What we learned, 15 September 2024
With that we’re wrapping up the blog. Before we go, here are the major stories from Sunday:
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has continued his attacks on the Australian government with another post attacking Anthony Albanese.
Shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, has pledged a re-elected Coalition will not cut social services and labelled any suggestion to the contrary as “idiotic”.
Hume also claimed that the Coalition’s nuclear plan would bring down household power prices, but would not be drawn on the policy’s costs.
The Greens say Labor has “offered absolutely nothing” during negotiations over a housing bill due to hit the Senate this week.
Both major parties have committed to continuing Queensland’s 50c public transport fares scheme indefinitely.
A woman has been killed by a falling tree branch as strong winds hammer New South Wales.
We’ll pick things up again tomorrow.
Updated
Auction activity this weekend
Auction activity has remained stable this weekend with 2,387 auctions to be held.
This is up on the 2,112 auctions held last week and roughly on par with the 2,314 auctions that occurred at the same time last year.
Based on results collected so far, CoreLogic’s summary found that the preliminary clearance rate was 69.4% across the country, which is lower than the 71.4% preliminary rate recorded last week but well above the 63.2% actual rate on final numbers.
Across the capital cities:
Sydney: 637 of 864 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 70.6%.
Melbourne: 815 of 1,114 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 68.5%.
Brisbane: 126 0f 172 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 64.2%.
Adelaide: 73 of 153 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 82.2%.
Canberra: 40 of 65 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 52.5%.
Tasmania: Four held.
Perth: Five of 15 auctions held.
Updated
Chandler-Mather says Labor ‘not negotiating in good faith’ with Greens on housing bills
The Greens’ housing spokesperson, Max Chandler-Mather, has said it’s “not all or nothing” when it comes to negotiations with the Albanese government on its stalled housing bills.
Two Labor housing bills – for the help-to-buy and build-to-rent schemes – are facing uncertainty in the Senate where they need either support from the opposition or the Greens and some crossbenchers.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, indicated the bills could be brought to the upper house for a vote this sitting week. But without a deal with either the Greens or the Coalition, it could mean they are dead in the water.
In Brisbane on Sunday, Chandler-Mather said he wants to negotiate in good faith.
I usually wouldn’t come out and say this publicly, but the frustration has reached a point where they are not negotiating in good faith ... we’re willing to negotiate. We’re willing to compromise. We’re willing to move. But what we won’t accept is Labor not offering anything that will actually help people, and trying to force through two bills that will drive up rents and house prices.
The build-to-rent scheme was previously knocked back in the Senate in February after the opposition and the Greens formed an unlikely alliance.
The bill proposes to provide incentives for developers by increasing the capital works deduction rate to 4% a year and reducing the final withholding tax rate for properties in which institutional investors become landlords for long-term leases.
It would require 10% of the properties to be “affordable”, defined as being rented out at 75% of market rate.
The Greens want 100% of build-to-rent properties to be affordable, defined as the lower of 70% of the market rate or 25% of the renters’ income, and also want rent rises to be capped at 2% every two years.
Chandler-Mather continued:
What’s clear is Labor has decided they’d rather a political fight with the Greens, where the only losers will be the millions of people struggling to make ends meet and pay their rents and mortgages.
Updated
Jobless figures in the spotlight this week as RBA registers surprise at rising employment rate
All eyes will be on the shape of the jobs market next week for signs that it is moving in a direction the Reserve Bank is comfortable with.
Thursday’s labour force data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics is expected to show the jobless rate holding at 4.2% in August and the number of employed people rising by 30,000.
While the unemployment rate remains at historically low levels, it has been rising incrementally as higher interest rates work to slow the economy and halt inflation.
Last week, RBA chief economist and assistant governor Sarah Hunter said the labour market was still tight relative to what’s known as “full employment”.
That’s the maximum level of employment consistent with low and stable inflation.
Employers were not cutting hours as much as the RBA would have expected, Dr Hunter said in the speech, and the rising participation rate was also surprising to the bank.
Yet the RBA still expects demand for labour to grow at a slower pace relative to the supply of labour in coming quarters.
This would gradually bring the labour market into better balance and consistent with within-target inflation.
As well as the labour force readout, the national statistics will release March quarter population growth on Thursday.
On Wednesday, RBA assistant governor Brad Jones will speak at the Intersekt festival in Melbourne.
- AAP
Updated
Kebab wars: meet the man determined to prove the ‘Sydney-style’ kebab is the best
Ox Sahin sighs as he begins his first review of a kebab on TikTok.
“I don’t want to do this, I really don’t. But I have to. I speak for the whole kebab industry when I say, if you take a shot at us, someone is going to clap back.”
Sahin is reviewing a new food truck in Sydney that’s offering “Berlin-style” kebabs, which he says differ significantly from a “Sydney-style” kebab, and a trend the kebab-shop owner says should be resisted.
He’s scathing in his review of the Berlin kebab, saying the “bread’s too thick” and that there is “too much sauce”.
The review set off something of a firestorm in the kebab world, attracting nearly 500,000 views and more than 1,200 comments, and sparked a state-wide odyssey for Sahin. He has now committed to review every kebab shop in New South Wales, in an attempt to prove how far-reaching and consistent – not to mention delicious – the stores are.
He estimates there are more than 2,000 kebab shops across the state, and by Thursday had reached 38 of them. At his current pace, he estimates he would need 6.5 years to reach them all.
I wanted to show people that we are a quiet giant in the hospitality industry, I wanted to show people that there are more kebab shops here than there are any other major chain.
And I want to show how important we are to the food scene in this state.
For more on this culinary tour, get the full story from Guardian Australia’s Mostafa Rachwani here:
Updated
Woman killed by falling tree branch as strong winds hammer NSW coast
A woman has died in New South Wales after a tree branch fell on her amid strong winds hammering Sydney.
Emergency services were called to Castlereagh Street, Liverpool at around 1pm, but the woman could not be revived.
Officers attached to Liverpool City police area command attended the scene and have commenced inquiries.
The woman is believed to be aged in her 60s but is yet to be formally identified.
It comes after the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for damaging gusts across much of the state’s east coast.
Gusts of up to 100km/h have been hammering the coast, specifically in parts of the Hunter, metropolitan, Illawarra, south coast and mid-north Coast forecast districts.
A seperate report of damaging surf is also current for much of the coast.
Updated
Manhunt continues after Melbourne nightclub stabbing
Police are still searching for the two men who allegedly stabbed a man at a nightclub in Melbourne earlier today.
A 31-year-old man was taken to hospital in a critical condition after sustaining life-threatening injuries at the club.
He was taken to hospital just after 4am this morning, with a spokesperson from Victoria Ambulance saying the man had sustained several injuries to his upper body.
Victoria Police say investigations are ongoing into the circumstances around the incident, with the two alleged assailants still at large.
Updated
Hiker missing on Mt Kosciuszko found safe and well after overnight search
A man who went missing while hiking to the summit of Mt Kosciuszko on Saturday has been found safe and well.
The search for the 61-year-old man began on Saturday night and continued through Sunday morning with a public appeal for information and geo-targeted SMS messaging.
The man was last seen in the Thredbo area about 5.30pm on Saturday before being reported missing to the Australian federal police, with the information passed to officers attached to the Monaro police district.
A search of the Thredbo area began where the man’s white sedan was found and a coordinated search begun at 10.30pm that night involving specialist NSW police alpine operators, traffic and highway patrol police, members of the SES and Fire and Rescue NSW.
A command post was established in Jindabyne police station with a multi-agency response involving specialist police alpine operators, SES, and Fire and Rescue NSW continuing throughout the night.
Police held serious concerns for the man’s welfare due to extremely challenging weather conditions with snow, wind and poor visibility.
A member of the public alerted searchers to the presence of a man on the Alpine Way at Thredbo at 9am. He was brought to Jindabyne where he was assessed by NSW Ambulance paramedics and found to be cold but otherwise unharmed.
Police thanked all volunteers and specialist officers who helped with the search.
Updated
Western Sydney man charged with making child abuse material
The Australian federal police have charged a western Sydney man with allegedly abusing a child to produce child abuse material.
Officers with the child protection operations team searched the man’s home on Friday after he was identified after a report from the United States’ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about an Australian user transmitting child abuse material online.
Det Supt Peter Fogarty said the AFP was focused on crimes that target children:
These children are real people and not commodities to be used for the grotesque gratification of predators. The AFP, together with its state and territory law enforcement partners, remains committed to protecting our community’s most vulnerable.
The AFP will allege the man abused a child known to him and produced and uploaded child abuse material to online forums. The man was arrested and charged with:
Four counts of aggravated use of a child under 14 years to make child abuse material.
One count of sexually touching a child under 10.
One count of using a carriage service to access child abuse material.
The maximum penalties for the offences are 20 years, 16 years and 15 years’ imprisonment respectively.
The man did not apply for bail when he appeared in the Parramatta local court on Saturday 14 September, and was remanded in custody until his next appearance at Penrith local court on 8 November.
Updated
Victoria knocks back education funding deal and demands additional $600m for public schools
Victoria’s Labor education minister is demanding the federal government contribute an additional $600m a year to the state’s public schools after months of negotiations over funding.
States and territories contribute 75% of the total funding under the current Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) arrangement, except for Victoria, which will do so within four years.
The commonwealth contributes 20% across the nation, with a known 5% shortfall which the federal government wants to address under a proposed agreement that would see the two levels of government split the difference.
However, only Western Australia has agreed to the deal and all remaining jurisdictions are pushing for the federal government to boost its offer to cover the full 25%.
The $16bn offer does not include the Northern Territory, with the federal government due to lift its contribution there to 40% within five years.
On Sunday, Victoria’s education minister, Ben Carroll, told the ABC he wouldn’t back down and will reject the offer, while hitting out at federal funding of non-government schools. He said he wants the government to contribute an extra 5% total, with each 2.5% of funding equivalent to about $300m, or about $1,000 per student.
When you look at the fiscal imbalance and you look at the commonwealth with their goods and services tax revenue, that for Victoria, stumping up $600m is not that much to ask for.
We’ve already stumped up over $35bn in school programs and infrastructure over the last 10 years. Our funding has grown for the public sector more than any other state, while the commonwealth government’s funding has grown three times for the non-government sector.
Carroll also said the commonwealth’s funding of non-government schools had “gone too far”.
If you walked down the street and said, ‘Do you know that eight in $10 goes to the private school system from the commonwealth?’ I think most people would be shocked.
I went through a Catholic education system, but I’m also upfront that I want to bring balance back to the table. It has gone too far for our most wealthy private schools getting commonwealth government funding.
Those comments attracted criticism from the National Catholic Education Commission’s executive director, Jacinta Collins, who claimed the minister has “grossly muddled the facts”.
The minister infers that the commonwealth is paying for 80% of the non-government SRS when the truth is that all non-government school families are required by the Australian Education Act to contribute ... reducing the amount governments pay to non-government schools.
The federal education minister, Jason Clare, said his government had put an additional $16bn on the table which would be the biggest increase in commonwealth funding to public schools ever delivered. He said no public school outside of the ACT was fully funded and negotiations were ongoing:
We have reached agreements with WA and the NT. I want to do the same with Victoria.
This isn’t a blank cheque. This funding will be tied to reforms to help kids catch up, keep up and finish school.
- AAP
Updated
AFP details information sharing with overseas agencies to combat child sexual abuse
The Australian Federal Police has tracked hundreds of convicted and suspected child sex offenders through Australian airports as they travelled overseas.
The agency maintains an information-sharing arrangement with their overseas counterparts through Interpol, meaning it reports the movements of convicted child sex offenders to law enforcement in countries they are travelling to.
The AFP-hosted Interpol National Central Bureau in Canberra shared information with law enforcement agencies overseas 700 times last financial year, with 300 of these exchanges involving notifications that a convicted child sex offender was travelling overseas.
The AFP’s assistant commissioner, David McLean, said sharing this information was part of a “region-wide commitment” to break cycles of child sexual abuse as “this is an insidious crime type where prevention is much more important than any ‘cure’”:
Law enforcement and other organisations in the region are doing a lot of good work to address reasons why children end up in these horrible situations, but this work can be undone by relatively wealthy Australian predators seeking to pay for the opportunity to abuse a child.
We owe it to our law enforcement partners and to the children they are committed to protecting to do our part – which means using the AFP’s intelligence holdings and experience to pass on information to allow our partners to make informed judgments about who they let into their country.
Where offenders are considered to be travelling to a country to potentially abuse children, or to a country which has requested information on the travel of convicted offenders, AFP provides this information to Interpol to pass along.
Australia currently has over 900 of these active “green notices” listed with Interpol, which is the third-most of any country in the world. The vast majority – 94% – are related to child sex offenders.
Updated
Clover Moore claims historic sixth term as Sydney lord mayor
Clover Moore has claimed a historic sixth term as the Sydney lord mayor despite a swing against her in a campaign she described as the “toughest” of her career.
The longtime independent politician secured another four years in the top job on Saturday evening, declaring victory in front of supporters at the Arthouse hotel in Sydney’s CBD.
There were 10 candidates on the mayoral ballot. Moore, 78, said the final result could still be some time off but declared that she was “winning in every booth” before claiming outright success to the Guardian a short time later.
Moore said:
What a campaign it has been – I think the toughest campaign I’ve ever had. There was a really concerted campaign to try and get rid of me.
She thanked the community for the support, “notwithstanding all the misinformation, all the awful things that happened on this campaign”.
She said she would focus on climate change, affordable housing, and revitalising Chinatown and Oxford Street in her sixth term.
For more, read the Guardian’s full story:
Updated
Queensland 50c public transit fares to stay as both parties commit to extending scheme indefinitely
Queenslanders will enjoy 50c fares for at least another four years with both major parties committing to keep the scheme.
The initiative, the first of its kind in Australia, has saved commuters $37m – or $7m a week – since it was introduced last month, with a substantial uptick in public transport usage.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the premier, Steven Miles, committed to making the scheme permanent across all public transport in the state if he wins on 26 October.
This is something I have wanted to do since I was a teenager.
The best thing about this initiative is it saves Queenslanders more than it costs the government.
It takes cars off the road, it gets people home sooner and it is great for the environment.
The government anticipates it will cost $300m per year in foregone revenue, funded by the operational balance of the budget.
Half-price fares on the privately owned Airtrain to and from Brisbane airport will continue for six months while negotiations continue with the company, and work is being undertaken to expand the Brisbane Metro bus rapid transit service.
The LNP leader, David Crisafulli, has also promised to keep the scheme in place indefinitely if elected.
Not only will we lock in 50c fares, we have a plan to make sure we increase frequency, reliability and safety for regional Queensland and outer Brisbane areas.
During the month the scheme has been in place, the state’s south-east saw bus usage rising by 16%, ferries by 43% and trains by 22% compared to 2023.
But some of the biggest usage uptakes have been recorded in the regions.
Mackay recorded 30% more people using public transport, the Whitsunday region was up by 21% and Bundaberg was up by 11%.
- AAP
Updated
Review of reproductive technology sector calls for national donor register and uniform IVF laws
Improving a child’s right to know their biological origins is among the recommendations being put forward in a “national roadmap” by the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ).
The review, co-authored by former health minister and now honorary professor Greg Hunt and Dr Rachel Swift, was released today as part of the annual conference of fertility and IVF experts in Perth.
It puts forward 34 recommendations including the need for uniform laws across Australian states, territories and the commonwealth for the assisted reproductive technology and IVF sectors, as well as the development of an Australian national fertility plan.
The review also highlighted the need for a single national register and genetic bank for donors and donor-conceived individuals, which would provide a centralised system for tracking and accessing critical genetic information, ensuring that medical professionals and individuals are alerted to important hereditary conditions.
FSANZ is calling on the National Council of Health Ministers to agree to implement the roadmap. FSANZ president, Dr Petra Wale, said:
This roadmap not only provides more certainty for patients, but will strengthen a child’s fundamental right to know their biological origins by securely housing and providing access to genetic information.
This review was commissioned by FSANZ and will be provided to the commonwealth, states and territories.
Updated
Chalmers responds to Jane Hume comments on ‘winding back’ government spending
The shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, has flagged $315bn in government spending it “wouldn’t have committed to and didn’t commit to”.
On ABC’s Insiders this morning, Hume said the opposition would take a “credible alternative” budget to the next federal election.
You’ll see us go through and make sure that any wasteful or unnecessary or undisciplined spending that is pushing inflation up further, making inflation last higher for longer, and therefore pushing interest rates to be higher for longer, is wound back, and we’ve made that clear.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has hit back at those comments this morning.
In a statement, he said:
If they wouldn’t have committed to pension indexation, what else is at risk?
They’ve made it very clear they don’t think the aged pension should have been indexed to keep up with inflation.
Updated
Australians losing $32bn annually to gambling as advocates call for full ad ban
Australia’s gambling losses have surged from $25.6bn annually pre-Covid to $32bn in 2022-23, according to new data from the Queensland government.
The data, released on Tuesday, revealed Australians are now losing $1,555 per capita, up from $1,395 in 2021-22.
The Alliance for Gambling Reform has seized on the worsening losses to call for full implementation of the 31 recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry into gambling advertisements.
That inquiry, chaired by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, recommended a total ban on gambling ads, a ban on inducements, a levy on gambling companies and a new national regulator.
The Albanese government has instead proposed a partial ad ban. That would entail ads banned online, in children’s programming, during live sports broadcasts and an hour either side, and limits in general programming.
The Queensland Government Statistician’s Office found Australians lost $32bn in 2022-23. These losses consisted of $23bn from gaming, mostly from poker machines ($15.8bn); casinos ($3.6bn) and lotteries ($3.1bn); and a further $9bn from wagering, betting on sports and racing.
For more on this Guardian exclusive, read the full report by Paul Karp:
Updated
Anika Wells says ‘the taxpayer will always look after’ elderly Australians amid aged care overhaul
Earlier this morning, the aged care minister, Anika Wells, promised a “safety net” would catch any elderly Australians who struggled with the proposed increases in aged care costs in the coming decades.
The proposals, announced on Thursday, will mean aged care will cost more in the future with means-tested contributions to care for new people entering the system, providers being allowed to charge higher maximum prices for rooms, and providers being allowed to keep “a small portion” of what is known as the “refundable accommodation deposit”.
There will also be a home support package for those wishing to stay at home for longer before entering aged care facilities.
Wells was asked on Sky News on Sunday what she would say to some pensioners who will now need to pay more annual contributions.
Wells said:
Well, what I’d say is that there remain very strong safety nets for people. There are currently protections and safety nets in the aged care system, and those will remain. So this isn’t a question of access. There will always be safety nets to look after people.
And the other thing I would say to this point is that the taxpayer will always pick up the cost of your clinical care. The government will remain the majority funder in aged care, so you never have to worry about whether or not you can afford to get a nurse in, or to get your wound dressed, or to make decisions about your clinical care, because the taxpayer will always look after that for you.
Read more:
Updated
Shadow communications minister calls Labor’s misinformation laws ‘grossly incompetent’ but rejects Elon Musk’s ‘fascist’ label
The shadow communications minister, David Coleman, has described the Albanese government’s approach to misinformation laws “grossly incompetent” but stopped short of calling them “fascist” following X/Twitter owner Elon Musk’s recent criticisms.
The Albanese government announced last week it would introduce long-awaited laws to crack down on misinformation spread on social media, and could include penalising big tech companies 5% of their annual turnover.
Following the announcement, Musk responded on his platform with one word: “fascists”.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, responded to Musk’s claims, saying social media had a “social responsibility” and if Musk didn’t understand that, “that says more about him than it does about my government”.
Musk doubled down on Saturday, saying “far left fascists love censorship”.
On Sky News on Sunday, Coleman said it wasn’t a term he’d use to describe his political opponents.
The Banks MP said:
Obviously I wouldn’t use those words. I mean, I would say incompetent, grossly incompetent. I would say contemptuous of free speech. There’s a lot of things you could say. I would say, you know, more generally, weak, indecisive, and so on. But that’s ... not a term that I would use.
Coleman suggested the opposition would not support the bill that had “problems”.
We in the Coalition will always stand up for free speech. We did that last time. We fought this bill very hard. It had to be withdrawn, and will certainly fight hard for free speech this time.
Read more:
Updated
Littleproud proposes supermarket commissioner and $2m ‘infringement notices’ for price gouging
Littleproud also used the speech to take Anthony Albanese to task for “not standing up to the CEOs of supermarkets”. He said:
Divestiture is not about simply trying to walk in and break up the supermarkets tomorrow. It is a deterrent. It is about changing the culture of these organisations, of how they deal with the farmer and how they deal with you as consumers. And divestiture is that big stick at the end.
We have a prime minister who was once prepared to stand up to the big CEOs of the energy companies, but today is not prepared to stand up to the big CEOs of the supermarkets.
You have to ask why? And our policy is one that formulates all the way through using the existing codes of conduct, but also is implementing for the first time, a supermarket commissioner that can arbitrate quickly, one that hasn’t been there before, that actually allows farmers to come forward in a confidential manner without the supermarkets knowing and without the fear of retribution, that they can make their claim against the supermarkets.
And the commissioner can either conciliate with that farmer back to the supermarket if they feel comfortable, but if they don’t, they can actually escalate that to the ACCC. And what we’re doing is giving the ACCC bigger powers, not just divestiture, but infringement notices. These are the speeding tickets that will change the culture of these big companies instead of what this government is proposing, $187,800 as the maximum infringement notice – they can pull that out of a till in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane to pay it as a cost of doing business.
Ours is a $2m flat, simple, straight infringement notice that the ACCC can give to these big supermarkets if they mistreat the farmer or they mistreat you as [a] consumer.
Updated
Littleproud reaffirms Coalition’s nuclear policy, says renewables at ‘saturation point’
The federal Nationals leader, David Littleproud, used an address at the party’s Annual Federal Council on Saturday to reaffirm the Coalition’s commitment to nuclear energy.
He said:
We’re also prepared to lead on nuclear energy. We’ve long held that view. But this is the first time, the first time in our nation’s history, that we now have a Coalition policy that will transition some of our coal-fired power stations across to nuclear power. We will need gas.
The only way to bring down the cost-of-living pressures in electricity that families and businesses are feeling now is to bring on more gas and to bring it on quicker. And we can bring much of that on under 12 months.
That’s real action of increasing supply and dropping prices. We’re not against renewables, but we have had now a saturation point across regional Australia, where the low-hanging fruit has been achieved, where many of these renewable projects are underneath the existing transmission lines.
Littleproud said this would mean the nation could avoid building the 28,000km of transmission lines needed to switch to cleaner energy.
Why wouldn’t we use an energy mix, not put all our energy eggs in one basket, to put the nuclear power plants where existing coal-fired power stations are?
Updated
Greens say Labor has ‘offered absolutely nothing’ in negotiations over housing bill
Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather has accused the government of refusing to negotiate in good faith over its housing bill despite an initial meeting, saying that the government has made “no offer” during negotiations.
Chandler-Mather on Sunday said that despite an early meeting with the housing minister, the government has not made a single counter offer despite the party’s willingness to “move and negotiate”.
I want to be crystal clear about this. Labor has offered absolutely nothing. No movement on rent caps. No extra money for public housing or a public developer. No proposal on negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount that deny so many renters the chance to buy a home.
Chandler-Mather said the government was looking to “pick a fight with the Greens” and was passing up “an opportunity to negotiate a historic plan to alleviate the housing misery of millions of Australians”.
When the Greens secured $3bn for social housing in return for passing Labor’s Housing Australia Future Fund, the Greens proved we were ready to compromise, but we will not accept Labor offering nothing for the millions of people doing it tough.
Updated
Multi-agency operation under way to free two people stuck in submerged SUV
A multi-agency operation is responding to an SUV crashed near the New South Wales-Queensland north-west border, trapping two people.
Emergency services were called to Carwal Creek Bridge, south of the Mungindi township, where a SUV crashed off a road, down an embankment and into a creek at 1.15am on Sunday.
The car then became submerged.
Friends travelling in another vehicle noticed the SUV was no longer following and returned to find the crash site. A local property owner joined to lend help and a woman, believed to be in her 20s, was helped out of the vehicle.
The rescuers were unable to release the remaining occupants, believed to be a man and a second woman.
The injured woman has been airlifted to John Hunter Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Officers attached to New England police district, as well as NSW Ambulance, and members of Mungindi RFS, responded to the scene. Police divers and crash investigators are en route.
The police operation continues.
Updated
‘Organic’ gender parity targets preferable to quotas, Hume says
Finally, Hume is asked about the live issue of quotas for women inside the Coalition. She says the party has set targets over ten years for 50% of new members to be women, and women taking up 50% of elected positions and office-bearing roles within the party.
That’s how you build the pipeline organically and make sure that genuine change, that genuine cultural change occurs from the bottom up.
Hume is asked whether it was working.
Well, the Liberal party is not an authoritarian structure. Quotas will only work to change the culture if the messaging comes from the top down. That’s not how the Liberal party works. We are a bottom-up, grassroots organisation and we want to make sure that the culture change is organic. That is now you create real and lasting change.
Hume is asked again whether it is working.
Well, I’ve been working with a heap of our female candidates for the next election, and I’m very excited by who we have out there.
And that’s a wrap.
Updated
Hume is also repeatedly asked about reforms to the Reserve Bank of Australia which would manage the institution using two boards. The question: does the Coalition support two boards or would it stick with one?
Hume says the Coalition “feels that this is no longer something that needs to be talked about” as it is “no longer on the table”, but would prefer to “stick with the current arranged” for “continuity and stability”.
That’s the job that these people were hired to do. They were hired to do monetary policy and they should continue to do monetary policy. If the government doesn’t want to countenance that, if they want to do a deal with the Greens, that speaks volumes of their motives as to what they would do.
Updated
Hume is also asked about what investors in renewables should do given the uncertainty that a lack of Coalition policy creates.
Well, renewables will be part of that energy mix and we will have more to say about our renewables policy very soon, and indeed our gas policy as well, but making sure we cost the entire system as opposed to just one element is fundamentally important if we are going to compare apples with apples.
So no clarity there, either.
Updated
Hume repeats Coalition claim nuclear brings power prices down but demurs on policy costs
Jane Hume is pressed on whether the Coalition has worked out its costings on its nuclear policy, and is asked if they have a cost to share at least four times.
Hume suggested that “everywhere around the world we’ve seen when nuclear power is part of that mix that energy prices come down,” but when pressed on the cost for the forth time, suggests “we will make the announcement on the cost of our nuclear policy in due course, but in advance of the election”.
So hang in there, I guess.
Updated
Coalition will conduct “review” of same job, same pay laws if elected, Hume says
Asked about “same job, same pay” laws that mean labour-hire workers are paid the same as in-house employees, Jane Hume says she does not think labour-hire workers should be paid less, and that the Coalition will “look at all the industrial relations laws to make sure they are fairer both for employees and employers”.
Hume is pressed on whether the Coalition will approach this before or after the next federal election. Hume says the Coalition will be conducting a “review” after the election, if it is returned to government.
Here is the exchange:
Speers: The review would be in government. You won’t say before the election what you will do on this?
Hume: We have been very clear about elements of the industrial relations system that we would review.
Speers: And that will happen in government, so post election this would be reviewed?
Hume: Well, I’m afraid changing industrial relations laws from opposition is impossible, David, so of course it would happen in government. But we want to make sure that people get their pay rises, no doubt about that, but you cannot have pay rises without corresponding productivity or you have inflation. If you have inflation, all Australians suffer.
Speers: But going to the election, there will be a question mark then for a lot of workers as to what will happen to their pay? You will review all of this after the election?
Hume: David, I think we are going around in circles here.
Speers: I’m trying to get a direct [answer] for those worried about their pay.
Hume: Well, they shouldn’t be worried about their pay, but they should be worried about the state of the economy and should be worried about inflation. If we don’t have a growing economy, then we can’t afford to spend more on the essential services we need. If we have inflation, that will eat away at your pay, erode your savings and it’s going to reduce your standard of living and quality of life. We have to get the balance right here, and injecting productivity back into our economy is fundamental to that.
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Hume flags Coalition would roll back definition of “casual” work and right-to-disconnect laws
Jane Hume is asked about government support for critical minerals processing – a Labor government strategy designed to build domestic capacity to process the raw materials Australia produces.
She offers no specifics about whether the Coalition would continue this strategy or axe it, saying instead that “there are plenty of ways to support critical areas in the mining industry that need support”, adding “the first step would be making sure that we have a productive economy”.
Hume highlights the industrial relations system as a particular area of focus and that the Coalition will change the definition of casual work, as well as attacking the right-to-disconnect laws.
We will certainly look at multi-employer bargaining, because we believe … going back to the old pattern bargaining system of the 1970s is a regressive step that actually reduces productivity and competitiveness of our sector. We have said that we will redefine “casual” back to its original definition, because that is actually adding inflexibility to our workplace practices, not improving it. And the right-to-disconnect laws are something that will need to be considered, because quite frankly this is stuff to be negotiated between an employee and employer.
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Jane Hume says Coalition will not cut social services, labels government’s suggestion ‘idiotic’
Turning to broader questions about government spending, Hume says the Coalition has no plans for budget cuts, calling any suggestion otherwise “idiotic”.
That is Labor talking points and you can understand why a panicked government might sound so idiotic. Of course we won’t cut back on aged pension or essential services that Australians need and deserve. Of course we won’t cut back on social safety nets.
Hume has pledged no cuts to childcare, health or the aged pension.
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Jane Hume flags Coalition concerns about aged care ‘workforce strategy’
The shadow finance minister, Senator Jane Hume, says the Coalition believes it in a “good place” by having worked with the government to hammer out the financial framework for a reformed aged care system.
Speaking to the ABC’s Insiders program, Hume warned that “there is far more to this bill than just that” and that “this is only one chapter”, but did not specify anything that the party actively opposed saying only that the Coalition had concerns about “the workforce strategy”.
We have been calling for some years now for a national care workforce strategy – that is something we are yet to see, because we need to make sure there is the workforce there to support the reforms that are being put into place.
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Police searching for attackers after man stabbed at Melbourne nightclub
Victorian police are searching for two people who allegedly stabbed a man at a nightclub early on Sunday morning.
A 31-year-old man was attacked at a nightclub on Chapel Street in Prahran, in Melbourne’s inner east, by two unknown individuals who then left the scene.
Police arrived to find the 31-old-man with life-threatening injuries and was rushed to hospital for treatment.
The two individuals were last seen heading down Macquarie Street.
Police are investigating the incident.
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Musk continues war of words with Albanese
Elon Musk has taken another swipe at Anthony Albanese over his government’s plan to make social media companies responsible for policing the spread of misinformation on their platforms.
The prime minister had previously responded to attacks by the tech billionaire on Labor’s policy, in which Musk called the government “fascists”.
The attack was sparked by a plan from the federal government to make social media platforms responsible for policing misinformation that appears on their platforms, and a suggestion by Albanese that social media “has a social responsibility”.
If Mr Musk doesn’t understand that, that says more about him than it does about my government.
In a post on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Musk doubled down on claims that the Albanese government’s plans were “fascist”.
Far left fascists love censorship
Far left fascists love censorship https://t.co/9oMb5Wemcm
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 14, 2024
Musk, who in 2021 gave himself the official title of “technoking” of electric car company Tesla, has regularly clashed with governments over efforts to make the platform responsible for its content. Most recently, a Brazilian court ordered a nationwide block of the platform over a failure to comply with local laws.
For more on this story, read the Guardian’s previous reporting:
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The shadow finance minister, Jame Hume, will speak to ABC Insiders’ David Speers this morning.
Coming up on #ABCInsiders with David Speers:
— ABC News (@abcnews) September 14, 2024
• Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume interviewed🔎
• 📸Alex Ellinghausen
• 🛋️ Jacob Greber, Clare Armstrong and Waleed Aly
See you at 9am #auspol pic.twitter.com/FCO98HHnII
The aged care minister Anika Wells has also appeared on Sky News – more on that coming up.
Updated
Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday Guardian live blog.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has taken another swipe at Anthony Albanese over Australia’s plans to make social media companies responsible for stopping lies spreading on their platforms. In a post to his platform X, formerly Twitter, Musk attacked the Albanese government saying “far left fascists love censorship”.
Victorian police are undertaking a manhunt after a man was allegedly stabbed at a nightclub on Chapel Street early on Sunday morning. The man sustained life-threatening injuries before his alleged assailants fled. He has since been rushed to hospital for treatment.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started.
