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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Caitlin Cassidy (now) and Royce Kurmelovs (earlier)

Selling Covid antivirals over the counter a ‘recipe for disaster’ – as it happened

John Barilaro Australia Canberra Elizabeth Broderick Prison

What we learned: Friday 12 August

We’ve done it – made it to the end of another working week, more and less in one piece.

Congratulations. We’ll wrap the blog up now – but before we do, here were the major developments of the day:

  • Federal and state ministers have made a historic decision to consider the environment as part of the National Electricity Objective following a meeting on the energy crisis today. The energy regulator will also be given expanded powers.

  • More than a third of respondents to a survey of workers in NSW parliament have been bullied or sexually harassed over the past five years, according to a landmark review into the culture at Macquarie Street. The Greens said the Broderick report shows a “toxic boys’ club” extends beyond Canberra’s politics.

  • Former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro has pulled out of his highly anticipated second appearance before a parliamentary committee probing his now-abandoned appointment to a controversial New York trade job, citing mental health concerns.

  • Education ministers agreed to draft national plan to combat teacher shortages at a joint meeting today. Education minister Jason Clare urged Australians to “stop bagging teachers” prior to the roundtable.

  • Google has agreed to pay $60m in penalties flowing from a long-running court fight with the Australian competition watchdog over misleading users on the collection of personal location data.

  • The family of an Indigenous man who died in custody at Port Phillip Prison on Wednesday have asked for privacy as they grieve.

  • And in Covid news, Australia has recorded at least 86 deaths to Covid, including 35 in NSW, 18 in Queensland and 14 in Victoria.

Updated

The nation’s first law officers have emerged from their first face-to-face meeting in two and a half years with a plan to tackle coercive control.

Coercive control is a tricky one – and not something with universal support. Indigenous communities are concerned it will be used against them, giving more power to police, while other stakeholders are worried about how it will be used in reality – could a teenager make a coercive-control case if their parents took their phone, for example?

But it is also something more states are being asked to consider adding to their law books, with coercive control one of the unifying factors in domestic and family violence cases.

The nation’s attorneys-general have agreed to a softly-softly approach, with a plan to release a consultation draft of the national principles to address coercive control to be released soon.

The consultation draft lays out:

  • the common features and impacts of coercive control

  • the importance of coordinated approaches to respond to coercive control, including identified gaps in community understanding, and

  • concerns about the misidentification of victim-survivors as perpetrators of family and domestic violence, particularly First Nations women.

The consultation draft sets out eight national principles that will set out a common understanding of what coercive control is, its impacts, and the potential consequences of criminalising the behaviour – including any unintended consequences.

That work is all due to start next month, with a progress update due at the end of the year. There won’t be any final sign-off on the principles until early next year.

Updated

RIP

Commonwealth attorney-general Mark Dreyfus has held the first meeting with his counterparts in Melbourne.

Participants agreed to the release of the consultation draft of the national principles to address coercive control, and formally endorsed the five-year Meeting of Attorneys-General work plan to strengthen criminal justice responses to sexual assault 2022-27 (the MAG work plan).

Under the MAG work plan, states and territories will “seek to take collective and individual action to improve the experiences of victim-survivors of sexual assault in the criminal justice system”.

They also agreed the age of criminal responsibility working group would continue to develop a proposal to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility, particularly in regards to the overrepresentation of First Nations’ children in the criminal justice system.

Updated

Lack of awareness around internet domain changes could leave businesses at risk of cybercrime, ombudsman warns

Business owners have been warned they could face an increased risk in cybercrime in the wake of changes to Australian internet domains, AAP reports.

New rules were introduced in March this year to allow anyone with a connection to Australia to register the shorter .au domain for their website, rather than the existing .com.au or .net.au.

However, those with existing Australian domains have until September to reserve their equivalent website with the shorter domain, before it would become available to the general public.

Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise ombudsman Bruce Billson said the short deadline for the changeover could lead to a rise of cyber criminals taking advantage. Billson said it was likely large numbers of businesses could have their brand or identity impersonated.

Domain names are very much the identity of a business and critical to their success. Small businesses cannot afford to have their identity sold to someone else. This is like cutting a second set of keys to your front door and selling them to a rival, a stranger who tries to sell them back to you at a higher price or a criminal who uses them to rip off your customers.

The ombudsman said he was concerned by the lack of awareness surrounding the campaign to the changeover to the .au domain. The new system to allow the shortened domain was made by regulator .au Domain Administration.

The administration said the change would be the biggest in decades for Australian websites, and would allow for access to shorter and simpler website addresses. So far, more than 3m domains with .au have been registered.

Updated

Australia ‘will not rest’ until Sean Turnell returns safely from detention in Myanmar, deputy PM says

Deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, says Australia “will not rest” until Australian professor Sean Turnell – who has been detained in Myanmar – is home safe.

He said Australia expected procedural fairness, and was concerned about the level of consular access to Turnell:

We’re concerned about the level of access that is available to those providing consular services to Prof Turnell. Our most important engagement with Myanmar right now is around seeing a safe return of Prof Turnell to this country. And we will not rest until we have a situation where Prof Turnell is returned safely to Australia and safely to his family.

At a press conference in Adelaide earlier today Marles also said the government continued to advocate on behalf of Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who has been detained in China since 2020. Pictures of her, drawn by her children, have been released. Marles said:

The situation is completely heartbreaking. And we can only feel for her family here in Australia. And that’s why we maintain advocacy on Cheng Lei’s behalf to the Chinese government, and we will continue to provide her with that consular service, and we will continue to advocate to the Chinese government about her circumstances.

Marles also again called for a de-escalation of tension around Taiwan. “Indeed, I think the world would breathe a sigh of relief if we saw a return to normal, peaceful behaviours around Taiwan,” he said.

Updated

Transport union to continue strikes and other industrial action this month

The NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union will continue its planned industrial action this month after multiple meetings failed to secure an outcome in its long-running dispute with the government, AAP reports.

The meetings on Thursday came after services ran to a heavily reduced capacity on Wednesday as workers in one area of the train network went on strike.

The union blamed the government for suspending services and said it could have run more than hourly trains on the T4 Eastern and Illawarra line. Workers in other areas of the network are set to stage six-hour strikes on Wednesday, and again on 23 and 25 August.

The first meeting on Thursday, between the union and transport management, focused on those partial strikes.

The second meeting, with the government’s employee relations minister Damien Tudehope and regional transport minister Sam Farraway, covered the union’s sought changes to new intercity trains and an enterprise bargaining agreement.

The industrial action continued on Friday, with a ban on cleaners using vacuum cleaners or scrubbing machines on trains until Monday, when crews won’t operate trains unless they meet maintenance centre minimum standards.

On Saturday, staff will be leaving gates open, meaning customers won’t have to swipe their Opal or credit card to access a station.

Updated

“Flinders Street Station may not have a nose” is an interesting intro to a tweet, but if you’re out in the Melbourne CBD tonight wondering why the train station is red, here’s your answer.

Speaking of Richard Marles, the acting prime minister has congratulated Mark Brown of the Cook Islands party for winning the national election.

Brown replaced Henry Puna as PM just prior to Covid-19 and guided the Cook Islands through the pandemic.

In other news, the Cook Islands News is reporting more than 60% of voters said “yes” to the cannabis referendum, which was held alongside the election.

Updated

Cheng Lei’s situation ‘heartbreaking’, says acting PM Richard Marles

Acting prime minister Richard Marles says Australia has been “advocating on behalf of Cheng Lei” to the Chinese government and has been “concerned” abut her access to justice and to procedural fairness.

Tomorrow marks two years since Cheng was arrested in Beijing.

The situation is completely heartbreaking. And we can only feel for her family here in Australia. That’s why we maintain advocacy on Cheng Lei’s behalf to the Chinese government and we will continue to provide her with that consular service.

Updated

Adding environmental concerns to national energy objectives a ‘landmark move’, says Climate Council

The Climate Council has issued a statement following the national cabinet meeting between federal energy minister, Chris Bowen, and his state and territory counterparts.

Communications director, Jane Gardner, said the ministers made a “historic decision” to consider the environment as part of the National Electricity Objective – the first change to the objective in 15 years.

Ministers from every state and territory agreed to a landmark move to underpin the shift from fossil fuels towards 100% renewables. The ministers also agreed to add emissions to the National Energy Objective.

The change could pave the way for tens of billions of dollars in new infrastructure, generation and storage that will fast track the shift from coal and gas to a renewables based grid. Ultimately, this will reduce the cost of living pressures currently facing Australians.

Climate councillor and former BP Australasia president Greg Bourne said it was “about time”.

Although the devil will be in the detail, agreement to add emissions to the National Energy Objectives is momentous. What’s more, the cooperation between federal, state and territory ministers is enormously positive. This could not be further from where we were less than two years ago when the previous energy minister faced a revolt from the states and territories over a national energy and emissions plan.

Incorporating environmental concerns back into the National Electricity Objective (NEO) is a landmark move that finally brings Australia one step closer to a zero emissions energy system that addresses climate change.

Updated

There were so many examples of misbehaviour, a reporter says, with the most serious sexual assaults involving women. What does this say about gender imbalance in the workplace, Taylor is asked?

Taylor says she takes her role as a female deputy “very seriously”.

It’s important to be a role model for people and I think that is really important to show younger women that people aren’t prepared to tolerate this and it’s not acceptable behaviour … but this is serious, these allegations.

She says this is why it’s important people have come forward.

I really commend that … you must tell your story, you must be able to do that and then a vigorous progress has to be in place … I think this has really demonstrated some serious issues right across all party lines and the opposition leader has come out today and said that. This is very serious for everybody involved … when parliamentarians of all different stripes come together, really powerful things can happen and I look very forward to that and I’m just really pleased that this report has landed.

Updated

Deputy national leader in the New South Wales government Bronnie Taylor is appearing on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing following the release of the Broderick review.

Asked if she’d been “personally aware” of serious complaints recorded in the NSW parliamentary review, she said she’d “always had an open door” during her seven years in office.

I will stand up for what’s right and I will absolutely call that behaviour out. In terms of the severity of some of these allegations and the alleged criminal conduct, I have never seen that myself happen and it has never been raised with me about serious alleged criminal offences … one great thing about this report … is that it was anonymous so people felt very safe.

[This is] not about partisan politics, it’s about the behaviour of everybody in this building. I can only speak from a personal level with my own behaviour and the example that I set for myself and my staff and I believe that that is of a high standard … there is no tolerance in any workplace in Australia for any type of alleged criminal behaviour or bullying or harassment.

Updated

In Victoria, the Environmental Protection Authority is investigating scum.

And by that, I don’t mean *insert defamatory joke here*.

Veteran affairs department has ‘unacceptable’ backlog of compensation claims

Australia has “fundamental cultural problems” that need to be tackled to address the nation’s defence force and veteran suicide crisis, royal commission chairman Nick Kaldas says.

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide interim report made 13 urgent recommendations, including clearing the massive backlog of compensation claims by March 2024.

Kaldas said the backlog was unacceptable, and the delays and complexities of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs had impacted suicides. He told the ABC:

There’s been more than 50 previous inquiries looking at all aspects of this, and the reality is that most of the recommendations that have previously been made were actually not acted upon.

Kaldas said findings that a significant number of suicides involving current or former personnel who did not serve overseas on operational deployments showed deep issues.

What that tells us is that there are fundamental cultural problems that must be tackled. Not just for those who are returning from a combat zone or a conflict zone, but for those who have not left Australia.

Asked if it was enough that the government apologised for letting down the nation’s veterans and defence force personnel, Kaldas said: “It’s an important step and it’s a positive step.”

With AAP

Updated

Agreement on emissions reductions for Queensland energy market a ‘watershed’ moment

Queensland energy minister Mick de Brenni has described today’s agreement to enshrine emissions reductions objectives into energy market laws as a “watershed” moment in national energy policy:

The energy sector is Queensland’s largest carbon emitter and has a significant role to play in accelerating our path towards net zero emissions.

The Queensland government has been working hard with the ACT government to present this proposal to national energy ministers and we will continue to cooperate with all jurisdictions to deliver this historic reform.

De Brenni said prioritising inclusion of emissions reduction goals in the National Energy Objectives had been “blocked” by successive Coalition governments.

In fact, the original National Objectives go back even further to the Howard government, which resisted the inclusion of emissions in the first instance.

It’s a clear and direct signal to the entire nation as well as the global community that everyone is now working together in this new energy era.

Updated

Here is the communique from today’s meeting in full:

Bowen thanks his state and territory colleagues for “constructive engagement” and announces a series of agreements have been made.

We’ve done a lot today … we have of course been briefed by our energy market operators plus the ACCC on the current state of the energy market and it’s fair to say challenges will remain this year, next year and in the immediate future.

Just as we’ve worked closely managing this winter we’ll continue to work closely managing seasons that come upon us to ensure lights stay on and we’ll do everything humanly possible to manage supply.

Bowen says his state and territory counterparts have agreed to changes to the gas market including empowering energy regulator Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) with greater powers and functions. AEMO will be able to direct market participants to supply gas where necessary.

“It’s not a silver bullet,” he says, but it’s an “important step”.

During the meeting it was also agreed emissions reduction would become part of the National Energy Objectives, the first change to the objectives in 15 years.

It sends a very clear direction to energy market operators that they must include emissions reductions in work they do, the objectives they have and decisions they make.

Bowen says this builds on the climate bill and sends a message of “certainty” to investors in renewable energy that “Australia is open for business and determined to reduce emissions”.

We all know this transition hasn’t been fast enough and hasn’t been orderly enough … this capacity mechanism is going to be important.

Updated

Energy minister Chris Bowen is speaking now.

NRL club Manly will continue to offer support to hooker Manase Fainu, who was found guilty of stabbing a youth leader at a church dance in Sydney’s west almost three years ago, AAP reports.

Fainu, now 24, has been subject to the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy since October 2019, when he was charged with wounding Faamanu Levi with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Jurors at the district court took just over two hours to find Fainu guilty on Thursday, but his barrister Margaret Cunneen SC has indicated the verdict will be appealed.

Fainu has not played for the Sea Eagles since the 2019 finals series, but coach Des Hasler and CEO Tony Mestrov reiterated their support for the hooker on Friday.

Hasler said the judicial process had been “tough” on Fainu and his family.

It’s been a three-year process and in that time all the support we’ve been able to give has been much needed. It’s just a shock. It’s three years this has been going on for. It hasn’t been easy on him.

After Fainu’s breakout 2019 season, the Sea Eagles opted not to renew the contract of premiership-winning hooker Apisai Koroisau and instead identified Fainu as their long-term No.9.

Fainu’s inability to play ruined those plans, with the Sea Eagles forced to sign Danny Levi to cover the position, before turning to current hooker Lachlan Croker. Hasler said he could not comment on whether Fainu would play professional rugby league again but said the Fainu name would still have a “very heavy involvement” at the club.

Updated

Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne has also weighed in following today’s education roundtable. Despite welcoming the format, she said there was “virtually nothing” in the press conference about tackling teacher workloads.

If you want to stop the exodus of teachers from the profession and attract more people into it, governments have to address pay and conditions.

To tackle teacher workloads, the system needs to be resourced properly. Right now, nearly every public school in the country is receiving less than 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard. … meanwhile, funding to private schools has increased at 5x the rate of funding to public schools and Australia has one of the greatest education funding inequality gaps in the OECD. This needs to be reversed.

Similarly, over the past 30 years, teacher salaries have gone backwards when compared to other professions. Creating higher pay points for a select few won’t address this problem. We need a competitive pay structure for the profession as a whole.

Updated

Former education minister Alan Tudge has called on the federal government to implement the recommendations of the Initial Teacher Education review following the education roundtable today.

The review was launched by the Coalition in April 2021, with a final report released on 24 February this year.

It made 17 recommendations, including reducing teachers workloads and reducing to one year the time taken to complete a secondary teaching qualification.

Updated

Victoria’s minister for housing Danny Pearson has issued a brief, and pointed, statement in reference to the state’s opposition leader.

Matthew Guy needs to answer this simple question.

Since the new electoral laws came into force on 25 November 2018, has anyone employed by the opposition been paid by an undeclared source?

Updated

Over-the-counter Covid antivirals a 'recipe for disaster', says RACGP

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has strengthened its opposition to making Covid antiviral treatments available over the counter at pharmacies, suggesting it would be a “recipe for disaster”.

It comes after the Pharmacy Guild pushed for the drugs to be made available without a prescription at community pharmacies due to national GP shortages.

RACGP president Dr Karen Price said the guild’s claims were “unfounded and misleading”.

Clear messaging is needed for patients. The Pharmacy Guild … needs to stop muddying the message on access for patients. Patients need to understand the urgency of contacting their GP when they test positive for Covid-19 and not be distracted by the Pharmacy Guild’s efforts to push their own agenda. We are in the midst of a pandemic and timely access requires people to be well informed and clear on what they need to do.

Over-the-counter pharmacy consultations and prescribing by pharmacists is not the answer to getting these treatments in the hands of those who need them. We need pharmacists to concentrate on their own job of stocking and dispensing safely and let the GPs get on with doctoring, because lives can be saved.

At the end of the day, pharmacists do not have the appropriate skill-set to interpret a life history, including a sexual history, or the diagnostics of liver and kidney function. Nor can they order urgent tests if needed. Prescribing these medications is not simply taking them from a box on a shelf and handing them to a patient.

Updated

Case against whistleblower Richard Boyle does not warrant intervention: Dreyfus

This morning, the attorney-general Mark Dreyfus was asked whether he would intervene in the case of Richard Boyle, the Australian Taxation Office whistleblower who helped expose aggressive and unethical conduct in his agency’s pursuit of debts from small businesses and families.

Earlier this year Dreyfus put an end to the prosecution of lawyer Bernard Collaery, who had been charged for his disclosures of a bugging operation against Timor-Leste.

But Dreyfus said there would be no such intervention in the Boyle case.

He told ABC Melbourne:

The one very material difference is that the consent of the Commonwealth Attorney-General was needed to bring the charges in the first place against Bernard Collaery.

It’s a very, very important difference. Bernard Collaery’s case was an exceptional case. There’s very few criminal prosecutions in Australia that have implications for our international relations, and undoubtedly - and this was one of the major reasons why I intervened in the prosecution of Bernard Collaery to bring it to an end - it did have major implications for our international relations and I’m pleased to have taken that decision. The case of Richard Boyle is one that has been brought by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions on information provided by the Australian Taxation Office.

He has a defence, he has relied on a defence under the Public Interest Disclosure Act, that’s the existing whistleblower protection regime and it doesn’t raise the exceptional circumstances that were raised in Bernard Collaery’s case. So that’s my explanation … for why I am not intervening. Ever since I intervened in Mr Collaery’s case I’ve had – you might not be surprised to hear – many, many requests for me to intervene.

Updated

Meanwhile, agriculture minister Murray Watt has been in the Lockyer valley today, foreshadowing a possible speeding up of relief payments.

A Deloitte report into this year’s south-east Queensland floods estimated a total cost of $7.7 billion to the state.

Updated

In today’s edition of bizarre international news, a “disoriented” bear cub has been rescued in Turkey’s north-west after supposedly eating too much of a “mad honey” that has natural hallucinogenic effects.

A video posted online showed the poor old mate wobbling and whining in the back of a ute after being found in a forest.

The psychedelic honey is produced by bees from a type of rhododendron, with potentially wild results including hallucinations and euphoria. The bear is expected to make a full recovery and will be released into the wild in coming days.

Turkey’s agriculture ministry called on people on Twitter to come up with a name for the bear. My vote is “Fuzzy Wuzzy”.

Updated

National Covid summary

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 86 deaths from Covid-19:

ACT

  • Deaths: 1

  • Cases: 474

  • In hospital: 135 (with 4 people in ICU)

NSW

  • Deaths: 35

  • Cases: 9,528

  • In hospital: 2,194 (with 62 people in ICU)

Northern Territory

  • Deaths: 0

  • Cases: 175

  • In hospital: 36 (with one person in ICU)

Queensland

  • Deaths: 18

  • Cases: 3,303

  • In hospital: 543 (with 18 people in ICU)

South Australia

  • Deaths: 12

  • Cases: 1,482

  • In hospital: 256 (with 10 people in ICU)

Tasmania

  • Deaths: 1

  • Cases: 509

  • In hospital: 76 (with 4 people in ICU)

Victoria

  • Deaths: 14

  • Cases: 5,180

  • In hospital: 550 (with 30 people in ICU)

Western Australia

  • Deaths: 5

  • Cases: 2,327

  • In hospital: 308 (with 11 people in ICU)

'Toxic boys’ club' extends beyond Canberra: Greens

The Greens have responded to the Broderick report released today, arguing it shows a “toxic boys’ club” extends beyond Canberra’s politics.

The review of New South Wales parliament found systemic bullying and widespread sexual harassment, with around half of incidents perpetrated by MPs.

NSW senator Mehreen Faruqi, member of the joint select committee on parliamentary standards said the report was “traumatic and devastating” – but not surprising.

The sexist and racist underbelly of parliamentary work has been exposed again and again, and needs to end. Bullying and harassment cannot just be accepted as part of our political culture. It has to be eradicated at all levels.

As a member of the joint select committee on parliamentary standards, which is looking at enforceable codes of conduct for parliamentary workplaces, I’m committed to making sure that the highest standards are set and followed. It’s beyond time to get this done, and to implement all the recommendations of the [2021] Jenkins report.

As leaders, it is our responsibility to set the best example for others to follow. That means a safe and respectful workplace free from bullying, harassment, sexual assault, sexism and racism.

Updated

A wayward kangaroo has attempted to break into the Russian embassy in Canberra, which some social media users have read as a barometer of sentiment among the local marsupial population over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian embassy confirmed the break in attempt in a post to its social media account which described it as an “unauthorised access attempt.”

Today, the video surveillance system of the Russian Embassy in Australia detected an unauthorised access attempt. No harm done.

It’s not the first time the social media presence of Russian embassy’s have often attracted attention for a “troll diplomacy” that needles local authorities on social media with a dry humour and political sarcasm.

In one example, the Russian embassy in the UK attempted to defend against allegations over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal using James Bond jokes about Russian spies and gags about cold weather and frosty diplomatic relations.

In another example, UK Russian embassy social media bragged that at least 99.8% of its followers were genuine after a Twitter purge of fake and “bot” accounts.

For more examples of the Russian diplomatic corps’ use of social media and its “troll diplomacy”, read this story by Guardian senior social reporter in London Martin Belam.

Western Australia records five new Covid deaths

Five people with Covid-19 have died in Western Australia overnight, with the state recording 2,327 new cases on Friday morning, 308 people in hospital, and 11 in ICU.

To deal with the crisis Gavrielatos says any national plan will have to “address the foundations” – ensuring a competitive salary for the teaching profession as a whole and dealing with the “crippling workloads that are accelerating the exodus of teachers”.

Gavrielatos said “we’re heading into a perfect storm” as completion rates in university programs have fallen and there has been a “dramatic” exodus of teachers.

This requires a reset. A reset to make the profession more attractive
quickly. Labour-market economics dictates – this can’t be avoided by ministers – labour-market economics dictates one of the key indicators of success in retaining and attracting people is pay and conditions and both of those are totally inadequate at the moment.

He also said one solution would be to resurrect a program from the 1970s when scholarships were offered to prospective teaching students, university fees were waived and stipends paid to attract people to the profession.

Updated

Angelo Gavrielatos president of the New South Wales Teachers Federation is now speaking to the ABC giving his reaction to the ministers’ press conference. He is saying Jason Clare gets “full marks” for calling the meeting, “remembering he has inherited 10 years of neglect and policies that have contributed to this crisis in which we find ourselves.”

He’s got the responsibility of trying to coordinate a national response to deal with it. We can’t let them off the hook – or those who have similarly presided over the crisis.

I certainly support the suggestion and the notion of the development of a national plan, a national plan to identify what those particular policy areas are that could contribute to addressing this matter in the medium term and longer term.

However, we’ve got a crisis today. We’ve got a crisis today which sees thousands and thousands of kids missing out on their learning because of the teacher shortage. And that teacher shortage will continue to grow into the future, certainly over the next number of years.

Updated

Clare: Teacher education 'screaming out for reform'

A question now about the cost of degrees.

Clare:

What came out really clearly out of the conversation today and I got a better insight into it than I had before I went into the room, the initial teaching education is screaming out for reform. We need some reform here.

Clare said he would like Mark Scott, Sydney University vice-chancellor to head an expert panel that will look at what reforms are needed. However Clare says the terms of reference were not completed today and will be discussed collaboratively.

One of the things that Mark said to us, the way that unis work with hospitals for medical students is very different to the way that unis work with schools and education departments for teachers. And there may be some lessons for us there, where we can get better practical outcomes.

Clare also said he wanted to see government funding for universities prioritised for institutions that ensure student completion.

What I said on [Patricia Karvelas’ morning show on Radio National] this morning is 50% of young people who go into a teaching degree finish it. On average it’s about 70% of people who go into any other degree finish it. What is going wrong there? If there’s things that we do, whether it’s prac early on, so we get a real sense of what being a teacher is, if there’s other changes that we can make so, let’s say, 60% of people finish a teaching degree, we’ll go a long way to improving the situation.

Updated

On skilled-work visas, Clare says visas for teachers from overseas should be prioritised.

One of the things we’ve got to do is prioritise visas for teachers from overseas who want to come and work here. States independently of the commonwealth work with teachers who are keen to work here. Make sure they meet the standards that individual states have, to be accredited and registered to teach here, and then when they want to come here, make sure they get the visa as quickly as possible.

NSW education minister Sarah Mitchell says that she would like to see this scheme go further and include a fast-track program for citizenship for teachers that would like to move to Australia.

Updated

Questions beginning now, with federal education minister Jason Clare saying that a proposition he favours is one involving a paid internship model that “will be part of the action-plan we’ll ask secretaries to work up for us”.

When I talk about mentoring, I am talking about something slightly different to a master-teacher model. When a teacher first arrives at school, fresh off university, they need a mentor. They need a proper induction process. They need some hands-on experience about behaviour management. In different jurisdictions and states it’s done differently. The review said let’s have some national guidelines for that.

Updated

South Australia records 12 new Covid deaths

Twelve people with Covid-19 have died in South Australia overnight, with the state recording 1,482 new cases on Friday morning, 256 people in hospital, and 10 in ICU.

Updated

State education ministers are now taking turns to speak.

Sarah Mitchell from New South Wales, who says she’s looking forward to working on a national plan.

Ignazia Grace from Queensland says that she is looking forward to “working collaboratively and cooperatively” across jurisdictions and says the meeting “is a breath of fresh air”.

Natalie Hutchins from Victoria says she wants the country’s teachers to know “we’ve heard you and we see you and we thank you for all you’ve done”. She says Covid has been hard on teachers, particularly as they grapple with medical and health concerns.

Sue Ellery from Western Australia wishes to “echo” the comments of her counterpart Ignazia Grace that “today was a breath of fresh air” and says today’s meeting was dominated by two messages: that 2022 has been hard and that educators are under pressure.

Blair Boyer from South Australia says it is important to hear directly from those whose profession they represent.

Roger Jaensch from Tasmania says the problems identified are the same in “every jurisdiction” and that they are “national challenges that need a national solution”. He says that “we can do better than stealing each other’s teachers. We can steal each other’s ideas, share each other’s information and come out with real solutions”.

Yvette Berry from ACT says she wants to thank federal minister Clare for the comments today “reassuring teachers that he has their backs because that’s something that they haven’t heard for a number of years.” She adds that teachers “have felt undermined and undervalued for some time now”.

Eva Lawler from the Northern Territory says the workload of teachers has been increasing “whether it’s dragging a kangaroo off an oval in the Northern Territory or dealing with the complexities of teachers facing mental health issues”.

Updated

Clare says the conversation today focussed on “three areas:

  1. What are the things that we can do to encourage more people to become teachers? What sort of nationally coordinated action can we take from that?

  2. What can we do to prepare teachers for the workforce they’re about to enter?

  3. What do we do to keep the fantastic teachers that we already have?

Clare:

Great ideas came out of that conversation right across the board. We’ve agreed - we caught up after the meeting and agreed that we want a national action plan prepared by the secretaries of our department, drawing on the expertise of the teachers as well as the unions and the Catholic schools as well as the independent schools, and to put that action plan together for us to tick off when we meet again in December.

Updated

Education minister Jason Clare is speaking now in Canberra following the meeting of federal, state and education ministers regarding efforts to address the shortfall in teachers.

Clare says they’ve been meeting with teachers, and is relaying what he heard about their work environment.

We heard great things as well from teachers. Talking about, if we do things a little bit differently, how we can change work for them and how we can encourage more people to become teachers. Prac was one of the big things that came up again and again and again. Practical experience right off the bat, when you first become a teacher, as well as paid internships in final year.

Seeing, having student-teachers in the classroom as an asset rather than as something that just gets in the way, and helping to make sure that young people who are at university know what they’re getting into and really want to be there for the right reasons.

Updated

A shareholder resolution is attempting to force Origin Energy to consider climate change impact across its operation when reporting on financial performance.

The shareholder resolution filed with Origin on Friday by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) calls for audited financial statements to include a climate sensitivity analysis from the 2023 financial year.

The analysis would include a scenario aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, estimates and judgments for all scenarios used, and cover all business operations – including gas exploration.

Origin said it would respond in September with board recommendations on resolutions, ahead of the October annual general meeting.

Origin has government approval to build Australia’s largest grid-connected battery at Eraring in NSW ahead of closure of the coal power plant there in 2025 as part of energy-transition plans.

But ACCR is taking aim at Origin’s gas plans, claiming exploration assets in the Beetaloo, Canning and Cooper basins could be “rendered worthless”.

Origin’s 2022 results are due out next Thursday.

-with AAP

Updated

Senator urges privacy for family of Indigenous man who died in custody

The family of an Indigenous man who died in custody at Port Phillip Prison on Wednesday have asked for privacy as they grieve.

In a statement on Friday Federal Senator Lidia Thorpe, a Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman, asked for media to respect the family’s wishes.

These are real people’s lives which have just been torn apart, again, by this system. The grief, the pain and the loss is overwhelming. The family demands respect and privacy as they process their grief.

Updated

Heads up:

The Victorian Electoral Commission has asked the state’s Liberal party for documents connected to a proposed donor deal.

The opposition leader, Matthew Guy, revealed on Friday the VEC had requested documentation following allegations his former chief of staff Mitch Catlin had proposed that a Liberal donor could make more than $100,000 in payments to his private marketing company for services described as “supporting business interests”, while he was employed in Guy’s office.

Catlin later resigned.

“We’ll provide that for them ... I’ll comply and make sure we work with them at every stage at every step. They’ve got a job to do,” Guy told reporters in Wodonga.

The VEC announced last week it had commenced preliminary inquiries.

The contract proposal was sent by Catlin to Guy’s private email address with a request it be forwarded, which he denies doing.

Guy insists the contract was never signed or agreed to.

He earlier denied it was an attempt circumvent the state’s donation laws, which require donations above $1,050 to be disclosed and limited to $4,210 over four years.

Guy has suggested the proposed payments were considered part of Catlin’s employment as his chief of staff.

-from AAP

Updated

Kiribati rule of law has stopped ‘completely’, judge says

Lambourne says all work in the high court has been ceased and the rule of law has stopped “completely”:

There won’t be any other cases that will be allowed to be heard. So, in addition to that, we have a government that has demonstrated a clear willingness to blatantly refuse to comply with orders of the court. So, rule of law here has broken down completely. It’s a terribly sad situation for all of the people of Kiribati.

Lambourne says the “implications” for the “welfare of the people of Kiribati generally” would be severe if he is forced out by the government.

Once you have an authoritarian government that demonstrates its willingness to completely ignore orders of the court, then everybody is fair game.

Lambourne says that the Australian government has been in touch with him and offered consular assistance but is “reluctant to risk some of their diplomatic capital on a case such as mine”.

I would certainly hope they are making representations through the usual diplomatic channels and I would expect something like that to happen, but I think that there’s probably limited value in the Australian government trying to shout at Kiribati about their treatment of me.

Updated

Australian judge talks about Kiribati deportation attempt

David Lambourne, an Australian-born high court judge in Kiribati is speaking live to the ABC now after the government attempted to deport him.

Lambourne says he is currently being held in immigration detention in a motel on the main island where he is not permitted to leave.

He says that he was taken into detention following a court ruling that he should not be deported.

The only thing that thwarted their attempts to remove me were that the captain of the Fiji Airways plane refused to uplift me on the basis that the deportation order was not lawful – their attempt to deport me was not lawful.

He says he has been targeted with “trumped up” charges of misconduct in order to target his wife, who is a leader of the political opposition in the country.

I think that they think that if I am forced out of the country, my wife will have of quit politics and follow me. They obviously don’t know her very well if they think that that’s what she would do.

Updated

Queensland police in North Queensland have held a media conference to provide an update on their search for a 28-year-old man over his role in the alleged abduction of four young children.

The four children were returned at 9.20am this morning but police say investigations into what happened are ongoing.

Police say support from the media and community “had an effect” on the man’s decision to return the children but they still wish to speak to him about what occurred.

The man is known to police but not a threat to the public, though members of the community are not advised to approach him and instead contact Crime Stoppers.

Childcare centre fined after children were found on footpath

Three children under the age of four walked out of a childcare centre in Perth’s south and were found playing on a footpath, prompting a fine for the operators of the service.

Service provider ES5 Ltd, trading as Buggles Child Care Beeliar, was ordered to pay $22,000 and $2000 in costs by the State Administrative Tribunal for contravention of education and care service laws.

A Department of Communities investigation found that in August last year the children left the centre through an outdoor gate.

A mother who was leaving after collecting her child noticed the children and ushered them back inside.

The investigation found educators at the centre had noticed the gate left open more than once during the day and failed to notify the responsible person.

Department of Communities Executive Director Phil Payne said in a statement on Friday the centre also failed to ensure the gate was securely locked and to notify the Education and Care Regulatory Unit about the incident within the required 24 hours.

This is the ninth time over the past two years where disciplinary action has been taken against a service where children have left the service unattended, and staff have been unaware of them leaving.

Childcare service staff must focus on active supervision of children in their care.

Checks around outdoor areas should include a physical, not just visual, check of gates to ensure they are securely locked.

In other unrelated incidents, a Mandurah centre was ordered to pay $20,000 in penalties and costs after four young children climbed through a fence and were found on the verge of a four-lane highway, in August 2020.

While in November that year a childcare centre at Thornlie left a two-year-old girl unsupervised on a bus for almost two hours.

-from AAP

Updated

Arts degree saved

Federation University will not axe its bachelor of arts program following a campaign from the National Tertiary Education Union to save the jobs of staff who were at risk of being made redundant.

Updated

Northern Territory records no new Covid deaths

No one with Covid-19 has died in the Northern Territory overnight, with the state recording 174 new cases on Friday morning, 36 people in hospital, and one in ICU.

Google pays $60m penalty for misleading users on location data

Google has agreed to pay $60m in penalties flowing from a long-running court fight with the Australian competition watchdog over the misleading users of on the collection of personal location data.

In April last year, the federal court of Australia found Google breached consumer laws by misleading some local users into thinking the company was not collecting personal data about their location via mobile devices with Android operating systems.

The case revolved around whether it was sufficiently clear Google would still collect and access location data when a user’s location history was set to “off” but their web and app activity was “on” and one of its apps was used.

The company was also found in breach of two other consumer laws concerning conduct liable to mislead the public and making misleading representations about a service’s performance characteristics.

- from AAP

Updated

Queensland records 18 new Covid deaths

18 people with Covid-19 have died in Queensland overnight, with the state recording 3,303 new cases on Friday morning, 543 people in hospital, and 18 in ICU.

ACT records one new Covid death

One person with Covid-19 has died in Australian Capital Territory overnight, with the territory recording 474 new cases on Friday morning, 135 people in hospital, 4 in ICU and 2 on ventilation.

Updated

NSW mental health minister backs John Barilaro’s decision to pull out of hearing

During New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet’s press conference following the release of the Broderick report, mental health minister Bronnie Taylor said she had spoken with John Barilaro today.

She explained he was not up to attending the inquiry today and had been “very open and very honest about his struggles with mental health”.

She said:

This constant constant attention on him, him waiting three weeks until he was able to give his side of a story at an inquiry, I say to you and I say to anyone out there. How would that make you feel? And how you think you would manage with that?

He has been very honest and very open and he has put his case forward. He deserves correct process. He deserves independence and anybody that is involved in any inquiry deserves respectful behavior.

She said he was “seeking the help that he requires” in order to reappear before the inquiry into his New York trade job appointment soon.

She said:

He has been very open and very honest about his mental health. He has said today that he is not up to attending and I would ask everybody to respect that for himself and for his family.

Updated

National anti-corruption commission legislation could be introduced next month

Attorney general Mark Dreyfus says he hopes the bill to establish the federal integrity body could be brought forward in the next sitting fortnight, due to take place during the first two weeks of September.

The establishment of the body was a key election promise for the new Labor government, which pledged to introduce legislation by the end of the year.

Speaking to ABC Radio on Friday, Dreyfus said while such an agency would be difficult to establish, it was important to set up a federal body.

It’s going to be very broad-based, it’s going to have full powers to conduct both private and public hearings, it’s going to have full powers to report, it’s going to be able to look at the whole of the Australian public sector.

I’m hoping to be able to say we’ve learned from each of the eight state and territory commissions and we’re going to be able to pick the best features.

However, Dreyfus said there were limitations in Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission which would not be included in the federal model.

The attorney general said the federal model would have a broad focus and not just be examining federal MPs.

This anti-corruption commission is going to make reports, and from reports we’ll get public exposure of corruption. From that public exposure we’ll get action.

This national anti-corruption commission is about eliminating corruption in public life in all its forms. It’s to concentrate not just on MPs, but on ministers, on senior public servants, on every agency of the commonwealth.

However, Dreyfus rejected suggestions from independent MP Kylea Tink who suggested a federal integrity body should have the power to sack parliamentarians.

The power to sack parliamentarians rests with voters at the election.

Kylea Tink would probably now regret making this suggestion, which has been something of a diversion from what this national anti-corruption commission is going to be about.

– from AAP

Updated

Chris Minns: ‘we take all instances or reports of harassment or bullying seriously’

Minns is asked whether he is aware that a senior Labor frontbencher allegedly has a history of bullying.

Minns says he has “never had a complaint made by a survivor or a victim directly as the leader of the New South Wales Labor party”.

It’s very difficult to make a summary judgement about events or circumstances in which I haven’t been provided the details. But obviously we take all instances or reports of harassment or bullying seriously, and part of the Broderick review, which I think is important in context, is that there will be an independent assessor that can look at instances or allegations of bullying and make an independent assessment about what has happened.

Minns then points to the creation of an independent reporting mechanism and review process that is being set up following the Broderick review. He also says the state Labor party “has a similar independent complaint process for people who have been victims of bullying and harassment to make those allegations”.

Updated

NSW shadow minister Rose Jackson: ‘We need to ensure this report doesn’t sit in a bottom drawer gathering dust’

Shadow minister for water, housing and homelessness, Rose Jackson, is speaking now. Jackson was a member of the parliamentary advisory group that looked over the Broderick report and was involved in its drafting.

It’s distressing and confronting to read stories of people who have experienced unacceptable behaviour in New South Wales parliament and New South Wales
politics in general. I want to thank those people who spoke up. It does take courage to talk about instances that are unpleasant, uncomfortable, distressing, and in some instances criminal.

What we need to do is to acknowledge and respect the effort that they’ve made and ensure that this report doesn’t sit in a bottom drawer gathering dust.

Updated

NSW Labor leader on Broderick review: ‘It really paints a dark picture’

New South Wales opposition leader Chris Minns has held a press conference to discuss the release of the Broderick report.

It really paints a dark picture of what’s been happening in the New South Wales parliament over an extended period of time.

I want to make this point – I don’t think this is about partisanship. It’s my view that neither side, or any side in politics, comes to this issue with clean hands. We all need to do better, reach across the aisle, and make sure that we’re making every possible effort to make the New South Wales parliament a safe workplace and have the opportunity of having more people involved in the political process.

We need to create an environment where the best and brightest consider and enter a career of public service, and I’m concerned that if this culture persists, as it has done clearly for a long period of time, that won’t happen.

NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns.
NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Updated

Four children allegedly taken from The Leap in Queensland found safe and well

Queensland Police have found four children allegedly taken from The Leap, north of Mackay on Thursday morning.

The children were taken at 11.30am but were found safe and well on Friday morning after authorities appealed to the public for help.

Police are still asking for help from the public to track down the 28-year-old man they believe may be responsible.

Anyone who might have information should call 131 564 to provide information.

Updated

Tasmania records one new Covid death

One person with Covid-19 has died in Tasmania overnight, with the state recording 509 new cases on Friday morning, 76 people in hospital, and four in ICU.

Perrottet is asked if he has turned a blind eye to harassment

Perrottet is asked how much responsibility should he take for allow a culture that permits bullying, sexual harassment and assault to develop.

Perrottet:

Well, we’ve acted very quickly from a ministerial perspective to make sure that training is in place, that proper processes are in place, following the Goward recommendations. Now, in relation to the information that’s come through here, yes, I have been in parliament for a long time. I’ve always, in my view, in the ministerial offices and positions that I’ve had as finance minister, as treasurer, as premier, in my electorate office, I believe I have always fostered a very healthy work environment.

Updated

Perrottet asked whether Eleni Petinos still belongs in parliament

There’s an exchange now between reporters and the premier about the decision to fire Eleni Petinos from the ministry. Perrottet has refused to answer follow-up questions about why, if her behaviour was bad enough to warrant her being removed from cabinet, that she should not also leave parliament.

Reporters are taking issue with that based on what the premier has just said about how he would be “weeding out” those responsible for bully, sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Reporter: Premier, can you see why I’m having trouble here? You just talked about you’re gonna weed out bullying and bad behaviour, then you’re using the same press conference to defend one of your MPs, who you said had a workplace that was unsafe. So, why are you using this opportunity to do that? You said you want to weed out bullying.

Perrottet: I have just done that. I have removed ... I had a view from a ministerial office perspective ...

Reporter: But you think that she ... [still belongs] ..in parliament?

Perrottet: No. What I’m saying is I expect the high standards of MPs, in areas where I have responsibility, I will make those decisions. I made that decision in relation to Ms Petinos and the cabinet. That is the decision I made. I have taken a very strong stance in relation to this position, as the employer of the cabinet, the person who makes the decisions, I expect high standards from ministerial colleagues.

Perrottet goes on to say that steps have been taken to offer training to ministers about acceptable standards of behaviour and that his government will now focus on implementing the recommendations of the Broderick report.

Updated

Perrottet says he will consider making parliament an alcohol-free zone

He is also asked, as he said people who engaged in bullying against another colleague should leave, whether another member of parliament should leave.

The question refers to Eleni Petinos, who was accused of bullying in a resignation letter that has since been submitted to Icac.

Perrottet says he “would not be going into that” and described critics as playing “games”.

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet during a press conference in Sydney, Friday, 12 August, 2022.
NSW premier Dominic Perrottet during a press conference in Sydney, Friday, 12 August, 2022. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Updated

Perrottet: 'If you are involved in this behaviour you should leave immediately'

Asked whether he will try to “weed out” people within parliament and even within his own party who are responsible, Perrottet says: “absolutely”.

He is then asked “how”. Perrottet:

If you are involved in this behaviour you should leave immediately. There are processes in place.

What is important and what comes through the recommendations is the implementation of processes so that people can come forward in an anonymous way and raise these issues.

That is fundamentally the problem here – that there has been no mechanism set up for a proper complaints process. This report, this report is here today because people felt confident that they could come forward in the privacy and raise those issues in a confidential way. But for that we would not know, and you need people to have that environment created for them where they feel comfortable coming forward. That has clearly not occurred in the past.

Updated

Perrottet says he is not aware of any pending criminal charges against anyone

He says he “had no advice in relation to that”.

Perrottet also says he has not witnessed any harmful behaviour during his time in parliament.

I have never witnessed or seen any of this behaviour in the entire time that I have been in the New South Wales parliament. I have not seen it, but that does not mean – it is pretty clear that that is occurring – and change needs to happen.

Updated

Perrottet takes questions

Questions now with the first asking Perrottet about what he will do if one of his own party is found to be responsible for this behaviour.

Perrottet says the “first thing” he will be making very clear what the standard of behaviour is both to his party room and to his staffers.

I will make it very clear what the standards of behaviour [are], particularly wanting stuff, for example, to feel like they can make a contribution and come forward and make a contribution to public life. That is one of these that is one of the beautiful aspects of politics is that people put their hands up to make a difference to the people of our state and people don’t feel comfortable doing that.

Updated

NSW minister for women: ‘if this is you that is mentioned please leave the parliament’

Bronnie Taylor says “my door is always open and always has been” to anyone who is experiencing abuse.

I believe that you set the example yourself for what you stand for and how you behave, and everybody needs to start doing that.

Taylor then makes a strong statement:

For those particular people that may be reading that report today, you know who you are, and my very strong advice to you is that you do not belong in the parliament of New South Wales. I ask you to think very long and hard about this, and I ask you to make sure that if this is you that is mentioned, get the help that you need and please leave the New South Wales parliament.

Updated

NSW minister for women Bronnie Taylor ‘disappointed’

The NSW minister for women and mental health, Bronnie Taylor, is speaking now and says she feels “disappointed to hear of any episodes of sexual assault, of attempted sexual assault, of sexual harassment and bullying”.

Taylor:

There is no place in a modern workplace for any of these things to take place. It is disappointing. I think in the parliament of New South Wales we need to expect extremely high standards across all political lines. This report reflects an entire workplace. There are no politics involved here. This refers to the entire building and everyone that occupies it.

Updated

Perrottet: ‘This report will be the beginning of a change in workplace culture’

This report will not be the end. This report will be the beginning. The beginning of a change in workplace culture for the better. We cannot have a situation where the New South Wales parliament is not a safe place for people to work.

The public must have confidence in its politicians. It can’t have confidence in its politicians in circumstances where the parliamentary environments, whether that is in at the parliament or in electorate offices, in many instances, is not free from bullying, harassment, sexual harassment and sexual assault. This must end. It ends today, and we will work very closely with all sides of politics to implement change for the betterment of workplaces in the New South Wales parliament, but ultimately as role models in this state to every workplace across New South Wales.

Updated

Perrottet: findings on sexual harassment in parliament 'sobering, confronting and unacceptable'

New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet is speaking now* on the release of the report on sexual harassment within state politics ,which included allegations of rape.

Perrottet has begun his press conference with a solemn statement thanking those who came forward as part of the review and participated.

I last night received a copy of this report. I have read the report. It is sobering, confronting and unacceptable. Every workplace across our state should be free from harassment, sexual harassment and sexual assault but this is not the case in the New South Wales parliament. Parliamentarians are leaders and role models in our society. They should lead from the front. Clearly, we have a culture in the New South Wales parliament that over time has become in many instances toxic and is wrong. If parliamentarians cannot lead and provide an environment where workplace is safe, what hope to be have for other workplaces across our great state?

*A previous post mistakenly said it was John Barilaro who was appearing. This was incorrect and has been fixed.

Updated

Premier Dominic Perrottet to hold press conference

New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet is about to hold a press conference.

Updated

One in five NSW parliament workers say they have been sexually harassed, review finds

More than a third of respondents to a survey of workers in NSW parliament have been bullied or sexually harassed over the past five years, according to a landmark review into the culture at Macquarie Street.

The review, conducted by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, revealed “systemic and multi-directional” bullying issues across the building.

It found certain offices were “well-known hotspots” for harmful behaviours and high rates of staff turnover, with the negative environment often having a “devastating” impact on people.

One in five people reported having been sexually harassed, with higher rates experienced by young women, and workers who are sexually diverse or culturally and linguistically diverse.

Almost half of the sexual harassment incidents were perpetrated by an elected member of parliament, according to the report.

The review also found 2% of people had experienced actual or attempted sexual assault while working in a parliamentary workplace. Almost 10% of people said they had heard about or witnessed at least one sexual assault.

For more on this developing story read the full report by Guardian Australia reporter Tamsin Rose.

Updated

John Barilaro cites ill health for pulling out of second appearance before inquiry

Former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro has pulled out of his highly anticipated second appearance before a parliamentary committee probing his now-abandoned appointment to a controversial New York trade job.

Barilaro had been due to give evidence to the committee for a second time today, with the hearing scheduled to run all day.

But shortly after 9am committee members were alerted that Barilaro had called in sick and wouldn’t be appearing.

The committee is meeting at 9.45am and will make an announcement shortly after.

More details as they come.

Updated

Indigenous man dies in Victoria's Port Phillip prison

An Indigenous man has died on Wednesday while in custody at Port Phillip prison in Melbourne’s west.

The Department of Justice and Community has issued a statement expressing its “great sorrow” at the death of the prisoner and that the matter had been referred to the coroner to investigate.

The department did not immediately confirm whether the man was Indigenous but the man in his 30s was reportedly due to be released from custody in the coming weeks.

His death comes less than three months after an inquest into the death of Aboriginal woman Veronica Nelson, who died alone in her cell after repeatedly calling out for help.

More details as they come.

Updated

John Barilaro reportedly pulls out of Friday hearing

Former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro has reportedly pulled out of a scheduled parliamentary hearing on Friday citing ill health.

Barilaro was due to appear before the inquiry to answer questions about the circumstances under which he was given a lucrative job as a trade commissioner in New York.

More details to come …

Updated

Victoria records 14 new Covid deaths

14 people with Covid-19 have died in Victoria overnight, with the state recording 5,180 new cases on Friday morning, 550 people in hospital, 30 in ICU and 8 on ventilation.

New South Wales records 35 new Covid deaths

35 people with Covid-19 have died in New South Wales overnight, with the state recording 9,528 new cases on Friday morning, 2,194 people in hospital, and 62 in ICU.

Peter Dutton pressed on voice to parliament

Opposition leader Peter Dutton appeared on ABC’s 7.30 last night and it is worth revisiting for the exchange with host Sarah Ferguson about whether he will commit his party to supporting the voice to parliament.

The full exchange is interesting as the opposition leader refuses to say what he actually thinks about the proposal for a referendum while he attempts to insert talking points about “practical action” that are non-sequiturs.

Here is the critical exchange where Ferguson heroically attempts to get a solid answer:

SARAH FERGUSON: Let me move back into the domestic realm. At the start of parliament, you participated in the smoking ceremony, you allowed your face to be painted and then in your speech you quoted Noel Pearson and seemed to endorse Pearson’s call for constitutional recognition. What would prevent you now from taking the next step and backing the referendum on the voice?

PETER DUTTON: Well, I quoted Noel Pearson for whom I have a great deal of respect, and you can go back and look at the quote and there are many elements to that because there were several paragraphs that I quoted him on.

SF: And what about that question I just asked: what would prevent you now from taking the next step and that is backing the referendum on the voice?

PD: Well, the point I was going to make is that Noel Pearson obviously has put forward a thoughtful piece to consider in relation to the voice and he and other Indigenous leaders have done a lot of work on this and from my perspective ...

SF: But what about you, Peter Dutton?

PD: ... from my perspective, I want to respectfully listen to the arguments because I think reconciliation is important. I also think the practical assistance to kids in those communities ...

SF: We’ve talked about the practical before, I want you to stay with this particular issue. It sounds like you are trying to get on the right side of history, so is there anything preventing you from endorsing that idea of a voice, an advisory voice to parliament?

PD: Well, I don’t want you just to brush away the very legitimate concerns about practical support because ...

SF: I’m not brushing it away. I think, we’ve got an offer in front of us from the prime minister at Garma with a question and three sentences in the constitution. Are you ready to endorse it?

PD: So, a couple of points. Firstly, in relation to the practical assistance. That’s important to young boys and girls in domestic violence situations now ...

SF: And Noel Pearson says that you are indeed sincere about that, I recognise that, but I do want to stay with the referendum ...

PD: ... I am, and I’m sure the government is as well but there is nothing on the table from the government at the moment in relation to that and I do feel very passionately about it because I fought against domestic violence and sexual abuse of children for many years and I want to see real action in that regard. In terms of …

SF: It’s not an either-or situation though, is it?

PD: Well, it’s not. But there is no action on the table for us to consider from the government and I would urge them to do that because time is of the essence.

Updated

Clare: key is getting young people who start a teaching degree to complete it

Education Minister Jason Clare has also flagged potential solutions to the country’s teacher shortfall during his appearance on ABC Radio National this morning ahead of a meeting of federal, state and territory education ministers on Friday.

Clare ruled out making the cost of teaching degrees cheaper, saying there was little evidence it would help attract student but he said he would consider ways to reduce the administrative burden on teachers.

Following a proposal by New South Wales to boost teacher pay in order to attract more people into the occupation, Clare was lukewarm about merit-based pay rises for high performing teachers saying starting pay was already “pretty competitive”.

He also said he wanted to investigate ways to support mid-career professionals to transition into teaching, including more incentives for people to become teachers, further education and proposals to stop early career exists.

Clare said only about 70 per cent of people who start a teaching degree finish it, but only 50 per cent of young people who start will complete it.

If we could get that to 60 per cent, then already you would go a long way to addressing part of the supply shortage of teachers.

– with AAP

Updated

Education minister Jason Clare: ‘Stop bagging teachers’

The comments came during during an appearance on ABC Radio National on Friday morning.

Among the many problems contributing to a critical shortage of teachers across the country – including workloads, retention issues and a lack of incentives for people to shift into teaching mid-career – Clare said social attitudes had not encouraged more people to take up the role.

Stop bagging teachers and start giving teachers a rap.

They’re the ones that helped open doors that would otherwise stay closed.

They’re so important to us, and if I can do one thing in this job, to help to build the respect and the reputation of teachers in this country, I’ll have done a good thing.

Australia is currently facing a critical shortage of teachers, with federal, state and territory education ministers meeting on Friday to discuss what can be done to address the problem.

It is anticipated there will be a shortfall of 4,100 teaching positions in high school between the years 2021 and 2025, with the problem worse for regional and rural areas.

Clare also said the problem is holding onto teachers once they join the profession.

There aren’t many jobs in the country more important than being a teacher and we just don’t have enough of them at the moment.

Updated

Tasmania to close public Covid vaccination clinics to ‘free up nursing staff’

Tasmania will close state-run coronavirus vaccination clinics on 31 August, allowing health staff to be diverted to other “priority areas”.

The island state’s health department says people will need to make an appointment with a GP or pharmacist for a vaccination after that date.

More than 99% of Tasmanians aged 12 and over have received two doses, among the highest rate of any state or territory.

However, more than one in four people aged 16 and over is yet to have a third dose, placing the state in the middle of the pack.

Department of Health secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks said the transition away from the clinics, which have also been providing influenza vaccinations, is already under way.

These changes will free up nursing staff to work in other priority areas in the Tasmanian Health Service.

The Department of Health will monitor vaccination rates and there will be capacity to provide pop-up clinics if needed in the future.

Pressures faced by the health system have been in the spotlight, with nurses and midwives undertaking strikes at major hospitals in recent weeks over pay and unsafe working conditions.

– from AAP

Updated

Australian cricket team donate tour prize money to Sri Lanka

Australia’s men’s cricket team have donated prize money from their recent tour of Sri Lanka to Unicef Australia to support children and families reeling from that nation’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Led by Pat Cummins, who is a Unicef Australia ambassador and Aaron Finch, the team will donate $45,000 to the organisation’s Sri Lanka appeal.

“It was very clear to us how much day-to-day life for Sri Lankans is being impacted,” Cummins said.

When the team saw what was happening it was an easy decision to donate our prize money to Unicef, who have been in Sri Lanka for more than 50 years supporting the needs of children and families.

Food prices in Sri Lanka have jumped 80% and there are long lines at petrol stations, with the crisis sparking protests that forced the resignation of senior government officials in July.

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NSW bans display of Nazi flag and swastikas

New South Wales has banned the intentional display of a Nazi flag or display of memorabilia bearing swastikas.

The Crimes Amendment (Prohibition on display of Nazi symbols) bill 2022 swiftly passed in the upper house on Thursday with unanimous support.

It imposes a jail sentence of up to a year, along with a fine of $11,000 for those convicted.

The bill comes after an inquiry earlier this year recommended a ban on the public display of Nazi symbols in a bid to tackle rising antisemitism.

There were 31 incidents involving the display of Nazi symbols reported to police in 2020.

In September, a New South Wales man arrested by counter-terrorism police was in possession of Nazi flag and a map of the state on his bedroom wall, with plans to make a 3D-printed gun.

NSW becomes the second state in Australia to pass the landmark legislation after Victoria in June.

Asio said in 2020 that far-right violent extremism with its emphasis on neo-Nazi ideology makes up around 40 per cent of its counter-terrorism caseload.

- with AAP.

Updated

Report on bullying in NSW parliament to be delivered today

Former New South Wales sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick is expected to deliver a report detailing bullying and sexual misconduct in the state’s parliament on Friday.

The independent review was commissioned after several complaints last year regarding the abuse of staff and has has been extensive in its scope, with Broderick interviewing MPs, their staff and parliamentary staff.

Former NSW sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.
Former NSW sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

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Melbourne dog shelters drop prices to combat overcrowding

Melbourne dog shelters are facing a significant adoption slump, with two homes more overcrowded than they’ve been in a decade, AAP reports.

More than 70 dogs are up for adoption at The Lost Dogs’ Home sites in North Melbourne and Cranbourne, prompting the shelter to slash its fees for a week from Friday, August 12.

The reduced adoption fees will apply to most dogs, and go down from $530 to $195 at the shelters.

Winter is a typically slower time for adoptions but the home’s spokesperson, Suzana Talevski, said this year’s drop has been compounded by the rising cost of living and owners no longer having time to care for their animals.

“We haven’t seen these kinds of numbers in a very long time and possibly in a decade,” Talevski said.

While we are desperately trying to place as many of these beautiful animals in foster care while they wait for their perfect match, we would much prefer they were in a permanent and loving home.

Owners are also surrendering their pets because of property restrictions on animals, along with the lack of time they have to spend with them, and animal behavioural issues.

The organisation has urged shelter visitors to be patient during the week of slashed prices.

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NSW prison officers go on strike

Prison officers in New South Wales will strike on Friday to protest the upgrading of a charge against a colleague who shot a man as he tried to escape custody near Lismore Base Hospital in March 2019, AAP reports.

The officer was charged with manslaughter in February 2021, and pleaded not guilty in February this year.

A trial was set for October, but the officer, who cannot be named, is set to have their charge upgraded.

The shooting and death in custody was subject to a coronial inquest, which was suspended after a person was referred to the Department of Public Prosecutions for charges.

The Public Service Association says the decision “calls into question” how firearms can be used in a prison environment and that the state’s prison guards “stand by” their colleague.

More than 5,000 workers are set to strike from 6am on Friday with the stoppage to last for 24 hours.

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Good morning

And welcome to another Friday morning Guardian live blog.

The nation’s education ministers will meet in Canberra on Friday to address the national teacher shortage after New South Wales floated a plan to pay high-performing teachers more. The meeting will run over two days and is the first such conference in years.

Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro is expected to reappear before a parliamentary committee investigating his appointment to a lucrative trade posting where he will be asked to answer three key questions. These will cover a meeting with former fair trading minister Eleni Petinos, what role Barilaro had in helping Stephen Cartwright get appointed to a senior trade role in London, and how Barilaro learned about the job opening for the New York position.

A coronial inquest into the deaths of 19 aged care residents who died at Newmarch House in NSW during the opening period of the pandemic is expected to wrap up on Friday. The conclusion of proceedings is expected to be followed by a class action law suit from family members of those who died against Anglicare which ran the facility.

I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss stuff, so if you spot something happening in Australia and think it should be on the blog, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2 where my DMs are open.

With that, let’s get started ...

Updated

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