What we learned today, Friday 13 September
That’s all for the blog today – here is a wrap up, in case you missed a bit:
The federal government approved the plan to construct a third runway at Melbourne airport.
Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X, has responded to the Australian government’s new bill on misinformation and disinformation with a post: “Fascists”. The bill proposes to give the broadcasting watchdog Acma new powers over digital platforms.
The New South Wales government said it will try to stop family violence before it starts under a new $38m prevention strategy.
A Sydney casino employee is one of two people charged by NSW police for allegedly rigging multiple roulette games.
Stephen Jones announced proposed new laws which are intended to place obligations on banks, telcos and social media companies “to prevent, to detect, to disrupt and to report and to respond to scam content within their businesses”.
The government released its new hydrogen production strategy, updating the 2019 version it inherited from the Coalition.
The Liberal federal executive voted to appoint three people to manage the troubled NSW division, rejecting a plan by the opposition leader, Mark Speakman, to include two women in a four-person administration panel. The former prime minister John Howard has spoken out in strong support of the decision.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission will review the findings of a public service report, which found 12 current and former bureaucrats had breached the code of conduct 97 times during their involvement in the unlawful robodebt scheme.
Have a great weekend.
Updated
Nacc to review public service report on robodebt bureaucrats
The National Anti-Corruption Commission will review the findings of a public service report, which found 12 current and former bureaucrats had breached the code of conduct 97 times during their involvement in the unlawful robodebt scheme.
The Australian Public Service Commission’s report, released on Friday morning, named two former agency heads – Kathryn Campbell and Renée Leon – among those found to have broken the rules.
The report found the 12 public servants had a lack of care, diligence and integrity, and were unwilling to speak up against the status quo.
“These public servants lost their objectivity and, in all likelihood, drowned out the deafening and growing criticisms of the scheme to pursue an operational objective,” the report’s summary said.
The Nacc, which decided not to look into the six unnamed individuals referred to it by the 2023 royal commission’s sealed section, said it was “reviewing” the report and “considering” its implications.
In a statement to Guardian Australia on Friday evening, a spokesperson said:
It is open to the APSC to refer matters to the commission if it believes there is serious or systemic corrupt conduct. The commission is not aware of any such referral.
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Updated
