What we learned, Friday 21 June
And that’s where we’ll leave you this evening. Here’s just a snippet of what we’ve learned today:
Anthony Albanese said Peter Dutton’s nuclear power announcement “doesn’t stack up”.
The minister for the Pacific, Pat Conroy, has admitted Australian funding for a Pacific NRL team is “not about sport” but is intended to serve Australia’s national security interests, at a time of intense competition with China for influence.
Smaller publishers in Australia are already feeling the effects of a potential ban of news on Facebook and Instagram, a joint select committee on social media and Australian society heard.
The Victorian Greens blasted the state Labor government over a memorandum of understanding with Israel’s defence ministry to capitalise on “global tensions” and countries wanting to “protect their national interests”.
WA Nationals MP Louise Kingston stunned the state’s Legislative Council by resigning with a tearful statement alleging she had been the victim of “relentless bullying and harassment” by the leader of the party.
An Australian is among hundreds of people who have died at the Hajj pilgrimage amid soaring temperatures in Saudi Arabia.
Thirteen people have been arrested in connection with a $10m illicit tobacco network after WA police seized 5.9m cigarettes, 1.4 tonnes of loose tobacco, $1.7m in cash and 41,000 vapes.
Prosecutors will use material gained in phone taps in their case against four teenagers charged with terrorism offences after a bishop’s stabbing.
The energy market operator has warned of “potential risks” for gas shortages in southern states, but the federal government says the gas market is functioning “exactly as it should”.
Thanks so much for your company today.
Updated
Phone taps to be used against alleged teen terrorists
Prosecutors will draw on material from phone intercepts in their case against four teenagers charged with terrorism offences after a bishop’s stabbing, a court has been told.
Assyrian bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and priest Isaac Royel were stabbed during a livestreamed sermon at a western Sydney church in April.
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with committing a terrorist act over the stabbing at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, which police allege was religiously motivated.
Six more teenagers, allegedly connected with the accused stabber, have also been charged with terrorism offences, including conspiring to engage in preparations for a terrorist act and possessing or controlling violent extremist material.
Four of those accused attended Parramatta children’s court on Friday, when their lawyers agreed to an eight-week adjournment to give time for prosecutors to compile and hand over their full brief of evidence.
The court heard that telephone intercept, body-worn camera footage and CCTV footage had still not been handed over to defence counsel.
Police had already completed a review of the four accuseds primary communications devices and were still going through their secondary devices, the prosecutor said.
The matters will return to court on 16 August.
The terror arrests came after a joint counter-terrorism team involving 400 police officers undertook 13 raids at several homes across Sydney in response to the Wakeley attack.
The stabbing also led to violent riots around the church with those in the angry throng demanding that the alleged teenager stabber, who had been subdued inside the place of worship, be handed over to the mob outside.
Police have charged 30 individuals in relation to the riots.
Updated
Government: gas market working ‘exactly as it should’
A spokesperson for energy minister Chris Bowen says the southern gas market is not in dire straits, but instead working “exactly as it should”.
The spokesperson said:
Aemo has confirmed it has adequate levers available to address any issue if it materialises.
The Albanese government has worked with states to expand Aemo’s remit so it now has the power to manage the east coast gas market through both existing market responses as well as its own powers to direct gas supplies around the system and between states.
The fine print of those powers is that the market operator can intervene to halt gas supplies (presumably to a large industrial customer) and divert it elsewhere (presumably to households to ensure heating and eating proceeds without a hitch).
The spokesperson continued:
Unlike the Coalition which ignored gas shortage warnings for years, the Albanese government took immediate strong action when it came to government, on both gas supply and price, by introducing the gas mandatory code of conduct.
Guess we’ll find out in the next days and weeks whether that action has been strong enough.
Updated
Energy system in ‘dire trouble’ amid gas squeeze, O’Brien says
It’s been a busy week for energy news, and not just for the 2035 and beyond nuclear plans proposed by the federal opposition.
As noted in the blog earlier today, the energy market operator has warned of “potential risks” for gas shortages in southern states. Basically, it’s been cold (more heating) and relatively still (more gas-fired power generation, rather than wind), so that gas storages have been drawn down.
The problems have prompted shadow energy spokesperson, Ted O’Brien, to break away from the 64th annual Liberal party conference in Sydney to declare our energy is in “dire trouble”.
“We know very well that Labor has been suffocating the supply of gas,” he said. “Right now the operator is warning Australians, that unfortunately, it could be lights out.
“We’re talking about winter,” he went on. “Senior citizens don’t know if they should eat tonight, or turn the heater on.”
(He was also asked about safety issues related to building a nuclear plant in Lithgow, near the headwaters feeding Sydney’s main dam. Be prepared for the “mother of all scare campaigns”, he said. Everyone is a bit jumpy, it seems.)
Anyway, the Coalition’s plans imply an increased use of gas as coal exits and nuclear plants get built (with the inevitable delays – should they ever get started). O’Brien was coy about what a Coalition government would do to ensure that extra gas was available when needed.
“We have shortages of gas today as a direct consequence of bad government policy that needs to be fixed and it will be our priority,” he said. “We need to make sure we clear the decks when it comes to unnecessary red tape. We’ve got to make sure that we have a fair and efficient approvals process.”
Updated
Sydney bartender jailed for sharing photos of female friends and colleagues on porn site
A Sydney bartender who took photos from a string of women’s private social media accounts and shared them on a pornography website has been jailed for nine years.
Andrew Thomas Hayler, 38, posted photos of friends, colleagues and housemates and encouraged people to share fantasies about the victims alongside his own desires to sexually assault the women.
Victims revealed the unnerving and disturbing impact of being told their images had been shared, with many fearing for their safety after learning of the threats on the forum.
Hayler also superimposed the faces of his victims onto sexually explicit images and posted them on the same site.
He pleaded guilty to 28 counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass and offend, telling a court his offending was an “outlet for a part of his psyche he didn’t want”.
More on this story here:
New PM of Solomon Islands to visit Australia
The prime minister of Solomon Islands, Jeremiah Manele, will make his first official visit to Australia on Sunday since taking office in May.
Manele will meet with Anthony Albanese and also travel to Queensland to see how the Pacific Australia Mobility Scheme – which sees Pasifika travel to Australia to work in various industries – is operating.
Among items to be discussed are labour mobility pathways between the countries, and humanitarian and policing operations.
Albanese said of Manele’s planned week-long visit:
I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Manele to Australia for his first international visit, following Solomon Islands’ historic joint elections in April.
We highly value our position as Solomon Islands’ partner of choice.
My Government is committed to listening and working with Solomon Islands as equals, and to discussing how we can deepen our partnership into a new era of cooperation.
Updated
Environment ministers unite to stamp out disposed battery fires
Australia’s environment ministers will unite to stop batteries ending up in landfills and causing dangerous fires as the industry warns rubbish collection workers are at risk.
Waste and recycling workers face increasing risks as fires ignite from lithium-ion batteries, the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia said.
It has demanded immediate action to come up with a solution to the battery-fire crisis enveloping the industry, calling for collection points for all batteries in all states while a plan is developed.
The federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, on Friday met with her state and territory counterparts in Sydney to discuss better ways to manage battery disposal.
The ministers acknowledged battery fires were an issue of priority that required “interventions through the battery life cycle”.
They said in a joint statement:
Ongoing fires and emergency situations illustrate the critical importance of acting quickly on batteries to protect lives and property.
The leaders committed to fast-track work towards reducing the environmental impact of all batteries throughout their life cycle, with Queensland, NSW and Victoria leading the charge.
– via AAP
Updated
WA opposition leader denies bullying former Nationals colleague
Western Australia’s opposition leader, Shane Love, has denied bullying a fellow Nationals MP, Louise Kingston, who resigned from the party during a tearful address to parliament.
Kingston made the claim during an address to the state’s Legislative Council on Thursday afternoon. She said:
It gives me no pleasure to have to say what I am going to have to say today.
Unfortunately, I’ve been the victim of relentless bullying and harassment by the leader of the Nationals.
Kingston said she had raised the issue with others and Love directly and did not make a formal complaint with the party because she “believed the situation had been resolved”.
Love said he doesn’t know what he allegedly did to Kingston and that he had tried to contact her but received no response. He told ABC News on Friday:
I think that this is the result of a difficult and bruising pre-selection process.
We have a small party but we’re a party that actually cares about people.
On Thursday afternoon Love confirmed Kingston’s resignation from the party, saying in a statement:
While it is disappointing Ms Kingston no longer wishes to be part of our Nationals WA team, we thank Ms Kingston for her service to our party.
– via AAP
Updated
The Bureau of Meteorology has your weather forecast for the weekend
The upshot is the cold and frosty weather will continue in many areas throughout the weekend, and showers on the east and west coast are forecast for Saturday.
Here's what to expect across Australia over the weekend, including cold & frosty weather in many areas, and showers on the east and west coasts. Video current as of 11:30 am AEST, Friday 21 June 2024.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) June 21, 2024
Latest: https://t.co/4W35o8iFmh pic.twitter.com/bYrEfPthTr
Publishers already feeling potential news ban on Facebook and Instagram, MPs told
Smaller publishers in Australia are already feeling the effects of a potential ban of news on Facebook and Instagram, the chair of the Digital Publishers Alliance, Tim Duggan, has told MPs.
There is concern that if Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, is designated under the news media bargaining code and forced to pay news companies for news, then it will block news on its platforms similar to what is in effect in Canada.
At the inaugural hearing of the joint select committee on social media and Australian society, Duggan said the ban would cause a substantial loss of traffic for smaller publishers more reliant on social media for traffic, but he said the effects of the government considering designation were already being felt.
He said:
There would also be the fact that revenue is generated through these platforms, particularly Instagram for digital publishers is for many digital publishers is a large source of revenue to be able to amplify content. And there are even more indirect ones around most of our members rely on advertising from media agencies and brands. And we have already seen an impact to some members of brands and agencies holding back some of their revenue and some of their campaigns in the anticipation that a news ban will come into effect in the next few months.
He said advertisers are getting nervous and are holding back advertising dollars. The committee has also heard from the bosses of News Corp, Seven, Nine and ACM Media, all calling for social media platforms to fund journalism.
Updated
Missing teen Amber Haigh was ‘removed from the equation’ after giving birth, court told
A couple from country New South Wales used intellectually disabled teenager Amber Michelle Haigh as a “surrogate mother” so they could have another baby, before killing her, a court has heard.
Robert and Anne Geeves, now of Harden, face one count each of murder, over the suspected killing of Haigh, who disappeared without trace in June of 2002.
Haigh’s disappearance, its circumstance and enduring irresolution, has been a high profile public mystery in the Harden area of New South Wales’ Riverina, where she was living at the time.
Robert and Anne Geeves spoke in court Friday morning only to individually plead “not guilty” to murder.
More on this story from Ben Doherty here:
Hello, everyone. I’ll now be taking over to bring you the news until this evening.
Victorian Greens blast state government over MoU with Israel defence ministry
The Victorian Greens leader, Ellen Sandell, has commented on a report we brought you today on documents showing the state government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Israel’s defence ministry to capitalise on “global tensions” and countries wanting to “protect their national interests” militarily.
Sandell says the documents show “Labor has directly supported [the] Israeli’s military objectives”:
It’s very clear from these documents that Victorian Labor is in bed with the Israeli defence ministry.
These documents expose that Labor signed an MOU to ‘capture opportunities’ from increased tension and militarisation overseas.
I think Victorians would be pretty disgusted to know that the Labor government could be seeking to profit or gain from war and killing overseas.
The Greens are calling on Labor to immediately rip up its MOU with the Israeli Defence Ministry and end all military ties with Israel.
Here’s the report:
Updated
‘Watch for orcas and leopard seals’
Some more from the Antarctic. Casey station leader Dave Buller said:
As seen in previous years, some will demonstrate a newfound skill of simultaneously entering and jumping out of the water at the same time.
It’s a somewhat brisk and confronting experience.
Over at Macquarie Island, they swim twice! According to the Australian Antarctic Division, expeditioners jump in the water on the east, then run across to the west, “with someone keeping watch for orcas and leopard seals”. That frivolity is followed by a festive lunch, gift giving, and a pantomime.
Macquarie Island station leader Rebecca Jeffcoat said:
Midwinter has historically been celebrated by the earliest of Antarctic explorers and continues to be the most important day on the calendar for all expeditioners, even more than Christmas.
It’s a rite of passage to have spent midwinter in Antarctica!
Updated
Pacific NRL funding 'about national security', Conroy says
The minister for the Pacific, Pat Conroy, has admitted Australian funding for a Pacific NRL team is “not about sport” but is intended to serve Australia’s national security interests, at a time of intense competition with China for influence.
He said the Albanese government would use “every lever at our disposal to bring us closer to the Pacific”, pointing to “the disastrous impact of the security pact between the Solomon Islands and China” that was negotiated when the former Morrison government was in power.
In an interview with Newcastle radio station 2HD today, Conroy was asked about recent reports of potential funding of up to $600m over 10 years to enable a Papua New Guinea-based team to enter the NRL.
He said the government was “still negotiating with the NRL about this, and that figure hasn’t been confirmed, but whatever the figure is, it will be over a 10‑year period”:
Importantly, this is not about sport, this is about national security. This is about how do we bind the people of the Pacific and Australia together with a shared future.
I think everyone would agree that having a Pacific that sees Australia as their primary partner is in our interests, so we’ll use temporary labour schemes, we’ll use foreign aid, we’ll use policing cooperation, we’ll use sport, to support those people‑to‑people links. That’s in our national interest.
Updated
Taking the plunge: Antarctic researchers mark winter solstice with an icy swim
To mark the winter solstice, there’s a nudie Tassie swim, and then there are the Australian Antarctic expeditioners. At the Australian stations they cut a hole in the ice with a chainsaw or digger to make a plunge pool. How fun! Swimmers are medically supervised as they are lowered into the -1.8C water. Davis Station leader, Brett Barlee, said:
These occasions are important because they call you to take pause and reflect not only on our achievements in this current season, but of the shoulders we stand on as we do our work.
It’s felt by our community as an honour and a privilege to be part of this legacy.
Updated
Frigate construction begins in SA as premier hails ‘momentous day’
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, has described today as a “momentous day” for SA with the long-awaited beginning of frigate construction. He said:
This delivery of frigates alongside SSN-Aukus submarines puts South Australia front and centre in the most crucial of national endeavours.
It also represents a step change in our state’s economic complexity, which will help improve the standard of living for South Australians more broadly.
Updated
Michael Miller questioned over 'hysterical' coverage
Here’s Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young v News Corp Australasia chair Michael Miller on comparing the Greens to Nazis. The footage is from today’s parliamentary inquiry into social media and Australian society.
Updated
Two found dead in Victoria’s Otway Ranges
Two people have been found dead in Victoria’s Otway Ranges in the state’s south-west.
A spokesperson for Victoria police says emergency services were called to the Gellibrand Lower area following the discovery of a dead man and woman on Friday morning. In a statement, police said the circumstances of their deaths are yet to be determined:
The man and woman, who are yet to be formally identified, were found by a passerby on a walking track near Wreck Beach about 10.45am.
Offices have cordoned off the area and a crime scene has been established. At this early stage, police are not searching for anyone else in relation to the incident.
Updated
Please be astounded and amazed at all these people getting nippy at the Dark Mofo winter solstice swim in Tasmania. (Also it’s the start of the Beanie festival in Alice Springs. I know which I’d rather don/doff). From AAP:
Updated
Man arrested after making $60,000 of fake pandemic payment claims
AAP reports that a man has been arrested for allegedly making more than 500 fake pandemic payment claims worth about $60,000:
Victoria police uncovered masses of counterfeiting equipment at a home in Melbourne’s west, during a fraud investigation into Covid-19 temporary isolation payments submitted during the pandemic.
Police said this morning that a card printer, embossing machine, drivers licences, fake Medicare and other ID cards, mobile phone signal jammers and phones, tablets and computers had been seized.
A 41-year-old Braybrook man has been arrested and is expected to be charged on summons with deception and fraudulent documents offences. Police said in a statement:
It will be alleged that over 500 fraudulent Covid-19 grant applications were successfully submitted under a variety of false names worth almost $60,000 between 2020-2021.
Updated
Simon Holmes à Court is not holding back in this piece:
If there’s any doubt that Dutton has internalised the Trump playbook, here’s an example of how he’s deployed the infamous Steve Bannon technique: “flood the zone with shit”.
The deputy prime minister (and defence minister), Richard Marles, is expected to hold a press conference shortly about the Hunter Class frigates. He told ABC’s Radio National this morning there had been moments when the program was “off track” after host Patricia Karvelas asked him why construction was only beginning today – six years after the program was announced.
Marles said the pandemic was one of a number of reasons for the delay. He said:
But we’ve been working very hard since coming to power to get this back on track. You take it step by step, but contracts are in place and we are now at a point of cutting steel today, which is a really, really big milestone.
And at its peak, this is going to employ 3,000 people directly at the Osborne naval shipyard. In building these frigates, we will see the first come into service in 2034, and these will be the most advanced anti-submarine warfare frigates in the world, but will also have very significant vertical launch capacity. They will be very much at the centre of our service combatant fleet.
Updated
Major arrests made after WA police swoop on $10m illegal tabacco network
Thirteen people have been arrested in connection with a $10m illicit tobacco network after WA police seized 5.9m cigarettes, 1.4 tonnes of loose tobacco, $1.7m in cash and 41,000 vapes.
WA police have charged seven men and two women including some with alleged links to a Middle Eastern crime group, according to a joint media release put out this morning by WA police, Victoria police, the Australian Border Force and the WA health department.
At one Sunbury residence, police seized 15 firearms, 2.4m illicit cigarettes, a stolen car and a gel blaster (which, I have just learned, one needs a license or permit for).
Other hauls included magic mushrooms, cocaine and a crossbow.
Detective acting superintendent Jeff Beros, from WA police’s serious and organised crime division, said:
Attractive profit margins can be generated from the sale of illicit tobacco and this has caused an environment where organised crime groups are aggressively competing for market share, resulting in violent offences such as criminal damage, threats and extortion being undertaken in our community.
We have seen this violence and harm being undertaken in other parts of Australia and we are resolute in not letting these groups flourish in Western Australia.
These outcomes, including the arrest of the head of the group and his offsiders, sends a clear message to anyone who thinks they can undertake this type of criminal activity in Western Australia – you will be caught and you will be prosecuted.
Updated
Universities warn more investment needed to meet targets
The peak body for the university sector has warned the federal government it cannot do more with less if it is to meet targets flagged in a new needs-based funding model.
On Friday, the commonwealth released two consultation papers on a new Australian tertiary education commission and funding system based upon institutions reaching enrolment targets.
Luke Sheehy, the CEO of Universities Australia, said consultation would be key to ensuring the proposals could support a growing higher education sector:
These are significant structural reforms that will underpin universities for decades to come. We need to get these major policy reforms right to ensure universities have the stability and certainty needed to deliver the aspirations of a bigger and more inclusive university system.
He placed some onus on the federal government to ramp up investment, pointing to the job-ready graduates scheme, which vastly increased student contributions for arts degrees and remained in place despite being widely condemned as a failure:
The existing job-ready graduates package has left universities to do more with less which, unaddressed, will only make our role in meeting the government’s workforce targets more difficult.
Updated
Batteries causing ‘daily’ bin fires
Rubbish collection services are at risk as workers face daily fires caused by improperly disposed batteries, with the industry demanding urgent action on battery collection points, AAP has reported.
Federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek will on Friday meet with her state and territory counterparts to discuss better ways to manage battery disposal.
Waste and recycling workers operating facilities and trucks are facing increasing risks every day as fires ignite from lithium-ion batteries, the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia said.
It is demanding immediate action to come up with a solution to the battery fire crisis enveloping the industry, calling for collection points in all states for all batteries, while the plan is developed.
Updated
Hunter-class frigate steel-cutting ceremony begins
On Kaurna land in Adelaide, they’re about to cut the first piece of steel on the Hunter-class frigate project. It’s a tradition, the old steel-cutting, and can seem token but is meant as a symbol that construction has (finally) begun.
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, SA’s premier, Peter Malinauskas, and other luminaries are at the Osborne naval shipyard to mark the moment.
Updated
Greetings, all
A big thanks to Cait Kelly for steering the ship through the maelstrom of the morning news. Hoping for some calm now but that’s probably tempting fate!
Updated
Hi everyone – this is Cait. I am going to hand you over to my colleague Tory Shepherd now, who will take you through the rest of the morning. Thank you so much for spending your time with me on the blog and a big shout out to everyone in Hobart who took their kit off!
Updated
Gun control plea
Mark Ryan was calling on all MPs to support Queensland’s firearms prohibition scheme legislation:
There are many in parliament who are opposing these laws. These laws that the police have asked for in the interests of community safety. So the question for the members of parliament who are opposing these laws is, one, why are you ignoring the advice from the Queensland police service about these laws, but why aren’t you acting in the interest of community safety in supporting these laws?
Updated
Police minister responds to Mackay shooting
In Mackay, Queensland police minister Mark Ryan was just speaking about the death of Natalie Jane Frahm, 34, who was allegedly shot in her driveway by her neighbour:
Investigators will run a full investigation to get to the bottom of things. This person had firearms illegally. His weapons licence had been cancelled. Police had taken those weapons off him.
Part of the investigation will look to how he might have come in to possession of this illegal firearm. But that work, we have to allow police to do it. The police will do a full investigation on that and provide more information as things progress.
Updated
Higher education funding revamp plan
Commonwealth funding for domestic student places will be capped and providers will continue to lose funding if they aren’t meeting targets, according a series of consultation papers released by the federal government today.
The papers are intended to guide the implementation of a legislated Australian Tertiary Education Commission and a new funding system for higher education. Both reforms were recommended in the universities accord, which was handed down this year.
Under the new “managed growth funding system” to be rolled out by 2026, institutions will be given hard capped targets for allocating places which will be set by the government.
Places will be delivered by a system-wide pool, with the maximum number of places offered according to “attainment targets and meet community expectations and industry skills needs”. Providers will be ineligible for funding enrolments in excess of their cap, unless they were enrolling First Nations students.
Previously, providers were offered a maximum basic grant amount from the government, which was not tied to growth targets or enrolments.
The paper also flags a funding floor to be implemented for under-enrolled universities, which would decline year-on-year if they did not reach their targets.
Education minister Jason Clare pointed to a figure in the accord estimating 80% of workers will have a Tafe or university qualification by 2050.
To hit that target we have to break down that invisible barrier that stops a lot of people from disadvantaged backgrounds getting a crack at going to university. Part of that is changing how we fund universities.
Updated
‘White Australia cannot be trusted with nuclear power’
Queensland Conservation Council’s Paul Spearim said:
White Australia has a short-sighted approach to country.
He pointed to Maralinga and Emu Field in South Australia where the British held nuclear tests. More than 1,000 Indigenous people were exposed to radiation.
Spearim said:
You have forced poison on to the lands of traditional owners, and now Peter Dutton is proposing to create poisons that would last [hundreds of thousands] of years.
We have learnt that white Australia cannot be trusted with nuclear power, and you continue to act without care for our sacred country.
Updated
First Nations elders oppose nuclear option
First Nations elders are vowing to challenge the Coalition’s plans to build nuclear power reactors, warning that the proposed blueprint would be a “death sentence” for their connection to country, AAP has reported.
One of the sites earmarked for a nuclear plant, Tarong in Queensland, is on Indigenous elder Aunty Jannine Smith’s country. She said:
Over my dead body. I will be in a tent outside Tarong gates. It’s a death sentence to that land.
It’s not happening. I can guarantee you now it will not happen at Tarong.
Smith said building a nuclear plant on that land would be “severing the connection to that sacred site of ours”.
Updated
House prices to rise more gradually over next 18 months, report predicts
House prices will rise nationally by 5.3% over the next six months and by 5.6% during 2025, KPMG’s new property report on Australia’s capital cities says.
Apartment prices across the country will see an average rise of 4.5% by December and then match houses by growing by 5.6% in the next 12 months.
Rents are tipped to rise by 4% to 5% over the next two years, having increased by 7.8% over the past year, the largest increase since the GFC in 2008-09.
Dr Brendan Rynne, KPMG chief economist, said:
In a year of high interest rates and inflation and subdued consumer sentiment the housing market has withstood all those factors and still provided strong price growth, due to demand outstripping supply.
Even the much-anticipated “fixed-rate cliff” – the transition of mortgage holders off lower fixed rates to higher variable rates – has only had a mild impact and households have so far coped well with the rate rises, due to a robust labour market and Australia’s historic low unemployment rate.
Updated
Sydney police arrest man after fatal road rage incident
A man has been arrested after an alleged fatal road rage incident in Blackett yesterday.
About 8.45am emergency services were called to Jersey Road by reports that a pedestrian had been hit by a car.
Officers attached to Mount Druitt police area command attended and found a 27-year-old man had been hit by a utility.
The man was treated by NSW ambulance paramedics but died at the scene.
Police established a crime scene and the crash investigation unit – with the assistance of state crime command’s homicide squad – launched an investigation.
A 39-year-old man attended Mount Druitt police station about 6.30am today and was arrested.
My colleague Jordyn Beazley had this report yesterday:
Updated
Home energy upgrades in WA
Up to 4,300 Western Australian households will benefit from home energy upgades thanks to a $63.2m partnership to upgrade social housing properties across the state.
Social housing properties are some of the most energy inefficient in Australia, with most built more than 20 years ago, before minimum build standards. Upgrading a house from a one-star energy efficiency rating to a three-star rating can reduce energy consumption by 30% and decrease household power bills.
The Albanese government is partnering with the Roger Cook’s government to implement a new state-run initiative, which will help remote and regional social housing residents in hotter climates such as the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne, mid-west and Goldfield regions.
Minister for climate change and energy Chris Bowen:
The government was committed to helping households make real cost of living savings through their energy bills.
The Albanese and Cook Governments are helping all Australians to reap the rewards of the clean energy transformation.
Updated
WA Nationals MP accuses state party leader of bullying
WA Nationals MP Louise Kingston stunned the state’s Legislative Council with a tearful statement just before it rose for winter recess yesterday afternoon.
Louise Kingston had resigned from the WA Nationals. pic.twitter.com/qcTvw7Z42A
— AGform (@AGformau) June 20, 2024
Kingston, who represents the South West region, said:
It gives me no pleasure to have to say what I am going to have to say today.
I have been the victim of relentless bullying and harassment by the leader of the Nationals. I raised it with others and addressed it directly with him.
I believed the situation had been resolved, so therefore did not pursue a formal process through the party.
I believed everyone had learnt from the situation and used the opportunity to grow and build better relationships. Unfortunately I have now learnt a hard lesson.
Love said it was “disappointing Ms Kingston no longer wishes to be part of our Nationals WA team” and thanked her for “her service to our party”.
Kingston was preselected for the fifth spot on the party’s upper house ticket, which would make it difficult for her to win.
She told parliament that she believed she been “punished by an underhanded campaign and the party decided I was not worthy to be a part of their team going forward”:
This is a pattern of behaviour. People come and go but in more recent times many talented people have left and I now join those people.
I sincerely hope that this leads to further changes in the party to address the issues I have raised.
Nationals WA president Julie Freeman said the party had a robust harassment complaints policy and the state director had confirmed that no complaints had been lodged regarding the issue raised by Kingston:
We acknowledge that Louise was disappointed with the outcome of the preselection process.
Updated
Fancy a dip?
We have some pics of Hobart’s nude winter solstice swim!
Updated
‘If the Australian people speak, please respect it’
David Littleproud was also asked about the state governments saying they would not support nuclear.
He said:
We’re going to say we’re looking for a mandate but if the Australian people speak, please respect it. They want that from politicians.
Updated
Nationals leader defends lack of consultation over nuclear announcement
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, is now on the ABC – he has been asked why communities weren’t consulted on the nuclear announcement:
We made it very clear that we would be putting nuclear power plants where existing coal-fire plants are. We’ve been ruminating that for 12 months.
We’ve done further geotechnical assessments to whittle that down to seven locations and, on Wednesday, that was the start of that process, a two-and-a-half-year process of consultation with these communities in engagement around what is happening here. We’re not taking away anyone’s property rights in this.
If you look at existing renewable projects, there is no process that would mirror what we are putting in front of these communities. They are simply told they’re coming and off they go.
Updated
Albanese tells Michael Rowland to ‘lighten up’ over nuclear memes
This interview has taken an interesting turn with the PM demanding the ABC’s Michael Rowland “lighten up” after he asked if Labor MPs and premiers sharing pictures of three-eyed fish was juvenile.
Anthony Albanese: Lighten up, Michael ...
MR: That wasn’t the question?
AA: I endorse what I say.
MR: Do you endorse what they’re doing?
AA: You can ask whatever question you like. It’s up to me to give the answer.
MR: That’s my job.
AA: Lighten up. Lighten up, Michael. It is your job and you do it very well, along with other ABC broadcasters, but lighten up. For goodness sake.
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Coalition nuclear strategy aimed at ‘denial and delay’, Albanese says
Anthony Albanese has attacked the Coalition for stalling when it was in power, accusing it of using nuclear energy as a “distraction”:
What this is now is a recipe for further denial and delay. They’re trying to scare off investment rather than attract the investment that we need for the transition that is occurring.
They won’t say what their emissions target will be in 2030. They’re saying vote for us and we’ll let you know after the election some time what will actually happen.
They should be embarrassed that they’ve presided over a decade of denial and delay and now what they want is more denial and delay up until the 2040s.
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Dutton’s nuclear plan doesn’t stack up, PM says
And we are on to Peter Dutton’s nuclear announcement. The prime minister says “it doesn’t stack up”.
You had this announcement of seven sites, six of which have said they don’t want a bar of it. You’ve had no costings put forward.
In 10 days’ time we’ll produce energy price relief of $300 for every household. In the 2040s, they’re saying we’ll do nothing until then and then in the 2040s, sometime, there’ll be the most expensive form of new energy brought into the system.
There’s a reason why the Coalition are saying that they’re going to nationalise that part of the energy sector, unusually for a Liberal party, and that’s because no bank, no financier, will touch it with a barge pole.
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Australia needs more gas supply on east coast, Albanese says
Anthony Albanese is speaking to the ABC from Devonport.
He has been asked about Aemo’s warning there may be a shortage of gas on the east coast:
We’ll work those issues through with Aemo.
The PM says we need more gas on the east coast:
We need more gas supply. We announced our future gas strategy a short while ago because we understand that we need more supply. Gas has an important role to play in manufacturing in particular. But also in providing firming capacity for the renewables rollout.
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Australian dies during hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia
An Australian is among hundreds of people who have died at the hajj pilgrimage amid soaring temperatures in Saudi Arabia.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed it is giving consular assistance to the family.
The death toll of the pilgrimage has been high this year, with the tally sitting at 577, according to an AFP on Wednesday.
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Southern Australia faces ‘potential risk’ to gas supplies until end of September
As a reminder of the fragile state of energy supplies in parts of the country, the Australian Energy Market Operator has warned of “a potential risk or threat to the reliability or adequacy of the supply of covered gas” within the east coast gas system:
The likely duration of the identified risk or threat is from 19 June 2024 and is expected, on the basis of current information, to continue until no later than 30 September,.
The risk covers NSW, the ACT, SA, Victoria and Tasmania.
The cause of the shortage is linked to the cold snap and an increased use of gas for electricity generation (not unrelated to cool temperatures) and a drop in Longford gas production “due to an unplanned outage”. The result is a depletion of southern storage inventories, particularly at the Iona gas storage site in Victoria.
Gas producers in Queensland are encouraged “to take reasonable measures to maximise production and supply” to the south – presumably reaching pipeline capacity in the process.
The constraints have extended to the power sector in NSW, with so-called lack of reserve alerts being issued for periods of most days of late. That means Aemo has been calling for extra output to ensure there is an adequate buffer should a large coal- or gas-fired plant have an unexpected outage.
All this in a week when the debate has been about what the energy mix might be in Australia in the mid-2030s. Might need to focus a bit more on the here and now.
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Greens unleash on proposed NDIS changes
On the other side, the Greens delivered a blistering dissenting report last night over the federal government’s proposed NDIS changes.
Western Australia Greens senator Jordon Steele-John also noted the time pressures of the inquiry, saying he only had 45 working minutes to “read and review the report”.
Citing a focus group report by RedBridge Group for NDIS message testing, Steele-John accused the Albanese government of focusing on NDIS “rorts” and “cheats” in an effort to “elicit a level of qualified tolerance”:
Just like the previous government proactively dropped stories on so-called “dole bludgers” to undermine the calls for a royal commission into robodebt, is the view of the Australian Greens that this government is undermining the NDIS in the same way.
The senator also targeted plans to replace the concept of “reasonable and necessary” supports to “NDIS” supports in the bill, calling it a “blatant attempt to control the choices that participants make”:
Choice and control is one of the central pillars of the NDIS and removing it in this way makes it clear that the government prioritises their bottom line over the wellbeing of the disability community.
The Greens’ report said it should not pass, adding that the Labor senators decision not to extend the committee played a role.
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Sydney trains disrupted
Sydney commuters have been disrupted this morning after a train had to stop at Green Square for urgent repairs.
Passengers on the T8 airport and south line have been advised to allow for extra time.
Allow extra travel time towards the City due to urgent train repairs at Green Square.
— T8 Sydney Trains (@T8SydneyTrains) June 20, 2024
Trains may be stopped at platforms or between stations for longer than normal.
You may need to change at Central to continue your journey.
More info:https://t.co/ATF1zMGjk7 pic.twitter.com/Ljxub1IrsM
You can check the timetable here.
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Hobart’s nude swimmers assemble
Hobart’s annual nude winter solstice swim is on this morning – with thousands of people expected to brave the chill conditions in the River Derwent.
The annual event where swimmers take to the river in nothing but a red cap has been running for more than a decade and marks the passing of the longest night of the year.
We will bring you pics soon!
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‘Widespread misgivings’
Here’s more on the NDIS report:
Liberal senators Hollie Hughes and Maria Kovacic are less than impressed about the “government’s unwillingness to grant an extension to the committee for further scrutiny on sensible and necessary measures for the sustainability of the NDIS”.
In the senators’ one page of additional comments, they noted there hadn’t been sufficient time to consider the proposed changes to the NDIS and the community had expressed “widespread misgivings” about them:
The opportunity to properly engage with this bill is important in bringing the NDIS back onto sustainable footing in a manner that does not disadvantage or impact negatively on participants most in need ... The two-and-a-half days of hearings conducted by the committee pointed to significant concerns from the disability community about the lack of detail and potential unintended consequences of the current legislation without significant amendment.
While the Coalition was not able to provide “fully-informed commentary”, the senators noted the opposition’s “willingness to work constructively with the government”.
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Committee urges Labor to provide more details on NDIS changes
The federal government should offer more details on exactly how changes to the NDIS will impact the disability community, a Labor-majority committee has recommended.
Further information on how the consultation and co-design process will work with those on the scheme should also be explained better as soon as possible, the parliamentary committee looking into changes to the NDIS proposed by the Albanese government added.
The proposals, as announced by the scheme’s minister, Bill Shorten, in March, are aimed at getting the scheme “back on track”. Shorten has warned that the NDIS cannot continue to grow at its current rate of 20% a year.
The bill will overhaul how participant budgets are calculated and would give the National Disability Insurance Agency, which runs the NDIS, more powers to knock back requests for budget top-ups.
The NDIS’s watchdog would also get more powers to crack down on dodgy companies incorrectly auditing the scheme’s providers.
The committee’s report, released yesterday, acknowledged the “significant concerns” raised by disability groups and participants about aspects of the bill but recommended its “prompt passage”:
The committee is of the view that its prompt passage is necessary to restore certainty and sustainability for participants and their providers and to tackle fraudulent practices.
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First public hearing of social media inquiry
Today’s parliamentary inquiry into social media is expected to examine why Meta abandoned deals with local media outlets, as well as proposed age limits, AAP reports.
The inquiry, which was announced after Meta revealed in March it would not renew commercial deals with publishers, will hear evidence from Nine Entertainment, News Corp and Seven West Media.
The assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, at the time said the federal government would take “all of the steps available to it under the news media bargaining code” to get the tech giant back to the negotiating table with media companies.
The social media inquiry, established on 16 May, will also hear from regional media outlets, as well as regulators including the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant.
In addition to investigating tech giants’ deals with news companies, the parliamentary committee is expected to examine proposals to limit children’s access to social networks, look at social media’s effect on mental health, and consider harmful and illegal content on digital platforms.
The committee is due to present an interim report to parliament by 15 August, and a final report by 18 November.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to the final live blog of the week. I’m Martin Farrer, flagging the best of the overnight stories before my colleague Cait Kelly guides you through the day.
Peter Dutton may be dreaming of a nuclear dawn for Australia but our top story this morning heaps pressure on him to shed some more light on how he thinks it’s going to cut bills. Australians could face an increase in annual household power bills of up to $1,000 under a Coalition plan to slow the rollout of large-scale renewable energy and use more gas-fired electricity before nuclear plants are ready, analysts say. More coming up.
A major scrap is developing over the future of the rights to televise major sporting events. The Albanese government wants to add events such as AFLW and NRLW finals to those deemed of national importance such as the Olympics and Test cricket to ensure they don’t end up behind a paywall. But the lobby group for free-to-air broadcasters want the changes tweaked because they are worried the proposals could result in homes that do not have a terrestrial TV connection, or use a smart TV, might miss out on seeing those sports for free.
Facebook’s decision to stop funding Australian journalism is expected to come under the microscope at a parliamentary committee into social networks today. The social media and Australian society inquiry’s first public hearing will take place with media outlets Nine Entertainment, News Corp and Seven West Media due to give evidence in Canberra. The inquiry comes after Facebook’s parent company, Meta, announced in March it would not renew commercial deals with publishers, in a move estimated to have cost the industry $70m.
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