What we learned today, Tuesday 22 August
Thanks for joining us on the Australia news live blog today. That’s where we’ll wrap up our coverage – here are some key developments:
The states will get three more years to complete water efficiency projects in the Murray-Darling, but more water buybacks are on the cards as part of changes to the Murray-Darling Basin plan.
Liberal MPs have condemned “abhorrent” and “revolting” commentary about Indigenous people aired at no campaign leader Warren Mundine’s CPAC conference, as pressure mounts on fellow anti-voice spokesperson Gary Johns.
Mark Latham has quit One Nation to sit as an independent in the New South Wales parliament after he was fired as the rightwing party’s state leader.
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has conceded that the business case and costings for the axed 2026 Commonwealth Games were “hardly the greatest piece of work” but declined to say if individuals from the various organisations involved in compiling the documents were working on other government projects.
Queensland’s treasurer has warned BHP that its mining leases might be in jeopardy if the company does not continue investing in the state.
Ita Buttrose will not seek a second term as ABC chair when her first term expires in March 2024 but her “formidable” leadership of the public broadcaster has been marked by “speaking truth to power”.
Thanks for your company today. We’ll be back with you tomorrow morning.
Updated
CPAC ‘neither condemns nor endorses’ Johns’ comments
CPAC Australia has responded to the controversy over comments from no campaign leader Gary Johns, saying the conference “neither condemns nor endorses” his views aired at the event on Sunday.
Andrew Cooper, the founder and director of CPAC, said in an email that: “CPAC runs a talkfest with over 40 speakers who each are free to present their ideas to the audience, uncensored by us.”
Here’s more of his statement, in an email response to Guardian Australia:
In turn, audience members, online viewers and the broader world are free to comment on those views. That is how a free society with a robust commitment to free speech works.
Consequently, CPAC neither condemns nor endorses Mr Johns views nor do we feel it necessary to comment on the opinions of others about his views.
Johns’ speech, which included claims that some people in Indigenous communities lived in a “stupor” and recommended they “learn English”, has been heavily criticised by Coalition and Labor MPs, including calls for him to stand down from the no campaign.
As reported earlier, Johns did not resile from his speech in a Sky News interview last night, defending his comments and accusing detractors of “closing down debate”.
Updated
