What we learned, Friday 10 May
Thanks for joining us on the blog today. Here is a wrap of the main headlines:
The publisher of a same-sex parenting book that was banned from Cumberland council libraries in western Sydney will be offering the book as a free download.
The high court held indefinite immigration detention is lawful if non-citizens’ lack of cooperation has frustrated efforts to deport them – a win for the Albanese government.
The immigration minister, Andrew Giles, then called opposition leader Peter Dutton to back Labor’s controversial bill that would enable the government to force those in immigration detention to cooperate in their own deportation.
The federal court ordered Bruce Lehrmann to pay all Channel Ten’s legal costs except some of those relating to the network’s statutory privilege defence in his defamation case.
A resolution to be put to the UN general assembly later tonight on the status of Palestine has been watered down to maximise the chances of it gaining broader support. With foreign minister Penny Wong under pressure over the UN vote on Palestine, the federal opposition has called for Australia to actively vote against admitting Palestine as a full member of the UN.
That’s all for today – enjoy your Friday evening, and see you next week!
Updated
Doubling jobseeker during Covid lockdowns saved lives, report recommending raising rate says
The Australian Unemployed Workers Union’s everyone left behind committee (ELBC) has released a new report, demanding the federal government raise the rate of all income support payments above the Henderson poverty line in next week’s budget.
This comes in the wake of leading economists, prominent female leaders, and the government’s own economic inclusion advisory committee recommending an increase to jobseeker and related payments.
This week, Australia’s sex discrimination commissioner also told the ABC that increasing jobseeker “will stop homicides” by supporting women to leave violent partners.
Members of the ELBC agreed it was a life-saver when the government doubled the rate of jobseeker during the early Covid lockdowns. A committee member, who was not named, said:
When the rate was raised temporarily in the first year of the pandemic, my depression went into remission for the first (and only) time.
I was able to eat better. I bought a new fridge and a new mattress for my bed. And I saved a little for a rainy day.
Updated
