What we learned today, Wednesday 19 April
Thanks for following along on the blog today. Here is a wrap of the day’s biggest stories:
Beloved social justice advocate and Catholic priest Father Bob Maquire has died aged 88.
The Labor government has been roundly criticised for ignoring calls from its own experts to substantially lift the jobseeker rate. Labor MP Catherine King told Afternoon Briefing that “nothing has been particularly rejected”, but also said budget decisions needed to be “responsible”.
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, denied that power is centralised in his office after an anti-corruption inquiry found a $1.2m contract was awarded to a union due to pressure applied by Victorian government advisers.
The Albanese government will impose a fuel efficiency standard on new cars and encourage electric vehicle uptake as part of its new electric vehicle strategy.
An inquiry into the Beetaloo Basin has called for a national plan to offset vast emissions expected from gas projects.
NSW’s upper house vote has been finalised and the makeup of parliament is known, with Labor taking eight seats to the Coalition’s seven in the Legislative Council.
The no campaign appears to have begun sending text messages en masse across the country regarding the Indigenous voice vote.
Updated
Electric car innovations win $70 million charging boost
New ideas for charging electric vehicles from the outback to the suburbs and inner city will receive $70 million in federal grant funding, AAP reports.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced the additional grants today, revealing the funds could go towards electric vehicle charging solutions for remote and regional communities or new ways to charge cars in urban apartment blocks.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency will oversee the fund, with businesses and government organisations eligible to apply.
The extra funding came hours after Bowen and Transport Minister Catherine King launched the government’s highly anticipated National Electric Vehicle Strategy.
Bowen said:
Everyone knows where to find a petrol station when they need one – they should know there’s an EV charger nearby when they need that too.
The brief is open ... this might include proposals to target apartment block residents and high-density areas with low access to off-street parking, or remote or regional communities and improving their user experience.
Innovations eligible for grants of between $500,000 and $15m will include trials for public charging infrastructure that overcame barriers to fuelling electric cars, as well as smart charging technology.
Also eligible for the grants are projects to enable battery-powered cars to feed electricity back into the grid.
Menindee fish kill to be investigated by Environment Protection Authority
The Menindee fish kill has been classified as a “pollution incident” and will be investigated by the New South Wales EPA.
The state environment minister, Penny Sharpe, said the independent regulator would consider the role of individuals, companies and government agencies in the kill and would consider regulatory action if it was warranted.
Sharpe said:
The community has told me that the response by all agencies to this event hasn’t been up to scratch.
No one is above the law – including the government. It is my expectation as minister that should the EPA uncover any breaches of the act, they will enforce regulatory action.
The EPA has already ruled out a pesticide pollution issue after testing.
An independent inquiry into the mass death event on the Darling – Barka River will also be conducted by the chief scientist.
Updated
No to Indigenous voice campaign sending mass text messages
The mass text phase of the Indigenous voice referendum appears to have begun. We’re getting reports of many people across the country getting text messages spruiking the new ad from Fair Australia, the no campaign led by Country Liberal party senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and the Advance conservative lobby group.
The texts, which appear from the sender “FairAus”, point to Fair Australia’s website and promote a new campaign ad which will be premiered on Sky News tonight, on Peta Credlin’s show.
Several of us here in the Guardian Australia office have received one, as have many others on social media. Another text begins: “Jacinta Price here!”
Remember when the marriage equality Yes campaign sent one (1) text message at the pointy end of the vote and it was one of the biggest scandals of the whole campaign… pic.twitter.com/2MNKfPjMVv
— Sally Rugg (@sallyrugg) April 19, 2023
We’ve reached out to Advance, Fair and Price’s office for comment.
Have you received one of the texts? Please email me at josh.butler@theguardian.com
Updated
Catch up on today’s biggest headlines with this great wrap-up from my colleague Antoun Issa:
Federal Liberal weighs in on Warragamba Dam wall
Liberal MP Melissa McIntosh has criticised the NSW Labor government’s decision to scrap the raising of the Warragamba Dam wall.
Announced earlier today, the NSW government will instead look to other measures to mitigate flood risk in Western Sydney.
As my colleague Jordyn Beazley reported, the Perrottet government announced plans last year to raise the dam wall by 14-metres but the plan drew fierce criticism, particularly due to revelations the project could harm the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.
In a statement, McIntosh said the NSW government has made a “short-sighted political response” and accused them of “literally playing politics with people’s lives”.
She said:
I’ve stood in the debris of flooded homes, consoling shattered families after they’ve lost everything in the floods. Not just once, but multiple times over the last few years.
It is extraordinary that one of the first acts of this new Labor State Government is to dismiss the safety of residents of my community in Western Sydney.
McIntosh said her community “deserves to know right now” what the state governments alternative plan is, and evidence to show this would save more lives and homes.
NSW Labor Government abandons Warragamba Dam wall raising and the residents of Western Sydney
— Melissa McIntosh MP (@MGrahMcIntosh) April 19, 2023
My statement below 👇#auspol pic.twitter.com/nAmIIInmzv
Updated
Question time for you
Regular listeners to the Guardian’s Australian Politics podcast will know that we periodically ask the federal politics team to answer reader questions.
Do you have a question you would like us to answer in a forthcoming podcast episode?
Please email me (paul.karp@theguardian.com) before 1pm on Thursday (20 April) if you have a burning question and we’ll put our heads together for you.
Updated
Matt Thistlethwaite says government’s priority is controlling inflation
The Labor MP is also asked about the economic inclusion advisory committee’s recommendation for Jobseeker to be raised and the governments response to this:
[The committee] made a number of recommendations, not simply the proposal to increase the rate of Jobseeker.
There was a number of recommendations that have been made and the government will work through those.
Like Catherine King, Thistlethwaite said the government’s priority is providing cost of living relief for families and getting inflation under control:
We know that rampant inflation can reduce people’s purchasing power, it reduces real incomes at results in interest rates being pushed up so that people’s mortgages and rents are affected.
We want to make sure that any measures we undertake are aimed at providing cost of living relief, but do not fuel further inflation…
Updated
Greg Jennett:
…do you still see value in the Joint Select Committee going about this work (on the Voice proposal), given that the party political positions are pretty well marked out federally?
Labor frontbencher Matt Thistlethwaite:
Yeah we do see value in it and that is why we support the committee doing its work. It’s a necessary part of this important legislation going through the Parliament and we are open to as much scrutiny and consultation as possible.
Andrew Bragg says he has ‘a very open mind’ on support for Indigenous people
The Liberal senator is being asked on Afternoon Briefing whether he is being gradually persuaded on the Indigenous voice to parliament proposal:
I’ve always had a very open mind about the idea of giving new institutions or establishing new institutions to support Indigenous people and on Friday in Canberra we heard about the constitutional legal issues and today in Cairns we heard about community views in relation to the voice.
Today there were strong endorsement in the idea of grassroots decision-making and community led judgements … the challenge is getting mechanics right and constitutional change right.
Updated
King asked about Jobseeker payment level
Although outside of her portfolio, Catherine King is asked about the economic inclusion advisory committee’s recommendation for Jobseeker to be raised:
Jennett:
[The government] has rejected summarily some of the major recommendations there, particularly around taking Jobseeker to a substantial increase. It was the point in creating the body in the first place if it was rejected so quickly?
King:
Nothing has been particularly rejected.
We’ve publicly made available the advice that has been given to us. Obviously there’s a lot in there and [it would be] a huge budgetary impulse if we did all of those things.
We will take the advice of the advisory group, but there are lots of things in all of us would like to do particularly for vulnerable people but given their budget we’ve inherited … we have to be responsible about that.
Updated
Transport minister Catherine King hopes legislation for EVs ready by end of year
The infrastructure and transport minister is speaking on Labor’s electric vehicle strategy which was announced today.
She said her intention is to have an exposure draft of legislation available by the end of the year:
I would hope to have that introduced to the parliament, but I don’t want to promise that incase some of the technical issues become more complex, but that is the intention to do that.
Legislated by next year and part of the consultation is determining when the start date is, how fast this goes, all of those things are part of consultation [process].
The consultation will run for six weeks.
Updated
Decades of economic growth, but poverty remains unchanged, says adovcate
Still speaking on Jobseeker, Angela Jackson said it’s important to raise the payment because it is “the main driver of poverty in Australia”.
One of the things we highlight in the report is despite having three decades of economic growth in this country, rates of poverty have not come down, and the main reason for that failure to drive down rates of poverty is the inadequacy of welfare payments.
We do need to address this and hopefully the budget will provide a path forward.
If not the full increase, certainly an indication of a commitment from the government to moving towards providing an adequate payment.
Updated
Calls to raise Jobseeker to 90% of aged pension
Angela Jackson, a member of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, is speaking on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing about calls for Jobseeker to be raised.
In its interim report, the committee proposed lifting jobseeker to 90% of the value of the aged pension, which would cost $24bn over four years.
Greg Jennett (host):
…was that what you were aiming for, the 90% pegging against the [aged] pension?
Jackson:
…90% of the aged pension rate was something we coalesced around being a reasonable proxy for where the Jobseeker payment should probably land.
In terms of how we get there, it is a big increase, it equates to $250 a fortnight.
We are not necessarily saying to the government ‘do that all at once’ but certainly, after what has been three decades of neglect, there does need to be a path forward that we look toward, returning this payment to what … can provide a reasonable standard of living.
At the moment it is simply inadequate and leading to significant hardship, and we heard as a committee about the level of hardship that is out there.
Updated
One-of-a-kind Indigenous necklace back after 200 years
An Aboriginal red ochre necklace believed to be the only one of its kind has returned to Tasmania for the first time in almost 200 years, AAP reports.
There are hopes its arrival can lead to talks about the permanent return of culturally significant items.
The necklace, on display in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) in Hobart, was collected from the island and sent to England some time before 1834.
It was bought by Chicago’s Field Museum from a British collector in 1958 along with about 200 items from Tasmania, also known by the Indigenous name lutruwita.
Pakana man and artist Andrew Gall has created a kangaroo skin necklace to sit alongside the original, which is thought to have been made from plant fibre.
He said the return of the necklace, which is on loan for two years to TMAG, was “incredibly important”:
This is culture that has been taken away.
Its journey had stopped until it came back home. It is home and its journey starts again.
The accompanying necklace made by Gall contains a breast plate, his way of indicating the original was held against its will.
We’ve got two years to change their minds (about the necklace going back to America when the loan finishes). Nothing is ever fixed.
Let us look after our own, let the cultural belongings stay with (their) people.
Updated
Internet service provider peak body rejects call for VPN crackdown
Internet service providers say cracking down on virtual private network (VPN) tools for use in online piracy would make the internet worse, and would send a bad message to the rest of the world.
Late last year, the federal government consulted the sector on the effectiveness of 2015 laws blocking piracy websites after court orders. In the eight years since, thousands of websites have been blocked.
Those blocks can be circumvented using virtual private networks or by changing domain name server (DNS) settings, and the discussion paper suggested that this was a flaw in the scheme.
Comms Alliance – which represents internet service providers – pushed back at the idea that the government should seek to ban or restrict use of VPNs because it would have a negative impact on “a secure, private, and open internet” and send the wrong message to the rest of the world.
Comms Alliance said:
Australia’s regulation of these technologies, even under the premise of protecting copyright, would be a strong signal to other governments that it is permissible, even acceptable, for them to also do so for goals unrelated to copyright – there is a worrying trend of authoritarian jurisdictions regulating VPNs and DNS with the intent of curtailing rights and freedoms.
Australia taking any actions to regulate VPN and DNS technologies would essentially justify these repressive actions and potentially set off a cascade of copycat rules around the globe.
In submissions to the discussion paper, News Corp and Foxtel both called for digital platforms to take swifter action in removing copyright infringing content, while Foxtel asked for the site blocking scheme to account for streams of live sports.
Updated
Warragamba Dam wall will not be raised
The New South Wales government will fulfil its election promise to scrap the proposed raising of the Warragamba Dam wall, promising other measures to mitigate flood risk in western Sydney
Minister for water, Rose Jackson, said the Minns government opposed the raising of the wall, given the project did not guarantee it would flood-proof the region.
Last year, the then Perrottet government announced plans to raise the dam wall by 14 metres after successive devastating floods in the Hawkesbury and Nepean region.
But the plan drew fierce criticism, particularly after revelations the project could harm the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area.
Jackson said the government would receive briefings from the department and Water NSW on the dam in the coming days.:
We know, raising the wall will flood the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area; inundating 1,200 Aboriginal sites and artefacts, destroying habitat for critically endangered species and risk Blue Mountain’s World Heritage listing.
The government also has a real plan to address floods in the immediate term: we will build levies, improve evacuation routes and improve emergency communications in the Hawkesbury-Nepean.
Updated
Labor Macnamara MP Josh Burns has penned a tribute to Father Bob Maguire:
Father Bob Maguire cared for the people, and the people cared about our beloved Bob.
I admired Bob’s cheeky charm, his big heart and his humility.
Just over a decade ago, I volunteered for Bob when he started his community pantry in South Melbourne. Every single person who walked through Bob’s warehouse, whether they wanted to chat or not, was greeted with a “g’day cobber” and then offered whatever Bob could give.
Bob didn’t judge. He just tried to help. The forgotten people, the quiet people, the people doing it tough - they were Bob’s people. He could charm prime ministers and he could entertain the youth on the airwaves with his mate John Safran.
Father Bob may be gone but he will forever be etched into the history of our local community. Rest easy comrade, and thank you for a life of service with a smile.
Vale Father Bob
VALE FATHER BOB
— Josh Burns (@joshburnsmp) April 19, 2023
Father Bob Maguire cared for the people, and the people cared about our beloved Bob.
I admired Bob’s cheeky charm, his big heart and his humility.
Just over a decade ago, I volunteered for Bob when he started his community pantry in South Melbourne.
Every… pic.twitter.com/mFrT3z2kdr
Updated
No campaign launches national advertising campaign for no vote in voice referendum
The no campaign in the voice referendum is capitalising on the promotion of its spokesperson Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to the shadow cabinet, launching a new TV ad and a nine-minute documentary on the Northern Territory senator via Sky News tonight.
Price, the first-term senator from Alice Springs, was yesterday catapulted into the senior ranks of the Coalition, taking up the post of shadow minister for Indigenous Australians. She will also retain her role as leader of the Fair Australia campaign, the anti-voice push from conservative lobby organisation Advance.
Advance’s executive director, Matthew Sheahan, has just sent an email to subscribers, saying Price will front the group’s national advertising campaign against the referendum.
He wrote:
I guarantee you these ads – based on a short documentary filmed in Jacinta’s hometown Alice Springs – will knock the pro-voice activists out of the park.
The ads will launch via Peta Credlin’s show on Sky tonight, and feature Price and her husband. A short clip shared on the email shows Price in her hometown of Alice Springs, saying: “this will divide us”.
Sheahan wrote in the email:
We don’t divide ourselves along the lines of race in this country because we are a family of human beings.
Updated
Tributes flowing for Father Bob Maguire
The beloved social justice advocate and Catholic priest has died at the age of 88.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, described him as “a man of warmth and faith who faced struggles with a cheeky grin.”
An irrepressibly cheerful champion for all those battling disadvantage, he dedicated his life to brightening the lives of those most in need.
With the passing of Father Bob, we have lost a great Australian.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) April 19, 2023
An irrepressibly cheerful champion for all those battling disadvantage, he dedicated his life to brightening the lives of those most in need. pic.twitter.com/w9wQFQVkTk
NDIS minister Bill Shorten said he first met Bob back in 1983:
He would poke fun at those in power but he never stopped fighting for those without it.
God Bless, Father Bob. I’m sure heaven has its gates wide open for you, but boy are they are in for a ride.
Greens leader Adam Bandt described him as a “ferocious advocate for justice, refugees, and the vulnerable.”
Your generosity & humour will be missed, comrade.
Updated
Melbourne man arrested while wearing disguise over alleged interstate skimming racket
A man has been arrested at a Melbourne ATM while wearing a wig, glasses and face mask disguise over an alleged interstate skimming racket where he allegedly acquired more than $30,000.
The 43-year-old Glen Waverley man was arrested at 6.30am yesterday morning at an ATM in Mount Waverley.
He was interviewed by Financial Crime Squad detectives and charged with nine counts of obtain financial advantage by deception.
The man was remanded overnight to appear at Ringwood Magistrates’ court today.
Detectives searched his Glen Waverley property and allegedly located 18 cloned bank cards with PINs written on them, a hire vehicle, various skimming equipment including device and card readers, a large number of additional cloned cards and various clothing and articles of disguise.
Investigators will allege the man was involved in at least 15 incidents of using cloned cards associated with the “deep skimming” insert device, fraudulently withdrawing at least $30,000.
Police will allege the man has been utilising disguises including wigs, glasses and face masks, as well as using a variety of vehicles.
The investigation – which remains ongoing – began in January of this year when police became aware of a number of card skimming incidents in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.
Updated
Thanks Natasha for leading us through the morning! I’ll be with you for the remainder of the day.
Thanks for your attention today. Emily Wind will take you through the rest of the afternoon!
Federal funding for more EV charging stations
Off the back of the announcement of the National Electric Vehicle Strategy which is designed to help people buy electric cars, the government has also committed more money to help charge them.
The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, is promising that drivers will be able to find electric vehicle charging stations approximately every 150km on major highways.
Businesses, local governments and councils, as well as state and territory owned corporations, will be able to apply for grants as part of $70m in funding for charging infrastructure. The announcement is part of a total package of $146.1m, which will be implemented by the renewable energy agency (Arena) over the next five years.
In a statement, Bowen says that range anxiety has been one of the biggest hurdles for Australians buying an electric vehicle for too long.
Range anxiety occurs because electric charging stations aren’t as widespread as petrol stations, meaning EV drivers often have to worry whether they can make the stretches in between.
Our economics correspondent, Peter Hannam, has written about what it feels in this piece about his road trip in an EV last year.
Bowen said these grants will help improve the situation with the aim of one day making EV chargers as accessible as petrol service stations right across the country.
Today’s announcement through Arena is in addition to the government’s National Electric Vehicle Charging Network which will deliver a truly national EV charging network with a charger approximately every 150km on our major highways.
Australians know that electric and more fuel-efficient vehicles are cleaner and cheaper to run and after less than a year in government, more Australian households and businesses can access them.
Transport costs are a huge part of household budgets and getting the charging infrastructure in place for electric vehicles is critical to ensuring households have a real choice when it comes to picking their next car.
For more information and to apply for funding, go to Arena’s website.
Updated
Hastie points to Wong’s speech in ongoing exchange with McGowan
Andrew Hastie has done an interview with Sky News on the spat with West Australian premier, Mark McGowan, who was recorded suggesting Hastie had “swallowed some kind of, you know, cold war pills back when he was born and he couldn’t get his mindset out of that”.
Hastie said:
I was actually flattered that I was living rent free inside premier McGowan’s head.
But Hastie said Australians when overseas representing their country should keep such comments to themselves and should “back in” the national interest.
Hastie again urged McGowan to read the National Press Club speech by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong.
Hastie said it was a “good, strong speech” and if McGowan read it “he’d be asking her if she was taking Cold War pills too”.
Hastie is endorsing Wong’s views on the challenging strategic circumstances - including China’s military modernisation and militarisation of disputed features in the South China Sea. Hastie is suggesting that his own views are not out of step with the federal Labor government’s cabinet.
Updated
Pesutto suggests Daintree report means Andrews should step down
So the time has now come for the premier to seriously consider his position and to think about whether he’s the person who can tackle corruption under his leadership when he’s the source of the culture and the leader who drives the culture that sees so much wrongdoing under his watch.
If he can’t do it and it’s clear that he can’t, with a long and growing list of adverse reports into his government, if he can’t do it, then the time has come for somebody else inside his government to step forward to see if they can do a better job.
What we do know is while Daniel Andrews remains in his position, he can’t tackle the corruption that he’s allowed under his own leadership and it will take somebody else inside his government to deal with these serious issues.
Updated
Victorian opposition leader claims Andrews government is corrupt
Pesutto has gone on to say the “scathing” Daintree report “goes to the very heart of the Andrews’ government” which he alleges is mired in corruption.
Ibac did not make any findings of corruption against Daniel Andrews, health ministers Jill Hennessy and Jenny Mikakos, or staff working in their offices.
Abuse of process and a complete lack of integrity. Soft corruption, grey corruption, call it what you like, it’s all corruption. This is a government after so many adverse reports from integrity agencies, this is a government that is mired in corruption. It’s in its DNA.
… Today’s report, as you can see from all of the reports we have laid out, is just another in a long and growing line of corruption scandals in this government and it shows that nothing is going to change.
We have a system under the premier’s leadership that sees processes skirted. A government that looks after its mates and puts its political interests before the public interest.
Updated
Victorian opposition leader blames premier after Ibac finding
John Pesutto is speaking in Melbourne, criticising the premier, Daniel Andrews, after the release of the anti-corruption commission’s findings this morning.
Ibac found a Victorian government adviser “improperly influenced” the awarding of a $1.2m contract to the health workers union.
Andrews said in a press conference this morning that he would lead the government’s response, to which Pesutto has hit back that he can’t be the answer at the same time as the problem:
I say to premier Daniel Andrews, the time has come for him to seriously think about his position and whether he can actually tackle those serious issues when he has been and is the problem. He can’t be the answer at the same time.
Updated
A youth homelessness program says it can save governments hundreds of millions of dollars by providing long-term solutions not just short-term accommodation.
The Foyer Foundation wants the federal government to commit to $9.6m per year for new facilities for ten years, with matched state or territory funds.
An Accenture report, commissioned by the foundation and released today, found that investment could save $950m by 2030 by stopping the cycle of disadvantage.
Foyer links philanthropists, policymakers, investors and community services including Mission Australia and St John’s Youth Services and its existing programs have increased the chances of young people finding jobs and stable housing.
It provides up to two years’ accommodation for young people while supporting them in education, employment, training, volunteering and mentoring.
Chief executive officer, Liz Cameron-Smith, wrote in the report that 44,000 young people needed specialist homelessness services each year, leading to cycles of disadvantage.
Giving those young people sustained support could break that cycle, she wrote:
It breaks the pattern of disadvantage, helping them overcome the structural barriers that make it hard to get back on track once the young person is placed in the cycle of homelessness and disadvantage.
An experience of homelessness is a fork in the road, and if we intervene, we can set young people on the path to a future they want.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says she will fly to New Caledonia and Tuvalu this week “to listen first-hand to their priorities and build on our close relationships”.
Wong flagged the travel in her National Press Club speech on Monday, but in a statement issued today says this will be her 10th visit to the Pacific since being sworn in as minister 11 months ago. She says the trip “fulfils the government’s commitment to visit all 17 of our fellow Pacific Islands Forum members”.
Wong says she is “honoured to have the opportunity to address the Congress of New Caledonia on Australia’s regional vision and the value of New Caledonia’s regional engagement since it became a full member of the Pacific Islands Forum in 2016”.
Wong says Tuvalu is “on the front line of climate change” and she will use the visit to reiterate Australia’s commitment to climate action, including its bid to co-host a UN climate conference with other Pacific countries in 2026:
A strong and united Pacific Islands Forum is central to supporting a region that is peaceful, prosperous, and resilient.
With final NSW election count in, Minn’s minority government faces making deals with left and right to pass laws
The New South Wales Labor government will be forced to make deals with members of the upper house crossbench from both the left and right in order to pass laws following the final vote count this morning.
While there was a slight progressive majority in those elected on March 25, there was a slight conservative majority in the continuing members.
Election analyst Ben Raue said Labor would be forced to work with a combination of minor party members in the legislative council.
He said:
Unless they work with the Coalition, they are going to need minor party members from both sides- the left and the right... It is quite messy.
Labor works quite well with the Shooters but Animal Justice and the Greens don’t.
One Nation has confirmed former Labor MP, Tania Mihailuk, will take the party’s vacated spot in the upper house after NSW leader, Mark Latham, used the vote to be re-elected for another eight years.
Federal One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, said:
Thank you to all the candidates, volunteers and voters who have helped One Nation increase our representation in the NSW upper house to three members. I also congratulate Tania Mihailuk on her successful selection to fill the One Nation casual vacancy spot where she will be joining our other elected members and continuing her work as part of One Nation in the legislative council.
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O’Neill chastises opposition for ‘missed opportunity’ in not supporting safeguard mechanism
O’Neill has chastised the opposition for the “missed opportunity” for supporting the Albanese government’s safeguard mechanism (which puts a cap on Australia’s biggest emitters) and “playing to the fringes”:
The safeguard mechanism was actually first introduced under a coalition government. And now a Labor government has tightened it. Which the industry actually has long expected. This was very appropriate.
The urgency for global action on climate change has increased. I commend Prime Minister Albanese and ministers Chris Bowen and Madeleine King to move the policy debates towards the centre and seek practical outcomes.
However, it was a missed opportunity [that] the coalition was not prepared to deal with the government on this legislation. For Australia to tackle climate change sustainably, it’s got to be done in the centre, and in a way that can endure, regardless of who is in power.
Otherwise you ping pong from government to government, playing to the fringes with outcomes that do not serve the Australian people well. Just look at the past 10 to 15 years of climate policy in Australia.
Updated
Circling back to Woodside CEO, Meg O’Neill’s, address to the National Press Club
As the Albanese government is putting the finishing touches on its May budget, O’Neill is calling on them to keep the long term in mind when it comes to any changes to the tax framework.
She warns that over reaching could undermine the future revenue the government receives from the sector – basically the message is don’t raise the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT).
Last week, as Paul Karp wrote, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, confirmed Treasury is working on options to reform the PRRT, suggesting it could be the next revenue measure to repair the budget after Labor’s “modest but meaningful” changes to halve superannuation tax concessions on balances of more than $3m.
Speaking about energy security, O’Neill says:
The Australian government has stated its support for the gas industry and has provided strong reassurances that Australia is not quietly quitting its LNG industry. Woodside is certainly not quietly quitting. We are deliberately delivering.
The same partners who invested in our gas projects can provide the capital to develop lower carbon hydrogen and renewable projects, but only if they consider it a secure investment. For Australia to remain an attractive destination for global capital, fiscal and regulatory certainty is paramount.
We understand the government needs revenue. Revenue for the NDIS. Revenue for Aukus. To fund health, education, other services. We are already a big contributor. As the treasurer acknowledged this week, high export earnings are helping the budget, right now.
We urge the government in any changes to the tax framework to consider the long term. And to preserve Australia’s ability to attract the next generation of investment, jobs, and energy supply. Over reaching now could risk undermining future revenue.
In terms of regulatory certainty, agreement on clear processes and response times for project approvals is essential to unlocking reliable supply. Otherwise energy investment will find another home, taking jobs and opportunities with it.
Updated
Hearings into the voice continue in Cairns
The deputy mayor with the Torres Strait regional shire, Getano Lui, has told the inquiry that for too long his people had been ignored by governments of all persuasions and their voice as a minority within a minority had been sidelined.
That’s why our voice is very difficult for people to be to listened to. When we talk about the voice, we’re not talking about a voice to be heard. We’re talking about our voice to be listened to.
Lui said communities in the Torres Strait have been “crying on the shoulders of governments” to no avail: “This is a unique opportunity, something that we don’t want to lose. We hope that the referendum will be successful … Things will change for the best.”
The Northern Peninsula Area council mayor, Patricia Yusia, said housing and economic opportunities and empowerment are critical issues that must be addressed to improve disadvantage experienced by First Nations people.
When we do not have a stable house or we live in an overcrowded house, it is nearly impossible to adequately participate in school and education, attend work and look after our health.
She said communities are frustrated with wide-reaching decisions affecting people’s daily lives are made thousands of kilometres away: “These decisions have been made in Canberra without adequate consultation or consideration of what it means on the ground.”
Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people need to have a voice in guiding the policy set by the federal government to ensure that it has the outcomes that are needed.
The hearing is continuing.
Updated
Torres Strait and Far North Queensland leaders advocate for voice to parliament
This morning in Cairns, Queensland remote community leaders are giving testimony for the latest public hearings into the parliamentary committee into the referendum on the voice to parliament.
They are urging the country to back a voice to parliament and support the referendum, saying it’s time for their voices to be listened to.
Leaders from the Torres Strait and the mayor of Yarrabah, near Cairns, in Far North Queensland have passionately advocated for a voice.
The Yarrabah mayor, Ross Andrews, said he believes the voice would have make a difference to communities and help roll back social and economic disadvantages going in the “wrong direction”.
There’s an opportunity for us to really try something different, to try something new. If we can have some support around the opportunities on the systemic, structural nature of our challenges. The acknowledgment of a voice to parliament, is something worth exploring.
Andrews said community-led solutions were key to driving change and improving peoples lives and that if the advisory body was properly represented through communities that would help drive success:
If we can take it to the people that elect their leaders then we can have a framework in place to allow people to have a greater say and greater autonomy.
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Father Bob Maguire has died, aged 88
The beloved social justice advocate and Catholic priest Father Bob Maquire has died aged 88, his foundation has confirmed.
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‘Climate change is real’ says boss of Australia’s largest LNG producer
Meg O’Neill says she will be using the address to speak about energy security through the energy transition, addressing specifically the role of the gas industry.
The challenge as I see it is for Australia to use its vast natural gas resources for three interrelated goals.
First, to provide affordable and reliable energy for Australians.
Secondly, to maintain strategic partnerships and energy security in our region.
Third, to progress global decarbonisation. Climate change is real. And global action is needed to address it.
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Woodside Energy supports an Indigenous voice, CEO says
The chief executive of Australia’s largest LNG producer Woodside Energy, Meg O’Neill, is addressing the National Press Club this lunchtime. She opens her speech saying Woodside supports the yes campaign in the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum:
We are on a journey in our relations with First Nations people. We haven’t always gotten that right.
That said, we are working to get it right by listening to and learning from First Nations people. For Woodside, a big part of this is working with the traditional owners of Murujuga in northern Western Australia, where our largest Australian operations are based.
… Australia as preparing for a vote this year, on recognising Indigenous Australians in the constitution and establishing a voice to parliament. Woodside supports the yes campaign.
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NSW upper house finalised four weeks after state election
Almost four weeks after New South Wales residents headed to the polls, the state’s upper house vote has been finalised and the makeup of the parliament is known.
Labor snagged eight seats to the Coalition’s seven in the Legislative Council.
Despite predictions of a large minor party vote, the Greens only managed two spots, with Legalise Cannabis, the Liberal Democrats and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party snagging one a piece.
One Nation had hoped to pick up two seats on the strength of its NSW party leader, Mark Latham’s personal following but the party saw just one further seat secured.
Over the last hour, the distribution of preferences for the #UpperHouse election has been completed! A report of the count will be available on @NSWElectoralCom's website later today, and subsequently the results are to be officially declared by the Electoral Commissioner #NSWpol
— Legislative Council (@nsw_upperhouse) April 19, 2023
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Student accommodation organisations say purpose-built housing for international students needs to be regulated separately in order to attract domestic investors to the market and reduce strain on housing pressures.
Speaking to a parliamentary inquiry, The president of the Student Accommodation Council (a branch the Property Council Australia) and chief executive of major provider Scape, Anouk Dowling, said international student housing was defined as “boarding houses” or “co-living”, placing requirements on providers similar to residential buildings.
Dowling said the sector was “misunderstood” despite being “there to care” and faced “punitive environments” around foreign ownership surcharges and tax. In Sydney, she said it took seven years between application and building approval for new accommodation.
We’re operating in our own and unique way … [but] we have to stack up an investment case and see how we can attract capital around planning restrictions. There are extreme pressures around housing and letting.
The executive director of the Student Accommodation Council, Torie Brown, said international providers were being used as a “Trojan horse” and it was an “all of housing market problem”.
The founder of MyStay, Andrew Bycroft, said Australia was in the midst of a housing crisis and traditional forms of housing wouldn’t “come close” to meeting demand.
Bycroft said more needed to be done to promote tax-free hosted accommodation, also known as homestay, to Australians with spare rooms to reverse a “supply and demand imbalance” which was “ripe for exploitation of students”.
The 2021 census found there were 3.5m empty rooms around Australia.
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'Prison guard', 'cold war pills' insults fly in McGowan and Hastie spat over China
The Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, has been caught on camera in China saying that the Coalition’s defence spokesperson, Andrew Hastie, “swallowed some kind of, you know, cold war pills back when he was born and he couldn’t get his mindset out of that”.
Hastie has returned fire, denouncing McGowan as “a prison guard looking for work now that the pandemic has finished”.
WA Today reported that McGowan’s office had yesterday circulated footage from a China-Australia Chamber of Commerce lunch in Beijing to Perth-based media outlets. This arrangement was apparently put in place because only the West Australian newspaper’s representatives had been able to obtain visas from China to accompany McGowan on the travel.
The report by WA Today – which includes the video – says McGowan made the comments in an informal conversation with the chair of the China-Australia Chamber of Commerce, Vaughn Barber. It was reportedly also within earshot of Australia’s ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher.
McGowan had been making observations about the sway of senior WA Liberal figures – including former finance minister Mathias Cormann – in setting Australian foreign policy under the former government. McGowan also said he liked Cormann, whom he claimed “had the same view as me” on China but had no sway on the issue and was “the odd one out” in Coalition ranks.
McGowan went on to make the comments about Hastie, a China hawk who was assistant defence minister in the former government and previously an SAS officer.
Hastie, now the shadow defence minister, issued a statement saying that McGowan was “out of his intellectual depth”.
Hastie said McGowan should not be “running down Australian MPs in China”:
But it is surprising from a former legal officer in the Royal Australian Navy. I’m not sure I’d want to serve alongside him on a naval ship in a crisis. Character is everything. What’s he really saying when the cameras aren’t running?
Hastie urged McGowan to “do himself a favour and read” Penny Wong’s speech to the National Press Club on Monday, when the Labor foreign affairs minister described China’s military modernisation as lacking transparency.
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Emissions offset plan needed for Beetaloo Basin, inquiry recommends
An inquiry into major plans to exploit gas in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin has recommended the federal government commit to a national plan to offset the vast emissions the project is expected to release.
The former government made gas exploration in the Beetaloo Basin a central tenet of its plans for recovering from the Covid pandemic, using grants and tax breaks to incentivise gas corporates to begin work in the region. The basin covers about 28,000 square kilometres south-east of Katherine and is thought to contain huge reserves of shale gas.
But environmentalists have warned that developing the gas resources in the region will unleash a “carbon bomb” and render Australia unable to meet its emission reductions targets.
A Senate inquiry on Wednesday recommended that the government commit to finding a way to offset all scope two and three emissions from the basin. It also recommended establishing a fresh inquiry into the proposed Middle Arm precinct, a petrochemical manufacturing hub, designed to facilitate the expansion of the gas sector in the region.
The inquiry also recommended the establishment of a beneficial ownership register to better understand who is behind companies working in the region. That followed evidence to the inquiry that one of the companies, Falcon Oil & Gas, was linked to Russian oligarchs.
The inquiry also recommended the expansion of the water trigger to cover all forms of unconventional gas. Water triggers are designed to protect groundwater from the impacts of the gas industry
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young chaired the inquiry. She said in a statement:
This report is a huge blow to the prospects of gas corporations trying to frack the Beetaloo Basin.
Labor went to the last election promising to open the Beetaloo Basin, but through this inquiry and our changes to the Safeguard Mechanism, the Greens are gaining Labor support to put serious roadblocks in the way of the Beetaloo.
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Independent MPs welcome EV strategy
Independent MPs Sophie Scamps and Monique Ryan have welcomed the government’s electric vehicle strategy, including the announcement Australia will introduce fuel efficiency standards on new cars.
Ryan writes:
This will ensure that Australians have access to less polluting cars that are cheaper to run, saving $$ and reducing emissions.
🧵But so much more work remains to be done to make EVs a viable & affordable alternative.
— Dr Monique Ryan MP (@Mon4Kooyong) April 19, 2023
We have no time to waste
Scamps said the release of a national EV strategy is “long overdue”:
Transport is responsible for nearly 20% of emissions so more EVs will be good for our climate and good for cost of living – with EVs reducing our reliance on dirty and expensive fossil fuels.
You can read more about the strategy here:
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Andrew Wilkie criticises stage-three tax cuts
Independent Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie has released a statement criticising the governments stage-three tax cuts, labelling it “completely out of step with community needs”.
He said that stage-three cuts will “only further increase the inequality in our country”, not just between lower and higher income earners but also between Tasmania and the mainland:
New research that the stage-three tax cuts will do very little to help low and middle-income earners, but provide a huge windfall to high-income earners, highlights the deep unfairness of the federal government’s policy.
It’s also fiscally irresponsible that the federal government is willing to spend more than a quarter of a trillion dollars on this policy that only benefits high-income earners when many Australians are confronting a cost-of-living crisis.
Wilkie said that the cost of living crisis is only set to rise because of an “underinvestment in public services caused by tax cuts”:
What the government should be doing instead is investing this money into essential services like health, education, aged care, housing, and boosting pensions and payments. These are things that would make a real difference to people’s lives.
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Cemetery sector set for overhaul amid grave shortage
The rapidly diminishing number of available burial plots in New South Wales has prompted an overhaul of the long-troubled cemetery sector, AAP reports.
The incoming lands and property minister, Steve Kamper, announced the shake-up, saying he was determined to provide a fresh start for the industry and reassure people of continued access to quality burial services in Sydney.
He said:
For two years this process has been marred by procrastination and infighting, while the supply of available gravesites dwindled to alarming levels.
It comes after the Berejiklian government in 2021 announced five of the major operators would merge into one, after a review found they were on the brink of financial collapse.
The operators held collective debts of more than $300m, and were also quickly running out of burial space. The then government decided to amalgamate the five operators into a single entity named OneCrown.
The minister says little has been achieved in that time, and he plans to get the sector back on track by publicly releasing an independent report into OneCrown.
There will also be an audit carried out into the lack of cemetery space in Sydney, while decisions will be made regarding OneCrown’s future.
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What we learned from Andrews’ Ibac presser
And that’s a wrap on the Daniel Andrews press conference! Here’s a brief summary of what we learned:
Andrews said he will be leading the process to consider the Ibac’s 17 recommendations from the Operation Daintree report.
He said his role is to be accountable, but stressed “there are no findings against anyone in this report” and that staffers and ministers mentioned no longer work in parliament.
He admitted the Ibac findings are not a clean bill of health for the Victorian government.
Andrews stated there is no suggestion that he knew of the problems before the 2018 election.
He also repeatedly defended himself against the idea that power has been centralised in his office during questioning from reporters, adding he is “not here to talk about the vibe”.
He said some issues raised in Ibac report are “a bit out of date” and the response needs to be done “right”, not speedily.
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Andrews defends his government’s culture amid Ibac findings
With the greatest of respect, I am not here to talk about the vibe.
I can only talk about what is my experience, my expectations and what I am going to do and that is we are going to go through the 17 recommendations properly, appropriately in an orderly way and we will report progress to you.
I don’t believe that the report speaks to that, confirms that culture and I don’t believe that culture exists … if that culture existed, I think we would be in very different circumstances, we obviously would be.
And that’s a wrap on the Andrews press conference.
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Andrews defends against charges of centralisation of power in premier’s office
Andrews is continuing to defend himself against the idea that power has been centralised in his office, which journalists are raising at this media conference – particularly his involvement in health.
I would not advise anybody to hold their breath waiting for me to apologise for being very, very interested in the biggest service delivery part of government which is the health portfolio.
… I have been a health minister and my premier [at the time] was just as involved and just as concerned and just as motivated to do the right thing by patients and their families and our staff as I am.
I have done both roles. Very few people have. I am uniquely placed to be able to tell you that this notion of centralisation, people are entitled to their opinions but the facts are, I am deeply concerned to make sure patients get the care they need and that is not unusual.
The reason I know that is because I have been a health minister and Premier Brumby was just as engaged in the health portfolio as I am because it is really important. It is perhaps the most important, particularly if you need that care.
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Victorian premier’s press conference continues
Without intending to be critical of any previous Labor governments, he says, Andrews toots the horn of his own a little:
We have been a very busy government. We have achieved more than any government in the history of this state, whether it is in construction, in reform, in enhancing the services that we need, in dealing with all manner of crises.
We are a pretty busy outfit. We have got a lot of stuff done. We are humbled by the support we have received by the Victorian community and we are focused on getting on and doing more of that work.
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The Daniel Andrews press conference is still going on, with the premier fronting questions about these Ibac findings. He says he doesn’t accept that power has been centralised in his office.
Reporter:
Do you agree that power has been centralised in your office?
Andrews:
No, I don’t accept that at all.
I put it to you this way, I was a member of the Bracks government. I was a member of the Brumby government and I have been a member of the government that I lead, of course.
I have got some appreciation of other governments over my journey, albeit I wasn’t in the parliament. I don’t think that is accurate at all.
… The notion that somehow the Premier’s office today is a vastly different one to what it used to be in the past and it used to be some sort of timid outfit – no, that is just not right.
I wouldn’t expect integrity agencies who run very sweeping and broad commentary to have any appreciation whatsoever of what occurred in previous Labor governments or Liberal governments.
The job of the Premier is to chair the cabinet, lead the government and lead the state. My staff work with their counterparts in ministerial offices, just as I work with my counterparts in cabinet to deliver our agenda. We all work together.
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Calls for education agent register to help fight international student labour exploitation
A peak international body for international students has echoed calls for an employee agent register to cut down on exploitation in the sector.
Speaking to a parliamentary inquiry, Sharon Cooke, the national president of the ISANA International Education Association, said regulations to monitor the performance of education agents – who charge commission to assist international students with their degrees – “clearly aren’t working”.
We see a lot of problems of students being given misinformation … that leads to course hopping.
Speaking at the inquiry yesterday, the chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia, Phil Honeywood, said Australia’s international education system had become a “Ponzi scheme” in which overseas agents were paid bonuses to lure foreign students with the promise of full-time work.
Cooke said a greater crackdown was also needed to prevent the “astronomical” amount of exploitation of gig workers. She said students were reluctant to report any form of exploitation but “the reality is” they were being paid cash in hand or via ABNs to hide substandard pay conditions.
One of the easiest ways to traffic labour is with a student visa … there’s an opportunity to put in place certain provisions that would discourage that.
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Daniel Andrews says Ibac report has ‘no suggestion’ he knew of problems before 2018 election
Back to the Daniel Andrews press conference:
The premier says there is no suggestion that he knew of the problems before the 2018 election.
He’s keen to emphasise he announced a partnership, not a provider. He also gives us a clue on perhaps why the location of the press conference was chosen:
The report makes it very clear that there is no suggestion that I knew of the problems in the administration of the first part of the pre-2018 stuff. So that is clear, before anyone gets any ideas that we should have been alive to this and not made the election commitment. That is not the case at all and Ibac goes directly to that.
… I didn’t announce a tender, I didn’t announce the winner, I announced a partnership … That detail was not there.
Any commitments are always predicated on the pretty self-evident logic that you would be capable of delivering what we are partnering with you to do. That you would do it to the highest standard, that you would be up to the task.
That is borne out as well by the constant and repeated and very clear acknowledgment by Ibac that at various points, I was very keen to see a Tafe provider – much like the one we’re standing at right now – be the partner to deliver this training.
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Annastacia Palaszczuk says ‘no consultation’ over suggestion states step up NDIS funding
The Queensland premier has sledged the federal government over its demands that states step up their funding of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, told parliament on Wednesday she was concerned by Bill Shorten’s comments that the federal government could not go it alone when it comes to NDIS funding.
There has been no consultation.. we have not been informed. Let me make it very clear that the word is National Disability Insurance Scheme. It is a national scheme ... and not a state scheme.
Palaszczuk said the state government already provides support for 127,000 people with a disability.
I’ll always stand up for Queensland ... The federal government needs to go back to the drawing board.
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Andrews admits Ibac findings not a clean bill of health for Victorian government
Andrews admits the anti-corruption commission’s findings are not a clean bill of health for his government.
Reporter:
It is not a clean bill of health, it doesn’t say everything is awesome, and there [are] a number of reports in the same vein?
Andrews:
Of course it doesn’t. It says in 17 different recommendations, there are ways in which we can do more, not to deal with conduct that is actually happening but to prevent conduct happening in the future and that is a really important thing.
… I am not going to stand here today and say, no worries, we will accept all of this, and it will all happen like some sort of magic thing. … there is a lot of work going on in different areas. This will be added to that body of work.
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Andrews: my role is to be accountable but there are no findings against anyone in this report
Taking questions, the first one is:
You said you accept responsibility. But you didn’t apologise, do you think you have anything to say sorry for?
Andrews:
My role is to be accountable and I just stress, I have seen some of the coverage this morning, I stress again for people watching and listening, there are no findings against anyone in this report.
The anticorruption commission has looked at a series of matters from some years ago and has found no corrupt conduct. That is just a fact and it is important that that fact is out there and people know and clearly understand that.
My responsibility – I can’t change what happened four or five years ago. The people involved are either no longer in the parliament or from a staff point of view, they don’t work for the government any more. They don’t work for the public service. They haven’t done for years.
My responsibility is to look at the 17 recommendations in an educational report, not a report delivered because wrongdoing was found, this is a report under the education powers.
… My role is to lead that cabinet process and I will and we will sit down as a cabinet and work through those 17 recommendations. There is some complexity to some of those. This is not simple work and we will do that properly. That is the fundamental responsibility that I have.
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Victorian premier: some issues in Ibac report ‘a bit out of date’
Andrews:
There are some things that have already happened and processes that are alive and on foot. We will do that work and we will report progress to you once that work is finished.
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Andrews: Ibac response must be done ‘right’
Andrews says the process of consideration he will be accountable for needs to be done “right”, not speedily:
I am accountable and fundamentally responsible for driving a process to consider those 17 recommendations, look at them very carefully, to potentially further engage with Ibac to seek their advice and then to respond once that work has been done.
This matter has not been to cabinet. It is not possible for this to go to cabinet and given the educational elements of this, it is not about taking action immediately.
It is not about necessarily responding to calls for action and findings that have been made against anybody, there are no findings against anyone in this report. We do have the time to get this right and we should.
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Daniel Andrews on Ibac: ‘there are no findings against anyone in this report’
Andrews is now speaking about the Ibac findings, saying he will be leading the process to consider the report’s recommendations:
I will lead, as the chair of the cabinet, a cabinet process to consider those issues and we will respond in due course but we’re grateful for that educational report and those 17 recommendations.
… There are no findings against anyone in this report. It is an educational report, they’re not my words, that is the way in which Ibac themselves have described this.
The recommendations go to a number of serious and important matters and we will give proper consideration as part of a proper cabinet government process to each of those.
The staff members that are referred to in this report do not work for the government any more and have not worked for the government for years and as you well know, the two ministers who are referenced in the report are not even members of the parliament any longer.
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Dan Andrews fronts media following Ibac findings
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is speaking in Melbourne about the opportunities for apprenticeships which the North East Link road project is creating – but we are of course expecting him to front questions about these finding of the anticorruption body in Victoria released this morning.
It found that a ministerial adviser improperly influenced a contract granted to the health workers union. We’ll bring you what he has to say when he takes questions, but in the meantime you can read Benita Kolovos’ article about those findings here:
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Universities relying on ‘clunky’ online models to plug gaps from job losses, inquiry told
Back to the education inquiry: Sharon Cooke, the national president of the ISANA International Education Association, told the inquiry the pandemic had been the “most challenging period for the sector on record” and institutions were still feeling the pain of significant job cuts.
We are continuing to see a large reduction of staff was detrimental to student support areas of institutions, leaving the workforce inexperienced due to a large loss … of practitioner knowledge.
Cook said staff levels remained significantly lower than Covid and she didn’t see it being reversed amid a “push to go online to clunky websites and apps”.
Dr Terry McDonald from the NT’s education union said there was an understandable rush for everything to move online during Covid but, while hybrid and online models were valuable, they were also being used as a crutch to fill funding gaps.
It’s problematic … we lost thousands of jobs. The big concern we have is … some institutions are looking to online learning as a cost-saving measure. If done properly … it’s just as expensive.
We are very concerned that student support services are not there in the way they were prior [to the pandemic] and even then they were stretched.
Her colleague, Kieran McCarron, said now domestic and international numbers were rebounding, higher workloads were falling on teachers. He said members had reached out saying they’d three people cut out of a eight-person team, with only one replaced.
They all do 20% more work and are told that’s just the way it is.
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Greens respond to Operation Daintree
The Victorian Greens have responded to Ibac’s Operation Daintree report, saying it’s reinforced the urgent need to open ministerial diaries to the public in Victoria.
The measure, which is already in place in New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT, would allow Victorians to see who is influencing government decisions and how they are doing it, according to the acting Greens leader, Tim Read. He said:
Today’s Ibac report has laid bare the need to bring our integrity standards up to scratch. This means requiring detailed diaries of ministers and parliamentary secretaries to be made public, as called for by Ibac last year, so Victorians can see who is influencing government decisions.
We must also legislate codes of conduct for lobbyists, ministers and their staff and strengthen them to require clearer information on potential conflicts of interest between government ministers and lobbyists.
Ministers are responsible for the actions of their staff, who are often following orders, and their intrusion into the public service shown here was the responsibility of those ministers and the premier.
It’s embarrassing that Ibac feels Labor’s ministers need to be told the meaning of ministerial accountability, but adding this to their code of conduct should stop the gradual erosion of this concept.
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Queensland Labor crows over housing initiative
It’s feeling a lot like Groundhog Day in Queensland parliament, with the deputy premier reciting the same lines about a housing initiative over and over again.
The deputy premier, Steven Miles, told parliament the Palaszczuk government will allocate $25m to purchase 64 homes on the private market that will house vulnerable Queenslanders. But it was the second part of his announcement that attracted groans from the LNP opposition – “with funding previously earmarked for the repurposing of student accommodation.”
Miles paused before boldly repeating the same line two more times over the opposition’s injections before the acting speaker, Joe Kelly, intervened.
I ask the deputy premier to move past this part of your speech.
Kelly then turned to the opposition: “Members, there is far too much interjection. Given the number of times you raise housing as an issue I would think that you would want to hear the ministerial statement”.
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ACT way ahead of federal government on EVs, chief minister says
The ACT’s chief minister, Andrew Barr, has released a statement in response to the government’s national electric vehicle strategy. He’s welcomed the announcement but highlighted the territory has been way ahead of the federal government:
The ACT has advocated consistently for a more stringent emissions standard for vehicles to reduce emissions and increase the diversity of electric vehicles on offer in the Australian market.
… Today’s commitment to a more stringent emissions standard provides vehicle manufacturers with the incentive needed to deliver more electric vehicle models to Australia, including more affordable options.
Last year, there were 39 zero emissions vehicle options in Australia, with only five models priced below A$60,000. This compares with the UK, where there are twenty six models available for less than A$60,000*.
*These stats are from RepuTex’s powering Australia policy analysis and the Electric Vehicle Council’s state of EVs report.
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ACT chief justice releases Witness J sentencing decision
The Australian Capital Territory’s chief justice, Lucy McCallum, has described secrecy as “anathema to the rule of law” while releasing the long-awaited sentencing decision against Witness J.
On Wednesday, the ACT supreme court considered whether to publish sentencing remarks about the man, known by the pseudonym Alan Johns and also as Witness J, who was jailed in complete secrecy after pleading guilty and being convicted for the disclosure of confidential information.
Johns, a former commonwealth official, had his employment at an unnamed agency terminated due to loss of his security clearance. He was then convicted for offences related to complaints to his former employer that he had been treated unfairly, using what the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor referred to as “unsecure means” to communicate “classified information”.
Nothing was known about his case until a legal fight in 2019 over Johns’ prison memoir alerted media to his earlier conviction.
Documents released earlier in April, authored by the Australian government solicitor representing the attorney general, revealed Johns was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison as an aggregate sentence for five charges.
In deciding to release the remarks, McCallum said:
The prospect of a person being imprisoned in this country in proceedings closed to the public on suppressed charges proved by secret evidence is inherently likely to cause consternation. Secrecy is anathema to the rule of law. The administration of justice thrives on the discipline that comes with public scrutiny. That is the premise of the principle of open justice.
But she also said open justice was not “absolute”.
There will be occasions on which some limitation of the principle is necessary to secure the proper administration of justice.
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Anti-corruption watchdog’s acting commissioner statement on Operation Daintree
The Ibac acting commissioner, Stephen Farrow, has released a statement following the release of the anti-corruption watchdog’s Operation Daintree report. He said the investigation revealed breaches of duties and obligations of ministers, ministerial advisors and senior public servants:
Our investigation showed that the HWU [Health Workers Union] was given privileged access and favourable treatment in its access to ministerial offices. The proposal from HEF raised a conflict between the government’s interest in procuring the most suitable supplier for the training and the governing party’s interest in assisting an affiliated union. This conflict of interest was not properly managed or declared.
Advisors in the premier’s private office and the minister for health’s office also interfered in the management of the HEF contract to obstruct consideration of its termination and to ensure it continued.
The DHHS awarded the contract to HEF without a competitive procurement process due to senior staff in the department believing it was the minister’s and government’s preference, and because of ongoing pressure from both the minister for health’s advisor and secretary of the union.
This conduct by senior public servants falls short of the required Victorian public sector standard.
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Australia Institute calls for end to subsidies on utes and better support for public transport
The left-wing think tank the Australia Institute are also saying there needs to be more “pedal to the metal” when it comes to the government’s fuel efficiency standards, which are the centrepiece of its electric vehicle strategy.
Noah Schultz-Byard, the director for South Australia at the institute, said:
While it’s good to see Australia move incrementally forward, the longer we delay setting real fuel efficiency standards the harder it will be to meet our 2030 target.
When you start from behind, as Australia is on EV policy, you can’t catch up by going slower than everybody else. The longer we keep subsidising big 4-wheel-drive utes, the longer they will keep topping sales charts and polluting.
They say transport sector emissions reductions are critical due to the inefficiency of our car and bus fleets at present and that any reductions from EVs will be canceled out by utes and SUVs, which enjoy tax concessions.
To bring down transport emissions, subsidies for large, polluting vehicles need to end, public and active transport options need to be supported, and our policies around fuel efficiency standards need to be at least as strict as those already in place around the world.
Transport is so much more than cars – electric vehicles are not an option for much of the population. We need creative and equitable policy to provide clean transport options for all Australians.
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Climate Council responds to new EV strategy
Different stakeholder groups are sharing their two cents on the government’s new national electric vehicle strategy.
The Climate Council have welcomed the government’s announcement but pushed them to go further. They want the fuel efficiency standards delivered as soon as possible and have recommended their five top design priorities to ensure households will benefit:
A target that all new vehicles being sold would be zero emission by 2035 at the latest.
The standards should align with other other car markets like New Zealand, the United States and Europe as a minimum, so Australia moves up the queue for cleaner, cheaper vehicles.
They should genuine reductions in emissions from new cars sold in Australia and avoid credits and loopholes that undermine their effectiveness.
Making the standards mandatory and legislated, meaning auto manufacturers would not be able to opt out.
And they should start as soon as possible, as every new vehicle sold today will likely be on the road for at least the next 10 years.
The council says that fuel efficiency standards should be accompanied by other policies that support and enable the uptake of lower and zero-emissions vehicles. The government could go further, they say, by reviewing current tax incentives which skew purchases towards heavier and higher emitting vehicles and supporting those on lower incomes to swap older, more polluting cars for ones that are cleaner and cheaper to run.
Dr Jennifer Rayner, the head of advocacy, said:
The federal government needs to put the pedal to the metal in delivering strong fuel efficiency standards. There are around 1m new cars sold in Australia each year so we need to act fast to give drivers more choice and see them start saving.
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Victoria’s anti-corruption commission has this morning tabled the findings of its Operation Daintree report. It’s found that a ministerial adviser improperly influenced the awarding of a $1.2m training contract to the Health Workers Union.
My colleague Benita Kolovos has the full story:
Inquiry hears universities ‘heavily dependent’ on international student income
International students have been depended on to subsidise university research and build private investment portfolios, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
Kieran McCarron, the policy and research officer at the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) said international students were highly susceptible to exploitation and had been used as an “effective way to traffic labour”.
Prior to the disruption of Covid and the sudden shutdown of the international student sector, which led to thousands of job losses in public universities, university providers were heavily dependent on international student fee income.
This discretionary revenue, derived from a largely unconstrained market, was used by providers to subsidise their domestic, teaching and research … it was also used by some of our larger public institutions to build private investment portfolios.
McCarron said relying on international student fees was an “inherently high-risk business model” but feared the dependence would become more pronounced in post-Covid recovery due to federal government cuts in university funding.
The job-ready graduate funding cuts - enacted in 2020 - effectively cut resourcing per domestic student place by an average of 14% and cut funding for several disciplines. It failed in its intent to produce job-ready graduates … instead it further incentives universities to rely on international student fees.
Policy drivers have encouraged a profit driven corporatised culture to grow in public universities … we need leadership on this … the sector’s focus so far appears to be on market growth and expansion.
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Bill Shorten admits he ‘couldn’t live’ on current jobseeker rate
The government services minister, Bill Shorten, has admitted he couldn’t live on the current jobseeker rate, telling Sky News this morning “I couldn’t live on it”.
However, he can’t say the government will support the raise its own independent committee has recommended:
The decision about raising any rate, it’s going to be one for the government and our economic team. We can only do what is responsible and sustainable and unfortunately the the budget that we inherited from the previous government is heaving with a trillion dollars of Liberal debt. So [we] can’t do everything.
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Covid PCR tests no longer available without a referral in NSW
Covid PCR tests will no longer be available without a pathology referral from a doctor from 13 May in New South Wales.
The new health minister, Ryan Park, announced the change this morning, saying now was the time to make shifts in line with other parts of Australia.
He said:
I want to thank all of the healthcare staff who have worked tirelessly in testing clinics across the state to help keep the community safe during the pandemic. However, since January we’ve seen a significant reduction in demand for PCR testing driven by changes in health recommendations, testing behaviour and increased access to rapid antigen tests.
The state’s chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, said rapid antigen tests were the most convenient and appropriate test for most of the population, while PCR tests were still important for those most at risk.
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Greens release Hecs-Help indexation calculator to highlight June debt rises
The Greens have released a calculator which allows university graduates to estimate their debt hikes when next indexed on 1 June.
It comes after the Greens education spokesperson Mehreen Faruqi’s bill – which proposed pausing indexation and increasing the minimum repayment threshold to the median wage – was rejected by a Senate inquiry on Monday.
Indexation on Hecs-Help and vocational education loans is expected to increase by up to 7% on 1 June amid high cost of living increases, equating to thousands of dollars of extra debt.
Modelling reported by Guardian Australia suggests the increase will hit people with an average student debt of $24,770.75 with an extra $1,700. The 585,000 people with debts in excess of $40,000 or more will have debts increased by $2,876.21. Others will face even higher rises.
Faruqi said by rejecting the bill, the federal government was ignoring “loud, desperate calls” from students, graduates and experts for “urgent action” to address the student debt crisis:
Labor is choosing to make life harder for millions of people, especially young people and women who are on the front lines of almost every crisis we face: whether it be cost-of-living, housing, student debt or climate. An education system that traps graduates in a debt spiral and forces them to repay student loans when they are barely earning above the minimum wage is unsustainable and broken.
Check out the calculator here.
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Andrews also revealed yesterday that she would not be campaigning for a “no” vote in the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum.
Asked how she reconciles saying she will support the Liberal party’s position opposing the voice referendum at the same time as saying she won’t be campaigning for a “no” vote, Andrews says:
I can reconcile that quite easily because I have always believed very strongly that people need to be able to be given the information that they need to make the decisions that they need to take. This is actually a referendum, so every single person, every single Australian, has the opportunity to vote in that.
What’s important is that they understand the issue and what the implications are both positive and negative.
So I’m not going to be the one out there saying you should vote “no” or vote “yes”. I’m going to be the one out there saying here is the information that you need to be able to make the decisions.
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Karen Andrews says Australia should not have ‘presidential-style elections’ as Dutton approval ratings slump
Karen Andrews is defending the Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, despite some pretty bad polling out this morning. The Resolve poll in the Nine newspapers has shown that Dutton’s approval rating has nose-dived to -28%. (That is to say, 26% of poll respondents approve of his leadership and 54% disapprove, making an overall rating of -28%.)
Asked if Dutton is electable, Andrews responds:
He is extraordinarily popular in Queensland. So he does resonate very well with people here in Queensland. What we need to do is make sure that we pick up seats in Victoria, New South Wales, and Western Australia, primarily, and hold all of the seats we have currently got.
I think Peter has made a very strong commitment to make sure that he will rebuild the party, he will keep the team together so that we are united as we go into the next election.
The important thing is to look at the policies … and as soon as those policies come together and we’re able to talk about them, I mean, that’s going to help.
Michael Rowland:
It’s been a year since Peter Dutton took the job. He may be popular in Queensland, but is he electable, in your view, like states like Victoria?
Andrews:
He’s obviously going to have to be electable if we’re going to win the next election.
Rowland:
Do you believe he is electable?
Andrews:
I can’t see any reason why he shouldn’t be, but – and I know you’re going to say that I’m not answering your question. I actually don’t think we should have presidential-style elections here in this country anymore. So this should not be a personality contest between Peter and Anthony Albanese or whoever is leading at the time you go into those elections. I would actually like to see more of the frontbench of both sides out there prosecuting their own portfolios.
Do I believe Peter is electable? He was elected unopposed within our party. He has strong support and it is the job of every single member of parliament to make sure that they are out there making sure that Peter Dutton is electable.
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The other parliamentarian doing the rounds on breakfast news shows is Karen Andrews, following her announcement yesterday to step down from her role as shadow home affairs minister and to quit politics altogether at the next federal election.
She’s told ABC’s News Breakfast program:
The reality is that I have never considered myself to be a career politician.
I have always tried to do my best, but I’m an engineer, I have worked in industrial relations, I have now had a political career and I think it is time for me to call time on my political career.
My party is going through the process of rebuilding, shaping up for the next election, and it would have been wrong of me to stay on if I wasn’t prepared to stay for at least one more term after this one.
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Pocock: voters will hold Labor to account over jobseeker
The committee which released the independent advice to raise jobseeker – which the government looks set to ignore – was established as a carrot to Pocock in return for his support on the government’s industrial relations legislation.
However, Pocock won’t say he regrets the deal. His answer to Sky News was that he wanted independent advice to be publicly available and the transparency measure he’s put in place will be “harder and harder for governments to ignore” :
This is conversation on budget, we can see what they actually deliver on that advice. And then voters can hold them to account.
If voters think that this is an issue, then they can they can vote at the next election and vote for someone who’s going to hear that call, and actually ensure that we are building the kind of communities and society that that people want to be part of.
So I think it’s a transparency measure. And I think over time, it’s going to be harder and harder for governments to continue to ignore expert advice.
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David Pocock on government’s refusal to raise jobseeker: ‘budgets are about priorities’
The government appears set to reject a call from its very own expert advisory panel to raise the jobseeker rate.
The independent senator David Pocock was instrumental in setting up that panel, and as Amy already mentioned this morning, has urged the government to accept its advice. He’s doing the breakfast news show rounds with that message, telling ABC he does not buy the government’s excuse of a tight budget:
There’s pressure on budgets across the country. If you want to hear about tight budgets, talk to people who are deciding between medicine and food. That’s a tight budget.
And for a government that won’t touch $250bn of stage-3 tax cuts going to the wealthier Australians, we saw another report that’s showing it’s going to people in urban centres, not going to benefit the regions at all – I frankly just don’t buy it. Budgets are tough. Budgets are about priorities. And we are hearing from the government that whilst they now know that there’s a lot of people doing it tough, they are not enough of a priority.
We’re going to continue with stage-3 tax cuts, we’re going to find tens of billions for inland rail and hundreds of billions of dollars for submarines, but people in our communities who need the support, they’ll just have to wait and somehow make a plan.
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Voice committee heads north to hear traditional owners
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has defended the wording of the proposed Indigenous voice to parliament, dismissing fears of possible high court challenges, AAP reports.
It comes as traditional owners from far north Queensland and the Torres Strait are due to give evidence as an inquiry into the proposed body resumes.
Albanese said the prospect of cases being brought before the courts due to the wording had been shot down by Australia’s top constitutional law experts. He told 2SM Sydney this morning:
This is a legally sound proposition. It makes it very clear that parliament is in charge.
There’s no obligation and there’s certainly not an obligation on the government to agree to the voice. There is the provision for the voice to be heard, for at least the views to be put.
The third hearing of the parliamentary inquiry into the voice to parliament and executive government will be held in Cairns today. The committee is examining the proposed constitutional changes and the question that will be taken to the public before the terms of the referendum are locked in by federal parliament.
Torres Strait Island councils and traditional owner groups from Cape York and the Torres Strait are among those giving evidence at the hearing.
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Bill Shorten says ‘budget heaving with a trillion dollars of Liberal debt’ as raise in jobseeker looks unlikely
As we mentioned earlier, it’s looking unlikely the government will substantially lift jobseeker payments despite its own poverty experts calling for an increase to the “seriously inadequate” unemployment support.
The government services minister, Bill Shorten, told ABC News Breakfast this morning, he can’t answer the question.
That will be up to the government as a whole. I don’t know.
The reality is that we know that people are doing it tough, absolutely doing it tough. And what we want to do is where it’s responsible that we can – and affordable – that we can support people doing it tough.
The reality is we got to weigh that up against all the other things in the budget and the budget is heaving with a trillion dollars of Liberal debt.
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The electric vehicle strategy will look at reducing the barriers to electric vehicle uptake, including demand, supply or infrastructure.
The minister for infrastructure and transport, Catherine King, said the government would ensure the fuel efficiency standards work for Australia’s market.
This strategy offers an historic opportunity to develop fuel efficiency standards that learn from international best practice, while recognising the unique needs of Australians.
It will send a strong message to the global car industry that when it comes to transport technology, Australia will no longer settle for less.
More than 85 percent of all cars sold in the world are subject to fuel efficiency standards. It’s time Australians were offered the same choice.
Consultation on the design of fuel efficiency standards begins today, and is available here. Following that consultation, the government will release the proposed Fuel Efficiency Standard by the end of this year.
Government launches nation’s first electric vehicle strategy
Australians can expect a better choice of electric vehicles and less pollution as the government launches Australia’s first national electric vehicle strategy.
The strategy will introduce a fuel efficiency standard which will outline how much pollution (specifically, carbon dioxide) a car will produce when it’s running.
Up until today, Australia – together with Russia – was among the only developed countries that didn’t have fuel efficiency standards. It has meant Australians have missed out on a greater choice of car models because manufacturers have prioritised sending more efficient vehicles to countries with standards in place.
The efficiency standard is also set to save motorists $519 per year in fuel costs, the government said previous analysis has shown. With passenger cars making up almost 10% of Australia’s CO2 emissions, the government says it is an important step to meet our emissions reduction targets.
A joint statement from the minister for climate change, Chris Bowen, and infrastructure minister, Catherine King, said:
Transport is the third largest source of emissions in Australia. This Strategy will help cut our emissions by at least 3m tonnes of carbon by 2030, and over 10m tonnes to 2035.
Australian governments, car makers, motoring clubs, climate groups, businesses and unions were all on board with the strategy, according to Bowen. He said:
Fuel-efficient and electric vehicles are cleaner and cheaper to run – today’s announcement is a win-win for motorists.
The efficiency standards will only apply to new cars, and not retrospectively, so consumers will still be able to choose they vehicle they want to drive, the government says.
The national electric vehicle strategy is available here.
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Karen Andrews agrees that LNP is distracted by the no campaign
Karen Andrews, who yesterday stepped down as shadow home affairs ministers and announced she would not contesting her seat of Macpherson in the next federal election, has this morning reflected on the state of the party and parliament she will be leaving.
Speaking to ABC Radio this morning, Andrews said she was very surprised by the Liberals’ historic defeat in the Aston byelection. She said she agreed with the former deputy state director of the Victorian Liberal party Tony Barry’s opinion that if the party focuses on fringe issues, it will get fringe results.
Andrews wasn’t pessimistic about the party’s future, as she said conversations will all her colleagues showed they were all “committed to doing things differently”. Asked if her party was being distracted by the vote no case, Andrews said “I believe so”.
She said “it is clearly an important issue” and that there is a strong will from the Australian people to respond to it. She believed the party’s focus on local communities was “the right thing to do” but acknowledged they needed to respond to the issue of constitutional recognition.
The more talk there is of one issue in isolation, the greater the risk of disenfranchisement amongst Australian voters, Andrews said.
On the issue of the voice, she believes the “better way forward” is for there to be greater dialogue and discussion between two major parties so that recognition can be resolved.
She called on both major parties to focus on a more positive approach, saying Question Time is full of negativity and politicians who “beat each other up for silly little reasons.”
I’d like to see a gentler parliament … the Australian people deserve better.
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Dutton reiterates push for nuclear power
Dutton argued that a 82% renewable energy target – including 28,000km of transmission wires by 2050 costing at least $100bn – is unfeasible.
The only policy he elaborated on in detail was nuclear power:
That’s why we’re pushing for a discussion on next-generation, zero emission, small and micro nuclear technologies which countries around the world are investing in. These reactors can plug into an existing distribution network. Similar technology in the form of sealed nuclear reactors will power our future submarines for up to 30 years – equal to the life of the boat. They will be based here in South Australia.
Nuclear power within the energy mix has the potential to help us meet three obligations: To improve our environment by reducing emissions. Ensure Australians have affordable power. And create a dependable energy system which supports our businesses, industries and households. And that is policy pragmatism.
Dutton also attacked Labor for “dramatically increasing numbers under a ‘Big Australia’ agenda”.
He said:
Across this and next financial year, around 650,000 migrants will come to our country. It will be the biggest surge in the history of our population. It will occur amidst the housing and rental shortage. Migration on this scale will put even more pressure on transport, on classrooms, on hospitals and on other services.
Dutton: Liberals are down but not out
Last night the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, gave the Sir John Downer oration at the University of Adelaide. In it, he argued that the Liberals are down but not out and promised new policies to maximise the difference with Labor, including support for nuclear power.
Dutton said:
The Liberal party has obviously suffered recent setbacks at the federal and state levels. Labor is in power across mainland Australia. I know that many Liberals – whether it’s our members or our rusted-on supporters – are feeling despondent and disillusioned. But in the cycle of politics, parties will be down, but, of course, they are never out.
We have been there before. And we’ve come back. It’s in our darkest hours where we find the courage, the camaraderie, the commitment, the conviction and the confidence for revival, for resurgence and for victory.
Dutton noted commentators in the media made similar predictions in 2007, and argue their policy prescriptions amount to arguing if the Liberals “could be more like the Labor party they would be able to vote for us for the first time”.
Dutton channelled Winston Churchill, claiming “the next election will be one of our finest hours” because the Liberals had “learnt from past mistakes”.
He said the next election will be “a very significant choice, between ongoing policy of taxing and spending and fulfilling the union wish list under Labor ... or restoring policy grounded in reason under the Coalition”. He promised the Liberals “will not adopt a cowardly small-target strategy”.
Good morning! Natasha May on deck with you.
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David Pocock says Labor not protecting most vulnerable after failure to raise jobseeker rates
Hello again from Canberra where the economic inclusion advisory committee interim report - which was released just after 5pm yesterday recommending a rise in jobseeker - is still making waves.
The Antipoverty Centre, which advocates for people living on welfare and in poverty (they go hand in hand these days) have taken to calling it the “economic exclusion committee”. They were sceptical of the process from the outset, questioning what impact it would actually have when it came to raising the rate.
Well, it seems we have the answer – not really a lot.
As Paul Karp reported, it doesn’t appear that the government is going to take up the committee’s (non-binding) recommendations. And that has left senator David Pocock, who had negotiated for the committee to be established in return for his support on the government’s IR legislation, a bit miffed.
The current level of income supports for more than one million Australians is seriously inadequate. The committee recommended a substantial increase in the rate of jobseeker as a first priority and an increase to commonwealth rent assistance.
It is unacceptable that as one of the wealthiest countries in the world so many people in our community, especially children, are being forced to live in poverty in this worsening cost-of-living crisis.
It appears that this Labor government can find extra money for just about anything - from inland rail cost blowouts to submarines - but it won’t do more to protect the most vulnerable.
The Antipoverty Centre was a little more blunt in its response, saying the government “never cared” what the committee would say.
Welcome
Good morning. I’m Martin Farrer and welcome to today’s rolling news coverage. It promises to be a pretty busy day so I’ll have a couple of breaking stories for you before my colleague comes along to run the show.
We’re getting into budget bargaining season as stakeholders and interest groups bid to put pressure on the Albanese government ahead of Jim Chalmers’ big day next month. Specifically, our story says ministers are being urged to include a pay rise and increased rent assistance for all childcare and aged care workers as part of “specific and urgent” recommendations by the women’s economic equality taskforce.
Meanwhile, there are warnings the planned extra $4.8bn spend on aged care will still not be enough, while the government may ignore calls from its own experts to lift ‘seriously inadequate’ jobseeker rate. The latter move has angered the independent senator David Pocock who says it is “unacceptable”. More coming up on his comments.
Students are being left with as little as $13 a day to live on as the youth allowance fails to keep pace with soaring rents, according to analysis from Homelessness Australia. We’re also looking at how Help or Hecs debts are ballooning thanks to inflation, and how best to tackle paying them off. One former student tells us that she now owes more than she did when she left uni.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry will no doubt also have suggestions for the treasurer when it releases its national electric vehicle strategy this morning. Chris Bowen and Catherine King, the energy and infrastructure ministers respectively, will make a joint announcement about it shortly and we’ll have the latest as soon as it happens.
