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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Caitlin Cassidy and Natasha May

Greens urge Labor to redirect fossil fuel subsidies to renewables in budget – as it happened

Australia G7 Patrick Gorman Queen Elizabeth II Russia Anthony Albanese Oil King Charles III Vasyl Myroshnychenko Ukraine
Sarah Hanson-Young
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young. The Greens commissioned the parliamentary budget office to investigate promised and allocated spending in the federal government’s budget, including fossil fuel subsidies Photograph: Matt Turner/AAP

What we learned: Tuesday, 20 September

Will that, we will wrap up the blog for the evening. Stay safe, and, if you’re on the east coast, stay dry as the cold front moves in. We’ll be back first thing tomorrow to bring you the latest.

Here were the major developments of the day:

Updated

We’re almost done with valedictory speeches at Victoria’s parliament (for today). Up now is the state’s former attorney-general Jill Hennessy, who has also served as minister for health, ambulance services and workplace safety.

She’s going through some of the reforms she’s shepherded - including voluntary assisted dying, workplace manslaughter, and no jab no play - as well as cracking gags:

The Labor Party for me has sometimes been like a bit of a bad boyfriend. Like when I’ve been really into it, it has been less interested. And when I’ve moved on with my life, it’s come a knockin’.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more speeches.

Updated

Foley, a former equality minister, ended his valedictory speech with a plea ahead of the election:

Equality is really not negotiable if you’re an LGBTIQ Victorian any more but it is fragile, and as we’ve seen, constantly under threat from those who want to demonise the LGBTI community. So can I take this chance to issue a plea on behalf of trans kids, trans people and their families? Can we not use trans kids and gender gotcha moments as clickbait in this coming election.

Updated

Still in Victoria, and state MP Fiona Patten has revealed she has been diagnosed with cancer after a tumour was recently discovered on her kidney.

The Reason party leader will undergo a nephrectomy – the removal of the affected kidney – in early October and still plans to contest the state election on 26 November.

Read the full story here:

In the words of the Herald Sun’s Backroom Baz, former health minister Martin Foley‘s valedictory is very Martin Foley - he’s been going for 20 minutes about “bigger, bolder government” in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Foley said:

It is now accepted by all but the harshest of flat Earth conservatives that the cornerstone of Covid successful responses everywhere have been government inspired and government led. Equally the failure globally ... [of] market-led responses to Covid public health emergencies shows the need for stronger, smarter government solutions ... We need more better government, not less poor government. ... when it comes to our health system, we are all Keynesians now.

Victorian Nationals MP Steph Ryan gives last speech

It’s been an emotional afternoon in Victoria’s lower house, as retiring MPs make their final speeches. We’ve just heard from Euroa MP, Steph Ryan. Her resignation shocked many within the Victorian Nationals, who saw her as a future leader.

She said:

Today simply marks the end of one chapter in my career and the beginning of another. Last week, when I got home from parliament we danced around the living room to Talking Heads. Naive Melody is currently [my daughter] Sunday’s favorite song, which I’m grateful for because I was getting pretty sick of the Wiggles. And it’s mine. ‘Home is where I want to be. If someone asks this is where I’ll be.’

Updated

Prof Frank Gannon appointed to implement recommendations of inquiry into Queensland forensic DNA testing

Prof Frank Gannon, a molecular biologist, will oversee implementation of the interim recommendations drawn from the inquiry into forensic DNA testing in Queensland released today.

The commission was sparked by concerns about the DNA testing thresholds used by the state’s forensic lab (FSS) between 2018 and June 2022. Thousands of samples are expected to be retested.

The Queensland health minister, Yvette D’Ath, said Gannon would provide independent oversight after the report was handed to parliament by commissioner Walter Sofronoff KC.

The commissioner found that between February 2018 and June 2022, FSS scientists provided untrue or misleading information regarding the detection of DNA in some sworn witness statements relating to samples with very small amounts of DNA.

He has recommended that the relevant statements be withdrawn, and corrective statements issued. In addition to implementing the recommendations, the government will arrange for further analysis of all relevant samples to ensure confidence in the administration of justice in Queensland.

Updated

Victorian Labor MP uses final speech to deny involvement in branch stacking

Outgoing Labor MP Marlene Kairouz has used her valedictory speech to honour her late sister and to deny she was involved in an “industrial-scale” branch stacking operation led by former factional powerbroker Adem Somyurek.

Kairouz, who has represented the electorate of Kororoit since 2008, was one of several ministers to step down from cabinet over the scandal, first exposed by 60 Minutes and the Age in 2020.

An investigation by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (Ibac) and Victorian ombudsman found Somyurek and Kairouz committed multiple breaches of MP and ministerial codes of conduct but not necessarily criminal offences.

During her speech to the lower house on Tuesday, Kairouz said she was in the “wrong place at the wrong time”:

I was not second in charge of any faction. No faction had control over two thirds of the Labor party’s membership. And I did not engage in industrial scale branch stacking ... I was a minister doing my job. I was collateral damage in a power play for control over the Labor party.

She accused former federal Labor MP Anthony Byrne, for installing “spies” in her office and described the joint Ibac and ombudsman investigation as an “abuse of power” and “waste of taxpayer money”:

The ombudsman knew from day one that the allegations ... were matters for the parliament and not the integrity of bodies. Yet the ombudsman allowed the investigation to go on for two years. And predictably after two years, referred these matters to the parliament. It was disingenuous, it was an abuse of power, and it was a waste of taxpayer money. It was also a denial of natural justice to leak the report before I had the opportunity to reply to the allegations in the report.

Kairouz said her “upbringing” would “never allow [her] to gain financial advantage through wrongdoing”:

Nor would I ever be part of allowing taxpayer funds to be misused. I never went cap in hand asking for a cent. I did not receive gifts and benefits. I did not misuse my entitlements, seek favors for donations, and I did not waste my budget and make false promises.

She also criticised candidates from her party, who were parachuted in without being locals:

I don’t believe you can best represent the electorate unless you live in the community. This is something I believe the Labor party can do better on.

Earlier in her speech, Kairouz broke into tears when she mentioned her sister, Paula, who died suddenly in July 2021. She described her sister as her “soulmate” and “best friend”, in possession of a “sharp intellect and a wicked sense of humour”.

She was comforted by former health minister Martin Foley who is also retiring ahead of the November poll. He will make his valedictory speech later this evening.

Updated

Queensland police lament review into state’s DNA lab as ‘worst case scenario’

The damning findings, handed to cabinet on Tuesday by commissioner Walter Sofronoff, revealed that Queensland’s DNA laboratory had issued statements of “no DNA detected” and “insufficient DNA for further processing” when samples could have been tested.

Updated

Fossil fuel subsidies should be redirected to renewables: Sarah Hanson-Young

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has appeared on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing following the party’s issuing of a challenge to the government to cut fossil fuel subsidies in the October budget.

The Greens commissioned the parliamentary budget office to investigate promised and allocated spending in the federal government’s budget, including fossil fuel subsidies.

Hanson-Young said:

Most of this was as a result of Scott Morrison’s promises and announcements around the gas-led recovery … it turns out that the money was promised but hasn’t actually been committed. Now, this is $2bn of taxpayers’ money that we think should be now redirected … to renewable energy projects and pushing prices down for everyday Australians …

We have heard the government talk a lot about wanting to go through the budget line by line and find the waste measures, here’s $2bn that is currently being wasted simply upholding and subsidising the fossil fuel industry. It could be doing a much better job cutting household budgets.

Hanson-Young said the findings hadn’t been discussed “directly” with Labor but she was “hoping they’re aware of it”.

The idea that Australia would continue to spend billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money, public money, subsidising the fossil fuel industry is so outdated and backwards. The rest of the world is moving way from this.

Updated

Trade minister confident of free trade agreement between EU and Australia

The federal trade minister, Don Farrell, appeared on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing earlier on EU delegation discussions and fallout on imposing a price on Russian oil.

He said cost of living was a “serious issue” and putting downward pressure on Russian oil prices would have “long-term benefits” to consumers.

The rest of the world is backing this ban, all the rest of the free world. We want to join them, we want to make it very clear that we don’t support what the Russians are doing in Ukraine, we support a free and democratic Ukraine and this is one of the ways that we can join with like-minded countries and the rest of the world to put pressure on Russia, downward pressure on oil prices.

On the prospects for a free trade agreement between the EU and Australia, he said he was “very confident” a deal could be made following meetings with European parliamentarians and the French trade minister in Canberra yesterday.

Both groups were very, very positive about the prospects … we’ve made it clear that there are certain things that we need to get out of this trade agreement and one of those is greater access for our agricultural products … but all of the indications are now that the two impediments to an agreement, namely the previous government’s approach to climate change and the cancellation of the naval submarine agreement, both of those are out of the way.

Updated

Former Vales Point owner says extending existing coal-fired power stations is necessary

Yesterday, we had news that the owners of the Vales Point coal-fired power station had sold the plant in the New South Wales Hunter region to a Czech billionaire.

The sellers, Delta Electricity, which is owned by Trevor St Baker and Brian Flannery, paid just $1m to the NSW government in 2015.

The value of sale hasn’t been disclosed but the AFR and the Australian put the price at more than $200m – not a bad little earner particularly when you toss in $130m in dividends that we know of so far.

St Baker said:

[I]f Australia is not going to open the door for safe and reliable zero-emission nuclear power generation, like the rest of the world, extended operation of existing coal and gas fired power stations are necessary.

He said that’s at least “until some other means of providing reliable and affordable dispatch-able generation around the clock is invented and invested in by private commercial interests, not relying on public funds”.

St Baker said extending the life of existing fossil fuel power plants was a “much lower cost than investing in replacement nuclear power generation” but “a fraction of the cost of new transmission and energy storage costs to store surplus solar and wind”.

He said he was out of “coal-fired gentailing” now (referring to generation and retailing electricity) and was a “passionate investor in the electrification of the transport sector”, along with energy storage innovation.

There would be a “huge impact on reducing transport costs to a fraction of costs for internal combustion vehicles”, including by cutting health costs, especially for city residents, from tailpipe exhausts, St Baker said.

St Baker’s investments in rapid electric vehicle charging are just some of the ventures he is cooking up.

Updated

Nearly 4,000 deaths in aged care during Covid pandemic

Australia is nearing a grim milestone in the Covid-19 pandemic.

Data suggests the aged care sector is about to record its 4,000th Covid-related death.

The last count, current as of 14 September, listed 3,981 deaths in aged care since the pandemic began. The majority of those deaths (more than 3,000) have occurred in 2022.

The 2022 toll is already greater than the first two years of the pandemic combined (231 in 2021 and 686 in 2020).

However, the sector has emerged from its recent spike in Covid cases and the number of active outbreaks is down to 270, a dramatic reduction from the more than 1,000 active outbreaks in early August.

The number of active resident and staff cases was 1,248 and 406 respectively at last count, also a reduction from the numbers in early August (more than 5,200 resident and 2,500 staff were reported as active cases, as of 5 August).

Updated

Queensland premier responds to damning review of state’s forensic labs

The findings of an interim report on Queensland’s state-run forensic labs has been released. Annastacia Palaszczuk says she is “incredibly concerned” by the results.

Read the story from Eden Gillespie here:

Updated

Retiring Victorian MPs give valedictory speeches

Retiring Victorian MPs are giving their final speeches in state parliament’s lower house this afternoon.

The independent MP for Morwell, Russell Northe, has just delivered an emotional speech about his mental health battles and a gambling addiction:

Since my diagnosis and treatment I’ve been able to gain some self esteem and confidence and I know my next chapter has to and will involve at least in part working in the suicide prevention, mental health, gambling policy reform space.

There are just too many gaps in the system where individuals, families and communities are being exposed to harm and in fact, people are dying. This is a travesty.

Northe says gambling addiction must be treated as a public health issue and urged the next government to hold an inquiry an “immediate and comprehensive parliamentary inquiry” into the sector:

Billions and billions of dollars have been lost every year. And if we think that is not hurting people, then you are living under a rock. I won’t rest until we see positive change in this space, until we see a reduction of enormous harm and hurt that many individuals and families are experiencing. So hopefully I will continue to see many of you post the election as I continue on this advocacy journey.

At least 20 MPs have announced they will not contest the November poll including the Nationals’ Steph Ryan and high profile Labor MPs James Merlino, Richard Wynne, Martin Pakula, Martin Foley, Lisa Neville, Jill Hennessy and Luke Donellan. Many of them will make their valedictory speeches today.

Updated

Virgin chooses Toowoomba airport as rocket launch site

Virgin Orbit rockets will be launched into a space from a regional Queensland airport in a major deal between prominent business family the Wagner Corporation and billionaire Richard Branson.

Media outlets, including the Courier Mail, are reporting Virgin Orbit has chosen Toowoomba’s Wellcamp airport as the third global destination to launch its satellites for “climate monitoring, telecommunications services and asset tracking”.

The rockets will be attached to Boeing 747 jumbo jets and fired over the Pacific Ocean. A permanent spaceport will be developed at Wellcamp in the next three years.

The privately owned airport was previously proposed by the Wagner Corporation as the site for a for-profit quarantine facility during Covid outbreaks.

Updated

Man rescued after falling in Glass House Mountains

The man has reportedly been winched to safety after falling several metres in the Glass House Mountains in Queensland.

Updated

Rescue under way at Mount Tibrogargan – reports

Guardian Australia is trying to confirm this and will bring you the latest when we know more.

Updated

RBA board minutes reveal it was considering 25 basis point rise in September meeting

As noted earlier on this blog, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been talking about the need not to make the RBA’s task of curbing inflation harder by sending more.

As it happens, the RBA today released minutes of its September board meeting when the central bank lifted the cash rate for a fifth successive month, bringing it to 2.35%.

The minutes detail a bit more of the bank’s thinking, including the case for either a 25 basis point rise or a 50 basis point one. In the end they went for 50 basis points but it’s the first time since May that the minutes have noted such a rise as an option.

That consideration will give comfort to those hoping the “super-sized” rate rises will soon be over. (In the US, we might see a “jumbo-sized” 100 basis point rise ... imagine what a 125 basis point rise would be, “Godzilla-sized”?)

The minutes showed board members “acknowledged that monetary policy operates with a lag and that interest rates had been increased quite quickly and were getting closer to normal settings”.

But while “members saw the case for a slower pace of increase in interest rates as becoming stronger as the level of the cash rate rises … [t]he board is committed to doing what is necessary to ensure that inflation in Australia returns to target over time”. (The target is between 2% and 3%.)

The takeaway is that yes, the RBA might not need to resort to another 50 basis point rise, or indeed many more rises, but if inflation turns out to be more stubborn than expected, the central bank will keep tapping those monetary brakes.

Updated

Not enough teachers to keep with demand for education, data shows

The current pace of teacher workforce growth won’t keep up with increasing demand on the education sector, the latest data from the Australian Teacher Workforce Data (ATWD) initiative has found.

The 2020 workforce data, based on responses of almost 32,000 teachers across the nation, found fewer people are entering into the profession at a time when 38% of registered teachers are aged 50 and over.

It found the percentage of teachers intending to leave the workforce before retirement was one in five in 2020, a decrease of 5% compared to 2018.

The chief executive of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, Mark Grant, said the data showed there “simply aren’t enough” people entering the education pipeline.

There isn’t a quick fix, and we are working closely with the Australian government and states and territories, as well as ITE providers, to form solutions to workforce challenges whilst ensuring we don’t compromise quality teaching for Australia’s 4m students.

Australia’s education ministers have made it clear that we need a national approach to increase the number of people entering and remaining in the profession. It’s important we start working on the short- and longer-term solutions now, because we know today’s teacher shortages will precipitate tomorrow’s principal shortages.

Updated

Victoria passes laws requiring self-made limits on pokies at Crown

Laws requiring people to fix a limit on their pokie losses at Crown Melbourne have passed Victorian parliament.

The casino legislation amendment (royal commission implementation and other matters) bill 2022 passed the upper house on Tuesday afternoon and will now go to the governor for royal assent.

It is one of the final pieces of legislation to pass parliament ahead of the 26 November election and addresses 12 of the 33 recommendations from a royal commission into Crown, which found evidence of links to criminal gangs and repeated breaches of money laundering laws and the casino’s contract with the state government.

To prevent money laundering through the casino, the legislation introduces mandatory identification checks before a person can participate in gambling activities or claim winnings of more than $1,000. Cash usage will also be limited to $1,000 every 24 hours.

Patrons of the casino will be asked to set time and money limits on their gaming activities through a mandatory pre-commitment system for electronic gaming machines for Australian residents in the venue. This system will need to be in place for the casino’s pokies by the end of 2023.

The minister for gaming, Melissa Horne, says the package of harm minimisation and crime prevention reforms together will be a world-first – and the strongest measures in any casino in Australia:

We are holding Crown Melbourne to account and delivering on an additional 12 recommendations – targeting money laundering and harm minimisation – to implement every one of the Royal Commission’s recommendations.

This legislation implements world-leading reforms to make sure the failures uncovered by the royal commission can never happen again.

Updated

Queensland drops public transport mask mandate

Queensland has joined NSW, South Australia, the ACT, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania in not requiring public transport passengers to mask up.

Updated

Many thanks to the always lovely Natasha May for keeping us informed today. I’ll be with you for the rest of the afternoon.

This is where I leave you in the very excellent hands of Caitlin Cassidy. Thanks for your attention!

Scientists uncover Australian ant-slayer spider’s hunting secrets

Arachnophobes might understandably want to give my colleague Donna Lu’s latest article a miss, but if there was ever an occasion to make an exception, it’s for the spider with the most epic name going.

A mid-air cartwheel, the judicious use of sticky silk and a quick rappel down a tree, all in the blink of an eye: researchers have identified how the Australian ant-slayer spider captures prey twice its size.

The acrobatic behaviour of the Australian ant-slayer spider, Euryopis umbilicata, as it hunts and eats banded sugar ants has been documented by scientists for the first time.

Sydney’s biggest reservoir is 98% full

Ahead of some more rain sweeping eastwards over NSW on Wednesday, WaterNSW has provided some historic comparisons to how much Sydney’s biggest reservoir has been receiving.

Warragamba dam is unusual in that it accounts for about 80% of the city’s drinking water – most cities are not so reliant on a single reservoir.

Well, the dam currently sits at about 98% full, with most of the other dams similarly brimming. Perhaps not surprisingly given the rain forecasts of about another 15mm or more, Warragamba is forecast to be back at 100%.

WaterNSW notes inflows into Warragamba since March 2021 have totalled 4,200 gigalitres (or 4,200,000,000,000 litres), or more than twice the dam’s total storage of about 2,000GL. (That’s also eight Sydney harbours, if you’re wondering.)

Since last November, the dam’s operators have “proactively made controlled releases” of 1,000GL. That’s the most they could release under current (so to speak) operating rules.

Since we’re now back into La Niña land for the third time in as many years, it might be wise to revisit those rules to release more water during the rain lulls. With the forecasts for higher-than-expected rain into early 2023, it’s likely the heavens will make up for any extra releases pretty quickly.

Updated

Man charged over Hamze shooting

A man has been charged with murdering Sydney crime boss Bilal Hamze in Sydney’s CBD in June last year, AAP reports.

Hamze was gunned down in a hail of bullets in Sydney’s CBD by a man in a black Audi. The 34-year-old gangster was treated at the scene before being taken to St Vincent’s Hospital, where he later died.

The Audi was later found burned out at Northwood, on Sydney’s north shore.

Police say detectives from the state crime command’s homicide squad Strike Force Englorie arrested a 32-year-old man at Silverwater jail on Tuesday and charged him with murder.

The man was remanded in custody and will appear at Downing Centre local court later on Tuesday.

Last week police said Sydney underworld figures had been registering stolen cars in the names of unknowing people, before using the vehicles to carry out heinous crimes.

Police investigating the killing of Bilal Hamze and a plot to kill his brother Ibrahem Hamze in North Sydney last year said they had recovered cars they believed were used in both incidents.

They appealed to the public to help find a silver Ford Territory with registration AQ 58 ES.

Updated

Inquiry to probe Dfat preparedness for future border crisis

A parliamentary committee will inquire into whether the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has learned its lessons on border crisis arrangements, after tens of thousands of Australians were left stranded overseas during the Covid border closure.

In June the Australian National Audit Office report found that Scott Morrison’s pandemic pledge to return Australians stranded overseas by Christmas 2020 caught officials off-guard, revealing the then prime minister announced the plan before it was discussed within government.

The ANAO found major gaps in the department’s record-keeping included failing to keep proper records of Australians deemed to be particularly vulnerable and why they sometimes rejected flight offers, undermining the quality of advice that could flow to government during the border closures.

Now the joint committee of public accounts and audit will inquire into whether the department has corrected what the ANAO called “weaknesses in responding to standard and complex, and large-scale crises”.

The committee chair, Julian Hill, told Guardian Australia:

We’re not going to be a Covid royal commission, but there’s a significant public interest in Dfat’s performance during the crisis, particularly among the 10,000s of Australians who were stranded overseas. It is important – parliament needs to be confident on behalf of the Australian people that Dfat has learned the lessons set out in the auditor general’s report and is better prepared for future crises.

Updated

‘This is not a well thought through decision’: Top medical body criticises dropping of mask mandates on public transport

The Australian Medical Authority says it is disappointed by state governments’ decision to drop mask mandates on public transport “without notice, clear guidance or public health advice”.

NSW and South Australia yesterday announced they will join the ACT, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania in not requiring public transport passengers to mask up.

The president of the AMA, Prof Steve Robson, said governments were continuing to make serious decisions with no consultation and no discussion about how to prepare for the consequences. Robson said:

We’re really disappointed with the decision and how it was communicated.

This is a major decision which will have consequences and it should have been done with national consensus and clear health guidance. Masks kept us safe from infection when we didn’t have a vaccine and they continue to be an effective, low cost, low hassle and proven way to protect ourselves and others.

While we are now largely vaccinated, Covid is still very serious, particularly for vulnerable populations. It can be deadly for many people, not to mention disruptive to our lives.

Restrictions are being loosened including time in isolation and we still don’t have any sign this was based on medical evidence. Masks and boosters are now our main line of defence.

Robson said the decision came at a time when worrying data was still being released, including in aged care.

Many of our most vulnerable people in the community are the ones that use public transport the most.

This is not a well thought through decision at a time when we are still coming to understand the threat posed by long Covid to our health with evidence emerging you are more likely to develop long Covid with multiple infections.

Updated

New taskforce to reform ‘legal attrition’ of NDIS appeals system

Former disability discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes will lead a new taskforce aimed at blitzing the massive backlog of national disability insurance scheme legal appeals.

In frank comments to an Every Australian Counts seminar on Tuesday, the NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, said the new process was designed to “cut the bullshit”, as he acknowledged the existing appeals system had been “opaque” or “unaccountable”.

Before the election, Labor flagged plans to overhaul the appeals process, which Shorten said had created a “David v Goliath” situation for NDIS participants and applicants.

Shorten said Innes would appoint experts to an oversight committee that would review people’s cases in a more conciliatory way. The process would be voluntary and people would have the right to continue with their appeals to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

He said:

We’ll start with an initial trial process of 15 or 20 matters. And if that works we want to get to 2,000-plus matters which are currently on the waiting lists before Christmas.

He said the “alternative dispute resolution” was first and foremost aimed at blitzing the current backlog but would also be used to inform a new planning and appeals process.

He said the system would be aimed at mediation rather than “legal attrition”.

I don’t want the agency to lawyer up.

According to Shorten, the number of outstanding NDIS AAT appeals had reduced by about 10% since the election, though there were still just under 4,000 active appeals.

Updated

‘Noble spirit’: Albanese reflects on Queen’s funeral

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has just shared a series of tweets reflecting on his recent visit to London, where he attended Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

Albanese’s respectful remarks about the Queen come as Guardian Australia’s latest essential poll shows the nation is divided in its support for Australia retaining the British monarch as its head of state.

Survey respondents were split 50-50 but women, older voters and Coalition supporters were more likely to back the new monarch.

Updated

Push for fossil-fuel sponsorship crackdown in NSW

National sporting leagues and their teams could soon be crying poor if a plan to ban one of their major sponsors goes ahead in NSW, AAP reports.

Greens MP Sue Higginson has flagged she will introduce a bill to parliament to prevent fossil-fuel companies from advertising, similar to the ban on tobacco companies.

Her plan would include a ban on sporting sponsorships in a bid to combat “greenwashing” where companies claim environmental credentials they don’t necessarily have (see below for the ACCC’s take on that).

Higginson said today:

It’s wrong that these companies that are causing so much damage and who are behind the terrible climate disasters we’re now continually facing are able to run public advertising campaigns showing wind turbines and solar panels, or to have their names on the uniforms of our children’s sports teams.

She says public health concerns should motivate the ban because climate change is “the biggest public health crisis we’re facing”.

The controversial move could struggle to make it through parliament, but it is not without precedent. NSW rugby league teams used to fight all season for a trophy that shared its name with a cigarette, and a different manufacturer was a long-term sponsor of Cricket Australia’s predecessor.

The NRL and its chair, Peter V’landys, have proven adept at extracting funds from the NSW government in recent years with threats to move its grand final interstate, and any bill targeting its main sponsor, Ampol, risks further drawing their ire. There will be no advantage for the rival rugby code either, with the Wallabies sponsored by gas giant Santos.

The AFL has Shell as an official partner, the Super Netball league has Origin Energy, while Cricket Australia says its principal partnership with Alinta Energy is “one of the most visible sponsorships in Australian sport”.

The City of Sydney Council, considered one of the most valuable outdoor advertising markets in the country, recently passed a motion banning fossil-fuel advertising. The Sydney Cricket Ground and the recently rebuilt Sydney Football Stadium are both located within that council’s borders, but are owned by an agency of the NSW government, which hasn’t banned the ads yet.

Updated

ACCC actively targeting greenwashing this year

Australia’s consumer watchdog has today announced a crackdown on businesses “greenwashing” – falsely promoting environmentally friendly credentials of products .

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says companies need to be prepared to substantiate any environmental or sustainability claims when marketing their goods and services. Otherwise, the ACCC will take enforcement action where they see that consumers are being misled or deceived by green claims.

The deputy chair of the ACCC, Delia Rickard, said today in a speech at the SMH Sustainability Summit:

Unfortunately, the ACCC is hearing growing concerns that some businesses are falsely promoting environmental or green credentials to capitalise on changing consumer preferences.

Broad terms like ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘green’, or ‘sustainable’ have limited value and may mislead consumers, as they rarely provide enough information about what that exactly means in terms of the product or service consumers are considering purchasing.

It is important that businesses can back up the claims they are making, whether through reliable scientific reports, transparent supply chain information, reputable third-party certification, or other forms of evidence. Where we have concerns, we will be asking businesses to substantiate their claims.

The ACCC is actively monitoring green claims in the market and will be considering what steps can be taken to improve their integrity. This will include engaging with industry and producing guidance for businesses.

Many businesses go to extraordinary lengths to make their processes, products and services more sustainable. This innovation and investment should be protected from unscrupulous behaviour of other businesses making green claims without incurring the same costs. This can have a chilling effect on investment in this space, as businesses are not able to realise the full benefits of making environmental improvements.

Rickard urged businesses to step into the shoes of a consumer before making environmental claims about a product, as they “generally need to take at face value that claims made are truthful, and accurate.”

Updated

Treasurer ‘doesn’t want to admit that he inherited a very strong economy’: Angus Taylor

Angus Taylor:

It is very clear from what we saw today, the budget in a very strong, the economy is in a very strong position. We saw that there is a great win both on the revenue side and in reduced spending, the strength of the labour market has meant that spending would otherwise had to be made wasn’t, people are working and when people are working, they don’t need as much money from the government and that’s a very, very good thing. The real issue here is Labor’s plan is … to spend that money.

The treasurer today came out and admitted that he has a $50bn windfall and he doesn’t want to admit that he inherited a very strong economy and a very strong budget. That’s what we heard from the treasurer today.

Now, he needs to be clear with the Australian people and say, yes, he has inherited a very strong economy, a very strong budget and his job now is to improve on that. The real pressure Australians are facing is at the grocery checkout, on the cost of living side and we do want to see a clearer plan from Labor on that.

Updated

Angus Taylor says Labor lacks a ‘clear plan’ without necessary cost of living relief

Taylor offers his vision of what he would have liked to have heard from Chalmers, including an extension of the fuel excise:

What’s important is that Labor have an across-the-board strategy approach plan on cost of living. There is no doubt that people have felt pain at the fuel browser but we’ve also seen a reduction in fuel prices over recent months. But they are feeling pain at the price check out, feeling pain when they buy furniture, when they renovate, and in many other areas we are seen as inflationary pressures.

We have made a number of clear suggestions about how they can do that, first and foremost, getting more people into the labour market, making sure that people can work more and they’ve gone whether – but all we saw from Labor is a plan to spend more of Australians money without alleviating those cost of living pressures and at the same time, a plan to shift bargains.

Updated

Shadow treasurer criticises government’s ‘big tax budget’

Angus Taylor, the shadow treasurer, is in Sydney speaking in response to Jim Chalmer’s preview of the October budget (see earlier blog posts) and is criticising Labor’s plans to spend the $50bn windfall revealed in the budget.

This is money that belongs to Australians. Labor said this is going to be a bread and butter budget. A bread and butter budget for Labor is a big-spend, big-tax budget. That is what is their bread and butter and that is exactly what we saw from Jim Chalmers today.

[What] we need is a clear plan to deal with the inflation and cost of living pressures Australians are facing, [the] rising interest rates Australians are facing and the only plan we saw today from Jim Chalmers was a plan to spend your money.

Updated

Western Australia eyes end to Covid-19 state of emergency

Western Australia’s government is set to finally end the state of emergency used to close borders during the Covid-19 pandemic, AAP reports.

The premier, Mark McGowan, has confirmed his government will in coming days introduce urgent legislation to parliament enabling a “temporary Covid-19 declaration”, which would replace the emergency powers first introduced in early-2020.

Under the new arrangement, the government would no longer be able to declare immediate border closures.

The police commissioner would retain the power to make declarations about mask-wearing in aged and disability care settings and stay-home orders for positive cases.

WA kept its borders closed for almost two years before finally reopening in March this year.

McGowan said it was the right time to move to “much lesser” powers, with the pandemic threat no longer as serious. He told ABC radio today:

A lot of people have called for this. We’ve listened.

We’ve drafted it as quickly as we can but we need to get it through the parliament so we can implement it when the existing state of emergency expires.

The premier of Western Australia Mark McGowan.
The premier of Western Australia Mark McGowan. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Sydney-based teal independents speak at Sydney Morning Herald Sustainability Summit

Sydney Morning Herald’s Sustainability Summit is taking place today in Sydney.

Its website says the summit aims to “analyse the political appetite for regulatory reform, assess how Corporate Australia can balance responsibility with shareholder return, and showcase organisations who are already seeing measurable results for their sustainability commitments”.

A ministerial address by the NSW treasurer and minister for energy Matt Kean kicked off the summit followed later by a panel with independent Sydney-based federal members of parliament Kylea Tink, Zali Steggall, Allegra Spender and Sophie Scamps.

Updated

Daniel Andrews flags billion-dollar hospital plan for Melbourne’s north

Victoria’s premier Daniel Andrews has promised a billion-dollar hospital plan for Melbourne’s north if re-elected in the state election, including upgrades at the Austin hospital at Heidelberg and the Northern hospital at Epping.

The Northern has the busiest emergency department in Victoria.

The funding would redevelop the hospitals, expand the emergency department at the Austin and add a new department and extra beds at the Northern.

Healthcare has been a big driver in the election campaign. Opposition leader Matthew Guy has made more than $6bn in election promises for the state’s “broken” health system since the campaigning began, opting to shelve the suburban rail loop to free up funds.

Updated

Queensland police taskforce reviews DNA evidence

A police taskforce will identify and review evidence for additional DNA testing as an inquiry probes potential shortcomings in Queensland lab testing, AAP reports.

The inquiry’s interim report is expected to be handed to the state government on Tuesday as it investigates if DNA collection, testing and analysis has been reliable and in line with best practice.

Queensland police confirmed a taskforce has been established to “continue identifying and reviewing evidentiary samples for additional DNA testing with Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services”. A spokesperson said in a statement:

(Police are) committed to working with the Commission of Inquiry into Forensic DNA Testing and looks forward to receiving its final report in due course.

During a press conference on Tuesday, acting deputy commissioner Mark Wheeler said the number of samples is in the thousands.

So there is a fair bit of work to get through.

We look at the seriousness of the case first. We’ve got to prioritise. That’s why we’ve set up a team who are experts in that area.

They’re all very, very seasoned detectives, and we’ll work through that backlog as quickly as we can.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was shocked by the findings.

Commissioner Walter Sofronoff, a former court of appeal president, is leading the inquiry. The final report is due on 13 December.

Updated

ACT bushfire season delayed by a month after high rainfall

In some good news, the official start to the bushfire season in Australian capital has been delayed by a month until the start of November due to higher-than-average rainfall this year.

The ACT government says it’s expecting “below normal” fire potential and a “reduced overall threat” this summer.

Updated

Chalmers warns Australians not to expect much cost-of-living help in budget

Chalmers at his presser is warning “punters” (his word) not to expect much cost-of-living help in that 25 October budget.

To spend up would run counter to the “hard work” being done by the RBA to bring down inflation, he says.

We’ll see, as it’ll be hard for the Albanese government to front up without some relief, you’d have to think.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics today let us know that it will release its consumer price index data for July and August on 29 September (neatly dovetailing with the return of the fuel excise).

Those numbers will likely be close to 7% on the way to a predicted peak of 7.75% by December.

Perhaps accidentally but certainly conveniently the full September quarter CPI (and for September alone) will be released by the ABS on 26 October – the day after that “interim” budget of Chalmers and Gallagher will land.

Updated

Here’s more on Chalmers asserting the October budget will be “pretty standard” and “bread and butter”.

He pointed to the economic pressures Australia is facing.

Reporter:

Philip Lowe last Friday was making a point… a record number of people in work and unemployment at a 48 year low and still be budget is in deficit. Is he right that that is a bit peculiar? And secondly, can you confirm that though we might be acting on Russian gas, Australia in particular has benefited in a budgetary sense from the war in Ukraine?

Chalmers:

This is the reality of the budget we inherited. We do have some things going for us, we do have very low unemployment. We have had solid demand. We have to get a good prices for our commodities but those prices are coming off.

At the same time, we have some pretty extreme pressures of the budget … there are more to come … I do think we need to have a national discussion about the structural position of the budget. And how we fund the expectations that Australians legitimately have …

The first budget in October will be pretty standard. Pretty solid. A bread and butter budget. But there are multiple opportunities and multiple budgets over the course of the next three years or so for us to properly engage the people in a proper national conversation about the services we provide and how we find them.

Updated

Expect ‘bread and butter budget’ in October, treasurer says

Chalmers is saying we should expect a “bread and butter” budget next month, so I guess that means no thrills (not even Vegemite!).

The deficit will remain “north of $30bn” even with the $50bn improvement since former treasurer Josh Frydenberg (who is not named) laid down his final budget at the end of March, Chalmers says.

Some of the money that was promised in spending “didn’t get out the door” so catching up on that spending will counter some of the increase, Chalmers and Katy Gallagher are telling the journalists.

Paul Karp from the Guardian asks about the $1.9bn gas subsidy for Beetaloo Basin and elsewhere (as we reported here) and whether the axe might fall on that.

Gallagher says:

You’ll have to wait and see.

Updated

Chalmers under no ‘illusions’ when it comes to Russia and oil uncertainty

The press conference has now moved onto taking questions.

Chalmers is asked if backing the G7 price cap on Russian oil is purely symbolic move by Australia or whether it will genuinely drive down oil prices. He responds:

We need to be realistic but our view is anything that has the potential to deal with our concerns around the global oil price – that we should explore.

No one is under any illusions about the uncertainty around the Russian response.

The Americans, G7 partners and others are doing a heap of work to make this as effective as possible and we want to be a part of that.

Updated

Fuel excise will not be extended, treasurer says, in ‘difficult’ decision

Chalmers is also discussing the end of the fuel excise “holiday” that will end next Wednesday night.

He says this is one of the “difficult decisions” the government is taking to “make room” for all other spending pressures.

Chalmers has talked up the 700m litres of fuel sitting in service stations that should not go up in price immediately (“700m reasons” not to push the price up 23 cents a litre)

This suggest we don’t really have a lot of fuel in storage in Australia –and it’s going to be a challenge to work out which is “old” fuel in the tanks.

Still, prices in Australia are about 50 cents a litre better than the peak in some places, so things could have been worse.

A Shell petrol station in Melbourne.
A Shell petrol station in Melbourne. Photograph: Diego Fedele/EPA

Updated

Treasurer foreshadows 'substantial but temporary' tax increase in budget

Jim Chalmers has been providing an update of the fiscal conditions ahead of the 25 October budget.

“We’ve booked a substantial but temporary lift in taxes,” Chalmers said, leading to a $50bn improvement in the budget compared to the March budget.

Of that $28bn more has come from higher than expected commodity prices, and the rest from lower-than-expected payments.

But Chalmers said the rolling two-week average for key commodities has dropped a lot since June. Iron ore prices, for example, are off about 20% and coking coal prices are down 25%.

More to come.

Updated

Prices won’t jump overnight when fuel excise ends: Chalmers

Chalmers:

Wednesday night next week the fuel excise relief comes off and I want to explain why prices should not jump the whole 23 cents overnight.

We are also supporting the G7 efforts to impose a price cap on Russian oil, and I want to spend a little bit of time briefly explaining why that is the case. When it comes to the final budget outcome for last year, the numbers are still being finalised for that.

Updated

Treasurer and finance minister give budget preview

The treasurer Jim Chalmers and the finance minister Katy Gallagher are presenting a preview of the federal budget, which will be delivered in full in October.

Chalmers says:

Today, we wanted to talk to you about the budget, which is five weeks away today. We have a fair bit to update you on … we wanted to give you an early and pretty comprehensive sense of that in advance.

Katy will also give you a sense of what the spending pressures that we’ve been dealing with since the election look like – the ones that were not budgeted for by our predecessors. Whether it is in any support, flood support, Covid support, it is now running into the billions of dollars.

Updated

Budget explainer to be released tomorrow with focus on fuel taxation

Any budget nerds know they are in for a treat this year with not one but two budgets since the nation saw a change of government in May.

While Treasurer Jim Chalmers isn’t set to deliver Labor’s budget until October, the Parliamentary Budget Office is whetting the public’s appetite with an explainer to be released tomorrow.

The explainer will examine how fuel taxation in Australia works and how the system is affected by government policies. Of course the fuel excise was a big feature of the Coalitions’ budget delivered by former treasurer Josh Frydenberg in March ahead of the federal election.

However, the Albanese government has indicated they will not extend the excise due to expire at the end of this month.

Updated

Australia's oldest man dies at 110

Australia’s oldest man, who exercised every day and didn’t smoke, drink or gamble, has died at the age of 110 after contracting Covid-19.

Frank Mawer was born on 15 August 1912, and was living with his son Philip in Central Tilba on the New South Wales south coast when he went for his afternoon nap on Saturday and didn’t wake up.

Another son, Barry, said his father’s health went downhill after contracting Covid-19 several weeks ago. Barry said in a statement today:

He lived life to the full even in recent months.

He insisted on sitting up for meals, he did his exercises every day and had plenty of visitors.

Until November Mawer lived independently in his own apartment in Sydney, supported by staff from HammondCare, and only moved to the south coast to be with his son and his partner after a fall.

The Former NSW premier and now HammondCare chief executive Mike Baird said Mawer lived an “extraordinary life”.

“Frank was the most inspiring individual, a gracious man and a man of faith,” Baird said.

Mawer became the nation’s oldest man in July after the death of Queensland’s Dexter Kruger.

In 2020 Mawer offered advice for living to a healthy old age: no smoking, no drinking and no gambling. He said:

These are three things you can choose. The way you live makes a difference.

However, Mawer confessed to one sweet vice: Portuguese tarts.

Mawer married Elizabeth in 1939 and together they raised six children. Elizabeth died 11 years ago, aged 92. Mawer said: “It was a long marriage to a lovely girl.”

– via AAP

Frank Mawer on his 109th birthday.
Frank Mawer on his 109th birthday. Photograph: HAMMONDCARE/PR IMAGE

Updated

Pat Dodson to discuss First Nations diplomacy at UN assembly

At that UN assembly in New York this week, Senator Pat Dodson, the special envoy for reconciliation and implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, is part of the Australian delegation.

He is expected to speak with Indigenous representatives from other nations about how to achieve a First Nations foreign policy.

Dodson said:

In Australia, we are currently having a conversation about how we bring First Nations perspectives to the forefront of all that we do and this includes foreign and trade policy.

First Nations experiences and practices can enrich our diplomacy and strengthen our relationships with other countries, including in the Indo-Pacific region.

– with AAP

Senator Pat Dodson
‘First Nations experiences and practices can enrich our diplomacy’: Senator Pat Dodson. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Updated

Aid organisations push for famine help from Australia ahead of Penny Wong’s UN address

The minister for foreign affairs, Penny Wong, will address the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week to deliver Australia’s national statement.

Wong is leading Australia’s delegation at the 77th session of the assembly this week, accompanied by Senator Patrick Dodson.

Ahead of that statement, the Albanese government is being urged to use its first address to the UN to deliver urgent funding for famine-stricken regions across the globe.

The war in Ukraine with Russia is set to take centre stage at the session as the conflict between the two major grain and fertiliser producers has massively reduced exports.

Grain supply shortages coupled with the impacts of climate change, including severe droughts, have pushed countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Yemen into acute food shortages and to the brink of starvation.

A broad coalition of Australia’s leading aid and development organisations is calling for the government to commit $150m for an emergency famine package.

Help Fight Famine’s spokesperson Tim Costello said such a package would show Australia won’t abandon nations facing starvation.

The US will co-host a food and security summit with European and African nations on the sidelines of the UN.

US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said while Ukraine would feature heavily during the general assembly, it would not be the only matter discussed:

Other countries have expressed the concern that ... as we focus on Ukraine, we are not paying attention to what is happening in other crises around the world.

That is not the case.

– with Reuters and AAP

People carry bags of grains in Ethiopia as part of relief food sent from Ukraine.
People carry bags of grains in Ethiopia as part of relief food sent from Ukraine. Photograph: Tiksa Negeri/Reuters

Updated

Queensland police will have to use ‘open and closed hand tactics’ after spit hood ban, union says

The Queensland police union says it will back officers to use “open and closed hand tactics” to defend themselves in state watch houses, after the banning of controversial spit hoods.

The decision to ban spit hoods was announced by the police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, on Monday, after a review by the Queensland police service.

Consumers regain some lost confidence as inflation expectations rise

We heard from the Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe last Friday that the central bank expects to lift the cash rate again next month, with the main question being whether it’s a lift of 25 basis points to 2.6% or 50 points to 2.85%.

The raise would make it six in a row for the RBA – a record series.

There are not a lot of big stats to land between now and 4 October so Lowe will be looking at smaller gauges of what’s going on, such as the weekly gauge of consumer confidence by ANZ and Roy Morgan.

Well, that measure ticked up modestly last week, reversing a minor dip the week before, and points to shopper sentiment holding up.

The sub-measures were mixed but it’s notable the gauge of “time to buy a major household item” rose 3.7% for its third consecutive weekly increase.

Anyway, something else that picked up – which the RBA hawks have their eyes on – was inflation expectations.

Lowe has made a point about his interest in consumer psychology and making sure views that inflation will only keep rising don’t take hold.

David Plank, head of ANZ’s Australian economics, highlighted an odd trend that has emerged:

[T]he confidence of people paying off their mortgage is greater than those renting for the first time since the RBA started raising interest rates in May after confidence of renters dropped by 8.7% last week.

This may indicate that people with mortgages have taken comfort from recent commentary that the RBA might scale back the size of rate increases in October.

We think that commentary is misplaced and expect another 50bp from the RBA in October.

Such a rise might come “as something of a shock for those with mortgages”, he said.

But those reading this blog might not be surprised as we’ve noted that investors firmly back another 50 basis point rate rise next month as the likely outcome.

Guess we’ll find out in a fortnight.

Updated

Sperm whales die on King Island coast in mass stranding

At least 14 young male sperm whales have died in a mass stranding on King Island, wildlife authorities say.

The Tasmanian government is sending wildlife biologists and a vet to the island, in Bass Strait, to investigate and collect samples.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment’s marine conservation program would also conduct aerial surveys to see if there were other whales in the area, a spokesperson said. It is not unusual for sperm whales to be seen in the area, they said.

It appears all 14 animals are young males and were dead at the time the stranding was reported on Monday afternoon.

While further inquiries are yet to be carried out, it is possible the whales were part of the same bachelor pod – a group of younger male sperm whales associating together after leaving the maternal group.

The spokesperson said it was an offence to interfere with protected wildlife, including being in possession of parts of a dead whale, and asked locals to report sightings of swimming and stranded whales and dolphins to 0427 WHALES.

Updated

Victorians warned to move to higher ground as flooding continues

Moderate flooding is expected along the King and Ovens rivers in the north-east Murray catchment, near the New South Wales border.

Updated

NSW premier renews threat to rail union over plan to turn off Opal machines

The New South Wales premier will seek to rip up an enterprise agreement if rail unions proceed with a threat to deactivate the train network’s Opal card readers, AAP reports.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union is reviving its plan to shut down the scanners after ditching the strategy on the weekend, following a government threat to launch court action.

The union had planned to leave station gates open from Wednesday and also deactivate the Opal readers, preventing commuters tapping on to pay for trips, as part of industrial action reported to cost the government more than $1m a day.

Premier Dominic Perrottet says the government is poised to react if there is any more industrial action or if commuters are unable to pay for trips. He told Sydney radio 2GB this morning:

If that action is taken, either a further strike which ... inconveniences people across the state, we will seek to terminate that agreement in the Fair Work Commission (FWC).

Any industrial activity taken on the metro system which is costing taxpayers billions, then we will also seek to terminate.

The premier first threatened to terminate the agreement after a month of industrial action in August if there was further action.

The union said it was confident it would prevail and have the readers switched off as part of its long industrial campaign over the safety of a new intercity train fleet and wages and conditions for workers.

RTBU secretary Alex Claassens told reporters on Monday:

We went through a fairly severe process to make sure that it was legal and above board.

However, the government, of course, in its midnight application, identified that there may have been a particular issue with a process.

Dominic Perrottet has threatened to tear up the enterprise agreement if the rail union deactivates Opal machines.
Dominic Perrottet has threatened to tear up the enterprise agreement if the rail union deactivates Opal machines. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

A new application to switch off the readers was filed on Monday, which the union is confident will stand up.

“It was just a last-minute desperate bid to try and stop us from locking those gates open and allowing the commuters of NSW to travel for free,” Classens said.

A decision over whether the Opal scanners can be shut down will be made during a hearing in the Fair Work Commission (FWC) in the next 48 hours.

If the commission accepts the action, the readers will be switched off 10 days later.

The RTBU and the government met at the FWC on Monday for a second day of conciliation talks.

As part of its campaign, the union recently took Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink to the FWC in a bid to keep negotiating a new enterprise agreement and changes to Korean-built trains that have been mothballed for years, with the union saying they are not safe to operate.

Updated

Moderate flooding possible at Wangaratta this afternoon

Victorian government highlights state’s emissions cuts as election looms

With Victoria wrapping up its parliament this week ahead of the 26 November state election, the Andrews government is keen to remind us that the state has been cutting greenhouse gas emissions faster than other states.

In its report for the 2020 year, the state’s emissions had fallen 29.8% compared with 2005 levels to a total 83.3m tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (MtCO2-e).

Given the goal was a 15-20% reduction by 2020, the government is not out of line in its claims of “smashing” the target.

Nationally, compared with the tally in 2005 of 626.2 MtCO2-e, emissions at the end of 2020 were 483.9 MtCO2-e or about 22.7% down. They have, however, since perked up to 488 tonnes.

The Covid disruptions helped in 2020, not just for Victoria but nationally. And much of the reduction has come from the closure in 2017 of Hazelwood, the dirtiest coal-fired power plant in the country.

As Victoria draws most of its power still from the remaining lignite plants in the Latrobe Valley, there’s also scope for a significant reduction in emissions in coming years. As of the end of 2020, for instance, the electricity sector contributed 50.1% of total net emissions, or double the next largest source, transport (25%).

Since 1990, the state’s emissions were down about 25% by 2020 even as its population rose by almost 53% and the economy more than doubled, expanding by 127%.

On a per capita basis, emissions in Victoria are larger only than those in Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, the report said.

The state’s share of energy generation from renewable sources has since risen to 34% in the 2021-22 financial year, and Victoria was one of the first jurisdictions to legislate net-zero emissions. In 2023, the government (presumably, if re-elected) will aim to set an interim 2035 target based on independent advice.

Energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio said:

Our nation-leading investment in renewable energy has helped us smash our 2020 emissions target – and we’re well on the way to reducing emissions by 50% by 2030.

It’s only the Labor government that has a track record of delivering on climate change – slashing emissions while driving down the cost of living for Victorian families.

Updated

Small businesses lifting wages to attract and keep staff

Employees working for small businesses are starting to see their pay packets grow modestly as workers remain in short supply, AAP reports.

Wages in small and medium enterprises lifted 1.8% cent in August, according to an Employment Hero analysis, with the median hourly wage now sitting at $34.45.

This was an 8.6% rise since the same time last year.

Employment Hero’s chief executive Ben Thompson said:

We’re witnessing talent shortages affecting key areas and industries, which in turn is slowly lifting salary growth with median hourly rates increasing as businesses prioritise retaining and attracting talent.

People walk past cafes along Elizabeth Street in Melbourne.
Small and medium businesses lifted wages by 1.8% in August amid an ongoing skills shortage. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP

Younger staff saw a larger pay bump than their more senior colleagues, the report revealed.

Employees between 18 and 64 years of age experienced an 8.9% lift in wages compared to 7.6% increase for staff over 65.

Thompson said higher wages could be used to entice older workers into the workforce.

Given one of the areas discussed at the recent jobs and skills summit was getting older workers back into the workforce, this disparity may not encourage them to postpone retirement plans.

The report, based on data collected from 120,000 small and medium-sized businesses, also showed staff numbers were still increasing but the rate of growth was easing.

Updated

Victorian Greens leader calls on parliament to condemn hospital renaming

My colleague Benita Kolovos brought you the news a little earlier that the Victorian Greens are set to introduce a motion to parliament today, calling on the government to “immediately reverse” a decision to rename Maroondah hospital after Queen Elizabeth II.

If you’re interested in what that motion looks like, have a read:

Updated

Buddy Franklin says he’s ‘still got a little bit to give’

Franklin said he was “50/50, if I’m to be honest” about how close he was to calling it quits after this year, but after speaking to the people he cared about it became “clear that I need to go on”.

There’s obviously unfinished business, to get an opportunity to hopefully win a grand final this week, but I just feel like I’ve still got a little bit to give.

I’ve been playing for 18 years. It’s a long time in the game. Obviously got a young family. Things have changed a lot since I first got here. There was a lot of decision-making and things I had to put in place to come to this decision but as I said... I’m over the moon with this decision and I’m looking forward to playing this year and going on next.

A reporter asked Franklin: “Is it only one more year, Lance?”

He responded:

Hopefully we can have this conversation next year.

Unfinished business: Lance Franklin.
Unfinished business: Lance Franklin. Photograph: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Updated

‘I wanted to make this about the boys’: Buddy Franklin on grand final and playing on at Swans

Buddy Franklin was speaking in Sydney this morning following his announcement that he will be playing one more season with the Swans, after agreeing to a one-year contract extension with his Sydney AFL club.

Franklin’s announcement made with the two words – “one more” – had echoes of Michael Jordan who succinctly announced his return to the NBA in 1995 with “I’m back”.

This is what Franklin had to say – elaborating slightly beyond those two syllables – this morning:

I just thought the time was right to come out. We’ve got the grand final this week. There’ll be a lot of speculation – is he going to go on? I wanted to make this about the boys. This is a huge game for us. Me and my family came to the decision that we wanted to stay in Sydney.

It was obviously a long process to come to that decision. I wasn’t sure whether he was going to go on but I’ve come to the decision that I’ve still got the passion, love the game. I’ve enjoyed every minute of this year. I’ve got such an exciting group here and to go on another year is just a no-brainer for me.

Updated

'Disappointing and disheartening': Greens push to stop Melbourne hospital being renamed after Queen

The Victorian Greens are set to introduce a motion to parliament today, calling on the government to immediately reverse a “disheartening” decision to rename Maroondah hospital after Queen Elizabeth II.

In a pre-election pledge on Sunday, Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, promised to rebuild the Maroondah hospital, in East Ringwood, at a cost of $1bn and rename it to pay tribute to the late Queen.

The Victorian Greens leader, Samantha Ratnam, told reporters outside parliament the decision was made without consultation with First Nations communities and should be reversed:

There has been very little consultation and most alarmingly, since the decision and the announcement, a real resistance to dialogue with First Nations communities about how to move forward.

If it’s a mistake, the government should admit that it’s a mistake and correct its mistake. What’s really concerning is that they’re not moving, despite First Nations communities being aghast, calling this utterly disrespectful, particularly at a time when we’re embarking upon a treaty process – the first of its kind anywhere in Australia, which should be the exemplar for how to do dialogue and listen to First Nations communities.

It is so disappointing and disheartening and that’s why we’re urging the government to reverse its decision immediately.

‘It is so disappointing and disheartening’: Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam.
‘It is so disappointing and disheartening’: Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Marcus Stewart, co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, which is the body elected to develop the state’s Indigenous treaty framework, criticised the decision on Monday, saying it had turned Maroondah hospital “into a culturally unsafe place for our people”.

Updated

Police shut down Melbourne CBD streets as man arrested

Parts of William Street in the Melbourne city centre have been closed off after a man allegedly entered an office building with hazardous materials, AAP reports.

A police critical incident response team was sent to the scene this morning as officers locked down the area and negotiated with the man.

The man was arrested and taken to hospital for observation under police guard. Police said the scene had since been declared safe.

Emergency service personnel earlier responded to reports the man was behaving erratically at the building while in possession of petrol cans and other hazardous substances.

Witnesses Sam Di Palma and Daniel Safstrom said they saw a man in the building with a full trolley and officers were trying to talk to him.

The building houses offices for CGU Insurance, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, Court Services Victoria and legal firms including Gordon Legal and Baker McKenzie.

Updated

UN regional conference on disaster risk being held in Brisbane

It’s the second day of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Brisbane, co-hosted by Australia and the United Nations and running until 22 September.

The conference is being held for the first time since the pandemic.

As their website states, it’s the main regional platform in Asia-Pacific for promoting coordination and cooperation on disaster risk Reduction, bringing together UN Member States, intergovernmental organisations, international and national organisations and stakeholder groups.

Updated

NSW to introduce ‘no body, no parole’ law for convicted killers

“No body, no parole” laws will be strengthened in New South Wales to motivate convicted killers to reveal the whereabouts of their victim’s body, AAP reports.

Premier Dominic Perrottet says legislation will be introduced into parliament this week, meaning convicted murderers will be denied any chance of parole unless they disclose the location of their victim’s remains.

The new laws would affect about six prisoners in NSW jails.

He said in a statement today:

We will make it impossible for offenders who wilfully and deliberately refuse to disclose information about their victims’ remains to be granted parole.

The bill has been dubbed “Lyn’s law” after former Sydney teacher Chris Dawson was convicted last month of murdering his 33-year-old wife Lynette, who disappeared from their northern beaches home more than 40 years ago.

The body of the mother of two has never been found and a petition has been launched lobbying for the reform.

The premier said he hoped the legislation would comfort grieving families.

Being unable to locate a loved one’s body is extremely distressing and traumatic for the families and friends of victims and it denies a victim the dignity of being laid to rest appropriately.

These laws are to stop inmates convicted of murder or homicide offences from getting parole unless they co-operate with police to end the torment of families and return to them the remains of their loved ones.

The reform will mean the State Parole Authority (SPA) cannot grant parole unless it concludes the offender has co-operated satisfactorily in identifying the victim’s location.

The SPA will rely on written advice from the police commissioner and other relevant information to determine whether the offender has co-operated satisfactorily to identify a victim’s location.

The corrections minister Geoff Lee said the reforms were modelled on laws in other jurisdictions and would apply to all current and future inmates in NSW to capture convicted offenders who have not yet been considered for parole.

The legislation will bring NSW into line with laws in Queensland, WA, SA, Victoria and the Northern Territory, where offenders can be refused parole if they refuse to disclose the whereabouts of victims’ remains.

Updated

Victorian government commits $1bn to emergency departments in Melbourne’s north

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has vowed to expand two of the state’s busiest emergency departments in Melbourne’s north, in a pre-election $1bn health pledge.

The expansion will include an investment of up to $300m at the Austin Hospital and up to $885m at the Northern Hospital. The funding will help add more emergency department spaces to treat patients faster.

Andrews said it the expansion was a “big boost” for Victoria’s northern suburbs.

We know there is pressure in the system.

This means more emergency department space, more emergency department patients being treated and a stronger and better health system for millions more.

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has made another health pledge in the lead-up to the state election.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has made another health pledge in the lead-up to the state election. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Updated

Gunnedah and north-east NSW on alert with more rain expected

The clean up is under way in northern NSW where recent rain brought flooding to the town of Gunnedah and surrounds, but the area could still see 50-60mm more rain in the coming days.

The big concern is that it won’t take much rainfall for the rivers to flood because they are already at very elevated heights.

The Namoi River peaked early on Sunday morning at 8.16 metres, inundating at least four homes in Gunnedah, and a higher peak later this week could potentially see more homes affected.

Guardian Australia’s rural network freelancer Tom Plevey is in Gunnedah.

Updated

Australian climate commitments will help achieve EU free trade deal, delegation chair says

Bernd Lange, the chair of the EU parliament’s Committee on International Trade (Inta), has taken to social media this morning to say yesterday’s meeting with Australian officials has resulted in a “very positive first day of exchanges”.

A future trade agreement present both sides with a crucial opportunity for diversification.

The strong commitment of the current Australian government to combat climate change will certainly help to find a balanced deal.

Negotiations under the previous government had stalled over the Coalition’s climate change stance as well as tensions with Paris over the submarine deal.

There are now hopes the proposed long-lasting free trade deal between Australia and the European Union will be ratified by 2024.

Updated

Australian farmers welcome wriggle room in EU free trade deal

Australian officials, including the trade minister Don Farrell, have met with a delegation of the European parliament’s Committee on International Trade (Inta) at Parliament House in Canberra to discuss the progression of a proposed free trade deal between Australia and the European Union.

The European market has a gross domestic product of about $23tn and Australia is seeking to improve access for agricultural and industrial products as well as create new opportunities for education, financial and professional services.

Farrell said officials also discussed sustainable development during the meeting, and how Australia could become a leading global supplier of green energy.

Bernd Lange, chair of the Inta committee, appeared on ABC radio earlier this morning to discuss the outcomes of the meeting.

Lange said there was room for negotiation around geographical indicators like parmesan, and prosecco, for which the EU had previously suggested they wanted these food names to be more tightly bound to the regions of their origin.

He also indicated EU concerns around deforestation was targeted more around the Amazon, rather than Australia.

Tony Mahar, the CEO of the National Farmers’ Federation, followed Lange on ABC radio and said he was “comforted” by Lange’s position on these issues for Australia’s primary producers.

– with AAP

The hills and vineyards of the Prosecco region in Veneto, Italy.
The hills and vineyards of the Prosecco region in Veneto, Italy. Photograph: Pavel Rezac/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Updated

Victorian parliament sits for final days before state election

Victoria’s parliament will sit for the final time this week before the state election, AAP reports.

An extra sitting week was added to the calendar following Queen Elizabeth’s death.

The Queen’s passing meant parliament was adjourned following condolence motions in her honour, as well as for allowing time for MPs to swear their allegiance to the new monarch, King Charles.

Under a quirk in Victoria’s constitution, members of state parliament must pledge allegiance to the new monarch following the predecessor’s death.

Today and Wednesday will be normal sitting days with valedictory speeches from retiring members.

The final sitting day on 22 September will no longer go ahead after it was declared a one-off national public holiday by the prime minister Anthony Albanese.

Updated

Government ‘hopes’ to pass federal integrity commission legislation by year’s end: Gorman

One of the main concerns around the suspension of parliament for the Queen’s death was the delay to debating legislation for a federal anti-corruption commission.

ABC radio asked Gorman if the government is still committed to passing the legislation before the end of the year. The assistant minister to the prime minster responds:

We plan to introduce that legislation next week … We hope it will be passed by the end of the year.

The Senate has its own processes and may choose to look at this legislation for a period of time … We want to get it done in the right way and hopefully we see a path to get it done before the end of the year.

Updated

‘Important’ Indigenous perspectives shared after Queen's death, Patrick Gorman says

How Indigenous Australians feel about the Queen’s death was powerfully expressed by Stan Grant this weekend: “After Queen Elizabeth II’s death, Indigenous Australia can’t be expected to shut up. Our sorry business is without end.”

Asked about that piece on ABC radio, Patrick Gorman, the assistant minister to the prime minister, replied:

I think it’s really important those perspectives are shared. I thank Stan Grant and others who have chosen to put their perspectives forward.

The history of Australia, as we know, didn’t start in 1788 and indeed not all of our history is history of which we can stand proud today.

We recognise as a government we need to go so much further in the ongoing work of reconciliation.

‘Indigenous Australia can’t be expected to shut up’: Stan Grant
‘Indigenous Australia can’t be expected to shut up’: Stan Grant. Photograph: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Updated

Despite split support for monarchy, ‘that’s the situation we have at the moment’ Patrick Gorman says

The assistant minister to the prime minister, Patrick Gorman, is speaking to ABC radio. The interview kicks off with questions about Australia’s ties to the monarchy, as Anthony Albanese returns home after attending the Queen’s funeral.

RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas asks Gorman if he believes the events of recent days – the Queen’s death and the accession to King Charles – have deepened Australia’s connection to Britain, and to the monarchy.

Gorman:

I think those connections have always run very deep … We have a large number of people who have migrated from Britain … and this of course has served as a reminder of these ties.

Karvelas asks Gorman about the results of Guardian’s Essential Poll showing Australians are split 50-50 on whether they want King Charles as head of state:

People can give their opinions, it’s a matter of fact … That’s the situation we have at the moment.

People have been incredibly respectful about where they might choose to express their views or recognising that some of those debates are more appropriately held over for another day.

Updated

Australia signs up to G7’s price cap on Russian oil

Australia will sign up to the G7’s price cap on Russian oil, a measure aimed at cutting revenue for its Ukraine war effort and improve the cost of living.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and the foreign minister, Penny Wong, announced Australia will support the cap to take effect on 5 December for Russian crude oil and 5 February for refined products, such as diesel.

Earlier in September G7 finance ministers agreed to the measure, which includes a requirement for importers seeking shipping services and insurance cover from companies to adhere to a price cap to transport Russian oil.

Vladimir Putin has vowed not to sell oil to countries imposing the cap, but the G7 and European Union push could encourage those that still buy Russian oil, such as China and India, to seek further discounts, depriving Russia of revenue.

Australia’s participation in the price cap is largely symbolic, as it has already imposed a complete ban on importing, purchasing and transporting Russian oil, gas, refined petroleum products and coal.

Some countries that have imposed a ban may shift towards a price cap instead, but Australia has no plans to do so.

Chalmers said that “higher oil prices will likely drive higher inflation and risk slowing global economic growth”.

We’re looking to limit some of the impacts of the war in Europe on the cost of living, by supporting this price cap.

Wong said supporting the price cap “demonstrates Australia’s resolve to limit the global economic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while maximising the pressure on Russia to end the conflict”.

Australia condemns Russia’s unilateral, illegal and immoral aggression against the people of Ukraine.

Australia strongly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we call on Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory.

‘Australia condemns Russia’s unilateral, illegal and immoral aggression against the people of Ukraine’: Senator Penny Wong
‘Australia condemns Russia’s unilateral, illegal and immoral aggression against the people of Ukraine’: Senator Penny Wong. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

On Monday Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, told Sky News that Ukraine had discovered evidence of “heinous crimes” following recent gains taking its territory back off Russia.

Myroshnychenko thanked Australia for supporting its submissions to the International Criminal Court on alleged war crimes, which Russia denies.

It’s part of their strategy, it’s done deliberately – to intimidate Ukrainians, to scare us. The torture, the rape of civilians is part of the war.

Myroshnychenko noted that of the 60 bushmaster vehicles committed by Australia 40 had been delivered and 20 more were “on their way”. He urged Australia to increase the commitment to 90 or 120.

Australia’s support for Ukraine is one of the largest among non-Nato countries.

On Sunday the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, rebuffed calls from Myroshnychenko to ban Russian tourists from entering Australia.

Marles revealed Australia is considering sending further military aid to Ukraine to bolster existing commitments. He told ABC’s Insiders:

We do need to be preparing ourselves for protracted conflict and on that basis, we get that we are going to need to provide support for Ukraine over the long term.

Updated

Good morning!

The prime minister Anthony Albanese was among more than 2000 people attending the state funeral in London for Queen Elizabeth II, as many Australians joined the estimated 4 billion people around the world who watched the live telecasts of the service at Westminster Abbey.

Albanese will now return to Australia where he will pay tribute to the late monarch at Thursday’s memorial service, alongside opposition leader Peter Dutton.

As the Queen’s death brings Australia’s future ties with the monarchy into sharp relief, the latest Guardian Essential poll asked Australians whether they believed King Charles III should be the country’s head of state. The answers revealed a 50-50 split between those who support the new UK monarch and those who do not.

As Guardian Australia’s chief political correspondent Sarah Martin writes:

The survey of 1,075 people, taken after Queen Elizabeth II’s death, gives little hope to the republican cause with fewer than half of the respondents (43%) supporting Australia becoming a republic – a figure that has barely moved over the past five years.

Don Farrell, the minister for trade and tourism, has met his French counterpart in the first time a French trade minister has visited Australia since the Morrison government swapped French submarines for the Aukus deal. Farrell told the ABC that he hopes the two nations have “put our problems behind us”.

In AFL news, Buddy Franklin is set to finish his career with the Sydney Swans, after confirmation in a statement last night he would play on in 2023.

Franklin’s announcement made with the two words “one more” had echoes of Michael Jordan’s succinct announcement of his his return to the NBA in 1995: I’m back.”

Let’s get going!

Updated

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