The day that was, Wednesday 2 August
We will wrap up the live blog here for the night on another busy day in parliament.
Here’s what made the news:
Labor is not ruling out raising the amount people can earn before it affects their jobseeker payments.
This was something voted down in the Senate, proposed by the opposition instead of the $56 per fortnight increase in payments, which passed the parliament today and will come into effect in September.
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, announced that Tim Crakanthorp, the minister for skills, Tafe and tertiary education and the Hunter, resigned after Minns found he was allegedly in breach of the ministerial code over family land holdings in the Hunter that were not disclosed.
The NSW premier has referred the incident to the Independent Commission Against Corruption for possible investigation.
A written bomb threat sparked an evacuation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s office in Canberra, but after a sweep no suspicious items were found and staff were able to return in the afternoon.
The National Gallery of Australia’s independent investigation into allegations of non-Indigenous interference in the works of First Nations artists working in central Australia has cleared the APY Art Centre Collective of wrongdoing.
Woolworths is facing more than 1,000 charges for allegedly failing to pay more than $1m in long service leave to Victorian employees.
The NSW government will move to strengthen information sharing between state law enforcement agencies and is calling for an urgent meeting of state government agencies after a Queensland childcare worker was charged with 1,623 child abuse offences.
Housing minister Julie Collins reintroduced legislation to set up the $10bn housing Australia future fund this morning, after the first try at passing the bill was held up in the Senate.
Until tomorrow, enjoy your evening.
Updated
Peter Dutton was briefed five times about sensitive discussions between the United States and Australia over whether war crimes allegations jeopardised military cooperation, Guardian Australia can reveal.
Australian officials also privately raised concerns with the then-defence minister that the issue might be mentioned in the US state department’s annual reports on human rights around the world.
Warning that the issue was likely to become public, the defence department prepared “talking points” to play down the potential friction with Australia’s top security ally.
Updated
Four in hospital and man arrested after Melbourne stabbing
Four people have been taken to hospital and a man has been arrested following a reported stabbing in Melbourne’s north-west, AAP reports.
Emergency services was called to the incident near Puckle Street in Moonee Ponds about 1.15pm on Wednesday.
Several members of the public had called triple zero about an agitated man assaulting people on the street.
Paramedics treated two women, believed to be aged in their 50s and 60s, for upper body injuries, while a man in his 80s suffered minor injuries and another man in his 30s was treated for upper body pain.
All four were taken to hospital in stable conditions.
A 36-year-old man armed with a sharp implement was subsequently arrested near the Moonee Ponds railway station.
He was in custody and assisting police with their inquiries, a Victoria police spokesperson said.
The incident is not believed to be terror-related.
Anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to contact police.
Updated
Andrews faces pressure to appear at Games cancellation probe
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is facing pressure to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into the sudden cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, AAP reports.
In a rare sight for the Victorian upper house, every crossbench member stood with the opposition to set up a multi-party probe into Labor’s shock decision to pull out of hosting the Games.
The government had tried to instead ask the auditor general, Andrew Greaves, to investigate the cancellation, but that push narrowly failed.
Moments before the vote, Greaves wrote to the opposition to confirm he was looking into launching an investigation after an earlier referral.
Opposition leader John Pesutto said the government’s last-minute intervention was a desperate attempt to stop the truth coming out.
At any point in the Commonwealth Games debacle, it could have asked the auditor general to investigate. It didn’t have to wait until today.
The parliamentary inquiry will focus on potential failures in governance, probity and procurement processes in the government’s bid, contract and termination of the Games.
It will also look at the cancellation’s impact on the business community, tourism and major events and what advice the government received from departments, councils, agencies, consultants and contractors.
It will provide interim findings by 30 April 2024 and a final report by April 2025.
Updated
The Senate is due to begin debating a Greens motion on freeing Julian Assange at 5.45pm AEST (it was delayed slightly).
Today around 5pm the Senate will be debating our motion on freeing Julian Assange. I'm calling on all sides of Parliament to unite and call for his release and let him come home. pic.twitter.com/Uw05WDQzhW
— David Shoebridge (@DavidShoebridge) August 2, 2023
Labor not ruling out raising income-free area for jobseeker
As the strengthening the safety net bill went through unamended, Labor voted against a Coalition amendment to raise the income-free area – the amount jobseeker recipients can earn before their payments are reduced.
At a press conference earlier on Wednesday and in comments to Guardian’s Australian Politics podcast, to be released on Saturday, social services minister Amanda Rishworth has not ruled out revisiting the idea down the line.
Rishworth told Guardian Australia:
What the Coalition amendment did was to remove the $40 base increase and replace it with an income-free area increase. What that would’ve meant is [lower payments for the] 77% of people on jobseeker who don’t use the income-free area that’s already there, because they can’t find work, because they’re facing a range of barriers to work…
Rishworth said the Coalition made it an “either/or” proposition and that Labor “disagreed with that” in favour of higher payments for all jobseeker recipients.
She said:
This was an attempt to play politics, quite frankly, to make it about you only deserve extra support if you can work on jobseeker, rather than recognising being on jobseeker means you [often] can’t find work at all.
Asked if Labor could revisit the idea, Rishworth said the employment white paper would consider a range of barriers to employment and “social security settings are part of that”.
So Peter Dutton’s big idea in the budget reply was not supported today – but is not necessarily dead.
Updated
NSW opposition leader says Minns ‘must provide answers’
The New South Wales opposition leader, Mark Speakman, has seized on the sacking of Labor MP Tim Crakanthorp to accuse the government of failing to answer questions about other “perceived conflicts of interest”.
Speakman said:
The government has shown a blatant disregard in parliament to questions regarding a number of perceived conflicts of interest of other ministers.
Given today’s revelations and referral to the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the premier must now provide answers to questions asked by the opposition regarding perceived conflicts of interest and give confidence to the people of NSW that relevant steps have been taken to manage any perceived conflicts of interest.
Updated
More staff needed to resolve FOI backlog, watchdog says
The office charged with policing freedom of information requests says it believes at least 17 extra staff over three years could solve its dire workload challenges.
In a recently-answered Senate estimates question on notice, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) said it considered an increase of 16.6 staff to its FOI team sufficient to resolve the backlog, to do its regulatory work in a timely manner and to promote pro- disclosure across government.
The FOI watchdog has previously warned in its briefs to the federal government it is struggling to resolve historical FOI complaints while also receiving an increasing number of requests each year.
The Albanese government’s two most recent budgets did not provide the statutory agency with any extra funding for its FOI work.
A recent OAIC submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the FOI system revealed the backlog had grown to nearly 2,000 over the 2022-23 financial year.
Guardian Australia has asked attorney general Mark Dreyfus whether the proposal has already been considered.
Updated
Crakanthorp says he ‘self-reported’ breach of ministerial conduct
New South Wales Labor MP Tim Crakanthorp has responded after he was sacked from cabinet over a breach of the ministerial code of conduct.
In a statement, the former minister for skills, Tafe and tertiary education and the Hunter said:
I have self-reported a breach of the ministerial code of conduct to premier Chris Minns and resigned as a minister in the NSW government.
I will continue as the member for Newcastle.
I will not be making further comment at this time.
Crakanthorp released the statement shortly after the premier announced that he had asked the Newcastle MP to resign as a minister and that he had referred him to the Independent Commission Against Corruption for a potential investigation.
Minns said he received advice today that Crakanthorp had breached the ministerial code by failing to declare “significant private land holdings” owned by his wife and family in the NSW Hunter region.
Updated
Minns alleges Crakanthorp failed to declare properties
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he became aware earlier in the week that Tim Crakanthorp’s family owned a number of properties in the Hunter and had asked him to explain them.
Advice was then handed to the premier today that the minister had breached the ministerial code by failing to declare those properties and he was sacked after question time.
While he would not detail the properties, Minns said they constituted a “significant breach” in the code related to “significant private land holdings” held by his wife and family.
Minns said:
We were elected not long ago with a promise to restore trust and integrity to public matters and public life.
Breaches of the ministerial code in this manner are a clear breach to that undertaking.
Minns said he had lost confidence in Crackanthorp to be a minister in his government.
He said deputy premier Prue Car would assume responsibility as interim minister for skills, Tafe and tertiary education and training.
Yasmin Catley, the minister for police and counter-terrorism, would assume responsibility as interim minister for the Hunter.
Updated
Universities group says it is ‘strongly committed’ to reducing sexual harm
Universities Australia has released a statement on sexual harm after being grilled during a senate inquiry over the body’s decision to axe a $1.5m communications campaign to prevent sexual violence amongst students.
The funding was issued by the former Coalition government in 2021 for a national communication campaign on sexual consent.
Universities Australia CEO Catriona Jackson told the inquiry it was unlikely the campaign would have the “cut through” required to shift behaviours, denying allegations made in The Saturday Paper that it was cut due to objection amongst some vice-chancellors of explicit content.
On Wednesday afternoon, Jackson and incoming CEO professor David Lloyd issued a statement reiterating Australian universities were “strongly committed” to reducing sexual harm.
Sexual harm is a major societal issue. Universities, along with governments, businesses, schools and individuals, have a responsibility to help stop the scourge – a responsibility we don’t shy away from.
Universities Australia is continuing to work with our members on ways to build and improve on our efforts to date, including around the collection of data, to make university campuses and our communities as safe as they can be.
Jackson and Lloyd said at a July workshop, universities committed to holding a national “Respect at Uni Week” in semester one next year.
Updated
The premier Chris Minns has sacked minister for the Hunter Tim Crakanthorp and referred him to the ICAC. He says the minister breached the ministerial code relating to private holdings held by his family. #nswpol pic.twitter.com/c3WLReqTEp
— Tamsin Rose (@tamsinroses) August 2, 2023
Coalition's treaty focus a ‘scare campaign’, voice campaigner says
Yes23 director Dean Parkin says the renewed focus on the treaty element of the Uluru Statement from the Heart is “nothing but a scare campaign”, urging Australians voting in the Indigenous voice referendum to focus on the specific issue at hand.
No campaign supporters and the federal Coalition have this week raised concerns about a treaty, the second element of the 2017 Uluru statement. PM Anthony Albanese this morning noted several state governments were already progressing treaties of their own, but declined to say whether the commonwealth would do the same, noting the Uluru statement didn’t specifically call for federal agreements and asking voters to focus on the voice.
Parkin, campaign director of the yes movement, said the referendum was only about the voice.
The only person talking about treaty right now is Peter Dutton, and it’s nothing but a scare campaign from him.
We want to make it very clear to people that this referendum is about one thing and one thing only, and that is about getting an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to close the gap and help fix issues facing our communities now.
Parkin noted treaty processes were “decades-long” to establish, and would not be a near-term agenda item.
It’s important to understand that treaty processes, as the leader of the opposition well understands, are decades-long processes and take a long time to finalise.
We’ve got urgent issues facing Indigenous people now that can only be fixed through a voice. That’s what this referendum is about and that’s why we’re encouraging Australians to vote yes.
Updated
Minns said he was made aware today that Crakanthorp had breached the ministerial code, and was made aware of the substantial private family land holdings earlier in the week. He requested the full detail of the holdings from Crakanthorp, which resulted in the minister being removed from cabinet.
Updated
NSW minister resigns over 'breach of ministerial code'
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has announced that Tim Crakanthorp, the minister for skills, Tafe and tertiary education and the Hunter, has resigned after Minns found he was in breach of the ministerial code over family land holdings in the Hunter that were not disclosed to him.
Minns said:
I have asked him to resign as a minister and he has agreed to do that and as a result he will no longer be in the New South Wales government. I formed the view that this minister Crakanthorp failed to comply with his obligations as a minister, he failed to do it properly, providing potential conflicts of interest to the New South Wales cabinet office and, through them, to me as the premier of New South Wales.
This has given rise to concerns that he may have acted in matters in which he had a conflict between his public duties and private interests of members of his family. In short, Mr Crakanthorp did not supply information about substantial private family holdings in the Hunter region until recently when he should have, constituting a clear breach of the ministerial code.
He said he had forwarded the information to the Independent Commission Against Corruption for an inquiry if it chose to do so.
Updated
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, is about to hold a hastily called press conference with no subject topic listed in the notice. We will bring you the news on what it’s about as soon as it starts.
Trade minister confirms futher meeting with EU
The trade minister, Don Farrell, tells the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing that another meeting with the European Union over a trade agreement will happen in the next few weeks. He says he was disappointed it couldn’t be resolved at the last meeting, but said if it was easy to get an agreement then someone would have done it already.
He says climate change has been an issue the negotiators have brought up.
He said:
Unlike the former government, we’ve got progressive views in respect of the issues around the climate change. And I think we can resolve those issues. What’s going to be particularly important to the Europeans, and I think one of the advantages to us in these negotiations is the amount of critical minerals that Australia has and of course if the Europeans can get access, if we can reach an agreement, then of course it’s much easier for them to access our critical minerals.
Updated
More research needed before medicinal cannabis patients allowed to drive: minister
The New South Wales roads minister, John Graham, says he wants to see more research before the government decides whether to allow medicinal cannabis patients to drive.
His comments come after the Legalise Cannabis Party MP Jeremy Buckingham introduced legislation to NSW parliament that would provide roadside drug testing exemptions for people with a legitimate prescription.
Speaking to reporters at state parliament on Wednesday, Graham said the parliament’s upper house had previously examined the issue but he welcomed the renewed debate.
Graham said:
I do want to recognise that there are serious public policy issues ... but a clearer need for more research.
I certainly want to see that research before there’s any proposition about changing the law. There are important issues to balance here.
Under the road law changes proposed by Buckingham, medicinal cannabis users would be able to defend a charge related to returning a positive result to a roadside drug test in court.
It is illegal in NSW to drive with any amount of THC, a psychoactive component of cannabis, in your body even if you have a prescription.
People who take medicinal cannabis products that only contain CBD, a different chemical found in the drug which is different to THC, are legally allowed to drive.
Updated
Voice to parliament backed by LGBTQ+ groups
LGBTQ+ groups are backing the Indigenous voice to parliament, saying it’s time to pay forward the support they received in achieving marriage equality, AAP reports.
On Wednesday, 22 LGBTQ+ groups from across Australia declared their support for the voice as the country draws nearer to a referendum towards the end of this year.
Equality Australia said there were many parallels between the successful 2017 postal survey that led to marriage equality, and the push for an Indigenous voice.
In the 2017 survey, 7,817,247 people - or 61.6% of those who responded - said yes to marriage equality.
The BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation chief executive, Shane Sturgiss, said those in the Indigenous LGBTQ+ community were no strangers to the fight for equality.
“This is the second time our community has had the entire nation eyeballing them, knowing that conversations are being had about them in homes around the country and not all of them are favourable,” he said.
“A yes vote in the referendum will ensure First Nations people are recognised, bringing a level of fairness and equality that has not been seen in Australia before.”
An online survey by Equality Australia canvassing 4,078 of its supporters found almost 90% said they would vote yes for the voice, while 231 planned to vote no and 171 people were unsure.
Updated
Written bomb threat triggered Dfat evacuation, AFP says
Returning to the news earlier that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade building in Canberra has been evacuated:
Police have confirmed that a bomb threat triggered the evacuation.
An ACT policing spokesperson said in a statement:
About 12.40pm today ... ACT Policing responded to a bomb threat at the RG Casey Building, Barton after a written threat was found inside the building.
As a precaution, the building was evacuated at the request of the building tenant.
Police conducted a sweep of the building, with nothing suspicious located. Staff returned to the building approximately 3pm.
Investigations into the circumstances of the incident are ongoing. Anyone with information that could assist police is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or on the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Please quote reference 7499338. Information can be provided anonymously.
Updated
⚠️🌬️ A Severe Weather #Warning for Damaging Wind Gusts has been issued for the Otways and Central and Eastern ranges for Thursday. See: https://t.co/JrHe5r6hFC ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/nrDbfqpFkI
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) August 2, 2023
Group calls for higher density housing around Sydney stations
Housing advocates are calling on the New South Wales government to allow greater housing density to be built above and around stations on a new metro line that has been recommitted to.
On Tuesday, the Minns government confirmed it would forge ahead with the final stage of the Metro City and Southwest project, which involves converting the existing T3 Bankstown train line to be able to carry the new driverless trains. Separately, the future of the Metro West project hangs in the balance pending a government review.
Sydney Yimby (Yes In My Back Yard), a new advocacy group which calls for housing abundance as a way to address the housing crisis, wants the government to apply a zoning template at every station on the line from Marrickville to Bankstown. Sydney Yimby wants zoning to permit high rise blocks of 10 to 12 storeys above each station, and for buildings of three to four storeys to be permitted around an 800-metre perimeter.
The premier, Chris Minns, has already spoken about value capture strategies, in which businesses and developers that will benefit from the line contribute to its cost, in recent days.
The Sydney Yimby spokesperson Sharath Mahendran said the Metro line presented a unique opportunity for housing, and that such rezoning measures have proved successful at reducing average rents in Auckland, which allows six-storey developments within walking distance of all train stations.
Historically the way these things have gone is to spot rezone a handful of stations, often further from the city, but this is against all good planning principles. We need a template approach which allocates housing equitably to all stations so that people can enjoy shorter commutes and the amenities the inner city can provide.
Updated
That’s a wrap on question time for another day.
Updated
Cost of living measures have made a ‘substantial difference’: PM
The Liberal MP for Casey, Aaron Violi, asks the PM, Anthony Albanese, about a constituent who said their power bills were going up 44%, and questioned why his constituent is suffering “due to this prime minister’s incompetence”.
Albanese said the measures the government had brought in had made a “substantial difference” which was opposed by the opposition.
What is also clear, and I hope the Member for Casey tells James that he voted against energy price relief. I hope, he gets on the blower and says, ‘Sorry, James, I got it wrong. I voted against support for you.’ Like they voted against every other positive measure that’s been brought before this parliament.
Those opposite are obsessed with just saying no. They want people to be worse off because they think that will make them better off, politically. That’s the strategy that they adhere. Constantly being negative, constantly saying no, the leader of the opposition takes the last bit of his title very seriously. Opposition for opposition’s sake. Never put forward a constructive idea.
Updated
PM on cost of living
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, asks the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, if it is now easier for Australians to service their mortgage, on the back of Courier-Mail data that 43% of Queensland mortgage holders are facing mortgage stress.
Albanese says the government understands the pressures on cost of living, and lists off measures including energy price relief, cheaper childcare, fee-free tafe, and cheaper medicines.
Updated
Labor on ABC attending protest outside Woodside CEO’s house
The shadow communications minister, David Coleman, asks the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, about the reports the ABC camera crew attended a protest targeting the home of Woodside Energy CEO Meg O’Neill.
Rowland says regarding the protest that “unacceptable behaviour towards a private citizen in this matter is completely unacceptable” and while the ABC has operational and editorial independence, she has sought further information from the ABC beyond the statements released publicly.
Updated
Morrison has ‘gaslit’ robodebt royal commission: Shorten
The government services minister, Bill Shorten, is asked a dixer on the robodebt royal commission, in a not-so-subtle follow up to the former prime minister Scott Morrison’s criticisms of the findings.
Shorten said Morrison had “gaslit” the royal commission in the same way he had “gaslit the nation” in government. He said Morrison used “coded and loaded words” to discredit the commission.
Shorten said the report directly “anticipated such fake news attacks” and addressed questions on procedural fairness and standard of proof on pages 6 and 7 of volume one.
The commission’s process was inquisitorial, not adversarial, not a party advancing a particular case. It explained that where she made findings against individuals that were liable to cause real damage to reputation she adhere to the provincial standard, the application of extra care when making findings of fact and serious civil matters.
The commissioner specifically stated she did not reach a conclusions without a high degree of satisfaction as to the evidence.
Shorten said the challenge for the opposition was whether they agree with Morrison.
Paul Karp tells me that during the reply, Morrison made some interjections from the backbench including “do we live in a democracy” and “well there is” when Shorten said as if there is a question mark over fairness of the royal commission.
Updated
‘It is economically catastrophic … to cut off immigration’: industry body
The Australian Industry Group chief executive, Innes Willox, has addressed the National Press Club warning about Labor’s industrial relations agenda.
Willox was also asked about the demonisation of the increase in arrivals and net migration since covid border closures were lifted.
He said:
I think there has been a misunderstanding of the positive impact that migration has on us as a community and as an economy. Post Covid you had a big build-up of people wanting to come to Australia ... and we are working through that. All the expectations are that migration levels will return to what you might call more normal pre-covid levels from about next year. This is an aberration in many ways.
Migration is important to our workforces and our workplace. We have over 400,000 unfilled jobs in our economy at the moment. I’m not saying that we should take 400,000 migrants to fill those jobs. That’s just an example of the scale of the problem businesses are having at the moment.
It’s still migrants who move to regional areas where there are massive job shortages, it’s still migrants who take roles that are highly technical that we don’t have the skills or capability here for the moment, and they teach, and are able to pass on their skills and knowledge to others.
We are a migration nation ... So I want to say to those who are resolutely opposed to migration, look at Japan. It’s population has fallen 800,000 as a result of not having a migration intake in the past. It is economically catastrophic if you want to cut off migration as a way to help build the economy ... to grow skills, to grow productivity. So I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding there and some have demonised it and that’s really, really unfortunate.
Updated
More on Makaratta from Burney
The Indigenous Australians minister, Linda Burney, gets another question from the deputy Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, about what the money already spent on the Makaratta commission had been spent on so far. Burney repeats her earlier answer on the definition of Makaratta.
Paul Karp tells me that the Labor member for Morton, Graham Perrett, was booted under 94A for saying “commuter carparks” when Ley asked Burney what Makaratta funding in the budget was spent on.
Updated
PM says Dutton needs to spend ‘less time on his dirt unit’ and more time in Top End red dirt
And the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, refers to the PM’s interview on Radio National this morning and being asked whether he supports a treaty, and follows with “when will we get a straight word from this prime minister?”
The manager of government business, Tony Burke, raises a point of order that “questions are required to include a question”.
The speaker allows the question. The PM, Anthony Albanese, brings up a Daily Telegraph article about something Albanese signed onto in 1986.
Albanese said:
I did note the leader of the opposition’s reference in an article today by the investigative journalist James Morrow who had gone back to 1986, Mr Speaker, gone back to 1986. He’s gone back to 1986 at a time when Crocodile Dundee had just hit theatres, most women didn’t have paid maternity leave. It was a crime in some states to be gay or lesbian and people were being jailed, but there was something else, Mr Speaker. Terror nullius was still the law of the land. It was still the position that it was not acknowledged that there was prior ownership of the land prior to English people coming in 1788. Terra nullius. In 1986, there was no Mabo decision, no native title, no Wik.
Albanese said Dutton needs to “spend less time on his dirt unit” and more time in the red dirt in the Top End. He invites Dutton to visit Garma this weekend to speak with Indigenous Australians, “not at them”.
Updated
NGA clears APY Art Centre Collective of wrongdoing
The National Gallery of Australia’s independent investigation into allegations of non-Indigenous interference in the works of First Nations artists working in central Australia has cleared the APY Art Centre Collective of wrongdoing.
The NGA postponed its mid-year Ngura Pulka – Epic Country exhibition featuring 28 works by the APY artists, following allegations made by the Australian newspaper that white assistants were painting works attributed to acclaimed desert artists.
The allegations included part of a video purporting to show a young white assistant painting on a large canvas as the acclaimed award-winning Pitjantjatjara artist Yaritji Young stood watching.
The investigation, led by Melbourne silk Colin Golvan, concluded that all of the 28 paintings met the provenance standards of the National Gallery.
The investigation interviewed all of the APY artists involved in the NGA exhibition to establish artistic provenance.
“Without exception, the artists to whom we spoke, unequivocally told us that the works under review in each case were made by them and expressly denied that there had been any improper interference in the making of their work,” the report said. The role of white assistants, which included canvas preparation and providing background layers to paintings, in consultation with or directed by the artists, were services “appropriate for studio workers and not inconsistent with the artists’ claims of authorship,” the report concluded.
Updated
Future stronger communities program subject to future budgets: treasurer
The member for Fowler, Dai Le, asks the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, whether the stronger communities program will continue, saying it brings significant benefits to local communities.
Chalmers says round eight was budgeted in the most recent budget, and is being progressed at the moment. Future rounds will be subject to future budgets, noting that there were no additional rounds budgeted for so far.
Updated
Dfat Canberra building evacuated
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade building in the Canberra suburb of Barton has been evacuated.
A spokesperson for Dfat said:
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade can confirm that the RG Casey building has been evacuated. The Australian federal police are on the scene and investigating.
We will let you know when we have further updates.
Updated
Makarrata progress will happen after voice vote: Linda Burney
The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney gets another question from the opposition about the Makarrata commission and how it relates to the referendum on the voice to parliament.
Burney says progress on the Makarrata commission will not happen before the voice referendum.
She said:
The government of this country supports the Uluru statement from the heart, and the Uluru statement has three elements. The first request is for a voice to parliament which is what the referendum will be about this year. It then refers to a makarrata for truth telling and agreement making. Progress of makarrata will not occur until after the referendum. Our priority is constitutional recognition through a voice. Our priority is recognition, listening to the results. The 2023 referendum is an opportunity to advance reconciliation and move Australia forward to everyone.
Updated
Question time begins
The first question for Wednesday’s question time in the House of Representatives is from the deputy Liberal leader, Sussan Ley. Ley asks the Indigenous Australians minister, Linda Burney:
Last month the minister said, and I quote, ‘The Makarrata Project would have two jobs. First, the national process of truth telling, a national agreement making, which is really code for treaty without saying it.’ Would the minister explained the statement to the house?
Burney responds:
The word makarrata is a word from the language of the Yolngu people from Arnhem Land.
It means coming together after a struggle, facing the facts of wrongness, living together in peace, and that word was gifted to the Uluru Statement from the Heart by the late Yunupingu, the great … leader from north-east Arnhem Land.
This weekend at Garma we will gather again and remember his legacy and all that he did for his people over so many years. And more than anything, he wanted to see constitutional recognition through a voice made a reality. Later this year we have the chance to do that. Recognition, listening and better results.
Updated
Greens criticise Labor’s ‘tiny patch’ jobseeker increase
The Greens’ social services spokesperson, Senator Janet Rice, has lambasted the government’s win to raise income support payments by $56 a fortnight.
The party had tried to double the amount a recipient can earn before payments are reduced to $300 per fortnight and raise the base rate further to $88 a day – above the poverty line.
Rice said the government “ignored an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in lifting Australians out of poverty and building a strong social safety net for everyone who needs it”.
When it comes to income support, we don’t have a real safety net. As a witness at the bill’s inquiry said, ‘I wouldn’t call it a safety net, I would call it a parachute with holes. If you are on JobSeeker, you are going to hit the bottom at some point.’
All this bill does is put a tiny patch on some of those holes. The increase works out to be around $4 a day, which is less than a cup of coffee and won’t help anyone pay their rent.
The social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, said almost two million Australians would receive the benefit when it comes into effect from 20 September.
It will also increase the eligibility of single parent payments meaning the cut-off age for a child will increase to 14 from eight years old.
The minister said an employment white paper, looking at a broader range of the barriers welfare recipients are facing, will be released later this year.
Rishworth did not rule out considering raising the income free area but said the white paper would focus on getting more Australians into secure, permanent work.
I don’t want to preempt the work done in that white paper. It is a very comprehensive look. But as I’ve said regularly from the opposition, this was a thought bubble. They had the opportunity to actually implement this when they were last in government. In fact, in April 2021, they set the income-free threshold. Of course, as I said, 77% of people don’t even use the income-free threshold that is available to them at the moment.
Updated
It is time for me to pass the blog-baton to Josh Taylor, who will take you through the afternoon’s news. Thanks for joining me this morning!
Asked what should be done to fix productivity, Innes Willox, the chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, says:
Productivity is many elements. It’s not about us working harder, it’s about us working smarter and more efficiently. About getting more bang for our buck. And that involves many different areas. It involves workplace measures, naturally, but also involves taxation reform, energy reform, infrastructure reform, education skills and training, all of them working together.
Industry head says there has not been three-way conversation over proposed IR changes
Innes Willox, the chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, says there has been no opportunity for three-way conversations between government, employers and unions ahead of changes to workplace measures being considered by the government.
Answering a question following his National Press Club address, Willox said:
At no point yet, and there’s still time, and we hope so, at no point yet has there been conversations with government, employer representatives and unions in the same room. To be able to look at each other in the eye and to work through problems, differences, difficulties, interpretations. And until you get that happening, you’re going to create conditions for conflict out in the field. And that field will be in workplaces, it may end up being in the Fair Work Commission, it will be in the courts.
We, as an organisation, are having really good conversations with the government at the moment and as I said in my remarks, we think we have shifted the dial on a few things. I think it’s got to be really important that before this process is concluded, before the legislation finds its way into [arliament, there are serious conversations with all three parties in the room so we can work through the issues.
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Australian Industry Group CEO: ‘We are a migration nation. Our success is built on migration’
Our political correspondent Paul Karp asks Innes Willox, the chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, about the demonisation of the increase in arrivals in net migration since the Covid border closures were lifted.
Willox says:
I think there was a misunderstanding of the positive impact that migration has on us as a community and as an economy. Post-Covid you had a big build-up of people wanting to come to Australia for various reasons and in various guises and we’re working that through.
All the expectations are that migration levels will return to what you might call more normal pre-Covid levels from about next year.
But migration and skilled migration is important to our workforces and our workplaces for a couple of reasons. We have over 400,000 unfilled jobs in our economy at the moment. I’m not saying that we should take in 400,000 migrants to fill those jobs, that’s just an example of the scale of the problem that businesses are having at the moment.
Skilled migrants … move to regional centres where there are massive job shortages. Skilled migrants take roles that are highly technical that we don’t have the skills or capability here for it at the moment and they teach and are able to pass on their skills and knowledge to others. We are a migration nation. Our success has been built on migration.
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Albanese nabs Fifa trophy – temporarily
Guardian photographer Mike Bowers captured the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, having his photo taken with Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, and then pretending to walk away, prized cup in tow.
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Here is the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, testing out the feel of (and then pretending to steal) the Fifa Women’s World Cup trophy before it makes it to the Matildas’ hands (no bias here).
I hope I'm not the last Australian to hold the @FIFAWWC trophy. Can't wait to see @TheMatildas lift it up. pic.twitter.com/x5pKlxY0f6
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 2, 2023
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Employers against ‘unnecessary, unproductive’ IR changes
Innes Willox, the chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, says Australian employers are “rightly very agitated” about the “unnecessary, unproductive and conflict inducing” workplace measures being considered by the government, in an address to the National Press Club today.
He warns of “unjustified” changes to industrial relations, and says “none of it is at face value great for employers”.
LIVE NOW: Innes Willox AM, Chief Executive of the @The_AiGroup, Addresses the National Press Club of Australia on "Industrial Relations ‘Reform’ – the risks of unjustified changes and the need for a better approach". Tune in on @abcnews. @hil_clix_pix pic.twitter.com/xaIRlC6ZAQ
— National Press Club (@PressClubAust) August 2, 2023
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Woolworths faces 1,000 charges of failing to pay long service leave in Victoria
Woolworths is facing more than 1,000 charges for allegedly failing to pay more than $1m in long service leave to Victorian employees.
Wage Inspectorate Victoria filed the charges against the supermarket giant in the Melbourne magistrates court. The inspectorate alleges 1,235 former employees were underpaid between 2018 to 2021, with amounts between $250 to over $12,000.
Robert Hortle, commissioner of Wage Inspectorate Victoria, said it was committed to ensuring the owed money was paid:
The amount of underpayment never tells the full story in long service leave matters. It’s hard to put a value on the leave workers were initially denied. Time that could have been spent with family, travelling or just relaxing
The matter will be heard on 6 September.
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Jobseeker rate to be lifted $56 a fortnight from September
The rates for income support payments, including jobseeker and youth allowance, will increase by $56 a fortnight after legislation passed the Senate on Wednesday.
Originally promised as a $40 increase from 20 September, the rate was boosted to $56 after 2.2% indexation was applied for the cost of living.
The opposition, Greens and crossbenchers attempted to request a series of amendments, including doubling the amount a recipient can earn before payments are reduced to $300 per fortnight and raising the base rate further, but all failed to garner enough support.
The higher rate of jobseeker will now be $749.20 per fortnight, and for those aged 55 years and over who have been on payment for nine continuous months it will be $802.50 per fortnight.
The social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, said in a statement shortly after it passed that the changes would benefit close to two million Australians.
Jobseeker and other income support payments are about helping those in our community who need it for a period of time
More broadly, it is important to remember these income support changes work alongside other cost of living relief in the budget, including help with power bills, record investment in Medicare bulk-billing and cheaper medicines. Millions of Australians will directly benefit from these measures – including Australians on income support.
- Sarah Basford Canales
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Multiple-job holders make up more of the workforce that ever
The ASB has provided us with a comprehensive look at the share of the workforce holding down more than one job.
It’s perhaps not surprising that more people are working several jobs at once, particularly because inflation has been at a three-decade high. These numbers were as of March (when there were still RBA rate rises to come in May and June) and showed about 950,000 were multi-job holders.
@ABSStats has provided some interesting data on who works multiple jobs, and where. With cost of living on the rise (and more jobs available), the numbers working at two or more roles is on the rise: pic.twitter.com/p1m3izwwR8
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 2, 2023
Women were more likely to hold multiple jobs, with 7.7% of them doing so. (Males holding more than one job actually eased back in the March quarter to 5.7%.)
A higher proportion of women are holding down multiple jobs... pic.twitter.com/8oOL7fUYAJ
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 2, 2023
Those most likely to work more than one job were, as you might expect, relatively young:
And younger people, particularly in the 20-24 age range are the most likely to holding down multiple jobs at once... pic.twitter.com/gTj7pF4YQ7
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 2, 2023
By the type of work, the largest absolute numbers of multiple-job workers were in the health care and social assistance fields.
As a proportion of the workforce, though, those in the agriculture, forestry and fishing, and administrative and support service fields (as their main job) were the most likely to have a second or more job. (Seasonal factors were likely a factor in the former group.)
Workers in the electricity, gas, water and waste services were the least likely to take a second job.
And the sector of the economy with the most number of multiple-job workers is the health care and social assistance industry: pic.twitter.com/YSECEB7MR6
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 2, 2023
By geography, greater Brisbane registered the lowest share of multiple workers at just over 5%, with greater Sydney not far behind at 5.82%. Interestingly, the “rest of NSW” had the highest share, at 8.13%.
Brisbane had the lowest proportion of multiple-job workers, just below Sydney's 5.82%. The rest of NSW had the highest share. (Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth were around the 7% mark). Source: @ABSStats pic.twitter.com/lhkOm4Scz2
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 2, 2023
(We’d like to say, as former PM Paul Keating once said, “if you’re not living in Sydney, you’re camping out”, though apparently he disputes he ever said those words. We digress.)
A complaint about parking signs
This Canadian Twitter user has finally said what we’ve all been thinking.
I will stop complaining about the parking signs in #Montreal
— 💵 Mr. Dreamer 🔥✈ (@AVibrantDreamer) July 29, 2023
I present you the #Australian version. Enjoy 😉 pic.twitter.com/34AaDxE48p
A high-tech Guardian investigation (Google maps search) can reveal that this parking sign is just outside an airline’s office on Flinders St in Melbourne.
Australian parking signs really do resemble hieroglyphs, or quantum mechanics equations. Reddit agrees.
“By the time you’ve deciphered what it means you’ve already been there longer than permitted,” one user writes. Another requests a “flow chart,” while another calls out the know-it-alls: “I’m just here for all the people saying ‘it’s not that hard actually’”.
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Lidia Thorpe out of parliament for the week after suffering minor injuries in car incident
Independent Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe has suffered minor injuries in a car crash, AAP reports.
The senator was rear-ended while stationary in a vehicle at the end of last week in Melbourne and sustained minor inquiries, including bruising and whiplash, Sky News reported.
Her office told AAP she was “in pain but is alright”.
She did not travel to parliament this week on doctor’s orders but is expected to return next week. The senator had previously raised concerns about her safety and revealed she has formal protection.
She is a leading campaigner for Blak sovereignty and for the no campaign against the Indigenous voice referendum.
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Proposed Coalition changes to let jobseeker recipients earn more before support payments cease fail
Changes that could have allowed jobseeker recipients to earn double before income support payments taper off have been shot down in the Senate.
The federal government’s income safety bill, currently being debated in the senate, will raise the fortnightly Jobseeker payment by $56 from 20 September if passed during this parliamentary sitting period.
Both the Greens and the Liberals put forward separate amendments on Wednesday to double the fortnightly income-free area for welfare recipients from $150 to $300. This would allow those earning up to $300 a fortnight to still receive the full income support payment for that period.
But the two parties would not support each other’s proposals, arguing there were underlying differences.
Liberal senator Anne Ruston put forward an amendment backing the income-free area increase as a “superior” incentive to raising the base rate of payments. But the Greens senator Janet Rice said the minor party wouldn’t back the opposition’s amendment, arguing the rate needed to increase alongside lifting the income free area.
Senator Rice said:
You have people who are living in tents with young babies, you have people who are trying to bring up these kids who are living in cars. You’ve got people who are saying they’ve spent the last seven years trying to pretend to their children that they’re not hungry. You have people that can’t afford their medication that they need to keep themselves healthy. This is what happens when people are left in poverty.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson called the Liberals’ request a “stupid incentive” and said all Australians should get tax relief on $7,800 a year - the likely increase in a jobseeker recipient’s yearly earnings if the amendment was accepted - so “they can go out and get that second job” and not be taxed on it.
The Greens put forward amendments earlier requesting the threshold be lifted to $300, in line with a base rate increase to $88 a day. Both amendments were not supported by the Liberals nor the government.
Debates over further amendments continue in the Senate.
- Sarah Basford Canales
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NSW calls for urgent meeting to strengthen information sharing between states as part of child protection systems
The New South Wales government will move to strengthen information sharing between state law enforcement agencies and is calling for an urgent meeting of state government agencies after a Queensland childcare worker was charged with 1,623 child abuse offences.
The premier, Chris Minns, told the parliament his government was already looking at its own systems to ensure there were no gaps in the child protection system.
He said:
We know our system in NSW is strong, but I want to reassure the community, we are taking steps to look at any gaps in our system and our regulations to strengthen child protection in this state. The minister for families and communities is already in discussions with colleagues in state and national jurisdictions about ensuring safe and transparent data sharing across borders and across agencies. The minister will also call for an immediate meeting of federal and state ministers to demand progress urgently on better information sharing between jurisdictions.
He said the education minister, Prue Car, was also reviewing the processes involved in raising red flags cross in early childhood care and schools. She will also work with “independent and Catholic sectors to ensure there are no ways for offenders to jump between the public and non-government sector”, Minns said.
The premier thanked the police and law enforcement agencies who had taken part in Operation Tenterfield.
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Victorian Labor says auditor general best placed to review Commonwealth Games cancellation
The Victorian government is attempting to divert a parliamentary inquiry into the cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games to the auditor general, AAP reports.
Debate to set up a nine-member parliamentary select committee into the saga began in the upper house this morning.
Harriet Shing, the minister for regional development, said the government would move an amendment to the motion to request the auditor general probe the cancellation instead of a select committee, saying the auditor general was the most appropriate person to review what happened.
The premier, Daniel Andrews, pulled out of hosting the 2026 Games last month, citing a forecast rise in cost from $2.6bn to between $6bn and $7bn. The opposition’s upper house leader, Georgie Crozier, said a parliamentary inquiry was needed to restore trust in government and provide answers.
It needs to be undertaken so we can get to the bottom of what went wrong.
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Victorian firefighters call on all sides of politics to back Greens bill to expand state cancer coverage
The Victorian Greens are slated to introduce a bill today to expand the state’s presumptive cancer scheme to include nine additional cancers, bringing the total number covered to 20 – and firefighters are backing it, AAP reports.
The United Firefighters Union says the move will bring the state in line with national legislation and that it is critical MPs take a non-partisan approach to the matter.
“We call on all members of Victoria’s parliament to support this important protection for Victorian firefighters,” the union’s Victorian branch secretary, Peter Marshall, said.
Every day, professional firefighters are exposed to toxic chemicals at structure fires when entering burning buildings.
These toxins enter the bloodstream of firefighters through their skin, significantly increasing their risk of developing cancer.
The bill would expand the scheme to include lung, skin, cervical, ovarian, uterine, penile, pancreatic, malignant mesothelioma and thyroid cancers. As a private members bill, it cannot become law without passing Victoria’s Labor-majority lower house.
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ABC reverses decision to cancel Sunday night state news bulletins
The ABC has backflipped on its decision to axe the eight state-based Sunday night TV bulletins in favour of one national bulletin after a public outcry.
The broadcaster announced in June the bulletins would be culled as part of sweeping changes designed to transform the public broadcaster from a linear television broadcaster to a digital-first media organisation.
But the ABC managing director David Anderson has told staff the plan is now off.
“One of the proposals was a national 7pm news bulletin on Sunday nights,” Anderson said in a staff email. “After listening to audience feedback, it is clear that there are some members of the Australian public who continue to rely on the local Sunday night state bulletin.
As a result, we will not be proceeding with this current proposal. The ABC intends to proceed with all other proposals and initiatives announced in June.
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Greens welcome education union push to fully fund public schools
Greens spokesperson for schools senator Penny Allman-Payne has welcomed the launch of the Australian Education Union’s new campaign to get public schools fully funded by 2028, while pushing Labor to go further.
The For Every Child campaign kicked off today on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra, attended by ACTU president Michele O’Neil and national principals.
Allman-Payne:
Schools can’t wait until the end of the next national funding deal to get the money they desperately need. That’s 2028. Another five years away. That means a public school student in year 7 today will graduate high school having never experienced a fully resourced education.
Allman-Payne backed in the union’s calls for 100% of school funding to public schools under the schooling resource standard, a target just the ACT has reached. She said to do so, state and federal funding of private schools needed to be reassessed.
Congratulations to the AEU for launching their #ForEveryChild campaign for fully funded public schools.
— Penny Allman-Payne (@senatorpennyqld) August 1, 2023
The union is right: public school kids deserve 100% funding.
Govts must stop giving money hand over fist to elite private schools & finally deliver on the promise of Gonski.
Australia now has one of the most privatised and inequitable school systems in the world ... Labor has an historic opportunity to right the wrongs of the past.
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Labor in second bid to unlock housing fund impasse
Housing minister Julie Collins has reintroduced legislation to set up the $10bn housing Australia future fund this morning, after the first try at passing the bill was held up in the Senate.
The fund has been blocked by the Coalition and Greens. The minor party are demanding an agreement from national cabinet for a rent freeze, AAP reports.
Collins told parliament there could not be any further delays in setting up the housing fund:
The housing Australian future fund will be the start of an enduring promise from the Australian government that more Australians will have a safe affordable place to call home. Our government has not forgotten that promise.
The government will use every process available to us to make the case for this important legislation.
The housing fund would deliver 30,000 social and affordable homes in its first five years, with 4,000 for women and children at risk of domestic violence.
If the bill is blocked a second time later in the year, it could deliver a double-dissolution trigger.
This would give the prime minister an opportunity to dissolve the lower house and the whole Senate, rather than the usual half, and go to an election.
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Housing Australia future fund bill to be reintroduced today
Minister for housing Julie Collins is reintroducing the government’s housing Australia future fund bill in Canberra today.
“This bill … will be transformative for those Australians who need homes. It’s time the Liberals, Nationals and Greens backed it,” she says.
I’m just about to head to Chamber to reintroduce our Government’s Housing Australia Future Fund Bill.
— Julie Collins (@JulieCollinsMP) August 1, 2023
This bill - and the others I introduce this morning - will be transformative for those Australians who need homes.
It’s time the Liberals, Nationals and Greens backed it. pic.twitter.com/t88KH7KEVD
Today the government will re-introduce our Housing Australia Future Fund bill. We need to build more houses for Australians, and that's what this fund will do.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 1, 2023
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Packed agenda for Senate today
On the debate agenda in Senate today are social services, jobs and skills, live animal experts, aged care and student loans.
The #Senate meets at 9 this morning. You can find our order of business (the Red) on Parlwork https://t.co/W0mvG4VhNr pic.twitter.com/c3RN2RPFkL
— Australian Senate (@AuSenate) August 1, 2023
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Transmission costs continue to rise with Victoria’s big project the latest over budget
Renewable energy is the cheapest source of new power generation but the challenge is how to link new wind and solar farms to the main cities.
Victoria’s biggest transmission line, the VNI-West, looks to be the latest project that will cost a lot more than expected. The Victoria Energy Policy Centre reckons, in fact, that all up it could cost $11bn to be fully integrated into the grid.
We looked at their latest report here:
At 800km, the 500 kV line from Melbourne to Wagga Wagga would be the longest single line in Australia’s history. The VEPC’s director Bruce Mountain says there’s still time for the project to be reconsidered, and an alternative “Plan B” focussing more on east Gippsland.
Unfortunately, other big projects, such as HumeLink, the transmission line to connect with Snowy Hydro‘s 2.0, are also facing much higher construction bill than first touted.
(Snowy 2.0 itself might end up cost $10bn, as we noted here.)
Do we have plans to get a lot better at our planning? That’s one question that needs to be asked.
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Shortage of affordable student housing as international students return: report
The student housing market is surging post pandemic with an annual growth rate of 17% and an estimated value of $10bn, a new report has said.
The University Living report found as the international market returned there was a shortage of affordable student accommodation in Australia, fuelled by soaring rent prices and rising living expenses.
There were 613,217 international students studying in Australia as of March 2023, a 27% increase on the same time last year.
The report estimated there were around 60,000 beds available on-campus at Australia’s universities, and a further 90,000 beds in the purpose built market, led by players including UniLodge, Scape, Campus Living Villages and Iglu.
A Guardian Australia investigation highlighted the worsening accommodation situation for international students “ripe for exploitation”, including crowded and unclean living spaces and rental costs in excess of the private market.
The report recommended universities partner with local businesses to expand student housing, including “vacant office buildings, hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts”.
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RBA done with its interest rate increases? Don’t take that to the bank
In the wash-up from yesterday’s Reserve Bank decision to leave the cash rate on hold, more than a few are willing to call the cycle of increases over.
The Commonwealth Bank was one institution to predict the central bank would lift the cash rate yesterday. When they didn’t, the CBA decided the peak rate has probably been reached.
“It would take an upside surprise to the economic data from here, namely on prices and/or wages, for the RBA to shift its assessment of the outlook,” Belinda Allen, a CBA senior economist, said.
Upside surprises (such as the jobs data for most months of late) are not uncommon, and it’s worth keeping in mind that July’s CPI could be quite spiky (look at your insurance premium or energy bill).
As we note this comment piece, there are a couple of shocks that might nudge the RBA back onto the field:
It’s only one day but there is a bit of a sell-off of the Aussie dollar, which would pack an inflationary punch if sustained.
The Australian dollar has extended its decline against the US after the RBA's 'dovish' rates decision that a few have interpreted to mean the peak rate has been reached. (A falling $A makes another increase more likely, as per: https://t.co/7U9y1iaddC ) pic.twitter.com/bZloNZ0y98
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 1, 2023
The markets guessed right about the pause, though, and for now they aren’t expecting another rate rise. The next move might be a cut – but not for a while yet, or so investors were betting as of yesterday evening:
After the RBA's second consecutive monthly rates pause, investors have pared their expectations of another increase. According to the ASX, odds don't get higher than about 50:50 the central bank will hike again in this cycle. pic.twitter.com/1im1veU6we
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 1, 2023
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Is the right to peacefully protest ‘celebrated’ in Australia?
Off the back of the minister for climate change, Chris Bowen, condemning climate protesters who targeted Woodside CEO Meg O’Neil’s home as “intimidation” – and saying the right to peacefully protest is “celebrated” – we point you to the right to peacefully protest being undermined in multiple states recently.
About a month ago, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, claimed climate activists like Blockade Australia are endangering lives by streaming protest actions and attempted to stop the streams in a move criticised as “profoundly anti-democratic” by civil liberties advocates.
And two months ago, South Australia rushed through anti-protest laws, less than a day after a rally outside the annual oil and gas conference in Adelaide briefly closed traffic. Climate activists face large penalties and three-month jail terms in the bipartisan move.
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Bowen condemns climate protestors who targeted mining CEO’s house
The minister for climate change and energy, Chris Bowen, has condemned climate protesters who are said to have targeted Woodside CEO Meg O’Neil’s home amid backlash over expansion of its gas business.
“The climate emergency needs to be met with ambitious action, not intimidation,” Bowen says.
“The right to peacefully protest is more than tolerated, it is celebrated. But there is zero place or tolerance for attacks on private homes and families like we have seen on Meg O’Neil. This is not OK.”
The climate emergency needs to be met with ambitious action, not intimidation.
— Chris Bowen (@Bowenchris) August 1, 2023
The right to peaceful protest is more than tolerated, it is celebrated.
But there is zero place or tolerance for attacks on private homes & families like we have seen on Meg O’Neil. This is not OK.
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PM calls on Dutton to ‘get out of his dirt unit’ and ‘go to the red dirt of Arnhem Land’
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has called on the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, to “get out of his dirt unit” on issues of treaty and the voice to parliament and to instead “go to the red dirt of Arnhem Land”.
On ABC RN this morning he said:
There has been conflict in the history of this country. And it’s about reconciliation. And do I support reconciliation? Yes, I do.
I just say to Peter, he needs to get out of his dirt unit on these issues and go to the red dirt land. Go to the red dirt of Arnhem Land this weekend … which is the most significant indigenous cultural event that occurs in this country, it’s an annual event, and sit down with Indigenous Australians and engage in constructive dialogue.
Albanese was referring to the Garma Festival – the country’s biggest Indigenous gathering – this weekend.
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Albanese says ‘substantial negotiations’ have occured with Greens on housing future fund
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says the Greens reducing their demands while still pushing to increase the housing Australia future fund, is “one of their nonsenses” on ABC RN this morning.
“The Greens keep changing their position but what they consistently do is refuse to support voting for this additional housing,” he says on ABC RN. “This has been one of their nonsenses.”
Negotiations are due to resume this week, you just said. I talked to Adam Bandt on the weekend. I talk to the Greens, to our ministers, to the crossbenchers, right across the board. There’s been … substantial negotiations [have] occurred.
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Albanese: no campaign trying to muddy waters over Indigenous treaty
In a back and forth between Patricia Karvelas and prime minister Anthony Albanese on whether he supports a federal treaty, he says the no voice to parliament campaign is trying to muddy the waters:
What the no campaign want to do is to focus on everything that’s not happening.
What is happening is a vote in the last quarter of this year for a voice to parliament. And what that is about is recognising First Nations people in our constitution and then listening to Indigenous Australians so as to get better results. That’s what the focus is on. And what I find, I think, very enlightening, is … the no campaign want to talk about everything except for the question.
Karvelas pushes on whether Albanese will enter treaty negotiations after the voice referendum. He answers:
Well, where does it say that? It doesn’t even say that in the Uluru statement. It doesn’t say that, it doesn’t speak about the commonwealth negotiating treaties. It doesn’t say that Patricia. So don’t get sucked into it.
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Albanese on Greens: ‘you can’t say you’re supporting housing’ while voting against it
The independent MP David Pocock and the Jacqui Labie Network’s Jacqui Lambie and Tammy Tyrrell have agreed to support the government’s legislation, which will build about 30,000 homes in five years, including 4,000 for women and children escaping domestic violence.
Albanese said on ABC RN this morning:
Today, the Greens need to vote for this legislation. You can’t say that you’re supporting housing, supply, public housing and then vote against it.
When Patricia Karvelas pushed Albanese on whether he will be open to any negotiating with the Greens, he said:
I’m not prepared to negotiate on Radio National, Patricia. People talk all the time across the parliament all the time.
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Asylum Seeker Research Centre joins calls for royal commission into offshore detention
The Asylum Seeker Research Centre are demanding a royal commission into offshore detention, evacuation of refugees in Papua New Guinea, and universal safety for people seeking asylum in Canberra this morning.
Independent MPs Kylea Tink, Kate Chaney, Allegra Spender, Zoe Daniel and Monique Ryan stand with the centre’s calls.
The @ASRC1 were proud to stand with @KyleaTink @ChaneyforCurtin @spenderallegra @zdaniel @Mon4Kooyong & our refugee sector as one at Parliament demanding a Royal Commission into offshore detention, evacuation of refugees still in PNG & a universal safety for people seeking asylum pic.twitter.com/8qfsasXgCT
— Kon Karapanagiotidis (@Kon__K) August 1, 2023
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Greens ready to negotiate on housing future fund bill as Labor says ‘get out of the way’
The government will reintroduce the housing Australia future fund bill to parliament today, challenging the Greens and Coalition to support the bill rather than have it languish in the Senate once more.
The bill was already blocked once due to a lack of upper house support – the Coalition say they don’t support the future fund framing of the bill, while the Greens are calling for the legislation to go even further with more guaranteed funding for new housing.
The Greens say they’re up for further negotiations and could compromise further on their asks; they’re likely to meet the government for more talks sometime this week.
“We cannot afford any delays to the housing Australia future fund,” said the housing minister, Julie Collins:
The Greens and the Liberals should get out of the way and back this secure, ongoing pipeline of funding for social and affordable housing.
The bill will be reintroduced on Wednesday, but is not planned to come on for a vote in the lower house until October – that’s some time away, giving a decent chance for more negotiations. The long break also keeps alive the prospect of a double dissolution election, which requires the same piece of legislation to be rejected twice by the Senate after “an interval of three months”.
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Good morning! Thank you to Martin Farrer for kicking off this morning’s blog.
I’m Rafqa Touma and I’ll be with you for the next few hours. If you see anything you don’t want the blog to miss, let me know @At_Raf on Twitter.
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Medical colleges urge action to shore up health system against climate change
Twelve of Australia’s medical colleges, representing more than 100,000 doctors, have penned a joint statement to the government arguing that without urgent action Australia’s healthcare system will remain unprepared to tackle the health risks posed by climate change.
In its statement, the colleges write:
We, as medical experts, are very concerned that Australian healthcare systems remain unprepared to handle extreme weather events that may be just around the corner.
The statement calls on the federal government to ensure its upcoming national health and climate strategy is fully-funded on an ongoing basis, has national cabinet sign-off, is guided by First Nation knowledge and leadership and builds resilient communities by mobilising sectors outside of health.
Dr Jacqueline Small, the preisdent of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, said a strategy for reducing emissions is positive but local communities need to know they’ll be able to access healthcare in a timely and effective way if a climate event occurs.
Dr Lai-Heng Foong, an emergency physician and member of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, said she knows an emergency when she sees one and “climate change is the biggest global threat to emergency departments, health systems and public health”.
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Nine out of 10 principals reallocating school budget to support students with disabilities
Almost 90% of principals are taking funding from allocated areas of school budgets to address shortfalls in resources for students with a disability, an Australian Education Union survey has found.
The national survey of 7,808 teachers found the money was being taken from areas like maintenance due to a lack of funding for students with a disability, whose numbers had increased by 29% since 2015. Students with disabilities are disproportionately represented in the public system.
The survey released today comes as the AEU launches a nationwide campaign calling for the full funding of public schools by 2028. It found principals believed students who had fallen behind academically, students with a disability or students with learning difficulties would benefit most from the proper funding of the public system.
Teachers are calling for four key changes:
Additional support for students with a disability or behavioural issues.
More time for lesson planning.
More classroom assistance.
Smaller class sizes.
The survey also found persistent teacher shortages were placing a great strain on educators and the system. Some 90% of principals reported teacher shortages in the past year – almost double the number that experienced them three years ago.
Two thirds of teachers said their workload had increased in the past year and less than one in five were committed to teach until retirement.
Labor reintroduces housing future fund bill
Plans to set up a multibillion-dollar housing fund will be reintroduced to parliament in an attempt to break a bitter deadlock, AAP reports.
The housing minister, Julie Collins, will introduce legislation for the $10bn housing Australia future fund today after the first attempt to pass the bill was held up in the Senate.
The fund has been blocked by the Coalition and Greens, with the minor party arguing not enough has been done to support renters.
The housing fund would deliver 30,000 social and affordable homes in its first five years, with 4000 for women and children at risk of domestic violence. Should the bill be blocked a second time, the issue could be used as a trigger for a double dissolution, in which all of the Senate seats are up for election.
Collins said there was an urgent need for the fund to pass as soon as possible.
“This message has come from community housing providers, frontline homelessness services, state and territory housing ministers and tenants of social and affordable housing.”
The Greens and Coalition had previously moved to delay debate in the Senate until October, after a national cabinet meeting between the prime minister Anthony Albanese and state and territory leaders.
Sarah Hanson-Young, a Greens senator, said the party would meet the government later this week for further negotiations on the bill and she was optimistic about the meeting.
“Let’s just sit around the table and work out how we can help the third of Australians who [the prime minister] is currently ignoring, and that is those in the rental crisis.”
Updated
Education union call for full funding of public schools by 2028
A national campaign to fully fund public schools within the next five years is being launched by the Australian Education Union (AEU) today on the lawns of Parliament House.
The AEU’s For Every Child campaign wants the federal government to commit to greater funding contributions and a full funding timeline of 2028, so teachers can reduce class sizes and have more time for classroom preparedness.
It follows a Guardian Australia series into the gutting of Gonski which found real government funding to private schools had increased almost twice as much as funding to public schools in the decade since the landmark review was handed down.
One of Gonski’s core recommendations was implementing the schooling resource standard (SRS), a needs-based model to provide a baseline education to students. Just the ACT has reached it, while other states and territories have made commitments without timeframes.
The AEU’s president, Correna Haythorpe, said 98% of public schools were funded below the SRS.
The needs of our children are growing but the funding from governments hasn’t kept up. Principal and teacher workloads are unsustainable, and more and more teachers are leaving the profession early.
The Albanese government must take the lead in upcoming negotiations with the states and territories and ensure all schools are fully funded by 2028 … the commonwealth’s contribution to public schools needs to rise from 20% of the SRS now to a minimum of 25% for all states and 40% for the NT.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling pollitics and news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer with some breaking overnight stories before my colleague takes the controls.
A Guardian Essential poll this morning finds that twice as many voters in marginal seats think big business has too much power compared with unions, with most supporting Labor initiatives to boost workers’ pay. The survey of voters in 12 marginal seats in Queensland and Western Australia found majority support for a range of measures to boost pay.
And the education unions are also busy today with a campaign launching on the lawn of Parliament House to urge full funding of public schools by 2028. More on both these stories coming up.
Andrew Forrest has led international criticism of the UK government’s energy policies, saying that Britain is going to “drive itself over a cliff” if the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, goes ahead with his plan to reverse on green policies and “max out” on North Sea oil and gas. Forrest said in London overnight that he would pull the plug on his multimillion-dollar investments in the UK if Sunak went ahead with what he calls “clickbait” policies.
Parliament is sitting in Canberra and Labor plans today to reintroduce its $10bn housing Australia future fund bill after the first attempt was blocked in the Senate by the Coalition and the Greens. A second rejection could be used as the trigger for a double dissolution election.
And Canberra finds itself at the centre of the universe this morning with Nasa’s new dish outside the city leading the search for the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The craft, which is billions of miles from Earth, disappeared from tracking systems after it was sent the wrong command from mission control and the deep space communication complex at Tidbinbilla is on the case.
