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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Kate Lyons and Emily Wind (earlier)

BoM forecast all but rules out La Niña this year – as it happened

BoM La Niña Donald Trump Ed Husic JD Vance Australia Police NATO
Rain falls in water in front of skyscrapers
A La Niña weather event tends to bring wetter-than-usual conditions to much of Australia. Photograph: zstockphotos/Getty Images/iStockphoto

What we learned; Monday 11 November

Thanks for following today. Here’s a wrap of the biggest stories:

We’ll see you back here tomorrow.

Updated

Climate activists glued to Melbourne sculpture unfurl banner saying ‘You don’t need to glue yourself to an artwork’

Activists glued themselves to a sculpture at the entrance of the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne and unfurled a banner saying: “You don’t need to glue yourself to an artwork to drive urgent climate action”.

A spokesperson for the climate activist group Rouser said two of its members were doing what they were telling other people they didn’t have to do, to show the public they could drive urgent climate action without taking extreme, disruptive measures.

“Activists are only glueing on to artworks, blockading traffic and disrupting public events because so few everyday people are driving urgent action,” Rouser’s creative director Rob Beamish said.

“But if enough people have regular conversations, there’s hope for the cultural change that will lead to real climate action.”

The David Shrigley bronze, called Really Good, was not damaged during the protest, which lasted for about 90 minutes before police successfully unglued the protesters.

Updated

NSW police win pay rises of up to 40% in biggest wage increase in 30 years

Police in New South Wales are set to be the best paid in the nation, thanks to a “generational” wage increase of up to 40% under a new pay deal.

The deal comes amid threats of industrial action from nurses and transport workers battling the state government for better pay offers.

More than 10,000 constables, senior constables and sergeants will receive increases of at least 25% before shift allowances while pay scales have been simplified.

It means the salary for a level 3 senior constable will jump from $107,600 to $146,600 by mid-2027.

The four-year deal, which includes backpay to 1 July, is in line with what the union had demanded and officials have asked members to accept the government’s offer.

“We set the bar high and for good reason,” the Police Association of NSW president, Kevin Morton, told members on Monday. “For the vast majority of members, this is a generational change to your award.

“This offer will see the highest pay increases achieved in the last 30 years for NSW Police [and] outstrips what we have seen accepted by other public-sector agencies.”

Full story here:

Updated

‘It stinks’: reports from the once-in-a-decade flowering of Geelong’s corpse plant

Our reporter Henry Belot has been suffering for his craft today, covering the once-in-a-decade flowering of the “corpse plant”.

“It stinks,” is his professional appraisal of the situation. Despite this, people have turned out in huge numbers to witness the botanical event.

Updated

Senators and experts grill department officials on mentions of populist parties in mis- and disinformation bill

Throughout the course of the hearing on the misinformation and disinformation bill today, opposition and crossbench senators as well as legal experts have been concerned about a part of the explanatory memorandum for the bill that mentions examples of populist parties in other parts of the world that have had success politically as a result of disinformation allegedly spread by those parties.

The document says Australia hasn’t experienced this yet but “experience from around the world suggests that content of this nature, if disseminated at scale, can influence public opinion and sway voter behaviour to such an extent that the outcome of an electoral process can no longer be said to represent the free will of the electorate”.

LNP senator Matt Canavan said it was one of the “most remarkable paragraphs” he’d ever read in a bill or memorandum, and questioned the communications department about its inclusion and what the meaning of it was.

The department’s deputy secretary of communications and media, James Chisholm, said it wasn’t about the party or the person making the comments, but the disinformation being spread. He said:

So electoral integrity here is concerned with ensuring that factual information is made available to the public, rather than disinformation and misinformation about candidates or the electoral process itself.

We’re not concerned here about the party itself, its beliefs. We’re not concerned about the authors of the information as much about the statements, the content, and whether or not they are mis- or disinformation, which would then also need to have the significant, far reaching consequences, as defined in the bill.

Chisholm said the bill wasn’t about censorship, but codes the platforms undertake to deal with misinformation and disinformation, building on the existing industry-developed voluntary code.

Updated

Husic questioned on effect of Trump presidency on regulating AI and social media

The industry minister, Ed Husic, has been asked about how the Albanese government will respond to a Donald Trump presidency in the fields of artificial intelligence and social media regulation.

The context for the questions was Trump’s promise to repeal Biden’s artificial intelligence executive order and the influence of Elon Musk over Trump.

On AI, Husic told reporters in Canberra:

We will harmonise where we can and localise where we have to. That is, we will work with other [countries] where we absolutely can find common ground, to give people the assurance in the Australian context about the use of AI, we will take the steps necessary so people have the confidence to use it.

On social media, particularly whether Trump could oppose Labor’s misinformation and disinformation bill, Husic said:

We take our responsibility to the Australian people seriously. I think people here want us to be able to deal with issues in a way that reflects our national priorities. And so I think you’ll see we continue to do what we have to do.

This follows vice president-elect, JD Vance, warning America’s allies in Nato to “respect free speech”.

Vance said:

Nato wants us to continue us being a good participant in this military alliance – why don’t you respect American values and respect free speech? It’s insane that we would support a military alliance if that military alliance isn’t going to be pro free speech. I think we can do both, but we have to say that American power comes with certain strings attached, one of those is: respect free speech.

Updated

Chance of La Niña event continues to fade, BoM’s latest model runs show

Only a couple of weeks ago, odds seemed to favour the development of a La Niña event in the Pacific, a climate driver that tends to bring wetter-than-usual conditions to much of Australia.

The latest run of the Bureau of Meteorology’s main Access model, though, has all but ruled out La Niña this year, or into 2025.

BoM had been a bit of an outlier among global weather agencies in estimating La Niña would soon be under way. (Its US counterpart, NOAA, still rates the odds of one as a 60% chance, although they have a lower threshold to declare one.)

While sea surface temperatures have taken on La Niña-like characteristics, the atmosphere above hasn’t “coupled” in a way that reinforces the conditions needed for an event to take hold.

(Some experts had been doubtful for a while that we could go from three La Ninas in a row to El Niño and back to La Niña. Such a combination would have been a first as far as records go. That said, climate change can mean the past isn’t always a guide to the future.)

Anyway, BoM’s model run also has conditions in the Indian Ocean shifting back towards neutral. They had been in the “negative phase” that tends to produce above-average rainfall for a lot of Australia.

The bureau will provide its fortnightly update of the main climate drivers influencing Australia’s weather on Tuesday afternoon. Perhaps we’ll see them drop their “La Niña Watch” reading for the Pacific.

Updated

Criminal trial date set for former ATO official Richard Boyle

The criminal trial against Richard Boyle, a former Australian Taxation Office official, has been scheduled for three weeks in November 2025.

At a directions hearing in a South Australian district court on Monday morning, the former ATO employee was told he’d face trial in a year’s time.

Boyle’s final attempt at avoiding a criminal trial was unsuccessful after the high court last week dismissed his application to appeal an earlier ruling preventing him from using whistleblower protections.

Boyle has been charged with 24 offences, including the alleged use of his mobile phone to take photographs of taxpayer information and to covertly record conversations with colleagues.

Boyle went to the media about the agency’s pursuit of debts, including the use of orders that require a bank to hand over money from a personal or business account without the permission of the taxpayer, after initially attempting to report the concerns internally and to the inspector general of taxation.

The former ATO official had attempted to use protections under the Public Interest Disclosure Act to shield him for any criminal offences undertaken while preparing the disclosure.

In March 2023, the district court judge Liesl Kudelka, however, said the law was “silent” on whether whistleblowers should be protected for allegedly criminal acts done while collecting evidence or investigating before a disclosure.

Read more:

Updated

Adult dead and child injured after truck crashes into Victoria kindergarten

Emergency services are attending a scene, after it is believed a truck collided with a kindergarten in Riddells Creek, outside Melbourne.

Victoria police said: “It’s believed at this early stage a truck collided with a kindergarten on Main Road around 2.20pm.”

“One adult, who is yet to be formally identified, has died at the scene. A child was injured and has been taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” police said in a statement.

The driver of the truck has been taken to hospital for observation.

Police said the exact circumstances are still being investigated and are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Updated

Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, Kate Lyons will be with you for the next little while to bring you the rest of our rolling coverage. Take care.

Severe thunderstorm warning for Northern Tablelands and North West Slopes and Plains

A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for parts of northern NSW over the next several hours.

The Bureau of Meteorology said a surface trough is lying through northern parts of the state with “very moist, unstable conditions to its east”.

Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding, large hailstones and damaging winds in the warning area over the next several hours. Locations which may be affected include Glen Innes, Guyra and Emmaville.

‘Not just another statistic,’ union says of worker’s death at windfarm

The Australian Workers Union says it is frustrated and angry following news a worker was killed at the Golden Plains windfarm in Rokewood this morning.

AWU Victoria state secretary Ronnie Hayden said “this devastating loss could have been prevented”.

Just two weeks ago, union delegates from three different unions met with Vestas management to raise serious safety concerns, telling them it was only dumb luck that nobody had been killed on site yet.

The incident occurs against a backdrop of mounting safety concerns at the project, the AWU claimed, saying it has consistently raised concern on the pressure facing workers due to project delays.

This is not just another statistic, this is a worker who went to work and never came home.

Updated

Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt moving to the US

Anthony Pratt, one of Australia’s richest men, has announced he has been granted a green card and will move to the United States.

The billionaire head of Pratt Industries announced his move in a post to LinkedIn earlier today, where he listed three reasons it was “time to live in America”:

(1) My family are all US citizens.

(2) Over the past 30 years we have invested to build 70 factories in America, creating 12,000 well-paying American manufacturing jobs.

(3) I will remain chairman of Visy Australia, and will be returning to Australia on a regular basis.

Updated

Rare corpse plant expected to begin blooming in Geelong this afternoon

At the Geelong Botanic Gardens, a rare corpse plant is expected to begin blooming this afternoon.

Also known as amorphophallus titanum, the corpse flower only blooms once every 10 years or so. The bloom lasts only 24 to 48 hours, with a powerful smell released – likened to rotting flesh.

An update from the Gardens at midday said the plant had begun opening, and our very own Henry Belot is on his way to the scene to bring us the latest.

In the meantime, you can follow along with the livestream below:

Updated

Lingering doubts, end of subsidies put EVs in slow lane

Misconceptions and the early removal of rebates have put the brakes on electric car sales, an industry group warns, as figures show adoption has slowed.

But as AAP reports, the sales of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles continued to accelerate over the last six months despite challenging economic conditions, according to analysis by the Australian Automobile Association.

The peak motoring body has released a quarterly update to its online Electric Vehicle Index showing new vehicle sales dropping 7.6% in the third quarter of the year, with almost 15,000 fewer cars sold.

Sales of internal combustion engine vehicles dropped further than the average, falling 9.1% during the three-month period, but electric vehicles slid by 25%. Battery-powered cars made up 6.5% of all new cars sold, down from 8.1% last quarter, which is their lowest market share since 2022.

The results came after the removal of rebates for electric car sales in every state and territory except Western Australia. Despite the fall in electric vehicle sales, lower-emission hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles have surged in Australia.

Hybrid vehicle sales increased by 3.3% to more than 48,000 sales during the quarter, or a share of more than 16%, while plug-in hybrid car sales jumped by 56.6% from a lower base.

Some plug-in hybrid vehicles are eligible for fringe benefit tax cuts from the federal government, though these incentives are due to expire in April 2025.

Updated

Liberals pick former RSL chief to take on teal MP in Mackellar

A former space-industry boss and Liberal prime minister’s son-in-law says he will help reduce the pressure of rising rents, mortgages and food prices if elected to federal parliament.

As AAP reports, James Brown is expected to be endorsed in the coming days as the Liberal candidate for Mackellar as the party tries to wrest back the northern Sydney seat from teal independent Sophie Scamps.

The 44-year-old father of two spent more than a decade in the Australian army before serving as president of RSL NSW and chief executive of the Space Industry Association.

His national profile was also boosted through his marriage to Daisy Turnbull, the daughter of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, before the pair separated during the pandemic.

Brown previously had preselection tilts at Liberal Senate seats left vacant by former defence minister Marise Payne and the late Jim Molan. He was also heavily involved in the party’s recent failed campaign to retain the state seat of Pittwater, which makes up about half of Mackellar.

Updated

Severe weather update issued

The Bureau of Meteorology has published a severe weather update, looking at the storms forecast for south-east Queensland and north-east NSW:

Updated

Vestas ‘working closely with emergency services’ after worker died at its Victorian windfarm

Danish energy company Vestas has released a statement after a man died while working at its regional Victorian windfarm this morning.

Victoria police say the man was crushed by a blade shortly after 8am at Golden Plains windfarm in Rokewood, about 133km west of Melbourne and 69km north-west of Geelong.

In a statement, a Vestas spokesperson says a “workplace accident” occurred:

The site has been closed and we are working closely with emergency services and the authorities.

The spokesperson says Danny Nielsen, senior vice president and country head for Vestas Australia and New Zealand, will provide an update to the media outside the site at 3pm.

Updated

Myki slowly recovering after readers unable to be used following 3G shutdown

Victoria’s ageing public transport ticketing system, Myki, is slowly recovering after readers were unable to be used when Telstra shuttered its 3G network last week.

The readers use mobile networks to ensure users can touch on.

The issue affected trams and buses across the Victorian public transport network last week, despite – as Guardian Australia revealed – the Victorian government investing $3.3m into upgrading the outdated Myki ticketing system in preparation for the 3G network being shut down.

A software update has been issued, and all trams should now have functioning Myki readers, the department said, as 91% of vehicles with issues have been fixed. The remaining buses affected are expected to be fixed in the coming days.

A department of transport and planning spokesperson said:

Crews are making progress rectifying the issue - with the majority of buses and all trams back online.

The issue comes ahead of a replacement Myki system expected to be rolled out across Victoria next year.

David Littleproud rejects Nats backbench push to dump net zero

The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has rejected a push from some on his backbench including Keith Pitt and Matt Canavan to dump Australia’s commitment to net zero due to the election of Donald Trump.

Littleproud was asked if Peter Dutton – who also supports keeping the commitment – should revisit it. He told Sky News:

No. And while President Trump’s made some soundings about that, you have got to understand your place in the world. They are 330m people, we’re 27m people, we’re a trading nation. The only people that will hurt out of that will be our farmers and our mining sector. Because what will happen is while we think we can go and lead the world on it, what will happen is we will get a tariff whacked on our commodity.

So, we might want to beat our chest and sound big about it, but you have got to understand where the world is. Now the world has all signed up to this, but we don’t need to experience what the country is at the moment, which is trying to achieve it all by 2030. We will do it in a uniquely Australian way, and we’ll take our time to do it and do it properly, so that there isn’t an impact on the economy.

And that is why, as leader of the Nationals, I am the first leader to be able to get the Coalition to agree to nuclear energy being part of that grid, to have that complement and supplement with gas and coal, with [carbon capture and storage] and having some renewables. We will have a balance, we’ll do it properly, we’ll do it sensibly. But I think we should just take a deep breath on trying to be Trump-esque here in Australia, because there are unintended consequences, and they are farmers and miners.

You’ll note that Littleproud’s comments are largely directed at his internal detractors, arguing that he’s done more than predecessors (or potential successors) on nuclear power.

Updated

BoM predicts thunderstorms in south-east Queensland and north-east NSW

In more weather news, severe thunderstorms are forecast in south-eastern Queensland and north-east NSW this afternoon, as we flagged earlier.

Here are some maps from the Bureau of Meteorology, showing the areas affected:

Updated

Watch and act for bushfire in Queensland

The Queensland Fire Department has issued a watch and act warning for the rural town of Forsayth amid a large, slow-moving fire.

The warning area covers Forsayth Airport and Stockman Creek Road, including Forsayth township, Einasleigh Road and Curralle Station, and says:

A large, slow-moving fire is burning Einasleigh Road. It is travelling towards Forsayth. Conditions could get worse quickly.

People are urged to avoid driving on Einasleigh Road.

Updated

Victoria Cross for Vietnam war veteran who ran into enemy fire to help comrades

The governor general and prime minister have announced the posthumous awarding of the Victoria Cross, Australia’s highest military honour, to Private Richard Norden, a veteran of the Vietnam war.

Norden, then aged 19, ran into enemy fire after his platoon was ambushed during the Battle of Fire Support Base Coral in 1968, one of a series of actions fought between Australia and North Vietnamese forces near Saigon, to recover a wounded comrade and then retrieve the body of another.

Governor general Sam Mostyn said at a Remembrance Day event in Canberra, announcing the honour:

The Victoria Cross for Australia is Australia’s highest military honour, the awarding of it speaks to Private Norden’s courage and selflessness in the heat of battle, his ongoing legacy and the bravery of generations of our service personnel. This is an historic occasion for Australia and the Australian Defence Force, and a very significant day for Private Norden’s loved ones.

There has been a strong campaign to see Norden awarded the Victoria Cross, uniting many within the Australian military community.

Norden, who died in 1972 from injuries sustained in a police motorcycle accident, while serving in the Australian Capital Territory police, was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) before his death, but many felt this was inadequate.

Anthony Albanese acknowledged the campaign for Norden to receive the Victoria Cross in his Remembrance Day address:

In honouring Richard Norton and all he fought for, Australia also honours all those who fought for him: his fellow veterans, those who served alongside him, and those who took up his cause when they learned of his story. Everyone who kept alive the memory of his valour, everyone who has championed and advocated due recognition of Richard Norden, and everyone who has kept faith with Australia’s promise to remember all those who have served and their loved ones.

Updated

Man dies at Victorian windfarm site after being crushed beneath blade

A man has died while working at a windfarm in Victoria, police have confirmed.

In a statement, police said the man was working at Rokewood windfarm when he was crushed beneath a fan blade shortly after 8am this morning.

First responders attempted to revive him but he was declared dead at the scene.

WorkSafe will investigate the incident, police said.

Updated

Misinformation makes emergency responses difficult, Senate inquiry hears

The National Emergency Management Agency has warned misinformation and disinformation online makes emergency responses more difficult.

The deputy coordinator general, Joel Buffone, told a Senate inquiry that the example of recent misinformation and disinformation spread about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) in the US in response to floods there “put staff at risk” and forced Fema staff to withdraw.

He also pointed to the recent Crowdstrike outage, which took down millions of Windows computers worldwide and threw many services into chaos:

Straight away there was effectively using platforms to effectively run scams, and there was a whole lot of misinformation.

He said misinformation about the 2019 bushfires – where arsonists with a political motive were falsely blamed for causing fires – almost immediately had an impact on social cohesion.

Updated

Blue banded bee wins ABC’s first Insect of the Year poll

The native blue banded bee has won the ABC’s first Insect of the Year poll.

Just over 50.1% of voters (6,815) chose the blue banded bee from six insect finalists. The common hoverfly received the second highest number of votes (13%), followed by the Bogong moth (11.4%).

The blue banded bee was cited by environment minister Tanya Plibersek as one reason why the site of a proposed goldmine near Blayney should be issued an Aboriginal heritage protection order.

As Calla Wahlquist reported, the basis of the protection declaration was a claim that the Belubula River, headwaters and springs were the site of pre-initiation ceremonies in Wiradyuri culture and that the river itself was the subject of the Blue Banded Bee dreaming.

The Insect of the Year poll was conducted by the ABC for four weeks during October and November.

Updated

Governor general begins Remembrance Day address

The governor general, Sam Mostyn, has begun a commemorative address at the Remembrance Day service at the War Memorial in Canberra.

Mostyn noted it was her first Remembrance Day as governor general and said she was honoured to address the crowd before the Stone of Remembrance as the daughter of an army officer.

For more than a century, Australians have repeated this ritual of remembrance, just as we do gathering today. Each year, we render our tribute anew to the generations of servicemen and women who have died or suffered for Australia in conflicts far from home. And so it is, our Remembrance Days are born of all the days of commemoration that have gone before.

Updated

Anti-slavery advocates welcome appointment of national commissioner

Anti-slavery advocates have welcomed the appointment of former senator Chris Evans as Australia’s first anti-slavery commissioner. Evans’s appointment to a five-year term was announced by the attorney general.

Alison Rahill, program manager of the Australian Catholic Anti-slavery Network, said Evans could draw on his “formidable experience in government and the private sector to make a difference to the estimated 41,000 people experiencing modern slavery right here in Australia and 50 million people worldwide”.

This must include examining economic, migration, corporate governance, social and trade policies settings that currently undermine Australia’s anti-slavery ambitions.

As we flagged earlier, the NSW anti-slavery commissioner Dr James Cockayne said Evans’s appointment was “encouraging on several levels”. Cockayne said the inaugural national anti-slavery commissioner had numerous challenges ahead:

With regulators overseas increasingly ratcheting up expectations of Australian businesses’ modern slavery and human rights due diligence, including in thorny cases like cotton and tomatoes coming from Xinjiang, it is crucial that government sets clear expectations for Australian business on what is expected of them to manage these risks. Otherwise, Australian business will find it increasingly hard to access overseas markets and capital, especially from Europe.

Updated

Constitutional lawyer speaks on government’s proposed misinformation and disinformation bill

We brought you comments from constitutional lawyer Prof Anne Twomey earlier, who has been speaking at a senate inquiry into the government’s misinformation and disinformation bill. Here is some of what she had to say:

Updated

Bridget McKenzie defends flight upgrades record

The opposition transport spokesperson Bridget McKenzie has said her history of criticising the lack of competition in Australian aviation is important to note in the aftermath of revelations she failed to declare 16 flight upgrades over the past nine years.

McKenzie, speaking at the Australian Financial Review’s infrastructure summit today, dodged a question about whether her declaration failure had made the public more cynical about politicians in general.

However, she sought to make a distinction between her record and Anthony Albanese’s, after recent reports he sought flight upgrades from Qantas when he was transport minister. McKenzie said:

I don’t think the public is aware that politicians, MPs, travel business class for work right around the country. Some MPs choose on short trips to fly economy because we see it as a waste of taxpayers money. If you’re simply going from Melbourne to Canberra or Melbourne and Adelaide, why should the taxpayer pay for a business class trip?

I think the key issue around this is what is the influence on decision making and I’m very happy to stand by my public comments, my approach to the lack of competition in our aviation sector, the impact that’s had on the Australian travelling public over the influence it may have had, or clearly has had, on other decision makers.

I make no bones about the fact that I do believe the former transport minister, our now prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has been influenced by his personal and financial relationship with Qantas.

Updated

Remembrance Day service begins in Canberra

A national Remembrance Day service has just begun at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

It is beginning with a tri-service guard of honour, with Australia’s Federation Guard marching on to the Parade Ground accompanied by the Band of the Royal Military College, Duntroon.

Governor general Sam Mostyn is set to deliver a commemorative address.

Updated

First national anti-slavery commissioner welcomed: ‘Encouraging on several levels’

The New South Wales anti-slavery commissioner, Dr James Cockayne, has welcomed the appointment of Australia’s first national anti-slavery commissioner, Chris Evans.

Cockayne said the appointment was “encouraging on several levels”, with Evans having worked with business leaders, unions, faith leaders, civil society, and researchers.

He will combine a deep humanity and care for people with an understanding of how to get things done in Canberra. And his selection is a sign of the seriousness of the Government’s commitment to anti-slavery objectives … I wish him every success and look forward to working with him.

Updated

Australian Jewish Association received death threat before appearing at misinformation inquiry, president says

The Australian Jewish Association’s president, Dr David Adler, has said his organisation received a death threat and was warned not to appear before the committee this morning reviewing the misinformation and disinformation bill.

Adler said the AJA, which is opposed to the bill, received the threat over the weekend:

I’m not sure how often people who appear before Senate committees are warned not to, and that warning is accompanied by a death threat. But that happened over the weekend. We were sent an illustrated death threat with the hangman’s noose, together with the words that if we appeared before the committee, we would die.

And I just think it’s a reflection of the spike in antisemitism that is now at crisis level in Australia.

This committee is not about the Middle East conflicts, and there are now people who think that, at the threat of death, we should not participate in Australia’s democratic processes.

The committee chair, Labor senator Karen Grogan, said the committee had reported the threat to the Australian federal police and took that action extremely seriously:

No one who appears before a committee should ever have to endure those threats, and we will pursue this.

Updated

Antic claims social media ban is bid to stop young Australians being ‘red pilled’

Labor and the Coalition are on a unity ticket in wanting under-16s off social media, with the opposition even demanding the government rush the bill through this month without any kind of Senate inquiry – but there’s at least one Liberal senator not on board.

Alex Antic, the South Australian conservative, tweeted this morning his claim that “Labor knows that the next generation of young people are being red pilled by social media and are turning away from their bleak world view.”

Social media bans for minors and “misinformation” laws will ensure that young Australians only get a corporate left wing message bricking in a new generation of Labor voters.

After the government announced its plans to legislate a social media ban for children under 16, and to introduce those laws into parliament this year, the Coalition sought to one-up Labor by calling for the legislation to be passed almost immediately. Opposition leader Peter Dutton, who has backed a social media ban for some time, said today he wanted the changes in “before kids go onto Christmas holidays and into the new year, when they’re sitting around on their devices.”

Dutton said the laws didn’t need parliamentary examination:

We’ve got two sitting weeks left, and I believe that we can pass this law by Christmas. It doesn’t need to be the case that the government’s delaying because they haven’t had a Senate inquiry, or because they’re worried about Meta running a campaign against the government.

But Antic’s tweet shows there is some opposition in the Coalition to ramming these laws through. Watch this space.

Updated

Man’s body found beside highway south of Taree

New South Wales police are investigating after a man’s body was found at Johns River, about 36km south of Taree.

Police were called to the Pacific Highway at Johns River about 5pm yesterday where officers allegedly found a man deceased on a nature strip behind concrete barriers.

He is yet to be formally identified, but is believed to be aged in his 30s. A report will be prepared for the coroner and a crime scene has been established.

Police are appealing for witnesses to identify a man reportedly seen walking southbound on the M1 Pacific Motorway between Kew and Johns River on 7 and 10 November.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

Updated

Melbourne convenience store set alight and rammed with car, police say

Victorian detectives will investigate after a car was allegedly rammed into a Pascoe Vale South convenience store this morning and the premises set alight.

Emergency services were called to the shop on Coonans Road to reports of the blaze about 3.15am. Police said a family who live in a residence attached to the store were not injured.

The area has been cordoned off with a crime scene set up, and it’s expected an arson chemist and detectives will attend the scene today.

Police will investigate whether the damage and fire are linked to any other recent incidents. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

Updated

Factcheckers often 'young kids' who misunderstand experts, lawyer tells misinformation inquiry

One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts asked legal experts before the senate inquiry on the misinformation and disinformation bill: Who is the arbiter of truth?

Constitutional law expert, Prof Anne Twomey says that is a peculiar aspect of the bill, and the platforms tend to outsource to fact checkers, who then turn to experts they can find to speak to an issue, but the responses are often misunderstood:

Now I’ve been on the expert side of this, I’ve been asked for many fact checks, and here’s my experience of it. The people that I’m dealing with, they try hard and they’re well meaning, but they are not experts themselves in the field.

They’ll ask me a question in a particular form of words. I’ll give them an answer that’s suited to the way they ask me that question, and then sometimes later on, I read what they write and discover that they have misinterpreted or themselves being misleading about it, because they thought the sort of words that they used for me when they asked me the question actually mean the same as another set of words which mean something quite different.

The fact checkers often misunderstand the experts, she said, and that isn’t subsequently checked:

The impression I get is that these are just frequently, young kids out of university who don’t really know and they’re taking on this really important role of making a decision that will lead some Meta or Google or whatever to make decisions about what is true and what is false when the fact checker themselves hasn’t properly understood what the experts have said, and it’s also really dependent on what experts you choose.

The Victorian Bar’s James McCormish says it is the “gaping hole at the heart of the bill”.

Updated

Almost all workplaces have sexual harassment policies, but many not monitoring prevalence

More than 7,000 employers have reported new information to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, following the introduction of the positive duty to provide a safe workplace for all employees as part of the Respect@Work report.

While nearly 99% of employers have a formal policy on work-related sexual harassment and discrimination, the new data shows more than one in four employers (28%) are not monitoring how prevalent it is. The WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge said:

While we are seeing comprehensive policy coverage, this is only a critical first step. Long-term culture change within organisations also requires employees and company leaders to know the policy, understand what’s in it and the part they play in its implementation.

One of the insights from the Respect@Work report is that proactive engagement by leadership is critical for long-term change. WGEA’s new results show that most CEOs are highly engaged in reviewing, signing off on, and then communicating these policies (85%), however just over half (55%) of their Boards are similarly involved.

The data also showed that while there are comprehensive processes to disclose sexual harassment to HR (98%), anonymous disclosure processes are less available (68%).

Updated

Senate hearing under way into misinformation and disinformation bill

A Senate committee is conducting a hearing today on the federal government’s controversial misinformation and disinformation bill, hearing from legal experts, religious groups and federal departments.

Constitutional law expert Prof Anne Twomey is up first and tells the committee she is concerned about the definition of disinformation in the bill, arguing that intent to deceive including that someone has been told something is false before is not sufficient:

I would imagine in many circumstances, the person is not intending to deceive. In fact, they disagree with what the fact checkers have said and want to put their disagreement out in the public realm and deciding that is disinformation simply on the basis that some fact checker has decided on the basis of one or two experts that something is false, it’s not necessarily false.

Just because you’ve checked with some experts, or even if there’s an expert consensus that something is false doesn’t actually mean it really is. People can still believe genuinely what they are saying is true, and I don’t think one should necessarily assume that they are deliberately trying to deceive people, even if they keep disseminating material that other people say is false.

Twomey’s point was backed by the Victorian barrister James McCormish.

Updated

NSW police investigating suspicious death

NSW police have launched an investigation after a man’s body was found in the Central West yesterday.

About 1.40pm emergency services were called to Parkes after the discovery of the man’s body in a home. He is yet to be formally identified, but is believes to be in his 70s.

The death is being treated as suspicious, police said. Officers established a crime scene, a report will be prepared for the coroner and anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

Dutton’s Remembrance Day statement: ‘May our memory of them hold us to the mark’

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has also issued a statement for Remembrance Day. In a video posted to X, he said:

The reason why evil didn’t prevail – why tyranny didn’t crush freedom – is because everyday Australians chose to serve and sacrifice for a greater good. We remember our fallen, so we don’t forget who we are. May our memory of them hold us to the mark.

Updated

PM issues statement for Remembrance Day

Anthony Albanese has released a statement to mark Remembrance Day. Posted to X, the prime minister said “we think of every Australian who has answered the call through the decades”.

We think of everywhere they have gone across the world to confront the unimaginable as it became reality .. We remember every name. Every face. Every future lost and every future changed forever.

And we think of the many who were cast into the ranks of the unknown soldier as they were torn from life.

Updated

Transurban CEO: we need to convince drivers of the value of tolls

The chief of Transurban, Michelle Jablko, has said the tolling giant needs to do more work to convince drivers of the value they get from taking its paid roads, amid scrutiny on how the company’s tolls affect the New South Wales economy and the cost of living.

Jablko’s comments come as her company finds itself in prolonged negotiations with the NSW government about overhauling the contracts for 11 of the state’s 13 toll roads amid deep public dissatisfaction at the rising cost of tolls in Sydney and questions from the business community about how tolls in the city are adding to supply chain costs.

Jablko told the Australian Financial Review’s infrastructure summit in Sydney this morning that Transurban was exploring more rewards for customers such as discounts for fuel and car servicing.

I hope when customers hear the beep, they go ‘oh, that’s extra value’.

A review into NSW’s patchwork toll network commissioned by the Minns Labor government in July recommended a declining distance-based toll to simplify pricing and cheapen commutes to and from Western Sydney, to more equitably spread the city’s estimated $195bn toll burden over the next 37 years.

While the government is now hoping to negotiate an overhaul with Transurban, who hold long term contracts for 11 toll roads in Sydney, questions remain about whether the tolling giant will agree to changes that decrease its overall projected revenues, with the government potentially taking legal action to force the changes.

Jablko today said that declining distance based tolling, recommended by the review, would actually bring negative effects for the city, because it promotes people to do longer trips and would add to congestion. She also claimed the company’s data showed western Sydney drivers would be worse off, because more commuted locally as opposed to those who drive eastwards to the CBD.

Updated

Burst of renewable energy commitments in September quarter

We’re heard various warnings about the relative lack of new renewable energy investments in the past year or so – at least if we’re to manage the exit of aging coal-fired power plants and meet our clean energy targets.

The September quarter, it turns out, was one of the most promising quarters for some time, the Clean Energy Council reports today.

In the July-September months, more than 1,400 megawatts of new wind and solar farms worth $3.3bn reached financial sign-off, the best since the end of 2022. CEC chief Kane Thornton said:

If we sustain the level of investment for new wind and solar power plants which we have seen in the third quarter of this year, we can get back on track to achieving Australia’s target of 82% renewable energy generation by 2030.

Most of the new projects were either onshore wind (offshore not actually happening – yet) or big batteries. Rooftop solar has tended to make solar farms a bit less attractive.

According to the council, there are 89 renewable electricity generation projects that have either reached financial commitment or are under construction, representing 13.9 gigawatts of capacity in the pipeline. There are also 49 storage projects working their way forward from financial commitment, equivalent to 9.7GW/ 24.3GW-hours in capacity/energy output.

While that sounds good, it’s notable that not a lot of capacity has lately come online. The council notes the September quarter saw just three renewable electricity generation projects, totalling 168MW of new capacity, were actually commissioned in Q3 2024.

We’ll get the summer readiness report soon from the Australian Energy Market Operator, and it won’t be surprising to hear we may face a few tight spots particularly if there are extended heatwaves and coal-fired plants drop out for unscheduled reasons.

Updated

Raygun says she is ‘not retiring’ from breaking, despite reports

Breaker Rachael Gunn, better known as Raygun, has said she is not retiring from breaking despite reports suggesting she would.

Last week she told 2DayFm she was “going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems a really difficult thing for me to do now, to approach a battle”, due to the scrutiny she received after her performance at the Paris Olympics.

Speaking on the Today Show this morning, Gunn said she never used the word retire and that her comments had been misinterpreted:

I was talking on 2DayFm about how I’m not going to do certain competitions anymore – which didn’t seem like such a big deal because breaking is not going to be in the Olympics anyway. But you know, I’m still going to be part of community jams … and still dance and still break. [I never used] the word retire, but, you know, it just caught on to the news cycle … I’m not retiring.

Her comments also come after she made a cameo appearance at Tones and I’s show at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday, brought on stage to perform during Dance With Me.

Updated

Full Story podcast: Students are drowning in debt. Will Labor’s plan help them?

Last week the prime minister delivered a pitch to young Australians: Labor will slash their student debt by 20% next financial year if the Albanese government is re-elected.

The surprise announcement is part of a major federal government overhaul designed to boost access to education and address ‘intergenerational unfairness’. But while the move has been welcomed by many, it has also been widely criticised for not doing enough to help students as well as unfairly penalising all taxpayers.

Chief economist at the Australia Institute and Guardian columnist Greg Jericho gives his take on why Labor’s plan isn’t perfect but why the feigned outrage over ‘fairness’ is wrong. You can have a listen below:

Parts of Queensland and NSW facing ‘almost daily thunderstorm risk’

Central Australia is set to face a concentration of showers and thunderstorms, with south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales facing “an almost daily thunderstorm risk at the moment”.

Senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury from the Bureau of Meteorology spoke with the Today show earlier and provided a forecast update:

Today we’re going to see the concentration of showers and thunderstorms through central parts of the country, largely impacting South Australia and southern parts of the Northern Territory, as well as southeast Queensland and northeast NSW, which are seeing an almost daily thunderstorm risk at the moment … [This could bring] heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding, large hail or damaging winds.

She said in recent days, heatwave conditions had been contracting away from southern Queensland and is less extensive than it was over the weekend.

Even where we don’t have those heatwave warnings, we’re continuing to see very hot weather across the northern parts of Australia, with temperatures 2 to 5 degrees above average – which for many areas, particularly inland, equates to temperatures in the high 30s at least, if not the low to mid 40s.

Updated

Naplan scores remained stable amid Covid school closures: new study

New research from UNSW and the University of Sydney suggests that Naplan scored remained stable during Covid-related school closures, while other countries reported learning losses.

The research, published earlier this year, analysed Naplan test scores across Australian states – comparing differences in student performance based on varying periods of remote learning between 2020 and 2021, with school closures ranging from nine days to 157 days.

Dr Nalini Prasad said students in schools that operated remotely for an extended time “performed similarly to students in schools which were closed for a relatively short period”.

Australia adopted a zero-Covid policy which used lockdowns – and other non-pharmaceutical interventions –pre-emptively to eliminate the transmission of Covid-19.

Per capita Covid case numbers and deaths were considerably lower in Australia. Low Covid case numbers meant that students did not have to miss school due to contracting the virus.

Researchers used Naplan test scores from 2013-2019 as baseline data, comparing them with scores from 2021 and 2022. The data also suggested remote attendance rates were comparable to, and sometimes exceeded, typical in-person schooling levels.

Updated

Matt Keogh on Aukus, second Trump presidency

Matt Keogh was also questioned on what he thinks the challenges will be for the Australian government amid a second Trump presidency?

He pointed to comments from treasurer Jim Chalmers and noted there would be “some economic bumps on the road that will be effecting not just Australia but the globe.”

Keogh said the government is prepared to weather this “through flexible interest rates”, adding:

We understand regardless of who is in charge of the White House or what is happening across the globe, what matters to Australians is being able to make ends meet themselves.

He also expressed confidence in the Aukus deal under Trump, telling the program that legislation went through Congress recently with a “broad cross-section of support.”

We expect that to continue even under a Trump Presidency.

Veteran’s affairs minister on progress of oversight body

The minister for veterans’ affairs and defence personnel, Matt Keogh, was up on ABC News Breakfast earlier to mark Remembrance Day.

Asked how soon an independent oversight body will be set up to examine government progress in implementing the recommendations of the royal commission into veteran suicides, he said:

We only received that report in September. 122 recommendations are backed up by seven volumes and 3,100 pages of report. There is quite a bit of detail there, but we understand the importance and urgency of this work and that is why we have committed to responding by the end of the year.

  • Lifeline: 13 11 14

Updated

Aldi officials to face consumer watchdog probe

Executives from the supermarket giant Aldi are set to be questioned on the state of the sector, AAP reports, as the consumer watchdog examines rising prices at the checkout.

Aldi officials will be questioned by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over the next two days as part of its latest round of hearings into supermarkets.

While Coles and Woolworths have come under fire for their market share and accusations of price gouging, Aldi is the next largest player in the grocery industry.

Aldi holds just 9% of supermarket sales nationally, compared to the 67% market share of Coles and Woolworths. The consumer watchdog previously said it had taken two decades for Aldi to reach a 9% market share, indicating there were issues with competition in the supermarket industry.

This demonstrates the level of difficulty entering and expanding in supermarket retailing, and the significant investment, time and differentiated offering required to expand.

Officials for Coles, Woolworths and Metcash – the parent company of IGA – will also front the commission’s inquiry in coming days. The hearings into supermarkets are being held ahead of a final report being delivered to the federal government in February.

Updated

Conroy on tensions between the US and China

Pat Conroy was also asked about increasing tensions between the US and China over a number of issues, including tariffs and Taiwan, under Trump – and what Australia is doing to prepare for this.

He told ABC RN the government had been “very honest with the Australian public that we live in an era of geopolitical competition in Indo-Pacific”.

Prime minister [Anthony] Albanese made a series of announcements with President [Joe] Biden around critical minerals, and we would expect the United States to continue to focus on that area.

Obviously, President [Donald] Trump and his administration will have their own approach, but it’s been very clear that a lot of countries have been overly reliant on one supply source, and there’s going to be a real focus on supply chain resilience and sovereignty across the world. That’s why we’re investing in making missiles in this country, that’s why we’re investing in a future made in Australia.

Updated

Pat Conroy confident of Aukus deal’s future amid Trump administration

The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, is speaking with ABC RN about the Aukus agreement – and how safe he believes this is under a Donald Trump administration in the US.

Conry said he was very confident, with the plan being “in the strategic interests of all three countries involved” and “strong bipartisan support in the United States.”

Conroy was also asked about news that former secretary of state Mike Pompeo won’t be part of the administration. As the host noted, Pompeo was a strong supporter of Aukus, and Richard Marles and Penny Wong had met with him in recent months to discuss the future of the deal under a potential Trump administration.

Asked if this is a blow to Aukus, Conroy responded:

No, I don’t believe so. Ministers of the Australian government have been engaging with Republican opinion leaders for a number of years, just as we engage with Democratic [leaders], so I’m confident that the strong … United States [support] for Aukus will continue … because it’s in the US interest.

Conroy was also asked about calls from Labor luminaries, such as former premier Bob Carr, for the deal to be reconsidered amid the Trump victory. Conroy said he respects their opinions but “the will of the party was clearly expressed at the national conference, where a very strong majority supported Aukus”.

Updated

Media watchdog to call for new powers to fight misinformation on social media

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) will today reiterate its call for more powers to combat misinformation and disinformation on social media.

The communications watchdog believes a code of practice on misinformation and disinformation – which has been signed by Adobe, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Redbubble, TikTok, Twitch and Legitimate – lacks enforcement power.

In a submission to a senate committee, Acma warned:

There is no regulatory backstop to either compel digital platforms to become signatories or hold them accountable if they breach their obligations.

Acma will appear before the parliamentary inquiry today and continue its call for tougher legislation:

To be both effective and enforceable, the code must be supported by key performance indicators linked to code commitments and measurable through high-quality sets of Australian-relevant data. This is essential to hold signatories accountable to their commitments and provide transparency to Australians on the effectiveness of these measures.

Updated

Will Dutton copy Trump’s campaign? Opposition leader to focus on cost of living and migration

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has flagged his election campaign will focus on cost of living and migration, linking the latter to the release of 224 unlawful non-citizens who had been in indefinite detention.

In a press conference yesterday, Dutton was asked if the Coalition would mirror Donald Trump’s successful election campaign in the US.

Dutton responded the opposition would run its “own campaign” but flagged some of the issues in the US, such as “migration”, were a focus in Australia too.

The opposition leader turned to the release of hundreds of immigration detainees, known as the NZYQ cohort, following a high court decision in November 2023 that indefinite detention is unlawful. Dutton inaccurately claimed the Albanese government had a choice in their release, and described the entire cohort as “hardened criminals”.

Certainly cost of living, certainly interest rates, certainly migration because the government has released over 200 hardened criminals from immigration detention when they didn’t need to do so ... so our country is less safe as a result of the decisions that the Albanese government’s made and we are poorer as a community as well. I think they’re the issues that really will be front of mind for Australians at the next election.

While a number of the non-citizens within the cohort have had serious criminal convictions, some have had their visas cancelled for fraud, “other non-violent offences”, or lower level offences, such as common assaults.

In response to the high court’s ruling last November, Labor and the Coalition passed changes imposing strict conditions, including electronic monitoring and curfews, to those released.

Last week, the high court again ruled against the government’s powers, saying it breached the separation of powers. The judges said the conditions were “a form of extra-judicial collective punishment based on membership of the class”.

The following day, the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, made new regulations to regain the power to impose the conditions where someone “poses a substantial risk of seriously harming any part of the Australian community by committing a serious offence”.

Updated

Remembrance Day events set to take place across Australia

Australians will pause for a minute of silence at 11am to honour the thousands who died in military conflicts in commemoration services around the nation.

As AAP reports, a national service will take place at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, where the governor general, Sam Mostyn, will deliver a commemorative address. After the commemoration, Anthony Albanese and Mostyn will make an announcement about a military honour.

In Sydney, a service at the Martin Place Cenotaph will begin at 10.30am, while the Opera House will be illuminated with images of poppies at dawn and dusk.

RSL Queensland said more than 140 events would take place at sub-branches state-wide, with its official Queensland service taking place at Brisbane’s Anzac Square from 10.15am.

RSL Western Australia will use the occasion to call for DNA donations to try to help identify unnamed fallen soldiers from the 32nd Battalion that took part in one of World War I’s most devastating battles in July 1916. RSL WA’s official service will be held at the State War Memorial in Kings Park.

Updated

Greens to announce plan to wipe all student debt

The Greens will announce its $74bn plan to wipe all student debt as it looks to snatch a seat off Labor in inner-city Melbourne.

The minor party will reveal the proposal in Wills, held by Labor’s Peter Khalil, with their candidate, Samantha Ratnam, who led the party in Victoria for nearly seven years.

Costings from the Parliamentary Budget Office show the policy to wipe all student debt would cost $55bn over the next four years and $74bn over the decade. The Greens estimate this will save someone with a debt of $27,600 about $5,500 a year.

The Greens’ education spokesperson, Mehreen Faruqi, said the policy would make a “real, tangible difference to so many people doing it tough”.

Student debt can’t be fixed because student debt shouldn’t exist. All student debt should be wiped. If Anthony Albanese can go to uni for free, so should everyone else.

It comes as Labor announced last week it would slash Hecs debts by 20% if it wins at the next federal election.

The Greens say they would pass any bill to reduce student debts in this term if Labor were to bring the proposal forward.

Updated

Welcome

Good morning and welcome back to a new week on the Australia news live blog. I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be taking you through our live coverage this Monday.

Today, the Greens are set to announce its $74bn plan to wipe all student debt as it looks to snatch a seat off Labor in inner-city Melbourne. The minor party will reveal the proposal in Wills, held by Labor’s Peter Khalil, with their candidate Samantha Ratnam, who led the party in Victoria for nearly seven years. Sarah Basford Canales will have all the details soon.

Meanwhile, Australians will pause to honour the thousands who died in military conflicts in commemoration services around the nation. As AAP reports, a national service will take place at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, where governor general Sam Mostyn will deliver a commemorative address.

After the commemoration, Anthony Albanese and Mostyn will make an announcement about a military honour. We’ll bring you more details soon.

As always, if you have any questions, tips or feedback, you can get in touch via X @emilywindwrites or send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.

Let’s get started.

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