What we learned today, Wednesday 30 August
And that’s where we’ll leave you this evening. Here’s what we learned today:
The referendum on the Indigenous voice will be held on 14 October, Anthony Albanese has confirmed, officially kickstarting a 45-day campaign at a yes rally in Adelaide.
Leading no campaigner, Warren Mundine, has claimed without evidence that the prime minister has “attacked” opponents of the voice, unleashing “horrible racial abuse”.
The New South Wales corruption watchdog has been cleared of maladministration after an inquiry by the inspector of the Independent Commission Against Corruption into the length of the investigation into former premier Gladys Berejiklian.
The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has asked for privacy after being tracked down by news photographers while on holidays in Italy.
Australia’s rental crisis is forcing young mothers to raise newborns in sharehouses while other parents are choosing to move into caravans because of steep rental increases, a Senate inquiry has heard.
The Australian government has agreed to settle what has been described as a world-first court case that accused it of misleading investors by failing to disclose the financial risk caused by the climate crisis.
Thanks very much for sticking with us today. We’ll be back bright and early tomorrow morning.
Updated
‘Voting yes will bring Australia together’: PM campaigns
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, continues the campaign on social media with some pictures from today’s events:
Across Australia, people from all walks of life and all sides of politics are voting yes. Voting yes will bring Australia together. Voting yes will take us forward.
Across Australia, people from all walks of life and all sides of politics are voting Yes.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 30, 2023
Voting Yes will bring Australia together.
Voting Yes will take us forward. pic.twitter.com/LlIVBOvDJ3
Updated
Pentagon maintains confidence in Osprey after marine deaths
The US Department of Defence says it remains confident in the Osprey aircraft after three marines were killed in a military exercise when the plane crashed to the ground on a remote Northern Territory island, AAP reports.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh was grilled on the safety of the Boeing MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, less than 24 hours after the bodies of those killed were recovered from the crash site. Here’s what she told a briefing:
I think we do certainly have confidence in the Osprey
If anything changes, if these investigations lead to something that would cause us or our service to adjust anything about how we believe the Osprey should be used, we would do that. But at this time, we have confidence in that.
The aircraft has a tumultuous history, with a number of mechanical and operational issues since its introduction in the 1980s.
Since 2012, 19 people have died in six crashes involving the Osprey, a model which is used by the US and Japan.
Updated
Icac cleared of maladministration over length of Gladys Berejiklian investigation
The New South Wales corruption watchdog has been cleared of maladministration after an inquiry by the inspector of the Independent Commission Against Corruption into the length of the investigation into former premier Gladys Berejiklian.
The Icac probe, known as Operation Keppel, in June found Berejiklian had engaged in “serious corrupt conduct” following almost two years of investigations and multiple delays.
An investigation into the way the Icac handled the inquiry, including the length of it and the effectiveness and appropriateness of the way the commission acted, was then launched.
The inspector, Gail Furness, has concluded that there was no maladministration and the time taken to release the report to the parliament and the public was reasonable.
The report said:
Balancing the impact with the complexity, importance and resources available, I am satisfied that the time taken to report to parliament on Operation Keppel does not amount to maladministration because while the issue is serious, it was not unreasonable, unjust, oppressive or improperly discriminatory.
More soon.
Updated
More than 1.5 million Australians own an investment property, ATO assistant commissioner says
In the rental inquiry, Tim Loh, assistant commissioner, individuals risk and strategy from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) was asked how many property investors there are in Australia.
Loh said 2021 data was the most recent:
Approximately 3.2m properties are held by about 2.17 million individuals.
In terms of the statistics of how many properties each individual owns, approximately 1.605 million people have one property interest. Two interests, that’s 423,500 people. For three interests, it’s 130,500 people and for four or more interests it’s 86,500 people.
And how many landlords have mortgages?
The ATO does not collect data on how many investors have mortgages, but Loh said the number who negatively gear their properties is a good indicator.
Maybe I could phrase it in terms of how many properties or percentage of properties have been positively geared and mutually geared versus negatively geared.
Typically speaking, if it’s negatively geared there is more likelihood that there’s a mortgage, versus vis-a-vis if it’s positively geared.
In the 2022 income year, which is the latest year that we have, nearly 42% of properties were negatively geared. In 2021, that was 47% of properties that were negatively geared.
Updated
Minister ducks transport boss inquiry, cites convention
Doubt has been cast on NSW transport minister Jo Haylen’s reason for dodging an upper house inquiry into her controversial pick for a $588,000-a-year job, AAP reports.
Haylen has fended off criticism for weeks over her choice of former infrastructure executive and Labor staffer Josh Murray to lead the transport department.
A snap parliamentary inquiry into the appointment is to hear evidence on Thursday and Friday.
But Haylen will not appear, her office said on Wednesday.
Here’s a spokesman for the minister:
It’s parliamentary convention that neither lower house MPs nor ministers appear in upper house inquiries, with the exception of budget estimates.
That has raised the eyebrows of opposition leader, Mark Speakman.
He pointed to coalition ministers Brad Hazzard, David Elliott, Kevin Anderson, Melinda Pavey and former premier Mike Baird, who have faced such inquiries in the past decade. Planning minister Paul Scully faced an inquiry into legislation in June.
Here’s what Speakman told reporters:
She keeps deflecting and obfuscating. She keeps saying ‘I’ve made all the declarations I have to make’. Well, what are those declarations?
Updated
Voice won’t ‘get close’ to passing in a majority of states, Pyne says
Former cabinet minister Christopher Pyne is not confident the yes campaign will get over the line.
Pyne supports the voice but has some real concerns about the campaign, despite some of the optimism displayed by other supporters today.
Here’s what he told the ABC a few moments ago:
I think it will be hard for it to pass. I don’t think it’ll get close to a majority of states.
People just do not know what it is. It is an advisory committee, effectively, and yet people are conflating it into something that it is not and I think that is a real problem.
For most people, because it is not a life-changing event for them, they will not really focus on it. Even during the referendum on the republic, on the day people were asking all sorts of … questions about what it meant.
Updated
Renters pay $78bn a year for housing, with housing stock worth $3tn
President of the Real Estate Institute of Australia – which represents real estate agencies – Hayden Groves, was speaking at the rent inquiry in Canberra today:
Our members work across home sales and renting private properties, contributing approximately $360bn in home sales annually.
And we collect across the nation $78bn per year in rents. And we have a combined $3tn in rental assets under management.
He thanked national cabinet for its “emphatic” rejection of rent controls:
The Australian government is forecasting a shortfall in new homes in Australia of 106,000 by next financial year. Here’s Groves:
So there are two things we need to do here. As we do have this supply shortfall or rental availability crisis and escalating affordability challenges for both homeowners and renters.
The first is that we need to make better use of the houses that we already have in the market … the second is we need to build more houses.
Updated
Eating disorders alliance backs new strategy
The Eating Disorders Alliance of Australia (EDAA) is “wholeheartedly” backing the new national strategy launched by the health minister, Mark Butler, earlier today.
The alliance, which represents more than one million Australians who are experiencing an eating disorder, and includes the national charity for body image and eating disorders, the Butterfly Foundation, as well as Eating Disorders Victoria, and Eating Disorders Queensland, have endorsed the stepped system of care approach with greater emphasis on community-based psychosocial and lived experience supports.
Belinda Caldwell, the CEO of Eating Disorders Victoria, says the strategy will help people get care for eating disorders earlier and in community:
We know that the majority of eating disorders can and should be treated in the community, before people end up needing intensive and costly hospital-based supports. If we drive investment into the earlier stages of the stepped system of care and utilise a diverse workforce, we will ensure more people are picked up early, connected to evidence-based treatment and are equipped with what they need to recover, sooner.
Jade Gooding from the Australian and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders, the peak body representing eating disorder health professionals and researchers, commends the strategy’s emphasis on communities who have traditionally faced additional barriers to receiving help, including neuro and gender diverse people as well as those living in rural and remote communities.
Eating Disorders Families Australia (EDFA) executive director, Jane Rowan, welcomed the strategy’s recognition of families and carers as an integral part of the recovery team as well as a clear focus on ensuring they have the support they also need.
The EDAA call on state and federal governments to take decisive steps towards implementing the strategy across all states and territories.
Updated
‘If you don’t know, vote no’, Dutton again urges voters
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has told undecided or unsure voters to not be “bullied into a position” in the voice referendum.
In a brief media conference in Brisbane this afternoon, Dutton said there was not enough detail for Australians to understand the upcoming vote.
I don’t think people should be bullied into opposition if you don’t understand. If you don’t know the detail, if you don’t really have your questions answered in relation to the voice. If you don’t know, vote no.
The referendum will put to Australians a reasonably simple question - A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?
Details of how the advisory body will look and work will be decided by politicians after a successful vote changes the constitution.
This means Dutton, along with the rest of his party, crossbenchers and Labor politicians will get to vote on what the voice will look like if the referendum is successful.
Dutton insisted, however, the federal government was “deliberately” keeping its plans a secret.
We’ve got a prime minister who is deliberately keeping detail from the Australian public until after the vote takes place. But there’s no precedent for that in our country’s history.
Updated
Thunderstorm warning for parts of NSW
There’s some serious weather about this afternoon. The Bureau of Meteorology has this update:
Thunderstorms are predicted to affect multiple areas across NSW today and tomorrow.
— NSW SES (@NSWSES) August 30, 2023
Stay up to date with the latest warnings on The Bureau website: https://t.co/I4qsVXddAe https://t.co/m0Haib90zb
Updated
Dutton questions government’s ‘sweetheart’ deal with Qantas
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has said the federal government will have to answer a lot of questions in the coming weeks over what he described as a “sweetheart deal” with outgoing Qantas CEO Alan Joyce to block extra Qatar flights coming into Australia.
Speaking from Brisbane on Wednesday afternoon, Dutton said the federal government’s decision to disallow additional Qatar flights was “inflationary” and “unfair”.
The government had seven different positions in seven days on the Qantas-Qatar deal
I want to see Australians paying less for their airfares, because at the moment Anthony Albanese signed up to a sweetheart deal in secret, but we don’t know any details … and it means that Australians are going to be paying more and more for their airfares.
Updated
Voice correspondence released
Letters between Anthony Albanese and the governor general, David Hurley, about the timing of the voice referendum have been published.
The strictly procedural letters were uploaded today to the office of the governor general’s freedom of information disclosure log.
In the first letter to Hurley, the prime minister advised:
I recommend that the proposed law be put to electors for their consideration in a referendum poll to be held on 14 October 2023.
I seek your approval for a special meeting of the Federal Executive Council on or before 11 September 2023 to enable your consideration of the writ for this referendum.
I also seek your agreement to make an announcement of the intended date of the referendum in advance of this meeting of the Federal Executive Council.
Hurley wrote “agreed” on that part of the prime minister’s letter.
And in a formal response, dated on Monday 28 August, Hurley noted the prime minister’s recommendations, and said he was “agreeable” to convening a meeting on or before 11 September.
Hurley added:
I am agreeable to you making an announcement of the intended date of the referendum in advance of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council and before the writ is issued, and I have no objection to the public release of your letter and this reply at an appropriate time.
You can read the full letters here.
Updated
Rental inquiry debates merits of rent caps
In the rental inquiry, Greens senator Janet Rice has gone toe-to-toe with Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute managing director, Dr Michael Fotheringham, over rent caps.
In its submission, AHURI said rent caps could cause this property investor to not meet their legal obligations and that it could cause property investors to divest.
Earlier in the inquiry, economist Cameron Murray argued that divestment would be a good thing, as it would free up houses for first home buyers to enter the market.
Rice: So on the first [concern], you’re saying that we shouldn’t, at least in the short term while we’re building our supply, give some relief in rental increases?
Fotheringham: That’s what we did in 2020. And we’re seeing the result of that short-term thinking. We need to actually think long-term and address that.
Rice: But it’s going to take some time for that supply to come on board. So you’re saying rents could continue to skyrocket and that would be acceptable?
Fotheringham: I’m not advocating for higher rents, but I do think we need to balance affordability concerns with the health impacts of the deteriorating quality of housing. International evidence shows that one of the knock-on effects of rent caps is the lack of maintenance being done because it becomes unaffordable.
Rice: To me, it doesn’t seem a strong enough argument, they can’t stop skyrocketing rental prices because it might mean landlords don’t meet legal obligations.
Fotheringham: They don’t have necessarily legal obligations, we don’t have the minimum standards in place to enforce that at this point.
Updated
Security researchers take control of vulnerable Dfat page
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) left a blog hosted on the dfat.gov.au domain open to vulnerabilities that resulted in security researchers seizing control, along with other sites using similar systems.
The vulnerability, known as dangling configuration, occurs when a subdomain associated with a specific cloud service – in this case, a WordPress blog – is no longer in use. It means that attackers can register an account on the same cloud platform and point to the website.
While such an attack doesn’t give access to government or business systems and information directly, the main purpose of taking over such pages would be to distribute malware - and make it look like it is coming from a reputable source - or to engage in phishing attacks or social engineering using the subdomain.
In practice, it means that the Austrian researchers, Certitude Consulting, were able to take control of the subdomain on Dfat’s website, along with the website of other government agencies, universities, and media organisations around the world. Certitude has estimated that there are over 1,000 organisations worldwide affected with the vulnerability.
Dfat’s blog page was initially replaced with a holding screen, and then later went offline, while other sites instead had information about the exploit published on Wednesday afternoon on the page.
Dfat was contacted for comment but had not provided a response by deadline.
Updated
Finish line for voice in sight, assistant minister says
The assistant minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, is speaking to the ABC’s Stephanie Borys.
The NT senator has used a sporting metaphor to summarise what she says has been “an emotional day”:
Today is one that is filled with great relief in one sense and deep gratitude in another. Six years [since the Uluru Statement from the Heart] is a long time but it has been a lot longer for some of our elders. Some of them who have passed away as well. So it was quite an emotional day.
If anything, we just see this now as the starter’s gun to the last quarter. I refer to it as a bit of a grand final now. We see the finish line in sight, we know we have to get out and about everywhere. We have volunteers across the country knocking on doors talking to and listening to you wherever you are across Australia.
Updated
Hoping to see the blue moon?
As we told you earlier this week, moongazers are in for a treat for the second time in a month, with a “super blue moon” expected on 31 August.
The astronomical event is a combination of a supermoon and a “blue moon”, and is occurring for the first time since 2009.
If you’re hoping to get a glimpse, the Bureau of Meteorology has your weather guide:
Hoping to see the 'blue' supermoon tonight?🌕🔭
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) August 30, 2023
Central Aus, #NT and #WA will have great visibility.
A cloud band will impact sightings in parts of #NSW.
The rest of the country will be partly cloudy, so there's a chance to catch a glimpse!
Latest: https://t.co/jlOoTZL1iF pic.twitter.com/uXnGARLCCE
And you can read more about the lunar event in this story from Donna Lu.
Economists say further interest rate hike ‘increasingly unnecessary’
A little more on those inflation figures, which are of course one key indicator for what happens with interest rates.
EY senior economist Paula Gadsby said the cooling was further evidence that rate hikes are working, but it was still unclear if it would nail a soft landing.
Ms Gadsby said the reading would allow the RBA to stay on hold on 5 September, with any future hikes later in the year dependent on the next round of inflation data and economic growth report:
That looks increasingly unnecessary to us.
KPMG economist Brendan Rynne said goods made up a substantial chunk of the July index, although it also showed welcome signs of moderating services inflation in line with slower wage growth.
Dr Rynne said falling automotive fuel prices, which sunk 7.6 per cent annually and made a generous contribution to the weaker result, would be unwound in September:
This reflects the upward pressures from higher wholesale prices driven by the supply curbs by OPEC+
- AAP
Updated
Inflation rate eases to 4.9%
Australia’s inflation rate eased last month to its lowest level in 17 months, led by falling prices for fresh produce and automotive fuel, reducing the likelihood the Reserve Bank will need to raise interest rates again.
Guardian Australia columnist Greg Jericho says this is excellent news and we appear to be following trends in the US.
Excellent news on the inflation front - the monthly figures show annual growth of just 4.9% (down from 5.4% in June). We're following the USA down (almost like there were a lot of international factors at play, and not a lot of Australian demand that needed to be stomped on) pic.twitter.com/wC2jtFgI5O
— Greg Jericho (@GrogsGamut) August 30, 2023
Get the full story from Peter Hannam:
Updated
Make 14 October a date to remember, Central Land Council says
The Central Land Council (CLC) says its people “desperately want to be heard” by governments “because right now they are going backwards”.
CLC chief executive Lesley Turner said he’d like 14 October, on which the voice referendum will be held, to become a date of which Australians from all walks of life can be very proud:
Let’s make this a date on which future generations will look back and remember that they are doing so much better since they stopped ignoring the solutions our people have to offer.
Let them remember that was because the country decided to hear what our people have to say before laws and policies are made that affect them. Nowhere will this be more obvious than in the Northern Territory, where our people desperately want to be heard because, right now, they are going backwards.
The CLC’s 90 elected grass roots members represent remote communities across the southern half of the Northern Territory and overwhelmingly support a yes vote in the referendum.
Turner said they had been subjected to “an unprecedented scare campaign” about the referendum:
We will continue our community information campaign about the voice, dispel misinformation and disinformation, and help our constituents to enrol ahead of the referendum.
And if you’re still unsure about the referendum, check out this explainer from The Guardian’s Sarah Collard:
Updated
Bureau warns of severe thunderstorms, possible flash flooding in parts of NSW
There’s some serious weather in parts of the country this afternoon. Large hailstones and heavy rain have been reported in the northern rivers region of NSW. There’s also a large storm near the Blue Mountains and the NSW south coast.
A large storm is currently impacting communities across the Blue Mountain and South Coast areas. Lightning strikes can create new fires, so please report any unattended fires to Triple Zero (000).
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) August 30, 2023
If you require assistance with storm damage, contact the @NSWSES on 132 500. pic.twitter.com/wXjfxZ6sRK
Here’s the formal warning from the Bureau of Meteorology:
Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce large hailstones, heavy rainfall and large accumulations of small hail that may lead to flash flooding in the warning area over the next several hours. Locations which may be affected include Lismore, Murwillumbah, Casino, Kyogle, Coraki and Alstonville.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning for LARGE HAILSTONES and HEAVY RAINFALL is expected to affect the Northern Rivers and Northern Tablelands Districts. Locations that may be affected #Lismore, #Murwillumbah, #Casino, #Kyogle, #Coraki and #Alstonville.https://t.co/I4qsVXcFKG pic.twitter.com/yhnLONL0EH
— NSW SES (@NSWSES) August 30, 2023
Updated
Many thanks for being with me on the blog today. I’ll hand you over to Henry Belot, who will see you through the rest of today’s news. Take care.
FRNSW have ‘pretty big concerns’ on structural integrity of walls at burnt Darlington unit
FRNSW said an investigation will be conducted into the blaze.
One of its priorities is working with occupants of the building, alongside police and the Red Cross, to allow them to get essentials from the building.
Engineers are also continuing to look at the structural integrity of the building this afternoon. A FRNSW spokesperson said:
We have pretty big concerns about those walls, both at the rear and the front, of coming down. So we want to make sure the community is safe and before we move in further, we’ll get that engineering and if we have to do some make-safe work, we’ll do that.
We’ve had great engagement with the building managers who have also engaged their insurance operators, and they’ve also been in contact, so we’ll be working hand in hand with them as we progress into the recovery process.
An exclusion zone remains in place, FRNSW said:
Because those bricks, if it does come down, can cause projectiles and cause harm to the community.
Updated
Body of man located in Darlington unit following fire, FRNSW says
A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesperson has confirmed the body of a man has been found in the Darlington unit that caught fire this morning.
As we reported earlier, more than 30 firefighters and 10 firetrucks were deployed after a fire broke out around 8am this morning inside a third-floor apartment on Abercrombie Street in Darlington.
Fire crews began attacking the flames but were unable to enter the affected unit. The intense flames later caused part of the building to collapse, forcing firefighters to withdraw.
This afternoon, a FRNSW spokesperson said:
Unfortunately firefighters did locate the body of a man on the highest level here, on the third level.
The man has not been identified, FRNSW said.
The spokesperson also said that 16 people are registered as displaced with the Red Cross following the fire.
Updated
The assistant minister for mental health, Emma McBride, said the new eating disorders strategy will facilitate better care through a more nationally consistent health system:
One million Australians have an eating disorder and access to care can be patchy, inconsistent, difficult to navigate and often not evidence-based.
With the right support, people can fully recover and yet eating disorders are among the most fatal of mental illnesses.
This strategy will point the way towards a nationally consistent, coordinated and evidence-based system that provides people living with or at risk of an eating disorder with the support they need.
Butler said the government looks forward to working with the state and territory governments and the health and community sectors to implement “real and meaningful” reform to better prevent and treat eating disorders.
In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978
Updated
Strategy to tackle eating disorders launched
A new roadmap to tackle eating disorders will place more importance on community-based psychosocial and lived experience supports, as well as evidence-based treatment.
The health minister, Mark Butler, today launched The National Eating Disorders Strategy 2023–2033, which was developed by the National Eating Disorders Collaboration to guide policies, programs and services over the next decade.
In her forward to the strategy, Shannon Calvert, an advisory consultant with lived experience, said:
The National Strategy … has courageously challenged the stereotypical perception that eating disorders are only driven and influenced by weight, shape, and food. The wisdom and knowledge contained within the National Strategy makes clear that ‘one size has never fit all’ – the intersectionality of multiple factors and complexities must be recognised, and must inform how we diagnose and treat eating disorders.
… To genuinely improve our system, the roadmap has shifted the priority from patient-centred to person-centred care, identifying the need for evidence-based treatment while recognising other essential needs, such as psychosocial support and social determinants of health and wellbeing.
Dr Beth Shelton, the national director of the NEDC said the strategy has come out of listening carefully to people with lived experience, clinicians, researchers, governments, community providers, service development leaders and public health experts across Australia.
Updated
Tasmania’s response to abuse ‘too often’ inadequate
Tasmania’s government has “too often” responded inadequately to allegations or instances of child sexual abuse, AAP is reporting.
The heads of an inquiry into abuse in state-run institutions delivered their final remarks on Wednesday after nine weeks of public hearings last year.
Commission president Marcia Neave AO said the inquiry had referred more than 100 people to police or child protection authorities during their investigation:
Has the Tasmanian government’s response to allegations and incidents of child sexual abuse in institutions since 2000 been adequate? The answer is too often ‘no’.
While we saw pockets of good practice, this was often a result of the initiative and good judgment of individuals rather than something encouraged and enforced by a broader system.
Commissioner Neave said institutions “more commonly” did not recognise child sexual abuse and failed to act decisively to manage risks and investigate complaints.
Sometimes this was due to a lack of guidance and direction … it was also due to ignorance, inertia and a desire to protect reputational interests.
The inquiry was called in 2020 after allegations against Ashley Youth Detention Centre workers and Launceston general hospital nurse James Geoffrey Griffin were aired:
The commission’s final report will be submitted to the governor on Thursday and must be made public no later than September 28.
It will contain 75 findings and 191 recommendations for reform. The state government has already pledged to implement all report recommendations.
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732)
Updated
For those who have never voted in a referendum before, and those who need a refresher, Amy Remeikis has put together this fantastic explainer:
NSW deputy premier defends transport minister in donations saga
The NSW deputy premier, Prue Car, has defended the transport minister, Jo Haylen, for refusing to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into the appointment of the secretary of her department.
Car backed the premier, Chris Minns, in his assertion that Haylen hadn’t breached the ministerial code of conduct by not declaring her campaign had received a $500 donation from Josh Murray before she picked the former Labor staffer to be transport secretary.
She made every declaration that she’s required to make. This was just a ticket at a fundraising dinner. There were hundreds of other people there.
I think the public can be confident that the minister has not breached the ministerial code of conduct.
The NSW opposition is demanding that Minns commission an “independent investigation” into what it is calling “the Josh Murray affair”, to probe Murray’s appointment to the nearly $600,000-a-year role as well as Haylen’s potential failure to disclose any conflict of interest under the ministerial code.
Updated
Asic urges lenders to work on financial hardship support for customers
The Australian securities and investments commission (Asic) has penned an open letter to 30 large lenders, urging them to make sure they’re supporting customers in financial hardship.
In a statement, Asic said it’s seeing evidence that an increasing number of customers are experiencing financial distress due to cost of living pressures and it is “critically important” that lenders have arrangements in place to support consumers.
The Asic commissioner, Danielle Press, said:
The economic environment has shifted over the last year, placing significant financial pressure on everyday Australians.
ASIC reminds lenders that they must have the right arrangements in place to respond to requests for assistance from customers experiencing financial hardship and to work constructively with them to find a sustainable solution.
Asic said lenders should be proactively communication how and when customers can seek assistance, genuinely consider customer circumstances to develop solutions where possible, and communicate regularly with customers throughout and at the end of assistance periods.
Financial hardship will be an area of focus for Asic over the next 12 months, the statement read. It will be reviewing 10 large home lenders to understand their responses to financial hardship, releasing the findings early to mid-2024.
Updated
Victorian Liberal meeting back on after cancellation
The Victorian Liberals are set to meet on Friday to discuss whether the leadership should be indemnified by the party, after they were hit with a defamation concerns notice from anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen.
The meeting, called by a group of disgruntled MP, was initially planned for today, then cancelled, but is now back on Friday morning, according to several Liberal sources.
Updated
No campaign says more bureaucracy is not the solution to Indigenous issues
More on the no campaign’s fiery response to the voice referendum launch just now in Tasmania.
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said adding more bureaucracy was not the solution, instead urging probes into how land councils and agencies were spending the allocated money.
She said:
What we need to do is get our hands dirty and do what actually has not been done. A bloated bureaucracy has been done time and time again. To suggest [putting] it in our constitution makes it magically effective is wrong.
Warren Mundine backed Price’s comments, saying there needed to be more accountability of the current funding as opposed to a new advisory body:
There’s only one word, one word, that we need that can go and fix the entire problem. And that’s accountability.
Updated
Warren Mundine says Australia is ‘not a racist country’
Warren Mundine spoke alongside Senator Price at the no campaign’s response.
Mundine, a former Liberal candidate for the seat of Gilmore and once the national president of Labor, accused Albanese of causing division and bringing out bigotry:
This prime minister from day one had attacked people who had a different opinion to him, called them names, and that opened up the floor for the whole division to start with all the horrible racial abuse, with all the horrible bigotry that’s been going on out there.
Mundine said Australia is “not a racist country” and that he was going to fight every day to champion the “wonderful country that we got”.
He adds: “No more division. We are out there to crush this division”.
Updated
No campaign on ground in Tasmania
Tasmania has been carefully selected for the no campaign’s response.
Shadow indigenous affairs minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said recent polling indicated the no campaign was gaining ground in the southern state.
Price said:
Well, as part of our strategy with the no campaign, we’ve been focusing on the battleground states that … are likely to be able to be swayed to provide a no vote toward the referendum. And Tasmania is one of those states, and as recent polling suggests, Tasmania is now trending toward the ‘noes’.
Updated
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price accuses PM of ‘effectively ignoring’ current Indigenous political representation
No campaign spokesperson Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is speaking in Tasmania this afternoon in response to the yes campaign’s launch in South Australia.
Price accused the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, of “effectively ignoring” that Indigenous Australians have had voice through political representation:
It is evident to me that this elite proposal is about division in our country and it is that old rule of divide and conquer that I can’t stand for. I’m not going to allow a line to run straight through the middle of my family within our constitution. I don’t expect that to take place within our country to be treating Indigenous Australians differently to the rest of Australia because of our racial heritage.
Updated
ACTU releases statement of support for voice
The Australian Council of Trade Unions says it plans to mobilise for a yes vote on the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum.
In a statement, ACTU secretary Sally McManus said the union movement was built on amplifying voices so they can be heard:
We know we get better outcomes in the workplace when bosses listen to workers, just as we know doctors get better outcomes when they listen to patients. Its stands to reason then that policymakers listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders people’s voice on issues that impact their lives will also lead to better outcomes.
For too long our parliaments have made laws about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples without proper consultation with First Nations peoples. These policies have often entrenched discrimination and disadvantage, forcing First Nations peoples to work for free or below legal minimum wages over two centuries.
The union movements has listened to its membership who are keen to walk with their Indigenous colleagues and we will be supporting members to campaign on this issue.
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ABC launches voice explainer content series
The ABC has announced a range of content across all its platforms over the next six weeks to explain what the voice is and to help inform the vote. It includes Referendum Explained, a social media series (Instagram/TikTok) which starts today.
A four-part TV series Voices of Australia will tells the story of Australia as it considers this constitutional change.
Four Corners on 11 September will ask what sovereignty means to First Nations people and where a Voice to Parliament fits with those visions.
Q+A on 9 October will broadcast live from the crucial swing state of South Australia.
A podcast The Voice Referendum Explained has already launched.
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Noel Pearson: ‘you’re not voting Labor, Liberals, Greens’ on voice
Indigenous leader Noel Pearson says the voice referendum is a simple choice, claiming Australians who speak to yes campaigners are coming to that conclusion once they understand the issue:
I’m finding that on the trail. I’ve been on the trail for six weeks. I learned when I took people through the words on the actual provision, lights just switch on.
The prime minister did that in his speech here today. I was thinking, that’s the clarity Australians need to hear. I’m feeling really good about it.
Pearson, one of the architects of the voice, was in the front row at the launch in Adelaide. He has been travelling nationwide for weeks and months, talking up the referendum and campaigning for the change. He has maintained for some time that polling isn’t picking up the true sentiments of Australians, or reflecting that many people haven’t yet made up their minds.
There’s a big swathe in the middle who still haven’t focused on this, and a lot of people who, frankly, don’t know what a referendum is.
With a referendum there’s not two tribes here. You’re not voting Labor, Liberals, Greens or whatever. We’re voting for Australia here. That’s the only choice we have, and whether to make Australia even better through recognition of First Peoples.
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Victorian Liberal meeting over defamation action cancelled
The Victorian Liberals have cancelled a meeting planned for early this afternoon.
A small group of Liberal MPs had suggested the party room meet to discuss whether the leadership should be indemnified by the party, after they were hit with a defamation concerns notice from anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen.
However, one MP said the plans were mooted over concerns it would turn into a “media circus”. Another said the issue of legal indemnity was a matter for the party administration.
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Liberals for Yes MPs come out in support of 14 October date
The Liberals for Yes campaign has issued a statement from various current and former party politicians making their case for change. Here’s the former ACT chief minister, Kate Carnell:
We will be talking to likeminded Australians in a respectful way, on why a yes vote in October is the best way to see genuine and practical change for Indigenous Australians.
Liberal supporters have already been out in their local areas, including in NSW where Matt Kean, the member for Hornsby, has worked closely with local businesses and held listening posts to talk to his local community. Here’s his statement:
Being out in the community you hear a variety of views, but I’m voting yes because I believe we have an incredible opportunity before us to hear from Indigenous Australians on the issues that affect them.
The Hornsby electorate is already engaged, and I look forward to actively campaigning over the next six weeks across New South Wales.
In Tasmania, all three current and former Liberal premiers are backing the yes vote alongside Bridget Archer, the member for Bass, who is out in northern Tasmania campaigning for yes. Here’s her statement:
This is an historic opportunity for Australia. There are Liberals across the country – like me – who support this because we want to see better outcomes, less wastage and real
results.
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Malcolm Turnbull outlines support for Indigenous voice to parliament
Former prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has an opinion piece in the Nine newspapers today explaining why he’s voting yes in the referendum, despite his Coalition government not backing the voice.
Turnbull has outlined his thinking at the time and how that has changed in recent years. Here’s a snippet:
Back in 2017, when this idea was new and lacked detail, my government did not support it. We had two major concerns. First, we believed it had no chance of success in a referendum. The history of constitutional reform in Australia is a dismal one, and to date any proposal faced with concerted opposition has failed.
Our other major concern was that the voice would create an institution in the constitution, the qualification for which was something other than Australian citizenship. For me, as a republican prime minister, this was particularly important. I believe our head of state should be one of us: an Australian citizen, not whichever English aristocrat happens to be the king or queen of the United Kingdom.
I have wrestled long and hard with this issue of constitutional principle, and I have concluded that while the voice amendment is not entirely consistent with my egalitarian, republican values, nonetheless we are better off supporting it.
He wrote a similar piece for Guardian Australia almost a year ago that’s worth a read if you want more information.
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Here’s the pitch from the foreign minister, Penny Wong.
On October 14, Australians will have the opportunity to vote Yes for recognition, listening & better outcomes for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people.
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) August 30, 2023
A special moment with my colleagues @LindaBurneyMP & @Malarndirri19 watching @AlboMP announce the referendum date in SA. pic.twitter.com/60nqPY0Jhb
Profile on long-time campaigner for constitutional recognition, Tanya Hosch
For those following along with the yes campaign speeches just earlier:
One of the speakers was Tanya Hosch, a long-time advocate for constitutional recognition. Ten years ago, Guardian Australia’s political editor Katharine Murphy wrote a profile on her.
The profile provides a fantastic look at how much has changed – and not changed – throughout the past decade, also highlighting the years of advocacy from Hosch.
The profile details Hosch’s experience watching Kevin Rudd’s apology to the stolen generations in parliament in 2008, along with her five-month-old daughter, and reads:
As far as Tanya Hosch is concerned, Rudd’s apology was just the start. “I feel like getting our constitution to tell the truth about who we are as a nation is the least my daughter deserves,” she says.
She pauses to look me in the eye. “And the least that your kids deserve too.”
Grab a coffee, or sit down with your lunch, and have a read of the full story here:
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Future Fund warns of market risks ahead
Australia’s sovereign wealth fund has warned that markets are under-pricing significant geopolitical and economic risks, including persistent inflation, that has prompted it to take a conservative approach to investments.
The $200bn-plus fund, designed to provide for unfunded superannuation liabilities for public servants, delivered a 6% return in the financial year, which was below its one-year target return of 10%.
The fund’s assets are positioned “moderately below neutral”, signalling a cautious approach.
The Future Fund chief executive, Raphael Arndt, said:
Favourable investment conditions that drove markets in recent decades have been undergoing profound changes.
Markets have been under-pricing the significant economic and geopolitical risk that we have anticipated.
The fund believes lower interest rates remain a way off.
A conservative investment approach typically means a fund holds less exposure to equities, and more to defensive assets such as cash and bonds.
The Future Fund is tracking ahead of its target return over a 10-year period.
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Federal Liberal MP ‘optimistic’ about yes campaign prospects
The federal Liberal MP and yes supporter Julian Leeser says he is “genuinely optimistic about the campaign ahead”.
Leeser, who quit Peter Dutton’s frontbench earlier this year in order to campaign for enshrining an Indigenous voice in the constitution, has issued a statement in the wake of the PM’s announcement that the referendum will be held on 14 October.
Leeser said the referendum would give Australians “the opportunity to complete our constitution”. He said he looked forward to campaigning wherever and whenever he could:
It will be a serious moment in our country’s history – and I hope a unifying moment as well … I believe Australians will vote for a better future.
In an implicit appeal to fellow conservatives, Leeser quoted the former chief justice Robert French as saying: “The voice is a big idea but not a complicated one. It is low risk for a high return”.
Leeser added:
I agree with the former Chief Justice.
At a referendum, there are no parties on the ballot paper, nor candidates, there is only an idea on the ballot paper.
The idea is to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the constitution.
Recognition is the foundation for reconciliation. This referendum offers more than symbolism, it creates a space in our national and community life for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to be heard.
I believe the risk at this referendum is not change, but the risk lies in more of the same.
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‘Australians care about one another’: Malinauskas on voice
Continuing his speech, South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas said that what sets Australia apart from other countries is our celebration of the collective rather than the individual:
What sets us apart isn’t mineral wealth, sustained economic growth, or natural beauty. It’s something deep within our national character. We don’t celebrate the primacy of the individual in the way they do in the United States, nor do we identify with the deference the English pay to their establishment. Our national identity is carved from an ethos of egalitarianism, our fundamental sense of fairness. An affection that extends beyond those to whom we are related.
Our national identity is found in each other. It’s a unique, liberating trait.
Malinauskas said parallel to this is a “remarkable Australian tragedy” – the disadvantages First Nations people face.
He concluded his speech, saying:
Australians care about one another … Let’s give Indigenous Australians a greater say over their futures. Let’s give them a voice to parliament.
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SA premier speaks in support of yes campaign
South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas is now speaking at the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum rally.
He notes that just as the voice campaign is launched in South Australia today, so too was the campaign to launch the 1967 referendum. South Australians have “always been ready to lead, particularly when it comes to taking the aspiration of the fair-go and transforming it into a living truth”, he said.
Malinauskas:
That’s why this was the first place anywhere in the world to adopt universal franchise, giving the women the right to vote and the ability to run for parliament.
That’s why this is the first state to outlaw discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity.
That’s why this was the first state to decriminalise homosexuality.
That’s why we were the first state to legislate on Aboriginal land rights.
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Rex posts profit but still operating at a loss
Rex Airlines has reported a statutory profit after tax of $14.4m in the most recent financial year, thanks to its part acquisition of a smaller fly in fly out operator.
However, it is has reported an operational loss before tax of $31.7m – as foreshadowed in June – a more accurate reflection of the challenges it encountered during the 2022-23 financial year.
The result marks an improvement for the airline, with the 22-23 operational loss before tax of $31.7m far lower than the $109m in the previous year. The company will not pay a dividend to shareholders.
The statutory profit after tax reported on Wednesday was possible due to $44.5m positive fair value contribution from Rex’s 50% acquisition of National Jet Express, a fly in fly out, charter and freight operator, last September.
Rex’s executive chairman, Lim Kim Hai, said:
The legacy effects of Covid continued to smash the aviation industry…manifesting itself in acute pilot shortages and severe dislocation of the supply chain.
Predominantly flying 36-seater turboprop planes on regional routes to plug the void left by Ansett’s demise, in 2020 Rex began vying for a share of the lucrative inter capital city market.
Rex now operates a fleet of eight Boeing 737s between capital cities. It has recently announced new services between Sydney and Adelaide and Melbourne and Hobart, but has also halted other regional routes affecting places such as Wagga Wagga, Broken Hill, Whyalla and Mildura.
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Megan Davis speaks on First Nations people and policies
The co-chair of the Uluru Dialogues, Prof Megan Davis, is next to speak at the Indigenous voice to parliament rally.
She said that Indigenous people shouldn’t have to become politicians, move to Canberra and become personal friends with bureaucrats and ministers to advocate for themselves.
Our First Nations men and women in the dialogues who live in communities, they choose to stay on country and devote their lives to the service of their people, of their culture, of their communities. They should not have to move to Canberra to have a say in the laws and policies made about their lives.
They should not have to be personal friends with bureaucrats or politicians or have ministers on speed dial in order to influence the way their communities are funded and the way resources are allocated.
Davis argued that a voice will provide empowerment and accountability to Indigenous affairs, leading to better quality laws and not leaving Indigenous people excluded from consultation.
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NSW opposition calls Jo Haylen’s explanation ‘not a legitimate excuse’ not to appear before inquiry
The NSW opposition leader, Mark Speakman, has lashed the transport minister, Jo Haylen, over her refusal to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into the appointment of a former Labor staffer to lead her department.
Haylen has said she is happy to answer questions and has nothing to hide in relation to her choosing Josh Murray for the $588,000-a-year job, but she confirmed this morning she would not appear before the committee on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Haylen said her decision not to front the inquiry was due to “parliamentary convention that neither lower house MPs nor ministers appear in upper house inquiries”.
But Speakman said this was “not a legitimate excuse” despite conceding that ministers had refused to appear before such inquiries in the past:
There are examples of ministers not appearing before Legislative Council inquiries and there are some examples of them appearing.
What’s important to note here is that Jo Haylen keeps telling everyone she’s happy to answer questions. If she’s so happy, she should appear before the inquiry.
The opposition is demanding answers after it was revealed Murray made a $500 donation to Haylen’s campaign ahead of the March election before her office intervened in the recruitment process to have him shortlisted for the transport secretary role.
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Yes campaign advocate Tanya Hosch speaks on importance of voice to health outcomes
Yes23 campaigner and long-time advocate for constitutional recognition, Tanya Hosch, has just finished speaking in Adelaide following the referendum date announcement.
She spoke about the importance of Closing the Gap and listed areas where First Nations people are falling behind, in areas such as life expectancy, child development, reducing suicide rates and making sure young people are in work or education and training.
Speaking on health, she shared a personal story:
I want share a deeply personal and real story about this data. It’s too easy to speak of numbers without speaking about people and families and communities.
A little over two weeks ago, I had my lower right leg amputated and so having left hospital only yesterday, I’m standing here on one leg today.
… I have type two diabetes and I contracted a related disease that I have battled for three years and across six surgeries trying to avoid the loss of my limb. I’m not without privilege and access to services, but still the service design let me down.
I know that if we already had a permanent voice in place, there would be people around that table that understand my story, my experience and what could make things better and different for me and for people like me.
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Crews work to stop apartment wall collapse after blaze
An update on the Darlington unit fire, via AAP:
Firefighters are monitoring apartment walls at risk of collapse following a blaze in a multi-storey building near the Sydney city centre.
Multiple crews were called to the building in inner-city Darlington after reports of a fire on Wednesday morning. The fire in the third-floor of the apartment has been contained and no one was unaccounted for.
Fire and Rescue NSW superintendent Adam Dewberry said crews would remain at the site to monitor a parapet wall at risk of collapse:
That’s where the brick wall stands above the roof line and they come down with deadly force, so we’ve got to be careful (and) that’s why we have an exclusion zone.
You can see cracks on the building where that’s an indication that the wall could collapse.
Neighbouring units and businesses were evacuated and nearby roads closed.
The public was urged to avoid the area.
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Victorian Liberals hold meeting over defamation action
The Victorian Liberals are holding a meeting at 1pm, after the leadership team was hit with a defamation concerns notice from anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen.
Opposition leader John Pesutto and his senior team – deputy David Southwick, upper house leader Georgie Crozier and her deputy Matt Bach – were issued on Monday with a defamation concerns notice by Keen following her appearance at a March rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.
Upper house MP Moira Deeming’s involvement in the event led to her suspension and then expulsion from the Liberal party two months later.
In the notice, lawyers for Keen, who also goes by pseudonym Posie Parker, argued the motion to expel Deeming by the Liberal leadership team defamed her by alleging she was “publicly associated with far right-wing extremist groups including neo-Nazi activists”. Keen has vehemently denied any links to extremist groups.
Guardian Australia understands the party room will meet informally to discuss whether the leadership should be indemnified by the Liberal party.
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CPI’s slide brings annual inflation down to lowest level since February 2022
Last month’s headline CPI rate of 4.9% was the lowest in almost a year and a half, with the annual rate well off its 8.4% peak reached last December.
The number was on the low side of forecasts (but tipped by NAB) with economists forecasting the number for July to be 5.2%.
Australia's annual headline consumer price inflation has dropped back below 5%, coming in at 4.9% in July. (@ABSStats ) pic.twitter.com/NR3CTMbOtV
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 30, 2023
The ABS’s head of price statistics, Michelle Marquardt, said housing continued to be a driver of inflation, with costs up 7.3% from a year earlier. Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 5.6%. Fruit and veg costs, though, fell 5.4% and automotive fuel 7.6%.
The Australian dollar has been sold off a bit on increased expectations the Reserve Bank’s next move is now more likely to be a cut than a rate. It was buying just over 64.5 US cents, or down about 0.2 US cents in a blink.
Stocks extended their gains on the same expectations about the RBA.
More soon.
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Albanese concludes with ‘when yes wins, all Australians will win’
The prime minister finishes his speech to a room full of applause, with everyone standing on their feet to clap and cheer.
He makes this appeal to Australians:
With your energy and enthusiasm, this referendum can be won. And when yes wins, all Australians will win.
So in a spirit of generosity and optimism, vote yes. In recognition of 65,000 years of history, vote yes! With hope for a better future, vote yes!
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Albanese on voice: 'If not now, when?'
Albanese said that as Australians come together to answer calls for change, we rise to the moment:
Like the kangaroo and the emu on our coat of arms, they never go backwards, they just go forwards.
… When it’s done, when we see the joy and the celebration and the difference to people’s lives, the only question we ask ourselves, when these changes occur, is - why didn’t we do it earlier?
He said “it will be the same this time”:
Because we will have a way forward together. On October 14, there’s nothing for us to lose, and there’s so much for Australia to gain.
There is no downside here, only upside. Friends, many times when I’ve spoken about this change I’ve asked - if not now, when?
This is it. October 14 is our time. It’s our chance.
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‘Grasp the hand of friendship’ and vote yes, Albanese says
The prime minister repeats what will be written on the referendum paper:
The question is a proposed law to alter the constitution to recognise the first peoples of Australia, by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?
A loud chorus of “yeah!” fills the room, followed by applause.
Albanese continues:
Recognition, listening to advice, parliament continuing as decision maker. That’s the clear, positive, and practical request from Indigenous Australians. That is the hand out asking us, non-Indigenous Australia, to just grasp that hand of friendship, and that is what we can vote yes for.
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Albanese: voting no ‘leads nowhere’
Albanese makes this appeal to Australians ahead of the referendum:
My fellow Australians, what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people want for their children is what you want for yours. Staying healthy, doing well at school, finding a job they love, being safe and leading fulfilling lives.
That’s what they are asking you to say yes to at this referendum. The same opportunity for their children to make a good life for themselves.
Albanese said that voting no “leads nowhere” and it means that nothing changes:
Voting no closes the door on this opportunity to move forward.
I say today, don’t close the door on constitutional recognition, don’t close the door on listening to communities to get better results, don’t close the door on an idea that came from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves, and don’t close the door on the next generation of Indigenous Australians. Vote yes.
The room is again filled with enthusiastic applause.
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Albanese: ‘Say yes to an idea whose time has come’
Albanese comments on the significance of the referendum:
Now referendums come around much less often than elections. This will be the first one this century. And they’re very different, because on October 14, you are not being asked to vote for a political party, or for a person. You’re being asked to vote for an idea. To say yes to an idea whose time has come.
Speaking to room of applause, the prime minister speaks to where the voice began, with the Uluru statement from the heart:
A proposal that thousands of elders and leaders in communities all over our country have worked on for well over a decade. A change supported by more than 80% of Indigenous Australians.
He said that constitutional recognition through a voice is “a way for all of us to recognise Indigenous Australians and their history in our constitution”, also providing a practical way of dealing with issues impacting First Nations people that “no Australian government has been able to get right before.”
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Albanese outlines case for yes vote
Prime minister Anthony Albanese is speaking to a packed room in Adelaide, having just announced that the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum will be held on 14 October.
My fellow Australians, for many years Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have advocated for constitutional recognition through a voice. Our government, along with every single state and territory government, has committed to it. Legal experts have endorsed it. People on all sides of the parliament have backed it. Faith groups and sporting codes and local councils and businesses and unions have embraced it. An army of volunteers from every part of this great nation are throwing all of their energy behind it. Now, my fellow Australians, you can vote for it.
The room is filled with applause as he announces the 14 October date.
On that day, every Australian will have a once in a generation chance to bring our country together. And to change it for the better. To vote for recognition, listening and better results.
And I ask all Australians to vote yes.
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Referendum date announced as 14 October
The Indigenous voice to parliament referendum will be held on 14 October, it has just been announced.
The announcement was made in Elizabeth, in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, with both the yes and no campaign’s viewing South Australia as a key state to win the referendum.
For the referendum to be successful, it will need support from a majority of Australians and a majority of voters in at least four states.
This marks Australia’s first referendum since 1999, when citizens voted against becoming a republic.
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It’s a packed room of several hundred Yes supporters in Adelaide, as PM Albanese is about to announce the referendum date.
We’ve had two welcomes to country, from Uncle Moogy Sumner and Jakirah Telfer.
Sumner asked the room to “make the right decision” in backing a yes vote. Telfer, a young Indigenous woman, said it was “very important to be here as a young voice”.
Albanese is about to speak.
Jakirah Telfer speaks next as part of the Welcome to Country ceremony in Adelaide:
I want to acknowledge the old people in the wind today, but those are in this place and those who are here in spirit, who couldn’t be here today to see this and to be a part of this, because we do this for them.
I stand here as a carrier of song and spirit and ceremony, and I stand here from a strong lineage of women. I do this for my grandmothers. It’s very important to be here as a young voice and as a carrier of that.
Ceremony begins on Kaurna country as referendum date to be announced
A welcome to country ceremony has just begun in Adelaide, where prime minister Anthony Albanese is about to announce the date of the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum.
Indigenous elder Major Moogy Sumner performed a welcome song and said:
What I said, in my language, I asked the ancestors from the four directions to come here and sit down in the land of the Kaurna people, the land of my mother, the song was to welcome you and your ancestors here, to this land. The words at the end, it’s asking them to take away any negative energy that comes with us as we travel across the land. That attaches itself to us. I ask them to take it away.
So today we enjoy ourselves, we look after each other, and we sit down next to our ancestors. And make the right decision.
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July yearly inflation figure down to 4.9%, versus 5.4% in June, ABS says
The headline consumer price index figure for last months was 4.9%, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has just announced.
Economists had expected the CPI number would decrease from 5.4% in June to 5.2% for July, extending the decline in inflation from its peak last December.
More soon.
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MPs and a former PM lend voice to Indigenous voice
Campaigning is under way across the country as prime minister Anthony Albanese prepares to announce the date of the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum.
Pictured below is former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull with environment minister Tanya Plibersek, independent MP Allegra Spender and Lucy Turnbull, who are handing out yes campaign material in Kings Cross, Sydney.
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Rental inquiry hears of Australia’s shift away from social housing
At the rental inquiry, Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize has been speaking about the shift away from government building housing:
At the high point, 22% of new builds in Australia were government housing. And it ranged from that down to like 13% in the post-world war II era and then in the mid-80s, we saw the federal government especially walk away from funding social housing.
Australia has built one million homes in the past 10 years, she says – outstripping population growth and migration.
We do know that at every single census since this data has been collected, the number of homes, and the number of dwellings per adult in Australia has gone up, and yet the cost of housing has also gone up.
There’s this view among various commentators, but also widespread in government, that all we need is more supply. And that that will just trickle down.
The issue is that we’re not seeing the investment that we need in affordable housing.
Emma Greenhalgh, chief executive officer of National Shelter, says they welcome the government’s announcement of 1.2 million homes over five years but there needs to be a social and affordable component.
We want to see 10%, or up to 25,000, social and affordable homes built a year. That’s the scale of investment that we need to see from the governments ... to respond to the need that exists.
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PM set to announce date of Indigenous voice to parliament referendum
Very soon, we will know the date of the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will announce the date of the referendum at a rally in Adelaide around midday. This will trigger a campaign from both the yes and no camps, before Australians eventually head to the polls.
To gain a better understanding of what the voice to parliament is, how it would work and what happens next, you can read this fantastic explainer from Guardian Australia’s Indigenous affairs editor Lorena Allam:
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Victorian celery farm allegedly underpaid three migrant workers almost $92,000
One of Australia’s largest celery producers will face legal action after allegedly underpaying three of its workers who held bridging visas almost $92,000 across one year.
The Fair Work Ombudsman commenced legal action against Lamattina, located on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, for allegedly breaching the Fair Work Act.
The watchdog alleges from February 2020 to February 2021, one of the three workers – who are from Indonesia and Malaysia – was only paid for 10 out of 52 weeks worked, and was underpaid by more than $37,000.
The other two were allegedly each underpaid by more than $27,000, with one was paid for eight out of 41 weeks worked, and another for six out of 36 weeks worked.
The farm rectified the alleged underpayments in February this year, two years after the work period.
Acting fair work ombudsman, Mark Scully, said the regulator was taking action to protect vulnerable workers in the agricultural sector:
The agriculture sector, including horticulture, engages many vulnerable workers, such as visa holders, who may be unaware of their rights or unwilling to speak up to their employer. Visa holders have the same workplace rights as all other workers.
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Government policy has locked a generation out of home ownership, rental crisis inquiry hears
Speaking at the inquiry into the rental crisis, Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize says tax and policy settings have driven up rents and locked a generation out of home ownership.
She says the capital gains tax discount should be incrementally reduced over the next 10 years, and that negative gearing should also be limited.
Azize:
It’s $157bn that is going to be lost to the budget over the next 10 years from negative gearing and tax concessions.
Imagine what that money could do for social and affordable housing in Australia?
She says one thing they often get asked about is how difficult it is for landlords to not pass on rent increases as their costs go up – but what is often lost in the discussion, is that landlords can write off interest rate increases.
The most recent ATO data for instance, shows that of the 2.2 million landlords who reported “Net Rent” in 2020-21, 1.7 million reported interest deductions.
Azize:
If you’re a landlord, you can actually write off the losses that you get from interest rate increases and other costs that you’ve got going up. Renters have nothing like that kind of support.
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Professor Tom Calma says ‘malicious’ intent lies behind no campaign misinformation
Prominent Indigenous voice campaigner, Professor Tom Calma, has lashed misinformation from no campaign advocates over the upcoming referendum, saying “malicious” intent lies behind the rhetoric.
Calma, co-author of a report about how the voice could operate, is expected to deliver the remarks at a Diversity Council Australia event in Melbourne today. It will coincide with prime minister Anthony Albanese announcing the date of the voice referendum at a large community rally in suburban Adelaide, kickstarting the campaign.
In a copy of the speech, viewed by Guardian Australia, Calma warns older Australians are being targeted by “pundits who are ill-informed or have malicious intent” about the voice:
Misinformation and disinformation has been exponentially exploited especially by conservative political leaders at the national level conservative media, and no campaign advocates.
While we have many older Australians who have negative or ill-informed attitudes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples because they were denied a balanced history education, I am confident this will not be the case for future generations.
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Crowds gather in Adelaide in anticipation of voice referendum date announcement
We’re in Elizabeth, in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, for the announcement of the referendum date. There’s 400 people registered to attend the event, with crowds of people arriving early to the theatre.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is expected to speak after 11am local time (11.30am on the east coast). Currently milling around in the venue are the ACTU secretary, Sally McManus, and the Labor Party secretary, Paul Erickson, as well as key campaigners on the yes side.
There’s a lot of Yes23 and Uluru Dialogue T-shirts and posters. There’s also one person driving around the nearby parking lot in a van, dragging a homemade anti-voice sign on the back of a box trailer.
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Red Cross urges people affected by Darlington fire to use emergency register
The Australian Red Cross has opened its Register.Find.Reunite. service and is urging people affected by the Darlington unit fire to get in touch with their family and friends.
The service (accessed online) matches registrations from people affected by an emergency to inquiries made by their loved ones searching for news. Where a match is made, the person who made the inquiry will be notified.
Red Cross state manager of emergency services Diana Bernardi said being separated from family and friends is one of the most stressful things a person can experience during an emergency.
Not knowing where your loved ones are, not being able to contact them by phone or email adds to that anxiety. The service helps find and reunite family, friends and loved ones during a disaster.
Updated
Man dies in house fire in South Australia
A man has died in a cabin fire in Pelican Point, South Australia, police have confirmed.
In a statement, SA police say just after midnight this morning, police and emergency services were called to a cabin fire on Hamilton Road in Pelican Point. During the response, a man was located deceased inside the cabin.
Police say the cause of the fire is currently undetermined, and the arson squad will commence an investigation into the circumstances.
Updated
July inflation number to offer a partial update of cost-of-living pressures
After a bit of a lull, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will rev up today, with consumer prices and housing approvals for July to be released at 11.30am AEST.
“Headline” inflation has been falling since it peaked at an annual rate of 8.4% in December, and reached 5.4% in June. Economists have pencilled in a further easing to 5.2% for July.
The monthly numbers can be a bit volatile (which is why the ABS highlights the quarterly numbers on the homepage of its website) and Reserve Bank economists talk about approaching them with a bargepole.
And, somewhat oddly, the first month of each quarter apparently gives more weight to goods (where prices have started to fall), rather than services (which have kept rising). Hence, the expectation of a further decline in CPI in July even though a slew of prices typically get adjusted at the start of the financial year.
How the 20% or so increase in electricity prices gets counted – and the various offsetting government support packages – will be one thing to watch.
Among the big banks, for instance, CBA is tipping the annual rate will sink to 4.7% while NAB is predicting it will come in at 4.9%. However, both predict the rate to tick higher in August when the net is cast more broadly.
The RBA will no doubt be watching. Should the CPI (and its underlying measures) jump higher, speculation will stir that the central bank might break its pause with another interest rate rise next Tuesday. For now, though, another hike seems like a tiny chance.
Updated
Housing advocacy spokesperson says national cabinet was ‘lost opportunity to protect renters’
Circling back to the inquiry into Australia’s rental crisis, sitting in Canberra today:
Everybody’s Home spokesperson, Maiy Azize, has been speaking at the inquiry and she has not minced her words.
She has outlined how rents have increased 35% since the start of the pandemic, and are forecast to go up another 10% in the next 12 months:
A record number of Australians are currently renting – 640,000 households are in severe rental stress, those Australians are badly in need of social housing and affordable rental options.
The recent national cabinet meeting, for example, was a real lost opportunity to protect renters from the worst of the housing crisis.
The recent agreement that we’ve seen is not going to end unfair rent increases, limiting those increases won’t change anything for nine out of 10 renters across the country who already enjoy that protection.
There are only so many rent increases that people can afford to cop.
Updated
Live Traffic NSW indicates there is no access into Lawson Street from Gibbon Street as evacuations take place in the area due to the Darlington unit fire.
The building fire is located on Abercrombie Street at Ivy Street, with emergency services on site.
Drivers should exercise caution and prepare to merge.
Neighbouring units and businesses evacuated due to Darlington fire: FRNSW
More details on the inner-city building fire in Sydney, from Fire and Rescue NSW:
FRNSW said more than 30 firefighters and 10 firetrucks were deployed after the fire broke out around 8am this morning inside a third-floor apartment on Abercrombie Street in Darlington.
Fire crews began attacking the flames but were unable to enter the affected unit. The intense flames later caused part of the building to collapse, forcing firefighters to withdraw.
A FRNSW statement reads:
[Firefighters] have since adopted a ‘defensive’ firefighting strategy, working to contain and extinguish the fire from a safe distance outside.
Neighbouring units and businesses have been evacuated, while nearby roads have been closed.
The public is urged to avoid the area as firefighting operations continue.
DARLINGTON | Fire and Rescue NSW crews battle major inner-city building fire - VIDEO. Multiple Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews are battling a fire in a multi-storey building at Darlington, in inner Sydney.
— Fire and Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) August 30, 2023
The blaze broke out around 8am today... https://t.co/Hhvz8qn4E1
Updated
Sydney fire contained but firefighters say building wall at risk of collapse
A large fire broke out in a three-storey residential building in Darlington near Sydney’s Redfern station around 8am this morning.
Emergency services arrived shortly after and have contained the fire, which started in a flat on the third level.
NSW fire brigades superintendent, Adam Dewberry, said the cause of the fire is under investigation, and that one of the building’s walls is at risk of collapsing:
[The building] has got what we call a character wall. That’s where the brick wall stands above the roofline, and they come down with deadly force, so we’ve got to be careful … you can see cracks on the building where that’s an indication that the wall could collapse.
This was a well-developed fire when our firefighters arrived, you’re talking temperatures around the 800 degree mark, pushing on and spreading rapidly.
Firefighters are yet to complete a full search of the building but there are no reports of injuries or residents who are unaccounted for, according to the superintendent.
A nearby resident, Julie, saw firefighters battling the blaze while out walking her dog after 8.30am this morning. She said:
I could see big black smoke from outside my house and firetrucks coming up the lane.
When I turned the corner I saw a huge flame and sparks pouring out of the top floor of the building.
Updated
Former Snowy Hydro boss says reported $12bn cost blowout ‘seems mad’
The former head of Snowy Hydro has expressed his surprise at reports the price tag for the already overblown and delayed Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project could hit $12bn.
A report in the Nine newspapers suggests the cost of the project has blown out to more than $12bn, based on sources familiar with the details of an internal review into the matter (we brought you this on the blog earlier).
The former chief executive of Snowy Hydro Paul Broad said he was surprised by the scale of the rumoured cost. He told 2GB radio:
I’m a bit shocked. I don’t know where this $12 billion comes from, that’s news to me. Twelve months ago it was nothing like that.
That seems mad.
Broad said it was a massive project facing many challenges and he was keenly awaiting the details from the review expected to be released on Thursday.
As my colleague Peter Hannam reported earlier, the office of federal climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen wasn’t ready to officially confirm that $12bn cost figure.
– with AAP
Updated
Fire in central Sydney contained
Fire and Rescue NSW says it has contained the fire in Darlington at a three-level apartment block on Abercrombie and Lawson Street.
A spokesperson said the fire is contained, but continues to burn:
Parts of the roof have collapsed making it difficult to get to the seat of the fire.
Traffic is impacted.
REDFERN / DARLINGTON - #FRNSW have contained a in a three level older style apartment block on Abercrombie and Lawson St. The fire is contained but continues to burn. Parts of the roof have collapsed making it difficult to get to the seat of the fire. Traffic is impacted...
— Fire and Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) August 29, 2023
Guardian reporter Aston Brown was at the scene and will have another update for us shortly.
Updated
Rental crisis inquiry returns with examination of ending no-grounds evictions
The inquiry into the worsening rental crisis is back on again today, and this time it’s sitting in Canberra.
National Association of Renters’ Organisations’ Leo Patterson Ross has been talking about ending no-grounds evictions – he says the ACT is the only jurisdiction that has this policy.
Currently Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania have similar legislation around evictions, where leases can be ended with no reason after the fixed term.
The ACT has removed all forms of termination without a cause, he says:
The ACT [are] the only ones so far.
So in Victoria, 250,000 households a year are under no-grounds evictions because they are susceptible to eviction in the first fixed term.
And so anything that might be related to the beginning of a tenancy – like asking for a pet is a really strong example – people aren’t able to enjoy that right.
He says this is because tenants could still be asked to leave after their first lease ends.
Queensland only did periodic agreements and Tasmania has had that since 98. So that doesn’t count as ending [no-grounds] evictions, it’s not the same thing.
He points out Australia will be one of the last countries in the OECD to end no-grounds evictions – aside from the UK and parts of the US.
Most other countries that kind of a comparable to ours, just have not had and so we can see that the system did not fall apart.
National cabinet has agreed to implement a nationally consistent policy to implement a requirement – though WA flagged it would probably not sign up.
Updated
‘I really feel for the generation that’s under 40’: Victorian housing minister
Victorian minister, Danny Pearson, has arrived at parliament and asked reporters to “indulge” him for a moment to discuss the government’s housing statement, which will be released next month.
Growing up in Wantirna in the 70s and 80s, Pearson said the deal back then was if you worked and lived “a reasonably abstemious lifestyle” you would have a house at the end of the day:
I really feel for the generation that’s under 40. I think that has been absolutely been damaged and I think that there’s an opportunity for us to really look at getting the settings right to make sure that younger Victorians have that opportunity.
Pearson says “nations fail” when political and economic institutions become “exclusive”.
We’ve got younger Victorians, [who are] hardworking, who have done everything right … and there’s not an opportunity for them to get a house. At the risk of sounding like some sort of rampaging nationalist, I just don’t reckon that’s right or fair.
The housing statement is going to be an important moment to have a reset – to make sure young Victorians have got a chance.
Asked whether the housing statement will include further rental protections, Pearson said there was more the government could do on this front but stressed increasing supply was key.
He went on to have a crack at the federal Greens and Coalition for delaying the passage of the $10bn housing Australia future fund through parliament.
Updated
Law reforms in Victoria to overhaul triple zero emergency service
The Victorian attorney general, Jaclyn Symes, is announcing legislation will be introduced to parliament today to overhaul Victoria’s emergency triple zero service.
The Triple Zero Victoria bill acts on recommendations of a review by former police chief Graham Ashton, which found the state’s emergency services telecommunications authority (Esta) operates like a “corporate entity” rather than an emergency management service.
Another report, by the state’s inspector general for emergency management, found 33 people died due to lengthy ambulance waits and command decisions at the authority between late 2020 and mid-2022.
Under the reforms, Esta will be renamed Triple Zero Victoria and established as a new statutory authority, led by a new board and chief executive, accountable to Symes, who is also the minister for emergency services.
Symes told reporters:
[This is] important structural reform. It’s about ensuring that government has greater oversight of the organisation that was frankly allowed to drift a little from the oversight of the Department of Justice. We are ensuring that the board structure and management structure is accountable to me as minister and has lines of sight also to the minister for ambulance [and the minister] for police, as it is an emergency service.
Updated
NSW transport minister refuses to appear at inquiry into appointment of transport secretary
The New South Wales transport minister, Jo Haylen, is refusing to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into the appointment of transport secretary Josh Murray.
The refusal comes after it was revealed Murray made a $500 donation to Haylen’s campaign ahead of the March elections, by way of two tickets to a fundraising event.
Haylen on Tuesday said she had nothing to hide in relation to her pick for the $588,000-a-year job and this morning confirmed she would not appear before the committee.
A spokesperson said that was due to “parliamentary convention that neither lower house MPs nor ministers appear in upper house inquiries” other than during budget estimates.
Updated
Government yet to determine whether Sofronoff could be charged over report leak, says Rattenbury
The ACT attorney general was also asked about the ACT chief minister Andrew Barr’s indication the government may take action against Walter Sofronoff for leaking the report to the media.
Shane Rattenbury says they are seeking legal advice on the matter:
The government feels that the board of inquiry act is very clear about the expectation that material not be shared. In this case, we have had that situation arise and I don’t think the act ever contemplated that the person leading the board of inquiry would be the one to actually share that material.
So we are also seeking legal advice and as you can imagine, it’s a very sensitive and complex matter and we expect to move forward on that or receive that advice in due course.
Is there a chance Sofronoff will be charged?
That’s not something the government’s determined a view on yet.
Rattenbury said the government is “seeking advice” around this but doesn’t have an exact timeline.
Updated
Rattenbury still ‘seeking advice’ on whether to prosecute outgoing DPP Drumgold
Rattenbury was also asked whether he is still considering prosecuting Shane Drumgold on the basis the report found his conduct had met the statutory threshold for dismissal for misbehaviour in office.
Speaking to ABC RN, Rattenbury said:
What we have indicated [is that] we were asked that question proactively and we’ve indicated that we are seeking advice on it, are still doing that.
He said it is a “very rare situation”:
It’s not something that’s been contemplated previously, so it’s a combination of both legal advice and then considering the utility of those actions.
Updated
ACT attorney general Shane Rattenbury was asked about a “factual error” in the board of inquiry’s final report, as alerted by the NSW director of public prosecutions Sally Dowling.
Rattenbury confirmed Dowling wrote to him with her concerns that a quote in the report, drawn from an article in The Australian and attributed to a NSW judge, were actually paraphrased from police.
He told ABC RN this morning:
I tabled that letter in the ACT parliament yesterday. My view was that it was in the public interest for that to be shared, and rather than simply giving it to a journalist I tabled in the parliament so it was available for all to see.
Rattenbury is asked by host Patricia Karvelas whether it is concerning this type of error was made “on top of other bungles, such as the leaking of the report”:
We’re obviously very disappointed. We consider that the release of the report was contrary to the board of inquiries act here in the territory.
…Unfortunately, the early release of the report did undermine some of those intended processes. I guess our focus now is on following through on the recommendations in the report. There are 10 of them, they offer a series of practical steps forward.
And despite all of the politics and all of the commentary around this, my primary focus is making sure that we have a justice system that victims of crime, particularly victims of sexual assault, feel confident that they can come forward and get a fair hearing, be treated decently and find it a healing process, not a traumatising process.
Shane Rattenbury says Drumgold case seeks ‘a range of remedies’
The ACT attorney general, Shane Rattenbury, spoke to ABC RN earlier this morning.
This follows news yesterday that the outgoing ACT director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, was mounting an application for judicial review of the damning findings made about his conduct by Walter Sofronoff KC during his inquiry into the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann.
Drumgold is also seeking to restrain Rattenbury from taking any action against him on the basis of the report. You can read our full report from yesterday here:
Speaking to RN, Rattenbury said of the legal case:
You will appreciate he’s launched those papers in the ACT supreme court now.
The ACT government is one of the parties to that litigation, he has sought a range of remedies, so obviously it’s very limited in how we can talk about it now as we’re now in a situation where the ACT government is respondent to that matter.
Updated
And Guardian reporter Aston Brown is on the scene:
Firefighters battle a multi-storey blaze near Redfern station in Sydney. @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/9dZ8LyMlXK
— Aston Brown (@astonrbrown) August 29, 2023
Some photos are coming in of the unit blaze in Darlington, from Guardian photographer Blake Sharp-Wiggins:
Updated
Driver arrested after road worker killed on freeway
A road worker has died after being hit by a car overnight on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway at Clifton Hill, AAP reports.
Emergency services were called to the inner city crash near Hoddle Street about 12.15am on Wednesday after the man was allegedly struck by a Toyota sedan.
He was taken to hospital where he later died.
Police said the 27-year-old driver was arrested and is assisting with inquiries.
Updated
The latest update from Fire and Rescue NSW says the Darlington building fire is in progress, with “multiple crews at work in an offensive firefighting mode”:
DARLINGTON | @FRNSW Abercrombie Street, building fire in progress, multiple crews at work in an offensive firefighting mode.
— Fire and Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) August 29, 2023
Updated
Some photos of the unit blaze in Darlington have been shared on social media:
Darlington on fire this morning. pic.twitter.com/Qv9ViDvM4T
— TESOL Media Lab (@tesolmedialab1) August 29, 2023
Non stop sirens past Redfern station for 20 mins so I check it out and this! Hope no one is hurt. pic.twitter.com/jdfeehF2xe
— Kimberley Lee (@KimberleyL) August 29, 2023
As we reported earlier, 10 Fire and Rescue NSW firetrucks have responded to a unit fire in Darlington, on Abercrombie Street.
The fire is on the third level of the complex, a FRNSW spokesperson said. We will bring you the latest as we hear more.
Updated
Fire and Rescue NSW battling unit blaze in Darlington
Fire and Rescue NSW has confirmed they are currently battling a unit blaze in Darlington, Sydney.
A spokesperson said a call came in at 8:05 this morning, with a unit on fire on the third level of the complex at Abercrombie Street in Darlington, near Ivy Street.
About ten fire trucks [are] on scene with a number of firefighters.
We’re working to cut that fire off, extinguisher it and more importantly do a search of the property looking for any people that may be stuck inside.
We will bring you the latest as we hear more.
RACGP hails 100% pass rate for First Nations GPs in training as ‘phenomenal’
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has welcomed a 100% pass rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander GPs in training as a “phenomenal achievement”.
The latest clinical competency exam results show that 100% of self-identified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates passed the exam.
The exam assesses clinical competence and readiness for independent practice as a specialist GP.
RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health censor Dr Olivia O’Donoghue said progress is being made, but more needs to be done:
Numbers of self-identified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainees have been steadily increasing. The RACGP currently has 60 GPs in training and 124 Fellows. The aim is for greater than 3% representation across training and for Fellows.
A separate RACGP analysis of all three fellowship exams shows that since 2018, success in these assessments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander GPs in training have markedly improved. Pass rates across all exams have increased from 46% in 2017 to 75% in 2022.
Updated
John Howard’s comments on yes campaign ‘unfortunate and disappointing’, McCarthy says
Malarndirri McCarthy was also asked about comments made by former prime minister John Howard on Sky News last night.
Speaking about the yes campaign, Howard told host Sharri Markson that “Australians do not like being bullied, they do not like receiving condescending advice”.
McCarthy responded, telling ABC News Breakfast:
It is unfortunate to use those terms, especially from a former prime minister who did hold the leadership in this country for over a decade. It is really disappointing to see that from the previous prime minister.
McCarthy told Australians that “your vote is your vote” and Australians are “smarter” than all the commentary surrounding the referendum:
Australians know what matters, and I do believe in my heart that what we’re asking Australians from the yes side is to support an advisory body, a voice to be enshrined in the constitution to enable First Nations people to lift our lives across this country, but also to have the place of respect in the Australian constitution that recognises over 65,000 years of First Nations culture in this country.
Updated
Voice yes campaign is an ‘uphill battle’, says Malarndirri McCarthy
The assistant minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, spoke to ABC News Breakfast earlier this morning from Adelaide, where the voice referendum date will be announced.
Speaking on her experience campaigning for a yes vote, McCarthy says it is an “uphill battle” but the campaign has to keep going “right up until the final moments of the referendum ballot”.
I feel that whatever we do, no matter how much or how long it would take, it was always going to be tough.
I am excited … that we are on the cusp of the prime minister announcing the date. I think that is a really important thing for all Australians, but in particular for people who have followed this for decades. People like senator Pat Dodson, a fierce advocate for change in this country and a peaceful and positive way through reconciliation. I think of him on this day especially. Also a lot of our elders who have passed who have contributed to this journey, I think this is a significant step in our country if we can say yes.
Updated
‘Inappropriate’ to pre-empt Snowy 2.0 review cost, Bowen’s office says
The office of federal climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen isn’t ready to officially confirm that $12bn cost figure for Snowy Hydro’s 2.0 project (see earlier post here).
A spokesperson says Snowy had been working on a “detailed review of the Snowy 2.0 project including the delivery timeline and budget” since at least May.
“The Albanese government is committed to being upfront and transparent about any advice received and an update will be released in the very near future,” she said, although “until this update is released, it would be inappropriate to comment” on the report that the cost has blown out to $12bn.
The Liberal government hid a 12-month delay to the project from the Australian people and AEMO [the energy market operator] in charge of planning the nation’s grid.
We are focused on fixing the mess they left behind.
It’s a bit ambiguous but “fixing the mess” suggests that for now at least, the Albanese government will press on with Snowy 2.0 even at a much higher price tag.
Updated
Australia pressing China over medical treatment for Yang Hengjun, Wong says
Wrapping up her interview on ABC RN, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, is asked whether she has sought information from China on the condition of Australian writer Yang Hengjun.
There are fears he could die in a Chinese prison from a worsening medical condition he says is not being properly treated. You can more here:
Wong said she consistently advocates for Yang and shares the concerns of his friends and family about “the ongoing delays in his case and about his health”.
We have consistently called for him to be afforded basic standards of justice and procedural fairness and humane [treatment].
I am concerned about his welfare. We take these medical issues very seriously and we have pressed the Chinese system to ensure that he has medical treatment he needs.
Wong is asked how Australia’s relationship with China will be affected if he dies in prison:
Well, I’m not going to be drawn on that sort of hypothetical … We will continue to press for his medical treatment.
Updated
Wong says yes campaign plans to win but ‘no progress is ever guaranteed’
What happens if the yes campaign loses, Penny Wong is asked on ABC RN?
Well, we’re planning on winning.
Wong said that no political change is ever guaranteed:
No progress is ever guaranteed. We know that through history.
Remember how much Mr [John] Howard opposed an apology. But that was a very important moment for the nation, the apology to the Stolen Generations and acknowledgment of what had occurred. He opposed that for years.
Remember how marriage equality was opposed and how much rage and fears the opponents of that tried to engage in? But we’ve all moved on.
I do know, we all know, that political changes [must always] be won, progress is never given. But this is an important time for Australia.
Updated
Australia has 'everything to gain' by supporting voice, says Wong
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, is speaking on ABC RN about the Indigenous voice to parliament, as the referendum date is due to be announced today by the prime minister.
Wong was asked about comments from former Liberal foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop who said a no result would send a “very negative message” to the world:
Wong didn’t engage with the idea of a no result, instead saying:
I think the more important thing for us to do is to speak to Australians about why this is a change that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have sought and asked us the support.
I think … our international standing would be enhanced by better outcomes for all Australians, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians …. We [have] everything to gain and really, nothing to lose by supporting constitutional recognition.
Updated
Report points to Snowy 2.0 project costs blowing out to $12bn
Nine’s Sydney Morning Herald and the Age are this morning reporting that the cost of Snowy Hydro’s 2.0 giant pumped hydro project has doubled in six months to $12bn.
We’ve known Snowy was reviewing the costs of the project but they have been building for a while, as we reported here in June:
It wasn’t just having one of its tunnel boring machines (“Florence”) being all but stuck since the end of last year, but mounting costs of staff and equipment during the Covid disruptions.
The newspapers do note “soft soil” has been a factor, and it’s fair to say the surveyors might have picked up the problem at the very start of the tunnel, so Florence could have been equipped with a slurry treatment plant at the get-go (rather than tacking it on now).
The $12bn reported cost doesn’t include the development of the HumeLink transmission connection to the rest of the grid. That tab is $5bn and rising, although it does serve more than the 2.0 project.
Initially touted as a $2bn “back of the envelope” cost by the Turnbull government, Snowy 2.0 might end up costing ten times that figure. The Albanese government will have to make the call whether it should plough on with the project no matter how high the final bill.
Updated
Majority support for voice in key state of South Australia, Australia Institute says
A new survey by the Australia Institute shows around two in five South Australians (43%) are planning to vote yes for an Indigenous voice to parliament.
Meanwhile, 39% are planning to vote no, and one in five (18%) say they are unsure.
The Australia Institute surveyed 605 South Australians between 1 and 7 August, resulting in an effective sample size of 548 and a margin of error of ±4%.
The survey found that when those unsure about the Indigenous voice to parliament are incorporated, a majority of South Australians (52%) are inclined to vote yes at the referendum.
A majority of South Australian women (56%) are inclined to vote yes, while a majority of men (52%) are inclined to vote no. Meanwhile, those under 40 were more likely to vote yes and those aged 60 and over were more likely to vote no.
SA director at the Australia Institute, Noah Schultz-Byard, said the research shows a majority of South Australians are currently inclined to support the voice at the referendum, with the yes vote led by young women.
If young South Australians want the referendum to succeed, it’s clear that they need to talk to their parents and grandparents about why they so strongly support the Yes vote.
Political division on this issue is clearly having an impact on how South Australians intend to vote, with a majority of Labor and Greens supporters intending to vote Yes and a majority of Coalition and One Nation supporters intending to vote No.
As the only jurisdiction with a legislated First Nations voice to parliament, and as a potential swing state, South Australia will likely be one of the key battlegrounds ahead of the upcoming referendum.
Updated
‘Profit for purpose’ entity established by national body Our Watch to help businesses improve gender equity
Our Watch, the national body to prevent violence against women, has established a new “profit for purpose” entity to instruct businesses on how to improve gender equity and create safe workplaces for women.
Established with the assistance of $1.7m from the Goodman Foundation, the charitable arm of property group Goodman, the Our Watch Institute will provide consulting and training services to Australian companies with the ultimate aim of preventing gendered violence.
A release from the organisation today says it intends to “use Australian workplaces as a setting to provide expert advice, education, training, tools and support to affect real and lasting change in the wider community”.
They cite pay inequity, lack of female representation in senior roles or decision-making processes, and negative gender stereotypes as ways that gender inequality manifests in the workplace.
The institute will build on work Our Watch has already done with a number of businesses, including the Goodman Group, Commonwealth Bank and Melbourne Storm.
The new organisation’s director, Cara Gleeson, said:
Australian businesses are uniquely positioned to be part of the solution given the number of people they employ across Australia and the transformative role they can play in addressing social challenges and driving meaningful change.
The bold ambition of the Our Watch Institute is to partner with organisations of all types across Australia, starting with the business sector, who can have a significant impact on ending gender inequality and preventing violence against women.
Updated
Coles announces discounts on staple products amid scrutiny over profits
Coles has announced a “great value hands down” campaign at its supermarkets and online, with the price of more than 500 products being brought down for at least three months.
This comes as Coles posted a 4.8% rise in full-year annual profit to $1.1bn. As my colleague Jonathan Barrett reported, these results show that Coles not only used the pandemic and recent inflationary period to profit from sales, but also made more money from each sale, expanding its supermarket profit margins.
In a press release, Coles said the savings across more than 500 staple products is an average of 19.7%. Coles CEO, Leah Weckert, said:
We know cost-of-living continues to be the number one concern for Australians right now so we’re making our biggest investment in value for at least 3 years.
We’ve spent a lot of time over the past few months listening to our customers, our team members and our suppliers because we recognise the important role we have in helping their budgets go further.
Coles conducted a cost-of-living survey of more than 4,000 customers and found 90% of Australians have made choices and changes to reduce their grocery bills, particularly young singles and young and mature couples.
Updated
Prime minister to announce voice referendum date in Adelaide today
Anthony Albanese will announce the referendum date in Adelaide today, at a yes campaign event in the city’s northern suburbs.
Elsewhere, the government is launching a blitz nationwide to show the cross-party support for the referendum. Popular government figures like Tanya Plibersek and Bill Shorten will join cross-party supporters like the former Liberal PM Malcolm Turnbull, the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, and the Liberal MP Bridget Archer to campaign in public events nationwide.
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, will speak alongside Albanese in Adelaide and ask Australians “to not close the door on Indigenous Australia – and instead join as one to make positive changes by saying yes to the voice”.
We’re expecting Albanese to speak later this morning and confirm the date. The Indigenous Australians minister, Linda Burney, said the referendum was “a once in a lifetime opportunity to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our nation’s founding document”.
She said:
With three letters, every Australian has the power to make the greatest country on earth even better.
By voting yes to listening, and voting yes to better outcomes, Australia has nothing to lose and everything to gain
Stick with us through the day for updates from the event in Adelaide and around the country.
Updated
Many thanks to Martin Farrer for kicking things off this morning! I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be with you on the blog today.
As always, feel free to send me an email if you think there’s something that needs attention on the blog: emily.wind.casual@theguardian.com.
And with that, let’s get into it.
Daniel Andrews to address veteran suicide inquiry in Melbourne
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is due to address the royal commission into defence and veteran suicide today, AAP reports.
At a hearing in Melbourne, Andrews will discuss the rollout of the state’s new veterans card and other programs designed to support former defence force members.
Under the scheme, veterans are entitled to discounted car registration, free fishing or boating licences, and free public transport on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.
The royal commission was established in 2021 to examine how the system is failing Australian defence force members and veterans.
After Melbourne hearings, the commission will shift to Sydney in November.
A final report is due to be handed down in mid-2024.
Veterans’ support is available 24 hours a day: 1800 011 046 or OpenArms.gov.au
Crisis support services can be reached 24 hours a day: Lifeline 13 11 14; Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467; Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800; MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78; Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
Updated
Bodies of US marines killed in military exercise recovered in NT
The bodies of three US marines killed in a military aircraft crash on a remote Northern Territory island have been recovered and transported to Darwin, AAP reports.
Captain Eleanor LeBeau, 29, Corporal Spencer Collart, 21, and Major Tobin Lewis, 37, died while taking part in a military exercise on Sunday when their MV-22 Osprey aircraft plunged on remote Melville Island, 80km north of Darwin.
The Darwin Marine Rotational Force (MRF-D) said the remains of the three marines arrived in Darwin about 6.30pm on Tuesday.
A statement from the force said:
The cause of the incident remains under investigation.
One marine remains in a critical condition and has been transferred to The Alfred Centre (in Melbourne).
Two other marines remain in Royal Darwin Hospital in a stable condition.
Emergency services plan to be at the site for more than a week as they work through what led to the tragedy.
Exercises on the island have been cancelled but mainland exercises have resumed.
Updated
Yes campaign nudges ahead in South Australia – poll
The yes vote has nudged ahead in the crucial battleground of South Australia, a poll claims today, as Anthony Albanese prepares to launch the official campaign in Adelaide.
With the eyes of the nation on the state, the survey of 605 people commissioned by the Australia Institute in the first week of August, found 43% of South Australians supported the voice, while 39% said they planned to vote no, the Adelaide Advertiser reports.
Around 18% were undecided, the Advertiser reports, but when asked how they were leaning those undecided voters split down the middle meaning that yes has an overall 52-48 advantage based on the poll.
The results also showed a huge generational gulf in voting intentions as well. It said 81% of people aged 18 to 29 “were either a hard or soft yes, while two in three people aged 60 or over were leaning or decided on no”.
With yes thought to be ahead in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, it needs to win in South Australia because a referendum has to carry four out of six states. Western Australia and Queensland are expected to vote no.
Welcome
Good morning and thanks for joining us for our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer and I’m going to bring you a couple of our top stories this morning before Emily Wind takes the lead.
The big news event today will come when Anthony Albanese announces the date of the voice referendum at a rally in Adelaide at around midday. The date is expected to be 14 October. Our lead story this morning is a warning from the leading Indigenous advocate, Prof Megan Davis, who says Australia’s future can be “backward-looking, negative, pessimistic” by voting no, or “positive and forward-looking” with a yes vote. We have a full report, and we have news coming up of a poll showing yes ahead in that crucial South Australia race.
First-generation migrants from China believe Australian media reporting has fuelled unfriendly or suspicious attitudes towards them, new research shows. The report, published by the University of Technology Sydney, explores the hopes and fears of members of Chinese-Australian communities, including a parent whose child came home from school asking: “Mum, is China going to invade us?” It comes as Meta shut down nearly 9,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts associated with a Chinese political spam network that had targeted users in Australia.
The government has been accused of a “cult of secrecy” after refusing to release a secret report on how the climate crisis will fuel national security threats, or saying when it was completed. Anthony Albanese ordered the Office of National Intelligence last year to investigate national security threats posed by global heating, in line with an election promise. But the government has refused to release the assessment, prompting derision from senators David Shoebridge and David Pocock.
