What we learned: Monday 13 May
That’s a wrap on the blog for today. Here’s what made the news:
The ACT’s integrity commission announced it is investigating allegations of corruption by Walter Sofronoff for his conduct with the media while undertaking an inquiry into the Bruce Lehrmann trial.
The teenager who fatally stabbed Queenslander Emma Lovell late at night on Boxing Day 2022 has been sentenced to serve 14 years in jail.
A small plane performed an emergency landing at Newcastle airport after its landing gear failed.
More than 250 Australian academics and professional university staff signed an open letter in support of pro-Palestine student encampments established around the nation.
The Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (Iteca) is concerned about the Albanese government’s plan to cap international student numbers, warning it will cost jobs.
Live sheep exports will end in 2028.
The federal court has refused to extend an injunction against Elon Musk’s X over 65 tweets containing video of the Wakeley church stabbing, ahead of a final hearing in the case likely in June.
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, wants to bring more controls around kids under 14 having access to social media apps like Instagram and TikTok.
Ahead of budget night tomorrow, the prime minister Anthony Albanese has described it to Labor caucus as a “true Labor budget”.
Amy Remeikis will be back will you again tomorrow morning for all the budget news. Until then, enjoy your evening.
Jacinta Allan confirms digital drivers licences now available for Victoria
The Victorian premier Jacinta Allan confirms our earlier news that the digital driver licences are now available in the state.
Digital Driver Licences are GO.
— Jacinta Allan (@JacintaAllanMP) May 13, 2024
It’s pretty easy to set up via the Services Victoria app. It only took me a few minutes. I am guessing most people have not used that app since they had to check in at venues when that was still something we had to do.
Updated
Here’s the latest Afternoon Update for a wrap of the news today.
Musk says ‘not trying to win anything’ over eSafety court ruling in X’s favour
Social media network X’s owner, Elon Musk, has responded to the news of his initial court victory today over the eSafety commissioner after the court refused to continue an injunction. He said:
Not trying to win anything. I just don’t think we should be suppressing Australian’s [sic] rights to free speech.
Not trying to win anything. I just don’t think we should be suppressing Australian’s rights to free speech.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2024
You can read my full report of the ruling below.
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NSW police charge 80th person over Wakley church riot
The New South Wales police say an 80th person has been charged as part of the Wakeley riot outside the church where bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed in April during a sermon.
The 31-year-old man was arrested this morning and appeared in Burwood local court today charged with riot, assault police officer during public disorder, intimidate police officer during public disorder, and two counts of destroy/damage property during public disorder.
He has been granted conditional bail to appear at Fairfield local court on Monday 27 May. Strike Force Dribs is continuing to investigate the riot.
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AFP praises tech detection dogs
The Australian Federal Police says its technology detection dogs have discovered more than 180 items in search warrants across the country so far this year.
The dogs have sniffed out mobile phones, sim cards, USB drives, laptops and digital cameras at over 70 warrant searches this year. There are currently 13 such dogs deployed across the country, out of 91 detection dogs currently operational.
Labradors are the breed predominantly used, and they work for six years before being adopted out.
The assistant commissioner, Alison Wegg, said:
Dogs conducting detection work sniff between five to 10 times a second. Their smell processing capacity is 40 times stronger than humans, and studies have shown they can find a scent as faint as one part per million.
It is very important for us to continue to research and develop new concepts in canine capability to ensure we remain a step ahead of criminals.
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Labor announces funding for digital ID system
The federal government will put $288.1m over four years in tomorrow’s budget to prepare for the rollout of a digital ID system.
The legislation to support the development of a digital ID system passed the Senate in March, but has yet to be passed in the house. The new funding includes:
$155.6m over two years for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to continue operating myGovID and the Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM) service;
$46m over two years to Services Australia to operate and enhance the identity exchange that enables transactions across the Australian government digital ID system and undertake the regulatory functions of the system administrator;
$35.2m over two years to the Department of Finance for governance of the digital ID program;
$23.4m over two years for the ATO, Finance and Services Australia to pilot the use of government digital wallets and verifiable credentials;
$11m over four years to the attorney general’s department for enhancing the credential protection register;
$7.8m over two years to the Treasury to support the data standards function to be established under digital ID legislation;
$5.6m to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to provide privacy oversight under digital ID legislation; and
$3.5m over two years to Asio to provide security assessments of entities seeking accreditation or participation in digital ID system.
The budget will also fund pilots for new use cases for digital ID, including using government credentials in a user’s digital wallet. The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, said:
The recent data breach across NSW and the ACT involving customer information from licensed clubs shows how important it is to help Australians reduce the risk of identity theft.
Accessing services online with a secure digital ID restricts the oversharing of personal information and means there are less copies of your ID data and documents out in the world.
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Thousands of kids safely evacuated after Sydney Olympic Park pool’s solar panels catch fire
Thousands of children competing at a major swimming carnival have been evacuated after solar panels on the roof of Sydney’s Olympic Park aquatic centre caught fire, AAP reports.
Six fire trucks and 24 firefighters rushed to the scene at Homebush, in the city’s west, after reports of thick black smoke billowing from the building about 12.15pm on Monday. Firefighters used a ladder platform to attack the flames, containing the blaze in about 45 minutes.
“More than 2,500 people have been safely evacuated from Sydney Olympic Park aquatic centre in Homebush following a solar panel fire,” Fire and Rescue NSW said in a statement. There were no reported injuries.
NSW Fire and Rescue’s spokesperson, Adam Dewberry, said there could be a number of reasons why the solar panels ignited. “There is pretty extensive damage,” he said.
“It did burn free for a period of time but we were able to get on top and contain it. We’ve had hundreds of people safely evacuated with no injuries reported, so it’s a great outcome so far.”
Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the fire.
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Services Union argues AI should unlock four-day work weeks and calls for larger redundancy payouts
Workers should get access to four-day work weeks thanks to efficiencies created by artificial intelligence, while those whose jobs are removed by AI should get larger redundancy payments, the Australian Services Union has told the federal Senate.
A large number of submissions to the Senate’s inquiry into AI have been published online. The ASU said AI created “both opportunities and challenges for workers” and stressed it was “crucial that government prioritise the protection of workers’ rights and interests”.
The union, one of Australia’s largest, said workers should have a say about the use of AI in their workplaces, get training on how to use the technology and called for “a generous safety net for workers whose jobs are lost due to technological changes”.
Government must consider other flexibilities and initiatives for workers whose roles will be impacted by AI, such as a 4-day work week.
Government must also ensure generous redundancy provisions are in place where job losses are unavoidable due to the introduction of AI and significantly improve the current level of social protections that exist for workers and the unemployed.
Numerous other submissions from government departments and private companies spoke of the risks and rewards possible from the new AI technology. The Department of Home Affairs raised concerns about rising espionage and foreign interference, as well as the risks of “foreign governments” using the technology to feed misinformation, incite protests, or underpin inauthentic influence campaigns.
The defence department said “harnessing AI is key to Defence capability priorities” noting its potential “in areas such as logistics, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, targeting, and tracking and strike applications. In particular, AI has the potential to provide decision advantage in high-tempo military operations”.
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Thank you for joining me on this news-politics hybrid blog day –I am going to hand you over to Josh Taylor for the rest of the afternoon, so stay tuned!
I’ll be back early tomorrow to guide you through the budget parliamentary day – politics live will be back to cover off all of Albanese government’s third budget – as well as the parliamentary happenings.
Until then, please – take care of you.
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Walter Sofronoff to be investigated over corruption allegations
The ACT’s integrity commission has announced it is investigating allegations of corruption by the former Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff for his conduct with the media while undertaking an inquiry into the Bruce Lehrmann trial.
The commission announced last month it would be assessing whether Sofronoff’s decision to provide a copy of his inquiry’s final report to two journalists – including a columnist for The Australian newspaper, Janet Albrechtsen – before the ACT chief minister had made the report public amounted to corrupt conduct.
It comes after it was also revealed in supreme court hearings that Sofronoff had extensive communications with the media during the seven-month inquiry, including 273 interactions with Albrechtsen.
Shane Drumgold, the former ACT director of public prosecutions, had launched legal action against adverse findings made by Sofronoff against him, including that Drumgold had “at times … lost objectivity and did not act with fairness and detachment”.
Drumgold had a partial win after a supreme court judge ruled in March Sofronoff’s dealings with Albrechtsen gave the impression he “might have been influenced by the views held and publicly expressed” by her.
The integrity commissioner on Monday said a full investigation would now probe the matter further.
The commission’s statement said:
On 5 April 2024, the ACT integrity commission (the commission) issued a media alert confirming it had received and was assessing allegations of corruption regarding the conduct of the Hon Walter Sofronoff KC as it relates to the board of inquiry into the criminal justice system in the Australian Capital Territory (the board).
The commissioner has completed his assessment of these allegations and has decided to commence an investigation into the impugned conduct as he suspects, on reasonable grounds, that Mr Sofronoff’s conduct may constitute corrupt conduct.
On 1 February 2023, the board was established and commenced under the Inquiries Act 1991 and Mr Sofronoff was appointed to conduct the inquiry. On 31 July 2023, the report resulting from the board of inquiry was delivered to the ACT chief minister.
The allegations assessed by the commissioner relate to the provision by Mr Sofronoff of his report to two journalists before it was made public by the chief minister, allegedly in breach of the requirements of the Inquiries Act 1991 and allegedly constituting corrupt conduct under the Integrity Commission Act 2018.
As the investigation is ongoing, the commission will not be making any further public comments at this time.
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Coalition criticises Labor decision to back UN resolution on Palestinian statehood
The Coalition has criticised the government’s decision to vote “yes” - together with 142 other countries - to a resolution backing Palestinian membership of the United Nations, arguing it was “putting Israel back in a harder, more difficult position”.
Just nine countries, including Israel and the US, voted against the resolution, while 25 others abstained.
The opposition’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Simon Birmingham, used a Sky News interview today to argue Australia’s vote at the general assembly in New York on Friday night was “a profound shift by the government”.
Birmingham argued that the government was “taking steps and actions that Hamas, Iran and others welcome and see as progress”.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has previously dismissed this line of argument, insisting that the resolution specifically mentioned unwavering support for a two-state solution in which Israel and Palestine lived side by side in peace and security.
Wong said on Saturday that the resolution was “a clear rejection of the goals and methods of Hamas” because “a two-state solution, both Israel and Palestine, is the opposite of what Hamas wants”.
During the Sky interview, Birmingham was asked about Wong’s comments. He maintained that “Hamas, Iran and others will see this change in position of Australia, led by the Albanese government and the UN vote, as another step towards what they want to see in terms of the way the international community responds. Because it’s an isolation of Israel. It is putting Israel back in a harder, more difficult position”.
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‘It’s never going to be enough to bring her back’: Lee Lovell’s husband speaks
Lee Lovell - husband to murder victim Emma - spoke outside court shortly after the sentence was announced.
He told media he didn’t believe justice had been done, but he was glad the judge had deemed the attack “particularly heinous”.
I suppose my mind ran away into thinking that you’re gonna get like a life sentence. I suppose the judge was going on a lot of other cases to try and get an appropriate sentence.
I suppose it was 14 years, but it’s never going to be enough to bring her back.
Lovell was also injured in the attack, stabbed in the back and kicked in the head by the juvenile assailant. He was accompanied by his two daughters and could be seen visibly crying with his family inside the court after the sentence was handed down.
His birthday was yesterday, on Mother’s Day.
Updated
Teenager who fatally stabbed Queensland woman on Boxing Day 2022 sentenced to 14 years in prison
The teenager who fatally stabbed Queenslander Emma Lovell late at night on Boxing Day 2022 has been sentenced to serve 14 years in jail.
The shocking murder - which took place after an attempted home invasion - scandalised the state, becoming one of the most high-profile attacks in the state in recent years.
Lovell’s family audibly gasped when supreme court justice Tom Sullivan told the court deemed the attack “particularly heinous”, unlocking sentences higher than the usual 10 year maximum jail sentence for children.
The court heard the then 17-year-old had had a difficult upbringing, including violence at home, and the use of drugs and glue. The judge also accepted he was remorseful.
But Sullivan said the juvenile was on probation at the time of the attack and had an extensive criminal history.
With discounts, he will serve a maximum of a little over 9 years. He has already served 503 days in custody, which will count towards the sentence. The now 19 year old showed little emotion as his sentence was read out.
Lee Lovell - her husband - was also stabbed twice in the back and kicked in the head during the attempted robbery.
The murderer cannot be named due to his age at the time of the attack.
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First responders call for trauma treatment to be part of budget spend
One of the groups representing emergency services hopes to see government funds for trauma treatment included in the budget spend.
Fortem Australia’s director of policy, James Maskey, said constant exposure to trauma took a toll and without proper support it could lead to burnout and negative mental health outcomes.
It happened to me, and I’ve also seen it happen to my friends and colleagues. That’s why it is essential we address this issue head-on and ensure first responders have the resources they need to stay healthy and resilient.
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Victoria’s digital driver licence is a go
We had a tip about this earlier (thank you blog watcher) but didn’t want to get your hopes up until it was confirmed – but from today Victoria’s digital driver licence is a go.
Eligible Victorians will be able to access their Digital Driver Licences after setting up their profile via the myVicRoads and Service Victoria apps.
If you are on your Ls or Ps, you still have a little longer to wait – that won’t be digitalised until 2025.
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For those wanting to know more about the proposed international student cap, Paul Karp and Caitlin Cassidy have you covered:
Aboriginal legal services warn funding crisis is putting people at risk
AAP has taken a look at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services pre-budget submission to the government:
First Nations Australians are at risk of increased family violence and unjust incarceration as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal organisations struggle with surging demand.
Legal services for the disproportionate number of incarcerated First Nations youth and adults, along with more support for housing are the main focus in submissions ahead of the federal budget, which is due to be handed down on Tuesday.
Demand for Aboriginal legal services has doubled since 2018, putting their workforces under pressure and fuelling significant recruitment and retention challenges, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) wrote in its pre-federal budget submission.
This has pushed many organisations to the precipice, forcing them to freeze services and putting First Nations people at risk, the NATSILS chair, Karly Warner, says:
This crisis is caused by decades of underfunding by successive parliaments, coupled with skyrocketing demand for our services.
When culturally safe, accessible legal help isn’t available, the result is more children taken from their families, more family violence, more unjust imprisonment and the very real possibility of more deaths in custody.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are about 3.8% of the Australian population but are vastly overrepresented in the justice system.
They make up 33% of all prisoners, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and more than half of those are in youth detention, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has found.
Between June 2022 and 2023, the number of First Nations prisoners increased by 7%.
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Consumer spending looks pretty grim, particularly for renters, CBA says
Each month, CBA wades through the spending activity of 7m customers to compile a household spending insights index.
For April, the figures are pretty grim but particularly so if you’re a renter. For the third of the population that has paid off their mortgage, spending is holding up well.
Overall, the index fell 1% in April from March to 148.11. From a year earlier, it was up 2.6% – or less than the inflation rate. (CBA reckons CPI last month was about 3.5%.)
And if you include population growth – as CBA has done for the first time – the annual increase was 1.4%.
By home ownership category, spending by renters was up 1.3% in April from a year earlier. Those paying off mortgages were still spending a bit more than the inflation rate, at 4.5%, while outright home owners were spending 6.3% more.
Discretionary spending – such as on hospitality and recreation – sank 4.4% from a year earlier. CBA’s chief economist, Stephen Halmarick, said that result “highlights the kind of increase in spending that we saw at the start of the year on those big recreation items – like the Taylor Swift concerts – that was really money that had to come from somewhere else”.
Victoria remains the weakest state, with spending down 1.2% for April to be only 1.9% higher than a year earlier. (Presumably you don’t want to try to sell discretionary goods in that state to renters.)
Halmarick thinks the weak spending will make it easier for inflation to fall back towards 3% by the year’s end as the budget forecasts (see earlier post). CBA thinks headline inflation will be a bit higher at about 3.2%-3.25% by then.
As for the budget balance, he thinks the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will announce a $15bn surplus for the current fiscal year and project a $5bn deficit for the 2024-25 year. Given Treasury’s conservative commodity prices, a third straight surplus won’t be out of the question come May next year (which might be in the middle of an election campaign).
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Albanese hails ‘a true Labor party budget’ in caucus speech
Anthony Albanese is delivering his caucus rah-rah speech for the cameras, ahead of tomorrow’s budget:
It is a Labor party budget through and through because it is a budget for every Australian, not just some. New investments in Medicare and the health system, more help for households doing it tough, more homes in every state and territory.
Importantly, cost-of-living relief that doesn’t add to inflation, indeed, that it reduces inflation. And a tax cut for every single taxpayer, not just some.
This is a true Labor party budget because it helps people who are under pressure right now.
But it also is about investment, investment in our future. In jobs, skills, infrastructure and housing. In social care, health and education, and that is what Labor governments always do.
(There is applause and “hear hear” from the caucus in between each statement.)
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Teal MPs call for action on antisemitism at universities
The teal MPs Zoe Daniel and Allegra Spender have called on the government to act over what they say is “the increasing prevalence of antisemitism at Australian universities” which they have called “extremely concerning”.
In a joint release, the independent MPs say:
Student surveys and anecdotal evidence both indicate that antisemitism was rising before the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks and has increased since the resulting Gaza war with many Jewish students experiencing exclusion and hostility.
Antisemitism has no place in our community, online spaces, or educational institutions. Every individual has the right to pursue their education in an environment free from discrimination, bigotry, and hatred.
The MPs want the government to:
Appoint a special antisemitism envoy, as has occurred overseas, to engage with faith leaders, and other stakeholders, to understand the scope of the problem.
Conduct a judicial inquiry into antisemitism on campus to depoliticise an incredibly serious issue.
Support the recommendation of the University Accord report by conducting a study of racism on campus including a specific focus on antisemitism.
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Australia’s asylum boat policy under strain after three arrivals in last week
Australia’s policy of deterrence against asylum seeker boats is under strain, with three boat arrivals in the last week including four people found near Broome.
In addition to five Rwandans who arrived on Saibai Island and 33 people who landed on Christmas Island, Guardian Australia can reveal that four Vietnamese “unauthorised maritime arrivals” arrived near Broome on Friday morning. The group was intercepted just offshore.
The ABC first reported, and Guardian Australia has independently confirmed, that 33 people were found on Christmas Island on Thursday morning. Their boat was destroyed by bad weather.
On Monday a government spokesperson declined to say if the group of 33 had been taken to Nauru. They are no longer on Christmas Island.
An Australian Border Force spokesperson said: “The Australian Border Force does not confirm or comment on operational matters.”
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Bandt accuses Labor MPs of ‘grandstanding in the Guardian’ on gas stance
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, has accused some Labor MPs of “grandstanding in the Guardian” after a number spoke out against the government’s controversial gas policies in a coordinated push last week.
At a press conference today, Bandt called out Josh Burns, Ged Kearney and Peter Khalil by name:
It’s time for those Labor grandstanders to put their money where their mouth is.
Now’s your chance, the parliament has resumed, to vote against opening new coal and gas mines.
Bandt hinted the Greens would seek to bring on procedural votes about coal and gas this week, saying “we’ll give you plenty of opportunities to do it this week, to find out whether this was just a confected press gallery stunt or if you’re serious”.
Several of the Labor MPs who spoke against the gas changes have faced, or will face, stiff election challenges from the Greens – Burns in Macanamara, Kearney in Cooper and Khalil in Wills. Bandt later claimed “people in those electorates want their MPs to vote according to their values and vote to stop opening up new coal and gas mines”:
That’s the question for those MPs, who grandstand to the Guardian and then cave in in Canberra. They’re lions in their electorates and then mice in parliament.
He again challenged the MPs to “quit their party”.
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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has opened the first part of the caucus meeting to the media. This is traditional for the pre-budget rah rah – the cameras are invited in to hear the prime minister and treasurer talk about how great the budget is, while the party room enthusiastically nods.
This is standard no matter who is in power.
We’ll bring you the vibe of the speech very soon.
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Coalition says Labor is ‘panicking’ with international student cap
The shadow minister for education, Sarah Henderson, is not impressed by Labor’s proposed international student cap.
The Coalition has repeatedly accused Labor of allowing migration levels to grow out of control since the pandemic, linking international arrivals to high house prices and rent.
Asked whether Henderson had any position on Labor’s new policy, she said the party was “panicking”.
Labor’s opening of the floodgates to record levels of international students is fuelling the housing crisis and causing unprecedented chaos in the international education sector. Jason Clare has botched the management of the international student sector, Australia’s fourth largest export, which needs certainty and stability.
Now Labor is panicking with a student visa policy that gives universities a perverse incentive to build more accommodation for foreign students, rather than put Australians first. Regional and smaller universities and private higher education providers, in particular, are paying the price for Labor’s immigration chaos.
It is worth noting the draft framework says any additional student accommodation would be able to be used for both domestic and international students, who compose 7% and 4% of the rental market respectively.
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Linking international student numbers to new housing worries education sector
Phil Honeywood, the CEO of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA), has spoken with Guardian Australia after meeting ministers this morning to discuss the proposed cap on international students.
He said if legislation passed, the reforms wouldn’t be implemented until 1 January next year. While a figure hadn’t been confirmed, he said any cap would be a significant split with previous policy.
The legislation provides the education minister with a range of new powers only previously used by the home affairs minister … they’d be jointly acting as regulators for the beleaguered sector.
Honeywood said one area of concern was tying a university’s international student numbers to the building of housing, which typically takes years to pass through planning stage. He noted international students made up just 4% of the rental market, and domestic students just 7%.
Labor is looking for some policy wins between now and the election. They can show the opposition they’re doing whatever is possible to incentivise more on-campus student accommodation … There was a commitment to comprehensive consultation, and a genuine desire by Jason Clare and Clare O’Neil to support the sector in managing any caps rather than being too blunt to meet a short-term political need.
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The police superintendent said there had been a Williamtown base aviation safety meeting this morning and people left that meeting straight into the emergency situation.
Humphrey:
I was at a base aviation safety meeting this morning when this happened, would you believe. So the irony of that is not lost upon us. So we all left the meeting and went straight into operational mode and worked very well.
… I was in the command post but it’s the normal process. They go to a staging area, the RAAF managed the ground, it’s a civilian aircraft.
They got out of the plane themselves so there wasn’t a lot of need for our [services] too much to be honest, so it was a great result.
Really well done by the pilot.
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None injured after Newcastle airport emergency landing: NSW police
Were there any injuries among the three in the plane?
Supt Humphrey says:
I believe they jumped in the car and drove home.
So we will take that as a no.
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Pilot praised for ‘textbook wheels-up landing’ at Newcastle airport
The NSW police Supt Wayne Humphrey is holding a press conference at the RAAF base at Williamtown, near Newcastle, to answer questions on the emergency plane landing.
He runs through the incident:
So around 8.30 this morning, the aircraft left here, departs from here, was heading to Port Macquarie, experienced some issues with the landing gear.
As a result of that, the pilot, a 53-year-old Queensland man, decided to stay around the airport until he resolved the issue on aircraft.
As a result, it was determined the aircraft landing gear would not come back down and he stayed here and burnt off fuel.
Two passengers on board, both from Tuggeranong on the Central Coast, a 60-year-old male and a 65-year-old female.
After some hours in the air, about 90 minutes, burning off sufficient fuel, he made a textbook wheels-up landing, which I was very happy to see on the runway behind us.
It was a joint operation between RAAF, New South Wales police, ambulance, NSW fire brigade – everybody was there and it ended really well. Thank goodness.
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Police investigate death of three-week-old girl in north Queensland
Queensland police from the Innisfail child protection and investigation unit are investigating the death of a three-week-old baby girl.
A police media spokesperson said emergency services were called to a home at about 9.30am on Saturday 11 May and found the newborn unresponsive. She was taken to hospital where she was declared deceased.
A police investigation has been launched.
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60% of parents ‘seriously concerned’ about their child’s mental health, survey finds
Beyond Blue has released a new study which has found 60% of parents with primary school aged children are “seriously concerned about their child’s mental health, with 1 in 3 extremely concerned”.
The community survey found:
More than half of parents are moderately or extremely concerned about their child’s mental health (60%). Nearly 1 in 3 parents are extremely concerned (30%).
Nearly 1 in 3 parents are also reporting poor mental health – either unsettled (22%) or struggling (8%).
Over half of parents say bullying (54%) and screen time (51%) are the main issues impacting their kids.
Over a third (39%) of parents also worried about social media and the stresses of learning.
Cost-of-living pressures are the number one stress factor for parents (68%).
Half of parents also said lack of time was a stress factor for them (50%). A third listed work demands as a key issue (33%).
1 in 3 parents aren’t satisfied with the amount of time they get to practice self-care (33%).
More positively, most parents (over 80%) are confident they can recognise the signs of concern in their child and know where to go for support.
The Ipsos Community Sentiment Poll surveyed a representative sample of 1,000 parents in April.
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UniSuper still working to restore account balances after week-long outage
UniSuper is still working to restore its superannuation account balances days after a week-long outage of the service came to an end after Google Cloud accidentally deleted the fund’s cloud account.
We reported on Thursday that balances being restored last week were outdated due to the fund needing to restore a backup of the platform. The UniSuper CEO, Peter Chun, told members in an email on Monday that online services had been restored including viewing balance, request investment switches, view performance and request withdrawals.
But he indicated more work needed to be done:
We’re still restoring functionality of our retirement calculators, but this will be back soon.
Please note that account balances shown may not reflect transactions which have not yet been processed due to our recent system outage. We are processing transactions as quickly as we can, and additional resources have been put on to minimise delays.
Google Cloud described the outage as a “one-of-a-kind” misconfiguration that had never happened before.
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New drugs added to PBS including for endometrial cancer and kidney disease
The health minister, Mark Butler, has announced new drugs have been added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme; two of which will help people with endometrial cancer or chronic kidney disease.
As AAP reports:
Dostarlimab, which is used in combination with chemotherapy to treat endometrial cancer, and Difelikefalin, which is offered to Australians undergoing haemodialysis who experience itching, will both be added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from 1 May.
Without the subsidy, the 200 women who use the cancer treatment could otherwise pay more than $139,000 for each course of treatment.
Australians with advanced chronic kidney disease undergoing haemodialysis can experience pruritus, a form of moderate-to-severe itching which can negatively impact sleep, mood and quality of life and is associated with infections and increased mortality.
Without the listing of Difelikefalin, these patients could spend $7,200 a year.
From May, they will pay a maximum of $31.60 per script or $7.70 with a concession card.
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Ministers emerge from ‘constructive’ talks with education sector on international student cap
Ministers have emerged from a “positive and constructive” meeting with the Council of International Education after the body sounded the alarm over a proposed cap on international students.
The reforms, announced on Saturday, would allow the commonwealth to determine the number of international students to be admitted to individual institutions, determined in large part on their ability to build additional student housing.
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, said the federal government noted the size of the changes:
The meeting was positive and constructive. Our government is implementing big changes. We understand that. And we will work collaboratively with the sector to manage them.
The leadership of this sector also understand that things could not continue with the lazy policy settings left to us. No plan for migration, no plan for population, no plan for housing, no plan to ensure the sector meets skills shortages. For a sector this big and this important, it’s just not good enough.
The education minister, Jason Clare, reiterated international education was a “valuable national asset”, adding the reforms would help to set the sector up for the future:
Today we kicked off detailed consultation with leaders from the international education sector to make sure we get the design and implementation of these critical reforms right.
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Jury chosen in Greg Lynn murder trial
A jury has been empanelled in the double murder trial of Gregory Lynn in the Victorian supreme court.
Lynn, 57, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Russell Hill and Carol Clay in the state’s alpine region in March 2020.
Fifteen jurors, eight men and seven women, were empanelled on Monday afternoon.
Three of the jurors will be reserve jurors, which Justice Michael Croucher explained were considered necessary given the trial was expected to take four to six weeks.
Croucher earlier told the court that Lynn was accused of killing Hill and Clay at Buck’s Camp, in the Wonnangatta Valley, on or about 20 March 2020.
Croucher said Lynn was a Jetstar airline captain at the time of the alleged murders. He is alleged to have shot Clay, 73, in the head and to have killed Hill, 74, Croucher said.
The jury pool was earlier given a list of dozens of potential witnesses or other people allegedly connected to the case, including police, court staff, scientists and park rangers.
Should the 15 jurors still be available at the end of the trial, Croucher said three would be balloted off, aside from the foreperson, before deciding on a verdict.
The trial is expected to hear openings from the prosecutor, Daniel Porceddu, and Lynn’s lawyer, Dermot Dann KC, on Tuesday, and to then start hearing from witnesses.
Updated
NSW police Supt Wayne Humphrey will address the media after the emergency plane landing very shortly – for those who didn’t see it, here it is coming in to land:
Updated
Plane makes emergency landing at Newcastle airport after circling for hours
A small plane has performed an emergency landing at Newcastle airport after its landing gear failed.
The plane had been circling in the air above Newcastle in New South Wales for almost four hours, after discovering the mechanical issue almost immediately after departing the city for its planned flight to Port Macquarie.
Emergency services have been on the scene for hours, as have onlookers expecting the landing. The flight was also the most tracked flight on Monday morning as observers tracked it online around the globe.
The Beechcraft B200 Super King Air small turboprop plane, which is normally configured to seat about 13 passengers, flies private charter routes out of Eastern Air Services’ base in Port Macquarie.
Three people were understood to be onboard, including the pilot.
The extent of damage is unclear.
Read more here:
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Academics and uni staff back pro-Palestine encampments in open letter
More than 250 Australian academics and professional university staff have signed an open letter in support of pro-Palestine student encampments established around the nation.
The letter, drafted by Monash Staff 4 Palestine, upholds free speech on campuses and rejects media and political characterisations of the protests as antisemitic.
We are proud of our students who have established peaceful encampments across Australia. These camps are open spaces of learning, solidarity, and support for everyone, with many organisers and leading activists being Jewish themselves – they are not a threat.
The letter calls on vice-chancellors to meet with the students and work to uphold their “reasonable and urgent political demands”.
It comes as footage circulated overnight of an encampment at the University of Melbourne that was allegedly attacked with people carrying glass bottles, bats and fire extinguishers. It is understood there were no injuries.
A University of Melbourne spokeswoman confirmed a “small group” of “unidentifiable people on scooters” wearing masks and hooded shirts entered the Parkville campus and “aggressively harassed” a group of students who were exercising their right to peaceful protest on the University’s South Lawn.
Police attended after being called by university security.
OUR CAMP IS UNDER ATTACK. People with glass bottles, bats and fire extinguishers have attempted to breach the camp boundaries. we’re calling on the community to come with numbers to defend the camp and stay the night. We have tents available. Free Palestine 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/t0fcLGtRuN
— Unimelb for Palestine (@Umelb4Palestine) May 12, 2024
In a statement yesterday, the University of Melbourne 4 Palestine said it would no longer be addressing traditional media as a result of the “purposeful misappropriation of interviews provided in good faith”.
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(continued from previous post)
The draft resolution was watered down from the version that was originally circulated, to make clear that Palestine has no voting rights and emphasising UN membership can only be achieved in conformity with the UN charter (meaning both the security council and general assembly have to agree). So that means there is no real practical impact at the current time beyond symbolism, and a gauge of international frustration about a lack of progress towards a two-state solution.
So how did Australia line up compared with its allies and partners?
The “yes” vote on Palestinian membership of the UN clearly put Australia at odds with the US and Israel (they were among just nine countries to oppose the resolution outright).
But the 143 supporters of the general assembly resolution included a number of like-minded countries, including New Zealand, France and South Korea.
Three of the four members of the Quad – Australia, Japan and India – voted yes.
The 25 countries that abstained rather than taking an explicit position included the UK, Canada and Germany.
The Australian government has been at pains to emphasise that voting for Palestinian membership of the UN was not the same as bilaterally recognising Palestine as a state. That step does not appear to be imminent. Crucially, however, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, confirmed on Saturday that the Australia government will recognise Palestine “when we think the time is right” and “no longer believes that recognition can only come at the end of a peace process”.
Australian governments have traditionally held that such recognition can only happen at the end of a bilaterally negotiated settlement between Israel and Palestine, but many countries are now seeing that that approach has failed and are looking to different ways to build momentum.
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Analysis: Australia's UN vote
There has been a lot of reaction – opposing and supporting – the Australian government’s decision to vote yes on UN membership for Palestine at the general assembly in New York over the weekend, so it might be worth taking a moment to step through exactly what the resolution does and doesn’t do.
A clear majority of the much smaller and more powerful grouping – the 15-member UN security council – last month supported giving Palestine full membership status at the UN, but the US used its veto rights to scuttle the idea.
The UN general assembly – where all UN member states have a vote – then considered the issue (on Friday New York time, Saturday Australian time). The resolution backed by 143 member states, including Australia, expressed the view “that the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations” and “recommends” that the UN security council “reconsider the matter favourably”.
But there is no immediate prospect of that happening, because the US is likely to wield its veto on the security council again, holding to the position that statehood can only be achieved through direct negotiations with Israel. That means the Palestinian delegation will continue to hold its existing status as a “non-member observer state”, akin to the Holy See.
In the meantime, then, the general assembly decided “on an exceptional basis and without setting a precedent” to extend some “additional rights and privileges of participation” to the Palestinian delegation while it remained an observer. These include things like the right to be seated among member states in alphabetical order, the right to submit proposals and amendments, and the right to raise procedural motions. But, crucially, the resolution makes clear that Palestine “does not have the right to vote in the general assembly or to put forward its candidature to United Nations organs”.
(continued in next post)
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Plane moves off coast of Newcastle as it continues in holding pattern
The small regional plane which has been circling above Newcastle airport for about three hours with a reported non-operational landing gear has moved off the coast of Newcastle as it continues in a holding pattern.
The Beechcraft B200 Super King Air had circled a repeated loop for the past three hours, but in the last 10 minutes or so it has flown eastwards, and is now performing a holding pattern above Nelson Bay.
Fire trucks, police, the State Emergency Service and ambulances are on scene at Newcastle airport. An operations room has been set up at a nearby defence base at Williamtown.
Various reports suggest there are three people on board the plane, however, this has not yet been confirmed.
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NAB business survey finds price pressure is easing and confidence remains steady
While many eyes are on budget matters, there’s a bit of economic information out today too. NAB’s monthly business survey is one item, and it tells a story the Reserve Bank will want to hear.
In short, business conditions eased last month, bringing the survey’s main groups back to their long-run averages. Confidence remained steady but slightly below the norm.
Importantly, the employment index eased back too. While not pointing to a decline in jobs at least it was outperforming as much as it was earlier in the year.
NAB said:
In terms of costs, there was some moderation across both labour and input purchases, and retail price growth slowed to 0.9% in quarterly equivalent terms.
Overall, these signs of slowing activity and easing costs support the outlook for gradual improvement in inflation from here, but how quickly this occurs remains to be seen.
April is, of course, just one of the three months that will make up this quarter. Still, the apparent absence of strong pricing pressure might suggest headline inflation might not perk up that much – if at all – during the current quarter. (Remember that prior to the March “upside surprise”, economists had underestimated how fast inflation was slowing for the previous five months. Perhaps that trend will return.)
Anyway, we’re not quite in Panglossian territory. As the NAB’s chief economist, Alan Oster, notes, we don’t actually want the economy to tank either:
Retail and wholesale forward orders are also quite negative, so that is a worrying sign for the outlook.
Updated
Cap on international students will cost jobs, education council warns
The Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (Iteca) is concerned about the Albanese government’s plan to cap international student numbers, warning it will cost jobs.
An Iteca spokesperson said:
Although there are some positive approaches regarding quality that Iteca members support, the draft framework sets out a policy direction driven by short-term populism over concerns about overseas migration and tenuous links between the cost of housing in urban centres.
Iteca members have problems with the government’s command-and-control approach to international education set out in the draft framework. It seeks to tell independent tertiary education institutions what they should and shouldn’t offer international students. For international students, the Australian government’s approach is even more profound as it suggests that the government tell students what they will study and where.
On balance, Iteca members believe the framework is a collection of ordinary policy options lumped together with a series of bad ones. It reflects a chaotic approach to international education, where there is little relationship between tertiary education reform, the migration strategy, and a non-existent population strategy.
The advice from Iteca members is clear. The Australian government’s proposed strategy will cost jobs across more than one thousand international skills training and higher education providers committed to providing quality student outcomes.
We’ll bring you a full explainer on how caps will work shortly.
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Aviation professor on likely conversation between Newcastle pilot and authorities
An aviation professor has shed some light on the conversations likely taking place between authorities and the pilot of a small turboprop regional plane circling above Newcastle airport reportedly without a functioning landing gear.
Doug Drury, a professor of aviation at Central Queensland University, says the pilot of the plane – a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air small turboprop 10-13 seater plane that flies private charter routes out of Eastern Air Services’ base in Port Macquarie – would likely be in constant contact with maintenance teams troubleshooting solutions.
My guess would be it’s not so much burning off fuel as it is trying to figure out what the problem is and if there is anything they can do to fix it prior to having put it on the ground.
If you’re landing without your landing gear, you’re going to do quite a bit of damage to the engines as well as the belly of the aircraft.
I would imagine they would also attempt to do a grass landing if possible, but with all the rain we’ve experienced lately that might make it difficult.
If there are fire crews on ground waiting for this to land, I’d imagine they could also put in on a runway.
They would be in contact with a maintenance team to go through as many trials as they can, like pull this circuit breaker, pull this switch, try this this, try that.
Updated
Some more on the incident above Newcastle airport, where a plane without a functioning landing gear is circling.
NSW police released a statement saying:
About 9.30am today (Monday 13 May 2024), emergency services were called to Newcastle Airport following reports of an aircraft with mechanical issues.
Officers attached Port Stephens Hunter Police District are on scene.
No further details are known at this stage.
Updated
Thousands of people are tracking the plane as it circles Newcastle airport
Updated
Plane circling Newcastle airport amid reports landing gear not working
Authorities are bracing for an incident at Newcastle airport in New South Wales amid reports a plane’s landing gear is not functioning properly.
On Monday morning, a small regional turboprop airliner registered on a flight path from Newcastle to Port Macquarie was circling in a holding pattern repeatedly.
A NSW police spokesperson said authorities were responding to reports of a plane with its landing gear in a non-operational state and said it was now running low on fuel.
Ambulance are also responding to the incident.
Updated
Live sheep exports to end in 2028
The Albanese government has announced its end date for live sheep exports, which was part of its election promises.
As Tory Shepherd reports, the government has announced 2028 as the end of the export trade, with three years for industry to adjust.
The opposition’s Kevin Hogan says the decision proves that Labor doesn’t “care about our farmers, just inner-city elites”.
But it pays to remember that Liberal deputy leader Sussan Ley was once so passionate about the issue, she created a private members’ bill, which was supported by Sarah Henderson, calling on her own government to do the same thing.
That was back in 2018. Early last year, Ley announced she had backflipped on the issue after “reflecting” on “improvements” she said the industry had made and now backed in the Coalition’s position that the trade continue.
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Warragamba Dam still spilling
Sydney’s Warragamba Dam continues to spill on Monday after beginning on Sunday morning.
A spokesperson for WaterNSW said the spill rate was about 40 gigalitres per day and decreasing.
The water reservoir last spilled after heavy rain on 6 April, causing catastrophic damage to some homes nearby.
The rate is significantly lower than that spill which peaked at 220 gigalitres per day.
Updated
Federal court ends injunction on X over videos of Wakeley church stabbing
The federal court has refused to extend an injunction against Elon Musk’s X over 65 tweets containing video of the Wakeley church stabbing, ahead of a final hearing in the case likely in June.
Last month, X was ordered to hide the posts of the stabbing attack on bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel while he was giving a livestreamed service at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church in the suburb of Wakeley.
eSafety sought a federal court injunction after X only made the tweets unavailable to Australian users and vowed to challenge the notice. The injunction was due to expire on Monday unless the court extended the order ahead of a final hearing expected in mid-June.
Justice Geoffrey Kennett on Monday refused the application to extend the injunction. He said his reasons would likely be published later today on why it was refused, so it is not clear to what extent it is concern over the whole case or just how the injunction was initially put on X.
In a hearing for the injunction on Friday, Kennett heard from X’s barrister, Bret Walker SC, that the wording of the order to hide the tweets was not something X could technically comply with. Kennett said he was “troubled” by that in the hearing.
The case returns to court on Wednesday.
Updated
Budget decisions ‘put downward pressure on inflation’, Gallagher says
Peter Hannam wrote a little about the discrepancy between the RBA’s forecasts of when inflation will return to its target band of 2-3% and Treasury’s a little bit earlier today.
When we talk about the RBA target band of inflation, we are talking about the trimmed mean – it is underlying inflation, so all the volatile inputs (so if produce prices increase because of floods etc) are stripped out.
2-3% is what the RBA considers a sustainable rate of inflation – the level it is most compatible with sustainable economic growth (according to the bank).
Inflation is currently at 3.6%. The RBA forecasts it will get to 3% at the end of next year. Treasury thinks it will be the end of this year.
Katy Gallagher spoke to the Nine Network this morning about the difference in predictions:
Well, the inflation projections or the forecasts that are done by the RBA are done independently of government, obviously. The Treasury forecasts, which will be released in the budget, have taken into consideration all of the decisions we’ve taken in the budget. Obviously that wasn’t available to the RBA.
So I don’t think there’s any surprise that there’s a bit of a difference there. But that goes to the point I made that the decisions we’ve taken in this budget put downward pressure on inflation. We want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
And we want to make sure we can give people some cost-of-living relief.
So, the tax cuts obviously are the big part of that in this budget, but some further cost-of-living relief in recognition that people are doing it really tough right around the country.
Updated
NSW investigating ‘alarming’ non-vote figures in state election
Almost 800,000 people failed to have their votes counted at the 2023 NSW election, prompting a government-led inquiry into the state’s “democratic gap”.
The special minister of state, John Graham, said the inquiry would look at ways to boost the state vote after 791,759 eligible voters failed to get their vote counted at the March poll, which was won by Labor after 12 years in opposition.
Some 74,677 people were eligible to vote but not enrolled, 553,646 were enrolled but did not vote and 163,436 people cast an informal vote.
Graham said in a statement:
It is both alarming and disappointing that almost 800,000 votes did not count at last year’s NSW election.
Unless we tackle this problem, our political system will be less representative and less responsive than it should be.
Closing this democratic gap is important for the future of our electoral system.
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Renewables need less maintenance spending – but consumers unlikely to benefit
AAP has looked at whether or not the lower maintenance spend on energy networks as the grid transitions to renewables will mean lower power bills for consumers. And the answer is … don’t get your hopes up:
Consumers are unlikely to benefit from lower maintenance spending by networks as higher-cost coal-fired power plants make way for new energy sources.
The renewable energy transition was expected to slow the growth in electricity maintenance spending and there would be some years where maintenance on electricity generators falls, according to Oxford Economics Australia forecaster Nicholas Fearnley.
“Renewable generators require much less maintenance than fossil fuel generators per megawatt hour, and so maintenance spending will naturally fall as coal power plants are replaced by wind and solar,” Dr. Fearnley said.
While not necessarily bad news for maintenance jobs, as renewable energy expands its footprint, savings are not expected to flow through to power bills.
Instead, reduced spending will be largely offset by growing maintenance spending on transmission networks as they are expanded to unlock new renewable energy zones.
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(continued from previous post)
However, for households to be pulling back even further (retail sales in March were growing at the slowest pace on record, outside the Covid contortions), seems a pessimistic. The government would have to be uncharacteristically miserly a year out (at the most) from a federal budget, for starters.
Does the forecast gap matter? For the RBA, not necessarily. They’ll look at the data – especially core inflation – as it lands, including the budget’s components, and will cut or lift the cash rate as it sees fit.
But Treasury and its credibility will also be tested.
If they’re wrong it may be because the budget underestimated demand in the economy, and inflation is higher. That would likely mean more revenue (and less spending) than whatever is estimated in the budget, but also less chance of early RBA interest rate cuts.
More to come, especially after 7.30pm AEDT tomorrow.
Updated
Why is the government more optimistic about inflation than the RBA?
As Karen Middleton detailed this morning, the federal budget will project headline inflation to be back within the Reserve Bank‘s 2%-3% target range by the end of this calendar year – about a year earlier than the RBA forecast.
Without seeing the full budget (we get that tomorrow), it’s not yet possible to understand the discrepancy.
Another curiosity might be how headline inflation eases to 3.5% by June when the mid-year forecast from the end of 2023 had it at 3.75% and we’ve lately seen some March quarter stickiness. (Rounding might be part of the reason.)
The annual rate for the March quarter was 3.6%, slightly above economists’ predictions. Importantly, that prompted the RBA to nudge its June CPI forecast higher to 3.8% when it had been tipping 3.3% by then just three months ago.
Independent economist Chris Richardson noted the RBA’s model used information up to 1 May, which obviously omits tomorrow’s budget. Still, it’s a bit of a puzzle since other information out since the start of May has been mostly about more government spending by the states – perhaps $6bn more from the pre-election budgets for Queensland and Western Australia, and Victoria.
“One possibility is if Treasury sees lower private consumption spending than the RBA does,” Richardson tells us. “That would have the potential to square the circle.”
(continued in next post)
Updated
For those looking for a budget primer, your Canberra team has prepared this – what we know so far
Queensland inquiry to look at rising supermarket prices
Coles and Woolworths executives will continue their circuit of government inquiries – today it is in Queensland, where the parliament has set up its own inquiry into prices.
This inquiry is specifically focused on Queensland and the different prices you may find around the state, as well as what is happening to producers.
Updated
Four-year-old boy drowns in Melbourne swamp
A four-year-old boy has died in swampland waters in Melbourne’s outer southeast.
Emergency services were called to Lagoon Row in Officer after reports a child had been located unresponsive in the water about 5pm on Sunday.
The boy, from Swan Hill in Victoria’s north-west, died at the scene.
Police say the death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
– via AAP
Updated
Junior rugby players push ambulance that broke down on field in Queensland
There has been a bit more excitement than usual at the Fassifern Bombers home ground in Scenic Rim, Queensland, after an ambulance broke down on the field on Sunday.
Club president Paul Roderick told the Seven network how it all went down:
There was a young fella copped a pretty nasty leg injury and the original ambulance come up, but they needed some extra help to stabilise his leg. So the ambulance put him in, they stabilised him, and they took off, and because the original one was there so long, I think they left their lights on and it was a flat battery.
So how did it get off the ground?
The players pushed it, of course.
Roderick says:
We put the call out for jumper leads. We had a ute out there, but we couldn’t get it started, so the boys just took the matter into their own hands, I guess.
Updated
Is this … debate?
For those who missed it (how I envy you) here is an example of the weekly “debate” between Tanya Plibersek and Barnaby Joyce.
Just before this, the pair had spent a good minute talking over each other about the budget, with Joyce focused on government debt (which is forecast to be lower under Labor than under the Coalition at the same time) and then Plibersek says:
On Thursday, Peter Dutton will have close to an hour to lay out his alternative economic policy. So will he spend more? Will he cut more? Where are the nuclear reactors going to go and how much are they going to cost?
Joyce: Well, hang on.
Plibersek: He’s going to have close to an hour to talk to the nation.
Joyce: Why are you talking about us? You’re the government. Talk about yourself.
Plibersek: No, no, I’m just saying we’re a year out from an election, Barnaby.
Joyce: Why are you talking about us? You’re the government. You’re going to be in budget tomorrow night, Tanya.
Plibersek: We don’t know anything about what Peter Dutton is planning.
Joyce:
Talk about Jim’s great budget.
Updated
Marginalised groups to release budget score card
“Community-led groups representing First Nations people, welfare recipients, renters, criminalised people, students and young people” have come together ahead of time to announce a budget score card to rate the government spending on some of the most marginalised people in Australian society.
The Antipoverty Centre, Anti-Poverty Network South Australia, Anti-Poverty Network Qld, Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union, Better Renting, Black People’s Union, National Network of Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women & Girls, National Union of Students, Renters & Housing Union, Sisters Inside, Sweltering Cities and Tomorrow Movement have joined together for the initiative, which will see how much the government has done in key areas to address poverty – the top being raising the rate of jobseeker above the Henderson poverty line (which is $88 a day).
The results will be released on Wednesday, as part of the budget reaction.
Updated
SA engages former high court chief judge to look at social media restrictions for kids
On social media restrictions for children, South Australia has asked former high court chief justice Robert French to look into what governments would need to do. Peter Malinauskas says:
As governments, we regularly intervene in regulating products and services where we determine that it’s doing children harm. I just don’t see social media being any different.
It’s not about being a troglodyte or anything, but for children under the age of 14, they’re not getting access to these platforms where it’s doing their harm.
And for 14- and 15-year-olds, it should be with parental consent. I think that’s within our capability of a government with the full powers empowered to us. But there’s a way for it to be implemented, and we’ve engaged a former judge of the high court, no less.
Updated
SA premier calls for restrictions on child access to social media
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, wants to bring more controls around kids under 14 having access to social media apps like Instagram and TikTok.
Malinauskas says political leaders need to act, even though it wouldn’t be easy.
He told the ABC:
If a 13-year-old wakes up this morning in Australia and decides they’re going to download a sports-betting account and try to set up their own account, they won’t be able to do it. Now, we’ve been able to achieve it for sports betting or online bookmakers. I think we should be able to achieve it with social media platforms.
Now, look, I don’t want to be naive about the fact that, you know, there are going to be difficulties associated with this. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to do something about it. And I think we’re past the time now where we can just sit on our hands and cross our fingers that the altruism of big, massive tech giants is going to see us through here.
I just don’t believe that’s the case.
I think that governments have a responsibility to regulate in this area, notwithstanding the difficulties. We’ve got to start working our way through the issues.
Updated
NSW cabinet to consider bail law reforms
The NSW government is taking bail reforms aimed at bolstering protections for victims of domestic violence to cabinet, with legislation to be tabled in parliament this week, AAP reports.
The premier, Chris Minns, says the legislation will make it more difficult for those accused of violence offences to receive bail. He told Sydney radio 2GB:
We’re particularly focusing on [accused] high-risk offenders that are facing serious charges in the court whether they’ve got a criminal history or not, who pose an ongoing risk to their former intimate partner.
We’re particularly looking at that question around bail or remand.
The death last month of Forbes woman Molly Ticehurst, allegedly at the hands of a former partner who was already on bail on charges of raping, stalking and intimidating her, has spurred broader political discussion around calls for legal changes.
A woman has been killed every four days in Australia in the year to date, sparking mass rallies and calls for political action at all levels of government.
Updated
Man dies in Parramatta River
A man has died after being pulled from the Parramatta River, New South Wales police say.
Police media says that emergency services were called to a bridge on Church Street in Parramatta about 7.10pm after reports a man had fallen into the river.
Police pulled the man from the river and started CPR before paramedics arrived, however the man died at the scene.
A report is being prepared for the coroner.
Updated
More details on government’s plan to cap international student numbers
The government has released a little more information on its plan to cap international students in a bid to ease housing shortages and clamp down on sub-standard education providers and agents. It will introduce legislation next week which will:
Prevent education providers from owning education agent businesses.
Pause applications for registration from new international education providers and of new courses from existing providers for periods of up to 12 months.
Require new providers seeking registration to demonstrate a track record of quality education delivery to domestic students before they are allowed to recruit international students.
Cancel dormant provider registrations to prevent them being used as a market entry tool by unscrupulous actors.
Prevent providers under serious regulatory investigation from recruiting new international students.
Improve the sharing of data relating to education agents.
In addition, the government will prohibit agent commissions on student transfers between providers in Australia to remove incentives for unscrupulous agents and providers to “poach” students
Updated
Coalition energy plan to be released ‘at a time of the Coalition’s chossing’
The shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, is now speaking to ABC RN Breakfast, where she is attempting to sell the Coalition’s nuclear plan, while also saying there shouldn’t be subsidies for the energy sector, while supporting the gas strategy, while painting the government as being in chaos.
It’s quite the dance.
On nuclear:
[The Coalition will announce its] energy policy not at the time of the media’s choosing or at a time of the government’s choosing but a time of the Coalition’s choosing.
But it will be very clear in advance of the next election the way we want to go about opening up a new energy source for Australia. That will deliver emissions free energy and lower energy prices by increasing the mix of types of energy over the long term.
(Peter Dutton had indicated that the nuclear plan would be announced before the budget, but that is obviously not happening. The new foreshadowing is sometime in June or July, so hold on to your hat.)
Updated
‘Obviously, we need a strong and viable university system’
Given the government is going to force universities to cap the number of international students they accept, as part of the bid to curb migration, will the government be giving universities some additional funding to help make up for the loss in revenue?
Katy Gallagher doesn’t say yes, but she doesn’t say no:
The budget will have a focus on universities and you’ve seen some of those announcements.
Obviously, we need a strong and viable university system.
Government ministers are meeting with representatives from the higher education sector this morning, where that issue will be the main topic of conversation.
Updated
Gallagher: more details of Future Made in Australia plan in budget
Katy Gallagher is asked about the Future Made in Australia plan, which is the renewables/manufacturing roadmap the government announced last month but for which there is not a lot of detail available.
Gallagher says your questions will be answered in the budget:
You’ll see, the you know, the whole picture of that tomorrow.
We can have a discussion then – but it’s not about the government picking winners.
That last comment is in reference to criticism that the plan is new age protectionism with the government to pick winners and losers in the energy space. The government has been pushing back against that criticism, but if you read between the lines, there does seem to be some winners and losers.
Updated
Gallagher on budget: ‘It’s not just the quantum of the spend – it’s the quality’
Katy Gallagher is continuing her defence of the budget not including any raise for people on jobseeker and associated payments.
She tells Fran Kelly on ABC radio RN Breakfast:
It’s a combination of measures really that go to to putting the final budget together … it’s not just the quantum of the spend – it’s the composition, it’s the timing, it’s the quality of the spend.
It’s dealing with some of those issues that are, you know, big challenges that we’ve inherited after 10 years of no decisions.
So housing, housing supply, the energy transformation, these are all things that government is responding to, but we’re responding to it in a measured way through each budget.
Updated
Without free-to-air TV ‘we don’t have a democracy’: Joyce
Over on Channel Seven, Tanya Plibersek and Barnaby Joyce held their weekly “debate” on the political issues that the Seven producers deemed the most consumable.
Among those this morning were free-to-air sport.
Here is a bit of a primer on the issue in case you are just catching up:
Joyce found a way to blame the voice for the lack of legislation:
If the Labor party had spent more time on this rather than the voice, you might have this legislation through.
We still don’t have legislation on something they talked about three years ago and it hasn’t happened.
If we don’t have a free-to-air state we don’t have a democracy.
I hate to say it – ABC, Channel Seven, News Corp, Channel Nine – they do the investigative journalism so people like myself and Tanya, you can keep an eye on us.
Joyce then got to the issue of sport, in a very Joyce way:
There is no journalist in your local town or suburb from Netflix or Stan or Binge, and if you journalists to dig into how the nation works you have to make sure enterprises like that make money and if they don’t have free-to-air sport, they won’t make money.
It is important we can watch the AFL or NRL grand final.
I think the government is doing the right thing in the budget, but I don’t know, because there are no journalists around anymore.
Updated
Brisbane airport baggage chaos
If you are headed to Brisbane airport this morning, you might want to factor in a bit more time than usual – there have been issues with the baggage check in system, which has created a bit of chaos.
It appears to have been an issue with the conveyor belts, which stopped passengers from being able to check their bags in this morning. It appears to have been addressed, but still – maybe build in a little more time this morning if you have some bags.
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Labor looking at migration reform to address ‘big increases when we see them’, Gallagher says
Katy Gallagher was also asked about the increase in the number of international students, as the government is attempting to put some brakes on the sector.
The finance minister says:
We have been trying to make sure that we’re putting in place reforms to the migration system to make sure that we’re dealing with some of these big increases when we see them, but also putting integrity at the heart of the migration system and working with the universities.
This is something that the universities want to work with the government on. There’ll be further discussions this morning about that but I think it is right that the government in conjunction with the universities should consider and should have a say about, you know, all of the people coming to Australia and the conditions that they arrive as students and I think that’s part of a responsible and mature discussion for the government to have.
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Katy Gallagher asked about housing and jobseeker
Finance minister Katy Gallagher spoke to ABC News Breakfast a little earlier this morning, where she was asked why the government isn’t doing anything to increase the base jobseeker rate, given the evidence it can help women escaping violence. Gallagher was also asked about the cost of housing, given how much that is a barrier to people trying to leave violent relationships as well. She said:
We do look at payments every budget and, you know, you’ll see the culmination of those decisions in the budget when it’s handed down on Tuesday. Those payments are indexed, of course, to make sure that they are keeping up with some of the increases in costs.
You will see that on the weekend with our announcement on housing, we are absolutely focused on making sure that we’re working with the states and territories to increase options, particularly for women and women with children who are leaving domestic violence situations.
Gallagher said it was a work in progress:
We have been talking about that in the last fortnight or so, but really it’s work that’s been before us for a long time and we’ll continue to do that.
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Good morning
Good morning and welcome to the 133rd day of the year.
It’s also the Monday before the budget is handed down, which is a strange time in the political calendar. The budget has been printed and is set in stone, but we don’t know what is in it. So it’s a day of rule in, rule out, otherwise known as the “treasurer’s 20 questions”.
This budget has been pretty well telegraphed by the government – no rise to jobseeker, but some increases to other payments like the energy supplement, wage increases for early education childcare workers, stage-three tax changes, and a renewables spend that the government hopes will offset anger over its gas strategy. Oh, and inflation remains the big focus (of course) so don’t expect any direct money in your pocket.
Jim Chalmers foreshadowed some good news in TV interviews on Sunday, indicating that the budget would show inflation falling faster than the Reserve Bank has suggested. The government later released figures indicating it could be back below 3% by the end of this year – a year earlier than the RBA has forecast.
At the same time, the economy is slowing – December’s mid-year forecast of 2.25% real GDP growth for 2024-25 has been downgraded to 2%, and from 2.5% to 2.25% the year after.
Still, we won’t know until we know, so today has more than a bit of a Schrodinger’s cat about it.
We’ll cover that all off for you as we mix politics and general news to keep you all across what you need to know.
In non-political news, Chris Dawson, who in 2022 was convicted of the murder of his wife in 1982, will be back in court as he asks for his conviction to be overturned.
Dawson has alleged he is the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
We will bring you all the news as it happens – you have Amy Remeikis with you for most of the day, and my second coffee is brewing.
Ready?
Let’s get into it.
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