The day that was, Sunday 30 June
Thank you for joining us on this, the final day of the financial year. It’s been a big day for news – here’s what’s been keeping us busy:
WA senator Fatima Payman has been suspended from the Labor caucus after more-or-less daring the prime minister to make the move during her fiery ABC Insiders interview today.
A horrific coach crash in Queensland’s Whitsunday region has claimed the lives of three women and left multiple others with life-threatening injuries.
While PM Anthony Albanese visited a sweets factory – a move that had a touch of the campaign trail about it – the Greens will present a bill for a federal Makarrata commission to parliament, leader Adam Bandt announced.
Women are 14 times more likely die in natural disasters, new research shows.
And it’s going to be another very chilly week ahead, with the possibility of severe frost in parts of the south-east.
Stay warm. See you tomorrow!
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As we approach the end of a busy day – and the end of another financial year – a look ahead to the suite of changes that come into affect from tomorrow (in addition to the coercive control laws touched upon below).
My colleague Sharlotte Thou has encapsulated the changes that matter, from minimum wage increases to stage three tax cuts and a welcome boost to parental leave.
Vapes will be banned, passports are to become more expensive and every household will receive a $300 energy bill credit. Read more in the link below.
Coercive control to become criminal offensve in NSW
Following from our earlier post about a man who has reportedly faced court in Lismore after being accused of killing his partner, a more detailed look at new coercive control laws that will come into effect from tomorrow.
From July, NSW will be the first state to make coercive control – which can include financial abuse, threats, or isolating or tracking someone – a standalone criminal offence.
According to the state’s Department of Communities And Justice website, the criminal offence will capture repeated patterns of physical or non-physical abuse used to hurt, scare, intimidate, threaten or control someone. The law will only apply to abusive behaviour that happens after 1 July.
“The Act also requires that an implementation and evaluation taskforce be formed to provide advice to the minister on training and education, precise commencement dates, and consultation with stakeholders, particularly with sector-specific reference groups”, states the site.
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Labor confirms suspension of Fatima Payman over Palestine vow
Labor senator Fatima Payman’s indefinite suspension from her party’s parliamentary caucus has now been confirmed, after she was called to a meeting with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, on Sunday afternoon.
The meeting followed Payman’s declaration in an interview on ABC TV’s Insiders program on Sunday morning that she had no regrets about defying her party’s leadership and crossing the floor in the Senate last week to back a Greens motion calling for recognition of a Palestinian state.
“By her own actions and statements, Senator Payman has placed herself outside the privilege that comes with participating in the federal parliamentary Labor Party caucus,” a government spokesperson said.
The prime minister’s decision upgrades her previous penalty of a one-week suspension from caucus, which some in the party believed was too lenient when crossing the floor to oppose a Labor position can attract expulsion.
Albanese stopped short of that but imposed the indefinite suspension after summoning the first-term senator to The Lodge on Sunday.
The spokesperson said Payman could only return to full participation in the Labor caucus if she “decides she will respect the caucus and her Labor colleagues”.
Just minutes before Payman’s interview, the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, warned on the same program that serving as a Labor senator was a privilege and the caucus itself was running out of patience.
But she was unrepentant.
“If the same motion on recognising the state of Palestine was to be brought tomorrow, I would cross the floor,” she said.
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Fatima Payman reportedly suspended from Labor caucus
West Australian senator Fatima Payman has reportedly been suspended from the Labor caucus.
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the senator was summoned for crisis talks with Anthony Albanese at the Lodge in Canberra after appearing on the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
In the interview, she effectively dared the prime minister and her colleagues to expel her from the Labor party, vowing that she will cross the floor again if there is another Senate motion seeking to recognise a Palestinian state, as reported by Karen Middleton earlier today:
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Humpback whale freed off Gippsland may have towed vast tangle of ropes and buoys from Antarctica
AAP reports that a humpback whale might have towed a vast tangle of fishing lines, ropes and buoys all the way from Antarctica before being freed off the Victorian coast.
The adult whale was first seen by helicopter crews near Loch Sport, in Gippsland, a week ago but wasn’t found again until Friday afternoon when it was spotted near Lakes Entrance.
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action established a team to prepare to remove 200 metres of rope and line, as well as 11 flotation buoys that were attached to the whale.
Incident controller Ellen Dwyer said specialised whale disentanglement crews attached a buoy to the whale on Friday, allowing them to track its location. By Saturday, most of the ropes and buoys had been removed.
Dwyer said:
It is possible that the whale became was entangled during its summer feeding season off Antarctica and has been dragging it while it is undertaking its seasonal migration.
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Dead and injured were all on bus, police say
Paine said specialists were on the scene, forensically processing the evidence. Anyone with information or dashcam footage should contact police, he said. He also said all those killed and injured were from the bus:
I don’t have the details of who was involved other than to say that it was a very significant response, an incident of this size where you’ve got a bus with 33 people on board and you’ve got another vehicle which had a number of passengers in that vehicle as well.
Given that it is a high impact zone, given that it involves a significant number of people requiring medical attention, the response across emergency services from the community was very significant. Unfortunately, three people have lost their lives and a number of other people have been injured. But again, you know, I’d like to thank the community members and the first responders for what they’ve done on the scene.
He said the scene was very confronting for first responders and others and would have a “really big impact” on the community.
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Three dead after bus and four-wheel drive collide in Whitsunday region
Three women have died in that accident mentioned earlier in the Whitsundays, a collision between a caravan and a bus with 33 people on board.
Queensland police have confirmed the deaths, and say a number of people have been treated at the scene for injuries, including one person airlifted because of the seriousness of their injuries. Supt Graeme Paine said it happened about eight kilometres north of Gumlu. He said:
The traffic crash has involved two vehicles, a four-wheel drive towing a caravan was heading in a southbound direction on the Bruce Highway and a bus was travelling in the northbound direction. There’s been a collision between those two vehicles.
Paine said it was a “very significant impact” with “very significant consequences”:
At this stage … the crash is under investigation. We haven’t determined any factors that have contributed to the crash at this stage.
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Man faces court over death of woman in northern NSW
A man accused of killing his partner has faced court in Lismore, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. NSW Police are investigating why it took officers almost an hour to respond to the triple zero call after Dwayne John Creighton, 31, allegedly left his partner unconscious but still breathing in Casino on Saturday. She later died at the scene.
Supt Tim Cassius said on Saturday:
The situation is that a call was made to triple zero shortly after 1:30am.
Police acknowledged that call around 2:25am and were at the scene by 2:27am.
The delay in the timing of police acknowledging that call and attending the scene has given me enough concern that I’ve asked for an independent review of this investigation.
It comes as new coercive control laws are set to come in on Monday.
• In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732.
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Here’s Karen Middleton with the full story (for now, stay tuned!) on floor-crossing Labor senator Fatima Payman:
Research finds women 14 times more likely to die in natural disasters
“The impacts are not at all equal,” Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia’s research manager, Carla Pascoe Leahy, said:
There’s the social disadvantage, but women are also economically disadvantaged and … when a crisis strikes, they’ve got less security and fewer resources to draw upon.
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Police investigate as caravan and bus collide in north Queensland
Queensland police’s forensic crash unit is investigating a collision between a caravan and a bus. The police said in a statement:
Emergency services are on scene following a serious two-vehicle traffic crash involving a bus along the Bruce Highway at Gumlu, north of Bowen, this morning, June 30. Police were called to the Wilson Creek rest area just after 11am to reports a caravan and bus had collided. Three people sustained life-threatening injuries.
The Bruce Highway is closed in both directions and drivers are being urged to avoid the area between Ayr and Bowen, or expect long delays.
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Man charged with Frankston pier murder faces court
Following our earlier report, the homeless man accused of killing a fisherman at a Melbourne pier has appeared in court charged with murder.
Forrest Stevenson, 36, appeared in the Melbourne magistrates’ court on Sunday after the alleged attack on a man at Frankston pier just after 6am on Saturday, reports AAP.
He is accused of killing 45-year-old Andres Pancha from Cranbourne North, who died at the scene.
The alleged incident unfolded at the bayside pier, 40km south-east of Melbourne’s CBD, where Mr Pancha was found unresponsive.
Shortly after, Stevenson, who was of no fixed address, was arrested on the nearby foreshore.
The two men are not believed to have known each other.
Homicide squad Det Senior Const Kate Lynch told the court that 12 weeks would be needed to compile a brief of evidence for the case.
Magistrate Marc Sargent remanded Stevenson in custody until 6 November and said the accused required prompt medical attention to make his custody stay “more comfortable”.
“The nurse will see you as soon as possible today,” Magistrate Sargent said.
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Frosty week ahead for Australia’s south-east, BoM says
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued its forecast for the week ahead and it’s looking like another very chilly one.
Widespread frost – some of it severe – will impact the south-east of the country, while temperatures are set to be “well below” average.
Colder, drier air will spread across much of Australia this week, with both max. & min. temps forecast to be well below average
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) June 30, 2024
Widespread morning fog and frost is likely across the south-eastern states. Severe frost is possible.
Latest: https://t.co/4W35o8i7wJ pic.twitter.com/SQbWQXwx6g
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Greens to present bill for federal Makarrata commission to parliament
The party has previously said this is more important now because of the defeat of the voice referendum:
Today I’m proud to announce that the Greens will bring a Bill for a Truth and Justice Commission to the parliament.
— Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) June 30, 2024
We must tell the truth about the violence and dispossession in this country’s history if we want to heal and close the gap for First Nations people. pic.twitter.com/ZgH4N2pequ
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Here are some pictures from prime minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Sweet Magic – the Indian sweets shop in Melbourne’s west mentioned earlier. They have a whiff of the election campaign trail about them …
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Fears cheap AI voice clones could wipe out jobs of 5,000 Australian actors
Josh Taylor writes:
The Australian Association of Voice Actors (AAVA) told a parliamentary committee investigating AI the jobs of an estimated 5,000 local voice actors are already in danger, with the group pointing to one national radio network actively investing in technology to replace human voice actors.
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The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, was also on Sunrise this morning to talk up the tax cuts and cost-of-living measures that kick in tomorrow. It was mostly along the same lines as his earlier interview on Sky News, including one of his favourites about confidence v complacency:
We’re confident but not complacent we can get on top of this inflation challenge, we can provide this cost-of-living relief and we can get the budget in better nick without smashing the economy.
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War memorials in Canberra sprayed with pro-Palestine graffiti
The ABC’s defence correspondent, Andrew Greene, has posted about this pro-Palestine graffiti in Canberra:
In Canberra there has been more desecration of war memorials to fallen Australians along Anzac Parade near @AWMemorial pic.twitter.com/hOdDMfZdR9
— Andrew Greene (@AndrewBGreene) June 30, 2024
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Were cannabinoids to blame for hallucinations after having mushroom gummies? And what is the “healthy high” industry? Natasha May has investigated:
Albanese says Future Made in Australia bill will be put to parliament this week
Anthony Albanese has visited a shop specialising in Indian sweets in suburban Melbourne to spruik the government’s cost-of-living relief rolling out from tomorrow in the form of tax cuts, a rise in the minimum wage, an extra fortnight’s paid parental leave and a series of household energy rebates.
“It’s an appropriate place to be, because our objective is to hit the sweet spot,” Albanese said alongside Labor MP Tim Watts at the Sweet Magic store in Watts’ Gellibrand electorate:
The sweet spot in putting downward pressure on inflation while providing cost of living relief.
Albanese said the government’s Future Made in Australia bill, to underpin investment in clean-energy innovation and investment, would go before parliament this week:
All of this being achieved whilst we have delivered a second budget surplus. And that is our objective here, to make sure that we get through the short-term issues which are there for cost of living pressures on families here in Melbourne and around Australia. But we want to make sure, as well, that we get the economic settings right.
He criticised Peter Dutton for having a “thought bubble” policy on nuclear power.
Albanese made his comments at what was supposed to be a doorstop news conference in the Melbourne suburb of Truganina, about 22km from the Melbourne CBD. His office gave 90 minutes’ notice but on Sunday morning when staffing is light, no media managed to get journalists there and consequently there were no questions.
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Man charged with murder over death on pier south of Melbourne
AAP reports a man of no fixed address has been charged with murder after another man died on a Melbourne pier.
The man was discovered at Frankston pier, 40 kilometres south of Melbourne’s CBD, just after 6am on Saturday.
The 45-year-old man, from Cranbourne North, died at the scene, while the 36-year-old man was arrested on the nearby foreshore.
He was charged by homicide squad detectives and will appear before Melbourne magistrates’ court on Sunday afternoon.
The two men are not believed to have known each other.
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They withstand ocean storms, extreme heat and may impact everything from coral reefs to the deep sea. Why has it taken so long to pay attention to the neuston?
This, from James Bradley, is fascinating:
Known collectively as the neuston, these creatures are not tied to any one place. Instead, they move with the wind and the water. Sometimes they gather into huge drifts, living islands of velella and bluebottles like those that wash occasionally ashore on beaches in Australia or the western coast of the Canada and the United States. At other times they clump together around drifting debris or spread out sparsely over hundreds or even thousands of square kilometres.
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From the Ancient Order of the Hoodeners to the modern-day Australia hobby horse championships, who knew a horse head on a stick could be so fascinating and so fun:
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Labor’s adapted the Star Wars opening crawl to spruik its tax cuts. The education minister, Jason Clare, has entered the always-dangerous zone of politicians being funny on social media (in an era where they’re regularly likened to the Mos Eisley cantina):
Hello there pic.twitter.com/94VatMK7OL
— Jason Clare MP (@JasonClareMP) June 29, 2024
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Byron Bay is to be stripped of its nudist beach – and naturists blame ‘conservative creep’
Duncan James, vice-president of Northern Rivers Naturists, says:
Many of the beach users have described the clothing-optional beach as their happy place, a place where they can disconnect from modern day stresses, a place they can feel at one with nature.
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Payman says she will continue advocating for ‘just and lasting solution’
Payman says if people expect Hamas to release hostages, they should also expect Israel to release the 8,800 “hostage” Palestinians being detained. And she says, in reference to Penny Wong previously voting with the ALP against marriage equality:
It took 10 years to legislate same-sex marriage. We’re talking about 40,000 Palestinians being massacred here. These Palestinians do not have 10 years.
And so that’s why I will use what is within my power as a backbench senator to continue advocating for a just and lasting solution. And I think that’s what fair Australians want. And that’s what I’ve been talking to people on the ground in Western Australia – whether they be rank-and-file members or the locals – and that’s what I’ve been hearing.
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Payman says she has got the “cold shoulder” from some in parliament over her stance but that there has been an “overwhelming majority who have stood up in solidarity doing their welfare check”.
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Payman says diversity in parliament also means ‘diversity of views and opinions’
Payman makes this point on diversity:
When it comes to my election, we know that the 47th parliament has been the most diverse parliament ever. You can’t have that diversity … but not have the diversity of views and opinions. And I think it’s important for us to consider that, you know, modern-day Australia looks very different to what it did 20-30 years ago, and it’s going to keep evolving that way.
She says the contested phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” to her means “freedom from violence, freedom from oppression, and freedom from inequality”:
And this is the right of Palestinians to self-determine their futures and their aspirations.
She confirms she supports a two-state solution.
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Payman says she has no intention of quitting Labor
Payman says Labor is a party with a conscience and “champions of human rights, whether that be justice, fighting for freedom, or equality”:
So I believe that I’ve been abiding by those principles of the party.
She says she won’t leave the party, although she makes a distinction between the party as a whole and the Labor caucus. She says she has been blessed with enormous support.
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Fatima Payman says she would cross the floor again if Palestine motion brought forward
Labor senator Fatima Payman is now on Insiders. She says she would cross the floor again if another motion on recognising the state of Palestine is put to the senate:
Obviously, you and I both don’t have a crystal ball, so it’s really difficult to say. If the recognition on the state of Palestine was to be brought forward tomorrow, I would cross the floor.
She said she crossed the floor knowing the risk of expulsion from the party.
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On inflation, Marles says the number will “bounce around a bit”, but says the government has been completely focused on putting downward pressure on inflation, and cost-of-living relief such as the tax cuts and so on that will roll out from tomorrow.
And on Labor senator Fatima Payman crossing the floor in support of a Palestinian state, Marles says the government “sought to act with restraint here”, that while initially there was to be no punishment, now she has been asked not to attend caucus meetings. He says:
When we stand … for election, the word Labor is next to our name, and that is the same for Fatima Payman as well. Without kind of prejudging what may or may not occur in terms of Senator Payman’s actions going forward, I cannot overemphasise enough how important all of us who are members of the team regard the obligations of being a member of the team in terms of the way in which we behave.
But he won’t say what will happen if she crosses the floor again.
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Marles ‘very concerned’ about defence contract accused of ‘unethical conduct’
Marles is now talking about this story – defence has referred a $1.2bn contract with Thales to the national corruption watchdog after the auditor-general found evidence of “unethical conduct”. Marles says he is “very concerned” about the case:
I am very concerned about the facts of this particular case. It is why we wanted to see the secretary of the department refer this to the [National Anti-Corruption Commission] as quickly as possible – that is what has happened, and it will be fully investigated. Obviously we’ll look at whatever the outcomes of that investigation are.
My sense is that there is not a systemic issue, but it’s really important that we never see one.
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Biden 'has the capacity' to stay on as US president: Marles
“I think he has the capacity,” Marles says when asked if Joe Biden has what it takes for the next four years. “I’ve got no doubt there will be no issues in relation to that.”
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Marles says Biden administration doing ‘fantastic job’
Now Speers is on to the US presidential debate, and asks Marles whether president Joe Biden is “too old for the job”. Marles says the Biden administration is doing a “fantastic job” managing the US’s position in the world. He says:
We work very closely with him and we are very pleased with how we’re progressing with the United States both in terms of their position in the world, but also in terms of our equities, most significantly, of course, the Aukus arrangements that we have in place.
The alliance will stay strong no matter who wins, he says.
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Richard Marles ‘comfortable and happy’ Julian Assange back in Australia
The defence minister, Richard Marles, is up now on the ABC’s Insiders. Julian Assange’s plea deal will feature heavily. Host David Speers asks him whether he still believes Assange put lives at risk. Marles says:
The record is what it is in terms of his actions, and the record is what it is in terms of the commentary that was made about those actions, including mine. I’m OK with that record.
But he says he’s comfortable and happy that he’s home, and that Assange’s ongoing incarceration wasn’t fair. Marles then ducks a question about whether he’d meet Assange, saying the WikiLeaks founder will be spending time with his family.
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Aston Brown has had a look at the state of rural media – it’s been hit hard recently, and the situation could get worse:
Great science, uncomfortable history: Sir Gustav Nossal and the long tail of eugenics
The views on eugenics of Sir Gustav Nossal, who was the director of the Walter and Eliza Hall institute at the University of Melbourne for 30 years, have come under scrutiny in a new book called Dhoombak Goobgoowana: A History of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne.
On this complicated topic, philosopher and academic Rob Wilson says:
We don’t have to rush to judgment. But we also don’t have to withhold it.
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This piece by Deirdre Fidge will make you feel both seen and cold (if you’re not already) and it fooled my under-caffeinated eyes into reading her surname as “Fridge”:
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Michaelia Cash continues Coalition attacks on PM over Assange
Michaelia Cash has also criticised Anthony Albanese for holding a news conference on Wednesday night to mark the release from jail and return to Australia of Julian Assange, and telephoning the WikiLeaks publisher, on the same day that monthly inflation rose from 3.6% to 4%.
Cash said:
You would’ve thought the press conference the prime minister called was to tell Australians what he was going to do to ease inflation ... Seriously, this government’s priorities are all wrong.
Mr Assange is not a hero. He is not a whistleblower. He is not a journalist. He is someone who has pleaded guilty to espionage. He is someone who risked national security by releasing national security information.
She said it was “a real reflection on our prime minister” that he lauded Assange’s release as one of his government’s great achievements.
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The shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash, has followed Jim Chalmers on Sky News’ Sunday Agenda program this morning and says Chalmers “doesn’t live in the real world”. Cash said:
It’s not inflation, it’s Jim-flation.
She has dismissed the government’s cost-of-living relief flowing to households from tomorrow in the form of energy rebates and tax cuts:
I don’t know what planet he’s living on. But back in the real world, any Australian who wakes up this morning and goes out to do some shopping is going to be hit by the harsh reality.
Cash refused to say whether the Coalition would offer bigger tax cuts. She would only say it would have a “back-to-basics economic agenda”:
All will be revealed prior to the election.
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Chalmers ‘confident but not complacent’ about inflation forecasts after May spike
Jim Chalmers says he’s “confident but not complacent” about the government’s inflation forecasts in the wake of the surprise spike in the monthly inflation result from 3.6% to 4% for May, but that “there’s always an element of uncertainty”.
Speaking on Sky News this morning ahead of the 1 July start to energy rebates and tax cuts, the treasurer said the challenge was to get on top of inflation “without seeing a big blowout in unemployment”:
It doesn’t always moderate in a straight line. It zigs and zags on the way down and that’s what we’re seeing.
Chalmers said the key goal was to ensure people stayed in jobs while the government tackled inflation:
The Reserve Bank and the government have got a similar view, which is we’ve got to get on top of inflation without smashing the economy. That involves a series of fine judgments.
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Good morning
Morning, all, and welcome to the last day of the 2023-24 financial year! Tory Shepherd with you this morning, with the rude realisation of how far behind I am on my tax returns.
There’s plenty already on the boil. The treasurer Jim Chalmers has been on the telly and will hold a press conference a bit later. He was followed by the shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash. Anthony Albanese and the Greens leader Adam Bandt will also both stand up this morning. Stay tuned! To get you started, our top stories this morning include:
Defence has been looking at alleged links between personnel and extremism, Ariel Bogle reports.
Jailed former army lawyer David McBride was uplifted by Julian Assange’s arrival in Canberra.
And here’s an explainer on what you need to know for the new financial year.
On with the show!
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