What we learned today, Thursday 27 July
Thanks for joining us on the Australia news live blog today. That’s where we’ll wrap up our coverage – here are some key developments:
A report from Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog found Victorian MPs and two councillors received large amounts of money and political donations to advance the interests of millionaire property industry identity John Woodman.
Tasmania police charged Scottsdale man with murder in relation to disappearance of teenager Shyanne-Lee Tatnell.
A South Korean defence contractor has beaten its German rival to win the contract to build infantry fighting vehicles for the Australian army, costing between $5bn and $7bn.
Julia Gillard’s former partner Tim Mathieson will plead guilty to one charge of sexual assault, his lawyers told the Melbourne magistrates court today.
Police say investigations are under way after a man was shot dead in Sydney’s south-west early this morning.
NSW police minister, Yasmin Catley, described the shooting as “beyond comprehension”, promising police were working their hardest to stop the violence.
A New South Wales police taskforce has been formed to investigate the recent spate of shootings after a man was killed in Sydney this morning. Taskforce Magnus – led by the state crime command – has been created to investigate links between the shootings stretching back to the death of Alen Moradian in Bondi Junction on 27 June.
Claims former politician Craig Kelly breached electoral laws by using non-compliant United Party Australia federal election campaign material were rejected by a court.
Labor senator Deborah O’Neill, who is leading a Senate inquiry into government consultants, has called on former Coalition ministers to provide more information about how a $33m non-competitive grant was awarded to a new company part-owned by PwC.
The third and final day of public hearings for the Senate inquiry into consent laws across Australia was held in Sydney. The hearings expanded beyond consent to the court system, police, societal attitudes and rape myths in general, with the overwhelming consensus that consent legislation alone will not change rape culture.
The NSW Labor government has begun consultation with the state’s coal industry about a “possible new coal royalty system” as well as an extension of the coal price cap.
Come the next election the House of Representatives will return to 150 seats (it is currently 151) with the AEC review of federal electoral divisions finding that Victoria and NSW will lose a seat each, while WA will gain a seat.
Updated
Don’t let their shirts deceive you. Ola and Larry and their daughter, Ododoeye, are supporting both Australia and Nigeria tonight.
Ola swears the family were on their way to buy some Australian merchandise when I stopped them outside the stadium for a chat.
“It’s very exciting but it’s a tricky one because we are half-Australian, half-Nigerian. Anyone that wins is a win today… We’ll be happy with a draw.”
And I found some Nigerian fans!
— Eden Gillespie (@edengillespie) July 27, 2023
Ola and Larry and their daughter, Ododoeye, are supporting both Australia & Nigeria… so they’ll get a win either way @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/0ZIB1sV2jH
‘The future is looking bright’
Francis and Kat travelled down from the Sunshine Coast with their children Cara and Lachlan to watch tonight’s game.
Kat works as a physio and when she was in university she wrote a dissertation on the the important role the media play in promoting women’s football.
She says if it wasn’t for the Women’s World Cup, her eight-year-old daughter would’ve dropped out of the sport.
Francis, Cara, Lachlan & Kat travelled down from the Sunny Coast to watch tonight’s game.
— Eden Gillespie (@edengillespie) July 27, 2023
Kat wrote a uni dissertation (!!) on the the important role the media play in promoting women’s football.
“At that time women’s soccer was very low key. The future is looking bright!” pic.twitter.com/lYW62KtweN
“At that time women’s soccer was very low key … The future is looking very bright!”
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‘They’ll smash it’
Matildas fans April and Emily joke they’ve been following the Matildas “since birth” and are in no doubt the team will secure a victory tonight in Brisbane.
They flew in from Adelaide to watch the Matildas game and as South Australians, they’re particularly excited to watch ex-Adelaide United star Alex Chidiac on the pitch.
“They’ll smash it. Even with their injuries.”
April and Emily flew in from Adelaide to watch tonight’s game.
— Eden Gillespie (@edengillespie) July 27, 2023
Their message for the Matildas? “Kick ass” @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/bvtTOPcJkU
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Matildas fans get in the spirit
I’m here at Brisbane stadium where tens of thousands of fans will watch the Matildas face off against Nigeria tonight.
The kick-off is at 8pm but fans are already rallying at the local pub and outside the stadium, getting in the spirit.
We’ve faced bumper-to-bumper traffic on the way in. My Uber driver, Alexander, says he’s completed seven trips to the airport today, with people flying in from Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney to watch the game.
I’ll head off now to speak to some fans …
Updated
NSW police confirm a man has died while skiing in Thredbo today
In a statement, police said the 73-year-old man was skiing when he struck a pole on the edge of the ski run.
The incident happened about 12.30pm this afternoon, with other skiers quickly beginning CPR before medical staff arrived, however he died at the scene.
Officers from Monaro Police District have established a crime scene and will conduct inquiries into the incident.
Police will prepare a report for the information of the coroner.
Updated
Tasmania police charge Scottsdale man with murder in relation to disappearance of teen
Tasmania police have formally charged a 36-year-old Scottsdale man with murder, in relation to the disappearance of teenager Shyanne-Lee Tatnell.
The man has been detained to appear in the Launceston magistrates court tomorrow.
It comes after police earlier today confirmed remains found at a bush track near Nabowla this week were believed to be those of Tatnell, who was last seen in Launceston on 30 April 2023.
Northern District Commander Kate Chambers attributed the breakthrough to the hardworking officers behind the investigation:
It is because of the outstanding police work throughout this investigation that we have been able to reach this point, and provide closure for Shyanne-Lee’s family.
We are also thankful for the community’s support, and everyone involved in the search for Shyanne-Lee. Our thoughts remain with her family and loved ones during this difficult time.
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US defence secretary to attend Matildas Brisbane match tonight, says Albanese
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has been speaking to Triple M Brisbane, ahead of the World Cup match between Australia and Nigeria in Brisbane tonight.
Albanese says the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, will be attending tonight’s game:
Tomorrow I’m meeting with the US foreign secretary, Antony Blinken, and the defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, with my team, Richard Marles and Penny Wong, and Lloyd Austin will be there tonight.
It’s a big, big deal. And it’s so good that women’s sport is being put up there on an equal level.
Asked how the world perceives Brisbane, Albanese said:
It’s a global city.
Asked about the Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate’s calls for his city to be able to host the Commonwealth Games cancelled by the Victorian state government, Albanese quipped:
I think if Tom Tate wants to hold the Commonwealth Games he should - and he should fund them.
Albanese said the federal government had made a “substantial contribution” to the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics, which would benefit Brisbane and regional Queensland.
Updated
Senate inquiry calls for laws to allow CO2 to be dumped offshore
A senate inquiry has recommended the Australian parliament pass a bill that would change the nation’s sea dumping laws to allow carbon dioxide to be pumped into international waters.
The legislation was introduced to parliament last month amid criticism it would be used to justify the expansion of the gas industry, particularly offshore gas projects in northern Australia.
The bill is intended to bring Australian laws into line with a global treaty on the prevention of marine pollution and, if passed, would allow the environment minister Tanya Plibersek to grant permits so CO2 captured during industrial processes could be exported and stored under the seabed, otherwise known as carbon capture and storage (CCS).
A report by a government-led committee says while a range of views on CCS were received in submissions, the “benefits or disadvantages of CCS” were not central to the inquiry, which was focused on whether the bill would enable Australia to meet its obligations under the treaty.
The report says the committee was satisfied that concerns about environmental impacts could be addressed “through the current and proposed regulatory framework”.
In a dissenting report, Greens senators said the “timing and urgency” of the bill appeared to be aimed at facilitating oil and gas projects - specifically Santos’ Barossa offshore gas project in the Timor Sea. As part of that project, Santos has proposed a CCS facility in the depleted Bayu-Undan gas reservoir in waters off Timor-Leste.
The Greens said the bill “fundamentally undermines and jeopardises Australia’s efforts to meet our obligations under the Paris agreement” and called for amendments, including “stricter and more prescriptive provisions for the issuing of CO2 export permits”:
The Greens wrote:
With specific reference to the Bayu Undan project in Timor Leste, the government must outline the regulatory capacity and readiness on the part of Timor Leste to ensure the same level of environmental protection as Australia, and if so, the mechanism by which this will be achieved
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One of three victims in ‘targeted’ Greenacre attack dies as police launch taskforce
A man who was shot while sitting in his car in Sydney’s south-west on Sunday has died, with police launching a large-scale investigation into gun violence in the New South Wales capital.
NSW Police confirmed on Thursday afternoon that Ahmad Al-Azzam had died in hospital.
Al-Azzam was found with gunshot wounds in a parked car on Mayvic Street, Greenacre by emergency services responding to reports three people – sitting in two parked cars – had been injured.
A 22-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman located in the separate car were also taken to hospital and treated for their injuries. Police have said the woman has been discharged but the other man remains in hospital.
Al-Azzam is one of five people shot in five days in Sydney and the second person to die from gun violence this week.
He succumbed to his injuries not long after an unidentified man in his 20s was gunned down on Broughton Street, Canterbury, at about 2am.
A NSW police taskforce has been formed to investigate the recent spate of shootings, which have sparked concerns the city’s gang violence is escalating.
Taskforce Magnus – led by the state crime command – has been created to investigate links between the shootings stretching back to the death of Alen Moradian in Bondi Junction on 27 June.
Updated
Fans travel cross-country to Brisbane for Matildas match against Nigeria
Brisbane is gearing up for the Matildas game against Nigeria tonight, with the river city bustling with World Cup fever.
Lynley and Michael Driver have travelled from Adelaide with their children, Cassie and Callum, to watch tonight’s match.
The couple will be joined by their friends, Jarred Arsie and Claudia Kerr, who they met through their love of football. Claudia played the sport with Lynley, while Jarred was her coach.
Lynley is confident the Matildas will not only secure a victory tonight but that they could win the entire tournament.
“We have a tough road ahead with the injuries that we’ve claimed. But we have the quality and the drive to win it on home soil. Absolutely.”
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LGBTIQ+ group welcomes possible inclusion of gender, sexual diversity in census
Equality Australia has welcomed the inclusion of gender, sexual orientation and variations of sex characteristics among the shortlist of new topics for the next Australian census.
In a statement, Equality Australia’s legal director Ghassan Kassisieh said the next census should reflect the diversity of Australia and “finally count everyone properly”.
Thousands of LGBTIQ+ people and rainbow families were rendered invisible in 2021 because the census failed to ask appropriate questions about who we are and how we live.
Governments need reliable data about our work, income and health to inform the delivery of vital services and make decisions about our future.
The 2021 census failed to ask “appropriate questions” on the sexual and gender diversity of our nation, according to the statement, with Kassisieh adding that there was uncertainty around the actual number of LGBTIQ+ people in Australia.
At the moment, we don’t know exactly how many LGBTIQ+ people live in Australia, where they are and basic demographic information about them, to ensure that government service delivery meets their needs.
Asking some simple questions ensures everyone is counted in the snapshot of the nation.
The ABS will make a final recommendation to the federal government next year after a second phase of public consultation.
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NSW work safety watchdog investigating UberEats rider’s road death
The New South Wales government has described the death of an UberEats rider on Saturday as a tragedy, confirming its work safety watchdog has begun demanding information from relevant parties.
A young UberEats rider was killed after a collision with an SUV in the Sydney suburb of Epping on Saturday night. Police said the man was treated at the scene but later died at Royal North Shore hospital.
UberEats says it is helping with the police investigation and fast-tracking insurance payments.
The NSW work health and safety minister, Sophie Cotsis, said SafeWork NSW has begun “serving notices to relevant parties” seeking information about the death. Cotsis also stressed the importance of the state government’s proposed gig worker reforms, which are being pursued in tandem with mooted federal government reforms.
The state reforms would extend protections in the Industrial Relations Act to gig workers, and provide workers compensation, enforceable codes of practice, and portable leave entitlements.
Cotsis said:
This death is tragic and it highlights the need for greater protections for our gig workers who are often vulnerable to workplace hazards. Every worker deserves to come home safely to their family and friends. I look forward to working with my federal counterparts, unions, business and the community in creating lasting and meaningful change that will better protect gig workers in NSW.
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The Liberal senator Paul Scarr is “deeply, deeply disturbed” by what he has heard from End Rape on Campus Australia after Nina Funnell and Sharna Bremner gave some examples of the issues they have been dealing with at universities when complaints have been made.
It is fair to say he is shocked by some of the examples, including how long it takes to get universities to act, and the barriers that are thrown up against action.
He takes on the request for an independent inquiry into some of those issues at universities and says it is “something we certainly should very seriously consider”.
I want to reflect on whether or not we can get and how we go about doing it and getting some detailed case studies of this situation.
I’m just absolutely appalled by what I’ve heard, and I think people need to be held accountable and I think there needs to be fundamental change because I’m deeply, deeply disturbed.
Updated
End Rape on Campus Australia’s Sharna Bremner and Nina Funnell have given examples of pushback from universities when students have reported rapes.
One student had her request to move out of the college campus dormroom she was raped in denied, multiple times by the university. She eventually left the college and her degree.
An international student did not understand the ‘respect, always, now’ posters offering information on how to report her assault and how it related to her situation. When she raised that with the university, she was laughed at and told she was supposed to be a university student who had basic understanding of these things.
Another student’s assault was caught on camera, but it took years of fighting the university to have the footage of the assailant released, by which time it was too late to do anything.
The examples go on and Bremner and Funnell say none of these examples are unusual.
End Rape on Campus Australia director Nina Funnell said it was frankly “astonishing” that we are still having these conversations today, telling the senate inquiry into consent that she has been working on this for 15 years, although advocacy goes back decades.
Funnell said simple changes to how universities responded to rape allegations would have a huge impact in allowing victim-survivors to feel supported to continue their education.
If we make these changes, and we act in a trauma-informed way, if we make our reporting processes trauma informed and responsive, the difference that can have for that student in terms of their likelihood of staying engaged with their education, seeing it through to completion and going on to have better life outcomes, are immense.
To me, it is astonishing, absolutely astonishing that we are still having this conversation in 2023 because I was having very similar conversations in 2007-2008.
I welcome the fact that we’re doing this today. But I also want to put it on record that student activists have been campaigning on this issue since the seventies.
Funnell urged the committee to look into the work of Australia’s researchers on this topic, including Katrina Marsden, and to take a holistic approach to the issue, rather than focussing on just one area.
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Sharna Bremner continues her testimony about the barriers university students face when making a report about sexual assault.
Once that process starts, students are still finding that simple requests for [work] extensions because they’re dealing with trauma are being denied or that they have to provide material from a psychologist proving the functional impact of the trauma on them and their ability to complete their studies, which then requires them to get documentation from a psychologist. They can’t access campus counselling services easily because you’re often limited to six sessions a year at some institutions.
If they make it through all of that, if they get to a point where they file a complaint and the university decides to look into it, then they are told that they can’t tell anyone that they’ve filed a complaint.
They have to keep it to themselves or they can tell one other person, which obviously limits the amount of support they can get.
It limits their ability to share that information with their tutors, with their professors, to get that academic assistance.
And then, if they somehow manage to still forge ahead and get through all of it, they’re often told they can’t get an outcome to their complaint, because of privacy reasons.
So they can go through a process that takes sometimes six months or more to not know what happens, to not know if the person who assaulted them has been allowed to remain on campus, until they may be walking to the library and [see] that person sitting there.
So, what we hear from a lot of students is there’s not a lot of point in reporting because ‘I’m not being kept safe; I’m not being supported. And at the end of it, I attend the campus and find out the person that hurt me is still there and I didn’t know about it’.
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End Rape on Campus Australia founder Sharna Bremner and director and journalist Nina Funnell know more about this issue than most. The pair are giving very powerful evidence to the consent inquiry detailing the hoops students have to jump through to make a report. There is no standardisation. Not a lot of training of staff. Not a lot of understanding or flexibility.
As Bremner says
A really common theme among the students who we have supported over the last eight, nine years now, is that ‘My rape was bad but the way my university responded was worse’.
We hear very, very often [about] the effects of re-traumatisation.
Once students have reported, they feel incredibly unsupported – if they can even find where to report in the first place.
Bremner said a lot of universities were still using a document launched in 2016 as a guide to dealing with reports, a document so old it was released when today’s average university student was in primary school.
So we have a lot of issues of students just not knowing where to go initially to report, to seek support, and when they are reporting we are still seeing extensive delays in responses by universities, oftentimes up to three, four or five months, sometimes even longer.
Students might file a complaint with a department and not get a reply or an acknowledgement for weeks or days sometimes.
Right now we have a student that we’re supporting who didn’t actually get a reply for more than eight weeks after she filed the report.
Updated
Tasmania police arrest man after finding remains believed to be missing teen
Tasmania police have announced the arrest of a 36-year-old man and confirmed that human remains were found in bushland yesterday.
Northern District commander Kate Chambers said Police believed the remains were of missing teenager Shyanne-Lee Tatnell.
Remains were discovered on a bush track near Nabowla on Wednesday, with Chambers confirming they were of the missing teenager, who was last seen in Launceston on the night of 30 April.
The 36-year-old man from Scottsdale in the state’s northeast was taken into custody on Thursday in Launceston.
Chambers said a large-scale search was done yesterday, involving 180 people, including helicopter crews and mounted search-and-rescue volunteers.
We bring answers today, to [Shyanne’s] family and to the community. Today is a really significant step forward in that journey towards finding answers.
Whilst we have confirmed they are human remains that were found yesterday, there are forensic testing that are required to understand that [the remains] are Shyanne-Lee. Having said that, we do believe it is, in fact, her.
Updated
Good afternoon, Mostafa Rachwani with you for the rest of the afternoon.
On that cautionary note, I am bidding you adieu and handing over to Mostafa Rachwani.
Queensland man charged with high-range drink-driving on ride-on mower
A Queensland man has been charged after allegedly drink-driving on a ride-on mower.
Queensland police say they observed a ride-on mower being driven in the wrong direction along a street in Ingham shortly before 1am on Sunday.
Police pulled over the vehicle before the 51-year-old driver allegedly returned a positive roadside breath test.
Police have charged a man with high range drink driving after he allegedly drove a ride on mower almost four times the legal limit in Ingham last weekend.https://t.co/iWAzB08Tlt pic.twitter.com/bWa9UDpoAs
— Queensland Police (@QldPolice) July 27, 2023
Senior Sergeant Robert Nalder, Officer in Charge of Townsville’s Highway Patrol said it was lucky the man hadn’t caused a serious incident:
If you’re drinking, please don’t get behind the wheel of any vehicle. This might seem like a funny incident, but the harsh reality is that if police hadn’t been there to intervene, we could have been dealing with a serious traffic crash.
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Australia’s export prices take a dive, royalties might be next
Australia has benefited greatly from the run-up in global energy prices after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 (which is partly why the Ukrainian government hoped for a bit more support from us).
The latest ABS trade price index released today suggests the boomtime might have run its course. The price our expects get fell 8.5% in the June quarter (and 11.2% annually), the biggest decline since the September quarter of 2009.
Australia's export prices fell 8.5% in the June qtr, the sharpest decline since 2009. Coal and gas posted falls of more than 20%. (NSW said it was seeking to 'modernise' its royalty regime. That horse is getting ready to bolt...) pic.twitter.com/xAHftw6XqA
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) July 27, 2023
The price our coal and gas exports collected sank more than 20%, a shift that will dent revenues coming into government coffers. (The $20bn federal surplus for the 2022-23 year owed a lot to high commodity prices.)
The lower global energy prices had only a modest impact on the prices of our imports, which eased 0.8% for the quarter, the ABS said.
There is evidence that some international exporters are still passing on cost pressures from 2022. Michelle Marquardt,” ABS head of prices statistics, said. “This, combined with a weaker Australian dollar, pushed prices upward for imported consumption and capital goods.
Harry Ottley, a CBA economist, said the main implication of the slide in our terms of trade is “softer nominal GDP and national income growth”.
The global economy is forecast to slow further over the period ahead and with global supply chains functioning more normally, the best of the export prices driven boon to Australia’s national income may be behind us.
Julie Perkins the Chief Executive Officer, First National Hub (Griffith) and Chair of the First Nations Women’s family and domestic violence program is giving testimony to the consent committee now and made the point that when it comes to Indigenous people making complaints, if they choose to enter the judicial system, there needs to be First Nations people involved from beginning to end, to ensure a safe process.
It’s probably more than awareness, but and also taking that further into the systems that these groups belong to, you know, whether it’s courts, whether it’s the judiciary, whether it’s police, whether it’s support staff, whether it’s hospitals, health professionals – when police are present, we really need a really strong targeted campaign and I know there’s some good ones out there. I know that we’ve been doing this, but we just have to make this stronger and firmer and continue on … this judgment on victims-survivors and First Nations people is just unacceptable. There [needs to be] just zero tolerance of this.
Updated
Man arrested over disappearance of Tasmanian teenager
A man has been arrested after remains discovered in Tasmanian bushland were confirmed as human and likely to belong to missing teenager Shyanne-Lee Tatnell, AAP reports.
The 36-year-old from the town of Scottsdale in the state’s northeast was taken into custody on Thursday in Launceston.
Police have confirmed remains discovered on a bush track near Nabowla on Wednesday are human and are believed to belong to Shyanne-Lee.
The consent hearings continue, with Angela Lynch from the Queensland Sexual Assault Network talking about some of the issues when cases going to court – including the victim’s counselling notes being used against them by defence counsel. The submission included this example:
A young girl can’t access the therapy she needs because counselling notes will be used in the court case against her. She is suffering PTSD, has anger outbursts, blackouts, can’t sleep, must have the lights on, is constantly on edge and can’t go to shopping centres as she sees the face of the perpetrator in other men. This child wants justice and wants the perpetrator jailed but has lost faith herself in the justice system. As the case drags on through the system her healing is not being adequately addressed because the court system won’t allow this.
Lynch is asked about it and says that she understands that case relates to an Indigenous girl, and while unusual, and there are protections, including allowing the victim to have their own legal counsel as part of it, there are still cases where it happens. Lynch says it can be a deterrent to reporting, because victim-survivors know how their life can be put on display:
They have a pretty good idea about what can go on in these cases, and how their medical records can be, you know, opened up, how their other records can be opened up, how they can get access to telephone records as well.
And all of these issues play into the decision making of someone because they know that they will be judged, they know that they will be judged by that.
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That press conference has wrapped up with Webb saying police had “not at all” lost control.
Webb says she’s confident police will achieve a result:
When you put all the resources together and work across all of those investigations, to make sure no stone is unturned, that is a surge capacity that will better inform us and help us work through those eight matters.
… The intelligence, the linkages, the patterns, all of those things need to be worked on. Seventy investigators dedicated to this, I am sure we will come to a result.
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Webb says it’s too early to speculate whether the shootings are two groups at war with one another.
She says police will assume at the start that all shootings in the last month are linked “and then exclude them as we go through the investigation.”
Based on the MO, based on the area, based on some of the elements, we have included them all within the ambit of this taskforce and we’ll work through that.
… if they’re linked, there’s a common denominator and we need to find that.
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Taking questions, Webb says of the escalation:
What it says is we’re dealing with a small number of criminals who need to be arrested and brought before the courts. They are brazen, and this sickens me like it sickens everyone else in this state.
Hudson says the taskforce “will grow as much is needed to resolve this current dispute.”
Hudson:
The need to establish this Strikeforce has come about through common links between recent activities. Common modus operandi, common traits in relation to the way that offences have been committed. And the targeting of certain individuals will be better done as a joint enterprise between Strikeforces under one taskforce.
Detective chief superintendent Jason Weinstein, normally the director of operations of state crime command, will lead the Strikeforce.
David Hudson, the deputy police commissioner, is providing more specifics of Taskforce Magnus:
It’s the amalgamation of eight current strike forces being conducted by State Crime Command into recent shooting and violent activity across south western Sydney that will bring together 70 existing detectives, supplemented by additional detectives from state crime command and metropolitan field operations.
It will have a proactive component of uniformed staff who will be tasked with engaging with the criminal environment, engaging with those people, to try to establish links and sources and information in relation to the recent shootings that have taken place.
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Webb goes on to say the police will not tolerate the “tit for tat in our streets”:
We can assure the public we’ll not tolerate this level of violence on our streets, particularly by a very small number of criminals who want to play out their tit for tat in our streets.
It is of grave concern. I want to assure the public that we take this very seriously…We do look forward to a resolution of this matter.
NSW police adding 70 investigators to taskforce, plus teams on the street
Addressing the media conference, the NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, says 100 extra police officers will be dedicated to the taskforce set up to investigate the shootings since June 27 which police believe are linked:
We’ll be throwing 100 extra police officers at this, specifically at this taskforce for the investigation and the proactive arm of the operation. We’re talking about 70 investigators dedicated to the taskforce, and 30 additional proactive arm that will be patrolling the streets of south-west Sydney, and responding to calls for service and information from the public that may lead to arrests and other lines of inquiry to assist this investigation.
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NSW government commits to ‘fully resourcing’ police new taskforce
The NSW police minister Yasmin Catley is speaking in Sydney about the new taskforce that’s been set up to investigate the recent spate of shootings.
The New South Wales government will make sure they are fully resourced to ensure they can get these crooks off our streets, behind bars, as soon as possible.
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ATO settlement relates to ‘false legal professional privilege’
The Australian Tax Office and consultancy giant PwC Australia have reached a settlement over “false legal professional privilege claims in response to formal notices”, separate to a scandal involving the misuse of confidential government tax plans.
PwC revealed the confidential settlement to a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday but did not disclose any details, leading the Greens to warn the company may have secured “a sweetheart deal” with the ATO before the full scale of a scandal involving the misuse of government data was revealed.
An ATO spokesperson would not say what matter the “false legal professional privilege claim” related to. An ongoing senate inquiry into consultants has heard that legal privilege has been cited to frustrate or delay ATO efforts to obtain more information about tax matters.
Here’s the full ATO statement:
The ATO’s settlement with PwC, as disclosed yesterday to the NSW parliament, was not related to the Collins breach of confidentiality in a Treasury process.
It related to false Legal Professional Privilege claims in responding to formal notices. As previously mentioned, the ATO referred the Collins matter to the TPB and has at no stage attempted to frustrate their investigation.
While all ATO settlements are confidential, we endeavour to be as transparent as the law allows us to be and we will correct the record where needed.
Settlements are an important element of the administration of the tax system because they provide a cost effective and fair way to resolve disputes and lock in future compliance. The ATO cannot litigate all disputes.
Significant settlements are reviewed by an ex-judge as part of the Independent Assurance of Settlement process to ensure they are fair and reasonable for the Australian community.
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‘What an amazing woman’: Russell Crowe on meeting Sinéad O’Connor
As the world mourns the death of Sinéad O’Connor, Russell Crowe has paid tribute to the Irish singer sharing the story of their meeting last year on Twitter:
Last year, working in Ireland, having a pint in the cold outside a Dalkey pub with some new friends, a woman with purpose strode past us. Puffy parker zipped to the nape and her bowed head covered in a scarf. One of my new friends muttered an exclamation, jumped up and pursued the woman.
Thirty metres down the road the friend and the woman embraced and he waived me over. There under streetlights with mist on my breath, I met Sinéad. She looked in my eyes, and uttered with disarming softness “ oh, it’s you Russell”.
She came with us back to the table and sat in the cold and ordered a hot tea. In a conversation without fences we roamed through the recent Dublin heatwave, local politics, American politics, the ongoing fight for indigenous recognition in many places, but particularly in Australia, her warm memory of New Zealand, faith, music, movies and her brother the writer. I had the opportunity to tell her she was a hero of mine.
When her second cup was taking on the night air, she rose, embraced us all and strode away into the fog-dimmed streetlights. We sat there the four of us and variously expressed the same thing. What an amazing woman.
Peace be with your courageous heart Sinéad.
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House of Representatives to return to 150 members
Come the next election and the house of representatives will return to 150 seats (it is currently 151) with the AEC review of federal electoral divisions finding that Victoria and NSW will lose a seat each, while WA will gain a seat.
The changes are based on population – WA’s population has grown, while NSW and Vic have seen a slight decrease.
So that means:
WA: 15 to 16 seats
NSW: 47 to 46 seats.
VIC: 39 to 38 seats.
There are to be no changes anywhere else, with those populations remaining stable.
So what are the next steps? Well, the AEC will consult on where the new boundaries for NSW, Vic and WA should be. And then once that is finalised, the parties will learn which of their MPs will be out of an electorate at the next election.
It should all be finalised by the end of next year.
End of Rape submission to inquiry ‘terribly disturbing’: senator
Liberal senator Paul Scarr asks Universities Australia CEO Catriona Jackson whether she has read the End Rape on Campus submission to the inquiry.
Jackson has not.
He pulls out one part, about students being made to complete a mandatory online module about online consent and how some students, as victim-survivors, had asked for an exception to the module, as it would re-traumatise them, given their experiences.
Scarr:
The students notified the university that they were unable to complete the module as they found it was compounding their existing trauma answering the questions they have been asked by university staff, but were ultimately required to complete it if they wanted to avoid academic sanctions.
Please tell me that is not happening on our university campuses, that there is actually empathy being demonstrated to victim-survivors in student faculties?”
Jackson said it is complicated.
We are very aware of the complexity around this issue when we first were discussing how you run a major student survey which asks people to come forward with these sorts of intensely distressing details. We worked very carefully on the detail of the surveys so that people could stop and take breaks and come back and refill, restart the surveys anytime they wanted to sort of get support through that process.
I know from many conversations with frontline staff and university campuses, that very careful consideration is guided into how students complete these forms.
Scarr said he found the End Rape on Campus submission example “terribly disturbing”:
From my perspective, the initial response from the university should be to wrap their arms around the victim-survivor, as opposed to looking at issues around mandatory nature of the survey and the impact on their academic records. Can you understand my perspective?
Jackson said she can and she is sure university staff can as well.
Updated
Senators present united front at consent inquiry
The Senate inquiry committee of Liberal senator Paul Scarr, Greens senator Larissa Waters and Labor senator Nita Green is very united across this issue.
Often when watching these inquiries, there is a ‘friendly’ senator who may ask easy questions of a particular interest or lobby group to let them speak their piece or talk about something more positive, particularly if other senators have been more critical.
On this issue, the three senators are united. All have been exceptionally respectful of victim-survivors, have probed deeply into issues outside consent when raised by those giving evidence, have given each other space to ask questions and backed each other up when necessary.
After Waters pressed Universities Australia CEO Catriona Jackson about the decision to cancel the consent campaign, and who may have had input in that, committee chair Scarr backed in Waters to get some answers on notice.
Ms Jackson, I want to make a clear for the Hansard that you’ve understood what Senator Waters has asked you to take on notice. I think it is incredibly important, given the interest in relation to this that this committee has the benefit of further information in relation to the focus group testing you’ve referred to.
And from my perspective, I would actually think it would be very useful to see what reports were prepared for your members with respect to the summary of the outcomes of that focus group testing, so we can actually see the basis upon which your members came to the view they came to, [in particular] the concern about cut through, I’d be very interested to get that source informations to help us with our deliberations in relation to consent education, would you be able to provide that helpful information to us?
Jackson said she would.
Updated
Greens press UA on axed consent campaign
Greens senator Larissa Waters has the call now in the Senate inquiry and she is asking Catriona Jackson what happened to the big university consent campaign which was meant to start.
During the Senate Inquiry into consent Senator @larissawaters is asking @uniaus about the reports that University Australia axed their campaign planned on consent.
— Fair Agenda (@FairAgenda) July 27, 2023
That report again is here: pic.twitter.com/ayd1xzKQ6g
Specifically, Waters wants to know which university chancellors objected to the campaign. Jackson won’t go into it. She said:
It’s my evidence that it’s not my business to discuss the internal contents of my plenary meetings.
But in very broad terms, a number of members raised entirely valid concerns about how applicable one set of messages will be across as I’ve already described, that breadth of 1.4 million students from a really broad range of backgrounds.
Jackson said focus group testing had reinforced this view.
Updated
UA unsure if it will conduct another student safety survey: CEO
Labor senator Nita Green has asked the Universities Australia CEO Catriona Jackson, whether UA will do another national student safety survey.
Jackson is unsure.
We may do another one. As I said, we haven’t made a final decision. There’s an awful lot of activity going on inside universities, including some surveys that are at a more granular level, inside universities to direct their activities appropriately so they can work out exactly where the issues are.
Green wants to know why the body wouldn’t do another one.
We’ve just yet to decide whether the best use of resources, the best use of the efforts of everyone on campus and the best [outcome for students].
Updated
UA ‘not reluctant in any sense’ to attend Senate consent inquiry: CEO
University representatives are now giving evidence to the Senate inquiry into consent. That includes Catriona Jackson, the CEO of Universities Australia.
Labor senator Nita Green wants to know why it took three separate invitations to have UA agree to attend.
Jackson says:
I looked very carefully at the terms of reference when we were considering there were some timing issues in the first few occasions. So we looked very carefully at the terms of reference, and every single piece of work Universities Australia has done as a peak body for universities all around the country has been based on expert advice.
… I looked really carefully at terms of reference A through H and it seems very clear that it was about us to a legal system in which we do not retain any legal expertise at all.
Jackson said that does not mean she is reluctantly attending:
I am very happy to be here. As you will see from the number of parliamentary inquiries we appear before I think parliamentary inquiries are a fundamentally important part of the functioning of a democracy.
So we are not reluctant in any sense. We just thought that we weren’t the right people to be asking to be answering questions, but we’re here and very pleased to be joined by my colleagues, who have a combination of really carefully honed cities and on the ground experience so we can go into those issues like the impact of consent laws, on consent education, universities and how these things play out on campus.
Updated
China-Australia relationship at ‘critical juncture’: ambassador
China’s ambassador, Xiao Qian, says his country is ready to work with Australia to step up dialogue in all areas.
He also argued that China’s military modernisation “will not pose a threat to any other country”.
Speaking at an event at the Chinese embassy in Canberra this afternoon, Xiao said the world was experiencing profound challenges, adding, “China is firmly pursuing peaceful development.”
The Chinese embassy event was to mark the 96th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. He said the PLA had a “glorious” history, including “resisting foreign aggression”.
Xiao said the China-Australia relationship was currently at a “critical juncture” of stabilization, improvement and consolidation.
He said it was time for the two sides to “stay on the right part to get along” and make “long term progress” in the bilateral relationship. Each side, he said, should respect the other’s core interests.
Updated
NSW police taskforce to investigate spate of shootings
A New South Wales police taskforce has been formed to investigate the recent spate of shootings after a man was killed in Sydney this morning.
Taskforce Magnus – led by the state crime command – has been created to investigate links between the shootings stretching back to the death of Alen Moradian in Bondi Junction on 27 June.
Police said:
Initial inquiries suggest the common link between the shootings is conflict arising from the alleged supply of prohibited drugs, particularly in the south-west Sydney area.
In addition to examining the circumstances and links between the incidents, the taskforce will be responsible for ramped up activity to target and disrupt those still believed to be in ongoing conflict.
Police will provide more information about the taskforce and the recent shootings later today.
Updated
Tim Mathieson to plead guilty to sexual assault, court hears
Julia Gillard’s former partner, Tim Mathieson, will plead guilty to one charge of sexual assault, his lawyers told the Melbourne magistrates court today.
Mathieson is being prosecuted by Victoria police’s sexual offences and child abuse squad.
The matter will be heard on 7 August.
Updated
‘The role of local councils in significant planning decisions should be reduced’: Daniel Andrews
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has released a statement in response to the state’s anti-corruption watchdog report.
The report, published today, found Victorian MPs and two City of Casey councillors received large amounts of money and political donations to advance the interests of the millionaire property industry identity John Woodman.
Andrews gave evidence to the investigation in a private hearing. The report made no adverse comments or finings against Andrews but accepted evidence that the premier had asked a lobbyist to pass on his regret about the delay of a rezoning decision to Woodman
In the statement, Andrews says “more work must be done”.
The Government will consider each of the report’s 34 recommendations and respond in due course.
The report’s recommendations include winding back councils’ planning powers. Andrews had flagged this in his statement:
The IBAC report’s 34 recommendations will be given appropriate consideration, but it is the clear position of the Government that the role of local councils in significant planning decisions should be reduced and we will have more to say on this matter.
Updated
Girl missing in Sydney since Tuesday still unfound
A twelve-year-old girl from Sydney’s eastern suburbs who went missing on Tuesday is yet to be located, police say.
She was last seen at Vaucluse at 11.15am on Tuesday.
Police say she is of Caucasian appearance, approximately 162cm tall, with long brown, curly hair. She was last seen wearing black tracksuit pants, an orange jumper and white joggers.
Updated
Current coal cap ‘poor public policy’: NSW Minerals Council
The NSW Minerals Council chief executive Stephen Galilee said he “notes” the government’s plan to start a consultation on policy options beyond the current temporary coal cap, saying it was “poor public policy”.
Galilee said:
In relation to NSW coal royalties, the existing arrangements should be maintained.
The existing arrangements deliver increased royalties when coal prices are higher, as seen last financial year when a record $5.5bn in royalties were collected during a time of record high coal prices.
Updated
NSW government to ‘modernise’ coal royalties while looking at price cap extension
The NSW Labor government has begun consultation with the state’s coal industry about a “possible new coal royalty system” as well as an extension of the coal price cap.
Catie McLeod, our colleague had a close look at the coal price plans in this piece published overnight:
It’s clear the Minns government is looking at a range of pressures on its budget - such as whether to cancel the giant Metro West rail project - and hence royalties are under scrutiny.
The previous Coalition government looked at whether it should impose a windfall royalty regime similar to Queensland’s, but we’re told the Nationals nixed the plan.
Despite vigorous ad campaigns from the mining industry, Queensland managed to turn in a record surplus thanks to $15.3bn in coal royalties. NSW, meanwhile, is looking into a deficit pit.
NSW treasurer Daniel Mookhey today linked the review of the coal price cap to the state’s royalty regime. The price had come “at a great cost” to royalties, he said.
Mookhey told a media conference this morning:
There will be no change to royalties in the 2023-24 year.
Upon the expiry of the cap [on 30 June 2024], there is a question about whether or not the NSW coal royalty system is fit for purpose and is suited to modern conditions.
In fact, there’s been no change for more than a decade, he said.
Updated
‘We want law language to be clear’: consent inquiry hears from sexual health experts
The consent inquiry is hearing from Sexual Health Quarters which teaches consent and sex education, providing schools with resources to be able to talk about the issues. (SHQ also provides clinical counselling and education services to teachers, nurses, youth workers, counselors, allied professionals and child protection officers).
Karen Molhuysen said for many schools, it is thought of as all too hard. And when they go into schools, because of the scattergun approach to teaching consent and sex ed, as well as the ambiguity around some of the laws, students have a lot of questions about the grey zones.
Molhuysen said:
The constant and persistent issue we have is the law allows the ambiguity … whenever we teach about consent with young people, we are peppered with questions, ‘but what if’ and ‘what if’ and ‘what if’ and very disturbingly, we still hear commonly, ‘but what if she doesn’t say no’.
We want for our laws language, to be clear. And positive. And to put the emphasis on communication between two people, not simply looking for the query in the absence of a no – it needs to be clear communication that both people involved want to be doing what they’re doing, and both people are happy.
Updated
Labor calls for more details on funding to PwC part-owned company, Innowell
Labor senator Deborah O’Neill, who is leading a senate inquiry into government consultants, has called on former Coalition ministers to provide more information about how a $33m non-competitive grant was awarded to a new company part-owned by PwC.
Earlier this week, Guardian Australia revealed a start-up called Innowell received the money for a series of collaborative research trials into a digital mental health platform after lobbying from then mental health commissioner, Ian Hickie, who was also a shareholder. PwC had a 45% shareholding in the company, which was co-founded by a PwC partner months earlier.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Hickie, whose work on mental health was praised by O’Neill, but the Labor senator has called for more detail. O’Neill has also questioned why funding was directed to a for-profit company part-owned by PwC, which was a major political donor and had extensive contracts with the government.
O’Neill said:
Where were the probity officials while all this was going on?
The previous Coalition government needs to address questions about particular funding decisions they made and the basis in which they made them.
The PwC presence is everywhere in this matter.
Updated
Albanese grabs breakfast with NZ prime minister
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has taken a street walk to grab breakfast with his New Zealand counterpart Chris Hipkins, reflecting on the two nations shared culinary traditions – it’s all smiles but then again there are no pavlovas in sight.
It’s not just our people that connect Australia and New Zealand, but our businesses and produce as well.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) July 26, 2023
Some classic Australian products are household names for New Zealanders too. pic.twitter.com/Gow01qDVms
You can read more about the pavlova debate here:
Updated
Police seize more than 25,000 vapes from Melbourne stores
In Victoria, police say they have seized more than $800,000 in illegal smoking items, including over 25,000 vapes, in a crackdown aimed at putting vape stores on notice.
In a statement, Victoria police said:
This follows concerns raised about at-risk youth purchasing products freely displayed within the stores across Melbourne, causing a flow-on effect and attracting anti-social activity to the area.
A warrant was conducted at a business in Swanston Street on Tuesday evening, with police seizing the following items:
Over 2,500 packets of illicit tobacco cigarettes
Over 25,000 illegal nicotine vapes
Police are making enquiries with the owner of the store and are expecting to conduct an interview in the coming days.
Melbourne West Neighbourhood Policing Sgt Matt Jerabek said:
The sale of illegal items … often generate anti-social and further criminal offending to an area, so we are confident this will make a positive impact on community safety.
… We will continue to focus on actively disrupting this activity.
The Melbourne West Neighbourhood Policing team will continue to investigate city-based tobacconists who are selling items illegally and anyone with information about suspicious activity at tobacconists is urged to contact crime stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
Updated
Senate inquiry into consent laws: final day hears from universities
The third and final day of public hearings for the senate inquiry into consent laws across Australia is being held in Sydney. Universities Australia will be heard a little later today, as will End Rape on Campus. The hearings have expanded beyond consent to the court system, police, societal attitudes and rape myths in general, with the overwhelming consensus that consent legislation alone will not change rape culture – there is no point in making legislation if the system and societal attitudes don’t change.
Which includes what happens IN a court room, Professor Julia Quilter tells the inquiry. Professor Quilter is a director on the Fare Australia board and a researcher into sexual violence. She says decades of changes to legal elements of rape have not done anything to change how cases are treated inside the court room, either by defence or by juries.
As we have heard the past two days, rape myths still prevail – including over whether a victim-survivor resisted, how they resisted, if they did, when they reported (despite delays being the norm) what they told different people (often survivors will disclose parts of the story to different people, including medical professionals and friends, but not necessarily in a linear fashion) and their sexual histories.
Quilter says if possible, specialised courts would help because judges and prosecutors would be trained in how better to direct juries, at the very least. But it also comes with its own issues – delays and burnout, among them.
Quilty said:
My view would be that if it was possible to have specialised defense and prosecutors and judges involved in the running of these matters, it would improve things significantly, not least because the relevant law is often changing in this area.
And I think there needs to be specialisation. That said, I can also see that there is potential burnout and issues to do with having particular crown prosecutors only running sexual assault matters. I think that that is clearly an issue that carries trauma at the least.
Updated
NSW shadow police minister points finger at Labor for continuous Sydney shootings
The NSW shadow police minister, Paul Toole, is pointing the finger at Labor saying the five shootings in Sydney in five days come off the back of the new government being soft on crime. He’s told Sky News:
The problem is here: we’re just not hearing anything from the minister who is in charge. The minister who’s in charge is actually responsible for the work that the 20,000 plus police officers involved in the NSW Police Force do.
What we want to hear though, is what proactive work is going on. We need to know that our police have been backed in. I’m the biggest backer of our police, because I think they do an amazing job. They’re out there all the time working hard, but let’s make sure that they are being backed in as the minister actually said to them.
What resources do you need? Because when I speak to our police officers, they tell me that they need support right now to be able to combat and deal with some of these issues.
Updated
Craig Kelly defeats AEC lawsuit over election posters
Claims former politician Craig Kelly breached electoral laws by using non-compliant United Party Australia federal election campaign material have been rejected by a court, AAP reports.
Today, an Australian Electoral Commission lawsuit against the firebrand ex-MP for the NSW seat of Hughes was dismissed in the Federal Court.
The AEC had argued Kelly’s UAP posters - which were displayed in the run-up to the 2022 federal election - did not have all the required authorisations clearly visible.
The commission claimed the authorisation line - which lists the person who approved the posters and their address - was too small and could not be read by voters from a reasonable distance.
Justice Steven Rares tossed the lawsuit, ordering the AEC to pay Kelly’s legal costs.
After switching from the federal Liberals to the Clive Palmer-backed UAP, Kelly failed to retain Hughes which was won by the Liberal party’s Jenny Ware.
Read more about the case from Tory Shepherd:
Updated
Council planning powers should be limited, Ibac deputy commissioner says
Ibac deputy commissioner David Wolf says the report’s recommendations to wind back council’s planning powers will help reduce corruption vulnerabilities.
The Operation Sandon report has recommended a taskforce set up independent panels to decide on planning matters across Victoria.
These recommendations mirror what it’s place in lots of other jurisdictions around Australia and it’s aimed at delivering better planning outcomes for the entire community.
Updated
Ibac's press conference on state and local government undeclared payments
Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog is holding a press conference after releasing a report that found a property developer influenced decision-makers at a state and local government level via donations to advance his business interests.
The report, Operation Sandon, found Victorian MPs and two councillors received large amounts of money and political donations to advance the interests of millionaire property industry identity John Woodman.
Stephen Farrow, acting commissioner at the state’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (Ibac), says it can refer admissible evidence to the office of the director of public prosecution. But he says this is yet to be done.
Ibac deputy commissioner David Wolf says the report’s damage to the reputation of local councils will take some time to repair.
Updated
No rain in sight for the Matildas game against Nigeria tonight. The bureau of meteorology have predicted forecasts from kick off to full time:
Australia is facing Nigeria tonight in the #WomensWorldCup. Crowds in Brisbane can expect partly cloudy, but dry conditions for the game.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) July 26, 2023
Good luck everyone, and go @TheMatildas!
Latest forecasts: https://t.co/pIVv1tfrIh pic.twitter.com/QcTckH6mmI
Conroy insists Hanwha more suited to Aus defence than German competitor
Hanwha beat out their German competitor to secure the contract, as Dan told us this morning. Facing questions from the media, Conroy insisted the department determined it was the South Korean company’s product which best suited Australian defence:
There was two years of extensive test and evaluation of both short listed tenderers, and it was Defence’s recommendation that the Red Back vehicle best met Australia’s requirements. It was Defence’s recommendation on that.
Updated
Hanwha expects project to support ‘thousands of high-skilled jobs’, Conroy says
Conroy says the vehicles will be built in Australia at Geelong rather than purchased overseas, and inject “billions” into the economy and support “thousands of high-skilled, well-paid jobs”.
Hanwha estimate this project will support 500 to 600 direct jobs with them; the majority in the Geelong region. Over 1,000 indirect jobs in Australian defence industry suppliers, and up to 100 Australian companies in the supply chain for the project.
Updated
Conroy says the first deliveries are expected in less than four years’ time:
We are delivering all 129 vehicles before the former government planned to deliver one, with the first deliveries expected in early 2027 and a final delivery in late 2028.
Hanwha defence deal to cost between $5bn and $7bn
Conroy has revealed the cost of the defence deal which will see Hanwha Defense Australia build 129 infantry fighting vehicles:
The LAND 400 Phase 3 project will have a value of between $5bn and $7bn, making it one of the largest capability acquisition projects in the history of the Army.
Updated
South Korean defence deal to modernise Australian Army, Conroy says
Defence industry minister Pat Conroy is speaking in Canberra providing more details about the news our defence correspondent Daniel Hurst brought you earlier this morning: a South Korean defence contractor has beaten its German rival to win the contract to build infantry fighting vehicles for the Australian army.
Conroy says the government is delivering three critical new capabilities over the next five years:
Infantry fighting vehicles to provide soldiers with high-level protection, mobility and fire power.
Landing craft to provide Army with the ability to manoeuvre in the coastal environments of Australia and the region.
Long range fires in the form of new HIMARs rocket systems and land-based maritime strike to provide which the ability to strike an extended range.
The interlocking capabilities will modernise the Australian Army to operate in a coastal environment. They’ll place Army at the heart of our strategy of deterrence through denial. And they’ll enhance Army’s ability to defend Australia in the face of contemporary challenges.
Updated
ANZ hikes new customer variable rates for third time in five months
ANZ has today increased the rate of its basic variable home loan by up to 0.15% for new customers.
Financial comparison site RateCity said it is the third time the bank has increased the advertised rate on its Simplicity Plus loan for new customers in the last five months, in addition to the standard RBA hikes. The latest hike does not affect existing customers.
RateCity’s research director, Sally Tindall, said:
An existing customer who took out ANZ’s lowest rate loan at the start of March is now paying 0.35 percentage points less than what a new customer will be offered today.
Australia’s biggest banks are trying to put an end to the new customer discounting that previously dominated the market.
In the last five months, the big four banks have collectively hiked new customer rates on 18 occasions in a bid to protect their profit margins, with other large lenders, such as Macquarie Bank following suit.
Updated
NSW police minister says government will help ‘put these gangsters behind bars’
We’ve been following the developments as another shooting has taken place in Sydney’s southwest, which has left a man believed to be in his 20s dead. It’s come less than 24 hours after a shooting in Greenacre, which is the same suburb where three were shot and wounded early last Sunday.
NSW police minister Yasmin Catley had more to say this morning, assuring the public that the police would be given all the resources needed to address the situation:
I want to assure the public of New South Wales that the NSW government will support the police with anything that they need to investigate this criminal activity and put these gangsters responsible, where they belong, behind bars.
Updated
Two councillors accepted money for developer’s goals, Ibac finds
Victorian MPs and two councillors received large amounts of money and political donations to advance the interests of millionaire property industry identity John Woodman, an anti-corruption investigation has found.
The state’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (Ibac) found two City of Casey councillors, Geoff Ablett and Sameh Aziz, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in undeclared payments to further Woodman’s interests within council processes.
Updated
People in the Gippsland region are being warned of damaging winds.
Severe weather warning for damaging winds.
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) July 26, 2023
For people in parts of East Gippsland, North East and West and South Gippsland Forecast Districts.
Issued at 8:48 am Thursday, 27 July 2023.
The next Severe Weather Warning will be issued by 5:00 pm AEST Thursday. pic.twitter.com/hb927vNbsA
Latest Sydney shooting 'beyond comprehension' says NSW police minister
The NSW police minister, Yasmin Catley, has described the latest shooting in Sydney as “beyond comprehension”, promising police were working their hardest to stop the violence.
She said:
This latest shooting is beyond comprehension. This brazen, dangerous, and criminal behaviour is intolerable in our society.
Police are throwing everything at investigating these attacks. They have their finest, most elite detectives in State Crime Command working around the clock.
The minister issued a warning to criminals that “you will be found and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law”.
Catley said any further resources needed by the police would be provided.
Updated
‘Hyper growth’ returns to Sydney’s house prices as other cities also pick up
Australia’s home price rebound quickened in the June quarter, lifting house values at the fastest rate since late 2021. For Sydney, median house prices rose $500 a day during the first half of 2023, returning to “hyper-growth”, Domain said.
Since last December’s nadir, house prices across capital cities have risen $34,000, or 3.4%, clawing back slightly more than the $60,000 lost during 2022.
By June, all capitals were in recovery mode – save Canberra – with Adelaide and Perth posting record prices, Domain said. Median unit prices in the South Australian capital reached almost $450,000 last month, or more than 15% higher than a year earlier.
“That momentum is certainly there,” Nicola Powell, Domain’s head of research, said, led by Sydney. The harbour city’s 5.3% increase in house prices in the June quarter was “hyper-growth reminiscent of the boom times”.
Markets dismiss chance of an August rate rise but might they err again?
In the wake of yesterday’s surprisingly weak June quarter inflation numbers, investors have lowered their expectations of a 13th interest rate rise in the current cycle at next week’s Reserve Bank meeting.
Depending on your flavour, there’s about a one-in-three chance the RBA will lift its cash rate another 25bp to 4.35%.
Overnight, though, the US Federal Reserve hoisted its key rate by that amount to 5.25%-5.5%, bringing borrowing costs to their highest in 22 years. That’s despite annual inflation dropping to 3% in June - still above the Fed’s 2% target.
The RBA’s target gives it more flexibility - aiming for 2%-3% - but at 6% our inflation rate has got a lot more to drop.
Services inflation in Australia was also still heading higher in the June quarter, hitting a high not seen since the GST introduction 22 years ago. We look at other reasons why the RBA’s job might not yet be done here:
Updated
Korean War armistice: 70th anniversary
Today marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice. Minister for veterans affairs, Matt Keogh is in Busan South Korea where commemorative events will be taking place today, including a specific Australian commemoration.
Approximately 18,000 Australian personnel served during the war between 1950 and 1953, and in peacekeeping duties afterwards. Keogh told ABC News peace keeping efforts have continued since the armistice:
Even today we have Australian personnel here in South Korea. I met with a few of them in the demilitarised zone on Tuesday as part of that international effort to maintain the border and to maintain peace and security here in South Korea. Because whilst there was an armistice agreement signed today 70 years ago, technically there’s still a state of war.
… I think Australians should be proud of not only the involvement back in the 1950s in the Korean War but the continued involvement that Australians have seen in peacekeeping and in maintaining that border through the demilitarised zone through to this day.
Updated
Wholesale power prices down from a year ago but still at elevated levels
Emissions from Australia’s main electricity grid dropped more than 6% in the June quarter from a year ago to a record-low for the period, and wholesale prices stabilised, the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) said.
For the June quarter, wholesale power prices averaged $108 per megawatt hour on the national electricity market (NEM), down almost 60% from the same period a year ago when the market was suspended during a short-lived energy crisis.
Still the prices were almost a third higher than in the March quarter of this year. Aemo downplayed the impact of the closure of the Liddell power station in the New South Wales Hunter Valley in April, saying black coal-fired plants actually offered more output for the quarter.
During the quarter, emissions from the NEM – which serves about 80% of the population – dropped 6.6% from a year earlier to 28.7m tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent.
Read more here:
Updated
Ausmin talks in Australia, Aukus likely the agenda
The Ausmin talks will be taking place in Australia this weekend hosting top US officials. On the agenda will likely be the US Republicans threatening to block the Aukus deal unless President Joe Biden boosts funding for the domestic production line.
The former Australian ambassador to Washington, Arthur Sinodinos, says the issue is a “mixture” of a threat to the agreement’s future and a US domestic issue.
Sinodinos told ABC Radio this morning:
I think some of the people who are raising issues in the US Congress about this are saying ‘look the US has its own issues about its industrial base, its capacity to up its submarine production.’
But you know, what Aukus is about is actually augmenting the capacity to supply submarines in the region. And we Australia will be injecting money into the US industrial base.
So I think a lot of these issues will be thrashed out over the next few months. The National Defence Authorisation Act is one of the few acts through the Congress just about every year because it’s so central to American security.
So I think a lot of these issues will be sorted, but it’ll involve the White House and others knocking a few heads together.
Updated
Colonisation was ‘luckiest thing’ for Australia, John Howard says
Former prime minister, John Howard, is making international headlines for his interview which was published yesterday in the Australian.
The New York Times and the BBC have both picked up on Howard’s words that colonisation by the British was the “luckiest thing” to happen to Australia.
The former leader’s words came as he was comparing it to being colonised by other countries. Howard told Janet Albrechtsen:
I’m totally opposed to (reparations). You have to understand that in the 17th, 18th century, colonisation of the land mass of Australia was next to inevitable.
And I do hold the view that the luckiest thing that happened to this country was being colonised by the British. Not that they were perfect by any means, but they were infinitely more successful and beneficent colonisers than other European countries.
Updated
Afghan refugees brave epic journey to boost visa scheme
A trio of Afghan staff who worked alongside Australian troops are braving blisters and the blistering cold in a 700km trek to Canberra, calling on the Albanese government to repatriate stranded families.
Local interpreters who worked with Australia during the two-decade long occupation of Afghanistan have less than six months to apply for a humanitarian visa.
The locally engaged employee program will close to applicants on 30 November before it winds up in May next year.
Qutbiallam Timor, president of the Afghan Locally Engaged Employee Alliance, is urging Anthony Albanese and Immigration minister Andrew Giles to expand the program to include 5000 humanitarian visas for extended family members.
- AAP
Updated
Albanese visits NZ war memorial park
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is wrapping up his overnight trip to New Zealand with a visit to Pukeahu National War Memorial Park alongside his counterpart Chris Hipkins in Wellington.
For more than a century Australians and New Zealanders have fought side by side.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) July 26, 2023
Our ANZAC history binds us.
We thank those who have served and those serving.
We honour those who never came home.
And we shoulder the grief as family does. Side by side. pic.twitter.com/ELfWwriKE9
Albanese said the two nations are bound by their ANZAC history:
We shoulder the grief as family does. Side by side.
Albanese will fly back to Australia later this morning ahead of Ausmin talks.
Updated
Good morning! Thanks to Martin for getting us started, my name is Natasha May and I’ll be taking you through today’s live news.
Updated
Australia set to announce South Korean defence deal
A South Korean defence contractor has beaten its German rival to win the contract to build infantry fighting vehicles for the Australian army.
Earlier this year the Australian government scaled back plans to buy up to 450 infantry fighting vehicles - instead committing to acquire only 129 vehicles - as part of one of the biggest savings in the defence strategic review.
Guardian Australia understands the South Korean company Hanwha has edged out Germany’s Rheinmetall to secure the contract, although the details have yet to be confirmed. The government is expected to announce the decision today, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice.
The news will come as a blow to Rheinmetall, just two weeks after the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, visited Berlin to announce an in-principle agreement for Australia to export to Germany more than 100 Boxer heavy weapon carrier vehicles built in the company’s south-east Queensland production centre.
The government is expected to face questions about what the decision means for the viability of the earlier deal with Rheinmetall and its production centre.
Body found in search for missing teenager
A crime scene has been established at a property in northern Tasmania after remains were found during a large-scale bushland search for missing teenager Shyanne-Lee Tatnell, AAP reports.
Police on Wednesday launched a search near Nabowla, about 50km north-east of Launceston where the 14-year-old was last seen on the night of 30 April.
Remains were discovered in the late afternoon on a bush track.
“While these have not yet been forensically confirmed, they are believed to be human remains,” Northern District commander Kate Chambers said on Wednesday night.
“We have been in regular contact with Shyanne-Lee’s family throughout the investigative process, and have notified them about this latest development.
“Our thoughts continue to be with them and Shyanne-Lee’s loved ones during this difficult time.”
A crime scene has been declared at a property at nearby Scottsdale, as well as where the remains were found near Nabowla.
No charges have been laid, with police indicating they are following a “specific line” of inquiry.
Earlier on Wednesday, investigators said they were exploring the possibility of criminal elements being involved in Shyanne-Lee’s disappearance.
Police are expected to hold a press conference at midday today..
The search of bushland involved 180 people, including helicopter crews, mounted search and rescue volunteers and more than 100 police recruits.
Shyanne-Lee was last seen on CCTV crossing a bridge on the North Esk River in Launceston.
Updated
Man shot dead in Sydney's Canterbury
Police say investigations are under way after a man was shot dead in Sydney’s southwest early this morning.
Around 2am emergency services were called to a street in Canterbury after reports of shots being fired.
A man with gunshot wounds was treated by paramedics but died at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified but was aged in his 20s.
Police said “investigations are in their infancy, however it’s believed to be a targeted incident”.
It comes less than 24 hours since high-profile criminal defence lawyer Mahmoud Abbas was shot outside a Sydney home in Greenacre.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling news blog. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ve got the lowdown on some of our top stories this morning before my colleague Natasha May fires up the Mac.
There has been yet another targeted shooting in Sydney. Less than 24 hours since a criminal lawyer was shot in Greenacre, NSW police say a man in his 20s was shot dead in Canterbury and it’s believed to be a targeted incident.
Our top story this morning is part of a special investigation into the cost of living, and especially the cost of eating. Guardian Australia analysis of disclosed accounts of Coles and Woolworths shows they have consistently expanded profit margins for their food businesses with spikes of 5.3% and 5.9% respectively for the big two. At the same time, counterparts in Europe such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s in the UK report falling or mixed profitability at around 35. Retail analysts blame lack of competition.
In another exclusive about the ongoing problems facing consultancy giant PwC, we are reporting today that the firm promoted the work of a company – Innowell – which it part-owned, in a report it produced for the federal government about Australia’s digital mental health strategy. At the same time PwC was being paid $1m for the “independent” advice. And it also emerged last night that PwC made a confidential settlement with the ATO months before its tax scandal became public.
A South Korean defence contractor has beaten its German rival to win the contract to build infantry fighting vehicles for the Australian army. Earlier this year the Australian government scaled back plans to buy up to 450 infantry fighting vehicles - instead committing to acquire only 129 vehicles - as part of one of the biggest savings in the defence strategic review. More coming up.
Tasmania police will hold a press conference at midday after remains were found during a large-scale bushland search for missing teenager Shyanne-Lee Tatnell. Police launched a search yesterday near Nabowla, about 50km north-east of Launceston where the 14-year-old was last seen on the night of April 30. More to come.
