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.
