What we learned today, Saturday 24 June
We’re wrapping up the live blog now.
Here’s what made the news today:
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said Russia should withdraw from Ukraine amid reports the Wagner chief has called for a mutiny on Russia’s military.
Australia has sanctioned three men involved in the downing of MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. The sanctions target Russian Sergey Dubinskiy and Ukrainian national Leonid Kharchenko, and a Russian colonel, Sergey Muchkaev, whose brigade supplied the missile which hit the plane.
Pro-Russia protesters have marched on Kirribilli House over the decision to block a new Russian embassy from being built near Parliament House in Canberra. The AFP is monitoring a Russian diplomat squatting in a shed on the site, but cannot arrest him due to diplomatic immunity.
The Midnight Oil frontman and former Labor cabinet minister Peter Garrett has again condemned Australia’s security deal with the US and UK, calling the $368bn Aukus agreement costly and risky.
Until tomorrow, enjoy your evening.
Updated
NSW Liberal leader aims to attract younger voters after election loss
The NSW Liberal leader, Mark Speakman, attended the first major meeting of state party members since losing the March election on Saturday, AAP reports.
Speakman told over 500 attendees at the NSW Liberal council in Sydney that the party aims to attract younger voters and reclaim government in 2027.
“It is a challenge for our party to attract younger voters, and that’s exactly what I intend to do,” Speakman said.
The Liberals currently have six MPs under the age of 35, while Labor has none, which Speakman said should give his cohort an advantage.
“We want to be listening, engaging with young people to get their ideas to make sure that we’re responsive to their concerns,” he said.
The NSW opposition will put cost of living pressures high on its agenda as it seeks to hold the government accountable, with Speakman slamming a decision to scrap the First Home Buyer Choice from 1 July.
Updated
NSW Liberal leader undecided on voice to parliament vote
NSW’s most senior Liberal, Mark Speakman, says he is personally undecided whether to oppose the voice to parliament, while state MPs from his party will have the freedom to vote and campaign on the issue how they choose, AAP reports.
The state opposition leader says he will reveal his own position in the coming weeks, with a national referendum expected to be held around October.
“I haven’t made a decision,” Speakman told reporters.
“I’ve been meeting with heaps of parties for and against, and consulting with local groups in and around my electorate, and I’ll have something more to say in a few weeks.”
Updated
Pro-Russia protesters march on PM’s house over embassy dispute
Pro-Russia protesters have marched on the prime minister’s house over the decision to block a new Russian embassy build near Parliament House, AAP reports.
Roughly 20 protesters waving Russian and Australian flags, posters of Russian president Vladimir Putin and placards mocking the prime minster, Anthony Albanese, have marched on Kirribilli House in Sydney, calling on the government to keep its hand off the Russian embassy.
On 15 June, federal parliament swiftly passed laws to terminate the lease for a new Russian embassy within 500 metres of Parliament House, following advice on potential security risks.
Protest placards read, “Who is Albo”, and “deep state lap dog”, while others wore T-shirts sporting the Russian pro-military Z symbol.
Russia has launched a high court bid to have the laws overturned.
Australian federal police are monitoring a Russian diplomat squatting in a shed on the proposed site, but have been unable to arrest him due to diplomatic immunity.
Updated
Australia to use biometric data in plan to fight cybercrime
Australians will use biometric data such as an image of their face to verify their identity online under a government plan to fight cybercrime, AAP reports.
The federal government has released a National Strategy for Identity Resilience, which sets out a battle plan for how all states and territories can protect identities.
All Australian governments have agreed to 10 principles, which will guide their approach.
Among them, the strategy says Australian governments will use biometrics – with individuals’ consent – to make it harder for criminals to misuse personal credentials.
The strategy, released on Saturday, promises governments will secure biometric data and protect the privacy of Australians.
“Combinations of biographic attributes [eg name, date of birth and licence number] do not adequately protect Australians from identity crime, and can be exposed in a data breach,” the strategy states.
“Passwords can be forgotten, stolen or compromised.”
Other principles seek to make it easier for Australians to access services and protect their identities.
Governments will work together to achieve interoperability between digital ID systems and credentials so Australians can access services in any jurisdiction.
Updated
More rain coming, and it’s about to hit Melbourne.
After a sunny weekend, rain is on the way for many states. 🌧️
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) June 24, 2023
A long rain band will stretch across the country from northern #WA to #NSW through the first half of next week.
Extensive Flood Watches have been issued around central Australia.
Latest: https://t.co/2kQZJWVOpg pic.twitter.com/KviWJxO3lf
Heads up, Melbourne - a line of rain is about to roll overhead. ☔
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) June 24, 2023
If it looks a bit odd to you, that's because it's unusual to see one aligned so perfectly north to south 👆 👇. Track it yourself on the Melbourne radar 📡: https://t.co/dce5km0qOg pic.twitter.com/RjnVGNe40l
Funding finalised for one of Australia’s largest renewable hydrogen plants
One of Australia’s largest renewable hydrogen plants is a step closer after funding was finalised with boosts from the federal and Victorian governments, AAP reports.
Australian Gas Infrastructure Group’s Hydrogen Park Murray Valley project will house a 10MW electrolyser next to a wastewater treatment plant in Wodonga near the Victoria-NSW border.
The electrolyser, which extracts hydrogen from water molecules, will be eight times larger than the biggest currently operating in Australia and, once completed, will be the largest on the east coast.
The project will receive $36.1m in federal funds via the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and $12.3m from the Victorian government through the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.
The Arena CEO, Darren Miller, said the project was paving the way for renewable hydrogen in Australia.
“It’s essential to scaling up Australia’s renewable hydrogen industry that we get these first-generation projects up and running,” Miller said.
The renewable hydrogen will initially be blended in with natural gas in existing distribution networks to supply roughly 85,000 people along the state border.
Adding 10% hydrogen is estimated to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 4,000 tonnes each year.
Updated
The Granite Lane fire is burning in Tabulam, 60km north-east of Tenterfield. No properties are under direct threat, however smoke is visible from Tabulam and the Bruxner Hwy.
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) June 24, 2023
Even in the cooler months, windy conditions can cause fires to spread rapidly. #NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/IWRCNJwbcT
TODAY 24 June marks 45 years since the first @sydneymardigras Parade. THANK YOU to the brave 78ers who marched then and continue to march now, leading every Parade. They show us the way 🌈❤️ pic.twitter.com/VrfUlU9XR2
— Sydney Rainbow Flag (@rainbowflagsyd) June 24, 2023
Tiny radio transmitters to track orange-bellied parrots released into wild
Orange-bellied parrots fitted with tiny radio transmitters have taken to the skies in an Australian-first as experts watch on from afar, AAP reports.
Wild populations of the critically endangered species have slowly swelled from a dismal fewer than 50 birds six years ago, to about 140 birds.
This year will be the fourth in a row that more than 100 orange-bellied parrots naturally migrate north from their breeding grounds in Tasmania.
The Mainland Release Trial is behind the bolstered numbers, with the program since 2017 releasing more than 120 orange-bellied parrots into Victoria.
The birds have joined other wild orange-bellied parrots once released.
In the seventh and final year of the state’s trial, another 19 birds from Zoos Victoria along with the Tasmanian Department of Natural Resources and Environment have been released at Lake Connewarre, south-east of Geelong.
Animal experts generally lose track of the birds, but that won’t be an issue as they trial a system called Atlas (Advanced Tracking and Localisation of Animals in real life Systems).
Updated
Australia to move last refugee from offshore processing on Nauru
My colleagues Ben Doherty and Eden Gillespie have this on what is changing in Australia’s offshore detention regime, and what remains the same.
On Saturday, Australia was about to move the last refugee from offshore processing on Nauru, ostensibly ending the second iteration of offshore processing on the Pacific island, after nearly 11 years.
Several refugees were flown to Canada this week for resettlement, while the rest have been brought to Australia temporarily. Two asylum seekers will remain on the island for domestic legal reasons. A policy that was only ever intended to be temporary lasted more than a decade, at immense human and financial cost.
Updated
Award-winning houses show how to do more with less
At first glance, the Booth Farrow-Palmer family home in Lane Cove looks like many others dotted around Sydney’s urban landscape: an old brick house that has been given a facelift with a lick of paint.
But the property, designed by architecture firm Saha, won two gongs in this year’s NSW Architecture awards – one for sustainability and another for renovations to allow it to comfortably house three generations. The residence is home to an older couple and their son and daughter-in-law who have two young children.
It joins another award winner, 19 Waterloo Street in Sydney’s Surry Hills by architecture firm SJB, in testing the boundaries of what can be done with less amid calls for more medium-density housing.
Read more here:
Updated
Garrett condemns Aukus as the riskiest decision ever taken by an Australian government
The Midnight Oil frontman and former Labor cabinet minister Peter Garrett has again condemned Australia’s security deal with the US and UK, calling the $368bn Aukus agreement costly and risky, AAP reports.
Garrett said the decision to purchase a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines was a huge gamble and should not be allowed to proceed, while speaking at a public forum in Melbourne.
“It’s the biggest, it’s the most costly and it’s the riskiest decision ever taken by any Australian government short of governments committing us to war and should not be allowed,” he said on Friday.
He applauded recent backlash from some Labor party members and unions, saying a slew of academic and foreign policy experts also backed the push against Aukus.
“So we are not alone, a basic and a major objection to Aukus lies in the aspects of the arrangement which see us reversing our foreign policy and defence posture that’s been generally in place since world war two,” Garrett said.
“We’re going from a focus of direct defence as it is currently constituted to a concentration on forward defence.”
Updated
Russia should withdraw from Ukraine, Albanese says
When questioned about the reports the Wagner chief is attempting to stage a coup in Russia, the Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese, does not comment directly on the reports, but says the war in Ukraine is illegal.
Well, my view is very clear. That the Russian invasion of Ukraine is illegal, is a breach of international law. Shows no respect for the sovereignty of a democratic nation, and Russia should withdraw from this action. It should withdraw today. It is Russia and its involvement that keeps this war going. The people of Ukraine are showing incredible courage in fighting not just for their national sovereignty, but fighting for the international rule of law to be upheld.
On the high court challenge to the legislation cancelling the Russian Federation’s planned lease of land close to parliament house for an embassy, Albanese says he’s confident in the government’s position and the matter was acted on national security advice, and will be dealt with in accordance with Australian law.
Updated
Australians will make up their own minds on voice referendum, Albanese says
Turning to the referendum, Albanese says the parliamentary process to set up the referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament and recognition is now finished and it now turns to the people.
He said:
This is a change that’s from the bottom up. It is a change that Indigenous Australians have advocated for when they met at Uluru in 2017. And if not now – when? We need to recognise First Nations people in our constitution. We should be proud of sharing this continent with the oldest continuous culture on earth, and we know that when we listen to people who are directly affected, we’ll get better outcomes. And that is what this is about.
He said voting for the referendum can be a moment for unity for Australia and make the country stronger, and dismisses questions about polling on the yes vote. He says the yes vote still remains higher than the no vote in polling, and Australians will make up their own minds.
Updated
Government will ensure childcare subsidies are passed on to parents: Albanese
Albanese says the government will be monitoring childcare fees to ensure that the subsidies are passed on to parents, and the centres don’t just hike fees.
He says it is “extraordinary” the opposition is claiming that the subsidies will add to inflation, saying when you boost childcare, you boost productivity, and that is good for the economy.
Updated
Prime minister holds press conference
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is holding a press conference in Petersham in Sydney.
He is talking up the increased childcare subsidy policy, which will come into effect from 1 July.
Albanese says 1.2m Australian families will benefit from the change, and it will boost workforce participation and benefit the economy.
He said:
Now, Treasury estimates that these changes will result in some 1.4m additional hours per week being worked. The equivalent of putting 37,000 additional full-time workers into the workforce.
We know one of the challenges that Australia is facing is changes to the labour market. The other thing that it will do is that if women are able to work full-time rather than the current circumstances where, if a woman, and it largely is women, work a fourth or a fifth day, they’re working essentially for nothing, or sometimes actually, their income going backwards, then it means higher retirement incomes for women as well.
Updated
Forced property sales on the rise in outer Sydney as interest rate hikes start to bite
My colleagues, Peter Hannam and Nick Evershed have this report on the rise in forced property sales as interest rate rises begin to bite.
Sydney’s outer suburbs are showing signs of rising numbers of distressed property sales with higher interest rates the likely cause, a trend that can be expected to spread to other capitals, according to property data group Domain.
Distressed listings as a share of the national market remain low, at about 2.8% across the capital cities, compared with a record 5.1% in late 2018.
Updated
Anthony Albanese visits ‘Little India’ in western Sydney
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has landed in “Little India” for the first time since his subcontinental counterpart formally recognised the area, AAP reports.
Albanese and India prime minister Narendra Modi unveiled a foundation stone in May declaring western Sydney suburb of Harris Park was NSW’s very own “Little India”.
The stone was unveiled in front of about 20,000 rapturous members of Australia’s Indian community who welcomed Modi in a reception event at Olympic Park.
Harris Park was “a place that itself is a testament to the vitality of the Indian-Australian experience”, Albanese said.
One in three residents of Harris Park were born in India, 10 times the proportion elsewhere in greater Sydney and Australia.
The suburb is home to a bustling retail and dining precinct showcasing the best of the Indian subcontinent.
Modi’s visit in May marked his first visit to the country in nine years.
Updated
Barnaby Joyce apologised to Peter Dutton for breaking ranks over the Biloela family
Barnaby Joyce appears to have blindsided Peter Dutton with his support for the Murugappan family to stay in Australia, linking his position to his pro-life stance, a newly released letter reveals.
Joyce’s letter to Dutton in September 2019 includes both an apology to the then home affairs minister for not giving him more notice and an explanation he believes the family’s children should be able to stay because “a child has rights before they are born and after”.
Updated
The shadow foreign minister, Simon Birmingham, has responded to the sanctions announcement from the federal government on the three involved in the downing of MH17, saying it’s welcome, but overdue.
These sanctions are welcome but overdue, with the guilt of these men having been determined more than 200 days ago, on 17 November 2022 in the District Court of The Hague. The Coalition called for this action to be taken in March - https://t.co/ylBDCxxtWj https://t.co/DTMMmaXgt0
— Simon Birmingham (@Birmo) June 23, 2023
NSW Liberal party to elect president at state council
AAP reports the NSW Liberal Party’s state council is being held today, with former federal MP Jason Falinski the frontrunner to take the election of state president.
The election for president is due to be held during the party’s state council on Saturday.
The state council comes as the party considers how to win back voters who abandoned it for climate-minded centrist candidates at both the 2022 federal and 2023 state elections.
NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman and the federal deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley are both due to address the event.
The election of a state president will allow the party to also take steps to fill the vacant state director role.
Chris Stone left that position after the coalition was booted from office in the March state election.
Falinski declined to comment on his candidacy for the presidency, which is not permitted under party rules.
Updated
Belgian tourist dies after crashing scooter in Queensland
A 26-year-old Belgian tourist has died after crashing a scooter into a street sign on Queensland’s Magnetic Island, AAP reports.
The woman was exploring the picturesque island near Townsville by motor scooter when she collided with the street sign about 3pm on Friday.
Members of the public initially provided first aid before the woman was transferred to Townsville university hospital.
The woman underwent emergency surgery but died from her injuries about 9pm.
Authorities are working with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to notify her family in Belgium.
A short ferry ride from Townsville, Magnetic Island attracts visitors from around the world to see white sand beaches and Australia’s largest colony of koalas.
Updated
‘Avalanche’ of demand for Nazi artefacts ahead of Australian ban on sale of hate symbols
Australian militaria shops say there is an “avalanche” of demand for Nazi artefacts in anticipation of an impending ban on the sale of Nazi symbols.
A bill introduced to federal parliament in mid-June will ban the public display and sale of Nazi symbols, making it an offence to seek to profit from such material in stores or online. It will not ban private ownership or transfers of artefacts that are not for profit.
Sellers say the bill has prompted a frenzy of buying and selling, with signed pictures of Hitler, Himmler and Rommel sold at an auction last weekend on the Gold Coast.
Updated
The Greens’ class conflict strategy on housing is a risk to Labor, writes Paul Karp
Housing stoush between Labor and the Greens and the Coalition has been one of the main features of the week.
Chief political correspondent Paul Karp argues this morning that although Anthony Albanese may complain about the tactics being used against his planned legislation, it’s a good tactic for the Greens because renters are a growing section of society (one third) and whether he likes or not, the prime minister has to find some solutions for the rental crisis.
He writes:
What we are now seeing is a class conflict, with the Greens positioning themselves as the party of renters, encouraging them to see their interests as intractably opposed to those of the landlords who are hiking their rents. It’s a zero sum view: when rents go up, landlords win and renters lose.
He adds:
The Greens’ biggest push recently has been to awaken class consciousness among renters. Their base might be a mix of young people and post-material boomers but renters are their new targets, and it’s a growth market because one in three Australians rents …
With three times as many renters as Greens voters in Australia the rental class conflict is all upside for them, and all downside for Labor. Labor must solve the supply problem quickly – renters have nothing to lose but their bonds.
Updated
Australia places sanctions on three involved in downing of MH17
The federal government is placing sanctions on three people involved in the 2014 downing of Flight MH17, with financial penalties and travel bans on two Russians and one Ukrainian announced overnight.
The sanctions are on Sergey Dubinskiy and Leonid Kharchenko, who were both found guilty in The Hague over the downing of the passenger jet; as well as Russian colonel Sergey Muchkaev, whose brigade supplied the missile which hit the plane.
Another man convicted in The Hague, Igor Girkin, has already been sanctioned by Australia over his involvement in the downing of MH17.
The sanctions include barring the men from engaging with Australian banks or businesses.
“As either separatist leaders within the so-called ‘People’s Republic of Donetsk’ at the time of the downing of Flight MH17, or a member of the Russian Armed Forces, the three people sanctioned actively supported actions and policies that threatened the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said.
“These sanctions demonstrate the Australian government’s ongoing commitment to hold to account those responsible for the downing of flight MH17.”
She said Australia was committed to seeking “truth, justice and accountability” for the victims and would pursue all available avenues.
“Our thoughts remain with those who lost their lives, their families and loved ones,” Wong said.
The Australian government is again calling on Russia to cooperate with the Dutch legal system and ensure the men convicted of those crimes serve their sentences.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning everyone and welcome to our rolling coverage of today’s news. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ve got a few overnight stories for you before my colleague Josh Taylor comes along shortly.
With thousands of house auctions scheduled to take place across the country today and clearance rates on the rise, it seems that the property market is recovering. But we have a story today which shows that the number of distressed sales is on the rise in Sydney, the city generally regarded as the main driver of the housing market in Australia. In Blacktown, for example, in western Sydney, almost one in 10 properties are distressed sales, according to Domain, and in south-west Sydney distressed sales have risen from 4% in May last year to 9.8% now.
Anthony Albanese’s government has announced overnight that it has sanctioned three men over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. The sanctions target Russian Sergey Dubinskiy and Ukrainian national Leonid Kharchenko, who were both found guilty of murdering 298 people – including 38 Australian citizens or residents – on the plane and sentenced to life in jail in absentia. The third person is a Russian colonel, Sergey Muchkaev, whose brigade supplied the missile which hit the plane. More coming up on this story.
Jewish groups have expressed their outrage at the spike in auctions of Nazi memorabilia ahead of the forthcoming ban on the sale of hate symbols. We reported this week that an auction house on the Gold Coast sold an extensive collection of Nazi artefacts online and we have a followup this morning that there is an “avalanche” of similar sales going on as collectors try to beat the rush. Dr Dvir Abramovich, chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, said: “I feel like I have been kicked in the guts by this vomit-inducing rush to hawk these items.”
Let’s get into it.
