What we learned: Sunday 23 June
That is all for today, folks. Thank you for joining us on the blog. Here is a wrap-up:
Former prime minister Paul Keating has said Peter Dutton’s push for nuclear is continuing the Coalition’s ‘manic’ climate denialism.
Police have responded to an incident at Westfield Marion in Oaklands Park in South Australia, with the centre sent into lockdown.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says Coalition nuclear plan could cost $367bn and lacks detail;
Bird flu has been found in second NSW poultry farm, though the strain is not the same as the one causing concern globally;
Shadow minister for climate change and energy, Ted O’Brien won’t disclose how much nuclear power might contribute to the energy grid and has been unable to answer several questions about the Coalition plan;
Flood preparedness and emergency services will receive a $100m boost under a NSW government plan to bolster capacity in regions that have been badly affected.
We will be back tomorrow morning with all the latest.
ABC is reporting that SA police will be making a statement regarding the Westfield Marion incident at 5.30pm Adelaide time, so in roughly half an hour.
There is still little detail about what has occurred, but updates will be shared when we know more.
Police operation under way at Westfield Marion
South Australian police say they’re aware of an incident occurring at Westfield Marion shopping centre in Oaklands Park and say numerous police patrols are in attendance.
Police have advised the public to stay away from the area.
There are reports the centre is in lockdown.
Updated
Here’s some footage from the pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne on Sunday.
Updated
'Manic denialism': Paul Keating gives withering assessment of Coalition’s nuclear plan
Former prime minister Paul Keating has intervened in the public discussion on the Coalition’s nuclear plan, callingopposition leader Peter Dutton an “inveterate climate change denialist” who is “now seeking to camouflage his long held denialism in an industrial fantasy”.
In characteristic style, Keating delivered a playfully scathing assessment of the Coalition’s nuclear plan, saying the opposition leader was continuing his party’s “manic denialism” and that “only the most wicked and cynical of individuals would foist such a blight on an earnest community like Australia.”
Dutton, like Abbott, will do everything he can to de-legitimise renewables and stand in the way of their use as the remedy nature has given us to underwrite our life on earth.
Keating also accused Dutton and the Coalition of “low rent opportunism” that “calls into question and deprecates all the government has done to provide Australian business with a reliable and dependable framework for investment in renewables”.
No person interested in public policy, regardless of their affiliations or beliefs, should consider, let alone endorse Dutton’s backwardness, his unreal worldview that the most lethal technology of another age is a contemporary substitute for nature’s own remedy.
Updated
QLD premier dismisses council’s bludging accusation as ‘argy bargy’
Claims Queensland’s government is “bludging” off Brisbane bus services by failing to properly fund councils have been dismissed as “argy bargy” by Premier Steven Miles.
Brisbane city council – Australia’s largest local government – says its bus network, which is subsidised by the state government, is under threat after being underfunded for more than a decade.
Transport chair councillor Ryan Murphy claims commuters will face longer waits and worsening congestion unless the government increases services before a six-month trial of 50c fares begins in August.
The council says 82,000 fewer bus services are operating compared to a decade ago and the marquee Brisbane Metro could face delays into 2025.
But the Premier said the government was negotiating a funding arrangement and people should not read into the “argy bargy” details playing out in the public domain.
They want more money. This is a local government that wants more money.
We are working with them through all of the issues and we’ll make sure there is a fair funding arrangement that makes sure we have the bus services we need.
But I wouldn’t go reading too much into the argy bargy of what is a negotiation between the government and them.
For more on this story, read Guardian Australia’s previous reporting:
Updated
Large pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne
Large crowds have turned out in Melbourne in support of Gaza with speeches given at the Swanston Street and Lonsdale intersection.
People posting to social media reported that police prevented a sound truck from setting up near the state library and that the crowd was stopped from gathering at the site.
We will bring you more as it happens.
Updated
Unclaimed money: how to check if you’re owed a share of $234m in NSW
The New South Wales government says it has returned a record $21.8m of “unclaimed money” to people across the state in the past financial year.
But Revenue NSW is still holding more than $234m owed to residents.
Guardian Australia’s Catie McLeod has put together this explainer with what you need to know:
Updated
Man allegedly found with 682 packets of cigarettes during random breath test
New South Wales police have charged a man for possession of hundreds of illegal cigarette packs, vapes and cash after pulling him over for a random breath test.
At 8.30pm last night, the officers stopped a Toyota SUV on the New England Highway where they noticed a large quantity of tobacco on the back seat.
The officers found 682 packets of cigarettes, 40 vapes hidden in exercise equipment and more than $52k in cash during a search of the vehicle.
Police believe the street value of the items is more than $20k.
The driver of the SUV, a 23-year-old man, was arrested and taken to Muswellbrook police station.
He was charged with offences, including dealing with the proceeds of crime (less than $100,000), carrying a knife in a public place, possessing more than 5kg of tobacco and carrying suspected stolen goods and a restricted substance.
He has been refused bail to appear before Newcastle Local Court on Sunday.
Updated
Fewer auctions held this week
Auction activity is down this weekend, with 2,074 auctions to be held.
This is lower than the 2,276 held last week but a gain on the 1,791 auctions at the same time last year.
Based on results collected so far, CoreLogic’s summary found that the preliminary clearance rate was 72.4% across the country, which is lower than the 72.9% preliminary rate recorded last week but well above the 65.5% actual rate on final numbers.
Across the capital cities:
Sydney: 627 of 829 auctions, with a preliminary clearance rate of 70.7%
Melbourne: 680 of 920 auctions, with a preliminary clearance rate of 72.9%
Brisbane: 103 0f 131 auctions, with a preliminary clearance rate of 66%
Adelaide: 59 of 126 auctions, with a preliminary clearance rate of 84.7%
Canberra: 34 of 52 auctions, with a preliminary clearance rate of 76.5%
Tasmania: One of three auctions held
Perth: Eight of 13 auctions held
Updated
RBA watching inflation rate for unexpected upward shift
Inflation is expected to make another move in the wrong direction, as far as the Reserve Bank is concerned, with an interest rate hike still on the cards.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is on Wednesday expected to reveal the consumer price index edged up in May on an annual basis.
The central bank’s board opted to keep the cash rate unchanged at 4.35% on Tuesday, but left open the possibility of a hike given persistent inflation and upward revisions to household consumption.
Governor Michele Bullock said June quarter inflation data, to be released at the end of July, would be critical before the board’s next meeting in August. But an upward surprise in Wednesday’s minor readout would still spook investors.
RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser will give a further indication of the board’s thought processes when he gives a speech at the A50 Australian Economic Forum on Thursday.
Bolstering the argument against raising rates are signs the economy is starting to sputter, growing at just 0.1% in the March quarter, while unemployment is on the rise and wages are growing slower than expected.
Westpac’s leading index will on Wednesday provide a glimpse of how economic growth is expected to shape up three to nine months into the future.
Other financial reports out this week include data on job vacancies and household wealth, both to be released on Thursday.
– AAP
Updated
Six teenagers charged following NSW pursuit
Six teenagers have been charged after a pursuit along the New England Highway in New South Wales that ended with two police cars being rammed.
At 10.35pm last night, police witnessed an allegedly stolen Volkswagen travelling at speed near Whittingham. The driver of the car did not stop the vehicle and a chase began.
Police followed the car through Singleton and Muswellbrook before it hit road spikes and rammed into two highway patrol vehicles at a roadblock near Aberdeen.
All six occupants, including a 14-year-old driver and five passengers – a 15-year-old boy and four 17-year-old boys, were arrested at the scene.
The driver was charged with numerous offences, including not stopping during a police pursuit, reckless driving, carrying suspected stolen goods, speeding and property damage.
Police will allege in court the driver travelled at speeds up to 160km/h in a marked 90km/h zone during the pursuit.
All passengers were charged for allegedly travelling in a stolen vehicle. The four 17-year-olds were also charged for allegedly disguising their faces with an intent to commit a crime.
All six teenagers were refused bail to appear before a children’s court on Sunday.
Updated
NSW police officer fired at vehicle during alleged car theft
New South Wales police say an officer who fired at a vehicle which allegedly drove at him during a car theft is doing well.
Speaking to reporters this morning, acting Det Supt Ben Kennis said he had spoken to the officer.
They are doing quite well. Hasn’t slept much. However, hopefully with some sleep and exercise, they will be feeling much better.
Officers responded to reports of a break in at an underground car park at 1.15am on this morning where they confronted two men.
As the men sought to escape, they allegedly entered a white Volkswagen Golf and began to drive away.
The officers attempted to stop the car when it allegedly drove directly at police. One of the officers then fired a single shot at the vehicle.
A short pursuit followed but was called off over safety concerns. Officers were later called to another underground car park where the same car was set alight.
Police are investigating and have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
Updated
Run clubs, book readings and salsa: the gatherings pulling gen Z off their screens
Tara Meakins didn’t know anyone when she moved to Sydney. But after connecting with a local mum interested in running on a community Facebook page, it wasn’t long before she found her tribe, and Coogee Run Club was born.
“The first run we had, one other person showed up on a Tuesday evening,” says Meakins, 35, who co-founded the club two years ago.
We started out with two runs a week and slowly over the first few months it was getting, you know, from the one runner to 10, to 20.
Within a year, the group reached 40 members. Then, one night in January last year, 120 people ran, tripling the group’s size. Earlier this year, they hit a record with 255 runners.
Social clubs for running, reading, hiking, crafting and volunteering seem to be popping up everywhere, with young people encouraged to put down their phones and socialise in-person.
Often free, these groups are offering fresh ways to make new friends and socialise without breaking the bank in a cost-of-living crisis.
Read the full feature by Guardian Australia’s Emily Wind, Maddie Thomas and Jordyn Beazley:
NSW flood response receives multimillion-dollar boost
Flood preparedness and emergency services will be boosted under a nearly $100m NSW government investment.
The funding is aimed at bolstering State Emergency Service responses primarily along the Hawkesbury River in Sydney’s northwest but also in at-risk communities across the state.
The $94.7m package follows several bouts of heavy rain and flooding across NSW this year that forced residents from homes.
The government will seek to improve disaster planning, fund fleet maintenance and equipment, support training and volunteer recruitment and enhance public information under the four-year arrangement.
A further $18m will be invested over the first year to improve preparedness, response capability and support for SES volunteers.
It is expected by the end of July the service will have rolled out 164 new emergency assets across the state including 40 vessels, 75 ark angel rafts, 45 command vehicles, two heavy rescue vehicles and two trailers.
- AAP
Updated
Organisations improving eye health in Gaza and gender equity in Saudi Arabia among recipients of Australian-Arab relations grant
Foreign minister Penny Wong has announced the recipients of a grant program aimed at improving collaboration between Australia and countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa.
The Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR) program has distributed $452,000 to ten project proposals, including:
Workshops for early childhood teachers in Saudi Arabia to promote gender equity when teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics, hosted by the University of New England.
A partnership with the Fred Hollows Foundation to broker linkages between St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group and Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology that will improve eye health services. It will lay the foundation for Gaza’s early recovery phase and future eye health missions in the broader region.
A training and leadership camp in Qatar focused on building leadership skills for Muslim youth footballers, organised by the Bachar Houli Foundation.
A project promoting circular entrepreneurship between Australian and Arab entrepreneurs through a “Blended-Living-Lab” run by James Cook University in collaboration with Abu Dhabi University (United Arab Emirates) and King Abdul Aziz University (Saudi Arabia).
Updated
Families to pocket more than $60 a week from stage-three tax cuts
Australian families are set to pocket more than $60 a week when the government’s tax cuts kick in from July, according to new analysis from Treasury.
The federal budget’s cost-of-living measures will come into effect on 1 July, including the tax cuts and energy relief for all households and 1m small businesses.
In a statement, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said: “The mums and dads of middle Australia will be among the biggest beneficiaries of our tax cuts and energy rebates.”
The new analysis of the revamped stage-three tax cuts shows that any household with children will receive an average annual tax cut of $3,268 in 2024-25, amounting to a weekly tax cut of $63.
Read more:
Updated
Victorian pay deal basis for rebuilding health system
A new wage deal for Victorian nurses and midwives could offer a stable foundation for the state’s struggling health system, their union says.
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation members will vote on a 28.5% wage increase over four years on Wednesday, Victorian branch secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said.
We believe this offer protects our current career structure and will significantly help to retain and recruit a permanent nursing and midwifery workforce and rebuild our health system.
The offer came after intensive talks between the union, health department representatives and the Allan government and 48 days of industrial action, including hospital bed closures that began on 7 May.
Union members will meet on Wednesday in Melbourne and eight satellite venues in regional hubs across the state to vote on the in-principle deal, which also requires cabinet approval.
- AAP
Updated
US official warns against dropping 2030 climate targets after Coalition nuclear plan announcement
A senior US official has urged Australia and other countries not to back away from their 2030 climate commitments, insisting that “we all have a collective responsibility for the planet we live in”.
The message from Australia’s top security ally contrasts with rhetoric from the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, who claimed on Saturday the Labor government was “appeasing the international climate lobby” and “global climate activists”.
Dutton has refused to commit to honouring Australia’s pledge to cut emissions by 43% by the end of this decade if he wins the next federal election, despite warnings from experts that watering down the target would breach the Paris climate agreement.
A senior official from the US Department of State told Guardian Australia it was “absolutely important that we keep the 2030 targets viable” and said “far-sighted politicians” would be rewarded for “doing the right thing”.
For more on how the Coalition’s nuclear plan is triggering alarms in the US, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s Foreign affairs and defence correspondent Daniel Hurst:
Sudan children facing ‘extraordinary threats’ to benefit from $23m in Australian aid: Save the Children
Save the Children Australia has welcomed a government decision to give $23m for humanitarian funding for aid to the Horn of Africa.
The charity’s CEO Mat Tinkler said children in the region had faced “extraordinary threats to their lives through escalating conflict and the impacts of the climate crisis”. He said the funding came at an important time when the need was “especially acute”, particularly in Sudan.
Children in Sudan have suffered unimaginably since the escalation of the conflict in April last year, with half of the country’s population in need of humanitarian assistance and the UN this week warning that famine is imminent.
Elsewhere across the Horn of Africa, children and their families are grappling with the devastating effects of the climate crisis, including communities in Kenya who have had their lives and livelihoods completely washed away by recent flooding.
Tinkler said he would like Australia to play an even greater role in providing assistance to these communities by doubling the Humanitarian Emergency Fund to $300m, which would “go a long way in responding to and addressing the world’s emerging and protracted crises”.
Updated
Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan could cost as much as $600bn and supply just 3.7%
The Coalition’s pledge to build seven nuclear reactors as part of its controversial energy plan could cost taxpayers as much as $600bn while supplying just 3.7% of Australia’s energy mix by 2050, according to the Smart Energy Council.
The analysis found the plan would cost a minimum of $116bn – the same cost as delivering the Albanese government’s plan for 82% renewables by 2030, and an almost 100% renewable energy mix by 2050.
The Coalition has drawn widespread criticism for not releasing the costings of the nuclear power proposal it unveiled on Wednesday as part of its plan for Australia’s energy future if elected. On Friday, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said the costings would come “very soon”, but did not confirm whether it would be days, weeks or months.
For more on this story, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s Jordyn Beazley:
Speers ends interview with quip on nuclear plan’s lack of detail
The interview wraps with Speers highlighting the lack of detail about the Coalition’s nuclear plan and asking O’Brien: “if voters don’t know, they should vote no?”
Confronted with this slogan that was used at the referendum over the Voice to Parliament, O’Brien does not seem pleased.
I know where you’re getting that phrase from. Even on their renewables target, it’s all about the vibe. Always has been.
Updated
O’Brien refuses to confirm if Coalition will dump nuclear plan if it loses election
As the Coalition has cast the upcoming election as a referendum on nuclear power, O’Brien is asked, repeatedly, whether he will drop the idea of a nuclear powered Australia if the Coalition loses.
There follows another extraordinary exchange:
Speers:
It doesn’t sound like you can say locals can stand in the way. Peter Dutton says he’s happy for this to be a referendum on nuclear power. If you don’t win the election, will you drop the nuclear idea?
O’Brien: “Peter Dutton has made it clear. He’s more than happy for this election to be a referendum on cheaper, cleaner and consistent electricity.”
Speers: “And he said nuclear energy.”
O’Brien: “Nuclear is part of a balanced energy mix.”
Speers: “If you don’t win, that’s it?”
O’Brien: “Very happy to be public about that.”
Speers: “So if you don’t win, that’s it?”
O’Brien: “When it comes to, if we don’t win, firstly, we plan to win. And we are doing nuclear energy as part of that.”
Speers: “If you don’t win, you drop it?”
O’Brien: “It’s the right thing by this nation. There’s people like you who will run commentary on it.”
Speers: ‘I am asking if you accept the referendum.”
O’Brien: “I didn’t say it’s a referendum.”
Speers: “Peter Dutton said he’s very happy for this to be a referendum on energy and nuclear power.”
O’Brien: “You’re right. Because we want cheaper, cleaner and consistent …”
Speers: “So you’re not willing to say you will accept the outcome …”
O’Brien:
Let’s extends your logic. As part of our plan, we are going to be saying renewables are important. So if we were to lose the election, do we dump renewables? We are saying that gas is important. If you say we lose the election, we dump gas?
Speers: ‘You may keep going on nuclear even if you lose the election?”
O’Brien:
We’re doing this because it’s in our national interest. The lights are going out, the prices are soaring. It’s happening today. Are we doing this because it’s easy? No, we’re doing this because it’s in the national interest.
Updated
O’Brien on local community opposition
Can I lay out our approach? That includes engaging with locals. Upon coming to government, we’ll have a two-and-a-half year community engagement process. Ultimately … we are part of a Westminster system of government. The decision will be a matter for the minister. Now, if I am the minister, at that time, my decision of course will be based on the independent coordinating authority’s feasibility report. What is in our national interest, and what’s in the community interest. On the community interest, we need to account for economic, social and environmental issues. They are the very issues for the last two years as I have heard complaints about how the Albanese government has been steam rolling over communities, they are the three areas they have come up with.
It is also worth recalling how, under the Coalition government, an attempt was made to build a nuclear waste dump at Kimba in South Australia. In an attempt to get the project off the ground, the local Indigenous community were excluded from a vote, and locals opposed to the project described a “divide and conquer” campaign to get it over the line.
Updated
Nuclear to replace coal, says O’Brien
Speers has continued to test O’Brien over the Coalition’s nuclear plan. Much of the conversation has concerned the various reports the Coalition is relying upon as part of its claim – one of which recommends Australia not pursue nuclear power.
According to O’Brien, however, nuclear will simply replace coal:
In Australia, at the turn of the century, Australia had among the cheapest electricity in the OECD. Now, that was due to coal. Now, as we move forward, as coal retires, exits from the system, it will be replaced with zero emissions nuclear energy.
O’Brien has also said the government would not subsidise the industry as it would own the industry.
On whether the government would override local opposition to the construction of these plants:
Speers: “What if locals say no?”
O’Brien:
When it comes to our community engagement process, I was up in Muswellbrook, one of the communities that may host a plant, on Friday. I was talking to a lot of people there. The conversation we had was around their needs as a community. So, one of the benefits we have of nuclear is up to 77% of workers in a coal plant can seamlessly transition to a nuclear plant, in the same occupation.
Speers: “Back to the question, what if locals say no?”
O’Brien: “I don’t think that will happen.”
Updated
O’Brien says he won’t announce Coalition’s renewable power aims
Speers pushes further for details – specifically how much renewable power the Australian energy grid should aim for and gets no response.
O’Brien:
Again, you’re very good at this, I won’t be announcing this. I will make this point, David. We believe that Australia needs always on 24-7 baseload power in the system. If you get 98% of the grid, which is all variable and weather dependant, as we move forward and we have to tackle the challenge of climate change, we all know that weather is going to become more volatile. The last thing we should do is have our entire electricity system weather dependent.
It is also worth remembering that nuclear power generation requires large quantities of water, which make them vulnerable to extreme weather patterns caused by climate change. When persistent drought caused French rivers to run dry, energy suppliers had to cut production at their nuclear power plants.
Updated
O’Brien won’t say whether nuclear detail will be released before election
Speers keeps pushing O’Brien for detail – on costs, renewable energy and gas plans – asking again: “Do you know this?”
O’Brien says that has yet to be announced.
Speers asks whether this information will be released before the election.
We’ll be clear as to what we believe the potential capacity could be through to 2050.
However O’Brien doesn’t make clear whether Australian’s will know how much nuclear power the country will generate under the Coalition’s plan before the election.
O’Brien appears to suggest an independent nuclear energy body that will look closely at each proposed plant site will hammer out specifics.
Updated
Ted O’Brien won’t disclose how much nuclear will contribute to energy mix
During an extraordinary exchange between David Speers and Ted O’Brien, the ABC Insiders host attempts to get any sort of detail about the Coalition’s nuclear energy plan out of the shadow climate change minister.
Speers: “They’ll only do that if the market keeps investing, as you have acknowledged.”
O’Brien: “I could have answered that.”
Speers: “They will only invest if you give them some clarity if nuclear will take up 50% or 2% of the mix.”
O’Brien: “They will get clarity.”
Speers: “Do you know this answer?”
O’Brien: “In terms of the broader energy mix, we’ll be coming out with that in due course.”
Speers: “Do you know yourself? You mentioned earlier this body that will work out how many reactors will go on each plant site. That suggests you haven’t worked this out.”
O’Brien: “So, we have done our planning and we’ll be very explicit about our assumptions.”
Speers: “Do you know the answer to this question?”
O’Brien: “Rephrase the question.”
Speers: “The question is how much of the energy mix will be nuclear under this plan?”
O’Brien: “We’ll be announcing that at the time we announce our broader mix.”
Updated
Speers presses O’Brien for nuclear plan details
Speers is probing O’Brien for detail on the Coalition’s nuclear proposal.
How many reactors across the seven plants?
In terms of exactly how many [reactors] on any plant, we’ll be leading that to the independent nuclear energy coordinating authority. It is right we want multi-unit sites. That’s how to get costs down. What we’re doing is based on best practice internationally.
How much nuclear will be part of the energy grid under the Coalition plan?
Firstly, I’m a Liberal. I appreciate and respect that investors want to make money. But to be really clear, our focus is on the Australian people who want to save money. And so we have designed this policy with a crystal clear vision of Australians paying for cheaper, cleaner …
Updated
Speers challenges O’Brien on his renewable energy statements
O’Brien has been challenged on his sources for claiming the rollout of renewable energy in Australia has “stalled”, with host David Speers noting that the rollout is continuing even if it needs to be more. O’Brien has also been challenged over whether the Coalition wants to cap investment in renewables.
No, there’s no discussion about capping investment.
O’Brien appears to contradict statements made by David Littleproud that suggested the Coalition did want to cap the renewable energy rollout.
On Wednesday, he explained that is not the coalition position.
O’Brien is challenged to provide a number for how much renewables the Coalition wants in the energy mix, with Speers asking “So not 825 but you’ll have a figure of what? 60% renewables?”
We’re not releasing anything today.
Updated
O’Brien frames Coalition’s nuclear push as ‘balanced approach’
Ted O’Brien, Coalition shadow minister for climate change and energy, has sought to frame his party’s nuclear push as a “balanced approach” to managing the country’s energy grid with the bulk saying “in the future, we’ll still have renewables, we’ll have gas and we’ll have zero emissions nuclear.”
On gas, the O’Brien says “we need to pour more gas into the market”.
Then when it comes to renewables, we support the continuation of rolling our renewables. But we’re different from the government, the government believes the aim of the game is to maximise the amount of renewables on the grid.
It is worth a reminder that the International Energy Agency, when it modelled out how to achieve a net zero future, found that the world has enough coal, gas and oil to cover the transition if it began the transition in 2021 and would not need new investment.
Updated
Coalition's nuclear plan could cost $367bn: Plibersek
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has spoken to Sky News, attacking the Coalition’s nuclear policy and the lack of detail on its costs. She suggested the cost could be as high as $387bn.
Plibersek rejected the Coalition’s argument about other advanced economies using nuclear, noting that Germany is mothballing its nuclear plant.
She said:
We have unprecedented [renewables resources], internationally, we are so well set up for renewables here. We have solar. I have approved more than 50, about 54 renewable projects so far, enough to power millions of Australian homes. We’ve got the room, we’ve got the resources, we’ve got critical minerals for battery manufacturing … we can be a renewable energy superpower and instead Peter Dutton wants us to slam the brakes on.
Asked about whether Labor could agree to a climate trigger in legislation that governs approvals of projects, such as new coalmines or gas projects, Plibersek said the way Australia reduces carbon pollution is through the safeguard mechanism.
“But I have said that we are open to further discussions about how we reflect the impact of climate change,” she said, appearing to open the door to one of the Greens’ central demands.
However, Plibersek said she was focused on getting the second tranche of environmental reform through (establishing an Environmental Protection Agency), before later releasing an exposure draft on the third tranche (reforming the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act).
Updated
Tanya Plibersek and Ted O’Brien in TV interviews this morning
ABC Insiders host David Speers will this morning speak to the shadow minister for climate change and energy, Ted O’Brien, about the Coalition’s nuclear plan.
Coming up on #ABCInsiders with @David_Speers
— ABC News (@abcnews) June 22, 2024
• Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy Ted O’Brien interviewed🔎
• 📸 Cathy Wilcox
• 🛋️ David Crowe, Ash Raper, and Melissa Clarke.
See you at 9am #auspol pic.twitter.com/tDkKGsfgDm
The environment minister Tanya Plibersek has also spoken to Sky News today.
We will bring you the highlights of both interviews across the morning.
Updated
Bird flu found at second NSW poultry farm
Avian influenza has been found on a second poultry farm in the restricted Hawkesbury biosecurity zone.
CSIRO scientists detected the virus on a farm near the site of an earlier infection detected on 19 June, with biosecurity teams responding immediately to lock down the site.
The Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness has confirmed the positive result on a farm 1.5km from the site of an original infection within the restricted biosecurity zone.
The positive result is for HPAI H7N8, which is different to the virus that has been found at seven farms in Victoria. This strain is not the same as the H5N1 strain that is causing global concern.
The NSW agriculture minister Tara Moriarty said the detection shows that the state’s biosecurity arrangements are working.
A “depopulation process” will be carried out under the supervision of biosecurity officers. It is anticipated this cull will affect about 87,000 birds and take up to 7 days to “depopulate” the affected property.
Updated
Good Morning
And welcome to another Sunday Guardian live blog.
Avian influenza has been found on a second poultry farm in the restricted Hawkesbury biosecurity zone. CSIRO scientists detected the virus on a farm near the site of an earlier infection detected on 19 June, with biosecurity teams responding immediately to lock down the site.
Australia’s east coast has shivered through another cool and frosty morning on Sunday as a cold snap has settled in across large parts of the country. Brisbane and Sydney had a crisp start, and the mercury dipped below zero in Canberra. Temperatures fell below 10C in Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Melbourne.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started …
Updated
