What happened Monday 27 February, 2023
With that, we’ll end our live coverage of the day’s news.
Here’s a summary of the main news developments:
A court has ordered the parent company behind failed recycling scheme REDcycle be wound up following the discovery of tonnes of stockpiled plastic.
The Optus and Medibank incidents have exposed “gaps” in Australia’s existing incident response functions, according to a discussion paper released this afternoon. The paper was released shortly after Anthony Albanese addressed the cybersecurity roundtable in Sydney, in which plans for a new national cybersecurity coordinator were announced.
Malka Leifer, a former principal of Adass Israel school in Elsternwick, arranged for a student to meet her in another teacher’s office that had no windows and a lockable door before abusing her, a court has heard.
Queensland’s First Nations children experiencing domestic and family violence are being harmed – and funnelled into risk-taking and criminal behaviour – by failures in the child protection, youth justice and other support systems, a landmark report has found.
Woodside faces more challenges of its climate stance at its upcoming shareholders gathering with activist groups dismissing its latest annual report as a “fail”. The energy giant on Monday released its climate report 2022 while also revealing its underlying profit had more than tripled to US$5.2bn ($7.7bn).
The former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro “inappropriately interfered” in the selection of former NSW Business Chamber chief executive Stephen Cartwright to fill a senior UK trade position for the state government, a parliamentary inquiry has found.
Constable Zachary Rolfe may have made an “attempt to pervert the course of justice” in writing an open letter about his conduct, and media outlets that published it could be investigated for contempt, according to explosive evidence given to a coronial inquest.
Tasmania’s largest salmon company, Tassal, sought to block the release of monitoring reports submitted to the state’s Environment Protection Agency (EPA) after using more than two tonnes of antibiotics at two of its fish farms.
A Queensland watch-house whistleblower says he witnessed “illegal” strip searches of children, a girl placed in a cell with adult men, and staff wrapping towels around prisoners’ heads to avoid spit hood protocols, causing them to “feel waterboarded”.
Australia’s renters are facing “staggering” increases in weekly costs, with worsening shortages of homes pushing up rents by a third or more in the past year in the most stretched markets.
Thanks for tuning in, we’ll be back tomorrow to do it all over again.
Have a pleasant evening.
Australian startup Recharge finalises deal to take over UK battery maker Britishvolt
The Australia-based company Recharge Industries will take over collapsed battery maker Britishvolt after finalising a deal with administrators late on Sunday in the UK.
The agreement revives hopes for the construction of a £3.8bn (A$6.7bn) “gigafactory” in northern England, the backbone of a plan to modernise the British automotive industry and supply the next generation of UK-built electric vehicles.
The deal was finalised three weeks after Recharge, an Australian company that sits under New York-based investment firm Scale Facilitation, was nominated as preferred bidder, placing a huge opportunity, and burden, on a startup yet to construct a project.
Scale Facilitation’s Australian-born founder and chief executive, David Collard, told the Guardian the factory and an associated supplier park, where components are manufactured, were still a focus.
“We’re working closely with one of the leading UK fund managers looking to team [up] on the development,” Collard said.
Read more:
Snow in LA, baguettes and a cup final: the weekend’s best photos
The Guardian’s picture editors select photo highlights from around the world
Updated
Little sign of a pullback in profits in December quarter, ABS data shows
We’ll get December quarter and full-year GDP figures this Wednesday, but most of the pieces of the puzzle are already in.
Today the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported some of the key business indicators for the quarter, including a surprising 10.6% jump, seasonally adjusted, in company profits. Wages and salaries, by contrast, rose a more modest 2.6%.
Profits rose 10.6% in the December quarter, beating economists' forecasts (and supporting the case that we're in the midst of a profit-price spiral, rather than a wage-price one). (Source: ABS, via ANZ) pic.twitter.com/ayu8EJXL1r
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) February 27, 2023
Westpac, for instance, had tipped profits to rise only 1%, while the market “consensus” was for a 1.8% increase.
The profit surge is likely to bolster the case to look at whether companies pushing through higher prices than the underlying cost of inputs (such as labour) might be the real source of inflationary pressure. The Australia Institute is among the groups that reckon so, as we saw last week:
The spread of profit, as you might expect, varies by industry. The real estate industry, where property sales and prices have been on the skids, was the lagging sector in the December quarter. Given the way interest rates are headed, this trend might well persist.
Profits rose in every sector in the December quarter, bar the rental & real estate one. (Source: ABA via ANZ) pic.twitter.com/um2cdDlbTq
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) February 27, 2023
Inventories, meanwhile, sank 0.2% in the quarter. Sounds a bit dull, but the shift reversed a 0.4 percentage point rise in the September quarter, and the shift alone will lop off 0.8 percentage points of GDP growth for the final three months of 2022.
Foreign trade figures out tomorrow from the ABS will provide the last of the GDP figures that economists need to update their forecasts for what Wednesday’s numbers should look like.
Updated
Delegation of vice-chancellors to join education minister on India visit
A dozen vice-chancellors are joining education minister Jason Clare on an official visit to India this week, as the federal government moves to strengthen its ties with the nation’s tertiary sector.
On the five-day visit, Clare will sign a mutual recognition agreement for qualifications with India, while Universities Australia (UA) will also renew its formal partnership with the Association of Indian universities.
Clare has raised the possibility of establishing Australian campuses in India to capitalise on India’s goal to educate 500 million students by 2035 under its national education plan.
UA said education would be key to a growing trade relationship with India, currently Australia’s second largest and fastest growing source of international students after China. There are around 128,979 Indian students enrolled with Australian providers, representing 17% of the entire makeup.
CEO of UA Catriona Jackson will accompany the prime minister on a visit to India following Clare. She said universities “fully support” the federal government’s commitment to sign the agreement.
Higher education and research are central pillars of our relationship, and universities are eager to use the opportunities in front of us to ratchet up our engagement ... we are entering a golden era in our education relationship with India. We must make the most of it for the benefit of both our nations.
Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN) executive director, Luke Sheehy is among the delegation. In semester one of 2022, there was a 275% increase on Indian enrolments at ATN universities.
This delegation will help solidify the already deep affinity we share. There is an enduring genuine affection with India, along with great partnerships which have been signed in economic agreements, and education has always taken a leading role.
It follows the resignation of 13 academic fellows last year from the Australia India Institute – Australia’s leading India thinktank – over concerns about academic freedom, as reported by the Saturday Paper.
Updated
Leifer allegedly abused student in another teacher’s windowless office, court told
Malka Leifer, a former principal of Adass Israel school in Elsternwick, arranged for a student to meet her in another teacher’s office that had no windows and a lockable door before abusing her, a court has heard.
Leifer has been charged with 29 offences against three sisters between 2003 and 2007, including 10 counts of rape.
She has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is facing trial at the county court in Melbourne.
Dr Vicki Gordon, a clinical and forensic psychologist who treated one of Leifer’s alleged victims, told the court on Monday about the notes she had taken after an appointment in March 2008.
During the session, Gordon said the woman had been “full of shame” and would send her text messages regarding the alleged abuse committed by Leifer while sitting across from her “because she couldn’t mouth the words. She was too embarrassed”.
Read more:
Zachary Rolfe may have tried to pervert the course of justice, inquest told
Constable Zachary Rolfe may have made an “attempt to pervert the course of justice” in writing an open letter about his conduct, and media outlets that published it could be investigated for contempt, according to explosive evidence given to a coronial inquest.
The inquest into the shooting death of Warlpiri teenager Kumanjayi Walker resumed on Monday.
Walker, 19, was shot dead by Rolfe during a botched arrest in the remote Northern Territory community of Yuendumu in 2019. Rolfe was cleared of all criminal charges in relation to the shooting. He has been pursuing legal action to avoid giving evidence at the inquest, and wrote an open letter before leaving the country late last week.
Rolfe said in a 2,500-word statement published on Facebook that he was a “good cop” who “loved the job”, but that he had been “painted” as racist and violent.
Acting for the NT police, Ian Freckleton SC on Monday said the force was “extremely concerned” about Rolfe’s conduct.
Read more:
Robodebt inquiry hears former departmental lawyer thought government’s legal position on program was ‘weak’ in early 2017
The commission heard on Monday from two lawyers who were asked to look at the unlawful program’s legality when it exploded into public view in early 2017.
Mark Gladman, a former deputy general counsel at the Department of Human Services, told the commission that after researching the scheme he believed it was “weak”.
Gladman said he advised his superior at the time, acting chief counsel Lisa Carmody, that the department should seek the Australian government solicitor’s (AGS) opinion on the program.
The inquiry was shown draft instructions that Gladman and colleagues had prepared for the AGS.
As it turned out, the AGS didn’t end up providing a legal opinion until late March 2019, more than two years later. It said then the scheme was likely unlawful.
Carmody, who was acting in the role in early January, told the commission on Monday she had brief discussions with the AGS before her usual boss, Annette Musolino resumed in the role.
Carmody said she also provided hard copies of the documents – including Gladman’s teams draft advice on the scheme – to Musolino when she returned from leave in January 2017. Musolino is expected to appear again at the royal commission.
Carmody agreed the draft advice – which sought to mount a legal defence for the scheme – was “unconvincing”. The advice was never finalised.
The inquiry before Catherine Holmes AC SC continues.
Updated
Qantas announces leadership changes
Andrew David, the chief executive of Qantas Domestic and International, will retire from the company in September, as the airline announces changes to its leadership structure.
Less than a week after announcing a record $1.43bn half-year profit, Qantas on Monday announced that ahead of David’s departure, his role – which was combined during Covid – will again be split into two portfolios for domestic and international.
From July, former Air New Zealand executive Cameron Wallace will take over as chief executive of Qantas International. David will remain as chief executive of Qantas Domestic until his retirement in September.
“This will provide the management bandwidth required as each business welcomes new aircraft and expands its network,” Qantas said in a statement.
Both the roles will report to the chief executive of the broader Qantas Group, Alan Joyce, who himself is expected to leave Qantas later this year.
Updated
NZ to stage global fundraiser to support Cyclone Gabrielle recovery
New Zealand will stage an international fundraising appeal to support its Cyclone Gabrielle recovery, and a one-off lotto draw next month.
Prime minister Chris Hipkins said the appeal was modelled off a similar fundraising effort following the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes, which raised more than $NZ94m ($A86m).
This global appeal means we can harness local and international donations and channel them to the communities and projects that need them the most.
The cyclone was NZ’s biggest storm in a generation, affecting one-third of its land mass and causing billions of dollars worth of damage.
The final bill may never be known, but includes huge rebuilds of road, rail and energy infrastructure, as well as housing, and lost earnings from vast swathes of agricultural land.
Hipkins said he hoped Kiwis in the one million strong diaspora – which includes hundreds of thousands in Australia – would consider giving.
New Zealanders who have gone abroad and done well and want to get something back to the country, my message to them is ‘We would love your support’.
Businesses that have a relationship with New Zealand and want to chip in and help out with the rebuild, again, we would love to hear from them as well … This is a charitable appeal. So we’re really targeting anyone who’s in a position to feel that they can contribute and do something that’s for the wider community.
Gabrielle’s death toll remains at 11.
Earlier fears of a much larger toll are subsiding, with police revealing they had whittled down the number of missing people from almost 7,000 to five. Of the outstanding people, three are on active charges, including two who breached bail prior to the cyclone.
– AAP
Updated
Thanks for your attention this Monday, Elias Visontay will take you through the rest of today’s news.
Young girl in critical condition after falling from rocks in Queensland
A young girl is in critical condition after falling from rocks at North Stradbroke Island on Saturday.
News.com.au is reporting the eight-year-old girl fell from the lookout on the island:
Her father jumped in after her and found her unconscious, holding her head above water as they waited for help.
It is believed she was swept off the rocks and under water for a period of time.
Queensland Ambulance Service have told Guardian Australia two patients were assessed “following a post immersion incident” off South Gorge Beach shortly before 11.30am on 25 February.
A female child was airlifted to Queensland Children’s Hospital in a critical condition and a male adult was transported by road to Murrie Rose centre and further transported to Princess Alexandra hospital stable.
Updated
UN scolds Australia for its treatment of sick refugees
Australia has copped a pasting from the United Nations for its treatment of asylum seekers who remain stuck in Nauru and Papua New Guinea, AAP reports.
The UN high commissioner for refugees has joined human rights groups and grassroots advocates in demanding the immediate evacuation of about 150 people being held offshore.
Greens senator Nick McKim has introduced proposed laws that would see 66 people on Nauru and another 92 in PNG transferred to community detention in Australia if they posed no security risk.
People evacuated to Australia would be provided with access to medical treatment.
A parliamentary inquiry investigating the bill has received more than 30 submissions, with unanimous support for the legislative amendment.
The UNHCR and Human Rights Watch were among those to support a more humane and cost-effective approach to achieving “immigration enforcement goals”.
The UN lambasted the government, saying it had a legal responsibility towards the safe settlement of asylum seekers under international rules.
The agency said:
The government of Australia cannot seek to divest itself of responsibility or limit jurisdiction and responsibility under international law for those taken to Nauru or Papua New Guinea.
Its submission described observing first-hand how the physical and psychological health of asylum seekers and refugees transferred offshore by Australia had deteriorated over the last decade.
Human Rights Watch said 12 asylum seekers had died since 2013, when the offshore processing policy was introduced.
The organisation also pointed out Australian taxpayers had been left to pay the exorbitant bill.
Updated
Salmon company Tassal tried to block release of report on antibiotic use, documents show
Tasmania’s largest salmon company, Tassal, sought to block the release of monitoring reports submitted to the state’s Environment Protection Agency (EPA) after using more than two tonnes of antibiotics at two of its fish farms.
In early January 2022, Tassal and Huon Aquaculture reported outbreaks of vibrio, a bacterium the Tasmanian Salmonid Growers Association says can cause an infection with a “high mortality rate”.
Read more here:
Labor says NSW on track to build more trains if elected
Some 1,000 apprentices will hop on board a manufacturing push to build trains in NSW if Labor is voted into power next month, AAP reports.
Labor announced the creation of three centres in the Hunter, Illawarra and western Sydney at a cost of $42m to form the vocational backbone needed to build trains, buses and ferries.
Labor leader Chris Minns told reporters at Lake Macquarie today:
There is a proud tradition of train building in the Hunter. It’s been happening in this region for over 100 years and I firmly believe that Australians are world leaders when it comes to engineering and manufacturing – they just need a government in this state that’s going to back local and buy local.
We’re determined to change government policy to make sure that we can build trains right here in NSW.
The opposition said 1,000 jobs building trains in the region would be created in its first term through Domestic Manufacturing Centres of Excellence, run by Tafe.
Minns said relying on overseas contractors had blown the budget for the Liberal-National coalition government in the top six transport infrastructure projects by 40 to 50% and domestic manufacturing was needed to jump start the economy.
Nothing will change unless there’s a change of government. We believe in domestic manufacturing and we’ve got the policies to back it up.
Updated
Severe thunderstorm warning for northern NSW
The NSW SES is issuing a severe thunderstorm warning for northern NSW including Grafton, Kempsey, Armidale, Tenterfield, Glen Innes and Dorrigo. These areas could also see damaging winds and large hailstones. If you’re in those areas, stay safe!
Severe Thunderstorm Warning for DAMAGING WINDS and LARGE HAILSTONES. Locations which may be affected include #Grafton, #Kempsey, #Armidale, #Tenterfield, #GlenInnes and #Dorrigo.
— NSW SES (@NSWSES) February 27, 2023
https://t.co/P3MEQ4xwMi pic.twitter.com/Cx39lj57qZ
Updated
Indian students facing lengthy visa delays
Indian students with Australian PhD placements facing lengthy student visa delays are urging the federal government to clear a backlog as the education minister signs a broad-ranging tertiary education deal.
Atul Kumar Rai is in a WhatsApp group with more than 100 students who’ve been awarded fully funded PhD scholarships at Australian universities and are still waiting for visa outcomes – some for up to three years.
Rai lodged his visa application in March 2022 after receiving a fully-funded scholarship at the University of Wollongong. He has received a common response when reaching out to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection:
Unfortunately, ensuring all the legal requirements are met in relation to an application can take some time. In particular, it can take several months to obtain any necessary health, character and security clearances from other agencies ... I am unable to provide you with a definitive timeframe for the finalisation of your application.
Rai said during this time, he had submitted $3,500 for health insurance and visa application fees.
This week, minister for education Jason Clare is visiting India to sign deepened agreements for mutual recognition in the higher education sector. Rai questioned why higher education pathways were being fostered when students were having their scholarships lapse.
Delaying the visas will be slowing down the growth and development of both countries. We are the brands of our country and educational institutions. We will play a very vital role in the exchange of knowledge, technology and culture of both countries. We don’t need relaxed working hours or post study visa relations. We just want our student visa. It feels like we are left behind. We have sleeping disorder, anxiety issues during this period.
Parkarsh Kumar received multiple international PhD offers after graduating in Taiwan in 2021. He chose Australia for its reputation and the mutual relationship agreements between the two nations.
My dream of becoming professor at a reputed Indian university is getting shattered after waiting for so long and yet no communication from the Department of Home Affairs. I am currently waiting for more than 14 months.
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said it understood visa application delays were causing concerns for students.
One in ten student visas for postgraduate research aren’t being processed within 12 months, with delays cited if applications are “complex” or incomplete. Half of visas are finalised within four months.
Updated
Optus and Medibank hacks exposed 'gaps': discussion paper
The Optus and Medibank incidents have exposed “gaps” in Australia’s existing incident response functions, according to a discussion paper released this afternoon.
The discussion paper calls for regulatory changes – including potentially a new Cyber Security Act. Most controversially, the paper suggests that the government’s power to step in to assist organisations or companies respond to cyber attacks could be expanded to a wider range of circumstances. But it is worth pointing out that this is not government policy as yet.
The discussion paper was released shortly after Anthony Albanese addressed the cybersecurity roundtable in Sydney. It was drafted by an expert advisory board chaired by former Telstra boss Andrew Penn and whose other members are former air force chief Mel Hupfeld and cyber security expert Rachael Falk.
The authors say they have heard from industry that business owners “often do not feel their cybersecurity obligations are clear or easy to follow”. The paper says it is “clear from stakeholder feedback and the increasing frequency and severity of major cyber incidents, that more explicit specification of obligations, including some form of best practice cyber security standards, is required across the economy to increase our national cyber resilience and keep Australians and their data safe.”
It adds:
It is clear that a package of regulatory reform is necessary. How this would be implemented, including the potential consideration of a new Cyber Security Act, drawing together cyber-specific legislative obligations and standards across industry and government, and the details of these reforms is something on which feedback will be welcomed.
This should also consider whether further developments to the [Security of Critical Infrastructure] Act are warranted, such as including customer data and ‘systems’ in the definition of critical assets to ensure the powers afforded to government under the SOCI Act extend to major data breaches such as those experienced by Medibank and Optus, not just operational disruptions.”
That proposal would expand the circumstances where the Australian Signals Directorate could step in to “assist” in the response to a cyber attack.
Other proposals for feedback include strengthening Australia’s international strategy on cyber security (such as boosting assistance to south-east Asian and Pacific countries). The paper also urges the government to lead by example, highlighting the fact that Australian government entities “have a long way to go to properly secure government systems”. It also suggests more help for small and medium businesses. Feedback is sought by 15 April.
Updated
New coordinator for cybersecurity to be announced
Albanese ends his speech announcing a new coordinator for cybersecurity will be appointed within the home affairs portfolio:
We want all Australian businesses to be able to pick tech themselves but also protect their customers. And I don’t underestimate the challenge we are facing, this is an ever evolving threat and it will need adaptation from us and for business and for government to make sure we keep on top of this.
That’s why today, as well as part of this process, we are announcing a coordinator for cybersecurity. We want that coordination to be done centrally so it’s most effective, that’s why that will be located in the Department of Home Affairs under the responsibility of minister Clare O’Neil, so there is a clear pathway forward, and I believe that is a critical contribution that we can make.
Updated
National cybersecurity capacity 'not at the level we need them to be', PM says
Albanese goes on to say the government is determined to turn around a situation where Australia has been “off the pace” for too many years when it comes to the rapidly evolving cybersecurity threat.
We, of course are conscious as a government as well about state-sponsored attacks, which increasingly prevalent, stealing classified information, to cyber criminal acts aimed at seeking to secure some profit or in some cases, ransomeware attacks, which are increasingly prevalent as well.
So, clearly as it stands government policies and regulations, business sectors systems and measures, and our general awareness of capacity as a nation are simply not at the level that we need them to be.
…This is really fast moving. It’s a rapidly evolving threat and for too many years Australia has been off the pace. Our government is determined to change that.
He tells the industry and experts at the roundtable:
We want to use your expertise and experience to build a national cybersecurity strategy that is practical, that’s useful and adaptable. For every level of government, every branch of the public service every agency and institution, for business, large and small and for people.
Updated
Albanese on strengthening national cybersecurity
But back to Australian shores, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese is speaking about developing a national cybersecurity strategy at the roundtable taking place today in Sydney.
Albanese opens his speech reflecting on the importance of cybersecurity not only for Australian business and national security but also the importance for individuals to feel their identity is protected.
Cybersecurity is national security, it is business security but it is also personal security for 25 million Australians.
… Strengthening Australia’s cybersecurity is a fundamental priority for our government. We recognise it is an essential part of life, the way that every Australian and every business and every community organisation deals with each other, on a day-to-day basis.
It is absolutely critical as well for maintaining trust in our public institutions, and our public service. It’s critical to maintain confidence in your commercial dealings, and also in your intellectual property, which is often the foundation of your wealth creation.
It’s also vital to individuals, individuals quite rightly feel violated when their details are online. It is no different from someone breaking into your house and stealing something from you because it is your property, and in some cases it’s your identity as well.
Updated
It’s currently Sunday night in Los Angeles where the Screen Actors Guild awards are taking place with nominees stepping out onto the red carpet now ahead of the ceremony.
Australia’s own Cate Blanchett, nominated for her leading role in Tar, is impressing in a sparkling black Armani Privé gown in her march towards the Oscars.
Cate Blanchett. My jaw is on the floor https://t.co/64KKcqkxo0 pic.twitter.com/MJYhR5hUvT
— Jezebel (@Jezebel) February 27, 2023
Updated
Perrottet ‘impeded’ committee’s work in Barilaro report, committee finds
A NSW parliamentary committee has accused premier Dominic Perrottet of hindering its probe into lucrative overseas trade roles, AAP reports.
The committee said in its final report released today:
The premier’s refusal to assist this inquiry in its investigations has impeded the committee’s ability to determine his role in the selection of Stephen Cartwright as the NSW Agent General UK, as well as determining his remuneration.
The inquiry was launched to investigate former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro’s appointment to a taxpayer-funded US trade position and was later expanded to examine similar lucrative roles, including that of Cartwright.
The upper house committee report found Barilaro interfered in that hiring process by meeting with Cartwright, and failed to engage with a candidate who had previously been preferred for the job.
Barilaro also talked with Cartwright about his salary expectations, boosting his expectations.
The committee report said this was highly inappropriate and showed poor judgment.
Cartwright, who eventually landed an annual pay packet of $600,000 along with a $105,000 rent allowance, applied pressure to public servants during negotiations, the committee found.
The premier dismissed the report’s findings and denied Barilaro had acted inappropriately.
He told reporters today:
This is typical of Labor, back in the upper house playing more games.
The premier cited independent reports commissioned by the government.
Updated
Wong to take part in G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi
Wong will then travel on to India – the first time she has visited that country since being sworn in as foreign affairs minister last May. The main commitments are the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, and the strategic conference known as the Raisina Dialogue.
The G20 has struggled to come to a unified position on the war in Ukraine. A statement issued after a meeting of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors held in Bengaluru, India, on Friday and Saturday said that “most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine”. That statement which included language that “deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine” – was not agreed by G20 member countries Russia and China.
Wong said today:
I look forward to working with my counterparts on how we can address contemporary international challenges, including strengthening the multilateral system, food and energy security, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief …
This year is an important milestone in Australia’s bilateral relationship with India, with many high-level ministerial visits between our two countries.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese, minister for trade and tourism Don Farrell and minister for resources Madeleine King will travel to India over the next month, and later this year Australia looks forward to hosting Indian prime minister Narendra Modi when he attends the Quad leaders’ meeting.
Updated
Wong to travel to India and Malaysia this week
Just days after returning from Kiribati and Fiji, Penny Wong will travel to Malaysia and India this week.
Malaysia has previously expressed concerns that the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine plan could contribute to a regional arms race. Australia, the US and the UK are expected to announce the finer details of those submarine plans next month, so it seems likely this and the parallel defence strategic review could come up in discussions.
The foreign affairs minister said she looked forward to holding introductory meetings with members of the new Malaysian government, including the prime minister, minister of foreign affairs and minister of economy.
Wong said she would use the visit to Malaysia to “reaffirm our shared priorities” and to advance “our significant trade and economic links, cooperation on defence and regional security, and the close ties between our peoples”. Referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Wong added:
Australia is committed to working with Malaysia to support Asean’s vital contribution to regional peace and security.
Updated
GPs call on other states to follow Queensland offering pill testing
One of the nation’s peak doctors’ bodies has called on states and territories to introduce illicit pill testing to “save lives” after Queensland unveiled plans for a trial.
The Queensland government on Saturday announced plans to have at least one drug-checking trial site running within six months in a bid to reduce avoidable deaths.
The move comes days after the state government tabled legislation aimed at decriminalising illicit drug possession and five years after drug checking was first trialled at a Canberra music festival.
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has backed the pill-testing plan, calling on other state and territory leaders to do so to “save lives”.
RACGP president Dr Nicole Higgins says people will take illicit drugs despite the risks so governments should try to minimise harm, “not stick our heads in the sand and pretend otherwise”.
She said in a statement today:
From what has occurred in other jurisdictions, we know that many people who submit drugs for testing don’t take them when they find out what they actually contain.
Prevention is better than punitive action. A ‘war on drugs’ mindset gets us nowhere. I call on our nation’s leaders to follow the lead of the ACT and now Queensland and introduce fixed and mobile pill-testing sites to save lives.
However, Queensland opposition health spokeswoman Ros Bates, a registered nurse, said the move to allow pill testing was “soft on drugs” and pointed to a suggestion from NSW police that pill testing gave users false confidence about safety.
Victoria and NSW have resisted pushes to roll out approved testing sites despite multiple coronial inquests into drug-related festival deaths recommending the measure.
– AAP
Updated
As we’ve mentioned on the blog, Woodside is the latest corporation to be recording big profits, following similar boons for Qantas, CBA Woolworth and Coles posted last week.
Guardian columnist Greg Jericho gives you a visual on just how much profits are soaring ahead of wages.
The secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Sally McManus says the graph paints a picture of the continuing transfer of wealth to corporate Australia, causing “greedflation”.
Just in: Updated profit v wages graph. The big transfer of wealth to corporate Australia continues & its causing greedflation https://t.co/N4iqu4i7CT
— Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) February 27, 2023
Updated
Flowers and a fruit tree have popped up out of a pothole in the town of Wallan north of Melbourne, along with a sign that reads “Wallan Botanical Gardens”.
The Whittlesea Leader has appealed to their readers for information behind the unusual sight on the Northern Highway, with comments attesting to a collective frustration among the community at the lack of action to fix local roads.
The issue of potholes have become particularly acute in towns like Wallan which were affected by last year’s east coast floods which ravaged roads and transport networks creating an infrastructure crisis.
The people of #Wallan are taking their battle with the state gov over pot-holes into their own hands. Spotted on the northern highway. Perhaps Labor will now fix it! pic.twitter.com/mc1HNO5TmC
— Evan Mulholland MP (@evmulholland) February 24, 2023
Overseas in France, where potholes are known as “nids-de-poule” (literally “hen’s nests”), frustration over the state of the country’s roads has also taken an ironic turn.
The “Operation Hen’s Nest” campaign has been running by the French Federation of Angry Bikers (“La Fédération Française des Motards en Colère”) sets up mock hen’s nests in potholes, adding signs or writing on the roads to alert users to their presence.
Signalez les nids-de-poule : c'est parti ! https://t.co/ojgxjMa6KP pic.twitter.com/V2cRZFjXZf
— FFMC Nationale (@ffmcnat) July 16, 2020
Updated
Woodside’s climate report falls short, activist groups says
Along with its earnings (‘ka-ching’) report, energy giant Woodside has also released its latest annual climate statement, which is always a tricky issue when you’re a company based on digging up or drilling fossil fuels.
Shareholders at last year’s annual general meeting came close to rejecting the company’s climate report for 2021, with only 51% approving it. Expect this year’s report to be back on the AGM voting list, with Greenpeace, Market Forces and the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility rejecting it to be a “fail”.
The company states:
Woodside aims to thrive through the energy transition by building a low-cost, lower carbon, profitable, resilient and diversified portfolio.
(“Lower carbon”, according to Woodside, is based on a comparison against “historical and/or current conventions”.)
Anyway, the company aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions of its scope 1 pollution (resulting from the production of gas and oil) by 15% by 2025, and 30% by 2030. To deal with emissions from users’ burning the fuel, the company has set aside $US5bn for “targeted investments in new energy products and lower carbon services by 2030”.
Glenn Walker, head of Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s advocacy and strategy, said Woodside had made almost no progress on plans to reduce emissions, despite setting an “aspirational” net-zero goal by 2050.
Walker said:
Woodside’s Climate Report is a schoolboy effort, essentially a rehash of its previous year’s plan that betrays the company’s lack of genuine commitment to emissions reduction.
Woodside is betting the farm on a fantasy future increase in gas use that is utterly at odds with modelling from credible energy analysts such as the International Energy Agency.
The Woodside-led Burrup Hub gas project, which would release more than 6bn tonnes of CO2-equivalent pollution (or about 12 times Australia’s national emissions), is among the firm’s proposed projects.
Will van de Pol, acting executive director of Market Forces, said Woodside’s plans were “incompatible with a net zero emissions by 2050 pathway”.
Woodside continues to promote a strategy that undermines climate action by paying big executive bonuses for increasing oil and gas production and progressing new oil and gas projects,” van de Pol said, adding Market Forces urged investors to vote for the ‘Capital Protection’ shareholder resolution, vote against the company’s remuneration report and reject directors standing for reelection at the company’s AGM in April.
Alex Hillman, ACCR’s lead analyst, said fossil fuel companies like Woodside might have made “huge profits” in 2022 but such windfall gains would likely prove “short-lived” as energy markets accelerate their shift towards renewables.
Hillman said:
Today, Woodside remains stubbornly rusted on to its underwhelming 2021 climate plan, saying its ‘strategy remains consistent’.
Regardless of material investor concerns about the company’s overreliance on offsets, Woodside has confirmed it still plans to use offsets to meet 100% of its restated scope 1 emission reduction target.
Woodside’s directors have a tin ear on climate risk and it’s time they were called to account.
April, it seems, would be the occasion for such an accounting, if there is to be one.
Updated
Perrottet calls for an end to Covid-19 vaccine mandates
NSW premier Dominic Perrottet has called for the end of broad Covid-19 vaccine mandates in his state, saying the jab has no effect on transmission.
Public health orders mandating vaccines for health professionals expired in November but some workplaces can require mandatory vaccination under their own applicable work, health and safety obligations.
Perrottet told Sydney radio 2GB this morning:
There is no evidence that vaccines in the current environment have any impact at all on transmission of Covid. I could not be clearer.
He said health facilities imposed some vaccine requirements on workers before the pandemic, usually for influenza, and that was the point he wanted to get back to.
In the areas of the public service that I can make that direction, I have it and it has been enacted.
I’ve also worked very closely with the private sector who have followed my position.
According to the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance [NCIRS], Covid-19 vaccines are effective in preventing severe disease but are not as effective in preventing transmission.
NCIRS advice states:
The Covid-19 vaccines were designed to protect individuals from Covid-19 and severe disease. Like most vaccines, they were not designed to reduce transmission.
Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi) recommends adults get a vaccine booster if they haven’t been vaccinated or caught the virus in the past six months, and are either over 65 or have medical comorbidities that increase their risk of severe Covid-19.
– with AAP
Updated
Former Greens MP hopes to legalise cannabis in NSW
Former Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham has switched parties in the hope of re-entering NSW parliament for the Legalise Cannabis party, AAP reports.
The party maintains the criminalisation of cannabis use and possession are both ineffective and unfair, and have a disproportionate impact on sick, young and Indigenous people.
Also running on the party’s ticket is former Australian Idol host James Mathison.
The party is confident after having two upper house MPs elected in the most recent Victorian and Western Australian elections.
Buckingham told AAP:
We think there’s a good chance [and] we’re going to run a positive campaign. The majority of Australians now support legalisation.
Medicinal cannabis use is growing across NSW, with close to 500,000 people using the drug nationally.
Buckingham – previously an MLC for the NSW Greens – resigned from the party in 2018, saying it had become a “toxic” organisation which had “abandoned the core principles they were founded on”.
His resignation came after months of infighting and pressure from his parliamentary colleagues.
Despite his controversial exit, Buckingham said he was ready to return to the political fray.
I’ve still got a lot of friends in the environmental movement. I’ll be happy to work with the Greens to get cannabis law reform over the line.
If elected, the party will push to make cannabis legal for adults and to change road rules the party says discriminate against users. It also wants criminal records for prior cannabis offences to be expunged.
Updated
Severe thunderstorms predicted for the Hunter in NSW
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting severe thunderstorms for the eastern ranges and coastal hinterland of NSW this afternoon and evening.
They said the Hunter region is facing the highest risk, with the possibility of destructive winds and giant hailstones as well as severe thunder.
⚠️ Severe thunderstorms for the eastern ranges and coastal hinterland this afternoon and evening. Severe storms may produce damaging winds, large hail and heavy falls. The Hunter faces the highest risk, with possible destructive winds and giant hailstones. pic.twitter.com/hRYB6es0JP
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) February 26, 2023
Updated
REDcycle liquidated by court after stockpiled plastic discovered
A court has ordered failed recycling scheme REDcycle be wound up following the discovery of tonnes of stockpiled plastic, AAP reports.
NSW supreme court registrar Leonie Walton ordered the scheme’s parent company RG Programs and Services be wound up today, appointing Benjamin Carson of Farnsworth Carson as liquidator.
Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths were partners in the scheme and on Friday offered to take back the plastic until it can be “viably processed for recycling”.
The two companies say they paid $20m to REDcycle over a decade and were not told about the stockpiling.
The scheme abruptly stopped operating in November and has since admitted to stockpiling more than 12,000 tonnes of plastic in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
REDcycle has previously denied the stockpiling was a cover-up, saying it was an attempt to ride out problems including a spike in returned plastics, a fire at its largest taker of the material and insufficient recycling capabilities in Australia.
Supporting creditors will have to chase their own costs. Walton said:
[It’s] their choice to be here – up to them to take it up with the liquidator.
Updated
Woodside profit triples aided by Ukraine war energy price boost
Australia’s biggest gas and oil company Woodside has done very nicely out of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reporting today a full-year net profit after tax of $US6.5bn (or A$9.7bn).
That was up 228% on a year earlier, and includes the proceeds of its takeover of BHP’s oil assets. The main profit driver, though, was soaring global energy prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year earlier.
The disruptions and subsequent sanctions on Russian energy helped push up the “realised price” of Woodside’s production 63% to the equivalent of $US98.40 per barrel of oil.
The market watches most closely the so-called underlying profit, which also rose 223% – or more than triple – to $US5.2bn. Investors were also keen on the dividend payout, which for the full year were $2.53 a share or 87% higher than the previous year.
Woodside as one of the big gas producers has been unhappy about the Albanese government’s invention to place a price cap of $12/gigajoule for domestic supply. Increasingly, though, the worry is what the ACCC is coming to come up with in terms of a mandatory code of conduct, reviews of prices and a “reasonable” price test for future developments.
To that end, the company was keen to state its payments in taxes and royalties had more than tripled in the past year to $A2.7bn.
Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said in a statement accompanying today’s results:
[O]ur tax payments are expected to again increase significantly in 2023.
Investors at least seem cheered by the numbers, with Woodside’s share price recently up about 2.5% to $35.47. The gain was in stark contrast to overall market’s drop of about 1% on concerns about higher inflation – and higher borrowing costs – in the US.
Updated
Melbourne restaurant changes dress code after turning away Russell Crowe
A high-end Japanese restaurant in Melbourne, Mr Miyagi, has changed its dress code after staff turned away Russell Crowe last week.
Owner Kristian Klein told the Herald Sun’s Page 13 that he stood by his staff’s decision to ban Crowe, his girlfriend Britney Theriot and their guests saying their “slobby gym gear” didn’t meet his restaurant’s standards of dress.
However, the restaurant has reconsidered its dress code sharing a sign on social media which reads:
Dress smart casual unless you’re Russell Crowe, then wear whatevs **management reserve the right to refuse entry.
The post was accompanied by an open letter to Crowe in the caption:
Dear Russell,
During your last visit it seems we got off on the wrong foot. After much reflection on what occurred, we have made a permanent change to our dress code.
We would love to see you again in the future, you’re always welcome at Mr. Miyagi.
Updated
Little relief in sight amid ‘staggering’ rise in rents
In what won’t be news for many who are renting, the cost of accommodation is soaring in many parts of the country, particularly for houses.
According to data from PropTrack, rental increases are exceeding a third over the past year in the most stretched regions of Australia. With vacancy rates at below 1% in some places and the number of both overseas students and migrants picking up, more increases in prices are coming, as noted by our colleague Bridie Jabour:
the smallest rent increase among my mates renewing leases in past few months has been $70 a week, the highest $200. everyone full of dread for renewals coming up https://t.co/b9V313aobA
— Bridie Jabour (@bkjabour) February 26, 2023
One effect of higher interest rates is that the ability of renters to get into the property market is reduced since their loan limits are reduced faster than real estate prices have fallen – so far, at least.
According to ANZ, capital city prices will fall 10% in 2023, to bring the total peak-to-trough decline to 18%. “A modest recovery in the latter part of 2024 remains our base case,” it said last week.
It’s far from the busiest time for auctions, but the latest numbers so far don’t point to a lot of panic selling.
Figures from CoreLogic showed that preliminary clearance rates for the past week were just shy of 70% (before they’ll be revised down a bit).
The key change is that there were about a third fewer auctions than this time last year as would-be vendors hold off or even withdraw from their property from the market.
Updated
Wider spread of Japanese encephalitis than previously thought, Victorian health department says
A survey of more than 800 people in northern Victoria has found the Japanese encephalitis virus has infected more people than first thought, the Victorian Department of Health said.
The survey, which also asked people to give a blood sample, found approximately one in 30 participants had evidence of having a prior Japanese encephalitis infection.
The department says the results suggests many more people may have been infected than the 13 cases reported in last year’s mosquito season.
Participants who showed evidence of prior infection were identified in all three regions that took part in the survey: Loddon Mallee, Goulburn Valley and Ovens Murray.
Victoria’s deputy chief health officer Assoc Prof Deborah Friedman said:
By finding more cases than we were previously aware of, this important research reinforces the risk to all in the community that mosquito-borne diseases pose – especially in light of recent flood activity.
There are sensible steps people can take to avoid mosquito bites. Wear long, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing, use insect repellents, clear stagnant water around homes or properties, and avoid the outdoors when mosquitoes are observed, especially at dusk and dawn.
The eligibility criteria for vaccination against Japanese encephalitis has been extended to seven local government areas: Greater Bendigo, Northern Grampians, Hindmarsh, Horsham, Buloke, Yarriambiack and West Wimmera.
Updated
‘Drastic increase’ in principals wanting to retire early or quit, new research shows
The number of school principals wanting to retire early or quit has tripled since 2019, research shows, as heavy workloads and teacher shortages place pressure on the sector.
The research, released by the Australian Catholic University today surveyed about 2,500 principals in 2022. Sixty-five principals planned to quit or retire early in 2022 – more than triple than three years before than.
It found heavy workloads and a lack of time to focus on teaching and learning were the top two sources of stress, followed by teacher shortages and mental health issues of students and staff, including burnout and stress.
ACU Investigator and former principal Dr Paul Kidson said the numbers pointed to a worrying trend:
It is a drastic increase when you look at the whole picture. Principals’ workloads, stress caused by issues including the national teacher shortage across public, Catholic, and independent schools, and demands outside the classroom have escalated to unsustainable levels.
This data shows serious dashboard warning lights flashing all over the place. These are warning signs that we have not seen so acutely before, and we have almost 2,500 people saying the same thing.
Updated
‘No intention’ of making super changes, PM says
Anthony Albanese says his government has “no intention of making changes in superannuation” but says it wants to have a debate about its purpose – not exactly shutting down expectations that those with the biggest super balances could see their lucrative tax breaks trimmed down.
The PM appeared on The Project last night, where he got a few questions on the potential super changes that others in the government have been discussing. On the table at this stage is the potential for tax concessions for super voluntary contributions (taxed at 15%, much lower than income tax) to be shaved down for people with balances over $3m – which is less than 1% of the country.
Channel 10 showed the PM a clip of an interview during last year’s election when Albanese said the government had no intention of making changes to super.
Albanese responded:
I said, we had no intention. That’s not the objective here. But people are coming forward with ideas. We’re not shutting down debate.
It is appropriate there be debate about the policy future across a range of issues, particularly in the context of the trillion dollars in debt we inherited. But we have no intention of making changes in superannuation.
We will have the debate about the purpose and the definition of what it is and try to enshrine that in legislation, so people get what the purpose is much more clearer.
Albanese went on to say that the government “had no changes”. Of course, this is a common type of phrasing from governments considering changes, to say they have made no changes (with a “yet” often the unsaid but mutually understood part of that line):
We’ve had no changes. We’re not here announcing changes. We are having a discussion about the purpose of superannuation. This is all hypothetical. So if we make an announcement, then you can scrutinise what that announcement is, but we’ve made it very clear that no decisions have been made.
Updated
Australia’s T20 World Cup glory against South Africa
In sporting news, Australia has taken out the T20 World Cup for the third time in a row, enjoying a 19-run victory over host nation South Africa.
Player of the match Beth Mooney scored an unbeaten 74 from just 53 deliveries, helping to guide Australia for six for 156.
You can read the full report from Raf Nicholson at Newlands:
Updated
Landmark class action launching for former AFL players with concussion injuries
For the first time in Australia, a class action by former footballers is being launched agains the AFL for the effects of concussion injuries.
It’s an issue my colleague Stephanie Convery has been covering with powerful stories about what individuals like Terry Strong and their families have gone through.
The Melbourne firm Margalit Injury Lawyers is bringing the action in the supreme court, and managing principal Michel Margalit has spoken to ABC News about the issue:
We have been consulting with many, many former AFL players and AFLW players. It’s astounding how many people have suffered from life-altering concussion-type injuries. At this time we have been building a case and we have intention in lodging a class action this week in relation to their loss of earnings and pain and suffering.
At this stage, what we have been looking at is a public liability-type of claim which is separate to any of the compensation funds that currently exist. There are a number of piecemeal fund-related compensation schemes and what we’re concerned about is that these funds do not properly compensate the players and the compensation available is much, much less and there aren’t appropriate measures for redress if people are not happy.
There’s been a huge groundswell over the previous years. There’s been class actions in America and in the UK. The class action in America garnered a settlement of almost a billion dollars, but there’s also been more science emerging and it’s not around the impact of concussion as such, but because that’s been well-established since 1995, but we’re now able to prove that these players who have ongoing symptoms that it’s actually connected to their playing of football.
Margalit says compensation is expected “to be in the same vicinity as the NFL class action, so many hundreds of millions of dollars”.
Scamps on Liverpool plains
Independent MP Sophie Scamps visited the Liverpool plains last week for a conference of farmers and traditional owners fighting Santos coal seam project and the accompanying Hunter gas pipeline.
While the inland plains are a long way from Scamps’ northern beaches seat of Mackellar, she said she was concerned about the project because her constituents’ top concern remains climate action. Scamps told ABC News this morning:
Strong action on climate change has been the No 1 issue for the people of Mackellar before and during the election. We just conducted a survey and strong action on climate change is one of the things top of mind for the people there. … We know that oil and gas can’t go ahead anywhere. And that is what is proposed on the Liverpool plains.
On the concerns from locals in the Liverpool plains, Scamps says:
They are concerned about the impact on climate change, because methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases – 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. They’re also very concerned and we had people in tears, very concerned about the impact on food product ion on the farmland.
The Liverpool plains, it is one of the most fertile pieces of land, matched only with the Ukraine, is the alluvial soil which is up to 10 metres deep there. It is Australia’s food bowl and also the rest of the world’s food bowl. So farmers are concerned about how this will impact their farming. They are concerned and any change to the levels of the land will make a huge impact. The subsidence that can happen with coal-seam gas mining would be a big problem for them.
And then the other major is – how it will impact the water supply and the aquifers below the land. Because with coal-seam gas, you need to take out the water first. It needs to be expelled and evaporated and that will impact the aquifers below the land and we know that those aquifers in the Liverpool plains feed the Murray-Darling Basin. There’s huge impacts down the line. So food security, water security, climate change and just destruction of the environment.
Our rural editor Gabrielle Chan and photographer-at-large Mike Bowers were at the same conference. You can read more here:
Updated
Thousands pay tribute to Olivia Newton-John at Australian memorial service
A host of international stars and dignitaries paid tribute to Australian star Olivia Newton-John in at a state memorial service in Melbourne yesterday.
Thousands gathered at Hamer Hall and video tributes came from Elton John, Hugh Jackman, Dolly Parton, Pink, Barry Gibb and Mariah Carey.
Newton-John, who has a string of No 1 hits worldwide and starred in movies such as Grease and Xanadu, died in August aged 73.
Members of Newton-John’s family also gave touching tributes, with her husband John Easterling saying she was a “healer”.
You have to understand, I wasn’t an Olivia fan, I didn’t know any Olivia music, I’d never even seen Grease.
But at this small theatre in Miami, she started singing Pearls on a Chain, and there was this healing moving through the audience. And it hit me like a laser beam in the chest, that Olivia was a healer, and this was one of her mediums of healing.
Updated
IT outage at Gold Coast airport
In more airport news, an IT outage at the Gold Coast airport has left passengers unable to check in for flights.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) February 26, 2023
There's chaos at Gold Coast airport with passengers facing lengthy delays as an I.T. outage leaves airlines unable to access check-ins for passengers. #Sunrsieon7 pic.twitter.com/dHXdKlK912
Updated
Tudge advisers to front robodebt inquiry
Top advisers to former human services minister Alan Tudge will appear at the royal commission into the unlawful robodebt scheme, AAP reports.
The chief of staff and a former policy adviser to Tudge will front the inquiry in Brisbane at the fourth block of hearings into the automated debt assessment and recovery program.
The robodebt scheme continued to operate for several years despite concerns it was unlawful, with some people taking their own lives while being pursued for debt.
Tudge has already appeared before the inquiry, where he said his understanding of income averaging was that it had been used for decades and it did not occur to him it may have been unlawful:
My mind was not acting as a lawyer. It was acting as an implementer of the policy.
Tudge has since announced his resignation from federal politics, triggering a byelection in his outer-eastern Melbourne seat of Aston.
Three other former social service ministers are also set to front the hearing this week.
Stuart Robert and Michael Keenan will front hearings for the first time while Marise Payne will reappear after previously giving evidence in December.
Annette Musolino, former chief counsel at the Department of Human Services, will also appear for the second time.
The royal commission is set to hand down its report on 30 June after the deadline was extended when an extra 100,000 documents were produced.
Updated
Jetstar travellers stranded on Alice Springs tarmac land in Melbourne
Hundreds of Jetstar travellers spent almost seven hours on the tarmac at Alice Springs airport yesterday.
Their flight from Bangkok to Melbourne was diverted to Alice Springs after a passenger experienced a suspected stroke and required urgent medical assistance.
Upon arrival into Alice Springs the passenger was taken to hospital by ambulance.
While the aircraft was on the ground in Alice Springs, an electrical issue was detected, which required a replacement part to be sourced from Sydney.
Jetstar explained that the 320 passengers had been stuck on board because the airport lacked customs facilities:
As a domestic airport, Alice Springs does not have customs processing facilities and we worked with Border Agencies, the NT Police and the local Airport Authority to provide passengers with the option to disembark into a specially partitioned section of the Airport.
They were then transferred directly onto the replacement aircraft. We worked with the local Airport to provide passengers with food, drinks and snacks.
We appreciate this has been a lengthy delay and frustrating experience. Safety is always our first priority, and we thank passengers for their patience and understanding as we supported the passenger requiring urgent medical assistance and worked to get everyone else on their way as quickly as possible.
The passengers from Thailand have arrived in Melbourne after a second aircraft flew them from Alice Springs yesterday afternoon.
Updated
New coordinator for cybersecurity to lead national agency
The government will set up a new cybersecurity office inside the Department of Home Affairs and investigate whether to ban the payment of ransoms to hackers, in the wake of major online attacks affecting millions of Australians.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese and home affairs minister Clare O’Neil will announce later today that it will establish a coordinator for cybersecurity, leading a National Office for Cyber Security, inside the Department of Home Affairs. It will lead a central response from the government to major cyber incidents.
The government claims it has inherited “a cyber mess” from the former Coalition government. The new position will lead coordination and action on hacks like the Optus breach.
The announcement will come in a cybersecurity roundtable that the PM will lead in Sydney today. Areas of discussion for that meeting will include whether the government should prohibit the payment of ransoms or extortion demands by cyber criminals, in a bid to deter such attacks – the logic being, that if Australians are legally banned from paying ransoms, criminals will have less chance of getting ransoms.
The meeting will also discuss what impact such a ransom ban would have, as well as talk about boosting cyber skills and workforce through education or immigration changes.
O’Neil:
The case for change is clear.
Australia has a patchwork of policies, laws and frameworks that are not keeping up with the challenges presented by the digital age. Voluntary measures and poorly executed plans will not get Australia where we need to be to thrive in the contested environment of 2030.
To achieve our vision of being the world’s most cyber secure country by 2030, we need the unified effort of government, industry and the community.
The expert advisory board’s leader, Andy Penn, said Australia’s national security and economic success “rely on us getting our cyber settings right”:
If we are to lift and sustain cyber resilience and security, it must be an integrated whole-of-nation endeavour. We need a coordinated and concerted effort by governments, individuals, and businesses of all sizes.
Updated
Cyber attacks occurred last year with ‘no cyber emergency response function’, O’Neil says
A new national cybersecurity coordinator will be appointed today as the government wants to better prevent large-scale data breaches of people’s personal details.
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, said it would have made a “huge difference” had the new coordinator and agency been in place when the Optus and Medibank cyber attacks occurred last year:
When Optus hit – much to my shock as cybersecurity minister – there was no cyber emergency response function in the Australian government.
I’m really angry about that. Those events were completely foreseeable events that were completely not foreseen by the previous government.
Now we dealt with those incidents well, but that is in spite of government structures, not because of them. Literally cabinet ministers stepped in and managed the incident in a way that is not sustainable when we are under basically relentless cyber attack.
So what we will have now is an individual in the public service who is going to coordinate the response across government and make sure that not only are we deterring and preventing cyber attack – we’re not going to reduce cyber risk to zero – that Australians can get up off the mat quickly get services restored, get their data protected, get their identity numbers changed. These are the sorts of things that this person would have been able to do much more seamlessly.
Updated
Labor’s lead narrows a month out from NSW election
The NSW Coalition government appears to be closing the gap on Labor less than a month before voters decide who will lead the state for the next four years, a key poll shows.
The Newspoll survey of 1,014 voters published in the Australian shows primary support for Labor has fallen by four percentage points since September to 36%, while the Coalition has gained two points to 37%.
Premier Dominic Perrottet has increased his lead as preferred premier over opposition leader Chris Minns to 43% versus 33%.
In September Perrottet led his opposition counterpart by 39% to 35%.
But on a two-party-preferred basis Labor leads the government on 52% versus 48%, the poll published today found.
If replicated across the state on election day on 25 March, Labor could win 42 seats and the Coalition 41, with crossbenchers likely to decide which party will form government.
The Newspoll was conducted between 20 and 23 February.
– AAP
Updated
‘It really was a war zone’
On the state of thousands still displaced a year on from the northern rivers floods, Murray Watt had this to say:
There has been substantial progress in the recovery. When those floods hit we were talking about something like 18,000 people who’ve been displaced from their homes across Queensland and New South Wales and obviously the numbers now are far fewer than that, but we have to be honest and acknowledge that there are people still living in situations that none of us would want to be living in.
So we do continue to work with the New South Wales government to get people back in their homes as quickly as possible. But I guess it does reflect that just the sheer scale of this event.
I’ll never forget the scenes that I saw and it’s more when I arrived there. It really was a war zone whether you’re talking about the CBD or particularly places like South and North Lismore, which were just completely destroyed.
And unfortunately, you know, as much as we might like to think that people would be back in their homes immediately, it does take a bit of time. But every time I go there, I’m reminded of the urgency of getting things moving. I had another meeting with the NSW Reconstruction Commission, when I was there last week, to say if there’s anything we can be doing at a federal level to help with it.
Watt says the buy backprogram is “definitely further advanced in Queensland than it is in New South Wales” and expects the uptake in NSW to accelerate after 3oo to 400 offers are made by the end of AprilL
But if the Queensland experiences any guide, once those offers do start being made, they do accelerate, and I’d certainly be hopeful that will happen in New South Wales as well.
Updated
Flood recovery funding
The federal and NSW government have unveiled a $300m disaster recovery program in a bid to end the northern rivers’ cycle of repair/damage/repair after floods.
Emergency management minister Murray Watt is speaking to ABC radio a year after the devastating floods.
Asked about whether this funding is only a drop in the ocean when a report out in January estimated the cost of the northern rivers flood disaster at close to $10bn, Watt insists the funding from governments has made a substantial difference, “but the reality is that the damage was immense and it can’t be fixed immediately”.
Watt says this new funding will be different because the focus will be on building back not as it was before, but with better standards of flood mitigation:
What’s different about the funding that we’re announcing today with the NSW government is that we’re not just repairing roads and bridges and causeways to the same standard they were, which only guarantees that they’re going to flood again in the future.
We’re actually making them more resilient so that when we do face future flooding, we hopefully can protect people a lot better than they were protected last time around …
This kind of long-term thinking is something that we haven’t really seen enough of at the federal level. And we’re now partnering actively with state governments, we’ve approved similar programs in Queensland and other states as well, because we want to make sure when we are spending what is literally billions of dollars recovering from these events, that we actually think about the future and try to limit that damage further down the track as well.
Updated
$25m for Alice Springs community organisations
The government is committing $25m to community organisations in Alice Springs as part of the federal response to alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour in the Northern Territory.
The money is to provide funding certainty for organisations running wellbeing projects, remote outreach programs and alcohol projects. The funds were announced this month by Anthony Albanese but the specific organisations to receive the cash have now been named.
Indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney said the funding represented a two-year extension, which she said would “give organisations the certainty they need and allow them to continue the important work they’re doing”:
Certainty in access to safety and community wellbeing services is critical for First Nations communities, especially children and young people living in and around Alice Springs.
Marion Scrymgour, Labor MP for the NT seat of Lingiari, said the groups getting funding were “are at the coalface of the challenges facing our region”:
Having spent a lot of time with community organisations – I know how hard they work for our community.
The organisations being funded include $6.3m for the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Aboriginal Corporation, for transport, alcohol, violence intervention and family violence services; $1.3m for the Akeyulerre Aboriginal Corporation, for wellbeing and self-reliance projects; $2.6m for Bushmob Aboriginal Corporation, for remote outreach and youth residential rehabilitation; and $2.6m for drug and alcohol services for prisoners and transitional programs.
Updated
Future emissions from coal and gas production 'likely to dwarf estimates'
Future emissions from existing and new Australian coal and gas production are likely to dwarf official government estimates and undermine the Albanese government’s planned revamp of the climate change policy known as the safeguard mechanism, according to a new analysis.
The analysis by the global research firm Climate Analytics, commissioned by climate groups, comes at the start of a two-day parliamentary inquiry hearing into the government’s planned changes to the scheme.
The safeguard is a Coalition policy that was proposed to limit pollution from 215 major industrial facilities but hasn’t. You can read about its history and Labor’s plan here.
The Climate Analytics report, commissioned by the Solutions for Climate Australia, said the government appeared to have substantially underestimated the likely future emissions from coal and liquefied natural gas production.
It said official projections for the LNG industry suggested a 20% rise by 2030. Climate Analytics estimated the increase above 2021 levels was likely to be 36%.
For coalmines, the government projected a 10% fall in emissions. Climate Analytics projected at least a 23%, and possibly up to a 116%, increase.
The report did not look directly at the economic impact on proposed developments of companies being required to either make deeper emissions cuts each year, or to effectively pay for cuts elsewhere by buying carbon offsets. But Climate Analytics’ chief executive Bill Hare said he believed the likely result for fossil fuels developments would be rising direct emissions and a “free for all” of offset use:
The safeguard mechanism will therefore not work to drive emissions down as it’s supposed to, particularly given the integrity issues found to be widespread within Australia’s offset scheme by independent experts.
You can read about what could happen given Labor has ruled out banning new fossil fuel projects here.
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Press freedom roundtable
Attorney general Mark Dreyfus will today convene a press freedom roundtable in Parliament House, saying journalists should never be “charged or even jailed just for doing their jobs”.
Major outlets including Guardian Australia, the ABC, News Corp, Nine, SBS and Seven will attend the meeting, which the government announced last month. At the time, Dreyfus said the government “believes a strong and independent media is vital to democracy and holding governments to account”, and said improved protections for press freedom were needed.
“The Albanese Government intends to progress legislative reform as a priority,” he said, with Monday’s meeting to discuss options for reform.
The meeting will bring together two dozen organisations and companies, including the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom, the Right to Know Coalition, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, the Press Council, AAP, Australian Radio Network, First Nations Media, Private Media and Solstice Media.
Dreyfus said:
I’m looking forward to a full and frank discussion about press freedom issues in Australia and further options for reform. A strong and independent media matters.
There is agreement across the Parliament and the community that improved protections are overdue. Unlike the former government, which ignored successive bipartisan committee reports, the Albanese Government will progress press freedom reform as a priority.
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Good morning!
Future emissions from existing and new Australian coal and gas production are likely to dwarf official government estimates, new analysis shows.
It could undermine the Albanese government’s planned revamp of the climate change policy known as the safeguard mechanism, according to global research firm Climate Analytics.
The research has been commissioned by climate groups and comes at the start of a two-day parliamentary inquiry hearing into the government’s planned changes to the scheme.
Also out today, the government is setting up a new agency set up to tackle mass cyber attacks, with the with prime minister Anthony Albanese today announcing the establishment of a coordinator for cybersecurity.
The announcement of the new post as well as the release of a discussion paper about a new cybersecurity strategy will be made at the cybersecurity roundtable in Sydney today, which will be attended by business, security and tech leaders, as well as home affairs minister Clare O’Neil.
O’Neil told ABC Radio the new agency would attempt to provide strategy and structure when cyber attacks occur as well as ensuring different parts of the government were effectively communicating with each other.
Emergency management minister Murray Watt will be speaking to ABC Radio shortly a year, on from the Northern Rivers flood disaster. We’ll bring you what he has to say.
In Melbourne last night thousands of friends, family and fans gathered for a last farewell for Dame Olivia Newton John at her state memorial, which included speeches from her husband and daughter, as well as music from her friend Delta Goodrem.
Let’s get into it.
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