with the leader who is commonly known as Lula.
The leaders covered ground including opportunities of the global clean energy transition, as well as Brazil’s 2023 G20 presidency, according to an Australian government readout of the meeting.
The pair also discussed energy, infrastructure, improving outcomes for First Nations people and making the international trading system fairer including for agricultural exporters.
Albanese and Lula also chatted about sports. Specifically, the prospects of the Matildas and Brazil at the upcoming Fifa Women’s world cup, which Australia is co-hosting with New Zealand.
Updated
“Anthony Albanese is betting big on Australia’s better angels.
“The mantle of office has settled on a man who wants to enlarge Australia’s idea of itself, and is staking his prime ministership on it.”
Read Guardian Australia’s political editor Katharine Murphy’s essay marking one year of the Albanese prime ministership here:
Updated
Good morning.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is set to hold key talks at the G7 summit in Japan as the world’s most powerful leaders convene, with a rescheduled Quad meeting also on the agenda.
The three-day summit spans global peace, including tackling Russian and Chinese aggression, as well as the transition to clean energy and developments in artificial intelligence.
Australia has announced new sanctions against Russian entities and a ban on machinery being exported to Kremlin-controlled areas in a co-ordinated effort with G7 nations to stop the invasion of Ukraine.
“We have global instability in our security issues with the ongoing illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, but we also have tension in our own region,” Albanese said on arrival in Japan.
The prime minister also cited global inflation and economic uncertainty as major issues that needed tackling.
On Saturday, he’s expected to meet with Antonio Guterres, the secretary general of the United Nations, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
A 95-year-old woman, Clare Nowland, is receiving end-of-life care in Cooma District Hospital surrounded by her distraught family after she was critically injured when tasered on Wednesday morning.
Staff at the Yallambee Lodge nursing home called police after the woman, who has dementia, is 43kg and uses a walking frame, took a serrated steak knife from the kitchen into a small treatment room.
Police and ambulance officers tried to get Nowland to drop the knife before a senior constable fired his taser once as she slowly approached them, Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter said on Friday.
The officer who fired the taser has been taken off active duty. The critical incident investigation has been elevated to “level one” because of Nowland suffering an injury that could lead to her death.
And ABC staff have expressed support for journalist Stan Grant who announced yesterday he was walking away from his role as host of the ABC’s Q&A program, citing exhaustion with persistent racial abuse.
Grant expressed frustration at the ABC’s executives, saying not one had publicly refuted the lies that have been written and spoken about him.
“I don’t hold any individual responsible; this is an institutional failure,” he said.
The ABC’s 7.30 presenter Sarah Ferguson said the abuse directed at Grant had been “disgusting” and said “There are no words adequate to the horror we feel at this.”
ABC Radio Melbourne broadcaster Virginia Trioli said Grant was a “brilliant broadcaster and thinker” and said: “If this country can’t have a civil debate about recognition, racism and the legacy of colonialism then we are lost.”
In a statement, the ABC’s news director, Justin Stevens, said the broadcaster stands by Grant and the abuse was “abhorrent and unacceptable”.
Let’s get into the day’s news.
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