And with that, we are going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, let’s re-cap the big headlines:
Incoming Queensland premier David Crisafulli said that his government will be pulling together a plan for the Olympics within its first 100 days.
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, said the Greens’ blocking of legislation in the Senate and MP Max Chandler-Mather’s support for the CFMEU led to poor Queensland result. But Greens leader Adam Bandt said it was Labor targeting their seats with Greens policies that resulted in the hit.
The employment minister, Murray Watt, refused to comment on reports Anthony Albanese used his membership in Qantas’s chairman’s lounge to solicit flight upgrades when he was transport minister and opposition leader.
The Coalition did not approach Geoscience Australia to ask about the suitability of any of the seven sites where it wants to put nuclear reactors.
The New South Wales government is moving towards legalising the use of e-scooters on streets.
Renewable energy helped push demand to record low levels on Saturday in the national electricity market that serves the eastern states including South Australia, the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) said.
New South Wales teachers voted to endorse a three-year pay offer from the New South Wales government.
Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We will be back tomorrow to do it all again.
Updated
No ill effects from ACT drug decriminalisation, advocates say
Canberra was tipped to become “the drug capital of Australia” after the ACT decriminalised personal use of illicit substances.
But 12 months on, safety advocates are not noticing any ill effects, reports AAP.
Erin Lalor, chief executive of the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, says the ongoing criminalisation of drugs elsewhere in Australia continues to do more harm than good.
“We know that the criminalisation of personal drug use continues to cause harm to individuals who come into contact with the justice system while they fail to stop all illicit drug use,” she told a parliamentary inquiry into drug and alcohol harm on Monday.
Dr Lalor said the treatment system was overwhelmed and more work needed to be done to prevent alcohol and drug harm early, rather than react to it.
“We cannot continue to park an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff,” she said. “We must build better fences.”
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Slow start for Australian share market
The Australian share market has had a quiet start to what’s expected to be a volatile two weeks filled with big events across politics, corporate earnings and macroeconomics, AAP has reported.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Monday finished 10.2 points, or 0.12%, higher, at 8,221.5, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 10.9 points, or 0.13%, to 8,478.2.
The Australian dollar had fallen below 66 US cents for the first time since mid-August, buying 65.89 US cents, down from 66.25 US cents at Friday’s ASX close.
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Eastern Australia power demand falls to record lows
Renewable energy helped push demand to record low levels on Saturday in the national electricity market that serves the eastern states including South Australia, the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) says.
Another spring Saturday saw new minimum demand records in NSW & the NEM.
— AEMO (@AEMO_Energy) October 28, 2024
In the NEM, the operational demand record fell from 10,305 to 10,073MW at 11:30am (AEST). While in NSW, operational demand dropped to 3,121MW at 1pm (AEST)https://t.co/i3OBExGJXL pic.twitter.com/sVRr0pmSw7
Spring and autumn are when demand for power can decrease as there’s often not a lot of call for heating or cooling. The seasons can be quite windy and the longer days bring more sunshine.
The relentless take-up of low-cost rooftop solar means also that more and more households are generating their own power.
As we noted in this recent piece, periods of so-called minimum system load (MSL) are going to become more common.
Indeed, there was another MSL alert from Aemo over the weekend for Victoria. And, lo and behold, the operator has just issued an alert this afternoon for that state for this Saturday - before cancelling it about half an hour later.
Aemo had said Victoria’s demand may drop to as low as 1491MW at 12.30pm (that’s Aest in Aemo time, so 1.30pm Aedt). Authorities will no doubt be watching to see if other actions will be needed to keep the grid stable, perhaps including asking big batteries to soak up surplus rooftop solar output.
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Insurer facing major penalties over allegedly misleading life-insurance policies
HCF claimed on some of its life-insurance policies that it could deny coverage to customers with a pre-existing condition, even if they were not aware of the illness when signing up, AAP is reporting.
The health insurance giant could face major penalties over the claims, which the federal court ruled on Monday might have been misleading.
Several policies offered by the non-profit fund’s life insurance arm, HCF Life, included a “pre-existing condition” term, purporting to allow it to deny coverage if a customer did not disclose a condition before entering the contract.
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) said it would seek penalties for misleading conduct. The watchdog alleged the pre-existing condition term was an unfair contract term under corporate regulations, but that element of the case was dismissed by the court.
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NSW teachers accept pay offer
New South Wales teachers have voted to endorse a three-year pay offer from the New South Wales government.
It deliver pay increases of 3% annually for the next three years.
More to come.
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Six added to list of endangered species in Australia
The fluffy heath mouse is among the Australian animals added to the international red list of threatened species, with conservationists warning of an escalating global extinction crisis, AAP has reported.
There are 742 endangered Australian plants and animals on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species, which grew by six species in the past year.
Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Jess Abrahams said disappearing wildlife was a dire warning for the planet:
Wildlife populations across Australia and across the planet are in decline, and we will lose many species if urgent action isn’t taken to stop rampant deforestation, invasive species and climate change.
The species now at risk of extinction include the heath mouse, found in south-west Victoria, southern South Australia and southern Western Australia.
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Man arrested over fatal stabbing in Geelong
A 26-year-old man has been arrested following the alleged fatal stabbing of another man in Geelong yesterday.
The 20-year-old victim was allegedly stabbed during an altercation on Little Malop Street about 5.30am.
He was taken to hospital where he later died.
Two other men, aged 23 and 26, presented at a hospital with non life-threatening injuries yesterday morning.
Police said they will be interviewing them “at a later date”.
Investigations into the incident are ongoing.
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Greenwashing case against Santos gets under way
A world-first greenwashing case that seeks to hold oil and gas company Santos accountable for its net zero commitments commenced in the federal court today.
The case, brought by the shareholder group the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), was the first to challenge the veracity of a company’s net zero emissions plan.
ACCR alleged Santos made representations related to its net zero target and roadmap, which constituted misleading or deceptive conduct in breach of corporate and consumer laws.
Proceedings began with Noel Hutley, SC establishing key parameters in the case, including the meaning of net zero.
In opening remarks, Hutley quoted extensively from Santos’ public climate reports and company documents, drawing attention to the company’s reliance on blue hydrogen, carbon capture and storage and nature based offsets to achieve net zero, and its failure to disclose anticipated growth in emissions from oil and gas exploration.
Opening statements will continue into Tuesday, with the case due to conclude on Friday 15 November.
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Coalition nuclear plan a ‘smokescreen’ for fossil fuels, renewables advocate tells inquiry
More from the inquiry running in parliament today about nuclear energy generation in Australia, where renewables industry advocate John Grimes launched a bitter attack on the Coalition’s plans.
Grimes, the chief executive of the Smart Energy Council, told the inquiry the Coalition’s plan was “all about attacking renewables and boosting fossil fuels”.
Recalling Scott Morrison’s 2017 stunt where he brought a lump of coal into parliament, Grimes said:
This nuclear proposal is today’s version of a lump of coal in parliament.
The motivation [of the Coalition’s plan] is to attack renewables and hold them back. Nothing has changed. This is a smokescreen.
In a less measured and more graphic analogy, Grimes said the Coalition’s energy policy was “a bit like a dog, circling around and around finally coming back to eat its own vomit, only this time it’s nuclear flavoured”.
We have seen this vomit before. It’s all about smashing renewables and delivering for fossil fuels.
Updated
And with that, I leave the blog in the hands of Cait Kelly. Thanks for reading.
Updated
Greens vow to fight nuclear power ‘tooth and nail’
Greens leader Adam Bandt has vowed to fight “tooth and nail” against nuclear power, after telling reporters the Queensland election result was “one step closer” to a change in energy policy:
Australia is now one step closer to having nuclear power. Peter Dutton has made it clear that [he will] now use this result to push Australia a step closer to having nuclear power.
The Greens will fight Peter [Dutton’s] nuclear push tooth and nail.
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Crisafulli flags changes to ‘machinery of government’ in first press conference as Queensland premier
David Crisafulli and Jarrod Bleijie have held their first press conference after being sworn in as Queensland premier and deputy premier.
The duo said their focus in the next days is changes to the “machinery of government”, referring to the structure and leadership of departments.
What we don’t want to see is the constant changes to government departments that we have seen in recent years. That doesn’t give the stability for the public service. It also creates a situation where there’s no single point of accountability into the long term.
The duo were sworn in as an “interim” cabinet at Government House this morning.
But they intend to announce and then swear in their full cabinet by the end of the week.
Before the election, they had promised to appoint all members of the shadow cabinet in the portfolios they held in opposition.
Crisafulli appeared to be edging away from meeting that pledge on Monday.
The people who you have seen and who have done a really good job will be the people who you see and will be rewarded.
And just one other thing to clear it up, that senior leadership team that’s done the job and worked really hard will continue to be that senior leadership team, Jarrod [Bleijie], David [Janetzski], Ros [Bates] and Dale [Last]. You know, they come to it with different perspectives, but they’ve done a really good job, and they’ll remain that senior leadership team. And I don’t think there’ll be too many surprises when the cabinet is announced.
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Albanese government ‘not serious’ about airline competition, Spender says
Teal MP Allegra Spender has accused the government of not being “serious” about airline competition.
Taking to X to share her view on allegations in a new book that the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, requested flight upgrades from Qantas.
Spender said the government’s actions meant “higher prices for Australians”.
She also alleged Albanese has a “cosy relationship” with former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce:
The Albanese govt hasn’t been serious about airline competition. Qatar Air and foot dragging on Sydney landing slots mean higher prices for Australians. His flight upgrades and cosy relations with Alan Joyce create a perception of conflict (whether they influence him or not).
The Albanese govt hasn’t been serious about airline competition.
— Allegra Spender (@spenderallegra) October 27, 2024
Qatar Air and foot dragging on Sydney landing slots mean higher prices for Australians.
His flight upgrades and cosy relations with Alan Joyce create a perception of conflict (whether they influence him or not) pic.twitter.com/ky7vM8iFNn
Updated
TGA issues fine to unauthorised vape retailer
The medicines regulator has fined a retailer in the central Queensland city of Bundaberg $18,780 after more than 350 vapes were located at their store.
The vapes were seized on 1 August 2024 when officers from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) executed a warrant, as part of a joint enforcement operation with Queensland Health.
The infringement notice comes as both the TGA and state health bodies are ensuring compliance with the government’s vaping reforms passed in July which prohibit retailers, including tobacconists and convenience stores, from selling any type of vape. Only pharmacies are allowed to supply vapes in Australia.
The TGA said since the reforms were passed, enforcement officers have been visiting retail stores across various states and territories to educate and issue warnings about unlawful advertising, supply and commercial possession of vaping goods, with informational materials being disseminated widely.
After the health minister, Mark Butler, last week said the government would start prosecuting vape vendors, the head of the TGA has echoed the need to take action for the good of public health. The head of the TGA and chief medical officer, Prof Anthony Lawler, said:
The unlawful possession and sale of vaping products endangers public health and undermines our efforts to regulate vaping goods in accordance with the legislation that passed on 1 July 2024.
The TGA continues to work with state and territory partners to remove illicit vaping goods from the market and will take action against those entities found to not be complying, including retailers.
Updated
David Crisafulli sworn in as Queensland premier
David Crisafulli has been sworn in as Queensland’s 41st premier.
He is just the second from the Liberal National party.
Crisafulli and his deputy Jarrod Bleijie were sworn in at a ceremony at Government House on Monday. Governor Jeannette Young also swore them in as an interim cabinet of two.
He defeated Labor premier Steven Miles at the weekend’s election.
Crisafulli is expected to do a brief press conference in a few moments.
Updated
NSW government offer $1m reward in effort to solve 2015 murder of Prabha Arun Kumar
A $1m reward has been offered for information that helps solve the near-decade-old murder of an Indian mother as authorities desperately seek answers to crack the case open.
Prabha Arun Kumar was found dead on a footpath in Parramatta Park, in Sydney’s west, on 7 March 7 2015.
The 41-year-old was on the phone to her husband Arun in India when she was stabbed in the neck, with Mr Kumar reportedly hearing his wife confronted by her attacker.
The NSW government and police announced the reward on Monday for anyone who could provide information that led to the arrest and conviction of the killer.
Mr Kumar, who lived in Bangalore with the couple’s daughter, flew into Australia when he learned of his wife’s death.
She was only weeks away from moving back to India because she missed her family.
“My wife was the most caring and beautiful soul,” Mr Kumar said at the time.
Ms Kumar, who lived about 300m from where she was killed, moved to Australia in 2012 for a project with tech firm Mindtree.
Police said they had pursued multiple lines of inquiry and made several public appeals for information but the case remains unsolved.
Investigators previously dismissed the prospect of the attack being racially motivated.
Via AAP.
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Victorian premier dodges question on implications of Queensland election result
The Victorian Labor premier, Jacinta Allan, has congratulated Queensland’s incoming premier, David Crisafulli. Speaking in Footscray on Monday, she also acknowledged the “strong work of Steven Miles and the Labor team up there as well”.
Asked what the result means for the Victorian government, given the parallels with Queensland, she brushed off the question:
When it comes to the priorities of Queensland, I’ll let the Queensland premier talk to them. My priorities are building homes for Victorians.
Miles, similarly to Allan, took over the premiership after Annastacia Palaszczuk resigned. The third term Labor government was voted out, in part due to a successful law and order campaign by Crisafulli’s Liberals.
Allan said the Victorian government has “already taken very strong action in strengthening the youth justice regime”. She went on:
We’ve strengthened bail. We put youth justice legislation through the Victorian parliament recently that has passed … opposed along the way by the Liberal party. They opposed the strengthening of bail that was contained in that youth justice package ... We’re giving Victoria police the additional resources they need to deal with this group of repeat serious youth offenders.
Updated
Next up, Dutton is asked about the incoming Queensland premier’s rejection of nuclear energy.
Earlier this morning, David Crisafulli said it was still a “no” to any nuclear proposal, and Dutton said he “respected” that.
I respect that is David’s position. It has been long-standing and I knew before the election and I know it now. Same as Chris Minns. I think you can have a conversation with sensible premiers and I put them in that category. Peter is the champion of the nuclear submarine in south Australia. It is safe or labour would not have signed up to it and I think the question is we have to say and ask is why is Anthony Albanese staying in the way of a bipartisan view on nuclear energy?
It would make us internationally competitive. So let’s have a mature conversation. The issue people raise all the time, is that all of that can be resolved if Anthony Albanese stands up in a bipartisan way is to present a position on nuclear and that would give certainty around investment and the future supply of energy at a cheaper price in our country but at the moment he’s playing this childlike game and unfortunately we will see increases in electricity prices under Labor hapless promises.
Dutton defends his own flight upgrades, which he says are about ‘passenger load’
Dutton outlines the number of flights he takes a year and how often he recalls getting an upgrade:
Generally, you arrive at the airport and there is an upgrade of the seat available and that is generally as I understand it how it happens. But I have been in parliament since 2001 and as you say there are 15 upgrades since then.
I probably do 190 flight this year. I prefer to be doing none at all actually, but I am here in Melbourne today very happily and I am off to Perth shortly and we go from one side of the country to another.
I average 180, 190 flights per year. None of it happens as a result of me calling my best friend Alan Joyce at Qantas.
Asked how and when upgrades are offered, Dutton said it was about “passenger load”.
Updated
Dutton calls Albanese's reported requests for Qantas upgrades ‘a bit strange’
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has stepped up for a press conference in Melbourne where he is immediately asked about the prime minister’s reported flight upgrades.
It comes after a book from the former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston alleged Anthony Albanese solicited flight upgrades from then Qantas CEO Alan Joyce during his time as transport minister.
Dutton begins by saying it is “a bit strange” that Albanese might have contacted a “CEO of an airline when he is the minister for transport”.
As you know, I very strongly believe in the need for people to declare their … interests and sometimes there are oversights and human error involved but when you’re talking about having a personal phone call to ask for an upgrade, as the transport minister or shadow transport minister. And I presume the prime minister will answer questions about that.
Its a strange arrangement when you can pick the phone up to the CEO and ask, as a transport minister, for an upgrade for your arrangements.
If you go to the airport and either full load factors or for decisions airline makes otherwise for them to upgrade, that is perfectly appropriate, as the rules apply equally to everyone.
But if you are the transport minister and you are picking up the phone to one of the most important stakeholders in your portfolio, asking for a free upgrade, then again I think the prime minister would be able to ask those questions more effectively than anyone else because I am not aware of anyone else having done it.
Updated
Chalmers says he never asked Alan Joyce for Qantas upgrade
I just wanted to return to the Chalmers press conference earlier, where he ducked and weaved questions on the prime minister’s flight upgrades.
Chalmers said politicians’ travel declarations need to be “robust” and said he hadn’t personally asked former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce for an upgrade:
I haven’t asked Alan Joyce, no. I’m not sure if I have received one. I don’t think so, but I’d have to have a look.
Asked if the process for the disclosure of interests should be strengthened, Chalmers said he had “not given much thought to it”.
I’m focused on inflation this week, the G20 discussions, the lessons from Saturday’s campaign. You know, I’m broadly aware, and I was asked this morning about some of these issues... It’s appropriate that the arrangements are robust.
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NSW moves to legalise e-scooters and address ‘strange’ regulatory blindspot
The New South Wales government is moving towards legalising the use of e-scooters on streets, amid a new E-micromobility Action Plan.
The plan is intended to address a regulatory blind spot, where e-scooters can be purchased in NSW but can’t be ridden on the streets or footpaths.
The plan also includes actions on reviewing how shared e-bikes are operated in local communities, reviewing the road rules in relation to e-micromobility, including exploring options for the legal use of e-scooters on streets and roads, and delivering more shared e-scooter trials.
A pilot is already under way for marked, dedicated parking bays for shared e-bikes at nine train stations around Sydney: Central, Circular Quay, Wynyard, Barangaroo Metro, Newtown, Sydenham, Marrickville and Bondi Junction.
Transport minister Jo Haylen said it was a “strange” regulatory blind spot:
There are already 1.35 million e-micromobility devices in homes across NSW. Almost 460,0000 of these are e-scooters. But only 22% of people across the state know it’s illegal to ride e-scooters on our roads and streets.
It’s a strange regulatory blind spot, and it has to change.
E-bikes and e-scooters aren’t without controversy, which is exactly why we’re taking action. It’s clear we need a regulatory framework that will allow people to make the most of this transport option, without compromising on community safety.
Allowing people to ride an e-scooter to the shops or nearby train stations will take pressure off our roads and lessen competition for parking. It’s a big win for everyone, we just have a bit more work to do to get the balance right.
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Barnaby Joyce on MP flight upgrades: ‘It’s a difference when you solicit it’
Returning to the issue of the prime minister’s flights, the Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce says the problem is “when you solicit” the upgrades.
While Anthony Albanese declared yesterday that all upgrades were declared, Joyce said on Sunrise this morning that reports the PM asked for them did not pass the “pub test.”
A lot of people that fly generally get offered upgrade and take them. We all do that.
It’s a difference when you solicit it. When you ring up Alan Joyce and say, ‘Alan I would like an upgrade. My name is Anthony Albanese.’ That’s the one that doesn’t pass the pub test.
If every person who gets an upgrade is in trouble we will have a lot of people in trouble. I acknowledge 100% a lot of politicians get upgrades, me included. It’s whether you solicit it, especially if you ring up Alan Joyce.
That’s the issue. That’s an issue Mr Albanese has to explain.
Updated
Asked if Labor should be concerned that it is losing “touch with people in the outer suburbs or urban fringes”, Chalmers says the party needs to be “vigilant about it”.
You always need to be vigilant about it. I’ve certainly acknowledged it on other occasions. We understand that people are doing it tough and they expressed that at the ballot box, which is their right.
What we’ve tried to do is we’ve tried to take a series of well-informed economic decisions … for the right reasons. Because I believe if you do that … the politics will take care of themselves.
This is not the kind of government that chases the fortnightly ups and downs of opinion polls. We try to do the right thing at every turn, in three budgets, all of the updates and all of the decisions we’ve taken. The right thing is recognising people are doing it tough, doing what you can to help them, but recognising that you have to do that in the most responsible way that you can.
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Chalmers on Queensland election: ‘We won’t be ignoring the lessons of Saturday’
Building on that, Chalmers says there were a couple of takeaways from the result in Queensland:
First of all, the outcome on Saturday night was decisive. But it wasn’t unexpected. And there are lessons for us, but there are also differences.
Theirs was a government, as Cameron Dick said on TV yesterday, that had been there for almost a decade. Ours is a government in its first term. So there are obvious differences. But I don’t want to pretend that there aren’t lessons for us as well. Of course there are. There are always lessons in elections like this one. There are always things that we can learn. There are always things that we can do better.
And we will go through the results with that in mind. We have always believed, and we have always acted in relation to this belief – governments are always best when they go in for the whole place. The regions, the suburbs, and the cities. When they govern for the whole place. And that’s what Anthony Albanese does as prime minister.
You mentioned the outer suburbs that I represent. You were there not that long ago. One of the heartening things – despite some big swings in areas like mine, I’ve got six state seats in my federal electorate – we’re looking like holding at least five, but probably six of those.
So what that tells us - we’ve got these wonderful state members in my part of Queensland - what that tells us [is] if you make the right decisions for the right reasons and you’re a good local representative, then you can hang on even when things are turning against the government. So, good local representation, good, responsible decisions.
Queenslanders are pragmatic and practical people. And the Albanese government is a pragmatic and practical government. But we will go through the lessons from Saturday night. We won’t telegraph those lessons to our opponents by running through them in detail for you at a press conference. But we won’t be ignoring the lessons of Saturday. We understand that people are doing it tough. We understand that people often express that at the ballot box, which is their right. And so we will go through the lessons of Saturday with that in mind.
Updated
Chalmers congratulates Crisafulli on Queensland election win
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is speaking to reporters, where he congratulated David Crisafulli and the Liberal National party for their victory in the Queensland election.
He said he intended to work with Crisafulli and the new Queensland government:
I offer them my warmest congratulations and we will work with the new LNP government in Queensland in the same constructive way that we worked with the former Labor government in Queensland. I’ve been able to relay my congratulations to incoming treasurer Janetzki already. We have agreed to catch up this week, most likely on Thursday, subject to the timing of the new government’s swearing-in. But we’ve had a very warm exchange, and I look forward to talking with him later in the week and working with him on behalf of the people of Queensland as well.
Chalmers went on to say that the result wouldn’t change how Labor will prepare for the next federal election.
I want to reassure people that we will continue to put responsible economic management as the defining feature of this Albanese Labor government. This election was never going to be, from our side, a free-for-all of public spending. It wasn’t going to be before Saturday’s outcome, and it’s not going to be after Saturday’s outcome.
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Coalition didn’t ask Geoscience Australia about its nuclear sites, inquiry hears
The Coalition has not approached Geoscience Australia to ask about the suitability of any of the seven sites where it wants to put nuclear reactors, including for risks from earthquakes, a parliamentary hearing has just heard.
The government’s parliamentary inquiry into nuclear energy has its second hearing today and officials from Geoscience Australia are giving evidence.
The officials confirmed the Coalition had not asked for its view on the suitability of any of the sites it is proposing, and said it would likely take two years to deliver a full assessment of the risks from a range of hazards, including earthquakes, tsunamis and the condition of the earth underneath each site.
Ted O’Brien, the opposition’s energy spokesman, said this two-year timeframe was in line with the Coalition’s policy.
O’Brien revealed the Coalition had been taking advice from Prof Andrew Whittaker, a US-based expert on seismic events in relation to nuclear energy.
O’Brien said Whittaker has told him that recent earthquakes in the Hunter valley, near the Liddell power station - a site earmarked for a reactor by the Coalition - and these would be “entirely inconsequential” to the operation of a nuclear power plant.
But John Dawson, a branch head of community safety at Geoscience Australia, said any assessment of a site would require “detailed investigation” before “anyone can say definitively if these sites are suitable.”
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Bandt on his Qantas chairman’s lounge membership: ‘We have always declared this and let people make their own judgments’
I wanted to just return to Bandt’s appearance on RN Breakfast earlier, where he was also questioned about his membership of the Qantas chairman’s lounge.
But Bandt said he had declared his membership:
We’ve been calling for at times, when Qantas has come with its cap in hand and said that they need assistance, we’ve said, well maybe we should have a look at government owning a stake in this essential service, in our transport yet again.
The Greens don’t take donations from big corporations.
Look, I’ll let people make their own decisions. We declare it since the beginning. We have always declared this and let people make their own judgments and then separately have a look at the policies that we’re advancing.
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Watt asked about Australia’s decision to block Qatar from increasing flights
Watt continued discussing the prime minister’s relationship with Qantas on RN Breakfast earlier, where he said accusations of favouritism are “hypocritical”.
It all comes from a book by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston which goes into the recent tumultous years at Qantas.
Aston said the decision to block Qatar Airways from increasing flights to Australia was “impossible to justify” earlier on RN Breakfast, but Watt questioned why those same criticisms aren’t made of previous Coalition governments who made the same call.
Watt specifically pointed to former Coalition transport minister Michael McCormack, who he said made the same decision.
“McCormack has said that he made that decision to knock back Qatar based on the national interest at the time, and that was the basis for our decision as well.
“[Transport minister] Catherine King has approved, since the Qatar decision, extra flights for Turkish Airways, so it’s not as if we have some sort of blanket ban against airlines flying into Australia to protect Qantas.”
Watt said the decision was made “on its merits” like each application of its kind.
Updated
Murray Watt defends MPs’ use of Qantas chairman's lounge
Employment minister Murray Watt has refused to comment on reports Anthony Albanese used his membership in Qantas’s chairman’s lounge to solicit flight upgrades when he was transport minister and opposition leader.
Watt was on RN Breakfast, where he refused to be drawn on what he called “unsourced claim by a journalist” that Albanese would reach out directly to former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce directly about his travel.
Watt also took the opportunity to preemptively criticise any opposition focus on the issue:
If you have a look at Peter Dutton behaviour, for example, several upgrades from the Qantas and other airlines, he’s had free flights paid for by Gina Rinehart.
I really would wonder whether it’s wise for the opposition to start calling this kind of stuff into question.
Asked about his own membership of the lounge, Watt said “pretty much everyone” is also a member:
We obviously spend an enormous amount of time at airports. I think this week, I’m going to be in about three or four different cities, flying from place to place. And it is helpful from time to time, to be able to have private meetings or private environments, to be able to have teams meetings with your office, which I do every time I fly.
The prime minister was adamant yesterday he had declared all previous free upgrades to Qantas flights he had received as “appropriate”, adding that those reported in the Nine papers over the weekend “go back a long, a long period of time”.
He said that “from time to time, members of parliament receive upgrades”.
“What’s important is that they are declared. All of mine have been declared.”
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‘We are up for negotiation’: Adam Bandt to Labor
Bandt continues, saying the Greens won’t be changing their approach federally despite the Queensland poll result.
He said the Greens want to negotiate with Labor on their policies:
We want Labor to negotiate like we did in the previous housing legislation, where we not only improved and passed Labour’s housing legislation, but we got $3bn to start building public and community housing.
I think this is part of the message that we’re trying to give to the government. We are up for negotiation.
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Bandt claims Labor 'gave up on the suburbs' in Queensland election
The Greens leader Adam Bandt has blamed Labor for his party’s poor showing in the Queensland election.
Bandt was on RN Breakfast earlier, and said Labor had adopted Greens policies like cheap public transport and free school lunches to undermine them:
We may end up with the two seats that we went in with. The postal votes are still being counted, but look, those are seats that, yes, we were hoping to win.
And I guess those are the seats that I’m talking about where Labor gave up on the suburbs, gave up on the regions, and instead focused their attentions in those seats.
This is, this is part of the reason that we that we’re pushing these policies, is that people need help, right? There’s a there’s a massive cost of living crisis. People are in dire straits.
It was the adoption of policies and people seeing them in practice that is largely responsible for Labor, I guess, sandbagging and holding on to some of those seats.
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Labor to launch grants to help women get into ‘male dominated’ industries
The government will soon open applications for a new grants program to help women into “traditionally male dominated” industries like construction and manufacturing, as part of a $60m training and workplace initiative.
The ‘Building Women’s Careers Program’ partnership is aimed at projects like changing workplace cultures and behaviours, more flexible rostering approaches to support men and women with caring responsibilities, and boosting existing projects which have already increased recruitment rates.
“Projects will address the barriers for women entering, remaining and advancing in the traditionally male-dominated industries of construction, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and digital and technology,” minister for women Katy Gallagher and skills minister Andrew Giles said in a statement.
The grants will be available for industry and community projects, with applications open from 14 November.
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Albanese defends his government’s industrial relations reforms
Anthony Albanese has backed in his government’s Same Job Same Pay laws for labour hire loopholes, saying they are securing big pay rises for blue-collar workers nationwide.
The prime minister’s latest full-throated defence of the Labor government’s industrial relations changes comes ahead of what is expected to be a heated debate on workplace laws at the coming election, with criticism from the Coalition and big business groups wanting to roll back the reforms.
In a speech to the Mining and Energy Union’s national convention in Brisbane on Monday, Albanese will also accuse opposition leader Peter Dutton of seeking to “wreck every bit of progress” Labor had made in government.
In the speech, Albanese will say critics of the laws had made “bizarre comparisons and baseless claims”.
“We were not deterred - and Australians weren’t fooled,” he will say, in advance speech notes shared by his office.
The PM claims one worker will get a $33,000 pay rise under the changes, and that “thousands of mining workers” are in line for big pay bumps too.
“I’m proud we’ve worked together to deliver this change - now we have to stand together and defend it,” he will say.
Albanese will tell the convention that “there is a lot that Peter Dutton is not telling the Australian people about his agenda”, citing the Coalition’s nuclear power plan, and raising doubt over potential cuts to Medicare, pensions, rent assistance and energy bill relief.
“But he is crystal clear about one thing. He wants to rip up every new right workers have negotiated. He wants to wreck every bit of progress we have made. And wants to cut every pay rise your members have earned,” Albanese will say.
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Plibersek takes aim at the Greens after Queensland election result
Reactions to the Queensland election result are continuing this morning, with environment minister Tanya Plibersek focusing on the Greens’ disappointing one-seat haul.
Speaking on Channel 7’s Sunrise, she said the Greens’ blocking of legislation in the Senate and MP Max Chandler-Mather’s support for the CFMEU were to blame:
People were saying they were shocked [by] Max Chandler-Mather standing up and defending the... criminal elements of the CFMEU on the back of a truck with a megaphone, instead of voting for housing, cheaper housing and more of it to be built.
They’re holding up housing reform. In my area, holding up environmental law reform, the establishment of an environment protection agency is something environmentalists have been calling on for decades and it’s the Greens that are blocking it.
People look at that and go ‘these people aren’t serious about making progress. They are only about opposition. They’re only about making a point’.
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‘Stronger laws do act as a deterrent’
Finally, the incoming Queensland premier is asked about his “adult time for adult crimes” policy, and specifically if it might lead to an unsustainable boom in jail population.
But Crisafulli dismissed concerns:
At the moment, you’ve got kids in watch houses because the government hasn’t planned and delivered those things. We will. I do believe we do need corrective facilities. But we also need other alternates. I’ve spoken about circuit-breaker sentencing where we can send kids to remote areas that aren’t a jail but give the education, structure and discipline to turn their life around. I’ve spoken about early intervention skills.
We’ll deliver those early in Queensland. The question is a very relevant one, but the answer has to be in two parts. Stronger laws do act as a deterrent. Stronger laws do make sure there are consequences for bad behaviour. If you aren’t doing early intervention and rehabilitation, it means nothing. At the moment, what’s happening in Queensland is there’s a 72-hour plan when a child leaves youth detention, and half the kids aren’t even getting that … 72 hours isn’t enough. We need a 12-month plan, six months intensive, to give every person the ability to turn their life around. The 91% reoffending rate is broken. You’ve got to try and do better than that.
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Crisafuli on nuclear: ‘It was no before the election, and it’s no after’
Crisafulli is next asked about nuclear power, and if he would implement a potential Dutton government’s plan after the next federal election.
And his answer was clear:
It was no before the election, and it’s no after. I think that’s what people want to see from me.
I want to reset the relationship with Canberra to one of respect but also being forceful and putting forward our point of view. I will do that whether or not Mr Albanese or Mr Dutton is there. I’ve got a good relationship with Peter. We’ve been friends for a long time. I also have a good relationship with the prime minister. I spoke with him yesterday.
I don’t support the reduction in 80/20 for funding for the Bruce Highway. I was up-front about that. That will be done respectfully. So too, if Peter was to become prime minister. I’ve seen in recent times the public lose faith particularly with what I saw in Queensland when government changed in Canberra. It was a completely different approach. I’ve got to be on the Maroon team and I’ve got to put forward our case to get our fair share of funding – and in return, I say to Canberra, we’ll do things on time and on budget, which hasn’t happened.
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Crisafuli says his government’s Olympics plan coming within 100 days
The incoming Queensland premier David Crisafulli has said that his government will be pulling together a plan for the Olympics within its first 100 days.
Asked on ABC News if he was personally leaning towards a refurbishment of the Gabba, Crisafulli said people see these Olympics as “an opportunity for generational infrastructure.”:
What I’m talking about is exactly the model that’s been used successfully before. The problem is when you have things as knee-jerk reactions where politicians say this has to happen and you get the mess that we’ve seen. I don’t want that to happen. I want the best and brightest to be around the room. Within 100 days, you’ll get a plan that Queenslanders can buy into. I think, overwhelmingly, that’s what the state wants to see.
… Within days, we can fix what we haven’t seen in 1,200 days.
I think, overwhelmingly, people will see an opportunity for generational infrastructure. That’s what hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games has always been about.
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Good morning
Good morning. Mostafa Rachwani with you today to take you through the day’s news.
We start with 3G as Telstra and Optus begin the process of switching off the network today. The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, has urged all Australians to check if they will be affected and to upgrade their tech if needed.
Over to Queensland, where incoming premier David Crisafulli is due to be sworn in as the Liberal National party is on track to form a majority government. Crisafulli and his deputy Jarrod Bleijie will be sworn into interim leadership roles when they meet with governor Jeannette Young later today, and they will remain interim until counting is finalised.
We’re bring you the latest developments there and across the country as they come.
