That’s where we’ll leave our live coverage for Sunday, 16 April.
Thanks so much for sticking with me. We’ll be back again tomorrow.
Police condemn 'unlawful' climate protest that halted Newcastle coal train
Police have condemned “unlawful protest activity” and taken action against 50 activists over an anti-coal protest in Newcastle this morning.
Newcastle City Police District Commander Supt Kylie Endemi told reporters on Sunday that 47 activists had been issued with court attendance notices and another three had been charged, two for alleged malicious damage and one for allegedly assaulting a security guard.
Dozens of activists stood beside the rail track in the suburb of Sandgate on Sunday morning, stopping a coal train and boarding it with a banner that read: “Survival guide for humanity: no new coal.”
Endemi said police had been dealing with one of the protest organisers in the lead-up to Sunday morning. But she said the organiser had failed to provide proper detail about the action, rendering it unlawful.
She said 50 people entered the rail corridor on Sunday morning. Two activists were charged with malicious damage for allegedly damaging an entry gate.
While we support everyone’s right to free speech, we certainly don’t tolerate any violence or the conduct of any unlawful activity.
She said the protesters had been “by and large peaceful” and compliant with police requests.
However, we have had one person charged with assault on a security guard and two others charged with malicious damage.
Police deployed marine area command and its air wing to respond to the protest.
Updated
NT police minister defends kinship care system after Price abuse claims
Allegations by a federal senator that the child protection system is putting Indigenous children at risk have been strongly rejected by the Northern Territory government.
On Sunday, NT Country Liberal senator Jacinta Price made several claims about the territory government’s families, housing and communities department, which oversees the foster care of Indigenous children.
Senator Price claimed Indigenous children in foster care were being returned to abusive homes due to kinship rules she said should be abolished.
This has been an ongoing issue but one you can’t put a spotlight on to unless you have a royal commission.
It is incumbent upon state and territory governments to do the right thing when it comes to child protection.
But NT police minister Kate Worden said senator Price’s claim that children being returned to abusive homes was incorrect.
She said her department had heard “crickets” from the senator and opposition leader Peter Dutton who had not made any reports about cases of child abuse they had referenced in media conferences.
You can’t just claim these things and then walk away … she needs to come forward and make declarations [to police] that support that view.
The kinship care system has gone a long way in making sure that we can develop relationships within communities and find safe places for young people within family and culture, but never at the expense of the safety of the child.
– AAP
Updated
Far-north Queensland has been issued warnings for severe rain and flash flooding in some areas while a minor flood warning is current for the North Esk catchment in Tasmania.
⛈️QLD Storm Forecast for Monday 17/4. Severe storms with heavy rain & flash flooding are possible about the Herbert and Lower Burdekin early Monday morning, including #Townsville and #ChartersTowers. Severe storms are also a risk in the afternoon in the Gulf Savannah region. pic.twitter.com/rtWANLnToO
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) April 16, 2023
'Wet' #rain was experienced last night, with broadly 20-40 mm reported across northern areas of #Tas, and parts of the lower east coast. Falls of 5-15mm were experienced elsewhere. A Minor Flood #Warning is current for the North Esk catchment as a result. https://t.co/AjNZ7hcwQh pic.twitter.com/N35KncQN1c
— Bureau of Meteorology, Tasmania (@BOM_Tas) April 16, 2023
Updated
China trade review deadline hasn’t shifted, insists Australian government
The Australian government says Beijing has committed to review its barley tariffs within the next three to four months, despite new comments from the Chinese commerce ministry mentioning a 12-month deadline.
On Friday night Chinese state media quoted the commerce ministry as calling for interested parties to “provide feedback and evidence on the review within the next 20 days” but also said “the assessment should be finalized by April 15, 2024”.
On first glance, that would appear to be a longer deadline than the Australian government announced last Tuesday – but Guardian Australia understands this refers to the prescribed maximum timeframes for such reviews under China’s laws.
A source said this did not prevent China from meeting its commitment to an expedited outcome. It is understood the timeframes for the agreement were set out in letters exchanged between China’s Ministry of Commerce and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The timeframe matters because Australia has temporarily suspended its nearly completed World Trade Organization dispute process in return for China agreeing to “undertake an expedited review” of the barley tariffs.
The Australian trade minister, Don Farrell, reiterated the timeframes today. He said:
China has agreed to an expedited review, with its outcomes implemented within the agreed three to four month timeframe.
As we have said, we are confident in our case and will resume the dispute in the WTO if the duties are not lifted.
For more details about the offramp from the trade tensions, see this analysis from last week:
Updated
A few photos of the damage caused in the wake of Cyclone Ilsa.
Updated
Living with density: will Australia’s housing crisis finally change the way its cities work?
For many Australians it must seem as though the housing crisis cannot get any worse.
Rents have skyrocketed with record low vacancy rates, while assistance to lower-income families is being wound back, young people face often insurmountable obstacles to buying a property and some who have obtained a mortgage are struggling to stay above water after repeated interest rate rises.
But there is likely more bad news to come, thanks to long-term lifestyle trends set in train by the pandemic and the inability of the construction sector to meet the demand of a huge national infrastructure build.
What can be done to ease the crisis?
Experts point to a range of measures, but there is broad agreement that significantly increasing medium-density housing in existing suburbs that are well served by public infrastructure is crucial.
Yet despite planners’ calls over decades for more townhouses and low-rise apartment blocks in the so-called “missing middle ring”, a common pattern has emerged across Australian cities: fierce opposition to new development from local residents.
To find out more about how Australia is density can help alleviate the housing crisis, read the full report by Elias Visontay.
Failure to continue drug check could cost lives
Harm reduction advocates are calling on the ACT government to continue operating the nation’s first fixed-site drug checking clinic, warning Australia will lose the ability to detect fatal substances.
CanTEST is Canberra’s free testing service which analyses pills and drugs for anyone who drops in, and provides information about the makeup of the drugs as well as their side-effects.
The territory government has extended its operation until August, after initially launching the service as a six-month trial in July last year.
CanTEST is delivered through a partnership of organisations, including Pill Testing Australia.
Bill, a Canberra man in his mid-20s who asked that his real name not be used, described the testing service as “priceless”.
He said he had chosen not to use the drugs he had bought after having found out what they really were made of.
It could save a life and can change your behaviour.
It informs me and gives me information to change my mind, rather than just saying ‘no’, I feel empowered.
Bill said his drug use had become safer due to the testing, as he now knew how the substances detected would affect him.
Chris Gough, executive director of Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy, said the testing service could catch out potentially fatal drugs such as fentanyl, which were yet to arrive on the nation’s shores.
He also called for the service to be rolled out nationwide.
It gives us intel as to what drugs are currently on the street … a lot of times people come in and think they have something, and what they actually have is completely different.
The latest data from CanTEST’s drug analysis showed that of the samples where people expected ketamine to be detected, only half returned a positive result.
For cocaine samples tested, purities ranged from less than 5% to 63%.
It comes as the Harm Reduction International conference is being held in Melbourne this week, bringing together the world’s leading experts to share research.
– AAP
Updated
University chief to return from US trip
Universities Australia CEO Catriona Jackson will wrap up a visit to Washington DC to discuss what the Aukus alliance will mean for Australia’s universities.
Jackson met national security officials, Australia’s ambassador to the US, representatives from the US Department of State and global leaders in higher education.
She also met the Business Roundtable who represent chief executives from the world’s major corporations.
This visit to Washington has come at a critical time as we face one of the biggest industrial challenges in our history – Aukus.
Discussions throughout the week have reinforced the vital role universities will play in the security partnership – from producing the next generation of skilled workers to generating the world-class research and development.
We recognise national security is of highest priority and will continue to work to ensure that risks are identified and managed appropriately, so that universities can continue producing the research we need more of.
The foundation has been laid so Australia’s universities can play their fullest role in supporting Aukus, and we’re looking forward to building on these conversations at home.
Updated
Minister for trade and tourism to tour Vietnam and the Philippines
Senator Don Farrell will fly on Sunday to begin a visit to Vietnam and the Philippines in an effort to strengthen Australia’s trading relationships in south-east Asia.
The trip will mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Vietnam with the minister meeting with the prime minister of Vietnam and other senior government officials.
“We share an ambition to elevate our relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Farrell said.
In Hanoi, the minister will co-host the annual Economic Partnership Meeting with the Vietnamese minister of planning and investment. He will also meet with the minister of industry to discuss the upcoming Trade Ministers Dialogue before heading to Ho Chi Minh City to market the start of improved flight routes between Vietnam and Australia.
From Ho Chi Minh City, the minister will then travel to the Philippines to meet with the secretaries of finance, trade and industry, and the national economic development agency. He will also attend a dawn service at the National Heroes Cemetery in Manila.
Farrell said the trip be used to “identify opportunities for strengthening our economic ties, particularly in mining, the visitor economy, education, and renewable energy.”
In our region, Vietnam and the Philippines are among the top emerging markets for international visitation to Australia and we hope our strong bilateral relationships with both nations will see continued growth in two-way travel.
Updated
Deserted islands: the push to make owners responsible for ‘derelict’ Queensland resorts
Across the Great Barrier Reef, cyclones have left tropical island paradises shuttered and abandoned, replete with ruined infrastructure and damaged environments.
Now the state government is considering how to force the owners of these “derelict” island resorts to pay bonds, insurance, fines or otherwise ensure remediation, as conservationists join calls for overseas owners to foot the bill.
Queensland’s Transport and Resources Committee called a parliamentary inquiry into the economic and regulatory frameworks for Queenland’s island resorts on 21 February 2022. The report was tabled in March, after a year-long series of public hearings and written submissions from conservationists, tourism boards and operators, traditional owners, councils and private citizens.
The committee found that “abandoned and dilapidated Great Barrier Reef island resorts blight the capacity of the Queensland tourism industry to recover from the significant loss it experienced from the Covid-19 pandemic, and that there was little incentive to remediate, repair or otherwise remove the outdated, damaged and dilapidated infrastructure that is present on many of these islands”.
During the inquiry, the committee heard Brampton Island Resort, leased by United Petroleum, had been overtaken by weeds; that infrastructure had not been maintained and that “buildings have now been allowed to decay to such a degree that … refurbishment or rebuilding will be very expensive”.
To read more on this story about plans to make owners of deserted resorts responsible for the clean up, read the full story by Guardian Australia reporter Tory Shepherd.
North-west WA counts cost of Cyclone Ilsa
Rebuilding a roadhouse pummelled by the full force of Cyclone Ilsa may not be possible without outside help, its manager says as the clean-up continues.
The now-ex-tropical cyclone crossed Western Australia’s north-west coast as a category five system on Thursday, bringing record winds of 213km/h and damaging isolated properties.
It has since tracked towards the southern Northern Territory, but is not expected to cause significant flooding.
Pardoo Roadhouse and Tavern, 150km north-east of Port Hedland, suffered at least $4m in damage. Manager Kelly Anne Martinez said in a Facebook post that accommodation and staff rooms wiped out and the roadhouse roof ripped off, letting in torrential rain and debris.
There is a possibility that we may not be able to rebuild.
We are not going to give up and we are exploring every possible avenue to fight for our roadhouse. But we need help.
Everyone here … desperately needs action and support from the government.
As well as tossing trees around the roadhouse grounds, Ilsa also dumped a road sign that had been stationed 5km down the highway, images posted to Facebook show.
While most staff waited out the storm from Port Hedland, a handful of staff remained on site and rode it out in a shipping container.
Elsewhere, Telfer goldmine operator Newcrest Mining has begun assessing the Pilbara site for hazards such as fallen power lines and loose tree branches as well as any hidden structural damage.
– AAP
Updated
Australia and US to hold 'largest ever' joint defence training
The federal government says 30,000 military personnel from Australia and the US will be involved in joint defence training in Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and New South Wales this year.
Exercise Talisman Sabre, the regular joint Australian-US military training operation, will reach record size this year. The 30,000-strong military force involved in the two-week exercise is almost double that of 2021.
Other nations involved include Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, France, the UK, Canada and Germany, while Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines will attend as observers.
Deputy prime minister Richard Marles said:
Talisman Sabre is a practical demonstration of our enduring alliance with the United States, through deepening cooperation in training and innovation.
Australia is excited to host what will be the largest ever iteration of Talisman Sabre this year, involving more of our partner nations than ever before.
Talisman Sabre reflects a shared commitment to enduring relationships between trusted partners, and a stable Indo-Pacific through an upholding of the rules-based order.
Updated
Labor’s ‘quite ambitious’ electric vehicle strategy expected to be released this week
Industry is expecting the federal government to release its long-awaited national electric vehicle strategy next week. My colleague Peter Hannam reports that it is expected to be “quite ambitious”.
Industry sources say the federal climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, will release the strategy ahead of an event in western Sydney on Wednesday.
Australia is the only OECD nation to not have, or be in the process of developing, fuel efficiency standards. Bowen said last August that Australian consumers could choose between just eight low-emissions vehicles under $60,000, compared with 26 available in the UK.
Impetus has only gathered internationally since then, with the US becoming the latest country to flag much stricter emissions standards. Under proposed changes by the US environment protection agency unveiled this week, the share of electric vehicles in the world’s second-largest car market could soar from about 6% last year to 66% by 2032.
Bowen’s office confirmed the strategy will be released soon, but would not be drawn on timing.
The plans will “provide a nationally consistent, comprehensive framework to looking at supply, demand and infrastructure needs for cleaner and cheaper vehicles”, a spokesperson said.
Updated
Fuel bill for remote desert artists hit $55k
An organisation that supports Aboriginal weaving artists working in the remote central Australian desert is facing a fuel bill of $55,000.
The Tjanpi Desert Weavers represents more than 400 Anangu and Yarnangu female artists on the NPY (Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara) Lands.
For the 2022-23 financial year the organisation’s fuel budget is expected to hit $55,000 – dwarfing its budget for art supplies, and $15,000 higher than the previous year.
The extra cost eats into the organisation’s multi-year funding and the social enterprise will have to meet the shortfall, according to manager Michelle Young.
Tjanpi means “wild harvested grass”, and the woven sculptures made from the grasses range from small brightly coloured vessels to large-scale corporate commissions, with every major institutional gallery in Australia collecting their work.
The fuel costs are so big because the NPY Lands cross the borders of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia, covering an area about the size of Germany, she explains.
Field officers drive out to 26 remote communities on the NPY Lands to deliver supplies to the artists and collect finished sculptures for sale.
The distances are massive: from the organisation’s head office in Alice Springs, the closest part of the NPY Lands is a three-hour drive away, while the organisation’s field office would take nine hours to get to.
The weavers use Tjanpi grass as well as vines, wool and raffia, a material they are especially fond of, according to Young.
– AAP
Updated
Here are a few shots from Sunday’s coal train protest.
Updated
Protesters halt Newcastle coal train over climate change demands
Dozens of protesters have been arrested after walking on to a train line to block coal trains bound for the Port of Newcastle over concerns about a lack of action on climate change, protesters say.
Having blocked the train, 20 members of the protest group Rising Tide climbed atop the train and used shovels to unload the coal from the wagons. Protesters say 50 people have been arrested as part of the action but NSW Police couldn’t immediately confirm the official number.
The group say the governments prime minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Labor premier Chris Minns have no plans to take the action necessary to meaningfully address climate change.
One protester, 22-year-old Jasmine Stuart said in a statement that she took part to protest plans to open new fossil fuel developments.
Rallies and campaigning within the system are clearly not working, so people like me who are terrified for our future are left with no option but civil disobedience.
Rising Tide has organised a four-day national conference, “Climate Camp”, where participants have heard from climate scientists, policy experts and figures from the environment movement.
Police are expected to give an update at a press conference at 3pm.
Updated
Dingo suspected of involvement in toddler attack hunted
A dingo that attacked and seriously injured a toddler in a remote national park is expected to be caught and killed by park2 rangers.
The boy, 2 , sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries when set upon by the dingo about 7pm on Friday at Dales Campground in Karijini national park.
He has since been released from Tom Price hospital, WA Country Health Service said on Sunday.
Parks and Wildlife Rangers spent Saturday trying to find and trap the wild dog.
The safety of visitors is our number one priority.
Due to the aggressive behaviour of the dingo and the fact that it has remained at the campground following the incident, rangers are preparing to humanely destroy the animal as soon as a safe opportunity presents.
While interactions with humans can be common in some WA national parks, attacks are rare.
The department wasn’t aware of another attack in that part of Karijini, a rugged national park half the size of Sydney.
Signage and information at Dales Campground warns visitors that dingoes may be present and provides dingo safety advice.
The local government in the coastal town of Karratha last month warned visitors dingoes were frequently seen in Karijini and other popular national parks, and the animals may raid rubbish bags and take food from picnic tables.
The City of Karratha said dingoes may harass and intimidate people while searching for food and water.
– AAP
Updated
Telehealth to help keep kids out of ED in NSW
Families across NSW will be able to access an innovative virtual care program designed to reduce children taking unnecessary trips to hospital.
The virtualKIDS Urgent Care Service will be rolled out statewide by the end of the year, the government said on Sunday.
The telehealth service connects families with a clinical nurse via video calls to determine the best care pathway and care provider based on each child’s needs – be it hospital, a GP or a virtualKIDS expert paediatrician.
It’s hoped the rollout will divert low-urgency cases from attending strained emergency departments.
The service initially operated as a virtual Covid clinic for Sydney’s two children’s hospitals, before expanding to cover respiratory and cardiac conditions. To date, it has cost about $4m to set up, staff and run.
Health minister Ryan Park said the virtualKIDS program has been running as a pilot since August 2021.
The Urgent Care Service has been part of the program since December 2022, with two out of three kids using the service receiving the care they needed without having to go to an emergency department.
This has significant benefits not just for families, who have reduced travel, wait times for care and hospital visits, but also for the frontline healthcare workers in our busy emergency departments.
The expanded service will also offer specialist paediatric advice to clinicians in rural and regional hospitals, and to paramedics in non-emergency situations.
– AAP
Updated
Andrews government condemned for 'shameful' plan to cut preventive health programs
Community health groups have hit out at a flagged decision to cut millions from preventive health programs in Victoria, saying it will increase pressure on hospitals and lead to job losses.
But the Andrews government says it is only acting to reduce funding “double-ups”.
The Victorian Healthcare Association says the state’s health department contacted the industry on Friday warning of looming cuts ahead of May’s budget, with reports as much as 15% of community health promotion funding could be slashed.
The peak body for public healthcare services believes about 45 community health services will be affected.
It’s unclear what types of programs will go but could include initiatives to encourage healthy eating or reduce smoking and vaping.
Doctors Reform Society president Dr Tim Woodruff said it was “shameful and also silly policy” that would increase stress on hospitals.
The claim that this will not impact on frontline services is a political lie.
With about one in ten admissions to Victorian public hospitals being preventable with good primary healthcare why would any government reduce funding for it?
Premier Daniel Andrews disagreed saying no cuts would lead to more pressure on hospitals as local public health units delivered many of the same services.
The notion that these other services won’t be delivered, that’s simply wrong.
They’ve been delivered in multiple places and we are rationalising that and making sure that we’re not having all these double-ups, which is hardly the most efficient way to deliver services.
Health minister Mary-Anne Thomas said community health had already received more than $150m in budget funding and local public health units had been allocated $40m.
Victorian Healthcare Association acting chief executive Juan Paolo Legaspi said that while the budget could include billions of dollars to build new hospitals that should not come at the cost of community health programs.
This is not the right time to cut funding to programs that help people stay well and out of our stretched hospital system.
The Australian Health Promotion Association said the move was irresponsible, shortsighted and would lead to job losses among 500 health promotion workers across the state.
– AAP
Updated
RBA to release reasons for interest rate pause
The thinking behind the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to hold interest rates steady after 10 hikes in a row will be laid out in the board meeting minutes due this week.
The summary of the April board meeting, due on Tuesday, will shed some light on what most economists agreed was a close call between another hike and a pause.
The glimpse into the last meeting follows a couple of public appearances from senior RBA officials, including governor Philip Lowe at the National Press Club where he said the bank decided to keep rates on hold to let the 350 basis points of hikes delivered so far flow through the economy.
– AAP
Updated
Teenage girl dies in quad bike crash
A teenage girl has died after a quad bike crash in western NSW.
Police said emergency services were called to a rural property on the outskirts of Wilcannia at around 11.45am on Saturday after reports the 14-year-old was seriously injured.
NSW Ambulance paramedics attended but the girl died at the scene.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
– AAP
Updated
Icac raids homes of NSW Liberal members: report
The homes of past and present NSW Liberal party members have reportedly been raided as part of an anti-corruption investigation.
Laptops and phones were seized during the raids conducted during the week by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac), the Sunday Telegraph reports.
The raids are linked to allegations Liberal MP Ray Williams raised under parliamentary privilege in June 2022 which then-premier Dominic Perrottet referred to the watchdog.
Williams claimed several senior members of his party were paid to install new councillors on the Hills Shire Council who would be friendly to a Sydney developer.
The allegations sparked a parliamentary inquiry in the lead-up to the 25 March election that heard allegations a Liberal powerbroker sought to branch-stack federal deputy leader Sussan Ley’s electorate of Farrer in late 2020, in a ploy to take the seat for himself.
Several Liberal party members successfully evaded being summonsed to give evidence to the inquiry before it was disbanded when writs were issued three weeks ahead of the election.
– AAP
Updated
SA deputy premier challenged over ‘unscientific’ fire management plan
South Australia deputy premier Susan Close will front a public hearing in Aldinga Town Hall on Sunday to about a government plan to bulldoze fire access tracks through the western end of Kangaroo Island.
During the 2019-2020 Black Summer Bushfires 49% of Kangaroo Island burned after lightning strikes ignited spot fires on the relatively untouched western end of the island.
Two weeks later further lightning strikes ignited the Ravine Fire which burned uncontrolled and at one point threatened Kingscote.
Under the government’s plan, 40km of fire access tracks will be bulldozed through the Ravine Des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area. There are also concerns about a failure to prevent people driving on beaches which threaten nesting birds.
Peter Owen, Wilderness Society SA director said the biodiversity of Kangaroo Island is under threat from “unscientific fire management” that is “slowly degrading Kangaroo Island’s unique biodiversity and could destroy one of the most important wilderness areas left in Australia.”
It is critical that governments engage in genuine community consultation and consider advice and solutions put forward by environmental non-government organisations and scientific experts, particularly given the seriousness of the extinction climate crisis we are in.
Where is the evidence to support the construction of these tracks in the Ravine Des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area, the first Wilderness protection area for South Australia?
Close, who is also the minister for climate, environment and water, will attend the meeting from 2pm.
For more background on the issue, read the Guardian’s past reporting on the aftermath of the catastrophic bushfires on Kangaroo Island.
Updated
Flood warnings remains for parts of NT in wake of Cyclone Ilsa
Damage from Cyclone Ilsa is being assessed by authorities after strong winds and downpours lashed several remote communities.
Ilsa crossed the West Australian coast as a category four cyclone overnight on Thursday before weakening as the weather system moved inland.
Crews are surveying damage in the “very large area” hit by Ilsa. WA Fire and Emergency Services assistant commissioner Rick Curtis told ABC News.
There is a large path of destruction. It’s quite a remote part of Western Australia so getting support services to the area will take some time and effort.
Wet and windy for Central Aus due to ex-TC Ilsa, and for the south-east states due to an approaching cold front.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) April 15, 2023
⚠️ Severe Weather Warnings current for #Vic and #NT, with weather settling over the coming days. For more info visit https://t.co/TYXssaE8bV or the BOM Weather app. pic.twitter.com/2CNhgUJW1f
The cyclone was downgraded to a tropical low with the Bureau of Meteorology saying on Saturday there were no significant tropical lows in the region, and none were expected to develop during the next seven days.
Warnings were issued earlier on Saturday for possible severe weather in parts of the neighbouring Northern Territory, including potential flooding in the outback town of Alice Springs, as the ex-cyclone tracked east.
Just before 4pm, the bureau said the immediate threat of severe weather had passed.
A flood watch is still in place for the western inland region with river level rises and flooding possible into Sunday.
Locations that might be affected are Alice Springs, Yuendumu, Ti Tree, Papunya, Hermannsburg and southwest Tanami District near the West Australian border.
– AAP
Updated
Minister for Indigenous Australians role is a decision for Peter Dutton: Price
Price says there should be a minister for Indigenous Australians but the decision about whether she may be selected to fill such a role in shadow cabinet is up to Peter Dutton’s shadow ministry.
That’s a decision for Mr Dutton and for the leadership. No matter where I’m at in parliament, I’ll be doing what I can to advocate for the vulnerable, as I have done. And working hard is all I’m interested in doing, no matter what role that might entail.
And that’s a wrap.
Updated
Price asked how those local voices would be heard in Canberra
Their voices would go to Canberra, as far as I’m concerned, from the grassroots to Canberra.
Price said her research through the Centre for Independent Studies – a fiercely pro-free market thinktank that advocates for small government – there is a gap between remote communities and “the rest of Australia, including the cities where there are services available to all people, including those of Indigenous heritage in those places.”
When challenged on how these local or regional voices would be heard in Canberra, Price said the previous Coalition government made a commitment of $32m to prepare work to create local and regional voices.
That was also based on the Calma-Langton report.
Updated
Indigenous voice would benefit Alice Springs if people were ‘prepared to be honest’: Price
Price said she wanted the federal government to run the child protection system in the Territory in order to prioritise the “human rights for children regardless of racial heritage, in this country”.
Asked whether a local Indigenous voice would help the situation in Alice Springs, said it would “if those voices are prepared to actually be honest about the issue, as opposed to what we’re seeing”.
I support the idea of regional and remote legislated bodies that would represent issues going on, on the ground. That’s what I would support. That is what the Coalition supports going forward.
Price was asked about her maiden speech in parliament about the potential for Indigenous voice bodies to “drive a wedge” between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people along racial lines.
What I have advocated for is I don’t believe in separating us along the lines of race within our constitution. What I have always advocated for is the voices of people in remote and regional communities to be amplified because of the circumstances in those regional/remote communities are very different to other communities.
Someone from somewhere like Balgo, Docker River, Yuendumu, Indigenous voices from there are very different to Indigenous voices from suburban Sydney or Brisbane, or even Alice Springs. And their voices in the bush are often not heard, are not amplified in these discussions, even more so the vulnerable voices in those communities are not heard.
Updated
Child protection system needs to ‘remove the kinship aspect’: Price
Price says the child protection system needs to be changed as support workers are afraid of being considered racist “because of the stigma of the stolen generation”.
Specifically, Price said “we need to remove the kinship aspect” that factors into determinations about when and how a child is removed.
We need to say that children who are living in circumstances where their human rights are being upheld should not be removed for the sake of putting children back with kin.
Price also alleged that some families agree to care for a child to obtain support payments.
Speers challenged Price to ask whether the kinship requirement is “preference” and not a requirement that would mean kids must be placed in danger.
Price claimed “it is the priority” and it was “seen as what should come above everything else”.
And I know of circumstances where children have been put in danger because of that provision.
Updated
Price says Indigenous kids aren’t given the same respect as Grace Tame
Price says an inquiry is “absolutely called for” to “demonstrate that there are these foster parents out there who need to be heard for the sake of the children that they care for, because their voices are those that need to be heard with all of this.”
Price also said Indigenous kids aren’t given the same respect as Grace Tame.
There’s like this sense of shame or denial around Indigenous kids, it’s like we can’t talk about that. You know, they’re not given the same reverence as someone like Grace Tame is given when they want to be heard, when they want their voices to be heard, because they’re Indigenous kids. And somehow there’s a shame that comes with that. We’ve got a sense of cover-up that comes with that. I’m just... I’m over it, to be quite honest. I’ve had enough of it.
Updated
Price calls for royal commission into the sexual abuse of Indigenous children
Price says that Territory Families, the department responsible for caring for children, is “putting kids in the hands of abusers”.
This is what foster parents have been telling me. This is what foster parents have been telling me, and I have no reason to believe that these concerned parents are making these stories up, especially when I’ve heard them over and over again.
Price said she is passing this information onto the police but there are circumstances where “foster parents themselves are, in fact, police”.
And I’m talking about foster carers who are also Indigenous, who have come to me with these grave concerns. So, this is why we need a royal commission into the sexual abuse of Indigenous children.
Updated
Price pressed on whether she knew of children in imminent danger
Price was asked four times whether she was aware of children in imminent danger and whether police have been informed about the risk.
Well, if that’s what Territory families know about them, I’m assuming that they have reported that. I know foster parents have – they’ve done the due diligence and they have done the reporting in these circumstances.
ABC Insiders host David Speers pressed Price on the allegations and whether the Territory’s mandatory reporting laws were working.
The problem is the way in which the system is failing these children, by putting them back in these circumstances. I mean, we’re talking about situations where some of these foster parents are actually police themselves, and this is the problem. They’re fighting a system where they know that they’re very concerned because Territory families are against recommendations and advice from experts, such as paediatricians, child psychologists, are saying to them, “Do not put these children back in these dysfunctional circumstances” and yet are doing that.
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NT foster care children being returned to their abusers: Price
Liberal senator Jacinta Price cannot say whether she is aware of instances where children who have been sexually abused and then returned to their abuser but insists she “knows this is happening”.
During an appearance on ABC Insiders, Price was asked specifically about allegations made by opposition leader Peter Dutton earlier in the week that Indigenous children who had been sexually abused had been returned to their abusers.
Senator Price said she was aware of instances where kinship rules meant children who had been placed into foster care had been returned to the care of kin who may not have the resources to raise them.
I’ve been approached by many, many foster parents who are deeply concerned about the kinship rule when it comes to the foster care of vulnerable Indigenous children, that Territory families take children who have been in loving, caring foster homes and then place them back into communities that they’ve actually not really known all their lives.
Price said she was aware of cases where children who have been taken in by their kin have been abused by “predators” in the community and accused the media of a “beat Peter Dutton up” exercise.
I know this is happening. And these are the sorts of stories that Peter Dutton heard on his visit here.
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Voice ‘could change our country so much for the better’: McCarthy
The assistant minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, has urged Australians to “open their hearts” to the push for a voice, saying the change to the constitution “could change our country so much for the better”.
During an interview on Sky News this morning, the NT Labor senator was asked about how the voice could change situation on the ground, including for those experiencing violence. She said:
We’ve got to look at a life beyond the absolute utter despair and hopelessness that we experience around us in terms of our daily lives at the moment.
What the First Nations people did when they gathered at Anagu country at Uluru was to determine a direction that they believed in their hearts, that this generous request to all Australians to support them, to rise above it, is really the first important step for our country to recognise that unless First Nations people are fully involved at every level then our sense of powerlessness, for those communities, for families will continue to remain.
And if I may just say to your viewers, that this is also about our cultural sense of spirituality and respect, that this request is very simple, because we know how tough it is on the ground. And I would say to Australians that the request is about opening your heart and knowing that this could change our country so much for the better.
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Senator Jacinta Price will be speaking to ABC Insiders on the voice to parliament this morning amid speculation she might be named the new shadow minister for Indigenous Australians.
We’ll bring you the latest as it happens.
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Liberals hang on to Ryde after NSW state election recount
The Liberal candidate Jordan Lane has been confirmed as the new MP for Ryde in the suburban Sydney seat.
The recount was ordered after weeks of counting left Lane just 50 votes ahead of rival candidate Lyndal Howison, whose Labor party formally requested a new tally on Tuesday.
Lane edged Howison by 54 votes in the recount, increasing his margin by four votes. He replaces outgoing Liberal minister Victor Dominello, who previously held Ryde by almost nine per cent.
The Liberal-National Coalition now holds 36 seats in the lower house, where Labor holds 45 and requires two crossbench MPs to pass legislation.
The NSW electoral commissioner John Schmidt said on Thursday the call to recount was largely due to the very small amount of votes separating the two candidates after preferences were distributed.
Other factors in the decision to hold a recount included the redrawing of the seat’s electoral boundaries in 2021.
– AAP
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Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday Guardian live blog.
There is speculation the Liberal senator Jacinta Price may be tapped to replace Julian Leeser as shadow minister for Indigenous Australians after the party committed itself to a no campaign on the voice to parliament. It comes as Warren Mundine is touted to lead a “This is not my Voice” campaign, reportedly recruiting First Nations people from rural areas to take part.
A recount in the NSW state seat of Ryde has confirmed a win by Liberal Jordan Lane after an initial count put him ahead by just 50 votes over Labor candidate Lyndal Howison. Lane edged out Howison by 54 votes in the recount to take the seat and replace outgoing Liberal minister Victor Dominello. The Liberal-National Coalition now holds 36 seats in the lower house, where Labor holds 45 and requires two crossbench MPs to pass legislation.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss stuff, so if you spot something happening in Australia and think it should be on the blog, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2 where my DMs are open.
With that, let’s get started ...
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