What we learned today, Saturday 23 September
And that’s where we’ll wrap up today. Thanks so much for your company.
Here’s a little of what we learned:
The endorsement of former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott for a position on Fox Corporation’s board by Lachlan Murdoch shows he is “doubling down” on the company’s “right-wing crusading”
Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian, who in June was found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct, has launched a legal challenge against the state’s corruption watchdog.
Crowds attended anti-voice rallies across the country today. The event was not officially aligned with either the official conservative campaign, Fair Australia, or with the progressive no-camp. Coalition figures have also distanced themselves from the rally.
Peter Dutton spoke at the Victorian Liberal party’s state council meeting, where he said the Liberal party “is today the party of the workers” amid a push for nuclear energy.
The Albanese government will aim to create “sustained and inclusive full employment”, to help some 2.8 million Australians who want a job or more hours.
Police have used an underwater drone* to find more than 200kg of cocaine in the hull of a cargo ship.
Former Victorian upper house Liberal MP Philip Davis has been elected as the party’s next state president on Saturday, triumphing over federal party vice-president Caroline Inge.
Updated
Glady Berejiklian asks for judicial review of Icac decision
Some more details on the legal challenge former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has launched against the state’s corruption watchdog after its findings in June she had engaged in serious corrupt conduct.
Geoffrey Watson, a director of the Centre for Public Integrity and a former counsel assisting to the Icac, said the challenge was a judicial review, which means it has a narrower scope than an appeal.
He said:
A charge like this is very confined, really only to an error of law.
There have been many challenges of this kind to the decisions of Icac. Very, very, very few of them have succeeded.
Former Liberal NSW premier, Nick Greiner, whose administration created Icac before he was later forced out due to Icac findings, successfully appealed the finding against him in 1992.
Watson speculated that Berejiklian’s challenge might be on the basis that her conduct shouldn’t be considered serious misconduct because her decisions were made in the public interest.
However, he added the challenge could also be about the Icac’s former commissioner, Ruth McColl, continuing her appointment in order to make a decision on the findings, despite her appointment having expired.
More on this story here:
Updated
Government white paper to map out plan to create 2.8m jobs
The Albanese government will aim to create “sustained and inclusive full employment”, to help some 2.8m Australians who want a job or more hours.
According to the employment white paper, to be released on Monday, one fifth of the total workforce is either unemployed and looking for work or in a job but under-utilised.
“For every person in Australia reported in the labour force statistics as unemployed, there are four others who want to work but are not actively searching or available to work, or who want to work more hours,” it said.
The white paper lists full employment alongside four other policy priorities: job security and wage growth; productivity; filling skills needs; and overcoming barriers to employment.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said yesterday that despite “unemployment with a 3 in front of it [currently 3.7%], there are still pockets of entrenched intergenerational disadvantage in our country”.
“In order to lift living standards and to get wages moving in a responsible and sustainable way, we need to make our economy more productive, more dynamic, more competitive.”
Chalmers told reporters in Canberra there would be “a handful of new policies in the white paper” and “some reform directions”, including on job services for the unemployed.
The white paper defines the goal of “sustained” full employment as using the budget and interest rates to reduce economic volatility; and “inclusive” full employment as broadening labour market opportunities to prevent structural underutilisation.
“Everyone who wants a job should be able to find one without searching for too long,” white paper said.
“We want people to be in decent jobs that are secure and fairly paid … This objective recognises that the quality of a job and having enough hours of work matters. Jobs should improve people’s living standards, agency and wellbeing.”
The white paper, excerpts of which were distributed by the treasurer’s office, said that full employment has often “too narrowly” been defined as the rate of inflation that is believed to not increase inflation.
That can be “useful to gauge macroeconomic conditions” because it is “the current maximum level of employment that can be sustained in the short-term”.
Updated
Neo-Nazis present at anti-voice rally in Melbourne
Members of the National Socialist Network, a neo-Nazi group, have made an appearance at Melbourne’s anti-voice rally today, holding a sign that reads “voice = anti-white”.
In March, a group of about 30 men from the network marched along Spring Street, repeatedly performing the Nazi salute, where anti-transgender activists clashed with pro-transgender rights activists after an event held outside Victoria’s by the controversial UK gender activist Kellie-Jay Keen.
At the end of August, the Andrews government introduced a bill, which was triggered by the event, to ban the Nazi salute.
The National Socialist Network got ejected from the steps of Parliament by VicPol at todays rally for the No Vote in Melbourne. pic.twitter.com/5CAbOZe8RN
— Alternate Media Watchers (@AltMediaWatch) September 23, 2023
Updated
Andrews government to provide additional services for patients impacted by Frankston Health Centre closure
The Andrews government says it has ensured free telehealth services and a pop up clinic will be providing care to the 1800 pharmacotherapy patients who will be left without treatment by the closure of Frankston Health Centre on Monday.
Pharmacotherapy is recognised by the World Health Organization as an essential treatment for opioid dependency, replacing the drug of dependence with a legally prescribed substitute, such as methadone or buprenorphine.
A spokesperson for the government said:
While funding of GP-led pharmacotherapy treatment is provided from the Commonwealth, we have stepped in to ensure support and treatment is provided to these patients.”
From Monday, a free telehealth service will be available for prescriptions via Turning Point, while Alfred Health will run a pop up clinic in Frankston, with the aim of extending this to provide long term support across the south east.”
We know there is a prescriber shortage nationwide – that is why, alongside the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Department of Health offers free pharmacotherapy training for GPs and nurse practitioners, but the issue remains that many Commonwealth-funded GP clinics choose to not provide this specialist addiction service.”
Read more about the bigger problem of the shortages of GPs prescribing pharmacotherapy in Victoria here:
Sydney’s anti-voice rally attracts varied crowd, Craig Kelly says closing speech
Crowds have started to disperse after supporters of a no vote in the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum gathered today in Sydney’s Hyde Park.
Former Sky News presenter Ross Cameron, the day’s MC, introduced speakers including NSW MPs Tania Mihailuk of One Nation and Liberal Democrat John Ruddick as well as a range of figures who came to prominence during Australia’s pandemic-era “freedom” movement.
The event was not officially aligned with either the official conservative campaign, Fair Australia, or with the progressive no-camp. Coalition figures have also distanced themselves from the rally:
The lineup struggled at times to stay on topic. Aunty Glenda Merritt, who is associated with sovereign citizen movements, received one of the loudest cheers of the day when she read a list of prominent Australians, including the pandemic-era state premiers, accusing them of treason. Other speakers referenced the false claim that the voice is part of a United Nations takeover.
The crowd’s signs and red ensign flags also suggested a range of grievances, including opposition to 5G and 15 minute cities – a conspiracy theory that claims urban planning measures are part of a plot to curtail freedom of movement. Some members of the occasionally boisterous crowd repeatedly called for another “freedom movement” figure David ‘Guru’ Graham to take the stage, with no success.
Former United Australia Party MP Craig Kelly was the last speaker of the day. He announced the party would appeal the federal court’s recent ruling that rejected his push to count crosses as valid votes in the referendum.
“When we win, it’s going to be a great moment of celebration in this country,” Kelly said, announcing that “big pharma” were supporters of the voice to boos from the crowd.
He added:
We’ve got a small group of dedicated patriotic Australians who are proud enough to stand up and say no.
The event wound up with the song “I am Australian” played on the trumpet.
Updated
New Victorian Liberal president chosen
Former Victorian upper house Liberal MP Philip Davis has been elected as the party’s next state president on Saturday, triumphing over federal party vice-president Caroline Inge.
Former president Greg Mirabella stepped down after deciding to make a run for third spot on the Liberals’ Victorian Senate ticket at the next federal election.
Mirabella, the husband of former Howard government minister Sophie Mirabella, was sworn in as a senator last year before losing out to United Australia Party’s Ralph Babet for the sixth and final seat.
The senior Liberal faced a call from former Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy to resign after he cited dislike for Guy as a factor in the coalition’s state election thumping in November.
Federal leader Peter Dutton earlier told attendees at Saturday’s Liberal state council meeting in Melbourne that the party must present a united front to stand a chance with Victorian voters.
An event in Bendigo in May was marred when dozens of Liberal members staged a walkout and heckled Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto, but there was no sign of unruly behaviour on Saturday.
- AAP
NSW premier Chris Minns has said he is not concerned about the legal challenge former premier Gladys Berejilklian has launched against the state’s corruption watchdog.
He told reporters in Sydney on Saturday:
That’s her right as a citizen.
Everybody has an appeal right to the Icac and it’s up to her whether she wants to take it up.
Updated
Lachlan Murdoch ‘doubling down’ on right-wing strategy with Tony Abbott’s endorsement, say critics
The endorsement of former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott for a position on Fox Corporation’s board by Lachlan Murdoch shows he is “doubling down” on the company’s “right-wing crusading”, critics say.
Murdoch welcomed the nomination in one of his first moves since being announced as sole chair of both Fox and News Corp this week following the retirement of his father, Rupert Murdoch, at the age of 92.
Politics professor Chris Wallace, from the University of Canberra, said it “shows Lachlan doubling down on News [Corp’s] right-wing crusading when the costly lessons of recent and ongoing litigation suggest that’s not smart”.
She said:
This confirms fears that decisions under the Lachlan Murdoch-helmed News Corp will be at least as noxiously right-wing as under Rupert - and possibly worse. For shareholders it’s a worry.
More on this story here:
Updated
‘Stop the climate change lie’: No voice rally in Sydney draws confused crowd
My colleague Ariel Bogle is at the “no to the voice” rally in Sydney’s Hyde Park.
She’s observed not everyone there is on topic, with some placards reading “stop the climate change lie”, “stop 15 minutes cities”, and “stop digital currencies”.
On the scene at the ‘No to the voice’ rally in Sydney’s Hyde Park — not everyone on topic. pic.twitter.com/PsqL5XmwTc
— Ariel Bogle (@arielbogle) September 23, 2023
In case you missed it, earlier today we brought you news that Peter Dutton had advised anti-voice campaigners to avoid the rallies, which are being led by Simeon Boikov, an online commentator who posts anti-vaccine and pro-Putin content.
The official no campaign has distanced itself from Boikov.
Updated
5.7 earthquake in Banda Sea felt in Darwin overnight
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake that hit the Banda Sea last around 12:30am ACST (1am on the east coast) last night was felt more than 600km south in Darwin.
The earthquake hit the Banda Sea, which surrounded by Indonesia’s Maluku Islands and Timor-Leste, at a depth of 157km.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the earthquake posed no tsunami threat to Australia.
Magnitude 5.7 #Earthquake in the Banda Sea felt in Darwin. No tsunami threat to Australia. http://t.co/eUaVPYiuwc pic.twitter.com/wuxXy5H2ub
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) August 11, 2015
Updated
By making a deal with developers on housing, Daniel Andrews may find it harder to negotiate with the Greens
My colleague Benita Kovolos has some analysis on why the Victorian government may struggle to see all of its ambitious housing statement – a policy that it says will reshape the state by delivering 800,0000 homes over the next decade - become reality.
Read it here:
Gladys Berejiklian launches legal challenge against Icac
Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian, who in June was found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct, has launched a legal challenge against the state’s corruption watchdog.
Berejiklian’s appeal against the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) is listed for a directions hearing in the NSW court of appeal on 9 October. Written submissions for the appeal are not required to be made public until after the hearing.
The Icac investigation, known as Operation Keppel, in June found Berejiklian had engaged in “serious corrupt conduct” following almost two years of investigations.
The findings related to government grants for two organisations in Wagga Wagga in the electorate of Daryl Maguire, with whom Berejiklian was in a relationship and who was also found to have acted corruptly.
Icac found Berejiklian’s failure to declare a personal conflict of interest in relation to funding for the Australian Clay Target Association (Acta) and the Riverina Conservatorium of Music was a breach of public trust.
Additionally, Icac found Berejiklian engaged in corrupt conduct by failing to report suspicions that Maguire had engaged in corrupt conduct.
Berejiklian, who is not being considered for criminal prosecution, has maintained she served the public interest “at all times” while in office.
More details on the Icac’s findings against Berekjiklian here:
Updated
Lidia Thorpe may ‘pull back’ on voice opposition if Labor does more on Indigenous deaths in custody
The independent senator Lidia Thorpe has said she could “pull back” on opposing the voice if the government commits to implementing recommendations of the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody, urging Anthony Albanese to announce action before referendum day.
Thorpe told Guardian Australia this week that she was “not necessarily campaigning” against the voice but was hoping for a no result, and agreed with no campaign leader Warren Mundine’s claim that treaties would be more likely in the event the referendum fails.
She also claimed she told Albanese that her public stance on the referendum could be influenced if the government committed to implement the remaining recommendations of the 1991 deaths in custody inquiry and the Bringing Them Home report on the forced removal of children from Indigenous families.
Thorpe said:
I’m still waiting for movement from the government on the royal commission recommendations.
He [Albanese] needs to act. The pressure’s on.
I said you’ve got three weeks – announce the recommendations are being implemented, take it to the election if you want to – and I’d pull back. He knows that.
More on this story here:
Updated
Peter Dutton sees Liberal return to government in 2025
Dutton wraps up his speech by saying “I believe that we can win the next election, no question in my mind about it.”
He continues, ending to a standing ovation:
We listen to our membership. We reflect the views and the values of our membership through our policies that were enunciate to the Australian public. And if we stay that course, if we can campaign well in our marginal seats, if we continue to keep the pressure on a bad prime minister, we will stand there and 2025 together united as a Liberal family, claiming success, a return to government and return to a much brighter future for our wonderful country.
Updated
Opposition leader decries lack of ‘answers’ on voice
Dutton then moves on to the Indigenous voice to parliament, telling the party “when we took our position to say no to the voice we did it because we believe that the voice in the form proposed by the prime minister was not in our country’s best interests”.
He continues:
I believe Australians on the 14th of October are going to stand up for what they believe in as well. They’re going to support the position of the Liberal party because they know that we’ve thought about it. I wrote to the prime minister in January of this year, asking 15 reasonable questions on behalf of millions of Australians. To this day, three weeks out from the election day on the referendum. We still don’t have an answer.
Every Australian wants to see a better outcome for Indigenous Australians. We want to see a better outcome for those kids living in poverty in Alice Springs. We want the Indigenous leaders to stand up as they do in East Arnhem Land where they have 90% attendance rate that school where there’s a functioning society. We want a better outcome for elders and for people to enjoy a life similar to what we enjoy in capital cities and in other regional areas.
We’ve taken a position in relation to the voice because we believe that given it’s the most substantive change proposed to our nation’s rulebook since federation, the design should be known to Australians.
Our political reporter Amy Remeikis has fact-checked some of the claims around the voice to parliament here:
Updated
Dutton calls Liberals ‘the party of the workers’ amid push for nuclear energy
Dutton says the Albanese government has “discarded” helping families and businesses through the cost of living crisis in favour of “arriving at a solution that is to the benefit of the broader Labor movement”.
“That’s not the workers,” Dutton says, then adds to a round of applause: “Our party is today the party of the workers, we are the party of small businesses.”
Dutton says one way the Albanese government could show it has the backs of Australians is by engaging in the debate about making nuclear energy “part of our energy mix into the future”.
He says:
I think there is an opportunity for the prime minister to demonstrate to the Australian public that he has their backs and that he’s going to act in our national interest instead of the Labor party self-interest and I think it’s in relation to the debate on nuclear power. Now we as a party have taken a position.
We need to have a mature debate in our country about energy and the reason that the Labor party won’t have this debate is because they know that internally, as we saw recently at the Labor conference, they don’t have a position of unity in relation to this technology. Bob Hawke couldn’t achieve that position, even though he was strongly in favour of nuclear energy. John Howard is strongly in favour of the latest technology of nuclear energy. Young Australians are very much in favour because they will read on the topic. They understand the latest technology, the zero emissions, the capacity it has to work within our system.
For some context on the reality of nuclear energy in Australia, our climate and environment editor Adam Morton has this:
Updated
Peter Dutton speaks on Covid-19 inquiry in Victoria
Peter Dutton is speaking now at the Victorian Liberal party’s state council meeting, where he has began by criticising the Albanese government for not planning to place the state’s Covid-19 response under scrutiny in the upcoming inquiry.
He had the opportunity to say particularly to Victorians that during the course of Covid people had legitimate concerns, issues questions to ask about the way in which the Victorian government and indeed the Australian government conducted themselves over the course of Covid…
Here in Victoria, there were more deaths in any other part of the country. There were more locked down days in Victoria than any other part of the world. Small businesses suffered here and the hangover is still there.
And that the prime minister of our country would side with Daniel Andrews and Annastacia Palaszczuk over the people of Victoria or indeed the people of our country is a shameful act.
Updated
Australian students shun education degrees as fears grow over ‘unprecedented’ teacher shortage
Graduating high school students are continuing to turn away from teaching degrees in huge numbers, early application data shows, as concern grows over “unprecedented” workforce shortages.
The data, provided to Guardian Australia from the Universities Admissions Centre, showed education degrees received just 1,935 first preferences this year, a 19.24% decline compared with 2023 and the lowest rate since at least 2016, when public records became available.
Overall, education was ranked seventh out of 11 major areas of study.
Health received the highest number of first preferences (9,008), followed by society and culture (8,463) and management and commerce (5,277).
The education minister, Jason Clare, said in the past 10 years the number of young people going into teaching had gone backwards by about 12%.
He said:
Of those who do start a teaching degree, only 50% finish…
And of those who finish it, 20% are leaving after less than three years.
Teachers do one of the most important jobs in the world and we need more of them.
More on this story here:
Updated
Happy weekend, everyone! I’ll be on the blog for the next little bit bringing you our rolling news coverage.
And now that I’ve introduced you to the “wanking off the dolphin” story, I’m going to skedaddle. Jordyn Beazley is set to steer the mighty blog ship for the next little bit, enjoy!
Russia ‘mocks the UN’ with Ukraine invasion, Wong tells UN general assembly
Our reporter Ben Doherty has been following developments at the UN this week and here’s the top of his story on Penny Wong’s speech, which was delivered in New York this morning Australian time.
Russia “mocks the United Nations every day it continues its illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine”, Wong told the UN general assembly, reiterating calls for reform of the security council on which Russia sits.
Australia is seeking a non-permanent seat back on the powerful council at the end of the decade, but says it risks becoming an anachronism without fundamental reform.
“We must ensure greater permanent and non-permanent representation for Africa, Latin America and Asia, including permanent seats for India and Japan,” Wong told the general assembly, arguing the global community must demand the five permanent members be constrained in their use of their veto powers. She said:
With its special responsibility as a permanent member of the security council, Russia mocks the UN every day it continues its illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine.
The rest of the permanent members and all member states must be unyielding in our response to Russia’s grave violation of Article II of our shared UN charter.
Article II of the UN charter prohibits, inter alia, “the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”.
The security council, charged since 1945 with the maintenance of international peace and security, has weathered decades of demands for change, but its reform is one of the UN’s longest-running and – to date – insoluble debates.
The five permanent, nuclear-armed members – the US, China, Russia, the UK, and France – have a standing veto power over any substantive security council resolution.
Read the full piece here:
Updated
In case you missed it, you really have to read this piece about the time animal rights activist, Alan Cooper, was arrested for “wanking off the dolphin”. And while you’re at it, there’s another bunch of good stuff from the week here:
Former prime minister Tony Abbott, a long-time fan of “retiring” media mogul Rupert Murdoch, could join Fox:
More than 200kg of cocaine found by underwater remotely operated vehicle
Police have used an underwater drone* to find more than 200kg of cocaine in the hull of a cargo ship.
In August, Australian Border Force (ABF) officers used an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to search the vessel, which was docked in Melbourne’s Maribyrnong terminal.
It had travelled from Argentina via New Zealand.
After the ROV spotted the “suspicious hull attachment” in the ship’s sea chest (which sounds piratical but is actually where the water pumps and pipes for the ballast tanks are), specialist divers went in and retrieved the drugs. Their estimated street value is $80m.
The ship and crew were allowed to continue their journey to Western Australia and South Australia.
Now, the Australian federal police want the public to report any information about suspicious activity at ports in Victoria, WA, or SA.
AFP commander Richard Chin said underwater attachments were not new, and posed a danger to whoever was retrieving them. He said:
This seizure is another case of law enforcement remaining one step ahead of criminals attempting to bring harmful, illicit drugs into our country and into our community.
We have prevented 200kgs of cocaine from reaching our streets and in doing so, we have prevented approximately one million street deals and the significant harm to our society that flows as a result.
The focus of our ongoing investigation remains on identifying and locating the transnational serious organised crime groups responsible for this attempted import, and the people working for them in Australia to receive and distribute these drugs.
The ABF’s Clinton Sims said the force was using ROVs to do mass screening of hulls for drugs on ships, smuggled in by organised crime gangs.
The AFP is urging witnesses or anyone with information relating to suspicious activity around the port of Maribyrnong in Melbourne on or around 9 August, 2023 – or in the Port of Fremantle or Port Adelaide in the week that followed – to contact crimestoppers.com.au.
(There’s a technical reason the remotely operated vehicle is not actually a drone, forgive me for the shorthand).
The AFP is appealing to the public for information after authorities seized more than 200kg of cocaine concealed in the hull of a cargo ship, which first docked in the Port of Melbourne.https://t.co/Tyi1wdNIKJ pic.twitter.com/kd4PNWnxNy
— AFP (@AusFedPolice) September 22, 2023
Updated
Singer Kamahl says he didn’t understand voice when he ‘flippantly’ decided to vote no
Singer Kamahl has told ABC television that he didn’t realise he was “setting himself in a trap” when he “flippantly” decided to vote no at the voice referendum (yesterday he did a switcheroo, and will now vote yes).
He had said he didn’t understand the voice, but now he does, he has changed his mind.
He said he’s been mistaken for a First Nations person before, and has been marginalised. The Malaysian-born star talked about racism he faced when he was at school in Adelaide:
Occasionally I met some young people - young and old - [we’d] shake hands, and every once in a while, some of the people … surreptitiously, would wipe their hands thinking that my hands are dirty.
I still feel second rate.
And Kamahl said he was reduced to tears when he learned that colonising Europeans wanted to “wipe out” Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Updated
Good morning, and large thanks to Martin Farrer for steering us to this point. You’re stuck with me for a bit now, and I’m still trying to find my personality.
When I do, we’ll take you on a rollicking ride through the day’s news. But if you’re just getting into the day, here are some highlights:
This terrifying but terrifically written piece on Australia’s comedy scene (as the Russell Brand fallout continues).
Can’t get enough of Rupert Murdoch stories and what’s next for the empire? Catch up here.
Don’t miss the next instalment of the Buried lives series.
And never miss Katharine Murphy!
And here is a little story about a drone, drugs, and porn.
Voice rallies (of varying stripes) are taking place across the nation today, we’ll let you know how they go.
Tolls on Sydney’s Harbour Bridge and Tunnel set to increase
AAP reports that tolls on Sydney’s Harbour Bridge and Tunnel will increase for the first time in more than 14 years:
Motorists will pay more from 29 October, with tolls increasing by 6.8%, as the NSW government looks to make the road system fairer.
The cost of using the bridge will rise from $4 to $4.27 during peak times – weekdays between 6.30-9.30am and 4-7pm.
Off-peak charges will go from $3 to $3.20, and from $2.50 to $2.67 at night.
All extra revenue will go to funding the government’s toll relief budget package which caps weekly toll costs at $60 for about 720,000 drivers.
The package is estimated to save motorists in the most tolled suburbs an average of up to $540 a year.
The NSW roads minister, John Graham, said it was appropriate to increase tolls to help cover the costs of road use elsewhere. He said:
No toll increase is ever welcome, but this increase is helping to provide toll relief to other drivers.
Drivers in western Sydney who have little choice but to use motorways for their commute and family travel have endured annual - and in many cases quarterly - toll increases since 2009 while the bridge and tunnel tolls remained fixed.
Bridge and tunnel tolls are required by law to be reviewed annually but were not touched during the past twelve years of Coalition government.
Meanwhile the cost of using roads in the city’s west, many of which are owned by private company Transurban, has surged.
Updated
Dutton tells no voters to avoid rallies led by pro-Kremlin activist
Peter Dutton has advised anti-voice campaigners to avoid national rallies involving a pro-Putin commentator.
The demonstrations, due to take place across the country on Saturday, are to be led by Simeon Boikov, an online commentator who posts anti-vaccine and pro-Putin content.
The official no campaign has distanced itself from Boikov, with the federal opposition leader urging anti-voice supporters to not attend the rallies.
“Anybody who’s pro-Putin has significant issues and they should seek help for those issues,” Dutton said.
I would encourage people to go to peaceful, lawful rallies, conducted by ‘no’ campaigners and listen to the very serious concerns and hesitations that those people have.
The pro-voice Uluru Dialogue has condemned Boikov, saying his rallies demonstrate how the ‘no’ campaign benefits from division and disunity.
“It is not only divisive but outright dangerous for leaders of the ‘no’ campaign to turn a blind eye while Simeon Boikov ... exploits the voice referendum for his own gain,” a statement from Pat Anderson and Megan Davis read.
“These rallies are an affront to Australian democracy.”
NSW Liberal Democrat MP John Ruddick will lead one of Saturday’s marches in Sydney.
The rallies come three weeks out from the referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament.
Remote voting starts on Monday with 61 sites set up across the country, eventually covering 750 locations in the lead-up to the October 14 poll.
More than 17.67 million people have enrolled to vote in the referendum, ensuring 97.7 per cent of eligible Australians will have their say.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be bringing you some overnight headlines before Tory Shepherd comes long to steer the ship through the rest of the day.
There are anti-voice rallies in the country’s capital cities today including one led by New South Wales Liberal Democrat MP John Ruddick which will march from Sydney town hall to Hyde Park. Opposition leader Peter Dutton, despite taking a wrecking approach to the referendum, has advised no supporters not to attend because of the rallies’ links to extremists. Our political editor Katharine Murphy writes today about how prime minister Anthony Albanese is stoically maintaining his support for a yes vote but is a slow-moviong target for Dutton’s negative tactics summed by his slogan to voters: “If you don’t know, vote no.”
The fallout from Rupert Murdoch’s decision to step down as chair of Fox and News Corp is still on the agenda this morning as our UK media editor writes that he could be lining up one last deal: to buy the London-based rightwing weekly political magazine, The Spectator. Our reporters here is Australia look at where the heir apparent, Lachlan Murdoch, will take the empire. Will he forsake the newspapers so beloved by his father? Or hold on to them for their influence? And journalism expert Margaret Simons examines whether the empire can maintain that influence into the era of artificial intelligence.
