What we learned today, Friday 1 September
And that’s where we’ll wrap up today. Here’s a little of what we learned:
Environmental groups have accused the Albanese government of recklessness and hypocrisy after it approved a major coalmine expansion in central Queensland.
Australia’s winter of 2023 has been the warmest since official records began in 1910, with average daily temperatures 1.53C above the long-term average.
Partners at PwC Australia will see their salaries slashed by up to 30% due to an ongoing reputation crisis that has kept profits flat.
The federal government will be responsible for enforcing new controls around the importation, manufacturing and advertising of vapes, as well as controls on therapeutic vapes.
Qantas should pay a record-breaking penalty of more than $600m if the consumer watchdog is successful in its legal action against the airline, the ACCC chair said.
The trade minister, Don Farrell, has wrapped up “very positive and productive” talks with his European Union counterpart, Valdis Dombrovskis, following the breakdown in negotiations over agriculture matters in Brussels in July.
The Victorian Liberals lost a senior shadow cabinet member, Matt Bach, as opposition leader John Pesutto prepares to advance a plan to cover the costs of looming legal action.
Atagi has recommended that all adults aged 75 years and older should receive an additional 2023 Covid-19 vaccine dose if six months have passed since their last dose.
Australian home values are up 4.9% since February, adding about $34,000 to the average dwelling.
There’s been a push to expand commonwealth assistance to university students.
Thanks so much for your company this week. Have a lovely, safe weekend.
Updated
More information about doctors to be publicly available
The information available on the national public registers of health practitioners could be expanded to include practitioners’ regulatory history in respect to any boundary violations in the course of practice or a criminal conviction for a sexual offence.
Federal, state and territory health ministers agreed at this afternoon’s meeting to develop a National Law Amendment Bill that would include reinstatement orders and information on violations on the national register.
It comes as part of efforts to address concerns that allegations of boundary violations by health practitioners were not being managed adequately.
“Health Ministers agree that the safety of patients and the community is paramount in accessing care, and that all allegations of misconduct must be dealt with appropriately and sensitively,” according to a communique from the meeting.
Updated
New national rules to regulate cosmetic surgery
Federal and state and territory health ministers have also approved new rules to regulate cosmetic surgery to ensure better safety standards.
An independent review into cosmetic surgery in Australia was commissioned by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) in 2021 after media reports revealed serious problems in the sector, and in 2022 the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care was tasked to develop national licensing standards.
At the meeting of all health ministers this afternoon, they approved the new National Safety and Quality Cosmetic Surgery Standards, and the National Licensing Framework for Cosmetic Surgery.
State and territory governments will put in place these new regulatory powers within the licensing framework “as soon as practical”, according to a communique from the meeting.
Additionally, a mechanism will be created between state and territory regulators, the federal government, and the Medical Board of Australia to support the framework.
Health agencies will put in place the new Cosmetic Surgery Standards, and work to develop an accreditation process to better support safe care for clients and patients accessing cosmetic procedures.
Updated
Federal government to enforce new controls on vapes
The federal government will be responsible for enforcing new controls around the importation, manufacturing and advertising of vapes, as well as controls on therapeutic vapes, while states and territories will be responsible for the point of wholesale and retail.
The decision was made when the federal and state and territory health ministers met this afternoon as part of an update on the drafting of an implementation plan to support the National Response to Vaping.
While this plan continues to be worked through, the ministers agreed to extend the operation of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 to restrict the importation, manufacture and supply of all vapes.
They also agreed that the involvement of police and law enforcement agencies would be critical in implementing the new vaping laws, and all health ministers will soon meet with police ministers.
More on the background to this decision here:
Updated
Makarrata commission has spent barely half the $900,000 allocated by Labor, documents show
The federal Makarrata commission for truth-telling and treaty-making has so far spent just a small amount of the funds it was allocated by the government, newly released documents show, with the body focusing on research and talking with state governments about treaty processes already under way.
It is the first look at the work of the Makarrata commission, a body requested by the Uluru statement from the heart and funded by the federal Labor government in its first budget last year, to oversee processes around treaty and truth-telling.
While $900,000 was allocated to the commission by the National Indigenous Australians Agency, it has actually spent barely half that figure – despite its funding coming under heavy scrutiny by the Coalition opposition in recent parliamentary sittings.
Read more here about what the documents, obtained by Guardian Australia after a freedom of information request to the NIAA, show:
Updated
Tripping hazard thylacine sculptures find a new home in Launceston
Tasmanian tiger sculptures removed from a city mall because they posed a tripping hazard will soon be installed in a new garden home, AAP reports.
Launceston city council in March voted to shift the bronze thylacines commissioned in 2018 from Brisbane Street Mall to Civic Square.
The sculptures, originally intended as children’s play items, have proven divisive, with community members complaining they were a potential hazard.
Several people have required medical treatment after tripping on them.
In 2019, a woman said she fractured her thumb, grazed her hands and bruised her knees when she took a tumble.
The Launceston mayor, Matthew Garwood, said the thylacines had also impacted the mall’s functionality for events, such as the annual lighting of the Christmas tree.
Garwood said installation of the sculptures in garden beds at Civic Square would be completed next week:
A set of stencilled thylacine footprints and facts will also be placed in Civic Square, challenging children and those young at heart to find all the sculptures throughout the space.
We know that the thylacine sculptures are particularly popular with young children, and we expect that will continue to be the case.
The last real Tasmanian tiger died in 1936 in captivity in Hobart, with extensive hunting at the hands of colonists largely to blame for the species’ extinction.
Updated
Shocked Victorian Liberals ponder what’s next after Bach ‘massive loss’
In less than a week the Victorian Liberal leadership went from heralding the “new dawn” of a byelection win to facing an even newer dusk as it lost one of its most valued MPs.
Matt Bach, the upper house MP seen as a future leader by many of his colleagues, shocked the party room on Thursday night when he announced he was quitting politics to move to the UK with his young family at the end of the year.
Unlike the many Liberals before him who have left parliament for the greener, better-paying pastures of the corporate world, Bach is returning to his former profession, taking on a role as a teacher and assistant principal.
While Bach maintains he made the decision “purely in the interests of his family” and says he is confident the Coalition will win the 2026 state election without him, his departure is undeniably a huge blow to the Liberals.
Read the full analysis here:
Updated
Atagi recommends additional six-month Covid vaccine booster for all adults over 75
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi) has recommended that all adults aged 75 years and older should receive an additional 2023 Covid-19 vaccine dose if six months have passed since their last dose.
A release from the health minister Mark Butler’s office this afternoon says the Australian government has accepted Atagi’s advice.
They’ve also accepted a recommendation that adults aged 65 to 74 years, or those aged 18 to 64 years who are severely immunocompromised, should consider an additional dose if six months have passed since their last dose.
Butler said:
For other people who were advised to get a 2023 booster but haven’t had one, it’s not too late to come forward and get one.
It is really important people remember Covid-19 is still with us, so I encourage people to keep following the vaccination advice of the experts on the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
Updated
Following on from the previous post about the fight over 60-day medical prescriptions, the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, told Guardian Australia today the foreshadowed disallowance motion was now unlikely but the junior Coalition partner would be closely watching the government’s next steps.
It’s unlikely but we will keep our options open in terms of discussions we have with the guild and making sure they’re satisfied with the intent in which the government is entering discussions with them today and over the coming days.
The Liberal senator Anne Ruston, one of the disallowance motion movers last sitting fortnight, said the government had “finally listened” and the Liberals would await its next steps.
Littleproud added there’s a lot of goodwill right now after the community agreement date was brought forward a year to 1 March 2024 but the “devil was in the details”.
If [the Pharmacy Guild] believes that there’s genuine intent in terms of being able to get to a policy solution, then there’s no need for us to inject ourselves into it, but we’ll make that call over the coming couple of days. But obviously, if the government is entering this with the right intent, and not just trying to silence us from stopping, then yes, we’ll take everyone in good faith.
Updated
Senate fight over 60-day medical prescriptions quashed for now
A looming fight in the Senate over 60-day medical prescriptions has been quashed for now after the federal government agreed to come to the negotiating table early with pharmacy groups.
The dispensing changes mean patients can now get two months’ worth of medicine in one visit, saving many hundreds of dollars each year.
But the changes impact community pharmacies, the Pharmacy Guild says, which will now be expected to cover additional costs out of their own pocket.
Last sitting fortnight, the Coalition attempted to force a disallowance motion in the Senate against the changes – which came into effect today – before backing out when it appeared they didn’t have the numbers to pass.
Coalition senators said they would attempt it again this sitting fortnight if the federal government didn’t come to the negotiating table.
However, the health minister, Mark Butler, announced on Friday morning the community pharmacy agreement would be brought forward by more than a year to 1 March 2024.
For the next six months, pharmacies will still be affected by the changes without the requested additional support but the Coalition is still chalking it up as a win.
The ACT senator David Pocock has also welcomed the move as a “constructive step after a difficult period”.
Updated
PwC Australia staff get $47m in bonuses while partners get pay cuts
There’s a couple more interesting nuggets in the latest disclosure from PwC Australia.
Despite the flat profit result last financial year, the firm has given staff bonuses worth a combined $47m.
The firm also suspended its mid-year partner intake, but stressed this was “a prudent decision in light of current circumstances” and not a reflection on the calibre of candidates. Here’s the statement:
These candidates will be welcomed to the partnerships at a later date.
The firm’s chief executive, Kevin Burrowes, has also thanked the 1,500 staff and partners who will move across to the new spinoff, Scyne, once the transaction is completed later this month:
For those moving across to Scyne Advisory, this is an opportunity to join Australia’s first advisory practice dedicated exclusively to government engagement and be part of an exciting new entity.
And the internal review, conducted by the former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski, will be released later this month. This will be closely examined by the federal government and a Senate committee still investigating consultants.
Updated
Weak housing numbers as economists turn attention to GDP data dump
House prices might be on the way up across the nation but it’s not yet turning up in the housing loan figures, mostly because transactions are down.
New loans for housing fell 1.2% in July and are down more than 14% from a year ago, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says.
Housing finance retreated in July, dropping 1.2% for the month to be 14.1% lower than a year ago. (Source: @ABSStats ) pic.twitter.com/0dLZUHqZ0i
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) September 1, 2023
Owner-occupiers were the main reason for the contraction, sliding 1.9% in the month, with loans taken out for housing by investors off just 0.1%.
Still, lending to owner-occupiers is about 6% higher than at its nadir earlier in 2023, with investor lending up 12% from its lows, CBA says. Investor activity is strongest in NSW and Queensland (which is partly why Sydney and Brisbane dwelling prices are leading the rebounds).
Data on longsuffering first home buyers was not available “due to data-reporting issues”, the ABS said. (Ignorance probably not being bliss in this case.)
Economists, meanwhile, are starting to run their slide-rules (not rulers) over what next week’s numbers will look like, with Wednesday’s GDP the main event.
The March quarter had GDP up 0.2% for the quarter and 2.3% for the year. The market is predicting a quickening to 0.4% in the June quarter, with the year-on-year figure easing to 1.9% growth.
Some of the pieces of the June quarter GDP puzzle will land early next week (eg trade on Tuesday) so economists’ forecasts might be tweaked a bit more yet.
One sure bet, though, seems to be that Tuesday’s Reserve Bank meeting will leave the cash rate on hold for a third consecutive month at 4.1%. That’s unless the governor, Philip Lowe, decides to go out with a bang rather than a whimper at his last board meeting as boss.
Updated
Film-maker calls no campaign ‘rightwing swine’ for using scene in voice ad
Oscar-winning film-maker Martin McDonagh has said he “definitely wasn’t aware” that Australia’s official no campaign was using a scene from his film Seven Psychopaths in the lead-up to the Indigenous voice referendum, alleging it “appears to be deliberate copyright infringement by a bunch of rightwing swine”.
McDonagh told Guardian Australia on Friday he had “contacted my agents and producer to have them desist”.
On Thursday, the no campaign group Fair Australia shared a short scene from the 2012 film Seven Psychopaths to Twitter and Instagram, with the face of the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, superimposed over Zeljko Ivanek, who in the film plays a thug who threatens the character Hans (Christopher Walken) with a gun.
Walken’s face has an Australian flag imposed on it while Albanese is wearing a yes campaign badge.
When Hans doesn’t submit, the thug/Albanese is incredulous:
But I’ve got a gun. It doesn’t make any sense.
“I don’t care,” Hans/Australia replies. “Too bad.”
Read the full story here:
Updated
PwC partner salaries slashed with impact of reputation crisis to get worse
Partners at PwC Australia will see their salaries slashed by up to 30% due to an ongoing reputation crisis that has kept profits flat.
The pay cuts were detailed in response to the firm’s financial results, which confirmed profit remained “flat year-on-year” despite an 11% increase in underlying revenue.
But the true impact of the scandal, caused by the misuse of confidential tax policy information by a former partner, will not be revealed until next year.
The divestment of PwC Australia’s government services division for just $1 is not reflected as the sale is not expected to be formalised until the end of September. This division accounted for $680m or about 20% of the firm’s revenue last financial year.
On average, partner pay declined by 11% last financial year. Partners were paid between $374,000 and $4m, which was given to the firm’s former chief executive Tom Seymour.
But the real pain for partners will be felt next year, with the firm confirming “the owners of our firm – our partners – are taking a target income reduction of up to 30% in 2023/24” due to the divestment and reputation crisis.
Here’s the statement from the PwC Australia chief executive, Kevin Burrowes:
It has clearly been a challenging year for PwC Australia and our people. While our revenue results were pleasing, the challenges we experienced in the final quarter had an impact on our profit, which remained flat as compared with FY22.
I want to thank our people for their resilience, their continued focus on our clients and the high quality of their work in the face of what has been a difficult time for them at the firm.
As we look forward, we completely accept that past leadership failed to meet the standards our people, our clients, the community and the Australian government rightly expect, and for that I apologise. We didn’t get it right, but our focus has, and always will be, on our clients, as we take the necessary steps to re-earn trust with our stakeholders.
Updated
Universities need to ‘take a hard look at themselves’, student union says
The National Union of Students (NUS) president, Bailey Riley, says universities aren’t doing enough on student safety and haven’t been for more than a decade.
Speaking at a public hearing on Friday, Riley added universities who appeared before her had failed to take “any real responsibility” for their “lack of action”.
Some 275 students are assaulted on campus every week, according to the latest data, published in 2021.
Riley said:
Student safety should be at the forefront of every university campus in Australia ... we know there is a general failure throughout the whole system in terms of how universities have been responding ... to sexual assault and violence, particularly on campus.
Earlier, Vicki Thomson, the CEO of the research-intensive Group of Eight (Go8), said claims universities weren’t addressing student safety were “frankly insulting”.
Riley did not agree:
They really need to take a hard look at themselves.
Updated
Law Council of Australia urges judicial immunity reform after judge Salvatore Vasta successfully sued
Australia’s peak lawyers body has called for reform to judicial immunity and reiterated its support for a federal complaints body after a landmark case finding a sitting judge personally liable for false imprisonment.
Earlier this week, the federal court ruled inferior court judge Salvatore Vasta falsely imprisoned a man, known only as Mr Stradford, and should not be afforded the usual immunity from civil liability afforded to members of the bench.
Guardian Australia revealed this morning that the decision had paved the way for a separate case to proceed against Vasta alleging he falsely imprisoned a second man, also during a minor civil matter.
The Law Council of Australia issued a statement on Friday saying judicial immunity was “intrinsically related” to the independence of judges and their ability to fearlessly make decisions according to the law.
More on this story from Christopher Knaus and Nino Bucci here:
Updated
‘Schools just want to have funds’: SA teachers take protest to parliament
AAP has more news on the teachers’ strike in South Australia today which has affected hundreds of schools:
Thousands of teachers and supporters gathered at South Australia’s parliament to protest over their pay and conditions.
Many brandished signs with messages including “the last straw”, “save our schools”, “schools just want to have funds” and “teachers unite for learning rights”.
Teachers derided the pay rise offer and said pressure on them was rising.
One teacher told the ABC:
We’re overworked, we’re underpaid, we need more support in the classroom.
We have a huge number of children and young people with exceptional needs, and we want to be able to support them effectively.
As well as a larger pay rise beyond the 3% offered, the Australian Education Union is demanding the government ease workplace pressures by cutting instructional time by 20%.
The state’s education minister, Blair Boyer, said the state budget could not afford the reduction in instructional time, which would equate to a billion dollars extra a year on top of the wage claim.
He said:
We have to find meaningful workload reduction that doesn’t mean kids in South Australian classrooms get a poorer quality education.
You’ve got two options: you’ve got kids have less education, or you backfill those teachers.
You’ve got to find the staff and you’ve got to pay them. That’s where the cost comes from.
Boyer believes negotiations are on the right track after the union dropped its demand for a school support officer in every classroom.
Updated
Greens hit out at government’s delay in scrapping the job-ready graduates scheme
The Greens education spokesperson, Mehreen Faruqi, has canned the job-ready graduates scheme in a public hearing into the education minister’s higher education bill.
The bill repeals the 50% pass rule, one part of the scheme, but has not changed the pricing of courses that made some degrees, including humanities, vastly more expensive to incentivise students to take up other courses, including Stem.
Faruqi asked how urgent it was to repeal the scheme in full amid a cost-of-living crisis. The education minister, Jason Clare, has delayed changes until the Universities Accord interim report is released in full. University bodies have echoed in the hearing that it failed to achieve its aims.
Faruqi:
Is it a missed opportunity that it hasn’t been [reformed] in this bill?
Dr Alison Barnes, the president of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), said the bill was a step in the right direction while “obviously” more needed to be done:
The job-ready graduates scheme is an appalling piece of legislation and clearly needs to be scrambled.
Here’s a story from July on why Labor’s plans to scrap a Coalition reform may come too late:
Updated
Government boosts commonwealth-supported places to help fill jobs needed for Aukus
The federal government has announced an additional 4,000 commonwealth-supported university places to deliver the Aukus nuclear submarine program.
The $128.5m investment, targeted at graduates in Stem courses, will provide training in engineering, mathematics, chemistry and physics to meet the needs of the program.
Some 800 of the places will go to South Australian universities as part of an agreement for the submarines to be built in Adelaide.
The education minister, Jason Clare, said the additional places would give more Australians “a crack at a career in Stem”.
Universities Australia welcomed the funding, first outlined in the recent budget.
Its chief executive, Catriona Jackson, said the body had previously called for defence internships to expand the workforce for projects like Aukus and was “looking forward to exploring this option further”.
The National Tertiary Education Union has been critical of the higher education sector’s backing of the program, as has the Australian Education Union.
The Greens education spokesperson, Mehreen Faruqi, welcomed the additional university places in Stem when the budget was handed down in May, while labelling the stated purpose of the places – to support Aukus – as “gross”.
Universities are best placed to contribute to peace not warmongering.
Updated
As we reported earlier, data just released by the Bureau of Meteorology shows Australia has experienced its warmest winter on record for mean temperatures.
Here’s a further dive into what that data shows, with the help of my colleague Peter Hannam.
Winter rainfall was close to the average of 63mm across the country. However, southern Australia had a relatively dry winter.
But southern Australia had another relative dry winter - as been the case for most winters over the past three decades: pic.twitter.com/aBszCLYCQa
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) September 1, 2023
And back to the data on the record-breaking warm weather, the month of August alone was the second-warmest August on record for mean and maximum temperatures, and the third for minimum temperatures.
August was also Australia's second-hottest for maximum temperatures: pic.twitter.com/0pC6ePsGWY
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) September 1, 2023
Updated
Albanese government condemned for coalmine approval
Environmental groups have accused the Albanese government of recklessness and hypocrisy after it approved a major coalmine expansion in central Queensland, AAP reports.
Groups including the Climate Council and Australian Conservation Foundation are calling for the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, to stop approving fossil fuel projects following the government’s green light this week for Sojitz’s Gregory coalmine at Crinum.
Plibersek defended the decision, saying it accorded with national environment law and under the government’s safeguard mechanism the project’s carbon pollution conformed with Australia’s transition to net zero.
It is the Albanese government’s third approval relating to coal projects this year after it cleared the new Isaac River coalmine and the Ensham mine extension.
The Australian Conservation Foundation branded the approval reckless and inappropriate. The foundation’s CEO, Kelly O’Shanassy, said:
Following the hottest July on record, as we’ve watched climate change wreaking havoc in Canada, Hawaii, Greece and Italy – and with Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology warning of a dangerous spring and summer ahead of us – it beggars belief that the government would approve a 50-year coal mine extension.
Updated
2023 is the warmest Australian winter since records began
Australia’s winter of 2023 has been the warmest since official records began in 1910, with average daily temperatures 1.53C above the long-term average.
According to data just released from the Bureau of Meteorology, the winter of 2023 beat the previous record of 1.46C set in 1996. Every winter since 2012 has been warmer than average.
For maximum daily temperatures, 2023 was 1.85C above average, ranking second behind the mark of 1.94C set in the winter of 2017.
The bureau classifies winter as the months of June, July and August.
BREAKING: The @BOM_au official data for winter 2023 shows it's the warmest on record going back to 1910, with average daily temperatures at 1.53C above average. That beats the 1996 mark of 1.46C. pic.twitter.com/1BeFdizEp0
— Graham Readfearn (@readfearn) September 1, 2023
Amanda Vanstone was seemingly unaware her guest was still on the line when she finished a pre-recorded interview with him on Wednesday, because the Radio National Counterpoint presenter rudely derided his manner of speaking and called him a “fuckwit”. He was waiting to speak to the producer and he heard every word.
The former Liberal senator’s guest was the Kamilaroi Stem expert Corey Tutt, the founder of DeadlyScience, which provides remote Australian communities with educational resources and mentoring. Tutt was the 2020 NSW Young Australian of the Year and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2022.
Read the full story and all the other media notes from this week here:
Updated
Overall funding to universities to remain the same when all Indigenous students get access to federal funds, opposition says
The shadow education minister, Sarah Henderson, has told a public hearing that federal government funding will not increase to universities when commonwealth places are extended to all Indigenous students.
In a briefing, Henderson said the Department of Education indicated it would make a one-off adjustment to the base funding by reducing funding for all students and allocating it to uncapped Indigenous students, instead of increasing the overall funding rate.
Commonwealth funding for Indigenous students was previously only available to those in regional areas. The Universities Accord interim report recommended this be extended to all students in order to drive up Indigenous enrolments.
The vice-chancellor at Curtin University and chair of the Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN), Prof Harlene Hayne, said she was not aware of the briefing but she was concerned whenever money was “moved from one pot to the other with the overall funding remaining the same”:
We saw that in the job ready graduates package – we weren’t in favour of it there and we certainly aren’t in favour of any kind of moving of the deck chairs without additional funding ... it doesn’t matter where it’s going.
Updated
Australian rents are rising at the fastest rate since the GFC – and from a higher base
Rents across Australia have risen at the fastest rate in at least 15 years, according to CoreLogic’s Rental Value index.
Annual rent increases, which are calculated monthly, topped 10% in late 2022 and early 2023. The last time rents increased at such a pace was in 2007 during the global financial crisis, when peak annual rent growth reached 9.7%.
But the proportion of household income spent on housing is currently much higher than in 2007. The CPI rent index in March 2021 – when the current wave of rental increases began – was 55% higher than it was in June 2005, the equivalent point before the 2008 peak.
“These increases today come on top of an already very significant level of cost,” says Dr Michael Fotheringham, the managing director at the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.
More on this story from my colleague, Josh Nicholas, here:
Updated
Married couples on road trip killed in highway crash
AAP has some new details on the tragic car crash that killed four people yesterday:
Four people killed in a crash in northern Victoria were on a road trip from NSW to visit loved ones and had just stopped for coffee moments before the collision with a truck.
The two married couples from central NSW aged in their 70s stopped off in the town of Chiltern before heading towards Melbourne when the crash occurred on Thursday.
Their sedan collided with a B-double truck as they attempted to get on the Hume Freeway about 10.30am.
The Victoria police assistant commissioner Glenn Weir said the group set off on what was meant to be a seven-hour drive early on Thursday and there was no indication anything was wrong with the road.
The identities of the four killed have not been publicly released as authorities are still notifying family members.
Updated
University group chief calls for move to improve disadvantaged student outcomes
The head of the Group of Eight universities, Vicki Thomson, has called for a national data equity institute to improve access and outcomes of disadvantaged students in the tertiary sector.
Asked whether universities should better publicly account how students are performing, Thomson said: “Universities are accountable and transparent.”
She pointed to reporting requirements from the federal government and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, including three different definitions of low SES and two definitions of regional and remote students.
There’s not even coordinated reporting back into the department ... we’re all reporting differently ... how we’re asked to report is fairly muddled ... We need to understand the scale of the problem because what we have is a lot of anecdotal commentary.
Updated
ACCC wants Qantas hit with $250m penalty if guilty
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has clarified that it wants to see Qantas hit with a more than $250m penalty – twice the current record penalty – if its legal action alleging the airline was selling tickets already cancelled flights succeeds.
Speaking on ABC Radio National, ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb noted the current record penalty for a breach of Australia’s consumer law was $125m – issued to Volkswagen in 2019 for deceiving customers over diesel emissions – and said she was hopeful that, if found in breach of the law, Qantas should face a fine significantly higher.
Updated
Pharmacy lobby group welcomes move on next agreement
Some more details on the change allowing patients to receive 60-day prescriptions for some medicines has come into effect from today.
The federal government has said the changes will save up to $180 a year per medicine while concession card holders will save $43 per medicine.
But not everyone’s pleased. Pharmacy lobby group the Pharmacy Guild has been running a campaign railing against the changes without offering additional support to pharmacies it says are footing the bill.
The guild, however, has said it will suspend the campaign for now in good faith after the federal government agreed to bring forward the next community pharmacy agreement by more than a year. The meeting will now happen on 1 March 2024.
The Pharmacy Guild president, Trent Twomey, told reporters in Sydney today:
When a two-for-one policy is announced, it sounds great at face value, until you realise that it’s actually the independent pharmacist behind the counter who’s covering the cost of that second box.
So whilst this policy may have good intentions, and I do not doubt that it has good intentions, the way in which it has been rushed, has created unintended consequences and that’s exactly why we need to bring forward the next negotiation of the agreement.
And I’m happy to say we’ve agreed we’ll start that on 1 March next year.
Updated
Teachers need to be ‘paid properly’, Barbara Pocock tells SA rally
Greens senator Barbara Pocock is at a rally being held outside Parliament House in South Australia today by teachers who’ve walked off the job in demand for better pay and conditions.
Pocock said in a video filmed at the rally:
This is about the future of our children, which is about the future of our country. Teachers need to be paid properly, and the state government needs to up their offer [so] teachers can return to the classroom with the awards that they and our children deserve.
The Australian Education Union said 80% of its members voted in favour of the strike – which has seen hundreds of schools close across the state today – after the government’s “insulting” 3% pay rise offer.
Updated
Universities putting measures in place on student safety, group head says
Vicki Thomson, CEO of the research-intensive Group of Eight (Go8) universities, has been asked asked who universities have engaged with on their student safety policies, including the leading body End Rape on Campus.
She replied that “certainly our universities would have”.
All of our universities have put in place significant processes, policies, procedures … That’s not to say that we can’t do better.
My point …. was we are putting in place measures. We are concerned about the issues students raise, and staff.
Thomson said the data on sexual harassment on campuses needed to be interrogated in a “calm, rational way”, adding there shouldn’t be a “prevailing view” that universities were any more safe or unsafe than other places in society.
The latest national student safety survey, released in 2021, found one in 20 students had been sexually assaulted since starting university, and one in six had been sexually harassed.
Universities Australia, the peak body for the sector, has confirmed it will hold another national survey next year after ongoing lobbying from advocacy groups.
Updated
Key event
Qantas should be fined ‘hundreds of millions’ if guilty to send message to companies, ACCC says
Earlier we bought you news that Gina Cass-Gottlieb, chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, told RN Breakfast she wanted the Qantas case to deliver a new record penalty for consumer law breaches to scare other companies who had stopped fearing such fines.
Guardian Australia has approached the ACCC to clarify how much the consumer watchdog would be seeking.
Speaking on ABC Radio National, Cass-Gottlieb noted the current record penalty for a breach of Australia’s consumer law was $125m – issued to Volkswagen in 2019 for deceiving customers over diesel emissions – and said she was hopeful that, if found in breach of the law, Qantas should face a fine significantly higher.
Host Patricia Karvelas asked Cass-Gottlieb: “Are you talking over $300 million?”
Cass-Gottlieb replied: “We would want to get to more than twice that figure.”
The ACCC has been approached to clarify whether Cass-Gottlieb meant more than $600m – double the figure Karvelas suggested – or more than $250m, which is twice the current record penalty.
More on this story from my colleague, Elias Visontay, here:
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Claims universities aren’t addressing student safety are ‘insulting’, Group of Eight head says
The CEO of Australia’s prestigious Group of Eight (Go8) universities, Vicki Thomson, has rubbished claims universities aren’t doing their bit to address student safety on campus.
The topic has been in the spotlight in recent weeks after education minister Jason Clare announced the convention of a working group to consult with advocacy groups and offer immediate actions on student safety.
At the time, Clare said actions universities had taken to address sexual assault and harassment on campuses to date had “not been good enough” and university governing bodies “must do more”.
Some 275 students are assaulted on campus every week, according to the latest data, published in 2021.
Speaking at a public hearing in Sydney on Friday, Thomson said it “goes without saying” the Go8 universities had zero tolerance for sexual assault or harassment on or off campus.
All universities ... have policies and procedures in place to ensure our university community offers safe and respectful university environments for student and staff ... This is an issue Go8 staff ... take seriously and personally.
There’s no doubt that we can and all should do better but to suggest somehow that we don’t care or we’re not trying is frankly insulting ... What we would seek is a constructive discussion in pursuit of our shared goal of safety for all.
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Push to expand commonwealth assistance for university students
In Sydney, a public hearing is taking place into the education minister’s higher education support amendment.
The amendment seeks to legislate the urgent recommendations of the Universities Accord interim report, including improving university governance, expanding commonwealth support to all Indigenous Australians, not just people in regional areas and abolishing the former government’s controversial 50% pass rule.
The rule, introduced as part of the Coalition’s job ready graduates scheme, removed commonwealth assistance for students who failed to pass 50% of subjects and disproportionately impacted disadvantaged students.
Vicki Thomson, CEO of the research intensive Group of Eight (Go8) universities said the body “strongly support[s]” the legislation while adding it must also deliver outcomes in success – retention rates and future employment.
She said targets and places were “not the barrier to participation” among disadvantaged cohorts, pointing to UNSW’s policy to make an offer to every Indigenous student who applied.
Additional government support is needed … this doesn’t just start with universities, we need to build aspiration and prepare our students for study while they’re in secondary … and primary school … we’re less interested in headlines than we are of results.”
Just 15 of Australia’s 39 universities have met or exceeded the target of 20% students to be from low socioeconomic backgrounds. None are the Go8 universities, and the vast majority are in regional areas.
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Victorian government increases funding for community sector
The Victorian government today has announced a new set of standards and an increase in annual funding for the community sector, in an effort to provide organisations working in areas such as child protection, family violence, homeless and mental health with more certainty.
In a statement, the minister for child protection and family services, Lizzie Blandthorn, and the treasurer, Tim Pallas, announced the increase in annual indexed funding – worth about $260m over four years – for 800 community sector organisations.
In addition, a new code has been created to ensure organisations comply with all applicable employment, industrial relations and workplace health and safety obligations, foster workplace equity and diversity and constructive relationships with their respective unions.
The code will apply to organisations that receive direct funding of more than $2m a year from the Victorian government to provide community services and will come into effect from August 2024. It was finalised in consultation with the Victorian Council of Social Service, the Australian Services Union and other sector representatives.
Blandthorn said:
The Community Services Fair Jobs Code will help ensure job security for this critical workforce that tirelessly serves the most vulnerable members of our community.
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No campaign politicians’ ad spends highlight need for law reform: Steggall
Independent MP Zali Steggall has said Guardian Australia’s revelation this morning that Coalition no campaigners are spending four times more on Facebook ads than other parliamentarians showed why “Australia desperately needs to reform political advertising laws”.
Liberal MPs & Senators are using taxpayer money to push Advance Australia's misinformation on the Voice Referendum.
— 🌏 Zali Steggall MP (@zalisteggall) September 1, 2023
A clear example of why Australia desperately needs to reform political advertising laws.
Let's put an end to #fearandsmear!https://t.co/sj0yIFHcdS
You can read more on this story from my colleagues here:
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Queensland hospitals vaccine mandate to be scrapped
News via AAP:
Healthcare workers without the Covid-19 vaccination will return to Queensland hospitals as the government begins consultation to scrap a pandemic-enforced rule.
The state’s health minister, Shannon Fentiman, said the decision to enforce Covid-19 vaccination requirements for Queensland Health and Queensland Ambulance staff no longer applies due to high jab rates and natural immunity in the community.
It is estimated about 1,100 health workers resigned in the state during the pandemic, some of whom were not compliant with the vaccination mandate.
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ANU staff secure 18.5% pay increase over five years
Union members at Australian National University have voted in favour of an enterprise agreement that will make employees the highest paid in the nation.
BREAKING: Union members at @ourANU have voted overwhelmingly to endorse a new Enterprise Agreement with fair salaries, better job security, healthy workloads & flexible work. Congratulations to @NTEUnion members at ANU for delivering on the promise of a #BetterANU. ✊ #BetterUnis pic.twitter.com/RUUFoeuIr1
— NTEU ACT (@NTEUACT) August 31, 2023
The agreement offers an 18.5% pay increase over five years, including 3.5% paid this February followed by 2.5% each six months to mid-2026. It’s the highest total pay offer in the sector and second behind UNSW on a per-year basis.
A spokesperson for ANU said the university was pleased to reach the “significant milestone” in the bargaining negotiations of getting the backing of the NTEU:
ANU is committed to building and maintaining employment arrangements that attract and retain world-class staff, especially in the face of current challenges faced by the university and sector more broadly.
We want our staff to feel supported and valued and proud to work at our leading University. We are confident this agreement delivers on that commitment and promise.
The proposed agreement will give casuals paid sick leave for the first time, and all staff will have 20 days of gender affirmation leave.
An all staff vote is likely to take place in mid-October.
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Pharmacists shelve medicines campaign as talks begin
A peak pharmacy body has shelved its campaign against 60-day medicine dispensing and agreed to talks to iron out an agreement that will not jeopardise the viability of local pharmacies, AAP reports.
The Pharmacy Guild president, Trent Twomey, hopes negotiations with the federal government will ensure pharmacies are remunerated fairly for medicine dispensing and can continue to operate sustainably under the new scheme.
When announced, the changes were met with fierce opposition from the peak pharmacy bodies, with concerns some pharmacies would have to close.
But bringing forward negotiations on the next community pharmacy agreement by more than a year has convinced the guild to suspend its campaign.
Twomey said:
We thank the prime minister and the health minister for hearing our concerns, and 60-day dispensing, along with other reforms, will now be dealt with in the normal way under a community pharmacy agreement.
Pharmacists are ready, willing and able to step up and provide more care and services to patients, at a time when the health system is under significant strain, and we look forward to those opportunities within the eighth community pharmacy agreement.
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‘If Not Now’: Paul Kelly’s new song in support of the Indigenous voice
Australian music legend Paul Kelly has released a song in support of the Indigenous voice to parliament, days after he called on voters to back the referendum.
Titled If Not Now, Kelly released the song online this morning.
The lyrics talk of “a feeling something’s missing”, “business that’s unfinished”, “a simple proposition” and “a chance to make our country larger in its soul”.
“How long can we keep walking with this stone in our shoe? If not now, then when? If not us, then who?” he asks, repeating a phrase used commonly by the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, in advocating for a yes vote.
“Too many falling far behind, shut out of the deal. If you called and no one heard you, imagine how you’d feel. This land was never given, it was taken and then sold. But its ancient songs and stories are a gift greater than gold.”
Kelly this week shared a statement online, outlining his reasons for a yes vote, including the “huge and stubborn gap” in health and life outcomes for Indigenous Australians.
“That yawning gap is unfair and diminishes us all,” he wrote.
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Thread’s new features
Meta’s Twitter rival Threads is testing search functionality in Australia and New Zealand exclusively.
The search function will now allow people to search for specific posts, and Meta has said it will be extended to other English-speaking countries after testing is done and feedback obtained in Australia and New Zealand.
While more than 100 million people initially signed up to Threads in a bid to find something to replace Twitter, which has people turning away under the ownership of Elon Musk, the lack of features meant that the estimated active users has dropped to just a fraction of that 100m.
Meta said that the launch of Threads will pave the way for trending topics, which will bring in more Twitter-like features. The site is still missing a direct messaging function, and hashtags. Threads launched a desktop version last week.
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2023 winter likely Australia’s warmest on record
This winter is looking to be Australia’s warmest on record, with warmer than usual temperatures also forecast for spring, the Bureau of Meteorology has said.
The BoM’s climate services manager, Dr Karl Braganza, said the warm spring weather will especially be felt in Western Australia and part of Australia’s south-east.
The forecast is also showing an “unusually dry spring” with a high chance of below average rainfall.
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Debelle leaves Fortescue as exodus continues
Guy Debelle, the former Reserve Bank deputy governor, has left Fortescue after just 17 months, marking the third prominent departure from the iron ore miner in a week.
His exit comes days after Fiona Hick, the chief executive of Fortescue’s mining business, abruptly left after six months in the top role.
Fortescue then announced late on Thursday that chief financial officer Christine Morris was leaving. She was appointed in June.
Aspiring critical minerals miner Tivan told the stock exchange on Friday that Debelle had agreed to join its board. The former central banker will also invest $25,000 in the small company, according to the announcement.
Debelle’s departure from Fortescue was first reported by the Australian Financial Review early on Friday.
He joined Fortescue’s emerging clean energy business last year, before stepping down from his executive role to recover from a serious bicycle accident, but remained with the company.
He spent 25 years with the Reserve Bank before joining Fortescue.
‘Women deserve fairer paid parental leave’: Greens demand super be added to paid parental leave
The Greens are threatening to block the Albanese government’s changes to lift the tax rate for superannuation balances above $3m unless it extends superannuation to paid parental leave.
The party points to an estimation from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, which found paying superannuation on paid parental leave would around $200m a year.
This is less than 10% of the $2.3bn expected to be raised from the government lifting the superannuation tax rate.
The Greens leader in the Senate, Larissa Waters, said:
We will use our balance of power in the Senate to get outcomes for women and young families who are struggling with the cost of living crisis.
We know Australian women are retiring with significantly less superannuation savings than men, with the gender retirement gap currently sitting at 23%. Women deserve fairer paid parental leave, and it’s only fair if it includes super.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, hit out at the Greens, accusing the party of playing “political games”:
We’ve already extended paid parental leave as part of a multibillion-dollar agenda to support women’s economic opportunity.
We’ve already made it clear for some time that we intend to act on the super guarantee on [paid parental leave] when budget circumstances permit – that remains the case and we’ve said so publicly and repeatedly.
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Neil Mitchell leaves Melbourne’s 3AW Mornings program
Some news via AAP:
Melbourne radio stalwart Neil Mitchell is leaving 3AW’s Mornings program.
The host revealed on Friday that he is leaving the show in December to take up a new role at the Nine Network.
Mitchell has been host of the program since 1990 and dominated the ratings in the slot.
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Business group chief says cost-of-living crisis an ‘unusual time’ to raise prices to improve gig workers’ pay
Innes Willox, chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, was speaking on RN Breakfast a few moment ago about the Albanese government’s proposed gig economy rules, which would see minimum wages and conditions set for workers.
Asked about the workplace relations minister Tony Burke’s comments that Australians should be willing to pay a small price to stop what he has called the underpayment of thousands of delivery workers, Willox said:
It’s sort of unusual at a time of a cost-of-living crisis that the government would be looking to increase costs for consumers and put the possibility for people to pick up work at risk.
But as my colleague, Paul Karp, reported this morning, the Australian Council of Trade Unions has dismissed what it says is the latest “scare campaign” designed to bolster profits at the expense of basic conditions to help workers afford the rising cost of living.
More on this story here:
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Snowy Hydro’s stuck tunnel boring machine ‘ready to go’
A bit more on Snowy Hydro and its giant 2.0 pumped hydro project with its ginormous $12bn (plus) price tag.
Fans of “Florence”, the boring machine that got stuck in soft earth just 180 metres into its 17km tunnel as part of Snowy Hydro’s giant 2.0 pumped hydro project, will be glad to know its restart might not be that far off.
Florence got stuck late last year because it wasn’t equipped with gear to deliver the material to a slurry plant, that’s now been added. Pity the preparatory drilling didn’t pick up the geological problem before they got boring.
Snowy’s CEO, Dennis Barnes, tells us the machine is “ready to go” but first the modifications to its permits need to go on exhibition and get the nod from the New South Wales government.
More from his interview here:
Barnes told RN Breakfast, he hopes Florence can bore at the speed of 10-20 metres a day. At the slower end of that range, it will take the machine about 4.6 years to cover 17km.
Given Snowy is now working to a plan of first power by the second half of 2027, that speed would put that timetable at risk. Any delay will push back the revenues Snowy is banking on to realise its $15bn benefit.
Ted Woodley, from the National Parks Association, says that if Florence operated at the pace of the other two machines it would take seven years to cover the 17km.
Snowy 2.0 watching, in other words, has a ways to go.
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ACCC chair says more Qatar Airways flights would enhance competition and lower air fares
Chair of the ACCC, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, has said allowing Qatar Airways’ bid to operate more flights in Australia would lower the cost of air fares, adding that the consumer watchdog welcomes “all enhancements to competition”.
Asked how much it would lower costs by on ABC RN, Cass-Gottlieb said:
Virgin has given an estimate of 40%. That is difficult to predict, that’s that’s their estimate.
In regards to the Albanese government’s decision to reject Qatar Airway’s bid, which has a partnership with Virgin Australia, to operate more flights in Australia, Cass-Gottlieb said:
The point we are very well aware of is the test in national interest here will include additional factors to competition and we don’t know what was considered there, but we certainly welcome all enhancements to competition.
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ACCC aiming for record-breaking penalty against Qantas if legal action succeeds
Qantas should pay a record-breaking penalty of more than $600m if the consumer watchdog is successful in its legal action against the airline, the ACCC chair has said.
Speaking on ABC RN, Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the penalty should exceed the record penalty faced by a company for breaching Australian consumer law, which currently stands at $125m.
Asked if she thinks the penalty should exceed $300m, Cass-Gottlieb said:
We would want to get to more than twice that figure.
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Mark Butler confident in transport minister’s decision on Qatar Airways
Circling back to an earlier interview with the health minister, Mark Butler, on ABC News, where he was asked about assistant treasurer Stephen Jones’s comments that the decision to not let Qatar airways bring more flights into Australia was about protecting Qantas’ profitability.
Butler said he was confident about the decision made by minister for transport, Catherine King:
She made the decisions, weighing up all of the considerations about the health of the aviation sector and most importantly, the interests of passengers and I think she would have made that in utterly the right circumstances.
Asked about the consumer watchdog’s legal action against Qantas, Butler said the airline would need to answer to both the watchdog and its customers for its conduct.
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Snowy 2.0 is an investment, says CEO of nearly $13bn cost blowout
Dennis Barnes, the chief executive of Snowy 2.0, is speaking on ABC RN about the project’s cost blowout to almost $13bn, saying Australians must remember the project is an investment.
He said:
[We are] obviously very disappointed in the cost increase, and of course we apologise for that. But bear in mind that this is an investment that the Australian taxpayer will get a return on.
Asked whether there’s a chance the cost of the project could blow-out further, Barnes said “there’s a degree of confidence in this number”.
We’ve learned a lot in the last five years … my last five or six months has been to get the team together, get international experts and really do a rigorous assessment, so there’s a degree of confidence in this number and timing.
My colleague Peter Hannam has more on the cost blowouts in this story from yesterday:
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AMA says Coalition should ‘get out of the way’ of 60-day dispensing changes
The Australian Medical Association has welcomed the start of 60-day dispensing and urged the Coalition against reversing the decision. The opposition is expected to attempt to overturn the decision with a disallowance motion when parliament resumes next week.
AMA president, Prof Steve Robson, said the policy will provide much-needed financial relief amid a cost-of-living crisis. He called the Coalition’s push to reverse the decision “madness”.
Patients have waited for five years to get the hip pocket savings this policy delivers due to hardline opposition from pharmacy owners. It’s time for patients to get a fair go and for the Coalition to get out of the way of this long overdue health reform and to stop defending pharmacy owner profits.
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Hundreds of SA public schools closed as teachers strike
Hundreds of schools across South Australia will be closed to students today as teachers walk off the job to protest pay and conditions, AAP reports.
The government has told parents at 167 public schools to make alternative arrangements for their children on Friday. A further 152 schools will operate with a modified program, while the state’s remaining 608 schools will open as normal.
The Australian Education Union said 80% of its members voted in favour of the strike after the government’s “insulting” 3% pay rise offer.
As well as a larger pay rise, the union is demanding the government ease workplace pressures by cutting instructional time by 20%.
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Sixty-day dispensing changes start today
Patients with chronic conditions are set to receive two months of medicine for the price of one from today after the Albanese government’s shake-up of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to allow 60-day scripts.
The federal minister for health, Mark Butler, was on ABC News just now to spruik the changes, saying almost 4 million patients will benefit.
Now you will effectively get two scripts for the price of one, halving the cost of your medicines. It will mean fewer visits to the GP and pharmacist as well as more money in your hip pocket.
The 60-day dispensing changes are supported by doctors’ groups including the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, as well as patient groups including the Consumer Health Forum.
But it was met with intensive lobbying from the Pharmacy Guild, who warned the change would lead to staff cuts, fee increases, and cause pharmacies to close.
Asked about the guild’s claims this morning, Butler said:
This is just another scare campaign from the pharmacy lobby. This is a highly profitable industry, more profitable than any other part of the private medical services industry I can find.
We are dedicated and committed to a vibrant future for community pharmacy which is why every single dollar we save is being ploughed back into the community pharmacy sector, reinvested into programs that allow them to provide more services to their customers.
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Fortescue’s CFO Christine Morris departs days after chief executive walks
Investors will be able to give their verdict on the latest executive changes at the mining giant Fortescue when trading opens again this morning.
The company is dealing with yet another executive loss, days after the shock exit of chief executive Fiona Hick.
In a brief ASX statement on Thursday, Fortescue announced the departure of Christine Morris as chief financial officer.
The company did not disclose the reason for her departure, having only started in the role in July. Apple Paget has been appointed acting CFO.
My colleague Henry Belot has the story:
Shareholders will also note that the company’s new adviser on green energy transition is Kwasi Kwarteng, the former British chancellor who was discredited when he introduced a budget shortly after getting into office which promptly crashed the UK economy.
His new role with Fortescue was first reported by the Australian Financial Review. Guardian Australia understands the position will start in October, exactly one year after he was removed from his position as a high-ranking member of cabinet.
Jonathan Barrett has more on this story here:
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Victorian Liberal frontbencher Matt Bach quits
The Victorian Liberals have lost a senior shadow cabinet member as opposition leader John Pesutto prepares to advance a plan to cover the costs of looming legal action, AAP reports.
The Liberal upper house deputy leader, Matt Bach, stepped down from his role and as a member of the shadow cabinet at a special party room meeting last night.
The opposition education spokesman has accepted a role in the UK as an assistant headteacher and teacher and intends to leave parliament at the end of the year or early next year.
“We’ll win the next election but nonetheless, for me and my family, we felt that we had a great opportunity,” Bach told reporters at state parliament.
Liberal MPs also met to discuss how Pesutto and his senior leadership team would finance their legal bills following a new defamation threat.
UK anti-trans rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen this week issued defamation concerns notices to Pesutto, the party’s deputy leader, David Southwick, upper house leader, Georgie Crozier, and Bach.
The notices are the first step in the potential launch of defamation proceedings.
Pesutto said the party room agreed to look at a way for Liberal organisers to financially cover him and the leadership team. “Anybody working in a workplace today will ordinarily have insurance cover in the course of their employment,” Pesutto said.
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‘Confirmshaming’: report reveals subscription traps and hidden costs targeting Australian consumers
The “Hotel California” subscription, or the one you can never leave. The relentless pop-ups triggering your fear of missing out. Hidden costs. Confusing terms and conditions. “Confirmshaming”, where companies make you feel like an idiot when you try to opt out of their emails.
These are among the “dark patterns” used unfairly by companies to nudge, manipulate, exploit and trick consumers into handing over money or data.
Now, the federal government is considering ways to stop those practices, which are currently not egregious enough to be illegal.
A Treasury consultation paper, released on Thursday, looks at options to crack down on how companies target vulnerable people, use “predatory or aggressive business conduct”, make it hard to opt out of cancelling goods or services, or mislead people through omitted, hidden or overly complex information.
My colleague Tory Shepherd has more on this story:
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Good morning everyone, and thanks to Martin Farrer for kicking off our live blog this morning! I’m Jordyn Beazley and I’ll be bringing you our rolling news coverage today.
As always, please send me an email if there’s something you think needs attention on the blog: jordyn.beazley@theguardian.com.
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Trade minister says progress made in fresh talks with EU
The trade minister, Don Farrell, has wrapped up “very positive and productive” talks with his European Union counterpart, Valdis Dombrovskis, following the breakdown in negotiations over agriculture matters in Brussels in July.
After a teleconference between the parties yesterday, the Australian team said both sides were committed and willing to finalise a deal.
The ministers have agreed to meet again in person in the coming months. Farrell said:
I’ve made our expectations clear on what it will take to finalise a trade agreement with the European Union – a better deal.
We are making progress, but we need to bridge the gap between our expectations, and what the Europeans are offering.
I’m prepared to persist for as long as it takes, and to work as hard as I can on behalf of Australian producers and businesses, to get a better deal.
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House prices rise for sixth straight month
Australian home values are up 4.9% since February, adding about $34,000 to the average dwelling.
CoreLogic’s national home value index, released today, marked a sixth consecutive monthly rise, up 0.8% in August. Every capital city except Hobart (-0.1%) recorded a rise in dwelling values over the month.
Lower than average advertised supply levels have put upwards pressure on home values across most capital cities, while flatlining interest rates are boosting buyer confidence. Gains were led by a 1.5% increase across Brisbane, followed by Sydney and Adelaide where home values were up 1.1%.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said: “Sydney has led the recovery trend to-date with a gain of 8.8% since values found a floor in January this year.
“Brisbane has also posted a strong recovery with values up 6.2% since bottoming out in February.
“At the other end of the scale, some other capital cities are better described as flat, with Hobart home values unchanged since stabilising in April, while values across the ACT have risen only mildly, up 1% since a trough in April.”
Across the capital cities, house values are up 6.3% since bottoming out in February, compared with a 4.9% rise in unit values.
Conditions across regional housing markets were mixed. Values were down over the month across the non-capital city regions of NSW (-0.2%) and Victoria (-0.6%), rising across regional Queensland (0.8%) and SA (0.9%), and holding flat in regional Western Australia and Tasmania.
Parts of the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast comprised seven of the top 10 markets for the largest capital gain over the three months ending August.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release its latest lending data on Friday, ahead of the Reserve Bank board meeting on Tuesday. The RBA is expected to keep rates on hold at 4.1% for a third month in row, on the back of cooler than expected monthly inflation.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer, bringing you the best overnight stories while my colleague Jordyn Beazley will be along shortly to guide you through the day.
Our lead story this morning reveals that Coalition politicians have spent more than four times more on Facebook ads about the Indigenous voice to parliament than Labor politicians. According to a Guardian Australia analysis of federal politicians’ advertising data in Meta’s ad library, Coalition politicians who oppose the voice are vastly outspending other parliamentarians on Facebook. Out of the top 10 Facebook accounts belonging to politicians that shared ads supporting a yes or no vote, the majority were from the Coalition, with Nationals senator and no supporter Jacinta Nampijinpa Price heading the list.
It’s been a busy few weeks at Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group and yesterday was no exception after its chief financial officer, Christine Morris, became the latest senior figure to quit the mining group. Her departure last night comes days after CEO Fiona Hicks headed for the exit. Earlier in the day, it emerged that Kwasi Kwarteng, the British chancellor who crashed the pound before being booted from office, was coming in the other way later this year to start advising FMG on its clean energy ambitions from October. We’ll see how the market reacts to the comings and goings a little bit later. Plus, the company has been reported to WA’s safety regulator over a huge party featuring rock legend Jimmy Barnes held to celebrate its 20th anniversary. More coming up.
Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto has lost a key ally after upper house deputy leader and education spokesman Matt Bach resigned last night at a special party room meeting. Bach is quitting to take up a teaching role in the UK and his departure is a blow for Pesutto as he tries to persuade the party to cover his legal bills in defamation cases brought by former Liberal MP Moira Deeming and UK anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen. More on that later, too.
