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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Natasha May and Emily Wind (earlier)

Senator quits party to sit as independent – as it happened

Jodie Belyea Labor Tanya Plibersek Clare ONeil Anthony Albanese Australia Peta Murphy Stephanie Foster James Paterson Andrew Giles
Jacqui Lambie and Tammy Tyrrell in the Senate last year.
Jacqui Lambie and Tammy Tyrrell in the Senate last year. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Tammy Tyrrell quits Jacqui Lambie Network

The Tasmanian senator Tammy Tyrrell says she is quitting the Jacqui Lambie Network, but plans to stay in the Senate as an independent – saying the party leader had suggested her former party mate “go it alone”.

Tyrrell said in a statement this evening:

Today I have advised the Jacqui Lambie Network that I am resigning from the party. I’ll remain in the Senate as an independent senator for Tasmania.

This is not something I’ve taken lightly. It’s become clear to me that I no longer have the confidence of the Jacqui Lambie Network to be able to represent it in the Senate. While Jacqui has not kicked me out of the Network, she has suggested that I go it alone.

I am not doing this because I want to harm Jacqui or the Network. I want to see Jacqui and the JLN continue to succeed. As it is now clear that the Network does not have confidence in my ability to contribute to that success, I do not wish to do anything in my advocacy for Tasmania that might harm it.

With that in mind, the best thing I can do is to step aside to allow the Network to shine. I don’t want to hold them back. I believe this is the best thing for Jacqui, the Network, myself, but most importantly, the people of Tasmania right now.

We’re reaching out to Lambie for comment.

Tyrrell has shared this YouTube clip – claiming “Jacqui has indicated she’s not happy with the way I’ve been representing the Jacqui Lambie Network”, but that there were “no hard feelings” between the pair.

Updated

What we learned, Thursday 28 March

With the long weekend almost upon us, this is where we’re leaving the blog for today. But before we go let’s recap the main events:

  • Jodie Belyea called for “political courage” to deliver gambling ad restrictions during maiden speech.

  • The government announced $1bn for solar panel manufacturing in Hunter region.

  • New rules for telcos will be in place for provide financial hardship assistance.

  • Melbourne’s lord mayor, Sally Capp, announced her resignation, to pursue “new opportunities”.

  • The Victorian government will introduce a tobacco licensing scheme.

  • The defence chief apologised at the opening of the defence and veteran suicide royal commission.

  • An ACCC survey found people were skipping meals to feed children properly.

  • Jacinta Allan said the NDIS changes would “impact adversely, the very people the NDIS is designed to support”.

  • Master Builders said apprenticeship data confirmed a “critical labour shortage”.

  • Cairns residents were urged to stay inside after reports of gunshot.

  • Tasmanian senator Tammy Tyrrell announced she is quitting the Jacqui Lambie Network.

For those taking time off, have a lovely break!

Updated

Clearing could soon commence at the site of a planned defence housing development at Lee Point/Binybara in Darwin after the environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, determined she was unable to make a declaration to protect the area on cultural grounds.

The developer, Defence Housing Australia, last year voluntarily agreed to pause clearing while the minister assessed an emergency application by Larrakia traditional owners under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Act.

Plibersek had until 31 March to make a decision and today notified the applicants that after considering the evidence she was not satisfied that the specific area that would be developed met the act’s requirements for a “significant Aboriginal area in accordance with Aboriginal tradition”.

Traditional owners made the application in August last year. It followed a large campaign in Darwin in which hundreds of community members protested against bulldozing at the site and called for it be protected for its ecological and cultural significance. Savanna woodlands at Lee Point are habitat for native species, including endangered gouldian finches.

In a statement, Plibersek said:

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Heritage Protection Act only allows me to make a protection declaration within the area of the development put forward for the section 10 application. Based on evidence provided to me and the definitions under law, I was not satisfied there is a significant Aboriginal area within the 132 hectare development area.

However, I recognise the wider Binybara (Lee Point) peninsula is a culturally important area, with significant sites already protected under Northern Territory Law.

92% of Lee Point Peninsula is recognised and protected under Northern Territory Law.

I welcome the recent announcement from the Northern Territory Government to give further protection to Lee Point through the creation of a 1,500 hectare national park.

Emergency declaration revoked for Cairns

Queensland police have revoked the emergency declaration for Edge Hill saying there is no immediate threat to the public.

The declaration was made after a police incident involved a firearm being discharged, but was revoked at 3.45pm local time.

Police say investigations into the incident remain ongoing and they are looking to speak with three people.

They are described as a man with fair skin, black hair and no facial hair, a woman in her 30s with tan skin and wearing a dark top or dress, and a man in his 30s with tan skin, curly black hair and wearing a white shirt.

Members of the public are urged not to approach these people and to inform police if they see them.

While investigations remain ongoing, police believe there is no immediate threat to the public.

Updated

Royal commission into veteran suicide must be catalyst for long-overdue reform: chair

The chair of the royal commission into defence and veteran suicide, Nick Kaldas, says history will judge government and military leaders on how they respond to the suicide crisis in Australia’s military community.

The inquiry today concluded its final public hearings, with evidence from the chief of defence, Gen Angus Campbell, apologising for deficits in the care the defence force has provided its people and pledging to do better.

In his closing statement, Kaldas said:

History will absolutely judge those who are in a position to make a difference – and service members, veterans, their families and the future workforce of the ADF will be watching.

We all owe it to our sailors, soldiers and aviators to ensure they receive the protection and support they need and deserve.

Commissioner Kaldas said the commission must be the catalyst for long-overdue reform:

We hope this royal commission has been the much-needed shock to the system that will inspire the change required to address the national tragedy of defence and veteran suicide once and for all.

The commission will be watching closely over coming months to see whether or not the 73,700 claims with a DVA officer as at 29 February this year are dealt with in a more-timely manner, and whether their ‘business-as-usual’ approach delivers faster decisions for veterans, and their families, who historically have been driven to the brink – and in some tragic cases, beyond – while waiting years for their claims to be even looked at.

Help for veterans and their families is available 24 hours a day from Open Arms on 1800 011 046 or www.openarms.gov.au and Safe Zone Support on 1800 142 072 or https://www.openarms.gov.au/safe-zone-support. The crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Updated

ASIC secures first greenwashing verdict with Vanguard victory

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission says it has won its first civil “greenwashing” case after taking action in the federal court against Vanguard Investments Australia.

According to the judgement, Vanguard engaged in conduct that was “liable to mislead the public as to the nature, the characteristics and the suitability for their purpose of those financial services” over a period that spanned about two and a half years from August 2018.

Specifically in focus was a fund - the Vanguard Ethically Conscious Global Aggregate Bond Index Fund (Hedged) - that made some claims that didn’t turn out to be accurate. Asic said in a statement:

Vanguard had claimed the Index excluded only companies with significant business activities in a range of industries, including those involving fossil fuels, but has admitted that a significant proportion of securities in the Index and the Fund were from issuers that were not researched or screened against applicable [Environmental, social and governance]criteria.

Sarah Court, Asic’s deputy, said Vanguard had admitted it had mislead investors “on a number of its claims”. Court said:

In this case, Vanguard promised its investors and potential investors that the product would be screened to exclude bond issuers with significant business activities in certain industries, including fossil fuels, when this was not always the case.

Asic and the competition watchdog, the ACCC, have identified tackling “greenwashing” - in which firms make misleading claims about their environmental credentials. of their products - to be among their priorities. Court said:

It sends a strong message to companies making sustainable investment claims that they need to reflect the true position.

The federal court will hold a further hearing on 1 August to decide what penalty it will impose on Vanguard.

Greens accuse government of burying new approval of Santos project

The Greens have sent out a media release accusing the government of “taking out the trash” on Easter eve after the publication of a new approval for a component of Santos’s controversial Barossa offshore gas project.

The government has granted approval under national environmental laws for construction of a duplicate pipeline into Darwin harbour as part of the development.

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, claims the government “hid this dirty approval until parliament adjourned for over a month” and while the parliament was being asked to consider potential changes to petroleum regulations:

Labor are climate con-artists, approving more coal and gas projects and hiding from parliamentary scrutiny.

Guardian Australia contacted the environment department yesterday to ask about the pipeline project after noticing its status had been updated to say approved but that the usual approval documentation that is published when such a decision is made was missing. The department published that documentation last night with a spokesperson saying it had not been uploaded due to “internal administrative website issues which have now been fixed”.

The document says a delegate for the environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, approved the pipeline project about two weeks ago on 15 March.

Updated

Cairns residents urged to stay inside after reports of gunshot

Police are warning residents of Cairns to say inside as an emergency declaration after an unfolding police incident involving a firearm being discharged.

Queensland police said they were called to Edge Hill shortly after 1pm after reports of a shot being fired.

Upon arrival, it appeared two vehicles had collided and one person discharged a firearm at another before leaving on foot.

An emergency situation was declared just before 2pm, with boundaries encompassing Pease Street, Woodward Street, Polentz Street and Russell Street.

Members of the public are advised to avoid the areas while police respond or stay inside with their doors and windows locked.

Multiple roads may be affected by police stops within the local area.

Updated

Using informal channels to report ADF complaints ‘a sociocultural norm’: Gen Angus Campbell

Let’s take stock of the chief of the Australian defence force’s evidence today at the final day of hearings of the royal commission into defence and veterans’ suicide.

As we reported earlier, Gen Angus Campbell started the day offering an apology for “deficiencies” in the wellbeing, support and care that ADF members needed, both during and after their service.

Throughout the course of the day, Campbell was questioned at length about processes for handling complaints about alleged misconduct. He said there were formal channels but some people used other means, such as emails to “report concerns to myself or to one of the other chiefs or to their service headquarters or to one of the four ministers of the Defence portfolio or to, indeed, the prime minister and on occasions the governor general and to the media”.

The chair of the royal commission, Nick Kaldas, returned to this issue later in the day, asking whether people resorting to writing to ministers and prime ministers might “indicate that the normal reporting channels are failing miserably”. Campbell replied:

No, commissioner, I don’t think that’s the case. I think it is much more that it is a sociocultural norm [to send an email] that you do this.

Kaldas didn’t sound convinced, telling the hearing:

I appreciate in the military space it may be different, but in the civilian world it would be viewed as the normal channels having failed. It’s probably more of a comment than a question.

Updated

Swiftflation in February

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has officially quantified the effect of Swiftflation, with retail spending on clothing, footwear and personal accessories up 4.2%.

Updated

Descendant of colonial family calls for removal of monuments to ancestors

A descendant of the Henty family – regarded as Victoria’s earliest European settlers – has called for monuments memorialising her ancestors in Victoria’s south-west region to be removed.

Suzannah Henty, an art historian whose work focuses on anti-colonial and decolonial contemporary works, appeared at Victoria’s Indigenous truth-telling inquiry today.

The Yoorrook Justice Commission is holding public hearings investigating land, water and sky injustices.

Read more:

Updated

NSW elective surgery waitlist shrinks but remains above pre-pandemic levels

Elective surgery lists have markedly improved for patients across NSW but people are still waiting far longer than before the Covid-19 pandemic, AAP reports.

The state government credits a surgical taskforce in bringing the overtime waitlist for planned surgeries down 85% since the expert group was established late last year.

The premier, Chris Minns, today said the figures were encouraging after the number of people overdue for planned surgery in NSW in recent years exploded, mainly due to widespread suspensions of elective procedures during the pandemic.

He told reporters:

The overdue waitlist used to number 14,000 … it’s down to about 2,000.

The numbers refer to patients waiting longer than the clinically recommended maximum 30 days for urgent surgery, 90 days for semi-urgent surgery and 365 days for non-urgent surgery.

A taskforce was established in late 2023 to tackle the record amount of time patients were waiting for care in emergency departments.

Updated

Schools body chair resigns after child sex offender identified on his board

The chair of a major independent schools body has resigned following reports a convicted child sex offender was on his board during an investigation of a teacher’s sexually explicit emails at Cranbrook School.

John Ralston, former chair of the Association of Independent Schools NSW (AISNSW), became ineligible to remain in his position after resigning from the board of a member school last night - a requirement for elected directors.

It followed an ABC investigation which found fellow board director Peter Cullen Macarthur disclosed in 1995 he had been convicted of two sexual assaults, one on a child, and was allowed to remain in his position for another two decades.

In an email from chief executive Margery Evans to independent principals, seen by Guardian Australia, she confirmed Ralston’s resignation would take effect immediately, and commended him for more than three decades in the position.

On behalf of the board and executive ... I wish to thank [Ralston] for his service and wisdom and wish him the very best for the future.

Ralston was initially fated to depart his tenure in May, but has brought his resignation forward.

Updated

Federal parliament to examine music festivals after Splendour cancellation

Federal parliament will examine a troubling trend of music festivals in trouble, after yesterday’s cancellation of the Splendour in the Grass festival.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts has announced an inquiry into the challenges and opportunities within the Australian live music industry. In a statement, the committee said:

In the wake of numerous venues closing and cancellations of some of Australia’s most established and successful music festivals in recent years, it is timely the Committee considers the industry-wide issues facing the sector.

Brian Mitchell, the Labor MP and committee chair, said:

Australia’s live music industry is currently facing considerable operational challenges. In the last couple of years, after the reopening of live music venues and festivals post COVID lockdowns, we have seen the sector face new and unprecedented issues.

He said the committee believed there were common struggles including shifting consumer behaviours, loss of skilled industry workers, and cost of living ramifications.

The Committee would like to hear about barriers to industry growth, including to export, the impact of current grant and support programs, and capacity building in the sector. The impacts of emerging audience behaviours and mechanisms for audience development will also be explored, along with the suitability and location of venues and artist development and career pathways.

The committee is keen for submissions by April 30.

Updated

Thanks Emily and good afternoon everyone!

Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, the lovely Natasha May will bring you the rest of our rolling coverage, with plenty yet to come. Take care, and enjoy your long weekend.

Former senator supports motion to block gender-affirming surgery for minors

Exclusive: The former federal senator Amanda Stoker has issued a statement of support for an LNP motion to suspend gender-affirming surgery, puberty blockers and hormone treatment for those under 18 until a review takes place.

The successful motion, seen by Guardian Australia, called upon the federal and state governments to implement an urgent review of all current treatments of “paediatric gender dysphoria”.

Stoker, who is running for the state seat of Oodgeroo in the October election, supported the motion which passed on Sunday among Liberal National party members at the Metro South Region Policy Forum.

The motion will now go to the state LNP convention policy committee who will decide where it sits on the conference agenda. LNP resolutions which are passed at the state conference aren’t binding on the party.

In her supporting statement, Stoker said her submission to the committee will note the “urgency of this issue.”

This motion was originally passed last year at a Griffith [LNP] Women meeting. It was listed for debate at the LNP Convention 2023 and LNP Council 2023, however, as it was placed low in the agenda it was not debated.

We call again for an urgent review … considering the current medical evidence across the world.

Another successful motion at the forum called on the next “federal Coalition government and LNP state government” to change the school curriculum to teach students that there is “a natural cycle of climate change … and to reassure them that the world is not going to come to an end if the temperature goes up by a few degrees”.

Updated

Music Australia to publish report on festival sector

Music Australia says the cancellation of Splendour in the Grass is “devastating” and its impact will be felt acutely across the wider industry.

It said the current operating environment for festivals is “highly complex with several issues”, including rapidly increasing costs and changing audience habits.

Music Australia will publish a research report on Australia’s music festival sector on 9 April, which it says is the “first of its kind”, examining “the social, cultural, and economic impacts of music festivals and the logistics of organising them”.

The director, Millie Millgate, said:

While it provides important insights into the challenges affecting the sustainability of festivals, further research is needed to understand the complex issues at play.

These challenges are not unique to Australia. Other countries like the UK are also experiencing changes in ticket buying behaviour in addition to increasing production costs.

We will be engaging with the industry and our state and territory government colleagues. We will undertake further research to build a more complete understanding of the ecosystem that underpins live music including festivals, discovery, consumption, and audience engagement, so that we can look to the future with confidence.

Updated

Apprenticeship data confirms ‘critical labour shortage’: Master Builders

Master Builders Australia says the latest data on apprenticeship and trainee numbers confirms the country is facing a critical labour shortage in the midst of a housing crisis.

The CEO, Denita Wawn, said in the year to September 2023, 42,333 new apprentices started in the building and construction industry – a 25% reduction on the previous 12-month period.

The number of apprentices in training in building and construction has decreased since September 2022, when there were 124,120 apprentices in training, to 120,881 in September 2023 (-3%).

Over the year to September 2023, a total of 21,814 construction apprentices completed their training. This represents a sharp reduction (-7.9%) on a year earlier.

Wawn said the building and construction industry is “ageing” and has a typical exit rate of 8% a year. This comes as Master Builders estimates the country needs half a million new entrants over the next three years to address the housing crisis:

There are not enough new entrants to the industry to meet building and construction targets, including 1.2 million new dwellings under the Housing Accord, or the transition to net zero by 2050… Making VET more attractive plays a crucial role in strengthening our domestic workforce capabilities.

Updated

Man shot by police charged with multiple offences

A man has been charged with multiple offences, including rape and assault, after he was shot by police in far north Queensland, AAP reports.

Police were called to an incident with a distressed woman in Cairns early yesterday morning. Officers were approached by the 21-year-old man, who allegedly threatened them with multiple weapons before stealing a marked police car.

It sparked a pursuit to the nearby suburb of Woree, where police stopped the car. The man was shot by an officer and taken to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition.

He has since been charged with multiple offences including four counts of rape and three counts of assault with intent to commit rape over alleged incidents involving a woman in her 40s.

He was also charged with serious assault of a police officer while armed, wilful damage of police property, stealing, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

The shooting is subject to an investigation by the Ethical Standards Command.

Easter long weekend weather forecasts

Let’s take a look at the weather forecast for this Easter long weekend, cross Australia’s capital cities:

Sydney’s maximum temperatures will stay around the mid-high 20s over the long weekend, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, reaching 25C on Friday, 26C on Saturday and Sunday, and 27C on Monday.

Melbourne will reach a top of 25C on Friday and Saturday, dropping to 24C on Sunday and 23C on Monday, with showers also possible.

Canberra is in for a warm weekend, reaching a top of 26C on Friday and jumping to a maximum of 29C on Saturday. The maximum temperature will remain warm over Sunday and Monday, dropping to 28C.

Brisbane’s maximum temperatures will remain around 27 and 28C over the long weekend, with showers likely on Friday, Sunday and Monday.

Adelaide is forecast to reach a top of 29C on Friday, 31C on Saturday and 28C on Sunday, before dropping to a maximum of 25C on Monday.

Perth is in for a warm long weekend, set to reach a top of 27C on Friday, 29C on Saturday and Sunday, and 30C on Monday.

Hobart’s maximum temperatures will remain between 21C and 23C over the long weekend.

Darwin looks set for some rainy, stormy weather this long-weekend, with maximum temperatures in the low 30s right through until Monday and beyond.

Updated

The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, has shared some images from the $1bn solar panel manufacturing announcement earlier today in the Hunter:

Updated

Riverina winemaker slapped with $500,000 fine

A Riverina wine company has been fined almost $500,000 after pleading guilty to illegally tapping an irrigation line, in the largest total fine ever awarded in a prosecution by the water watchdog.

Jindalee Road Wines, near Wentworth in New South Wales, illegally took just under 365ML of water from the Western Murray Irrigation (WMI) pipeline across two vineyards between 2016 and 2016.

Both the company and its vineyard manager, David Littore, pleaded guilty to two charges each of interfering with the water company’s infrastructure and two charges of illegally taking water, in contravention of the Water Management Act.

In a decision handed down in the NSW land and environment court yesterday, judge Sandra Duggan said the infrastructure which had been built to take unmetered water from the irrigation pipeline showed “a level of sophistication to the conduct”.

The infrastructure was at such a depth that earth-moving equipment had to be used to uncover it.

Duggan fined Jindalee Road Wines $326,500 and Littore $172,500, with costs of $95,000 split across both defendants.

It is the highest fine handed down after a prosecution by the National Resource Access Regulator since it was established in 2018.

Updated

February fiscal numbers put second budget surplus ‘in sight’

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has lately been talking up an “encouraging trifecta” of wages growth, moderating inflation and a falling unemployment rate.

We’ll see whether inflation keeps moderating (possible, especially given the weak retail sales numbers for February – see earlier post), and if so, the drop should help deliver that real wage growth. Last month’s surprise dive in the jobless rate, though, seems very unlikely to be sustained.

Perhaps briefly, though, the government can boast of an “encouraging quadrella” with a second consecutive budget surplus looking well on track when the budget lands on 14 May.

Numbers released on Thursday show the budget’s underlying cash balance was running at a deficit of $6.1bn for the financial year to 29 February.

That might not sound so good, but receipts were running $391m more than the government forecast in its mid-year fiscal outlook. Payments, too, were $500m lower than projected.

Given an improvement just shy of $1bn and the budget deficit was forecast to come in at $1.1bn, the gap has pretty much closed. Mind you, economists have been estimating that the budget will be almost as much in the black as the $22bn surplus clocked up for the 2022-23 year.

Understandably, there’s a little trumpeting going on. Finance minister Katy Gallagher said:

The latest monthly financial statements for February 2024 show that a budget surplus for 2023-24 is in sight. While we’re not there yet, having a second budget surplus would mean we could continue to manage one of the biggest spending pressures on the budget, which is interest on debt.

Of course, having a government enjoying relatively rude (if temporary) health will probably spur calls for more help to ease cost of living strains. And with an election due by May 2025, it’s unlikely those calls will go unanswered.

Updated

$1bn solar panel pledge a ‘fantastic down payment’: Smart Energy Council

Earlier at Parliament House, the Smart Energy Council delivered its response to the Albanese government’s solar panel manufacturing announcement.

This morning Anthony Albanese travelled through the Hunter region to spruik the government’s $1bn announcement to offer subsidies and production credits to Australian manufacturers to build solar panels locally.

The initiative is considered a response to others made by governments around the world, such as the US Inflation Reduction Act, to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into the renewable energy industry.

The council’s chief executive, John Grimes, said today’s announcement was a “fantastic down payment” but said Australia was starting very late in the global marathon toward transitioning fully to renewable energy:

It’s a bit like entering a marathon that started and turning up the start line an hour into the race and expecting to compete at that scale, but we do have the world’s best technology.

Australia has one of the highest uptakes of solar panels in the world with around one-third of households having one. The majority of those are manufactured in China using Australian designs and inventions.

Grimes said Australian solar panel manufacturers could not compete with their Chinese counterparts on price, but the key was to produce quality products and to diversify the global market:

My view is that Australia is never going to compete at the lowest end of the market. We want to actually be quality producers for a good price, because when you invest in solar, you’re investing in the next 30 to 35 years of production. Investing a little bit more upfront to get the best long term return should be the thinking and mindset about the industry.

Updated

And with that, Amy Pope’s press club address has concluded.

Political differences due to migration will ‘get worse this year’ amid election: Amy Pope

Pope said she is concerned that political differences as a result of migration will “get worse this year” because of the election dynamics.

She noted that migrants can’t vote, meaning there is an “increasing temptation of politicians to lay whatever has gone wrong at the doorstep of migrants, because there will be no consequences for doing so in the short term”.

But she said doing this would have an impact in the long term:

In the long term, the impact on the economies that need migrants could be quite significantly negative. That’s why we are encouraging a move away from the very short-term temptation to vilify migration, or to cut off migration, and to take this broader, more strategic, more comprehensive view of how to leverage migration so that it works for more economies.

Updated

Climate disaster migration a ‘practical reality’ rather than a moral issue: Amy Pope

Asked if higher-polluting countries have a moral obligation to resettle people who are leaving due to climate disasters, Amy Pope said this was more of a “practical reality” than a moral issue.

I don’t see it as a moral obligation, I see it as a practical reality because people are going to move. That is the piece are we really need to take into account. People will move first within their own country, so they will be displaced from one community to another, then often they will be moved into a neighbouring country. And when we look just at migration from the point of view of one nation, we are failing to recognise the regional impact that migration can have.

Using an example, Pope put it this way: “So the conversation is not about how do we resettle everybody who is leaving Somalia into Australia, it is how do we build better regional responses to what is happening in Somalia?”

Updated

Australia ‘on the cutting edge’ of climate refugee deals

Moving to the topic of climate refugees, Amy Pope acknowledged Australia’s deal with Tuvalu as “one of the most interesting, innovative approaches” to this issue.

We think that this is a tremendously innovative approach, as long as it is done with the full partnership of Tuvalu, with their input, with respect for their culture, their own economy, their own development, but it is something we are encouraging other countries to take a look at.

Q: Have you seen other countries pursuing this approach?

Pope:

Australia is on the cutting edge of this one. We are hearing the conversations among other countries, including in the Caribbean, who are looking at ways to cooperate, to provide a pathway or a home for people to live and work in the wake of disaster. But Australia is the first to negotiate something like this.

Amy Pop encourages government to take ‘broader view’ on detention policy

Moving to questions, a reporter asks Amy Pope about the government’s deportation bill, which failed to pass the Senate yesterday. You can read about this below:

Tess Ikonomou asked whether she agreed with criticism this legislation was “cruel”, and if Australia is complying with international humanitarian law?

Pope said every country, and every government, is able to set its own migration and border management policies:

In a country like Australia you have a robust legislature, administration and court system to evaluate whether those policies, whether that legislation, actually meets your standards around human rights, around international law. That’s what we ask.

Continuing her response, Pope said when governments respond to political challenges they don’t always consider “the unintended consequences of responding in a very political way to a very narrow slice of the broader debate”.

When we are talking about detention or visa policy, even developmental assistance, we hear often [that] governments have an interest in limiting engagement because of a particular political issue. What we encourage governments to do is take the broader view. What will be the impact of the policy on communities here in Australia? What will be the impact of such a policy on your economy or your ability to attract talent into the future? Those questions I can’t answer for you now, but it is what we are asking governments to do – rather than to react politically, react from a more informed policy angle.

Updated

‘Collective action’ the key to success on migration: Amy Pope

Wrapping up her speech, Amy Pope called on those in the room to help present “the more complex, comprehensive picture that is migration”.

She argued this is a “pivotal moment, with the potential to redefine the global approach to migration”.

And this is not just my idealism … it is a practical necessity. The path forward is not easy, it has its challenges, and no one who works in this space does so because it’s easy. But the truth is, despite the rhetoric, we are well equipped to meet the challenges. And the key to our success lies in our collective action, in our commitment to a common vision, a vision where migration contributes positively to societies worldwide …

Don’t let the political rhetoric distract you from that goal. We have everything to gain from tackling these challenges together.

Updated

Climate change will ‘displace more people than ever’: Amy Pope

Pope said during her first day in Australia she spent five hours in Melbourne and met with a roundtable from Talent Beyond Boundaries, which matches refugees with jobs.

Someone there told her about a recruitment gap facing their network of 300 Catholic schools, with a shortage of 5000 teachers by next year:

She said we can’t educate our kids. The school needs energetic, expert teachers to inspire the next generation of Australians. What better example of where a smarter, more strategic migration policy will add value?

Pope said climate change is going to “displace more people than ever in the years to come”, and had spoke with people in Australia who have lived through climate-related disasters.

When you hear the word displacement, you don’t necessarily think of yourselves. But spend a moment to reflect on either your experience or people you know who have been displaced by one of these forces (flooding or bushfires). And then think for a minute, if you did not have insurance, if you did not have a government who could help you respond, if you did not have services to help fill the gap, where would you be today? That’s the situation that we are going to face more and more across the world with communities that are vulnerable.

Updated

‘There will soon be fierce competition to attract migrants’: Amy Pope

Amy Pope has been in Australia for about 48 hours, during which time much of Australia’s political discourse has revolved around issues of border policies and migration.

One of your politicians described it to me as a rich debate. I’d prefer to say politically hot … I’m delighted to be here at this moment in time. At least they know the issue I’m working on is relevant and timely.

Pope acknowledged the debate around migration is “not new” but if we look to other counties, we can see “time and time again there is a period of tension, there is a period of resistance, but, ultimately, there is a period of integration and success and prosperity that delivers better outcomes for more people”.

We know that this isn’t easy and it doesn’t come without cost. I’ve heard the conversations about the housing shortage, that is real. I’ve heard the conversations about the pressure on the support system, that is real. But we also know there are skills gaps here in this country that are going unmet … Even as the conversation is about how we decrease in net migration in Australia, around the rest of the world there is a growing recognition that there will soon be fierce competition to attract migrants into your economies.

Updated

‘Australia is a country of migrants’: international migration body director

We’ll go now to the National Press Club where the director general of the International Organization for Migration, Amy Pope, has been speaking.

Pope was previously a senior adviser on migration to the US president, Joe Biden, and also served as deputy homeland security adviser to then-president Barack Obama.

Addressing the press club, she began by acknowledging the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people of the land said in recognising First Nations people: “We are recognising that for most of you here in the room, you have your own history of migration.”

You are migrants. Australia is a country of migrants. And I’m going to talk straight to you today, because when I [say] the word migration I know that most of you are not thinking about your families, even though half of all Australians are either born in another country or have a parent who was born in another country.

Pope said the word “migration” can carry polarising themes but she wants to reframe the discussion and “connect the dots between what’s happening around the world today and the policies that are playing out in this country”.

Updated

Blandthorn questions need for new NDIS legislation

The Victorian disability minister, Lizzie Blandthorn, questioned the need for the legislation altogether:

The NDIS has the opportunity to be the Medicare of all of our generation, if it’s done right. Over time, and across changes in governments, that has not happened ... Many of the changes that need to be made to improve things like safeguarding and fraud are operational or administrative. You don’t need to change the legislation to improve many of the ways in which the NDIA and the NDIS work.

She said people with disabilities should also be consulted along with the state government:

When we make a $2.9bn contribution to the NDIS … we should have a say in how those changes are drafted and implemented. And the community – those with disabilities in particular – should have a say.

Updated

Victorian disability minister lashes NDIS reform bill

Lizzie Blandthorn went further in her criticism of the NDIS reform bill. She said it was “not right” for the federal government to suggest the state’s “need to just go along for the ride” when it comes to reform:

The legislation clearly puts the states as co governors of the NDIS. And our financial contribution just this year of $2.9bn speaks to that. There was a commitment that we would be consulted, that we would be giving effect to those co-governance arrangements and that has not happened.

She said the states only saw the bill last Thursday late at night and claimed changes were pursued in “secret” by the federal government:

The first version we got of it we couldn’t even open it, so the consultation that has happened with states and territories in relation to the actual drafting of the legislation has just not been there.

I’m particularly concerned that the legislation also includes a commencement date within 28 days of assent – this means that these changes can be enacted almost immediately. The agreement at national cabinet was that we would look at the legislation that an initial tranche of legislation would be about fraud and safeguarding.

We all agree – all jurisdictions, all states and territories, the commonwealth and the sector – all agree that we need to crack down on fraud and safeguarding. But we shouldn’t let fraud and safeguarding be a veil for kicking people off the scheme and for 18 months, the speed at which the commonwealth has been seeking to implement these changes, and clearly evidenced by the introduction of the bill through a secret process effectively and then introduced last week with little notice is evidence of that.

Blandthorn said she had serious concerns Victorians with disabilities will be “worse off” under the changes if passed:

You can’t achieve the rapid restrictions in the scheme that they want to achieve without removing people from the scheme. From a Victorian perspective, I remain really concerned that there are Victorians with disabilities, who will worse off under these changes than what they are now.

Updated

NDIS changes would ‘impact adversely, the very people the NDIS is designed to support’: Allan

Earlier this morning the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, and the minister for disability, Lizzie Blandthorn, held a press conference in Melbourne’s north, where they were asked about the federal government’s proposed changes to the NDIS.

Allan said she held the same concerns with the legislation as other state leaders, particularly around the lack of consultation and the scope of the reforms. She said:

The legislation that is now being introduced to the parliament did not have adequate consultation with state and territory jurisdictions as is required under their own legislation. Secondly, the scope of what has been introduced goes far beyond what state and territory leaders agreed to at national cabinet last December. We had a discussion, we reached an agreement, we released a communique and this legislation goes beyond what was agreed to by state and territory leaders last December.

She said “most importantly” she was concerned the changes would “impact adversely, the very people the NDIS is designed to support”.

Updated

Winemakers cautiously optimistic about Chinese tariff removal

There are growing expectations of a breakthrough for Australian wine exports to China, after the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said a decision was “imminent” about the next steps on the matter.

Guardian Australia understands the Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, met with the trade minister, Don Farrell, at Parliament House late yesterday to discuss the trade issues.

The end of March was the original deadline for China to decide whether to remove prohibitively high tariffs on Australian wine (these tariffs were first introduced in 2020 at the height of the diplomatic dispute between the two countries). Earlier this month, the Chinese commerce ministry published an interim decision suggesting that the tariffs were likely to be scrapped. Under last year’s “offramp” deal, Australia suspended its complaint against China at the World Trade Organization in return for China agreeing to fast-track a review of the tariffs by the end of March.

Updated

Not even Taylor Swift could revive retail sales growth in February

Retail sales rose 0.3% last month from January levels in seasonally adjusted terms, a weaker result than the 0.4% pace expected by economists.

Turnover was also 1.6% higher than a year ago but given we learnt yesterday consumer price inflation in February was 3.4%, retail spending was going backwards in real terms at almost a 2% clip.

ABS staff being the trendies that they are, couldn’t avoid a reference to a certain US singer who visited a couple of cities last month.

Ben Dorber, ABS’s head of retail statistics, said:

Seven sold-out Taylor Swift concerts in Sydney and Melbourne boosted retail spending this month, with over 600,000 Swifties flocking to these events. This led to increased spending on clothing, merchandise, accessories and dining out.

Still, the underlying growth in retail turnover was only 0.1% in trend (that word again) terms. Dorber:

After a period of higher volatility from November through to January, underlying spending has stagnated.

Not a great sign for the economy, then. That said, the RBA has cited household spending as one of the “risk factors” in its interest rate calculations.

If we keep trimming our consumption, the central bank will be more likely to bring forward an interest rate cut. Something for many to cheer about.

Curfew a ‘required circuit breaker’: Alice Springs health provider

The Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, an Alice Springs-based community health provider, says the youth curfew in the town is a “necessary circuit breaker” to address growing violence – but admitted it’s “sad” to have gotten to this point. Its CEO, Donna Ah Chee, says the root causes can be traced to alcohol issues, and a lack of government investment in remote areas.

Ah Chee said in a statement:

The emergency situation is a required circuit breaker that will lead to an immediate improvement.

This emergency situation has been immediately caused by a family dispute due to recent tragic deaths in Alice Springs. However, these deaths have occurred on a backdrop of the decision by the Police Minister to walk away from full coverage of the take-away outlets with PALIs which has again led to an influx of remote people to town.

It has further been caused by many years of lack of investment by successive governments, especially out bush, on the broader social determinants of the unacceptable behaviours we have seen from young people and related adults over recent days.

Ah Chee said “parents need to take responsibility” for their kids, backing Family Responsibility Agreements which sometimes require income management and other protections if alcohol is a factor in issues. Congress has welcomed recent spending announcements on education, housing and employment in remote areas, but said more of the money should have been targeted solely at Aboriginal children.

It is really unfortunate that a decision was made to not target the $40 million announced for education in Central Australia only on the Aboriginal children and young people who are at the centre of our town’s social concerns. Amongst other unmet needs, there is a vital need to ensure there is access to long term, secure care rehabilitation for young people who are only likely to respond to this type of service.

Updated

Indigenous legal body critical of ‘punitive policies’ and ‘continued fearmongering’

Natsils, the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services, warned against “dangerous” responses that would see more children detained. Its chair, Karly Warner, claimed in a statement today that the situation in places such as Alice Springs and Moree would get worse, if governments didn’t put more focus on the Closing The Gap initiative to address social and economic discrepancies between Indigenous Australians and the broader community:

Less than a year after the Voice referendum, various governments have now been spooked by fear campaigns. Their failure to progress Closing the Gap commitments results in further dislocation, trauma, and the anxiety we are seeing play out in some communities.

Governments have a clear choice and it should be an easy one. They can opt for what they see as political fixes that make the problem worse, or they can go to the policies and solutions that are evidence-based and already well-established.

Using ‘but, we have to do something!’ as an excuse for punitive measures against children is itself juvenile intellectual reasoning. Policies that result in children being locked up and make problems worse are not solutions – they are dangerous and will result in further tragedy for communities and children.

Warner was critical of “punitive policies” in the NT and NSW, and “continued fearmongering”.

Updated

‘Common sense and discretion’ required: Murphy

Michael Murphy is describing how the curfew will also be managed using common sense. Police will be able to operate under the Emergency Management Act “to exercise powers to control movement and basically unlawful conduct in the CBD district”.

It needs to be tempered with some common sense and discretion. While there is a curfew in place and a curfew can be controlled and … doesn’t stop people coming into the CBD.

If you are a family and you have got young kids coming to have dinner in the CBD you can still do that. You can go about your lawful business.

It is about the unlawful conduct and the crimes we are trying to control and put those measures in place under the provisions of the Emergency Management Act.

Updated

Curfew aims to ‘keep kids out of the criminal justice system’: NT police

The NT police commissioner, Michael Murphy, is speaking about the leadership of the Arrernte people who have been involved in the decision to implement the curfew. He says the objective of the curfew is to “keep kids out of the criminal justice system”.

I’m really inspired with the leadership of the Arrernte people in the local traditional owners are stepping into the space and creating a narrative to engage with young people and everyone that comes to Alice Springs to try and understand what behaviours are acceptable and respect the culture and the land on which we stand today.

It’s incredibly important that this isn’t just a police issue, it is not just an enforcement issue, the fact that the curfew exists doesn’t mean we’re going start locking up kids.

The objective is to keep kids out of the criminal justice system relating to a curfew. But if they do commit violent crime they will be arrested and taken to the court where they can answer to a judge and go through the justice system.

Murphy says they are working “incredibly” closely with the children’s commissioner.

Updated

Lawler said the curfew has had its desired effects so far with reports of a “quiet night” last night:

From my reports and my discussions with the Commissioner of police it was a quiet nice young people in Alice Springs and that’s what Springs people want to see.

Alice Springs curfew based on ‘sound legal advice’, says NT chief minister

The Northern Territory’s chief minister, Eva Lawler, has just stood up to say more about the curfew in place from 6pm to 6am in Alice Springs’ CBD.

She says the decision was taken quickly but was based on sound legal advice.

I’m here … to talk to the stakeholders because the decision yesterday was made quickly. It was based on sound legal advice, but it gives me the opportunity today to meet with a range of people in Alice Springs to have the conversation, to talk to them about what the curfew means for them in Alice Springs and our vision and our direction for our government.

Updated

Defence chief says complaints of wrongdoing increasingly emailed to him

The chief of the Australian defence force, Gen Angus Campbell, says he receives complaints about alleged wrongdoing within Defence, usually within an email chain, “once every couple of months”.

Campbell is giving evidence on the final day of hearings of the royal commission into defence and veteran suicide. He has been asked about whether he sees a need for people to report misconduct outside the chain of command.

Campbell said there should be “a range of reporting pathways for any form of behaviour or conduct that is inappropriate, unacceptable, that is not in keeping with Defence values and behaviours”. He told the royal commission:

Currently there are mechanisms to report to your chain of command, or to report jumping levels of your chain of command if you think that individuals in that chain may be involved or may not be as perhaps sympathetic to your concerns as you might wish … We also have a number of other mechanisms.

Anyone across the organisation, and this happens sufficiently regularly for me to be confident that people will do it, will report concerns to myself or to one of the other chiefs or to their service headquarters or to one of the four ministers of the Defence portfolio or to, indeed, the prime minister and on occasions the governor general and to the media.

Campbell argued these were “all treated as reports of allegations of unacceptable behaviour” and maintained that “no one in the higher echelons is concerned about the pathway [used] – they are concerned about dealing with the question of unacceptable behaviour”. He said the email mechanism was “informal” but one “increasingly I see utilised by people”.

Asked how often it was used, Campbell says:

I think either to me, or me in a chain, usually it’s in [en email] chain, I think maybe once every couple of months.

Updated

People skipping meals to feed children properly, according to ACCC survey

Some people are skipping meals to feed their children properly, an ACCC survey has found.

The consumer survey, which is part of the ACCC’s supermarkets inquiry, found that many younger Australians and those on lower incomes are spending up to one-quarter of their net income on groceries.

Households have told the ACCC that to reduce their grocery bills they are substituting fresh food with frozen food and are cutting back on non-essentials.

More than 13,000 people have responded to the survey so far. ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh says they are hoping to hear from more adults under the age of 30, people whose first language is not English, and people living in regional and rural areas.

A clear theme in the survey responses so far is that consumers consider the price of groceries to be a major factor in the cost-of-living crisis.

The consumer survey is open until 2 April and takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

Updated

Albanese ‘astonished’ Coalition has ‘three positions’ on deportation legislation

The prime minister is also asked about the deportation legislation, and whether the government tried to push it through the parliament too quickly.

Anthony Albanese denies this, saying “everyone had time to scrutinise it”.

There was a full briefing given to the Coalition. The Coalition voted for the policy in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, and they voted about the politics of the issue with the Greens party on Wednesday.

After they received not just a full briefing, but received what they requested, which was an estimates hearing on Tuesday evening. This is closing a loophole which is there in the legislation, one was there under the former government.

To be very clear, this is not about refugees, this is about people who have not been shown to have any right to be in Australia … I found it astonishing that the Coalition had three policies. They were for it on Tuesday, against it on Wednesday morning and deferred it, and then said maybe Parliament should come back to vote for something that they had just voted against, voting for. I think it is up to them to explain why they had three positions over the last two days.

Here is all the background and context on this legislation, in case you missed it:

Updated

Youth curfew in Alice Springs ‘sensible ’, no calls to send in ADF, Albanese says

Changing topics, a reporter has asked Anthony Albanese when he will return to Alice Springs, given the developments there and the youth curfew imposed yesterday.

I make announcements when I am going [and] I visited the Northern Territory nine times … My minister Linda Burney was in Alice Springs at the beginning of last week …

All Australians will be concerned by the scenes that we have seen. There has been a temporary curfew put in Alice Springs. That is a sensible move and one that the federal government supports.

Asked about the potential for calling in the ADF, Albanese says:

When I have met with people in Alice Springs, including the police, they have not called for that. What they know is that people who are on the ground locally are in the best position to determine what is necessary.

Updated

Government moving at ‘lightning speed’ to ramp up solar panel production, Bowen says

Q: Is there a timeline to improve on that 1% Australian-made figure?

Chris Bowen says he wants to see the program “up and running well and truly this calendar year”, but acknowledged it will take time “to build a factory”.

But we are going at lightning speed.

Updated

Albanese flags solar panel exports, opportunities arising from circular economy

The prime minister Anthony Albanese is now taking questions from the media, and flagged opportunities from this program for Australia to export solar panel products.

Asked how Australia would address recycling demand, he says:

This is something that [environment minister] Tanya Plibersek is leading, work on the circular economy. We see huge opportunities for Australia in advancing through the circular economy … One of the things that the world is going to be looking at and one reason why net zero is not negotiable, is that global markets will look at the nature of production … We will have more to say on the circular economy both in the lead up to the budget and beyond.

Updated

Solar funding ‘one of the most significant announcements of our term’, prime minister says

Finishing his announcement, Albanese says today’s $1bn solar announcement is “one of the most significant that will be made during our term”.

Next up to speak is climate change minister Chris Bowen, who explained the $1bn Solar Sunshot program will support the Australian Renewable Energy Agency with production credits for people who will make solar panels and associated infrastructure in Australia.

We’ll be progressing that very quickly and we’ll be very keen to see that support flow this year.

Updated

Few of the millions of solar panels on Australian roofs made here, Albanese says

Albanese said Australia has the highest per capita use of solar panels on roofs “of any country in the world”, but of all those, only about 1% are made in Australia.

I know how hard it is. I sought out, as did minister [Chris] Bowen, to make sure the panels on my roof in Marrickville are Australian made. It is difficult.

We want to make it easier and these panels, this technology that [Sydney company] Sundrive has developed is the most efficient in the world. Why wouldn’t you take that opportunity and pair it with AGL’s vision that they have, with my government’s commitment, with the NSW government’s commitment to manufacture more things here ... That is what the billion-dollar Sunshot program is about.

Updated

Albanese announces $1bn package for Australian-made solar panels

The prime minister Anthony Albanese is in Muswellbrook in the New South Wales Hunter region, where he is announcing a $1bn package for solar panel manufacturing.

Josh Butler covered some of the key points earlier in the blog here.

Speaking to the media, Albanese says:

I sat in the parliament for day after day, month after month, year after year when Josh Frydenberg spoke about Liddell [power station] and keeping it open, when the decision was made to shut Liddell on their watch, when there was no new coal-fired power stations created and around the country, closure occurred, without planning for a transition …

What we know is Australia is positioned better than any country in the world. We have the best solar resources in the world up above us, and they are free … Australia has been world leading at innovation [but] we have not been good at commercialising those opportunities. We’ve created innovation and then seen all the value being added offshore, and today we have around 90% of the world’s solar panels produced in just one country … China, and exported around the world. We missed the opportunities. We’re not going to miss the opportunities of this generation, and that is what our support is about.

Updated

Some more details on the tobacco licensing scheme flagged for Victoria

Here is some context about the tobacco licensing scheme Victoria is seeking to introduce later this year, as previously posted.

New South Wales and Victoria, the two most populous states, are also the only states without a licensing system for legally selling tobacco products. NSW has a notification scheme rather than a licensing scheme, which means retailers only need to tell the government if they intend to sell tobacco, and there are no fees attached to the system.

Evidence shows higher licensing fees are associated with a decline in the number of tobacco retailers. Public health experts have long said fees obtained by governments for licenses are important because they could be used to fund enforcement activities, and any stores found to be selling illicit products could have their licences revoked and be forced to close.

Reports from both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund support licensing of the entire tobacco supply chain to effectively tackle the illicit tobacco trade.

Updated

Retail workers union urges respect for staff ahead of busiest day of the year

The union representing retail, fast food and warehousing workers is urging the public to be respectful as its members brace for one of their busiest days of the year.

The SDA union says the day before Easter Friday “always brings a mad rush into supermarkets” and “it is imperative people remain calm, respectful and kind to the workers who are just doing their jobs”.

National secretary Gerard Dwyer says tensions around cost-of-living pressures may create a hostile environment for shopping this year:

The closure of supermarkets on Good Friday makes days like today incredibly busy and we often see a sharp increase in customers abusing supermarket staff.

A 2023 survey by the SDA of more than 4,600 respondents found that 87% of retail workers had experienced verbal abuse. Dwyer says:

We wish we didn’t have to remind the public of this every year, but the numbers on customer abuse tell us that we do.

The SDA’s recent survey found 63% of respondents had suffered physical and/or mental health impacts as a result of customer abuse and violence.

Updated

Australian Conservation Foundation welcomes $1bn funding for solar panel manufacturing in the Hunter

AAP has some more details on the $1bn in funding announced for solar panel manufacturing in the Hunter region, which Josh Butler brought to us earlier.

Anthony Albanese says it would bring hundreds more jobs than those previously created at the Liddell coal-fired power station and would create positive flow-on effects for the entire region.

He told ABC radio:

This will really kickstart the transition in the Hunter.

The Australian Conservation Foundation welcomed the announcement, with its climate and clean energy campaigner Ella Factor calling it an ambitious and essential investment.

Powering Australia with sunshine, harnessed by Australian-made solar panels, is an important step towards decarbonising our energy systems.

Programs like Solar Sunshot chart a course for Australia to future-proof its economy by becoming a world leader in renewable know-how and making things with renewables.

The government yesterday introduced legislation to set up a Net Zero Authority, which will help provide architecture for a renewable transition programs roll-out.

Updated

Victorian departments say X, formerly Twitter, doesn’t align with their goals

Two Victorian government departments are quitting X, formerly known as Twitter.

Earlier this week, the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) placed its final post on the platform saying its “break up [was] overdue”:

Hey @X … It’s not you … but it IS you.

In a statement provided to Guardian Australia, the department – which oversees areas such as child protection, family violence, housing and LGBTIQA+ equality – said X no longer aligned with its goals:

We’re working to create a more inclusive Victoria. To do that work we want to speak with our community on platforms where we can reach our audiences safely and productively.

It said the department would “invest” on “more suitable platforms” including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

The Department of Jobs Skills, Industry and Regions, meanwhile, has locked its X account, and confirmed it will be soon closing it altogether. Its spokesperson said:

We regularly review our communication channels to ensure we’re speaking to Victorians on their preferred channels - our audience’s engagement with the X (formerly Twitter) account has declined, so we are moving towards closing this account.

Guardian Australia understands all state government departments are assessing whether they should stay on the platform.

It’s likely department of health and department of transport accounts will be the only accounts to remain on the platform to provide daily updates on issues such as public transport disruptions and public health information.

Millions of users have quit X in the wake of US tech billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover and dramatic refashioning of Twitter.

Updated

Three defamation cases against Victoria’s Pesutto to be combined into single trial

Three defamation cases against the Victorian opposition leader, John Pesutto, will be combined into a single trial.

At a short, administrative court hearing today, Justice Michael Wheelahan ordered Moira Deeming, Angie Jones and Kellie-Jay Keen’s defamation actions against Pesutto to be held concurrently.

He says combining the matters “avoids double handling some of the issues.”

Wheelahan says the trial will still begin on 16 September, as previously flagged, but will run for 15 days instead of 10:

That’s not an estimate, that is the time the court will make available for these three parties.

He says lawyers for Deeming, Jones and Keen will need to agree to a plan to ensure they don’t double up during cross examination during the trial.

Wheelahan also ordered that if any of the parties can’t comply with the timetable for filing supporting material and written submissions ahead of the 16 September trial, they must notify other parties in the matter as well as telling the court.

Deeming, Jones and Keen are suing Pesutto over a series of media releases, press conferences and radio interviews he gave following an anti-trans rights rally they participated in was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis, who performed the Sieg Heil salute on the front steps of parliament last March.

Updated

Aboriginal legal services chair says Alice Springs curfew will lead to more children in jail

Chair of the national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal service, Karly Warner, also spoke to ABC News Breakfast about the Alice Springs youth curfew earlier this morning.

She says a curfew doesn’t equate to safety, but is “another reason for police to arrest children”. She says the latest emergency in Alice Springs is “going to get worse” if state and territory leaders “keep repeating failed history”.

Less than a year after the Voice referendum, various governments have now been spooked by fear campaigns, and their inability to progress Closing the Gap commitments [is resulting] in further dislocation, trauma and the anxiety we are seeing play out in some communities.

Governments have a clear choice and it should be an easy one. They can opt for what they see as political fixes that make the problem worse, or go to the policies and the solutions that are evidence-based and well established. A curfew doesn’t equate to safety, it is another reason for police to arrest children …

What we need to remember is it doesn’t matter how many individual stories of traumatised children doing bad things that we find, it won’t change the fact that throwing them in jail – which will be the result of a curfew – will only make things much worse. We need to make policy [based] on evidence, not [based on] anecdotes of terrible things. What do we want? Do we want to be seen as tough or reduce crime and get better outcomes for children?

Updated

NT government should ‘step out of the way’ if it can’t look after its citizens, Alice Springs mayor says

ABC News Breakfast host Michael Rowland:

We are talking about 17-year-olds who want to go out with friends, go and have a meal. Aren’t they unduly affected by this?

Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson:

They may will be and we will work those details out. However, it is for 14 days. We need to make sure that the community is safe. What we have seen is not acceptable.

Rowland asks what will happen after the 14 days if nothing changes, “given there is no evidence curfews work”. Paterson says he will call for more resources in Alice Springs, including police.

Paterson was asked if he still believes the federal government should step in and take control of Alice Springs, if not the NT government:

I want the NT Government to look after their citizens and if they can’t do that, they need to step out of the way. The decision being made here, I certainly welcome that, and we will see what the next 14 days looks like.

Updated

Youth curfew ‘welcomed but not celebrated’, says Alice Springs mayor

The mayor of Alice Springs, Matt Paterson, says the youth curfew imposed from Wednesday night is welcome “but it is certainly not celebrated”.

Speaking on ABC News Breakfast, Paterson says the community needs “a circuit breaker [and] immediate action”.

He was asked about criticism the curfew is “a bit over the top”, with host Michael Rowland asking, “given it effects every single youth in Alice Springs, is it too much?”

Paterson responds:

I don’t know how many of those critics have lived in Alice Springs for the last five or six years and had to deal with what we live through every single day. Clearly the community is fed up, clearly we want some change. So, this is a 14-day reprieve for the community.

People need to understand what we have gone through, and drastic decisions such as curfews and the chief minister calling emergencies, don’t just happen after one incident; his is a back-to-back, several months and years of destruction and damage in our community.

Rowland says there is no real evidence that curfews work, but Paterson says what the community has been doing “is not working either”.

Updated

Sally Capp reflects on time as Melbourne lord mayor after announcing she won’t contest next election

As we brought to you earlier, lord mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp has announced she won’t be contesting the next local government election. She spoke to ABC News Breakfast about her decision, saying:

It is with mixed emotions but it is important for me that I am open and create as much certainty as I can …

I absolutely love being the lord mayor of Melbourne. It has been a tumultuous and tremendous six years. The trajectory is so positive now and it is the right time for me to [leave].

Asked about her favourite moments in the job, she says:

It is the citizenship ceremonies, the Melbourne awards and inspiring people; it is the small businesses and the incredible things that they do. I have jumped into the shark tank at the aquarium; I have been in the middle of the MCG; I have had wonderful opportunities to represent Melbourne and it really is about the people.

Capp is ruling out a move to state or federal politics, and says today’s announcement has given her “the opportunity to put thought into what comes next”.

She will remain in the role until June, after which her deputy Nicholas Reece will take over for the remainder of the term.

Updated

Fire crews quell factory blaze as police investigate

A large factory fire south of Brisbane has been quelled with 20 firefighting crews taking three hours to contain the blaze, AAP reports.

Police are investigating the cause of the fire at Crestmead, which was sparked early yesterday. It destroyed half the property, but no one was inside at the time.

A smoke warning was issued for nearby residents because of burning plastic.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services incident controller Craig Lashman told ABC radio:

There was a lot of toxic gas around the area. Scientific officers were on the scene earlier doing sampling around surrounding areas to ensure the community was safe.

Queensland Police said a crime scene had been established and an investigation was underway.

Updated

Deportation laws shouldn’t be rushed, Birmingham says

Asked if the Coalition believes the deportation laws may not be necessary at all, Simon Birmingham says the laws “deserve the normal scrutiny of the parliament”.

He argues the Coalition “didn’t go against them” and “they haven’t been rejected by senators”:

What has occurred is they’ve been referred to a Senate inquiry that will report and conclude its work before the Senate sits again, so that they can be considered on the very next Senate sitting day.

In terms of what assurances the Coalition would need to pass the legislation, Birmingham says they would need “the basic understanding as to how this legislation will work, who it is intended to apply to and to ultimately assess any potential other implications of these laws”.

Birmingham denies that the Coalition is trying to keep the issue on the agenda by extending debate. He says:

We’re trying to do the proper work of legislatures. It should be the exception, not the norm, for the parliament to pass laws in a period of 36 hours, which is essentially what the government sought to do on this case.

Updated

Shadow foreign minister weighs in on government’s deportation bill

Shadow foreign minister Simon Birmingham has weighed in on the government’s deportation bill, which failed to pass the Senate when the Coalition and Greens teamed up against it.

This came after the Coalition voted with the government to pass the bill in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Paul Karp has the full story on this here, for all the background:

Speaking on ABC RN earlier, Birmingham said the government had not established “that there was valid urgency for this legislation” and haven’t “been able to answer valid questions in relation to it”.

And indeed, on the last couple of occasions when the government has sought to put forward urgent legislation to the parliament in relation to migration law, what’s transpired is that they failed to actually even use that urgent legislation appropriately.

He pointed to revelations in Senate Estimates last night that 73 of the 152 people released as a result of the high court’s NZYQ decision are not required to wear ankle bracelets (we had more on this earlier in the blog here).

And so we’ve got a situation where the government has repeatedly [introduced] what it says is urgent legislation, but then doesn’t use it. They tried that again this week, but could not establish and would not put on the record rationale for why this was so urgent, nor could they answer a lot of questions about who this would actually apply to and how it would be used.

Updated

Industry peak body warns of ‘unprecedentedly high increases’ to minimum wages

Innes Willox, the chief executive of AiGroup, says the minimum wage rise “should not exceed a figure of 2.8%”, after a rise of 5.75% in last year’s decision.

In practical terms, this would deliver a real increase in the disposable incomes of many workers when the additional benefits from tax relief and increased levels of government support are taken into account.

Willox says the commission “should be very mindful of the cumulative impact of the unprecedentedly high increases to minimum wages granted over the past two years” as well as the 0.5 point rises in super in July 2024 and 2023.

Updated

Inflation expected to moderate, government says in its draft FWC submission

In the Fair Work Commission annual wage review, unions have asked for a 5% increase in the minimum wage. Big employer groups have asked for wage rises of 2%, according to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or 2.8%, according to the Australian Industry Group.

The national minimum wage is $23.23 per hour, about 55% of median full-time earnings. Inflation was 4.1% in the year to December, so the government submission implies a wage rise of at least 0.95c an hour for the lowest paid workers.

A draft of the government’s submission says “inflation is expected to moderate further, improving real wages and easing some of the financial pressure on households”.

However, the current economic environment is challenging, with many households experiencing cost-of-living pressures.

Despite increases in nominal wages, and the return of annual real wages growth, the real value of award wages has been eroded in recent years given the global inflationary environment.

Updated

Wages growth averaged 4.3% under Albanese government, Labor data says

Wages growth under the Albanese government has averaged 4.2%, almost double the 2.2% under the Coalition, Labor has revealed ahead of the release of its submission on raising the minimum wage.

As the Albanese government calls on the Fair Work Commission to raise minimum wages for the lowest paid by more than inflation, it has released new data that wages growth is higher in every state and territory than under the previous government.

The workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, released state-by-state data revealing the wage price index has risen by:

  • 3.6% in New South Wales, up from 2.1% under the Coalition

  • 3.5% in Victoria, up from 2.3%

  • 4% in Queensland, up from 2.1%

  • 3.7% in South Australia, up from 2.3%

  • 4.1% in Western Australia, up from 1.8%

  • 4% in Tasmania, up from 2.3%

  • 3.3% in the Northern Territory, up from 2.1%; and

  • 3.6% in the Australian Capital Territory, up from 2%

Burke said:

We said we’d get wages moving again – and that’s exactly what we’re seeing.

We have now had three-quarters of real wage growth in this country. People have now turned a corner, but it will take some time before they really feel they are getting in front.

CDF apologises at opening of defence and veteran suicide royal commission

The chief of the Australian defence force, Gen Angus Campbell, has apologised for “deficiencies” in supporting ADF personnel, taking the stand on the final day of hearings of the royal commission into defence and veteran suicide.

Campbell began his evidence by saying he wanted to thank ADF personnel, veterans and their families “for their contribution and participation in this important inquiry”. He said he understood “this has been an incredibly difficult time for many in the Defence community” and added:

The courage of those who have come forward to share their experiences is deeply admirable and I sincerely appreciate the efforts of those who have contributed to my learning and our deeper understanding of suicide and suicidality and its enduring aftermath.

Our people deserve and should rightly expect the wellbeing, support and care they need, both during and after their service.

I acknowledge that this has not always been the case and has tragically led to the death by suicide of some of our people. I apologise unreservedly for these deficiencies.

Campbell said he and Defence were “committed to doing better”.

Facing questions, he was asked whether he accepted that inaction on the part of Defence with respect to the issue of suicide and suicidality was an organisational failure. “Yes,” Campbell replied.

  • Lifeline 13 11 14. Open Arms 1800 011 046

Updated

Tenders for some Brisbane Olympics projects to be issued this year, organising committee says

Continuing from our last post:

In response to questions about the state government’s decision last week to drop a plan to hold athletics at the Gabba and instead upgrade an existing stadium in the city’s south, Kirsty Coventry said “this is the time for those changes to happen”.

Brisbane 2032 organising committee president Andrew Liveris said some tenders would go out as early as this year for some Olympics projects.

Coventry was questioned about the plan by opposition leader David Crisafulli to create another independent body to make an entirely new plan if he wins the October election:

There will be a point that we might start getting a little bit concerned …

We have quite a bit of confidence in [Australia’s timelines] and again, won’t be stepping in at any point in time, right now or in the foreseeable future.

Let’s wait and see the processes because again, we do have that time, we are eight and a half years away. So there’s really no reason to start panicking.

It was the second meeting of the IOC Coordination Commission for Brisbane 2032. The opening ceremony will take place on 23 July, 2032 – in 3,039 days.

Updated

Olympics brass declare no need to panic about Brisbane games

The International Olympic Committee says there’s still plenty of time to plan the Brisbane Olympics, with the opening ceremony about nine years away.

International Olympic Committee’s Kirsty Coventry fielded a series of questions about venues planning and community support at a late-night press conference on Wednesday, Australian time.

She said the games’ venue plan may not be finalised for “a few months to a year”, because of the need for federal government sign-off:

I sound a little bit like a broken record. But it really is true – we want the games to fit within the region.

We cannot dictate the needs of the region. And its people, we have to hear that from the different levels of government.

We don’t have a concern at this time. And we will not be stepping in really at any point. We’re always there to help with the technical side of things and to give advice, but is not for us to step in and give direction in regional development for the governments.

Updated

Jacinta Allan said the Victorian government would support small businesses through this change:

We’ve got to make sure that we support them on this change because many of the shops that sell cigarettes [offer] many other products… they’re legitimate businesses [and] we want to make sure they can continue to play that role in their local community.

But recognising that… the broader landscape has changed particularly as a consequence of some of the Commonwealth’s decisions on both the price of tobacco and the importation of vaping products…

Victorian government to introduce tobacco licensing scheme

Victorian premier Jacinta Allan has just announced the state government will introduce a tobacco licensing scheme.

Speaking to ABC Melbourne, Allan says the move follows advice from the better regulation commissioner, who issued a report about this.

[We were] considering the report, we’ve accepted [the commissioner’s] central recommendation that we should introduce a licensing scheme; we’re working through the different areas of government.

This is one of those areas of government [that] covers a few different agencies. There’s health, there’s justice, there’s police, there’s a whole range of different areas that you’re dissecting. We’ll be looking at bringing legislation into the parliament … in the second half of the year. We want to first do some consultation and release some further detail, which we’ll do in the coming months.

Updated

Victorian premier thanks outgoing lord mayor Sally Capp

Speaking to ABC Melbourne, Victorian premier Jacinta Allan congratulates Sally Capp on her work as lord mayor of Melbourne:

Sally gave me a heads up last night, she gave me a call last night and I had the chance to personally thank her and I’d like to take the opportunity to publicly do that today.

[When] she came in, we all know the circumstances in which she came into the role. It was a pretty turbulent time at City Hall. She stabilised the organisation, she’s had to lead the city through the pandemic, and I know from first-hand experience just how hard she has worked over a number of years she’s been there [and how] passionate and committed she’s been.

Asked about the council’s future, Allan says she has “long held the view to stay out of local government elections”.

That’s a matter for the voters to decide who chooses their local representatives; [they] don’t need to be lectured by state politicians.

Updated

Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp announces resignation, to pursue ‘new opportunities’

Sally Capp will stand aside as lord mayor of Melbourne after six years in the role, AAP reports.

Capp, who was elected mayor of the City of Melbourne in 2018 before being re-elected in 2020, announced on Wednesday she would not contest the Victorian local elections in October.

She said in a statement she loved her job and the decision to quit had left her with mixed emotions:

I have given everything to this role.

As you know, I like to work at full pace, full-time, and I believe that anyone contesting the election must be all-in for a full term.

I have decided that at 56, having spent my 50s so far at Town Hall, it’s time for me to seek new opportunities to propel me into my next decade.

She expects to finish up as lord mayor at the end of June and will work with councillors and the chief executive on an orderly transition plan.

Updated

National cabinet should convene to discuss youth issues, Scrymgour says

Speaking on the situation in Alice Springs, Marion Scrymgour says a federal intervention is not necessary but she suggests a meeting of the national cabinet instead.

She told ABC RN the last time there was an intervention it “wasn’t targeted and it looked at the wrong areas”. She points to the 2006 Little Children are Sacred report, and says this found issues in urban areas:

Back then they didn’t want to go into the urban areas and put those restrictions, it was easier to do it in remote communities, even though there were existing restrictions in remote communities.

Scrymgour said it is “time for all sides to stop playing politics with this issue”.

[In] the three years I’ve been [in Alice Springs] I don’t remember a time there hasn’t been you know, volatility and unrest, and we need to address that seriously, we can’t just keep doing the knee jerk response all the time.

Something’s got to be done and … as a federal member I’m going to try and call on the CLP members and Labor for all of us to try and work together because it’s not just Alice, it’s right throughout the Northern Territory we’re seeing this issue… I think it’s time for maybe national cabinet to convene with First Ministers of each state and territory to start looking at the issues of youth across this country.

Updated

Local MP says government ‘had to do something’ about ‘weeks of unrest’ in Alice Springs

MP for Lingiari, Marion Scrymgour, says the government “had to do something” when asked if a youth curfew, imposed for Alice Springs from last night, was necessary.

In case you missed it: NT chief minister Eva Lawler has announced a two-week curfew for young people beginning Wednesday night in Alice Springs, following violence outside a town pub the previous day.

The NT police commissioner, Michael Murphy, alleged some of the violence was related to the death of an 18-year-old man in a car accident this month.

Asked if the youth curfew is necessary, Scrymgour says there has been “weeks” of unrest in the town and the recent incident has “been the catalyst [for] bringing a lot of these things to a head”.

That’s culminated in some of the riotous behaviours that we’ve seen played out in the streets of Alice Springs, which over a number of weeks, has gotten increasingly worse. The government had to do something.

Updated

‘We’ll be buying water this year’, says environment minister Tanya Plibersek

Tanya Plibersek was also asked about the Murray Darlin Basin plan specifically. In 2018, David Littleproud committed $40m to help First Nations people participate in the plan. This was later increased to $100m after pressure from the Greens.

ABC RN host Sabra Lane:

As I understand it, not a cent has been spent yet and no plan has been published to roll it out. Why not, and when will that happen?

Plibersek:

$40m, not a cent was spent by the previous government and we are absolutely on track to invest in water purchase to fulfil that commitment now. We’ve finalised the management [of] how that water will be managed to make sure that we’ve got agreement with First Nations communities across the Murray Darling Basin about who will own the water, how will it be owned and how will it be allocated. That work’s done.

Asked when the government will start buying water entitlements, Plibersek says: “We’ll be buying water this year”.

Updated

Environment minister Tanya Plibersek outlines new water plan

Environment and water minister Tanya Plibersek was on ABC RN earlier this morning to discuss the National Water Initiative – started 20 years ago to align state, territory and federal water policies through a set of objectives.

The government has released a plan to readjust the water policy, which Plibersek says will “look at climate resilient water management, much more evidence-based decision making and of course, really transparent and strategic water investments rather than a scattergun approach”.

A 2021 review found the initiative was outdated and an overhaul was needed to explicitly recognise climate change. The review also called for much more meaningful recognition of Indigenous rights to water. You can read our story from 2021 below:

Plibersek says these concerns will “absolutely” be addressed with the new plan:

The very reason that we’re doing this upgraded approach is because so much has changed in the 20 years since the first National Water Initiative and you’ve pointed out that the Productivity Commission has looked at the way that we allocate water in Australia, that is one of the most important inputs to this new work – taking what the Productivity Commission has found about the way the commonwealth government and the states and territories manage water resources, and using that work to make sure we make better decisions in the future.

Updated

New rules for telcos to provide financial hardship assistance

Phone providers will have to offer expanded assistance measures for customers struggling to pay bills, with new rules coming into effect tomorrow that will help those facing hardship issues.

Communications minister Michelle Rowland says the new rules mean that telcos “must take all reasonable steps to proactively identify customers who may be experiencing financial hardship, ensure they provide appropriate support, and prioritise keeping customers connected”.

Telcos will have to offer at least six different options for customers who are struggling, including payment plans, extending or deferring payments. The rules broaden the definition of hardship, in order to take in more customers, and require the companies to do all they can to keep customers connected.

They’ll also have to better promote their hardship support, and train staff to better recognise hardship.

Statistics from 2023 found a quarter of Aussies had experienced payment difficulties in the previous 12 months, and half of them had trouble with their phone or internet bills. But other stats showed fewer than 4,400 customers were in hardship programs in 2022, some 0.03% of customers – far fewer than those actually in trouble.

Rowland said:

Staying connected is an essential part of everyday life in 2024.

These new rules will mean telcos have to do all they can to keep customers connected if they are experiencing financial hardship, with disconnection the last resort.

The government acknowledges the work of the regulator in developing these new rules, and the constructive engagement of the telco industry through this process.

Updated

73 people released from detention now without ankle bracelets

Last night at estimates, home affairs officials revealed that 73 of the 152 people released as a result of the high court’s NZYQ decision are not required to wear ankle bracelets.

The shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, then asked whether any of the seven murderers or 37 sex offenders were not required to wear ankle bracelets.

Michael Outram, the Australian Border Force commissioner, said he had taken on notice questions at the last estimates hearing, and will respond in writing. He said that he has concerns about privacy because of the small numbers involved, and the potential to identify people.

Paterson accused officials of appearing to “cover up” to protect the government’s interests because they were unable or unwilling to say whether any of the 73 without ankle bracelets had committed serious offences.

Labor’s Murray Watt said this is an “outrageous” accusation to make about independent public servants.

Updated

Clare O'Neil did not verbally abuse me: home affairs chief

At the Senate estimates spillover session last night, senators grilled home affairs secretary, Stephanie Foster, about reports that the government was concerned that in February she tabled a document detailing the criminal record of people released as a result of the high court’s NZYQ decision.

Foster said:

The [home affairs] minister [Clare O’Neil] and I will always discuss the estimates process in a routine way. The reports that the minister verbally abused me are absolutely baseless. I would like to echo comments made by the ministers, that my relationship with both [O’Neil and immigration minister Andrew Giles] is very close, very constructive … At no point, on that occasion, or ever, has minister O’Neil verbally abused me.

Senator James Paterson asked if O’Neil had “raised concerns”, while senator David Shoebridge asked if there had been any “negative responses” to her tabling the document.

Foster replied that she would not “discuss private conversations with my ministers” but O’Neil, Giles and their offices had “never attempted to interfere” in her evidence at Senate estimates.

Foster said:

The strength of relationships [between ministers and public servants] depends on having trusted conversations. [What matters is] not whether or not who said what to whom, but whether I felt or feel any sense of pressure or influence to behave in any way other than with complete integrity.

Updated

More on Albanese’s visit to the Hunter region today

The government will talk up the employment and economic benefits of such programs, as part of Albanese’s “future made in Australia” policy. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency will be tasked to design the initiative, including planning how to produce solar panel components and finished products.

Albanese will be joined by industry minister Ed Husic and energy minister Chris Bowen for the announcement. There are likely to be other questions facing the PM, however, when he hits the ground.

For the second parliament sitting week in a row, Albanese did not hold a press conference in Canberra or conduct any media interviews. The PM has held only one media appearance since announcing plans to sideline promised changes to religious freedoms, last week travelling to Eugowra in the NSW central west. He has not yet taken any media questions on the controversial deportation bill and the government’s attempts to ram it through parliament, nor on the NDIS changes, or this week’s amendments to the government’s fuel efficiency standard.

Updated

PM to announce $1bn for solar panel manufacturing in Hunter region

The prime minister Anthony Albanese will today announce $1bn for solar panel manufacturing in Australia, travelling to the Hunter region to spruce the government’s new Net Zero Economy Authority.

We expect Albanese will be peppered with questions about his government’s tense week in parliament, with the PM not having taken any media questions in Canberra for either of the past two sitting weeks.

Albanese will be in the NSW Hunter today, announcing a $1bn investment in the Solar Sunshot program. The government says it will “help ensure more solar panels are made in Australia, including in the Hunter region”. The PM will visit the old Liddell coal-fired power station site, with the decommissioned site a very symbolic choice.

Albanese said ahead of the announcement:

I want a future made in Australia. And I want a future made in our regions. Places like the Hunter that have powered our nation for more than a century will power our future.

We have every metal and critical mineral necessary to be a central player in the net zero transformation, and a proven track record as a reliable energy producer and exporter.

Updated

Jodie Belyea calls for ‘political courage’ to deliver gambling ad restrictions during maiden speech

New Labor MP Jodie Belyea says the government must have the “political courage” to follow through on further restrictions on gambling ads, as championed by her predecessor, the late Peta Murphy.

Belyea won the Dunkley byelection, succeeding her friend Murphy, who died of cancer last year. Murphy had pushed for restrictions on gambling ads, a cause the government has cautiously backed in principle although it has not yet outlined its next moves.

The new MP gave her first speech in parliament on Wednesday night. She spoke of Murphy’s legacy, and suggested what the government could do next:

Australians lose $25bn to gambling each year, the highest amount per capita in the world. Families in communities like Dunkley feel the brunt of gambling, magnifying cost-of-living pressures and exacerbating disadvantage.

I will advocate for the recommendations of the ‘You win some, you lose more’ report.

That report, led by Murphy in 2023, called for the government to “implement a comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising for online gambling”, among numerous other safety measures around gambling. Belyea said:

Peta drove this report’s common sense recommendations with great empathy and care.

She is no longer here to fight this good fight and so it falls on us to meet her political courage with a little bit of our own.

Updated

Welcome

Good morning, and happy Thursday. I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be with you on the Australia news live blog today.

Making news: new Labor MP Jodie Belyea said the government must have “political courage” to follow through on further gambling ad restrictions during her maiden speech on Wednesday night. Belyea won the Dunkley by-election and succeeded her friend, the late Peta Murphy, who had championed these restrictions – which the government has backed in principle, but not yet outlined its next moves.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese will today announce $1bn for solar panel manufacturing in Australia, travelling to the Hunter region to spruce the government’s new Net Zero Economy Authority. We’ll have more about both these stories from Josh Butler shortly.

Paul Karp will also bring us some updates from Senate estimates last night, including news that 73 of the 152 people released as a result of the high court’s NZYQ decision are not required to wear ankle bracelets. Meanwhile, the home affairs chief told estimates that reports suggesting Clare O’Neil had verbally abused her “are absolutely baseless”. Amy Remeikis covered the debate around this during question time in yesterday’s blog.

If you see something that needs attention on the blog, you can get in touch via X, @emilywindwrites, or you can send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.

Let’s get started.

Updated

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