What we learned today, Monday 28 August
That’s where we’ll leave you this evening. Here’s what we learned:
The Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce, has refused to divulge details of his efforts lobbying the government to refuse a request from Qatar Airways to almost double its operations to Australia. Joyce was summonsed to appear at the Senate select committee on the cost of living’s public hearing in Melbourne on Monday.
Meanwhile Virgin Australia has blasted the Albanese government’s decision to refuse Qatar’s request, suggesting Qantas was “having public policy designed for its benefit”.
The former foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop says if the voice referendum is defeated it will send “a very negative message” to the world. Bishop, who was deputy leader of the Liberal party for 11 years, joined the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, in Perth today to jointly campaign for a yes vote.
Northern Territory police will remain at the scene of the fatal US military aircraft crash on Melville Island for “at least 10 days” as part an extensive investigation and recovery of the three marines killed. Of the 20 US marines who went to hospital after Sunday’s aircraft crash, eight remain in hospital. One is still in ICU.
University of Melbourne staff walked off the job, kicking off seven days of “unprecedented” strikes, representing the longest ongoing industrial action in any Australian university’s history.
Representatives from Ernst & Young, the consulting firm that helped to develop the economic impact analysis as part of the business case for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, appeared before the Senate inquiry into the cancellation of the event.
A record 1.5 million people are now “at risk” of mortgage stress across Australia, as interest rate hikes continue to bite.
We’ll be back bright and early tomorrow. Thanks so much for your company.
Updated
Chevron workers vote to strike if needed
Gas sector workers at Chevron’s Australian operations have authorised their unions to call a strike amid protracted negotiations over pay and conditions that has unsettled global energy markets.
Workers at a Chevron liquified natural gas facility voted on Monday to authorise the protected industrial action if needed, according to results released by the Fair Work Commission. Similar ballots were recently passed at other Chevron facilities.
The Offshore Alliance has been negotiating on behalf of workers at Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone facilities in Western Australia to lock in industry standard wage rates and conditions in a sector that typically uses individual contracts.
The alliance consists of the Australian Workers’ Union and Maritime Union of Australia.
The votes give the unions the authority, but not requirement, to call a strike if further negotiations prove futile. Chevron was contacted for comment.
Union representatives struck an agreement with oil and gas company Woodside last week that averted industrial action.
Updated
Melbourne Uni ‘disappointed’ over this week’s industrial action
The University of Melbourne says it is “disappointed” the union has chosen to take industrial action this week and is focusing on minimising the impact on students after a rally today joined by hundreds of faculty staff.
A number of faculties including arts, law, student services, parts of the Victorian College of the Arts and the library will continue to strike for the remainder of the week, calling for a 15% pay rise over three years and 80% of jobs to be made ongoing.
A university spokesperson said it had offered a compounding increase of 15.3% over four years, including a 4% increase in 2024, and apologised to any impacted by the strikes.
The spokesperson said:
If this industrial action affects the delivery of subjects and subject material, alternative arrangements will be made for this delivery, and students will continue to have access to content online.
The university will continue to work collaboratively and constructively with the union to reach a new agreement which is fair, recognises the value and contribution all staff members make to our institution, and positions the university for long-term sustainability and success.
Updated
Rangers urge caution on K’gari after dingo attack
Rangers are urging tourists not to walk alone on K’gari after a woman was bitten by a dingo on Saturday in the latest attack on the Queensland island, AAP reports.
Authorities are monitoring the protected canine, which nipped its victim on the leg while she was standing on an eastern beach.
The animal was one of two collared dingoes that were circling her, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service said on Monday.
The woman yelled and swung her water bottle at the animals before people nearby came to her aid. She was taken to nearby Happy Valley to treat scratches on her thigh.
Rangers said visitors should not walk alone on the island, and should carry a stick for protection.
It’s the latest in a number of dingo encounters on K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, including a woman who was bitten on the thigh after collared dingoes stalked a group of adults about two weeks ago.
Several camping zones were closed earlier in August until further notice, due to increasingly aggressive dingo behaviour.
Rangers have rejected calls to cull the dingo population on World Heritage-listed island, blaming visitor behaviour for the spike in incidents.
Collars are worn by dingoes exhibiting high-risk behaviour and fitted with a device to track movement and behaviour.
Updated
First Dog on the Moon has been reading the news as a public service.
UN removes ‘hurtful’ claim Tasmanian Aboriginal people extinct
A UN agency was forced to remove a “hurtful” document that for more than 40 years publicly claimed Tasmanian Aboriginal people were extinct.
The inaccurate claim, stating that “Tasmanians are now an extinct race of humans”, was made as part of the nomination process for the declaration of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and its addition to the World Heritage List in 1982.
The reference was included in the technical evaluation of the temperate wilderness area, which now encompasses around one-fifth of Tasmania’s landmass, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Read the full story here:
Updated
Virgin criticises refusal of Qatar’s request for extra services
Virgin Australia has blasted the Albanese government’s decision to refuse Qatar Airways’s request to almost double its capacity to Australia, suggesting Qantas is “having public policy designed for its benefit”.
Virgin released a statement on Monday afternoon, as the Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce, was being grilled by a senate select committee on the cost of living public hearing in Melbourne, in which he defended Qantas lobbying the government against granting Qatar extra rights.
The government has in recent weeks defended its decision to reject a request from Qatar to fly an additional 21 services into Australia’s major airports, beyond the 28 flights a week it currently operates under existing bilateral air rights.
Virgin, who operates flights to Europe and the Middle East in partnership with Qatar Airways, has previously been critical of the refusal. On Monday morning, Virgin’s CEO, Jane Hrdlicka, told staff in a video message that “this decision means less jobs, less opportunity”.
In a statement released later on Monday, the Virgin Australia chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer, Christian Bennett, said the various reasons offered by the government for the refusal, including the “national interest” as well Qantas’s investment in aircraft and financial sustainability “confuse the substance” of the denial.
Bennett said:
Denying Qatar additional flights keeps air fares between Australia and Europe unnecessarily higher than need be … Any suggestion that denying Qatar additional flights was designed to protect Qantas’s medium-to-long term sustainability neglects the fact that blocking Qatar damages the domestic and international competitive position of Virgin Australia in favour of Qantas.
Virgin Australia delivers great value and great choice to Australian consumers every day. It is the main source of competition to the Qantas Group, and that task is challenging enough without Qantas having public policy designed for its benefit.
Updated
Services Australia backtracked on child support assessments after watchdog intervened
Services Australia proposed not to contact past customers affected by 15,803 potentially “inaccurate child support assessments” but backtracked after the commonwealth ombudsman warned this could leave parents out of pocket.
In a statement on Monday the ombudsman revealed that poor IT systems had resulted in errors in up to 47,488 assessments, but Services Australia had wanted to avoid notifying about a third of the caseload, a plan the ombudsman labelled “unfair”.
After obtaining external legal advice at the ombudsman’s recommendation, Services Australia reversed its earlier decision not to correct errors in the assessments of past customers.
In the Making Things Right report the commonwealth ombudsman, Iain Anderson, said a single complaint in 2018 had revealed “that a problem with the child support IT systems had resulted in inaccurate child support assessments”.
In 2019 Services Australia suggested it would reassess and remediate all affected cases identified. It then rectified the IT system in June 2020.
But in July 2021 the agency decided only to remediate 31,685 cases “which were either active or finalised with arrears” and “not revisit any of the cases which were finalised without arrears”, 15,803 cases in which parents had paid their former partners what Services Australia had told them they owed.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Qantas would be ‘happiest airline’ if foreign limits scrapped: Joyce
Alan Joyce has claimed Qantas would be “the happiest airline” if the system allowing governments around the world to limit how much foreign airlines fly to their country was scrapped.
Joyce was asked about the government’s rejection of Qatar’s request to fly an additional 21 services into Australia’s major airports, beyond the 28 flights a week it currently operates under existing bilateral air rights.
Joyce was discussing how existing bilateral air rights agreements around the world limit Qantas from expanding to other countries:
There’s plenty of traffic rights, where we don’t get what we want, and don’t get what we need.
If you could wave a magic wand tomorrow and remove the bilateral system … [Qantas would] be able to fly anywhere in the world. We will be the happiest airline because we think our product or service and our brand would do well very well in that environment.
Updated
Joyce denies decline in reputation of Qantas
Alan Joyce has denied that Qantas’ credibility has declined under his leadership.
In an explosive exchange between Joyce and Labor senator Tony Sheldon – an ardent Qantas critic and former chief of the Transport Workers Union – at a public hearing of the senate select committee on the cost of living in Melbourne on Monday, Joyce accused Sheldon of making “a whole series of points that are just incorrect”.
Sheldon in particular raised consumer complaints levelled against Qantas – the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has said Qantas was the most complained about company in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
He then asked Joyce if the Qantas board had ever raised with him “the fact that the credibility of Qantas has collapsed under your leadership”.
“Well that’s not true Senator,” Joyce said, denying the premise of his question.
After Sheldon then criticised Joyce’s performance as CEO, Joyce responded: “You’re making a whole series of points that are just incorrect”.
Sheldon said he was “I’m getting very frustrated with your answers”, but acknowledged Joyce had said the board had not raised such concern.
Updated
‘Do you not feel embarrassed?’: Joyce grilled over $25m bonus
Senator Sheldon has moved on to Joyce’s salary now.
This is one of the most discredited companies as far as the ACCC on its record of complaints, and you are saying … That you deserve every dollar you have received and thousands of workers that have been put off given substantive lower rates of pay, being replaced by people with substantive lower rates of pay, less skill and training, or the we have seen in the aviation industry with the reboot of the aviation industry, losing all of that talent and you are saying you should be rewarded in $25m [over 15 years] is OK. That’s not legacy terms and conditions, do you not feel embarrassed? I would feel embarrassed if I was you.
Joyce:
You have raised a lot of issues I hope I can get the time to address them, because there is a lot there. Can I talk about the period of time which we went through, so Qantas like every other airline had to ground its entire operation, like every airline in the world … I would say that what we are seeing now is that the Qantas levels of customer satisfaction are getting back to the record levels they were before Covid …
Sheldon:
You are one of the most complained about companies in Australia, and you are trying to say to me that there is no problem here?
Joyce:
I’m not.
Sheldon:
Has the board made any comment about the fact that the credibility of Qantas has collapsed under your leadership?
Joyce:
That’s not true senator.
Updated
Joyce denies engaging in anti-competitive flight scheduling practices
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has denied his company strategically schedules then cancels flights out of Sydney Airport to block competitors from launching rival services, instead blaming air traffic controller shortages for stubbornly high cancellation rates out of the city.
Joyce, appearing at the senate select committee on the cost of living public hearing in Melbourne on Monday, was asked “isn’t it true that Qantas actually has no intention of flying those flights and that you are indeed hoarding slots in and out of Sydney?”
Joyce began his answer by claiming Qantas’ cancellation rates on a national level (not out of Sydney specifically) are the lowest of the major carriers. He was then interrupted with more specific month by month cancellation rates on Sydney routes.
Joyce said “there are supply chain issues … with air traffic control delays … Air traffic control had a lot of people leaving the industry,” Joyce said, before being told by the committee members they had previously heard that explanation from AirServices Australia.
Joyce then addressed the high cancellation rates out of Sydney, suggesting it was partly to cause less customer inconvenience across the Qantas network:
To disrupt less customers, the easiest thing we can do is to concentrate the cancellations on a high frequency route like Melbourne-Sydney, because that means that there’s a flight every half hour we can re-accommodate people on [to].
You can read more about the Sydney airport slots system and allegations of slot hoarding here:
Updated
Jetstar CEO says $100m credits remain unclaimed
Senator Tony Sheldon has picked up the pummelling of Alan Joyce and other Qantas executives in this senate inquiry, asking precisely how much money Qantas holds in Jetstar credits and credits of overseas customers.
Sheldon:
Look, seriously, we are here asking questions about substantial sums of money that is owed to the Australian public overseas and through the Jetstar operations that has not been paid. You have put an arbitrary deadline of December this year when people lose that money and the money stays in the pockets of Qantas and Jetstar and you are seriously telling the Australian public that you don’t know how many tens of millions of dollars are involved above that $370m [in Qantas credits]?
Jetstar CEO Steph Tully:
Senator Sheldon, one of the reasons we can’t answer you specifically is that figure changes every day because people are refining it and using it every day, Jetstar is around $100m.
The executives keep saying they’ve been “very transparent” but Sheldon isn’t having any of it:
You have not been transparent when I have learned there is another $100m dollars above the $370m something like $50m for these overseas credits, it is not being transparent, eye would have thought coming to this hearing that you would be prepared for very obvious questions.
Updated
Joyce denies lobbying against high-speed rail
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has denied ever lobbying the government against high-speed rail in Australia.
Asked at a senate select committee on the cost of living public hearing if during his time as Qantas CEO (since 2008) he had ever lobbied the federal government against progressing high speed rail, Joyce said:
No we have never lobbied against high speed rail.
Joyce then said he could not answer on behalf of everyone at Qantas.
There’s 22,000 [employees] … so I’m not sure if somebody else has a different view.
Updated
Joyce grilling on company profits and bonus continues
Senator Bridget McKenzie is really taking Joyce to task in this hearing, asking him whether he’s “colluding with the Australian government to protect Qantas from competition” and whether he is going to “cash out” on the company’s profit, after having deferred his bonuses:
The board agrees to defer decisions on whether your right to be forfeited or allowed to be converted to shares. That is a decision being taken by the board and consequential is until, lo and behold, we have a fantastic profit recognised and you are going to cash out. Is that actually not the cace?
…
Meanwhile, Australians can’t find their bags, we have cancellations and delays, particularly in and out of Sydney that I would suggest to you, and I will go to this, that seem very premeditated. So in July, Qantas cancelled 11% of the flights out of Sydney to Canberra, Sydney to Melbourne was around 8%, which is very, very similar to the same level of cancellations in previous months.
Isn’t it true that Qantas actually has no intention of flying those flights and that you are indeed hoarding slots in and out of Sydney to actually protect your market share against competition?
Updated
Joyce refuses to detail Qantas lobbying over Qatar Airways
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has refused to divulge details of his efforts lobbying the government to refuse a request from Qatar Airways to almost double its operations to Australia.
Joyce, who was summonsed to appear at the Senate select committee on the cost of living’s public hearing in Melbourne on Monday, was asked about the government’s rejection of Qatar’s request to fly an additional 21 services into Australia’s major airports, beyond the 28 flights a week it currently operates under existing bilateral air rights.
On Monday, Joyce defended Qantas’ right to lobby against the expansion of bilateral air rights, but refused to disclose if he discussed the proposal with the prime minister or minister of transport.
Any conversations I have with the prime minister or a minister I never divulge. I’ve kept that for all seven prime ministers and I have no intention of changing my approach.
Joyce also refused to answer a question about chairman’s lounge memberships for politicians’ family members.
I’m not going to comment on chairman’s club membership. I’ve got privacy issues where we will not comment on who’s in, who’s been offered [a membership] ... I will not be making any comments, or confirming or denying it.
Updated
Joyce talks up Qantas salaries amid anger at corporate profits
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has talked up the salaries the company pays employees, as he claims the airline has been caught up in a wave of “criticism of corporate profits” due to cost-of-living pressures.
Joyce, who had to be summonsed after initially refusing to appear at the Senate select committee on the cost of living’s public hearing in Melbourne on Monday, claimed that Qantas and Jetstar domestic fares were now up by about 4%. He also spoke of capacity constraints the airline had faced that meant the supply of seats was scarce.
Joyce said that since the 1990s, the price of domestic flights has dropped by about 50%, adjusted for inflation. “There’s not too many goods and services in this country that would have had that level of fall over that period of time.”
He also said:
There’s a lot of criticism of corporate profits at the moment, due in large part to the cost-of-living pressures happening in parallel. We understand that.
Joyce then spoke of how the average non-executive salary at Qantas is $100,000.
Last week, Qantas unveiled a record $2.47bn full-year profit, helped by ravenous travel demand, high air fares, lower jet fuel prices and a dramatic reduction of its structural costs under Joyce’s tenure.
Updated
Joyce continues:
There is heavy maintenance required that is quite significant after years of hibernation. Pilot training, which is quite significant after pilots have been on the ground for three years. This is a challenge all airlines are facing globally.
Last week the committee will be aware we finally took a line on to the Covid crisis by posting our first full-year profit since 2019. It comes after $7bn statutory loss during the pandemic and it is welcome news for our people in particular, they were back on solid ground.
Updated
Alan Joyce apologises for Qantas disruption as travel curbs lifted
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is currently appearing before the Senate inquiry into the cost-of-living pressures on Australians. He’s apologised for the way the airline was run as the Covid pandemic began to lift and travel started up again:
[Qantas] came within 11 weeks of insolvency. We had to make tough decisions to survive, and we are acutely aware of the impact that that had on individuals.
When borders finally opened, the return to flying was not nearly as smooth as we had hoped. Sick leave, supply chain issues and aircraft still in hibernation meant the industry could not meet the huge demand for travel. The result was long queues, delays and cancellations, particularly in domestic services. And for our part we apologise sincerely.
Updated
Asked whether she had a response to Julie Bishop’s comments about the consequences of a no vote, Penny Wong said:
I think Julie is, as always, very eloquent, so I’m just going to leave that to her.
But Wong was keen to promote a message of bipartisanship:
I think what Julie’s presence here reminds us today – and I’m conscious, you know, she has a lot of roles at the moment, including as chancellor of ANU – but it reminds us that this is an issue above politics.
And I know the no campaign want this to be an issue about politics and about a lot of negative politics and fear.
But this is an issue that’s actually about who we are as a country, and whether, as Julie said, we’ve got it in our hearts to listen to what our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have said. And they have said: ‘We’d like recognition, and we’d like a body that you have to listen to. And because of that, we can get better outcomes.’ I think it’s pretty reasonable.
Updated
Defeat for voice would send ‘very negative message’ to world, Julie Bishop says
The former foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop says if the voice referendum is defeated it will send “a very negative message” to the world.
Bishop, who was deputy leader of the Liberal party for 11 years, joined the foreign affairs minister Penny Wong in Perth today to jointly campaign for a yes vote.
Bishop said she was “looking for a respectful, sensible debate across the nation” and she thanked Wong for the invitation to campaign with her today.
I’m the chancellor of the Australian National University. We’ve done a great deal of research and analysis on the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the yes campaign, the referendum, and we believe that this is an opportunity to get things right.
Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Bishop declined to say whether she was disappointed with the Liberal party’s decision to oppose the proposal, but said that for 20 years she had seen politicians “try all sorts of things, telling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders ‘this will work’, and it doesn’t”.
Asked what a no vote would mean for Australia’s international reputation, Bishop said:
It’s probably more difficult for Penny to say this because she’s out there on the international stage having to promote Australia’s current position. But I would be most concerned at the message that this would send the rest of the world.
If we can’t find it in our hearts to say yes to giving constitutional recognition to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, what are we saying about ourselves?
It’s not a front-of-mind issue for most people, but I know that Australia’s international reputation can be affected by a no vote. I have no doubt that it would be sending a very negative message about the openness, and the empathy, and the respect and responsibility that the Australian people have for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
Updated
Our reporter Adeshola Ore has been sending through updates today on the inquiry into the cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Here’s her full story on how consulting firm Ernst & Young has stood by its contribution to the business case for the now-axed event, after the premier, Daniel Andrews, labelled the business case “hardly the greatest piece of work”.
Thanks for being with me on the blog today! I’ll be handing over to Stephanie Convery, who will lead you through this evening’s news.
Reluctant Aldi to offer online shopping
Supermarket chain Aldi has flagged it will need to start offering online shopping or risk losing customers to its larger competitors.
Aldi’s corporate affairs representative, Adrian Christie, told a parliamentary inquiry on Monday the chain had avoided developing an online service to keep grocery costs down, but he said that would need to change.
“Quite right, you will see us entering that space in the future,” Christie said, in response to questions about competition among supermarkets.
I think there is significant share moving into the online space.
Coles and Woolworths have a combined two-thirds share of the market in Australia, while Aldi is the third-biggest player, with about 10%. The major supermarkets have invested heavily in their online and delivery offerings.
Christie said Aldi aimed to keep prices between 15% and 20% below competitors.
Updated
Ex-Victorian sport minister appears at Games cancellation probe
Victoria’s former sports and major events minister, Martin Pakula, says he never shut down conversations with the federal government over funding for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Pakula, who was the Victorian sports minister when the 2026 games were announced last year, is appearing before a Senate inquiry probing the cancellation of the axed event.
The Age last week reported that Pakula had indicated to the Morrison government in 2022 that it did not need additional funding to secure the Commonwealth Games. This is despite the business case assuming the federal government would contribute half of the capital expenditure for the event in the “best case”.
Pakula said he made his comments because at the time the Victorian government was committed to proceeding with the event regardless of if it had Commonwealth support:
There is a significant difference between asking or not asking for money now versus not asking for money ever.
We were not going to be in a position to wait for an answer from the commonwealth given the timelines of the bid process and the announcement.
Pakula retired from state politics at the end of last term.
Updated
Will the Bureau of Meteorology finally call an El Niño tomorrow?
It looks like another line-ball call, with recent readings pointing to more El Niño-like conditions forming in the equatorial Pacific. Whether or not BoM tomorrow falls into line with other agencies such as the World Meteorological Organisation, the models they use point to an eventual call:
Whether @bom_au declares an El Nino is underway in the Pacific tomorrow or not, the ensemble of climate models continues to point to an event last well into 2024. pic.twitter.com/5GU3ZUO4nP
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 28, 2023
The Indian Ocean, too, remains tilted to drier-than-usual conditions favouring (as with El Niños) for most of Australia.
Those models suggest the positive phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole will also kick in soon (if it hasn’t already).
And those models also point to a positive phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole lasting well towards the end of the year if not into next year as well. (IOD+ points to a drier than usual winter into spring...which is already evident in large parts of southern and eastern Australia.) pic.twitter.com/OShD8lnD0v
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 28, 2023
Anyway, look out for the fortnightly bureau update on Australia’s climate drivers about this time tomorrow.
Updated
Japanese fighter jets touch down in Australia
The Royal Australian air force (RAAF) has welcomed Japan’s first international deployment of F-35A Lightning II aircraft and personnel to Australia.
Two F-35As and a contingent of 55 personnel from the Japan air self-defence force (JASDF) are being hosted at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory.
Japan’s vice-minister of defence for international affairs, Serizawa Kiyoshi, and the ambassador for Japan, Suzuki Kazuhiro, visited JASDF personnel in the NT today as guests of air force chief Robert Chipman.
The visit follows the entry into force of the Australia–Japan reciprocal access agreement.
The Department of Defence secretary, Greg Moriarty, said Australia would reciprocate this visit in September with six RAAF F-35As deploying to Japan:
Australia is honoured to be chosen as the destination for Japan’s first international deployment of its F-35As.
This is a significant milestone in the relationship between our two countries, and is the first activity to be held under the reciprocal access agreement.
Updated
University of Melbourne students suffering under subpar conditions, says tutor
The University of Melbourne is a sea of purple this afternoon as staff walk off the job as part of a week of industrial action.
Now THAT'S a chant. Morrrrrre Permanent Jobbbbbbs~
— Dr Todd Farrell (@Todd_Farrell93) August 28, 2023
Onya @jcgmurphy !#unimelbstrikes pic.twitter.com/95Juq2r5Re
Thomas Weight is a PhD candidate working on a part time contract at the university’s culture and communications department. A strike this duration is unprecedented in his lifetime.
While he’s technically not employed casually, he’s only paid for 10 months of the year and has to reapply for his role annually.
“Summer is a shitshow,” he says of the precarious few months he’s unemployed.
Weight says wage increases are only a small part of why he’s striking. The larger factor is his students.
There’s a fear we feel coming near to end of PhD knowing how precarious the conditions of employment are, especially for post doctoral research, some people have four part time contracts to make up a full time role … replicated across entire board.
— NTEU Victoria (@NTEUVictoria) August 28, 2023
At the same time - he says “working conditions are learning conditions”.
In a masters subject last semester, he taught 30 students in a blended course with half the cohort in person and half online - double the workload to teach a large group two different ways with no additional resources. The subject was $4,000 per student. He gets about $7,500 in wages.
Weight:
My students lost out. The institutional conditions students are in [across the sector] are just awful. They all have an essay due this week but sympathise with our cause.
Hundreds turn out on day one of #unimelbstrikes . As a student I stand in solidarity with staff @NTEUUniMelb striking. They deserve better pay and conditions. Shame on @UniMelb pic.twitter.com/LkcbgygZNU
— Luci Nicholson (@LuciNicholson8) August 28, 2023
The university was approached for comment.
Updated
NT investigators to stay at military crash site for ‘at least 10 days’
Northern Territory police will remain at the scene of the fatal US military aircraft crash on Melville Island for “at least 10 days” as part an extensive investigation.
According to a statement from the NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services, eight people remain in hospital and exclusion zone remains in place around the crash site.
Acting assistant commissioner Matthew Hollamby said:
We understand the seriousness of this crash and are committed to providing a thorough investigation into the matter.
We are in the recovery phase and working closely with NT Fire and Rescue Service to assist us with a safe and respectful recovery operation of the three deceased US Marines.
Our thoughts are with those affected by the tragedy, and we will do everything in our power to provide answers and closure to the families and loved ones of those involved.
NT police will continue to work closely with the Australian defence force and the US Marine Corps, the statement reads.
Updated
ADF chief sends condolences over marines’ deaths
The chief of the defence force, Gen Angus Campbell, has released a statement extending condolences to the families of the three US marines who lost their lives in a training exercise crash on Sunday.
He wrote:
Australia and the United States military forces share a deep bond developed through our shared history of serving together and supporting one another.
Our thoughts are with the families, the injured, their mates and the entire military community impacted by this terribly sad incident. We will continue to assist our friends as needed through this extremely difficult time.
The Australian Defence Force extends sincere condolences to the families of the three United States Marines who lost their lives in the tragic MV-22B Osprey crash in the Northern Territory on 27 August 2023. pic.twitter.com/dSL9ItEwHD
— General Angus Campbell (@CDF_Aust) August 28, 2023
Updated
Labor MP joins ex-Liberal on long-distance run backing voice
Labor MP Andrew Leigh joined former Liberal MP Pat Farmer as part of his 14,400km run around Australia for the Indigenous voice today.
Last week, Farmer was welcomed to Sydney by the prime minister Anthony Albanese and has already been joined on his run by a number of politicians.
Running with him in Canberra today, Leigh said:
He’s running something in the order of 80 kilometres a day, inspired by the mass movement that’s grown up around the Yes campaign.
…Pat’s now more than two thirds of the way though his run.
Thanks to Canberrans from across the political spectrum who joined us this morning to rally support for a First Nations Voice.
— Andrew Leigh (@ALeighMP) August 28, 2023
Press conference transcript: https://t.co/SfoMBGDrQV
RSVP to hear Pat Farmer speak at 6pm tonight: https://t.co/cb2HX6vuGQ #auspol @yes23au @deek207 pic.twitter.com/iaAqwloAYz
Updated
Eight marines still in hospital after crash off Darwin, officials say
An update from the NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services (PFES):
Of the 20 US marines who went to hospital after Sunday’s aircraft crash, eight remain in hospital.
Just earlier it was reported that five remained in hospital, but PFES has clarified the figure.
Earlier, NT Health representative Marco Briceno said that one of the patients was in the ICU and the others remained in the normal wards.
Updated
And in even more animal-related news:
South Australian police are investigating after an animal head was found at an address in Murray Bridge last night.
The Advertiser has reported that a Murray Bridge couple found a horse head left on their front doorstep last night, leaving them distraught.
In a statement, SA police confirmed it was investigating the incident and said:
Police have yet to locate the outstanding remains of the animal.
Investigations are continuing.
Updated
Man charged after dozens of protected animals found on Melbourne property
A Melbourne man could face up to $2m in fines and decades in prison after wildlife officers found dozens of protected animals – including dingoes, barn owls and a freshwater crocodile – illegally kept in squalid conditions in a property in the city’s inner north, AAP reports.
Conservation officers executed an animal welfare search on the property in March 2021 following anonymous reports of wildlife welfare and licensing concerns.
There they found dingoes, pythons, frogs, possums, gliders, barn owls, a lizard and a freshwater crocodile – most housed in small, filthy enclosures with no food or water.
Some of the animals were dead. Many reptiles and amphibians had no heat, lighting or humidity control, which is required for their health and welfare.
Officers located a total of 40 protected animals, which included 26 live, three recently deceased and 11 preserved.
The remaining live animals were assessed and treated by qualified veterinarians, with most in poor condition due to starvation or illness. Two brush-tailed possums and a barn owl were subsequently euthanised.
The 37-year-old man is accused of committing five offences relating to illegal possession of protected wildlife, 44 offences for acts of cruelty against wildlife, and five specifically for aggravated cruelty.
He could face up to $2m in fines and a maximum of 49 years in prison.
In Victoria, offenders face up to $48,000 in fines and/or 12 months’ imprisonment for animal cruelty and up to $96,000 in fines and/or two years’ imprisonment for aggravated animal cruelty for each charge.
Illegally keeping protected animals without a permit carries a maximum penalty of about $9,500.
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Murray cod virtually gone from NSW Lower Darling after fish kills
Murray cod – a native fish classified as a vulnerable species – have virtually disappeared from the New South Wales’ Lower Darling, pointing to an environmental crisis following 2019 and 2023 fish kills in that part of the river.
A survey by NSW Fisheries undertaken in May has revealed the scale of the impact on fish populations, showing attempts at repopulating the river after the 2018-19 drought appear to have failed.
The survey was undertaken after a major blackwater event in March that killed millions of fish, mainly bony herring but also perch and Murray cod.
It found that the numbers of Murray cod were “substantially lower” when compared with preceding years.
No cod were captured at sites upstream from weir 32 near the top of the Menindee Lakes system, although the report noted that anglers had reported capturing some in this part of the river.
They were captured in “low abundance” in the 200km of river downstream between Menindee and Pooncarie, and all were below 500mm in size and sub-adult, the report said.
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NSW premier admits $125,000 recruitment process for job was unnecessary
NSW premier Chris Minns has conceded a recruitment process to select a candidate already well-fancied by the state’s transport minister wasted taxpayer money, AAP reports.
Labor has been under fire for weeks over the appointment of former corporate affairs executive and Labor staffer Josh Murray to lead the country’s largest transport department.
Documents provided to parliament this month showed transport minister Jo Haylen’s office requested Murray be interviewed for the role after recruiters declined to shortlist him. He later made a final shortlist.
Haylen has said a $125,000 recruitment process was run to assure herself Murray was the best person she could appoint to head the key agency.
In retrospect, the money was not required, Minns said on Monday. He told Sydney radio 2GB:
Given that Mr Murray was appointed to the job, obviously, we want to make sure that we don’t spend that money when we don’t need to.
In retrospect, it wasn’t required. If you know who you want for the position, we want to make sure that we’re in a position where we can appoint those senior public servants for those difficult jobs.
Opposition transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward said the comments were an admission the process to appoint Murray “was a sham”.
She has led the coalition’s cries of “jobs for the boys”, pointing to the incoming transport tsar’s Labor connections.
Murray served as chief of staff in the Iemma government before climbing the corporate affairs ladder at infrastructure giant Laing O’Rourke.
The government has dismissed suggestions of wrongdoing and pointed out overseeing Transport for NSW’s $26bn annual budget was far from a cushy position, unlike in other recent “jobs for the boys” scandals.
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The NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services has just confirmed with us that of the 20 marines that went to hospital after the aircraft crash, five remain in hospital.
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Circling back to Albanese: he is asked whether he will raise concerns about detained Australian Yang Hengjun when meeting with the Chinese president at the G20 summit next month.
Albanese:
Yes, we always raise issues of Australian citizens where either myself or my ministers meet with our international counterparts, including China.
As my colleagues Ben Doherty and Rafqa Touma reported earlier, Yang fears he could die in a Chinese prison from a worsening medical condition he says is not being properly treated.
You can read the full story here:
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United States president Joe Biden has sent his condolences to the families of three marines who died during a military training exercise in Australia on Sunday.
Tweeting, Biden wrote:
Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families of the Marines who lost their lives in this deadly crash. We are praying for those who also suffered injuries.
Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families of the Marines who lost their lives in this deadly crash. We are praying for those who also suffered injuries. https://t.co/sztAUHbpeB
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 28, 2023
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Albanese on the parties’ gaps over voice
Prime minister Anthony Albanese said that when Liberal MP Julian Leeser was “hand-picked” by opposition leader Peter Dutton to be shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, knowing there would be a referendum this term, he saw it as a “really positive sign”.
Albanese said:
To me, you have the campaign for ‘no’ undermined by the fact that Peter Dutton says that he supports constitutional recognition – tick, tick – he says that he supports legislating a voice, that’s the Liberal party policy. Well, so do we. The only difference is that we don’t think it should be able to be abolished with the stroke of a pen.
Its composition and procedures are very clearly up to the parliament. We agree on that. So, in spite of all the noise here, there is not a big gap between the positions. What there’s a gap between is what some in the ‘no’ campaign say this is about.
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PM offers condolences after marines killed in aircraft crash
Speaking live from Perth, Anthony Albanese has just expressed condolences to the three US marines who died during a military exercise in Australia yesterday.
The prime minister said:
This is a difficult time for the families and friends and, indeed, all of the US Defence personnel, particularly those who are present in the Northern Territory and around Australia. They are good friends. We have no closer allies than the United States. And this incident is, indeed, tragic.
But once again, Australian emergency personnel, as well as our defence forces, as well as those people in the medical sector at the Royal Darwin Hospital, have shown the best of the Australian character in looking after our American friends.
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Man charged after woman’s body found in south-west Sydney unit
Earlier this morning, police gave an update following the arrest of Danny Zayat.
Canadian national Tatiana Dokhotaru was found dead in her unit at Liverpool, in Sydney’s south-west, in May. Her partner, Zayat, was found with her body and has since been charged with 22 domestic violence-related offences.
Police said her mobile phone had still not been located, but a “large number of people” came forward and helped police build a case in relation to what will be alleged against Zayat.
What we’re saying is from the evidence that we’ve gathered so far to date, and what we’ll allege in court, was shortly after the 000 phone call was made, by Tatiana, just before midnight on May 26, and the phone being thrown out of the unit, police will allege that this 28-year-old man assaulted Tatiana causing her death… So it’s very tragic circumstances.
Police were asked about the response time to the incident, and said it would be investigated:
18 hours in the unit [is] very distressing obviously for the family, and again, that’s a separate investigation of inquiry.
Police also said locating the phone could still be useful for conviction and urged anyone to come forward:
But as of this morning with this charge, we’re satisfied that we’ve got a strong group of evidence against this man.
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University of Melbourne staff launch extended strike
University of Melbourne staff have walked off the job and are gathering in the thousands to call for better working and teaching conditions.
Abigail Fisher, a PhD candidate and tutor in the Faculty of Arts, will tell the crowd that to be a graduate researcher is to “get pretty used to hearing that you have no future in academia”.
For many of us, the future that isn’t a future looks like vying for casual or fixed-term contracts … possibly working across multiple universities.
I'm not going to my classes this week in solidarity with the @NTEUUniMelb strike! I'd like to see my tutors paid a living wage with certainty that they'll have a job next semester #unimelbstrikes
— Sophie Nguyen (@soph_ngu) August 28, 2023
Fisher will say that in her seven years at the university, she has witnessed people burn out, be discarded, leave the sector and grapple with high workloads. She’s planning to be a high school teacher after completing her PhD but is striking for the staff whose passion and drive make the university the place it is, yet who remain undervalued.
Heading on strike @NTEUUniMelb @NTEUVictoria at @UniMelb - I've had 37 contracts since 2017, an average of one contract every 59 days. Secure work now! pic.twitter.com/0Q0oWAyWIm
— Dr Sophie Lamond (@sophielamond) August 28, 2023
If we stick around at all, it seems that we’re supposed to do so quietly, for as long as we are convenient – tutor for two or 10 or 20 years without sick leave or parental leave, attempt to publish quality research with no time allocated in our workloads to do so, and in many cases to disappear.
Staff from several faculties are striking for seven days, with the Faculty of Arts to vote tomorrow on an extended strike.
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Survivor still in ICU after US military aircraft crash
NT Health representative Marco Briceno said that one of the patients was in the ICU and the other patients remained in the normal wards.
Of the 20 patients brought in to the hospital following the crash, 12 have returned to the barracks, he added.
We wanted to see all those patients to ensure [they were] given medical clearance before they actually go back to their normal place of work or where they live. They were involved in a significant accident and hidden injuries are possible and we wanted to see every single one of those patients.
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NT chief minister Natasha Fyles paid credit to the healthcare workers at Royal Darwin hospital who worked to respond to the incident yesterday.
I think is absolutely a credit to everyone involved that we were able to get 20 patients from an extremely remote location on an island into our tertiary hospital within a matter of hours.
It was all hands on deck at Royal Darwin hospital in making sure we provided the care to the patients that were in the hospital already, but preparing [to] care for an unknown number of patients with unknown illnesses and injuries.
We certainly were able to achieve that [and] it’s a credit to our hardworking health staff and those that worked with them.
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Recovering US marines' bodies remains priority after crash, NT police chief says
Northern Territory police commissioner Michael Murphy is currently speaking to the media following the death of three US marines following an aircraft crash in Australia yesterday:
Murphy couldn’t say what caused the crash, but said the priority right now remained on the “recovery of the three marines with dignity”.
When asked if they had been formally identified, NT chief minister Natasha Fyles said:
As you can imagine, it was the middle of the night on the other side of the world for these families. So the US marines have a process and that has been enacted, and they’ll be putting out further statements around that.
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Retail sales perked up July but remain subdued from a year ago
Retail turnover rose 0.5% in July (seasonally adjusted), which beat economists’ expectations of a 0.2% rise, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has just reported.
Retail turnover rose 0.5% in July, better than the market expected. Sales, though, are up 2.1% from a year ago, a drop in real terms given the roughly 5% inflation rate. (Source:@ABSStats
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 28, 2023
) pic.twitter.com/uHu1bBxE5x
The numbers, though, can be a bit volatile, having risen at a 0.8% clip in May and then retreated as much in June (the last month the Reserve Bank lifted its cash rate).
Champagne, though, will probably remain unbottled among retailers as the numbers remain on the weak side.
Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics, said:
While there was a rise in July, underlying growth in retail turnover remained subdued. In trend terms, retail turnover was unchanged in July and up only 1.9 per cent compared to July 2022, despite considerable price growth over the year.
Apparently there was a Women’s World Cup effect too, with a 1.3% increase in spending up in cafes, restaurants and takeaway outlets.
Clothing and accessories (eg Matildas gear) picked up 2% and apparently department stores were also in vogue, with turnover advancing 3.6%.
Will we see the spending growth sustained now that the Cup has been supped?
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Ballarat Foto Biennale opens entries for AI prompt prize
Australia’s premier photographic festival has announced an AI “promptography” competition for the first time.
Ballarat International Foto Biennale has opened entires for its 2023 international AI prize, Prompted Peculiar, saying:
As new technology impacts visual culture, Prompted Peculiar is an invitation to debate where this new art of ‘promptography’ belongs.
The term “promptography” was coined earlier this year when German photographer Boris Eldagsen turned down the first prize in the creative open category of the Sony World Photography awards, saying his image was generated by AI and “not photography”.
The overall winner will receive $2,000 and the people’s choice $1,000. Finalists will be selected by an international judging panel, including Eldagsen. Prize winners will be announced on 8 October.
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Early education sector says SA royal commission shows detailed blueprint for rollout over entire nation
Peak bodies say the findings of a royal commission into South Australia’s early childhood education system could have national implications for how Australia can provide comprehensive universal care.
The report, headed by the former prime minister Julia Gillard, recommended a drastic overhaul of the sector including dedicated degrees in early childhood education, out-of-hours care and setting up a body to ensure children are developmentally on track when starting primary school.
The review was set up to provide a blueprint on how to universally roll out preschool for three and four year-olds by 2032 – an Australian first.
The Minderoo Foundation’s Jay Weatherill said the South Australian government was leading the national conversation with “incredibly bold” early learning reforms, adding the body was “thrilled” with the findings.
The South Australian government has the opportunity to ... lead by example on national, broad-scale early learning reforms and work towards building a universally accessible early learning system across Australia. It’s the first time we’ve seen a detailed blueprint for the implementation of early childhood development in this country.
There are currently three ongoing reviews into the sector, led by the ACCC, the productivity commission and the federal government with its early years strategy. Weatherill said the commission was an “obvious resource” for the bodies to take advantage of.
The Parenthood’s CEO, Jess Rudd, said the report’s recommendations set out a path for “holistic reform”:
We must act urgently to address potential workforce shortages and childcare deserts. Planning for a well-equipped, appropriately rewarded workforce and ensuring access to services across regions must be a priority for all policy makers.
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Three dead and five in hospital after US marine aircraft crashes in NT
AAP has reported a condition update on the US marines involved in a military plane crash during a training exercise on Sunday night.
As we brought you earlier, rescue crews are working to recover the bodies of three deceased US marines after a US military aircraft carrying 23 marines crashed on Melville Island during a training exercise.
Five marines were taken to Royal Darwin hospital last night as part of rescue efforts, one in critical condition, with three confirmed dead.
Six have serious injuries and 13 are “walking wounded” with broken bones but were able to assist paramedics with transfers.
The NT police commissioner, Michael Murphy, chief minister, Natasha Fyles, and health representative, Marco Briceno, are expected to speak to the media very shortly. We will bring you the latest here on the blog.
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Emergency services investigating if fatal Sydney fire was caused by lithium ion batteries
Fire and Rescue NSW investigators say they will continue to examine the scene of a fatal fire in Sydney’s west over the weekend to determine its cause. It marks the eighth death due to residential fires in NSW this winter.
The fire broke out on the top floor of a two-storey townhouse in Punchbowl, on Highclere Avenue, around 10pm on Saturday night. A man and a woman made it safely outside but the third resident, a 54-year-old man, was overcome by smoke after grabbing a fire extinguisher and rushing upstairs to douse the flames.
Emergency services, including around a dozen fire engines, rushed to the scene and firefighters carried the unconscious man from the building. CPR was applied, but paramedics were unable to revive him.
FRNSW said a number of damaged lithium ion batteries were found in the ruins, but investigators will seek to determine whether they were responsible for the blaze.
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Man arrested after $40,000 of allegedly stolen goods seized
A man has been arrested and more than $40,000 of allegedly stolen goods has been seized following an investigation into organised shop theft rings in Melbourne’s north.
On Friday detectives seized a large amount of baby formula, medication, cosmetics, vitamins, clothing and electrical appliances from a Sunshine North address.
Police will allege the man paid associates to steal the items from supermarkets and retail outlets over a period of months, which he would then allegedly sell to overseas and local buyers. Police also seized an imitation firearm and over $3,000 cash which they allege to be the proceeds of crime.
The 34-year-old man was arrested and later charged with handle stolen goods, deal with property suspected being proceeds of crime, knowingly deal with proceeds of crime, possess prohibited weapon and possess controlled weapon. He was bailed to appear before Sunshine mgistrates’ court on 12 February next year.
This comes as major supermarkets Coles and Woolworths both noted a rise in theft in their latest profit reports. Coles noted a 20% increase in stock losses due to rising organised retail crime and customer theft tied to cost-of-living pressures:
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Education bodies welcome crackdown on fraudulent providers
Peak bodies have welcomed the federal government’s crackdown on fraudulent course providers, calling the reforms a “step in the right direction” to protect the reputation of Australia’s international student sector.
The Australian Technology Network of Universities said any changes aimed at improving integrity and governance of international visa channels were welcome. The reforms would allow the federal government to suspend dodgy course providers, while also closing a loophole allowing providers to profiteer off moving international students from education into work.
[The] strong new measures ... will ensure Australia’s highly valued international education sector is both better protected and future proofed.
Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said prior to the pandemic, education added $41bn to the economy.
That’s why it’s essential that we protect the integrity of this national asset – for the benefit of our universities, our students and the nation.
We welcome the government’s action, which we have called for, to crack down on dodgy and unscrupulous operators seeking to exploit students for personal gain. These measures put students first, which is where they belong.
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Liberal senator presses EY on assumptions over federal contribution towards Commonwealth Games
Victorian Liberal senator Sarah Henderson has accused consultancy firm EY of “blatantly breaching the rules of the Senate” after representatives refused to answer questions about the assumption the federal government would contribute $200m to the event.
Henderson grilled EY representatives over their contribution to the Commonwealth Games business case which originally estimated the event would cost $2.6bn to host. The Victorian government last month announced the cancellation of the event, citing a blowout to $6-$7bn.
In a tense exchange during the Senate inquiry into the cancellation, Henderson pressed EY representatives about what assumptions underpinned the expected $200m contribution from the federal government, as stated in the business case.
Dean Yates, a partner at EY, says the federal contribution was “an assumption that we took at face value”. Leigh Walker, another partner, argued that she could not answer the question because it could reveal confidential cabinet information.
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Investigation begins into US marines Osprey crash in NT
Northern Territory police commissioner Michael Murphy spoke to ABC Darwin radio earlier this morning about the aircraft crash in Australia yesterday where three US marines were killed during a training exercise.
Murphy said he first received a call about the Osprey aircraft crash after 9am yesterday. He immediately called the emergency operation centre – focussing on bushfires across the NT – to divert their focus to a rescue mission.
He said the crash was 2km inland from an airstrip, through rough terrain and heavy bushland, with emergency services deployed. Helicopters were used, as well as 4WD’s:
It was a long process [with] a lot of walking involved as well and getting patients back to the airstrip so they can safely be dispatched.
Murphy couldn’t comment on the specific injuries of those involved but said the injured were repatriated yesterday evening with the help of Care Flight and police aircraft, and are in the care of Royal Darwin Hospital.
The repatriation didn’t include the deceased, Murphy said:
That’s part of the recovery operation at the moment.
Murphy also said the investigation into the crash began yesterday.
We’ve got some detectives, we’re working closely with the transport investigators through [the] Defence Force and the US Marine Corps, that’s underway there.
We need to navigate through the scene carefully with the fire service as well, so that will be ongoing and obviously that in itself is will be enduring and complex.
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Steven Miles rejects rumours of Queensland coup against Paluszczuk
Queensland deputy premier Steven Miles also used a press conference with Shannon Fentiman to pour cold water on days of leadership speculation around the eight-year old government.
Both have been floated as potential successors to the premier, Annastacia Paluszczuk.
The premier flew out of the country for a European holiday last week, on the back of one of the most controversial parliamentary sitting weeks of the year.
Miles pointed out that most of the cabinet has been there since they won government in 2015:
There are many, many people who could step up down the track. But what we have right now is a strong, stable united team, led by Annastacia Paluszczuk.
Asked by journalists if either wanted the top job, Fentiman and Miles heaped praise on each other’s performance in the current role.
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Acting Queensland premier rejects youth justice criticism by eminent judge
The acting premier of Queensland, Steven Miles, has rejected criticism by former justice Margaret McMurdo that the government’s new youth justice laws were “madness” and part of a “race to the bottom”
McMurdo, a former president of the court of appeals, was appointed the head of women’s safety and justice taskforce by the Paluszczuk government and is currently a patron of the justice reform commission. In a column for the Courier Mail, she called for a bipartisan shift in approach on youth justice:
For the sake of our victims, our troubled young people and all Queensland taxpayers, I implore the premier and the leader of the opposition to abandon the madness of the current law and order youth justice action. Prevention, early intervention and rehabilitation in the community is the most effective way to reduce youth crime.
Miles rejected the criticism:
We are investing in rehabilitation. We are investing in community programmes, we are investing intervention and prevention, and those programmes are working. So it’s not fair to say that we aren’t focused on that. But what we also have is a group of violent repeat offenders, who police are concerned are a safety risk to the community.
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Greens call for cuts to private education to fund public education to 100% of schooling resource standards
Public schools could be fully funded immediately if government spending on the private system was reduced by a third, the Greens have urged.
Following the release of a report today by the Centre for Future Work, the Greens have called on federal and state and territory governments to deliver 100% of the schooling resource standard (SRS) to all public schools at the start of the next national school reform agreement in 2025.
Currently, 98% of public schools are underfunded according to the SRS, the minimum amount required to deliver staffing and resources, while internal Department of Education figures released earlier this year found 1,152 private schools would be overfunded by $3.2bn.
The report found it would cost an additional $6.6bn a year to ensure all public schools receive 100% of the SRS. Private schools received $18.6bn in combined funding in 2021.
Greens spokesperson on schools, Senator Penny Allman-Payne:
Before we start tinkering with teacher training and methodologies, let’s make sure that there are enough teachers in schools, and enough resources and support for them to deliver a good education for our kids.
There’s only one thing that will fix that: money. Right now, public schools don’t have enough, while private schools have too much. It’s as simple as that. Our kids are crying out for a chance and all they’re getting are pointless reviews and platitudes.
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EY partner says no opportunity for firm to visit sites or consult when giving Commonwealth Games cost estimates
Dean Yates, a partner at EY, says the Victorian government’s constraints limited the consulting firm’s ability to provide a thorough cost estimate of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Speaking at a Senate inquiry examining the cancellation of the Games, Yates said there was no opportunity for the firm to visit games sites or consult with councils or venue operators:
It meant that we were estimating preliminary costs because the ability to verify those things were limited given the constraints that we had.
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University of Melbourne staff to launch ‘unprecedented’ week-long strike
The University of Melbourne is poised to kick off seven days of “unprecedented” strikes today, representing the longest ongoing industrial action of any Australian university’s history.
From midday, thousands of union members will march to the university’s Raymond Priestly building in their greatest push yet for secure work, a reduction in workloads and a pay rise in line with inflation.
Ready to join my brilliant teachers on the picket line this week for #UniMelbStrikes.
— Anna Langford (@AnnaSLangford) August 27, 2023
They work bloody hard and deserve good secure jobs. pic.twitter.com/nHMs6JhWMG
Following today’s action, members from the Melbourne Law School, Faculty of Arts, student services, the library, the Victorian College of the Arts School of Art and the Faculty Fine Arts and Music Stagecraft team will remain off the job until the end of the week.
David Gonzalez, the NTEU University of Melbourne branch’s president, told Guardian Australia the university had repeatedly said it wanted to reduce its reliance on a casual workforce but were yet to produce a credible proposal.
If not now, when? With cuts to professional staff, the work doesn’t go away, it’s displaced to other people. Workloads for academics are never ending. People have had enough.
Since negotiations for the next enterprise bargaining agreement began a year ago, the union’s membership has swelled by 20%. Members are demanding a 15% pay rise over three years and for 80% of jobs at the university to be ongoing.
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EY partner defends Commonwealth Games estimates provided to Victorian government before Senate inquiry
Dean Yates, a partner at EY, says he is confident the original costs for the Commonwealth Games provided to the Victorian government was robust. He is speaking before the Senate inquiry into the cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Yates said the consulting firm provided a “range of estimates” which included a worst and best-case scenario:
We tested the validity of some of the workings there. We were very comfortable with the accuracy of the estimates.
They were early estimates because there was only a limited amount of information known.
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Partner arrested over death of Tatiana Dokhotaru
The partner of a woman has been arrested by detectives after a three-month investigation, AAP reports.
Canadian national Tatiana Dokhotaru, 34, was found dead in her unit at Liverpool, in Sydney’s south-west, on the evening of Saturday, May 27. Dokhotaru’s partner, Danny Zayat, was found with her body and has since been charged with 22 domestic violence-related offences.
A court heard in July the pair were in a relationship for five years, but in May 2022 Dokhotaru took out an apprehended violence order against him.
On May 26 this year, Dokhotaru called triple zero but police were unable to locate which apartment in the Liverpool apartment tower the call was coming from, the court was told.
Police allege the call ended abruptly when Dokhotaru’s phone was hurled out of the apartment window.
Detectives arrested the 28-year-old Zayat in his St Clair home on Monday. He is being questioned by police.
A separate internal police investigation is looking into all other circumstances surrounding the triple-zero call and subsequent death of Dokhotaru.
• In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.
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EY fronts Commonwealth Games Senate inquiry
Representatives from Ernst & Young are now appearing before the Senate inquiry into the cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Dean Yates, partner at EY, says the consulting firm helped to develop the economic impact analysis as part of the event’s business case:
Our team has undertaken similar assessments using the same frameworks for other major events, for example the Grand Prix, the Olympic Games and other Commonwealth Games.
We stand by the work we did to assist with the development of the business case.
Yates said the Victorian government commissioned the consulting firm in 2021 to work on the Commonwealth Games business case.
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Fortescue CEO to leave in latest executive change
Fortescue Metals chief executive Fiona Hick will leave the iron ore miner just six months after taking on the top role.
The change comes during a turbulent couple of years at Fortescue marked by a large number of executive changes and the pursuit of a new growth leg in hydrogen and clean energy projects.
Fortescue said in a statement that Hick made a joint decision with the board to leave:
The departure of Fiona has been both friendly and mutual and we warmly wish her the best for her future.
Hick joined Fortescue in February. She will be replaced by the head of operations, Dino Otranto.
Victorian taxis to be forced to use meters as anti-price gounging measures
Victorian taxi drivers will be forced to turn on their meters for rides hailed on the street or ranks under regulation changes to stop fare gouging, AAP reports.
The Victorian government is updating commercial passenger industry regulations to ban taxi drivers from negotiating fares for unbooked trips in Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo. The changes will kick in from 28 September ahead of the AFL grand final, Melbourne Cup carnival and Australian Open.
Taxi drivers were allowed to negotiate the cost of a ride if approached without a booking after the industry was deregulated in 2018 to accommodate rideshare services such as Uber. It has resulted in some taxi drivers requesting exorbitant prices for short trips during major Melbourne events, including the Australian Open and the Formula One Grand Prix.
The public transport minister, Ben Carroll, said in a statement today:
We’re making sure the rules are clear and that people travelling by rank and hailing taxis will get to where they need to go without frustrating price hikes.
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Fog causing delays at Melbourne airport
Heavy fog is expected to cause delays and disruption throughout the morning at Melbourne airport. In a statement, a spokesperson for the airport said:
We expect the fog and resulting delays will cause disruption for most of the morning. We recommend passengers check with their airline for flight updates.
The Guardian understands that aircraft are still landing at the airport, but fog is restricting the number of aircraft that air traffic control can manage. Aircraft landing in Melbourne can expect to circle for up to 90 minutes, while flights that haven’t departed from Melbourne yet are being held on the ground.
We will bring you the latest as we hear more.
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1.5 million Australians at risk of mortgage stress, research shows
A record 1.5 million people are now “at risk” of mortgage stress across Australia, as interest rate hikes continue to bite.
In the three months to July, over 640,000 more households became at risk of mortgage stress, after a year of rate rises by the Reserve Bank. The figure represents the highest number of people experiencing mortgage stress since May 2008, at the height of the global financial crisis.
It represents nearly a third of all mortgage holders across the country, with the number of mortgage holders now considered “extremely at risk” of mortgage stress also increasing to just over a million. That represents over 20% of mortgage holders, significantly above the long-term average over the last 15 years of 15.4%.
The new research from Roy Morgan also showed mortgage risk is set to increase if the RBA decides to increase interest rates again in September.
The CEO at Roy Morgan, Michele Levine, said the increases in mortgage stress were “substantial” and that any increases to unemployment – the largest factor in a household’s ability to pay their mortgage – would make things worse.
The variable that has the largest impact on whether a borrower falls into the ‘at risk’ category is related to household income – which is directly related to employment.
The latest figures on mortgage stress show that rising interest rates are causing a large increase in the number of mortgage holders considered ‘at risk’ and further increases will spike these numbers even further.
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Commonwealth Games Australia says they did not request gag clause on settlement with Victoria
Ben Houston, the president of Commonwealth Games Australia, says the body did not request a confidentiality clause in the $380m settlement reached with the Victorian government over the axed event.
Last week, the Victorian government confirmed the cancellation of the event would cost taxpayers $380m. The settlement has a gag clause which prevents parties from discussing the deal.
Houston told the Senate inquiry the confidentiality clause was not proposed by the sporting body:
We didn’t ask for it.
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Commonwealth Games Australia CEO says body has not seen estimates that show cost blowout
Commonwealth Games Australia representatives are appearing before a federal inquiry that will probe the event’s cancellation.
The inquiry was originally established to investigate Australia’s preparedness to host the major sporting event and the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics. But after the Victorian government cancelled the event, citing a cost blowout from $2.6bn to between $6-7bm, submissions were reopened.
Craig Phillips, the chief executive of Commonwealth Games Australia, says he was first made aware of the cost blowout by a senior bureaucrat on the day the Victorian government announced the cancellation.
Phillips said the sporting body has not seen the estimates that calculated the cost blowouts.
As we brought you earlier, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has declined to appear before the Senate committee, but the former Victorian sports minister, Martin Pakula, will give evidence at the inquiry this afternoon.
Updated
In some sports news, Eleanor Patterson and Nicola Olyslagers have claimed silver and bronze in an emotion-charged women’s high jump in Budapest, lifting Australia to a best-ever medal haul of six at a world athletics championships.
You can read the full story here:
Recovery continues after deadly US military crash in Northern Territory
As we brought you earlier, rescue and recovery crews have worked through the night on a remote Northern Territory island following a military plane crash that killed three US marines.
Investigators are determining what caused the US military Boeing MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft carrying 23 marines to crash on Melville Island, 80km north of Darwin, on Sunday morning.
The hospital declared a code brown – the country’s highest level of alert – in response, with NT’s chief minister, Natasha Fyles, committing all resources to transport the injured marines to hospital.
The crash site was secured by defence force personnel and NT police while the military training exercise the troops were involved in has been put on hold.
The emergency services’ chief commissioner, Michael Murphy, said workers at an emergency operation centre set up to tackle fires in the territory had been redeployed to the crash site, with the national critical care and trauma response team triaging patients before they were transported.
He said the remote nature of the incident made the rescue operation challenging, with both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft involved.
– from AAP
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Bridget McKenzie: Dan Andrews has ‘thrown an invisibility cloak’ over decision-making process for Commonwealth Games cancellation
The Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie spoke to ABC RN this morning, criticising the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, for not appearing before a federal inquiry examining the state’s cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
As we brought you earlier, the former Victorian sports minister Martin Pakula is set to give evidence at the inquiry this afternoon. While acknowledging Andrews is not compelled to appear before the inquiry, McKenzie argued this was an opportunity for him to “front up, explain that decision and face scrutiny around that”.
The decision by the Victorian Labor government to cancel the Commonwealth Games has reverberated across the globe. It’s damaged our international reputation and Australians have a right to know how it could go so wrong, so quickly.
… Andrews has thrown an invisibility cloak over his officials, his ministers, and this whole decision making process within the Victorian government has been shrouded in secrecy.
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Target 180,000 fee-free Tafe enrolments have been filled
The Albanese government says its 180,000 fee-free Tafe enrolments have been filled within six months.
According to a statement from the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the skills and training minister, Brendan O’Connor, fee-free Tafe enrolments have reached 214,300 in the first six months – six months earlier than anticipated and nearly 35,000 more enrolments than expected.
23.8% of enrolments are in the care sector (across health care, aged care and disability care). Meanwhile, 9.8% of enrolments are within the construction sector, 7.8% in technology and 5.5% in early childhood care.
Women make up the majority of enrolments at 60.2%, and more than a third of enrolments (34.1%) are in regional locations.
The fee-free places were first announced during a job summit last year. Albanese said:
Working with states and territories, in six months we have smashed our target of 180,000 fee-free enrolments by almost 35,000 places – this is a terrific achievement.
Fee-free training offers a huge cost of living relief for students, grows the recruitment pool for businesses and eases the skills shortages that hold our economy back.
Updated
Victorian sports minister to face grilling over games axing
The former Victorian sports minister, Martin Pakula, is set to give evidence at a federal inquiry examining the state’s cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, AAP reports.
While the premier, Daniel Andrews, is not expected to front the Melbourne hearings of the federal Senate inquiry into Australia’s preparedness to host the 2026 Commonwealth and 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Pakula is listed to appear on Monday afternoon.
The inquiry had been due to conclude earlier this year, but submissions were reopened after the Victorian government’s surprise decision in July to scrap the Games over cost blowouts.
The Commonwealth Games’ chief executive officer, Craig Phillips, will be the first witness at the inquiry’s Melbourne hearings, followed by Games president, Ben Houston, and chef de mission, Petria Thomas.
Several regional councils and representatives from tourism and event bodies negatively impacted when the Games were scrapped will also provide submissions.
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Stephen Jones on stage-three tax cuts: ‘very, very few’ young Australians he knows will benefit
The assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, was asked about the stage-three tax cuts while appearing on ABC RN this morning, and reaffirmed the governments commitment to them:
[The] prime minister made a promise before the election and there’s been no change to our policy.
He was asked how the stage-three tax cuts deal with the “intergenerational tax bomb” and said income tax is just one part of the overall tax and revenue system:
We’ve made it quite clear that our priorities [are] multinational tax avoidance [and] ensuring we have greater compliance with the existing tax laws before we were to go to Australians and say we think you need to pay more.
Jones was also asked how many young people he knows that are going to benefit from the stage-three tax cuts:
Very, very few.
[The] stage-three tax cuts benefit everybody over $45,000 a year and before you jump into it, yes, I know, the greatest benefit flows to the people on the highest incomes, no doubt about that.
However, Jones claimed it was “simply not true” that younger Australians are going to pay the highest tax burden over the next 40 years when questioned on this.
Updated
Littleproud says AEC should reconsider stance over crosses
Nationals leader David Littleproud was also up on ABC News Breakfast this morning, speaking about the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum. He was asked about comments made by no campaigners, including opposition leader Peter Dutton, last week that referendum rules are “rigged”.
Littleproud did not agree that the Australian Electoral Commission is being “unfair” but still argued it is “common sense” for a cross to be counted as a “no” vote, like a tick for “yes”.
The fact is that the AEC has an opportunity to lead on this … there should be a tick for a cross or a yes or a no. They should be clearly enunciated so there is a sense of fairness. That is the AEC’s job and I ask them to recoil from their position and understand that they have an opportunity to lead and understand that Australia has changed from the last time that they got advice on this.
On Friday, the AEC issued a statement “completely and utterly” rejecting the assertion it was acting unfairly, suggesting claims were “based on emotion rather than the reality of the law”. It’s also important to note that crosses haven’t been accepted on referendum papers since the 1980s:
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Qantas boss Alan Joyce set to appear before Senate inquiry at 3.30pm
Outgoing Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce is set for a grilling by senators on cost of living pressures as the airline is criticised for its huge profits, AAP reports. Joyce, who will step down in November, will appear before a Senate committee on the rising cost of living on Monday.
According to the agenda he will be appearing around 3.30pm this afternoon. It will be the first time in almost a decade the airline boss has appeared before a parliamentary committee.
The Flying Kangaroo posted a record underlying profit of $2.47bn for the past financial year, after it recorded a loss of almost $2bn the year before. The airline had been under fire for posting the profit despite receiving $2.7bn from taxpayers in financial support during the pandemic, including $900m from the jobkeeper program.
Joyce previously said the airline would not repay the money to the government because the funds went to employees.
The government has said it had no intention of pursuing the return of the money, with the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, acknowledging record profits were a sign of the tourism industry bouncing back after a pandemic-induced downturn.
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Marles: voice referendum an opportunity to reunify our nation
Circling back to some other comments from the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, who spoke to ABC News Breakfast earlier:
Marles was asked about waning support for the Indigenous voice to parliament in the main polls. Responding, he said there is a “yearning” around Australia for proper recognition of First Nations people:
We need to be doing this in a way where we do close the gap. The fact that a part of our population, by virtue of their birth, end up living shorter lives, less healthy lives, receive less education and are poorer, is simply not acceptable.
It really flies in the face of what we see as the Australian ethos of a fair go for all. And I think when you give that message, it resonates with Australians, and I know that we will be, and the yes campaign will be, giving that message each and every day between now and the referendum.
This is an opportunity to unify the nation, just as the apology of the Stolen Generations was back in 2008. And I think that the day after a referendum is successful, it will be a huge moment for our country, and we’re going to be doing everything we can to try to deliver that moment.
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Ministerial comments on defence audit
Speaking on the defence estate audit of bases and infrastructure, Marles said:
The leads were set an ambitious but necessary task and timeline by the defence strategic review, but I am confident they can deliver this important piece of work. Now is the time to ensure the Defence estate meets Australia’s future security needs and allows effective, long-term management and sustainment, in line with the recommendations of the defence strategic review.
Thistlethwaite said:
Maintaining such a large and diverse estate requires investment decisions based on where they will make the greatest contribution to Defence capabilities. The audit will assist in accelerating the planning and delivery of infrastructure, including greater use of innovative methods for investment.
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Defence to conduct strategic audit of assets
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, and the assistant minister for defence, Matt Thistlethwaite, have directed defence to undertake a defence estate audit of bases and infrastructure. The audit will be conducted by the former manager director of Defence Housing Australia, Jan Mason, and the current chair of the Infrastructure Victoria Board, Jim Miller.
The defence strategic review called for the audit to be completed no later than the end of 2023, recognising that it was critical for force posture, improving force generation and increased preparedness to respond to Australia’s increasingly challenging strategic circumstances.
It will assess whether defence’s holdings reflect its contemporary needs – particularly those in high-density urban areas – considered in light of the government’s direction to prioritise investment in Australia’s northern network of bases, ports and barracks. The review will consider consolidation, divestment and disposal of estate assets that no longer contribute to contemporary ADF capability and force posture requirements.
Defence is the commonwealth’s largest land holding, with a footprint of over 2.8m hectares in every Australian state and territory with 70 major bases, over 72 training ranges and more than 30,000 built structures. These include barracks in Melbourne and Brisbane, and the RAAF base Williams in Melbourne. The cost of sustaining all defence estates is $12.2bn over four years.
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$6.6bn needed for public schools to meet minimum funding agreement
An extra $6.6bn is needed per year to meet the funding shortfalls at public schools, a new report has found.
The report, released by the Centre For Future Work, found a 15% increase across state, territory and federal governments was needed to meet the schooling resource standard (SRS) agreed to a decade ago under the Gonski reforms.
The jump equated to $6.6bn annually.
Only the ACT has currently reached the SRS, the minimum standard for a student’s education, while the Northern Territory is not on track to ever reach it. At the same time, most private schools are overfunded.
The report suggested meeting the funding requirements would reap between $17.8bn and $24.7bn a year in economic, productivity and social gains – up to four times the return on investment. Inadequate funding has been linked to falling school completion rates and declining relative performance in international achievement.
Students from disadvantaged socio-economic, regional, and Indigenous backgrounds are particularly affected, reporting wide performance gaps in the most recent Naplan results compared with students from affluent backgrounds and in cities.
Dr Jim Stanford, the director of the Centre for Future Work and co-author of the report, said Australia’s economic success relied “heavily” on the “potential of our young minds”.
The total economic benefits arising from adequate public school resourcing would be two to four times larger than the cost of meeting SRS funding standards. The fiscal gains associated with those economic benefits would ultimately offset the cost to government of improved public school funding. Let’s not rob our students, and our nation, of this opportunity.
The federal government has committed to getting 100% of schools to the SRS without a timeline in place. Unions have been calling for the target to be reached by 2028, as have the Greens.
Updated
Marles confirms 5 people from Osprey crash are in hospital
The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, spoke on ABC News Breakfast this morning, after three US marines were killed during a training exercise over the Tiwi Islands yesterday.
Marles said five of the 23 people who were on board are at Royal Darwin hospital . He was asked whether those training exercises have been suspended:
Look, I’m actually not sure of the circumstances of the full exercise.
What I do know, obviously, is that … our defence force was providing support around the crash immediately as were agencies of the Northern Territory government and we were doing everything that we could to make sure that we got people to get the care that they needed as quickly as possible, and also doing everything that we can around the recovery.
Speaking on the Osprey aircraft, Marles could say whether any Australians were on them during this exercise and “the operation of the Ospreys is a matter for the United States”.
Updated
US Embassy issues statement on Marine aircraft crash off NT
Last night, the US Embassy of Australia published a statement sending its deepest condolences go to the families and friends of the three US marines lost during the crash in Tiwi Islands yesterday:
…we wish a speedy and full recovery to the injured.
We are grateful to the Australian Defence Force, the Northern Territory government, the Royal Darwin hospital and all of the Australian first responders, healthcare workers, military personnel, and government officials who have reached out to provide assistance and offer condolences during this challenging time.
Australians and Americans have been the closest of friends for over a hundred years, and we’re thankful for their continued friendship and support at this time.
— U.S. Embassy Australia (@USEmbAustralia) August 27, 2023
Good morning
And happy Monday. Welcome to the Australia news liveblog – I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be with you this morning. To kick things off, here is what’s making headlines:
The federal education minister, Jason Clare, says he wants to finish the work of review leader David Gonski as a new report links inadequate public school funding to poorer outcomes, AAP reports. A new report by the Australia Institute has found a further $6.6bn is needed for public schools each year in order to meet the minimum standards states have committed to and boost high school completion rates.
Meanwhile, recovery crews are continuing their work after three United States marines were killed and at least five more injured after a defence aircraft crashed over the Tiwi Islands off the Northern Territory coast during a training drill yesterday. The US secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, said on social media:
We tragically lost service members during a training exercise in Australia overnight. These marines served our country with courage and pride, and my thoughts and prayers are with their families today, with the other troops who were injured in the crash, and with the entire USMC family.
Looking ahead, today we can expect the former Victorian sports minister Martin Pakula to get a grilling over the 2026 Commonwealth Games cancellation, and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will convene a cabinet meeting in Perth.
If you see anything you think needs attention on the blog, feel free to send me an email at emily.wind.casual@theguardian.com.
And with that, let’s get into it.
