What we learned: Thursday 3 October
With that, we will bid farewell to the blog for the day. Thanks for being with us and, as always, we’ll be back first thing tomorrow.
Here were the major developments of the day:
The pro-Palestine vigil planned for 7 October will be going ahead after organisers revealed it has become a standing vigil, which does not require a form 1 application.
The mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, said “shutting down protests is not the answer” and called for protests to be allowed to go ahead, while the premier, Chris Minns, said that stopping the pro-Palestine and Lebanon rally planned for Sunday could protect Sydney’s “critical infrastructure”.
The Australian federal police is investigating nine complaints over alleged public displays of prohibited symbols in Victoria after weekend protests in Melbourne against Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
Acclaimed pianist Jayson Gillham has filed legal proceedings against the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in the federal court. Gillham, whose performance with the MSO was cancelled after a dedication on stage to Palestinian journalists who had died in the Gaza conflict, alleged that he was “silenced for speaking the truth – that Israel targets journalists”.
And the Australian National University has proposed a reorganisation of its academic structure, with vice-chancellor Prof Genevieve Bell admitting the university is facing “a substantial financial challenge”.
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Continued from previous post:
A Greens spokesperson said the PWSS had been “essential” in supporting MPs and senators’ offices to maintain safe workplaces “despite the challenging nature of political work”.
The PWSS is the independent service established after the Jenkins review into parliament’s culture.
The leader’s office has no legal power to resolve disputes between staff and any individual Senator’s office, and if any member of staff raises a complaint, they are encouraged and offered support to pursue it through the independent PWSS, and that occurred here. The Greens will not comment on any individual cases in relation to staff.
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