What we learned, 2 February 2025
With that, we’re wrapping up the blog. Before we go, here are the major stories from Sunday:
The Labor government has shelved a plan to overhaul the country’s environmental laws for the second time;
Flood evacuation warnings have been issued for six suburbs around Townsville as monsoon rain has drenched parts of northern Queensland;
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has linked pro-Palestine protests that took place on university campuses to the spate of anti-Jewish graffiti across Sydney in recent weeks;
New South Wales police are investigating another incident of anti-Jewish graffiti scrawled across cars, garages and homes in eastern Sydney;
A community near the Grampians in Victoria have been ordered to evacuate as a fire burns out of control in the national park;
One person was killed in flood waters in Ingham when an SES boat they were travelling on capsized during a rescue operation.
We’ll pick things up again tomorrow.
Updated
Auction activity dips
Auction activity has dropped this weekend with 1,399 auctions held.
This is a sharp increase on the 429 held last week after the holiday break but a fall compared with the 1,712 auctions at the same time last year.
Based on results collected so far, CoreLogic’s summary found that the preliminary clearance rate was 65% across the country, which is higher than the 64.5% preliminary rate recorded last week but below the 68.3% actual rate on final numbers.
Across the capital cities:
Sydney: 289 of 461 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 67.5%
Melbourne: 344 of 479 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 65.4%
Brisbane: 109 of 161 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 58.7%
Adelaide: 94 of 156 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 61.7%
Canberra: 67 of 131 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 68.7%
Tasmania: No auctions held.
Perth: Five of 11 auctions held.
Updated
Fresh data to shed light on retail, housing strength
Australians are expected to have pulled back on retail spending after major sales, with the latest data unlikely to shift the dial for the Reserve Bank.
Stronger-than-expected retail sales figures could weaken the case for a central bank interest rate cut, but little can shake the market’s conviction that mortgage relief is around the corner.
Traders were pricing in more than a 90% chance the Reserve Bank of Australia would cut rates by 25 basis points on 18 February after a surprisingly soft inflation report at the end of January.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will reveal another gauge of the economy's strength on Monday when it releases retail spending data for December.
Some sense of what has been happening with the housing market in January will be revealed when property data firm CoreLogic releases its monthly home value index.
The statistics bureau will also release building approval figures for December on Monday.
Employment data will be in focus on Friday when non-farm payroll jobs figures are released, with the world’s strongest economy’s labour market still relatively tight at 4.1%.
- AAP
Updated
Police investigating potential link between jerry can found in abandoned crashed car and east Sydney anti-Jewish graffiti
Just to come back to the update from Strikeforce Pearl, Det Supt Darren Newman says 20 officers are investigating the anti-Jewish graffiti spray painted on cars, houses and a garage in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
The officers had no updates on the graffiti but Newman said police were investigating a motor vehicle collision in Rose Bay on Saturday night.
Newman said three men abandoned a silver Mazda they were travelling in when it crashed into a kerb, leaving the keys in the ignition and the engine running about 10pm.
Police found a carton full of eggs and an empty jerry can inside.
Police also received reports from a group of young women who said a group of young men threw eggs at them near Bondi Beach about half an hour before police were alerted to the abandoned car.
Police said the presence of the jerry can was concerning, and the relationship between these events and the anti-Jewish vandalism would form part of any investigation.
Updated
Dry conditions, strong winds and lightning with no rain making Grampians fire hard to contain, says chief fire officer
Forest Fire Management Victoria’s chief fire officer is giving an update on a bushfire burning out of control in the Grampians national park.
Chris Hardman said there were two active fires, including one in the Little Desert national park, north of the Grampians national park. Earlier today, the fire was considered contained, but he said dry conditions and strong winds had caused it to breach containment lines, and it was now burning south towards the McDonald Highway.
The other fire in the Grampians national park, the bigger of the two, is putting communities around the Victoria Valley at risk.
Hardman said the fires were coming out of dry, forested areas with steep rocky outcrops, making it difficult to access. Aerial assets were being used in an attempt to bring them under control.
The situation worsened with 8000 dry lightning strikes, and “none of that with rain”.
What we see is instability in the atmosphere, which causes thunderstorm activity, and quite often in conditions like we’re seeing with the heatwave conditions, that lightning can come out of those storms without any rain.
Updated
Latest antisemitic graffiti in Sydney’s east not linked to caravan plot, police say
Det Supt Darren Newman, commander of Strike Force Pearl, says New South Wales police are investigating the latest antisemitic graffiti, this time spray painted on homes and cars in Sydney’s east.
Newman said police do not believe the graffiti was linked to previous reports of vandalism in recent days, notably, a separate investigation involving a caravan filled with explosives.
That said, New South Wales police confirmed that “some of the incidents we are investigating under Strike Force Pearl are linked” but declined to provide more details. Newman said police were looking at timing and methods.
At this point in time, we have certainly been able to identify … and even as of Friday there was some antisemitic graffiti in Kingsford, and we made an arrest of a person while they were doing it.
Officers are out 24-7 looking for the individuals who may responsible for that type of offending.
Updated
Voters should ‘vote for nature’ at next election: Greens
The federal Labor government’s retreat on its long-promised Nature Positive reforms is a capitulation to vested interests, South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says.
Speaking in parliament house on Sunday, the Senator criticised the government for shelving its Nature Positive reforms for a second time.
The prime minister doesn’t have what it takes to protect Australia’s forest and to protect our wildlife. Gina Reinhardt, Roger Cook, the WA mining industry said, boo, and the prime minister jumped.
The Senator rubbished claims the Greens were making “increasingly extreme demands”, saying this was a convenient excuse by the prime minister, who did not want to negotiate.
The mining industry and the fossil fuel industry are going to take every inch they can to stop environmental regulation. I mean, you give these bastards an inch and they take a mile.
The Senator also described the opposition leader, Peter Dutton’s, performance on ABC Insiders earlier this morning as “sinister”, saying a Coalition government would be a re-run of Tony Abbott’s government upon his election in 2024.
What a sinister performance to tell Australians that you’re going to cut services, but you won’t tell Australians which services or by how much. And who does this bloke think he is? Does he really believe that Australians are going to appreciate being treated like mugs? Australians are not idiots.
Updated
More and more tourists are being attacked by dingoes on Queensland’s K’gari. Can it be stopped?
Four people were reportedly attacked by dingoes in separate encounters on the same Australian island in recent weeks – including a toddler who was flown to hospital after being bitten on the leg.
And this is just the latest spate of violent dingo-human interactions on the popular tourist island of K’gari, which last year saw a pack of three rush and bite a woman who was jogging along a beach, a dingo shot and killed with a spear gun and several others put down after attacking people.
David Crisafulli’s government has announced it will scrap the previous government’s move to cap visitor numbers during peak periods, a plan designed to help ease human interaction with the animals.
So what happens now?
For the answer to that question, read the full explainer by Guardian Australia’s Joe Hinchliffe:
Updated
Heatwave puts pressure on fire-ravaged Victoria
Sweltering, dry weather in February could spell a longer fire season in a state already ravaged by blazes, as a three-day heatwave is set to test firefighters.
An extended heatwave could worsen bushfires in two national parks that have destroyed property and burnt more than 100,000 hectares.
The mercury is predicted to reach the high 30s and low 40s across Victoria from Sunday to Tuesday as part of a three-day heatwave.
The high temperatures also bring the chance of dry thunderstorms and lightning, increasing the risk of fires in western and central districts, including metropolitan Melbourne.
Fires continue to burn in the Grampians National Park, while the threat in the Little Desert National Park has reduced after crews were able to contain the blaze.
Firefighters are working to manage hazardous trees, set up containment lines and extinguish hotspots as those living nearby are warned to enact their bushfire plan as conditions worsen.
High levels of smoke and ash have been reported in the area, with a smoke haze from the Grampians fire blanketing Adelaide on Sunday morning.
It comes as fire crews ready for a longer-than-usual fire season, with little rain predicted for Victoria in February.
Elsewhere, vast parts of WA have high and extreme fire danger ratings on Sunday as North Queenslanders brace for historic rainfall leading to life-threatening flooding.
- AAP
Updated
People with insufficient home insurance more likely to risk their lives in bushfires, experts say
People are more likely to risk their lives in bushfires if they are uninsured or underinsured, experts have said.
In the chaos of an approaching fire, most people struggle to make rational decisions; having no house insurance could feed into making the dangerous decision to stay and protect a home, bushfire behaviour and management professor at the University of Melbourne, Trent Penman, said.
Last year, 1.6m Australian households struggled to pay for home insurance, a 30% increase on the year before, according to the Actuaries Institute. Some areas also are becoming uninsurable.
A 2024 Compare the Market survey found more than one in four Australians did not have home or contents insurance.
It’s also the first essential item people stopped paying for “when things got tough”, the Australian Council of Social Service (Acoss) has found.
“Insurance premiums have surged by an average of 11% and as high as 30% in disaster-prone regions over the past year,” chief executive officer Dr Cassandra Goldie said.
For more on this story, read the full report by Guardian Australia reporter Tory Shepherd:
BoM: heavy rain likely to continue in north Queensland
Rainfall up to 620mm has fallen in 24 hours on some parts of northern Queensland in the latest Bureau of Meteorology update.
Dean Narramore, senior BoM meteorologist, said these falls have led to major flash and riverine flooding along the Herbert River, the Ross River, the Boley River and the Hortern River in the Townsville area.
Unfortunately, that rain is likely to continue in the coming days.
Narramore said a slow-moving tropical low sliding west-southwest across the state is driving moderate to heavy rainfall, with intense rainfall in some areas, conditions that will continue into Monday before it starts to ease.
The BoM was current warnings for heavy to locally-intense rainfall and damaging winds in the region with the potential for 400mm of rainfall in some areas.
Updated
Woman’s death in Queensland flood waters ‘heartbreaking’, says PM
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has described reports of a death in a community outside Townsville as “heartbreaking”.
Heartbreaking news out of Queensland today, with police confirming a woman has died in flood waters in Ingham.
My thoughts are with the family and the entire community at this awful time.
The full support of the Queensland and federal governments is being deployed to assist with these floods.
I have spoken with premier Crisafulli and reiterated we will supply whatever resources are required to deal with this event.
Updated
Papers, polls, PR and politics: meet the powerful lobby firm with a finger in every Tasmanian pie
Tasmania’s Derwent Valley Gazette is not the kind of publication that generally springs to mind as part of a powerful media empire. For 72 years, it has quietly served the local news needs of the region west of Hobart.
But some in the island state are concerned that ownership of a string of local publications and a polling company has passed to owners that also operate a powerful lobby firm, present political commentary on their podcast and have worked on campaigns for the incumbent Liberal government.
Font Public Relations, based in Hobart, represents clients with a high profile in the state, including Airbnb and Salmon Tasmania.
“No one knows their way around Tasmanian state and federal politics better,” its website says.
Until 2019, there was nothing very unusual about its work. But then the company saw an opportunity to move into the newspaper business, buying a handful of struggling local papers – including the Gazette and the Sorell Times.
Questions about media diversity at the time were met with assurances the titles would be independently edited.
In 2020, it added two more, and now Font Publishing manages eight titles across the state. None are large publications, but a bit of local coverage can go a long way in a market the size of Tasmania.
For more on this story, read the full feature from Guardian Australia investigative reporter Ariel Bogle:
Updated
Almost six years to the day since last major Townsville flood
Residents in parts of Townsville will have woken this morning with a sense of deja vu – it is almost six years to the day that the last major flood prompted evacuations of low-lying areas of north Queensland’s largest city.
Authorities have ordered a “black zone” be evacuated by midday. That includes mostly low-lying areas by the banks of the Ross River. They include Hermit Park, Railway Estate and Rosslea – all older city suburbs on the northern bank – and parts of the southern side with newer suburban areas, including Idalia, Oonoonba and Cluden.
More than 300mm is expected to hit parts of north Queensland in about six hours. The Ross River Dam, which flows down through Townsville, is already at 142% capacity.
That is still well below historical highs and the level from 2019. But if there is a huge dump of rain today, authorities will need to begin the fraught discussions about how and when water is released into the river system to ease pressure. Doing so can create flooding problems downstream.
Updated
Police respond to latest anti-Jewish vandalism in Sydney’s east
New South Wales police are investigating after homes and cars have been vandalised with anti-Jewish graffiti, the latest in a string of such incidents.
Police officers were called to See Lane, Kingsford and King Lane, Randwick on Sunday morning after reports of cars, garages and properties had been spray painted.
Crime scenes have been established at both locations and Strike Force Pearl, which has been set up to tackle hate crimes, is conducting an investigation.
New South Wales police has encouraged anyone with information to contact crime stoppers.
Updated
Evacuation orders could be expanded as Ingham flood threatens to be ‘worst flow’ in a century, says Crisafulli
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has flagged that evacuation orders may be expanded to other areas around Townsville should the situation change, and residents are encouraged to monitor information to respond.
The premier also says the flood at Ingham is “threatening to be the worst flow that Ingham has seen in a century”.
The 1927 event, there is not a lot of information of that, it was a large event; this is threatening to be as big as 1967, which is the flood that everybody uses as the benchmark. It will be bigger than 1977, 1998, this is a once in a century occurrence for the community. We just need to let them know we will be there in the weeks and months ahead.
Asked about the death reported earlier, Crisafulli says, “This will hurt.”
It is a small town and people matter.
Updated
Woman died in flood waters during SES rescue operation, police say
Queensland police are giving more details about the death during a State Emergency Service rescue operation.
Details are scarce, and with events unfolding, the situation is not always clear, but the current information says there were two SES workers and four members of the public on board the boat when it capsized.
A woman, one of the members of the public, died.
The cause of this is unknown, but floodwaters are notably hazardous places with debris and hidden objects that are not always visible.
Updated
Federal government announces emergency payments to flood-affected residents in Queensland
The federal government is activating recovery support for some flood-affected communities around Townsville, the minister for emergency services, Jenny McAllister, says.
This will enable affected area residents to access a $180 emergency payment and up to $900 for families of five or more, among other forms of financial aid for damaged household goods and income-tested grants for structural repairs and reconnection services.
The federal government will also support affected councils to carry out disaster-response efforts, such as road repair.
McAllister also extended her condolences to the family of the person who died at Ingham.
This will be a very hard time for that person’s family, for their community, and for the emergency services personnel in that area. I offer my condolences to them, and I know that all Australians will be thinking of those people at this very difficult time.
Updated
Person killed in Ingham flood waters had been travelling in boat that capsized
The person who we earlier reported died flood waters had been travelling in a boat responding to a call for assistance in Ingham when it capsized on Sunday morning.
The Queensland deputy police commissioner said the boat was carrying six people when it sank about 9:20am today.
Five passengers were recovered, but a sixth person, a member of the public, was killed in flood waters.
This is tragically sad. It highlights the dangers and the risks of these events, and that’s why we are engaging with members of the community and asking them to heed the advice of emergency services workers.
But these type of events do put our members of the community at risk. But also it puts our emergency services workers and our emergency services volunteers at risk.
And I just want to finish on this matter by absolutely commending the ongoing work of our emergency services personnel and also our emergency services volunteers, who we have seen for days now, responding to support our community.
The matter is under investigation.
Updated
‘Up to you’ to stay safe and heed advice, premier warns Queenslanders
Queensland premier David Crisafulli says he is committed to a “long and difficult recovery and rebuild” but that “today’s focus is safety”.
“Today’s focus is on heeding the advice, and I think Queenslanders have seen we’ve done a lot to prepare for this, and now it’s up to you. It’s up to you to stay safe. It’s up to you to heed the advice. And then it’s up to us to be able to respond. And I have every faith that we’re going to be able to.
Updated
More than 2,000 homes without power in Townsville and Palm as schools close
The Queensland premier says there are more than 2,000 properties in Townsville and Palm without power.
State Emergency Services have also been met with multiple requests for assistance.
I want residents to know that we’ll be doing all we can to mobilise in those areas to provide assistance.
The premier says the Bruce Highway remains cut at multiple locations, but local roads are moving.
My advice is stay off the roads. Unless you are in the situation where you are in those black zone suburbs and you need to evacuate by midday. Ideally, we really don’t want you on the roads. We want you staying safe and sound and waiting for the worst to pass. And again … there is a lot of rainfall ahead.
Crisafulli says the government is creating a list of school closures on its website by 1pm.
Updated
Person dies in flood waters in Ingham
A person has been killed in flood waters in the far northern Queensland town of Ingham.
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, announced the “terrible news” in his latest update on the flooding situation in the tight-knit rural community where the Herbert river is currently at 14.89 meters - just below the 15.2-meter record set in 1967.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family
Residents near Ingham will soon be without power as the power station is about to be shut off.
The premier has reiterated that residents in areas subject to evacuation orders should leave now. Those suburbs are Cluden, Hermit Park, Idalia, Oonoonba, Railway Estate and Rosslea.
Crisafulli told residents who have decided to stay not to take any risks.
I’ve heard some people referring to the 2019 event and comparing this one. There is more rain to come and there is the prospect of record rainfalls.
Now, I’m just asking people just take the precautions, prepare for the worst, listen to the advice. Please don’t discount this. This is a serious event and we’re asking people to heed the advice as it comes to hand.
Updated
Evacuation order issued for Mirrantwa near the Grampians bushfire
Residents in Mirranatwa, Victoria have been told to leave immediately as a fire burning through the Grampians approaches the community.
A bushfire in the Grampians National Park is burning out of control around Victoria Range (Bullawin).
The firefront is travelling southerly towards Red Hill Road and is expected to hit between 11.30am and 12.30pm.
Watch and Act orders have been issued for surrounding communities.
Updated
Townsville residents warned to ‘get out now’ ahead of forecast heavy rainfalls
Local authorities in Townsville say conditions are not expected to worsen, with heavy rainfalls and strong gusts of wind predicted this evening.
In the latest update on Sunday morning, authorities reported controlled releases from Ross River dam, which is at 150% capacity and is not expected to overflow under current conditions.
Authorities say those within the “black zone” should evacuate immediately, and those in the “pink zone” should be aware of conditions in case the situation changes.
Even if they are not in one of those zones, people need to be prepared. They need to have thought about their evacuation route. They need to have their emergency kit prepared. With about three days worth of supplies, particularly any medication that they may need. So it’s not only this current event, it’s the flooding that will occur afterwards.
A request has been made for aid from the Australian Defence Force, which has been assisting managing the situation.
Authorities say that most people from 122 houses have evacuated, and those who have chosen to stay are long-term residents who lived through the 2019 flood. Authorities have urged those staying to reconsider.
Again, they’re going to be without power. Power will be switched off to those areas. So again, consider your safety first and go to a safe zone as soon as possible.
The message is that if you’re in a black zone, get out now. That’s as simple as that.
Residents are urged to stay updated by checking the Townsville disaster information Facebook page for the latest information.
Updated
Labor at risk from campaign in must-win seats
A federal independent candidate backed by political movement The Muslim Vote is in negotiations with the Liberals, Greens and other independents to preference Labor last in a must-win seat at the upcoming federal election, striking fear that safe seats could fall.
Ministers Jason Clare in Blaxland and Tony Burke in Watson face challenges from grassroots independents looking to seize on anger within large Muslim and Arab populations about Labor’s handling of the war in Gaza.
Watson candidate Ziad Basyouny is in negotiations with the Liberals, Greens and other independents to preference Labor last.
The community is energised, engaged and ready to send a message that they will not be taken for granted anymore.
Our movement is about accountability. Labor cannot expect blind loyalty after everything they’ve done, and they will rank very low on our preferences.
Despite Labor holding the two Western Sydney seats on a 15% margin, there are serious concerns behind the scenes at party’s polling in the area.
Blaxland has a more than 30% Muslim population, and Watson about 25%.
- AAP
Updated
WA Labor expect to claim comfortable win at state election
Western Australia’s Labor government is on track to retain power at the state election, dashing hopes of a comeback by the conservative opposition.
Analysts say the Liberal and National parties could regain previously held blue-ribbon seats at the 8 March poll but are unlikely to secure enough to oust the Labor premier, Roger Cook.
Labor holds 53 seats in the lower house, with the Liberals and Nationals holding three each.
To win government, the conservative parties would need to pull off an extraordinary turnaround, political analyst Professor John Phillimore said.
Labor won by so much last time, almost everybody’s expectation is they will win.
There haven’t been any major scandals and they haven’t caused too much upset to too many people.
Prof Phillimore said Labor would undoubtedly lose some seats to the Liberal-National alliance, but it would still have a “comfortable” victory.
It’s really whether or not they come back to where they were in 2017, which was at the time a massive victory, or will they go back to a much more closely-fought election.
Labor’s 2017 victory was the party’s biggest in the state’s history at that time, claiming 41 seats to the conservatives’ 18.
- AAP
Updated
Government has ‘nothing to crow about’ as inflation fuels rate cut hope, says shadow finance minister
The shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, says the Albanese government has nothing “nothing to crow about” as falling inflation fuels hopes of an interest rate cut later this month.
Figures released last week showed underlying inflation at a three-year low of 3.2%, strengthening the case for the Reserve Bank to lower the cash rate when it meets later this month.
In an interview on Sky News, Hume rejected suggestions Labor had pulled off a “soft landing” after the global economic turbulence of the past few years.
If it wasn’t for the incredibly high migration figures, over a million people in just two years, well, we would be in a recession
I don’t think there’s anything for the government to crow about.
Updated
Labor shelves environment protection law reforms
Speaking earlier on Sky News, the NDIS minister, Amanda Rishworth, confirmed plans for a new federal Environment Protection Agency had been pulled.
I think it’s pretty clear that the Greens keep making more and more extreme demands.
Peter Dutton has been incredibly oppositional to this. He will not even engage despite the Samuel Review (of federal environmental protection laws) identifying that businesses wanted faster approvals and we needed stronger protection for our environment.
But with this type of opposition and people really not willing to have discussions and make compromises, I think it’s clear that we won’t be able to pursue this piece of legislation in the parliament.
Updated
Dutton’s 44% cheaper power prices with nuclear claim previously disproven in Guardian Australia explainer
It is worth circling back to one of the claims made by Peter Dutton in his extended interview on ABC Insiders that nuclear will be “44% cheaper than” than Australia’s current approach to energy.
As it happens, Guardian Australia has previously interrogated this claim in an explainer by Graham Readfern and Josh Butler.
As they point out, Dutton’s suggestion does not address the climate crisis any time soon – as the opposition leader acknowledged in his interview when he confirmed that the Coalition’s plan would mean extended gas and coal in the energy system.
The claim nuclear would deliver 44% cheaper power prices is also furphy as it assumes Labor’s current approach will produce more electricity than will be made under the Coalition.
From the explainer:
The Coalition’s plan to deliver nuclear is based on a scenario where Labor’s preferred plan is producing 45% more electricity than the Coalition’s.
Clearly, a system producing more power will cost more.
For more, read the full explainer here:
Updated
Dutton’s frames Labor’s gender-affirming care inquiry request as political tactic
Asked about the request by federal health minister Mark Butler for an inquiry into gender-affirming care, Dutton says there are “some caveats” to his support.
Dutton says each state and territory has its approach to the issue and suggests an inquiry could be held simultaneously with each state and territory. He also suggests the decision is a political manoeuvre.
The government is trying to cauterise an issue before the election. I think this is a more serious issue than that, which needs … proper consideration.
Asked about Queensland's decision to end hormone treatments for people below 18, Dutton says, “That is a decision for state governments.”
And that’s a wrap.
Updated
No deal with Labor on electoral law changes: Dutton
Dutton says a deal has yet to be reached with Labor over proposed changes to electoral laws.
We’ve been in discussions with the government on that bill, no agreement arrived at. We will conduct the discussions in good faith [to] make an announcement in due course.
Updated
Dutton links pro-Palestinian protests to anti-Jewish attacks, says social media ‘propaganda’ radicalised Australians
Dutton is asked about how those arrested for their alleged involvement with anti-Jewish vandalism have all been Australian citizens. He responds by suggesting that social media has radicalised people.
A young person sitting in front of the computer screen can be indoctrinated over a week or two because the constant videos or bombardment of propaganda so there is the influence of social media, the influence of people were radicalised here in our own society.
Dutton suggested that protests against Israel’s activities in Gaza are linked to the ongoing attacks.
We went first from protests and doxxing online to fire bombings in a planned terrorist attack, and if we think it stops there, we are kidding ourselves.
Asked about the responsibility of Elon Musk for some of this radicalisation, Dutton says he has “had a battle for over a decade against people like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg and others who were making money out of our kids”, adding they “need to do it in a responsible way”.
We spend a lot of time online and our kids are on the devices constantly. The same rules should apply online as they do in the real world. If there is child abuse material, which I tried to get Facebook to take down, if there is that sort of explicit material, it should be taken down. If there is terrorist related advocacy and spreading of that hate message, they have the algorithms and the technology and the AI to be able to clear it, but, of course, they don’t because they are driven by profit. Of course it should be taken down.
Updated
Dutton suggests police withheld caravan plot information due to fears PM’s office would leak it
Dutton says Senator James Patterson “and our people” have received briefings on the caravan plot but that he will not “go into the private details of text messages I’ve had with Mike Burgess”.
Dutton also suggests that the NSW Police withheld information from Minns and the prime minister as they were worried their offices might leak the information.
I can’t believe the prime minister has not been informed, I suspect what has happened here, if I’m being honest, is the NSW Police have been worried about the prime minister or the prime minister’s office leaking the information which is the only explanation, otherwise it’s inexplicable that the Premier of New South Wales would have known about this plan.
Dutton also linked the attacks to pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses.
They should have been, from day one, a clear message that we don’t tolerate racism and antisemitic conduct, whether it’s by neo-Nazi nut jobs or the left-wing of organisations on campuses. For months and months, people were protesting against Jewish students and Jewish academics. To this very day, the university is not even [given] a proper account of how the [sitution was] allowed to continue on.
The protests Dutton referred to were not held against Jewish students and Jewish academics but in response to Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.
The International Court of Justice is currently considering a case brought by South Africa against Israel, alleging the country has engaged in acts of genocide and war crimes.
Updated
‘Inconceivable’ Minns and Albanese weren’t told about caravan explosion plot, says Dutton
Dutton says he has spoken to Asio head, Mike Burgess, and has been briefed by both the intelligence agency and the Australian Federal Police on Australia’s anti-Jewish attacks.
He has also continued a blame game over who knew what and when, over claims a police investigation into the attacks was exposed through media reports involving a caravan full of explosives.
Dutton says it is “inconceivable” that NSW premier Chris Minns was not told about the operation or that the information was not passed on to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese.
I don’t think there has been a true and honest account of what has happened. If the prime minister of our country is not across what was essentially the biggest terrorist attack on our country’s history, essentially till the public found out about it, I think that is an absolute abrogation of his responsibility, and I do think we deserve to hear the answers.
On Wednesday afternoon, NSW police said a caravan had been found at a Dural property containing explosives that had the potential to cause a “mass casualty event”. Authorities had been conducting a covert investigation but were forced to go public when details were leaked to News Corp Australia.
Updated
Dutton defends power price figures despite past criticism of accuracy
Dutton is pressed on the 44% figure, specifically about whether he was told that by Frontier Access Economics.
All other variables be equal – if you have a 44% reduction in the overall cost to deliver that model that is going to translate into that price reduction for households and businesses edge that is what we must do.
A reminder that the Frontier Access Economics modelling has been severely criticised for its assumptions.
Turning to questions about national security and the spate of anti-Jewish attacks across Sydney, Dutton says there has been a “predictable escalation” in discrimination against the Jewish community over the last two weeks.
I worry that people are going to lose their lives and, I think, the premiers need to start taking this seriously.
Updated
Dutton promises Coalition would cut powers prices by almost half
Dutton is asked how much cheaper power prices will be under a future Coalition government, and the opposition leader appears to cite the Frontier Access Economics report to suggest a 44% reduction to flow through the energy system under his party’s plan.
You would expect a 44% reduction all of that order being passed through in energy bill relief.
However, Dutton said that he did not think that would happen immediately.
He said the Coalition’s first investment in nuclear power plants would be rolled out between 2035 and 2037.
And in the interim we have to do a lot more with gas, with coal in the system.
Updated
Power prices will decrease if Coalition given power, Dutton says
Dutton says that power prices will be lower under a future Coalition government, citing modelling work by Frontier Access Economics on Labor electricity policies and the Coalition’s future nuclear policy.
The Frontier Access Economics modelling did not include Western Australia and has been roundly criticised for making assumptions.
Dutton accused the government of “overbuilding” the country’s electricity system, adding, “We have a lot to do in the short term, I think, particularly in relation to gas and peaking to provide support.”
Gas peaking plants kick in during extreme periods of high demand to help provide additional support and rarely operate.
Dutton also pointed to Tennessee and Ontario as examples of jurisdictions where nuclear power “firms” renewables, claiming there had “been a threefold increase in the number of manufacturing business closures over the last 4.5 years”.
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Dutton pledges to ‘protect frontline services’ while reducing public servants
When asked – for the third time - whether a future Coalition government would lower public spending, also known as an “austerity budget”, Dutton says it would cut what it sees as “wasteful spending”.
Asked whether he would find budget savings by cutting public services from services, such as the NDIS, Veterans Affairs and Services Australia, Dutton said his government wanted to “protect frontline services” but does not want the number of “public servants” to balloon.
Dutton said: “There is a correlation between a bloated public service and a lack of productivity.”
The opposition leader, however, said his government would not have a similar audit to what Tony Abbott introduced when he was elected as “many of us have sat around the expenditure review committee”.
We know what we’re doing and [are] able to hit the ground running. We have worked with the departments, many of the departmental heads that are there now, and I have no doubt that we will be able to find where Labor has put that into the system that has not done anything but drive inflation, and I want to bring inflation down.
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Coalition would cut ‘wasteful’ spending if elected, Dutton tells Insiders
Opposition leader Peter Dutton says a future Coalition government would cut “wasteful” spending, saying hiring 36,000 public servants in Canberra was a mistake and a “recipe to try and please the unions”.
Speaking to ABC Insiders host David Speirs, Dutton said the decision to hire more public servants was also responsible for undermining the economies of states with Labor governments, including Queensland and Victoria.
Our desire is to manage the economy successfully, as my predecessors in John Howard, for example, did.
Dutton also offered a series of figures suggesting power and grocery bills have increased.
If the government is pretending somehow they have performed this miracle, the economy has turned around and family should be grateful.
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Labor shelves plans for federal EPA indefinitely
Plans for a federal environment protection agency have been shelved indefinitely after the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, intervened once again to quell a backlash in Western Australia.
Guardian Australia has confirmed contentious laws to create the EPA have been pulled from this week’s draft Senate program and won’t be debated before the election, due on or before 17 May.
The move, first reported in The West Australian, came after a backlash from miners and WA Premier Roger Cook to attempts from the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, to revive her signature bill.
It is the second time Albanese has stepped in to push the EPA off the agenda in a matter of months after he intervened late last year to scuttle a draft deal Plibersek reached with the Greens and independent David Pocock to establish the nature watchdog.
The Greens are now unwilling to support an EPA without a blanket ban on native logging, while the Coalition remains firmly opposed, leaving Labor without a path to get it through the Senate.
In a statement, a government spokesperson cited the political deadlock as the reason the legislation was pulled.
With the Greens Party making increasingly extreme demands, it’s clear there is no path to deliver a sensible EPA in this term of Parliament.
Even though the Samuel Review was initiated by the former Liberal Government because business and environment groups all say the current Act is outdated and needs reform the Coalition have continued to be obstructionist.
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Dutton in the hot seat on the year’s first Insiders
Opposition leader Peter Dutton will speak to ABC Insiders host David Speirs on Sunday morning in the year's first episode.
NDIS minister Amanda Rishworth spoke to Sky News this morning.
We will bring you the latest as it happens.
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Boy, 5, dies after being pulled from Sydney waterhole
A five-year-old boy has died after being pulled unconscious from a waterhole in Sydney’s west on Saturday.
Paramedics were called to Bents Basin just after 5pm following reports the boy had been pulled from the water unconscious.
Members of the public performed CPR on the boy before paramedics took over, rushing the boy to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition. He later died.
New South Wales Police have begun an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
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‘Incredible’ levels of rainfall in north Queensland: premier
David Crisafulli has advised those in Townsville subject to evacuation orders to stay with friends and family, or if that is not an option, to seek shelter at an evacuation shelter at Heartleigh.
Your safety is more important than anything else.
The Queensland premier said that some rainfall totals received overnight were “incredible”.
Some of the falls that we saw overnight in different parts were, quite frankly, at incredible levels. One suburb got 620mm in the 20 hours to 6am. That is over 0.5m of water in less than a day. That should give you a perspective of how big it is.
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Flood evacuation warning for Townsville 'black zones'
David Crisafulli has urged residents in six Townsville “black zones” at risk from major flooding to leave by midday as monsoonal rains have dropped significant amounts of water in parts of the state.
Evacuation orders affecting thousands of people were issued overnight as rains in excess of 500mm fell in some places, with 600mm of rain expected in some parts on Sunday.
State Emergency Services have also carried out rescues at Ingham.
The Queensland premier said the Hebert River had reached 14.8m, just shy of the 15.2m level reached in 1967 and still rising.
The Premier said that he “cannot stress enough” that those living in a “black zone” must leave by midday.
I am asking people to heed this. Yesterday we spoke about the black zones, and we had around 170 crews go and/or knock and say to people please prepare, get ready to leave. Well, today I am asking people in those areas to leave by midday.
The areas affected include: Cluden, Hermit Park, Idalia, Oonoonba, Railway Estate and Rosslea
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Good Morning
And welcome to another Sunday Guardian live blog.
The Queensland premier David Crisafulli has urged residents of six Townsville “black zones” to leave by midday as driving rain threatens major flooding in north Queensland. The Premier warned residents not to take risks in a developing emergency situation after more than 500mm of rain has fallen in some places.
In Sydney’s west, a boy has died after being pulled unconscious from a waterhole on Saturday. Paramedics worked to save the five-year-old who was rushed to hospital from Bents Basin in critical condition, where he later died.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started ...
