What we learned: Wednesday 6 December
And that’s where we’ll leave you this evening. Here’s our Wednesday wrap:
Anthony Albanese has struck a $10.5bn deal with the states and territories to split the cost of disability services outside the NDIS in return for granting them a further three years of GST funding.
A fourth immigration detainee has been charged after being released following the high court ruling. The Australian federal police have said the 45-year-old man was charged with one count of theft and one count of failure to comply with a curfew condition.
The house sat today to pay tribute to Labor MP Peta Murphy, who died on Monday from breast cancer.
Australian banks have warned that consumers and businesses risk having access to cash curtailed unless there is an urgent change to the way coins and notes are distributed around the country.
The Australian government has been praised for joining a global partnership committed to stopping billions of dollars in foreign aid and loans being spent on fossil fuel expansion, but the decision has also prompted renewed calls for it to reconsider polluting subsidies at home.
Half of Australia will be blanketed in a widespread heatwave by the end of this week, enduring days of high temperatures with little reprieve.
The FBI has arrested a man in Arizona in connection with last year’s religiously motivated terrorist attack on a remote Queensland property in Wieambilla.
Updated
Woolworths CEO to appear at Senate inquiry
Woolworths’s chief executive, Brad Banducci, has confirmed he will appear at a Senate inquiry into supermarket pricing as pressure builds on Australia’s big grocery chains to explain how they generated bumper profits amid fast-rising living costs.
Banducci said in a statement on Wednesday that the company would “openly and constructively assist the parliament” with its work.
“We are very aware of the pressures facing many Australian families,” Banducci said.
“We welcome the opportunity to explain to the Senate how we are working to balance the needs of our customers, our team and our suppliers in the context of economy-wide inflationary pressure.”
The inquiry has been set up to examine the effect of market concentration on food prices and the pattern of pricing strategies employed by the major chains, Coles and Woolworths. Hearings are expected to commence early next year.
Profit margins at Woolworths for its Australian food division spiked from 5.3% to 6% during the last financial year, far exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
Updated
Banks to collaborate on looming cash shortage response
The competition regulator will allow Australian banks to collaborate on ways to maintain the delivery of physical cash throughout the country amid a sharp decline in the use of notes and coins.
The regulatory authorisation comes after cash transit company Armaguard warned that its distribution operations were unsustainable due to lower cash demand in the community.
Australia’s major banks, the Reserve Bank and Armaguard are due to meet on 14 December to discuss an industry response to the looming threat to distribution. Given the banks have separate commercial arrangements with Armaguard, they would not normally be allowed to collectively discuss arrangements without approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The ACCC’s acting chair, Catriona Lowe, said the banking sector must report back on the discussions as part of the authorisation. Lowe said:
The ACCC will closely assess any proposed response, and in particular the extent to which it secures ongoing access to cash in remote and regional areas where bank branches are limited and members of the public often access cash through non-bank sources including Australia Post and retailers.
The volume of banknotes in circulation remains high in Australia, as they are widely used as a store of wealth. But regular cash usage has dropped to just 13% of transactions, according to Accenture, down from 27% before the pandemic.
Updated
Fifty-five students involved in Queensland bus crash
Ten students have been taken to hospital after a bus collided with a truck on a Queensland motorway, AAP reports.
Authorities were called to the M1 motorway around 9.35am on Wednesday after a bus that had stopped on the side of the road was hit by a truck with a trailer.
Queensland Ambulance Service said 60 people were aboard the bus, including 55 students aged 14-15, four teachers and the driver. The driver of the truck was a single occupant.
The QAS said 11 people were taken to hospitals in Brisbane, Logan and the Gold Coast for treatment, 10 of which were students. QAS senior operations supervisor Scott Harris said:
Most of the injuries were fairly moderate.
The people that went to the Gold Coast, there were some fractures and abrasions. Two of the patients had facial injuries, one had a chest [injury] and two had lower leg injuries.
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Australia Post CEO says changes to letter deliveries ‘good initial step’ to drive down costs
Paul Graham, the chief executive of Australia Post, has commented on the decision to deliver ordinary letters every other business day. Australia Post lost $200m last financial year.
Graham told Guardian Australia:
It’s a good initial step in terms of reform. This in itself won’t be enough to get us where we need to go to. We’re confident we’ll continue to work with the government and as mail declines, we’ll continue to see flexibility from the government in terms of future reform. There’s also a lot of work we need to do ourselves in terms of our cost base and driving efficiency. It’s a very good first start [and] helps us build a strong platform to return to profitability in the mid-term.”
Graham referred to other reforms including:
The application to the competition watchdog to raise stamp prices from $1.20 to $1.50.
Buyback of licences of post offices that are “struggling financially”, particularly those in close proximity to other post offices; and
Increasing the price of priority mail to be closer to “what the customer is willing to pay”.
Australia Post is also continuing to lobby the government to decouple the cost of business mail from ordinary letters, so that businesses and government can be charged more than households. He said it “doesn’t make sense” that households have to pay more when price increases could be targeted at business and government.
Updated
Chemist Warehouse prepares for public listing
Discount pharmacy chain Chemist Warehouse could soon become a publicly-traded company, delivering owners Jack Gance and Mario Verrochi a significant payday.
The SMH reported on Wednesday that the pharmacy chain was set to join the stock exchange through a reverse listing via Sigma Healthcare.
A reverse listing is a strategy used to list a private company, Chemist Warehouse, by taking over a smaller public company, the pharmacy operator Sigma. Shares in Sigma were put in a trading halt on Wednesday, pending an announcement.
Gance and Verrochi founded Chemist Warehouse in 2000 with a Melbourne store. It is now Australia’s largest pharmacy retailer. A public listing would enable the owners to sell down their stake in a company that has been valued at around $5bn.
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Simon Birmingham continues criticism of government over response to high court detainee ruling
The opposition Senate leader, Simon Birmingham, appeared on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing earlier where he was asked about the AFP announcing the arrest of the fourth freed immigration detainee and whether he was encouraged by the transparency.
Birmingham said:
Being upfront is important and it would have been far [more] preferable for the government to be upfront about these matters. It would have been even more preferable for them to be prepared to actually respond to the high court case, which they weren’t prepared for in the first place.
It would be better for them to be capable of having a consistent response throughout this. When instead it’s been absolutely all over the place.
Updated
Further details on fourth charged former detainee
More details on the fourth released immigration detainee that has been charged.
The Australian Federal Police have said the 45-year-old man was charged with one count of theft and one count of failure to comply with a curfew condition.
The man is expected to appear in Melbourne magistates court today where it will be alleged he breached the conditions of his visa on 1 December by failing to comply with his curfew obligations.
It will also be alleged that the man stole luggage from a traveller who was asleep at a Melbourne airport terminal.
Updated
Fourth immigration detainee charged after release due to high court ruling
A fourth released immigration detainee has been charged, police have confirmed.
The AFP have said a 45-year-old man is expected to appear before Melbourne magistrate court today.
Updated
Chalmers says inflationary impact of stage-three tax cuts are already ‘baked into the system’
After pointing out the “fight against inflation” is not over, Chalmers is asked what the inflationary effect of the stage-three tax cuts will be when they come into effect next July.
Chalmers said the inflationary impact has already been forecast into consideration and “are already baked into the system”.
We have not changed our position on the stage-three tax cuts and when it comes to inflation, I think it is important to recognise that’s because these [were] legislated sometime ago, the inflationary or otherwise of these tax cuts are already baked the system.
We will not then be revising our forecast to take them into consideration, they are already considered.
Updated
Treasurer says health reform contribution increases will be accounted for in mid-year budget update
Jim Chalmers is speaking on ABC Afternoon Briefing about the national cabinet endorsing the commonwealth increasing national health reform agreement contributions to 45% over a maximum of a 10-year glide path.
Chalmers said the cost would be around $15b over the decade, starting in 2025. He said:
This will be accounted for in the mid-year budget update. All the different constituent parts of this. In some instances, it requires more work to work out the profile in the trajectory of that funding.
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NSW man’s attempt to sue over ‘stalking’ Facebook post dismissed as bid to stay in contact with ex
A man described as a stalker in a Facebook post by his former partner has failed in a bid to sue for defamation, after a judge found his motivation for legal action was to continue contact with his ex.
The New South Wales court of appeal ruled on Tuesday that the man did not have leave to appeal against a district court decision that he could not sue his former partner, as the action was found to be an abuse of court process due to that motivation.
The man had unsuccessfully sought leave to appeal against the decision on five grounds, including that the ulterior purpose finding was erroneous. More on this story here:
Updated
Queensland police have evidence of connection between arrested Arizona man and Gareth and Stacey Train
Further to that last post – police say that between May 2021 and December 2022, the US national repeatedly sent messages containing Christian end-of-days ideology to Gareth Train and then later to Stacey Train.
Investigations by the QPS and FBI are ongoing in Arizona. This includes the execution of a search warrant on a remote property in northern Arizona. We know the offenders executed a religiously motivated terrorist attack in Queensland. They were motivated by a Christian extremist ideology and subscribe to the broad Christian fundamentalist belief system known as premillennialism. The motivation of the United States national is still under investigation by the FBI.
The attack involved advanced planning, and preparation against law enforcement. We know that Gareth Train began following the 58-year-old man on the online platform YouTube around May 2020. Gareth and the man began commenting directly on each other’s videos in May, 2021. We have evidence to show the Trains subsequently accessed an older YouTube account created by the same man in 2014 and viewed the content.
Between May 2021 and December 2022 the man repeatedly sent messages containing Christian end of days ideology to Gareth and then later to Stacey. Evidence has been seized and is being analysed by the FBI. QPS will make formal request to the FBI for any evidential material removed from the Arizona property for analysis.
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Two indictments issued for interstate threats for US man arrested in relation to Wieambilla shooting, Queensland police say
The Queensland police are speaking now about the FBI arresting a US man in connection with a Queensland terrorist attack that left six dead.
The ongoing investigations as outlined in February this year were to identify any residual threats posed to the Queensland and Australian community as a result of this religiously motivated terrorist attack.
Investigators from the ethical standards command and security and counter-terrorism command travelled to Arizona where they joined the FBI.
On November 29, at Arizona, two indictments were issued by a grand jury for interstate threats under the United States of America code section 875 C. One of the threats made relates to comments posted online in December 2022 inciting violence in connection to the incident at Wieambilla.
On Friday 1 December 2023, US time, FBI agents arrested a 58-year-old man in Arizona. Earlier today, 2pm US time, the 58-year-old … appeared in court and has now been remanded in custody.
Updated
Hello blog readers, I’ll now be with you until this evening.
I’ll be handing over the blog to Jordyn Beazley now, who will take you through some of the evening news.
We will be back with the last politics live blog for the year tomorrow morning, when the final sitting of the house and Senate is held for 2023.
Thank you to everyone who joined with us today. And please – take care of you.
Updated
For those who weren’t watching the press conference earlier, here is the moment where the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, responded to a question about whether or not the government should apologise to Australians who had allegedly been subjected to misdeeds by some of the detainees released under last month’s high court decision:
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Road safety conference to be held ‘as soon as practical’ amid rising road death toll
A national road safety conference will be held “as soon as practical” next year to tackle the uptick in road fatalities, after a gathering between the federal transport minister and her state and territory counterparts.
After ministers met in Hobart on Wednesday, they announced they would hold the conference to bring together road safety ministers and police ministers “to discuss emerging road safety trends and to investigate short term actions which could be taken to stem the rising road toll”.
The announcement comes after the Australian Medical Association this week joined with the Australian Automobile Association in calling on the federal government to force states and territory to share road accident data, as a decades-long decline in the road death tolls continues to reverse. More than 1,200 people have died on roads in the past year.
At the meeting on Wednesday, ministers also agreed to release shared principles for nation transport decarbonisation, approving a nationally consistent set of carbon values for use in transport infrastructure project decision making. This follows on earlier progress to measure indirect emissions, which you can read about here.
Accessible public transport reforms were also discussed, while ministers also extended the deadline for an overhaul of heavy vehicle national laws until December 2024. Ministers also agreed to launch a review into child restraint rules within the Australian road rules, which will probably take place in 2024-2025.
Updated
ACCC to allow banks to work together on ways to maintain delivery of physical cash
The competition regulator will allow Australian banks to collaborate on ways to maintain the delivery of physical cash throughout the country, amid a sharp decline in the use of notes and coins.
The regulatory authorisation comes after cash transit company Armaguard warned that its distribution operations were unsustainable due to lower cash demand in the community.
Australia’s major banks, the Reserve Bank and Armaguard are due to meet on 14 December to discuss an industry response to the looming threat to distribution.
Given the banks have separate commercial arrangements with Armaguard, they would not normally be allowed to collectively discuss arrangements without approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
ACCC acting chair Catriona Lowe said the banking sector must report back on the discussions as part of the authorisation.
The ACCC will closely assess any proposed response, and in particular the extent to which it secures ongoing access to cash in remote and regional areas where bank branches are limited and members of the public often access cash through non-bank sources including Australia Post and retailers,” Lowe said.
The volume of banknotes in circulation remains high in Australia, as they are widely used as a store of wealth. But regular cash usage has dropped to just 13% of transactions, according to Accenture, down from 27% before the pandemic.
Updated
Inflation leads to tax bracket leap
The budget looks like the big winner from the September quarter national accounts, as inflation leads to a tax bracket leap – not just a creep. Economists have noted the share of household income going to tax has jumped.
That escalated quickly... pic.twitter.com/rzrC2SFyoU
— Alex Joiner (@IFM_Economist) December 6, 2023
Charelle Murphy, EY’s chief economist for Oceania, tells us taxes – minus social benefits – as a share of gross disposable income came in at 14% in the quarter, the highest on record.
The “automatic stabilisers”, in other words, are doing part of the job to slow the economy, with the result likely to show up as an upward revision in the federal budget when the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, releases the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook next week.
Perhaps a second successive budget surplus is in the works (even if it might not forecast one just yet).
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What does a Senate ruckus look like? Mike Bowers has the shots
The Senate has been reaching house levels of disruption, but unlike in the house, no one can be thrown out for disrupting proceedings. (There is no 94A in the Senate)
I’ll let these photos from Mike Bowers explain what that can look like at times:
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Penny Wong warns Coalition against ‘prejudicing’ applications for community safety orders
Before QT ended, the government’s Senate leader, Penny Wong, warned the Coalition against “prejudicing” applications for possible community safety orders under the forthcoming preventive detention laws.
In Senate question time, the Coalition has asked several questions about particular individuals and whether the government would apply to a court for a community safety order. These questions did not include the names, but mentioned their criminal history and newer allegations.
That line of questioning culminated with the Liberal senator Linda Reynolds asking a broad question:
When will the first community safety detention order be sought by your government, and how many detainees has the government determined to seek orders over, including those subject of my first two questions?
Wong told the Senate in response:
I would make the point – and this demonstrates yet again that those opposite want to fight, not fix – that the opposition was specifically briefed on the risks associated with prejudicing a case by talking about specific individuals. But despite that, they have continued to ask questions in this place – you were specifically briefed. It really demonstrates that you are much more interested in making political points and fighting than fixing this.
Reynolds objected that Wong was not being relevant to the question. Wong then told the Senate:
What I am asserting is you have been briefed on the legal prejudice which might apply to matters when you deal with specific individuals in this way and, secondly, that if you really cared about people being safe, you would not prejudice applications for detention orders in this way.
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Question time in Senate wraps
Senate question time has finished. Penny Wong looks very relieved to be able to ask for further questions to be placed on the notice paper.
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Tomorrow is this year’s last sitting day of parliament
The last sitting day will be held tomorrow, which will be a normal day in terms of proceedings, although there will also be the Christmas messages where everyone pretends they like each other.
There is not a lot of heat in today – that is down to the nature of the day and the condolence motion. Tomorrow doesn’t promise to be the same.
Updated
Vote for preventative detention bill set to pass with Coalition in support
The condolence speeches for Peta Murphy continue in the house. There are still a lot of MPs who wish to speak about Murphy, which means that the motion will go into the evening.
The house will then break for a very short time and then return to vote on preventive detention bill.
That legislation vote is now a formality – the Coalition are voting for it.
Updated
Tim Pallas says Jacinta Allan has ‘brought her own style’ of management to Victorian cabinet
Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas has made an interesting observation on the culture in cabinet since Jacinta Allan took over as premier from Daniel Andrews. He said:
This is not a criticism of either the former premier or any former premier that I’ve worked with, other than to say, minister Allan has brought her own style and I feel totally relaxed and comfortable in the process that she’s put in place. What it tells us is she is going to be her own person. She’s going to expect the same level, or perhaps a higher level, of effort from the ministers.
Asked if that means she’s less controlling than Andrews, Pallas replied:
It’s probably true to say that there’s been a bit more of a relaxation on central control.
Updated
Liberals demand apology over attorney general’s response to question
The New South Wales Liberal senator Maria Kovacic, in a follow-up question, took aim at the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, over his response to a question at a press conference earlier today. Kovacic told the Senate:
The attorney general was aggressive and condescending in his bullying approach and response to the question from [Sky reporter] Ms [Olivia] Caisley. Do you believe this is an appropriate way for government ministers to conduct themselves? Does the attorney general owe Ms Caisley an apology?
The government leader in the Senate, Penny Wong, gave a general response:
As a matter of principle, we all have a responsibility to act appropriately to one another, and there are obviously times where all of us might fall short on this …
We have seen in this place at times people behave in ways which perhaps in hindsight they might think was unwise, and certainly there has been a fair degree of shouting and aggression at times in this chamber.
Updated
Wong says government is politically engaged with UK and US governments on Julian Assange
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has reiterated that the government does “not believe there is anything to be served by Julian Assange‘s ongoing incarceration”.
In Senate question time, Wong said she and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, had both expressed this view to the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom. She said the government would “engage diplomatically and continue to do what we can to achieve an outcome” but she added that there were limits to what could be achieved in talks between governments.
In a follow-up question, the Greens senator David Shoebridge suggested that there was an option available “if you’re actually genuine about trying to bring this” to a rapid conclusion. He asked:
Will the government call on the UK home secretary to refuse to give consent to extradition as that is a political decision, not a legal decision, a political decision? Will you make the political call, will you make the political call?
There was a bit of a back and forth in the Senate over what Wong called a “sledge” at the beginning of the question, then Wong added:
I think the question relates to whether or not will be political-level engagement and my answer is there is [such engagement] …
I don’t know what you call a representation from the leader of the country to the leader of the country or the foreign minister of the country to the foreign minister of the country if it is not both diplomatic and political-level engagement.
It’s worth noting that Wong’s response was in general terms about ongoing representations, but did not include a direct answer as to whether Australia’s ask of the UK included withholding approval for the proposed extradition of Assange to the US.
Updated
Bridget Archer pays tribute to Peta Murphy
The condolence motion for Peta Murphy is continuing in the House of Representatives.
We’ve just been hearing from Liberal MP Bridget Archer, who worked with Murphy in the parliamentary friends of women’s health:
As I sat and listened to her first speech, I knew our parliament had seen the arrival of a woman who was fierce, frank, a fighter. … When things could become a little tough as they do around here at times, she never failed to reach out to encourage me … Peta, I promise I will try to keep your work going.
Updated
Coalition demands government apology over detainees, Wong pushes back
Senate question time is under way – and the Coalition began by demanding a government apology over the actions of “some of the detainees that your government released into our community”.
Penny Wong, representing the prime minister in the Senate, replied that “this was not a choice to release - this was imposed upon the Australian government by the high court of Australia”.
Wong told the Senate that it was a serious issue and the government understood that Australians were concerned about community safety. She told the chamber the government was “similarly abhorred by reports of reoffending”.
Updated
Question time is on in the Senate
The Senate is carrying out its normal schedule, so there is question time happening in the red chamber. Our Daniel Hurst has volunteered as tribute to listen to that for you.
Updated
Anthony Albanese won’t go into what else was discussed when it came to the NDIS, as the review is being released tomorrow. But he says it is about capping growth at 8%.
And what was his take away from the final major national cabinet meeting of the year?
Health reform, disability reform, national firearms registry, this has been a very significant meeting.
The press conference ends.
Jacinta Allan on a culture of fear in the public service
At the conference the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is asked about the ombudsman’s report Benita has been reporting on:
Q: The ombudsman has described in Victoria a culture of fear in the public service, what’s your reaction to the report that came out today and prime minister, are you concerned that given the political pressure that’s been identified in the report by the ombudsman will produce outcomes like robodebt because bureaucrats are too scared to provide frank and fearless advice?
Allan:
Let’s be clear on the ombudsman report released today. We will take out time to reflect on the report and consider the recommendation but I want to make two points.
The first is that the ombudsman herself in her report pointed this being most intensive investigation in the 50 years of the office of the ombudsman. It also went on to find there was not one example, not one example of partisan political hiring in the Victorian public sector, so those are the inferences that are being drawn by others, the speculation, the – frankly – shade thrown on a very, very good and strong public sector that we have in Victoria is not just deeply unfair, it is not founded in any evidence that is presented in the report released today.
The press conference moves on without Anthony Albanese answering his part of the question.
Updated
Commonwealth funding to extend urgent care clinics
The commonwealth health funding will also be used to extend the urgent care clinics the government has begun opening, which are intended to take pressure off of hospital emergency rooms. “It means more clinics,” Anthony Albanese said.
On the NDIS changes, Albanese says:
The NDIS was designed to support people with permanent and significant disability. They need that care desperately. But there are a range of other people … not everyone with this ability or issue that requires support is in the NDIS now.
… It is so that the system remains sustainable and that is what foundational support is about.
[It’s] the sort of support that has occurred for a long period of time before the NDIS came around. The NDIS at the moment, with its projections of where it was headed, was simply not sustainable – that something that’s recognised by the sector.
That doesn’t mean… people who deserve and need to be on the NDIS, it doesn’t mean any cuts, we are talking about an 8% growth target as well. That’s substantial.
Updated
Foundation support already there, PM says, but focus here is on future
And on “foundational support”, Anthony Albanese says:
Foundational support is already there, what we are saying is [about] future additional foundation support and we want to work with the states and territories to make sure that we share that path going forward.
Updated
Albanese: All parties agree NDIS funding is unsustainable
To the press conference, the question of what will happen with the NDIS is being asked. Most of this will be revealed tomorrow, when Bill Shorten addresses the press club, but Anthony Albanese says:
What we are saying is that if you, at the moment, NDIS funding is agreed by everyone including the review to be unsustainable.
What we want to do though is to make sure that the principles on which the NDIS is established, that those people who need that support continue to get it.
But for others, it might be that they don’t need the full NDIS scheme into the future.
So we are still talking about growth here of an 8% growth rate but for foundational support, we recognise that for support to give be given in a school or child care setting, there may well be additional cost for the state and that will be shared, 50-50 between the commonwealth and the state.
We have agreed on that for the states, because we think that when you look at the review that you will get to see pretty soon … you will see that in a range of areas, that it is very possible and it is necessary for cost to be reduced. Not in terms of the support that people need but in terms of bureaucracy and some of the businesses that are being established in some of the structures which are there.
Updated
National firearms register to be established 30 years after Port Arthur massacre
The press conference for national cabinet is now being held. We will bring you the highlights.
One of those highlights is after almost 30 years, there will be a national firearms register.
Ahead of the anniversary of the police shooting in Wieambilla, national cabinet agreed to implement a national firearms register – delivering on an outstanding reform from the Port Arthur massacre response in 1996. This represents the most significant improvement in Australia’s firearms management systems in almost 30 years and will keep Australia’s first responders and community safer.
While Australia has some of the strongest firearms laws in the world, the register will address significant gaps and inconsistencies with the way firearms are managed across all jurisdictions.
The register will be a federated model – state data connects with a central hub data allowing near real-time information sharing across the country.
The commonwealth will assist states and territories with funding the reforms, which will provide enduring benefits for decades to come.
National cabinet agreed to work together to ensure that the register is fully operational within four years.
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Amy’s analysis: what the national cabinet announcements mean
So the states are going to get a bit more money, but in return they have to take responsibility for more services and not rely as much on commonwealth funding.
The issue being of course, that a lot of these agreements have expiry dates on them, which means it will be back to the negotiating table in three or five years. But that’s a future government’s problem (even if many of the same people are still there)
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Federal funding for national health reform agreement to increase
And on health funding:
First ministers have agreed to a further $1.2bn package of strengthening medicare measures to take pressure off our hospitals. These measures will grow and support our health workforce, while reducing unnecessary presentations to emergency departments.
National cabinet endorsed the commonwealth increasing national health reform agreement contributions to 45% over a maximum of a 10-year glide path from 1 July 2025, with an achievement of 42.5% before 2030.
National cabinet endorsed the current 6.5% funding cap being replaced by a more generous approach that applies a cumulative cap over the period 2025-2030 and includes a first year “catch up” growth premium. As part of these reforms, the cabinet agreed to a continued focus on addressing elective surgery waiting lists as a priority.
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What are the NDIS’s foundation supports?
The foundational supports are the supports and services which will be put in place instead of people being on the NDIS – so if an autism diagnosis is no longer covered, there should be services in place of that. From the statement:
The delivery of Foundational Supports would look to be delivered through existing government service settings where appropriate (eg child care and schools), phased in over time. Funding would be agreed through new federal funding agreements, with additional costs split 50-50, and final details to be settled through the Council on Federal Financial Relations.
The commonwealth agreed to cap an additional expenditure for states and territories on new foundational disability services, to ensure the combined health and disability reforms will see all states and territories better off.
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NDIS funding to be adjusted alongside other changes
That GST agreement has paved the way for this decision on NDIS funding:
As an initial response to the NDIS review, national cabinet agreed to work together to:
Implement legislative and other changes to the NDIS to improve the experience of participants and restore the original intent of the scheme to support people with permanent and significant disability, within a broader ecosystem of supports.
Adjust state and territory NDIS contribution escalation rates, increasing from 4% to be in line with actual scheme growth, capped at 8%, with the commonwealth paying the remainder of scheme costs growth, commencing from 1 July 2028.
The national cabinet agreed to jointly design additional foundational supports to be jointly commissioned by the commonwealth and the states, with the work oversighted by the First Secretaries Group.
Additionally, the Council of Federal Financial Relations (CFFR) will have oversight on the costs of the reforms and report to national cabinet. An initial tranche of legislation will be introduced into parliament in the first half of 2024, with rule changes phased in as developed.
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National cabinet agrees to extend GST agreement for further three years
The national cabinet statement has arrived, and the big question has been answered – the federal government has given an extension on the GST agreement:
National cabinet agreed to extend the GST no worse off guarantee in its current form for three years from 2027-28. This will ensure GST proceeds are shared fairly and equitably, providing funding certainty for states.
National cabinet’s priority is safeguarding service delivery and achieving fiscal sustainability, and extending the GST no worse off guarantee will help support this.
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Victorian treasurer says public sector report shows ‘not one example of inappropriate appointment’
With the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, in Canberra for national cabinet, the treasurer, Tim Pallas, is fronting the media to respond to the ombudsman’s report into the politicisation of the public sector.
He says:
The ombudsman has examined 5.4m records and 545 public sector appointments.
During the course of her inquiries, she received 186 submissions, she conducted 45 interviews, she consulted 60 senior public sector officeholders.
As a consequence of that, she described her own inquiry as one of the most intensive investigations in the ombudsman’s 50-year history and … not one example of inappropriate appointment.
Pallas says there have been 185 ministerial advisers – from both sides of politics and from other states – appointed to the public sector out of a total 700,000 staff in the last 20 years.
I know two chiefs of staff for former Liberal premiers, who now hold senior positions in the public service and do an excellent job.
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No Question Time today
There will be no question time today, as the house continues to work through the condolence motion for Peta Murphy.
Once that is finished – early evening is the current indication of when that will end at this stage – the house will adjourn for a very short break and then go to the government bills.
Updated
Of course the moment I type that, the alert for the press conference goes out.
You’ll get the latest national cabinet decisions at about 1.30pm.
Updated
National cabinet is running longer than anticipated – so the press conference isn’t expected until closer to 2pm now.
‘A powerless advisory body is as much as the government is prepared to give us’, Thorpe says after Indigenous people’s rights bill rejected
The Senate has voted down the independent senator Lidia Thorpe’s private member’s bill which would have enshrined the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Australian law. That outlined “the minimum standard of First Peoples rights and centres around the right to Self-determination, Free, Prior and Informed Consent and the right to maintain and practice culture”.
Thorpe’s bill was introduced in March 2022, just before the election.
It would have meant governments would have to take measures to ensure commonwealth law and the declaration were consistent and that each financial year, the prime minister would have presented a report to each house on the progress of those measures.
The government and the opposition today voted the bill down.
Thorpe criticised the government’s reaction:
The Albanese government claimed they cared about First Peoples rights and justice when they went ahead with the voice referendum. Yet after the failed referendum, they can’t even bring themselves to support the minimum standards of our rights being adhered to in this country.
Implementing Undrip in this country is the obvious next step to pursuing First Peoples justice in this country. Yet a powerless advisory body is as much as the government is prepared to give us.
Thorpe said Australia had signed up to Undrip in 2009 but still has not complied with its obligations.
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Pesutto says he is focused on other matters besides Deeming defamation action
The Victorian opposition leader, John Pesutto, says he’s not focused on looming defamation action by the former Liberal MP Moira Deeming.
Deeming’s lawyers filed a statement of claim against her former boss in the federal court on Tuesday.
The first-term MP was expelled from the parliamentary Liberal party after taking part in a rally in March that was gatecrashed by a group of men who performed Nazi salutes.
Pesutto on Wednesday said he was yet to be served with the material from Deeming’s lawyer and that he was focused on other matters, such as the ombudsman’s report.
He said:
I can give you this guarantee, that my total focus last night and this morning has been reviewing and anticipating this report and preparing for today’s discussion about the consequences and conclusions of the report.
Pesutto said he had “exhausted every effort [he] possibly could to resolve the matter”. He would not say whether this included bringing Deeming back into the party room:
I won’t go into details of that. All I can say is that [we had] what I thought were very constructive discussions, I put forward some proposals but they weren’t accepted and the matter is where it is now.
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Foodbank Victoria to hold free Christmas twilight market for clients
Jim Chalmers mentioned in his press conference that he understands that people are still doing it tough.
That is one of the big statements of the obvious.
Foodbank Victoria has seen another big increase in people who are relying on food banks for help feeding either themselves or their families. Usually at a foodbank, you still have to pay for the items you choose – it is just at a discounted price. But in response to the demand and also to the season, Foodbank Victoria is holding a Christmas twilight market for clients, where people can shop for free.
Matt Tilley from Foodbank Victoria said:
With 628,000 Victorian households being without food at some point this year, sometimes a couple of days, sometimes until the next pay, we are heading to the suburbs to meet working families where they live. Sadly, these are the families that can’t access traditional charity outlets because they are working when these places are open.
We think a twilight event with a farmer’s market feel brings not only food relief but a sense of occasion, and even a little bit of joy.
Santa will be there at the market for the kids, but also to bring about a sense of normality for people attending the market.
Tilley:
This year we have seen the most incredible rise in people using our services for the very first time. These are people with jobs. They don’t have time nor the wherewithal to attend traditional charity outlets during working hours so we are going to them. North, south, east, west – the fringe suburbs of Melbourne where people are hurting the most.
The market’s location is being held confidential, and there will be another two markets after the one tonight.
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Economy seeing ‘welcome boost’ from tourists and international students: Chalmers
In Jim Chalmers’ release, he did mention the role immigration and international students have played in keeping the economy growing:
We continue to see a welcome boost from the arrival of tourists and international students, with services exports growing 36.1% through the year.
This helped offset some of the detraction from net exports, which was due to strong import growth as more Australians holidayed overseas and easing supply chains supported the delivery of vehicles.
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Premier has not answered ‘very basic questions’ on Suburban Rail Loop: Pesutto
John Pesutto says the revelations in the report about the Suburban Rail Loop are damning and has urged the government to “press pause” on signing any contracts on the project:
As the ombudsman points out, this project was born in secrecy and it continues in secrecy.
Very basic questions we’ve asked the premier to answer in the parliament have gone unanswered. And I think for a project which I think on most measures will exceed $200 billion in the very least – the Victorian people deserve the full details around that.
Pesutto reaffirmed his commitment to reassessing the merits of the suburban rail loop if elected. He said:
We certainly would not proceed with it. We’ve always said there are other projects in our view that have greater priority.
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The Greens are writing to every education minister asking them to fully fund public education to narrow the gap between disadvantaged students and their more advantaged peers.
Senator Penny Allman-Payne said the research shows that the “single biggest determinant of an Australian child’s school performance is their socioeconomic status. This is unacceptable in a wealthy country that professes to value fairness.”
The PISA data shows that in the lowest socioeconomic quartile, only 40% of students are reaching the national proficiency standard in science and reading, while less than a third hit that mark in mathematics. Among the most affluent students, around three-quarters of them are at or above the standard.
Labor is in power federally and across the mainland. There has never been a better time to end a decade of delay and false dawns and finally deliver on the Gonski vision of a truly sector-blind and needs-based funding model.
With education ministers meeting on Monday, we urge them to seriously consider the PISA report and agree to fully fund public schools at the start of the next National School Reform Agreement, in January 2025.
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Report into Victorian public service ‘serious and most damning indictment’, Pesutto says
The Victorian opposition leader, John Pesutto, is holding a press conference at parliament to respond to the ombudsman report into the politicisation of the public service. He says:
Today’s ombudsman’s report is arguably the most serious and most damning indictment in the last 10 years on the Victorian Government.
Under Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan, there has been a rampant corruption of the institution of the public service in our state. What this report by the ombudsman also reveals, is a culture of fear and secrecy in our public service.
Worth noting that there were no findings of corruption in the report. Here’s more on it:
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The unexpected drag on the September quarter GDP figures was certainly the home front, with household consumption unchanged in the September quarter (vs forecasts of growth of 0.3% by CBA, among others).
The RBA has said one of the uncertainties in its forecasts was how households would cope with rising costs, particularly from debt repayments. Recall that the RBA clocked borrowers with a 13th rate rise in November – a dent in finances not picked up in the September quarter data of course.
And the consumption that was going on came in part from households dipping into savings or at least saving less. Their savings to income ratio dipped for an eighth quarter in a row to 1.1%, or the lowest rate since the final three months of 2007.
Mind you, the government could claim to have helped households out. The electricity rebate and increased childcare subsidy meant the government and not households picked up some of those tabs.
The weak quarterly GDP figures mean the RBA is probably done with lifting interest rates unless inflation pops in the current quarter. We won’t get those figures until 31 January. With September quarter household spending flat, it seems a bit optimistic to expect a big Christmas of spending.
The Australian dollar was pretty flat at about 65.7 US cents while stocks have ticked up a tad to be about 1% higher for the day.
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Chalmers says wages growth ‘quite pleasing to see’
So what does Jim Chalmers see as the good news?
Chalmers:
Inflation is moderating. Our wages are rising. We’ve had two consecutive quarters of real wage growth. The gender pay gap is the smallest it’s ever been. Unemployment has a three in front of it.
We’ve had faster jobs growth since we were elected than any major advanced economy. We’ve got the first surplus in 15 years and much smaller deficits going forward. That means much less debt and tens of billions of dollars saved in interest costs as well.
Our economy grew faster than most of the major advanced economies 3-year to the September quarter. Faster than Germany, UK, France, Canada and Italy.
It was also really quite pleasing to see wages growth pick up with the compensation of employees measure growing 8.4% through the year.
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The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has responded to the GDP figures – the economy expanded, but by just 0.2%.
This softening in household consumption isn’t surprising, and the outcome this quarter actually partly reflects the positive impact on the government’s cost-of-living measures [things like the] energy bill relief fund, our support for early childhood education and other measures have the effect of reducing household spending in the National Accounts measure and are regarded as government consumption (one of the measures which are counted in the accounts)
We need to put this 0.2% quarterly figure into perspective.
We know that people are doing it very tough because of [rising] interest rates and international uncertainty but we are more broadly making welcomed and encouraging progress even as our economy slows in expected ways.
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Cricket coverage going to Amazon Prime ‘completely un-Australian’: Katter
Bob Katter has promised to fight for the right for people to watch cricket on free to air TV.
He is very upset that the cricket World Cup is going to Amazon Prime and wants the government to fast-track its anti-siphoning changes to ensure that free to air gets a fair go to.
We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. Families are struggling to pay their mortgages, put food on the table and fill their cars and now we are stripping them of the joy of watching free live sport.
It’s just not cricket. It’s completely un-Australian.
He is going to work with the lobby group Free TV Australia “to ensure that we enshrine in commonwealth legislation the rights of all Australians to watch iconic sporting events on free TV services”.
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‘Creeping politicisation is a reality in Victoria’: ombudsman
Victoria’s ombudsman, Deborah Glass, has held a press conference after the tabling of her report into the politicisation of the public service.
She said while she did not find evidence of “widespread stacking with the public service”, the sector had been “politicised in other equally pervasive ways”.
We found the premier had roughly as many staffers as the prime minister and New South Wales premiers combined. Creeping politicisation is a reality in Victoria and requires urgent attention. Politicisation can take many forms. It is not just the hiring people with political affiliations. There’s also the closing down or marginalization of independent voices.
Glass said a key example was the government’s Suburban Rail Loop:
It was subject to excessive secrecy and ‘proved up’ by consultants rather than developed by public servants. Its announcement ‘blindsided’ the agency set up by the same government to remove short-term politics from infrastructure planning.
Here’s more on the report:
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Australian consumers and businesses risk having access to cash curtailed, banking association warns
Australian banks have warned that consumers and businesses risk having access to cash curtailed unless there is an urgent change to the way coins and notes are distributed around the country.
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) has sought permission from the competition regulator for the sector to work together, following advice from Armaguard that its cash distribution operations are unsustainable due to a sharp decline in usage.
The ABA submission was published on Wednesday by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. It said:
It is apparent that the scale of the challenges facing the cash distribution system, and access to cash more generally, and the potential abrupt and disorderly cession of [cash-in-transit] services, requires the development of urgent solutions.
The volume of banknotes in circulation remains high in Australia, as they are widely used as a store-of-wealth. But regular cash usage has dropped to just 13% of transactions, according to Accenture, down from 27% before the pandemic.
This has severely dented the profitability of the cash transit sector, dominated by Armaguard.
The ABA, which counts the major banks as members, has sought the regulatory permission ahead of a scheduled meeting between the banks, Reserve Bank and Armaguard on 14 December.
Given the banks have separate commercial arrangements with Armaguard, they would not typically be able to meet and discuss arrangements together due to competition concerns.
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Labor will not support Coalition amendments to citizenship stripping bill
The Coalition have offered some amendments to the citizenship stripping bill expanding the number of offences it applies to.
As we just heard from the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, these can be examined during the PJCIS inquiry, but Labor won’t be supporting them at this stage because they add to the legal risk.
The Coalition is disputing any claim that they are frustrating or delaying the bill, with a spokesperson saying “of course it will pass today”.
So it sounds as if they won’t die in a ditch over it, and we’ll see both citizenship stripping and preventive detention pass today.
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At this point it looks like the post national cabinet press conference will be held between 12.30pm and 1pm.
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Jim Chalmers will hold a press conference at midday to discuss the GDP figures which Peter Hannam has reported on below.
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Don’t count the days in this place, make the days count: Chester
Regular readers of Amy’s new weekend column will already know that the Victorian National Darren Chester gave a very fine speech about Peta Murphy in what turned out to be her final days in Canberra.
The two were good friends. Chester says, correctly, that Murphy’s response to today’s emotional tributes would be to say “stop sooking.”
Chester says there was nothing below average about Murphy; she was blessed with fierce intelligence, passion, whip smartness, sarcasm and sass.
Chester says Murphy possessed a self awareness that “most politicians lack”. He says in an era of hyper-partisan politics, it is important to remember that cross-party friendships create the opportunity to learn from one another’s views.
He says he hopes to carry various Murphy-isms with him in his remaining time in politics.
Chester says the lesson of Murphy is “don’t count the days in this place, make the days count”.
Chester cries at the end of his contribution.
Rest in peace,” he says.
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Australian economy grows more slowly than expected
Australia’s economy expanded 0.2% in the September quarter alone, a lot slower than the 0.5% pace expected by economists.
Compared with the September quarter a year ago, the economy expanded 2.1%, the ABS said. Economists had tipped the economy grew 1.9%, but the focus will be on the quarterly growth miss.
On the margin, the weaker than tipped quarterly numbers will ease the threat of another interest rate rise next year by the Reserve Bank.
You can follow along at home here:
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Clare O’Neil continues:
For 20 years, in fact for longer, ministers have had the power to detain people at will in a way the high court has just declared unconstitutional.
That decision would have been made whoever was in government at the time.
In the time the decision has been made, within one week and one day of the high court decision, we have created bespoke visas for each of the people released; we had created a $255m joint operation between police and ABF, which is case managing these people and liaising with state governments.
We had passed a new law which enabled us to protect the community in ways the commonwealth has not done before.
Less than a week since the high court’s reasons for its decision we had constructed a preventive detention regime that will be going through the parliament. I hope the Coalition will support it.
I sat through 10 years of a Coalition government that dragged its feet when any type of problem came up.
I watched them do nothing while people died in aged care during Covid.
I watched them give billions of dollars to companies … that were making more money during Covid and doing nothing about it.
We saw [former prime minister] Scott Morrison just going to Hawaii in the middle of bushfires.
You can decide whether we’ve got the politics right.
My game is doing everything I can every day to protect Australians and that is what we’ve been doing since the high court decision.
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O’Neil disputes media interpretation of community concern about safety
A News Corp reporter then offers the three ministers the “opportunity” to acknowledge there are concerns in the community about safety.
Q: I just want to give all three of you the opportunity to acknowledge that there is a concern in the community about safety. It’s not necessarily about apologising for upholding the law but there are concerns about the pace of the government’s response, the way the government has communicated to the public. This is only the second time you’ve fronted journalists in Canberra on these issues since the high court decision. Would you like an opportunity to talk to Australians about why the last four weeks have played out the way they have?
Clare O’Neil takes this one:
I dispute your interpretation. There is a concern about safety. It’s well-founded because of what we saw in previous days. That is why every moment of every single day since its high court decision and indeed before it, the government has been trying to find solutions to keep the community safe.
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Fiery Dreyfus defends upholding high court decision
Mark Dreyfus:
I want to suggest [to] you that that question is absurd.
You are asking a cabinet minister of the crown to apologise for upholding the law of Australia, for acting in accordance with the law of Australia, for following the instructions of the high court of Australia.
I will not be apologising for upholding the law. I will not be apologising for pursuing the rule of law and will not be apologising for acting, do not interrupt, I will not be apologising for acting in accordance with a high court decision.
Your question is an absurd one!
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Press conference about detention decisions gets fiery
The press conference then gets very fiery when a reporter from Sky News asks whether or not the government owes an apology to Australians who have allegedly been subjected to further misdeeds by some of the detainees who were released under the high court decision.
Clare O’Neil takes it first:
The reason these people have been released from immigration detention is because the high court has made a decision that means it’s illegal for us to continue to detain them.
I have been happy to say on many occasions if I had any legal power to re-detain all of these people I would do it immediately.
What you have seen the government do is put in place, I have to say extensive legislation and layers of protection … the job for the three of us is to protect the Australian community and that’s exactly what we are focused on.
And then Mark Dreyfus gets involved.
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Dreyfus: ‘no lawful way in which a minister can be empowered to detain someone’
Mark Dreyfus is asked whether or not Labor is now creating two different sets of legal standards, given that Australians who commit crimes – even the worst ones you can imagine – are released into the community after they have served their sentence.
Under this legislation, people without Australian citizenship are being treated differently – if they can not be deported, they can be locked up again, once they have served their sentence, because they don’t hold Australian citizenship.
Dreyfus says there are a couple of things there:
The first is that the High Court has made clear that it is a question for a court.
So the judges who are going to be determining applications brought by the minister for someone to be placed in preventative detention will be looking, I imagine, at those state regimes.
Because decisions made by those state regimes will necessarily inform the way that the judges are considering orders to be made under this Commonwealth scheme.
And we’ve got quite a lot of law over the last 30 years or so since the preventative detention schemes have been in existence that is going to inform the decisions that the courts make.
The high court has made it clear - not only is it a matter for a court to decide, and there’s no lawful way in which a minister can be empowered to detain someone – not only have they made that clear, they’ve said that it is for the purpose of community safety and they’re looking at serious offending.
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Government won’t say how many people covered by preventive detention legislation
The government won’t give the numbers of people who may be covered by the preventive detention legislation (it is a two-step process, and the courts have to decide following the recommendation from the minister)
But the government won’t give the numbers of how many people immigration minister Andrew Giles might submit as meeting that first step (his recommendation).
There are a couple of reasons for that. The opposition claims it is because there would not be that many people and that the government doesn’t want to say that not everyone would be covered by this).
If there aren’t that many, it would be because not many of the former detainees would have committed crimes that would meet the threshold.
But the other reason, and the main one, is that if the government announced it was going after X amount of people, that could be used by defence lawyers as showing the government didn’t use discretion, but had a predisposed number of people it planned to lock back up. Which would not be in the spirit of the high court ruling.
The law is nuanced and grey and courts don’t care about politics.
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Dutton is ‘asking us to break the law’ on detention, Dreyfus says
Mark Dreyfus addressesthe opposition’s claims that the government released more people than it needed to from indefinite detention, before the high court gave its reasons.
Dreyfus says the opposition claim is “simply not true” and the government had no choice but to act.
The decision of the high court sets a new limit on the power to detain anyone, anyone, in the same position as the plaintiff in that case.
And it had to be implemented immediately.
As you’d expect, the Department of Home Affairs is now undertaking an expert assessment to determine which people in detention are covered by the high court’s decision.
Once that assessment is complete and the criteria is not anything to do with the nature of the person, it’s to do with the nature of whether there is a real possibility of them being removed to another country.
Once that assessment is complete, any delay on the part of the government in releasing such a person would expose the Commonwealth officials concerned to personal liability for false imprisonment.
The Albanese government cannot, and would not, ask a Commonwealth official to break the law.
And that, apparently, is what Peter Dutton is asking us to do, to break the law. And that’s what we will not do.
We will not expose Commonwealth officials to being sued or to disciplinary action, or the Commonwealth, to potentially large awards of damages against the Commonwealth for breaking the law.
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Teals not happy citizenship bill being rushed through the day parliament remembers Peta Murphy
Part of the reason the teals are annoyed at how this has been handled is because they not only feel blindsided by the legislation’s rush through the parliament, but also that it is happening today – which they understood to be a day of condolence for Peta Murphy.
Kooyong independent Monique Ryan and Mackellar independent Sophie Scamps are both ill and unable to travel to Canberra for today’s sitting. Kate Chaney could not make the trip in time from Western Australia (the extra sitting day was only announced yesterday) and Allegra Spender and Kylea Tink both rushed to Canberra from Sydney, in order to make the debate later this evening.
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Independent MP Zoe Daniel also angry about citizenship legislation
Kylea Tink has already expressed her anger at how the government has handled the citizenship cessation legislation through social media. Her crossbench colleague Zoe Daniel is also angry:
The government needs to stop giving into the opposition’s default position of the politics of fear and make careful law on matters which have profound and important consequences for community safety, but also human rights and the nature of Australian citizenship.
To force the house to vote on legislation with no warning, no debate, in the dead of night is the tail wagging the dog and is absolutely not the politics done differently that this government promised.”
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Clare O’Neil continues:
Let’s just remember here that this will be our third go as a parliament at making citizenship laws.
Peter Dutton has already stuffed this up twice.
Do not make these laws unconstitutional again.
We have an opportunity here, a rare opportunity, to put in place a piece of our national security architecture.
We are confident these laws are constitutional.
Don’t stuff it up again by playing games as the Coalition has been doing for this past week.
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Home affairs minister: Coalition playing ‘political games’ with national security
Home affairs minister Clare O’Neil is a little blunter in her criticism of the opposition:
We have offered the Coalition every possible opportunity to work with us on this bill. They have been briefed multiple times. We have talked to them about the possibility of working with them on amendments.
They initially said that they would support the bill.
They have then backtracked on that.
They have been playing political games with national security law now for this last week.
It is time for that to end.
We would like the bill through the parliament today. We will put this to the Senate at some stage over the next couple of hours. We want it to the passed.
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More from Dreyfus on constitutional cessation legislation
Mark Dreyfus says there won’t be a ‘set and forget’ approach to the bill and the Coalition’s amendments will go through a committee review process:
The amendments that the opposition proposed can and should be considered as part of the inquiry by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, which will commence immediately following the passage of this bill.
So there will be the passage of the legislation, and then the legislation will be examined by the security and intelligence committee.
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Dreyfus: We don’t want High Court to strike down citizenship changes a third time
Attorney-general Mark Dreyfus is speaking on the constitutional cessation legislation (which is the legislation that will allow judges to strip dual citizens convicted of serious crimes of their Australian citizenship. There was previous legislation from the Peter Dutton era which gave the power to strip citizenship to the minister, which the high court has rejected.)
Dreyfus says:
Both of the citizenship loss provisions introduced by Mr Dutton and the Coalition when in government, were struck down by the High Court.
We do not want to see that happen a third time.
The government believes it has got the balance right - ensuring that we have the toughest possible laws within the constitutional limits set by the high court.
But the government will not be accepting the coalition amendments:
We also believe that the amendments proposed by the opposition would increase the risk of the regime being found invalid by the high court.
The government is committed to enacting laws that keep Australians safe.
And to repeat - Australians are not made safer by laws that are struck down by the high court as unconstitutional.
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Australia’s economic health will be clearer after release of national accounts figures at 11.30am
We’ll get a big snapshot of the state of the Australian economy shortly, with the ABS release of the national accounts for the September quarter.
It’s a little in the rear mirror at this point because the finishing line for the December quarter is coming into view. The Reserve Bank also assessed a lot of the September quarter figures (and more than a few for October) when it decided yesterday to leave its key interest rate on hold.
Still, we’ll get a good sense of the momentum of the economy, including how much population growth has been propelling it. On a per-capita basis, expect to see a third quarter in a row of contraction, which helps explain why consumers keep telling surveys they feel like they’re in a recession.
On an aggregate level, gross domestic product likely expanded 0.5% in the July-September period compared with 0.4% in the June quarter, economists predict. The September quarter’s annual pace will probably be about 1.9%, easing from 2.1% they say.
No doubt the GDP figures will come at today’s national cabinet meeting ... with a few premiers (such as Western Australia’s) ribbing the lagging states.
Stay tuned for the numbers on this blog soon after 11.30am AEDT.
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National cabinet meeting begins
The Attorney-general, home affairs minister and immigration minister (Mark Dreyfus, Clare O’Neil and Andrew Giles) are about to hold a press conference (the preventive detention legislation will be the topic there). That’s at 11am.
The September quarter GDP figures will also be out at 11.30 (where we will probably see that immigration has held up our growth)
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An emotional day for many as parliament remembers Peta Murphy
It’s fair to say the speeches from Brendan O’Connor, Peta Murphy’s former employer, and Kate Thwaites, Murphy’s former flatmate, have brought the chamber undone.
Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Thwaites is getting a lot of support to endure a very difficult day in the chamber.
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Peta Murphy remembered by colleagues as ‘queen of hot takes on question time’
Kate Thwaites, a close friend of Peta Murphy and her Canberra room mate, speaks about her friend and colleague. (MPs often get units together so they can leave items in Canberra as they split their life between the capital and their homes in their electorates.)
Thwaites described Murphy as the queen of hot takes on question time and parliamentary shenanigans, who poured the ‘stiffest’ of gin and tonics, who loved to laugh and debate, and who loved children.
She was such a special person to my two-year-old son.
Peta called Gilbert her kindred spirit.
And if he knew those words, I’m sure that’s how he would have described her too.
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Mike Bowers was in the chamber for the early condolence motion speeches for Peta Murphy:
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The speeches will continue throughout the day. We will revisit some of them as the day rolls on.
Trust that Peta Murphy was beloved for all the right reasons. She was everything you would want a politician – and human – to be.
‘She’d be proud’, Nationals’ Littleproud says of Labor colleague’s speech about Peta Murphy
The leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud acknowledges Brendan O’Connor’s heartfelt speech before beginning his own:
Can I acknowledge the skills minister for a touching … beautiful tribute to your friend.
You did her justice. You should be proud and she’d be proud of that.
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Not comfortable with praise, Peta Murphy was ‘ridiculously humble’
Brendan O’Connor, the member for Gorton and the minister for skills and training, is delivering his speech. Peta Murphy was O’Connor’s chief of staff from 2016 until her election in 2019. She was also a dear friend.
O’Connor says Peta would have ‘advised’ him to talk about what they need to do better to “increase testing and ensure earlier diagnoses of all cancers”.
And I know what else she would have advised me to say.
Not to carry on about it.
Not to talk her up too much. I can almost hear her interjecting on anyone today extolling her virtues to ‘calm down!’
In her first speech, she paid tribute to her parents, describing them as the most humble, principled and selfless people she had ever met …They handed down those very traits, as they describe the Peta Murphy I knew to a tee. For someone who achieved so much in work and in sport, she was ridiculously humble.
She was not comfortable with praise or being the centre of attention, which is a funny thing for a politician.
Unless it was for a cause bigger than her. She was principled. She was in a hurry to change things but [her] work was always accompanied by compassion and integrity.
Peta Murphy was a remarkable person.
— Brendan O'Connor (@BOConnorMP) December 5, 2023
She worked hard for her constituents in Dunkley, for those less fortunate, and for others like her, who battle breast cancer.
Peta was in parliament only last week, working to make a difference.
She made every day count. pic.twitter.com/crcWxSdEhE
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Peta Murphy can inspire idealism, ignite national imagination, says Dutton
Peter Dutton spoke of Peta Murphy’s impact on raising awareness of breast cancer, her love of her community, and her passion for democracy. He returns to her first speech in the parliament, where she reminded the house: “life can be fragile and we’d better make the most of it”.
Leaving us at age of 50. We all know that Peta had so, so much more to say, so much more to contribute, so much more to do.
Some of us might wonder what Peta Murphy would have done next.
Dutton says that within the heartache of her loss, “perhaps we may find some solace in gratitude”.
Gratitude simply to have known Peta, gratitude to have had someone of her calibre and quality serve our country and grace this chamber with her presence, and gratitude for life, which others will look back on to inspire their own idealism and ignite their own sense of national imagination.
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Albanese pays his condolences to Peta Murphy’s family
He turned to her family – her partner Rod Glover and parents Bob and Jan, her sisters Jodi and Penni, her loved ones and staff, before gathering himself for the final line:
May Peta rest in eternal peace.
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Peta Murphy an ‘outstanding, courageous, inspirational Australian’, Albanese says
Before Anthony Albanese turns to Peta Murphy’s family, he speaks about the impact on the chamber:
I know that for many of us, this somehow does not feel real. And it probably won’t for a while.
We’ll still expect to see Peta coming through the door of the Caucus room or my office or into the chamber with those ever bright eyes and that glorious, infectious smile that she had.
There will be moments when we’ll let ourselves believe she isn’t gone at all.
And indeed, because of her legacy, because of what she did and what she meant, she will never be truly gone.
We will keep the glow of Peta Murphy in our hearts.
Those of us who met her and experienced her friendship are privileged to have done so.
So let us keep her fine example of this outstanding, courageous, inspirational Australian in our minds.
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We will keep the glow of Peta Murphy in our hearts: Albanese
Anthony Albanese is the first speaker in the condolence motion for the late Victorian backbencher Peta Murphy.
Peta Murphy was special, the prime minister says. The late MP was a “brilliant, funny, courageous and caring person”.
Referencing her legal career prior to entering politics, and then her parliamentary service, Albanese says Murphy was “so much more than what she endured”. The prime minister says she was fearless in the face of new challenges, and she respected colleagues who disagreed with her.
Not every day in this place is an easy or uplifting one.
But he says Murphy had a very clear sense that every day in public life was a gift and an opportunity to make life better for someone else.
We will keep the glow of Peta Murphy in our hearts.
Albanese is clearly struggling to hold his composure. Treasurer Jim Chalmers, sitting behind the prime minister, likewise. The attorney-general, Mark Dreyfus, who recently lost his wife after a long cancer battle, has his hands clasped in his lap. Peter Dutton is listening closely in respectful silence.
Updated
Peta Murphy was proud to serve in parliament, Albanese says
Anthony Albanese has had to take a few moments to gather himself as he delivers his speech. He reminds the chamber of how she viewed their job:
Any time you had the chance to chat with Peta, you were reminded instantly and powerfully what an extraordinary privilege it is to serve in this place.
That sense of pride and purpose lived in everything she said and did. She couldn’t stand missing a day of parliament.
Even when it would have been totally reasonable at times for her to not be here.
She was here more often than she probably should have been to look after her own health.
But she regarded it as such a privilege, she would apologise for any day that she missed.
She believed that every minute in public life was a gift, an opportunity to advance social justice.
To represent and serve the people of her electorate and our nation.
And in doing so, make this greatest nation of the world even better for her contribution.
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Albanese: Like Pippi Longstocking, Peta Murphy was strong and adventurous
She consciously chose to be open, transparent, and in full view of everyone. Mr Speaker, in that extraordinary first speech of hers, shining through the shadow of the news she had just received, Peta quoted Pippi Longstocking, the strongest girl in the world, and the attitude that she brought to public life.
Indeed, throughout her whole working life, she was very true to another piece of Pippi Longstocking wisdom: “I have never tried that before, so I think I should definitely be able to do that.”
That summed up Peta.
Fearless in the fails of new challenges. Bold in the service of important causes. Knowing that the very nature of progress means trying things that have not been done before. A lesson for all of us. Unless we try, you’ll never get progress and change.
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Anthony Albanese said to walk anywhere with Peta Murphy was to “bask in her glow”:
Peta Murphy, wherever you went, was known and loved by her local community.
People responded to her determination, her pride in the community, her passion to deliver.
And they could sense, above all, her absolute authenticity.
Her husband, Rod, talks about the way that people would humbly and shyly come up to Peta in shopping centres and at footy grounds and simply say, “Thank you”.
They could sense she cared. And so could all of us.
The courage that she showed in coming into this chamber and, indeed, making her debut with the impact that the chemotherapy had on her physical appearance, where we talked about her coming to the Australian Open with me. Which meant that she sat next to me and it meant that she’d appear on TV. It was a very conscious decision that she made that we discussed.
Because she wanted for all those women in particular, but others as well, going through the experience of cancer treatment, to show that it was a fact of life.
I found that incredibly courageous.
Anthony Albanese:
Peta Murphy gave this Parliament, our party, and our country, so much.
But part of what we grieve for today is the fact she had so much more to give.
This is truly a loss for our nation.
I have no doubt that Peta would have made a fine Cabinet minister of the future.
Albanese: ‘so cruel to think we’ll never see Peta Murphy’s bright smile again’
Anthony Albanese is delivering his speech – the chamber is full and completely silent.
Albanese said the late Peta Murphy, Labor MP for the Victorian seat of Dunkley, was that rare person who was adored across the chamber, as well as by her staff and her constituents.
In recent times, despite her endless reserve of good humour and resilience, all of us knew Peta was very ill.
And yet, I don’t think any of us were truly prepared for how it would feel to lose her.
Now, as we look over to where just last week she was rising to ask questions, still representing her electorate, still championing the causes she cared about, still pushing the government she was so proud to be a part of to press on with reform.
It is so hard, so cruel, so unfair, to think we’ll never see that bright and shining smile again.
Never hear that raucous laugh. Never see Peta pulling faces to entertain a baby brought into the chamber for a division.
Never again listen as Peta, the happy warrior, wades into a debate, with her trade mark combination of intellect, integrity and empathy.
And never hear another 90-second statement praising the under appreciated greatness of the game of squash!
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Tributes flow in House of Representatives for the late Peta Murphy
Hello from the House of Representatives chamber, where a condolence motion for the late Labor backbencher Peta Murphy is about to get underway. A gorgeous floral display has been placed on Murphy’s desk.
MPs are filing in, many in black, wiping away tears.
Updated
The house sitting is about to begin.
Anthony Albanese will lead the condolences for Peta Murphy, just after 10am.
First ministers enjoy dinner at the Lodge ahead of tough talks about federal funding
The first ministers (premiers and chief ministers) arrived in Canberra yesterday for the final national cabinet of the year. They had dinner at the Lodge, (Toto, Anthony Albanese’s dog made an appearance) which was apparently quite jovial.
The meeting will get underway from 10.30am.
Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Updated
Health minister Park says NSW needs more federal money to cope with growing population
New South Wales health minister, Ryan Park, believes the state’s health system will be able to deal with the pressure of a growing population if the federal government gives it more money.
Speaking on 2GB radio this morning, the minister says the premier, Chris Minns, is taking that message to today’s national cabinet meeting.
With an increasing population, we’re going to need an increase in funding from the Commonwealth and that’s something that I know today the premier is focused on for NSW, trying to make sure that we are getting the best deal out of the Commonwealth.
With an increasing population comes the increased need on our public health services and that includes our hospitals and our emergency departments. That is a conversation that we are having with the Commonwealth … and we will continue to have.
Updated
Morning protests in Melbourne CBD
Traffic in King Street in Melbourne has been disrupted by an Extinction Rebellion protest, this morning.
The march was followed by a police vehicle covered in slogans about pay and conditions. Victoria Police have voted to take industrial action after a break down in pay negotiations with the state government.
Updated
Crossbench trouble brewing over citizenship repudiation legislation
The government doesn’t need any more votes in the house of representatives where it holds the numbers. But it has made a habit (at least so far) of bringing the crossbench along with it on legislation – even when it doesn’t agree, or accept amendments.
But it looks like there has been a deviation from the norm here –
⚠️ The Govt’s citizenship legislation will mean 1 in 2 Aussies over the age of 14 can have their Aussie citizenship stripped. This legislation is a massive deal!! Yet we’ve just been told that, despite today not being a scheduled sitting day, this bill will be voted on tonight!🧵
— Kylea Tink MP (@KyleaTink) December 5, 2023
This is about a bill introduced last week, which will allow a judge to decide whether or not to strip Australian citizenship from dual citizens. It’s the legislation Labor introduced to replace legislation from Peter Dutton’s era, which was unconstitutional because it allowed the minister to decide.
Updated
Beetaloo Basin traditional owners pleased with water trigger but say fight for the environment not over yet
Traditional owners from Nurrdalinji Native Title Aboriginal Corporation have welcomed the expansion of a water trigger in the nature repair laws, which they hope will help protect country from fracking in the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory.
Djingili elder and Nurrdalinji Director Janet Gregory, who is from Elliott and now lives in Alice Springs, says:
Aboriginal people are responsible for the health of our lands and water. But if fracking damages our water it can’t be healed.
If our water is lost or poisoned, where are we going to go? What will happen to our law, to our language, to our culture and to our country?
Gregory says the fight continues:
We’re going to keep standing up for the birds, the animals, the children, the old people and the country itself and the water that it contains, because this is life.
The federal government has done the right thing by our water, and we appreciate their work and the work of the Greens and independent MPs who have listened to us and helped to make this happen.
Updated
Parliament business suspended for Peta Murphy condolence motion
Today is a little bit of a different sitting for the house. It is an official sitting day, but all business has been suspended for a condolence motion for Labor MP Peta Murphy, who died on Monday. Usually, after the main speeches, a condolence motion motion – generally held for people who have long left parliament – gets moved to the federation chamber.
Murphy, the member for Dunkley, was in parliament just last week. Her loss, at age 50, has hit MPs across the chamber very hard. She was just that sort of person.
Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
So when the house sitting begins at 10am, after the prayers, it will be straight into the condolence motion. At this stage, about 60 MPs have asked to speak. That will most likely take us into the early evening.
Once the last speech has been delivered, the house will adjourn for a short while, before returning in the evening to accept the messages from the senate. That’s parliamentary speak for “the senate has passed things the house needs to vote on”. There is a possibility that the preventative detention bill, which was introduced by the government into the senate and passed yesterday, will be dealt with tonight.
So for most of the sitting day, it will be condolence speeches for Peta Murphy and then later in the evening, there could be a vote on preventative detention.
And then we are back again tomorrow for the final sitting day of the year – house and senate.
Updated
PNG leader James Marape to visit Canberra Thursday
The prime minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape, will arrive in Canberra for an official visit tomorrow.
The official release says:
The prime ministers will meet in Canberra to discuss the enduring security partnership and broader issues impacting on Papua New Guinea, Australia and the Pacific.
There is an expectation a new security arrangement will be signed between Anthony Albanese and Marape during the visit.
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Plibersek: Landholders given chance to be paid to protect land under nature repair bill
On the nature repair legislation that she has negotiated passage through the senate on, Tanya Plibersek says:
This is a great opportunity for land-holders, for farmers, for traditional owners to be paid to restore and protect nature on their properties, so the sort of projects we could see are farmers who have got remnant rainforest on their land being paid to keep the goats out, to keep the weeds out.
Traditional owners in Western Australia doing cultural burning and reintroducing animals onto their properties.
We want to see a range of projects come forward.
We expect strong interest from philanthropists and the business community wanting to invest and protect and restore nature across Australia. Not just setting land aside – we actually need to care for that land and this gives private individuals like farmers and land-holders the opportunity to be paid to do that work.
Updated
Plibersek says Greens ‘teaming up’ with Coalition on indefinite detention
Tanya Plibersek is speaking to ABC News Breakfast where she is asked about Adam Bandt’s comments that Labor is in a ‘race to the bottom’ with Peter Dutton with its response to the high court’s indefinite detention decision.
Plibersek says:
Adam Bandt is teaming up with Peter Dutton to vote against people who’ve had concerns about their behaviour approaching schools or contacting their victims or their victims’ families. So I don’t know ... very strange, teaming up there.
(That is in relation to the Coalition and Greens last week voting against government legislation that would have tightened the conditions on refugees and migrants who were released by the high court indefinite detention decision).
Updated
The Prime Minister’s XI (men) will play Pakistan today in Canberra.
Anthony Albanese will attend this morning to greet the teams and ‘participate in pre-match formalities’.
Updated
Jasper’s wind speeds expected to slow as the cyclone approaches Qld
The first tropical cyclone in the Australian region has formed, with Jasper now a category 1 tempest, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Tropical cyclone Jasper has formed in the Coral Sea and is forecast to reach a "severe" strength of category 4 before beginning to weaken as it approaches Queensland coast. (Source: @BOM_au ) pic.twitter.com/0dTp4bujOz
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) December 5, 2023
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center, run by the US Navy, has a similar path, and a bit more detail. Wind speeds may reach 105 knots (194 km/h) and gusts to 130 knots (230 km/h).
As with BoM’s forecasts, Jasper is predicted to have its wind speeds slowing as it nears the Queensland coast.
Joint Typhoon Warning Center has a similar track, and forecasts gusts to reach as strong as 130 knots (240km/h) before halving that speed. pic.twitter.com/5LUXGkTmAV
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) December 5, 2023
That weakening will be welcomed by those along the Queensland coast. Even if it doesn’t cross the coast there will be a bit of rain around, particularly over the Coral Sea.
And #Jasper bringing a bit of rain too, according to the eight-day forecasts. (Source: @bom_au) pic.twitter.com/e9meNxI0eY
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) December 5, 2023
That rain and presumably a lot of cloud cover may have a side benefit of helping to take the edge off sea-surface temperatures for a while.
Cooler waters reduce the risk of mass coral bleaching, which, unfortunately, looks like being a risk in El Nino summers thanks to the background global warming.
Updated
Australia Post must be retained as essential service, not money-making scheme, Bandt says
And finally (the senate has been sitting so there has been a bit on, happening in the background) Adam Bandt is asked about Australia Post only delivering letters every second day. This has been coming for a while and is a bid to keep the business, well, in business. The idea is you’ll still see a postie pass by your door every day, but they’ll only carry letters every second day (parcels will continue as daily deliveries).
Bandt says the Greens will look at the change:
We’ll have a close look at this. Obviously, Australia Post is making a lot of money out of delivering parcels now because everyone buys things online. One of our concerns is making sure that they – we don’t make Australia Post into a profit making entity when it should be at a public service.
We’re encouraged about the fact the communication workers union seems to have given it initial support. But we’ll be having a close look to make sure we retain it as an essential service and it doesn’t all become about making money.
Updated
Nature repair bill ‘proof’ good-faith negotiations can work, says Bandt
The interview moves to the nature repair bill, which Tanya Plibersek won support for, after making a deal with the Greens. Adam Bandt says it is further proof that good faith negotiations can work:
The Greens pressure has worked. And the Greens have secured some significant wins. There’s been a blow against new gas and oil projects. Previously you could frack areas, so drill down to extract gas, including in farmland, and the government didn’t even have to consider whether that was going to affect our precious water supplies.
We know in many places it would have, that’s why so many farmers have been against fracking.
As a result of the changes secured by the Greens, the government has to look at the impact on water before they approve or look at fracking. That means they can stop some of these projects.
Updated
Bandt: ‘kneejerk reaction’ to immigration detention will result in bad laws
On the issue of legal challenges to the laws, Adam Bandt addresses the frustration some in the parliament (and voters) are feeling:
There’s every risk when you pass legislation quickly, as part of a kneejerk reaction to a dishonest fear campaign run by Peter Dutton, you end up with laws that can get challenged again.
I will just say this to Labor - stop engaging in a race to the bottom with Peter Dutton, because if you give in on one thing, he’ll come back the next day and ask for another.
If he says you’re not acting quickly enough one day, the next day he accuses you of rushing the laws. There’s nothing that will satisfy a man who has built a career out of punching down and demonising refugees and migrants.
I just wish Labor would take a stand on principle and defend the rule of law, instead of giving in to Peter Dutton’s fear campaign.
Updated
Bandt: Labor following Dutton’s ‘dishonest fear campaign’ on detention
Asked if the parliament would have “time” to do what he is suggesting should have happened, given a third person was arrested this week, Adam Bandt says:
That’s heinous, and I don’t think you will find anyone in parliament who does anything but condemn the crimes.
But in Australia, we have a system if you commit a crime, you serve your sentence. After that, if you do anything else wrong, you can get arrested and taken before the courts. That’s what has happened in this instance.
What the government and the Liberals are proposing is to go further and start talking about legislation that says if you might commit a crime in the future, can you get locked up.
That’s treating people born in another country in a different way to the way we run the legal system here in Australia.
And that’s why legal experts have raised real concerns about this. Because it’s stepping beyond the way that we usually run our judicial and police system in this country, that says if you breach the law, the police arrest you, and you get taken to court.
They’re going a step further, all because Peter Dutton whipped up a dishonest fear campaign.
Updated
Greens worried Labor letting Dutton ‘write’ Australia’s migration laws
The Greens leader Adam Bandt is speaking to ABC News Breakfast about the passage of the preventative detention bill through the senate yesterday. It will go to the house, tomorrow.
Bandt says he is “worried that Labor is dancing to the Liberals’ tune and we’re seeing yet another race to the bottom on refugees”.
As far as the group of people who are affected by the high court’s decision is concerned, some of them have committed crimes, some have committed heinous crimes, many of them haven’t. And instead of considering the significant decision of the high court, where they basically said you can’t lock people up forever and treat it as a solution to migration problems, instead of having a sober and considered response to that, and thinking about what would a proper migration system look like in Australia, they have just let Peter Dutton write the laws.
And Peter Dutton has been running the show for the last couple of weeks. What we know, we’ve already seen legislation pass that needs to be fixed up. And what we know is that when you have this knee jerk reaction and a race to the bottom on refugees, you end up writing bad laws and it doesn’t always fix the problem. That’s our real concern.
Updated
North Stradbroke traditional owners to get access to two giant water reserves
In an historic move, the Queensland government will establish two water reserves on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) and transition tens of thousands of megalitres of water to the island’s Traditional Owners.
Up to 61,190 megalitres of water will be transferred to the Quandamooka people. Half will be permanently set aside for the environment and cultural use and the other half will be available for land rehabilitation and economic opportunities.
It comes after the Quandamooka people were given Native Title rights in Minjerribah in 2011.
The water minister, Glenn Butcher, says the reserves are only possible because of the cessation of sand mining.
The water transitioned to the Quandamooka people was previously used for sand mining on Minjerribah, which ended in 2019 after a 70-year operation.
Butcher said the reserves “are important for the future environmental health of the island and its ongoing rehabilitation”.
They also provide future economic opportunities for the Quandamooka people and support ongoing cultural values.”
Chief executive of the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation, Stephen Wright, said he was “pleased” the government “had recognised the Quandamooka people as the Traditional Custodians of Minjerribah’s land and waters”.
Updated
Good morning
Hello and welcome to a special edition of politics live. The house is sitting today to pay tribute to Labor MP Peta Murphy, who died from breast cancer.
Murphy attended parliament last week, before returning home for palliative care. She was a rare MP who was loved across the chamber – the house will only sit today for her condolence motion. You have Amy Remeikis with you for most of the day – we will also cover the national cabinet decisions.
Updated
Australia jumps into moon exploration with new ‘Roo-ver’ lunar vehicle
Australians have chosen Roo-ver as the name for our first lunar vehicle, AAP reports, as the Australian Space Agency sets out to produce a locally made, semi-autonomous rover as part of NASA’s Artemis program later this decade.
NASA scientists will attempt to extract oxygen from the soil Roo-ver recovers on the moon, which could be a giant leap towards a sustainable human presence.
Weighing about 20kg and roughly the size of a check-in suitcase, the rover is likely to land in the moon’s South Pole region and will operate for a fortnight, or about half a moon day.
Two Australian consortiums are working on Roo-ver prototypes that the space agency will choose from for the moon mission vehicle.
Australian Space Agency head Enrico Palermo says the mission will provide the nation with significant expertise and new technical skills that can be brought back to improve industries on Earth.
“Investing in missions like this lifts our whole nation, it makes our economy stronger and industries more advanced, it lifts our standing on the global stage, it keeps our brightest talent here,” he says.
The space agency will also announce a $1m funding injection for two Australian space companies, to develop more efficient solar cells to power satellites and innovative propulsion systems for small satellites.
The projects will help address climate change and the transition to a net-zero economy, while driving productivity through innovation, Palermo says
Updated
Watchdog 'loses patience' with Telstra
Telstra is paying the price after being caught overcharging customers for the third time since 2020, Australian Associated Press reports.
The telco giant will refund $21m to consumers charged for inactive internet services across an 11-year period, at an average of about $2,600 a customer.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) also stung Telstra with a $3m fine for breaching customer billing accuracy rules and breaking its direction to comply with its code after a similar issue in 2020.
The authority says most of the 6,532 customers overcharged between 2012 and 2023 were small businesses.
Its boss Nerida O’Loughlin was scathing in her assessment of Telstra’s conduct, saying her organisation had “lost patience” after the third recent breach.
In 2020, Telstra was caught overcharging customers almost $2.5 million across 12 years, before overcharging another $1.7m in 2022.
“Telstra has a history of incorrectly billing customers, and it’s just not good enough,” O’Loughlin said in a statement.
Telstra executive Dean Salter acknowledged getting billing wrong “isn’t acceptable” and apologised to the affected customers.
Updated
National cabinet meeting this morning
The financial sustainability of the NDIS scheme will be at the top of agenda this morning when the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, convenes a national cabinet meeting with state and territory leaders.
The leaders will meet from 10.30am to discuss how the scheme will look in the coming years amid concerns over forecasts the NDIS will surpass a total of $50bn in next year’s federal budget and may exceed $90bn a year within a decade.
Earlier this year, national cabinet agreed to cap the NDIS’s cost growth at 8% per year from 2026.
Today’s meeting will deal with the details of what needs to change to make that target a reality. It follows the release of a comprehensive NDIS review, which was handed to the states and territories in late October and will be publicly released on Thursday.
But the debate is expected to be a little more than fiery after warnings from the premiers and chief ministers all week that they will derail any NDIS discussions until the GST “no worse off” guarantee matter is dealt with.
Under the 2018 arrangement, which will expire in 2026-27, the jurisdictions get 70% of revenue collected within their borders as compensation from the commonwealth for GST shortfalls.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has forewarned any extension would result in “significant fiscal implications”. Chalmers added the matter was still a “live conversation” but a deal wouldn’t come at any cost.
He said on Tuesday ahead of the meeting:
“Our instinct and our inclination is to always work with the states and territories where that’s possible, where that’s responsible and where that’s affordable, and where we can advance our common interests. And that’s the approach that we take to the next 24 hours.”
Last night, Albanese hosted the premiers and chief ministers at the lodge so it’s possible some late night agreements were reached over a hot meal and some wine.
Beyond the NDIS, and the GST extension, the leaders will also discuss other priorities including the recent infrastructure funding changes, Medicare and broader health reforms and cooperating to keep Australians safe.
Welcome
Good morning and a warm welcome to our rolling news coverage for today. I’m Martin Farrer, bringing you our top overnight stories before regular service resumes.
New figures paint a troubling picture of the health system with elective surgery wait times at their highest level on record, while nearly one in two patients are spending more than the recommended time in emergency departments. The number of people waiting more than a year for hip and knee replacement surgery has quadrupled since 2018-19. Medicare and health reforms will be on the agenda when the national cabinet meets this morning.
Australia Post will end daily letter deliveries next year under new rules relaxing the requirement for five-day-a-week delivery as it tries to stem losses that ballooned to $200m this year. The outcome of the postal service’s modernisation review, to be announced by the Albanese government today, means Australians will soon be receiving ordinary letters and unaddressed mail every other business day, a response to the long-term decline of letters and the company’s first loss in eight years.
Australia’s year 9 students have climbed into the top 10 of OECD countries, the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) shows, but it’s not the good news that it sounds: we’re continuing a longer-term trend of national decline. The 2022 Pisa results, released last night, showed Australia’s overall performance was above the OECD average in all categories, after sitting at average for the first time in mathematics in 2018. Australia’s overall ranking went up but experts say it’s only because other countries have gone backwards.
The Australian rover due to collect soil from our planet’s favourite satellite has a name after a public vote. We’ll let you know the result soon!
And Brittany Higgins has finished her cross-examination in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson – but the defence case continues, and we’ll bring you all the developments. In the meantime, here is our latest report.
