What we learned today, Monday 11 December
We will wrap up the blog here this Monday evening. Here’s what made the news today:
Queensland’s health minister, Shannon Fentiman, has confirmed she will nominate to be the state’s next premier, pitching herself as the candidate of “renewal and change”.
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, has not ruled out a cap on international students but declared she is “confident” new measures have caught the “problem” of student visas being used as a back door into Australia in time to reduce net overseas migration.
Seven West Media’s chairman, Kerry Stokes, has agreed to pay the costs of Ben Roberts-Smith’s failed defamation action, in a move that will prevent the network from having to hand over thousands of internal documents about the case.
Chemist Warehouse will become a listed company through a merger with Sigma Healthcare, creating an $8.8bn pharmacy giant.
The Australian federal police is investigating a fake United Nations drug mule scam, where travellers are offered millions of dollars to transport illicit drugs by criminals, who claim they are UN officials.
New South Wales police say they will this week try to speak to a person who made a complaint about Alan Jones to officers in 2017, after the police commissioner, Karen Webb, said last week that no complaints had been made about the broadcaster.
Thanks for sticking with us today. We will be back bright and early tomorrow. Take care.
Thousands without power in SA and schools closed after storms
Thousands of South Australians have been left without power as wild storms rip through the state, with several schools closed and some hospitals running on backup generators.
The State Emergency Service has responded to 900 jobs across the state, caused mostly by damage from fallen trees. The worst of the weather struck Adelaide early on Monday, with storm activity returning later in the day.
Regional hospitals of Orroroo and Booleroo Centre were running on generators.
SES deputy chief Liz Connell said about half of outback roads were currently closed and teams from the Country Fire Service had come to help:
The overwhelming number of jobs have been call outs for fallen trees which have blocked driveways and roads and have also brought down power lines which are causing thousands of homes to be impacted.
- AAP
Updated
Seven West Media’s chairman, Kerry Stokes, has agreed to pay the costs of Ben Roberts-Smith’s failed defamation action, in a move that will prevent the network from having to hand over thousands of internal documents about the case.
The federal court heard on Monday that Stokes had agreed to pay the costs of the case. Justice Anthony Besanko ordered that Stokes’ private company Australian Capital Equity (ACE) pay them on an indemnity basis.
The order does not state how much Stokes will have to pay, but the total costs of the proceeding are believed to be up to $35m.
In June, Roberts-Smith, a recipient of the Victoria Cross, failed in his defamation case against three newspapers that he alleged defamed him as a war criminal.
ASX finishes day flat after losing gains
The Australian share market has given up most of its gains to finish about where it started with concerns over the state of China’s economy and its slackening consumer demand.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had been up as much as 0.4% on Monday but finished just 4.1 points higher at 7,199, a gain of 0.06%.
The loss of puff coincided with Chinese markets opening lower after weekend economic data showed a faster-than-expected decline in consumer prices last month.
Capital.com market analyst Kyle Rodda has this analysis:
Deflation is deepening and, while debate rages about why, the trend is undeniable: consumer prices are falling and producer prices have been negative for more than a year.
The data simultaneously indicates anaemic demand and the eroding profitability of Chinese companies.
Updated
Woman and child found dead in Perth home
A woman and an infant child have been found dead inside a home in Perth’s northern suburb of Morley.
According to WA police, officers were called to the residence on Robinson Road shortly after 11am on Monday.
Here’s part of a short statement from the force:
Upon arrival an adult female and an infant child were located deceased.
Major Crime Division detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the two deaths.
Part of Robinson Road, in the immediate vicinity of the residence, has been closed to the public.
Anyone with information regarding this incident, or who saw or heard anything suspicious in the vicinity of Robinson Road this morning, is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report the information online at www.crimestopperswa.com.au.
Updated
Aged care facilities fall short of 24/7 nursing goal, audit finds
The National Audit Office has found 88% of residential aged care facilities in September reported having a registered nurse on-site 24/7, falling short of the government’s goal of 100%.
The government has forecast for some time that not all homes would reach the 24/7 figure, citing workforce issues particularly in regional or remote areas with staff shortages.
But in other key areas, the government’s recent aged care reforms are closer to hitting their goals, with care minutes a day and registered nurse care nearly at the required level, according to stats from June contained in a new ANAO report.
Here’s how the audit office put it:
This audit provides early assurance to the Australian Parliament over whether the Department of Health and Aged Care and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission have effectively introduced the mandatory staffing standards.
The department said it welcomed the findings, saying in a response that it was “pleasing to note”.
Updated
Morry Schwartz steps aside as chairman of independent publisher Schwartz Media
Publisher of the Monthly and the Saturday Paper says he will no longer be involved in day-to-day operations.
Morry Schwartz has given up his leading role at the company he founded more than four decades ago, announcing to staff he will step aside as chair of Schwartz Media and step back from day-to-day operations.
Here’s part of a statement he posted on the company website:
I am extremely proud of the company I have built and of the titles that make Schwartz Media the country’s leading independent news source.
I have full confidence in the senior team at Schwartz Media, who will lead the company from here. I am stepping back to give space to the next phase of growth and excellence. A new chief executive will join in the new year, adding to the team already in place.
You can get more details and context in this story:
Updated
The federal health minister, Mark Butler, is urging people to get a booster shot for Covid-19 if eligible:
The new COVID-19 XBB 1.5 vaccines are now available in pharmacies across Australia.
All available COVID-19 vaccines continue to provide strong protection against serious disease.
If you haven’t had your recommended dose(s) in 2023 this is a good reminder to get vaccinated.
The new COVID-19 XBB 1.5 vaccines are now available in pharmacies across Australia.
— Mark Butler MP (@Mark_Butler_MP) December 11, 2023
All available COVID-19 vaccines continue to provide strong protection against serious disease.
If you haven’t had your recommended dose(s) in 2023 this is a good reminder to get vaccinated.
Government debt now fastest-growing area of spending
Interest payments have eclipsed the National Disability Insurance Scheme as the fastest-growing area of commonwealth spending, AAP reports.
Higher interest rates are making debt more expensive to service and are likely to cost the federal budget tens of billions extra in the years ahead.
The higher cost of borrowing is expected to add up to $80bn more in interest payments over the next 11 years.
Releasing the data ahead of the mid-year budget update on Wednesday, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said higher interest rates were not only hurting households but federal finances as well.
We’re getting government debt on a better trajectory, but that debt is becoming more expensive to service.
AAP
Updated
Business group welcomes migration plan
One of the country’s biggest business groups, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has welcomed the government proposed changes to immigration.
The group’s chief executive, Andrew McKellar, said:
The creation of a new three-tiered temporary skills pathway will assist employers as they attempt to navigate our currently complex system.
The introduction of service guarantees on visa pathways that target elite talent will help Australia attract highly skilled migrants in sectors like the resources sector, technology, and financial services. This will unleash new innovations, lure foreign investment, and build new industry.
But it wasn’t all positive. McKellar continued to say:
It is however unfortunate that the specialist skills pathway excludes tradespeople from accessing this category – they will be able to come into the country only through the core skills pathway.
Updated
Government vows to fix education gap in next NSRA
The education minister, Jason Clare, has vowed to fix ongoing funding and education gaps in the next National Schools Reform Agreement (NSRA).
The latest Pisa results showed vast literacy, numeracy and science chasms between Australia’s most advantaged and disadvantaged students, particularly amongst First Nations, regional and low SES teenagers.
At the same time, 98% of schools are funded below the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS), agreed to by education ministers as the baseline for providing an education to students, while private schools are funded above it.
Here’s more from Clare:
We’ve got a good education system, but it can a lot better and a lot fairer. At the moment, most public school aren’t fully funded and children from poor families and regional Australia are three times more likely to fall behind at school.
We’ve got to fix this funding gap and fix this education gap. That’s what the next agreement will be all about. This report provides advice on what that funding should be invested in to help close the education gap.
Updated
JB Hi-Fi faces class action over extended warranties
JB Hi-Fi is facing a class action lawsuit over allegations that extended warranties it sold with various consumer electronics, home appliances and entertainment products, offer little or no value.
The lawsuit, filed by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers in the Victorian supreme court, claims the warranties add “nothing meaningful” to the rights customers already have under consumer laws.
Here’s Maurice Blackburn’s principal lawyer, Miranda Nagy:
These warranties are in most cases little more than a junk add-on to consumers’ purchase of the household goods they actually want.
Nagy said the class action was designed to get refunds for consumers who bought the policies.
JB Hi-Fi said in a statement it would vigorously defend the proceedings. Here’s how a spokesperson put it:
JB Hi-Fi takes compliance with its legal obligations very seriously and considers that it has complied with relevant laws at all times.
The class action alleges that JB Hi-Fi used misleading or deceptive conduct in selling the warranties by telling or implying to customers the policies were of value and operated longer and provided benefits that Australian consumer laws did not.
Updated
Equity to be central to school system, ministers say
Australia’s education ministers have vowed to place equity at the centre of the school system after the much-anticipated release of the National School Reform Agreement (NSRA) report.
The report, delivered by an expert panel and released after an education meeting today, will inform the next four years of funding and outcomes in the school system.
In a statement, education ministers said Australia’s future social and economic prosperity was “reliant on an excellent and equitable education system”:
No matter where they live or what kind of learning challenges they may face.
There is much work to do to fulfil this commitment, which ministers re-affirmed today. This work will be the focus of the next NSRA.
Ministers also agreed the next NSRA must deliver on the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration, released in 2019 to set out a national vision to improve educational outcomes and equity.
They said the next NSRA would focus on three key outcomes – equity and excellence, wellbeing for learning and engagement and a strong and sustainable workforce:
All Australian education ministers are committed to closing the gap in educational outcomes, and delivering an education system that supports young Australians of all backgrounds to achieve their full educational potential.
Full funding for every school is crucial to achieving a more equitable education system. Education ministers are committed to working together to get every school to a minimum of 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).
Updated
‘I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have significant support within the party’
Shannon Fentiman’s pitch to her colleagues for “renewal” flags some clear policy pivots.
Chief among them is a “more inclusive and transparent approach” to Olympic and Paralympic infrastructure. Under Annastacia Palaszczuk the government had resisted calls for an independent oversight authority.
She also says housing “must be at the centre of the government agenda”:
We have to do more to support Queenslanders who are struggling.
Fentiman also drops in that she wants “robust cabinet processes”. This is a direct pitch to ministers who have been frustrated at Palaszczuk’s top-down approach:
I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have significant support within the party.
Updated
Fentiman to focus on housing, cost of living, Olympics
Shannon Fentiman is walking the fine line of praising her party’s performance in recent years, while also outlining why she thinks things should be done differently.
The Queensland health minister been asked what her candidacy means for the party’s unity. In her press conference yesterday, Annastacia Palaszczuk clearly endorsed her deputy, Steven Miles, to replace her as premier. Miles announced his candidacy hours after Palaszczuk resigned.
Here’s how Fentiman responded:
I have the utmost respect for Steven Miles. We’ve been friends for a long time and he and Anastasia, as leader and deputy leader, have delivered a lot for Queensland.
We have very strong foundations to build upon. That’s what the premier said yesterday. We do need renewal now is our time for renewal. And I believe I’m best place to leave that renewal and change.
Fentiman has signalled she’s like to see a more transparent Queensland government:
I think we need to make housing front-and-centre. Of course, the cost of living. Far more transparency and inclusion around Paralympic and Olympic Games, including delivering for regional Queensland. So there’s some of the things that I want to talk to my colleagues about.
Updated
Here’s the official statement from the Queensland health minister, Shannon Fentiman, who is making her case to be the next premier of the state.
Some of these lines have been repeated multiple times during her press conference, which is still ongoing.
This week, I will be nominating to serve as the next Premier of our great state. pic.twitter.com/O7yvpjIA1K
— Shannon Fentiman (@ShannonFentiman) December 11, 2023
'Now is our time for renewal': Shannon Fentiman
The Queensland health minister, Shannon Fentiman, is making her pitch to be the next premier of Queensland.
Her candidacy potentially splits the Labor left vote with the frontrunner, deputy premier Steven Miles.
Fentiman is addressing reporters at a press conference. She believes she has support within the party.
I wouldn’t be putting my hand up if I didn’t believe I was the right person to take us to the election and I didn’t have significant support in the party.
As the premier said yesterday, we do need renewal. Now is our time for renewal. And I believe I’m best placed to leave that renewal and change.
In this press conference, Fentiman appears to be speaking to her Labor colleagues as well as the public:
Labor MPs know me. They know my track record of bringing people together, of listening and delivering.
In every ministerial portfolio I have had, I’ve fought to deliver change. I got into politics to make a difference and that’s what drives me each and every day.
Updated
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today! Henry Belot will bring you the rest of today’s rolling coverage – take care.
Labor urged to focus migration plan on ‘quality, not caps’
The Student Accommodation Council has expressed concern over the federal government’s migration strategy, released today, cautioning Labor to focus on “quality, not caps”.
The strategy flags further measures will be considered if the plan doesn’t cut the net migration intake to 250,000 by the end of the year to June 2025. It comes as international student numbers have soared to record highs this year after plummeting over the pandemic.
Property Council group executive Matthew Kandelaars said a focus on genuine international student visas was necessary, but cautioned against any reduction targets.
A cap on student visas or levy on international students was proposed in the Universities Accord interim report, causing controversy and alarm in parts of the sector.
Kandelaars said a solution to the housing crisis without international students competing for beds in the rental market was “hiding in plain sight but needs the support of state and territory governments”.
State planning and tax systems have either ignored the benefits of purpose-built student accommodation or used it as a cash cow to prop up budgets in massive structural deficit.
In a globally competitive environment for the best and brightest, we need to cultivate the brainpower essential for driving Australia’s future prosperity and preserving our status as a destination of choice for international students.
Updated
Universities welcome government’s migration plan
Peak university bodies have welcomed the federal government’s migration strategy while cautioning against future policies restricting the admission of genuine international students.
Universities Australia chief executive, Catriona Jackson, said the strategy acknowledged “how vital international education is to the economy and Australia’s prosperity”.
We welcome further measures to preserve the integrity and strength of the education system while protecting students from unscrupulous operators seeking to exploit them for personal gain.
Jackson also backed the replacement of the genuine temporary entrant requirement with a genuine student test, which will require more stringent English-language requirements in line with skilled visa applicants, and new visa streams to attract researchers and retain international graduates.
The skilled people who come to work and study at our world-class institutions make an enormous economic and social contribution. We must continue to attract them for mutual benefit.
Any changes, now or in the future, that restrict the movement of genuine students to our shores need to be weighed carefully against the significant benefits they bring, during and after their studies.
The Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN) chief executive Luke Sheehy said the reforms would allow international students to “learn, stay and earn” while strengthening the quality and purpose of the sector.
It’s … crucial that we build pathways to retain the best and brightest minds, including the international students who come to study here and want to stay and call Australia home, so they can use those skills to meet the country’s skills and economic needs.
Updated
Truck driver dies in collision with train in Geelong
A truck driver has died after his truck collided with a train at a level crossing in Geelong, Victoria.
Emergency services responded to the crash just after 12pm, where it is understood the truck got stuck on a level crossing.
The truck driver, who is yet to be formally identified, died at the scene.
Passengers from the V/Line train were evacuated and no one else was injured during the incident, a Victorian police statement said.
The circumstances surrounding the crash are yet to be determined.
Updated
Shannon Fentiman to run for Queensland Labor leadership
The Queensland health minister, Shannon Fentiman, is set to announce a run for the Labor leadership.
Fentiman’s candidacy potentially splits the Labor left vote with the frontrunner, deputy premier Steven Miles.
The treasurer, Cameron Dick, from the right faction, is also understood to be still talking to colleagues and considering a run.
Fentiman is due to hold a press conference at 2pm Queensland time, 3pm AEDT.
Updated
Senator Nita Green has shared a video message from her home in Cairns to those across far north Queensland, urging them to get prepared for Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
Jasper is forecast to re-intensify tomorrow as it approaches the coast, making landfall on Wednesday as a category two system between Cape Flattery and Cardwell. Gusts over 90km/h are expected to develop from tomorrow.
Green said that people should get prepared today, and also be sure to check in with their neighbours – especially any elderly neighbours:
Today is the day to make sure you’re prepared, Far North Queensland.
— Senator Nita Green (@nitagreenqld) December 11, 2023
We will get through this together. pic.twitter.com/9m6u72mka9
Updated
Guardian Australia’s climate and environment editor, Adam Morton, is in Dubai for Cop28. He has written a fantastic piece on the government’s climate policy, and how it is presenting itself overseas.
Australia has two competing climate stories, Morton writes: one showing that significant strides have been made by the Labor government during the past 18 months, but the other showing Australia remains the world’s third biggest fossil fuel exporter.
If you’re looking for a long-read this afternoon, let this be it:
Time for some happy animal news for your Monday afternoon: a number of Victorian earless dragons have hatched at Melbourne Zoo, in a world-first!
Victoria’s Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action shared this photo to X, formerly Twitter, this afternoon:
🌟 Exciting baby news!🌟
— DEECA Victoria (@DEECA_Vic) December 11, 2023
A clutch of Victorian grassland earless dragons has hatched at Melbourne Zoo – and they’re a world-first! This species was thought to be extinct in the wild, before it was rediscovered in Victoria earlier this year.
Thanks to a conservation breeding… pic.twitter.com/5EGXlg1Nhx
The department wrote that the species was thought to be extinct in the wild, before it was rediscovered in Victoria earlier this year:
Thanks to a conservation breeding program, established with adults collected from the rediscovery site, the first generation of hatchlings has just arrived.
These tiny dragons are part of a vital insurance population, crucial for safeguarding against the species’ extinction in the wild.
Updated
Top of the class: Sienna Wang
Sienna Wang is one of 39 students in Victoria who woke up this morning to find she’d achieved the top Atar of 99.95.
The Methodist Ladies College (MLC) dux hopes to use her Atar to pursue a career in Stem, though the 18-year-old is also passionate about music and the arts:
I would like to keep music in my life even if I end up in a completely different career field.
Wang is yet to make up her mind between Monash University’s medicine program and the University of Melbourne’s biomedical sciences program:
I’m drawn to the field of medicine because it brings together the human aspect of caregiving and the exciting opportunities of Stem. It’s that perfect blend of using scientific knowledge to make a tangible difference in people’s lives that I find very appealing.
Her advice for future VCE students is “don’t be afraid to try new things”:
Join as many clubs, activities and competitions as you can because they will help you get a deeper understanding of school subjects and you make great friends along the way. It’s also really fun.
Updated
Tropical cyclone warning issued for Queensland
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a tropical cyclone warning between Cooktown and Townsville (not including Townsville) amid tropical cyclone Jasper.
A watch area also extends north to Cape Melville and inland:
⚠️🌀Tropical cyclone #warning between Cooktown and Townsville (not including Townsville), and a Watch area extending north to Cape Melville and inland. Gales forecast to begin on Tuesday. Details and updates: https://t.co/FBmpsInT9o pic.twitter.com/Y6ysghtQr0
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) December 11, 2023
According to the latest update, damaging winds with gusts over 90km/h are expected to develop from Tuesday.
Heavy rainfall, which may lead to flash flooding, is forecast to develop on Wednesday between Cape Flattery and Cardwell.
Six-hourly totals between 100 to 150 mm are likely, with isolated falls of 250 mm possible along the coast and adjacent ranges. 24-hourly rainfall totals between 150 to 250 mm are likely, with isolated falls up to 350 mm possible.
Updated
‘You’ve done us proud,’ Victorian premier says to school leavers
Victoria’s state government has congratulated students receiving today’s end-of-year exam results. Victorians are the first cohort in the nation to gain access to their much-anticipated Atars.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, said she was “thrilled” to congratulate the class of 2023 for their hard work, dedication, and perseverance:
You’ve done us proud.
This year, 57,601 students graduated with their VCE, a completion rate of 97.4%. Of those, 21,754 graduates received study scores of 40 or higher (8.8%), 656 received the maximum study score of 50 (0.3%), and a further 3,048 were awarded the VCE baccalaureate.
Some 6,387 students received un-scored VCE Vocational Major graduates – the first group to be offered the $277.5m program, which replaced VCAL.
The minister for education, Ben Carroll, said getting through VCE was a “big effort”:
Remember that this is only one step in your life journey and there are many different paths you can take from here.
Updated
Atar scores land for year 12 students in Victoria
Some 45,239 students have received their Atars in Victoria today, an increase of 1,066 students compared with last year.
The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) CEO, Teresa Tjia, congratulated all students who’d completed year 12, encouraging leavers to “be proud” and “take the time to celebrate with those who supported you throughout your school years”.
Of students who received a rank, 39 achieved the highest possible Atar of 99.95. Of those, 30 were male and nine were female.
The average Atar for this year’s cohort was 69.41, a slight decrease on 2022, while women had a slightly higher average score compared with men (70.23 compared with 68.43).
There were 22,192 unique combinations of VCE subjects used in Atar calculations this year, with the most popular, used by 283 students, comprising English, Biology, Health and Human Development, General Mathematics and Psychology.
Victorian students have until 4pm on Wednesday to update their tertiary course preferences for December offers after receiving their Atars today. There has already been an upswing in admissions, with total applications for 2024 courses 1.6% higher than at the same time last year.
Tjia said the December round of offers would provide many year 12 students with certainty about their next steps in time for Christmas.
There is more you have achieved through your schooling. Take time to acknowledge the challenges you’ve overcome, the opportunities taken and capabilities you’ve developed and will continue to grow in the years to come.
Updated
O’Neil on specialist pathway skills
O’Neil is providing more details about the specialist skills pathway – which she said would get skills into Australia “that we cannot get quickly at home, but that we urgently need”.
Think about people who are working as a psychologist who will take otherwise 10 to 15 years to train, people like cyber specialists who we desperately need here to help the whole of the Australian community skill up … that is really the focus of the specialist skills pathway.
O’Neil said a focus is the fee-free Tafe offerings so that “we are growing the skills, not relying on migration to replace labour”.
The reason we are trying to do things like the specialist skills pathway is because those people will not replace Australian workers – they will come here, they will build the productivity of those around them, they will share worlds best practice – but we need to use the system only to replace those people, not to say that we’re not going to skill up and train people, that is evidently not the government’s approach.
O’Neil argues that the migration policy doesn’t make it harder “to bring tradespeople to Australia”.
Our government feel strongly that for sectors like trades, you should have to prove that there is a skills shortage before you start to recruit overseas. And I have to say, that may be controversial with some groups in the community, it wouldn’t be in my electorate.
Updated
Government to reduce concentration of migrants in capitals
Clare O’Neil said an element of the migration policy will see measures to reduce the “concentration of migrants” in capital cities:
I am from Melbourne, we are so lucky we have a generation after generation of migrant communities come and settle in our cities, but when we’re talking about housing, infrastructure constraints that are very clearly affecting the lives of our community, it is being felt most acutely in those capital cities.
She said this comes at the same time regional areas are “crying out for extra people”.
We have done everything we can under the current system to make sure we are sending migrants where they are really needed, but there is more work that needs to be done there and that is a big focus for us in 2024.
Updated
‘There are other things we can do’: Clare O’Neil on limiting migration
Back to Clare O’Neil’s press conference around the government’s new migration policy. She is now taking questions from reporters.
If the new measures to limit Australia’s migrant intake don’t succeed there are “other things we can do”, O’Neil said, but she is confident they will:
I am confident that the measures we have put together here are being done quickly and that we have caught this problem in time.
I would say that if we did not do anything about this problem for several years, we would be in a situation where we were having to look at things that would be very economically damaging for the nation.
Updated
AFL concussion rules need to shift after Tuck’s death, coroner rules
The AFL should limit the number of contact training sessions and hire independent doctors to assess players who receive head knocks to reduce the risk of concussion, AAP reports.
That’s what Victorian state coroner, John Cain, recommended as he handed down his findings into the death of former AFL player Shane Tuck on Monday.
Tuck had been hearing voices, had suicidal thoughts and was forced to stay in a psychiatric ward in the years before he took his own life in July 2020, the inquest was told.
Cain said it was accepted Tuck received repeated head knocks in his 173 games for AFL club Richmond and while competing as a professional boxer.
Cain did not make findings into the nature of Tuck’s death, instead looking at preventative measures in sport to reduce concussion.
Clare O’Neil officially launches government’s new migration policy
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, is officially launching the federal government’s migration policy in Canberra. Amy Remeikis has the details on that for you.
Here’s how O’Neil opened an ongoing press conference:
We are going to make sure that we bring numbers back under control. That we build a better planned system around essential things like housing, and perhaps most importantly of all, that we build a program that delivers for the national interest.
O’Neil is flanked by the ACTU and the Business Council of Australia. Two groups that don’t always agree, but have a mutual interest in making changes to the migration system. Here’s how O’Neil put it:
[Immigration Minister] Andrew Giles and I have worked over a long period of time to build a package that has consensus. The reason it has consensus is because we can solve the biggest problems that are challenging Australian workers, that are challenging Australian businesses, at the same time.
Updated
Melbourne hotel fined after letting teenager gamble on six occasions
A Melbourne hotel has been fined $25,300 after a court found it allowed a 16-year-old to access gambling on six occasions last year.
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission fined the Preston venue in May after a tip-off from the community.
The regulator’s chief executive, Annette Kimmitt, has welcomed the court’s decision:
It is inexcusable to accept a bet from a minor. This sends a clear message to the entire industry.
Failing to prevent minors from accessing gambling products won’t be tolerated.
In a statement, the regulator said it was pursuing action against another eight venues for allowing underage gambling.
Updated
‘Absolute focus’ on cyclone, Steven Miles says, sidestepping question about Queensland premier
Steven Miles would not answer whether he had the numbers to become Queensland’s next premier, after numerous questions from reporters. He reiterated that today, his focus is on responding to the cyclone:
I am focused, absolutely focused, on delivering better … for Queenslanders and today that means focusing on preparedness for this cyclone and taking care of the Queenslanders who will be impacted by [this].
I think the best case I can put is by demonstrating just how I would lead, and that is how I would lead, with 100% absolute focus on the safety and wellbeing of Queensland.
Updated
The Queensland deputy premier Steven Miles is speaking to the media following premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s resignation yesterday.
The press conference has centred around Queensland’s emergency response to tropical cyclone Jasper. Asked whether he has the numbers to become Queensland’s next premier, Miles responded:
I understand you’re interested in that. My focus today is absolutely 100% on the safety of Queenslanders in making sure we are adequately prepared for the cyclone.
I hope you understand I’m not gonna let this press conference be sidetracked. You all know my position, I issued a statement yesterday.
Fire near Tenterfield burning at advice level as crews continue battling blaze
The NSW Rural Fire Service is continuing to battle a bushfire near Tenterfield, supported by waterbombing aircraft and heavy machinery.
#RFS firefighters, supported by waterbombing aircraft and heavy machinery continue working at the Trap Mountain Dumaresq Valley Fire. It will take some time to control the fire, burning in remote country, 55km SW of Tenterfield. Residents in the area should monitor conditions. pic.twitter.com/T0iLrXQ6Jx
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) December 11, 2023
The bushfire is burning east of the Beardy River and south of Bruxner Highway, about 55km south-west of Tenterfield.
It is burning at advice level, meaning there is no immediate danger and people should stay up to date in case the situation changes.
Updated
Man charged over pub crash that killed five people
A man has been charged over the Daylesford Hotel beer garden crash that killed five people.
He is due to appear in the Melbourne magistrates court today.
Detectives this morning charged the 66-year-old man with five counts of culpable driving causing death, two counts of negligently causing serious injury and seven counts of reckless conduct endangering life.
Pratibha Sharma, 44, her daughter Anvi, 9, and partner Jatin Kumar, 30, and their friend Vivek Bhatia, 38, and his son Vihaan, 11, all died during the incident in the Daylesford Hotel beer garden in November.
You can read more here:
- with AAP
Updated
WA police officer to face court over alleged harm to child
A Western Australian police officer is due to appear before court today, after allegedly causing harm to his child.
On 24 November detectives charged a serving police constable from a Metropolitan policing district with assault occasioning bodily harm.
It will be alleged the officer caused harm to his child, resulting in the child needing medical treatment.
The officer was immediately stood down, police said in a statement. He is due to appear before the Perth magistrates court today.
Updated
WA fires: residents told to seek shelter as too late to leave
AAP has some more details on the bushfires in Western Australia’s Midwest region:
Lives and homes are under threat in WA’s northern wheatbelt as bushfires sweep through a swathe of farming land.
For people on both sides of North West Coastal Highway south of Coronation Beach Road and Nanson-Howatharra Road from Dillistone Road to the coastline and north of Wells Road and the mouth of Oakajee River, it is too late to leave.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said in an emergency broadcast:
You must shelter before the fire arrives, as the extreme heat will kill you well before the flames reach you.
Western Power has advised 105 homes and businesses power supply has been affected by the bushfire in Howatharra and Nabawa.
The Midwest region is home to broadacre grain cropping operations and sheep and cattle grazing.
Updated
Albanese’s migration plan is to ‘appease’ Peter Dutton, Greens senator argues
Greens senator Nick McKim has criticised the government’s newly-announced migration plan.
Amy Remeikis brought us all the details here, but essentially, the Albanese government is planning to reduce migrant intakes by raising the bar for international students and some workers to get a visa.
And as Paul Karp points out in this column, the strategy makes the link between housing and migration by noting that when investment in housing “does not occur, public confidence in the migration system can erode”.
In a series of posts to X/Twitter, McKim argued the migration plan is an attempt by the government to “appease” opposition leader Peter Dutton. He also said Australia’s housing crisis is “not the fault of migrants”:
It’s the result of decades of deliberate underinvestment in social housing by both major parties.
McKim continued:
Appeasing Peter Dutton on migration issues hasn’t worked for the past decade and it will not work now. He will pocket whatever concessions he gets and take another giant step to the right.
The people of this country voted the Liberals out of office last year - it seems everyone except Mr Albanese has realised this fact.
Updated
The assistant minister for foreign affairs, Tim Watts, has met with Jordan’s minister of foreign affairs, Ayman Safadi.
I met with @AymanHsafadi, and thanked him for Jordan’s active diplomacy to prevent regional escalation of the conflict and support for Australians leaving the West Bank. pic.twitter.com/IBJeR8VkJ4
— Tim Watts MP (@TimWattsMP) December 10, 2023
In a post to X/Twitter, Watts said he thanked Safadi for Jordan’s “active diplomacy to prevent regional escalation of the conflict and support for Australians leaving the West Bank”.
We discussed necessary steps for an enduring solution to the conflict, and reaffirmed our commitment to a two-state solution as the pathway for enduring peace.
Emergency bushfire warning near Geraldton, Western Australia
An emergency bushfire warning is in place near Geraldton in Western Australia, encompassing:
People west of Dillistone Road and Bella Vista Road to the coastline, between Wells Road and the mouth of Oakajee River in the south to Oakabella Creek, Yarra Road, Starling Road and Bunter Way in the north in parts of Howatharra, Oakajee, White Peak and Bowes in Chapman Valley and Northhampton.
Emergency WA warns that people in these areas are in danger and need to act immediately, with a threat to lives and homes.
120 firefighting personnel have responded to the fire, with aerial support also sent to protect crews and homes.
People on both sides of North West Coastal Highway, south of Coronation Beach Road and Nanson Howatharra Road from Dillistone Road to the coastline and north of Wells Road and the mouth of Oakajee River are being warned it is too late to leave and to seek shelter in your home.
Meanwhile, people north of Coronation Beach Road and south of Yarra Road, including parts of Starling Road between North West Coastal Highway and the coastline and for people bound by North West Coastal Highway, Nanson-Howatharra Road, Bella Vista Road and Bunter way are being urged to leave now for a safer place if the way is clear.
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Palaszczuk was ‘pushed out of office’, David Crisafulli says
Annastacia Palaszczuk’s resignation came after months of pressure by members of the Labor caucus, escalating last week as former Labor luminaries like Robert Schwarten lined up to call for new blood at the top. Union officials including powerful United Workers’ Union chief Gary Bullock reportedly withdrew his support of Palaszczuk last week.
Queensland LNP opposition leader David Crisafulli told ABC radio this morning:
Make no mistake that she has been pushed out of office and Queensland should have been the one that got a chance to be able to decide who runs the state.
We’ve got a state election in less than a year away.
Palaszczuk endorsed her deputy premier, Steven Miles, to replace her on Sunday.
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MPs vying to replace Palaszczuk ‘actively undermined’ the premier, Queensland LNP opposition leader says
Queensland LNP opposition leader David Crisafulli has alleged premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was “pushed from office” by the three MPs now vying to replace her.
In case you missed it – in a surprise press conference yesterday, Palaszczuk announced she was retiring from politics after months of insisting she would contest the next election.
Crisafulli told ABC radio this morning that all three contenders for the leadership - Steven Miles, Cameron Dick and Shannon Fentiman - had been guilty of “actively undermining their leader”.
Part of the reason why I think this has left a bad taste in Queenslanders’ mouth is we’ve got a cyclone bearing down on the far northern coast, we’ve had probably the worst week of youth crime ripping through Townsville. I’m about to drive to Moreton Bay to meet council to hear about their pressures in terms of the housing crisis in a growing area.
And instead of focusing on the health crisis, the housing crisis, the cost-of-living crisis and the youth crime crisis, the government’s at war with themselves. And I’m sorry [but] nobody wins when governments are consumed by politics rather than listening to issues, and that’s where things have reached.
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PM wishes Year 12 students ‘good luck’ for results and future
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has shared a message for Year 12 students across the country, who are receiving their final results this week.
As we flagged earlier, Victorian Year 12 students were the first to receive their VCE results today.
In a series of posts to X/Twitter, Albanese wrote:
Good luck to all the year 12s around the country who have started getting their results this week. No matter the result that you get, you should be proud of the effort you’ve put in.
Whether you choose uni, TAFE, work or something else, your future is what you make of it. And make sure you check out the fee-free TAFE courses on offer from next year.
Thank you to all the teachers and school staff who have supported students every step of the way.
Well done to all of you, and I can’t wait to see what you do next.
Updated
The defamation trial brought by Bruce Lehrmann against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson is continuing today – you can follow the live updates below, on our separate liveblog from Amanda Meade:
Human rights barrister launches one-man protest calling for Gaza ceasefire
International human rights lawyer and barrister Benedict Coyne has today “set up office” at Brisbane’s parliament house, hoping to increase pressure on the Albanese government to demand a ceasefire to the ongoing Gaza conflict.
Coyne said he would be “juggling work commitments tending to clients” during his protest, which was due to begin at 9am in the Speaker’s Corner – a space dedicated to engaging in open debate.
Coyne, a former national president of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, said:
As an international human rights barrister, it is incumbent upon me to take a stand for peace, freedom, humanity, the rule of law and the international rules-based order - which are under dire threat of losing all credibility and meaning with the current situation in Gaza.
I’m calling on National Cabinet and the Australian Government to demand an immediate ceasefire to the ongoing devastation in Gaza, which has brought global condemnation of Israel for war crimes and genocide of the Palestinians.
Traffic lights stop working in South Australian eastern suburbs
South Australian police are warning motorists to drive with caution this morning, with reports of traffic lights being out at intersections.
The reports are mostly coming from the eastern suburbs, along along Fullarton Road, Glynburn Road and North East Road Tea Tree Gully, police said.
If lights out, approach with caution and obey normal give way rules.
Take care on the roads this morning.
— South Australia Police (@SAPoliceNews) December 10, 2023
Lots of reports of traffic lights out at intersections, especially in the eastern suburbs, along Fullarton Road, Glynburn Road and North East Road Tea Tree Gully.
If lights out, approach with caution and obey normal give way rules. pic.twitter.com/Fn2Uf9rtae
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As Peter Hannam points out, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (run by the US navy and air force) shows Tropical Cyclone Jasper tracking near Cairns:
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (run by the US navy and air force) has #CycloneJasper tracking near Cairns... pic.twitter.com/2vdkKhGqJi
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) December 10, 2023
The latest tracking map from the Bureau of Meteorology – shared in our previous post – seems to also reflect this slight shift.
Updated
The Queensland Bureau of Meteorology is continuing to post updates about Tropical Cyclone Jasper, as it moves closer to the coast:
⚠️🌀Tropical Cyclone Watch for #CycloneJasper continues. The system weakened to category 1 this morning, forecast to cross between Cape Flattery and Cardwell on Wednesday as a category 2 system. Details and updates: https://t.co/FBmpsInT9o pic.twitter.com/gBGnOweGhu
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) December 10, 2023
In case you missed it earlier, here is the latest on Jasper via the BoM:
It has weakened into a category one system and may weaken further today
It is forecast to re-intensify tomorrow as it approaches the coast
The cyclone is forecast to make landfall on Wednesday as a category two system, likely between Cape Flattery and Cardwell
It will weaken as it moves inland on Thursday towards the Gulf of Carpentaria
If the system is slower and crosses overnight on Wednesday or Thursday, there is a slim chance of a severe category three crossing
Updated
Chemist Warehouse to list as $8.8bn giant
Chemist Warehouse will become a listed company through a merger with Sigma Healthcare, creating an $8.8bn pharmacy giant.
Chemist Warehouse will own more than 85% of the merged company, with founders of the discount pharmacy chain Mario Verrocchi and Jack Gance to hold executive positions, according to details released to the stock exchange today.
Gance said:
The combination of CWG’s retailing and marketing capabilities and Sigma’s state-of-the-art distribution network and logistics capabilities presents a unique opportunity for both CWG and Sigma shareholders.
Gance and Verrochi founded Chemist Warehouse in 2000 with a Melbourne store. The company expanded to become Australia’s largest pharmacy retailer, and is set to become even larger, given Sigma operates its own pharmacy network.
The Pharmacy Guild raised concerns over the proposed merger last week due to the potential impact on competition as well as community ownership of pharmacies.
The transaction is a reverse listing, whereby the privately-owned Chemist Warehouse becomes a publicly traded company by merging with a smaller listed company, Sigma.
Sigma’s board has recommended shareholders vote in favour of the deal. Shareholders will receive a stake in the merged company and $700m in cash.
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Queenslanders told to ‘finalise emergency kits’ as Tropical Cyclone Jasper approaches
Kevin Walsh from the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service spoke to the Today show earlier on, about the emergency response to Tropical Cyclone Jasper as it approaches the coast.
(We had a bit more detail earlier in the blog here).
Walsh said 200 people will be deployed today and tomorrow to the areas expected to be impacted by the cyclone.
The most important thing [is to] make sure all the things outside the home that can be airborne through the strong winds – such as trampolines, furniture, all those things – are packed away and brought inside …
It’s important to have your … emergency kits ready with battery packs, some battery packs for your phone and enough food for five days.
Today is a really good day to finalise your emergency kit.
Updated
There is an extreme fire danger rating in Mallee, Victoria today.
Meanwhile, there’s a high fire risk in Wimmera and the Northern Country, and a moderate risk in the South West, Central, North Central and North East weather districts.
Today's Fire Danger Rating is Extreme in Mallee, High in Wimmera and Northern Country, Moderate in South West, Central, North Central and North East weather districts.
— cfa_updates (@CFA_Updates) December 10, 2023
Stay informed using your VicEmergency app, our website https://t.co/RHmSwpqjJT pic.twitter.com/X9t8IJxF7h
Firefighters extinguish scrap metal yard fire in Sydney’s west
Fire and Rescue NSW crews have extinguished a large fire at a scrap metal yard in Sydney’s west overnight.
A fire broke out amongst 500 tonnes of scrap metal at a St Marys business just after 6pm last night, a FRNSW statement said.
More than 50 firefighters attended, using 14 fire trucks, and battled to contain the blaze for five hours while employees from the business “used heavy machinery to break up the piles of metal”.
Three aerial platforms supported fire crews in breathing apparatus as they attacked the seat of the blaze and prevented it spreading to an adjacent hammer mill.
There are no reports of injuries and no evacuations were required. The cause of the fire is being determined.
Updated
Gallery owner rejects ‘censoring art’ but was ‘hurt’ from artist Mike Parr’s Israel-Gaza artwork
The Melbourne gallery owner Anna Schwartz spoke to ABC RN earlier this morning, speaking about the decision to drop performance artist Mike Parr after a 36-year relationship.
This decision followed a piece from Parr entitled “Sunset Claws”, commenting on Israel’s military action in Gaza:
As reported by Kelly Burke, Parr painted black words on a white wall at the Flinders Lane gallery, before obliterating most of the words with blood-red paint and exiting the room weeping. Among the words painted on the wall were “Palestine”, “Israel” and “apartheid”, and a reference to “ethnic cleansing”. It also included the sentence “Hamas raped women and cut off the heads of babies”.
Shwartz said “whatever the intention” from Parr, the appearance of the words “Nazi” and “Israel” made her “sick”.
That was the deal breaker.
Shwartz said the artwork has remained on the walls of the gallery, but argued Parr – through his performance piece – had “hurt” her:
I have chosen that I can’t work with an artist who’s prepared to hurt me to that degree and to insult my culture and my lived experience, the generations that come before me, who have been suffered and been annihilated.
She acknowledged that Parr had spoken to her before the performance, and said he had no intention to hurt her.
She rejected that she is “censoring art”, but “chooses to have the relationships I choose to have”.
Host Patricia Karvelas said ABC RN is also hoping to speak with Parr.
Updated
Australia passes parcel record with Black Friday boost
Online shoppers who nabbed a Black Friday bargain have helped break Australia’s parcel delivery record, AAP reports.
Some 5.2m households placed an online order during the extended two-week sale period, which is almost half a million more than last year.
Australia Post processed a record 53.5m parcels in November, up 1.4% with fashion the most popular category followed by athleisure, footwear, sporting and outdoor goods.
Parcel delivery in Queensland was up 7.6%, followed by Western Australia and the ACT at 7.5%.
Updated
AFP investigating fake United Nations drug mule scam
The Australian federal police is investigating a fake United Nations drug mule scam, where travellers are offered millions of dollars to transport illicit drugs by criminals, who claim they are UN officials.
The AFP discovered the scam after it arrested two alleged drug mules in separate incidents in Melbourne this year, where each individual claimed to be the victim of the UN officer scam.
Police allege criminals offered the alleged drug couriers up to $35m to transport a suitcase into Australia on behalf of an individual claiming to be from the UN.
The new trend was first exposed after Australian Border Force officers conducted two separate baggage examinations at Melbourne’s international airport earlier this year.
In July, a West Australian man returning into Melbourne from Singapore was arrested after officers allegedly found 3kg of methamphetamine concealed in his suitcase. Within 24 hours, AFP officers arrested a New Zealand passenger arriving into Melbourne from Thailand after officers allegedly found heroin inside their luggage.
Both passengers, unknown to each other, alleged they had been asked to transport the luggage in exchange for payment from persons claiming to be from the UN.
AFP commander Raegan Stewart alleged that transnational serious organised crime syndicates continued to target Australia as a lucrative market for illicit drugs:
This United Nations drug mule scam is just another attempt by criminal syndicates who are desperate to import harmful illicit drugs and substances into our country.
It shows offenders will go to any lengths to bring illicit substances into our community, including scamming travellers offshore to do their dirty work.
Updated
Bushfire warning for new residents in regional towns
Thousands of city dwellers who moved to regions and coastal towns seeking a tree change during the pandemic are being warned to make sure they are prepared for bushfires, AAP reports.
Australia is poised for its first serious fire season since the 2019-20 black summer bushfire season after record-breaking dry spring conditions and warmer-than-average temperatures.
More than 80,000 people moved to the regions in 2021-22, with many moving to areas at greater risk of bushfires, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.
In NSW towns near Newcastle, Wollongong and the central and south coasts have all grown in population.
In Victoria coastal towns such as Lorne and Torquay have grown as well as regional cities such as Ballarat, Wodonga and Echuca.
Emergency management minister Murray Watt said former city dwellers needed to undertake fire preparations at their regional homes:
After a couple of wetter years, it’s crucial that this summer those who haven’t lived in bushfire-prone areas before understand the local risks, prepare their bushfire survival plans and know where to go for information in an emergency.
Updated
Palaszczuk made decision ‘in the interest of the state’, Swan says
ALP national secretary Wayne Swan has spoken to ABC RN about Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s resignation announcement yesterday.
Swan said he understands Palaszczuk had been mulling the decision “for some time”. Asked about internal pressure behind her decision, he said “obviously people were wandering around as they normally do” but didn’t get into specifics:
That’s always ever present for any leader at any time but I think she made the decision in the interest of the state and I think in her own interest as well.
The caucus will vote on Friday for its new leader. Palaszczuk has endorsed her deputy Steven Miles but there could be others in the mix.
You can read more on this below:
Swan said it would be a complex voting process, which would take “some time”:
I think people are sensibly discussing what the options are and if one candidate has a pretty clear majority then I think it would be unlikely that you’d see a battle, because it would simply be very difficult for the government over a period of time when they need to re-establish a leader in the job.
Updated
Far north braces for wild weather as Jasper nears
Residents of far north Queensland are bracing for possible power outages and internet and water supply disruptions with the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
As of 4.30am today, Jasper had weakened again to a category one system and was about 600km east of Cairns and 530km north-east of Townsville. The Bureau of Meteorology said:
Jasper is forecast to re-intensify during Tuesday as it approaches the coast.
People living between Cooktown and Ingham are being warned to expect damaging 90km/h winds to develop from tomorrow.
The winds could extend as far north as Cape Melville, on the eastern coast of Cape York Peninsula, and as far south as Townsville, the BoM warned.
Heavy rainfall was also expected to develop along the coast from late tomorrow before Jasper making landfall on Wednesday between Cape Flattery and Cardwell, potentially as a category two system.
Flooding was possible for the north tropical coast, parts of the Cape York Peninsula and gulf country from Wednesday, the bureau warned.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services yesterday warned residents between Cape Melville and Townsville that strong winds could fell trees and power lines, blow roofs off houses and blow away anything not tied down.
Jasper could also cause phone and internet outages, along with the disruption of water supplies, the services warned.
Communities could find themselves isolated.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she had been briefed on the cyclone:
I can say that all preparations are well and truly in place.
It is expected to make land on Wednesday and can I just remind Queenslanders and especially north Queensland to take care.
- from AAP
Updated
Immigration detention question
Changing topic – Clare O’Neil was asked how many of the 148 people released from immigration detention (since the high court ruling) the government is “trying to get locked up again”.
She answered:
That has been Australian law for just four days now, and the immigration minister Andrew Giles has already started the work on the application.
As to the numbers and detail of that, I’m going to leave that to minister Giles. He’s going to give a detailed update to the public a little bit later this week.
Updated
‘We’re in a global race for talent’
Q: Will it be possible for the government to attract high-skilled workers through a new specialist pathway and fast track their applications in just seven days?
Clare O’Neil:
Absolutely … anything is possible if you’ve got the passion and energy to fix the system.
She said the government wants “brilliant people” like scientists, doctors and cybersecurity specialists to come to Australia and help boost productivity but it is “virtually impossible to get people into the country”:
For some of the highest skilled people who try to come to our country, it can take up to a year for those people to get a visa to come here because they have to go through a special system that the immigration minister has to personally sign off on, and that’s just absolutely crazy.
We’re going to set a seven-day service standard median processing time because remember, with those really high skilled people, we are dealing with every other country in the world to get those people here. We’re in a global race for talent and we’re not going to win it unless we do basic things like give people fast answers on their applications.
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Shutting down the ‘visa factories’
Clare O’Neil couldn’t give a figure of how many “ghost colleges” would close as a result of the government’s new temporary migration strategy but said these demonstrate “the worst of the worst of integrity and exploitation issues in the system”.
You can read more about “ghost colleges” below:
O’Neil describes the phenomenon as colleges set up “which are really visa factories” for international students to study but who are actually here to work:
This is really bad for the country because those students should be having a good experience here, should be getting a proper education. Instead, we know they’re gathering in low-paid professions, are highly vulnerable to exploitation and have no possible pathway to permanency in our country.
It’s not good for them, it’s not good for Australia and that’s why we’re trying to shut that funnel off for the country.
Updated
‘It’s really hard to get those high skilled workers that we desperately need’
Home affairs minister Clare O’Neil spoke to ABC RN just earlier about the Albanese government’s new 10-year temporary migration strategy, due to be released today.
As reported by Amy Remeikis, the government will raise the bar for international students and some workers to get a visa and as it seeks to overhaul what it says is Australia’s “broken” temporary migration program.
You can read more on this below:
O’Neil said it would be a reduction of “hundreds of thousands” of people over a four-year period – not just international students:
The overall mix of our migration program at the moment is not delivering for the country. And by that, I mean it’s really hard to get those high skilled workers that we desperately need here, but we’ve made it much too easy for people to use side door and backdoor entries into our workforce. And the primary way that is happening at the moment is through international education.
We need to fix that immediately, and the way that we’re doing that is making sure that we are lifting standards for international students and ensuring that they’re actually here to study and not to work. This is critical to restoring integrity and trust in the system.
Updated
Debt progress flagged
More on what is expected in the Myefo on Wednesday: a substantial improvement in the gross debt position has been flagged.
Gross debt was projected to exceed $1tn in 2023-24 but it is now projected to be $147bn lower at $909bn by the end of 2023-24.
Gross debt as a share of GDP is now expected to peak at 35.4% of GDP, 9.5 percentage points lower than was inherited at Pefo and 1.1 percentage points lower than forecast at the 2023-24 budget.
Gross debt is expected to peak in 2027-28 in comparison to 2025-26 as flagged by the budget, due to the higher borrowing costs.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said:
There is no quick fix to the trillion dollars of debt we inherited from our predecessors but we have made a substantial difference already, and that’s saving billions and billions of dollars in interest.
Because of our efforts debt will peak lower than was projected at the election and lower than forecast at Budget time.
We have found a way to repair the Budget at the same time as we roll out tens of billions of dollars in cost of living help and invest in skills, Medicare, energy and housing.
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Interest rate rises put pressure on budget
When the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (Myefo) is released on Wednesday, it will show higher interest rates are putting additional pressure on the budget.
Borrowing costs will now overtake the NDIS to be the fastest growing area of commonwealth spending. To account for this the Treasury has updated its assumption for the average cost of new borrowing to be 4.7% – compared with 3.4% at the time of the 2023-24 budget.
This increase will cost the budget $80bn more in interest payments over the 11 years to 2033-34. Without this increase gross debt would be $94bn lower in 2033-34.
Meanwhile, gross debt as a share of GDP is now expected to peak at 35.4% of GDP, 1.2 percentage points lower than forecast at the 2023-24 budget and 9.5 percentage points lower than forecast at the pre-election economic and fiscal outlook 2022.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said higher interest rates are “hurting households and they’re hurting the budget as well”:
With higher rates, the interest on the trillion dollars of debt left to us by the Coalition is costing taxpayers more.
The interest bill on the Coalition’s wasted decade is now the fastest growing expense in the Budget.
We’re getting government debt on a better trajectory, but that debt is becoming more expensive to service.
Our responsible economic management is getting the Budget in much better nick but higher interest rates aren’t helping.
Updated
VCE results go online
Year 12 students across Victoria are the first off the block in the nation to receive their final exam results today.
Since 7am marks have been live online for the VCE, with Tasmania to follow on Wednesday and NSW and the ACT on Thursday.
This year 57,601 students are graduating with their VCE, a completion rate of 97.4%.
Some 51,214 students completed the traditional VCE, while a further 6,387 completed the new VCE vocational major – an applied learning certificate that is unscored (11% of the cohort).
In total, 246,470 study scores will be issued to students across the VCE courses. Of those, 21,754 have been marked 40 or above (in the top 8.8%) and 656 are the maximum score of 50 (0.3% of the cohort).
Victoria’s minister for education, Ben Carroll, congratulated students receiving their VCE results.
Getting through year 12 is not for the faint hearted – but it’s important to remember that this is only one step in your life journey – there have never been more choices available such as university, Tafe, traineeships, and work.
Students can access their VCE results here.
Updated
Good morning
And happy Monday – I hope you enjoyed your weekend and stayed cool during that heatwave! I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be bringing you our rolling coverage today.
Making news today: the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (Myefo) will be released on Wednesday, showing an $80bn hit to the budget overt he next decade from interest rate rises. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said:
Higher interest rates are hurting households and they’re hurting the budget as well, and that’s what our mid-year outlook will show on Wednesday.
Year 12 students across Victoria are the first off the block in the nation to receive their final exam results today. From 7am marks went live online for the VCE, with Tasmania to follow on Wednesday and NSW and the ACT on Thursday.
We will have more on these stories shortly.
Meanwhile, the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, announced her retirement from politics yesterday – and we will no doubt continue to see the fallout from this play out during the week before the caucus meets on Friday to elect a new leader.
You can read more about her announcement here and here, if you missed it yesterday.
If you see something that needs attention from the blog, you can get in touch with me on X/Twitter @emilywindwrites or via email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.
With that, let’s get started.
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