What happened, Friday 11 August
With that, we’ll wrap up our live coverage of the day’s news.
Here’s a summary of the key news developments:
The former Queensland premier Mike Ahern, whose short reign followed Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, has died aged 81.
Australia’s Department of Defence could be given a $1.5m fine for failing to properly train its personnel after two of its soldiers were mauled by a crocodile.
An Australian businessman accused of selling secrets to China has told a Sydney court it is “ridiculous” police still have not filed a full brief of evidence in his case, nearly four months after he was arrested, while he remains in prison.
The senior transport executive who narrowly missed out on becoming the New South Wales transport secretary resigned as the chief executive of the state’s rail corporation after the position was handed to a former Labor staffer.
Queensland’s health minister says a Rockhampton man charged with the murder of his wife and their 11-week-old daughter sought mental health treatment “about a year ago” at the local hospital.
E-scooter riders who flout Melbourne’s road rules will trigger an audio warning as part of a crackdown on illegal footpath and tandem riding.
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said he will have no hesitation starting striker Sam Kerr if she is fit, as the Matildas prepare for their World Cup quarter-final encounter with France on Saturday.
Thanks for following along. Have a pleasant evening and a great weekend.
Updated
The government is helping Australians in Hawaii affected by the fatal wildfires that have claimed 53 lives so far.
A department of foreign affairs and trade spokesperson said the Australian consulate-general in Honolulu is “assisting a number of Australians impacts by the wildfires” on the islands of Maui and Hawai’i.
Australian officials are also seeking to contact a small number of Australians believed to be on Maui, the spokesperson said.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is not aware of any Australian casualties or hospitalisations at this time,” the spokesperson said.
Read more about the natural disaster here:
Pint-sized 41m-year-old whale fossil discovered in Egypy
I’m going to pull your attention to international news for just a moment because look! Fossils of a pint-size whale that lived 41m years ago have been discovered in Egypt!
The whale has been named Tutcetus rayanensis, after the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, commemorating the discovery of the pharaoh’s tomb a century ago and the Wadi el-Rayan area in Egypt where the fossil was found.
You can read the full story here:
Updated
Melissa Park to head anti-nuclear weapon group
The former Labor MP and United Nations legal expert Melissa Park has been appointed executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
Park said:
I am honoured to be taking up this important role in the global campaign to rid the world of these weapons of mass destruction. The very existence of nuclear weapons, let alone their testing or use, is a moral injury to the planet. The only effective treatment for a nuclear weapons catastrophe is prevention.
The campaign’s president, Akira Kawasaki, said:
We are delighted to be able to announce Melissa Parke as our new executive director. She has great diplomatic and political experience combined with a long-term commitment to nuclear disarmament, so she is ideally placed to lead Ican’s advocacy for the universalization of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which is what the world needs as it faces the heightened risk nuclear weapons could be used in conflict for the first time since 1945.
Her role will start on 1 September.
Updated
PM says community engagement crucial in regional energy transition
Anthony Albanese says it’s crucial regional communities have their say on Australia’s shift towards renewable energy, after he was greeted by anti-wind and solar farm protesters in country NSW, AAP reports.
Protesters holding signs saying “Food before solar” and “Rural living under attack” stood outside a regional conference in Tamworth, where the prime minister gave a speech on Friday morning.
Albanese said better communication and engagement are needed with communities at the centre of the transition.
The New England region is one of five NSW areas designated as a renewables zone, where solar and wind energy will be generated, stored and transmitted as coal-fired power stations shut down.
“It’s always better if you bring communities with you,” Albanese told the Daily Telegraph’s Bush Summit. “Solar panels and wind turbines, of course, can’t be imposed on anyone’s land.”
“The issue of transmission lines is a different one. It can bring economic benefits for people … But we need to always try to do our best, whether it’s a private sector taking action or governments, to consult with people because you have better outcomes.”
Albanese met with some of the protesters, whom he said were respectful in sharing their concerns about the potential impact on agricultural land.
AAP
Updated
Opposition urges action on school refusal report findings
The shadow minister for education has urged the federal government to act on every recommendation made in a Senate inquiry into school refusal, also known as school can’t.
The emerging trend refers to primary and secondary students experiencing difficulty attending school on a regular basis, widely accepted to have worsened since Covid.
Sarah Henderson said the report highlighted the need for an agreed definition of school refusal, comprehensive data collection and further research in order to develop evidence-based policies and programs.
I thank the many families who shared with the committee their personal stories of the social, emotional and mental health impacts of school refusal. It is imperative that these students have all the support they need to ensure their education journey can still be successful.
I call on the Albanese government to accept all of the recommendations in the report, particularly the provision of more subsidised mental health care visits.”
The recommendations also have the backing of the Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne, who initiated the inquiry last October. Labor is yet to make a formal response.
Updated
Albanese won’t make Cheng Lei release a condition of his China trip
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has called on the Chinese government to resolve the case of detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei, but has indicated he won’t make his planned trip to Beijing conditional on her release.
At a press conference at a barley farm in Loomberah in NSW earlier today, Albanese welcomed “progress” in stabilising the relationship with China. That included China’s decision to scrap hefty tariffs on Australian barley and to clear the way for more tourists to visit Australia.
Asked whether other trade impediments must be removed before he locks in a visit to China, Albanese said such travel should not be “transactional”. He said if Australia put forward conditions “then they’ll put forward where they have differences with Australia and we’ll end up not making progress”.
Albanese said he wanted to travel to China “but when a visit occurs, obviously if issues like this are off the table, it’s one less thing that we have to talk about”. He added:
We do have some issues, including on human rights issues. Cheng Lei has released a statement today that is very moving. That shows her passion for her country of Australia. And we continue to raise issues like that as well as economic issues …
I believe it is clearly the case that Cheng Lei, who now has had three years in detention, this issue should be resolved. They should be resolved by Cheng Lei not being kept in detention in the way that she has. We will always stand up for the interests of Australian citizens. And we continue to do so.”
Asked directly whether her release would be a condition of his trip to China, Albanese said:
No. I’ve just said very clearly, as I’ve said consistently over a long period of time, visits and engagement and dialogue should not be transactional. Visits and dialogue are something that in themselves are constructive.
The worst thing that can happen between nations that have disagreements is that they stop talking. And that’s why we encourage the United States and China to have dialogue. We want guardrails.”
Updated
Sam Kerr to start against France if fit
The Matildas coach, Tony Gustavsson, will make a call on how to use striker Sam Kerr in Saturday’s World Cup last-eight clash after a final medical briefing from his team tonight.
Since the Matildas beat Denmark on Monday, and Kerr came on as a late substitute after recovering from her calf injury, there has been speculation over whether Kerr would start or come off the bench.
Speaking in Brisbane ahead of the match, Gustavsson said that Kerr would start if she was healthy.
“If Sam is fit to play 90 minutes, she’s starting,” he said. “There’s not even a question, and the team knows it. Whether she is ready to play 90 minutes plus extra time, that’s to be decided tonight.”
Gustavsson also hinted that forward Kyah Simon, who is returning from a long-term ACL injury, may be available to play a role off the bench or in a penalty shootout, if necessary. Simon was seen in her boots at the first part of the Matildas’ training today.
Updated
Seek says mutual obligations detrimental to hiring process
Some more on that proposal from major commercial jobs board company, Seek, to partner with the government and essentially replace the Workforce Australia jobsite.
Interestingly, Seek’s research had also thrown up the detrimental effects of the mutual obligations imposed upon welfare recipients – that is, the requirement to apply for a certain number of jobs or risk having welfare payments stopped.
Mutual obligations were detrimental for both employers and jobseekers: the research showed that four out of five job seekers surveyed had submitted at least one application for a job they didn’t want or were not qualified for in order to comply, while more than two-thirds of employers reported that the majority of applications they received did not meet their requirements for the role. Employers felt some of those were due to the requirement to apply for jobs to meet obligations.
Updated
Government ‘very open to’ Seek partnership on jobsite development
A federal parliamentary committee has shown a strong interest in a proposal from major commercial jobs board company, Seek, to partner with the government and essentially replace the Workforce Australia jobsite.
Seek executives appeared for the second time at the House of Representatives select committee’s inquiry into Workforce Australia employment services on Friday.
In their last appearance, Seek had proposed that they would “achieve equal or better outcomes for unemployed jobseekers than the Workforce Australia digital platform.”
On Friday, they had returned to give more detail about their proposal. Seek’s local managing director, Kendra Banks, told the committee that since their last appearance, they had commissioned research specifically about how marginalised or more vulnerable people experienced their product.
Banks said:
The results of this research confirmed our view that Seek and other specialist job marketplaces do serve this cohort well, and that a partnership with government could result in better outcomes for unemployed job seekers … These individuals stated that they felt more likely to find secure, meaningful and pay appropriate roles on Seek and other specialist job marketplaces than on Workforce Australia.
Committee chair, Labor MP Julian Hill, summarised Seek’s proposal thus:
That the government get out of providing the free Workforce Australia site, put in place a set of commercial partner standards – open access, if you like – that any commercial jobs marketplace, jobs board, if they meet, can partner with the government … that LinkedIn, indeed, any of your competitors in the market could participate in.
The committee was “very open to” the proposal and feedback the committee had received suggested the proposal had “a fair bit going for it”, Hill said.
Updated
Green calls for scrapping of group voting tickets in Victoria
Antony Green has thrown his clout behind calls to scrap group voting tickets in Victoria, declaring the system is reflective of a political problem in the state.
Facing Victoria’s Electoral Matters Committee on Friday, the renowned psephologist and ABC election analyst said the system distorted voters’ will.
Green called for group voting tickets to be dumped and noted Victoria was the only Australian jurisdiction still using the system, which allows parties to distribute upper-house preferences when people vote above the line.
He told the committee:
Voters have trouble finding the candidates they know amongst the flotsam and jetsam that washes up on the ballot paper for the purposes of manipulating preferences
If you abolish group voting tickets, you will shrink the size of the ballot paper, have fewer parties nominating and [that will] result in more candidates being elected in proportion to their votes.”
Manipulation of the voting system was laid bare before last year’s state election after so-called preference whisperer Glenn Druery was covertly recorded boasting about his method.
AAP
Updated
Regional residents treated like ‘second-class citizens’: Dutton
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, says people in regional areas are being treated like “second-class citizens”, at the Bush Summit in Tamworth.
He says:
I live on a small rural property about 35-40 minutes out of the city in Brisbane. People in my community wouldn’t tolerate turbines going up in their suburbs. Pure and simple.
I think there is a divide now between cities and regional areas, where people in regional areas are being treated as second class citizens.
I think the government’s got us at the moment on a pathway to disruption of energy supply.
I am against the creation of havoc and pain within rural communities. I think Australians need to be treated equally, and rolling out 20,000 kilometres of poles and wires, as the government is proposing is not only incredibly expensive, it’s not the most efficient way of spending taxpayers’ money.
Updated
Jeremy Fernandez will replace Juanita Phillips as the main anchor of the ABC’s NSW 7PM News from 11 September.
I am tremendously humbled to be entrusted with this role alongside colleagues I’ve admired for so many years. I look forward to continuing my work across the ABC network, alongside the nightly NSW 7PM News.
I’d like to thank my colleagues in the NSW newsroom for their support. I also honour and congratulate my friend and colleague Juanita Phillips for her outstanding service and mentorship to me and others.
Through my years of reporting I’ve met so many people who’ve generously trusted the ABC to share their stories. Their accounts of hardship, achievement and community service – and their resilience and sense of humour – have made an imprint on me and my journalism.
Updated
Lowe ends slightly grilled as he heads off to the golf course (soon)
As expected Lowe’s final appearance before the economics committee winds up after three hours to the strains of classic music on the web link (possibly Beethoven and not ‘Highway to Hell”, as the tabloid TV might have hoped for).
There are a couple of interesting questions about China’s deflation (as per here, in case you missed the link), and whether the country was headed down a Japanese-like path of stagnation.
He notes that Chinese consumers were “uncertain about the future” (who isn’t?) and that Chinese policymakers were “moving to an expansionary mindset” if Lowe’s interactions in recent meetings were any guide.
However, he astutely notes that the excessive economic stimulus unleashed a decade ago to ensure the Chinese avoid the worst of the global financial crisis, had contributed to some of the problems now (think “ghost cities of empty buildings that nobody wants, etc).
That experience “has been imprinted on their minds” and Beijing doesn’t want to repeat that, Lowe said.
Sure China shared some of Japan’s woes, including a shrinking, ageing population, but a key difference was China’s much lower per-capita income when the economy started slowing. With “the right policies, [China] can avoid the fate of Japan”, given “there’s still tremendous possibilities for catch-up”, he says.
(A good question at this point would have been: Aren’t the US trade restrictions, including on hi-tech investment, specifically aimed at making sure China doesn’t catch up, Indo-Pacific security interests permitting?)
Lowe says a weakening China was “a mixed blessing” for Australia because goods inflation would ease everywhere but falling commodity prices would dent the country’s national income.
He wraps up by noting that the RBA’s independence had never been challenged in his decades at fronting up to politicians.
“No politician has directly or indirectly put pressure on the bank during that period,” Lowe said.
Asked whether Lowe was going to be more like Tony Abbott or Julia Gillard after he departs the bank, he says he’s planning to improve his golf handicap to single digits (presumably not wearing the budgies).
“I don’t plan to be a public commentator,” Lowe demurs, to the dismay of scribblers everywhere.
Updated
Cheng’s message ‘touching’ and ‘heartbreaking’: Coalition
The Coalition has also expressed its concerns about the Australian journalist Cheng Lei ahead of Sunday’s third anniversary of her detention in China.
The shadow minister for foreign affairs, Simon Birmingham, said Cheng’s letter “brings home the injustice of her continuing detention on secret charges, following a secret trial and the repeated deferral of a verdict”. He said in a statement:
Cheng Lei’s message to Australians, being reported week, is both touching in its poignancy, but heartbreaking in the cruelty it exposes and reinforces, yet again, why her detention should end.
Anniversaries such as this are another opportunity to highlight the plight of Ms Cheng and urge for her release. But for Ms Cheng’s partner, children, parents and wider family, these milestones will be particularly personal and emotional, and our thoughts are with them.”
Birmingham said the Coalition wished to repeat its call on Chinese authorities to release Cheng so that she could return home to her loved ones:
Three years of uncertainty, secrecy and zero transparency must be taking a huge toll on Ms Cheng and her loved ones.
The Coalition offers its continuing bipartisan support to the Government for all efforts to secure the release of Ms Cheng. This applies also to Dr Yang [Hengjun] who has been held in similar circumstances to Ms Cheng for more than four-and-a-half-years.
For Ms Cheng, the extent of the physical and emotional trauma of three years of separation from loved ones, including young children, amidst uncertainty and secrecy is beyond comprehension.”
Updated
Australia’s overreliance on one trade market a ‘bitter experience’: Farrell
The trade minister, Don Farrell, talks about Australia’s trade diversification strategy. In a clear reference to China, he says Australia has learned from “bitter experience” about the risks of being overreliant on one market.
Farrell rattles off recently reached trade agreements and says “maybe one day” Australia will follow New Zealand in signing a free trade agreement with the European Union. (Australia hasn’t walked away from the negotiating table but has indicated the EU’s current offer is not good enough.)
Farrell explains that Australia’s strategy is not to reduce exports to the Chinese market – but to increase exports to countries to which Australia already sells and with which it has good relations.
With his New Zealand counterpart beside him, Farrell says he’d like to see New Zealand take more of Australia’s “wonderful food and wine”.
He says China’s announcement on tourism to Australia had “put us in a more favourable position”, but adds that Australia will also like to see an increase in tourism from New Zealand.
Updated
That is all from me today. Handing the blog over to Elias Visontay, who will take you through the news of the afternoon.
Cheng Lei’s detention in China ‘terrible’ and ‘heartbreaking’
The trade minister, Don Farrell, says it is “just terrible” and “heartbreaking” that the Australian journalist Cheng Lei has been unable to see her family for the past three years.
He has promised that the Australian government will keep raising her case – and Anthony Albanese will do so personally if he travels to Beijing to meet with China’s president, Xi Jinping, later this year.
At a press conference in Adelaide, Farrell was asked when was the last time Australia had made represenations to China in relation to Cheng’s detention. He replied:
I’ve met with my Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao on three occasions and on each of the occasions ... I have raised this issue.
It’s a heartbreaking set of circumstances for her not to be able to see her family for the last three years - it’s just terrible.
On each and every occasion that an Australian minister or prime minister meets with our Chinese counterpart, we raise these issues. I know the foreign minister [Penny Wong] does on each and every occasion and we’ll continue to do that including in the event that the prime minister makes a trip to China.
We’ll continue to advocate on behalf of Australians who are currently under arrest in China.
Asked whether the case was linked with trade issues, Farrell said it wasn’t a “transactional arrangement”. He said the Australian government had “embarked on a program to stabilise our relationship with China” but there were “still some significant impediments in the trade relationship, including on wine, lobster and beef:
We will continue to pursue that trade stabilisation until all of those impediments are removed. But it’s not a transactional arrangement. We expect China to comply with its obligations under the World Trade Organization and we want to see all of those trade impediments removed. And we thank New Zealand very much for its support for Australia in all of these issues.
Updated
Russell Island fire not suspicious, police say
No suspicious circumstances have been identified in relation to the Russell Island fire that killed a father and his five sons, Queensland police have confirmed.
The police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fire that destroyed three houses at Todman Street on Sunday.
“Extensive investigations to date have failed to identify the cause of the fire,” Queensland police said in a statement.
“Despite this, no suspicious circumstances have been identified.”
The postmortem examinations have been completed, and an extensive report will be prepared for the coroner.
Updated
Australia-New Zealand trade deal highlights climate change and First Nations trade
The trade minister, Don Farrell, is speaking in Adelaide after talks with his New Zealand counterpart, Damien O’Connor. Farrell says the two ministers today signed a sustainable and inclusive trade declaration.
Farrell says the two countries should be “agile and responsive to evolving priorities and an increasingly dynamic world”.
He says the declaration “modernises our relationship” and “amplifies our trade commitments”:
This particularly includes exploring opportunities for greater cooperation in the area of climate change and of course promoting our First Nations trade.
Farrell says it was a “terrific meeting”. He adds:
Later on this afternoon the minister and his partner have accepted an invitation to come to our vineyard in the Clare Valley … where he’s going to experience some of the best food and wine that Australia has to offer.
Updated
Former QLD premier Mike Ahern dies aged 81
The office of David Littleproud, shadow minister for agriculture, said “the National Party family has lost one of its greatest today” in a statement on Ahern’s passing:
It is with great sadness to hear of the passing of a great Queenslander and National Party Leader in the Hon Mike Ahern, former Premier of Queensland.
The National Party family has lost one of its greatest today.
Mike Ahern and my father are two of the greatest influences on me and my pursuit of politics.
I still wear to this day, with pride, a tie and cufflinks he gave me as a young boy when he was our Premier.
It’s difficult to describe all that Mike Ahern achieved and stood for, but integrity is what Mike Ahern embodied in all that he did during his time in public office.
We are a better state and country for having Mike Ahern and our National Party family’s thoughts are with Andrea and the family during this sad time.
Updated
Lowe's biggest regret (and proudest moment)
Jerome Laxale must be a budding journalist, offering a concluding question about Lowe about what he was most proud about and his biggest regret. (Only needs a “what else would you like to tell us that we haven’t asked?”, and he’d get an honorary MEAA card.)
The self-effacing Lowe says he’s “proud of the bank staff … I see such dedicated people” doing that important work (see earlier post).
Lowe might have said he’d regretted saying interest rates wouldn’t fall until 2024, comments he was still making towards the end of 2021. Instead, he highlights not understanding “the implications of the pandemic a bit more”.
In particular, he didn’t know how long it would last and the effects for the economy (and was not Robinson Crusoe on that one).
He notes they were being advised the jobless rate could climb to 15% and that an effective vaccine might be not available for five years (and thereby people would have to say in their homes a lot longer).
“It was incredibly scary and we responded with maximum insurance,” Lowe said, adding that the support turned out more than needed.
History, it’s fair to say if it cites this blog, will note that Covid strains were still emerging towards the end of 2021, and policymakers had no idea whether nastier mutations were in the wings.
And Lowe did say the forecast of no rate rises would be dependent on the data but most of us missed that.
Updated
Labor to extend Murray-Darling basin plan timeframe
In a Q&A at the Bush Summit in Tamworth, the environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, says the Murray-Darling basin plan is about 300,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools short of “where we’re supposed to be” by June 2024 – when the plan was due to be complete.
She says the previous coalition government’s “inaction” has caused the delay:
We have to formally agree to extend the plan.
We think as the government the more sensible thing to do is to work with the states and territories still to achieve the objectives of the plan, but to do it over a more reasonable time period.
More than 80% of the water that’s been recovered towards the plan has been done under Labor governments … Only 16% has happened during the last decade of the coalition government. So, you know, we’re slow because there’s been a decade of inaction.
Updated
Lowe says RBA 4% pay offer for this year ‘fair and reasonable’
Jerome Laxale, a Labor MP, asks about working conditions at the RBA, noting turnover at the staff recently reached 13%.
The resignation rate, though, has since dropped back to about 8% a year, in line with pre-pandemic levels, the bankers say.
Lowe gets to wax a bit, saying many RBA staff worked for a cause bigger than themselves.
They are “working for the prosperity of Australia ... doing important work for a noble purpose”.
That moment of Zen, though, doesn’t linger as Laxale asks about claims staff comments had been censored and staff back payments held back if they didn’t cave in their wage negotiations.
Bullock responds, saying only one comment was taken down as it linked to an external site with dud data. An agreement on wages would be voted on by the end of the month and would then need Fair Work Commission approval, and backpay wasn’t being held hostage.
The RBA has also lifted its offer, including extending the paid maternity leave offer from 14 months to 18 months, among other changes, Bullock said, adding it was not “fair at all” to say the central bank had negotiated in “bad faith”.
Updated
Australia’s interest rate rises ‘very unusual internationally’, Lowe says
Andrew Charlton, a Labor MP (and another economist) asks Lowe about how Australia can get away with being late to lift interest rates and potentially keep them below overseas peers.
Lowe notes that the combination of relatively high indebtedness and exposure to variable rates meant official rates haven’t climbed as high. Still, the 400 basis-point increase since May 2022 in the case rate was something “we haven’t had anything” like that before and was “very unusual internationally”.
Still, things “look like” playing out as the RBA expected.
Michele Bullock, who will take over as RBA governor on 18 September, has left the talking to her boss, but she does chime in to answer a question from Charlton about competition among the banks. She notes there has been a lot of refinancing by borrowers, indicating rivalry between the banks, but “we need to have that happen on the deposit side”.
Lowe reckons canny borrowers have shaved 60 basis points off their loan rates by shopping around, and says banks are offering 5% or more for depositors if they similarly hunt for bargains.
Charlton does ask a spicy question referring to a finding by the RBA Review that the results of a research paper had been reversed after review. None of the RBA honchos appearing today can recall such an intervention (nor remembering having read it in the review).
Lowe pleads dealing with a lot of other issues from the review that had a “higher public significance”, and that such a move was “so alien to how I go about running” the RBA. (Soon to be “how I went about...”)
Updated
Regulator pursues super fund over Russian investments
The corporate regulator is suing Active Super over allegations it presented itself as an ethical and responsible fund manager at the same as it invested in gambling, coal and tobacco-linked stocks as well as Russian oil and gas.
Active Super had told members it eliminated investments that posed too great a risk to the environment and the community, and that Russian investments were excluded following the invasion of Ukraine, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic).
Asic said the fund manager exposed members to 28 holdings which should have been excluded, including gambling company Tabcorp Holdings, several coal companies and Russia multinationals Gazprom and Rosneft Oil Company.
“There is much competition among super funds for new members, and we know that funds seek to attract members with promises their investments will not be exposed to certain industries,” Asic deputy chair Sarah Court said in a statement.
When making these claims super funds must have evidence to back their claims and ensure they are not promising exclusions that they cannot guarantee.
Active Super, which manages more than $13bn for members, said it had cooperated with the regulator and that it welcomed scrutiny of environmental and social standards.
“As the matter is before the courts we are unable to comment further,” Active Super said.
The case is Asic’s third recent civil proceedings started against fund managers over alleged “green washing”, a term that refers to a company making a product or service sound more environmentally and socially responsible than it actually is.
Updated
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre welcomes immigration minister Andrew Giles’ increase to Australia’s humanitarian intake.
“This is an important step in the right direction!”, they tweeted.
Very welcome announcement just now from the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs @andrewjgiles that Australia’s humanitarian intake will increase to 20,000 people a year. This is an important step in the right direction! https://t.co/VJt2whZD3F
— ASRC (@ASRC1) August 11, 2023
Updated
House price increases may ease as jobless rate rises, Lowe says
Keith Wohlahan, a Liberal MP from Victoria, picks up after the break and his first question is about house-price rebound, and is a “good one”, according to referee Lowe.
It’s true many forecasters got it wrong predicting dwelling prices would fall this year given the steep increase in borrowing costs.
However, Lowe notes population has risen faster than new housing stock (see earlier post), people had mostly kept their jobs, and there’d been an increase “in the price of everything” because of inflation. Lately, there’s been the “perception” that the peak of interest rates is “now or close at hand”.
While underscoring he is not giving financial advice (unlike his end-of-2021 projections that interest rates might not rise until 2024), Lowe says the bank expects the unemployment rate to rise and that as inflation eases, so will the growth of nominal income.
Those developments “could change the dynamics of the housing market”, he said.
Wohlahan thanks Lowe for his service, with the soon-to-be-ex-top-parrot chirping in response: “I look forward to becoming a private citizen again too”.
Investment needs to keep up with population growth
We’re about 90 minutes into the hearing and it feels a bit like being the 11th journalist to ask the RBA governor a question at a press conference. Many of the juicy questions have already been asked, so it’s getting a bit “nuanced”.
Lowe is asked about how investment is going in the economy. He says that with the population growing 2.5% this year alone, the economy needs to increase investment by that amount to keep the capital/labour ratio steady.
If not, bad things. Such as worse congestion or, as we’ve seen in housing, rising costs and stress. Investment in housing stock is only rising at about 1.5%, he said.
Encouraging investment, though, is “really up to parliament,” Lowe says, returning serve (or perhaps, saving a penalty).
On that note they break for 10 minutes for MPs to come up with more bitey questions.
NSW government to convert 16,000 teacher and admin roles to permanent, premier says
In a Q&A at the bush summit, NSW premier Chris Minns says the state government is rolling out a commitment to converting 16,000 teacher and admin roles to permanent positions.
“And … more than 50% of them will be in the regions,” he says.
That’s an important initiative because it doesn’t cost the Treasury any more money but it says to teachers, we want you to stay in our community. Here’s a permanent job so you can plan your life around it.
More often than not regional teachers are saying, if I’m on a temporary job, or a temporary contract, even though my boss says I’m going to be needed next year, it’s impossible for me to get financing for a loan or a mortgage to stay in that community.
So those permanent positions are rolling out.
Updated
Extra $124m to boost regional NSW workforce
NSW premier Chris Minns has announced an additional $124m boost to salaries for public servants that work and live in regional New South Wales, at the bush summit in Tamworth.
He also announced the state government will double incentives for healthcare workers to move to regional communities, from $10,000 to $20,000.
We have to grow our rural and regional workforce in remote areas. We know that workforce and skills shortages are contributing to inequitable outcomes in the health sector. The previous incentive, which was set in 2010, was never reviewed despite obvious and clear strains on the health system.
Updated
Lowe says it’s up to ‘political consensus’ to lift productivity
Allegra Spender, one of the independent teal MPs, asks Lowe about how productivity can be improved since that will have a role in how interest rates move (or don’t).
Lowe pushes back, saying that wasn’t the RBA’s expertise, but notes the “issue is not knowing what to do but finding the political consensus to do it”.
He cites competition policy as one area where politicians might want to look, but also singles out the high cost of housing in the country that is “debilitating” on both social and economic grounds.
Lowe says the cost of land is very expensive “and perhaps the most expensive in the world yet we have a huge continent”. (I suspect he hasn’t been to Hong Kong or Shanghai of late). Still, we are land-short like many parts of the planet.
Instead, planning and zoning had big roles to play, he says, noting such areas were not really in the purview of the federal government before which he is being “grilled”.
Updated
AFP encourages all companies to self-report foreign bribery
Back to the AFP and foreign bribery.
The Australian Federal Police is encouraging companies to self-report foreign bribery and related offences, after Oz Mineral Ltd self-reported that employees of Oxiana (Cambodia) Limited may have bribed foreign officials to obtain mining rights in Cambodia.
When the company changed its personnel and governance systems, it identified the conduct which could amount to offences, and worked with the AFP to ensure its investigation could proceed, AFP commander economic, corporate crime and corruption, Christopher Woods, said in a statement.
The company has taken significant steps to remediate and avoid a recurrence of similar kinds of conduct to the alleged offending. Given the level of cooperation and remediation shown by the company in this case, the AFP supported the company’s submission to the CDPP that it not be prosecuted on public interest grounds.
“Even with a high level of cooperation, companies should not be allowed to retain benefits derived from unlawful activity or which are the proceeds of crime,” general counsel criminal assets litigation at the AFP, Andrew Hanger, said.
Funds confiscated are deposited into the confiscated assets account, which is managed by the Australian Financial Security Authority on behalf of the commonwealth.
This is the first concluded matter to have involved application of the AFP and Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP)’s Best Practice Guideline on Self-Reporting of Foreign Bribery and Related Offending by Corporations. The guideline was introduced in 2017 in response to a recommendation of the OECD Working Group on Bribery.
Updated
High inflation not high interest the big drag on households, Lowe says
Philip Lowe says while some people have been squeezed by higher interest rates, “the really big drain on household income is high inflation”, hence the need to rein it in.
The out-going central bank governor says the jobless rate, now at 3.5%, will see a “modest” rise as the economy slows. He emphasises that other nations had targeted bringing inflation down at a faster clip than in Australia where the RBA had given itself a 2025 goal of getting price rises back to its target range.
To bring down inflation faster was not “in the national interest”, Lowe said.
We’ve taken the middle path.
How wages change, meanwhile, will play a big role in whether inflation keeps declining at the expected rate.
We’re going to have to see some moderation in the growth of unit labour costs.
RBA staff are in their own negotiations, as it happens. The bank is offering a 4% increase this year, 3.5% for next year and 3% for the year after.
It seems the bank is discussing the offer with workers without the support of the Finance Sector Union - a subject Labor MPs on the committee will return to during this three-hour hearing.
Updated
AFP orders Oz Minerals company to payback benefits from employees bribery in Cambodia
Oz Minerals Ltd self-reported to the Australian Federal Police that employees of Oxiana (Cambodia) Limited – a foreign subsidiary of Oxiana Limited that later became a part of the Oz Minerals group – may have bribed foreign officials to obtain mining rights in Cambodia between November 2006 and October 2009, according to an AFP statement.
The company cooperated with the AFP criminal investigation, which concluded in September 2021.
A decision was made by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP), in accordance with the commonwealths’ Prosecution Policy , not to initiate criminal proceedings in this matter.
Instead, the AFP and the company agreed that benefits which may have been derived from the conduct that led to the acquisition of the mining rights (owned by the controlled subsidiary which has since been sold) should be confiscated.
In the supreme court of Victoria in May this year, the AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce was granted consent orders that provide for:
a payment of a pecuniary penalty of $3.65 million;
forfeiture of $5.71 million received by the company pursuant to the sale agreement (an immediate total of $9.36 million); and
forfeiture of all future right and entitlement to all ongoing payments to the company pursuant to the sale agreement, as revised. The Official Trustee in Bankruptcy, represented by the Australian Financial Security Authority, will hold responsibility for receipt of these future payments on behalf of the Commonwealth.
Updated
Lowe sticks with view that federal budget ‘broadly neutral’ for inflation
Mulino, a Labor MP, asks if Lowe still thinks the federal budget had no material impact on inflation and therefore interest rates.
He’ll be happy with the answer, with Lowe saying that in his view the budget was “broadly neutral” in its impact.
(Some newspapers at the time took a different view, citing the opinion, frankly, of outlier economists. Guess it helped their sales for a while.)
Anyway, Lowe said he was looking for three responses. The government had banked most of the revenue “surprises” (largely from higher commodity prices), automatic stabilisers were left to work (our taxes rose with inflation, not so happy an outcome) and the government’s energy subsidies for some consumers helped dampen inflation expectations.
Lowe, in the meantime, says “the worst is over” for monetary policy tightening, which would seem a given since we aren’t likely to see the cash rate bumped up at the same rate we’ve seen since May 2022.
He’s also asked about whether bank profits were too high in light of this week’s profit result by CBA of $10,200,000,000 for the past year.
Lowe said Australia’s biggest bank had a return on equity of 14%, within the 10%-15% range internationally. CBA’s results “were not out of line with what we see overseas or for other companies”.
To get a better deal, Lowe said customers should “shop around” to make banks “work harder for your money”.
Updated
Lowe says Australia 'credible' inflation target has been of value
Daniel Mulino, chair of the economics committee (and an economist), thanked Lowe “for your service for a long period of time”, and lobs the first question about the risks facing the economy.
Lowe cited two main risks. The first is that central banks have not done enough to curtail inflation, noting market expectations have been shifting to assume interest rates may have peaked for now (including in Australia).
The other is China. As we noted in this piece earlier this week, China has sunk into deflation - quite at odds with the rest of the world.
A slower than expected recovery in China would be bad for global growth and nations like Australia that look to China as their biggest export market (which is most countries near us).
Lowe is also asked about rent controls, which he says would only be a short-term solution.
“In most cases, rent controls reduce the incentive” to supply more properties, he says. Similarly, handing more money to renters won’t help in the longer term. (People might wonder, though, if their finances can last that long.)
Updated
NSW government hands Star casino lifeline to save 3000 jobs
The New South Wales government had handed a lifeline to the Star casino by way of a “transitional” seven-year tax levy to save 3000 jobs.
The treasurer, Daniel Mookey, announced the changes on Friday morning following months of discussions with the casino.
Under the new arrangement, transitional tax arrangements will apply until 2030 when the tax on poker machine profits reaches the same level as Victoria.
The casino will be legally required to protect 3000 jobs for the next six years.
Mookey said:
The government will be overhauling the form of government’s changes to casino taxes to prevent the staff from turning into an unviable operation.
Star has a lot of work to do to regain its social licence to win back community trust but ultimately, it shouldn’t be ordinary working people who should be paying the price for Star’s mistakes.
Former treasurer, Matt Kean, last year proposed Star’s poker machine profits should be taxed at the top rate of 60.7%.
The maximum rate the casino will face under the new scheme will be 51.6%.
Mookey insisted the casino would have folded under the plan proposed by the previous government.
“You cannot collect money from a dead business,” he said.
Updated
Audience member interrupts Albanese at bush summit expressing concern over voice
During a Q&A at the bush summit in Tamworth, an audience member interrupted prime minister Anthony Albanese to express concern that the voice to parliament will not give Indigenous people the chance to “speak for ourselves”.
Albanese responded:
[The voice to parliament] is a body that’s elected by Indigenous people, of Indigenous people, to make representations of Indigenous people to government. Then, in my view, my strong view I agree with the request by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people overwhelmingly that that will be a step forward.
He said that of over 1000 discussions, consultations and meetings in the lead up to the Uluru Statement From The Heart, people “overwhelmingly” put their name to it.
“That doesn’t mean everyone has the same position.”
Both the man who posed the statement, and Albanese, received applause from the audience.
Updated
Just a note: it is not a scoop. Our reporter Elias Visontay wrote yesterday that China is resuming group tours to Australia, with airlines preparing for a surge in Chinese tourists. You can read that here.
Australia added to China's list of 'preferred destinations'
Back to prime minister Anthony Albanese at the bush summit in Tamworth this morning, where he announced a “breakthrough last night” with China adding Australia to its list of “preferred destinations”.
Australia has been added to in China … a list of I think its preferred destinations. I’m not sure what the technical term is. But basically, what it means is that tourists will be coming back.
“I don’t know this might be a scoop. I’m not sure it’s been announced yet,” he said.
Updated
‘Too early to declare victory’ over inflation Lowe tells final House of Reps hearing
Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has kicked off his final hearing before the House of Representatives economics committee, saying that the task for the past year or so has been to get on top of inflation.
And while inflation is heading in the right direction (down), it was “too early to declare victory”, Lowe says.
He recounts numbers that we’ve known for a while, such the jobless rate near 50-year lows. Households, though, are facing a “painful squeeze” and the economy remains subdued.
Lowe notes he has been fronting this committee for almost 20 years and today marks his 16th. Since his previous one, in February, the bank has raised its cash rate three times and paused three times.
Inflation risks had been moving the upside. The pause, in place for two months in a row now, continue to hinge on how data plays out in the future.
It is “possible some further” rate hikes might be needed, but that is in line with previous comments from Lowe.
“I’m hope we can remain” on that famous narrow path to a soft landing where the economy keeps growing and inflation comes back to the RBA’s 2%-3% target range.
Risks include the near million mortgage holders still to transition from low fixed rates to higher variable ones over the next 18 months.
“We will do what is necessary to achieve that outcome,” Lowe said.
Another risk is that productivity does not improve to the levels of growth pre-pandemic. If it doesn’t, that would be “problematic” to the expected decline in inflation (and require higher interest rates, presumably).
A “complex picture”, in other words.
Updated
Reader call out
An upcoming podcast episode of ‘The Voice Ask Me Anything’ series will feature:
Arrernte writer Celeste Liddle who has written for the Guardian about why she is undecided on the voice
Widjabul Wia-bul woman Larissa Baldwin-Roberts, CEO of GetUp! who is campaigning for yes
Paul Karp, Guardian Australia’s chief political correspondent
Do you have a question for them about the voice? Whether it’s the polling, their view on the yes and no campaigns, or how they came to their stance on the voice, we want to hear from you.
Please email your questions to voicequestions@theguardian.com
Updated
Extra $38m for future drought fund
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has announced an additional $38 million to the future drought fund, at the bush summit in Tamworth this morning.
The extra funds will support the long term trial of new and emerging agriculture practices – like cropping, grazing and farming practices – to build drought resilience in a changing climate, Albanese said.
With the country moving into hotter and drier conditions this summer, the potential for drought over the coming years is on everyone’s minds. What our advantage here is Australian farmers are some of the best in the world preparing for and managing drought. And as a government we recognise the importance of supporting efforts to adapt to a changing climate.
This investment will build a long-term evidence base to accelerate the adoption of best practices across the agricultural sector. It will provide farmers with the confidence to invest in technologies and practices that have been proven across different landscapes and production conditions.
Updated
Albanese addresses News Corp’s bush summit in Tamworth
Prime minister Anthony Albanese is addressing News Corp’s bush summit in Tamworth this morning.
“Bringing people together is such an important step because it is only together that we can rise to meet the challenges facing us,” he says.
And the unavoidable truth is we are not short of challenges. When we gathered [in 2019] in the middle of the worst drought in living memory … then began the first fires of what would become the long black summer. The smoke had barely cleared when COVID hit. Then the floods came.
Now we look ahead with some apprehension to what the coming summer will bring.
Updated
Increase to Australia's humanitarian program
Some 20,000 people can now resettle in Australia’s humanitarian program per year – an increase from 17,875.
The minister for immigration, Andrew Giles, says the move ensures “Australia plays its part in responding to the global humanitarian crisis” where more than 2 million people are in urgent need of resettlement worldwide.
He says in a statement:
The Albanese Government reaffirms its commitment to those in need with an increase in our Humanitarian Program annual intake. This responsibility extends beyond their arrival, by providing robust support to refugees to ensure they are well equipped to settle into Australia and rebuild their lives with certainty.
Guardian’s immigration correspondent Ben Doherty has helped break down the figures.
The 17,785 number is made up of two components: 13,750 is the base humanitarian program. It has been increased by 4,125 a year for places dedicated for Afghans fleeing Afghanistan – an increase announced after the fall of Kabul.
The humanitarian program has not been this large since 2018, when 24,162 humanitarian arrivals settled in Australia, including refugees arriving as part of the special intake of Syrian and Iraqi refugees.
And a fun fact: there was once a time, long ago (under Malcolm Fraser’s government, when the population was half what it is now), when the program accepted 22,000 people a year.
Updated
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has announced registered nurses will be onsite in aged care homes 98% of the time, following a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into aged care.
The @AlboMP @AustralianLabor Government has put nurses back in nursing homes. We're delivering on a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care that will mean better, more quality care for Australian seniors. #auspol pic.twitter.com/vxtmA2CiXE
— Jim Chalmers MP (@JEChalmers) August 10, 2023
Updated
Shouting e-scooters
If you break e-scooter-driving-laws in Melbourne’s CBD, you will be shouted at … by your e-scooter.
Technology that recognises a rider’s location, and shouts at them if they breach the law (like riding on footpaths and tandem riding), will be fitted onto shared e-scooters.
Shouting e-scooters is just the start, apparently.
Deputy lord mayor, Nick Reece, told 3Aw there’s “been a bit of a hoon element” and the council receives “a lot” of complaints about poor rider behaviour.
The next generation after this will we hope have artificial intelligence systems to prevent riders from ending their trips without specifically parking in the right places, alcohol detection and deterrence systems.
Updated
Modest US inflation rate will further ease pressure on Lowe ‘grilling’
Lots of media chatter about Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe being under pressure as he fronts his final House of Representatives economic committee hearing this morning.
In fact, given Lowe’s been overlooked by the government as their choice for the next governor, he can probably relax a bit. His successor and current deputy governor, Michele Bullock, will be more likely to take any heat.
If past such gatherings are any guide, though, geniality will probably trump more aggressive approaches.
Lowe, after all, has only one more RBA board meeting to helm before his term ends on 17 September, and markets for now see the chances of a 13th interest rate increase in this cycle as minimal.
Adding to the likely goodwill, are some relatively benign inflation numbers from the US overnight. Core consumer prices rose just 0.16% in June from May, with the annual rate headline down to 3% or the lowest since March 2021.
The emerging view is that the RBA’s US equivalent, the Federal Reserve, will pause its interest rate rises at its September meeting.
No doubt Lowe will make some reference to those figures when we listen intently about whether the RBA’s two-month pause may extend to September too.
Or perhaps, after wage data for the June quarter lands on 15 August, Lowe might go out with a bang. With no more committee hearings to front, either.
NSW priority social housing waitlist doubles in a decade
New South Wales’s priority social housing waitlist has doubled in less than a decade and surged by 1,000 over the past year, as wait times continue to rise across the state.
Data shows the number of applications on the combined priority and general waitlist grew from 57,889 in July last year to more than 60,000 in January before it dropped to 55,880 in June.
But the priority list for those most in need grew consistently month on month over the past year, from 6,473 last July 2022 to 7,573 in June.
You can read the full story from Tamsin Rose here:
Updated
'Uluru Statement from the Heart is one page long, not 26', RMIT says
RMIT University’s Fact Lab has debunked the claim that the Uluru Statement from the Heart is a 26-page-long document including policies like reparations for First Nations peoples.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart is one page long, not 26. Get the fact here 👇🏽https://t.co/Oy474pwkC7
— RMIT FactLab (@rmit_factlab) August 10, 2023
The true verdict:
The Uluru Statement from the Heart is a one-page document, as confirmed by its authors. Papers released under FOI contain the statement, but also include 25 pages of minutes of meetings held with Indigenous communities, which are not part of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Updated
Three electric vehicles available at less than $40,000
One of three electric vehicles priced at less than $40,000 will arrive in Australian dealerships this week, AAP reports.
Its manufacturer promises the move will be a game-changer, making the technology more accessible.
The MG Motor Australia and New Zealand chief executive, Peter Ciao, said the company cut back its profit margin on the MG4 hatchback to make greener vehicles available to a new audience:
We want a big change in this market.
If you were originally planning to buy [a petrol car], you can now get pure electric.
The company was confident it would sell at least 3000 electric hatchbacks in the country this year – which would make the vehicle one of Australia’s top-selling electric cars.
The MG4, with its entry model costing $38,990, will be the second-cheapest electric vehicle on the market.
The BYD Dolphin is due to arrive within weeks, priced $100 cheaper.
The GWM Ora, which had its price cut to $39,990 in July, is already in dealerships.
Updated
Exercise Malabar: first time Australia hosts major international defence exercise
For the first time, the Royal Australian Navy will be hosting Exercise Malabar in Australia.
The major international defence exercise includes navies from Australia, US, Japan and India – and they form the strategic security dialogue Quad.
The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, will be in Sydney for the fleet entry today.
For the next 10 days, ships, helicopters and aircraft from the Quad countries will engage in a full spectrum of warfare activities as they increase military cooperation – including air defence, anti-submarine training, and aviation, communications and replenishment drills – AAP reports.
Marles says it is an honour for Australia to host Exercise Malabar.
Amid the current strategic circumstances, it is more important than ever we partner with our neighbours and deepen our defence partnerships.
Cooperation, shared understanding and knowledge coupled with training contributes to shared security and prosperity for our region.
Updated
Dutton accuses government of supporting union after WA strikes skyrocket global gas prices
Opposition leader Peter Dutton condemns the Albanese government for putting the unions “back in charge” after gas workers striking in Western Australia caused global gas prices to skyrocket.
On the Today show this morning, Dutton said:
The unions are back in charge, there is no question about that … That is the reality of a Labor Government. They put a lot of support behind the union bosses, forget about the workers. We don’t want to see a disruption to gas supply, and our trading partners would look at Australia as an unreliable partner and look elsewhere for those contracts.
Updated
Dutton says cheaper medicines 'should be funded' to alleviate pressure felt by pharmacies
Opposition leader Peter Dutton says the government should fund a move to make medicines cheaper.
He said on the Today show this morning:
We are certainly in favour of paying less for medicines and we support that, and we support the 60-day dispensing but as the Pharmacy Guild pointed out they have over 3,000 pharmacies across the country and they’re picking the bill up for it.
If the Government want to make medicines cheaper, which we support, it’s a measure that should be funded. At the moment the way the Government structured it, the pharmacists will have to pick up that. I don’t think patients want that.
If it’s possible to have a 60-day script, that’s good, less visits to the doctor so you can free up that service, everyone agrees with that. But it’s the pharmacists picking the cost up.
Updated
Three year anniversary for Australian journalist Cheng Lei detained in China
Foreign affairs minister Penny Wong says her thoughts are with Cheng Lei and her family, as this weekend marks three years since the Australian citizen and television news anchor was detained in China.
This weekend marks three years since Australian citizen Cheng Lei was detained in China.
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) August 10, 2023
Our thoughts are with Ms Cheng and her loved ones.
All Australians want to see her reunited with her children.
I want to acknowledge Ms Cheng’s strength, and the strength of her family and friends through this period.
Ms Cheng’s message to the public makes clear her deep love for our country. All Australians want to see her reunited with her children.
Australia has consistently advocated for Ms Cheng, and asked that basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met for Ms Cheng, in accordance with international norms.
We will continue to support Ms Cheng and her family and to advocate for Ms Cheng’s interests and wellbeing.
Updated
Partner of detained Australian journalist says pending release ‘very important’ to Australia-China ties
The partner of detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei has described Cheng’s release as “very important” for ties between Australia and China.
It will be three years on Sunday since the television news anchor was first detained on national security-related matters.
Appearing on ABC’s 7.30 last night, Cheng’s partner, Nick Coyle, said he hoped the situation would soon be resolved so her two children could once again have “mum’s guidance”.
Coyle said the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, had been great but added the three years had been “enormously difficult” for Cheng.
I’m sure [the government] will continue to make this an extremely significant priority and I think if they do that, we’ll hopefully get a resolution to this horrible situation very soon and a mother could be back with her children.
Host Sarah Ferguson asked how ties between Australia and China could impact the chances of her release.
Coyle responded:
You would like to think these things are above politics - I certainly hope it is - and let’s just get it resolved and her home to her family so she can get on with her life and her children can have their mother back.
Updated
Home affairs tries to water down report critical of ‘extraordinary’ counter-terror powers
Department of Home Affairs officials told researchers to water down a key report that threatened to undermine the government’s use of “extraordinary” counter-terror powers allowing individuals to be imprisoned for a crime they have not yet committed, documents show.
The nation’s independent national security laws watchdog called for Australia’s preventive detention regime for terror offenders abolishment in March and said it was causing Australia to become a “coarser and harsher society”.
The powers, deployed using court-ordered continuing detention orders, rely on the use of tools designed to assess the risk of someone committing a future terror offence or engaging in violent extremism.
You can read the full story from Christopher Knaus and Nino Bucci here:
Updated
NewsCorp profits drop
News Corporation has reported a 75% drop in full-year profit, AAP reports.
Rupert Murdoch’s US-listed media group (which owns News Corp Australia and a lot more, including mastheads in the US and UK) recorded $187m (USD) in profit for the financial year. That is down from the previous year’s $S760m record.
Revenue for the year was $9.9bn – 5% down from the year before.
News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson attributed the drop in profitability to challenging macroeconomic conditions, supply chain pressures and currency headwinds:
Our results showed marked improvement in the second half, so with inflation abating, interest rates plateauing and incipient signs of stability in the housing market, we have sound reasons for optimism about the coming quarters.
Kevin Rudd’s portrait
Ten years after losing the prime ministership, Kevin Rudd was back in Parliament House yesterday, unveiling his prime ministerial portrait by the artist Ralph Heimans.
The family cat Louie made it into the portrait, climbing over a chess board, in part because he kept interrupting the sitting.
You can read the full story from Daniel Hurst here:
Updated
Good morning
Top of the morning to you. I’m Rafqa Touma, and I’ll be rolling today’s breaking news to the blog. If you see anything you don’t want us to miss, tweet it my way @At_Raf_
Here’s a titbit to get us started.
Reserve bank governor Philip Lowe will be under pressure to outline the trajectory for returning inflation to target without tanking the economy at today’s parliamentary hearing, in what will be one of the outgoing governor’s last public appearances, AAP reports. He will also probably be quizzed on his own performance in the job over the last seven years.
Autopsies of a father and his five boys who died in a horrific house fire on Russell Island in Queensland were completed yesterday, with results being sent to investigators. QLD police Det Supt Andrew Massingham said there may be an update on the investigation today. We will bring you those updates to the blog when they land.
And prime minister Anthony Albanese will be at News Corp’s bush summit today, where reports say he will address lowering emissions to lower the risk of extreme summer weather events like drought and bushfires, announcing an extra $38m for drought resilience programs.
Let’s get into the day!
Updated
