What we learned today, Friday 11 July
It’s time to wind down our live news coverage for the day. Here’s what’s been keeping us busy this Friday:
A key architect of the National Anti-Corruption Commission has called for a public update on the investigation into the illegal robodebt scheme, warning community confidence in the watchdog and its commissioner, Paul Brereton, is on the line.
The international human rights advocacy group Amnesty International has expressed concerns that Jillian Segal’s plan to combat antisemitism may undermine “fundamental civil and political rights, stifle protest, and risk deepening community division”.
The Victorian government is considering increasing testing for elderly drivers after a 91-year-old woman lost control of her car near a playground and struck three pedestrians, killing one.
Western Australia police are ruling out foul play as they continue searching for the missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga, saying they believe she may have walked into inhospitable bush after her van broke down.
The Australian government has secured the backing of at least eight members of the 21-country World Heritage committee as it lobbies to quell concerns about the impacts of industrial emissions on Indigenous rock art at Murujuga and have the Western Australian site inscribed on the world heritage list.
A Palestinian woman who arrived in Australia from Gaza has been detained by immigration authorities after a pre-dawn raid in Sydney.
Australia and the UK potentially face months of more uncertainty over the future of the Aukus agreement, amid expectations a snap Trump administration review of the nuclear submarines deal will extend well beyond its initial 30-day timeframe.
Thanks for unpacking the day with us.
Updated
Barnaby Joyce vows to wind back 'lunatic crusade' of net zero
The Nationals MP and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has vowed to wind back the “lunatic crusade” of net zero in a private member’s bill once parliament resumes later this month.
Joyce, who now sits as a backbencher within the Nationals, described the policy to reduce carbon emissions by 2050 to net zero as “treacherous” to Australia’s security in a post on Facebook this afternoon.
Private members’ bills are often not considered or debated and Joyce is certainly no stranger to climate change and net zero scepticism.
In 2023, Joyce labelled the estimated cost of net zero “utterly untenable” ahead of a Nationals motion to ditch the policy at the party conference. In 2015, Joyce teamed up with his now-retired colleague Keith Pitt to urge the Coalition to walk away from the Paris agreement and its associated climate targets.
In this afternoon’s post, Joyce claimed committing to net zero was akin to self-immolation unless the majority of countries “authentically” participated in it:
There is no more time to assess, to ponder, to nuance or to amend. Net Zero must be repealed and as such, I will, at my first opportunity bring forward a bill to do that.
Updated
