What we learned, Friday 14 June
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. Here is a recap of the main news:
UK Labour said it was “fully committed” to the Aukus pact.
Bird flu spread to a sixth Victorian farm.
The IT contract for the My Health Record platform has ballooned out from $47m to $746m.
The education minister said the “cesspit” of social media needs a technological fix to protect children.
Six more people were arrested and charged over the riot outside a Wakeley church.
A pro-Palestine “protest parade” announced it would descend on offices of three Labor MPs in Melbourne tomorrow.
A two-year-old boy was bitten by a dingo on K’gari.
The AFL chief, Andrew Dillon, rejected a push by the CFMEU’s John Setka to sack its umpiring boss.
A teenager was charged with attempted murder over the alleged stabbing of Sydney bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.
The AEC proposed the abolition of the federal seat of North Sydney.
A man died in a fire at a Brisbane unit complex.
Canberra police are investigating after pro-Palestine slogans were graffitied on the Australian War Memorial.
Have a good weekend and stay warm.
Updated
Canberra police ‘very disappointed’ over pro-Palestine graffiti at war memorial
The ACT police provided more information in a press conference a short time ago on the graffiti outside the war memorial.
Acting Insp Lisa Broomhall said the graffiti was painted on the outside of the building and on the grass, but she would not say what the graffiti said, only that it was “pro-Palestine slogans”.
The police again appealed for any information about the person who allegedly graffitied the slogans.
It comes after Labor MP offices around the country have been targeted by pro-Palestine protests and graffiti after a national day of action was called recently over claims the government was “complicit in genocide”.
Broomhall said:
We’re very disappointed to see that a national institution in Canberra, which holds a very significant place to many of us in Australia, has been vandalised.
We just like to remind the community that while peaceful protest is part of our community and our democracy, any criminal acts are not going to be tolerated by police.
Updated
Education system fails Indigenous kids, Victorian minister admits
Ignorant government policies and practices have failed Indigenous children and caused widening disparity between students, Victoria’s education minister says.
Ben Carroll faced the state’s Yoorrook Justice Commission today, as it continues to examine injustices against Indigenous Victorians.
The minister admitted that “ignorant or deliberate” government policies and practices had created gaps between First Nations and other Victorians, in his opening statement to the commission.
Carroll said schools played a significant role since colonisation in reinforcing racist perceptions and stereotypes about First Peoples and perpetuating false narratives about colonial history. He said:
While quality education has been described as the great equaliser, the history of this state is littered with examples where schools have been used as tools of segregation, exclusion and oppression of First Peoples.
- AAP
Updated
NSW police officer records no conviction over improper breath test
The senior NSW police officer who pleaded guilty to neglecting his duty while breath testing a driver has recorded no conviction and has been sentenced to a 12 month conditional release order.
The officer, Snr Constable Tom Harper, was patrolling regional roads in Narrandera, in the state’s south-west, when he failed to carry out a proper breath test on the male driver, who was reportedly the son of a more senior officer, News Corp Australia reported.
Harper was sentenced with a conditional release order – a warning that replaced good behaviour bond as a sentence in 2018 – in the Griffith local court on Friday.
Harper was initially charged with two offences in February, but the second charge was dropped.
The NSW police have launched an internal investigation into the matter, with the commissioner telling reporters on Thursday she was “disappointed” by the incident.
More on this story here:
Updated
Matt Anderson, the director of the Australian War Memorial, said he is “saddened by graffiti which desecrated the heritage building at the Australian War Memorial overnight”.
The Memorial’s purpose is to commemorate the sacrifice of those Australians who have died in war or on operational service.
It is the Memorial’s view that the vandalism is both inappropriate and offensive.
Updated
Canberra police investigating after pro-Palestine slogans graffitied on Australian War Memorial
We are standing by for a press conference from Canberra police about pro-Palestinian slogans graffitied on the national war memorial.
ACT police put out a statement earlier today seeking the public’s assistance to identify a man who allegedly committed criminal damage at the Australian War Memorial in the early hours of this morning.
About 1.00am today the man allegedly graffitied three areas at the War Memorial with pro-Palestinian slogans.
The man, as depicted in the CCTV image, was wearing a black jumper, a black face covering, and khaki pants with dark knee patches at the time of the incident.
Acting Insp Lisa Broomhall said that criminal damage such as this on a national institution would not be tolerated.
Police are very disappointed this morning to see a national institution which holds a special significance to many being vandalised.
We would like to remind the community that while peaceful protest is part of healthy democracy, criminal acts will not be tolerated.
Police will be investigating this matter thoroughly in an effort to ensure those involved are brought before the courts.
Updated
Farmers ‘not dumb country hicks’, sheep export inquiry told
Angry farmers have told a parliamentary inquiry into the banning of live sheep exports that such a ban would kill some small towns, AAP reports.
The inquiry sat in regional Western Australia on Friday to hear from farmers, shearers, transporters and other concerned parties who oppose the Albanese government’s plan to ban such exports by 2028.
During an at times heated debate at the hearing, those who would be directly affected by the ban repeatedly asked for it to be reversed, concerned it will ring the death knell for regional towns.
Questions from the committee chair, Meryl Swanson, about how farming organisations were helping members to transition out of live sheep exports were met with anger.
WA Farmers’ Steve McGuire said:
They are not dumb country hicks that live in a vacuum.
They tell us what to do, we don’t tell them.
What the federal government is asking us to do is put all our eggs in the abattoir basket.
Updated
In case you missed the news Peter Dutton claimed $23,000 in travel expenses after flying to Tamworth in a taxpayer-funded private jet for a News Corp event where he delivered a speech criticising the government’s response to the cost-of-living crisis, the always brilliant Matilda Boseley explains it to you here:
Updated
Commercial buildings next on the block for carbon cuts
The Property Council has welcomed a push to expand Australia’s “light-touch” energy efficiency program for commercial buildings, AAP reports.
Assistant minister for climate change and energy, Jenny McAllister, today announced a deadline for expanding the program to better capture energy and emissions information.
The commercial building sector is responsible for about a quarter of electricity use and one-tenth of total emissions in Australia, so expanding its coverage would drive cost savings for business and significant emissions cuts, she told a business audience.
Mandatory disclosure of energy use could apply to hotels, shopping centres, data centres, hospitals, and other non-residential facilities.
Proposed changes could also allow for the introduction of minimum energy performance standards for low-performing buildings that fail to improve under a mandatory disclosure regime.
Electrifying buildings, instead of business as usual, could save $49bn in energy bills by 2050 and prevent almost 200m tonnes of carbon going into the atmosphere, according to industry research.
The Property Council’s chief executive, Mike Zorbas, said including more commercial office space and types of commercial buildings in the program was a “no brainer” that would lead to savings in emissions and energy bills.
Updated
Disability community mourns ‘quiet achiever behind the NDIS’, John Walsh
The disability community has noted the death this week of one of the key architects of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and long-serving NDIA board member, John Walsh.
Once referred to as “the quiet achiever behind the NDIS”, Walsh was an actuary and a partner at PWC with a long history of disability advocacy. He was the associate commissioner to the Productivity Commission in 2011 when it produced the key report – following significant grassroots activism – that recommended the introduction of the NDIS. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his work on disability services reform.
Walsh had personal experience of the challenges faced by people with disability: he sustained severe quadriplegia after an accident in 1971, when he collided with a wooden goal post during a rugby game, fracturing his spine.
Every Australian Counts, the campaign that emerged out of the grassroots campaign that led to the NDIS, recognised his work in a statement on Friday:
John Walsh was instrumental in establishing the NDIS. His advocacy was so significant that the Scheme might not exist without his relentless efforts. In 2009, as part of the Disability Investment Group, he recommended a feasibility study for a National Disability Insurance Scheme, setting the foundation for its creation. His work with the Productivity Commission in 2011 further shaped the future of the NDIS.
John served on the NDIA Board from its establishment in 2013, retiring in 2020. He played a crucial role as the principal member of the Independent Advisory Council. He was also a very strong advocate for self management.
Every Australian Counts honors John’s memory, we celebrate his life’s work, and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.
Bill Shorten, federal minister for the NDIS, also paid tribute to Walsh in a tweet on Thursday evening:
Vale John Walsh, one of the original architects of the NDIS. I was saddened by the news of his passing and send my best wishes to his family.
Updated
Queensland MPs found in contempt over clash with pro-Palestinian protesters
Two backbench MPs have been found in contempt over a clash with pro-Palestinian protesters outside Queensland parliament, AAP reports.
A report to parliament indicated that Katter’s Australian party members Robbie Katter and Nick Dametto stood at a fence holding up “condemn Hamas” signs at protesters in March, sparking fiery scenes.
Protesters flocked to the fence shouting “shame” at the MPs before one person grabbed the sign from Dametto and scrunched it up.
Katter said at the time:
We should be allowed to have alternative views on things, but these people are completely intolerant of anyone else having another view from them, and were acting like lunatics out there.
The matter was referred to the ethics committee, which tabled a report to parliament on Friday.
The committee found both MPs in contempt for disorderly conduct on parliamentary grounds. The committee found:
Members have a duty to uphold the highest standards of behaviour and to preserve the dignity of the parliament.
The members in this matter are long-serving members of parliament who ought to know better.
It recommended both MPs issue an unequivocal apology on the floor of the house.
The pair escaped a recommendation of suspension over the incident. The committee said it would take a “stronger position” if it happened again.
Dametto, the member for Hinchinbrook, apologised during parliamentary proceedings on Friday, while Katter, the Traeger MP, was absent.
Dametto said:
I take this opportunity to offer my unequivocal apology to the house for any indignity I have caused to the Queensland parliament as a result of my actions.
Updated
Thanks Mostafa, and a good afternoon from a very wet and chilly Sydney!
And with that I leave the blog with Natasha May, thanks for reading.
Four-week-old Brisbane baby found safe and well
In an update to the amber alert issued by Queensland police earlier, the four-week old boy from Fortitude Valley has been found.
The baby was found safe and well at Kangaroo Point after the amber alert was issued.
The 37-year-old woman has also been located.
Updated
Queensland authorities report fourfold rise in GHB hospitalisations
A fourfold rise in the number of people being taken to hospital after overdosing on GHB in the past two years has alarmed Queensland authorities.
The staggering increase in GHB intoxication-related presentations was recorded at emergency departments across the state’s south-east, according to data released on Friday.
GHB, or gamma-hydroxybutyrate, is an illegal drug that acts as a depressant and has sedative and anaesthetic effects.
It’s often ingested to provide feelings of euphoria, relaxation, sociability and an increased sex drive.
In recent years, the drug has gained popularity amongst 18- to 25-year-olds as a “party drug”, but it’s also known as a “date rape” drug commonly used in drink spiking.
The data, gathered by Princess Alexandra hospital’s clinical toxicology unit, shows presentations for GHB account for almost a quarter of emergencies.
“PAH data shows that GHB-related presentations are now the second most common recreational intoxication causing people to need emergency care behind methamphetamines,” toxicology nurse practitioner Benjamin Learmont said in a statement.
“GHB now accounts for 24 per cent of emergency presentations related to drug use that require admission to our intensive care unit.”
The side effects of GHB that often lead to hospitalisation include vomiting, irregular breathing, hallucinations, blackouts and memory loss, and can end in death.
In March, a woman died and two others were hospitalised after ingesting a cocktail of drugs including GHB at a high-rise apartment on the Gold Coast.
Some of the reported long-term effects of GHB use include dependence, heart disease, severe memory issues and extreme anxiety.
– AAP
Updated
Man dies in fire at Brisbane unit complex
A man has died and a woman is seriously injured after a fire engulfed a unit complex in Brisbane.
Emergency services rushed to the fire in Albion at around 4pm yesterday after multiple calls were made by neighbours.
Queensland police confirmed a man aged in his 60s died at the scene.
Police are investigating the circumstances of the fire and appealing for anyone with information to come forward.
Updated
Former Olympic swimmer Scott Miller granted parole
The former Olympic swimmer Scott Miller has been granted parole.
Miller, who was arrested in 2021, was serving a total sentence of five years and six months in jail on drug charges, including supplying a prohibited drug in large commercial quantities and participating in a criminal group.
The NSW State Parole Authority denied him parole last January, as he remained an unsentenced offender on outstanding charges.
The charges were finalised in the district court last month, allowing Miller to apply to
the authority for reconsideration of parole, under the provisions of Manifest Injustice.
And in a decision made by chair Geoffrey Bellew SC, the parole board approved his conditional release.
Community Corrections advised the authority that Miller had been assessed as having a low-medium risk of reoffending and recommended his release to supervised parole.
“Mr Miller has a long history of substance abuse and appears to display some insight
into this problematic behaviour,” they said.
Updated
AEC proposes abolition of federal seat of North Sydney
The Australian Electoral Commission has proposed to abolish the federation seat of North Sydney in an electoral shake up for Australia’s oldest state which will have far reaching consequences for the major parties.
The AEC’s draft proposal recommends abolishing North Sydney, the electorate currently held by the independent MP Kylea Tink, and spreading electors across the surrounding seats, including Bradfield, which potentially could give a boost to the independent Nicolette Boelle’s campaign against the sitting Liberal MP Paul Fletcher.
The redistribution committee proposes changing the boundaries of 39 existing electoral divisions, which could create upheaval for the major parties fighting off challenges with slim margins. If adopted, it would mean more than 12% of existing enrolled voters would find themselves in a different electorate.
There is also a proposal to jointly honour Sir Joseph Cook, a former Australian prime minister, as well as Captain James Cook in the existing electorate of Cook.
The changes remain a recommendation with a final determination not set down until October. The AEC will accept submissions on its draft proposal ahead of making its final decision.
Updated
Home prices in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide surge
Home prices in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide are growing much faster than in cities such as Melbourne and Hobart and the latest data indicates those trends could stick around for some time yet.
Home values nationally have risen by more than 35% since the Covid pandemic kicked off in 2020 but growth has not been spread evenly, according to real estate data company CoreLogic.
Price growth across hotspots Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide has vastly outpaced gains posted in other urban centres, including Hobart, Melbourne, Canberra, Darwin and Sydney.
At one end of the spectrum, Perth has posted a 62.6% increase in property values in that time, compared to an 11.2 per cent bump in Melbourne.
Digging into the drivers behind the “multi-speed” housing market, the CoreLogic head of research, Eliza Owen, said there were a number of factors at play.
The fastest-growing markets were generally starting from a low price base, with cities such as Perth and Adelaide “still playing catch up” to other capitals when looking back over the past decade, Owen wrote in the report.
Some cities had managed to build more homes than others, which had helped keep a lid on price growth in places such as Melbourne.
Owen said there a stronger take-up of the first-home buyer grant for new homes and the HomeBuilder scheme in Victoria, as well as a property investment boom in the mid-to-late 2010s was responsible for an influx of inner-city apartments.
– via AAP
Updated
Australia unlikely to follow G7 on Ukraine aid deal
The Australian government does not appear likely to follow the lead of the G7, after the grouping of large western economies reached a deal that will mobilise an extra $US50bn of aid to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets.
Under the G7 provisional agreement, a loan will be provided to Ukraine to fund its military and reconstruction needs. The interest on the large loan is to be funded not by Ukraine but from the profits derived from the frozen Russian state assets.
Australian government sources who did not want to be identified said Australia’s domestic legal sanctions framework did not allow Australia to seize or apply for forfeiture of frozen assets or the profits of these assets. They said seizing such assets within Australia “would raise complex issues under constitutional law”.
The sources also said Australia did not have the same volume of frozen Russian assets compared with a number of other countries, with current estimates pointing to less than $AU100m of frozen assets held in Australia. Most frozen accounts are not earning interest.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australia’s goal was to empower Ukraine to end the war on its terms:
We will continue to provide targeted assistance to Ukraine and impose costs on Russia for as long as it takes.
The Coalition’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Simon Birmingham, said the government should “stop finding excuses to not support Ukraine and wholeheartedly commit to doing all that Australia possibly can”. He said the Coalition would provide support “if Australia’s laws need changing to better target Russian assets or make more effective sanctions on Russia”.
Updated
Teenager charged with attempted murder over alleged stabbing of Sydney bishop
Prosecutors will argue that a teenage boy intended to murder a bishop in Sydney’s south-west when he allegedly stabbed him during a sermon in an act of terrorism earlier this year.
The 16-year-old is accused of travelling 90 minutes from his home to attack the Assyrian bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, 53, during a livestreamed sermon at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley on 15 April.
During a brief hearing at the Parramatta children’s court on Friday, a barrister for the commonwealth director of public prosecutions told the court that the boy had been charged with two additional offences.
Court documents show the boy was charged on 31 May with causing wounding or grievous bodily harm with intent to murder over the alleged stabbing of Emmanuel, and wounding a second man with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The teen allegedly stabbed Father Issac Royel, 39, when he tried to intervene, according to police. The priest and the bishop recovered after undergoing surgery.
Updated
Amber alert issued for missing baby in Brisbane
An amber alert has been issued by Queensland police for a missing four-week-old baby boy in Brisbane.
Police say the Fortitude Valley boy is unaccounted and may be at “significant risk”.
Police spoke to a woman about the baby yesterday but the child was last sighted on Sunday 10 June.
The 37-year-old woman is believed to be travelling in the Brisbane city area on foot.
Updated
Albanese encourages children to play sport amid social media debate
Finally, the PM is asked about social media age verification, and he says it is important the government “get it right.”
Albanese spruiked a government-funded trial of age-verification technology that reportedly aims to enable greater restrictions on children’s access to damaging material online.
Young people need to be kept smart and safe online. What we need to make sure is young people, because they are smart, with VPNs and various methods as well, we need to make sure that any measures designed to keep people safe are effective and that’s why you have a trial.
I think every parent who is on the sideline this weekend of junior sport, or picking up kids after school, will be talking about how they get their young ones off the devices and kept safe and one way they can do that is by engaging in activity like junior sport.
That is one of the things we want to do to create healthy kids. Healthy kids not just in terms of their physical health but their mental health is so important as well. That is my government’s objective. That is why we are having this trial going forward to make sure that any measures, which are undertaken, are effective.
Updated
‘It’s none of his business’: Albanese on Setka and the AFL
Next the PM is asked about John Setka’s issue with the AFL and its umpiring boss, with Albanese dismissing the question:
It is none of his business what occurs with the AFL, that is a matter for the AFL.
It is a matter for the AFL. John Setka is someone who, whose behaviour led me to expel him from the Labor party.
Asked why he won’t “rebuke” Setka by one of the journalists there, the PM says he has:
I think I just did in case you weren’t noticing, as I did yesterday and the day before.
Updated
Anthony Albanese holds press conference
Anthony Albanese has stepped up for a press conference and is first asked about directing the health minister, Mark Butler, to pause negotiations on health funding while NDIS reforms catch up.
Last week the government paused negotiations on health funding for states until further work was done on parallel disability reforms.
When asked to explain what “catching up” meant, here is what the PM had to say:
We want to make sure with state and territory governments that we move forward on the reform program. We need to continue to strengthen Medicare. That is my government’s objective and we need as well to continue to ensure that the NDIS is sustainable going forward so people with disabilities get the support and help that they need.
That is what we are doing through the national cabinet process and … I am sure that we will get this done.
Updated
AFL chief Andrew Dillon rejects CFMEU push to sack umpire boss
The AFL’s chief executive, Andrew Dillon, has backed umpire boss Steve McBurney, who has come under fire from the CFMEU’s Victorian leader John Setka for his alleged “anti-worker” position as a former commissioner of the Australian Building and Construction Commission.
Dillon was on 3AW this morning and said McBurney was doing an “incredible job” and had a “massive impact” on the AFL.
He started in his role only quite recently - he’s had a massive impact - and he’s been really good for the AFL and really good for the umpires. So he’ll be staying at the AFL.
What I’m hoping is that any intended action or foreshadowed action [from the union] doesn’t end up impacting on our spectators and our fans.
Updated
‘The pressure on NSW hospitals right now is like we’ve never seen before’: Ryan Park
The New South Wales health minister, Ryan Park, says it is “absolutely critical” the federal government provides state health systems with additional funding.
Speaking on ABC Radio National, Park said the pressure on NSW hospitals was unprecedented:
It is absolutely critical. The pressure on NSW hospitals right now is like we’ve never seen before.
In the last quarter, we had over 800,000 people come to our emergency departments. We are seeing big increases in not only the number presenting but also the severity of the illnesses they’re presenting with.
That is as a result of a reduction in GPs in the community and challenges with primary care and that means when they come to an ED they’re sicker and it often means they come to the ED as their last time of resort because there’s nowhere else for them to access care.
That puts an enormous amount of challenge on an emergency department.
Park said NSW needed a “good deal” on health funding and that an agreement for more funding made before Christmas was not being fulfilled:
This deal with the commonwealth is worth billions of dollars a year to us and at the moment the commonwealth is sitting at about 38% in terms of the funding that they provide to hospitals from a NSW perspective.
At the national cabinet before Christmas, there was an agreement to get to 42.5% over five years, and then to get to 45% over 10 years.
We’re not even close to getting to that and now we’re aware that we’ve essentially been told that these discussions have to pause and wait, I simply can’t have that occur. We need to get a good deal for NSW now.
Updated
Gallagher says government working on new code of conduct for consultants
I just wanted to return to Katy Gallagher’s appearance on ABC Radio National earlier, because the finance minister said the government was working on releasing a new code of conduct for consultancy companies that would set out their responsibilities when contracted to work for the public service.
Gallagher stopped short of committing to the recommendations of a Senate committee report that investigated the behaviour of consultancy groups, adding that the sector had already taken a financial hit.
She added that PwC, the firm at the centre of a scandal in which it misused confidential government tax information for commercial gain, had already suffered reputational and financial damage over the incident:
Their work with the commonwealth, in terms of ongoing work … contracts that existed, is much diminished.
I think there has been financial consequences but also significant reputational damage – and not just to PwC – but to the broader consultancy sector.
There are a range of inquiries under way. This report was one of them and the government will look at that.
But a five-year ban of one company is something … that we would have to justify, I would think.
Updated
Two-year-old boy bitten by dingo on K’gari
Queensland government rangers are hunting for an untagged female wongari (dingo) after the animal bit a two-year-old boy on K’gari yesterday.
The incident occurred in the carpark at Lake McKenzie. Queensland parks and wildlife service were advised at about 2.45pm.
A family was about to leave the area when the father saw a wongari near the right-hand side of their car.
He told his family to get in the car through its left hand side. The animal walked to the other side of the road before running to the front of the vehicle.
It bit the two-year-old on the right thigh before the father chased it away. The child was left with two puncture wounds.
They drove to Eurong to report the incident to rangers before heading to a nearby resort for further medical treatment.
The state government is pouring millions into safety on the island, which is also known as Fraser Island, after a string of attacks.
Updated
Katy Gallagher on social media: ‘When you ban something it doesn’t mean people’s interest wanes’
Sticking with the issue of age verification for social media, Labor’s Katy Gallagher has waded into the discussion, saying she was concerned that content viewed by young men could be having a detrimental impact on their attitudes towards women.
The finance minister was on ABC Radio National this morning to discuss the issue, which she said a complex one without an easy solution:
It’s really concerning because it has consequential impacts through the generations really as we’re trying to address violence against women and children in this country.
It’s not easy and I’m not going to pretend it is, but it’s another front that we have to confront and respond to.
These things are really hard. When you ban something it doesn’t mean people’s interest wanes or that children all of a sudden are not going to have access to that information.
Updated
Sussan Ley says it is ‘disgusting’ how social media companies profit from accounts of children
Sussan Ley says the Coalition will look to compel social media companies to introduce age verification for children under the age of 16, if the opposition wins the next election.
The deputy opposition leader, appearing on Channel 7’s Sunrise, backed Peter Dutton who yesterday said he’d take the policy to the election. Ley said:
That was strong, decisive leadership we saw from Peter Dutton yesterday on an issue that is personal to him – protecting kids when he was a policeman, protecting kids online and protecting kids when he was home affairs minister and passing laws to do that.
The last thing we want to hear is the Labor party start to say it is all too hard. We have to push through this.
The tech companies, when asked to do this, under a legal framework, will find a way … I don’t think they are saying they can’t do it. I think it’s saying they’re reluctant to do it. What they’re doing is actually profiting off the social media accounts of our kids. That is disgusting.
Updated
Pro-Palestine 'protest parade' to descend on offices of three Labor MPs in Melbourne
Darebin For Palestine, the community organising group behind pro-Palestinian protests targeting Labor MPs in Victoria, says it will defy the PM’s directions and continue to apply pressure.
In a statement this morning, the group said they intend to target the offices of three local MPs on Saturday as part of a mass demonstration that they’re calling a “protest parade”.
The three MPs are the state member for Preston, Nathan Lambert, the federal member for Cooper, Ged Kearney, and the state member for Northcote, Kat Theophanous.
The group expects the protest to take “several hours”, marching from Lambert’s office in Preston to Theophanous’s office in Northcote.
Jess Gordon, one of the rally organisers, said some constituents were “furious” with Labor for their position on Israel’s war on Gaza.
They are fed up with state and federal Labor’s shameless ongoing military and economic support of the Israeli apartheid state and denial of what is clearly a textbook case of genocide.
Updated
Six more people arrested and charged over riot outside Wakeley church
Five men and a teenager have been arrested and charged with rioting offences as part of the investigation into the riot outside a church in Sydney’s south-west in April.
It brings the total number of people charged with offences related to the incident to 29, a result of Strike Force Dribs, which was established to look at the Wakeley incident.
A 41-year-old man, a 31-year-old man, a 29-year-old man, two 20-year-old men and a 17-year-old boy were all arrested and charged with rioting offences, including destroying/damaging property during public disorder and throwing a missile at a police officer at public disorder.
Updated
Jason Clare says social media 'cesspit' needs a technological fix to protect children
The education minister, Jason Clare, has said stricter regulations on social media for teenagers had bipartisan support.
Speaking to Channel 7’s Sunrise, Clare called social media a “cesspit”, and added that Labor’s age verification trial would be the first step to protecting young people.
I think we all agree that social media’s a cesspit. We all agree we don’t want our kids on it. It’s about how do you do it?
This should be something where the Labor party and the Liberal party can work together.
You have mums and dads getting kids ready for school. Anyone with a child from 5-15 is worried about it.
They don’t need us having a fight about this. They want to hear we’re working together.
We want to make sure it is bulletproof, that we have the right sort of technological fix here that our kids aren’t exposed to some of the awfulness we see on social media.
Updated
Melbourne shivers through coldest day in five years
Overnight, some areas of NSW and Victoria saw temperatures drop to their lowest maximum in years, with Melbourne shivering through its coldest day in five years.
Temperatures maxed out at only 10.1C in Victoria’s capital yesterday, but it was even colder in the NSW Riverina, where Griffith recorded maximum temperatures of only 9.2C, the town’s lowest maximum in eight years.
Australia’s south-east continues to face a prolonged spell of wintry weather, with temperatures today expected to remain below average across the region.
Updated
Good morning. Mostafa Rachwani with you to take you through the day’s news.
Updated
The consequences of Peter Dutton’s climate war – Full Story newsroom edition
If elected, the opposition leader Peter Dutton says he will abandon Australia’s 43% emissions reduction target for 2030.
The prime minister Anthony Albanese labeled his comments divisive, and climate experts say his position will put Australia in breach of the landmark Paris climate agreement.
Bridie Jabour speaks to editor-in-chief Lenore Taylor and climate and environment editor Adam Morton about the consequences of putting politics ahead of good climate policy.
Updated
Sydney’s Leichhardt Oval to get $40m for upgrades to crumbling facilities
Sydney’s famous Leichhardt Oval will get $40m to upgrade its crumbling facilities, with the federal government joining state and local governments in a bid to rescue the football stadium.
Anthony Albanese will announce $20m of federal funding on Friday, with the Inner West council and New South Wales government to chip in another $10m each, to upgrade female change rooms and build new seating.
A home ground for the NRL’s Wests Tigers, as well as a hub for local sporting fixtures, Leichhardt Oval and its local supporters have been calling for new funding for some time.
“The Albanese government recognises the significant contribution Leichhardt Oval has made, and continues to make, to sport in Australia,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
“It is on track to host 120 sporting fixtures in 2024, including both men’s and women’s national rugby league matches and dozens of other sport events including women and girls’ soccer.”
The funding will support new female-friendly change rooms, an increased seating capacity of 3,000, and a new northern grandstand.
Updated
More on that audit report on My Health Record:
The audit office found the Australian Digital Health Agency, which runs the My Health Record platform, had only been “partly effective” in adhering to government rules due to “poor” contract planning.
The audit office found exemptions in the contracting rules allowing agencies to offer contracts directly to favoured suppliers should only be used in “situations consistent with the condition (extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseen by the entity) and not in situations of poor or late planning”.
The Anao recommended the agency resolve the issues and improve their processes in time to offer a competitive tender process for the platform’s IT management and maintenance by the middle of next year.
The agency blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for some of its shortcomings, noting “system stability and reliability were priorities in procurement approaches taken”.
It accepted 12 of the Anao’s recommendations and agreed in principle to another.
Updated
IT contract for My Health Record platform balloons out from $47m to $746m
An IT contract for the country’s My Health Record increased more than 14 times its original value over 10 years due to poor planning, a scathing audit report has found.
The Australian National Audit Office, in its probe into contracts for the national digital health program, found a contract with Accenture grew from $47m in 2012 to its current value of $740m because the agency had failed to adequately plan for its ongoing maintenance needs and assess the contract’s value for money.
The digital database was created in 2012 as a tool for patients, doctors and specialists to share patient history, X-rays, prescriptions and other medical information with ease. Around $2bn has been spent on the platform.
The audit report, released on Wednesday, showed the original contract with Accenture was for $47m over two years to create the platform’s IT infrastructure. It had been amended 21 times between 2012 and 2017, growing to $506m.
It was then varied a further six times between 2018 and 2023, ballooning to $746m.
Updated
Bird flu spreads to sixth Victorian farm
Bird flu has been detected at a sixth Victorian farm which was already in quarantine, Australia Associated Press reports.
The case of avian influenza (H7N3) was confirmed at a property in the Golden Plains shire, 200km south-west of Melbourne, Agriculture Victoria said last night.
All ducks at the property will be culled under veterinary supervision, with the site cleaned and cleared of the infection.
The duck farm, which is in the current restricted area, produces commercial eggs and meat.
Victoria’s chief veterinary officer, Graeme Cooke, said the detection isn’t wholly unexpected due to the farm’s proximity to other impacted sites.
“We have established restricted and control areas in proximity to existing IPs which has assisted us in limiting the spread and quickly detecting the sixth IP through comprehensive surveillance activities,” Dr Cooke said.
“It’s a difficult time for our farmers and we’re making sure mental health support is available and eligible producers can access compensation.”
Updated
UK Labour 'fully committed' to Aukus pact
The UK government would remain “fully committed” to the Aukus pact if Labour wins next month’s election.
Labour – which enjoys a significant lead in the opinion polls – released its manifesto last night. The section on the UK’s place in the world includes this passage:
Labour is fully committed to Aukus, the trilateral security partnership with Australia and the United States. We will ensure it delivers its full economic as well as security potential, increasing jobs and investment in communities across the UK.
The manifesto also promises that a Labour in the UK would “bring a long-term and strategic approach to managing our relations” with China, adding:
We will co-operate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must.
This has echoes of the Australian government’s refrain on China that “We will cooperate where we can, disagree where we must and engage in our national interest”.
The UK Labour party also says it is “committed to recognising a Palestinian state as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state”.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our final news blog of the week. I’m Martin Farrer and I’m here to bring you the best of the morning stories before Mostafa Rachwani sets up.
Our top story this morning is an exclusive revealing that Queensland’s commitment to new laws to prevent faith-based schools from discriminating against gay teachers is being sacrificed as part of the Labor government’s electoral calculus. Advocates say the decision to shelve new anti-discrimination laws will leave women fleeing domestic violence, people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ+ community at risk.
The big story of the week has been Peter Dutton’s plan to scrap the Coalition’s commitment to the government’s 2030 emissions target, thus reigniting the “climate wars”. Our political editor, Karen Middleton, writes today about how the bad-tempered exchanges between Anthony Albanese and Dutton about the policy show both sides are “stress-testing” their messaging ahead of next year’s election.
Immunisation rates are lagging in Australia’s most vulnerable populations – the very young and old – with experts blaming practical barriers as well as the misinformation and vaccine hesitancy that took off during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The National Audit Office has issued a scathing report on a government IT contract that ballooned from $47m to $740m due to bad planning. More on that soon.
And bird flu has been found at a sixth farm in Victoria. Agriculture Victoria said last night the case of Avian influenza (H7N3) was confirmed at a property in the Golden Plains shire, 200km south-west of Melbourne. More coming up.
