What we learned today, Friday 6 October
And with that, we are going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines:
Improve whistleblower protections to clean up consultancy firms, inquiry to be told
Voice ‘not constitutionally risky’, constitutional and public law teachers say
Voice ‘won’t have a direct impact’ on non-Indigenous Australians, PM says
All state and territory leaders support voice, including Tasmanian Liberal premier
Thank you so much for spending part of your day with us. We will be back tomorrow morning to do it all again.
Updated
Union to proceed with $9m wage theft claim against Monash University
The National Tertiary Education Union will proceed with a multimillion-dollar wage theft claim against Monash University in federal court, after the university’s second attempt to dodge repaying staff in the Fair Work Commission failed.
A full bench of the commission on Thursday rejected Monash’s appeal against deputy president Bell’s decision in June, which dismissed the university’s application to retrospectively change its enterprise agreement.
Monash University wanted to change the agreement to mean that any scheduled student consultation delivered within a week of tutorial or lecture delivery would be paid for as part of the lecture or tutorial rates.
The union argues that the current provisions require staff to be paid separately for these consultation hours.
The Full Bench’s decision paves the way for the NTEU to pursue an estimated $9m in wages the union alleges Monash is liable for in federal court.
NTEU’s national president, Alison Barnes:
This is the end of the road for Monash’s extraordinary attempt to dodge a wage theft claim.
Retrospectively allowing an employer to change an enterprise agreement would have been a dangerous precedent for all Australian workers.
Casual staff at Monash will get their overdue day in court over these incredibly serious wage theft allegations against Monash.
Updated
The Greens’ defence spokesperson, David Shoebridge, has responded to the report that Donald Trump allegedly discussed potentially sensitive information about US nuclear submarines with an Australian billionaire, Anthony Pratt, three months after leaving office.
A spokesperson for Trump told ABC News the former president “did nothing wrong, has always insisted on truth and transparency, and acted in a proper manner, according to the law”.
Shoebridge said in a statement this afternoon:
Under the Morrison and Albanese governments, Australia has been tying itself closer and closer to the US.
With the very real prospect of a future President Trump or worse, we should be seriously considering how this impacts on our national interest.
Advocates condemn ‘shocking’ request by WA police for ABC footage
Some of Australia’s biggest civil society groups, charities and climate change organisations have condemned the Western Australian police’s court application for footage of the ABC’s upcoming program about climate protesters.
The joint statement said:
It is shocking that the ABC’s Four Corners has been ordered by WA police to hand over all footage of peaceful protesters recently filmed for a program on climate activism. It is an alarming overreach and undermines press freedom. Protecting sources is an ethical obligation of journalists and must be respected.
Across the country the right to protest is being undermined. This will have a chilling effect on journalists and peaceful protests, and is fundamentally undemocratic.
We stand with ABC journalists, and urge the ABC to protect its sources and continue its public interest journalism on the climate crisis and the role of peaceful protests in calling for change.
Original story here:
Updated
Greens MP hosts drag story time at NSW parliament
The NSW Greens MP Amanda Cohn has hosted a drag story time event at state parliament after similar events in Sydney and Melbourne were targeted by homophobic threats.
Cohn, the party’s LGBTQ+ spokesperson, said the events, in which storytellers use drag to read books to children, were inclusive and should be held freely at local libraries across NSW.
“By hosting drag story time at the parliament we are demonstrating its safety and importance.
“Parliament house can feel like an alienating place for the queer community – today we are sending a message that diversity and self-expression is welcome.”
Our Drag Story Time at Parliament House is underway with the wonderful Cassandra the Queen and Woody the Cowboy and the kids are loving it! pic.twitter.com/CJmqW9yYAu
— Dr Amanda Cohn (@DrAmandaCohn) October 6, 2023
Updated
Gambling reforms will ‘take time to see an effect’: NSW minister
The NSW minister for gaming and racing, David Harris, has responded to Guardian Australia’s report that $22m was lost to poker machines each day during the first six months of 2023, totalling $3.9bn over that period.
The report shows Australians are losing billions of dollars more to poker machines than they were before the pandemic, with researchers attributing the sharp increase to “desperation” during a cost of living crisis.
Harris has sought to highlight some of the approaches the NSW government is taking to address gambling harm. Here’s a section of his statement:
We know there are people experiencing gambling harm in our community, and the impact this has on individuals and their families.
Our first budget delivers $100m in harm minimisation initiatives, including funding for the NSW Office of Responsible Gambling to provide support to people affected by gambling harm through ten GambleAware services across the state as well as working to prevent harm before it occurs by investing in education and awareness raising.
We know there is no single solution to address harms from gambling, which is why we are implementing a range of gambling reforms that will take time to see an effect.
One of our key election commitments was to reduce the number of gaming machines in NSW. We have already done this, by lowering the state cap on gaming machine entitlements by more than 3,000.
Updated
Australia’s richest poetry prize won by Wiradjuri poet Jeanine Leane
Assoc Prof Jeanine Leane, a lecturer at the University of Melbourne, has scooped the David Harold Tribe poetry award presented by the University of Sydney for her “poignant and aching” poem Water Under the Bridge.
The $20,000 prize is awarded every five years for an original unpublished poem on any theme, and is Australia’s richest poetry prize for a single poem.
Water Under the Bridge was described in the judges’ citation as “a taut, layered and lyrical poem about legacy and inheritance”.
Leane, a Wiradjuri writer, teacher and academic from south-west NSW, said it was a “tremendous honour to win”.
“Water under the Bridge lays bare the intergenerational traumas and ongoing resilience of Aboriginal women through a nonfiction narrative poem that was both difficult and cathartic to write,” she said.
Her poem was chosen from a record 522 entries and will be published in Overland magazine.
Updated
At least one dead in NSW light plane crash
We reported earlier about a light plane crash near Gundaroo, and we now have a bit more information.
In a statement, NSW police said there had been at least one fatality:
Emergency services are at the scene of a fatal plane crash near Queanbeyan.
Officers from The Hume and Monaro Police Districts responded, along with the Rural Fire Service (RFS) and NSW Ambulance, to a property on Hadlow Drive, Gundaroo, 35km north of Queanbeyan, just before 3pm today, after reports an aircraft had crashed and caught alight.
RFS have extinguished the blaze and police have established a crime scene.
Officers from Monaro police district are conducting inquiries into the incident, including confirming how many people were on board at the time.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) have been notified and will attend the scene.
More to come.
Updated
Successful voice referendum would improve international standing, minister says
The federal government minister Pat Conroy says Australia’s international standing is affected by how the country treats Indigenous Australians.
The head of the Pacific Islands Forum, Henry Puna, told the Guardian this week that he respected Australia’s right to make its own democratic decision in the voice referendum, but “it would be wonderful to see Australia vote yes, because I think it’ll elevate Australia’s position, and maybe even credibility, on the international stage”.
Conroy, the minister for international development and the Pacific, was asked about these comments during an interview with ABC TV this afternoon.
Asked whether a no vote would harm Australia’s reputation in the region, Conroy said:
This is a decision and a question for the Australian people and they are making a decision right now in pre-polling and on October 14 when all Australians will vote and hopefully they will vote for a yes to voice to parliament.
I’d make the point that what matters with international standing is how we treat Australians. How we improve life for Indigenous Australians does affect our international standing, so a voice to parliament, which will meaningfully improve living conditions for Indigenous Australians, will improve our international standing and that’s a good thing.
Ultimately it is a decision for the Australian people.
Pressed on whether China would seize on a no vote, Conroy said it was not useful to “engage in hypotheticals”.
See our original story here:
Updated
Australian rainfall 70.8% below average in September – driest on record
For Australia as a whole, September rainfall was 70.8% below the 1961–1990 average, the driest September on record (since 1900), the BoM’s Drought Statement showed.
In the statement the BoM said:
Rainfall in September was below average for most of the southern two-thirds of the country.
For the five months since May 2023, areas of rainfall deficiency have developed in all states and territories, with large areas in south-west Western Australia, and along much of the south-east of Australia.
September soil moisture was below average (in the lowest 30% of all years since 1911) for much of Australia, away from the north and central inland areas.
For November 2023 to January 2024, below median rainfall is likely to very likely (60% to greater than 80% chance) for much of western, northern and southern Australia, with small areas of northern New South Wales having a slightly increased chance of above median rainfall.
Updated
There are reports of a light plane crash near Gundaroo, north of Canberra. Emergency services are at the scene.
More to come.
Updated
PwC Australia and former chief to face Senate grilling next week
PwC Australia’s senior management and the firm’s former chief executive, Luke Sayers, will appear before a senate inquiry into consultants next week as the fallout from a confidentiality breach continues.
Earlier this year, the Australian Tax Office’s second commissioner, Jeremy Hirschorn, alleged he told Sayers to personally review internal emails that would alert him to a range of ATO concerns, including potential confidentiality breaches, in 2019.
Here’s what Hirschorn told a senate inquiry:
In my discussions with Sayers, I communicated that we had come across various concerning emails, across a number of issues, and I suggested that he look through those emails provided to us, to find concerning emails.
Hirschorn told the inquiry he expected PwC Australia to launch an internal inquiry. That didn’t happen until early 2023 when the matter became public.
I did not personally review the tens of thousands of documents and emails which PwC provided to the ATO as part of these processes, nor do I recall that being suggested to me by the ATO … I regret that I did not know about the breach of it earlier as I would have taken firm action.
When the allegation was first made, Sayers said he “did not recall” being asked to review the internal emails and said he was not aware of the confidentiality breach while serving as chief executive. Here’s what Sayers said at the time:
Last week, PwC Australia admitted the firm should have launched a rigorous internal investigation after the ATO raised its concerns in 2019. The discrepancy between accounts is likely to be examined by the inquiry.
PwC Australia’s senior executives will face scrutiny over reports that “rainmaker” partners sometimes prioritised profit over ethics.
Senators are also expected to question PwC Australia about a range of other confidentiality breaches that had led to the federal Treasury considering what further action it should take against the firm, which is already the subject of a federal police investigation.
Updated
Former NSW ALP ministers Ian Macdonald, Eddie Obeid and Obeid’s son to stay in jail
Ex-Labor minister Eddie Obeid will stay behind bars after a court rejected a bid from him, his son Moses and co-conspirator Ian Macdonald to have their convictions overturned, AAP reports.
In 2021, the trio were found guilty of conspiring to commit wilful misconduct in public over a rigged coal exploration licence tender after a lengthy investigation by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption.
On Friday, the NSW court of criminal appeal dismissed a bid to have their convictions overturned.
Eddie Obeid became a symbol of political corruption in NSW and his behaviour spurred a crackdown on unethical behaviour in the state’s upper echelons.
Chief Justice Andrew Bell was one of three judges to uphold the sentence, calling it appropriate and in line with the gravity of the offence.
“Actions utterly corrosive of public trust by a minister of the Crown do unquantifiable damage to our democracy,” he said.
Updated
CFMMEU blasts industry claims that new workplace rules will hurt independent contractors
The construction union has taken aim at an industry attack line on upcoming workplace reforms, labelling it a misinformation campaign, reports AAP.
Construction Forestry Maritime Mining And Energy Union (CFMMEU) national secretary Zach Smith has blasted a Master Builders Australia’s assertion that the federal government’s workplace reforms will stop self-employed tradies running their own business.
Last month, the Albanese government released details of its “closing loopholes” workplace reforms, including the use of labour hire workers to undercut the rate of pay agreed for employees.
The reforms also seek to criminalise wage theft, bolster protections for gig workers and create a pathway for casuals to become permanent.
The changes have met fierce resistance from employer groups, including the MBA, which says the changes will fundamentally alter the nature of independent contracting.
The building and construction industry group says the proposed laws could force independent contractors to become employees, or put them in a position where they have to defend their right to run their business to the industrial umpire.
Updated
Port Stephens thermal energy plant working on new form of clean energy storage
Developed by University of Newcastle scientists and backed by several government agencies, MGA Thermal’s blocks are about the size of two bread loaves and allow renewable energy to be transported and used on demand, reports AAP.
The alloy inside the blocks traps heat almost indefinitely, the company’s chief executive Erich Kisi told reporters last year.
Kisi said:
They sit at around 600C storing heat almost indefinitely, (losing) very little heat over time.
The energy is then dispatched by making high-temperature, high-pressure steam for power generation, or we can de-rate it to address the hard-to-abate markets.
Those hard-to-abate sectors, such as aluminium smelters, could benefit from the technology.
The energy storage plant is located close to Tomago Aluminium, whose smelter is Australia’s largest for the commonly used metal.
Updated
That’s all from me today! Handing over to Cait Kelly to roll your live news updates into the evening.
Experts called to deal with emergency at Port Stephens renewable energy storage plant
Firefighters have called in expert technicians to help deal with a dangerous heat build-up at a cutting-edge renewable energy storage plant near Port Stephens in NSW, AAP reports.
MGA Thermal is behind a new form of thermal energy storage that allows retrofitted coal-fired power stations to distribute renewable energy long after it was produced.
But the company had to call in firefighters on Friday morning at its demonstrator plant in the Tomago industrial area, north of Newcastle.
Initial assessments led to the evacuation of 15 businesses.
Hazardous materials crews in breathing apparatus later detected smoke emanating from power cables in 14m-long electrical machinery.
A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman said the incident and factory was not something the crews had encountered previously and they expected it to be protracted:
He told AAP:
That’s why we have called in our scientific team too and we’re working with their engineers who are the experts in their field.
Three businesses were still inside a reduced, 400m exclusion zone on Friday afternoon.
The smaller zone no longer covers Tomago Rd, an arterial for the Port Stephens area.
Updated
Daniel Andrews hands over huge Facebook account to Allan
Daniel Andrews has told his 1m Facebook followers he is going to hand over his account to his successor, Jacinta Allan, but has made one last post, recreating a viral meme from a 2015 trip to China.
Andrews said being Victoria’s premier was an honour and thanked his followers for their support and kind messages since he resigned last week.
Now it’s time to hand the keys over to Premier Jacinta Allan. I hope you stay in touch with her - I certainly will be.
Andrews then commented on the post: “Hand over the password” with what appears to be a new picture of himself in Tiananmen Square.
It appears Daniel Andrews recreated the meme during his latest (?) trip to China pic.twitter.com/cZSbLxZMsJ
— Benita Kolovos (@benitakolovos) October 6, 2023
As our colleague Natasha May wrote last week, the tradition of Australians altering Andrews’ image for a laugh goes back at least as far as September 2015 when the premier did a live cross from the square, giving birth to the “phone meme”.
Updated
Other companies, directors might face greenwashing allegations similar to those levelled against Santos
Since 2018, Santos has published annual climate change reports it says align with the international framework on climate-related financial disclosures, reports AAP.
Its climate transition strategy and action plan is to become a net-zero emissions energy and fuels business by 2040, in step with the goal of the UN Paris Agreement on climate change, according to the company’s 2023 plan.
The court case is being closely watched by investors, regulators and the gas industry.
Companies - and more recently directors - are starting to be pursued for alleged greenwashing, or exaggerated claims about green credentials, as investors increasingly seek to hold them to account.
Insurers are also on alert for implications for future fines and penalties, and the risk of climate-related class actions.
Lawyers expect a decision in the landmark case to guide future court rulings on greenwashing and board accountability for falsely promoting sustainable products.
Another case management hearing will be held on 18 December, leaving determination of the issues at trial until 2024 at the earliest.
Updated
Greenwashing allegations against gas giant Santos
Allegations of “greenwashing” will hang over Santos until at least next year in a landmark case that questions the gas giant’s claims of becoming carbon neutral by pumping emissions underground, reports AAP.
The nub of the case is whether investors have been misled by emissions reduction plans that would involve the company not emitting less but still achieving its net-zero target, the Federal Court heard on Friday.
Santos plans to use various carbon offsets, including disused wells at Moomba in South Australia as a “carbon sink” to permanently store emissions while still expanding gas production.
It is on track for a first injection of the depleted reservoirs by 2024, in a new industry it says will help the country achieve net-zero emissions and put Santos on track to be net-zero by 2040.
Shareholder activists from the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) began the proceedings against Santos in 2021, making it the first case in the world to challenge the truth of a company’s net-zero emissions target.
ACCR alleges Santos breached corporations and consumer law by engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct over “clean energy” claims, as the extraction and use of gas is a major contributor to climate change and global warming.
Santos’ net-zero road map is alleged to be bogus rather than “clear and credible” because it relies on so-called “blue hydrogen”, made using gas and carbon capture and storage.
Nor did the net-zero plan account for expected production and emissions growth from oil and gas exploration beyond 2025, ACCR alleges.
Santos told AAP it was defending the allegations but it would be inappropriate to comment about matters before the court.
“Santos is committed to transparent, accurate and compliant reporting,” a company spokesperson said.
Updated
Why Australia can expect more ‘compound' climate events
As unseasonably early bushfires tore through Gippsland in Victoria on Tuesday, residents of the same region were told to prepare for major flooding.
The fires started on Sunday when a home was lost to a 17,500-hectare bushfire in Briagolong. By midweek, 130 properties in and around Tinamba, Newry and Maffra were issued evacuation orders due to flooding.
In Australia, we can expect to see more “compound events”, such as floods and fires together or a storm with a king tide, says Prof Lisa Alexander of the University of New South Wales’s ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes.
It’s very hard to project what will happen but this is something that we’re actually really worried about in the future. On their own, floods or fires are worrying, but together, as we are seeing in Gippsland, they are even more extreme.
Read the full story here:
Updated
All state and territory leaders support voice, including Tasmanian Liberal premier
All state and territory leaders – including the sole Liberal, Tasmanian Jeremy Rockcliff - have thrown their support behind the federal voice to parliament. They met in Adelaide this morning for the Council of Australian Federation to discuss issues including health, the GST, the NDIS, and the voice referendum.
SA premier Peter Malinauskas called for civility as the 14 October referendum date approaches. He said:
There’s nothing wrong with people having differences of opinion, that is essential to a healthy and functioning democracy. But to the extent that the debate remains civil, that’s in everybody’s interest.
NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he was “more bullish” about the referendum than the opinion polls suggested.
Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, was asked about the threats made against the independent senator, Lidia Thorpe, and called them “completely unacceptable”.
“We all have the right to have different opinions, [we] don’t have the right to express them in a way that causes harm or distress,” she said.
Yes23 campaigner Dean Parkin said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were “carrying a very heavy load right now”. A vote for no was a vote for the status quo, he said. Asked if he thought Australians were afraid of change, he said “Australians should be more afraid of the status quo”.
They also discussed better coordination of primary care and hospital care between the states, territories, and federal government.
Updated
Still not safe for residents to return to Victoria’s Port of Sale because of floods
Up to 60 homes in Victoria’s east could still become isolated by floodwaters as the threat to residents starts to ease, reports AAP.
An evacuation warning for the Port of Sale was downgraded to a watch and act on Friday afternoon, with the Thomson River expected to peak at a moderate rather than major flood level.
But residents are still being told it’s not safe to return to the town and they should instead shelter in the highest possible location.
The State Emergency Service’s David Baker said:
If they’ve relocated to a safe place, stay there. We’ll let them know as soon as it’s safe to return.
There was still the potential for 60 homes to be isolated by floodwaters in the Port of Sale area, Baker said.
Updated
Greater reliance on private health for out-of-hospital care better for patients, says AMA
A shake-up of the delivery of out-of-hospital care by using more of the private health system could result in better health outcomes for patients, doctors say.
AAP reports that the Australian Medical Association believes it will also save millions of dollars and free up tens of thousands of hospital beds, releasing a report on out-of-hospital care models in the private system.
It found Australia’s private health system is lagging behind its public counterpart and private systems in other countries in delivering out-of-hospital care.
AMA president Steve Robson wants a private health system authority established to design models of out-of-hospital care which are patient-centred and clinician-led:
At the moment, many out-of-hospital care models in the private system are insurer-led and delivered.
It is really a dog’s breakfast ... with two patients having the same operation, the same surgeon, in the same hospital, (and) depending on their private health insurer, one being able to have safe out-of-hospital care, and the other not having access to this.
Updated
More Australian mortgage holders spending at least a third of income on repayments
The proportion of Australian mortgage holders sinking at least a third of their reported income into monthly repayments has grown sharply, AAP reports.
Borrowers are generally holding up well in the face of high-interest rates and cost-of-living pressures, as outlined by the Reserve Bank of Australia in its October financial stability update.
Yet there were cracks starting to appear, with a growing number of households in the early phases of financial stress.
The share of variable-rate owner-occupier borrowers devoting at least one-third of their reported income to their mortgage payments had jumped from about 4% in April 2022 to about 20% in July 2023.
The majority of borrowers - with the exception of those still on ultra-low fixed-rate loans - have seen their monthly payments swell between 30% and 50% since April 2022.
Updated
Swift parrot takes the bird of the year crown
Australia’s bird of the year has been crowned.
The Swift parrot was named 2023 Australian bird of the year winner.
Check out the final top 10 rankings here:
Updated
NSW pokie profits soar as punters lose about $22m per day
Pokie profits are swelling as machine numbers rise across NSW despite a promise from the Labor government to cut their volumes.
Half-yearly poker machine figures show profits across the state’s hotels and clubs hit $3.92bn in the period from December to June this year. The figure is a slight increase on the same period in 2022, and represents gambling losses of about $22m per day.
The number of machines in operation also increased by 648 to 87,298 in the latest period, compared with the same time frame a year earlier.
Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron said poker machine numbers had been heading down since 2019 and the reversal in that trend was “disturbing”.
“It’s highly likely this is the industry seeking to bolster their position in a window before potential reforms are introduced,” he said.
Labor won the March election on a platform that included a pledge to reduce poker machine numbers, including an immediate cut to the entitlement cap across the state. Its policies also included a higher forfeiture rate when pokies were traded, requiring one machine entitlement to be given up for every two sold.
But it was criticised for not matching the coalition’s promise to introduce mandatory cashless gaming cards across the state, instead opting for a 12-month trial of the technology across 500 machines.
AAP
Updated
Video from prominent Liberal party members urge colleagues to vote for the voice
Prominent Liberal party members supporting the proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to parliament have released a video urging their fellow party members to vote yes, claiming it falls in line with the “Liberal tradition of fairness”.
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has narrated the video from Liberals for Yes, which points to the role that former prime ministers from the party Robert Menzies and Harold Holt played in extending Indigenous rights.
Neville Bonner, the first Indigenous member of federal Parliament, and Ken Wyatt, also feature in the video.
Bragg said:
It is fair and liberal to give people a say over special laws and policies which are made about them. Australian liberalism has always supported the grassroots and this is an opportunity to strengthen them.”
Liberals for Yes co-convenor Kate Carnell said:
The Liberal approach to national reconciliation is to maintain the key tenets of Australian liberalism – rule of law, freedom, and individual dynamism, while also recognising we currently have special laws for Aboriginal Australians without a system of consulting them.”
You can watch the Liberals for Yes video here.
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Simon Birmingham says US will take Trump-Pratt allegations ‘very, very seriously’
Earlier we reported that Donald Trump had allegedly discussed potentially sensitive information about US nuclear submarines with an Australian billionaire, Anthony Pratt, three months after leaving office, according to a new report.
Citing a source with knowledge of the Australian’s account to investigators for the special counsel Jack Smith, US news outlet ABC News reported an “excited” Trump allegedly discussed “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”.
The report has reverberated in Australian politics, with the opposition’s foreign affairs spokesperson predicting that US and Australian national security officials would take the claims “very seriously”.
Simon Birmingham, who was a senior minister in Scott Morrison’s government when it negotiated the Aukus security partnership with the Biden administration, said he and other members of Australia’s national security committee (NSC) were expected to keep operational details secret “for the rest of our lives”.
Birmingham said he could not “prejudge exactly what took place in these discussions” between Trump and Pratt, but observed that US nuclear submarine technologies were “the most advanced in the world”.
“They are the the most treasured, if you like, prized asset of parts of the US defence establishment,” Birmingham told Sky News Australia.
“It’s why it was such a big breakthrough for Australia to be in a position to have them shared with us. But it’s also why I’m sure many in the United States will take very, very seriously the suggestion that these types of technologies and the capabilities associated with them could be subject to discussions outside of those confined spaces, such as, in our case, the Australian NSC.”
Updated
The time has come… The results of Australia’s most heated debate are about to revealed.
At 12:30pm, the winner of Guardian Australia’s Bird of the Year will be announced.
Follow the live blog for the big announcement!
Safe bet: the media relationships that give horse racing a good run in NSW
Sydney’s main news providers have many interests in common with the pugnacious leadership of Racing NSW.
Have they become too close?
Anne Davies reports:
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V/Line security guards make claims of years of underpayment
Security guards working along Victoria’s regional train system claim they have been systemically underpaid for years, reports AAP.
About 120 V/Line guards were receiving 8% below the award rate despite working difficult hours in potentially dangerous situations, United Workers Union’s Nicholas Richardson said.
The workers, who are employed to work for V/Line by contractor Corsec, will rally against the alleged wage theft at Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station on Friday.
Richardson told AAP:
They’re sick of receiving less than the minimum wage and especially on a government contract.
They take responsibility for guarding passengers on those late night routes. They’re there because it’s dangerous. They’re there to protect passengers.
They themselves need V/Line to protect them from a contractor that’s seeking to profiteer from them.
But Corsec has denied the allegations, saying it had no record of workers or the union coming forward with wage theft claims.
“All our staff are paid in total accordance with the Corsec Services’ Enterprise Agreement (2023),” the company told AAP in a statement.
“If any of our staff are claiming underpayment or have issues of any type we would welcome their inquiries and we would endeavour to resolve any problem without hesitation.”
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National student ombudsman could be created to ensure reforms and student safety
A national student ombudsman could be created to hold the university sector to account under reforms being considered by the federal government.
On Thursday, education ministers around the nation were briefed by a working group convened by the federal government to improve student safety on campus, which raised the idea of a standalone, independent ombudsman.
The latest national student safety survey, released in 2021, found one in 20 students had been sexually assaulted and one in six had been sexually harassed.
The education minister, Jason Clare, told RN this morning it was “very obvious” not enough had been done to address sexual violence.
Clare said he was “interested” in the idea of an ombudsman and whatever reforms were passed “needed to have teeth”.
I’m not interested in setting up a body just for the sake of setting up a body. I want us to act here. The time for talk here is over.
The group will hold a special meeting in November.
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Victoria flood waters update
David Baker, Victoria SES acting chief officer, is giving a live update on the state of flood waters across the eastern part of the state.
To provide an update about what we have seen in relation to flooding across the state in recent days, it is only a week ago we were talking about fires.
At the outset, [I’m] very pleased to report there have not been any injuries and people have been on the whole following the advice of the officials and really looking after each other across the state in the communities that have been impacted.
Overnight emergency services have door-knocked 120 properties south of the Port of Sale … The hotline in relation to requests for assistance received over 100 calls. There are current warnings up for parts of Sale and Bairnsdale including evacuation advance. A water rescue was successfully completed early this morning by SES at Vic police specialist crews for two people trapped on the roof of the vehicle in flood water in Barnsdale.
More to come.
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Electrical plant emergency forces evacuations in Tomago, NSW
An electrical plant emergency in the NSW Hunter town of Tomago has forced evacuations of nearby businesses as firefighters work to defuse the situation, AAP reports.
Fire and Rescue NSW said its hazardous materials units, an aerial platform and a bulk carbon dioxide tanker were at the scene after a “dangerous heat buildup” at the plant just after 5.15am this morning.
The incident, which occurred in electrical machinery, forced three plant staff and 15 neighbouring businesses to evacuate, FRNSW said in a statement.
Police have closed roads around the facility, which is designed to store heat as a power source, it said.
FRNSW said:
Crews in breathing apparatus are carrying out heat readings within the warehouse housing the machinery.
They have detected smoke emanating from power cables.
Updated
National imam council urges yes vote sermons
The Australian National Imams Council is urging all mosques and imams to dedicate their traditional Friday sermons to the voice.
In a statement, the council urges the Muslim community to vote yes at the referendum, basing their decision on a number of key religious factors, such as the importance of justice in Islam, the longstanding historical relationship between Muslims and First Nations people, and the importance of “standing with the marginalised”.
The voice will contribute to shaping a positive future for all Australians, and Australian Muslims should be a part of this significant change.
It is essential to acknowledge that the First Nations people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes, were the first sovereign nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands for thousands of years.
Attending a Friday prayer and sermon is obligatory for Muslim men, and is often the largest platforms for messages intended for the community.
The statement to the community also provided details on what the referendum question will look like, when the vote will take place and reiterated their support for the Voice.
It comes as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is expected to attend and speak at Friday prayer at Lakemba mosque later today, one of the largest mosques in Australia.
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MEAA urges ABC to not provide climate protest footage to WA police
ABC journalists have demanded immediate assurances from managing director David Anderson he will not hand Four Corners footage to Western Australian police who have demanded to see the raw camera tapes of Monday’s program about climate protesters.
“The MEAA House Committee calls on the ABC not to hand over the Four Corners footage of the climate protest and to resist all efforts by the WA Police Force to obtain the footage,” the union said on Friday morning.
To be seen to be cooperating with the release of footage would not only be morally and ethically wrong; it would seriously damage the ABC’s reputation for creating valuable, public interest journalism and make the position of ABC journalists much more difficult.
Journalism has a long and storied history of resisting legal compulsion when it is against the public interest.
We demand immediate assurances that the ABC executive will not hand the vision to WA authorities.”
Guardian Australia understands both ABC journalists and activist group Disrupt Burrup Hub, whose members participated in the program, fear management will comply with the order to produce footage.
The group is concerned the broadcaster will breach undertakings not to reveal the identity of sources for its reporting.
The reporting for the Four Corners program received national attention in August when a crew was present as members of the activist group were arrested outside the home of the Woodside chief executive, Meg O’Neill, in Perth. The police order relates to all footage shot by the Four Corners crew over several months, and not just on the day of the protest.
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Firefighters union backs voice
The United Firefighters Union of Australia has declared support for the voice to parliament, saying it is “critical” Indigenous voices and knowledge are heard by government – “particularly in regard to the management of the Australian landscape to protect against devastating bushfire”.
The union represents 13,000 professional firefighters. The union’s national secretary, Greg McConville said:
We took the time to consider this carefully, and we urge others to inform themselves before deciding.
We recognise indigenous peoples’ unique relationship with Australia’s environment and the importance of indigenous land management practices to the sustainability of Australia’s environment.
We acknowledge that the loss of these practices has contributed to the proliferation of large landscape fires, which in turn has contributed to climate change.
Worsening climate change has constrained water availability for firefighting during droughts and has resulted in more extreme weather events and the emergencies associated with them, such as road accidents, rescues and property damage associated with floods, storms, tempests and extreme heat.
These matters are directly relevant to our nation’s firefighters and the communities they seek to protect.
McConville urged Australians to understand why the voice “will be a positive step forward, not just for indigenous people, but for every Australian for generations to come”.
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AI to be allowed in schools
Artificial intelligence including ChatGPT will be allowed in all schools from 2024 with education ministers formally backing a framework guiding the use of the technology.
The framework, revised by the National AI Taskforce, was unanimously adopted at an education ministers meeting on Thursday. It will be released in the coming weeks.
The adoption includes a $1m investment to Education Services Australia – a not-for-profit educational technology company owned by federal, state and territory education departments – to establish “product expectations” of generative AI technology.
Earlier this year, states moved to temporarily ban ChatGPT in public schools until as concerns mounted over privacy and plagiarism.
In a communique released on Friday morning, ministers confirmed state and territories and non-government schooling sectors would work with their own education systems to implement the framework from term 1 next year.
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AMA calls for new national approach to out-of-hospital care
Australia’s peak medical body is calling for a new national approach reforming delivery of out of hospital care, which it says could free up to 94,000 hospital beds, shrink the elective surgery wait list and save over $60m each year.
The Australian Medical Association’s new report Out-of-hospital care models in the private system released this morning has found Australia’s private health system is behind other countries in delivering out-of-hospital care.
The AMA president, Prof Steve Robson, said there are many procedures where clinically suitable patients should be able to access out-of-hospital care, such as rehabilitation after hip and knee replacements, at home rather than in hospital:
The cost difference between rehabilitation at home and hospital per patient is around $6,200. Looking at knee replacements alone, our report found expanding access to out-of-hospital rehabilitation to patients who would prefer this and were assessed as clinically appropriate by their surgeon, could save up to $62.7m and free up to 94,000 beds per annum.
At the moment, many out-of-hospital care models in the private system are insurer-led and delivered – often referred to as vertical control. This is an equity issue for patients, as not all insurers fund or provide these models of care and there are no safeguards in place to protect patients.
The report found there has been a 174% increase in knee and hip procedures in the private system since 2003.
Robson said there were problems with the current insurer-led approach around patient choice and clinical autonomy, with some insurers only providing out-of-hospital care with select providers and not necessarily involving the patient’s doctor.
The AMA is calling for a private health system authority to lead reform, including the development of nationally consistent guidelines for out-of-hospital programs to ensure private health policies remain easily comparable.
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WA police order ABC to hand over footage of climate protests
Western Australia police have ordered the ABC to hand over all footage collected by Four Corners for a program relating to climate protests due to air on Monday.
Disrupt Burrup Hub said it understood ABC management was considering complying with the order to produce footage and the activist group was concerned the broadcaster would breach undertakings not to reveal the identity of sources for its reporting.
You can read the full story from Adam Morton and Amanda Meade here:
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Voice 'won’t have a direct impact' on non-Indigenous Australians, PM says
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said there was a lot of misinformation about what the voice would do and what it would cost, AAP reports.
An Indigenous voice to parliament would bring people together, not divide the nation, He told Brisbane radio station B105 this morning:
This will actually save money.
What you’ll get if we listen to people is more efficiency, you’ll get the dollars going to where they should go.
This is about helping a group of Australians – 3% of Australians – it won’t have a direct impact at all on non-Indigenous Australians directly.
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‘The racial divide has always been there,’ constitutional and public law teachers say
It is wrong to frame the Voice as introducing race or racial divide into the Constitution, constitutional and public law teachers say in an open letter on what the Australian people need to know before they vote at the referendum.
We will bring you more informative excerpts to the blog:
As public law teachers we also know the importance of understanding the history of the Australian Constitution when considering changes to that document. This history is important, for example, in responding to erroneous claims that the Voice will introduce ‘race’ into the Constitution.
The Australian Constitution was drafted in the 1890s and came into force in 1901. The original Constitution was approved through referendums in each of the colonies, but many people, including women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people who did not own property, had limited or no voting rights.
The framers (who were all white men) included the concept of ‘race’ within the Constitution, as they intended for the new Commonwealth Parliament to be able to pass laws that discriminated against people on the basis of race. In particular, they sought to pursue the White Australia Policy, where the rights of white Australians were given preferential treatment in relation to immigration, employment and movement. As such, whether or not we agree that the Constitution should continue to embed this concept, it is wrong to frame the Voice as introducing a racial divide into the Constitution. The racial divide has always been there.
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Voice 'not constitutionally risky', constitutional and public law teachers say
More than 70 constitutional and public law teachers have signed a letter saying the voice to parliament “is not constitutionally risky” in a bid to clarify “misunderstandings and misconceptions” among Australian voters.
Here is an excerpt from the letter:
In law school, we teach our students techniques to assess competing legal opinions, which include looking at the evidence that the author is using to support their opinion, and the author’s experience working in the specialised field. This skill is important, for instance, in assessing the stated concern of the No Case that the proposed amendment is constitutionally ‘risky’ and, in particular, that it might lead to dysfunction and delays in government.
Certainly, it is impossible to predict exactly what the High Court might say in the future; this is the case for all constitutional and legal provisions. But we know that the vast majority of expert legal opinion agrees that this amendment is not constitutionally risky. These views are supported by careful argument, drawing on precedent (that is, previously decided cases) and a deep understanding of the Court’s approach to constitutional interpretation. These experts also agree that the proposed Voice provision is consistent with the Australian constitutional system.
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‘Never enter flood waters’: SES chief urges caution as floods continue through eastern Victoria
Two men who attempted to drive through flood waters were carried away by the water in eastern Victoria and were rescued from the roof of their vehicle, VicSES Acting chief officer David Baker told ABC News this morning.
He urged locals to avoid entering waters:
We did have a disturbing incident this morning where our crews had to respond to a water rescue in the Bairnsdale area, where two males entered the water in a car and subsequently got carried away, or the vehicle got carried away. They had to be rescued from the roof of their vehicle.
… It is a salient reminder never [to] enter flood waters, always choose an alternative route.
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Improve whistleblower protections to clean up consultancy firms, inquiry to be told
Transparency advocates are calling for better whistleblower protections to ensure misconduct at big four consultancy firms is not swept under the rug for many years.
The groups will appear before a new inquiry into the consultancy industry today and have cited a scandal involving confidentiality breaches at PwC Australia that took eight years to become public knowledge.
Prof AJ Brown, an academic at Griffith University’s centre for governance and public policy and a Transparency International Australia board member, said stronger whistleblower laws were recommended six years ago but were not delivered in full:
The scandals around the big consultants reinforce the need for total confidence that whether an employee is in the public, private or consulting sector, they are fully and equally protected for speaking up.
Senior lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, Kieran Pender, said protecting whistleblowers would improve corporate conduct.
The Albanese government should fix the law and establish a whistleblower protection authority which can ensure that all whistleblowers, whichever their sector, are protected, not punished.
The Australia Institute’s Bill Browne is calling for a ban on political donations and also wants the government to considering banning auditors from doing other work for their clients:
Consultants have shown they are prepared to compromise their advice and tell government ministers and public servants what they want to hear, rather than what is in the public interest.
Similarly, there is a risk auditors could compromise audit quality to keep on good terms with company management, rather than work in the interest of the company and its shareholders.
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More on flood waters through eastern Victoria
Three homes have been inundated in eastern Victoria after flood waters moved through Newry, Tinamba and Tinamba West yesterday. Locals are being urged not to return home until waters recede.
VicSES acting chief officer, David Baker, told ABC News this morning:
We are waiting for the waters to recede in the communities of Newry and Tinamba and Tinamba West as the flood has come through yesterday. We are saying to members of the community out there wait until it is safe to return and we will advise you of that. We are doing initial assessments of damages out there. We know three homes have been inundated.
Thompson River flood waters are flowing through Port of Sale, which are expected to peak at 4m later today.
“We have advised residents in those low-lying areas to relocate early yesterday in readiness for the waters to go through,” Baker said.
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Mobile polls head to remote Australia for the voice referendum
Despite efforts to get referendum messaging out over official channels, many outback residents still rely mainly on word of mouth to learn when and where to vote.
As campaigners head into the final days on the referendum hustings, voters in some of the most remote parts of Australia have already cast their ballots.
The Australian Electoral Commission says more than 16,000 people living in remote Australian towns and communities casting a vote through roving mobile teams have voted since polls opened on 2 October.
The efforts to ensure some of the most remote Australians can have their say is no easy feat, with thousands of kilometres of red dirt, rivers, roads and gorges to traverse and thousands of workers.
Read the full story here:
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Flood waters rising across eastern Vic
Flood waters are continuing to rise across eastern Victoria today. An evacuation warning has been issued for the Port of Sale, due to concerns the Thomson River could reach major flood level later today, AAP reports.
This comes after two nights of evacuation and warning for residents in Tinamba, Tinamba West, Newry, Mewburn Park, Bellbird Corner, Riverslea and Maffra.
Residents have been told it’s not safe to return to the town, and are urged to find shelter in the highest possible location.
Authorities say areas most at risk include the South Gippsland Highway, Sale Motor Way, Dargo Street and other streets near the Thomson River.
VicSES state duty officer Shane McBride said he was also concerned about communities around Wangaratta. And more than a dozen other watch and act alerts had been issued across eastern Victoria.
He said there had been 115 calls for assistance in the 24 hours to 4pm on Thursday but no more reports of driving through flood water.
McBride said flooding was unpredictable. He told AAP:
It’s a dynamic situation we are in at the moment and unfortunately it keeps changing.
Updated
Forensic mental health units in NSW to get 109 extra beds
The New South Wales government will fund an extra 109 beds for forensic mental health units across the state as part of a $700m investment.
The additional beds represent a 50% jump in what has been on offer for people engaged with the criminal justice system as a result of a mental health issue.
The mental health minister, Rose Jackson, said the beds would address gaps in mental health services.
She said:
The care provided in our forensic mental health units is vital in reducing the risk of repeat offending resulting from untreated mental illness and improves the safety of NSW communities.
Our goal is to put people back on their feet and in the right head space so they can recover and transition back into the community to live meaningful, purposeful lives.
The new facilities will be split across a number of regions and facilities, including at a new mental health intensive care unit at Malabar.
The investment comes amid presser on the government and NSW Police to change how they deal with people suffering mental health incidents after the deaths of four vulnerable people in recent months.
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Thank you to Martin Farrer for kicking off our blog this morning! I’m Rafqa Touma, and I’ll be rolling your live news updates through the day.
If there is anything you don’t want us to miss, let me know @At_Raf_
Onwards!
Climate change making survival on streets more difficult this summer, charity warns
It’s tough enough walking 28km a week while rough sleeping without the dry heat of summer, Australian Associated Press reports.
But El Niño, coupled with climate change drawing up temperatures, is making the long, windy path to survive on the streets more difficult this summer, the Wayside Chapel charity warns.
Every night, more than 122,000 Australians sleep rough – the equivalent of more than a quarter of the population of Canberra.
Rough sleepers often stay alert overnight out of fear of being assaulted, leaving daytime as the only time for rest, Wayside’s chief executive, Jon Owen, says.
That’s particularly the case for those new to the streets, something that appears on the rise amid a crushing rental market, rising living costs and a doubling in demand for Wayside’s services.
Owen says:
You’re trying to catch a nap in the middle of a 35C day and you’re already at your wit’s end. There’s exhaustion and dehydration. It really does a number on your body, on your feet.
Climate change and the cost-of-living increases that have really hit people, you’re seeing that all come together on the streets.
Former homeless man Scott Endersby says rising temperatures make many basic tasks more difficult:
It’s more daunting in the heat – I know I didn’t want to go to interviews in the summer. I’d rather just kick back with a cardboard box and sleep in a driveway.
Having turned his life around, the 49-year-old is the face of an initiative getting people to take on a 28km trek across Sydney on Saturday to mimic the average distance a homeless person makes to reach vital services each week.
The Long Walk Home also raises critical funds for Wayside.
Endersby credits the charity’s services and support worker Joe Ireland for helping him gain a footing in the private rental market, secure his driver’s licence and keep him on the straight and narrow:
I had a bad day a couple of months ago … I came back to Wayside and he just looked in my face and said, ‘What’s wrong?’
He straight away knew what was going on … we need more like that in society.
For those who would like to support but cannot undertake the walk, a free virtual walk challenge allows participants to go at their own pace across the course of a week.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the day’s news. I’m Martin Farrer and these are some of our top overnight stories before Rafqa Touma takes the reins.
The Australian Electoral Commission says more than 16,000 people living in remote towns and communities have voted via roving mobile polling stations since voting opened this week. We’ve been to Pia Wadjarri, eight hours north of Perth, where, despite the massive logistical effort, many people are still relying on word of mouth to find out what’s happening. Australia’s former chief justice will today describe the core argument of the anti-voice campaign – that “if you don’t know, vote no” – as “resentful” in a major speech in Canberra today. Plus here’s all you need to know about voting in the voice to parliament referendum.
We have a better idea about why Australia turned down Qatar Airways for more routes thanks to our exclusive story this morning about how the government departments coordinated the sending of letters about its decision. It comes courtesy of a freedom of information request which shows that the government was weighing the issue in light of the legal action taken by five Australian women against Qatar after they were forced off a plane at Doha airport and subjected to invasive searches as the authorities hunted for the mother of a baby found in the airport toilets. More coming up.
Police in Western Australian have ordered the ABC to hand over all footage collected by its investigations flagship Four Corners for a program relating to climate protests due to air on Monday. The activist group Disrupt Burrup Hub said it understood ABC management was considering complying with the order, in which case the broadcaster would risk a furious backlash and be open to accusations that it was failing to protect sources. The reporting for the Four Corners program received national attention in August when a crew was present as members of the activist group were arrested outside the home of Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill in Perth.
With all that, let’s begin …
