What we learned: Thursday 12 October
Before we close the blog for today, let’s recap the big headlines:
The Liberal MP Julian Leeser called on Australians to approach the voice with hope, not fear.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, reached out to the Jewish community as Israel supporters rallied in Sydney.
Lidia Thorpe backed legislating a voice to parliament if the referendum is defeated.
The Australia Electoral Commission advised voters against wearing campaign material such as a pin or T-shirt when they vote in the referendum as it could be misconstrued as campaigning, and the law states that people cannot campaign within six metres of the entrance to a polling place.
The chair of a Senate inquiry into the consultancy industry, Richard Colbeck, told PwC Australia’s senior leadership that he was deeply offended by the firm’s breach and misuse of confidential government information.
Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla, was fined $155,460 for failing to comply with mandatory safety standards for products using button batteries, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said.
PwC Australia’s former chief executive Luke Sayers revealed the firm recommended breaking up the organisation in 2018 to manage a concerning level of conflicts of interest, but was blocked by the firm’s global management.
New Zealand comedian Cal Wilson’s cause of death was confirmed by her artist management agency as a rare form of cancer.
A 16-year-old boy who was in a WA youth detention is in a critical condition after he was found unresponsive at the facility in the early hours of the morning.
The Asio boss warned of potential for “opportunistic violence” amid the Israel-Hamas war but said there was no change to Australia’s terror threat.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, called for attenders of pro-Palestine rallies where some people chanted antisemitic slogans to have their visas cancelled and be deported.
Thanks for reading, we will be back tomorrow morning.
Updated
Dfat says small number of Australians in Israel receiving consular assistance but not all wish to leave
A department of foreign affairs and trade spokesperson says they are providing consular assistance to a small number of Australians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including to the family of an Australian citizen murdered in the attacks:
We are also supporting more than 1,500 registered Australians. Many have registered for information only and not all wish to leave.
… More than 350 Australians previously registered have already departed Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The government has organised three assisted-departure flights for Australians affected by the crisis in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories:
The flights from Ben Gurion Airport to London will start Friday for Australians who don’t already have plans to leave through commercial options. The two flights to London will be operated by Qantas.
The third flight will be operated by a private charter. Registered Australians will be updated with the details of this flight.
Updated
No rallies for man accused of anti-Semitic threats
A man accused of intimidating four teenagers over an Israeli flag has been barred from visiting areas where Jewish people congregate as he faces charges over the incident, AAP reports.
Abdullah Al-Taay was granted bail at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court today - a day after being arrested.
The 23-year-old faces four charges of stalking or intimidating the teens with intent to cause fear of harm over the incident in the eastern-city suburb of Bellevue Hill on Monday.
He is accused of verbally threatening the teens about an Israeli flag they were about to drape over their car.
On Thursday, prosecutors said there were concerns Al-Taay could pose a risk to the community given the allegations involved threats to young people and he had been previously convicted of assault.
However, proposed bail conditions agreed to by the 23-year-old’s lawyer Elie Srour mitigated those risks, the court heard.
Al-Taay watched the hearing by video link from Amber Laurel prison in western Sydney.
Magistrate Julie Huber granted him bail, ordering him to reside at an address in Glen Alpine, remain under a nightly curfew and refrain from attending any protest or rally.
He will also be barred from a number of suburbs in Sydney’s eastern suburbs that are home to large Jewish communities unless he is there for work.
Updated
Wong uses Melbourne University address to praise PM for ‘courage of conviction’
In the speech, Wong also praised the prime minister as a politician with conviction, even if commentators haven’t noticed it yet, and urged Australians to show a “collective leadership” in voting yes to the voice.
And in the leadership of Anthony Albanese, there is a decency and courage of conviction we see too rarely. So rarely, indeed, that many political observers haven’t even recognised it.
To act on the call of First Nations people, to do what is right, even though it may be hard, to act on the call from elders and community leaders from all over the country whose years of work and consultation produced the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
That statement - their work - is a collective act of generosity toward all the people of this country, and it is a collective act of leadership.
Their collective act of leadership now relies on collective leadership from the rest of us.
Updated
Wong criticises Dutton’s stance on voice as a way to ‘score more political points’
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, has this evening delivered the McKinnon prize oration at Melbourne University.
In her speech, Wong has taken a swipe at the opposition leader Peter Dutton’s decision to oppose the Indigenous voice to parliament:
We had bipartisanship on the voice, until Peter Dutton decided he could score more political points by having a fight than by helping bring the country together.
Not putting forward any solutions, nothing positive to offer. Just picking fights and saying no.
Mr Dutton’s no campaign can’t win on the merits of the issue – so his arguments are designed to create an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust.
Updated
Police charge four men after 662kg of methamphetamine found in toilet roll shipment
More than 600kg of methamphetamine, with a market value of almost $600m, was seized after it was found hiding in a shipment of toilet paper rolls, according to the Australia federal police.
Victoria police said four men, allegedly part of a transnational organised crime syndicate, were due to face court today after they were arrested late Wednesday and early today.
Police are alleging the four people were linked to the importation that was found during an X-ray screening in a toilet paper shipment at the that arrived in Melbourne at the start of this month via sea cargo from Malaysia.
They will also allege a white crystalline substance, which forensic testing later confirmed was methamphetamine, was found bound in 622 green and gold tea packages, each weighing 1kg each. The packages were further concealed within a package of toilet paper.
The four people have been charged one count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drugs.
Updated
SDA says it is trying to ‘maximise’ compensation for McDonald’s workers as its application to stop class action fails
We reported earlier that the class action from Shine Lawyers and Retail and Fast Food Workers Union against McDonald’s would go ahead.
Rival unions RAFFWU and the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association launched separate class actions over McDonald’s staff allegedly not being given a paid 10-minute break when working a shift of four hours or more.
The SDA then applied for a stay, to stop the other action, which has been overturned in the federal court today.
In a statement, the SDA said they were trying to “maximise” the compensation for workers.
They said the federal court had declined the SDA’s application that intended to maximise the compensation that Macca’s workers would receive “in their pocket” for allegedly McDonald’s denying workers their rights to 10-minute paid breaks.
The SDA made the application because we believe Macca’s workers should receive 100% of the compensation awarded in any judgment.
Today’s decision means that the SDA case and the class action will continue together.
The SDA’s case covers more workers than the class action, as it goes back further in time for the franchised stores.
The SDA is suing franchisees and McDonald’s Australia. The class action is only against McDonald’s Australia.
…The SDA will carefully consider today’s decision and asses the options we have to continue [to] protect Macca’s workers.
As Australia’s largest employer of young people, Australians have a right to expect that McDonald’s will ‘do the right thing’.
Updated
Voice could ‘supercharge change’, Labor MPs tell audience at Monash’s William Cooper Institute
Labor MPs have taken their voice campaign to the university sector in a last-ditch attempt to rally support for a yes vote on Saturday.
The education minister, Jason Clare, the assistant minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, and local MP Carina Garland addressed Monash University’s William Cooper Institute on Thursday, named after one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal political activists.
McCarthy said Cooper “stood for fairness and justice and a voice for First Nations people”.
This weekend, you have a choice and I ask you to vote yes for First Nations people to have a voice to the parliament and the executive, and to be recognised in the constitution with our culture of over 65,000 years.
Clare said the voice could be a force of opportunity for Indigenous Australians.
[The voice] gives us a chance to supercharge change … In two days’ time, we can do what really should have happened 122 years ago …
Aussies are practical people. We know Indigenous Australians are doing it tough. We want to make sure that our taxpayers’ money is used on the sort of things that are going to make a real difference. By setting up an advisory committee, by listening, we can make better decisions and get better outcomes and help to bring this whole country together.
Updated
Labor senator accuses former PwC CEO of seeing himself ‘as above all of these terrible things that have happened’
The Labor senator Deborah O’Neill is reflecting on PwC’s former chief executive Luke Sayers’ evidence at the Senate inquiry into the consultancy firm.
O’Neill has told Afternoon Briefing his evidence represented some “fancy footwork”:
He certainly seems to think that this is the end of it. It is easy to say you are sorry when there is actually no recompense for actually being sorry for doing something. He has walked away and basically said, ‘Too bad, so sad, that was then, this is now. I am off and running my own consultancy and all is well.’
He even said the Switkowski review was only about a period of time that is after he left. That is completely at odds with any reading of the Switkowski internal review.
… I think what we have seen today is a lot of fancy footwork by a former CEO trying to distance himself from a culture … Mr Sayers seems to be very proud of his time at PwC. He saw himself as above all of these terrible things that have happened. He is happy to be accountable but at a distance, past a point where they would be any price for him to pay.
Updated
Distressing and violent material online from Hamas-Israel war not widespread enough to need blocks, eSafety commissioner says
The Australian eSafety commissioner’s office says it is engaging with online platforms to protect Australians from distressing and violent material online in the wake of the Hamas-Israel war, but has not yet activated powers that would force the sites to block such material.
Under the Online Safety Act, the commissioner can issue a notice to platforms to remove extreme violent or terrorist content when it is reported, but a spokesperson said so far there have only been “a small number of reports of extreme violent material” over the last week.
Powers given to the commissioner under legislation passed after the Christchurch terror attack also allow the declaration of an “online crisis event”, where harmful material is being spread widely, to issue notices requiring internet service providers to block sites hosting the content.
The spokesperson said so far an online crisis event had not been declared. Guidelines for the powers state that it will depend on factors including whether the spread of the material is active, how accessible and widely distributed it is.
The spokesperson said people who encounter distressing content should not share it further, even to raise awareness, and instead report it to the platform first, and then eSafety if it is not removed.
Officials in the EU and the UK have been meeting with Meta, TikTok, X and others calling on the services to work to prevent the spread of violent material online associated with the war.
Updated
New trophy for A-League derby features piece of motorway guardrail
A bizarre trophy has been unveiled by A-League clubs Central Coast and Newcastle ahead of their match this weekend.
A piece of guard rail from the M1 motorway connecting the neighbouring regions - formerly known as the F3 – has been polished and mounted. It will be awarded to the best team over the clubs’ two matches against each other this A-League women’s season.
The trophy for the so-called F3 derby follows in the tradition of the men’s version released last year, which features a cylinder of rock and concrete extracted from the motorway.
The prize was launched to mark the return of the A-League Women on Saturday in Gosford. The Mariners are hoping to attract a crowd of at least 5,000 for the match, their first since leaving the competition in 2010.
Updated
Class action against McDonald’s over unpaid rest breaks to go ahead
The class action against McDonald’s for alleged unpaid rest breaks on behalf of hundreds and thousands of McDonald’s workers will go ahead.
Shine Lawyers, with the support of Retail and Fast Food Workers Union, filed the class action on behalf of McDonald’s workers who were allegedly not given a paid 10-minute break when working a shift of four hours or more.
The class action alleges McDonald’s operated a system of work that operated to deny McDonald’s workers their right to paid breaks in breach of the EBA and the Award. Almost 20,000 people have signed up to the class action, but the union said it could cover 300,000 former and current staff.
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), which launched its own class action against alleged unpaid rest breaks in August, had applied for a stay on the other union’s class action.
In his judgment, delivered today, Lee J ruled that Shine’s class action would go ahead. He said:
The SDA’s proposal for resolving issues involved an unwieldy hotchpotch of different actions without the manifold procedural benefits of a class action.
The next case management hearing will be listed in 21 days where it will be decided how the two class actions will run. The SDA and McDonald’s were contacted for comment.
Updated
Jason Clare to head to India to open two Australian university campuses
The education minister, Jason Clare, will return to India next month for the second time this year to formally open two Australian university campuses.
The Deakin University and University of Wollongong campuses were announced following Clare’s inaugural visit in March, in which he signed a wide-ranging mutual qualification agreement with his counterpart.
They are the first two universities in the world approved to set up standalone campuses in India.
Speaking at the Australian International Education Conference on Wednesday, Clare said there was a “real opportunity to do more” in India, which is rapidly expanding its tertiary sector.
The nation has been in the headlines in recent weeks for its rapidly souring relations with Canada over the alleged assassination of a Sikh activist.
Next month I will be heading back to India … to build on the special relationship Australia is forging with India in education … I will have the privilege of formally opening two Australian university campuses in India – Deakin University and the University of Wollongong in GIFT City.
Clare confirmed he would also head to Surabaya in Indonesia next month, where Western Sydney University is fated to open a campus in 2024.
India and Indonesia. Two economic superpowers in the making, both making a big push in education. And they are asking for our help in educating their young people. I am keen for us to be a part of that.
Updated
Australian diplomats not being evacuated from Israel, Albanese says
Circling back to the PM’s press conference, Anthony Albanese says Australian diplomats and their families are not being evacuated from the embassy in Israel.
He said the government does not have the “complete numbers” of how many Australians are in Gaza or Israel, but they do know there are Australians in Israel, Gaze and the West Bank.
Updated
We brought you the news earlier that in the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas war, the head of intelligence agency Asio says he is “concerned about the potential for opportunistic violence with little or no warning.” Nationals leader David Littleproud is reflecting on his words with Afternoon Briefing:
I think it is sobering. These briefings from Asio. … The bombardment in Gaza is a direct result of the barbaric terroristic act that took act Israel. There wouldn’t be the bloodshed in Gaza today if those terror acts didn’t take place on the weekend. I think it is important for people to appreciate that and if that had happened here in Australia, then the Australian people would expect the government to respond to whoever enacted those acts against their own people.
Israel has every right to retaliate for what are just horrific acts. But, this is where we are very concerned that the prime minister hasn’t confirmed whether national security committees has met. What this shows is that there will be heightened anxiety in our community.
…When you see what was said on the steps of the Opera House, you don’t have to be Agatha Christie to work out that there has to be some sort of internal threat in this country see that our intelligence agencies would have been concerned about.
Updated
Peter Dutton calls for antisemitic protesters to be deported
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has called for attendees of pro-Palestine rallies where some people chanted antisemitic slogans to have their visas cancelled and be deported.
Dutton told 2GB Radio:
If there were people there who are on visas they should be identified and they should have their visas cancelled, they should be deported.
People with that hate in their minds, in their heart, don’t have any place in our society. If they’re non-citizens, and police should be doing this work now [to identify them] … their visas should be before the minister and should be cancelled.
The call has concerned some on the grounds it could contribute to demonisation of Palestinian Australians by tarring all with a pro-Hamas brush, and interferes with rights to free assembly and freedom of speech.
But Jeremy Leibler, the president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, has backed the call.
He told Guardian Australia:
Of course they should be [cancelled]. Obviously you can’t deport Australian citizens, but if you have people on temporary visas waving Isis flags, yes they should be deported. Is it even a debate? If they’d robbed a bank, they would be deported.
Updated
Polling booth chats could be ‘very decisive’ in referendum, Yes23 director says
Dean Parkin, the director of the Yes23 campaign, is speaking to Afternoon Briefing about the lead-up to the voice referendum this Saturday. He says the conversations volunteers are having with people in line to vote in pre-polling are critical:
They’ve been absolutely critical in providing that information because we know that there are a lot of people that still coming to this very fresh and they’ve not turned their minds to it. They are getting that last-minute information which could be very decisive on Saturday. We have a lot of work to do and will be living no stone unturned over the next couple of days.
Updated
PM announces third repatriation flight out of Israel
The prime minister Anthony Albanese has just confirmed a third repatriation flight will be taking Australians out of Israel.
Speaking in Perth Albanese said the government is making assessments on an “ongoing basis”.
We are looking at the security issues and we are having daily briefings.
I can confirm we will now have organised, because of demand, for a third flight to be offered…
We will of course monitor safety and ensure that we are keeping our eye on what is a very volatile situation and volatile region.
The first flight is scheduled to leave and fly to London tomorrow. And we think it is important that Australian citizens are able to come home to Australia who choose to do so.
This post was updated after the government clarified that Qantas would not be the carrier providing the third flight. The third flight is expected to be a privately chartered flight.
Updated
Hefty fines and possible jail under new e-scooter laws
Queensland transport minister Mark Bailey has announced the crackdown on e-scooters and personal mobility devices (PMD), saying careless riders can expect a court appearance rather than an on-the-spot fine, AAP reports.
Magistrates can impose a maximum fine of more than $6000.
Any users riding without due care and attention on footpaths, bike paths or shared paths face offences under laws introduced in state parliament by Bailey.
Bailey told parliament:
The key to regulating new technology is making sure that shared spaces like footpaths, bike ways, shared paths are as safe as they can be for everyone.
Dangerous personal mobility device riders won’t receive an on the spot fine if they’re riding carelessly, instead they will have a date with a magistrate.
The maximum fine of $6192 that magistrates can impose would only apply at the most extreme end of offending, he said.
There is also a provision for jail time in instances where a person has been seriously injured or killed due to another person’s reckless use of an e-scooter or PMD.
The new laws will also enforce PMD and e-scooter users involved in an incident to remain at the scene, render any medical assistance and exchange relevant information.
These obligations do not currently apply to PMD users on roads and paths.
Sexual harassment in university workplaces is ‘bleak and only getting worse’, Greens say
The Greens have backed calls for an independent authority to hold the university sector to account after a new survey revealed growing rates of sexual harassment in the workplace.
The National Tertiary Education Union’s 2023 survey, released today, found sexual harassment in higher education workplaces had jumped by around 52% since its inaugural survey in 2018.
A total of 29% of surveyed staff experienced sexual harassment this year, compared with 19% in 2018.
The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said the situation was “bleak and only getting worse”, especially for women and non-binary people.
Together we need to push universities and the government to do more to ensure a safe workplace for staff. Time for the government to pay attention and create an independent authority with powers to monitor, evaluate and hold universities to account.
Last week, education minister Jason Clare flagged he would hold a special meeting with his counterparts next month to consider the proposal of an independent student ombudsman to improve safety on campus.
Updated
Fishermen stung by Irukandji jellyfish spend two days in Darwin hospital
A pair of fishermen have been discharged from hospital days after being stung by potentially lethal jellyfish off the Northern Territory coastline, AAP reports.
On Tuesday the pair were fishing from a boat 20km off Dundee Beach, 135km west of Darwin, when they ran into trouble.
The CareFlight NT rescue helicopter was called after reports that one patient was suffering severe Irukandji jellyfish stings.
On arrival, the nurse winched down to the boat and determined both men needed medical care.
The nurse stayed on the boat and the chopper landed on the beach and enlisted a local fishing charter to bring the CareFlight doctor to the boat.
They were then airlifted to Royal Darwin Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
NT Health confirmed the pair had been discharged from hospital on Thursday, 48 hours after being stung.
The Irukandji jellyfish is the smallest and most venomous species of box jellyfish in the world.
There have been two confirmed Irukandji deaths in Australia.
Updated
Bridget McKenzie defends Senate report after Australian women suing Qatar Airways criticises it as ‘disappointing’
Opposition transport spokesperson Bridget McKenzie has responded to a Australian women suing Qatar Airways over a notorious incident at Doha airport, after the women criticised a Senate inquiry report for failing to hold the carrier to account.
On Monday the Senate select committee on bilateral air service agreements – set up to examine the rejection of Qatar Airways’ request to almost double its flights into Australia’s major airports – released its report, urging the Albanese government to immediately review its decision.
Guardian Australia has reported that the women felt the investigation focused too much on Alan Joyce and Qantas, and not on claims that Qatar Airways was failing to be a “good corporate citizen”.
In response McKenzie – who chaired the Senate inquiry – defended the committee’s report, saying it “provides a balanced coverage of the extensive evidence received over five days of public hearings and from around 150 submissions”.
McKenzie said:
The committee expressed its deep concern at the appalling and unacceptable incident that occurred at Hamad International Airport in October 2020.
The committee questioned Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials on the incident, and their evidence is canvassed in the report. In summary, the officials informed the committee that the Qatari Government had prosecuted those responsible, had apologised and ‘repeatedly assured’ such an appalling incident would not happen again.
McKenzie also said that “Marque Lawyers, who represent five women involved in the incident, told the committee that prior to (their) clients writing to the minister on 27 June 2023, the government had not made contact with his clients during the preceding 13 months”.
Read what one of the women, Anna, had to say here:
Updated
Asio boss warns of potential for 'opportunistic violence' amid Israel-Hamas war but says no change to terror threat
The head of intelligence agency Asio says he is “concerned about the potential for opportunistic violence with little or no warning” but has urged everyone to choose their words carefully to safeguard “social cohesion”.
The director general of security, Mike Burgess, issued a statement about how the events in the Middle East are “resonating in the Australian community”. He said the national terrorism threat level remained at the existing level of “possible”. Burgess said:
Protests, rallies and associated activities are expected to continue, and are likely to feature strong emotive claims.
I remain concerned about the potential for opportunistic violence with little or no warning. However, it is important to distinguish opportunistic violence from planned violence or acts of terrorism.
Asio remains well-placed to detect threats to security including potential acts of politically motivated violence or the promotion of communal violence.Asio is carefully monitoring the situation for any indications of planned violence and were we to see any, we would respond accordingly, along with our law enforcement partners.
In this context, it is important that all parties consider the implications for social cohesion when making public statements. As I have said previously, words matter. Asio has seen direct connections between inflamed language and inflamed community tensions.
As always, Asio is not interested in those who are engaged in lawful protest, but rather the small subset of protesters who may wish to escalate protest to violence—this includes religiously motivated and ideologically motivated extremists, or anyone who believes that violence is a means to further their own interests.
Updated
Dutton falsely claims Albanese ‘never mentioned’ voice before election
Let’s return briefly to Peter Dutton’s false claim that Anthony Albanese “never mentioned” the voice before the election.
On the blog, earlier, my colleague Paul Karp correctly pointed out examples of when Albanese and Labor mentioned it prior to being elected. There are a number of other examples, too, not least of which was Albanese’s speech to the official Labor campaign launch on 1 May 2022.
Here is what Albanese said at the beginning of his speech:
My fellow Australians,
As we gather here in the great state of Western Australia, on the lands of Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation, I am proud to promise our Labor government will work with First Nations people to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.
We will deliver a constitutionally enshrined Voice to our parliament.
This will be an uplifting moment of healing and unity for our country, in the same spirit as the National Apology to the Stolen Generations, delivered by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
The commitment was so far from being a secret that a journalist prefaced a question to Albanese two days before the election with a comment:
I want to take you to something that you have spoken a lot about during this campaign, that’s the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and enshrining a First Nations Voice to Parliament.
On 2GB today, however, Dutton claimed that the prime minister “has been obsessed with the voice from the day he was elected, never mentioned before the last election, I might say”.
Updated
Good afternoon! A big thank you to Jordyn for taking us through another busy day of news.
I’ll now hand you over to my colleague Natasha May who will be taking the reins for the rest of the afternoon. Thank you for following along.
‘Bout time they listened to my people’: A.B. Original releases video clip for song ‘Yes’
Hip-hop duo A.B. Original have shared their official music video for their song on the referendum for an Indigenous voice to parliament called “Yes”.
The duo is made up of rapper Briggs and producer Trials, and the song features artists Marlon and DJ Total Eclipse.
Appearing in the video are some of the greats in Australian music, including Barkaa, Baker Boy, Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes, and the Hilltop Hoods.
You can watch the video here:
And a peek at the lyrics:
Bout time they listened to my people (YES)
Dutton wants to hit us with a sequel? (NO)
Does every Blackfulla love the Phantom? (YES)
Never give the same answer as Hanson (NO)
I’m doin this for my old ones,
A voice in the house in and the hope I could own one
This is not the return of the mission (NO)
We’re giving you permission to listen (YES)That’s why I’m writing a yes vote,
Anything less is signed with a death note
Updated
WA juvenile detention incident will be subject to inquiry, minister says
Papalia said the incident would be subject to an inquiry, and later added that “we have made Banksia Hill safe”:
Banksia Hill vastly improved when the premier and I announced our response to juvenile detention when I assumed the role. When we stated our primary objective was to make Banksia Hill safe, make all detention safe. We have made Banksia Hill safe.
He later added in response to a question from a reporter:
Banksia Hill is better because the most challenging, complex and often dangerous juvenile detainees are housed in unit 18, because that is the only place we have for them at the moment.
We are working up a plan to improve services at unit 18 and vastly improve the delivery of services there … I recognise that’s not an ideal situation. Sadly, it’s what we confront.
Updated
Teenager in critical condition after being found unresponsive in WA detention facility
A 16-year-old boy who was in the Banksia Hill Detention Centre in WA is in a critical condition after he was found unresponsive at the facility on Wednesday night.
The WA minister for corrective services, Paul Papalia, is speaking from Perth now about the incident.
He said the 16-year-old contacted officers via intercom, and within a matter of minutes of officers responding, he was found unresponsive and the officers commenced resuscitation, and were able to regain a pulse.
Papalia said:
I understand they have conducted themselves exceptionally well. In confronting, very confronting circumstances.
I’m thinking about the boy and hopeful that his condition will improve. But also thinking about the staff involved in the situation.
Updated
Cal Wilson’s death caused by rare form of cancer, management agency confirms
New Zealand comedian Cal Wilson’s cause of death has been confirmed by her artist management agency as a rare form of cancer.
Wilson, who was a beloved fixture on Australian television and most recently co-hosted The Great Australian Bake Off, died yesterday at the age of 53. It was initially reported that she had died “after a short illness”, surrounded by loved ones at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred hospital. She had been in hospital for four weeks prior to her death, Token management confirmed to Guardian Australia.
On Wednesday night, friends and colleagues gathered at Melbourne’s Comedy Republic venue to pay tribute to Wilson. Online, many remembered her warm and generous personality – the hallmarks of her three-decade career which spanned 14 Melbourne international comedy festival shows, two children’s books, and regular appearances on series including Thank God You’re Here, Whose Line Is it Anyway? and Spicks and Specks.
“I was always relieved to see Cal,” wrote fellow host and comedian Rhys Nicholson on Instagram. “At very good gigs, very shit gigs, dinners, parties … You knew whatever was going on, it would at least be more funny, more warm and just more bloody silly because Cal was there.”
Rove McManus called her a “shining soul … taken far, far too soon from a world that adored her as much as she adored it”. Comedian Celia Pacquola described her as “quick, funny, fierce, crafty, vibrant, caring and a beacon of warmth and silliness in any room”. “She was the best of us,” Pacquola wrote.
In a tearful tribute on The Project, Wilson’s Bake Off co-host Natalie Tran remembered her as “a beautiful person, so kind and giving and funny”. Tran said:
Cal was like working with a Santa Claus who didn’t care if you were naughty or nice, you got presents anyway.
Every day she was like a cheerleader for every single person.
Updated
Queensland coal-fired power plant that caught fire to be reopened
The Queensland government is confident of reopening a coal-fired power plant which blew up and caught fire in 2021 by next year.
The Callide plant, near Biloela, was badly damaged in an explosion at its C4 unit, forcing the operator to also switch off the C3 unit of the same facility.
Under questioning in question time by the shadow energy minister, Pat Weir, the energy minister, Mick de Brenni, told parliament this morning he had “full confidence” in the workers rebuilding the facility, and that it would be able to reopen C3 by January next year and C4 by May.
He said:
I can advise every member on that side of the house, Mr. Speaker, that on this side of the house, Mr. Speaker, they have our full confidence.
We have provided them every single dollar they’ve asked for, for maintaining our power stations and our infrastructure network across the state, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to the day to return of service, Mr. Speaker, I have full confidence …
And I’ll put it on record every single day of the week that that workforce out there will deliver on their commitments …
I have full confidence … in their ability to get that power station back up and running.
Reopening the plant requires the full demolition and reconstruction of both cooling towers, a task that the owner, CS Energy, described as “a complex project”.
Updated
Queensland opposition questions why apology to 17-year-old alleged rape victim only issued two months after complaint to hospital
Queensland’s opposition has asked the health minister why an alleged teenage rape victim was only issued an apology over text message two months after her family complained about her treatment by a hospital.
Guardian Australia revealed on Thursday that the year 11 student, Tilly*, felt “humiliated” and “stupid” after waiting three hours for an examination after an alleged sexual assault.
Tilly* said a doctor told her there were no trained staff available to issue the examination before later offering to perform it. The 17-year-old eventually left the hospital in tears without undergoing the full examination.
Tilly’s experience dominated question time in Queensland parliament on Thursday. LNP MP Laura Gerber said a direct apology to the victim was only sent by the hospital at 9.31am on Thursday morning – two months after the initial complaint was made by her family.
The health minister, Shannon Fentiman, said she was only made aware of a complaint by the alleged victim’s family on Thursday night:
I understand the chief executive [of the hospital] has contacted the victim to apologise... I was made aware of the complaint late last night and I unreservedly apologise.
This young woman’s experience was unacceptable and I have offered to sit down with this young woman and her family … so I can hear first-hand about her experience and continue to improve the system.
*Name has been changed
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Uni staff report 50% spike in sexual harassment
Sexual harassment in the tertiary sector has risen by more than 50% in five years, a new national staff survey suggests, prompting calls for greater regulation of university providers.
The National Tertiary Education Union’s 2023 survey, released today, found that of more than 2,000 respondents, almost one in three (29%) of respondents reported experiencing sexual assault, up from 19% in 2018.
NTEU national president, Dr Alison Barnes, labelled the results “alarming” and “deeply disturbing”.
Higher education staff are being subjected to shocking levels of harassment and discrimination … it’s clear that this isn’t just an isolated issue; it’s a systemic failure.
The survey found just 13% of those experiencing harassment made a formal complaint. A majority of perpetrators were co-workers (41%), followed by managers (34%) and students (29%).
Respondents to our survey have said while they know there are sexual harassment policies in place in their workplaces, most don’t report sexual harassment because of institutional cultures that ignore, minimise or even target victims of sexual harassment.
The NTEU is calling for all higher education employers to reform complaint processes and establish annual transparent reporting of sexual harassment and assault.
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Peter Dutton falsely claims Albanese didn’t mention voice before election
In an interview on 2GB Radio, the opposition leader Peter Dutton has falsely claimed that Anthony Albanese “never mentioned” the voice before the election and made a series of inflammatory remarks about Labor’s handling of the Gaza conflict.
Dutton said:
This [cost of living] is the biggest issue, and the prime minister has been obsessed with the voice from the day he was elected, never mentioned before the last election, I might say. And now, the first 16 months have been lost to his obsession on the voice.
The idea that Labor never mentioned the voice before the election is patently untrue. Here are just a few examples we found:
Linda Burney recommitting to the Uluru statement in April 2021
Albanese’s closing the gap statement in August 2021 that “Labor is committed to the Uluru Statement in full”.
Labor’s commitment to First Nations people, a policy released in the week of the 2022 election, with a forward from Albanese noting Labor “is committed to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full … If elected, we will move quickly on a referendum to enshrine a Voice to Parliament in our Constitution”.
Broadcaster Ray Hadley began the interview by asking if the problem for Labor is that “part of the DNA of some Labor people is to hate the Israelis”.
Dutton replied:
Well, I think there’s certainly that element to it. I mean, there’s a political element to it as well because people like Chris Bowen, Ed Husic and others will be playing to their electorates.
As we wrote yesterday this is part of an ongoing pattern of politicising the response to the Hamas attacks in Israel. The Albanese government has condemned the Hamas attacks and recognises Israel’s right to defend itself.
Australia stands with our friend Israel in this time.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) October 7, 2023
We condemn the indiscriminate and abhorrent attacks by Hamas on Israel, its cities and civilians.
We recognise Israel’s right to defend itself.
Updated
Thorpe clarifies comments saying she would back legislated voice if referendum defeated
Lidia Thorpe has clarified her comments on RN Breakfast earlier today, where she said she would back a legislated Indigenous voice to parliament if the referendum is defeated.
Thorpe said her comments need to be taken in the context of her “consistent position that truth and treaty are the first steps that must be taken to bring peace to this land”.
Thorpe added:
The Blak Sovereign Movement and grassroots mob have been consistent in their rejection of the current proposal for a powerless advisory body enshrined in the colonial constitution.
Regardless of the outcome, the pathway forward begins with healing, Truth Telling, Treaty, implementing the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and Bringing Them Home report, and implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
It comes after some leaders in the Blak Sovereign Movement who were for the “progressive no” case of stronger action before a voice is enacted switched sides, and are now backing a yes vote.
Updated
Continuing on from our prior post:
PwC Australia’s former chief executive Luke Sayers then revealed that, after seeking advice on his non-disclosure agreement with PwC Australia, the recommendation was discussed by the Australian executive team and its governance board, as well as “the global network leadership team”.
There was a project with a codename that I kicked off at PwC Australia because of the breadth and depth and the size [of the firm] and trying to manage all of the various conflicts, while seeing the workings of the banking royal commission. It was a concern to me and it was a concern to the executive board at the time.
We spent about 12 months working through that project and for a number of different reasons, one of the recommendations that came out of that specific project was to divest the consulting business, not just the public sector consulting business, but the entire consulting business.
The decision was taken by global, that whilst understanding the complexity and the risks and so on and so forth, it was not pragmatic to sell a piece of global consulting here in Australia and not divest that elsewhere in other jurisdictions around the world.
PwC Australia’s government consulting business was ultimately divested for $1 earlier this year, but only after a reputation crisis led to many federal government departments refusing to give it new work.
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Plan to break up PwC Australia due to conflicts of interest was blocked by global management: former CEO
PwC Australia’s former chief executive, Luke Sayers, has revealed the firm recommended breaking up the organisation in 2018 to manage a concerning level of conflicts of interest, but was blocked by the firm’s global management.
Sayers has told a Senate inquiry that the Australian firm spent 12 months considering whether to separate its entire consultancy business from its audit division. The consideration was influenced by the banking royal commission at the time.
Here’s what Sayers said in his opening statement to the inquiry:
As the chief executive officer of PwC, Australia, I had significant concerns about the conflicts of interest inherent in a large professional services firm and said so.
In the final two years of my tenure, I strove to mitigate the risks associated with that and deliver fundamental structural reform. But I was unsuccessful.
In response to questions from the Liberal senator Richard Colbeck, Sayers went on to reveal his concerns extended to audit quality:
In 2017 - 2019, I was becoming more and more concerned about the depth and breadth of professional services firms here in Australia.
I was becoming concerned about the audit quality and investing into the audit business and doing absolutely everything we could or should to protect citizens through the audit function.
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Police confirm one man dead at Melbourne factory fire
Victoria police have confirmed a 44-year-old man has died at the factory fire in Melbourne’s Derrimut this morning.
Police said the man, who is from Hoppers Crossing, was discovered inside the building after fire crews brought the fire under control. Nobody else was injured.
Police said about 30 people were evacuated from the site, which is thought to have been engulfed in flames by an explosion caused by a chemical reaction.
Updated
Freya Leach equates university stall fundraising for Palestine to Hamas terrorism
Former Liberal candidate and University of Sydney law student Freya Leach has condemned a university stall raising funds for Free Palestine and selling Arabic sweets as “Hamas terrorism” being “celebrated”.
The stall was run by the Macquarie Muslim Society yesterday. Looking at their Instagram, the fundraising event looked peaceful and informative – organisers were handing out flyers on the history of the region, music was playing, “Free Palestine” was written on the floor in chalk, and sweets were being bought and enjoyed by students.
The students were fundraising for the Gaza Emergency Appeal 2023, run by Human Appeal Org, which according to the fundraising site is actively coordinating relief efforts with its field office in Gaza to aid the displaced and medically injured.
Here is what Leach had to say:
DISTURBING: it seems Hamas terrorism is being celebrated at Macquarie University in Sydney as students play music and hand-out sweets. They are ‘fundraising’ for ‘Free Palestine’.
Jewish students have been advised to stay away.
How can this be allowed in Australia?
Updated
Former PwC Australia chief executive offers apology but tells Senate he wasn’t aware of confidentiality scandal
There’s been another apology in the Senate inquiry into consultants. This time, it’s come from PwC Australia’s former chief executive, Luke Sayers, who held that position from April 2012 until May 2020.
It was during this time that confidential Treasury information regarding multinational tax policy was shared with partners and marketed to major companies based in the United States.
Earlier this morning, PwC Australia’s current chief executive, Kevin Burrowes, held Sayers and other former senior managers accountable for ethical and cultural failures within the firm. Burrowes has also apologised for those failures, which were outlined in an internal investigation.
Sayers has told the Senate inquiry that he was not aware of the confidentiality breach involving Treasury information during his tenure:
I was accountable for the firm and its 8,000 employees and 700 partners. The breaches of confidence and the failure to properly identify and address them happened on my watch. And I sincerely apologise.
The sharing of government information clearly intended to be kept confidential, whether it is subject to legal confidentiality agreement or not, is not something I would never condone. It was a breach of trust. It was wrong, and it simply should never have happened.
I did not know of breaches of confidentiality agreements in PwC tax business until this year.
Updated
One person reportedly feared dead after explosion and factory fire in Melbourne’s west
Emergency services crews have rushed to a factory fire in Melbourne’s west where there are media reports that a person is feared dead.
A spokesperson for Ambulance Victoria said paramedics were called following reports of an explosion in Derrimut around 9.45am. Fire Rescue Victoria has confirmed the fire was brought under control at midday.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson says a man believed to be in his 50s was assessed on the scene but did not require emergency treatment. Paramedics are monitoring 28 people who were evacuated from the site.
A spokesperson for FRV says the explosion was thought to be caused by a chemical reaction. Firefighters have contained the fire with a sprinkler system and remain on scene.
Updated
Kalgoorlie statue’s head returned after going missing overnight
The head of the Paddy Hannan statue in Kalgoorlie has been returned but police say investigations remain ongoing:
Kalgoorlie police are currently investigating an incident in which the iconic Paddy Hannan statue was damaged yesterday, Wednesday 11 October 2023.
Between 11pm and midnight, the head was removed from the rest of the statue.
A member of the community secured the head and returned it to the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder this morning, Thursday 12 October 2023.
Updated
Queensland health minister apologises to 17-year-old alleged rape victim who was left humiliated and suicidal by treatment at hospital
The Queensland health minister, Shannon Fentiman, has unreservedly apologised to a 17-year-old alleged rape victim who said she left a hospital in tears after waiting three hours for an examination due to a lack of available trained staff.
Guardian Australia spoke exclusively to the year 11 student, Tilly*, who said she had suicidal thoughts and felt humiliated after presenting to a Queensland hospital in August.
Tilly revealed she had been asked to take photographs of her injuries and send them to the hospital as there were no iPads available.
She left the hospital in a state of distress and was only examined several days later after police organised for the process to occur at a private clinic.
Speaking to parliament on Thursday, Fentiman acknowledged the woman “did not receive the timely, compassionate, trauma-informed care that she was entitled to and expected”.
The hospital and health service has apologised to the young woman and I would like to also unreservedly apologise to her for the ongoing impact that this incident has had on her.
The health minister said as a result of the complaint issued by the family, the hospital has moved to implement a series of “improved processes”. She said this included ensuring social workers are present at the time of presentation to the hospital and “ensuring continuity of care by a specialised nurse and medical officer.”
Fentiman said the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service had been providing support to the teenager and her family while they work through the family’s complaint.
I have also asked the [Hospital and Health Service] to extend my offer to meet with the young woman and her family to discuss her experience if she wishes to do so.
She confirmed that as of Thursday there are 19 available staff across the CQHHS trained to administer forensic examinations with new rape kits and that training for clinicians is ongoing “to ensure that even more clinicians are qualified”.
I want to thank this young woman for bravely speaking out about her experience. We have heard you and we are acting.
*Name has been changed
Updated
‘Hard’ for Wallabies’ Eddie Jones to stay without change, says coach’s assistant
Wallabies assistant coach Pierre-Henry Broncan has suggested Eddie Jones will choose to leave Australia if he does not believe the team can be successful, as speculation heightens that Jones is on the verge of taking over as Japan’s next head coach.
Read more here:
Updated
Statue’s head goes missing in Kalgoorlie
The head of a statue of the man who sparked Western Australia’s gold rush has gone missing in Kalgoorlie.
The damage occurred overnight to the statue outside town hall of Paddy Hannan, whose gold strike in 1894 triggered the state’s gold rush and led to the founding of Kalgoorlie.
Glenn Wilson, a local resident and mayoral candidate, told 6PR Breakfast that the head is “completely gone” with evidence tools had been used in a premeditated act.
I’ve just come down to the statue to confirm that it has taken place.
… Everyone is shocked but also disgusted at the act of vandalism overnight … It’s a very honoured statue.
Wilson said it was not the original statue, which is safely locked inside the Kalgoorlie town hall.
The ABC is reporting that City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder officials have set up a barrier around the statue as the effort to track down those responsible for the vandalism gets under way.
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Andrews spotted in Big Apple for post-retirement break
A bearded Daniel Andrews has jetted out of Australia for the Big Apple after stepping down as Victorian premier.
Sporting an irregular amount of stubble, the former state leader was spotted in the arrival line at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport.
Quick to capture the moment, entertainment reporter Peter Ford posted a candid shot of Andrews on X/Twitter on Thursday morning.
You never know who you’ll spot in arrivals line at JFK airport New York. pic.twitter.com/uNfQ1lFD43
— Peter Ford (@mrpford) October 11, 2023
Doorstopped by political journalists as the image began doing the rounds on social media, the new premier, Jacinta Allan, was puzzled over why a private citizen travelling overseas was making news:
I have been speaking to him over the last couple of weeks but I think he deserves a chance to go and have a peaceful break.
Andrews this week shared an image of himself casting his yes ballot for Saturday’s voice referendum at an early polling centre, before flying out of the country.
- AAP
Updated
Six global PwC partners under investigation but firm can’t tell inquiry who or where
PwC Australia’s chief executive, Ken Burrowes, has told a Senate inquiry that six international partners are under investigation by the firm after they failed to raise concerns after receiving confidential and sensitive information about Australian tax policy.
Burrowes was unable to tell the Senate inquiry who the partners were, or where they were based, because he had not read a copy of a law firm’s investigation into the scandal’s international links. That investigation has not been made public.
The inquiry’s chair, Liberal senator Richard Colbeck, alleged the firm’s global management team had made Burrowes’ job much harder by not sharing that report with him.
Internal emails show one PwC Australia partner shared information “provided to [him] on a strictly confidential basis” with colleagues whose accounts indicate they were based in the Asia Pacific, US, Europe and the Middle East.
Here’s what Burrowes told the inquiry:
Six of our partners around the world were found to have not asked the questions they should have done in connection with the confidentiality breaches.The firms in which they reside are taking appropriate action against them.
[There is action being taken in other jurisdictions] against those six partners, to the extent that they remain in the firm. They may not be in the firm anymore, we don’t know.
Colbeck asked “what is the action that’s been taken in those other jurisdictions?”. Burrowes replied by saying: “I don’t know”, prompting this criticism from Colbeck:
Seriously, you don’t know? Incredible. I mean, you can’t tell us what’s happening in those other jurisdictions?
Greens say NSW climate targets ‘not in line with the science to keep our planet liveable’
The New South Wales Greens have welcomed the state government’s move to enshrine the state’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets in law, but spokesperson Sue Higginson said the 2050 target was “not in line with the science to keep our planet liveable”.
She said:
The Greens welcome the Government taking serious and legislative change to limit emissions and slow climate change, but a net-zero target by 2050 in NSW will cause a breach of the obligations that Australia has under the Paris Agreement and is not in line with the science to keep our planet liveable.
The Greens want to support net-zero legislation and welcome the inquiry into this bill. We will be working with the government and pushing hard to get a better outcome for NSW and Australia.
The Minns government will introduce its centrepiece climate change legislation to NSW parliament to entrench the targets and set up the Net Zero Commission.
NSW will also follow the federal government in creating a new standalone Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water.
More on this story here:
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Six schools close amid total fire ban across regions in NSW
Six schools have been closed in north-west New South Wales for precaution today amid a total fire ban in regions across the state.
This includes schools in Hermidale in the state’s central-west and the Waramungal education centre, which is located north of Dubbo, according to the ABC.
The decision to close the schools was made in conjunction with the RFS and the NSW department of education.
This comes after a catastrophic fire warning on NSW’s south coast in September led to dozens of schools to be closed for the day.
Total Fire Bans are now in place for the the Greater Hunter, Greater Sydney, Lower Central West Plains, North Western, Northern Slopes and Upper Central West Plains areas. Extreme & high fire danger ratings are forecast across the majority of the state. https://t.co/R9tDns8ts6 pic.twitter.com/6sF3G68R7G
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) October 11, 2023
Updated
21st anniversary of Bali bombings
Today marks 21 years since the Bali bombings, which claimed the lives of 202 people – including 88 Australians.
Anthony Albanese has expressed commiserations on X/Twitter for the lives that were lost:
Twenty-one years after the Bali bombings, Australia pauses to reflect and to remember. We think of all who were lost, and those we have lost since. We think of the extraordinary heroism that night and in the aftermath.
And we think of those who still live with the effects and the loss. So many hearts still beat with the memories of that night, and even if the shock is gone the sorrow remains.
Today and every day we hold on to the truth that, even amid the terrible destruction they inflicted, the terrorists did not achieve what they wanted.
What they targeted that night was the idea of us – our humanity, our compassion, our freedom, our long friendship with the Indonesian people – but that is something they could not defeat.
We hold on to that just as we hold on to the names of everyone that Bali touched. We hold them in our hearts and we never let them fade.
Updated
‘Most important vote people will cast in their lives’, Burney says days away from referendum
The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has just spoken in Sydney to mark being two days out from “what will be the most important vote that many people will ever cast in their lives”.
Burney said the referendum is about three things:
It is about recognition. Recognition that this land has been occupied for 65,000 years.
It is about giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a seat at the table to [provide] views and give advice on issues that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
And of course … it is about better outcomes, particularly in the areas of health, housing, education, and employment.
Updated
Morrison urges Labor not to ‘haggle’ for end to China trade bans
Continuing on from our prior post:
Morrison used his speech to reflect on how he had “experienced the PRC’s coercive tactics first hand” - a reference to the trade actions rolled out by Beijing in 2020 and the freeze on high-level talks that only ended after the Albanese government was elected last year.
But while the Albanese government has managed to gradually get some of these removed - including barley tariffs and restrictions on hay and coal - Morrison said these moves shouldn’t be “haggled for”:
I will be forever grateful for the resolve of the Australian people in supporting our strong stand, especially those agricultural and resources producers who were targeted by Beijing’s illegal trade sanctions.
I welcome the fact that Australia and the PRC are talking once again. This is always important. However, I note Beijing has not walked back any of their stated grievances with Australia, which included our commitment to freedom of speech, our free press and the sovereign right to make and enforce laws about foreign investment and national security.
And while their removal of some illegal trade sanctions is welcome, this is something that should be expected, not commended, and certainly not haggled for. To do so, demeans the sacrifice Australians made to stand up for our own freedom and sovereignty.
Updated
Morrison says level of ‘concern about Beijing’ was same as Moscow
The former prime minister Scott Morrison has said his government’s decision to provide military assistance to Ukraine was, in part, to send a message to Beijing.
In an address to the Yushan Forum in Taipei last night, Morrison said the future of self-governed Taiwan was “inextricably linked to all our futures and the peace, security and freedom of the world we live in”. He said:
To put this in some context, when my government took the decision for Australia to swiftly provide lethal support to assist Ukraine, following the illegal invasion by Russia, this was as much a decision to support Ukraine, as it was to demonstrate our alignment with a global western resolve to resist the aggression of authoritarianism, especially given the tacit endorsement of the invasion by Beijing, that continues to this day. I was as concerned about Beijing as I was about Moscow.
Morrison pointed out that there were “often confusion and differing interpretations” about Australia’s One China policy. He said that in recognising the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1972, Australia acknowledged that the PRC had claims over Taiwan, “however it did not recognise the legitimacy of those claims, either way, on behalf of any party”. He said Taiwan’s ultimate status should be resolved peacefully.
Updated
PwC Australia’s spinoff company can now secure government work
The finance department has formally approved the transfer of existing government contracts with PwC Australia to the firm’s new spin off company, Scyne Advisory.
Earlier this year, the big four firm announced it would divest its government advisory business for just $1 to Allegro Funds, which established the new firm. The divestment was necessary due to a reputational crisis that engulfed the firm after its misuse of confidential government information.
The deal also saved the jobs of PwC Australia consultants who had nothing to do with the scandal, but were impacted by government departments declining to award the firm future work.
Here’s the statement from the finance department which approved the novation of contracts, after consultation with Ethics Centre’s executive director Simon Longstaff.
Finance has undertaken an examination of the ethical soundness of Scyne on behalf of all Commonwealth entities such that they do not need to undertake a similar assessment.
This process sought to determine whether Scyne had the appropriate governance structure, ethics and culture to contract with the government.
This decision allows government departments to start allocating new consultancy work to Scyne and former PwC Australia staff.
Updated
The RFS has issued total fire bans in regions across New South Wales, including in Greater Sydney.
Total Fire Bans are now in place for the the Greater Hunter, Greater Sydney, Lower Central West Plains, North Western, Northern Slopes and Upper Central West Plains areas. Extreme & high fire danger ratings are forecast across the majority of the state. https://t.co/R9tDns8ts6 pic.twitter.com/6sF3G68R7G
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) October 11, 2023
Tesla fined by Australian consumer watchdog
Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla, has been fined $155,460 for failing to comply with mandatory safety standards for products using button batteries, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has said.
The fine - just over the cost of two Tesla Model 3 vehicles - was levied by the regulator over Tesla allegedly failing to conduct the required safety tests for three of its key fob models, and two of its illuminated door sill models, and failed to provide the mandatory safety warnings on these products - required since Australia’s standards came into effect in June last year.
The ACCC’s deputy chair, Catriona Lowe said:
Button batteries can be lethal for young children, and the Australian mandatory standards are designed to reduce the risk of injury through testing of the safety of products containing them before they are sold, and explicit warnings on the packaging of the products.
Any failure to test these products before they are sold poses an unacceptable risk to children. We expect all companies, large and small, to comply with the mandatory button battery standards to ensure children are protected from the dangers of button batteries.
In the period between 22 June 2022, and 30 May 2023, Tesla sold 952 of the various devices for its cars. Tesla removed the products from sale when the ACCC began investigating, and has since found the Model 3/Y and Model X key fobs to comply with the standards. The ACCC said testing is continuing for the other products, and supply will recommence once the test results are obtained.
The regulator said Tesla customers concerned about their products should contact the company.
Updated
Insurance industry takes stock of rising claims amid weather extremes
Households and businesses won’t need any reminder about the increased costs of insurance, with premium increases of 10% featuring prominently in inflation measures.
Anyway, the Insurance Council of Australia is holding its annual conference today in Sydney, with global risks associated with this week’s attacks on Israel understandably one point of discussion.
Nicholas Hawkins, ICA’s president (and insurer IAG’s CEO) noted too there’s a “worsening of extreme risks” from climate change combined with “poor planning” at home. “That problem is growing,” he said.
On the plus side, the federal government is paying a lot more time and money to the challenges, indeed the most of any government, Hawkins said.
Still, the industry has a bit of a self reflection to do, including how it performed during last years flood events that stretched from Queensland to Victoria and elsewhere. The industry typically manages about 30,000 claims at any one time, but these were surging at the pace of 10,000 a day at one point last year.
How does the industry develop the capacity to meet such surges is one question that needs to be addressed, Hawkins said. An independent study by Deloitte, commissioned by the ICA, will be released in a few weeks’ time, to examine how insurers fared.
As we noted, the impact of big disasters of the past would be a lot more costly if they happened now even before climate extremes are added in:
‘Terrible’ business practices: senators criticise PwC Australia during inquiry
The chair of a Senate inquiry into the consultancy industry, Richard Colbeck, has told PwC Australia’s senior leadership that he was deeply offended by the firm’s breach and misuse of confidential government information.
Here’s what Colbeck told the inquiry:
I find it hard, in polite terms, to describe how offended I am as a member of the then government that was introducing significant tax changes in the interests of the Australian people.... and your company, your business, was deliberately using confidential information, to float that process and to assist major corporations to avoid tax and to use that information to market internationally.
Colbeck also told the inquiry that he was not satisfied by an internal investigation into the firm, conducted by former Telstra executive Ziggy Switkowski. That report found PwC partners who make the firm money were known as “untouchables” and “rainmakers” to whom “the rules don’t always apply”.
It was almost depressing every time I started a new section of the report because it basically reinforced at each level, how crap things were inside your business. I mean, it was just terrible.
PwC Australia’s chief executive, Kevin Burrowes, did not dispute Colbeck’s finding and said “there was a lot of work” required to improve the firm’s culture and practice. He also again apologised for the firm’s conduct.
Here’s Burrowes response to Colbeck’s criticism:
The situation is deeply disappointing and Dr Switkowski’s review is very difficult for us to read.
This matter was never properly investigated. The investigation into this matter only started properly in May.
There were numerous occasions previously to identify this matter. We should have investigated and held those who did wrong to account. We did not do that.
Updated
PwC Australia begins Senate grilling with an apology
PwC Australia’s chief executive, Kevin Burrowes, has begun his appearance at a Senate inquiry into the misuse of confidential government information with an apology.
Burrowes has told the inquiry there are some matters he may not be able to answer during the Senate inquiry, given an ongoing criminal investigation by the Australian Federal Police.
The inquiry has already published a report finding PwC Australia has engaged in “a calculated breach of trust”. That finding was made before an internal investigation by PwC Australia revealed more breaches of confidentiality.
Here’s a section of what Burrowes told the inquiry:
The failures identified should never have been allowed to take place. What happened is totally unacceptable. For this I am sorry.
PwC Australia is sorry to our people, our clients, our stakeholders to the government and to the Australian people.
We cannot apologise strongly enough for breaching the trust placed in us and we accept the justifiable questions raised about our trustworthiness and integrity. Just as we commit to do better in the future.
We were meant to serve and help you but we have let you down. Our failures have deeply impacted the 1000s of current employees and partners who had nothing to do with this poor behaviour.
Liberal senator Richard Colbeck, who is the chair of the inquiry, said PwC Australia had not been called until today to allow the AFP time to get its investigation underway. Colbeck said the inquiry would be careful in its examination.
Updated
AEC warns against wearing 'yes' or 'no' T-shirts while voting
The Australia Electoral Commission has advised voters against wearing campaign material such as a pin or T-shirt when they vote in the referendum as it could be misconstrued as campaigning, and the law states that people cannot campaign within 6m from the entrance to a polling place.
It comes after the ABC reported an Indigenous elder had said he was turned away from voting because he was wearing a “yes” campaign shirt.
The AEC said if a voter simply wears campaign material into the polling place, casts their vote and leaves, it “likely won’t contravene the act”.
But, if a voter wears the material into a polling place and is then seen talking with someone inside about it, or gesturing to it, that could be construed as campaigning, the AEC said.
Our advice is to simply avoid that potential by not wearing campaign material into a polling place.
The difference between an election and referendum is of course the quantity of people who may want to wear a shirt or pin that could be viewed as campaign material. There are typically not many voters at an election who wear a party shirt.
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Cheng Lei’s release is a benefit of Labor’s engagement with China, Wong says
Wong has also thanked all those involved in securing the release of Australian journalist, Cheng Lei, yesterday after being jailed in China for three years on ill-defined allegations of sharing Chinese state secrets overseas.
Wong said:
I made [Cheng’s kids] a promise after some time ago we would do everything, I would do everything, I could to bring her home and it was wonderful to see them together. Very moving. I wish her and her family well.
Wong said the success was among the benefits of the Labor government committing to stronger engagement with China:
We have made clear since we were elected, we wanted to engage with China and I think you’ve seen some of the benefits of [that] engagement. There are areas where we will disagree, areas where will co-operate, but regardless of disagreements or where we can cooperate, [and] engage in order to advocate for Australia’s national interest.
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First Israel repatriation flights scheduled for Friday and Sunday, Wong confirms
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, is speaking about the Australian government’s position on the Gaza conflict and efforts to arrange repatriation flights.
Wong says the first two repatriation flights are scheduled for Friday and Sunday, and the government is “seeking to arrange a further flight” which is “likely to be early next week”. She encouraged Australians in Israel and their families to seek further information from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Wong said there is “no place in Australia for prejudice or discrimination of any kind” and no place for anti-semitism.
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Australian companies’ climate lobbying scores in bottom 20%, report finds
Leading Australian companies are lagging behind their US counterparts on transparency and government expenditure, with the majority of Australian companies scoring in the bottom of 20% of performance and most US companies scoring above 60%, according to a new report.
The report, Benchmarking for change: corporate political expenditure and climate lobbying in Australia by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, also found most energy and resource companies did not perform strongly on the global standard on responsible climate lobbying.
It found most of the five companies analysed had a significant gap between what their policies on climate lobbying say, and what governance and disclosure they implemented. They scored a “notable” range on performance, clocking between 39.3 to 75%.
Naomi Hogan, company strategy lead at the centre, said:
While Australia’s major energy and resources companies are big political spenders with large influence on government climate policy, the governance and disclosure of these activities are not up to scratch.
Investors need certainty that climate and environmental commitments by the companies they invest in are not simply greenwashing and that any corporate political lobbying and expenditure does not undermine these commitments.
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Second ‘accelerator’ housing project unveiled for Vic
More than 100 homes will be built in Melbourne’s outer north under Victoria’s second social housing “accelerator” project amid weak supply and soaring rents.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, will visit Broadmeadows on Thursday to announce $80 million to build 120 social homes on vacant land facing Coleraine Street.
Construction of the housing development is slated to get underway next year and will be funded by the federal government’s $2 billion social housing accelerator program.
- AAP
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Voice struggling in ‘every major state’, new polling shows
Kos Samaras, the director of RedBridge Group Australia, has appeared on RN Breakfast to talk about what the polling is showing on the referendum, and what to look out for as votes are being counted.
We have the support for yes in the low 40s. I think the last one that we published had it in the high 30s at about 39, again within the margin of error.
We haven’t really done a comprehensive breakdown but the trend is that the voice is struggling in every major state in the country. But in particular what people need to be aware of is the double majority that’s required. And so we are looking at states like Queensland and the support for the voice there because it does matter given the population size.
So for example, if let’s say the yes vote has a really good night and suddenly they turn around and are winning four states , they are going to need to get that vote up to about 55 [to] 56% to counter what’s going on in Queensland, to get that double majority.
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Lidia Thorpe backs legislating a voice 'as long as we're not in that constitution'
Lidia Thorpe has backed legislating a voice to parliament if the referendum is defeated.
Asked earlier by Patricia Karvelas on RN Breakfast if Thorpe thinks it should be legislated, Thorpe responds:
Absolutely, why not?
Karvelas resonded: “But you oppose the voice, so you do think it should be legislated?”
Thorpe said:
I oppose the voice because the voice is window dressing for constitutional recognition. And that’s what we have opposed for over a decade.
If legislation comes into that Parliament, saying that they want to set up another advisory body and it’s going to be fully representative of the people, as long as we’re not in that constitution, I’ll support it. We need all the help we can get in there.
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1965 Freedom Riders call on Australians to vote yes
The 1965 Freedom Riders, who were at the time University of Sydney students who travelled through NSW led by activist Charles Perkins to draw attention to the discrimination faced by Indigenous Australians, have called on Australians to vote yes in the referendum on Saturday.
They wrote:
We call on Australians to vote YES in Saturday’s Referendum as another step forward in the long journey towards justice and equality for Australia’s First Peoples. It brings us closer to achieving that Australian national aspiration, ‘A fair go for all’.
The difficulty we have had as a nation in “closing the gap” indicates clearly that we are not yet the land of a fair go for all.
The Voice was requested in 2017 by the most representative gathering of Indigenous people in decades held at Uluru. They wanted something practical and effective, a measure that would help the nation make good decisions. They wanted a Voice – not a decision-making body or even a veto, simply a voice to provide advice and opinions to the Parliament that does make the decisions.
The Voice we believe will help promote unity. We believe that Australians – across our many spectrums of politics, faith, ethnicity, gender, occupations and regions – can unite around the simple proposition to recognise Australia’s First Peoples in our Constitution through enshrining their right to a Voice.
We do not presume to speak for Charlie Perkins, who left us 23 years ago. But Charlie was always a passionate voice for his people, and he knew how vital it was that Indigenous Australians had a voice to speak for them. As some of those who had the privilege to accompany him on the Freedom Ride all those many years ago, we will be voting YES in his honour.
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If referendum fails Indigenous Australians should see it as a victory, Thorpe says
Independent senator, Lidia Thorpe, is now speaking on RN Breakfast, where she has said if the country decides no in the referendum Indigenous Australians should see it as a victory rather than feeling defeated.
Asked by Patricia Karvelas if it would really be a victory for the Black Sovereign Movement given it’s the conservative no messages that have had “huge cut through” across the community, Thorpe said:
We should never have gone to this referendum in the first place. And may I remind your listeners, a national survey or research the Aboriginal community controlled health organization came out with says that suicide rates have gone up since the referendum.
Black Sovereign Movement members across this country that are sick and tired of being dictated by the so called organisations and corporations, who are also waving the [Yes] flag and informing and advising the Labor government to assimilate us into a constitution that we’ve never given consent for.
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Cheng’s release ‘great achievement for shared diplomacy’, former ambassador to China says
Geoff Raby, the former ambassador to China, has just spoken on RN Breakfast about the release of Australia journalist, Cheng Lei, from detention in China yesterday.
He said the most important thing for Cheng’s release was her to make “what’s going to be an incredibly difficult transition back to a normal life”.
Raby said the government needs to be congratulated for seeing this through:
I think it’s been a great achievement for shared diplomacy.
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Factchecking the seven biggest pieces of misinformation pushed by the no side
In just a few days, the voice referendum will be held and there will be an answer to the question the nation has been asked: should there be an Indigenous voice to the parliament enshrined in the constitution?
It has been, by any measure, a brutal campaign. But it’s clear the no camp has relied in some measure on misinformation and fear of the unknown to sway voters to their side, with the same debunked claims popping up time and time again.
My colleagues Amy Remeikis and Josh Butler have fact checked the seven of these claims here:
‘No question Palestinians will be affected by actions here,’ O’Neil says
O’Neil was also asked if the Sydney rally planned for Sunday in support of Palestine should go ahead, even though it has not been authorised by NSW police:
I’m going to let police deal with the literal, physical occurrence of these rallies, and they’ll act on security advice. I would just say that I would ask people not to attend these rallies and just really consider how what you say and do at a time like this affects people who are really in pain and seriously hurting.
ABC News Breakfast hosts, Lisa Millar responded:
But the Palestinians would argue, and they have done quite fiercely, that they are now suffering, they have been suffering, they’re continuing to suffer, and we are witnessing a humanitarian crisis.
O’Neil said “Lisa there is no question that Palestinians will be affected by the actions here”:
And I say again - Hamas have committed a disgraceful atrocity against the Israeli people. This atrocity will cause violence against Palestinians. So, this is just violence begetting violence. No-one wins, no-one moves forward.
I just say again to Australians, just consider how your actions affect your neighbours and your friends around this country. We’re a beautiful, peaceful, multicultural country. Surely at a moment like this, we should all be thinking about how we preserve this precious thing for our nation.
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Government expects ‘large demand over time’ for Israel repatriation flights, O’Neil says
Minister for home affairs, Clare O’Neil, has just appeared on ABC News Breakfast, where she spoke about the Israel-Hamas war.
On the plans to repatriate Australians from Israel, O’Neil said she expects “a large demand over time” for the flights and will begin departing tomorrow.
This is going to be a continuous process of the Australian Government working with people in Israel who want to leave. As I said, this is going to continue for some time. We don’t know exactly what’s gonna happen in the coming weeks and months and it’s possible there will be an initial rush of people out of Israel but then later others will want to leave.
Asked whether the minister thinks Qantas was the right option to get people out, and whether defence aircraft should instead be sent, O’Neil, said she would let foreign minister, Penny Wong, speak to that.
O’Neil added:
At this stage, those Qantas flights are our starting point and we’ll continue to work very hard to make sure that Australians who need to leave are able to do so.
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NSW set to enshrine net zero emissions by 2050 in law and create monitoring panel
New South Wales is poised to have its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets of 50% by 2030 and net zero by 2050 enshrined in law and an independent advisory panel created to monitor the state’s progress.
The Minns government will on Thursday introduce its centrepiece climate change legislation to NSW parliament to entrench the targets and set up the Net Zero Commission and fulfil two election commitments.
Under the new laws, NSW would also follow the federal government in creating a new standalone Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water.
More on this story here:
Many thanks to Martin Farrer for kicking off the blog this morning. I’m Jordyn Beazley and i’ll be bringing you our rolling news coverage today.
As always, if you see something that needs attention on the blog, please send me an email at jordyn.beazley@theguardian.com
Morrison-era climate agency to be reviewed on effectiveness in preparing for natural disasters
A climate agency created in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires will be put under the microscope as Australia heads into a hot weather season predicted to deliver extreme weather events.
The Labor government will launch a review into the Morrison-era climate agency, due for reporting at the end of March 2024, to ensure it is fit to predict and prepare future natural disasters.
The Australian Climate Service was announced following the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfire season to bring together climate change science and emergency management support.
The new agency was handed more than $200m over four years in the 2021-22 federal budget with the then environment minister, Sussan Ley, saying it would “save lives and money through a more informed emergency response”.
The five-month review into the climate agency will examine whether those claims have been true, focusing on its effectiveness, governance and operating model.
Led by former NSW chief scientist Mary O’Kane, former agriculture department secretary Daryl Quinlivan and Climate Change Authority board member, Russell Reichelt, the review will also look at Australia’s future climate information needs and the suitability of the climate service to meet them.
The assistant climate change minister, Jenny McAllister said some of the impacts of climate change were now unavoidable, but federal government agencies could mitigate those risks by identifying them and planning for them.
She said:
Our government is committed to building greater national climate and disaster risk information capability, to provide authoritative data and analytical tools for governments, industry, and the public.
Last month, emergency management and disaster recovery specialists and leaders converged on Parliament House for the first national bushfire preparedness summit to discuss planning arrangements and the season ahead.
Emergency management minister Murray Watt said Australia is “much better prepared for this coming season than we were heading into Black Summer”.
He said:
We know that due to climate change, disasters will become increasingly frequent and intense, which is why we have taken significant steps to build our resilience and response capabilities.
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PwC executives to front Senate inquiry into consultants
The new head of embattled consultancy firm PwC will be grilled by senators today on what the company is doing to change its workplace culture following the tax advice scandal, AAP reports.
Chief executive Kevin Burrowes will appear at a Senate inquiry into consultancy firms, which was started after revelations emerged partners at PwC passed on confidential Treasury information to boost private sector business.
It will be the first time a representative of the firm has taken questions from the inquiry since it was established.
Burrowes was announced as the new Australian head of PwC in June following the tax scandal fallout.
His predecessor, former chief executive Luke Sayers, will also appear before the Senate committee today.
Sayers headed up PwC between 2012 and 2020 and is likely to be questioned on his knowledge of the tax advice scandal during his tenure as chief executive.
Thursday’s hearing will be the first time the inquiry has been held since the findings of an internal probe into the conduct of PwC staff were handed down.
The report, by former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski, found PwC had developed a “whatever it takes attitude” that allowed poor behaviour to be overlooked.
Switkowski was also scathing of an overly collegial culture within the firm that made it easier for blind spots to be overlooked and for the chief executive’s power to be amplified.
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Dutton suggests Albanese government has been too ambiguous about support for Israel
Peter Dutton has been quick to try to weaponise the Middle East situation by suggesting that the Albanese government has been too equivocal about its support for Israel, writes our political correspondent Paul Karp.
Dutton’s criticism of Penny Wong for urging the Israeli government to exercise restraint in its response to the Hamas attacks – despite having said the Netanyahu government was entitled to defend itself – was echoed through the late-night news chat shows on Sky.
Suddenly Labor was saying that there was equivalence between Hamas atrocities and Israel’s response. Only they weren’t saying that.
Read Paul’s column dissecting what’s been said and in more “sure signs that US-style extreme political polarisation is now a feature of Australian politics”.
Albanese reaches out to Jewish community as Israel supporters rally in Sydney
As the prime minister was giving his backing to Australia’s Jewish community in Melbourne, thousands gathered in Sydney to mourn the victims of an attack by Islamist group Hamas that struck Israeli towns.
Thousands gathered in Sydney’s east on Wednesday night to commemorate the deaths of civilians and show support for Israel.
About 5000 attendees descended upon Rodney Reserve in Dover Heights, many clutching Israeli and Australian flags as well as signs reading “safety is a right” and “united with Israel”.
The speakers included NSW premier Chris Minns, who said Australia stands in solidarity with the people of Israel and against the “unspeakable barbarity” of recent events.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton praised Israel for being a “resolute nation” and the Jewish people for their “determination (and) ability to always stick together”.
In Melbourne, the prime minister said the targeting of civilians and taking of hostages by Hamas was an affront to all Australians and, as Israel responded by pledging to “obliterate” Hamas in its Gaza stronghold, Albanese acknowledged that many Australian Jews would fear “a rise in antisemitism here at home”.
Albanese said:
I want to assure you, that kind of hateful prejudice has no place in Australia. Our country is better than that – and our country is a better place because of you and your community.
And my government is committed to keeping the community safe.
All Australians embrace you in this time of trauma. We hold you in our hearts.
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Julian Leeser calls on Australians to approach voice with hope not fear
A Liberal MP has made a last-ditch plea for voters to cast a ‘yes’ ballot in the voice referendum, saying Australians should lift up their eyes and see the challenges their Indigenous brothers and sisters face, writes AAP.
Former shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser, who stood down from the frontbench to support the voice and oppose the Liberals’ ‘no’ stance, reflected on perceptions of the referendum debate as “divisive” during a lecture at the Australian Catholic University on Wednesday.
He called on Australians to consider difference as an integral part of democracy, and urged them to approach change with hope rather than fear.
Mr Leeser said in the speech:
I know there are great pressures on Australians. This is not an easy time with financial pressures, stagnant wages, and wars and conflict in the world.
In such a time, the temptation is to say no more change.
But this is a time when we need Australians need to lift up their eyes and see the challenges that our Indigenous brothers and sisters face.
Saturday’s referendum was a “moment of consequence” after far too long of Australia failing its first peoples, Mr Leeser said.
It was a time to reflect, to emphatically engage and to listen to silenced voices, the member for Berowra said.
This Saturday, join us in our work to get Indigenous Australians to the same starting line that other Australians are at.
That is what this referendum is about.
Mr Leeser is one of few Liberals campaigning for a ‘yes’ vote in the voice referendum.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer and I’m bringing you some overnight breaking stories before my colleague Jordyn Beazley takes up the slack.
The political fallout from the eruption of violence in the Middle East has continued in Australia with Anthony Albanese giving wholehearted backing to the Jewish community. The prime minister said in Melbourne last night: “All Australians embrace you in this time of trauma. We hold you in our hearts.” There’ll no doubt be more reaction on this morning.
The nexus between between pandemic-era alliances – sometimes dubbed the “freedom movement” – and the conspiratorial reaches of the no campaign has never seemed far away. Our reporters look at how this includes urging voters to use pens and not pencils to vote, that a yes vote would allow a UN takeover of Australia, and playing on opposition to the Victorian government’s pandemic lockdowns. Amy Remeikis has been factchecking some of the claims made by the no campaign and has also done a podcast on the subject.
Meanwhile the former shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser has made a last-ditch plea for a yes vote in the referendum. He urged people to approach the voice with hope rather than fear. More on that in a few minutes.
Former prime ministers have rejected claims in a US news report that Donald Trump discussed America’s nuclear submarine secrets with Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt, who then told the politicians about the conversation. The details included “the supposed exact number of nuclear warheads [US submarines] routinely carry, and exactly how close they supposedly can get to a Russian submarine without being detected”, according to the ABC News report. But now, almost all of Australia’s living former prime ministers have denied receiving top-secret information.
