What we learned: Tuesday 17 December
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. Here were the day’s major developments:
New South Wales police say they have found a second body, believed to be Jai-Bao “Rex” Chen, in Sydney’s south as part of the investigation into the suspected murder of his wife, Zhuojun “Sally” Li. Police are treating the deaths as a likely double murder and say at least two people are involved who have fled overseas.
A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck near Port Vila in Vanuatu. A tsunami warning was issued for the Pacific island nation and Anthony Albanese says the Australian government is ready to respond to a request from assistance.
Qantas will pay $120m in compensation to more than 1,800 baggage handlers it was found to have illegally sacked in 2020, as the full cost of its controversial outsourcing decision continues to grow.
Victoria’s premier announced sweeping anti-protest measures in Victoria “to combat antisemitism”. Jacinta Allan said the flags of Hamas, Hezbollah and white nationalist extremist groups would be banned in the state.
And the ACCC said it had “uncovered a range of concerning practices” in recent Black Friday sales advertising, which may have been misleading to customers. The consumer watchdog is considering further investigation.
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Following up on that statement from Dfat, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said the government is ready to assist the people of Vanuatu however it can.
In a post on X, Albanese said:
Australians are thinking of our friends and neighbours in Vanuatu after the devastating earthquake that struck their home this afternoon.
We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to assist the people of Vanuatu in any way we can.
Australians are thinking of our friends and neighbours in Vanuatu after the devastating earthquake that struck their home this afternoon. We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to assist the people of Vanuatu in any way we can.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) December 17, 2024
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Australian government ready to respond to a request for assistance from Vanuatu
The department of foreign affairs and trade (Dfat) says the Australian government is ready to respond to a request for assistance from Vanuatu following today’s 7.3-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami warning.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Dfat said it was “urgently seeking information” from the Australian High Commission in Pacific island nation’s capital, Port Vila, to work out the impact of the earthquake on the local population and Australians who were there.
Guardian Australia understands the earthquake has affected communications in Vanuatu, including with government officials.
The Dfat spokesperson said:
Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu at this distressing time.
Dfat is able to provide a wide range of support, subject to need, through emergency and development programs.
Australians in Vanuatu requiring consular assistance should contact the Australian Government’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135 (within Australia) or +61 6261 3305 (from overseas).
The Australian government does not track the number of Australian citizens, permanent residents, or their immediate families at locations overseas.
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Qantas CEO apologises again to illegally sacked ground handlers
Qantas’s chief executive, Vanessa Hudson, has reiterated the airline’s “sincere apologies” to about 1,800 ground handlers it was found to have illegally sacked, after it reached an agreement to pay them $120m in compensation more than four years after outsourcing their jobs.
In a statement, Hudson – who served as chief financial officer at the airline under former CEO Alan Joyce when the outsourcing decision was made – said reaching an agreement with the Transport Workers Union (TWU) over a compensation amount “is an important step in bringing closure” to their former employees.
Hudson said:
I want to reiterate our sincere apologies to those impacted and their families.
We know this has been a difficult period for those affected and are pleased we have been able to work closely with the TWU to expedite this process and resolve it ahead of Christmas.
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Qantas to pay $120m compensation to illegally sacked workers
Qantas will pay $120m in compensation to more than 1,800 baggage handlers it was found to have illegally sacked in 2020, as the full cost of its controversial outsourcing decision continues to grow.
On Tuesday, Qantas and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) announced they had finally reached an agreement as to the payout, following a years-long legal battle that included the airline appealing the initial decision to the full bench of the federal court and later the high court – both of which were unsuccessful.
After losing its final appeal, the two parties spent more than a year in mediation and remedy hearings to determine how much Qantas would have to pay the outsourced workers for economic losses linked to lost wages.
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Doherty has said police believe there were at least two people involved who travelled to Queensland before leaving the country.
He said there was a “strong likelihood” that the body found today was that of Chen, and if that was the case, his phone had been used after his death by someone responsible for it.
He said:
We retrieved Rex’s phone in Queensland.
We’re looking at now not only making those inquiries in Queensland, but we now have made a number of liaisons with Taiwan authorities and Chinese authorities.
That phone has been forensically examined as well, and from the inquiries … so far, we believe there’s at least two people involved and both have travelled overseas.
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NSW police say couple may have been killed in 'targeted double murder'
The New South Wales police homicide squad commander, Det Supt Danny Doherty, says the death of Zhuojun “Sally” Li and the suspected death of her husband were “more than likely a targeted double murder”.
Doherty has spoken to reporters in Sydney after a second body was found during the investigation into the suspected murder of 33-year-old Li, whose body was found in a park near Sydney airport last week.
Detectives investigating Zhuojun’s death and the disappearance of her husband, Jai-Bao “Rex” Chen, also 33, found the second body earlier this afternoon.
Doherty said the second body was found in a creek at Sir Joseph Banks Park, near where Li’s body was found wrapped in plastic on 9 December.
He said the second body was found underneath thick foliage and was yet to be removed from the creek or identified, but it was likely to be Chen’s body.
Doherty said:
At this stage we are treating it as more than likely a targeted double murder.
As we said previously a very strong investigative theory is that a third party is involved.
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Treasurer says Dfat will advise Australians in Vanuatu after 7.3-magnitude quake
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has said he is thinking of the “wonderful people of Vanuatu” who are now facing the “very serious threat” of a tsunami.
A tsunami warning was issued for the Pacific island nation after a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck its capital, Port Vila, earlier today.
Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Chalmers said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) would assist any Australians who were in Vanuatu.
Chalmers said:
We are thinking of the wonderful people of Vanuatu who are worried now, battening down the hatches, dealing with the consequences of an earthquake and this tsunami warning.
This news is relatively new but we know the wonderful people of Dfat will provide the relevant advice when they can about Australians who may be caught there and the relevant travel advice for Australians who might be considering going there.
You can read more of our coverage here:
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Detectives find second body at Botany after woman's death
New South Wales police say they have found a second body in Sydney’s south as part of the investigation into the suspected murder of 33-year-old Zhuojun “Sally” Li.
Li’s body was found wrapped in plastic in bushland at Sir Joseph Banks Park in Botany near Sydney airport on 9 December.
Homicide detectives set up Strike Force Zygon to investigate Li’s death.
She had been reported missing when her mother was unable to get in contact with her, police said.
On 14 December, police made a public appeal to locate Li’s husband, Jai-Bao “Rex” Chen, also 33, saying they held “grave concerns” for his welfare.
Police said detectives found a second body about 2pm today at the same location they found Li’s body.
The body is yet to be formally identified.
Police have said their investigation continues and they are still appealing for people to contact them if they have any information about a silver Toyota Avensis they say stopped on the northern side of Foreshore Road in Botany between 4am and 5am on 30 November.
Police will address the media later this afternoon. We’ll bring you more information when we can.
You can read our previous coverage here:
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Super and rental deductions top annual ‘tax expenditure’ list
Just as this time of year brings us the joys of the release of the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (tomorrow morning), it’s also around now that the government liberates its “tax expenditure statement”.
Basically, the latter tallies up what various concessions – such as superannuation contributions – cost the budget.
Once again, super concessions take the biggest chunk, with a combined $51.35bn, Treasury said.
We did have a query about the projected growth of super contributions since the statement contained this line: “Following the 2023-24 Budget measure Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions, the concessional headline tax rate on earnings corresponding to an individual’s superannuation balance over the $3m threshold will be 30% from 1 July 2025.”
That budget measure ended up NOT passing parliament, so presumably the projected size of those concessions will now be reduced over the forward estimates. We’ve asked the treasurer Jim Chalmers’ office to clarify.
As in previous years (and for future ones), the benefits of tax concessions skew towards higher earners. For super, people earning above the median income collected 83% of the benefit, with those in the 10% of earners accounting for 43% of the concession.
Ditto for those 2.4m people claiming $47.9bn in rental deductions in 2021-22. The reduction amounted to $16.9bn in total tax reductions.
The summary said:
Of the total number of people with rental deductions, around 42% (1m) had a rental loss, known as negative gearing, which added up to total rental losses of $6.3bn.
In 2021–22, 81% of the total tax reduction from rental deductions went to people with above median income, with 39% of the reduction going to people in the top taxable income decile.
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Eight suicides after voluntary assisted dying denied, Victorian coroner finds
From AAP:
Eight people with declining health who were denied access to voluntary assisted dying (VAD) have taken their own lives since the laws came into effect in Victoria, a coroner has found.
Coroner Simon McGregor said there had been eight deaths by suicide since the laws came into effect in 2017, where the investigating coroner found their decline in health was irreversible but their efforts to access to VAD were rebuffed “because they did not meet the strict criterion”.
A ninth death after an attempt to access VAD could not be confirmed as suicide but it was a possibility.
He asked the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board to consider developing a body of evidence “about where there may be opportunities to improve the operation of voluntary assisted dying in the state”.
If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
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SA delivers bigger budget surplus than expected
Stronger revenues from the property market and a buoyant economy have helped the South Australian government deliver a better-than-expected budget surplus, AAP has reported.
Treasurer Stephen Mullighan said the 2023-24 surplus of $413m was $107m higher than projected in the budget in June, setting the scene for further surpluses in the next four years.
Delivering the midyear budget review on Tuesday, Mullighan said the state’s strong economic position would support a boost in infrastructure spending and provide more funding for health, housing and child protection.
The budget update forecasts a $201m operating surplus for this 2024-25 financial year, with projections for more across the forward estimates.
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New travel advice after Vanuatu earthquake
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has just issued new travel advice via Smartraveller for Vanuatu re the earthquake:
A 7.3 magnitude earthquake has struck near Port Vila. There’s a tsunami warning in place. If you’re in the affected area, move to higher ground. Monitor local media for updates and follow the advice of local authorities.
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Townsville elects third mayor in three weeks
Townsville has elected a third mayor in three weeks, after the city’s acting mayor stood aside on Tuesday morning.
The new acting mayor, Ann-Maree Greaney, stood unopposed for the role though two councillors reportedly voted against her appointment.
The mayor’s office has been a revolving door since Troy Thompson was suspended for 12 months, on full pay, amid a Crime and Corruption Commission probe into claims he exaggerated his military service record.
The suspension resulted in the appointment of Paul Jacob as acting mayor. Jacob had been elected deputy mayor – a one-year term – by fellow councillors in April.
But on Tuesday, after speculation of a move against Jacob, he stood aside. Greaney was elected. Jacob was reportedly one of two councillors who voted against her appointment.
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Shorten:
The scheme is a little bit in danger of being a two-class scheme. If you’re well off, middle class and in one of the big cities on the mainland, you can get your experts, you can get your reports.
But if you live in areas where there’s not so many, where there’s a shortage of skilled professionals by us bringing in-house the assessors, which is what we’ve essentially announced today for tomorrow’s MYEFO or the mid-term, the midyear budget, it now means we’ll have greater quality control, and it means that poorer people, people in regional areas, they’re going to get a more equitable access to the scheme and the assessments than they’ve currently been receiving
Shorten rejected comparisons between the new model and the former Morrison government’s independent assessments for NDIS participants, which was ultimately abandoned after a major backlash from disability advocates.
The minister said unlike the former government’s “one-size-fits-all” assessments, which were to be conducted by contractors, Labor’s agency-run model would be tailored to the individual needs of participants:
They won’t be done by, you know, contractors working for large companies, working on a clock of half an hour. We will take as long as it needs for the assessment to be done. That’s a big difference.
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Circling back to Bill Shorten’s announcement of an extra $1bn for the NDIS in Wednesday’s midyear budget update, the minister has been asked about the funding at a press conference in Tasmania.
The investment includes $280m for the National Disability Insurance Agency – which runs the scheme – to roll out a new “in-house” system to assess participants’ funding needs.
The agency will conduct and pay for the assessments, meaning families would no longer have to fork out for reports about their condition from medical professionals.
Shorten said the new model, which was a recommendation from last year’s landmark NDIS review, would stop the NDIS becoming a “two-class scheme” in which wealth and location determined whether a participant could access a proper assessment.
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There is no tsunami threat to Australia after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit Vanuatu.
No #tsunami threat to Australia from magnitude 7.5 #earthquake near VANUATU ISLANDS. Latest advice at https://t.co/Tynv3ZQpEq. pic.twitter.com/oJjzgizulb
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) December 17, 2024
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Woman missing in Blue Mountains
Police have serious welfare concerns for a woman who went missing in the Blue Mountains and are appealing for information to help their search.
Marissa Gee, 33, was last seen on Friday in Katoomba. The following day, her car was found on Galwey Lane in Mt Wilson, and her tent was located in Cathedral Reserve camping ground.
NSW police said:
There has been no sign of Marissa and police and family hold serious concerns for her welfare due to the extreme heat in the area.
Marissa is described as being of Caucasian appearance, 167cm tall, medium build, tanned complexion, brown eyes and curly blonde/red hair.
Marissa is known to frequent the Katoomba, Mt Wilson and Bilpin areas.
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Westpac surveys find manufacturers, consumers ending 2024 more upbeat than they started
As 2024 heads for the exit, Westpac has a couple of surveys out today that for the most part point to some optimism about either the conditions or what’s ahead.
The one with manufacturers (and compiled with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) ended with firms contracting or expanding neatly balanced. More promising, though, were the responses about “expected” conditions, with that sub-gauge reaching its highest level since September 2022.
A modest net 5% of manufacturing firms were looking to increase their staff levels “in anticipation of an expected recovery in demand over the period ahead”.
A separate survey with the Melbourne Institute, meanwhile, provided a bit of a mixed picture. Consumer sentiment eased back in December, snapping a run of increases for most of 2024.
Still, confidence remained well above December of 2022 or 2023. “Consumers continue to report solid improvements in ‘current conditions’ – reflecting assessments of finances compared to a year ago and whether now is a good ‘time to buy a major household item.” Family finances were viewed as markedly better than a year ago.
Still, recent bad news on the economy (such as the weak September quarter GDP figures) and the prospect of more when the government releases its mid-year economic and fiscal outlook tomorrow mean sentiment can be a bit fickle.
The conundrum for the government is that consumer funk will make a Reserve Bank interest rate cut more likely in February or April but gloom in the electorate is not really what they want, either.
A sense of optimism was shared by Guardian Australia’s Essential poll respondents, with more than a third (37%) expecting 2025 to be better than 2024 (up 13 points on views in December 2023 of 2024).
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ACCC may investigate ‘concerning’ Black Friday sales advertising
The consumer watchdog has “uncovered a range of concerning practices” by recent Black Friday sales advertising, which may have been misleading to customers, they said in a recent statement.
The ACCC conducted a sweep of sales advertising by Australian businesses following consumer reports with concerns “about the veracity of stated discounts” during recent Black Friday sales.
It “uncovered a range of concerning practices,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said:
“‘Site wide’ discounts that are not in fact site wide, potentially misleading ‘was/now’ pricing, as well as dubious claims about the value of discounts on offer.”
The ACCC are considering some instances for investigation and action, Lowe said.
“The ACCC has already asked a number of retailers to justify their advertising claims. In the meantime, we are warning retailers ahead of post-Christmas sales that they must comply with Australian Consumer Law in all the claims they make.”
You can view examples of misleading sales advertising, outlined by the ACCC, here.
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Meta has responded to that earlier news about the privacy watchdog striking a deal with the tech giant to compensate Australian Facebook users caught up in the Cambridge Analytica saga.
A Meta spokesperson said:
We settled as it is in the best interest of our community and shareholders that we close this chapter on allegations that relate to past practices no longer relevant to how Meta’s products or systems work today.
We look forward to continuing to build services Australians love and trust with privacy at the forefront.
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NSW students to receive Atars tomorrow
New South Wales’ deputy premier and minister for education, Prue Car, has congratulated the students in her state that came first in their courses.
Car is in attendance at a congratulatory ceremony at UNSW, which, amid the heatwave, is thankfully in an air-conditioned auditorium. Students have travelled from Lismore to Forbes and Baulkham Hills to attend the event.
Car said:
You’ve topped the state in your course amongst the biggest ever group of students to achieve this credential – something to be truly proud of.
I also want to recognise the communities that helped these students grow and thrive; thank you to the teachers, families, peers and wider community.
All 79,484 students who have graduated in NSW this year will receive their Atars from 6am tomorrow.
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Australian Facebook unders could be eligible for $50m compensation program
Australian Facebook users affected by the Cambridge Analytica incident could be eligible to access a $50m compensation program after the privacy watchdog struck a deal with Meta outside of court.
The office of Australian information commissioner announced on Tuesday the payment program would be available from around April 2025 to those who had been affected by the This is Your Digital Life app based on a “generalised concern or embarrassment”.
The commissioner and Facebook’s parent company, Meta, had been in court-ordered mediation since February 2024 after it first alleged more than 300,000 Australian Facebook users were caught up in the scandal in 2020.
The Guardian revealed Cambridge Analytica harvested the personal data of millions of Facebook users around the world without their consent, before using the information predominantly for political advertising, including to assist the Brexit campaign and Donald Trump.
Only 53 people in Australia installed the quiz app at the heart of the scandal, named This is Your Digital Life, but court documents showed about 311,127 users had their data harvested, typically because they were friends of those who installed the app.
The information commissioner, Elizabeth Tydd, said:
“The payment scheme is a significant amount that demonstrates that all entities operating in Australia must be transparent and accountable in the way they handle personal information, in accordance with their obligations under Australian privacy law, and give users reasonable choice and control about how their personal information is used.”
The OAIC said the scheme will be open to individuals who:
held a Facebook Account between 2 November 2013 and 17 December 2015;
were present in Australia for more than 30 days during that period; and
either installed the This is Your Digital Life app or were Facebook friends with an individual who installed the app.
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Dutton welcomes Victoria’s antisemitism laws but criticises premier
Peter Dutton has welcome the Victorian Labor government’s announcement that it will introduce new laws to tackle antisemitism including banning the displaying flags of Hamas, Hezbollah and white nationalist extremist groups in public.
Dutton said the laws, which will also limit the use of face masks and balaclavas at protests, should have been introduced 14 months ago after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, which led to broader hostilities across the Middle East.
Dutton said:
I just can’t understand why it’s taken the Allan government so long to react to the reasonable requests, particularly of Jewish Australians, who have been treated in the most deplorable way.
It’s unimaginable that we would allow people of any other background, history, religion, to be treated the way that the Jewish people have been treated.
Dutton accused the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, and Anthony Albanese of “sitting on their hands” since the outbreak of the war.
Of course it’s escalated, and it was always going to, and they were warned about this at the time, if you allow these lunatics to continue on their protests at university campuses and allow them to spew out their hatred and affiliate with a listed terrorist organisation and there to be no consequence.
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Dutton says Bali Nine ‘aren’t national heroes’
Opposition leader Peter Dutton believes a message needs to be sent to young Australians about the danger of drug use and distribution, after the news that members of the Bali Nine drug smuggling group have returned to Australia.
Dutton said Anthony Albanese should be transparent about whether Australia would owe anything to Indonesia for the move, before speaking of his experiences as a police officer and the prevalence of drug use.
Dutton said that “from a personal perspective, for those individuals and their families, you can understand that they’ll be overjoyed to be back in Australia for Christmas”.
But as a police officer, I can tell you, I went to many scenes where people had overdosed or people had committed crimes because they needed to feed a drug habit.
These people aren’t national heroes. They’re not political captives. They have been serving a sentence because, according to the laws of Indonesia, they broke those laws and they were imposed with a heavy penalty.
I just think it should be a very, very significant message to every young Australian, whether you’re travelling overseas or if you’re just staying here in Australia, that drugs, the use of drugs, the distribution of drugs, there’s no good that comes from it.
Heroin is a particularly evil drug – as we know, it’s mind-altering. And 20 years ago, if you think back, the deaths from heroin and the impact that that had on our society are profound, and there are many families who didn’t get their 20-year-old back at all because of the drug overdose from having taken heroin.
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More than 100 died in custody between July 2023 and June 2024
More than 100 people have died in custody according to the latest national data collated by the Australian Institute of Criminology in their 2023-2024 report.
From 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, 104 people died in custody, six less than the previous reporting period. Of those, 24 were First Nations people who died in custody, 24% of deaths.
Seventy-six people died in prison custody and one young person died in youth detention. There were 27 deaths in police custody. Eighteen of those were First Nations people while five Indigenous people died in police custody,
The AIC deputy director, Dr Rick Brown, said in-depth, accurate and comprehensive data was important to reduce deaths in custody and improve justice outcomes.
“Accurate and policy-relevant research such as this is vital to inform early intervention and prevention strategies, particularly in an effort to reduce the overincarceration of First Nations people,” Brown said.
The report comes a month after Guardian Australia reported the deaths of 22 First Nations people since January, with justice advocates saying the deaths represented a devastating loss for families and communities.
“These deaths are not just numbers; they represent lives tragically lost, families grieving and a national failure to uphold the rights and safety of First Nations peoples in Australia,” Change the Record’s national director, Blake Cansdale, said at the time.
The AIC’s real-time reporting dashboard provides information on all Australian deaths occurring in police and prison custody as well as in youth detention.
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The education minister, Jason Clare, says his offer to increase public school funding by 2.5% for Australia’s most populous states remains “on the table” despite signing agreements to continue current funding arrangements for 2025.
Interim funding agreements quietly uploaded to the Department of Education’s website confirmed Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland would retain their current Commonwealth funding share next year as disputes over who should foot the bill to fully fund public schools continued.
Guardian Australia understands if the holdout states want to accept the Commonwealth’s offer of lifting its funding to 22.5%, with the remaining 2.5% gap matched by the states, they will not be locked in to their current levels. Negotiations will continue into 2025, with the interim agreement to lapse at the end of next year.
Clare:
The government has reached agreements to increase funding to public schools in Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT and our offer to the remaining states remains on the table.”
Save Our Schools convenor, Trevor Cobbold, lamented “continued squabbling” over respective shares of funding as hindering the learning progress of disadvantaged students.
After a year of negotiations, the Labor government has failed to secure increased funding for the vast majority of public schools and students. The government refused to increase the Commonwealth share of funding the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) to 25% and NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia refused to increase their share.
It is a disaster for public schools because these states account for 81% of all public schools and 83% of all public school students.”
Jacinta Allan announces sweeping anti-protest measures in Victoria 'to combat antisemitism'
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has said that the flags of Hamas, Hezbollah and white nationalist extremist groups will be banned in her state, as she speaks on new initiatives to tackle the recent rise in antisemitism.
It follows a spate of antisemitic incidents across Victoria and Australia in recent months, most notably with the arson attack against the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne.
Allan said authorities have “had enough of the protests that have caused division and disruption in our streets”, while insisting that the right to peaceful protest must be protected. She said:
Victorians have witnessed extreme, dangerous and radical conduct in numerous public demonstrations over the past year, and it would be wrong for me to say that everyone who’s attending these protests is antisemitic.
There’s no one saying that, but we know some are, and we know some are saying that we also know that hate and antisemitism are thriving in these environments.
That’s why we’re going to give police … the powers to weed out and stamp out the influence of extreme and radical participation in public protests. Firstly, we will ban the flags and symbols of listed terrorist organizations in public that includes Hamas, Hezbollah and several other groups, including white national extremists and radical racist violent extremist rightwing groups.
We will also ban the use of face masks and balaclavas at protests. We know they are being used to conceal identities, shield agitators from crowd-control measures like capsicum spray … face masks aren’t a free pass to break the law, and there should be no place to hide in this state if you’re a racist stirring up hate on the streets.
Allan said she was also going to ban the use of glue, rope, chains, locks and “other dangerous attachment devices that protesters use to cause maximum disruption and also endanger others”.
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Licensed venues in regional NSW to open later for summer events
Pubs, clubs bars and now restaurants in regional NSW will be open later over summer “thanks to special event extended trading hours,” as was put in a media release from the Minister for Music and the Night-time economy.
Patrons of summer events like the the Ballina Cup, Thredbo Blues festival, Illawarra Folk festival, Wyong Love Lanes festival and Coffs Big Bash League match will be able to “keep festivities going at nearby licensed venues”.
The types of eligible venues able to participate in special event extended trading have expanded to include restaurants and breweries, the minister, John Graham, said:
“Under the second package of reforms made through the 24-Hour Economy Legislation Amendment (Vibrancy Reforms) Act 2024, the types of eligible venues able to participate in special event extended trading have been expanded.
The eligible licences were previously limited to hotels, clubs, bars and live music and performance venues but now includes venues such as licensed restaurants and breweries.
Here is the full list of special events where longer liquor trading hours will apply.
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Australia’s first lunar rover chosen
A suitcase-sized robot called Roo-ver has been chosen as Australia’s first lunar rover. Weighing around 20kg, Roo-ver will be launched by Nasa on a future Artemis mission to the moon later this decade.
Funded by the Australian Space Agency, Roo-ver will be designed, constructed and operated by the Australian consortium ELO2. Controlled remotely from Earth, its task will be to collect lunar soil, known as regolith, a key element of rocket fuel.
Roo-ver’s name was chosen after a public poll that received more than 8,000 entries.
Joseph Kenrick, program manager of Lunar Outpost Oceania, one of the firms co-leading the consortium, said:
We are honoured to have the opportunity to build and operate Australia’s first lunar rover.
This achievement reflects the dedication of our team and the collaborative strength of the ELO2 consortium. It’s an incredible privilege to contribute to this momentous step for Australia and its space industry.
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NSW graduates who topped their HSC course revealed
Excitement is in the air at UNSW today, with 131 students gathering to celebrate topping their courses in this year’s HSC.
The Year 12 graduates, representing more than 80 schools, have studied a diverse range of subjects – from Armenian continuers to automotive examination.
The awards, handed to students who came first place in a HSC course or optional examination as well as a result in the highest band possible, show private and specialist schools again dominated this year.
Petersham’s NSW School of Languages had the highest number of students making the merit list. A total of 13 topped their courses across Chinese, French, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Modern Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. The public specialist school teaches languages via distance education to students dually enrolled in government and non-government secondary schools or Tafe.
Sydney Grammar (Darlinghurst) took out eight awards for the second year running, while Pymble Ladies’ college received six, Knox Grammar (Wahroonga) five and Redeemer Baptist School (North Parramatta) and Masada college (St Ives) both received three.
Of the 135 awards handed out, 79 went to private schools, 14 went to selective schools, 11 went to comprehensive government schools and the remainder were language schools, outside tutors or Tafe.
Four students topped more than one of their courses. Full HSC results, including Atars, will be released on Wednesday.
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Shorten announces extra $1bn for NDIS reboot
The minister for the NDIS, Bill Shorten, has announced an extra $1bn to continue a major overhaul of the disability insurance scheme.
The spending, to be included in Wednesday’s midyear economic update, includes $280m for the agency to implement a new assessment model for determining participant budgets.
Participants and families will not need to pay for the so-called “needs assessments”, which will be conducted by a dedicated team inside the agency.
The new assessment process was a recommendation from last year’s landmark NDIS review, which proposed sweeping changes to rein in the ballooning size of the $45bn scheme. Shorten said:
One of the most important things heard as part of the NDIS Review – and in my time as NDIS minister - has been the need to stop people with disability paying for expense 80-page reports which are not able to be implemented.
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Chalmers defends former Nine CEO’s appointment to ABC directorship
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has defended the ABC board’s choice to appoint former Nine CEO Hugh Marks as the public broadcaster’s new managing director.
Mark’s appointment, which was announced on Tuesday, comes after he resigned abruptly from Nine in 2020, saying the time was right for him to “begin the process of moving on”, but he stayed in the role until 2021 while Nine searched for a replacement.
During his five years at the helm he oversaw the $4bn merger with Fairfax Media and the Macquarie Media radio network. On Tuesday, Chalmers said:
This appointment is made by the ABC board, and we support the independence of the board.
This is one of the tasks that we entrust the ABC board with, and they’ve come to this view unanimously.
They’ve considered a range of candidates and determined that he’s the best available candidate and I don’t propose to second guess that.
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Gallagher claims Liberal’s nuclear scheme is ‘biggest risk facing Australians’
The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, has warned of dire economic implications that would result from the Coalition’s nuclear energy policy, as she speaks about the upcoming midyear economic update.
Gallagher was speaking alongside the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, ahead of the midyear update, which includes $14.6bn of additional savings and $8.8bn of “unavoidable spending” to correct what Labor claims is underinvestments under the former Morrison government.
She claimed “the biggest risk facing the budget and the biggest risk facing Australians right now is Peter Dutton’s nuclear scheme”. Gallagher said:
His own costings, the Liberal party’s own costings, show that even though nuclear power plants are decades away, Australians will be paying for it straightaway. So higher bills, fewer jobs, a hit to growth and worse for the environment.
You can read more about the midyear economic update here:
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Just three of New South Wales’ 220 public hospitals are providing abortion healthcare, according to research by the University of Sydney.
See how accessible – or inaccessible – it is in your area
One in three charities unsure of future, poll shows
Cuts to community services are feared as a new poll shows one in three charities unsure of their survival, the Australian Associated Press reports.
A poll of 56 leaders and chief executives of key charity and not-for-profits found 37% were more uncertain about their body’s future than three years ago.
Only 55% of respondents to the survey, conducted by Piazza Research in September, were somewhat or highly confident their organisation’s future was in hand.
The findings signalled a need for stronger government support, said the Community Council of Australia, which commissioned the report.
When more than a third of charities are talking about having an uncertain future, you’re highlighting a high level of unmet need. That can only mean frustration for charities and the communities they serve.
Some 93% of respondents expect the cost of their operations to worsen over the next year.
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I will now be handing over to my colleague, Elias Visontay, who will take you through the rest of the day. Thanks for joining me.
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Australia’s best TV for 2024
And now, to look back …
Our fabulous staff have curated the best Australian television of 2024, just in time for summer holidays. With weather this hot, why not grab a fan and settle into the couch?
My particular recommendation goes to Territory, for the drone shots and stellar acting performances.
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Police investigating after Melbourne cyclist attacked
Police in Victoria are investigating an alleged attack on a female cyclist in Melbourne.
The 33-year-old was riding her bike on a cycling track in Glenroy on 14 December at around 11.20am when she came across an unknown man standing in the middle of the track, jumping up and down and waving his arms, police allege.
He did not move so she had to swerve, and as she rode past, he pushed her off the bike. She fell to the ground, and he began to kick her multiple times, police allege.
The cyclist was able to get away and run to an intersection after repeated assaults, police allege, where she called 000 and was taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
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Kylea Tink calls for national approach on cyberstalking and technological abuse
The independent member for North Sydney, Kylea Tink, has called for a national approach to tackling escalating domestic and family violence issue of technology-facilitated abuse (TFA), including cyberstalking and the use of tracking devices.
It comes with Tink’s launch of a new report into the findings of a policy roundtable series into the topic, coinciding with the festive season, and historical spike in domestic violence cases.
Tink:
The clear message I have heard from victim-survivors, service providers, researchers and first responders is that technology-facilitated abuse is widespread, rapidly growing, not well understood across the community and overlooked by policymakers. We need to act now to stop this growing issue escalating further.
Australia cannot tackle domestic and family violence if we do not tackle technology-facilitated abuse.
Most people now presenting to a domestic violence service have some sort of surveillance technology attached to them. Some services say it is 100%.
According to the e-Safety Commissioner, four in five Australian women have experienced or are experiencing some form of technology-facilitated abuse, while a recent NSW crime commission report found one in four people who bought GPS tracking devices since 2023 have a history of domestic violence.
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NSW rail workers vote to take industrial action after Christmas
New Year’s Eve plans could be derailed across NSW after rail workers voted to take industrial action after Christmas, the Australian Associated Press reports.
A majority of 8,000 members backed various forms of action including strikes from 28 December, the Rail Tram and Bus Union NSW trains division said today.
“They’re very frustrated with the lack of engagement by this government,” the union’s secretary, Toby Wearne, told Nine’s Today Show.
Everything is on the table but we haven’t decided exactly what is going to occur over the next couple of weeks.
The aim was to be the least disruptive to the public, he said. But NSW opposition leader Mark Speakman dubbed the plans “extraordinarily selfish”.
This Christmas, they’ve managed to gift-wrap chaos for the people of NSW.
The Minns government and various unions representing rail workers have been at loggerheads for months, failing to resolve their differences through two weeks of intense negotiations at the start of December.
Both parties were before the federal court on Monday as Transport for NSW tried to halt industrial action in the leadup to Christmas. The court is expected to deliver a decision in coming days but its order will not cover the latest vote.
Workers want a 36% increase over four years while the government has offered 11% over three years.
The premier has said he can’t say yes to the rail unions while denying the claims of nurses and other workers “reaching reasonable settlements” in 2024. State police won a 40% payrise in November.
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Australia would emit far more climate pollution – more than 1.7bn extra tonnes of carbon dioxide – between now and 2050 under the Coalition’s nuclear-focused plan than under Labor’s renewable energy dominated policy, analysts say.
The country’s annual emissions are about 440m tonnes of CO2. If correct, the extra 1.7bn tonnes of pollution could add about four year’s worth of pollution to the atmosphere over the next 25 years.
See the details here:
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Pesutto faces party room challenge after losing Deeming defamation case
Victoria’s opposition leader will face a fresh party room challenge following his defamation loss amid calls for exiled MP Moira Deeming to return, the Australian Associated Press reports.
Five MPs have signed a motion calling for a meeting on Friday to bring back Deeming into the Liberals after the federal court found party leader John Pesutto defamed her.
The group of MPs said they wanted to give their colleagues “the chance to do the right thing”.
“It is a simple matter of fairness,” they wrote in a joint statement, shared by the opposition’s emergency services spokesperson, Richard Riordan.
As Justice O’Callaghan’s judgment makes clear, the justification put to the party room for Moira Deeming MP’s expulsion was fundamentally flawed.
Liberal party members, and indeed all Victorians, expect their elected Liberal members to act with integrity, and to do right by our colleagues as we would by the state.
As a team we look forward to closing this sorry chapter for good and moving on rapidly with decency and integrity.
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Exclusive: NSW’s abortion deserts revealed
Just three of NSW’s 220 public hospitals routinely offer abortions, according to new research by the University of Sydney, which has mapped the state’s abortion access for the first time.
“Abortion deserts”, where the nearest abortion service is more than 160km away, are widespread across the state. See how accessible – or inaccessible – it is in your area.
All 15 local health districts and the health minister, Ryan Park, refused to answer questions from Guardian Australia about which hospitals provide abortion healthcare and what happens to women who need abortion services when none are provided in their district.
Abortion is basic healthcare that is legal in NSW.
New ABC managing director appointed unanimously by board
Back to breaking news this morning, and ABC’s chair, Kim Williams AM, has confirmed the incoming managing director of the broadcaster, Hugh Marks, was appointed by the ABC board unanimously after an extensive domestic and international search.
Williams said Marks was “unusually well-qualified” to lead the ABC’s editorial and creative production teams online and in audio and video.
Hugh is a highly successful media executive, with more than 30 years’ experience in Australia and internationally … this breadth of experience is rare and will be critical to the ABC as we look to further strengthen our reach and engagement with the Australian community.
Hugh was a standout candidate, not only for his experience across every facet of the media, but for his strong track record of leading media organisations and driving substantial and sustained audience engagement. He is the right person to lead the ABC as we plan right now for renewal and investment.
Marks comes to the ABC after nearly three years at Dreamchaser - a contemporary Australian content studio he cofounded and co-led. He said it was an “amazing time” to be working in media.
There are so many opportunities to deliver quality news and entertainment to Australians, but choices to make in what we prioritise in doing so. Making the right choices is what will determine our success into the future.
The ABC is an iconic and formidable media organisation. No other institution has the reach and impact of the ABC, and it is a privilege to lead the ABC workforce as we confront the many technology and programming opportunities before us.
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Indonesian legal expert says Bali Nine release indicates Subianto signalling he is ‘someone the west can engage with’
A leading expert on Indonesian law, Prof Tim Lindsey, has told the Australian Associated Press Indonesia’s new president, Prabowo Subianto, will be “easier to deal with” than Joko Widodo following the release of the Bali Nine.
What I think he’s doing is sending a signal globally that despite his terrible history of human rights, he’s someone the west can engage with.
It means it’s much easier for countries that have abolished the death penalty, like Australia and the EU, to engage with him.
Despite the previous president’s tough-on-drugs stance, there would not be major concerns in Indonesia about the repatriation, Lindsey said.
This is a president who had a massive landslide win ... and he’s still in the middle of their honeymoon period. He has got a huge political capital and it’s something he can probably get away with.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the agreement had been reached with his Indonesian counterpart on humanitarian grounds rather than a prisoner swap.
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Former Nine CEO Hugh Marks to lead ABC
To some breaking news now.
The former chief executive of Nine Entertainment, Hugh Marks, has been appointed managing director of the ABC.
The national broadcaster confirmed this morning that Marks would start in the new year, replacing David Anderson.
The outgoing director announced earlier this year he would be stepping down from the role, months after being reappointed for a second five-year-term.
In a statement to the ABC, Marks said his priorities were to focus on areas of excellence and not spread itself too thinly.
All Australians, when they want to know the truth, or the facts, or at least the different perspectives on an issue so that they’re informed, know that they can come to the ABC and trust that it’s that place that they’re going to get [that].
Just because it’s possible, doesn’t mean you should do it. We should just focus [on]: What is it that we can do well? How can we do it well? Focusing on those things and making choices to prioritise on the things that you can do well, I think, is a discussion we’re all going to have to have.
Marks led Nine Entertainment for five years until 2021, overseeing its merger with Fairfax Media.
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NSW braces for hot conditions with 12 active fires burning across the state
Meanwhile, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service commissioner, Rob Rogers, told ABC News Breakfast he was bracing for hot conditions across the state, increasing the risk of fires.
There are 12 active fires burning across the state, five of which aren’t contained, with particular concern around the Hunter Valley area. All are at an “advice” level.
We’re going to see elevated temperatures to a large part of the state. That’s going to continue. Winds are going to pick up to 20km/h to 30km/h. We’ll see [a cool] change come through later today. Ahead of that change, people would be aware the wind picks up, so that’s going to be a danger period.
Crews will be working very hard. We’ve had helicopter winched-in crews yesterday in a number of fires. We’ll be doing that again this morning with large air tankers to try to get containment on these fires as quickly as we can.
Rogers said a “real concern” for the service was grassfires, with vegetation lush as a result of heavy rain – but now dry and a fuel risk.
Certainly not in the last decade, we haven’t seen the amount of grass that’s out there.
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Fire officer says risky conditions now characteristic of a ‘typical Victorian summer’
Fire Management Victoria have had a “really busy night” battling major blazes across the state.
The agency’s chief fire officer, Chris Hardman, told ABC News Breakfast it was really pleasing fires at Creswick and Candook had been downgraded and no lives or assets had been lost. All fires burning in Victoria are at an “advice” level, with residents urged to ‘stay informed’.
We’re not certain if there were any minor assets, but certainly no reports of any house losses at the moment, which is great news for local residents.
Hardman said around 300 firefighters were still located at the active blazes, with “many days’ work ahead of them” continuing to mop up and black out the fires.
I have to say to community members that we’re in a typical Victorian summer now where you do get this slow buildup of heat and fire weather, and every 7 to 10 day cycle, we get a very significant warming event this time of year.
It’s going to be really important that we support the firefighters getting on top of the blacking out to make sure those fires don’t spread out again the next time it warms up.
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Islamaphobia envoy shocked by scale of problem in Australia
Malik told the ABC the sheer scale of Islamophobia had surprised him during his engagements across Australia.
My engagements were not with victims of Islamophobia … I was really talking to representatives of organisation that represent Muslim youths, women and imams.
From these consultations, everyone had a story about their brushes with Islamophobia, and that was genuinely a shock to me.
The Albanese government announced it would appoint the British Australian public servant in October as the special envoy to combat Islamophobia in Australia after months of delays.
His three-year term reports directly to the prime minister and the minister for home affairs.
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Aftab Malik says Islamaphobia ‘hidden cancer’ with incidents ‘common’ but nothing being done about it
Australia’s Islamophobia envoy, Aftab Malik, has told ABC Radio National that Islamophobia is a “hidden cancer” that eats away at social cohesion in society.
Asked about Islamophobic graffiti in Sydney’s west on Sunday, Malik said it was “appalling and simply unacceptable”, crossing a line from “free speech to hate speech”.
Those words have no place in a multicultural and multifaith Australia. Islamophobia is a hidden cancer that eats away at social cohesion … it hasn’t warranted or received a public outcry that many of us believe it should.
Malik has just spent five weeks touring the country to hear from Muslims about discrimination they have experienced in Australia – including people being spat on and asked if they had a “bomb” underneath their shirt in public places.
It’s disturbing in the sense that it’s so common and nothing, apparently, has been done about this.
Asked if politicians needed to improve their response, Malik said it was “absolutely not helpful” that Liberal Senator Dave Sharma had recently said Islamophobia was “fictitious”.
“Any time any senior minister mentioned antisemitism in the last 12 months, they also mentioned a fictitious Islamophobia which was not going on,” Sharma said last week.
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Greens eye Labor-held Richmond in NSW at next election
The Green’s leader, Adam Bandt, is in the Labor-held seat of Richmond in New South Wales this week alongside the party’s candidate, Mandy Nolan.
Nolan received a 4.9% swing in the 2022 election, while Justine Elliot retained it with a swing against her of -2.9%.
The Greens policy for free dental under Medicare is a flagship of the minor party’s campaign, with the party contending it could save the electorate $116m in the first year.
Bandt said the Greens would only need a 1.8% swing to win, adding the plan would be a key demand pushed in any power-sharing parliament negotiations after the next election.
When the Greens were last in a power-sharing parliament in 2010, we got dental into Medicare for kids.
Under Labor and the Coalition, one in three big corporations pays no tax. By making big corporations pay tax, we can fund dental into Medicare.
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No state on track to meet road deaths reduction targets
Cars have never been safer but attempts to drive down deaths on Australia’s roads have taken a wrong turn, with no state on track to meet its target after the deadliest month since the goal was adopted, Australian Associated Press reports.
The 129 deaths on Australian roads in November was the deadliest month since December 2017, when 130 people were killed.
It is more than 30% higher than the November average since 2019, the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics’ latest monthly report says.
The 1,318 deaths on roads in the 12-month period to the end of November is despite attempts to halve the number of deaths by 2030 compared with a 2018-20 baseline.
Road safety interventions are failing because of a lack of data-sharing and analysis, Australian Automobile Association’s managing director Michael Bradley says. Motorists have been urging the government and states to unify data on road deaths for many years now.
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Two Australians recovering in Sydney after suspected Fiji poisoning incident
A mother and daughter are believed to be recovering back on Australian soil after a suspected poisoning in Fiji which hospitalised them and several others, Australian Associated Press reports.
The father and grandfather of two of the victims, David Sandoe, was spotted at Sydney’s international arrivals terminal last night as flights from the Pacific nation approached.
He earlier told media his daughter Tanya and granddaughter Georgia were on their way home after being hospitalised.
Receiving news his daughter and granddaughter had been hospitalised was a “very difficult” phone call to take.
“It’s your worst nightmare,” he told ABC News on Monday.
The tourism minister for Fiji told the ABC the entire industry was waiting for the results of the toxicology report into the patients.
Here’s our report on the case:
Photographs at news.com.au this morning appear to show two of the Australians involved in the case on the tarmac at Sydney airport.
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BoM says heat focus now turns to eastern and northern parts of NSW
Heat is now shifting eastwards and northwards after a cool change in Victoria overnight.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Miriam Bradley told ABC News Breakfast this morning while heat was easing in Victoria, which saw widespread temperatures in the mid-40s on Monday, focus would now turn to the eastern coast and northern parts of New South Wales.
We do have extreme fire dangers current for the Wimmera, with some fires still ongoing there. Even though the cool change has come through, it is still dangerously dry conditions.
The heat [is] moving through New South Wales, particularly the east coast and northern parts of the state. Sydney is set to reach 33 degrees today but, if you head just a small way inland to the western suburbs – Penrith and Richmond are expecting to get to 42 degrees, with a strong southerly buster expected later this afternoon and this evening as that cooler change moves through.
Queensland was also lashed with rain across the south-east overnight, Bradbury, said, with widespread totals of up to 100mm and isolated totals of up to 160mm.
Unfortunately, it is going to be another wet day ahead for much of eastern and south-eastern Queensland.
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NSW police offer $500,000 reward for information into 1988 murder of William Anthony Rogers
In New South Wales, a $500,000 reward will be announced today by the state government and police for information into a historic murder in the inner west.
The 1988 murder of William Anthony Rogers has been subject to extensive inquiries and a review in 2021 but no-one has ever been charged.
Just after 1.15am on Tuesday, 4 October, police were called to a street in Ashfield after a taxi driver was found dead in his car.
Police were told the 36-year-old was on-shift as a taxi driver on the previous day between 3pm and 3am. William’s safety button on the taxi’s radio was activated at about 1.15am.
Upon arrival, police found the pay meter inside the car was showing an amount of $10.70 and the automatic gear stick was in first gear with the parking brake off.
Witnesses described seeing an unknown man shake and kick the driver who quickly fled the scene. A postmortem examination confirmed William had died as a result of a gunshot wound to his torso.
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Victorian family violence offences on the rise
New data shows a rise in family violence offending in Victoria, prompting Victoria police to place a community callout urging people to report perpetrators.
Crime Statistics Agency figures show during December last year there were 8,668 family violence incidents recorded across the state – at an average of 279 incidents a day.
On Christmas Day alone, the average increased by 33%, with 372 family violence incidents recorded.
The most common form of family violence recorded on Christmas Day related to perpetrators breaching orders (91 offences recorded), as well as assault (79 offences).
Victoria police’s family violence command’s assistant commissioner, Lauren Callaway, said frontline police were continuing to respond to increasing reports of family violence each year – with a spike occurring on Christmas Day.
Whether it’s perpetrators breaching orders by either attending the victim’s home or using technology to make contact or committing assault – the behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
If you are concerned that your behaviour is putting the safety of family members at risk there are services to call who can help you to change. Maybe making that call is the best gift you can give your family this Christmas.
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Good morning
Good morning everyone, it’s Caitlin Cassidy here to guide you through this AM’s news.
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Cool change sweeps southern states as Queensland prepares for flash flooding
Relief is slowly arriving for some sunbaked Australians after several states sweated through one of the hottest December days in years, the Australian Associated Press report.
Parts of Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia topped 45C yesterday, but a cool change swept into South Australia and Victoria last night.
Melbourne and Adelaide were forecast to see highs in the low to mid-20s today.
Queensland, meanwhile, faces the risk of flash flooding with wet weather forecast from Yeppoon on the central coast south to Brisbane.
The bureau warned residents in the state’s south-east to prepare for heavy falls in the coming days.
“Over the next three or four days, there could be widespread falls of 50mm to 100mm and isolated falls up to an exceeding 250mm,” said Dean Narramore of the Bureau of Meteorology.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Caitlin Cassidy with the main action.
The latest Essential poll contains some good and bad news for Anthony Albanese as many respondents confirmed 2024 was worse than they expected and they are worse off than three years ago. The poll of 1,151 voters found that Albanese’s net approval rating is now -11, with 50% disapproving of the job he is doing as prime minister (up three points since November) and 39% approving (down three). But there is some hope – more people expect their situation to get better than do not. More coming up.
The poll findings underline the difficulties facing Labor as they heads into an election year weighed down by a sluggish economy. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will be hoping that he can oversee some kind of recovery by May and to that end Chalmers will present the midyear economic update, earmarking $14.6bn of additional savings for the federal budget along with $8.8bn of “unavoidable spending”. We’ll have more on this as the day unfolds.
A cool change has swept parts of Victoria overnight after the state recorded its hottest day in five years yesterday. However, high fire danger warnings remain in place in much of the south-east of the country. Queensland will remain hot, forecasters said, with the south-east likely to see more of the heavy rainfall that has disrupted the third Test in Brisbane. More coming up.
