That's it for today, Wednesday 4 September
Here are the main stories on Wednesday, 4 September:
Australia’s gross domestic product grew 1% in the June quarter – a slightly better-than-expected rate from a year earlier, according to ABS data. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said the data backed the government’s response to a cost of living crisis, while the opposition said the data represented an “absolute disaster” for the country.
Three states and the NT have an increased bushfire risk for spring, following record heatwave temperatures in August.
A federal government review into private hospitals will not be published in full due to commercial in confidence information shared, but the health minister says a version of the report will be made available for the public.
The Queensland opposition leader has declared the state’s renewable target is not “possible”, despite the state being currently ahead of schedule.
The former NT chief minister, Natasha Fyles, is behind to the Greens on a recount in her seat of Nightcliff.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says the government takes “collective responsibility” for disappointment over LGBTQ+ census question exclusions.
The Reynolds-Higgins defamation trial is expected to conclude in the WA supreme court.
We will see you back here again tomorrow.
Updated
Severe weather warning issued for Victoria
It’s still blowin’ a gale in Victoria.
Severe Weather Warning for damaging winds.
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) September 4, 2024
Stay informed: https://t.co/T05ONtwAm3
Issued at 4:52 pm Wednesday, 4 September 2024.
For people in parts of Central, East Gippsland, North Central, North East, West and South Gippsland and South West Forecast Districts. pic.twitter.com/eVyXEUBcfL
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Substantial damages needed to ‘restrain’ Higgins
A “substantial” award should be given to Linda Reynolds and a permanent injunction should be placed on Brittany Higgins from making any further disparaging remarks, a court has heard.
Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, is offering his concluding remarks in the Western Australian supreme court, wrapping up a five-week trial triggered by social media posts by Higgins that Reynolds alleges defamed her.
Bennett said Higgins needed to be “restrained” from telling “her truth” and that a significant ruling would discourage her continued commentary.
Bennett said Higgins and Sharaz had felt “untouchable”, saying Higgins believed “no one would sue a rape victim” so she could “say whatever [she] like[s]”.
Higgins’ lawyer, Rachael Young SC, steps up to offer final replies to Bennett’s closing arguments.
Updated
Judge should consider $500k damages payouts in Reynolds case, court hears
Martin Bennett, Linda Reynolds’ lawyer, has asked a Western Australia supreme court judge to consider recent defamation payouts resulting in damages of more than half a million.
Brittany Higgins’ lawyer, Rachael Young SC, said on Monday any damages ultimately awarded to Reynolds – should the judge rule in her favour – should be assessed by “how far her reputation has fallen” since mid-2023, not when the allegations publicly aired in February 2021.
Young quoted a British politician who said: “For a politician to complain about the press is like a ship’s captain complaining about the sea.” Young said damages for politicians, whose reputation is often not changed as a result of defamation trials, have historically been quite small as a result.
Young referenced a series of small payouts, including when Peter Dutton sued a refugee advocate for calling him a “rape apologist” and was awarded $35,000, before it was overturned on appeal.
On Wednesday, Bennett said Young had omitted a number of recent cases where payouts had been much higher. Bennett referenced examples, including between John Barilaro and Google with the former being awarded more than half a million dollars.
Another example referenced was the more than $500,000 awarded to a Papua New Guinea minister by Nine newspapers in 2023.
Bennett said it was “significant” the defence omitted the cases in arguing politicians should be awarded lower damages.
Updated
NT election recount shows possible shock result
The former chief minister, Natasha Fyles, is behind on a recount in her seat of Nightcliff, lagging behind the Greens candidate for the seat, Kat McNamara.
The latest NT electoral commission figures released on Wednesday afternoon put McNamara 42 votes ahead on a two-candidate preferred count.
Re-count for Natasha Fyles' seat of Nightcliff now coming through. Greens currently lead by 42 votes after preferences. Any comment from the people who complained I hadn't called the seat for Labor?
— Antony Green - elections (@AntonyGreenElec) September 4, 2024
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Stephen Jones met with Meta representative over news bargaining code
Meta’s regional director of policy, Mia Garlick, confirmed that assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, has met with Meta’s VP of APAC policy, Simon Milner about the news media bargaining code.
That is the end of the hearing.
Updated
Meta confirms no one from Albanese government has met Mark Zuckerberg or Nick Clegg on news media bargaining code
Further to our previous post on Meta not having heard from the government about the plans for the news media bargaining code for the past few months, the company’s director of policy in Australia, Mia Garlick confirmed that no one from the Albanese government has met with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the matter.
It came following reports from Capital Brief on Tuesday that the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, declined to meet with Meta’s president of global affairs and former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg after Meta announced in March it would not enter into new deals to pay news companies for news. Guardian Australia has not confirmed that report, but it was mentioned by Liberal MP Andrew Wallace in the hearing on Wednesday.
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Coalition and Greens gang up on build-to-rent bill
The Senate inquiry into Labor’s build-to-rent tax incentives bill has reported back and, as expected, shows the government bill in trouble due to opposition from the Coalition and stiff demands from the Greens.
The majority report, written by Labor chair Jess Walsh, recommended the bill be passed, noting that a 15% withholding tax rate – a 50% concession on the existing rate – “is an attractive and suitable measure to increase investment in [build to rent] developments in Australia”.
The Coalition senators – the shadow assistant housing affordability minister, Andrew Bragg, and Dean Smith – dissented, warning the bill “[entrenches] tax advantage for institutional investors, in a thinly veiled attempt to corporatise the Australian housing market” which would contribute to a “forever rent” agenda.
The Greens’ dissenting report says the bill should not be passed “unless” their demands are met, including:
Changes towards phasing out negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount for property investors.
Coordinating a national freeze and cap on increases.
Increasing investment in public housing.
Ensuring that 100% of the apartments are genuinely affordable.
Labor’s ‘Build to Rent’ bill has been savaged by experts as a plan that will give tax breaks to property developers to build expensive apartments they already planned to build. Yet somehow at the end of this Senate Inquiry, Labor wants to pass it anyway
— Max Chandler-Mather (@MChandlerMather) September 4, 2024
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Meta spends more on stopping scam ads than it makes from hosting them, inquiry told
Meta’s Australian director of policy, Mia Garlick, has faced questions on what Meta does with the money it earns from scam ads on its platform from Labor MP Susan Templeman:
So, just to be clear, you don’t actually know how much money Meta is profiting from criminals who are essentially stealing money from hardworking Australians who are using your social media platforms, and you can’t actually say whether you’re profiting from illegal scam activity on the platforms?
Garlick said the amount Meta was investing to stop scams and take them down meant it cost more than they took from scam ads:
Well, I think I can quite confidently [say we are] not profiting, given the amount of work that is involved in trying to stay a step ahead of this adversarial space and continu[ing] to both identify networks that we can take down, roll out on platform tools, engage in deeper escalations and engage in broader investigations, collaborate with law enforcement and bring off platform actions as well.
That’s a very sizable investment that we’re doing to try to combat that, given there are dedicated malicious actors that are operating across a range of different industries and a range of different platforms and a range of different countries to perpetrate these scams.
Garlick indicated there was no process to return money stolen from people from the scams except in circumstances where the scam was completed on Facebook or Instagram or WhatsApp. She said scams generally are completed off-platform on other services or websites.
Updated
Health minister says illicit tobacco coming into Australia and ‘we’ve got to do it better’
Butler also said he is “really concerned” about how much illicit tobacco is flooding through Australia’s border and into the country:
The tax office, which has responsibility for this area and Border Force have a lot of resources to try and crack down on that import market.
But it’s harder to pick up, frankly, than vapes. I mean, vapes have a lot of metal in them. They’re easier to detect at the border which is why we’re having such success in seizing them.
Illicit tobacco does flood through the border at the moment, and we’ve got to do better, which is why last year we put a lot of additional resources into [the] Border Force.
Updated
More penalties to be enforced for stores illegally selling vapes
The health minister, Mark Butler, says an “education period” for convenience stores still selling vapes is coming to an end, with more penalties due to be enforced.
Appearing on 3AW Mornings earlier today, Butler was asked why vapes still seem to be available in convenience stores:
We’re working with state governments on getting out to retail premises, making sure that they understand now that selling vapes is illegal and after a period of education, we’re determined to start to put in place the penalties that are contained in our new laws and they’re very serious penalties.
... I know that around the country, vape stores are closing down and convenience stores are starting to surrender their vapes. But there are still stores that are doing the wrong thing and over a period of time, we’re going to make sure that they understand that these serious penalties that are now contained in these new laws, fines of more than $2m, jail terms of up to seven years. We are deadly serious about making sure that they take effect, because I am absolutely determined to protect young Australians from this public health menace.
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Reynolds’ lawyer claims Higgins deleted texts to ‘curate’ narrative
Martin Bennett, Linda Reynolds’ lawyer, claimed Brittany Higgins deleted relevant messages in 2021 with her now-husband David Sharaz to “curate” a narrative.
To demonstrate his argument, Bennett showed the court a thread of messages between the two – one from Higgins’ phone, and the others from Sharaz’s side.
The exhibits were shown side by side and Bennett pointsed out a few examples where messages were missing from the thread provided by Higgins, when compared with Sharaz’s messages.
Bennett said Higgins’ lawyer’s claim that a “messaged deleted” sign would show on each occasion was “palpably wrong”, as shown in the evidence.
Earlier in the week, Higgins’ lawyer, Rachael Young SC, said there was “nothing sinister” about removing text messages, referencing Reynolds’ earlier concession that she often deleted message threads as part of “cyber hygiene” routine.
Updated
The defamation trial against Brittany Higgins brought by Linda Reynolds in Perth has resumed after the lunch break.
We’ll update you shortly.
Raygun apologises to breaking community
Rachael “Raygun” Gunn has made an apology to the breaking community while stating that her “record speaks” to being Australia’s best B-girl, in her first sitdown interview since her controversial appearance at the Paris Olympics made global headlines.
The Australian breakdancer was at the centre of international attention after she was knocked out of the round-robin stage of the event for her performance routine that included hopping like a kangaroo and flailing on the floor.
The full interview will air on The Project on Wednesday evening, but an excerpt of the prerecorded interview published on news.com.au showed Gunn apologising to the breaking community after criticism she had damaged the artform’s reputation.
You can read more on that story here:
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Crisafulli says Queensland renewables target not ‘possible’
The Queensland opposition leader has declared the state’s renewable target is not “possible”. The state has a legislated renewable energy target of 80% by 2035, which is currently ahead of schedule.
At an event organised by the Queensland Community Alliance on Tuesday night, David Crisafulli said the party can’t back the target because they don’t support the government’s Pioneer-Burdekin hydroelectric scheme.
We didn’t sign up for the renewable energy target set by the state because we don’t believe there’s a credible path to get there.
I will not promise these things I do not believe are possible.
Crisafulli also ruled out privatising, contracting out or using labour hire in “current public assets” at the community event. “We don’t have plans. We won’t be doing it. It doesn’t work,” he said.
Updated
Are private hospitals in Australia really facing a cash crisis and could some close?
A toxic stoush between health insurers and hospitals is coming to a head and experts say the sector’s finances are murky. Here’s what we know about the dispute:
Meta has had no recent contact with government over media bargaining code, inquiry told
Meta’s Australian director of policy, Mia Garlick has told the parliament that the Albanese government has not had any more engagement with the Facebook and Instagram parent company over the issue of the news media bargaining code and paying for news since she declared at the last hearing that “all options were on the table” in terms of whether Meta would block news from its service if forced to pay news companies again.
She told the social media inquiry:
We haven’t had any further engagement from the government. And so our position hasn’t changed and so we can’t really comment on hypotheticals.
She was asked by chair Sharon Claydon about Australian news publishers being unable to share links to news stories on Instagram and Threads in August and if it was a demonstration of things to come. Garlick said it was an error that Meta rectified once it became aware of it.
Updated
This opinion piece by the Australian children’s commissioner, Anne Hollonds, is very worth a read, if you missed it earlier today.
Updated
Queensland opposition leader promises no changes to land clearing laws
The leader of the Queensland LNP, David Crisafulli, has promised not to make any changes to the state’s land clearing legislation at a rural press club event in Brisbane.
He also promised not to change laws governing national parks to allow grazing by cattle or any other animal.
We are not changing vegetation management. I am not going back to the days of the pendulum going to and fro on government changes. It sends uncertainty.
But what I do offer is I’m offering farmers that there’s not going to be crazy changes to do deals with [the] Greens. You’re not going to constantly see tightening and some of the crazy policing of vegetation management rules.
Crisafulli spoke about his childhood growing up in north Queensland as the grandson of a cane farmer and committed $12.5m to keep the Mossman mill open. The mill, which processes sugar for landholders near Cairns, went into liquidation earlier this year.
He also flagged changes to regulation of national parks, though he flatly denied reports the party was considering permitting cattle grazing in them.
I also believe there’s an opportunity for people on the land to voluntarily play their part ... some people [should] be able to make some off-farm income in that regard too.
Updated
And we’re taking a lunch break here in Perth after a packed morning in the defamation trial against Brittany Higgins brought by Senator Linda Reynolds.
It’s scheduled to resume at 2.15pm Perth time (4.15pm AEST) and is expected to conclude by 4.15pm Perth time (6.15pm AEST) at this stage.
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, Nino Bucci will take you through the rest of our coverage this evening. Take care.
Reynolds’ lawyer dismisses claim Higgins was justified in alleging former boss was trying to ‘silence’ victim-survivors
Linda Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, has dismissed the defence’s claim Brittany Higgins was justified in alleging her former boss was trying to “silence” sexual assault victim-survivors.
Bennett has said Reynolds’ submission to the ACT board of inquiry, which argues for a new or expanded offence in the ACT for those attempting to publicise alleged sexual crimes through the media or the parliament to “advance their own interests”, was misunderstood.
Reynolds’ 2023 submission to Walter Sofronoff’s review laws should prevent people from “deliberately publicising allegations of an alleged criminal act, where that person has a reckless disregard, or is recklessly indifferent, to the risk of hindering a court, tribunal, commission, board or other entity in the exercise of its functions in a legal proceeding or an investigation by doing so”.
Higgins posted on social media in July 2023 that the submission showed Reynolds was trying to “silence” sexual assault victims. Higgins’ lawyer, Rachael Young SC, told the court on Monday it was fair comment given Reynolds sought to “shut off” the option for sexual assault complainants to go to the media or parliament.
Bennett argued the senator’s submission was not trying to silence anyone but to prevent the “exploitation” of the criminal justice system and to ensure alleged perpetrators could be prosecuted.
Justice Paul Tottle questioned whether the effect of changing the laws could result in “silencing” victims. Bennett responded it wouldn’t prevent victim-survivors talking about their experiences after a prosecution, using Grace Tame as an example. Reynolds’ lawyer insisted it was about ensuring and encouraging allegations went to the police – not the media.
Updated
Government review into private hospitals won’t be published in full, Butler says
The government review into private hospitals will not be published in full due to commercial in confidence information shared – but a version of the report will be made available for the public, the health minister says.
The stoush between private hospitals and insurers prompted the federal health department to ask hospitals and other stakeholders to hand over their financial information to assess the performance, pressures and profitability of the sector.
Today as the minister, Mark Butler, held a press conference after opening another urgent care clinic in Bayswater, he was asked about releasing the findings of the review which are overdue.
Butler said:
I asked the secretary of my department to undertake what I described really as a health check for the private hospital sector … That work has finished, the analysis hasn’t been provided to me yet.
In terms of what might be released publicly, I was very grateful that the vast bulk of the players in the system, whether they were insurance … or private hospital operators, provided a lot of pretty commercial-in-confidence, sensitive information to our department to be able to get a really good sense of what’s really happening out there in the sector.
Obviously, they don’t want that released, so the full report will not be released. That would breach faith, really, with those companies and organisations who participated in this in good faith.
But I’ve asked my department to look at preparing a version of this report that is able to be released publicly so the community understands what’s going on, without breaching faith with the undertakings we gave to keep that commercial information in-confidence.
Updated
Foreign student cap to have ‘little effect’ on housing, housing supply chair says
AAP has more details from Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz’s appearance at the National Press Club earlier today.
The federal government last month announced it would set a cap of 270,000 international students as a bid to reduce migration and ease pressure on the housing sector. But Lloyd-Hurwitz, who is the chair of the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, said the cap would not solve the issue:
It’s really hard for us to see how capping international student numbers could make very much of a dent at all on the housing system. It would seem to be fairly damaging to our second-biggest export industry and probably has very little effect on freeing up housing.
Lloyd-Hurwitz said while there might be other reasons for why the number of university students coming from overseas would need to be limited, housing was not one of them.
It is not the case that international students are crowding out renters in our cities, that’s just simply not true.
Australia running low on HIV-prevention drug PrEP as experts warn users to plan ahead
Australia is experiencing a shortage of an important HIV prevention medication and sexual health organisations are urging those who rely on it to plan ahead so they don’t run out.
PrEP is an antiretroviral drug taken by people at high risk of HIV infection, which – if used every day – has an efficacy of rate of 99% among gay and bisexual men.
A spokesperson for the TGA confirmed shortages of multiple brands of tenofovir/emtricitabine combination tablets, used for PrEP to reduce the risk of sexually acquired human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). Read the full story below:
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Queensland mining company charged with industrial manslaughter in state first
A coal mining company has become the first to be charged with industrial manslaughter in Queensland, AAP reports, three years after the death of a worker.
Graham Dawson, 60, was killed when a roof at Mastermyne’s Crinum Mine in central Queensland collapsed and crushed him in 2021. It took four days for Dawson’s body to be recovered from the site west of Rockhampton.
The Office of the Work Health and Safety prosecutor has charged the mine operator with industrial manslaughter, marking the first time since state legislation was introduced in 2020.
You can read the full story below:
Reynolds 'entitled' to leak confidential letters to Albrechtsen
Linda Reynolds’ lawyer has argued legal privilege does not apply to “a single sentence” of letters marked confidential about Brittany Higgins’ personal injury settlement, which the senator later leaked to The Australian newspaper.
Higgins’ lawyer, Rachael Young SC, has argued Reynolds’ decision to leak documents and provide background details to Janet Albrechtsen, a columnist at The Australian, is evidence of the senator’s “campaign of harassment” against Higgins.
In the second week of the trial, Reynolds said she first sent documents to Albrechtsen on 12 December 2022 because she was “incredibly angry” she was not allowed to attend the mediation meetings to defend herself.
Reynolds acknowledged she saw the documents were marked “confidential” and “legal professional privilege” but felt she was not bound by it because she didn’t sign anything. Her lawyer, Martin Bennett, said the three letters, sent in June and December 2022, were not confidential at all, despite the markings.
Higgins was awarded a $2.445m personal injury settlement on 13 December 2022 after months of mediation. Bennett said that as the criminal trial had been aborted and a second trial wasn’t going to be called, Reynolds was “entitled” to send the documents to a media outlet.
A letter to Reynolds’ lawyer on 6 December 2022 instructed Reynolds not to “make public comment” about the settlement or the civil claims made by Higgins.
Bennett said the letter’s directions were “so outrageously improper” and, for Reynolds, amounted to “incipient corruption”.
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Emergency food grant announced for Tasmanian families amid ongoing power outages
The Tasmanian premier, Jeremy Rockliff, has provided an update to the media earlier on the weather situation in the island state.
He said about 13,000 customers were still without power, meaning those families had “lost all their food [they] have stored and purchased and as you can appreciate we are in challenging times when it comes to cost of living”.
He announced a $350 grant for households for emergency food relief and said more than 700 applications had already been received since 9am today.
We expect that once they are approved that the funds should hit bank account this afternoon.
Updated
Housing affordability chair outlines five areas requiring immediate focus to address housing crisis
At the National Press Club, Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz outlined five areas that require “immediate focus” to move towards a fairer housing system:
Adequate investment in social housing, suggesting a target of 6% as a proportion of total stock.
Commit to best-practice zoning and planning systems across the country.
Building more capacity in the construction sector.
A better system for renters, including regulatory frameworks and more investment in build‑to‑rent housing.
Work towards policy settings that are well coordinated across all levels of government.
Updated
Home ownership rates falling as rent costs rise, says housing supply council chair
Continuing from our last post: Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz noted that home ownership rates were falling, particularly for younger households.
In 2001, the year my daughter was born, 51% of 24 to 35-year-olds owned their home. Today, just 43% do. She’s now 24 and we can clearly see the challenges presented to her generation in terms of accessing home ownership where there isn’t housing wealth to pass on.
Lloyd-Hurwitz said that renting was “no easier”, with a sharp rise in rents of almost $40 since January 2020. She said paying rent now consumed a record 32% of household incomes, on average.
She also said that housing choice is diminishing, and the housing system is failing many First Nations people.
First Nations households are half as likely to own their own home, three times more likely to live in overcrowded dwellings, six times more likely to live in social housing, and almost nine times more likely to be experiencing homelessness than non‑Indigenous Australians.
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‘No denying’ housing crisis, says housing supply council chair
Earlier today, the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council chair, Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, addressed the National Press Club in Canberra.
She said there was “no denying the housing crisis we are in”, telling the crowd:
It’s a crisis that has been decades in the making through our persistent failure to deliver enough housing of all types – from crisis accommodation to social and affordable homes right through to the private market.
Lloyd-Hurwitz said 170,000 households were on public housing waiting lists and more than 120,000 people were experiencing homelessness. She also noted that since January 2020, house prices had risen by more than 30% in capital cities and more than 50% in regional areas.
The median house price has reached 7.7 times median household income, close to historic highs. Since interest rates started to rise, repayments for borrowers have increased by as much as 60%.
Updated
Reynolds’ lawyer defends senator’s interest in ACT supreme court case against Lehrmann
Linda Reynolds’ lawyer has said anyone would want to follow news stories about their involvement in a high-profile criminal trial, defending the senator’s interest in the ACT supreme court case against her former staffer Bruce Lehrmann.
The criminal trial against Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins in Parliament House was aborted due to juror misconduct. He pleaded not guilty and has always denied the allegations. A second trial did not proceed due to prosecutors’ fears for Higgins’ mental health.
The defence’s lawyer, Rachael Young SC, on Monday said the evidence given by Reynolds and her husband, Robert Reid, was “confused”, “inconsistent” and “at worst … designed to minimise their keen and partisan interest”.
Young pointed to contemporaneous notes kept by Reynolds’ psychologist, April Jones, which noted the senator was “very distracted” by the case but was “comforted” that her partner, Reid, was attending the trial. The notes read:
Rob in Canberra keeping an eye on the case.
Young said Reid’s “interest” was an “understatement”, alleging he was a keen eye for the senator in Canberra while she was on an international trip.
Today, Bennett showed the court a series of articles written about the criminal trial in October 2022. Justice Paul Tottle asked whether Bennett was trying to justify Reynolds’ interest in the criminal trial by the level of mainstream media coverage. Bennett responded:
You couldn’t help but be … for Senator Reynolds, it was deeply personal.
Updated
New chief plans to address NT crime at national cabinet
Northern Territory’s new chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, has vowed to put her “tough on crime” mandate on the national stage at the upcoming national cabinet, AAP reports, during her first formal meeting with Anthony Albanese.
She told reporters it was “very important that we speak about crime and the state of crime in the Northern Territory.”
We know that the prime minister promised $250m in 2023 that’s yet to be fully delivered, so I’ll be expressing to him how important and meaningful that money will be to a town like Alice Springs and why the territory deserves to get its fair share.
Slated for discussion at national cabinet is also how the country will address escalating rates of domestic violence. Ahead of her election, Finocchiaro committed $180m over five years to fund the domestic and family violence sector in the Northern Territory, but said the federal government also had a role to play.
This is not something that we can play politics over. I think the federal government does know that they’ve got to do their fair share to make the Territory a safer place and make women and children safer.
Finocchiaro said she would again advocate for needs-based funding in the Northern Territory, where domestic assault rates are five times higher than in other jurisdictions and the domestic homicide rate is seven times higher.
Updated
Parents of murdered Perth surfers to create foundation in their honour
The parents of Perth surfers Callum and Jake Robinson, who were murdered in Mexico, have announced they will create a foundation to honour their sons.
In a post to their GoFundMe today, Martin and Debra Robinson said it had been four months since their sons died at a campsite in Mexico “and not a day goes by when we don’t think about our beautiful sons”:
We have been overwhelmed by the love we have received in the US, and although we can’t thank you individually, we would like you to know that the funds that have been raised will be used for a variety of philanthropic activities that will honour Callum and Jake.
To drive this initiative, we have created a foundation as a tribute to Callum and Jake and will be guided by people well versed in caring for others. Although it’s early days, we hope to have a webpage available soon which will provide information on how your precious donation money will be spent.
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Government urges Australians to prepare for increased fire risk this spring
As Graham Readfearn flagged earlier, large areas in the NT, Queensland, Victoria and a small corner of South Australia have an “increased risk of fire” this spring.
The emergency management minister, Jenny McAllister, said the government is urging Australians to remain vigilant and be prepared. She said in a post to X:
The outlook predicts an increased likelihood of unusually high maximum temperatures across Australia this Spring. I encourage Australians to be aware of the current fire risk in their own areas and make sure their bushfire plans are up to date.
The Albanese government is working with all levels of government, industry, and non-government organisations to better prepare for the higher risk weather season (HRWS). This includes hosting our second national preparedness summit.
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NSW the main growth drag in June quarter, GDP data shows
The general theme of the GDP figures seems to be the private sector (households and businesses) was going backwards but extra public sector spending kept the total numbers positive.
Rowing somewhat against that current, though, was NSW, which accounts for about a third of Australia’s economy. Using the state’s final demand numbers (which do bounce around a bit), NSW posted a 0.4% contraction, while all other states and territories registered increases.
WA and SA were up 0.9%, while the NT posted a 4.9% rise (probably a volatile movement, with public investment up 12.6%). Victoria was also relatively robust with its 0.6% rise in public demand fuelled mostly by a 5.4% rise in public investment.
That’s partly why the NSW result looks quite tardy. Public fixed capital investment in the state fell 3.8% for the quarter – which doesn’t fit that theme of government pump priming, at least for the June quarter.
Presumably there will be some rebound in NSW, so perhaps some of the growth engine Australia needs will be found there in coming quarters.
Updated
Source of economic growth might be hard to find without rate cuts
Excluding the 0.3% contraction during the 2019-20 year, the economy’s 1.5% financial year expansion was the weakest since 1991-92, the ABS said.
Early reaction by economists is mostly about the weakness of the economy (although the 1% year-on-year pace for the June quarter alone was a bit better than the 0.9% pace the RBA had pencilled in).
Sean Langcake, head of macroeconomic forecasting for Oxford Economics Australia, makes a good point about the lack of “a clear engine of growth” in the economy.
Aside from public spending, private investment was lower and the modest propellant from the trade sector may well become a drag in coming quarters as the Chinese and US economies falter. Langcake said:
Tight policy settings have successfully reined in demand, but inflationary pressures are yet to be completely tamed. Income tax cuts and consumer subsidies will aid momentum in the second half of the year. But any improvement in activity will be unspectacular.
Krishna Bhimavarapu, an APAC economist at State Street Global Advisors, reckons the RBA has done enough.
This data should at the very least lead the RBA to make a dovish pivot, considering how uncertain they were during the last meeting. We still look for the first rate cut in November as headline CPI could ease to around 3% in [the September quarter].
Australia’s growth rate compared with an annual pace of expansion of 3.1% in the June quarter in the US, according to the Economist’s data. The Eurozone’s growth pace was 0.6%, while Britain’s economy expanded 0.9% and Japan’s contracted 0.8%.
Anyway, you can follow on with updates to this article:
Updated
Chalmers says government takes 'collective responsibility' for disappointment over census question exclusions
Our own Paul Karp asked who in the government had the ultimate responsibility for telling the ABS that the government wouldn’t include the gender and sexuality questions.
He also asked if the dispute is about whether the gender and intersex characteristics questions were too complicated and confusing, why didn’t the government not release them so we could judge for ourselves.
Jim Chalmers said he was “not going to get into the internal processes around that”, but in terms of responsibility, it is collective.
I think we take collective responsibility and I take my share of the responsibility for the disappointment, frankly, that was felt in parts of our community. I take my share of the responsibility for that but I’m not prepared to go into the various kind of internal discussions that have been had about it over the course of the last little while.
The treasurer said he was “confident” the government would get the census right and be “as inclusive as we can be”:
I say to members of the Australian community who were disappointed about the public discussion around this last week, I take my share of the responsibility for that and we take collective responsibility for getting it right in the future, and I’m confident that we will.
Updated
Circling back to the treasurer’s press conference
Q: Has the government “reached the end of the line”, or would it be willing to introduce more cost-of-living relief measures if needed?
Jim Chalmers responded:
What we see in these figures today and what we saw in the budget in May was a budget that was really carefully calibrated for the conditions that we confront, and I think it has been vindicated in the numbers that you have before you now.
So you should expect us to take a similar approach in the Myefo but more substantially in the budget next year … because I think one of the reasons we have broadly got some of these judgments right is because we have been prepared to consider new initiatives where the economic circumstances warrant that and where the budget can afford it.
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People were trying to support Higgins but she 'wouldn't have a bar of it', Reynolds' lawyer says
Linda Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, is going through each of the defence’s claims in the senator’s case against her former staffer, Brittany Higgins.
In one example, Bennett says Higgins’ recollection of her treatment by the senator after her alleged rape was incorrect.
Earlier evidence from Higgins’ lawyer, Rachael Young SC, claimed the then 24-year-old staffer had been left isolated in April and May 2019 while campaigning in Perth shortly after the incident.
Higgins told The Project in a 2021 televised interview she was handed a brochure for employee assistance counselling services, but there was a “two-month wait” before she could receive support.
Today, Bennett claimed there had been “20 attempts” to offer phone counselling support to Higgins, but they were not taken up. The court isn’t shown the documents, which he said appeared in his yet-to-be-released closing submissions. Bennett said:
People were trying to support [Higgins] but she wouldn’t have a bar of it.
Updated
Chalmers denies this is the ‘consumer recession we have to have’
A reporter has asked if this is the consumer recession we have to have. Jim Chalmers said: “I wouldn’t describe it in those terms, respectfully.”
What we’re seeing is that the consumer is under really extreme pressure. We knew that before today, but this has been confirmed today.
Consumption going backwards, discretionary spending going down substantially, household savings being really low. These are all the signs of an economy where people [are] under really substantial pressure and that is why our cost-of-living help is so important.
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Chalmers stands by comments that high interest rates were ‘smashing the economy’
Jim Chalmers has been asked a few times about comments he made on Sunday that were seen as critical of the RBA. He said high interest rates were “smashing the economy”.
He said he stood by the comments and reiterated that he had made similar ones several times before. Chalmers also said the GDP data backed him up.
I’m not someone that tries to shy away from feedback.
I like that some of the issues we are grappling with today are a big part of a national conversation, that’s a good thing, and I’ve always tried to be upfront. I’ve always tried to be pretty blunt about our economic challenges, and I say what I said on Sunday night, first of all, it wasn’t new, been saying the same thing since June, I think, for some months. But also, I think I owe it to Australians to speak plainly about the challenges in our economy.
It is one of the reasons I like to be here with you to have this opportunity to try and inform people of how we are seeing the challenges in the economy and more importantly what we doing about it, and I just see what I said early in the week as a statement of fact.
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Treasurer wants to pass laws reforming RBA board by early next at latest
Jim Chalmers says he would like to pass new laws to reform the Reserve Bank board by the end of this year or early next, as he does not want it to be an election issue.
He said that the ball was in the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor’s court.
There has not been anything where he’s raised that I haven’t tried to accommodate his view and that is because I want to land it. I would like to legislate at this year and [launch it] the start of next year.
I would like it not to be part of an election campaign and I would like it to be an agreement between the two major governing parties in the Senate.
Updated
GDP data proves cost-of-living relief crucial, says Chalmers
More of the same from Chalmers: he is now saying the data shows the government must continue helping with cost-of-living pressures but without contributing to inflation.
He said some cost-of-living measures were expected to increase growth in the 2024-25 financial year.
We now know that growth in the economy through the year was 1%. Treasury expects growth to pick up in this financial year but modestly. And there is nothing in these figures that change your expectation for that.
Really, I think the most important take-out from today’s figures is around consumption but we also see the weakness in household budgets when it comes to household savings, consumption, as I said, discretionary spending and mortgage interest costs.
People are under a lot of pressure. This is precisely why we are rolling out substantial cost-of-living help but in the most responsible way.
Updated
GDP data backs government approach: Chalmers
Jim Chalmers, perhaps not surprisingly, says the data backs up the government’s approach. He said:
This justifies the way that we have managed the economy responsibly. Fighting inflation is our primary concern by doing that without slashing and burning in a budget that is in an economy which is already weak and when people are already doing it tough.
This indicates the approach we took in the budget and frankly torpedoes a lot of the free advice we got at budget time to cut harder and harsher.
That would have been a recipe for a much weaker economy, we know that from the June quarter data that you have before you now.
We will continue to manage the economy in the most responsible way that we can, maintaining a primary focus on inflation but rolling out cost-of-living relief in the most responsible way.
Updated
GDP figures are as expected: Charmers
Jim Chalmers says the data shows that the figures are what the government and market expected. He said it showed:
… that people are still doing it tough and that is why the cost of living remains the highest priority.
Helping people with cost of living is the highest priority of the Albanese Labor government.
Without government spending or without government spending growth, there would be no growth in the economy at all.
Updated
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking to the media after the release of the latest GDP figures.
Three states and NT have increased bushfire risk for spring
This August was Australia’s hottest on record, with a widespread heatwave breaking temperatures records around the country.
All that heat will have made a lot of people anxious about bushfires over the coming months.
Fire authorities and the Bureau of Meteorology have just released an outlook for spring and have identified large areas in the NT, Queensland, Victoria and a small corner of South Australia as being at “increased risk of fire” – meaning a higher chance of more significant bushfires.
Large parts of the NT and Queensland, as well as a big area west of Melbourne creeping into South Australia, are facing an increased risk of bushfires this spring, an official outlook co-ordinated by @AFACnews says.https://t.co/ucbifEKnOc pic.twitter.com/834T21K7E1
— Graham Readfearn (@readfearn) September 4, 2024
Here’s our full story on that:
Updated
GDP numbers ‘an absolute disaster for this country’, shadow treasurer says
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, is speaking to reporters after the release of the latest GDP numbers:
That sixth consecutive quarter of the household recession is the longest since the data began 50 years ago. We have not seen this since we kept records on GDP per capita and since the early 1970s; we have not seen a period where we have had 18 months of negative GDP per capita. It is an absolute disaster for this country.
It is also clear that real, disposable incomes – the standard of living of households in Australia – continues to go backwards. It has fallen almost 9% now since Labor came to power. That is an extraordinary situation.
Updated
Reynolds’ lawyer points to view metrics Higgins’ social media posts achieved
Linda Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, starts the morning by pointing to the number of views Brittany Higgins’ social media posts achieved.
The Western Australian senator is suing Higgins over three social media posts made in July 2023, which she alleges damaged her reputation. However, the five-week trial has dealt with a much-wider time period, dealing with actions and interactions in the weeks before Higgins’ alleged rape in March 2019 up to comments and correspondence as recent as this year.
One of the specific posts Reynolds is suing over is an Instagram story posted by Higgins and added to her “Advocacy” thread. The post was a screenshot of headlines in July 2023 indicating Reynolds intended to refer Higgins’ $2.445m personal injury settlement to the federal anti-corruption body.
Higgins wrote in the post:
These are just headlines from today. This is from a current Australian senator who continues to harass me through the media and in the parliament. My former boss who has publicly apologised for mishandling my rape allegation. Who has had to publicly apologise to me after defaming me in the workplace … This has been going on for years now. It is time to stop.
Bennett said the post had “enormous” reach, showing the court screenshots of posts in the story thread had been seen by more than 10,000 social media accounts.
The trial continues.
Updated
Chalmers responds to latest GDP numbers
Here is the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, reaction to the June quarter GDP numbers. He wrote in a post to X:
The National Accounts confirm the economy barely grew last quarter, reflecting global uncertainty, higher rates [and] persistent inflation.
It shows the pressures people are under and justifies our plan to fight inflation without smashing the economy [and] help people doing it tough.
Updated
Dutton confirms Australian Jewish organisation funded his Israel trip
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has updated his register of interests to confirm the Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (Aijac) funded his trip to Israel.
This wasn’t a secret – Aijac posted online in late July that it was “pleased to have organised” Dutton’s visit to Israel “as part of its Rambam study visit program” – but MPs are obliged to disclose such arrangements to parliament.
In a press release on 2 August, Aijac described Dutton’s meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and other senior officials as “very warm, lengthy and constructive”.
The executive director of Aijac, Colin Rubenstein, said, at the time, Netanyahu and the other senior officials “were acknowledging Mr Dutton’s demonstration of the courage and friendship to visit Israel at such a volatile time as well as the Coalition’s longstanding principled and moral supportive stance towards Israel”.
In an update dated 29 August but published on the parliamentary website yesterday, Dutton amended his register of interests to disclose travel and accommodation for his trip to Israel were “courtesy of Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council”.
The update was first noted in a post on X by Open Politics, which tracks Australian politicians’ compliance with their disclosure obligations.
Dutton has strongly backed the Israeli government during the nearly year-long war in Gaza. In an interview with Sky News from Jerusalem on 31 July, Dutton promised that if the Coalition won the next election “Israel would have a more reliable ally” and he criticised the ABC’s 7.30 program for the way it questioned an Israeli minister.
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Speakman says he had ‘no knowledge’ Stokes would be put forward to federal executive meeting
Continuing on from our last post, the NSW Liberal leader, Mark Speakman, fronted the media earlier and provided his perspective:
I did not know that that motion was going to federal executive, but of course there had been suggestions that there would be federal intervention. So very late in the piece, I sounded out Rob Stokes about his interest in serving on such a committee. He indicated to me a happiness to serve. I conveyed that to federal identities.
There was off the record, I thought private discussions, about other possibilities, but I had no knowledge that his name was going to be put forward to a federal executive meeting yesterday.
Updated
Peter Dutton blames Rob Stokes stuff-up on NSW Liberals
The federal Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, has been grilled at a press conference in Adelaide about the federal executive recommending that Rob Stokes be on the three-person committee to run the NSW division despite Stokes not being available and not agreeing to the gig. Dutton said:
New South Wales put forward Mr Stokes’ name. He wasn’t available, as it turns out. And that’s fine. No, NSW nominated Mr Stokes. That was their nomination, they had the conversations, I understand, with Mr Stokes … Mr Stokes was put forward by the NSW division.
Dutton noted that Labor had taken over its Victorian branch “for five years” and said the Liberal party had responded to “millions of people in NSW who want a change of federal government”.
The way that it was operating was completely unacceptable to me. We took a decision at the federal executive to put in place a council of wise elders to get the NSW Liberal Party back on track, because we can win the next federal election.
Updated
Weakest annual growth since 1991-92, ABS says
Circling back to the quarterly national accounts: The 1% GDP growth rate for the June quarter capped a full fiscal year of 2023-24, when growth came in at 1.5%. Comparing fiscal years alone, that was the slowest expansion pace since the 1991-92 year, the ABS said.
Government spending helped make up for a drop in household spending. Public demand added 0.3 percentage points (pp) to the GDP quarterly figure, while households lopped 0.1pp for that period.
The modestly better-than-expected annual growth pace has seen the dollar perk up slightly against the US dollar, and stock pared their falls for the day (but remain about 2% down).
Updated
Final day of Reynolds-Higgins defamation trial begins
The final day of Linda Reynolds’ defamation trial against Brittany Higgins has begun in Perth.
We are continuing with closing arguments by Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett. We’ll update you shortly.
Australia’s economy grew an annual pace of 1% in June quarter
Australia’s gross domestic product grew 1% in the June quarter – a better than expected rate from a year earlier, the ABS has just said. Economists had forecast 0.9%.
On a quarterly basis, growth came in at 0.2%, which was what economists had predicted.
After removing the effect of a swelling population, GDP shrank per capita for a record sixth quarter in a row.
Updated
Government won't give Medicare coverage for dental 'in the near term': Butler
The government will not be able to give Medicare coverage for dental work “in the near term”, the health minister, Mark Butler, says.
Appearing on ABC Radio Melbourne, Butler poured cold water on reports Labor backbenchers were pushing for dental work cover for adults:
I’m focused right now on strengthening the fundamentals of Medicare, which are really under real strain after a decade of cuts and neglect, particularly the freezing of the Medicare rebate. I’ve said very clearly and unapologetically to the medical community and to Australians that my focus is on general practice.
... Oral care is very fundamental but it has not been a feature of either Medibank under Whitlam or Medicare under Hawke, and for the 40 years since. That has been a bugbear of many people who would like to see oral health covered by Medicare as well. But that’s not something we’re going to be able to do in the near term.
The Australian reported Helen Polley, Brian Mitchell, Mike Freelander and Graham Perrett backed opening discussions about how dental could be added to Medicare. Polley told The Australian while budgetary challenges were significant, it was clear Labor needed to move on the issue:
The reality is, we need to do something about dental health. If I could [add dental to Medicare] tomorrow, I would. It’s very much on my radar and agenda to crank this up next term and talk to my colleagues about it.
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Blame for census debacle over gender identity question lays ‘squarely’ with PM, says Greens
Greens MP for Brisbane, Stephen Bates, says the blame for the 2026 census debacle lays “squarely” with the prime minister.
This follows a report in the Sydney Morning Herald that Anthony Albanese vented his frustration in cabinet over mishandling of the next census, complaining that new questions about a person’s gender identity were inappropriate and he had to step in to fix the problem.
In a post to X, Bates said:
Sorry to annoy the PM but asking his government to fully implement a policy they took to the ‘22 election and reaffirmed in ‘23 is not asking a lot. None of the fumbles of the past week had to happen. The blame lays squarely with the PM.
Not counting us in the census doesn’t stop us from existing but it does lead to worse outcomes for the community. Counting all of us means better decision-making, better policy outcomes, and a more accurate picture of Australia and where acute need is.
Let the LGBTIQA+ community decide the fights we want to have. We were, and are still, united in wanting these changes to the census. The government should back us in.
At a press conference just earlier, the PM was asked about the SMH report and said, “I don’t discuss cabinet issues.”
Updated
GDP figures to show economy is being 'smashed’
Global markets are in a bit of a funk after overnight data from the US pointed to weakening growth there, and we will soon get an update on how Australia’s economy has been faring.
At 11.30am AEST, the ABS will release the quarterly national accounts (which we previewed here), with the focus probably on the annual pace of gross domestic product growth.
Economists were tipping that the June quarter GDP figures would show the economy expanded at an annual rate of 0.9%. If that number is right, and the ABS doesn’t revise the March figure of 1.1% too much, it would be the weakest growth result – outside the Covid disruptions – since the early 1990s.
On a quarterly basis, growth may tick a bit higher to 0.2%, compared with the March quarter growth of 0.1%. (The ABS might also tweak that latter figure.)
The government, especially the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been lowering expectations of late, talking about how the higher Reserve Bank interest rates were “smashing the economy”.
With the stage three tax cuts (and many government rebates) kicking in from 1 July, it’s possible the June quarter will mark the nadir of growth in this cycle.
With stocks down 2% today, though, and the Aussie dollar wilting below 67 US cents, investors may well be focused on more recent tidings than Australia’s June quarter GDP.
Anyway, stay tuned for those GDP numbers to land here soon.
Updated
Here’s the full story from Rafqa Touma on Iran summoning the Australian ambassador for a Wear it Purple Day-themed social media post:
Albanese questioned on census debacle
Q: Are you concerned about leaks out of your cabinet that indicate you were frustrated about the handling of the gender identity census question?
Anthony Albanese responded:
I don’t discuss cabinet issues.
Updated
Albanese defends transition away from live sheep export to sheep meat trade
Anthony Albanese was also questioned about the sheep industry, and whether he has spoken to it about live exports during his WA visit?
The PM said he met industry representatives in Canberra and Kalgoorlie.
The live sheep export industry, we said in 2019 and repeated in 2022, that we would set a timetable … We have set that timetable. This as an industry that is worth $80m in exports a year. The money that we have on the table is at least $107m for adjustment …
I think that this is an industry, if you compare $80m for live exports with $4bn, which is what the sheep meat export industry is worth. I think that indicates where the industry needs to go. We want to make sure that people are looked after and that people work with industry on that.
Reporter: “It’s more than that, it is people’s livelihoods and people’s jobs.”
Albanese defended transitioning from the live export trade to the sheep meat export trade, saying “we can create more jobs”.
I understand that adjustments are hard, which is why we had that support available and why we are engaging.
Updated
Albanese says criticism from Howard towards Chalmers ‘not surprising’
Former prime minister, John Howard, has criticised comments from the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, that the RBA is “smashing the economy” with its rate rises.
According to The Australian, Howard said, “She [RBA governor Michele Bullock] does not deserve the Chalmers broadside.”
Anthony Albanese was asked about this a moment ago and responded:
I think John Howard criticises the Labor party whenever he’s asked as long as the day ends in Y.
It’s a matter for him. I treat former prime ministers, including John Howard, in a respectful way, but I think it is becoming what it is, and I think that is a matter for him to reflect, but it is pretty regular and it’s not surprising.
Updated
Albanese weighs in on NSW Liberals federal intervention
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking to reporters from Perth.
He was asked about Liberal Moore MP Ian Goodenough’s appearance at his media event yesterday, and said, “Often, we will invite local members to show them respect.”
I was recently with Michael McCormack in the electorate of Riverina … I’ve been with a range of local members …
I think people want local members who actually are local and are committed to making a difference rather than shopping around for a seat because they think somehow they are owed it. Ian, I think, has been shabbily treated by his own party and it is just one example of the chaos that is there in the modern Liberal party.
Albanese then turned to the NSW Liberal party and described the situation in his home state as a “farce”.
If the NSW leadership of the Liberal party has been dismissed for incompetence, how about you dismiss the federal leadership of the Liberal party in the organisational sense for incompetence for appointing someone as an administrator that is not available and didn’t know anything about it.
Updated
Independent urges government to work with crossbench to pass environment watchdog legislation
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has called on the government to work with the crossbench to pass its new environment watchdog powers, after reports it may be weakened to pass parliament. Lisa Cox has all the details below:
In a video posted to X, Wilkie said:
It is bitterly disappointing to hear that the prime minister is ready to cave in to Coalition demands to water down the new Environment Protection Agency.
Look, the Coalition is the mob who abolished the carbon price, who waged endless climate wars and who took no steps to repair our broken environmental laws in their nine years of office.
So what’s going on? Why doesn’t the Labor party just ignore the opposition and work with the crossbench? Because after all, we’re the members of the parliament that want these reforms to really work, and work well.
The Federal Government is considering watering down their environmental watchdog to appease the Coalition. This would be an egregious betrayal of trust and another backflip from the Government on important environmental reforms. #auspol #politas pic.twitter.com/e6gsXtcX9x
— Andrew Wilkie MP (@WilkieMP) September 4, 2024
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Cash splash to boost canoe slalom world championships
Funding has been announced to help Australia host the canoe slalom world championships, AAP reports, after the success of the country’s athletes at the Paris Olympics.
The federal and NSW governments have committed $3.2m for Paddle Australia to host the championships at Penrith’s Whitewater Stadium in Sydney in October 2025.
About 300 athletes from 50 countries will compete in 10 events, including canoe and kayak singles, canoe and kayak teams and kayak cross, in front of an estimated 20,000 spectators.
Australian households are now familiar with whitewater sports after the success of sisters Jess and Noemie Fox at the Paris Olympics, who won three gold medals. The pair are scheduled to compete at the home championships next year.
In honour of their triumph at the Games, the NSW government has also announced the island in the centre of the whitewater stadium will be named Fox Island after the Fox family. Jess Fox said:
I remember being a six-year-old in the stands for Sydney 2000 and an 11-year-old in the stands when the world championships were here in 2005, so to have that legacy 20, 25 years on, for me it means so much.
Updated
Foreign minister says Russian attack on Poltava ‘horrific’
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has described Russian attacks on the Ukrainian city of Poltava as “horrific”.
In a post to X, Wong wrote:
Russia’s attacks on the Ukrainian city of Poltava are horrific. More than 50 lives have been lost and hundreds are injured. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims and their loved ones. Australia continues to support Ukraine as it fights Russia’s brutal, illegal war.
Tehan claims Giles ‘put community safety at risk’ to ‘reduce his workload’
Earlier this morning, the shadow immigration minister, Dan Tehan, was asked about Paul Karp’s exclusive story that former immigration minister Andrew Giles raised the threshold for ministerial reconsideration of character cancellations, increasing the risk that criminals convicted of serious offences might keep their visas.
Tehan told ABC RN:
I see this report as deeply, deeply disturbing, and it puts serious question marks on Andrew Giles ability to remain a minister of the crown.
It seems to reduce his workload he put community safety at risk. Now he’s a very, very good friend of the prime minister’s, that’s why he wasn’t sacked in the first place.
The prime minister needs to look at this report. Paul Karp, the reporter from The Guardian, has done superb work when it’s come to this issue and others, and if this report is accurate – to reduce his workload he put community safety at risk – then he should not be a minister of the crown and I would hope that the prime minister will [look] very seriously at this report in The Guardian today.
Giles has been contacted for comment.
Updated
Regulator considering action after three energy retailers allegedly took welfare money from former customers
The national energy regulator is weighing up whether to take new action against three retailers for their alleged use of Centrelink’s Centrepay system after a landmark court win against AGL.
The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) won a major case in the federal court against AGL in August after alleging the energy giant used the government-run payment system to wrongly take welfare money from almost 500 customers for years after they ceased being customers.
A Guardian Australia investigation into the Centrepay system has revealed two other major energy retailers, Origin and the Queensland-based Ergon Energy, have also allegedly used the system to deduct welfare payments of former customers.
The government services minister, Bill Shorten, has since referred three energy retailers to the AER for potential investigation. It is understood the AER, having won in the federal court, is now weighing up whether to take enforcement action against the three retailers.
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Speakman defends Liberal party and says challenges of last few weeks will be ‘overcome’
Mark Speakman defended the Liberal party and said its fundamentals “remain sound”, telling reporters:
We are a party that is committed to the basic values of individual freedoms, standing up for families and small business, strong economic management. We are the party that for most of the century has delivered in Australia. Those fundamentals remain sound.
Here on Macquarie Street, I lead a united team … full of talented individuals, whether they are longer-serving members or newbies …
Those fundamentals are there and of course there have been challenges in the last few weeks, but they are challenges we must overcome. We will overcome and we will unite and take the fight up to Labor.
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Mark Speakman stands by decision not to call for Don Harwin’s resignation
Q: Do you regret not having sacked Don Harwin, which could have potentially avoided this federal intervention?
Mark Speakman responded that “I don’t have the power to sack anyone on state executive”
The federal executive, however, have the power to intervene if they believe there are appropriate circumstances… Federal executive has the power to intervene if they think there is a risk to campaign readiness and that’s obviously what the federal executive has decided.
And what is more important than the internal make up of the Liberal Party administration committee, be it state executive or a smaller committee, is making sure we give the people of South Wales outgrew best chance of defeating these terrible Labor governments and that is what matters…
But no, I don’t regret not calling for Mr Harwin’s resignation… It is nothing to do with faction or mates. I have formed a good-faith opinion that the stuff up down on Macquarie Street was at the feet of the state director.
NSW opposition leader speaking in Sydney following federal takeover
The NSW opposition leader, Mark Speakman, is speaking to reporters in Sydney.
Yesterday, the federal Liberal executive intervened in the NSW party, demanding it appoint a temporary committee of three to run the troubled division after the failure to nominate candidates for some council seats.
Speakman has told reporters:
I don’t know what is in that report that has led federal executives to form the view that intervention was appropriate. My views about culpability for the nominations debacle remain the same. They remain unchanged.
Asked about Rob Stokes’ announcement that he wouldn’t be involved in the administrative committee (see earlier post), Speakman said:
There will be plenty of excellent people who can serve on any administrative committee set up and I’m sure we will find good people to serve on that committee.
Updated
Photos of Australian children included in AI dataset removed
Photos of Australian children that were included in the data set used by several AI image-generating tools have been removed following a report by Guardian Australia in July.
An analysis by Human Rights Watch of less than 0.0001% of the 5.85bn images contained in the Laion-5B dataset, used by services such as Stable Diffusion creator Stability AI and Midjourney, found 362 photos of Australian children scraped from the internet.
Germany-based Laion does not keep a repository of all of the images it scrapes from the internet, but it contains a list of URLs to the original images, along with the alternate text included on those linked images.
HRW reported yesterday that it had confirmed Laion had removed the images identified, and those identified of Brazilian children, but warned that given they had only analysed a fraction of the dataset, more images of identifiable children likely remain in the dataset.
Updated
Two men charged for allegedly possessing 11okg of cocaine in Far North Queensland
Two men have been charged after 110kg of cocaine was seized after an investigation in Far North Queensland.
The men, both 39, were arrested on the Cape York Peninsula yesterday afternoon. It will be alleged they travelled to Seisia to collect a commercial quantity of cocaine from a small boat in the Torres Strait.
The men were arrested after they were allegedly seen removing several polystyrene boxes from the small boat and loading them into a car at Seisia Wharf.
Police intercepted the car and searched the boxes, allegedly finding 110 packages containing a white substance, which returned a positive result for cocaine.
The men were taken into custody and to Bamaga police station, before being flown to Cairns. Both men are due to appear in Cairns magistrates court today.
The men, one each from Yorke and Moa islands, have both been charged with possessing a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs (cocaine). The AFP acting commander, Adrian Telfer, said the cocaine had an estimated street value of $44m.
Updated
Rob Stokes won’t serve on NSW Liberal division administration committee
The federal takeover of the New South Wales Liberal division has hit an early hurdle after former state MP Rob Stokes refused to serve on the administration committee.
The party’s federal executive launched an intervention into the NSW branch of the party yesterday, demanding it appoint a committee of three “eminent Australians” for 10 months to run the division after its council nominations disaster.
It recommended the appointment of former party president Alan Stockdale, former Howard-era communications minister Richard Alston and former NSW planning minister Stokes.
But Stokes told the federal executive he was not in a position to accept a role he hadn’t applied for. Guardian Australia understands Stokes was not aware of the committee, its composition or its terms of reference.
The NSW division has until next Thursday to comply with the federal executive’s request.
Updated
Murray Watt ‘concerned’ at Iranian government reaction to social media post
Circling back to Murray Watt’s interview on ABC News Breakfast earlier:
The minister was asked about reports that Australia’s ambassador in Iran had been summoned for an Instagram post celebrating Wear it Purple Day (as we flagged earlier in the blog).
What does the Australian government think about this? Watt responded:
Certainly the Albanese government’s views and our values are that we support all Australians, regardless of their sexual orientation, their gender, their race. And I am concerned to see this reaction from the Iranian government to the activities of the Australian Embassy.
We’re very proud about the fact that our embassies promote Australian values internationally, and I’m very concerned to see an overseas government seemingly take action against an Australian Embassy that is upholding Australian values.
Will there be any counter-reaction here in Australia? Watt said the news had only just broken this morning, and “it’s probably a little bit early for me to be predicting that.”
But I’m sure these are things that Penny Wong and others will be taking into account.
Updated
Tech giants must reveal children’s social media habits: online safety watchdog
Social media companies are facing pressure to reveal how many Australian children are using their platforms, AAP reports.
Google, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta, TikTok, Reddit, Discord, Twitch and Snap must answer a series of questions from the online safety watchdog about the number of children on their platforms and the age assurance measures used to prevent access by under aged kids.
Most of these sites have age limits to prevent children under 13 from using social media. But one-in-four children aged eight to 10 used social media at least one a week and almost half of all 11 to 13-year-olds accessed the sites at the same rate, according to eSafety research.
The commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said legally-imposed age limits were on the table, but noted the online sphere offered some benefits to teenagers and said more must be understood about the potential effectiveness and unintended consequences of any restrictions.
To ensure the safety of young Australians, we need to provide them - and their parents, carers and educators - with effective education and prevention strategies. It cannot all fall on the shoulders of kids, parents and teachers - industry need to play their part too.
The eight social media companies will have 30 days to respond to the eSafety Commissioner.
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Murray Watt predicts subdued growth ahead of GDP figures
The workplace relations minister, Murray Watt, has been speaking with ABC News Breakfast before the June quarter GDP figures release at 11.30am today.
Asked if the government is bracing for a dismal economic report card, he said global pressures on the Australian economy and “the fact that rising interest rates have been smashing our economy” meant it would be “no real surprise” to see soft growth in this coming quarter.
We’ve obviously forecast that the economy that the would be softening in our budget, and there are immense pressures on the Australian economy at the moment. We’ll wait and see what the national accounts have got to say, but we are expecting pretty subdued growth.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, made headlines at the weekend for saying that rate rises were “smashing the economy”, and Watt continued this, saying it is “self-evident” that rising interest rates were “having a big impact on household spending and on our economy”.
Our job as a federal government is to use the levers at our hands and our disposal to bring down inflation, but to do it in a way that isn’t going to plunge the economy into an even worse situation. That’s the fine balancing act that we’re walking by providing that cost-of-living relief to Australians, but also doing everything we can to keep inflation coming down …
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Closing arguments in Higgins-Reynolds defamation trial to resume today
Closing arguments in the defamation trial against Brittany Higgins by former defence minister Linda Reynolds will resume today from 9.30am Perth time.
It’s expected the five-week trial, which began at the start of August, will conclude by the end of today, with Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, delivering his concluding remarks.
Yesterday, Bennett began his closing arguments, claiming Higgins had a “visceral hatred” of Reynolds, her former boss, and conspired with her now-husband, David Sharaz, to harm her reputation and bring down the Morrison government.
Bennett also dismissed the defence’s claims that the hurt and distress the Liberal senator experienced was a result of public scrutiny of her actions.
Bennett said Higgins had “arrogantly”, and from the “sanctity of France”, trivialised Reynolds’ claims of poor mental and physical health, resulting from her decision to go public in 2021 about her alleged rape two years earlier in Reynolds’ ministerial office.
Higgins’ lawyer, Rachael Young SC, earlier said the then 24-year-old staffer had little or “no agency” in handling the incident in the months afterwards but had reclaimed that agency by coming forward in February 2021 as part of efforts to “achieve reform” in the parliamentary workplace.
Young said Higgins “felt a moral responsibility” to others in the building. Young concluded:
That’s why she spoke up, that’s what she is being sued about, and that’s why we say this action should be wholly dismissed.
We’ll update you shortly once the trial begins.
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Credlin responds to court docs showing she helped draft Higgins' statement
Sky News host Peta Credlin has responded to claims revealed in the Western Australian supreme court that she helped draft Brittany Higgins’ media statement in 2021.
Yesterday afternoon, Linda Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, showed the court an email thread revealing Credlin, a former chief of staff to Tony Abbott, had assisted with a draft media statement.
Reynolds is suing Higgins for defamation over a series of social media posts published in 2023. As part of his argument, Bennett alleges Higgins conspired in 2021 to damage Reynolds’ reputation. The email showed Higgins had said to Credlin in February 2021:
Hi Peta, Thank-you again for your help. Please see below the initial draft – feel free to completely rework wherever you see fit.
On her late-night opinion show yesterday, Credlin confirmed the series of events but insisted she had never met Higgins in person. Credlin said “contacts of Higgins” had reached out to her in the days after the story’s publication and asked if she would take a call from Higgins as a “former Liberal chief of staff and a woman”.
Credlin said she also helped craft the initial terms of reference for the Setting the Standard report, later conducted by former sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jekins.
She asked me if I would help her draft the terms of reference for a review into the treatment of female staff in federal politics. I said to her that I would, I said, after 16 years as a staffer myself, I believed reform was needed. And I then did two things with her permission. I called the then prime minister Scott Morrison’s office to tell them ‘this is exactly what I was doing’, to which his chief of staff said, ‘I fully support it’. And then I advised my direct manager here at Sky News as I helped draft the terms of reference, which later became the Jenkins review.
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NSW Police confirm investigation into alleged sexual assault at Merivale venue
NSW Police have confirmed it is investigating an alleged sexual assault at a Sydney bar after an ABC report on hospitality group Merivale.
The ABC reported allegations from a former Merivale staff member that she was raped by a colleague then rostered to continue working with him.
The ABC also spoke with two female patrons who alleged they were put in a dangerous position after being mistaken for sex workers at the Ivy nightclub in Sydney’s CBD. ABC reported an internal Merivale investigation into that case found that CCTV vision “does not show any untoward or inappropriate behaviour” but had “encouraged the patron to report the matter to police”.
In a statement, police said officers were “conducting inquiries regarding an incident” alleged to have occurred at a licensed premises on George Street on 9 March this year.
As investigations continue, anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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Tehan responds to Asio boss’s accusation his comments on Palestinians have been ‘distorted’
Dan Tehan was also asked about comments from Asio boss Mike Burgess, who used an interview with the ABC’s 7.30 program on Tuesday to hit back at people who had “distorted” what he had previously said about the security vetting process for Palestinians seeking to come to Australia.
You can read the full details on this from Daniel Hurst below:
Tehan was asked if he accepted Burgess may be talking about Peter Dutton and distortion by his side of politics. The shadow minister responded:
I won’t talk about what Mike Burgess may or may not be talking about when he says that. As you know, we had the prime minister also leave an important sentence out of what Mike Burgess said in the parliament, which basically distorted what Mike Burgess was saying. But I’ll leave that up to Mike Burgess, because our issue has never been with [him]. Our issue is with the prime minister …
Speaking about the opposition’s stance on Palestinians coming to Australia, Tehan said there “absolutely … should be ongoing checks”.
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Opposition weighs in on government’s plan to cap international student numbers
Dan Tehan, the shadow minister for immigration, is speaking with ABC RN about migration numbers ahead of the June quarter GDP figures release at 11.30am today.
Asked when the opposition would announce its cap on international student enrolments, following on from the government’s plan, he said:
When we’ve got clear data as to what the government is proposing to do. So far, as far as we can tell, individual agreements have been reached with universities and private education providers, saying that they have to reduce their numbers. Now, we don’t know what those numbers are. There’s a bill before the parliament at the moment, there’s a Senate inquiry going on.
We’ve asked for all that data, but so far, the government hasn’t been forthcoming. So we will get a clearer idea of what we need to do once we’ve got a clear understanding of what the government is doing …
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Surprise state shines brightest in solar energy ranking
Queensland has emerged as the surprise frontrunner in Australia’s climate race, according to a study that found the state had sped up progress on renewable energy production and targets.
As AAP reports, the Climate Council’s environmental report card praised NSW and the ACT for efforts to reduce transport emissions and credited South Australia and Tasmania for their renewable power. But the Northern Territory and Western Australia were criticised for their low share of renewable energy and vague net zero targets.
The report, Race to the Top, analysed environmental measures across each state and territory, including rooftop solar and batteries, electric vehicles and chargers, renewable energy targets and use, and shared transport.
While Australia doubled its share of renewable electricity over the past six years to reach 40%, the report found the ACT (100%), Tasmania (98%) and South Australia (74%) led the pack.
The nation’s capital won praise for having the highest share of EVs, with more than double the rate of its rivals, while NSW had the greatest proportion of shared transport at 13.1%, besting Victoria at 8.5%.
But Queensland was singled out in the report for its progress on renewable energy, including clean energy projects in regional centres such as Townsville and Gladstone, and its target to cut 75% of pollution by 2035. The Sunshine State also had the greatest percentage of rooftop solar panels installed in the country, with 50.2% of all homes covered.
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Iran summons Australian ambassador in Iran over photos from LGBTQ+ celebration in embassy
Iran has summoned the Australian ambassador in Iran over photos published from a celebration in the embassy to mark Wear it Purple Day, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
As Associated Press reports, IRNA said the foreign ministry summoned the Australian ambassador to Tehran, Ian McConville, and condemned the publication of photos on social media, calling it insulting and contrary to Iranian and Islamic culture, as well as international norms.
In response, McConville said that his country had not insulted Iran or Iranian culture, adding there was no reference to Iran in the post on Instagram.
On Monday, the embassy published a photo of McConville and his colleagues wearing purple and saying:
Today, and every day, we’re dedicated to creating a supportive environment, where everyone, especially LGBTQIA+ youth, can feel proud to be themselves.
Homosexuality is illegal in Iran, but under a religious decree issued 30 years ago, transgender people are allowed to seek gender transition surgery.
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Good morning
And happy Wednesday! I’m Emily Wind, signing on for blogging duties – I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage for most of today. Thanks to Martin for kicking things off.
As always, you can reach out with any tips or questions via X, @emilywindwrites, or you can send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.
Let’s get started.
Press club speech to address housing supply and affordability
Australia’s under-pressure housing sector is set to face fresh scrutiny by the head of the federal government’s independent council for the industry, AAP reports.
Chair of the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz will lay out her concerns with the country’s housing supply and affordability in a National Press Club address today.
The speech is expected to centre on concerns over the housing market, with concerns of spiralling property prices and not enough action being taken to create more affordable homes. The council released a report in May that painted a dire picture for future housing.
The report said 943,000 new homes would be built in the next five years, well short of the federal government’s target of 1.2 million properties built in that time frame. Findings also revealed just 13% of homes sold in 2022/23 were affordable for households on the median income.
At the time of the report’s release, Lloyd-Hurwitz said the housing market was “far from healthy” and there were no easy fixes for problems in the industry. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Monday revealed a 10% jump in approvals of new dwellings, but the numbers are still well down on historical averages.
Peak bodies have said not enough was being done to ensure housing construction levels would reach the federal government’s targets. Soaring house prices and problems for first home buyers are also expected to feature in Lloyd-Hurwitz’s address.
National house prices rose by 0.5% in August, data from CoreLogic showed, the 19th consecutive month property values have increased.
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Greens call government to demand drone footage audio from Israeli military killing of Australian aid worker
The deputy leader of the Greens, Mehreen Faruqi, has called on the Australian government to press Israel to provide a sound recording that accompanied the drone footage of the killing of the Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom.
The former Australian defence force chief Mark Binskin was commissioned by the Australian government to prepare a report on the killing of Frankcom and six World Central Kitchen colleagues in Israeli drone strikes in Gaza on 1 April.
In his report, released last month, Binskin said he had been allowed to view “the 90-minute un-edited Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) footage (without audio) of the WCK convoy and subsequent strikes”.
Frankcom’s brother Mal told the ABC’s 7.30 program last week that he regarded the unheard audio as “another missing piece of the puzzle” because it was important to understand “the state of mind of the people making the decisions”. Mal Frankcom told 7.30:
I asked him [Binskin] about that and he said that he was told that it was in Hebrew and it wouldn’t be understood.
In a new letter to Wong, Faruqi said it was “inconceivable that your Department would not have the ability to translate the dialogue”. Faruqi wrote:
In pursuit of justice, it is incumbent on you to do what is necessary to obtain this audio evidence, including sanctions if the Israeli government fails to cooperate. I am sure you agree that there must be significant consequences, including possible war crimes charges, for those that target and kill humanitarian aid workers.
The Israeli embassy in Canberra has said the Israeli government “takes with utmost seriousness the grave incident” and that the Israeli military had “taken full responsibility for the grave mistakes that led to the tragic incident of the night of 1 April”.
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GDP figures due at 11.30am
The key June quarter GDP figures are due at 11.30am and will be scrutinised for what they mean to the direction of travel for the economy and interest rates.
The numbers are likely to show the economy almost ground to a halt in the three months to the end of June.
Our very own economics expert, Peter Hannam, sifts through the numbers.
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Government to underwrite six large batteries in Victoria and South Australia
The Albanese government will underwrite six large batteries in Victoria and South Australia after a pilot round of its capacity investment scheme was “massively oversubscribed”.
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the government had wanted to back 600 megawatts under the round of its capacity investment scheme and received bids for 19 gigawatts – 32 times greater than the goal.
He said the six developments that had been accepted should deliver nearly 1000MW of storage by 2027.
These projects will soak up cheap, clean energy from renewable generation, to be discharged into the grid as needed, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The government has promised to underwrite the revenue from 32GW of new renewable energy and storage capacity as it aims to have 82% of electricity from solar, wind and hydro by 2030. The capacity investment scheme was expanded in late 2022 after investment commitments in new large-scale renewables stalled.
Bowen is due to speak at the Gippsland New Energy Conference later this morning.
According to speech excerpts released to media late on Tuesday, Bowen plans to say the government’s policies are designed to create the certainty needed for an “orderly transition”.
The opposition’s nuclear plan is the exact opposite. It’s a recipe for uncertainty and, I believe, deliberately so.
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Welcome
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer, and I’ll be bringing you the main overnight and breaking news stories before Emily Wind steps up.
The government’s handling of the economy will be under intense scrutiny again today when the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals how much – or perhaps more importantly how little – the economy grew in the June quarter. Most experts think the number will be just above zero, underlining Australia’s continuing economic woes but also possibly giving the Reserve Bank more scope to start cutting interest rates.
In better news, the government will underwrite six large batteries to back up renewables on the grid as its energy overhaul continues. More coming up.
Australia’s online safety regulator asked Elon Musk’s X to delete a tweet of the video of the Wakeley church stabbing posted by the sole elected politician of the United Australia party, a freedom of information request has revealed. During the peak of global controversy in April over demands to remove tweets showing the stabbing of a bishop in western Sydney, the office of the eSafety commissioner asked Musk’s X to delete a tweet of the video posted by an Australian senator. Despite the request, the post remains available.
The two people rescued from a yacht off Sydney’s coast have said they are very glad to be back on dry land last night. They were treated to a meat pie and cup of coffee after spending 19 hours clinging to their stricken yacht. But one of the pair said she would be back out on the ocean as soon as Thursday once she has seen her children.
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