What we learned today – Sunday 26 March
New South Wales Labor leader Chris Minns went into Saturday’s election holding a marginal seat by a hair and leading a party that had not held power in the state for a more than decade, but woke up on Sunday morning as premier-elect.
Minns spent the morning touring his electorate and speaking to the media, promising he would govern “for all”.
Meanwhile, South Australia has become the first state to legislate an Indigenous voice to parliament, closing off North Terrance and holding a ceremony for the public to watch. Crowds began to gather on an overcast morning to watch the bill be enacted in a special signing ceremony held in public. It is thought the development will feed into the federal referendum by giving the yes campaign a practical example to point to.
Other stories today included:
The final results from the NSW election are unknown as counting takes a break before resuming on Monday.
The Coalition began Sunday morning with a tug-of-war about the future direction of the party. Liberal senator Andrew Bragg called for the party to avoid lurching to the right, while former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce says the influence of moderate Matt Kean cost the Coalition votes in NSW.
Federal attorney general Mark Dreyfus has refused to release the solicitor general’s advice that informed the final wording of the referendum question on the Indigenous voice to parliament.
Business groups want the federal government to pass the safeguard mechanism reforms before the end of the financial year to provide “certainty” to businesses.
Australia’s oil and gas industry has congratulated Chris Minns on his election win and called for the state to fast-track new gas projects.
Queensland’s LNP announced its candidates 18 months out from the next state election.
A woman was arrested in an anti-abortion protest in Sydney for allegedly breaching the peace.
With that, we’ll wrap up our live blog for now.
Updated
Pioneering Greens councillor to step down in Brisbane
Queensland’s first Greens city councillor, Jonathan Sriranganathan, has announced he will step down at the end of April, saying he is “ready for a break and some other adventures” after seven years in the job.
In a post to Facebook on Sunday, he said there were a “whole combination of factors” behind his decision to resign.
These include wanting more time with loved ones, the urge to put more energy into music and writing, a desire to explore other forms of grassroots activism, feeling a little worn out by racism and police harassment combined with such heavy public scrutiny, having to deal with overly-entitled people who think that how often grass gets cut in the local park is the MOST important thing I should be looking into, and of course, the banal pointlessness of sitting through mind-numbingly farcical council meetings every Tuesday where Labor and LNP councillors mostly just hurl insults at each other.
Sriranganathan also said that “perhaps the most important reason I’m stepping down is that I think it’s important that politicians don’t hold on to safe seats for too long, gradually accruing more power and influence while losing perspective.”
As the Greens’ first city councillor, Sriranganathan made political history as his election marked the start of the “Green wave” in Queensland.
Sriranganathan: If I’m honest, this role hasn’t always been easy. I’ve copped a lot more racism & police harassment than any other councillor I know of, but it’s also been a joy & an honour to connect with so many people & to help elevate so many important issues and struggles.”
— Eden Gillespie (@edengillespie) March 25, 2023
He will be replaced in his seat by Trina Massey, an arts worker and DJ.
Massey: As a queer Black Asian immigrant woman, I grew up not seeing people like me in politics. It means a lot to me to be able to elevate the voices of diverse intersectional communities in such a prominent role.
— Eden Gillespie (@edengillespie) March 25, 2023
Updated
Thunderstorm warnings in NSW
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued thunderstorm warnings across the New South Wales northern ranges and western slopes today.
Thunderstorms most likely about the northern ranges and western slopes this afternoon/evening.
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) March 25, 2023
Severe thunderstorms possible across the northern ranges and western slopes. Heavy rain, damaging winds and large hail are of concern. See https://t.co/FLYnOTRhz0 if warnings issued pic.twitter.com/om1WNEG4HF
Farther north in Queensland, isolated severe thunderstorms are expected for the parts of the state.
Isolated severe thunderstorms possible in the southern Darling Downs & Granite Belt & Scenic Rim areas today in the afternoon/early evening. Risk much lower than Sat.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) March 25, 2023
Risks are damaging wind gusts & localised heavy rain leading to flash flooding; lesser risk of large hail. pic.twitter.com/o1FRbAwRX3
Meanwhile, fog has blanketed parts of Tasmania with cloud cover expected into the afternoon.
Check out the pretty circulation in the cloud just off the northwest coast before it disappears underneath high-level cloud. You can also see the areas of fog slowly decreasing through the morning. Middle to high-level cloud will extend over all of Tasmania today. pic.twitter.com/rDnVhIdunx
— Bureau of Meteorology, Tasmania (@BOM_Tas) March 26, 2023
And in parts of WA storms are expected today, bringing heavy rain, damaging winds and large hail.
Active storms in the west brought 30-50mm to parts of #WA yesterday/overnight, with lightning across the #SouthWestLandDivision and #Perth metro. More storms today, with heavy rain, damaging winds & large hail a risk through inland/southern parts. Latest: https://t.co/4W35o8i7wJ pic.twitter.com/WUKlyGAzgp
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) March 26, 2023
Updated
Homebuilder paperwork extended
Property owners in danger of missing out on vital Covid-19 era cash grants through no fault of their own have won a reprieve, with the deadline to submit paperwork for the national HomeBuilder scheme extended.
Subject to agreement with the states and territories, Housing Minister Julie Collins says otherwise eligible applicants who would have missed the April 30 cut-off will now have until the end of June 2025 to provide supporting documentation.
The extension will only apply to existing, already-approved applicants who have formal approval for off-the-plan purchases or renovations.
Collins said on Sunday said this will support those who entered into financial commitments on the basis that they would receive the grant but were affected by supply constraints and construction delays.
Too many Australians stood to miss out on support they believed they would receive through no fault of their own.
This decision will not cost the budget but it will ease the burden on families right across the country who are relying on this grant.
- AAP
Arrest at anti-abortion protest in Sydney
A woman has been arrested for allegedly breaching the peace at an anti-abortion protest in Sydney.
NSW police confirmed the woman was arrested and given a move on direction for disrupting the Christian-led protest. She has since been let go without charge.
About 12.15pm, officers attached to Sydney City Police Are Command issued a move on direction to a woman in Hyde Park, who complied.
The NSW Police Force recognises and supports the rights of individuals and groups to exercise their rights of free speech and peaceful assembly, however, the first priority for NSW Police is always the safety of the wider community.
The operation is ongoing.
The Day of the Unborn Child rally began with mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. Hundreds of anti-abortion Christian activists then marched to NSW parliament, where they were reciting prayer and singing the Australian national anthem.
The crowd at St Mary’s counties to grow ahead of the planned anti-abortion march to Parliament House #Sydney #Auspol #Abortion pic.twitter.com/uWml13NEkj
— Nabil Al-Nashar | نبيل النشار (@NabilAlNashar) March 26, 2023
Marchers were holding signs with messages including “Baby Lives Matter” and “Net zero abortions by 2030”.
In a video of her arrest, the woman can be heard yelling “I’m too much to handle … like any woman who wants control over her body. How dare you”.
Can you believe that in 2023 a woman is getting taken away ... for peacefully protesting in the middle of Sydney, Australia. Ladies, it is time to rise up.
Updated
Insurance company “preyed” on vulnerable Aboriginal people
NSW woman of the year Lynda Edwards has called on the federal government to help thousands of Aboriginal people who are still reeling almost a year after a company selling junk funeral insurance collapsed.
Aboriginal Community Benefit Fund, also known as Youpla, sold junk funeral insurance plans to Indigenous people across Australia for more than 30 years, despite concerns being raised by First Nations, financial, legal and consumer organisations.
From the early 1990s until the company’s collapse last year, it targeted Aboriginal communities by going door to door and running misleading advertisements in Indigenous publications.
In 2018, the banking royal commission found it engaged in conduct that fell below community standards in a number of respects, including that it relied on the cultural significance of funerals to Indigenous people to market its policies.
Edwards says the company “preyed on cultural values around family, community and the importance of ‘sorry business’ in social and spiritual life.”
They pressured mums into buying funeral insurance for their babies and small children.
Edwards said that governments and regulators had failed, including by approving insurance instalments to be made via Centrepay, which involves regular deductions being taken from Centrelink payments.
This kind of exploitation of First Nations people and culture is completely unacceptable and now is the time to try and make it right for the tens of thousands of families who were harmed.
Last year the Australian government created the Youpla Group Funeral Benefits Program to help the families of fund members affected by the collapse.
The program will pay a grant in place of a funeral benefit that would otherwise have been paid by Youpla. Applications will be accepted until November 30.
The Save Sorry Business coalition is asking the government to consider providing more help to those affected during its budget deliberations.
- AAP
Power and privilege in the world of Australian superyachts
Visible from the footpath at the water’s edge, the superyachts berthed at Melbourne City Marina bob gently up and down, their sleek and shiny exteriors reflecting the placid waters below.
For me, and most people on this planet, this is about as close as we are likely to get to a superyacht. In Australia, that’s a pleasurecraft longer than 24 metres. Internationally, the starting length is 30 metres. The City of Melbourne recently spent $1.97m upgrading Victoria Harbour, including its four superyacht berths, to fit vessels up to 67 metres long. But for the tiny portion of the world’s ultra wealthy for whom superyacht size is a matter of concern, 67 metres is fairly moderate. The longest privately owned superyacht in the world is the 180-metre Azzam, reportedly built for the former president of the United Arab Emirates, the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Superyachts are markers of power and extravagance. They are floating, transportable six-star hotels, capable of including everything from nail parlours to gyms, helipads and boardrooms, marble bathrooms and priceless art, as well as what the industry calls “toys” – from jet skis worth the equivalent of the average Australian worker’s salary to private submarines worth millions.
In a recent memoir, the longtime Australian seafarer and superyacht captain Brendan O’Shannassy writes: “Until space travel becomes a commercial reality, [superyachts] are the greatest display of wealth on the planet.”
For more on what the presence of superyachts in Sydney Harbour say about the widening wealth gap in Australia, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s inequality reporter Steph Convery.
Updated
The premier of South Australia, Peter Malinauskas, has taken to Twitter to celebrate the enshrining of the state’s First Nations voice to parliament into law.
He describes it as a “momentous occasion” for South Australia, which is the first state to have legislated for an Indigenous voice.
This is the moment the First Nations Voice to Parliament in South Australia became law.
— Peter Malinauskas (@PMalinauskasMP) March 26, 2023
This is a momentous occasion for our State.
Put simply, our First Nations people deserve the right to have a say on the issues that affect their lives. pic.twitter.com/b34PaqoPnC
They will now have the opportunity to speak directly to decision makers at the highest levels of in this State.
— Peter Malinauskas (@PMalinauskasMP) March 26, 2023
I am proud that South Australia is leading the country with its first Nations Voice, and I look forward to working with the Vocie to strengthen our work in closing the…
Updated
Analysts undecided on which way RBA will go on rates
The Reserve Bank of Australia will soon get the final two pieces of the economic puzzle that will inform its key April cash rate decision.
Both a pause and another hike are still in play, with analysts undecided on which way the central bank will go.
A pause will be welcomed by mortgage holders, who have endured 10 interest rate hikes in a row that have added hundreds or thousands of dollars to their monthly repayments.
Since the central bank signalled it was getting closer to holding fire on interest rate rises to observe the impact of its tightening, it has digested robust employment data and business condition surveys that will bolster the case for another hike.
On the other hand, financial instability in the US and Europe should help cool the global economy, although further interest rate increases from the US Federal Reserve and other major central banks last week will complicate matters for the RBA.
Australian Bureau of Statistics retail trade data, due on Tuesday, will provide some insights into consumer spending behaviour, a key source of uncertainty for the central bank.
The monthly gauge of consumer prices, due on Wednesday, will also give the RBA an up-to-date picture of where inflation is headed.
The central bank will be looking at the volatile index for further signs inflation has peaked and is tracking down.
An independent review of the RBA is due to wrap up this week and treasurer Jim Chalmers is expected to release its findings and the government’s response before the May budget.
The national statistics bureau will release February job vacancy data on Thursday and private sector credit data on Friday.
US markets finished higher on Friday after a week dominated by investor fears over a potential crisis in the banking sector.
– AAP
Updated
Daniel Andrews heading to China for four-day trip
Victorian Labor premier Daniel Andrews will be the first Australian leader to visit China since the pandemic with a four-day trip planned this week.
In a statement on Sunday, Andrews said he would meet with senior officials from the ministry of education and Beijing government.
I look forward to being the first Australian leader to visit China since the onset of the global pandemic – continuing our long-held relationship with China on trade and culture, and further strengthening our deep ties.
High on the agenda will be the return of Chinese students to Victorian education providers.
About 42,000 Chinese students are currently enrolled at institutions across Victoria.
In addition to Beijing, Andrews will travel to Jiangsu and Sichuan, meeting with key senior officials from Victoria’s sister states.
China is Victoria’s main trading partner, with two-way trade valued at almost $40bn in 2022.
The trip will mark Andrews seventh visit to China since his election.
Updated
South Australia becomes first state to enact voice
South Australia has become the first state to legislate for an Indigenous voice to parliament.
The Labor government’s bill passed the House of Assembly in a special sitting on Sunday.
MPs applauded as the final vote was taken with the legislation approved on the voice, removing the need for a formal count.
A large crowd outside the parliament watched the broadcast and cheered as the bill was endorsed.
It will be immediately proclaimed by governor Frances Adamson, premier Peter Malinauskas and Aboriginal Affairs minister Kyam Maher in front of a large crowd on parliament’s front steps.
SA has enshrined a voice to parliament in law (and it’s a little weird that it had to happen with “royal assent”) pic.twitter.com/eSehSePGag
— Tory Shepherd (@ToryShepherd) March 26, 2023
Closing debate in the house on Sunday, Malinauskas said he acknowledged the legislation did not enjoy unanimous support in the parliament.
But the debate that has got us to the point we are today has been extraordinarily civil, considered and courteous.
This is a momentous piece of legislation for our First Nations people.
It has been a long time coming, but a First Nations voice will now be heard in the state of South Australia.
The SA legislation allows for six regions to be established across the state each with directly elected representatives.
Two members from each group will then form the State First Nations Voice, which can address either house of state parliament on particular legislations of interest to Aboriginal people.
Some administrative work remains to be done, including finalising the boundaries for each of the representative regions, but the state government hopes to have the system operational by the end of the year.
– AAP
Updated
Queensland LNP names candidates 18 months ahead of state poll
More than 18 months out from the Queensland election, the state opposition has taken the unusual step of naming three candidates.
Liberal National leader David Crisafulli said his party was being proactive for the October 2024 poll after seven years in opposition.
When you’re the underdog you’ve got to work harder than the other side.
That’s why we are getting candidates in the field earlier than Queenslanders have ever seen.
I want my team out there listening to Queenslanders and proving we are fit and ready to govern.
Yolonde Entsch will run as the LNP candidate for the seat of Cairns, while Natalie Marr will contend for Thuringowa and Rebecca Young for Redlands.
Queenslanders are due to go to the polls on 26 October 2024.
- AAP
Updated
South Australian parliament to enact state Indigenous voice
South Australia will hold a special parliamentary sitting to pass legislation allowing for an Indigenous voice to state parliament with a big crowd expected to witness the historic vote.
Sunday’s sitting in the House of Assembly will endorse the Labor government’s bill which has already passed parliament’s upper house.
Once endorsed, governor Frances Adamson, premier Peter Malinauskas and Aboriginal affairs minister Kyam Maher will publicly proclaim the legislation on the steps of parliament house.
Parts of North Terrace will be blocked off, with the proceedings shown on large screens and free public transport provided.
Respected elder Moogy Sumner will open proceedings with a special smoking ceremony and multi-talented Aboriginal singer-songwriter Nathan May will perform.
The SA legislation proposes six regions with directly elected representatives be established around South Australia.
Two members from each group would then form the State First Nations Voice, which could address either house of state parliament on particular legislation of interest to Aboriginal people.
Some administrative work remains to be done, including finalising the boundaries for each of the representative regions, but Maher said the state government hoped to have the system operational by the end of the year.
Sunday will be a historic day for SA and for First Nations people, as South Australia becomes the first state in the commonwealth to adopt a voice to parliament, one of the key tenets of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
It will also be a significant moment for those in the broader community who wish to share their support of the voice.
I look forward to the public being given a rare glimpse into the process of law-making on such a momentous occasion and encourage everyone who can to attend.
– AAP
Updated
NSW Labor win continues Coalition decline around the country
Labor now governs federally and in every mainland state. But what does that really look like – apart from a red map?
After the New South Wales election, Labor now holds 346 lower house seats federally and at a state level, while the LNP hold just 198.
That’s assuming in the nine seats still in doubt in NSW, the candidate currently leading wins – so five to the LNP, two to Labor and two to independents.
Labor’s vote hit rock bottom in 2014 when Tony Abbott was prime minister but they have been gradually building support ever since, surpassing the LNP on lower house seats in 2017.
The biggest boost since then happened at the Western Australian state election in 2021 when Labor won 53 of the 59 seats in the assembly.
The continuing decline of the LNP vote right around the country suggests the Coalition has far more than isolated issues to deal with in each state. Reversing their political fortunates numerically will take some time, with the next election in Australia primed for late next year in Queensland.
Updated
Asked whether he can guarantee pork-barrelling will not happen in the next four years, Minns says his government will plan “ambitious” integrity measures to ensure resources are spread to those who need them, regardless of party affiliation.
On what happened with the trains stopping on the day of the election, Minns says his transport minister will be “on it” to find out what happened so “hopefully we can get some answers”.
And with that, it’s a wrap.
Updated
A scrappy campaign with its “ear to the ground” was critical to Labor’s election win, Minns says, and now that Labor are in government he doesn’t want a layer of bureaucracy to obscure that connection
With not a lot of resources or bureaucracy, Minns says, he and his ministers were forced to listen to their communities.
Myself and my ministers were close to the ground. We crafted our policies based on the here and now, based on what we were hearing.
In government, Minns says, he will try to hold onto this key element.
I don’t want a big layer, whether it’s bureaucratic or ministerial staff between ourselves and the people of NSW.
I think that connection is a key part of our success and I don’t want to lose that now we have won government.
Updated
Minns credits election win to Labor’s stance on privatisation
Minns says the wave of red that swept the country has no bearing on the outcome in NSW and won’t make up much of the political calculus going forward.
As I made the point during the actual election, for people who live in a marginal seat, they don’t really care what the government is in Western Australia or South Australia, they’re going to make their decision about what happens inside NSW.
We know we have to win votes every single day. Ultimately the decision will come down to what kind of government we’ve been able to run.
Minns puts down Labor’s election win primarily to the battle against privatisation.
Updated
With no counting today – it begins again tomorrow morning – Minns says his government will need to watch where the final result falls to understand the composition of the parliament.
Asked whether he would share anything from the concession call from Dominic Perrottet, Minns declines, saying: “I’ll keep that to myself”.
He did say the former NSW premier was “gracious” in defeat and that the campaign did not diminish him “in any way”.
Updated
Minns says he knows the incoming government knows it faces a challenge but will “be judged on results and results alone”.
A question now asked: Dominic Perrottet is going for a run today – will Minns be joining him?
Minns says he hopes to be meeting up with him in the next few days.
More than Dom or myself, our approach to this election campaign, the voters responded to that. I’ve had multiple feedback from regular people saying they were grateful we didn’t take the low road.
From this point forward, no one will be able to say that running a positive campaign doesn’t work.
Updated
Minns says his government will be meeting to lift the public service wage cap, address issues around staffing in emergency services and is preparing to take steps to ensure Sydney Water cannot be privatised in the future.
We’re also preparing legislation to insert Sydney Water inside the constitution as a lock against the back-door fire sale of this asset.
The premier-elect is asked about outcome of the election and the result in his own seat, which was held on a slim basis. He says:
I’m thrilled and humbled by the result.
Minns says that he wants to tell his neighbours that he will never take his seat for granted and will continue working for them.
Updated
‘We will govern for everybody’, NSW premier-elect says
Chris Minns says his New South Wales election win has been a “really humbling experience” and that “the message from the people of NSW is they want us to get down to work immediately on their behalf”.
The premier-elect says there will be a leadership group meeting this afternoon where the party will begin stepping through how they will proceed.
Minns says that despite who a person voted for, he wants the NSW public to know that “we work for you”.
Our message for the people of NSW is that we will govern for everybody and we’re ready for the responsibilities for office.
We took nothing for granted in this election campaign.
Updated
Oil and gas industry congratulates NSW Labor’s Chris Minns on election win
Australia’s oil and gas industries have reacted to the election of the New South Wales Labor government by calling for permission to drill for more gas in the state.
Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association CEO Samantha McCulloch congratulated Chris Minns but pointed to recent reports by the Australian Energy Market Operation and the ACCC as underscoring the need for more exploration.
The oil and gas industry congratulates Chris Minns on his victory and urges his new team to consider the serious and immediate energy challenges as a matter of priority.
New South Wales is a big gas user but has left its own reserves in the ground and outsourced its energy security, exacerbating the cost-of-living pressures on NSW households and businesses.
Bans and regulatory uncertainty have made new supply investment very difficult and left users paying $2/GJ extra when gas is transported from Queensland, often over untapped NSW reserves.
McCulloch said the need government “needs to recognise” the role of gas in its energy system and “provide a clear strategy to promote investment in new supply” to “avoid forecast shortfalls in the east coast energy market”.
This could include fast-tracking new supply options like the long-delayed Narrabri gas project, which could supply enough natural gas to meet up to half of the state’s gas demand.
During her appearance on the ABC last night, NSW Labor MLC Penny Sharpe said the Narrabri gas field had been independently assessed and there were no current plans to intervene.
In 2015, Sharpe lost the lower-house seat of Newtown to Jenny Leong of the Greens.
Updated
NSW Coalition has too much Matt Kean, Joyce says
Former nationals leader Barnaby Joyce joined the Sky News panel on Saturday night and blamed NSW treasurer Matt Kean for the coalition’s loss.
During their postmortem on the result, the panel began a conversation – one that will likely continue for the next 18 months – about whether they should pivot hard right or left.
According to Joyce, the problem for the coalition is figures like Kean who are polluting the Liberal brand by flirting with the teals.
I know Matt Kean think he’s a big asset in Macquarie Street but he’s baggage for us. It hurts. It really hurts.
People are saying i just don’t agree with what Matt Kean says. Amongst our supporters, amongst our heart and soul people. I don’t what that’s all about. You’re putting at threat our industries, you’re cuddling up to – you’re more worried about the teals. There’s a Green inflection to your policies.
Meanwhile, the expected swing to far right political party One Nation appears to have not materialised and on the latest numbers the party was struggling to secure a second seat in the legislative council.
Updated
Ahead of an expected press conference, Chris Minns has been out and about, grabbing a coffee with his family.
Guardian Australia’s Michael McGowan is on the ground ahead of the upcoming presser.
The morning after. Premier-elect Chris Minns getting a coffee with wife Anna and sons Joe, Nick and George in Kogarah. @RoyceRk2 pic.twitter.com/bH1bw5mhq8
— Michael McGowan (@mmcgowan) March 26, 2023
Updated
Libs must not lurch to right after NSW defeat – Bragg
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has warned his party against chasing the “margins” and lurching further to the extreme end of politics following the Coalition’s loss at the NSW election.
The Labor party now holds power in every state and territory in mainland Australia, with Tasmania the only Liberal-held state left in the nation.
Speaking to ABC Radio on Sunday morning, Bragg said that after 12 years in power, it was always going to be hard for his party to retain power, and noted the heavy swings in western Sydney and the regions.
One of the most important lessons here is that we have to be a party that doesn’t go to the margins and that doesn’t seek to inject division into the mainstream.
But the Liberal party has held on to the bulk of its metro seats, on the north shore, in the eastern suburbs, parts of the inner west.
These are the areas that were wiped out in the last federal election and I think that’s an important distinction.
– AAP
Updated
ACTU chief Sally McManus has weighed in on the NSW election result, as has former federal senator and AMWU official Doug Cameron.
One of the big issues in #NSWVotes2023 was privatisation. People hate it because they know they end up paying more for worse service - buses, trains & Sydney Water. All political parties need to accept the people will not tolerate it anymore
— Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) March 25, 2023
Premier elect Chris Minns thanks the unions for their support and the real Matt Keane shows his contempt for workers who recognise the need and benefits of being a union member. Unions are not vested interests they are the most important non govt organisation in Australia!
— Doug Cameron (@DougCameron51) March 25, 2023
Updated
Here are a few of the social media reactions from other state leaders – though so far there have been no posts from NT chief minister Natasha Fyles or Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff.
A huge congratulations to @ChrisMinnsMP, Prue Car, and the whole NSW Labor team on your election victory. pic.twitter.com/KW4Uxsfaeu
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) March 25, 2023
New South Wales has voted for a government that'll do what good Labor governments do - get things done, and deliver good and publicly-owned services.
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) March 25, 2023
I know that's what @ChrisMinnsMP and his government will do.
And Victoria will be very happy to work with you.
Congratulations to @ChrisMinnsMP and the @NSWLabor team!
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) March 25, 2023
Congratulations to @ChrisMinnsMP and the @NSWLabor team. An amazing result tonight, off the back of a strong and positive campaign. pic.twitter.com/ynOOyYkpJM
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) March 25, 2023
Congratulations to @ChrisMinnsMP on becoming the 47th Premier of NSW.
— Peter Malinauskas (@PMalinauskasMP) March 25, 2023
I can’t wait to work with the new Government in NSW on matters that are in both our State’s, and the national interest. pic.twitter.com/ydoSy91YEm
A very gracious concession speech from @Dom_Perrottet tonight.
— Andrew Barr MLA (@ABarrMLA) March 25, 2023
Premier Perrottet and Treasurer @Matt_KeanMP have been good to work with on ACT/NSW cross border issues.
I look forward to building on that work, and taking it further, faster, with the @ChrisMinnsMP Government.
Thank you New South Wales! pic.twitter.com/60EIOj66FM
— Chris Minns (@ChrisMinnsMP) March 25, 2023
Updated
Outgoing NSW premier Dominic Perrottet received praise from an unexpected quarter for his “gracious” concession speech on Saturday night – senior Labor figures.
Here are a couple of responses:
Chris Minns reciprocates, thanking Dominic Perrottet for travelling the high road together. Is this the new politics in our wonderful country? Hope so.
— Craig Emerson (@DrCraigEmerson) March 25, 2023
.@Dom_Perrottet showed the Nation tonight what a thoroughly decent person he is.
— Tom Koutsantonis MP (@TKoutsantonisMP) March 25, 2023
Updated
How Labor won the NSW election
After a decade in opposition, Labor claims victory and will form a majority government.
The swing against the Coalition came early, with Labor picking up Monaro, Parramatta and the South Coast early on Saturday evening.
Dominic Perrottet’s defeat means there is only one Coalition-controlled government in the country.
Guardian Australia’s NSW reporter Tamsin Rose takes you through how the night unfolded.
State of the state following stunning NSW Labor victory
New South Wales Labor has secured enough seats to form government in its own right after targeting a series of key seats during the campaign.
The Coalition suffered major losses across western Sydney and key regional areas, losing at least nine seats to Labor, and is projected to lose at least one other to independents.
Votes were still being counted on Saturday night – and for a breakdown of the state of play this morning, read NSW state reporter Tamsin Rose’s analysis of last night’s events.
Updated
NSW Premier Designate, Chris Minns will hold a doorstop interview in Kogarah this morning to comment on the election, 11 AM #nswpol
— Political Alert (@political_alert) March 25, 2023
In a final question about the extradition case of Daniel Duggan, Dreyfus says he cannot comment.
I’m not going to comment at all, other than to say that I have commenced extradition proceedings, as is my right as attorney general, at the request of the United States. Those proceedings will now take place in a court and so I’m not going to comment further.
Updated
Speers asks what will happen if the voice feels like its advice has not been sought out – will it be able to go to the high court?
Dreyfus says it is a possibility.
Again, I point to the third paragraph of these words, David, which puts beyond doubt the power of the parliament to regulate how that is to happen. And the reason why those words are there are to make sure that we’re going to have certainty, we’re going to know how this is going to operate.
Dreyfus also says he hopes the voice will “profoundly” change the way decisions are made by the government where they affect Indigenous people.
I‘m hoping that it does. I’m hoping. Because we’ve seen from experience that when members of parliament, government departments, do listen to Aboriginal communities, we get better outcomes.
… You can point to examples right across the board where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are listened to, we get better policies, we get better laws. When they’re not listened to, we end up wasting a great deal of money and we end up with failed policies, and it is all too many failed policies that we can point to over recent decades.
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Speers asks for more detail about how the voice will works and, specifically, whether government departments will have to take advice from the body.
Dreyfus says:
That’s a misunderstanding of what this constitutional provision does. What this constitutional provision does is to set up permanently an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to parliament at executive, and the power that’s given to the voice is to make representations.
Of course we’re going to need to make sure that there’s, at a mechanical level, the ability for the voice to make representations, but it’s not that – as has been suggested and as your question suggested – there will be some requirement for government departments to be going off and seeking that advice.
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Dreyfus says he has “never suggested taking out ‘executive government’”, despite reports to the contrary.
There’s been a lot of reporting on this and I don’t think it assists us. I invite all Australians to look at the wording we got to. Pouring over the entrails of who might have said what, when, won’t help us at all. We’ve got to the final wording. That’s what Australians are being asked to vote on later this year.
Dreyfus is not being drawn on the drafting process, saying it is largely irrelevant now that the final order of words has been decided.
Specifically, Dreyfus says the form of words released “confirm the primacy of the parliament to describe in legislation” the powers of the body, which “will be the next step”.
Parliament will be able to set out in detail the way in which the voice going to operate in its relations with the parliament and with the executive.
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Dreyfus says the release of solicitor general’s advice in the past was an exception rather than the rule.
This constitutional amendment process is public. It starts with the constitutional alteration bill that we’re going to introduce to the parliament next week. That will be followed at the end of what has been 10 years of discussion, that will be followed by another parliamentary committee process and then debate in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Dreyfus said the government was “very confident in the form of words that we’ve released”.
I am looking forward to the referendum succeeding when we get to this at the end of the year.
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Attorney general Mark Dreyfus says it is not the practice for governments to release solicitor general’s advice as it is “private to the government”.
His comments were made in response to calls from opposition leader Peter Dutton for the advice to be released.
Speaking to ABC David Speers, Dreyfus said the solicitor general had been “fully involved in the process” that led to the final wording of the constitutional question.
Mr Dutton wants to keep asking questions. He wants to keep doing what he’s been doing all along, which is to not offer anything constructive, not offer any suggestions. If he’s got some concerns about the words, he should put them forward.
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Attorney general Mark Dreyfus will be appearing on ABC Insiders this morning to talk about the upcoming referendum on the Indigenous voice to parliament.
We’ll bring you all the latest as it happens.
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And here are a few snaps from inside the NSW Liberal party election night event, at the Hilton Hotel.
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Here’s a look at some of the images out of NSW Labor’s election night party.
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Business groups want safeguard mechanism passed to give certainty
Business groups have renewed calls for federal parliament to pass safeguard mechanism reforms, as the contentious climate policy stalls.
The government is seeking to pass the mechanism bill through parliament this week so the reforms can be in place by July.
Labor needs the support of the Greens plus two crossbenchers to get the bill through the Senate, with the Coalition opposing it.
The Greens are calling for the government to stop all new coal and gas projects in return for their support for the bill.
Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said parliament needed to come to a workable agreement on the safeguard as soon as possible to ensure its success.
The net zero emissions marathon has much further to run, but we won’t get to the finish line by staying in the changing rooms.
Hundreds of facilities need clarity as soon as possible on the new rules that will apply to them from 1 July.
- AAP
Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
New South Wales Labor leader Chris Minns will be the next state premier after an election night landslide. Minns began the night in a precarious position but by the time the election was called, his party had swept at least nine seats. Coalition leader Dominic Perrottet conceded by reflecting on the election campaign, praising the Labor leader for running a clean campaign, describing it as a “race to the top”.
Business groups are pushing for the safeguard mechanism reforms to be passed in the final week before the federal budget. The government is seeking to push through the reforms in order for them to take effect from July, but negotiations with the Greens to support the bill have broken down, with the crossbench calling for the government to commit to stopping new coal and gas projects. Ai Group CEO Innes Willox said “hundreds of facilities need clarity as soon as possible” on the reforms.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss stuff, so if you spot something happening in Australia and think it should be on the blog, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2 where my DMs are open.
With that, let’s get started ...
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