What we learned today, Thursday 20 April
Thanks for following along on the blog today. Here is a wrap of the day’s biggest stories:
Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the government will accept all 51 recommendations from a review to overhaul the Reserve Bank. Chalmers also named two new appointments to the RBA board, including former Fair Work Commission head Iain Ross and former ACTU official Elana Rubin.
RBA governor Philip Lowe rejected comments by the review panel about the workings of his board and said he has no intention of stepping down.
A hybrid solar eclipse reached totality in part of Australia today, with thousands of people gathering in WA’s Exmouth to witness it. We covered it live here.
The governor general officially proclaimed that 1 July is the date that the National Anti-Corruption Commission will commence.
The 90 leaders of the powerful Central Land Council issued an extraordinary joint statement rejecting the views of Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, saying she “needs to stop pretending we are her people”.
The ACT has become the first Australian jurisdiction to offer free universal access to abortion services, prompting calls for the rest of the country to follow suit.
People caught with a small amount of illicit drugs including cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine will likely avoid a court date under new laws passed in Queensland.
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Three-strike personal drug use rule expanded in Queensland
People caught with a small amount of illicit drugs including cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine will likely avoid a court date under new laws passed in Queensland.
A drug diversion program for cannabis that has existed in the state for decades has been expanded to include the full spectrum of illegal drugs and some pharmaceuticals.
The laws passed on Thursday mean first-time offenders will be given a warning, and those caught a second or third time will be offered a diversionary program instead of a court notice.
The police minister, Mark Ryan, says the shift in tactics from a police to a health response would bring the state into line with other Australian jurisdictions:
According to police, diversion programs result in the majority of those individuals never having contact with police again.
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MP Allegra Spender on RBA review
The independent MP Allegra Spender has weighed in on the Reserve Bank review, saying the recommendations are “promising” but her focus during the reform process will be to question “whether they will be enough to overcome challenges and set us up for the future”.
🧵The RBA Review makes a number of important points and recommendations. I’m very glad this work has been done in a professional, non-partisan way and will work with the Govt on implementing recommendations. The RBA is a fine institution and has served us well but could be better
— Allegra Spender (@spenderallegra) April 20, 2023
2/5 My first concern is governance. The Board is supposed to be independent but agrees with the RBA on every vote. Splitting the Board, getting experts involved with policy decisions, and an external advisory body will raise the bar. #RBAReview
— Allegra Spender (@spenderallegra) April 20, 2023
3/5 My second concern is transparency. RBA is more communicative than in the past but could be more open with the public. Recommendations for regular press conferences, directors speaking publicly, and more insights into RBA thinking are all positives.
— Allegra Spender (@spenderallegra) April 20, 2023
4/5 My third concern is culture. Groupthink undermines the RBA’s effectiveness. More interaction between Board and staff, external engagement, and diverse recruitment will all help but management will need to embrace healthy internal dissent.
— Allegra Spender (@spenderallegra) April 20, 2023
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Woodside fails in bid to have case against Scarborough gas project struck out
The Federal Court has dismissed gas giant Woodside’s attempt to strike out the Australian Conservation Foundation’s case to stop the massive Scarborough gas project until its impact on the Great Barrier Reef is assessed.
ACF’s general counsel Adam Beeson said they are pleased with today’s ruling and look forward to presenting their evidence in court:
Woodside has failed to have our case struck out and must now deal with the substantive issue in court.
If it goes ahead, Woodside’s Scarborough gas mine and its Pluto extension will produce vast quantities of climate-heating pollution for many decades.
No matter where Woodside’s gas is burned, it will contribute to the heating of the world’s atmosphere and oceans, bleaching coral reefs, including the Great Barrier Reef.
Scarborough has never been approved under Australia’s environment protection law because projects assessed by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority are exempt from the national environment law.
However, that exemption does not apply if an offshore project is likely to have a significant impact on the World or National Heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef.
ACF believes the greenhouse gas emissions that will result from the Scarborough project are likely to have a significant impact on the Great Barrier Reef.
Environmental Defenders Office Special Counsel Clare Lakewood said the future of the Great Barrier Reef can’t be left to chance:
We need to make sure gas producers comply with the law and the impacts of harmful new fossil fuel projects like Scarborough on the Great Barrier Reef are properly assessed.
We now look forward to progressing this matter to hearing.
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Environmental watchdog lays charges over tyre stockpile in Melbourne
A company and its director are accused of illegally stockpiling 70,000 tyres in Melbourne’s outer suburbs, AAP is reporting.
The Environment Protection Authority laid 14 charges on Thursday over the tyres allegedly found at a site at Pakenham in late 2021.
The area has since been cleared and the majority of the waste tyres moved to two sites at Pakenham and Cranbourne East, where the company has allegedly obtained the correct permits.
Authority officers have inspected the new sites to confirm the storage arrangements comply with permit conditions designed to minimise the risk of fire and other environmental hazards.
The matter is expected to appear in the Dandenong magistrates court in June.
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Catch up on today’s biggest headlines so far with this great wrap from my colleague Antoun Issa:
Religious exemptions to discrimination law inquiry delayed eight months
The Australian Law Reform Commission has just issued a statement revealing its inquiry into religious exemptions to discrimination law has been delayed by eight months. The inquiry was due to report tomorrow (21 April) but will now have until 31 December.
In January, Guardian Australia revealed Catholic sector backlash to the ALRC’s proposal to remove existing exemptions to the Sex Discrimination Act that enable discrimination and replace it with a narrower right to give “more favourable treatment on the ground of religion” for hiring employees where it is “proportionate in all the circumstances”.
In February the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, reiterated that Labor will respect religious schools’ right to select staff based on faith, after widespread backlash from religious groups to a proposal to limit their hiring and firing powers.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, granted an extension after the ALRC requested it in February to consider more than 420 submissions received in response to its consultation paper.
The part-time commissioner tasked with leading the Inquiry, the Hon Justice Stephen Rothman AM, said:
The issues raised by this Inquiry are of great significance to a large number of Australians. It is important that the commission considers the many varied perspectives thoroughly and sensitively.
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MP Peta Murphy urges more conversation around stage-three tax cuts
The Labor MP Peta Murphy is wrapping up discussions on Afternoon Briefing and said its important to keep having conversations around the stage-three tax cuts, saying there is more nuance within communities on the issue than they are given credit for:
There is more nuance in the electorate about what individual people or families approaches to different sorts of tax regimes and spending regimes are than are often given credit for, and I think that there are significant groups in society who aren’t always making decisions based on their own self-interest.
And let’s face it, our whole system isn’t based on your own self-interest because tax is used to pay for all sorts of things – schools and hospitals and roads and so forth – that you might never use yourself but you know are important to the community.
So I get a range of feedback from people about what they think should be done with various tax regimes and different spending. And I think the important thing is continuing to have that conversation with our electorates and the Australian people more broadly [and it’s] clear that Jim Chalmers has been doing that since he’s been the treasurer.
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Daniel says 78% of her electorate wants stage-three tax cuts reconsidered
Daniel says she has surveyed her electorate on the government’s stage-three tax cuts and that 78% say at the very least, the cuts need to be reconsidered.
She said this is a “significant” result given that many in her electorate stand to benefit from the tax cuts.
They’ve made comments on their responses, too, predominantly along the lines of, ‘These tax cuts would benefit me. However, this money would be better spent on several other things’, including things like the NDIS, including things like the sort of support payments that we’re talking about, cost of living support and such.
The assumptions that people make about the divisions in community around things like tax cuts are much less nuanced than the actual reality when people are considering what’s the state of the economy? Do I need the money? Does someone else need the money? What else might we use that money for?
Asked for her personal thoughts, Daniel said:
I think the government at the very least should relook at it.
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Enabling women economically is of ‘benefit to the economy’: Zoe Daniel
The independent MP Zoe Daniel is speaking on Afternoon Briefing about the recommendations for the budget made by the women’s economic equality taskforce.
She said she strongly supports the recommendations and wonders why a taskforce would even be formed “if you weren’t going to implement the recommendations”:
The government has made some good steps in regard to gender equality in the last 12 months, there is still a tendency to delay, water down, not be quite ambitious enough because of the endless mantra of the cost to the budget.
I’d flip that on its head and say if you enable women economically, that is of benefit to the economy. We have to start looking at the contribution of women through that lens.
I would really strongly encourage the government … to be brave, to be ambitious with these recommendations and to implement them in the good faith that they have been put, and particularly when it comes to the single parent payment.
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Scrymgour stresses NT’s role in establishing Family Response Commission
Scrymgour said she has spoken with the Indigenous Australians minister, Linda Burney, as well as the prime minister’s office on establishing a Family Responsibility Commission, however she believes the main government that “needs to be at the table” on this matter is the Northern Territory government.
I’m pleased to say that the Northern Territory government will come to the table and will have these discussions.
We’ll look at what do we need to do to move forward so that instead of weaponising and demonising the community, [we ask] what do we need to do to try and deal with these issues?
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MP Marion Scrymgour criticises Peter Dutton’s visit to Alice Springs
The Northern Territory MP Marion Scrymgour is also appearing on Afternoon Briefing.
She criticised the opposition leader, Peter Dutton’s recent visit to Alice Springs with Jacinta Price and said she is “tired of politicians weaponising the issues facing our most vulnerable”.
She is calling for the establishment of a Family Responsibility Commission, similar to what is in place in Queensland, and said:
It works very well in Queensland and it covers a lot of those communities … in north Queensland where there were real issues with child abuse but also alcohol was a major factor, families not taking responsibility for school attendance.
Rather than constantly fighting about these issues, the Cape York Institute developed and worked with the Queensland government to implement a family responsibility commission.
That commission is driven by Aboriginal people for all of those communities that work with the commissioner to look at how do we get family responsibility agreements in place … how do we get families to be front and centre in terms of looking after their children?
I think it’s time for us to have those discussions in the Northern Territory.
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Lidia Thorpe ‘hopeful that the media will see through shallow attacks’
Senator Lidia Thorpe has released a lengthy statement this afternoon, slamming the media pile on she has received in recent weeks.
She said:
When I talk of Treaty, I am talking about a path to peace that will benefit all of us, blak and white, coloniser and colonised.
I understand that at times this means I will be targeted but I remain hopeful that the media will see through shallow attacks and start reporting on the real issues impacting people in this country.
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McManus urges RBA to ‘stay true to its charter’ and focus on full employment
It appears self-evidently that they have either ignored or made it a secondary objective for them, and they’ve been making decisions based on what’s proven to be a false premise and that’s around what level does unemployment need to be before wages just magically start rising.
Because we’ve had this period, of course, brought about by the COVID pandemic, where we’ve had unemployment at a historically very low level and wages haven’t gone up, that’s rewritten all of those models.
We want the Reserve Bank to stay true to its charter and to focus on full employment. It’s extremely important that that happens. The best prosperity our country has had is when we’ve been near full employment. It’s part of ensuring that every person who wants a job can get a job, and participate in our society, and that needs to be something they focus on, just as much as they do about interest rates.
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Union leaders on RBA board would be a conflict: Sally McManus
McManus is asked if a union leader should be eligible to be considered for the expert monetary policy board?
She said the ACTU didn’t put an expression of interest to be considered for the board in order to maintain their independent voice and be able to “criticise decisions and thinking if necessary”.
She said:
Obviously you’ve got different obligations if you’re also then sitting on the board, so we didn’t want to have that conflict.
We did in the past. ACTU secretary Bill Kelty sat on the Reserve Bank board, but those were also different times.
So as long as the government has people there that can fill that skills gap which really is about understanding in a deep way how wages work in Australia, you know, we’re very happy with that, and that’s what they’ve done.
To her last point, McManus added that “there’s no-one more qualified … than Ian Ross”.
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ACTU criticises ‘group think’ on RBA board
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary, Sally McManus, is appearing on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing to speak on the Reserve Bank’s review.
She said the ACTU’s criticism of the RBA was about what she called “group think” on the board:
[That comes from] a lack of diversity and too much of an emphasis on what we would say are actually outdated economic theories and some ideas from the 1980s which really don’t apply in Australia anymore.
And the fact that … they’ve appointed people or a person [who has a] very, very deep understanding about how wages actually work in our country, that’s Ian Ross, is really good for the country …
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Monique Ryan urges government to increase jobseeker, parenting payments
The independent MP Monique Ryan has released a statement calling on the government to raise the rate of jobseeker, single parenting, rent assistance and other related payments.
She said:
Homelessness Australia has told us that students are being left with as little as $13 dollars a day to live on, as the youth allowance has failed to keep up with rents, which have increased by as much as 24% in the last 12 months.
Most people on the jobseeker and parenting payment single are living in poverty … The government’s panel of experts have agreed that we need to increase unemployment, student and parenting payments … We need to listen to the experts.
I've urged the Albanese government to make an important investment in our country’s future - by supporting the unemployed to rejoin the workforce, helping students to complete their studies, and assisting single parents in raising the next generation of Australians.#RaiseTheRate pic.twitter.com/KF89VjYvqH
— Dr Monique Ryan MP (@Mon4Kooyong) April 20, 2023
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Pair charged with kidnapping after allegedly stealing car with baby inside
Two people have been charged after allegedly stealing a car with a baby girl in the back in central Queensland, AAP is reporting.
A mother was packing the boot of her SUV at a shopping centre in Yeppoon just after noon on Wednesday when police allege a woman got into the driver’s seat and drove off with a four-month-old baby girl in the back seat.
Police will allege the woman realised the child was inside, returned to the scene and demanded the mother take her daughter out of the car.
The child was safely removed, and the woman drove away in the stolen Nissan Patrol, hitting two people in the car park, police allege.
The baby was not physically injured but the incident was deeply distressing for the family, Detective Acting Inspector Luke Peachey told reporters on Thursday:
She’s got a sleeping three-month-old daughter in the back and would have only taken a matter of minutes to just load those (groceries). She wasn’t leaving the car, she was only loading the car.
It appears the vehicle was stopped as it was driving out by passers(by) who were alerted to the mother screaming out, ‘My child’s in the vehicle’.
Footage of the incident circulated on social media yesterday.
Police found the stolen vehicle about 4pm yesterday and a man, 36, and a woman, 24, were taken into custody.
The pair were charged with offences including child abduction, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
The charges were mentioned in Rockhampton magistrates court on Thursday.
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Consumer watchdog opposes Qantas’s acquisition of Alliance
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will oppose Qantas’s proposed acquisition of Alliance Airlines because it could substantially lessen competition in the fly-in-fly-out worker transport market.
Alliance Airlines predominantly provides charter flights to mining and other resource companies. Qantas acquired about 20% of the airline in 2019, and last year, announced plans for a takeover.
The ACCC chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said that while “many Australians may not have heard of them” because they don’t compete on major passenger routes, Alliance was an important competitor to Qantas.
Cass-Gottlieb said:
The removal of Alliance is likely to substantially lessen competition threatening increased prices and reduced service quality for customers.
Qantas and Alliance currently strongly compete with each other in markets where there are few effective alternatives. The proposed acquisition would combine two of the largest suppliers of charter services in Western Australia and Queensland.
Flying workers in the resource industry to and from their worksites is an essential service for this important part of the Australian economy, so it is critical that competition in this market is protected.
The ACCC announced its opposition on Thursday morning, which prompted a swift press release from Qantas announcing it is seeking a meeting with the watchdog about its concerns.
It said in a statement:
Qantas remains confident the acquisition would not substantially lessen competition in any market.
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NSW reports 8,825 Covid cases, down 6.6%
According to NSW Health, 8,825 people across the state were diagnosed with COVID-19 during the week ending April 15 – a decrease of 6.6% on the previous week.
There were 28 COVID-19 related deaths reported during this period, and emergency department presentations rose to 236 up from 199 during the previous week.
NSW Health said although there has been a decrease in the number of people diagnosed with the virus, the rate of COVID-19 infections in people over 90 has continued to increase across the state.
Meanwhile, 1,209 people were diagnosed with the flu during the same period, marking an increase of 13% since the previous week.
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Queensland to consider boosting emissions targets
Queensland’s current target is set at a 30% emissions reduction below 2005 levels by 2030 – a weaker target than those set by the federal, New South Wales and Victorian governments.
The state’s environment minister, Meaghan Scanlon, said Queensland is on track to meet its 2030 target nine years ahead of schedule, according to the most recent emissions data.
Scanlon said the government will “continue to look at policies and actions needed to be implemented to drive down emissions.
The environment minister made the comments during a press conference on Thursday where she announced Queensland will widen its recycling scheme to include glass, wine and spirit bottles.
The bottles will be eligible for a 10-cent refund under the state’s Containers for Change program from November 1.
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Albanese’s top priority should be cost of living, not voice: Angus Taylor
Taylor is asked by a reporter if the opposition has “become distracted” over the voice and if should it focus back on the cost of living crisis.
He responded:
I think the prime minister has got very distracted with all sorts of things.
The one thing we can’t get the prime minister to talk about is cost of living, he seems to be completely disinterested in the topic and yet I can tell you when I get out and about and talk businesses and households, it is their number one issue.
Taylor said the top priority right now has to be the cost of living:
Indigenous disadvantage is an important issue and it’s important in government and opposition and in parliament that we deal with a full range of issues that Australia is facing. But the top priority right now has to be cost of living.
The prime minister doesn’t treat it as his top priority, he shows disdain for the number of questions we ask about it in question time on a regular basis and I think it is time for the prime minister to treat the cost of living as his top priority.
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‘An independent Reserve Bank is essential,’ Taylor says
Taylor said the opposition and government have sought to make this process as bipartisan as possible.
An independent … Reserve Bank it is so essential to our economy. We have had a Reserve Bank that served this country well over a long period of time, despite recent errors … and we appreciate the opportunities we have had to engage with the panel and with the Treasurer’s office.
We will look through all the detailed recommendations … in the coming days and weeks.
Taylor said where the opposition differs from the government is when it comes to the budget:
We do want to see an upcoming budget that plays its role in fighting inflation because the Government has a crucial role in fighting inflation. It shouldn’t be left just to the Reserve Bank.
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Taylor on Philip Lowe
Taylor is asked if RBA governor Philip Lowe’s position is tenable:
We think that the appointments, and reappointments for that matter, should follow the recommendations laid out in the review.
They are very strong recommendations about how those appointments should be made and they are very clear recommendations about how they should be made.
They should be merit-based and we want the process followed.
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Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor on Reserve Bank review
We have a big task ahead of us as a country to beat the strong inflation that we have seen emerging in recent months and Australian households and businesses are suffering terribly from that very strong increase in the cost of living pressures and the cost of doing business pressures they are facing.
Central to achieving the outcome we need to on inflation and interest rates, we need an effective Reserve Bank - one that is doing the job well.
It is critical that the lessons from the past are learned and I think this review does a very good job of going through recent history and some of the lessons that need to be learned and the work that needs to be done and some of the initiatives that need to be implement.
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Chalmers is asked whether the budget will be cautious or ambitious
He answered:
It will be responsible.
The overwhelming priority will be to put a premium on what’s responsible in the context of global uncertainty around the world and substantial cost of living pressures here at home.
We’ll need to try and make decisions which make things a little bit easier for people in the near-term at the same time as we lay those foundations for future growth in the economy as well.
[It is] a series of different, difficult balances to strike, but overwhelmingly I think people will see this as a responsible budget, a premium on what we can afford to do, what’s sustainable, what’s good for people right now dealing with these extreme cost of living pressures and what’s good for the economy into the medium and longer term too when it comes to, for example, investment [in] cleaner and cheaper energy.
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Back to Jim Chalmers interview on Sky News
The treasurer said the upcoming budget is “not yet” finalised, after meetings with the Expenditure Review Committee for most of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
He said:
We were able to take a number of decisions but as always, a couple of weeks out there’s a little bit more to bed down still, but we’re in the home stretch of putting the budget together and the budget will be a difficult balancing act.
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National Anti-Corruption Commission to start in July
The governor general has officially proclaimed that 1 July is the date that the National Anti-Corruption Commission will commence.
The Nacc bill passed in November last year, fulfilling Labor’s pledge to legislate the body by the end of 2023.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, is also shepherding some whistleblower reforms through parliament in time for the Nacc opening its doors. These have Coalition support so are not likely to be impeded.
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Asked if the RBA governor, Philip Lowe, is still being considered for another term in the job, Chalmers said he would be considering the appointment of the new role with the cabinet and prime minister close to the middle of the year.
Nothing has changed in that position. We will do it in the usual consultative way.
I care deeply about the view of my cabinet colleagues … especially the prime minister as we make what will be a really important appointment, whether it’s the reappointment of governor Lowe, or choosing somebody else.
We will do the work to come to a conclusive view closer to the middle of the year.
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Chalmers spruiking new board appointees
Speaking of the new appointments to the Reserve Bank board, Chalmers said he is reluctant to “take shots at boards of the past” but it has been a priority of his to make the board more representative “both in terms of the kind of expertise that people bring to decision making, but also the type of experience that they’ve had”:
Iain Ross is really quite an extraordinary Australian and he’s someone that I am really proud to appoint to the Reserve Bank board because he has had such long experience of understanding, grappling with the relationship between the performance of the economy broadly and what that actually means for ordinary working people in this country.
He’s a first class mind with a heck of experience and expertise, and I think he’ll make – along with Elana Ruben - quite a remarkable, terrific contribution to the board going forward.
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Chalmers says RBA board refers a key finding in report
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is appearing on Sky News to discuss the Reserve Bank review and the government’s response.
He said of the 51 recommendations, one of the most important is the recommendation to separate the making of decisions around monetary policy [and] around interest rates from the management and governance of the Reserve Bank itself.
Chalmers said:
What that means is you can have quite a specialist expert monetary policy board chaired by the governor, [and] at the same time as you can have people with substantial governance and leadership experience on the governance board at the same time.
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Minns says national cabinet should be held in Australia
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, does not support the West Australian premier Mark McGowan’s request for national cabinet to be hosted in China.
He said he did not think that was a “wise decision”.
National cabinet should be held in Australia.... It needs to be done in an efficient affordable way.
It’s important that premiers get to meet face-to-face.
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Senate inquiry hears of increasing complexity in teaching
The president of the Northern Territory Principal’s Association, Robyn Thorpe, was earlier speaking to the senate committee on the national trend of school refusal and related matters.
She said student complexity had increased dramatically:
The complexity in the classroom has just increased, so greatly. Schools are funded on a one to 28, one to 30 students in the classroom.
And in any one classroom, teachers are having to deal with 25% to 100% of their students being considered to be on NTT DATA. So the national collection of disabilities.
When a teacher is fronted with a classroom of that complexity, there is an expectation that they differentiate the needs of all learners in that classroom. Of course, that’s pretty unrealistic. The funding doesn’t allow us to have a model which actually addresses the individual needs of kids.
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Senate committee on school refusal holds public hearing
The senate committee into the national trend of school refusal and related matters is holding a public hearing in Brisbane today.
Just up was the Australian Secondary Principals’ Association, who said disruptions in classrooms was increasing.
President Andrew Pierpoint on what’s behind it:
We believe that an increasing lack of community respect and appreciation for education is a contributing factor. And increasing reduction in respect for teachers and their work, as identified by the national teacher workforce action plan.
The student complexity has increased that is disabilities, mental health, poverty, dysfunctional family violence, violence in the family, substance abuse, etc.
It is more complex being a teenager today than it’s ever been. So I think they’re the main factors.
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Australia falling behind plastic waste reduction targets
The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) has today released its review of the 2025 National Packaging Targets, aimed at reducing Australia’s plastic waste.
The review found that while targets are driving a transformation in packaging across the country, they are not on track to be met by 2025.
APCO CEO Chris Foley said:
We’ve seen some fantastic contributions from many businesses so it is disappointing that the headline data indicates targets will not all be met.
The APCO is calling for a stronger co-regulatory framework which strikes a balance between industry-led action and effective government regulation in order for targets to be met.
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson has called on the federal government to mandate Australia’s waste reduction targets and said:
Australia set a national target to recover 70% of plastic packaging by 2025, but a review by the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation shows just 18% of plastic packaging was recycled or composted in the 2020-21 financial year.
The idea that Australia could reach its 2025 packaging targets under a system that hinges on weak, consumer-obligated, voluntary targets has always been a complete farce.
Big producers of plastic have been operating with impunity, free from any serious penalties or regulation.
It is absurd that our waste reduction targets are not legally binding given what we know about the dangers of plastic pollution.
— Peter Whish-Wilson (@SenatorSurfer) April 20, 2023
To stop the scourge of plastic from intruding into our lives and the environment, the Albanese Government must mandate our waste reduction targets.
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No-cost abortions now available in the ACT
Earlier this morning it was announced that free abortions will now be available in the ACT.
Medical abortions will be provided for free up to nine weeks gestation, and surgical abortions up to 16 weeks, at MSI Australia’s Canberra clinic.
The ACT government is investing more than $4.6m over four years to provide all ACT residents, including those without a Medicare card, access to the free services.
Health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said free long-acting reversible contraception will also be made available, if wanted, at the time of abortion:
This is about providing women and people who need an abortion with access to the right supports and services without stigmatisation or financial burden.
Abortion is a health service and not being able to access appropriate care in a timely way can have a detrimental impact on a person’s mental and physical health as well as socioeconomic consequences.
Dates for 2023 NSW parliament sitting weeks confirmed
The new schedule for NSW parliament has been revealed, AAP is reporting, with politicians expected to front up to the Macquarie St building as often as they did before the Covid-19 pandemic.
MPs will sit for 39 days across 13 of a possible 34 weeks remaining this year, excluding the week of Christmas.
The parliament also reserves a week in December for extra sittings.
Meanwhile, the treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, and the Minns government will deliver their first budget on 12 September.
It comes after Mookhey identified $7bn worth of unfunded programs and unavoidable pressures during treasury briefings, which needed scrutiny.
He said delivering the realigned budget outlook for 2023/24 would take an additional three months to the September date.
Mookhey said:
We face difficult choices ahead as we make sure the public’s money is spent on the public’s priorities.
He said the government did not intend to make cuts to the state’s budgets, instead intending to go through spending “line by line”.
The parliament has also set aside 12 days for budget estimates hearings in October.
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Australia now ‘bowing ever more deeply at the feet of the free market’, says McKim
Greens senator Nick McKim has slammed the RBA review as a “major party stitch-up” that will “make things worse not better”, with renters and mortgage holders having to “pay the price”.
In a series of tweets, he labelled the review as “more than just a missed opportunity”:
Legislating the changes recommended in this review would be a massive step backwards.
Independence is being prioritised over accountability, and Australia is being asked to bow ever more deeply at the feet of the free market. To suggest removing the remaining capacity for government to override the RBA is a breathtaking attack on democracy.
The review has squibbed the opportunity to develop a holistic approach to economic policy, including the use of taxes and price caps to help manage inflation, and ensuring credit is directed to productive ends such as the transition to a clean energy economy.
Instead of celebrating the democratisation of the RBA, we are witnessing the end of the post-Depression era model of central banking that was designed to serve the greater good and not just the wealthy. Tragically more people will be ground into poverty as a result.
— Nick McKim (@NickMcKim) April 20, 2023
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Royal Australian College of GPs welcomes infrastructure grants
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has welcomed the launch of the Albanese government’s GP grants program to boost general practice infrastructure across the country.
As my colleague Paul Karp reported early this morning, the government has announced that from tomorrow GP practices can apply for $220m of grants as part of its Strengthening Medicare policy announced before the election.
The RACGP’s president, Dr Nicole Higgins, said that investment in general practice infrastructure was sorely needed:
This will provide a welcome morale boost for many GPs and practice teams.
We have had an exhausting few years helping patients during the pandemic and delivering Covid-19 vaccines as well as dealing with the fallout of 2020 and 2021 including helping those who delayed or avoided care as well as patients with mental health issues.
So, this will be a really welcome boost and I appreciate minister Butler saying that after working tirelessly during the pandemic GPs deserve more than thanks.
He is spot on, and these grants will go a long way to expanding services in communities where patient demand is outstripping supply.
Updated
ACTU welcomes Reserve Bank review
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has welcomed the Reserve Bank review and new appointments to the board today.
In a statement, the ACTU says it has been critical of the RBA and its board for “its a lack of understanding about wage growth and its narrow range of views about monetary policy”.
ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said:
It’s time for the RBA to rebalance its efforts towards achieving its objective of full employment and away from imposing higher and higher interest rates on mortgage holders.
With this review of the RBA and the inclusion of fresh expertise on its board, we look forward to economic levers being used to support working people and make Australia’s economy and workforce stronger and more equitable.
It is imperative the RBA better understand and tackle the underlying causes of inflation – which is not wage growth but corporate profiteering.
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Wong becomes first Australian minister to address New Caledonia Congress
Foreign affairs minister Penny Wong has taken to social media to share a photo from New Caledonia, where she has become the first Australian minister to address their Congress.
She said:
We want to work closely with the French state and New Caledonia to advance our many shared interests - most importantly, a peaceful and prosperous region.
It is my great honour to be the first Australian minister to address the Congress of New Caledonia.
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) April 20, 2023
We want to work closely with the French state and New Caledonia to advance our many shared interests - most importantly, a peaceful and prosperous region. pic.twitter.com/4qBhgOHBbl
Wong said her visit is fulfilling a commitment to visit every member of the Pacific Islands forum in her first year of office.
Jailed pilot fighting extradition to US appeals to ambassador
Lawyers for Australian pilot Daniel Duggan have written to US ambassador Caroline Kennedy, urging the immediate withdrawal of his extradition to the US, where he faces 60 years in prison for allegedly training Chinese aviators.
Duggan’s lawyer, Dennis Miralis, argued any extradition to the US before Australia’s intelligence watchdog completes an inquiry into the lawfulness of his detention would be an abuse of power.
Part of Duggan’s complaint to the inspector general of intelligence and security (IGIS) relates to the circumstances of his return to Australia from China. His legal team has raised concerns an “unlawful lure” – in the form of an Asio clearance for an Australian aviation security identification card – may have been used to entice him back to Australia where he could be arrested on behalf of the US and extradited. That matter is being investigated.
Miralis said the IGIS inquiry must be completed before any extradition and flagged a possible stay application:
Under international law, and as a sign of respect for Australian law, the United States should withdraw its extradition until the inquiry is concluded. If the United States declines to withdraw, we will be left with no choice but to make an application to the court for a temporary stay of the extradition proceedings in order to protect the integrity and independence of the IGIS investigation and Mr Duggan’s fundamental rights to a fair trial.
Duggan has been held in maximum security isolation in a NSW prison for six months with no Australian charges or convictions. His mental health is said to be deteriorating due to the isolation.
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Central Land Council says Jacinta Nampijinpa Price does not speak for them
The has issued a scathing statement on the new shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, saying she “does not speak for [their 90 members] or most Aboriginal people”.
CLC deputy chair, Warren Williams, from Yuendumu - northwest of Alice Springs - said:
She needs to stop pretending we are her people.
Meeting this week at Spotted Tiger, near Atitjere (Harts Range), council members said they are “sick of Senator Price’s continued attacks on land councils and other peak Aboriginal organisations in the Northern Territory”.
Williams said:
We are tired of her playing politics with the grass roots organisations our old people have built to advocate for our rights and interests.
Her people are the non-Aboriginal conservatives and the Canberra elite to which she wants to belong.
She should tell us what her grievances with the CLC are, and if she can really and truly listen to us she is welcome to attend our next council meeting.
The council says it is well aware of the “scale of the challenges” facing its members and their families and that “Senator Price’s divisive approach isn’t helping”.
Speaking on allegations Price has made that children were being put in the care of abusers, Williams said:
Our kids are the apples of our eyes.
We are not abusers. We love our children. We’d like to know where she got her information from.
It is mandatory to report such evidence to the authorities.
Senator Price declined to comment.
Updated
Thanks Natasha for taking us through the morning! I’ll be with you for the remainder of the day.
That’s it from me. Thanks for your attention this morning. Handing the blog baton onto Emily Wind!
RBA governor says board frequently probes and challenges his decisions
Lowe says he welcomed the review’s finding that the board should be more diverse. However, taking questions he says the findings that current members lacked knowledge to challenge him as the governor, he says is “very far from the reality that I have lived as the governor.”
Reporter:
Do you agree with the findings of the review that the board is in fact lacking in the knowledge required to both challenge you and set monetary policy?
Lowe:
I think one observation I would make through the review process, which I said was kind of excellent, is the review panel did not sit in the boardroom.
The description of how the board process works and the challenge in the boardroom that the panel has doesn’t particularly resonate with me.
In the boardroom right next door, what I see are nine people who are deeply engaged in the question is, who bring a great deal of expertise to the issues we are dealing with, they are probing, they challenge me, and sometimes I speak last in the meetings.
So the idea that the board members sit there meekly and accept the recommendations that I put to them is very far from the reality that I have lived as the governor.
So that part of the review discussion didn’t really resonate with me. But I do hear them, and they say well, they would like to see more monetary policy and financial expertise on the board, and I understand why they are saying that, but I think that, I find that part of the review discussion not quite lining up with the reality that I know.
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Lowe not taking criticism in review personally
Reporter:
Do you think the criticism you have received in the review is fair, given the circumstances you were looking at back then at the height of the pandemic, when I recall you were saying you were wanting to offer as much comfort to ease anxiety. Do you feel any way personally slighted by that criticism?
Lowe:
I don’t think the panel is criticising us there, and I certainly don’t feel personally slighted.
As I have said on other occasions. Our approach during the pandemic was to do every single thing we could do to help Australia.
…We had a really strong insurance mindset. We wanted to do everything we could, and it turned out we did too much.
…It turned out we rebounded from the pandemic a bit quicker than anyone expected and we had to wind back, and people borrowed during the years when interest rates were very low and are now unhappy as interest rates are going out and I understand that. And we’ve learned some lessons about how to communicate in response to that.
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Dipping out of the Lowe press conference for a moment…
The politics team is answering your questions on the podcast this week.
If you’d like to ask about anything politics related please email your question to: australia.podcasts@theguardian.com before 1pm.
Lowe says full employment and price stability do not pull in different directions
The proposal is the objectives of the bank get narrowed to price stability and full employment and the welfare of the people, which is the third current objective that becomes an overarching purpose of the bank rather than explicit objective.
So the objectives will be price stability and full employment, and I don’t see those two things in conflict, because you can’t have full employment if you don’t have price stability.
At the moment, we are trying to generate a return of inflation of two to 3%, and the ultimate objective there is to make sure that people have jobs, and the country can operate close to full employment, so there’s two things are not in conflict.
In the short run there is a trade-off obviously, but in the long run they are perfectly consistent, and the weighting that is given to each of them in decision-making is something that we can’t determine from meeting to meeting but they are not inconsistent with one another.
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Taking questions, Lowe says he has no intention of stepping down as governor
It is a great honour and it is a great privilege to have the job that I have and I would also say it is a great responsibility.
It is entirely up to the government whether I consider to serve in this role after September.
If I was asked to continue, I would. If I’m not asked to continue I will find another way to contribute to Australian society.
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Lowe says the bank will publish a ‘holistic response’ later this year
These are important recommendations and the board will consider them over its coming meetings. It will develop a holistic response, even though many of the recommendations in this area are entered related and they will have flow on effects that we do our work and how parts of the are structured. We will publish a detailed response later this year, after we’ve done the necessary work in these areas.
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Lowe also supports updating the statement on the conduct of monetary policy
The review also recommends a statement on the conduct of monetary policy be updated. This is important because the statement sets out the common understanding between the government and the RBA on monetary policy. The review sets out a number of issues that could be covered in a statement. And the suggestions make sense to us and they have our support. And the board will work constructively with the treasurer to finalise a new statement hopefully by the end of this year.
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Lowe welcomes the appointment of new RBA board members
The review has recommended a more diverse RBA board, and Lowe says he welcomes those changes and the appointment of the new board members announced too:
I very much welcome the conclusion that the board should include people with diverse perspectives and knowledge, and who have experience in decision-making under uncertainty.
I very much welcome the appointment today by the treasurer of Iain Ross and Elana Rubin as new board members of the RBA.
It is also pleasing to see that the panel recommended the Treasury Secretary remains on the board. This is unusual by international standards but I see a lot of advantages in it.
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Lowe admits current RBA oversight of his role ‘falls short of contemporary standards’
Current oversight arrangements “fall short of contemporary standards,” Lowe acknowledges. He welcomes the new arrangements for two boards – one for monetary policy and another for the governance of the bank – will improve both oversight and monetary policy, he says:
Under the Reserve Bank act, I am, as the governor, and charged with managing the bank, and I’m also the accountable authority and of the public governance of portability and accountability act.
As you know there is a great deal of scrutiny and public visibility and commentary about our monetary policy decisions, but there is much less oversight of how I discharge my responsibility is to manage the RBA.
I think it is true to say that from a number of perspectives the current oversight arrangements of me as the governor for managing the bank fall short of contemporary standards.
So the proposed changes would help address this, and they would help me as governor manage the bank and the many complex and important functions we undertake. So I support that change.
The recommended changes would also strengthen the monetary policy process by having a board whose sole focus is monetary policy.
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Lowe is welcoming the major change to arrangements which will see two boards – one for monetary policy and another for the governance of the bank.
And I also welcome explicit recognition in legislation of the bank’s long-standing responsibility for financial stability.
As you will have heard the treasurer say just a few minutes ago, a major change recommended by the panel is the establishment of separate boards for monetary policy and governance of the bank.
I have thought for some time that there was a strong case to strengthen the governance of the RBA as an institution.
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Lowe says he welcomes the support for the operationally independence of the bank.
This is one of the cornerstones of our monetary policy frameworks and it is pleasing to see the strong endorsement of the independence of the bank and the suggestions for improving it. It is also pleasing to see the support for the council of financial regulators and the ideas for improving the current arrangements.
Updated
Lowe is speaking about specific recommendations in the review:
I would particularly like to work on the panel’s support of the current monetary policy arrangement in Australia.
Australia was an early adopter of flexible inflation targeting and this approach has served the country well, and the review panels has concluded that as well.
The 2-3% target range is well understood in the community and it helps anchor inflation expectations, and the flexible nature of the inflation target is also important, and the panel has some helpful suggestions as to how the Reserve Bank can be clear about how and when the flexibility is used and I think that is helpful.
Updated
‘As times change, we need to change too,’ Lowe acknowledges
Lowe mentions several lines out of the review that give the central bank a pat on the back for its work, but he acknowledges:
As times change, we need to change too, and the review will help us do this, as the bank and its staff strive to promote the collective economic welfare of the Australian people.
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Philip Lowe responds to RBA review
The Reserve Bank governor, Philip Lowe, is now up responding to the review in Sydney. He says he welcomes its conclusions which have been “timely”:
I would like to take the opportunity today to welcome the conclusions of the review into the RBA, and to thank the review panel for their thorough and their excellent work.
The review has been timely, with the RBA facing an increasingly complex world, and a complex operating environment.
The recommendations in the review will help us deal with this more complex world, and they will strengthen the monetary policy process and the governments of the RBA.
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A ‘no-brainer’ for Indigenous voice to talk to the executive government, says Liberal senator
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg says the Indigenous voice’s ability to talk to the executive government is a key part of its proposed power, rebuking a small number of conservative critics who have spoken against that ability.
He also said he was still considering how he would operate and campaign in the referendum, saying the outcome of the parliamentary inquiry (of which he is a member) would influence his decision.
Bragg, a longtime supporter of the voice, told Sky News it would be a “no-brainer” for the voice to talk to the executive (which includes key decision-makers such as the federal cabinet and public servants making administrative calls). It stands in contrast to a small number of critics who claim that advising the executive would bog down decision-making processes (which is a claim strongly opposed by supporters).
Bragg called the voice an “innately Liberal conservative concept” because it would give more power to local communities, and hinted he would look to make that case to conservative voters. Bragg said:
We need to recognise that for this referendum to be successful, a large chunk of Liberal-National voters will need to be in a position to vote yes, and that’s one of the major tasks that faces me in the months ahead.
Updated
July 2024 start date achievable, Chalmers says
In response to one of the final questions, Chalmers indicates he’s confident that the 1 July start date next year is achievable.
We’re confident we have given ourselves enough time to bed down the recommendations of this review.
There’s a legislative part of this, there’s a statement on the conduct of monetary policy and there’s other work to do as well.
There’s a lot of work that we need to do to bed this down. We’ll do that work, ideally have it all sorted by 1 July 2024. And we’ll do that in consultation with collaboration with the parliament and the Reserve Bank as well.
Updated
‘We don’t want there to be any element whatsoever of politicisation when it comes to the Reserve Bank,’ Chalmers says
On the independence of the Reserve Bank, there are questions of foxes in the henhouse.
Chalmers:
One of the legislative priorities in the review itself, the recommendations of the review, is to unwind the government’s ability to overturn decisions by the independent Reserve Bank. It hasn’t been used before. And I can’t imagine a situation where I would contemplate using it. One of the priorities here is a more independent Reserve Bank, we think we can overturn that part of the legislation.
Reporter:
No foxes in the henhouse, you are keen to tell Mr Taylor that as well?
Chalmers:
I’m not quite sure what you mean about it.
Reporter:
Philip Lowe’s take may be a more collaborative approach may confuse things, it may become a series of other bushfires and debates. It could become political.
Chalmers:
We don’t want there to be any element whatsoever of politicisation when it comes to the Reserve Bank. And the changes recommended by the review panel are about making the Reserve Bank more independent, not less, but also where there’s areas where that is unclear, to clarify that.
Updated
'Workers deserve a voice around the Reserve Bank table', Chalmers says after RBA review
Chalmers is being asked about the diversity of the RBA board, given the new dual objectives of full employment alongside price stability. He says he believes the interests of workers should be “front and centre” of Reserve Bank decisions.
When it comes to making sure that there are diverse range of views on the board, I think that there is a role for somebody who understands and is an expert in the labour market.
Particularly in wages – the relationship between all of the other issues the Reserve Bank board grapples with and considers and contemplates, I think the prospects for Australian workers should be front and centre in those considerations.
In the appointment I’ve made today of Iain Ross, there’s probably nobody better placed initially to understand the importance of the macroeconomy in relation to the wages and living standards of ordinary working people and that’s why I appointed him.
Reporter:
The report recommends that the six external members include someone with industrial relations experience. Is your interpretation of that to give the unions a voice?
Chalmers:
I certainly intend to make sure that the interests of workers are front and centre and that is why I appointed Iain Ross today…. I think workers do deserve a voice around the Reserve Bank table and I think Mr Ross is satisfying and important objective which is to make sure that the wages and living standards of ordinary workers are considered and contemplated as a Reserve Bank takes the decisions.
Updated
Chalmers says cabinet discussions to take place mid-year over RBA governor position
On whether Lowe is the person to implement the findings of the review, Chalmers says he won’t pre-empt cabinet discussions which will take place in the middle of the year:
The appointment is in September. In the ordinary course of events the government would turn its mind to that appointment closer to the middle of the year and that is my intention.
My focus has been working with the governor, with the opposition and others and particularly with the review panel to finalise and now release the recommendations of the RBA review.
I have said for some time that the sequence, the right sequence is to release this with the government’s initial reviews and contemplate the governor’s appointment closer to the middle of the year and that is my intention.
Updated
Taking questions, Chalmers is defending the collaborative approach he wants to take:
This review that I’m releasing today is not about taking shots at anyone, not about one decision or one piece of advice or even one set of decisions. This is about making sure that we have the right combination of objectives and structures and processes and people to make the right decisions, difficult decisions into the future. That is my focus.
Updated
Recommended RBA changes ‘not ideological’, Chalmers says
Chalmers thanks the Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe for engaging with the review, acknowledging it was potentially “uncomfortable” for him.
Chalmers ends his speech saying the changes recommended by the review are not ideological changes, and he wants to work collaboratively with all parties including the opposition to implement them:
These are not ideological changes, these are considered proposals and recommendations that we have worked through in a really methodical way to try and get to the outcome that we have reached today that we will support in principle all 51 recommendations.
It is no small thing for the Reserve Bank governor to engage in a process like this. It can be uncomfortable. I really did want to acknowledge and thank Phil Lowe for the way he is engaged with me and the way he has engage with the review over some time.
And similarly, I did want to acknowledge Angus Taylor. Angus and I have our differences of over a range of policy areas but he has engaged in this process in a considered way and in a cooperative way
… I want to work with the parliament including the opposition, the stakeholders and regulators, the Reserve Bank and its board and the broader Australian community to bend down his recommendations because this is all about ensuring we have the right economic institutions and the right framework in place to support a better future for all Australians.
Updated
Iain Ross and Elana Rubin appointed new RBA board members
Chalmers announces that the two new appointments to the board are Iain Ross, the previous head of the Fair Work Commission, and Elana Rubin, from the corporate sector.
Chalmers:
Today, I am very pleased and really proud to announce that the government has appointed Dr Iain Ross and Ms Elana Rubin as part-time members of the Reserve Bank board.
Dr Ross will bring a deep understanding of labour markets and economics, having led the Fair Work Commission and as a private lawyer and as an advocate for workers as well.
Elana Rubin has over 20 years of corporate board experience across diverse sectors of our economy and extensive experience in financial services, infrastructure, property, tourism and manufacturing as well.
Iain Ross and Elana Rubin are highly capable people and I have absolutely no doubt that they will make important and excellent contributions to the Reserve Bank board going forward.
Chalmers thanks outgoing members Wendy Craik and Mark Barnaba.
Updated
Chalmers hopes RBA review’s recommendations will be in place by mid-2024
Chalmers is saying he hopes the review’s recommendations will be in place by the middle of next year:
It is my hope that we can work towards having an agreed [updated] statement in place by the end of the year, and that the recommendations of the review can be in place ready to implement and ready to go by the middle of 2024.
Updated
‘We intend to introduce legislation to reinforce the independence of the Reserve Bank’
Chalmers has welcomed the Reserve Bank statement today outlining their commitment to develop a plan to implement the report’s recommendations.
However, he also says other recommendations will require legislative change and he wants to make sure there is bipartisan support for these:
Others will require work with the Council of Financial Regulators, and some will fall to the agreement of a new statement on the conduct of monetary policy between the Reserve Bank and the government via the treasurer.
I intend to work closely with opposition and the crossbench to ensure we build the right institutions and frameworks to support a for better future and a better central bank is part of that.
Subject to those consultations and the support from the opposition in particular, we intend to introduce legislation to reinforce the independence of the Reserve Bank by removing the government’s right to veto its decisions.
We intend to introduce legislation to strengthen the RBA’s mandate and clarify that monetary policy framework has dual objectives of price stability and full employment. We also will seek to establish separate monetary policy and governance boards to strengthen expertise decision-making and bring us more into line with best practice.
Updated
Government agrees with all 51 recommendations in RBA review, treasurer says
As has been reported this morning, Chalmers confirms that the government agrees in principle with all 51 recommendations made in the report.
The 51 recommendations are organised under 14 headings and grouped into five areas in particular: ensuring we have a clear and robust monetary policy framework, effective policy making and accountability, and open and dynamic Reserve Bank that facilitate constructive internal debate, more robust governance arrangements and steps to ensure that RBA leaders drive institutional and cultural changes as well.
We will now work with the Reserve Bank, other regulators and stakeholders, and the parliament to implement these 51 recommendations in a collaborative and constructive way.
We want to ensure that we have the best institutions and policy frameworks in place because this is more important than ever given the complex and more uncertain economic environment that we confront.
Updated
Chalmers moves on to speaking about his own goal as treasurer:
My goal here, throughout, is a world-class central bank which is more effective, more transparent and more independent, calling on more expertise to make its important decisions.
We want to make sure that Australia’s monetary policy framework delivers the right decisions and make the right calls for the Australian economy and for the Australian people.
That is what has motivating this report, the work of the review panel and the thinking of the Albanese government for some months.
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Jim Chalmers speaks about RBA review
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has stepped up to speak in Brisbane about the review into the Reserve Bank of Australia, which was released an hour ago.
He’s calling it an “absolutely first-class piece of work”.
I want to thank the review panel… for this absolutely first-class piece of work. What they are thinking and all of the work over some months means, is a roadmap, a plan for the future of the Reserve Bank of Australia which I am really proud to be releasing today.
… This review, its recommendations and our response is all about ensuring that the Reserve Bank is a strong and effective as it can be, now and into the future as well.
This is about learning from the past, to strengthening the Reserve Bank in the future. This is about altering the independence of the Reserve Bank, not diminishing its independence.
We’ll then hear from the Reserve Bank governor, Philip Lowe, in another hour.
Updated
Queensland’s deputy premier calls opposition leader ‘gutless’ over Indigenous voice
Queensland’s deputy premier Steven Miles has savaged the state’s opposition leader, calling him “gutless” over his indecision on the Indigenous voice to parliament.
The Liberal National party leader, David Crisafulli, said last week he was still making up his mind on the voice.
It’s a big deal ... changing the constitution is a privilege that’s not afforded to you every day.
The deputy premier, Steven Miles, told parliament today the LNP was not listening to Queenslanders.
All the voice requires is for us to listen ... to hopefully learn how to do better,” Miles said. “... The leader of the opposition is gutless.”
It comes as shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Jactina Price, was spotted in Queensland parliament on Wednesday. Price is fronting the Coalition’s no campaign on the voice, claiming it would “divide” Australians.
The LNP did not answer Guardian Australia’s questions about the purpose of the visit or whether they would discuss the voice with Price.
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Albanese should take all premiers and chief ministers to China with him, says Mark McGowan
The WA premier, Mark McGowan, has suggested the prime minister Anthony Albanese bring all premiers and chief ministers with him to visit China before the end of the year.
The West Australian is reporting that the premier has called for national cabinet to be held in China later in the year on the second day of his five-day trip in Beijing.
The prime minister, hopefully, will come to China sometime in the next six months and meet with President Xi Jinping.
One of the things he could do is, invite all the premiers and chief ministers to come with him.
It would be a strong demonstration that the relationship is back to a harmonious and productive one.
The WA Premier wants National Cabinet to be held in China. @sunriseon7 pic.twitter.com/4kceuXh0Og
— Matt Tinney (@Matt_Tinney) April 19, 2023
Updated
You know we love our live blogs at the Guardian and we’ve got a special edition solar eclipse live blog helmed by the brilliant pontificator on the natural world Helen Sullivan, which is live now:
We have the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and the RBA governor, Philip Lowe, coming up responding that central bank review on this live blog, but even so, it’s hard to compete with Helen promising more on shadow snakes, the totality, coronas, and a sun-eating god of the underworld.
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Wong responds to French concerns on Aukus
In New Caledonia, a journalist asks the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, about the French government’s concerns about Aukus.
Wong, who has met with the president of the government of New Caledonia, Louis Mapou, replies:
We have been very pleased to have discussion across the region and with our partners internationally including obviously the French state. But all of the members of the Pacific Islands Forum as well. We’re very happy to be as transparent as people seek…
We are all navigating a world where strategic competition is increasing, we share and region and we share a future - and we think peace and stability are best served by all of us exercising our agency. That is Australia’s motivation. We’re very happy to be very transparent about that.
I want to make this crystal clear: we will ensure we comply with our obligations under the Treaty of Rarotonga, we will ensure we continue to be a party that exercises the highest standards of compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty. I expressed this to President Mapu, as I have expressed to other individuals and leaders around the region.
The Treaty of Rarotonga, also known as the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, commits its parties not to station nuclear weapons in the region.
Wong is also asked about a Pacific Islands Forum ministerial mission’s concerns about the conduct of New Caledonia’s third independence referendum, but replies:
We have made it very clear that these are matters for the people of New Caledonia and the French state and we respect that process.
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RBA reviews will be regular events if five-yearly plan is accepted
One outcome of the RBA review, assuming the recommendation is accepted, is that the central bank won’t go another generation or so before having its operations examined closely.
The review recommends five-yearly reviews of the monetary policy framework and tools, with the RBA and Treasury tasked with assessing operations. The joint effort should include “transparent input from outside experts chosen to ensure a range of viewpoints is considered”.
Actually, greater cooperation between the fiscal (eg government) and monetary (RBA) levers of the economy is another recommendation. Sure, the RBA must maintain its independence, such as the treasury secretary specifically NOT being directed by the treasurer on interest rates.
However, both economic rowers need to be pulling in sync, and ideally in the same direction. The review said:
There should be increased information sharing between the RBA and government on risks, scenarios and policy constraints.
As part of this, the RBA and Treasury should undertake joint scenario analysis exercises to prepare for challenging circumstances.
The RBA and Treasury should also work more with outside researchers to advance understanding of policy interactions by developing a program to promote applied research on monetary, fiscal and financial policy across universities and think tanks.
That sounds like a worthy measure, but governments face elections at fairly regular intervals, and this new monetary policy board (and the RBA boffins) will not. What happens when the best scenario, for instance, suggests lifting welfare payments or nixxing the planned stage-three tax cuts?
Anyway, you can also follow developments in our main piece here:
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NT extends Alice Springs alcohol restrictions
In the NT, the Fyles government is extending the alcohol restrictions announced in January, brought in after increasing pressure about concerns on rising crime and antisocial behaviour in Alice Springs.
The restrictions were initially for three months. Alcohol will continue to be restricted to one sale per day, per person, and people won’t be able to buy takeaway alcohol on Mondays and Tuesdays. Alcohol is also restricted between 3pm and 7pm, except Saturdays.
The NT government also reverted remote communities and town camps back to dry communities after Interventionist-era federal laws expired mid last year. The government says these rules have reduced alcohol-related harms and antisocial behaviour, including presentations to hospital emergency rooms.
A statement from Natasha Fyles, the NT chief minister, says:
Alcohol-related emergency department presentations at Alice Springs hospital have almost halved, and domestic violence has dropped by a third in the month since the takeaway alcohol restrictions were reintroduced into the Northern Territory town.
Fyles said that alcohol-related harms are one of the territory’s “toughest challenges” and the government is working out where federal funding is most needed:
Continuing these alcohol restrictions will allow us to further implement the Federal government’s $250m investment into Alice Springs.
Updated
Penny Wong in New Caledonia
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, is speaking to reporters in New Caledonia. The foreign affairs minister says this is fulfilling a commitment to visit every member of the Pacific Islands forum in her first year of office. She says:
I thought it was important to re-engage, to listen, to demonstrate our respect for the regional organisation the Pacific Islands forum and it was and is an expression of the priority Australia places on our region … we share a region and we share an ocean.
So I’m very pleased to be here in New Caledonia, I go from here to Tuvalu before returning to Australia and that will be the last visit in this first year of visits and engagement with our Pacific forum members.
Wong is asked about the relationship with France. She replies:
We engage with New Caledonia, respecting the competencies which the French state and the govt of New Caledonia have. We share a region, we share an ocean and we want to engage. We appreciate the contribution that France makes to the stability and peace of the Pacific – a very substantial contribution, both financially and interns of its military contribution. We look forward participation in the Croix du Sud [military exercise] in the coming days. I think 250 Australians are participating in that.
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RBA overhaul would see full employment targeted equally with inflation
The much-anticipated review into the Reserve Bank has just landed, all 294 pages of it.
As we knew already, the review recommended setting up a separate monetary policy board loaded up with people deemed more expert in monetary matters than your common or garden members now occupying the board.
In short, the complexity of financial markets and the weird things the RBA might increasingly be called upon to do mean the demands on time and expertise of board members will increase. The old crusty, stuffy RBA needs a rejuvenation, in other words.
Instead of 11 meetings a year, there will be eight. That means less twitchiness on the first Tuesday of each month (other than January), but more staggered nervousness around every six weeks or so. And when they do have their meeting, we’ll get a media conference and presumably much greater insight into who leaned one way or the other and why.
Importantly, it won’t just be their take on inflation and whether the interest rates are working to put us on a path of price stability. They’ll also have to give equal weight to full employment, which is another change of note that’s been recommended – and it looks like it will be supported by the government.
Inflation is now the main issue, but down the track employment will pose its own challenges as jobless rates tick up. Full employment is not a set number, unlike the 2%-3% inflation target (which doesn’t change).
Instead it’s a nerdy measure, the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU) – that’s the lowest level of unemployment that can be sustained without causing excessive inflation, and we expect it will be a rate likely to be debated about regularly.
Oh, and there’ll be a governance board that will do all the dull things that corporate boards do, such as property leasing and audits. This board will not be involved in setting rates and will, presumably, not be in the news a lot.
Updated
Andrews defends attending trucking magnate Linday Fox’s birthday party, which was only attended by men
Andrews was also asked about his attendance yesterday at trucking magnate Lindsay Fox’s 86th birthday party, which was only attended by men:
I was there, I was admitted even though I was not wearing a kilt. So I was fortunate in that regard. Peter Dutton was admitted even though he wasn’t wearing a kilt. Prime minister Anthony Albanese was admitted even though he wasn’t wearing a kilt. So we were very fortunate to be able to be there.
Asked if he thought it was appropriate to have a men’s-only function, Andrews said the invite list was “not put together by [him]”. He said it was held at the NGV, and he would not have attended if it were at a men’s-only venue:
Who gets invited to a birthday party is normally the province of the person who’s celebrating. Now, I’m not a great one for parties. But if I were to have a birthday party, well, obviously it would be a very different group of people. I might invite all of you.
A who’s who (of men) attended the function - including the former premier Jeff Kennett, AFL great Kevin Sheedy, golfer Greg Norman, TV personality Eddie McGuire, businessman Gerry Harvey and actor Eric Bana.
Updated
A solar eclipse will be visible across much of the country later today, but it’s the town of Exmouth in WA which is set to experience an even rarer total solar eclipse.
Eclipse chasers from around the world have flocked to Exmouth for an experience of a grand total of 62 seconds in which the earth, moon and sun will align perfectly, the moon covering the sun’s disc.
Tomorrow #Exmouth will dip into 62 seconds of darkness during a total #solareclipse at around 11:30 am AWST.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia (@BOM_WA) April 19, 2023
☁️ The dry and sunny conditions are favourable for viewing.
😎 Ensure you wear eclipse glasses.
Latest: https://t.co/anafGB7u0h and the BOM weather app. pic.twitter.com/WOqLLNqnA3
#Perth will see a partial #solareclipse tomorrow, with about 71% sun coverage by the moon.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia (@BOM_WA) April 19, 2023
☁️ Sunny conditions are expected.
😎 Wear eclipse glasses.
Latest: https://t.co/G0FGJFlpQK and the BOM Weather app pic.twitter.com/kdyuqcLlkw
My colleague Helen Sullivan will be live blogging the eclipse, so stay tuned. When and whether you can see the eclipse will depend on whereabouts this vast continent you find yourself, and Donna Lu has your answers here:
Victoria to offer state funeral for Father Bob Maguire
Andrews says he’ll speak to Father Bob’s family this morning to offer him a state funeral. He died yesterday aged 88.
Andrews:
He was a fantastic Victorian, a man of faith, integrity. A man of incredible compassion, and a man of good humour.
Updated
Andrews dismisses criticism from Liberal opposition
Andrews has also dismissed opposition leader John Pesutto’s call for him to consider his position in the wake of the report:
Given some of the challenges he’s facing at the moment he’s not in any position to be lecturing anybody about anything. I’ll leave him and his political games to him.
Updated
Daniels has ‘nothing to add’ on Ibac report
Premier Daniel Andrews now being grilled on Ibac’s Operation Daintree report, which was released yesterday. Asked if the definition of corruption should be expanded to include “grey areas”, as the former Ibac Commisioner and integrity experts have been calling for, the premier responds:
I went to these matters in great detail yesterday, and I’ve got nothing to add to what I said yesterday. I’m not here to make any announcements about those matters.
Updated
Victorian premier announces $15m package to support those affected by Porter Davis collapse
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is holding a press conference in Melbourne this morning to spruik the government’s school-based apprenticeship program. He’s also announced a $15m package to support families affected by the collapse of home builder Porter Davis.
Andrews said the package will support about 560 families who have signed a contract and paid a deposit to the home builder but construction is yet to begin. Despite legislation in place to ensure that insurance was taken out by Porter Davis on behalf of the families, Andrews said they did not have insurance:
People who have worked hard. People who have saved up their money, they’ve gone to the bank, they’ve got all their approvals. This is years in the making for a lot of a lot of people, it’s the biggest purchase in their life … through no fault of their own … for some inexplicable reason, [Porter Davis] have not forwarded on the insurance premiums that they have been paid.
Andrews described the actions of the builder as “shameful”, and flagged sanctions:
We’re going to make sure there are consequences for people who I think on, on any reasonable measure, have done the wrong thing here. They’ve had such little regard such contempt for their customers that they’ve left them in this position. It’s shameful.
Families will have to register to receive the support - equivalent to about 5% of their deposit, which is on average about $25,000. Andrews said:
What we’re doing is essentially giving these people insurance.
Andrews said the government was continuing to explore how to support families where construction has already begin.
Updated
John Safran pays tribute to Father Bob
Tributes continue to flow for Father Bob Maguire, who died yesterday at 88. His close friend and radio co-host John Safran has shared a beautiful tribute remembering him as “wise as Buddha.”
The paid shared the mic on Sunday Night Safran, a weekly show about religion and ethics that ran on ABC Radio’s triple j from 2005 to 2015. Safran says he never thought Maguire would stop making him laugh:
When filming, it was an editor’s nightmare to cut from the shot before l’d burst out laughing each time Bob finished a sentence. I never thought Bob would ever stop making me laugh, but with the sad news of today, he finally has.
Updated
Two charged after car stolen with baby inside
Two people have been charged after allegedly stealing a vehicle with a baby in the back from a shopping centre car park in central Queensland.
A mother was packing the boot of her car in the shopping centre at Yeppoon just after noon on Wednesday when a woman got into the driver’s seat and drove off with a four-month-old baby in the back seat.
The woman realised the child was inside, returned to the scene, and demanded the mother take the child out of the car. The child was safely removed, and the woman drove away in the stolen Nissan Patrol, hitting two people in the car park.
A 16-year-old male and a 39-year-old woman were treated for leg injuries and taken to Yeppoon Hospital. The baby was not physically injured.
Police located the stolen Nissan Patrol at about 4pm with a man, 36, and a woman, 24, taken into custody. The pair were charged with offences including child abduction, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
They will face Rockhampton magistrates court on Thursday.
- AAP
Updated
Police negotiate with armed man in Queensland home
A man believed to be armed is holed up at a home in Logan in Queensland’s south-east, with police imposing an exclusion zone as officers try to negotiate with him.
Shortly after 12am today police arrived at a Chambers Flat Road property in Logan Reserve following a disturbance. Police said in a statement:
Police began negotiations with a man, who is in the residence alone and is believed to be armed.
Police have made an emergency declaration under the Public Safety Preservation Act, with an exclusion zone imposed encompassing Chambers Flat Road, School Road and Logan Reserve Road.
Members of the public are advised to avoid the area and those within the exclusion zone should remain indoors until further notice.
- AAP
Updated
Australia and US meet on agricultural issues
The agriculture minister, Murray Watt, has wrapped up discussions with the United States’ chief agricultural negotiator, Doug McKalip, in Canberra. The discussion canvassed market access, sustainability and open trade, Watt says.
Pleasure to welcome U.S Chief Ag Negotiator Doug McKalip in Canberra.
— Senator Murray Watt (@MurrayWatt) April 19, 2023
We had wide-ranging talks about our shared interests & desire for agricultural cooperation, particularly on market access, sustainability and open trade. pic.twitter.com/4ow0YHzelz
Looking forward to continuing these fruitful discussions between our two countries. 🇦🇺 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/byOZe3wKWB
— Senator Murray Watt (@MurrayWatt) April 19, 2023
Updated
Angus Taylor: biggest priority has to be getting people into work
Circling back to Angus Taylor’s interview. He’s not weighing into the question of whether the RBA governor, Philip Lowe, should be appointed for a second term, saying he’ll leave the decision to Treasury.
On whether the government has made the right call as it looks set to ignore the advice of its own independent economic committee to raise the jobseeker payment, Taylor says:
I think at the moment, look, on the one hand, it’s very clear that we’ve got to make sure that those who are seeking a job are able to make ends meet and that’s why in 2021 we increased the job seeker payment by $50.
… But right now, our biggest … priority has to be focused on getting downward pressure on inflation and interest rates and getting people into work.
We’ve got a job vacancy rate we haven’t seen in this country before. It’s almost double what it was before. It’s completely unprecedented. And so workforce participation has to be the priority.
Updated
Greens: Labor EV policy is still a roadmap without a destination
Bandt also says he wants to “toughen up” the government’s national electric vehicle strategy which he says is a roadmap without a destination. He is calling on the government to introduce targets for the uptake of electric vehicles and a fuel efficiency standards as quickly as possible, and he says the Greens stand ready to support the legislation likely required:
It’s good that we’re making a start down the road but we’re still in the slow lane … We’re far quite a far cry away from “ending the weekend” and all of that nonsense from the former government and that’s good. But what we don’t have from the current government is a target for the uptake of electric vehicles or a fuel efficiency standards.
… Legislation is likely to be required for some of these. We stand ready to pass good legislation to ensure electric vehicle uptake. And we’re worried that the government at the moment - though they’re saying they’ve got a strategy at the moment - it’s a roadmap without a destination. We want to try and toughen it up.
Here’s what our environment editor Adam Morton has to say about the announcement:
Updated
Bandt not in support of reappointing Philip Lowe as RBA governor
Bandt says he does not believe the government should re-appoint Philip Lowe for a second term after September.
The Reserve Bank governor with the support of the board was very clear about inducing people to make decisions about their mortgages on the basis of what happened with interest rates and it ended up with a lot of people are in a lot of unnecessary pain. And there has to be some accountability for that. And that should start with a reserve bank governor. That’s a minimum.
He then goes back to his “broader point” of the government outsourcing economic problems to the RBA, pointing again to the solutions for raising revenue which the Greens would like to see like making the big corporations pay more tax.
Updated
Bandt: if budget can afford stage-three tax cuts it can afford to lift Australians out of poverty.
Bandt is also highly critical of the government as it appears set to reject a call from its very own expert advisory panel to raise the jobseeker rate. He says if the budget can afford to keep stage-three tax cuts, it can afford to lift Australians out of poverty:
Everyday people are not causing inflation. They are the victims of inflation. Now, Labor has found over a quarter of a trillion dollars for tax cuts for billionaires and politicians that can’t lift people out of poverty.
Labor’s not making hard choices in this budget, they’re making everyone else make hard choices, like whether to pay for the rent or whether to put food on the table.
People are really hurting. And we need to lift people out of poverty, and if there’s quarter of a trillion dollars to spend on stage three tax cuts for the wealthy, then there’s money to lift people out of poverty.
In framing the budget, the stage three tax cuts sit like a big black hole in the centre of the budget and they are sucking everything into its gravitational field.
Bandt then repeated his claim that the Greens remains the only social democratic alternative as Labor becomes increasingly “centre right” and the Liberals become a “far right irrelevance.”
Updated
Greens less positive on RBA review
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, follows Angus Taylor on ABC Radio, and he’s not as convinced the direction of the RBA review is as positive as the shadow treasurer was. Bandt says outsourcing responsibility for interest rate rises to the central bank is a “major party stitch up”:
We’ll have a look at all of the recommendations of the review, and the government’s response when it’s released fully but a major party stitch up isn’t going to fix the inflation problem.
We need more than just outsourcing the issue of tackling inflation to the RBA, which is what Liberal and Labor want to do. We know that it is excessive profiteering that is driving higher prices and inflation in this country. It’s not the everyday people.
… the problem with leaving the inflation issue only to the RBA is that if you give them only one tool. Then if your only tool is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail and they’re going to keep on raising interest rates and inflicting pain on everyday people when what we need is a much broader approach.
Look at taxing the excessive profits the big corporations are paying, look at freezing rents and electricity bills. That’s how you get inflation under control is by using all the levers – whereas what we’re seeing it appears Labor and Liberal [are] trying to wash their hands and outsource it all to the RBA and then say it’s independent, there’s nothing we can do about it, and we don’t agree with that approach.
Updated
Shadow treasurer welcomes RBA review
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, has “strongly” welcomed the review of the RBA, with a direction he says is “very positive.” Asked whether he will support the creation of two RBA boards, one that sets interest rates and another that oversees the central bank’s governance, Taylor says:
We strongly welcome the release of the review, the direction of it we want an independent, credible and capable Reserve Bank.
The structure … being proposed is common across much of the world, the US and the UK. And we’re very open to it.
On whether there are any recommendations Taylor plans to oppose, he says:
We’ll work our way through them [the recommendations] but I have to say the direction of the review we think is very positive.
… there have been real mistakes made by the RBA in recent times.
I think this review lays out an agenda to ensure there isn’t a repetition of [the RBA] making those mistakes.
Updated
Committee chair: ‘we can’t take TikTok’s denial seriously’
Paterson is asked about TikTok’s response - that the servers aren’t in China, they are in Singapore, in the United States and the company have always said that the CCP doesn’t have access to that data.
He responds:
TikTok also said – when it was reported they used their application to target users in the US to surveil them – thanks, they couldn’t do that and it wasn’t technically possible, and they had to admit two months later that it was technically possible and they had done so because they were surveying individual journalist who were writing critical articles of TikTok in an attempt to identify their sources.
We can’t take TikTok’s denial seriously. The US, France, Germany, Germany, New Zealand, Canada and the European Union and other countries have addressed this problem, we have to recognise it is a serious problem.
On platforms like TikTok, foreign state disinformation is rife. They are permissive platforms. That is dangerous in the strategic environment we are going into. We don’t want authoritarian governments to be able to undermine our social cohesion and we need to step up our defences and harden our systems against these attacks.
Updated
Public hearings for inquiry on foreign interference and social media begin today
Foreign interference through social media will come under scrutiny as a parliamentary committee inquiry today begins its public hearings.
The new coalition shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, who chairs the committee, says Australia faces two interrelated serious threats. He’s telling ABC News Breakfast:
One is the way in which authoritarian states have weaponised western-headquartered social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
The other problem is social media platforms who are already headquartered in authoritarian states, platforms like TikTok and WeChat. We have seen the government ban TikTok from government devices because it represents a serious espionage risk.
There are many other Australians who are having their data harvested which could be accessed in mainland China and who are open to influence on that platform if the Chinese government sought to use it as a way of pumping disinformation into our political system.
Updated
Government to spend $150m on reef water quality woes
The federal government will spend $150m on a program to boost water quality on the Great Barrier Reef after a UN mission said the site should be listed as in danger, AAP reports.
The program will repair land in catchments that are dumping large amounts of fine sediment into rivers discharging water to the reef, smothering coral, killing seagrass and increasing pollution loads.
It’s part of a $1.2bn spend on reef health previously announced by the Albanese government, which has promised to fight an in-danger listing for site which was recommended late last year. The UN report took Australia to task for not doing enough to tackle the key threats of climate change, poor water quality and harmful fishing activities.
In announcing the program today, the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, said the $150m would fund works including fencing, revegetation, grazing management of cattle and structural works to stabilise gullies and riverbanks. Traditional owners and Indigenous groups will help identify priority projects.
The program will be carried out in collaboration with the Queensland government, which is spending $75m on its own water quality program.
Updated
Good morning!
Natasha May reporting for blog duty.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has accepted all the findings from the review of the Reserve Bank, including to split its board between a special panel to handle interest rates and one dealing with currency issuance.
Today I'll be releasing the Review of the Reserve Bank and the Government's initial response. The RBA is a critical institution for our economy and we want to make sure it's as strong and effective as it can be, now and into the future #auspol #ausecon pic.twitter.com/0y9SrNGGuE
— Jim Chalmers MP (@JEChalmers) April 19, 2023
Our economics correspondent Peter Hannam has the full story:
We’ll be bringing you what Chalmers, shadow treasurer Angus Taylor and RBA governor Philip Lowe have to say about this first formal review of the central bank since the 1990s.
We’ll be listening out for whether Lowe has any announcements about whether he will be seeking another term as governor.
Updated
Telstra warned for breaking consumer protection rules
The media watchdog has hit Telstra with another breach, although the telecommunications giant has avoided a penalty for breaking consumer protection rules.
Instead it has been given a formal warning for not giving notice to more than 5,400 customers before limiting their services.
Providers must give at least five working days’ notice before restricting or suspending a customer’s service if they haven’t paid bills per federal law.
It’s not Telstra’s only run-in with the Australian Communications and Media Authority lately.
An investigation wrapped up late last year finding it had breached rules on credit management for dozens of customers on financial hardship plans.
Acma noted Telstra’s actions between May and July 2022 left those customers unable to make calls except to emergency services or Telstra, while some could not even receive calls except from those two parties.
GP grants to ‘strengthen Medicare’
The Albanese government has announced that from tomorrow GP practices can apply for $220m of grants, part of its Strengthening Medicare policy announced before the election.
The grants will support all general practices and eligible Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations across Australia to make investments in innovation, training, equipment, and minor capital works in one or more of the three investment streams below:
Enhance digital health capability
Upgrade infection prevention and control arrangements
Maintain and/or achieve accreditation against the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners standards for general practices (fifth edition)
Smaller practices are eligible for grants of $25,000 or $35,000 and larger practices eligible for grants of $50,000. GP practices and ACCHOs not now accredited against the RACGP standards will be eligible for $25,000.
The health minister, Mark Butler, said:
After working tirelessly throughout the pandemic, doctors deserve more than thanks, that’s why we’re giving them the resources to invest in their practices. The $220m investment will give a much-needed boost to general practices across the country.
The GP grants program is delivering on the government’s commitment to strengthen Medicare and boost general practice after a decade of cuts and neglect from the former government.
We understand the crucial importance of primary health care provided by GPs. This funding will help improve practices and make sure Australians can access safe, quality and affordable healthcare when and where they need it.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling blog on another big news day in Australia. I’m Martin Farrer and we have a rare total solar eclipse today, as well as news of an even rarer major reform of the Reserve Bank. That’s going to dominate early proceedings until Natasha May hops in the chair.
Jim Chalmers is expected to announce today that the Reserve Bank board will be split between a special panel to handle interest rates and one dealing with less important roles, as recommended by the first formal review of the central bank since the 1990s. The treasurer says it’s all about ensuring the bank is “strong and effective” and it follows concern that the bank’s forward guidance about rates went awry last year. But the big reveal is that it will retain its strict target of keeping inflation between 2% and 3%. Stay tuned for all the developments as they happen.
Another big story this morning is that Asio is warning that foreign spies are “aggressively seeking secrets across all parts of Australian society”, including trying to recruit “disloyal” government insiders to access classified information. In a separate story, security experts warn that China could use a new research station in Antarctica for spying on countries in the southern hemisphere.
Returning to the eclipse, amateur astronomers (and actual astronomers) have descended the remote Western Australia town of Exmouth where a total solar eclipse will take place at 11.29am AWST this morning – or 1.29pm in the east. It’s only a partial eclipse in other parts of the country (with the maximum eclipse a bit later), but you can find out all about, when and where it’s all happening, in our handy explainer here.
