What we learned today, Monday 21 August
Thanks for joining us on the Australia news live blog today. That’s where we’ll wrap up our coverage – here are some key developments:
Anthony Albanese has criticised the no campaign’s decision to give Gary Johns a prominent position in its campaign as the Liberal MP Matt Kean accused the top voice critic of treating colleagues Warren Mundine and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price with “complete disrespect” and “cowardice”.
The prime minister also said his son “is not a public figure” in response to media reports claiming that he helped Nathan Albanese land a two-week, unpaid internship at consultancy firm PwC Australia.
Victoria’s Loy Yang A power station will remain available to operate until mid-2035 under an agreement signed between its owner AGL Energy and the Victorian government aimed at providing certainty to workers, the community and industry.
Prize money for the AFLW will almost double in the coming season, bringing it in line with the men’s competition for the first time.
Shark nets will be retained on New South Wales beaches despite widespread opposition to what environmentalists say is an “ineffective” safety measure.
Qantas is facing a class action lawsuit over its refund policy for flights cancelled due to the pandemic, with lawyers alleging the airline’s use of travel credits allowed them to treat their customers’ money as more than “$1bn in interest-free loans”.
Thanks so much for joining us today. See you bright and early tomorrow.
Updated
NZ election to deliver fewer women MPs: polling
New Zealand’s parliament will feature far fewer women after the October 14 election, with both major parties contributing to a drop-off, an analysis suggests. AAP has this report:
Last year, New Zealand hit a historic majority of female MPs for the first time, with 61 women among the 120-member house. That representation will fall away following the October poll as the centre-right National party increases its share.
A fresh poll out on Monday from TVNZ confirmed National was in the box seat to govern after the 14 October election. The TVNZ-Verian poll has National on 37%, up two percentage points, and Labour on 29%, down four – Labour’s worst result in the TVNZ poll under Chris Hipkins’ leadership.
On those numbers, National would lead a coalition government in partnership with the right-wing libertarians ACT, which polled 13%, which would return them more MPs than ever before.
Updated
