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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Emily Wind and Natasha May and Martin Farrer (earlier)

Mass stranding in WA – as it happened

CFMEU Zach Smith Aukus (Person) Australia Angus Taylor ALP Inflation
A pod of whales is being monitored off the coast of Western Australia amid fears of a mass stranding event.
A pod of whales is being monitored off the coast of Western Australia amid fears of a mass stranding event. Photograph: WA department of biodiversity, conservation and attractions

What we learned today, Tuesday 25 July

Thanks for joining us on the Australia news live blog today. That’s where we’ll wrap our coverage – here are some key developments:

We’ll see you back here tomorrow morning for more rolling coverage. In the meantime, have a lovely evening.

Updated

Pod of 60-70 long-finned pilot whales have begun to strand, Parks and Wildlife Service says

Western Australia’s Parks and Wildlife Service has posted an update on the stranded whales at Cheynes beach:

Further to this evolving incident, the pod of approximately 60-70 long-finned pilot whales have begun to strand on Cheynes Beach.

DBCA are leading a response and managing the incident.

We understand the public’s concern at this time and appreciate the offers of support from volunteers.

However, the safety of the public and the whales are our main priority, so we ask that members of the public do not approach the beach.

The ABC is reporting “at least 87” whales are stranded at the beach.

Updated

Dozens of pilot whales stranded on south coast of Western Australia

Approximately 50 pilot whales have become stranded on Cheynes beach on the south coast of Western Australia.

It is about half of the whales that had been seen off the beach since yesterday, the owner of Cheynes Beach Caravan Park, Allan Marsh, told Guardian Australia.

Residents have gathered on the beach to try to assist the whales and at the time of reporting authorities were on their way to assist.

Updated

We are hearing that the pod of whales off the coast of Western Australia have now stranded themselves.

Cheynes Beach Caravan Park has posted on Facebook:

Sad news. The pilot whales have stranded themselves.

The WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions is due to release more information very shortly.

Updated

Fears of mass whale stranding off Western Australia coast

A pod of whales is being monitored off the coast of Western Australia amid fears of a mass stranding event.

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) said it received reports of a pod of long-finned pilot whales grouped together roughly 150 metres off Cheynes beach, 68km east of Albany.

On social media, DBCA wrote:

DBCA officers are in attendance and will monitor the pod’s behaviour and movements over the next few hours.

We ask the public to keep their distance and refrain from approaching the pod via drones or vessels.

Updated

Minister for international development and the Pacific Pat Conroy has shared more photos on social media from the Solomon Islands, as his three-day trip continues:

Not ‘outrageous’ to have independent review into Metro West, Minns says

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has rejected criticism from the opposition for his refusal to confirm whether the $25bn Metro West project will go ahead.

Minns told Sydney’s 2GB radio station it wasn’t “outrageous” to have ordered an independent assessment of the new Parramatta to CBD line given its costs and timeline had significantly blown out from what the Coalition promised.

He said:

I’m not announcing that we’re cancelling it, but I do need to make sure that we’re having an independent look.

I’m not taking anything off the table. We want to make sure that there’s value for money.

The government has received an interim report of the independent review into the Metro West and Sydney’s other metro rail projects, but it is yet to be released.

Minns said earlier the train line may need more stations despite having raised concerns about the project’s cost on multiple occasions.

Construction works on the Metro West have already begun, with the New South Wales opposition leader, Mark Speakman, saying Minns would be breaking a promise if he cancelled or delayed the project.

Speaking to reporters at parliament house on Tuesday, Speakman said:

[Minns] went to the last election promising to build both metros and now it looks like he is trying to renege on those.

A delay is as good as a broken promise. Talk about extra stations is just a pretext for delay and possible cancellation. If he now says that it’s … too expensive to build these metros, the extra train stations [are] just going to add to that cost.

Updated

Worker critical after fall at Queensland cross river rail site

A worker who fell from scaffolding at Brisbane’s cross-river rail project today is in hospital in a critical condition.

The 54-year-old was taken by ambulance to Princess Alexandra hospital shortly after the incident at the Boggo Road station site about 1.30pm on Tuesday.

Police say the man fell between six and 10 metres, hitting a number of obstacles and landing on a concrete building surface.

Authorities used a crane and cage to safely move the man after the fall.

Inspector Andrew Tracey told reporters:

It’s obviously very distressing for all these workers and especially his family.

Queensland Police are assisting workplace health and safety currently at the scene and workplace health and safety will follow their procedures and investigate the circumstances around the fall.

The site has been shut down with workplace health and safety, police and union representatives on scene.

– via AAP

• This post was amended on 26 July 2023 to clarify that the man was in a critical condition and had not died.

Updated

If you want to wrap your head around all of today’s news surrounding the Murray Darling Basin plan, my colleague Anne Davies has you covered:

Matters adjourned ‘almost daily’ in Darwin local court due to lack of interpreters

Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory and Western Australia are being denied access to justice due to a shortage of interpreters in the court system, an investigation has found.

Aboriginal defendants are spending more time in detention than necessary and pleading guilty to charges they don’t understand, according to the investigation by ABC Radio National program The Law Report.

Despite legal and human rights advocates attempting to bring attention to the issue of first languages for years, the interpreter system remains woefully inadequate, the report found.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar – a Bunuba language speaker from Fitzroy Crossing – told the ABC it is a fundamental human right for someone to communicate in a language of their choice:

It shows a lack of will and understanding by people operating in these systems that there’s absolute disrespect for themselves and their profession where they don’t ensure that these rights are upheld and that they’re operating in a just system.

More than 100 Aboriginal languages and dialects are spoken in the NT and they vary greatly in their grammatical structures, concepts and vocabulary.

Hiring an appropriate interpreter is not only a matter of finding someone who can speak the language, there are also important cultural protocols to consider.

NT Courts said in a statement that due to a lack of interpreters, matters are adjourned in the Darwin local court almost daily.

- from AAP

Updated

Updated

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has shared a photo on social media of a meeting with Australian ambassador to the USA and former prime minister Kevin Rudd today.

Palaszczuk wrote:

America is a key trading partner for us, so it’s terrific to have a proud Queenslander in such an important role.

Updated

Continued from last post:

Duggan is currently held in isolation in Lithgow correctional centre. He says the charges against him are politically motivated and the indictment is filled with “half-truths, falsehoods and gross embellishments”.

The father of six faces a potential 60-year prison term if convicted in the US.

Outside court on Tuesday, Duggan’s wife Saffrine said she was determined to “fight this terrible injustice and to demand that Australian sovereignty is respected”.

Saffrine Duggan told a rally on the courthouse steps in support of her husband:

We all should be very worried about what’s happening.

We are saddened, we’re mortified, we’re horrified that something like this could happen. Not only to us but to anyone.

We all need to stand up and stop it and let him free. Let him come home to us where he belongs.

Daniel Duggan and his wife, Saffrine.
Daniel Duggan with his wife, Saffrine. Photograph: Supplied

Updated

Extradition hearing for Daniel Duggan set for November

Daniel Duggan, the Australian pilot being sought by the US over allegations of arms trafficking and money laundering, will have an extradition hearing on 24 November.

Magistrate Daniel Reiss set Duggan’s case down for a one-day extradition hearing, after a day of legal argument in Sydney’s Downing Centre court Tuesday.

A forecast application for a temporary stay in the extradition proceeding, did not eventuate in court Tuesday.

Duggan’s legal team had intended to seek a stay in the extradition proceedings while the government’s Inspector General of Intelligence Services investigated allegations Australian intelligence agents may have unlawfully “lured” Duggan back to Australia before his arrest.

Duggan, 54, a former US marine pilot who is now a naturalised Australian, was arrested in October at the request of the US government, which is seeking his extradition on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering arising from his alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots at a South African flight school more than a decade ago.

A US indictment alleges Duggan “provided military training to PRC pilots”, including “instruction on the tactics, techniques and procedures associated with launching aircraft from, and landing aircraft on, a naval aircraft carrier”.

The allegations have not been tested in court.

Duggan, who has not been charged with a crime in Australia, denies the charges and is fighting his extradition from prison, a process that could take months or years.

Updated

Liberal group in support of yes vote says no campaign should distance themselves from Gary Johns

Liberals for Yes convener Kate Carnell tells the ABC that no campaigners should distance themselves from “discriminatory statements” that “only serve to make Australia a more divided country”.

She said this in response to comments made by Gary Johns, who is facing calls to resign.

Carnell said:

We say, look, there are many good people on both sides of this debate. It is passionate, yes, and we will all prosecute our position strongly. But these sort of comments must be admonished by everyone.

I ask the no campaign to immediately distance themselves from Mr Johns. He is on the board of the no campaign and I really think that they have to think seriously about whether that is appropriate.

Updated

Keith Wolahan calls for changes to super and migration policy instead of super profits tax

Liberal MP Keith Wolahan has responded to the CFMEU union’s address at the National Press Club today. The union has called for a super profits tax to be introduced to invest in housing.

Wolahan instead argued that superannuation for housing, and addressing migration, are key:

There are two elephants in the room when it comes to housing … one is our proposal to have super for housing injected into the decision-making cycle of young people because young people, we trust them to make a decision with their money and that is a policy that will lead to more housing in the sector.

But there is another one which is population policy. Over the next five years we will see 1.5 million more migrants. I’m a migrant … and most of our seats are full of migrants but we need to make sure the number matches what we can do in response with housing, wages, transport and green space.

Asked if he supports a slowdown on migration, Wolahan said we need to “do the work” and “analyse it” to make sure the federal government and states can “respond proportionately”.

… We will not solve [the housing crisis] by turning our heads away from the increased population growth.

We have to make sure that it is managed in a way that makes places like Melbourne a liveable city into the future.

Updated

Police give details about man’s fall from scaffolding in Brisbane

Queensland police have just given a press conference about the man who is in a critical condition after falling at a construction site in Brisbane.

A police inspector confirmed that a 54-year-old male fell from scaffolding at about 1:30pm this afternoon at a worksite in Dutton Park.

He said the man fell from quite a distance, around 6 to 10 metres, sustaining injuries. The man is in Princess Alexandra Hospital in an “extremely serious condition”.

The inspector said:

There’s a number of obstacles that he’s struck on the fall, that’s all being investigated exactly how far at the moment, but in excess of 6 metres.

[He landed on] a concrete building surface.

Queensland ambulance services and Fire and Rescue used a crane and a cage to safely retrieve the man after he fell.

Queensland police are assisting workplace health and safety currently at the scene.

Workplace health and safety will follow their procedures and investigate the circumstances around the fall.

Updated

Man in critical condition after major fall at Brisbane construction site

A Queensland man has been rushed to hospital in a critical condition after falling 8 metres at a construction site.

In a statement, the Queensland Ambulance Service confirmed:

A male patient was transported to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition after he reportedly fell 8 metres at a worksite at 1:15pm.

7News is reporting that the incident took place at a Cross River Rail construction site in Dutton Park, Brisbane.

Updated

Opposition says Plibersek should have acted 16 months ago on Basin plan

Following on from our last post:

The shadow minister for water, Perin Davey, has accused Tanya Plibersek of “rewriting history”, saying in a statement:

It is disappointing to the see the water minister trying to rewrite history to justify why she failed to act 16 months ago when she was told in her first briefings that the timeframes to deliver the basin plan were unrealistic.

Davey said news the government will extend the Basin plan deadline is welcome but “16 months late”.

She rejected claims the plan was behind schedule because the Liberals and Nationals “sabotaged” its delivery, arguing much of the plan’s implementation is dependent on the states and out of the control of the federal government.

If the government wants to talk about how to deliver the Basin plan with new ideas and new concepts that will improve our environmental resilience, my door is always open.

I will not, however, consider plans to prioritise or allow increased buybacks that hurt Basin communities and have flow on impacts that will cost every Australian in the long run.

Updated

Plibersek says ‘all options on the table’ to salvage Murray-Darling Basin plan

The environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, is speaking to the ABC, after she announced earlier today that Australia wouldn’t meet the 2024 deadline for implementation of the Murray-Darling Basin plan.

She said:

I have long feared that nine years of deliberate sabotage of the Murray-Darling Basin plan by the previous government would make it difficult to meet the deadlines, and I have been frank about that. I have said from the very beginning the deadlines would be difficult to meet.

Of course, I hoped that coming into government we would have been able to pick up the ball that the previous government had dropped and get on with delivering the plan. But the advice that has been made public today by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority confirms my … worst fears that it is impossible in their view to meet the full water recovery targets under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan under the time allocated under the plan.

Plibersek said that “all options are on the table” to deliver the plan in full, including buybacks and infrastructure works.

We’re buying water right now, and we are also working with the states and territories on the infrastructure projects that have fallen behind.

Updated

Linda Burney visits regional NSW as part of yes campaign for voice to parliament

The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has shared some photos on social media from Wagga Wagga, NSW, as she continues her travels around Australia campaigning for a yes voice on the voice to parliament.

In a tweet, she said:

I spent the first 16 years of my life in the Riverina, and as I travel this country today, it is the wisdom of the elders that I carry with me. It is their strength and determination for a better future that inspires me in this referendum campaign.

Updated

More than half of Australians cutting back on heating to reduce energy bills

More than three quarters of Australians are planning to cut back on electricity usage this winter as energy prices continue to increase.

According to a survey conducted by Finder of 1,090 Australians, 79% of people said they are cutting back on electricity to keep energy costs down.

Analysis by Finder found that some energy providers are charging an additional $800 per year after the recent price rises.

Those living in South Australia will be hit with the largest bill hikes, with annual estimates for residential households showing a price jump between 22-63%.

NSW bill estimates for the year saw an increase of 15-36% – a price difference of up to $420 for some customers.

In Victoria, prices were bumped by 22-31% – a price difference of up to $396 per year. More price pain will be felt from 1 August when the state’s energy providers officially hit existing customers with higher prices.

54% of respondents said they are limiting their heater/air conditioner use to save on electricity bills.

Meanwhile, almost one in 10 (9%) plan to switch energy providers.

Updated

‘We must start believing victims’ in order to change action on reports of sexual assault, senate told

Karen Iles also asks the committee to consider the trauma for survivors who do report their attacks to police and see “nothing done”. Iles takes a drink of water before saying this next part, as it is the first time she has said this publicly.

In New South Wales in that first instance, when I reported sexual assaults against me, the female police officer at Newtown police detailed a violent gang rape, my head pushed into the sand on a deserted beach at night-time, me as a 14 year old. She reported that as consensual.

The committee room is silent.

Iles continues:

A subsequent female police officer in New South Wales in Redfern a few weeks later, failed in what I say is the most negligent manner to take further evidence from me, despite my repeated requests for some follow up. This is deeply insulting and this police action has caused me, what the Guardian Australia in their headline named as an unspeakable trauma.

Iles had to deal with police in both NSW and Queensland, which she said added to her burden. She said:

We must start believing victims and reforming consent law and having [this] applied consistently, evenly and predictably by police across our country if we’re going to start to change this picture.

Updated

Shorten says Victoria ‘dodged a financial bullet’ by cancelling 2026 Games

Speaking on Sky News earlier, the government services minister, Bill Shorten, said Victoria “dodged a financial bullet” with the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games.

Shorten said premier Daniel Andrews is “copping a bit of stick” over the matter, saying to those who disagree with his decision that it’s better he made it now rather than another year down the track.

The sooner [he made the decision] the better, if we couldn’t afford it we couldn’t afford it.

I don’t know what information [he based it off] but what I do know is Andrews’ has moved some three years ahead of the event to say hey, the cost has changed.

Shorten said Andrews made the right call financially and this isn’t a “gotcha moment”, as some claim.

When asked if Andrews should front an inquiry on the Games’ cancellation, Shorten said:

That sounds very much like political grandstanding by the opposition.

Updated

PwC retrain 1,300 staff after order from regulator

Embattled consultancy firm PwC has provided additional training to more than 1300 partners and staff in compliance with a punishment imposed by an industry regulator.

The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) ordered the training be undertaken in November last year to improve the firm’s “compliance and conflict of interest management”.

The order was issued after the TPB sanctioned the firm and a former partner who misused confidential government tax policy information. That triggered a broader scandal leading to multiple inquiries and the divestment of PwC’s government services division for just $1.

Here’s the TPB’s chair, Peter de Cure, commenting on a new compliance report submitted by PwC:

PwC have agreed to proactive transparency with the TPB. This report shows steps PwC has taken to comply with the TPB’s order, including additional training on legal and ethical issues for over 1,300 personnel.

The compliance report states that PwC have improved their management of confidential consultations with government, including a central approval and registry process, and oversight by their executive board.

The TPB welcomes improvements made by PwC and all tax practitioners, to enhance professional standards, including integrity, confidentiality and conflict of interest management’.

Updated

Aboriginal women falling foul of ‘enforcement gap’ and unconscious bias when it comes to justice

Karen Iles urged the committee to read the articles by our Guardian colleague Ben Smee about her experiences. Iles says if Australia is to move forward at all on how it treats sexual violence, it needs to extend who it thinks about, and the “enforcement gap”.

Iles said:

So that all victim-survivors have an equal access to justice, and that they have an equal access to police taking action on their report and actually investigating these crimes – because at the moment, what we don’t see is Aboriginal women’s complaints.

If Aboriginal women even choose to report to police – noting the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in our criminal justice system and the massive issue of misidentification of Aboriginal women as perpetrators – what we don’t see is these type of victims presenting and ending up in our courtrooms, where these reforms will have an impact.

Because although these reforms can have an impact on shaping a national conversation around consent, and that’s absolutely welcomed, the only victims who will actually get the practical application of these laws are victims who end up in courtrooms and that is a very narrow subset of victims and one that falls foul to some of our unconscious biases.

Updated

Access to justice for sexual assault survivors often only for ‘certain types’ of victims, senate hears

Karen Iles, the founder and principal solicitor of Violet Co Legal and Consulting, a woman-led, Indigenous-led social enterprise and Our Watch board member is now speaking to the consent senate inquiry has told the committee about the complexity of “justice” for so many rape-survivors.

She said:

There are certain types of victims that get access to justice.

There are only a tiny handful of victims that bother to report sexual violence to police. And there are many reasons for that and one of those is a lack of confidence that they will be believed and that rape myths around consent will be used against them.

But certainly with victims, we also say that there is a in the discussion paper notes so there is a radical loss of momentum. Once that police report has been made to actually having your perpetrator appear before a court and appear before a jury – and typically there’s no empirical research that I have been able to find and I would urge the inquiry to make a recommendation to fund a body such as Anrows [Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety] to do this research – is that typically victims who get through that very narrow funnel to actually have their perpetrator stand trial are typically young, stereotypically good looking, white, well and wealthy.

They’re the deserving victim, and that’s who go before our courts.

Updated

First trains tested in Melbourne’s $12.6b Metro Tunnel

Melbourne’s long-awaited $12.6 billion Metro Tunnel has moved a step closer to opening, with the first trains testing out the infrastructure, AAP reports.

Trains ran in each of twin nine-kilometre tunnels from South Yarra to Anzac Station overnight, marking the start of project testing.

The trains travelled at between 5km/h and 25km/h for the test.

Premier Daniel Andrews toured the new Anzac Station on Tuesday and denied the project was over-budget:

It’s been delivered against the budget that’s been allocated.

The Metro Tunnel is expected to open in 2025.

Updated

Warming trend to sweep continent with above average temperatures expected

The Bureau of Meteorology says Australia’s unseasonably cool weather is about to change.

By the weekend, both daytime and nighttime temperatures are expected to shift above the July average:

Updated

Penny Wong says she has ‘a lot of faith’ in government’s decisions on national security

Speaking to Sky News ahead of the ALP conference, foreign minister Penny Wong says she has “a lot of faith” in the decisions she and the cabinet have made on national security issues.

She said:

We hold our national conferences in full public view and often people give very impassioned speeches, I’ve been one of them in the past.

We have these open debates and then we resolve a position. We are a disciplined party and a disciplined government.

Wong said she has “a lot of faith in the decisions we’ve made as a cabinet on national security issues”, referencing the Aukus deal and the position cabinet has previously taken on Palestine.

Palestinian recognition is one of the foreign policy issues set to be discussed when Labor holds its next national conference in Brisbane in August. In 2018 and 2021 Labor’s conference backed a resolution that committed to two-state solution for Palestine and Israel, also calling on the next Labor government to recognise Palestine as a state.

Updated

Minister for the Pacific meets with Solomon Islands PM

Pat Conroy, the minister for international development and the Pacific, has shared a photo from a meeting with the prime minister of Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare:

Conroy arrived at Solomon Islands yesterday and will be visiting for three days.

Updated

Dan Andrews says he has not been asked to face inquiry over Commonwealth Games cancellation

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, says he has not been invited to face questions from a federal inquiry over cancelling the Commonwealth Games, AAP reports.

A Senate committee investigating Australia’s preparedness to host Commonwealth, Olympic and Paralympic Games has agreed to reopen public submissions following Victoria’s decision to scrap hosting the 2026 event.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie wants it to call Andrews, the deputy premier and former Commonwealth Games delivery minister Jacinta Allan, former Games legacy minister Harriet Shing and the Victorian treasurer, Tim Pallas, to give evidence.

The rural and regional affairs and transport references committee doesn’t have the power to compel the premier or ministers to appear but could issue invitations. Its next hearing is scheduled for August before it reports in December.

Victoria’s negotiation team returned from London without a compensation settlement deal with Games organisers but talks are ongoing.

Andrews refused to be drawn when asked if he would accept an invitation to appear before the inquiry:

I haven’t received an invitation so I won’t be dealing with completely hypothetical matters.

There’s a negotiation going on and we’ll appropriately respect that.

Allan, who the Victorian opposition is calling on to resign over the debacle and is viewed as a premier in waiting, was similarly non-committal:

There is some speculation in the press and senator McKenzie has been running around saying all sorts of things.

Let’s wait and see what happens in Canberra.

Updated

NSW opposition waiting on investigation into MP Taylor Martin before deciding his future

The New South Wales opposition leader, Mark Speakman, says he won’t make a decision on Taylor Martin’s future with the Liberal party until the independent investigation into degrading text messages sent by the upper house MP is complete.

The Liberal party has appointed a SC to run the probe into the messages Martin sent former federal MP Lucy Wicks after the pair ended their sexual relationship, which began while he was working for her as a political staffer.

Speakman said the party received Wicks’ formal complaint about Martin’s allegedly abusive behaviour about 10 days ago, with Martin agreeing on Friday to stand aside from the party room until the investigation was complete.

Speakman said:

I don’t want to do anything that could possibly compromise the integrity of that process, the fairness of that process or the confidentiality that remains around that process.

I have tried to respect the wishes of the complainant in keeping matters confidential. It’s important that the process continue as expeditiously as it can, and that we respect that confidence and respect the integrity of that process.

There’s an independent investigation underway by silk. And I’ll look forward to the results of that investigation.

Wicks has expressed disappointment and distress after she was named as the complainant by Sydney radio station 2GB. Martin was revealed as the subject of the complaint over the weekend.

Updated

Cold front incoming across country

The Bureau of Meteorology said a wet and windy cold front will move across southern Western Australia today and tomorrow:

South-east states will feel the effects of the front on Thursday and Friday, but conditions are expected to ease to patchy showers by the weekend.

Updated

Stopping immigration not the answer to addressing housing crisis, Smith says

Wrapping up his questioning at the National Press Club, Smith is asked whether it would be quicker to “switch off the immigration faucet” to address housing rather than turn to a super profit tax.

The union-commissioned report from Oxford Economics Australia forecast an economy-wide super profits tax would raise an average $29bn a year, enough to build the estimated 750,000 shortfall in social and affordable housing stock by 2041.

National Secretary and ACT Branch Secretary at CFMEU (Construction and General Division) Zach Smith at the National Press Club of Australia
National Secretary and ACT Branch Secretary at CFMEU (Construction and General Division) Zach Smith at the National Press Club of Australia Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Smith said that skilled, permanent migration is the “backbone” of economic activity in Australia and that stopping migration would not fix the issue of Australia not having enough homes:

… apart from it being deeply exclusionary and also economically hard for the country, [stopping migration] would not address our underlying issue which was that we had not built enough houses. This has been an issue that has been coming for decades.

Updated

Unions say cost-of-living crisis caused by super profits, not wage growth

Zach Smith is asked what approach unions should take to wages growth for their members without adding to inflation issues.

He said:

This is not an inflationary or cost of living crisis caused by workers and their wage growth.

… Market inefficiency and failure which has led to the accumulation of these super profits has far more to do with the cost of living crisis that we are facing in workers’ wage growth.

Our union will always take a measured approach when we go for wage increases but we aren’t expecting our members to sit there and suffer through what is one of the worst economic periods for them in living memory and just to be told by the ivory tower economists that this is the way it is meant to be, don’t question the system. That is not an acceptable premise for us to operate from.

Updated

CFMEU ‘yet to arrive’ at position on Aukus

Andrew Tillett from the Financial Review asks Zach Smith what the CFMEU’s stance is on Aukus and any motions opposing the deal that might be put forward at the ALP conference.

He said the union is yet to take a position on it but will “no doubt” have to consider it between now and the conference.

He also said the union, like the vast majority of trade unions, is “anti-nuclear”:

As a union, we are still to have the internal debate about what our position as a trade union is going to be from the question on Aukus. I would say that our union, along with the vast majority of trade unions, have had a long standing position which would be broadly described as anti-nuclear.

…That has been a historical position that the CFMEU and other trade unions have held. In terms of the specific debate on Aukus, our union is yet to arrive at its position and we will do so through our democratic processes, which is what we do as a healthy democratic trade union and landed a position that best reflects the will of our members.

Out of respect for that internal debate, it is not my place to speculate about position might land.

Labor is due to hold its national conference in Brisbane next month, and some expect concerns about Aukus to be raised by some delegates. The draft national platform to be considered at the conference mentions says that Australia’s “self-reliant defence policy will be enhanced by strong bilateral and multilateral defence relationships, including Aukus”.

– with Daniel Hurst

Updated

CFMEU super profit tax campaign to last ‘a number of years’

Smith says that the CFMEU didn’t seek prime minister Anthony Albanese’s “blessing” for the super profit tax campaign, joking that “may come as a great surprise to many of you”.

Obviously we have a lot of conversations though with the government, a lot of serious conversations with the government at all different levels on this serious issue. We have flagged some of our views on how we tackle this crisis in those discussions but no, we don’t go and say to the government of the day ‘Can you tick off on this plan before we go and campaign on it?’

He said this is a long-term campaign CFMEU will be “waging for a number of years”.

‘You can’t ignore the rules of political physics forever’ as super profits remain off limits, Smith says

Smith said there is a “moral case” for super profits tax because “we can’t keep telling people who are struggling that corporate super profits are off limits”:

Wages for most Australians are either stagnant or going backwards in real terms. Prices are soaring everywhere. Yet, at the same time, senior executives at our largest listed companies are celebrating pay rises, sometimes more than double the rate of inflation.

In Australia, we are lucky. We do enjoy very strong social capital and strong institutional trust. We can get away with some gross inequality for a while. You can’t ignore the rules of political physics forever.

This kind of stark, unfairness will turn toxic somehow. It might not be the French revolution, but it will be social decay and disharmony. It might look a lot like Trumpism and that is not good for anyone.

A super profits tax could be a powerful signal to the majority that there is some kind of fairness in the system.

Updated

CFMEU to begin national campaign for super profits tax

Zach Smith said today is the CFMEU’s first day of its official campaign for a super profits tax to address the housing crisis.

We will be taking this campaign to every state and every territory.

We will be running ads in every major market and our union will be taking our plan to ALP national conference next month.

Updated

Monopoly and oligopoly system to blame for super profits: Smith

Zach Smith speaks on the CFMEU’s proposed super profit tax:

Not only is a super profits tax the best way to generate the funding we need, whilst causing minimal harm, a super profits tax is a positive thing in and of itself.

Super profits are a failure in our economic system. Profit should only be sufficient to motivate private enterprise to do what it does. The rest is inefficiency. In Australia, we have allowed a whole lot of very cosy monopolies and oligopolies to develop, so that inefficiency exists in all sorts of areas and we are not just talking mining. For big banks, the big supermarkets, the big telcos, aviation, the list goes on.

Companies with monopoly or oligopoly power have a strong incentive to jack up their prices whenever they feel like it. They know they can safely do so without losing a stack of customers. We have seen that during our own inflation crisis. They have used the cover of inflation to raise prices more than they had to and they have converted those unjustified price hikes into super profits.

An immediate way to make things fairer is to capture a portion of those super profits because they can only come from having too much market power.

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Full details of proposed super tax from CFMEU

As Zach Smith continues his address to the National Press Club, you can read all the details of the CFMEU’s proposed super profit tax here from my colleague Josh Butler:

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Current measures ‘nowhere near sufficient’ to fix housing gap: CFMEU

CFMEU secretary Zach Smith says to solve the housing crisis, you need to build more houses. He said the federal government should pass the Housing Australia Future Fund “as soon as possible”, and listed housing initiatives from each state, however does not believe this will be enough:

Let’s get this clear: They are nowhere near sufficient to close the gap.

Given the importance of this problem, we are being way too timid and I think all of us here know that.

… We do need to move more boldly than we have done for quite a while.

Smith said “big, structural reform” aimed at a long-term fix is needed and points to their call for a super profits tax:

… [we need] to build about 52,600 dwellings a year between now and 2041.

Theoretically we could do this faster and hit the target quicker but there are constraints on construction capacity, land release and so on. 2041 is a feasible target and if we operate on that time frame, and if we factor in how the cost of construction is expected to increase over the forecast period, we will need an investment of $511bn between now and 2041.

That is half a trillion dollars. Needless to say $511bn is real money, so let’s get utilitarian. How can you raise $511bn whilst causing the least amount of suffering? The answer to us is clear: a super profits tax.

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Zach Smith cites homelessness figures as key driver behind need for ‘circuit breaker’

The CFMEU secretary, Zach Smith, asks those listening to his speech to put themselves in the shoes of those living rough to better understand their struggles.

He points out that as a nation we are twice as rich as we were four decades ago, yet 150,000 people woke up today experiencing homelessness:

Just consider that. Think about the misery, the fear, the anxiety, the anger, that goes with that. Think about it. You are a teenager, growing up, shunted from shelter to shelter, sleeping in cars, watching your mum work her guts out every day and yet still not being able to put a stable roof over your head.

Or imagine you live in one of those tent cities that we have seen pop up on the outskirts of regional towns like Batemans Bay? Imagine your dad is working hard as a construction worker but still can’t afford to rent anywhere. And then imagine, imagine you catch a headline in the Sydney Morning Herald about how the trophy home market has hit a new high this year. Or imagine you read in the Guardian that a quarter of all property investments across the country are owned by just 1% of taxpayers.

I am not saying the pitch forks are due to arrive next week but we’re not exactly sowing the seeds of social harmony, are we? In every forecast, it suggests this problem will get worse under the current policy settings. So today, I want to talk about a circuit breaker and that means we must first square up to an obvious truth, to fix a housing affordability crisis, you must build more affordable houses.

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Opposition rejects idea of super profits tax to address housing crisis

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor has blasted the CFMEU’s proposal of a super profits tax to fund affordable housing construction, criticising the “militant” union’s idea.

The construction union’s secretary Zach Smith is making the case for the super profits tax at the Press Club right now, saying it would raise billions to build new homes.

But Taylor claimed it would lead to “sapping private sector incentive”, alleging the tax rise would be passed on to consumers.

He said in a statement:

Higher taxes won’t build more houses and heavy-handed government intervention will not unclog housing supply backlogs.

Given the close links between the CFMEU and the Labor party, the government must immediately rule out breaking yet another promise on tax.

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‘No problem more pressing, more dire’ than housing crisis, CFMEU secretary says

The national secretary of the CFMEU, Zach Smith, is addressing the National Press Club today. He begins his speech by stating there is “no problem more pressing, more dire than the incapacity of our nation to house all its people”.

He said CFMEU believes Australia’s current housing situation is a “unique” national crisis and that we need to be more ambitious in addressing it.

Before I get to our solution, let’s be clear about the problem.

In 2022, rents rose by 10.2% nationally. Rental listings right now are down 32% on a previous five year average and, as we sit here today, two-thirds of all Australians are in housing stress. Four in five are in rental stress, three-quarters of people are scared about about their financial security because of the housing crisis. Two-thirds are rightfully worried about their mental health and wellbeing as a result.

Let’s be clear, this is not just a Sydney and Melbourne problem. In Adelaide, you need 55% of the average income to pay the average rent. In Hobart, that figure is 60%. Things are scarcely easier for those who own their own homes. The average home owner in Sydney right now is seeing half their income going straight to mortgage repayments. For those who want to get into the market, it would take the average income earner 12 years to save up enough for a 20% deposit.

CFMEU secretary, Zach Smith at the national press club
CFMEU secretary, Zach Smith, has said Australia needs to be more ambitious to fix the housing crisis. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

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$20m investment to support Olympic and Paralympic athletes before Paris Games

Sports minister Anika Wells has announced $20 million to support athletes competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with a new “preparation fund” to help competitors attend critical qualification events and high performance programs.

Wells said the money would “significantly enhance medal potential and improve the performance of Australian athletes” at the next Games:

Our Olympic and Paralympic sports have been telling us that getting their athletes to key preparation and qualification events has been a challenge and we’ve listened.

Through the Australian Sports Commission, we’re proud to be able to invest further in our athletes that inspire millions of Australians when they represent us on the world stage.

Wells stood alongside Australian Sports Commission CEO Kieren Perkins, and athletes Madison de Rozario, Samuel Von Einem, Jed Altschwager, Nathan Hart and Anabelle Smith in Adelaide to announce the funds. By the looks of it, the athletes didn’t have much truck with deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley’s suggestion that they should boycott photos with the government:

Ley on Insiders on Sunday, responding to Victoria’s cancellation of the Commonwealth Games, said:

I’ve got a suggestion by the way for all of the athletes, don’t have your photo taken with any Labor MPs until this gets sorted out.

She claimed athletes should send “a strong message” to prime minister Anthony Albanese and Victorian premier Daniel Andrews.

The athletes in Adelaide seemed happy to grab a selfie with the minister.

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Albanese meets with bushfire recovery volunteers in NSW

Prime minister Anthony Albanese has taken to social media to share some photos from Shoalhaven on the NSW south coast, where he is currently visiting:

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Proposal to bypass survivor’s wishes in reporting sexual assault takes away agency, advocates say

Greens senator Larissa Waters asks Dr Rachael Burgin and Saxon Mullins about the reports last week in the Australian newspaper that Liberal senator Linda Reynolds “recommending changes to the ACT criminal code to make it illegal not to report a potential criminal offence to police irrespective of whether the survivor wished for that report to be made”.

Both are very against the concept.

Mullins says:

I mean, the comments are unbelievable, but I think you know, survivors have lots of different experiences when they go through the justice system and they’ll have lots of different you know, takeaways from it and if you had a roomful of survivors you would hear 1,000 different opinions on it.

But the one thing that will always stay the same as that your agency has been taken away.

And to suggest that that should be done on your behalf of some perverted view of what justice looks like is disgusting.

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Gary Johns ‘important part’ of no campaign, Warren Mundine says

No campaigner on the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum, Warren Mundine, has told Sky News that Gary Johns is an “important part” of the no campaign.

This follows Johns facing calls to resign from the no campaign after he was criticised for making “offensive” and “extreme” comments – including suggesting blood tests for welfare payments.

Appearing on Sky News this morning, Mundine was repeatedly asked if there is a line Johns could cross where the no campaign would no longer stand by him. After some back and forth, Mundine said:

He’s on our campaign and he’ll be working with us.

Mundine said he didn’t want to get into “hypotheticals” and if Johns were to make any further comments the no campaign will “deal with it then”.

Until he says something that is beyond the pale, then we will deal with it then.

Warren Mundine speaking to the media
No campaigner Warren Mundine has said he backs Gary Johns despite recent controversial comments about Aboriginal people. Photograph: Aaron Bunch Photographer/AAP

Mundine continued:

[Johns is] an important part of our campaign, he’s doing a great job with us.

This is why you’re seeing our campaign talk to Australians across the board doing so well in the polling … the yes campaign, instead of talking in an echo chamber, [should] actually go out and talk to people who disagree with them.

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Thanks to Natasha for taking us through the morning! I’ll be with you for the remainder of the day.

Thanks for following along this morning! That’s it from me, Emily Wind will take you through the rest of the day’s news.

NSW’s affirmative consent law not 'gold standard’ due to ‘reasonable time’ phrase inclusion

Further to the conversation about affirmative consent and what laws can be made about it, NSW’s affirmative consent law is brought up. Dr Rachael Burgin says it is not the “gold standard”, mainly because of the inclusion of one particular problematic phrase include in the legislation:

The New South Wales approach is not gold standard, however, and that is because of the inclusion of the phrase, and I’ve got it open here prepared for this question ‘within a reasonable time before or at the time of the sexual activity’.

Reasonable time before is a concerning phrase that is not borne out in the evidence. We don’t know what that looks like. In fact, at the time, I think we argued that it was simply made up in the mind of the then attorney general.

It’s not evidence based. There’s no consensus about what a reasonable time before looks like. So is a reasonable time before that if you’re at a bar, even just a bar down the street, you say you want to come back to my house and have sex, and then you get there and there’s, you know, it’s crazy, creepy things on the wall and you go, ‘I’m not comfortable anymore. I don’t want to do this’. They’ve taken steps in a reasonable timeframe [to establish consent].

Dr Burgin says the NSW law needs work but “it’s the best we’ve got”.

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Australian university signs agreement focused on global study based in Thailand

La Trobe University has signed a new agreement fostering transnational study between Australia, the UK, Thailand and broader south-east Asia.

A memorandum of understanding was signed at La Trobe University with Sheffield Hallam University in the UK, Siam University in Thailand and Nurture Higher Education, with the aim to enrol 2,000 students over the next five years at a soon-to-be established global academy in Bangkok.

The Global University Academy at Siam University will allow students across Asia to complete a foreign qualification in Thailand or abroad in Australia or the UK. Programs offered abroad will be in sectors with high workforce demand like computer science and hospitality.

La Trobe vice chancellor professor John Dewar said the university had already established transnational education programs in China, Vietnam, Singapore, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

It follows on from a string of partnerships announced between Australian universities and their foreign counterparts this year, particularly in the rapidly growing market of India.

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‘Rape myths’ such as freeze and fawn responses discussed at consent inquiry

The senate inquiry looking into consent laws across Australia is now hearing from Dr Rachael Burgin and Saxon Mullins from Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy (Rasara).

The question of affirmative consent is raised – which is the idea that the absent of a no is not enough, that it has to be an enthusiastic and ongoing yes. Dr Burgin, who has been researching this space for the past decade, said affirmative consent was never designed as a legal principle, so more work needs to be done there. But she also goes into some of the “rape myths” including the idea that fear responses like “freeze and fawn” are not valid.

Freezing is when someone does exactly that – freezes up. There might not be a “no” because the person has completely frozen in response to a a very stressful and traumatic experience.

Fawning is when someone goes along with something they don’t want to do, because they are fearful it could be worse – essentially believing your life is at risk, so trying to minimise harm. You don’t want to be there, or doing it, but you are afraid of how much worse it could be.

Both are documented responses to trauma, along with fight or flight. But Dr Burgin said freeze or fawn is not usually thought of as legitimate responses to a rape threat. She said:

We’ve all seen, you know, some movie where the protagonist comes across, I don’t know bear or some kind of creature in the wilderness and they freeze and that’s accepted in the plotline, because it’s a normal response.

So I think there’s a narrative that fawning or freezing has just emerged because you know, people are now saying that because they’re talking about rape. Freezing is, is as normal and innate as any other trauma response.

… We know that it’s a survival tactic. And we know that it’s a worthy one because it does save people’s lives, in this context, and in others. You know, we work with survivors of sexual violence, but the reality is not everybody does survive sexual violence.

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Women’s World Cup ticket sales reach 1.5m milestone

The 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will be the most-attended edition of the tournament yet, with more than 1.5m tickets sold just days into the month-long event.

The previously best-attended Women’s World Cup, in Canada in 2015, saw 1.35m spectators through the gates across the tournament. Already more than 1.1m tickets have been sold to matches in Australia alone.

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PM says Dutton needs to explain what happened with Pacific detention processing money

Albanese has called for greater transparency from Peter Dutton around media reports of the taxpayer money for detention processing that went to Pacific politicians during his time as home affairs minister.

Albanese:

These are serious allegations against Mr Dutton and he needs to explain what has occurred here. It’s been suggested that he was warned. He needs to explain what has occurred here here because the people deserve an explanation about these events. This is taxpayers’ money and Mr Dutton has a responsibility to explain what occurred on his watch as home affairs minister with this scandal.

Dutton’s office has been contacted for comment.

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Albanese won’t comment on Margerison Nacc referral but says revelations ‘really disturbing’

The PM also says there needs to be an explanation about why Stuart Robert’s associate John Margerison won’t be fronting a parliamentary inquiry because he has left the country.

Albanese says he won’t be commenting whether it should be referred to the anti-corruption commission because it’s an independent body. Nevertheless he told that press conference in Ulladulla:

Quite clearly these revelations are really disturbing. And the Coalition needs to look at this guy, who was a major donor to the Coalition, and there needs to be an explanation about why this fellow seems to have disappeared overseas – given the serious allegations which are there, given he was required to appear before a parliamentary commission.

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Issue of Margerison’s severed ties to Australia can’t be ‘left there’, Shorten says

Shorten also said the fact that a businessman linked to Stuart Robert is not facing an inquiry into government contracts because he has severed all ties to Australia can’t be “left there.”

The fact that Robert’s associate, John Margerison, won’t front a parliamentary committee because his lawyer says he now lives overseas, Shorten said is a “truly remarkable development.”

Shorten called on Queensland LNP to explain what they know:

I don’t think it can be left there. This man, I don’t know why he’s left the country. Maybe there’s a perfectly legitimate reason. He hasn’t volunteered why he has severed all ties with the nation of Australia.

It’s pretty dramatic, though. I have to say to Australians waking up ... If you’re asked to send evidence about a matter which you have been involved with, to a parliamentary hearing, most Australians don’t just leave the country. And not come back. Sever all relations.

It’s highly, highly, highly unusual and irregular. It raises more questions than answers. I think the Queensland LNP who benefited from this man’s alleged fundraising skills need to explain what they know. Does the Coalition approve of this? Does the Coalition think it’s acceptable?

… I’ll be interested if Australians see him overseas and could they let us know where he is.

The parliamentary committee heard allegations – which Robert strenuously denies – that lobbying firm Synergy 360 proposed a structure that would benefit Robert financially.

Robert has rejected the allegation “in the strongest possible terms” and says there is “zero evidence” for it.

The committee was told in June that under the arrangement discussed, 20% of Synergy 360’s shares would be transferred to United Marketing, an entity controlled by Margerison.

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‘No plans that I’m aware of’ for super tax: Shorten

The construction union wants the government to implement a super profits tax to raise billions for building new social and affordable homes, but if Bill Shorten’s response is anything to go on, the government isn’t open to the idea.

The government services minister told ABC News:

The government has no plans that I’m aware of to have any sort of super tax. So, I think the government’s got a strategy and think we should stay the course and back in what we know.

Read more about the union’s proposal to build more homes here:

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Current status of consent education ‘extremely unsafe’, says advocate Chanel Contos

Back to the consent senate inquiry hearing and Chanel Contos, a founder of Teach Us Consent and sexual consent advocate spoke about the importance of sexual consent education in schools. She said that we came “very close” with having the issue taken up by the Morrison government, but then the government changed and the “ball was dropped” in having it as part of the education curriculum.

Contos said that “young people are learning about sex from pornography”. She said:

That’s basically like learning how to drive a car by watching Formula One.

It’s extremely unsafe. It’s extremely dangerous, and it is mainly young women who are being subjected to metaphorical car crashes.

Contos said it also means teachers and staff having to be properly trained in how to teach sex ed and consent, even if they are not leading the lessons (there is evidence students prefer lessons from external providers, but Contos argues that there is power in having people students see every day trained in helping students navigate the territory)

She told the hearing:

It is very powerful to have these conversations from someone who is consistently in your life who can bring it up throughout multiple classes throughout the term.

Consent education advocate Chanel Contos
‘Basically like learning how to drive a car by watching Formula One’: advocate Chanel Contos on the status of consent education. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

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Climate change must be taken seriously, says PM ahead of bushfire season

Circling back to Albanese’s press conference, he says as well as the practical measures Australians need to take to prepare for bushfires, climate change must be taken seriously, pointing to the temperature records being broken in Europe.

Asked about what the coming summer will look like, the PM doesn’t pretend to be a meteorologist.

I cannot answer, with respect, you’re saying, what will this summer look like? With respect, I’m a politician in July.

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Negotiations continue on cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Victoria

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews says he did not expect negotiations about the cost of his government’s cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games to be resolved within a few days.

Officials and lawyers for the state government have returned from London without reaching a deal on the termination cost of the cancellation.

Andrews said officials flew to London to inform Commonwealth Games organisers of the decision in person:

I think it was the right thing to do.

He reiterated that negotiations were being conducted in “good faith”.

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‘Now’s the time’ to prepare for summer bushfires, PM says

Albanese is reminding Australians now is the time to start thinking about their bushfire preparations ahead of the summer.

We need to do what we can to prepare for the upcoming season. We’ve just been through an incredible wet period. But the science and climatologists tell us that it’s going to be a dry season coming up.

With that of course comes risks. And so, preparation is also really important. So now’s the time to clean out your gutters, to keep lawns short, to prune shrubs and cut back trees that hang over buildings, to clean up fallen leaves, dead vegetation, ensure all entry points to your property are wide and high enough to fit a fire truck.

Those are the sort of preparations we want to see occur today.

He adds the emergency management minister, Murray Watt, will be convening a meeting of all state emergency management ministers next month.

Australian climate experts are also watching the northern hemisphere burn and dreading what’s on the horizon locally this summer. You can read about their fears and frustrations here:

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Albanese speaks about bushfire preparedness on NSW south coast

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking in Ulladulla on the NSW south coast, after spending the morning at Milton rural landcare nursery with landcare volunteers who have been part of the post-bushfire Forest Recovery Project.

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Customers urged to be on lookout for loyalty points scam

A new scam targeting customers of loyalty points programs with large, well-known Australian companies has been detected by the National Anti-Scam Centre.

The National Anti-Scam Centre is warning consumers about a new text message scam currently targeting Qantas Frequent Flyer, Telstra and Coles loyalty programs’ customers, following 209 reports to Scamwatch in the past four months.

Customers receive a text message or email stating their loyalty points are expiring. In the message is a link to a fake website, which prompts customers to log in. Customers may also be prompted to provide credit card details to use loyalty points.

ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said:

While the vast majority of reports to Scamwatch received so far are in relation to Qantas Frequent Flyer, Telstra and Coles loyalty programs, it is important for Australians to be aware that any loyalty program could be referred to in this type of scam.

We are very concerned that Australians experiencing cost-of-living pressures may be more susceptible to these scams. Scammers are deliberately panicking consumers by claiming their points are expiring soon. We urge people to immediately delete or ignore any message regarding a loyalty program that contains a link.

Telstra customers are among those being targeted as part of a new scam.
Telstra customers are among those being targeted as part of a new scam. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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Consent hearing hears defence of Yumi Stynes book Welcome to Sex book

The first session of the consent hearing has finished up, with a defence of the book Welcome to Sex, which was written by Dr Melissa Kang (the former Dolly Doctor) and Yumi Stynes.

The book has been the subject of an online protest which has seen Big W take it out of physical stores to protect staff, who were being harassed and abused by a very vocal minority over the book.

Evidence overwhelming shows though, that parents want better sex education for their children. The book has become a bestseller and Jess Hill says a lot of the controversy has ignored that parents will be part of the learning process with their children – and that Google is not a healthy resource for children to learn about their bodies and sex. Hill said:

You know if you’ve got a book that by and large is going to be purchased by parents, let’s face it, if unless those kids are much older, that is probably going to be read with the parents. I don’t see how that is going to be damaging.

The idea of it being grooming is just precisely the opposite. Because grooming occurs, particularly when young children are naive, naive and vulnerable to influence.

When children are educated they are less likely to be naive and vulnerable to influence.

Hill says the backlash has been a “good reminder” of how far Australia still has to go on these issues.

This kind of puritanical response is still broadly held in the Australian public so not to get too confident that we’ve come a long way that certain sections of society have and certain sections are quite happy to whip up a puritanical, fervour over sex education for young people.

Jess Hill (on screen) appears via video link, at a public hearing into current and proposed sexual consent laws in Australia on Tuesday.
Jess Hill (on screen) appears via video link, at a public hearing into current and proposed sexual consent laws in Australia on Tuesday. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

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Regulator takes Vanguard to court over greenwashing claim

The corporate regulator has started court proceedings against Vanguard over allegations the global fund manager misled investors seeking an ethically conscious investment.

The civil proceedings concern a bond index product that Vanguard claimed excluded exposure to significant business activities in a range of industries including fossil fuels, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Asic said investors were exposed to companies involved in oil and gas exploration through the product. Asic said:

We consider that the screening and research undertaken on behalf of Vanguard was far more limited than that being promised to investors, and we consider this constitutes another example of greenwashing.

Vanguard said in a statement it identified and reported the breach to Asic in 2021. It said that the descriptions of the exclusionary screens, designed to rule out investments that don’t meet certain criteria, were not sufficiently detailed by the index provider. Vanguard said:

There was never any intention to mislead, but Vanguard recognises it has not lived up to the high standards it holds itself accountable to and apologises for the concern this matter may cause for our clients.

The regulator is seeking a monetary penalty through the proceedings.

Larissa Waters brought to tears at opening testimony to Senate consent inquiry

Greens senator Larissa Waters has been brought to tears listening to some of the opening testimony to the Senate consent inquiry.

The hearing was shown a compilation from the SBS documentary series, Asking For It, which was made by Jess Hill and Tosca Looby.

The women then spoke about how we treat rape as one of the worst crimes someone could commit, but yet seemingly have no response to it, given society’s attitudes to people who come forward and how low the conviction rates are in the courts.

Hill told the inquiry there was no point having consent education in schools without having some sort of harmonisation of how schools and universities deal with complaints:

There’s no point having considered education in schools without a code of conduct for how schools are to respond if they have victims and perpetrators in the same school and particularly in the same grade. There we had many, many years of failures.

Greens senator Larissa Waters.
Greens senator Larissa Waters. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

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Plibersek points finger at Nationals over ‘sabotage’ of Murray Darling Basin plan

Plibersek laid the blame for the Murray Darling Basin plan failures squarely in the lap of the National party, which has held the water portfolio under a decade of Coalition governments.

The former Liberal-National government waged a decade-long guerrilla war against the basin plan. They attacked it in Opposition and then they sabotaged it when in government.

About 70% of the water was recovered through buying back entitlements for farmers. Labor completed this task after winning government in 2022.

Tanya Plibersek, the federal minister for environment and water.
Tanya Plibersek, the federal minister for environment and water. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

But two other programs – one involving projects to use water more efficiently and another to recover a further 450GL via on-farm projects, which was the price of South Australia signing up to the plan – have failed to deliver.

The question now is whether Plibersek gives the states more time to make up the shortfalls or whether she orders more buybacks, which are very unpopular with farming communities because they tend to shrink economic activity. Plibersek said:

Let me be clear – the Albanese government is committed to delivering the Murray-Darling Basin plan in full, which includes the extra 450GL of water for the environment. I’ve said that from day one and I won’t budge.

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Plibersek to speak on Murray Darling water shortfall amid ‘next terrible drought … knocking on the door’

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, is about to hold a press conference after being formally notified that Australia will fall short on reaching recovering water for the environment under the Murray Darling basin plan.

The shortfall is about 750GL, as the Guardian reported in February. That’s the equivalent of 300,000 Olympic swimming pools, or 1.5 Sydney Harbours short.

Plibersek said in a release:

The next terrible drought is knocking on the door. El Niño is coming back. Delivering this plan has to be a priority.

When the temperature gets hotter again, when the rain stops falling and the river stops flowing, we will seriously regret it if we don’t act now.

We don’t want Australians to wake up one day with a dead river system and find out their governments could’ve stopped it.

If we don’t prepare for those dry years, all Australians will suffer – risking our access to affordable food and water, with mass environmental collapse, dying native animals, choking fish, and intense pressure on river communities.

The targets in the plan – to recover 3,200GL from agriculture and return it for environmental flows – were due to be realised by June 2024.

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NSW premier: ‘We should demand the highest behaviour’ from parliamentarians

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, said it was “intolerable” that people felt uncomfortable or as if they could not make a complaint about treatment within a parliamentary workplace.

He made the comments on ABC radio after being asked about the complaint made by former federal MP Lucy Wicks against her former staffer and current NSW upper house Liberal MP Taylor Martin over allegedly abusive texts.

Minns said:

We should demand the highest behaviour from members of parliament.

It’s important that if we’re going to set the rules for the state and the laws of the land that we need to make sure that we’ve got strict rules in place for parliament.

I can say unambiguously that it’s the case that that wasn’t the situation in NSW parliament for a long period of time.

It’s not a typical workplace. The reason we need to look at it closely is that there’s power structures and hierarchy and politics that might mean someone feels uncomfortable or unable to make a complaint and we can’t have that situation. It’s intolerable.

Wicks made the complaint to the Liberal party and wished to remain anonymous but was then named by 2GB host Ben Fordham on Monday.

The claims are being investigated by an SC appointed by the Liberal party and Martin has said he is cooperating.

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Albanese weighs in on disgruntled Poms: ‘Suck it up, basically’

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will be spending the morning with landcare volunteers at Milton rural landcare nursery on NSW’s south coast, which has received a grant for continuing bushfire recovery efforts as part of the Forest Recovery Project.

While there, Albanese spoke with local radio station Power FM Shoalhaven, about the importance of local community working together to rejuvenate bushland as well as sharing his thoughts on other recent events. His response to whinging Poms after Austalia retaining the Ashes?

Suck it up, basically. Australia won 2-1. We won the first two tests playing some brilliant cricket. That partnership between Cummins and Lyon was extraordinary into the early hours of the morning.

… Rain can happen. But you don’t know what would have happened with the outcome of the test. We had Mitch Marsh still in … You had Cameron Green and we batted really really deep with Mitch Marsh still to come.

Albanese also shared his delight seeing the Matildas’ opening win against Ireland at the Fifa Women’s World Cup, an event he says will unite all Australians behind the Matildas.

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Liberal group supporting Indigenous voice says Gary Johns’ comments have no place in debate

The Liberal group backing the Indigenous voice to parliament, Liberals for Yes, says no campaign spokesperson Gary Johns’ comments have no place in the political debate, and are calling for other leaders in the no campaign to condemn them.

Kate Carnell, the co-convener of Liberals for Yes, released a statement saying:

The statements made by Mr Gary Johns last night calling for all recipients of Indigenous benefits to be blood tested, and for the introduction of a national public holiday celebrating intermarriage between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, are deeply disturbing comments that should have no place in Australian political debate.

The Voice Referendum debate will be passionate, and both sides have every right to make their case, both for and against, in the strongest possible terms. But there should be no room in this important debate for statements that evoke deeply discredited, and racially discriminatory policies and practices that have been left in the dustbin of history.

Liberals For Yes call on all reasonable and fair-minded leaders in the No Campaign to publicly condemn these comments by their fellow No Campaign board member in the strongest possible terms.

Australia can come out of this referendum a fairer and more united country, but to do so we must not let these comments stand.

Guardian Australia has contacted Johns for comment.

Read more from my colleague Josh Butler:

Updated

‘Stronger regulations would ensure less people fall prey to scams’: Choice CEO

Choice CEO, Alan Kirkland, said at the moment companies like banks, digital platforms and telcos are simply not doing enough to safeguard the community.

Consumers should not have to bear the entire cost of scam losses. Banks should be required to compensate customers when they fail to take reasonable steps to stop money being stolen through a scam.

A mandatory code that requires banks to reimburse their customers for scam losses would significantly reduce distress for customers affected by scams, and create the right incentives for banks to invest in scam prevention.

As scams surge, it’s clear the overwhelming majority of people in Australia would like to see the government force businesses to do more to prevent and detect scams. Stronger regulations would ensure less people fall prey to scams, and reduce the harm caused to those who do.

You can read more of our scam coverage here:

Updated

Most Australians think banks should reimburse scam victims, research shows

New research from Choice shows the majority of Australians think banks should reimburse scam victims, as the consumer association joins calls for financial institutions to provide compensation.

Last month, in a world first, the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator mandated that banks will have to reimburse victims of push payment fraud, where scammers impersonate financial institutions or the police, within five days – beginning next year.

The financial services minister, Stephen Jones, has indicated the government could possibly follow suit, saying it intends to introduce a new industry code that will require banks to “provide appropriate compensation”.

Choice surveyed more than 1,087 people, and more than half the respondents said they encountered a suspected scam every week.

The survey also found 64% of people think banks should reimburse people who lose money to scams and 80% of people agreed that the government should legally force businesses to do more to stop scams.

Updated

Opera House sails to be lit up if Matildas win

The sails of the Sydney Opera House will be lit up to celebrate the Matildas if the team progresses further in the World Cup.

Speaking on ABC radio on Tuesday morning, the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, said he had not asked for them to be lit up already because he had not wanted to “jinx” the team.

He said:

I was mainly focused on not jinxing this wonderful team that are doing so well in the group stages.

I fully expect them to make the finals and if they do make it of course will roll out the red carpet and really get behind this team.

They are great ambassadors for sport in this state and this country and particularly for female participation in sport.

The Matildas can secure their passage from Group B with victory over Nigeria on Thursday night in Brisbane.

Updated

Bill Shorten says Scott Morrison ‘in complete denial’ over robodebt

Turning back to the news of former PM Scott Morrison being reported to be back in the country for the first time since the robodebt report was handed down.

Appearing on ABC News breakfast, the government services minister, Bill Shorten, has accused the former leader of being in denial over the entire incident:

Mr Morrison’s denied everything, said nothing to see here. For me, I just wish it had never happened.

It was a government of law breakers, the previous Coalition government. They thought they would get away with treating people receiving the social security safety net as second class Australians.

They implied there were hundreds of thousands of cheats who were hiding a mountain of gold worth billions of dollars. And Mr Morrison and others were going to catch them and make them accountable. It turned out that the people breaking the law were not the people they were assaulting on Centrelink payments, it was actually the government itself.

So, I don’t know what Mr Morrison can say. He’s obviously in complete denial about everything. That’s his prerogative. But the royal commission is gripping reading and there was a lot of evidence that seems to contradict Mr Morrison’s version of events.

Morrison has been contacted for comment.

Updated

Senate inquiry into consent under way in Canberra

Good morning from Canberra where the “feels like” temperature is 0.1C. I hope you are somewhere a little more cosy.

The senate inquiry into consent is under way. The inquiry is looking at Australia’s laws, attitudes and education around consent. It’s hoped that by laying out the issues so clearly, we might find a way forward.

The Greens senator Larissa Waters said the inquiry was crucial.

We know that an alarming number of people still disbelieve or victim-blame survivors of assault. Sexual consent education in schools can help dismantle this persistent rape culture and ensure everyone understands that only informed and enthusiastic consent means yes.

We’ll be following the inquiry this morning and will keep you updated. First up is author and advocate Jess Hill.

Updated

Data of some Victorians put at risk during the pandemic

The Victorian health department is under fire after the state’s privacy watchdog found there were multiple breaches of personal information during the pandemic, AAP reports.

One of the worst cases involved a call centre worker who had a criminal record and used a department system to get the details of a young woman who was isolating at home.

He then impersonated a Covid-19 official to gain entry into her home and tried to pressure her into performing sexual acts, the Victorian information commissioner said in a report published on Tuesday.

During the pandemic, the health department hired third-party call centres to help with contact tracing for people infected with Covid-19.

The commissioner’s investigation concluded the department breached privacy and data protection laws by failing to take reasonable steps to protect against the misuse of people’s personal information.

While acknowledging the unprecedented circumstances created by the Covid-19 public health response, commissioner Sven Bluemmel said it did not ensure the third-party workers were adequately screened.

Updated

Scott Morrison seen publicly for first time since robodebt report’s release

Nine News is reporting that the former prime minister Scott Morrison has returned from his European holiday and has been seen publicly for the first time since the robodebt report was handed down.

Updated

Cash says department was responsible for contracts amid reports of money paid to Pacific politicians over detention processing

Cash has also brushed off the Coalition government’s role in media reports of the taxpayer money for detention processing that went to Pacific politicians.

Asked about her role as assistant minister of immigration and border protection from 2013-15 during the time that concerns the Nine papers’ investigation, Cash says she was not aware of the issues reported and that the department was responsible.

There is no suggestion that Peter Dutton himself played a part in signing the contracts. These contracts are signed by the Department of Home Affairs.

Updated

Work reforms a return to uncertainty for casuals: Michaelia Cash

The shadow minister for workplace relations, Michaelia Cash, is accusing the government’s new rights for casual workers of being part of a campaign attacking casual work.

Under the second tranche of the government’s industrial relations reforms, casuals who work full-time hours would be able to access leave entitlements and guaranteed hours if they change their employment status, with the government to legislate a new definition of casual work under the proposal.

Cash said it was the former Coalition government that for the first time ever provided a pathway or casuals to become a permanent employee, but accused the Albanese government of reversing the certainty that provided. She told ABC Radio:

What Mr. Burke seems to want to do now is to reintroduce the uncertainty that existed prior to a legislation the Coalition government introduced.

… What this gets down to is one thing. These changes are part of the Albanese government’s ongoing campaign to attack and undermine those who choose to undertake casual work, despite the fact that it works for millions of Australians.

… Ultimately, Labor primarily opposes casual work because they find it more difficult to unionise this workforce.

Updated

More cost-of-living relief risks ‘upward pressure’ on prices, says Andrew Leigh

The assistant treasurer, Andrew Leigh, is defending the government’s position it will not be introducing any new cost-of-living relief in spite of the huge surplus the treasurer announced yesterday north of $20bn.

Leigh told ABC Radio the government needs to be “surgical” in its fiscal decisions:

The worst of all worlds is where government is splashing money out and therefore putting upward pressure on prices. That’s what we saw under the former government and we’re determined not to repeat that mistake.

Updated

Enrolment ‘skyrockets’ ahead of 2023 referendum, electoral commission says

The electoral commission says the 2023 referendum will have the best democratic participation of any federal electoral event in Australia’s history.

New enrolment statistics as at 30 June 2023 show the estimated national enrolment rate is 97.5%, up from 97.1% since the end of last year and continual yearly increases up from 89.7% in 2010. The AEC said:

The 2023 referendum will have the best base for democratic participation than any federal electoral event in Australia’s history.

The commission also says the estimated national rate of Indigenous enrolment is above 90% for the first time ever, at 94.1% up from 84.5% since the end of 2022. This represents more than 60,000 Indigenous Australians.

A woman holding an umbrella in support of the yes vote takes part in a Yes23 community event in support of an Indigenous voice to parliament in Sydney on 2 July. A referendum later this year will seek to amend the country’s constitution by creating the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to represent Indigenous Australians to the parliament and federal government on matters of Indigenous affairs.
A woman holding an umbrella in support of the yes vote takes part in a Yes23 community event in support of an Indigenous voice to parliament in Sydney on 2 July. A referendum later this year will seek to amend the country’s constitution by creating the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to represent Indigenous Australians to the parliament and federal government on matters of Indigenous affairs. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/EPA

Updated

Australian War Memorial puts up signs about ex-soldier Ben Roberts-Smith

The Australian War Memorial has put up the statement it released in the days after the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation judgment up against displays honouring the former soldier.

The statement, originally put out by AWM in the days following the federal court ruling against Roberts-Smith in a defamation case he brought against the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age and the Canberra Times, was printed on signs near the displays in recent weeks, AWM confirmed.

The statement from Australian War Memorial chair, Kim Beazley, states the memorial assists in remembering, interpreting and understanding Australia’s experience of war and its enduring impact, and acknowledged the gravity of the decision, noting the civil case is one step in a longer process. The statement says the war memorial is considering additional content and context for the displays.

Roberts-Smith has always denied wrongdoing, and is appealing the federal court decision.

You can read more on the original statement below:

Updated

Good morning! Thanks to Martin for getting us started, my name is Natasha May and I’ll be with you until lunchtime.

Updated

British troops could be based in Darwin, UK minister says

British soldiers based in Australia could be part of the next step to bringing the two military forces closer together.

UK armed forces minister, James Heappey, said on a visit to Australia that stationing British troops in Darwin, where US marines have a presence, was “not impossible” as his nation looked to expand its influence in the Pacific, Australian Associated Press reports. He said:

It comes up quite regularly in conversation about what the Aussies and the US are doing up there and whether we should be there too.

But it’s not something we’ve got an active plan for and it’s certainly not something we’ve spoken to the Australian government about yet.

Heappey also floated Australia joining a combat air program between the UK, Japan and Italy to develop a stealth jet fighter.

God, it would be awesome if Australia wanted to join.

UK armed forces minister James Heappey.
UK armed forces minister James Heappey. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

Updated

Women's safety advocates demand consistent consent laws

A high-profile advocate for sexual consent education wants law changes to improve women’s safety, institutional responses to assaults and better outcomes for survivors, AAP reports.

Teach us Consent founder Chanel Contos has teamed up with the National Women’s Safety Alliance to call for a nationally consistent, statutory definition of affirmative sexual consent.

NSW, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT have all adopted some form of communicative or affirmative consent laws, which mean silence or a lack of resistance cannot be interpreted as consent while WA, SA and the NT have not.

Teach us Consent founder Chanel Contos wants consistent sexual consent laws
Teach us Consent founder Chanel Contos wants consistent sexual consent laws Photograph: Darren England/AAP

The advocacy groups said a patchwork of state and territory laws influenced police responses, public perceptions of victimhood and jury deliberations in sexual assault matters.

A parliamentary committee will this week hear advice from sexual consent advocates, domestic violence organisations and legal bodies about potential changes to consent laws as part of a push to strengthen protections for assault survivors.

The committee is examining inconsistencies in consent laws across jurisdictions, the efficacy of directions to juries about consent, impacts of existing laws on the survivor experience of the justice system and adequacy of education programs.

Updated

2023 winner of Miles Franklin literary prize to be announced this evening

Six authors are in the running for Australia’s most prestigious book award, the Miles Franklin prize, due to be announced this evening.

The contenders range from Fiona Kelly McGregor’s biographical memoir, Iris, to Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandrana, a novel based around Sydney’s Sri Lankan community, and Jessica Au’s already celebrated novel, Cold Enough for Snow, about taking her ageing mother on a holiday to Japan, to Limberlost by Robbie Arnott, the only male writer on the list.

You can read our full preview here:

Welcome

Good morning and here goes with another blog tracking all the news that is fit to publish across Australia. My name is Martin Farrer and I’ll be bringing you a couple of overnight starter dishes before Natasha May gets stuck into the main course.

Labor must be “much more ambitious” in addressing the housing crisis, the CFMEU construction union says, and wants the government to implement a super profits tax of 40% to raise billions for building 750,000 new social and affordable homes. The CFMEU secretary, Zach Smith, will make the case today when he addresses the National Press Club in Canberra.

There’s more controversy about the voice to parliament referendum this morning after former Labor minister, Gary Johns, last night said he refused to quit the no campaign after he doubled down on “outdated” views about Indigenous benefits. Johns had sparked anger by saying Indigenous people should be subject to blood tests in order to qualify for welfare payments. Barnaby Joyce, another prominent critic of the voice, was speaking last night on an online panel where he claimed the voice would become a “quasi House of Lords”.

Australia needs a nationally consistent definition of affirmative sexual consent, women’s safety advocates say. Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory lack such laws, which say that silence or lack of resistance cannot be interpreted as consent. It comes as a parliamentary committee convenes to hear advice on potential changes to consent laws.

Our latest Guardian Essential poll shows that more than 40% of Australians agree with Daniel Andrews’ decision to scrap the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, with support in his home state climbing to 44%. Western Australians were least likely to be in favour (36%). And with the Women’s World Cup in full swing, there was also widespread support for equal prize money for the Fifa’s female players.

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