What we learned today, Tuesday 28 February
And with that, we are going to put the blog to bed. Here’s a recap of the day’s news:
The Albanese government will raise the tax rate on superannuation accounts with balances over $3m.
The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, released the latest tax expenditures and insights statement, which showed super concessions cost $50bn a year.
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, says Labor’s super changes breach an election commitment.
Stuart Robert said the Coalition should “double down” on robodebt after he was told it was unlawful, the royal commission has heard.
Dozens of cough medicines have been recalled by the TGA.
Workplace ministers around the country have been asked to fast-track a ban on silica products. And Safe Work Australia will investigate silica dangers.
Australia’s education ministers will develop a framework on AI use in schools.
The “exhausted” northern NSW city of Lismore marks a year since traumatic floods.
Premier Daniel Andrews has ruled out pill testing in Victoria.
Energy provider Ausgrid has started installing electricity pole-mounted EV chargers in Sydney.
A man armed with a knife has been shot dead at a Sydney police station.
A primary school child was reportedly hit by a train in Adelaide.
A man has been arrested over an alleged $5m bushfire extortion attempt.
Thank you so much for spending part of your day with us – we will be back tomorrow morning to do it all again.
Updated
Ruby Rose speaks out on LGBTQ+ discrimination and exclusion at school formals
The queer advocate Ruby Rose will join a new partnership between Hilton and Minus18 as an ambassador to raise awareness of the discrimination and exclusion LGBTQ+ teens experience at school formals.
Announced in Sydney on Tuesday, the partnership will expand access to LGBTQ+ young people to free and inclusive school formals in new cities and regional areas.
Rose says:
As a queer person who came out at a very young age, I cannot overstate the importance of this cause ... to drive awareness around the need to provide more inclusive spaces for LGBTQIA+ teens.
We must never underestimate the impact inclusion and acceptance has on both young people in their formative years. Attending a school formal as your true self is a rite of passage that every teen deserves. Queer high schoolers too often don’t have the right support network when navigating who they are. It’s time to change this.
Since 2010, more than 5,000 young Australians have attended Minus18 events including its Queer Formals.
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Education ministers agree to consultation on draft national early childhood education policy
A consultation approach was also agreed upon at the latest meeting of education ministers on Monday for a draft national early childhood education and care vision, focused on children’s education and development outcomes and parents’ workforce participation.
It will be presented to national cabinet in the middle of the year.
The federal minister for early childhood education, Dr Anne Aly, presented the principles guiding the development of a preschool outcomes measure for trial, and a national methodology to measure enrolment and attendance, which were endorsed by education ministers.
Terms of reference were also accepted for a review to inform the next National School Reform Agreement (NSRA) between the commonwealth and states and territories. The review will be released in the coming weeks, and is due to take effect in 2025.
A report released by the Productivity Commission at the end of January found there had been little improvement in educational outcomes since the NSRA was established, with targets “too incomplete and vague” to drive reforms.
Also on the agenda was teacher workforce shortages, including the implementation of the national teacher workforce action plan and the feasibility of teaching programs to be reduced to 12 months without reducing quality and standards.
Following the release of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics report on schools, which showed a rise in drop-outs, ministers commissioned the Australian Education Research Organisation to investigate the causes of declining attendance and provide advice on improvements.
The rate of year 7 and 8 students in public schools staying in school full-time through to year 12 was 76% in 2022, down from 83.1% in 2018.
Updated
Education ministers to release a framework on AI use in schools
Education ministers have agreed to develop a framework to guide schools in harnessing and using artificial technology tools in teaching and learning.
At the latest communique meeting held by the education minister, Jason Clare, on Monday, the minister and his counterparts discussed opportunities from AI technologies following the viral rise of ChatGPT.
A number of states and territories including Victoria, Queensland and NSW moved to ban the use of ChatGPT amongst students in public schools prior to term one due to the threat of plagiarism.
A task force, including AI experts, will be established to develop the framework and return to ministers this year.
In January, Guardian Australia reported concerns from an academic that schools were “flying blind” on the use of artificial technology in classrooms.
Updated
Pocock backs super changes
The independent senator David Pocock has backed the government over its proposed super tax changes on balances of $3m or more, which he described as a “really sensible move”.
Pocock told ABC Melbourne:
At a time when the budget is so tight I welcome discussion of winding back tax concessions for people who have accumulated millions of dollars of superannuation. Millions of dollars of superannuation is so out of reach for the average Australian. These are the kind of sensible things that we should be doing when we face the sort of budget we face and most Australians are dealing with a huge cost of living ... These sorts of tax breaks are only benefiting a very small percentage of Australians.
Asked if the government should go further, Pocock said:
It seems like there are a whole bunch of things that are taboo to talk about. Something like this is fair.
Pocock proposed capping the number of investment properties eligible for negative gearing tax concessions at one or two.
Updated
Dozens of cough medicines recalled by the TGA
Fifty-five cough medicine products are being urgently recalled by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) due to a potentially life-threatening ingredient that can cause anaphylactic reactions.
The TGA is aware of 50 suspected cases, including one death, where the ingredient has caused patients to go into shock after being mixed with general anaesthesia.
The cancellation and recall actions are being taken because of a link between pholcodine-containing medicines and an increased risk of anaphylactic reactions to certain medicines used as muscle relaxants during general anaesthesia.
The TGA chief, John Skerritt, says:
It is difficult to reliably predict who may be at risk of anaphylaxis during anaesthesia and some patients may not know if they have taken pholcodine medicines recently.
Some patients undergoing emergency surgery may not be in a position to talk to their anaesthetist at all. In addition, while surgical facilities may ask about which prescription medicines a patient is taking, they may not ask about over-the-counter products.
Fortunately, safer alternatives to treat a dry cough are available and consumers should ask their doctor or pharmacist for advice. I urge consumers to check if any of your over-the-counter cold and flu medicines contain pholcodine and, if they do, ask your doctor or pharmacist to suggest an alternative treatment.
Pholcodine has been used in a wide range of over-the-counter pharmacy medicines to treat non-productive (dry) cough, particularly in syrups and lozenges. It is also used in combination with other medicines in products that treat the symptoms of cold and flu.
I will bring you more soon.
Updated
It’s time to shut down greyhound racing for good, NSW Greens say
Greyhound racing would end within a year and all dogs would be rehomed and rehabilitated under a New South Wales Greens plan unveiled on Tuesday.
The policy includes a transition package to reskill affected workers for other jobs.
The Greens spokesperson Abigail Boyd says:
Six years on from greyhound racing coming within a whisker of being shut down for extraordinary and well-documented animal abuses this cruel gambling-fuelled industry is again breaking records, with injuries and deaths higher than ever.
The industry was given its second chance, and it has thoroughly failed to reform. It’s time to shut down greyhound racing for good.
Last week Guardian Australia revealed the number of greyhounds injured or dying on racetracks around the state had surged, with a report from the state’s industry regulator finding that last winter was the worst on record for the sport since 2018.
Updated
The independent MP for Curtin, Kate Chaney, has come out in support of super changes:
99.5% of Australians will not be affected by today’s announcement.
I agree that superannuation is for retirement and ordinary Australians don’t need to be subsidising tax concessions to this extent for people who have more than $3m in their super account.
I don’t see it as being a substantial change. It’s more like closing a loophole – superannuation has been used by some for tax avoidance, rather than to prepare for a dignified retirement.
I haven’t seen the detail of the amendment yet, but it seems to be a sensible and sustainable measure, consistent with the expectations of most Australians that super is for retirement.
Closing this loophole is only a small change. I would like to see a broader long-term review of our tax system, to ensure that we can fairly meet the needs of our changing demographics over the coming decades.
Updated
Independents react to proposed superannuation changes
The independent MPs Zoe Daniel and Kate Chaney have both released statements reacting to the government’s proposed super changes.
Here is Daniel’s statement:
If the treasurer is correct, his proposal would affect just one half of one per cent of all Australians.
Those who are older than 63 who want to remove their money from super and reinvest it elsewhere before the changes flow through will be able to do so.
It appears that those who have already invested their money under existing rules, and will not turn 63 before 2025-26, will be the primary group to absorb the proposed tax increase.
Daniel said she was seeking information from the Australian Taxation Office about how many people in Goldstein this would impact and would consult her community.
That said, while some members of the Goldstein community have large superannuation balances, most have much more modest super accounts. Others are struggling with the various economic pressures that could be offset with the revenue that these changes offer.
This remains a consideration for me as I seek to understand this plan.
Daniel said she was interested in how the government plans to spend that revenue, including the potential to add superannuation entitlements to paid parental leave.
As the treasurer points out revenue foregone from superannuation tax concessions is costing the budget no less than $50bn a year and is projected to exceed the cost of the pension by 2050.
This is, therefore, a discussion worth having, however we should be having it as part of a broader review of our tax system.
Updated
Chemical plant fire prompts evacuation order for Sydney’s Banksmeadow
An evacuation order has been issued for Banksmeadow in Sydney after a large fire started at a plastics plant this morning:
BANKSMEADOW | A precautionary evacuation order has been issued for local traffic in the Bayside area within approximately 800m of Denison Street, Banksmeadow. Specialist crews are on-site attending to a HAZMAT incident at a chemical manufacturing plant. pic.twitter.com/ThCrzqYUAV
— Fire and Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) February 28, 2023
Residents in Sydney's south have woken to a large fire burning at a plastics plant in Banksmeadow near the airport. An emergency shutdown was triggered after a fault in one of the site's systems. Two fire trucks are on the scene investigating. https://t.co/TWh1KQgBAw #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/EXx7ofxv0c
— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) February 28, 2023
Updated
Jacqui Lambie Network open to superannuation changes
And the Jacqui Lambie Network has flagged it is open to the super changes:
Senator Tammy Tyrrell says:
I think it’s great that the government is looking at these changes, and I’m open to them. But there’s nothing on paper yet. You wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it, would you? I’ll wait until I see what the actual bill looks like before making up my mind.
Updated
WA premier says police will pursue any breaches of law over Disrupt Burrup Hub campaign
Western Australia premier, Mark McGowan, has warned that police will continue to round up, arrest and charge protesters who break the law in the ongoing campaign against Woodside over the fossil fuel giant’s activities on the Burrup peninsula in the north of the state.
On Monday night the Fremantle home of Trent Rojahn, lead singer of the Perth punk band Last Quokka, was raided and the musician taken into custody.
He was charged with criminal damage over a 13 February incident where he allegedly spray painted Woodside’s corporate headquarters in yellow paint from a fire extinguisher.
Rojahn’s alleged actions were part of an ongoing Disrupt Burrup Hub campaign, which is calling on the Western Australian government to put a stop to Woodside’s gas and fertiliser operations on the Burrup peninsula, know as Murujuga to the traditional custodians.
The area is home to as many as one million ancient rock art carvings, thought to be as old as 50,000 years.
McGowan told ABC Perth radio:
If you break the law and you commit acts of vandalism, the police are going to pursue it – and I don’t object to that.
The premier said Woodside had been operating in the Pilbara region for more than 50 years.
They’re subject to very stringent environmental conditions…[Woodside] provides gas to the city that keeps our lights on, our hospitals functioning and puts gas into your stove. That’s the nature of our society.
Rojahn has been bailed to appear in court on March 27.
It was the second night raid in a week related to Woodside protests, with six counter-terrorism officers descending on the Perth home of ceramic artists Joana Partyka on 24 February.
Partyka had already been sentenced and ordered to pay $7,500 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to a 19 January incident, where she stencilled a yellow Woodside logo over the Frederick McCubbin masterpiece Down on His Luck at the Art Gallery of WA.
Updated
Burke vows not to repeat the mistake of failing to act on asbestos
The live feed of the Burke presser had only one question before we cut away – which is about the CFMEU banning engineered stone from July 2024, no matter what the federal government does.
Burke:
Unions and organisations will make whatever decisions they make within the law. It will also be the case that some suppliers will start to look now at how they can get lower levels of silica in the bench tops or how they can look for other alternatives in people’s kitchens and bathrooms.
So a whole lot of adjustments will happen straight away. What we’ve done today is the job of governments. I wish governments had started this process sooner. Of course I wish when the now prime minister and myself were making speeches in the parliament about this when we were in opposition, of course we wish this process had begun then.
The decision we made today though we weren’t going to wait for the official start date of getting things moving to next year. As I said, Australia took 70 years from the time we were warned about asbestos to the try that we got to the point of a ban.
We’re not going to make that mistake again.
Updated
Burke said not all engineered stone is 97-98% silica, there are some forms that have a much lower level – so Fair Work would look at what risk level was safe.
And then to also scope out how you can have a nationally consistent licensing system for whatever remains as being viewed as safe to be on the market.
That licensing system would have to apply to legacy products. We need to remember now even for the most dangerous of these products, they will now be in kitchens where as long as they’re left alone, they’ll be quite safe.
But what happens when that homeowner decides it’s time to renovate? What happens if there’s a demolition of the house?
Burke says the legacy issue we had with asbestos will be the same for stone bench tops.
No one should be worried in terms of what they currently have in their home and think suddenly that’s a dangerous item to have but the moment it’s adjusted, the moment it’s moved, the risk is real and we do not currently have the rules in place to make sure that it’s safe.
We initially went to the meeting on the basis that we would try to meet again in six months’ time. We ended up resolving if the report is ready earlier than that we will meet earlier than that. We will scope out the different things that can be done at each level of government.
Updated
Safe Work Australia tasked to investigate silica dangers
Burke:
Silicosis is a disease that hits people regardless of age. Here in this building when I was in opposition a couple of years ago I met a young woman by the name of Joanna who was 35 at the time.
She told me her greatest fear was not seeing her daughters grow into adulthood. She explained she was in a workplace with high levels of silica dust and working as an administrative assistant and now has a terminal illness.
Burke said the states and territories have asked Safe Work to investigate the dangers and scope out the regulation that is needed for people to work with these products:
I’m pleased to say we have ended up with a unanimous decision across every state, territory and commonwealth. We have now tasked Safe Work Australia to do the work to scope out what regulation is required for all workplaces where you deal with silica dust and to also scope out specifically with respect to engineered stone and engineered stone bench tops to do the work starting now on what a ban would look like.
Updated
Hello everyone – Tony Burke is talking about silicosis:
There’s been a big conversation about the dangers of silica in the workplace and what that means for silicosis and other lung diseases.
It’s for that reason that I asked all state and territory ministers to meet together today to work through how can we move together to provide that simplest of protections to make sure that when somebody goes to work, they’re not contracting a terminal illness simply by attending their job.
Silicosis does not only, is not only relevant to kitchen bench tops. A huge percentage of the earth’s crust is silica. And some people will say silica is a natural product, it’s naturally occurring.
So is asbestos.
There are products when they’re in high levels of concentration create unacceptable levels of risk. There’s been an understandable focus therefore on kitchen bench tops, even though that’s not the whole story with respect to risk of silica. Kitchen bench tops can be in the order of 97%, 98% silica.
Updated
It’s all happening on the blog this afternoon! I am handing over to Cait Kelly who’s going to take you straight to the employment relations minister Tony Burke speaking in Canberra.
Updated
Taylor says there are details on super changes the government needs to provide:
Now there’s a great deal of detail that hasn’t been laid out about what’s been proposed today. We don’t know how to find how benefits will be treated under this and how undivisible assets will be treated, unlisted assets, how they’re going to be liquid assets and be treated under what’s proposed by Labor.
Taylor ends on the familiar note of criticising Labor’s spending:
It’s clear this has been rushed but what is also clear is that when the Labor party runs out of money, it comes after yours. And we’re going to see, I’m confident, a lot more of this from the Labor party.
They’re not talking about managing their spending and managing their budget. They’re talking about raising taxes. Australians will pay for a Labor party that adds over $114bn at the last budget in October.
A Labor party that has committed an extra $45bn of off budget spending that will have to be paid for by Australians. This is the Labor party that wants to spend your money and is going to have to tax all Australians in order to be able to do that.
Updated
Taylor seems worried the government could change its mind on stage-three tax cuts next:
We also know from the treasurer that he is keen to get rid of the stage-three tax cuts. Tax cuts that are crucial to prevent inflation, raising the average tax for a large proportion of Australians.
Updated
Taylor says super changes breaching 'unambiguous' pre-election commitment
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, is speaking in Sydney responding to the government’s changes on super announced today. He’s continuing Hume’s theme they represent a breach of trust of what was said before the election:
The prime minister has walked away to his commitment to the $275 reduction in electricity prices. We’ve seen the prime minister walk away from cheaper mortgages that he committed before the last election. And today we’ve seen the prime minister and the treasurer walking away from their commitment to not add taxes to superannuation.
Now this was an unambiguous commitment from the prime minister. He said he wouldn’t raise taxes on Australian super. Australian super is Australians’ money. That must be the starting point here. It is clear Labor is prepared to break a promise to charge more tax. The prime minister and the treasurer released a report laying out more than $150bn of additional taxes that they may well choose to impose on the Australian people.
They refused to rule out imposing capital gains tax on Australians’ homes. They refuse to rule out getting rid of negative gearing. And we know they’re coming after franking credits. Indeed, they’ve introduced broad-ranging legislation to come after franking credits into the Parliament already. This is the Labor party that says one thing before an election and does something very different afterwards.
Updated
Leon also sought advice on her own legal position. She told the inquiry:
Discussions that were being had with other ministerial offices and conveyed to me suggested that some ministers wanted to see whether we could stop the process, but not repay the debts. Stop the process but not tell anyone. Stop the process and only repay if people appealed. There were a lot of suggestions going around that seemed to be inconsistent with my obligations to do the right thing and the lawful thing.
She went on:
I ended up having to stop the program in advance of a decision by the government to do so.
Leon also corroborated a top departmental lawyer’s claim that the then attorney general, Christian Porter, had told Robert words to the effect of, “It’s right, mate”, in relation to the solicitor general’s advice.
Leon said:
And really it was only from that point that minister Robert and the government as a whole felt they did in fact have to abide by the solicitor general’s opinion, because the first law officer had confirmed it.
Robert announced on 18 November 2019 the robodebt scheme would be “refined”, but did not apologise and claimed only a “small cohort” of people were affected.
Guardian Australia revealed in March 2020 the government had privately accepted it would need to refund hundreds of thousands of victims. It announced the decision on a Friday afternoon in May 2020.
Robert is set to appear at the royal commission on Thursday.
The inquiry, before Catherine Holmes AC SC, continues.
Leon was asked about another meeting with Robert on about 7-8 November 2019, again before the program had been shut down but after the solicitor general had determined it was unlawful.
Leon said she told Robert the best option was to apologise, admit the error, and “inform customers and staff of the steps we will take to correct the error”.
Leon claims Robert responded:
We will absolutely not be doing that. We will double down.
He said it confidently and firmly. I have a very strong memory of it because I was so surprised and shocked … I thought my advice was obvious … It seemed the only thing for an organisation that had been found to be doing something unlawful was to cease doing it and to remediate and to apologise.
Leon said after that conversation a brief was prepared for Robert to set out that “one couldn’t just dismiss” the solicitor general’s advice.
Updated
Stuart Robert said Coalition should ‘double down’ on robodebt after he was told it was unlawful
The former government services minister Stuart Robert told the boss of his department the Coalition would not apologise and would “double down” after he was informed the robodebt scheme was unlawful, the royal commission has been told.
Renee Leon, a former human services secretary, told the commission Robert had also expressed doubts about the importance of the solicitor general’s September 2019 finding that the program was unlawful.
Corroborating evidence from another public service witness, Leon produced a handwritten note of a conversation from 29 October 2019, when she briefed Robert on the solicitor general’s opinion.
Leon said Robert had treated the conversation “appropriately seriously”, but the minister had responded to her briefing by saying: “Legal advice is just advice.”
Leon said:
I remember it because it was so shocking to me, I suppose. Because we weren’t talking about some low level advice, it was the solicitor general.
Leon also told the royal commission that, although the decision to stop the scheme was one for the government, she ended up halting the program herself before any decision was made.
She did so after receiving advice from her chief lawyer warning of her obligations, including the risks of misfeasance in public office from continuing to oversee an unlawful program.
Robert is set to appear at the royal commission on Thursday.
Updated
Jane Hume criticises Labor ‘breach of trust’ on super
The shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, has accused Labor of “doubling” the tax on super of 80,000 Australians, a “breach of trust, a breach of a pledge made before the election”.
Hume told Sky News that despite saying the legislation was not retrospective, the changes have “not been grandfathered” so will apply to: people who sold a family business and reinvested i super; older Australians who downsized a large family home; people who made additional contributions to super.
Hume said that the tax expenditure statement also referred to negative gearing and capital gains tax, questioning if changes to those will arguably “not be a breach of trust if they legislate this term but implement them in the next term”.
Former Labor leader, Bill Shorten, was at least up front about wanting to cut tax concessions, she argued.
Hume also fumed that the measure was an “attack on class welfare” - perhaps a slip on the more common phrase “class warfare”.
Updated
Greens yet to finalise stance on superannuation changes
Asked about whether the Greens are saying a blanket “no” to supporting the government’s proposed changes to super, Bandt says the Greens are yet to reach a final position:
The Greens will have a discussion about the government’s proposal when we meet in Parliament and have a chance to consider the government’s proposal in full. Obviously they have only announced it today. So I can’t give you the Greens’ final position on the legislation today.
The point that we’re making is that even if this goes ahead and gets this modest change to superannuation tax concessions for the very wealthy goes ahead, the very same people are going to find themselves on the receiving end of a $9,000-a-year cheque from Labor with tax cuts for politicians and millionaires that are frankly unaffordable.
Our main concern is that any savings from this - even this modest measure won’t find their way into the pockets of everyday people who are struggling with rampant inflation and the cost of living crisis, but instead could just be used to fund the stage-three tax cuts for the very same people.
Updated
The Greens leader Adam Bandt has just held a press conference responding to the government’s announcement on superannuation changes.
Bandt is critical that winding back super tax cuts won’t make a difference to Australians facing cost of living pressures:
Let’s look at reigning in the stage-three tax cuts for the politicians and billionaires, scrapping them and using that money to instead make everyday people’s lives better with cost of living measures like freezing power bills and getting dental into medicare.
That’s the kind of change that will make a difference to people, not winding back super tax cuts on one hand only to give the very same people a $9,000-a-year tax cut.
Updated
More on Leeser’s speech to the Uphold and Recognise conference today:
Albanese has continually pointed to the 270-page Calma-Langton report, completed under the former Coalition government, when asked for detail about the voice. But the government has not formally adopted any of the report’s numerous suggestions for how the voice would work, or said it would do what the report outlined.
Leeser said:
I say to the minister and the prime minister, tell us which ones you have picked. Build the case. Engage in an act of persuasion.
Answering the questions is about providing Australians with the roadmap of what this body will look like. It should provide confidence.
Leeser put the potential failure of the referendum back on the PM himself, saying it would go down without better engagement with the public.
The prime minister has argued ‘what would the neighbours think if this goes down’, my response is what would we think of ourselves having rushed to failure and insulted the first sons and daughters of our land?
But I want to be clear, if a referendum question is put and fails, it wouldn’t just be the prime minister’s failure. After all, he set the timetable and the process. It would be a failure of all those who did not urge caution and proper process.
We must get this right because the prospect of failure is unthinkable.
Updated
Leeser calls on government to formally respond to Calma Langton Report
Opposition shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Julian Leeser, claims the Labor government is “mucking it up” on the voice to parliament, calling on Anthony Albanese to issue more detail on the proposal to win support.
Leeser, also the shadow attorney general and a supporter of the voice, has called on the Labor government to issue a formal response to the Calma Langton co-design report, saying people deserve to know what the Indigenous consultation body would do.
He said today:
The lack of a process and the lack of detail is hurting the idea of a voice. Good process and more detail will get this referendum back on track and it has to get back on track because it’s not tracking to success.
Leeser, among the opposition’s staunchest supporters of constitutional recognition for First Nations people, gave a speech to the Uphold and Recognise conference today - a gathering of constitutional conservatives who back the voice in principle.
After fellow Liberal Andrew Bragg gave a speech saying the referendum was “dead” without more conservative support, Leeser accused the government of “mucking it up and changing course again and again.”
Leeser said:
Australians have a right to know how that institution will work. I believe the way to provide the detail is for the government to formally respond to the Calma Langton Report.
Updated
ACT calls for ban on gambling ads
The ACT government has called for significantly tougher restrictions and potentially a complete ban on gambling advertisements, arguing companies are targeting the social insecurities of young men.
ACT attorney general and minister for gaming, Shane Rattenbury, has told a parliamentary inquiry into gambling harm that Australians “are fed up with having kids particularly bombarded with online gambling advertisements”.
Here’s what Rattenbury told the inquiry:
We would like to see far greater restrictions, if not an outright ban on a range of gambling advertisements, particularly during hours where younger people are watching but across the board.
This advertising is particularly targeted at young men. Due to a range of studies, we know that young men are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of gambling. The industry is targeting young men by putting things together like “bet with mates”, which essentially says if you want to be cool and you want to be socially accepted with a good group of friends, then you should get a betting account together.
I think this is particularly insidious and I think there’s a role for the government to step in and say this is unduly harmful and unduly targeted at members of our community.
Rattenbury told the inquiry that future generations would question why the scale of gambling and associated advertising was able to reach this point before regulation.
Updated
NSW premier promises no more privatisation of assets
The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, has declared he will not sell off any more of the state’s assets and conceded the government will go deeper into debt to pay for infrastructure in the next term of parliament.
Speaking in western Sydney, the premier ruled out introducing new taxes and said the state’s debt position would be “sustainable and manageable” while it increased to pay for the state’s ballooning infrastructure construction.
He said:
We are not privatising assets.
The premier has previously said his government did not have “any plans” to sell off more assets but on Tuesday went further.
The NSW opposition has already ruled out further privatisations and has been critical of the government’s record.
Perrottet agreed his government would go deeper into debt to pay for its infrastructure pipeline, explaining it was part of getting back to surplus.
He said:
We have an incredibly manageable and sustainable debt position here in NSW.
We always deal with our debt position as we move through the budget process.
When it comes to getting the budget back in the black, as the treasurer knows, that’s the first starting point of surpluses is you start to invest in infrastructure. We have a pathway back to surplus.
Updated
Police investigating alleged stabbing at Reservoir high school in Melbourne
Victoria Police said:
Officers responded to reports of a stabbing at a school on Plenty Road about 10.50am.
A boy was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A boy was arrested and is currently assisting police with their enquiries.
The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are yet to be determined.
There is no ongoing threat to the community.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
Updated
Robodebt inquiry told DHS secretary took ‘credit’ for scheme
The former secretary of the Department of Human Services, Renee Leon, has told a royal commission her predecessor Kathryn Campbell took “credit” for the robodebt scheme.
Appearing at the inquiry on Tuesday, Leon, who replaced Campbell in October 2017 and held the role until December 2019, said her relationship with her predecessor was initially collegial but became “difficult” as time went on.
Leon said when she took on the position at DHS in October 2017, she was aware of deep cultural problems at senior levels at the department. She said she was told officials sometimes yelled at each other, publicly shamed one another, and there was concern about raising bad news.
She said:
You end up with a situation where people are afraid to raise risks or say something negative because they might get humiliated or yelled at.
Leon said she tried to make clear “no one would get shot” for bringing her bad news, adding, “It’s much better to find out, than to find out afterwards, as I discovered.”
Leon said she had been “shocked” to read the solicitor-general’s advice in the middle of 2019 that found the robodebt scheme was unlawful.
In 30 years as a public servant, I have never discovered that I’d been administering a program of the scale that was unlawful.
Campbell has told the commission she was involved in an early brief for the robodebt proposal in 2015, but did not see the plan through the budget process. She has said she regretted not seeking external legal advice but added the scheme’s legality was primarily the Department of Social Services’ responsibility, because it managed social security law.
Leon was asked about her understanding of where the robodebt proposal had come from.
She told the commission:
It was spoken of and understood to have been the concept of the Department of Human Services… Kathryn did tend to credit for it, though that could just be because secretaries tend to take credit for the work of their department. But I understood it to be something she thought of.
And in my early dealings with her, in the first six months of the role, I remember talking to her about the need for [budget savings]. She had recommended to me I should look further in the compliance area, because that was where there was money to be found, and she had had great success in doing that by coming up with the online compliance interventions and associated data-matching ideas.
Campbell is expected to give evidence again at the commission.
The inquiry continues.
Updated
Andrews says he won’t comment directly on child sexual abuse case
Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, says his thoughts are with victims of child sexual abuse following the sentencing of former Collingwood cheer squad identity Jeffrey “Joffa” Corfe.
On Monday, Corfe was handed a 12-month prison term, wholly suspended for two years, meaning he will avoid prison.
Corfe pleaded guilty to a charge of sexually penetrating a child under the age of 16.
If he did not plead guilty, the judge would have handed him a prison sentence of two years and four months with a non-parole period of 14 months.
With the suspended sentence, he will be a registered sex offender for 15 years. If he commits a crime in those two years, he could be re-sentenced to serve out the whole 12 months in prison.
Asked if the state’s attorney general will urge prosecutors to appeal the sentence, Andrews said:
I’ve had a number of people reach out to me on that judgement and we understand how confronting that is. We understand how triggering and how deeply distressing that is. I don’t want to comment on individual judgments that’s not appropriate but the OPP [office of public prosecutors] regularly reviews these sorts of issues, [and] has all manner of different options available to them. But I’ll let the attorney general and the OPP deal with that. That should be away from a press conference. But I do understand and I do appreciate that yesterday was a very challenging day for victims survivors of child sexual abuse.
- with AAP
Updated
The press conference with the PM and treasurer has wrapped up and I have a few bulletins from my colleagues to catch you up on, including circling back to Dan Andrews’ press conference.
Albanese is asked about his trip to India in a week’s time, and whether he will be raising with his counterpart Narendra Modi his role in the 2002 Gujurat riots.
Reporter:
A recently revealed report by the UK government found [Modi] was directly responsible for a climate of impunity during the Gujurat riots which killed more than 800. Human Rights Watch is warning of a rise of mob violence in India. Can you guarantee Australians, particularly the Muslim diaspora here, that this is something you’ll raise with him when you meet with him?
Albanese doesn’t directly engage with the substance of the question about the riots and human rights in India:
I look forward to the visit. I’m going at the invitation of prime minister Modi. I’ll be taking some of you along, I think, although Kieran just got put with the luggage!
I’ll be talking as well the CEOs of some major Australian companies. Can I say this about the relationship with India: The Varghese report which I think one of the best documents about Australia’s relationship with the rising power that has ever been written. And it’s a pity that a whole lot of it has just stayed on the shelf.
What I’m determined to do is to build a better relationship between Australia and India. I see it as a relationship of opportunity. I look forward to having positive discussions with the Prime Minister. One of the things that my government has done also is to return to acting like a diplomatic government should.
We’ll continue to act in that vein to develop positive relationships, we always stand up for our values and I’m very much looking forward to the visit to India along with the CEOs of major Australian corporations.
This is a very significant visit and later on in the - possibly in the first half of this year as well, I’ll welcome prime minister Modi, prime minister Kishida [of Japan], and president Biden to Australia for the Quad leaders’ meeting. That will be a very significant event to be held here in Australia as well. Australia’s back around the international table engaging with our neighbours, pursuing our interests, but also pursuing our values. That’s a positive thing.
Updated
We took you straight to the breaking news of the prime minister’s announcements about superannuation, but just taking you back a moment to the beginning of his speech. This is what Albanese had to say in a tribute to the communities of southern Queensland and the northern rivers of New South Wales on the one year anniversary of the disastrous floods:
One year on, our thoughts are with the loved ones who lost their lives during and as a result of these floods, as well as the thousands of people who were dislocated from their homes and from their businesses, communities like Lismore, were doing it really, really tough and continue to do so.
Our thoughts are also with the volunteers. The Australian Defence Force personnel. All those who have come in and provided support and assistance on the ground, that I have witnessed firsthand In northern New South Wales and in Queensland.
Since then, tragically, of course, we have also seen major flooding in southern and western New South Wales, in Victoria, in Tasmania, in the riverland in South Australia and of course around Fitzroy Crossing and the north-west of Western Australia.
This is a difficult country. But at the worst of times we see the best of the Australian character. And over the last year we have seen that. So, my thoughts are with those who today it will be a very difficult day.
We’ll continue to provide support to state governments, to local government, to individuals, over $3bn has been committed to recovery from the February last year, New South Wales floods, from state and the federal government.
We’ll continue to roll out resilience and betterment projects as well as in disaster-prone regions, including to our new disaster ready fund. We need to make sure we don’t just build back to what was there, but build back better, so that communities are greater protected. And I thank all those today for whom two will be a tough day.
Updated
Paul Karp follows Murph:
You said the 99.5% will see what you’re doing today but I don’t think they heard you categorically say you’re not going to do other changes to superannuation. Do you want to take an opportunity to do that and say - say that’s not part of your plan, you’re not going to do that even on the other side of the next election?
Albanese:
There will be no changes, no changes, this term, even this change. What we are doing is pointing towards - is pointing towards 2025. Now, we can’t be clearer, not just in our words, but in our actions. That’s what counts. We’re being very clear here by our actions what we intend to do.
Updated
As always, Murph gets to the heart of the matter:
Just picking up on the structure point, forgive me I’m a bit confused as to where the boundaries of action are. You have released a document today that basically categorises a bunch of tax concessions that are unaffordable across the board that punch an enormous hole in the budget and you - you basically worked out a situation where you have identified one reform that you want to make that you will put to the people before it takes effect. So are you seriously saying that that’s it - you’re not going to do any more on any other concession that has been identified in the document today between now and the election?
Why is that? Because the top 10 tax concessions show $150bn in foregone revenue. With so many pressures on the budget, and so many barriers to tax reform, is this it? A tiny slice of what amounts to $50bn in tax concessions that will only come into effect after the next election?
Anthony Albanese:
The tax expenditure statement isn’t a policy document. It’s an action of transparency. It’s important that people be able to see exactly what the system is, where the ins are, where the outs are, revenues and expenditures and it’s about transparency. That’s why it’s been done today so people can see that.
So, no other movement there, but the expenditure is laid out clearly. Will that start a grown up conversation? Let’s see.
Updated
Taking questions, Albanese wants to emphasise this is his government taking a long-term view:
This is about long-term sustainability and the structural problems that are there. One of the things I often get in media conferences, why do politicians always just focus on the short term? Where’s the long-term thinking? My government is focused on short term issues – we’re focused on dealing with the floods, all of that - but we’re very much focused as well on the long-term challenges that Australia faces. That’s why we’re making this decision.
Updated
Anticipating the Coalition’s criticisms, Chalmers warns the opposition will have to explain to the Australian people why they’re “prepared to go to war for the one half of 1% of people.”
Now, one final thing about our opponents. This is the same - these are the same people who gave us a trillion dollars of debt and deficits as far as the eye can see, they now want to borrow even more and have even bigger deficits in order to give the most generous tax breaks to people with tens of millions of dollars in super.
In 2016, they jacked up taxes on superannuation to the tune of $5bn. At the time, Angus Taylor said it’s inappropriate that someone who contributed millions and millions of dollars continues to get the 15% concessions. That’s what Angus Taylor said in 2016 when they increased taxes on super.
If they want to vote against this change and try and prevent this change, they can explain to people why they’re not prepared to back energy bill relief for pensioners, they’re not prepared to back people fleeing domestic violence with more affordable homes, and a broader and deeper industrial base in this country, manufacturing jobs, but they’re prepared to go to war for the one half of 1% of people with more than $3m of superannuation in their accounts.
They can explain that to the Australian people. We take our responsibilities seriously. This is about responsible economic management. We think we have struck the right balance here and we’re confident we have.
Updated
Chalmers says while he knows this is a contentious area, he’s confident Australians are going to understand this is a fair change:
I’m confident that Australians will see this change as modest and reasonable and fair. But one which makes a difference to the sustainability and affordability of the superannuation system that we cherish.
I think it’s good that more people have become aware over the course of the last week or so, about some of the features of the tax concessions in superannuation, I know this is and can be a contentious area.
But equally, we take our responsibility to manage the budget in a common sense way, very, very seriously. We are interested in the right path here, and not just the path of least resistance.
So who are we talking here? What are the numbers?
Anthony Albanese:
People can see what we’re doing here. Which is we’re proposing a change that will have the impact on 0.5% of the population. And Mark [Riley, reporter], if you knew there was someone out there who had $400 million in their superannuation account, I didn’t, if you knew there was 17 people who had $100 million in their account, I didn’t, and it’s hard to argue that those levels is about actual retirement incomes. Which is what superannuation is for.
Chalmers clarifies some of those numbers around super and who this will affect:
The average superannuation balance is about $150,000. And the few people with balances above $3 million hold an average of almost $6 million in their accounts.
As the prime minister said, 17 people have got more than $100m, one person has got more than $400m.
$100m fund earning a 5% return receives a tax break upwards of $1.5 million a year, compared to a return outside of super if it was taxed at the marginal rate.
It takes 100 average wake earners paying the average amount of tax to pay the tax break for that simple super account every year.
100 ordinary people to fund with their taxes the tax break on someone with $100m in super.
Every dollar spent on a tax break with tens of millions of dollars in super is a borrowed dollar that makes the deficit bigger.
There will still be tax concessions for you, they just won’t be quite as generous as they were before.
Updated
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is being VERY careful in his language in announcing these changes. We are talking about changes to the tax concessions for 0.5% of people with superannuation accounts. In 2025-26. So the policy won’t even kick in until after the election, and will be part of a future mandate the Labor government would be seeking.
So nothing changes now, and maybe something will change in a couple of years for those 0.5% of super holders, who have more than $3m in their retirement accounts.
For context, the average super account holds $150,000 (mine isn’t there yet). So this is not even something that most people would even have to worry about.
But because so much of budget talk when it comes to tax reform is a toxic cesspit, here we are. Dancing around about making changes for about 80,000 people – who will still get tax concessions, but maybe not as much. And who have more than $3m in their super accounts.
Here is Chalmers explaining the tax expenditure statement:
It’s important to understand what the tax expenditure statement is not. It is not a statement of government policies or even policy intent, it shouldn’t be read that way. It’s an honest reporting of the facts, what the various concessions are, who benefits from them, and how much they cost the budget.
We tried to be up-front in the our time in office about the challenges in our economy and in our budget. And I think people are pretty familiar with them by now. We inherited $1 trillion of debt that is getting more and more expensive to service as interest rates go up. We have persistent and growing spending pressures in health, defence, aged care. In the near term in the budget we’re doing pretty well from a combination of higher commodity prices, lower unemployment, and the beginnings of stronger wages growth. But beyond the next couple of years the budget pressures are intensifying rather than easing.
This is the mess that we were left and this is the mess we’re trying to clean up. And the announcement the Prime Minister has just made is part of that effort. Now, in the past week or so, there’s been a welcome debate about the sustainability of some of the more generous tax concessions in our superannuation system.
And what the tax expenditure statement shows is that the cost in revenue foregone from super tax breaks is about $50 billion a year. And that will surpass the cost of the aged pension as I said before, by around 2050. This debate or this part of the debate began when we released the proposed objective of superannuation, but making sure its purpose is to deliver a dignified retirement for working people. That’s what super is for.
Updated
Only 17 people have over $100m in their super accounts, says Albanese
Albanese goes on to explain the rationale behind the decision, including $2bn in savings to the government’s bottom line when it is operating on a full-year period.
Labor built the superannuation system and we have fought to keep it strong. But Australians who are having to make tough decisions around the kitchen table expect their government to be prepared to make tough decisions around the cabinet table.
And with 17 people earning over $100 million - having over $100 million in their superannuation accounts – the individual who has over $400 million in his or her account, most Australians would agree that is not what is superannuation was for. It’s for people’s retirement incomes.
Confronted with this information, it will be irresponsible to not take any action whatsoever. That’s why we’ve made this decision today. This reform will strengthen the system by making it more sustainable.
The savings that are made from the reduction in these tax breaks will contribute $900m to the bottom line over the forward estimates. And some $2 billion when it is operating on a full-year period.
Updated
PM confirms timing of super reforms is ‘intentional’ for post the 2025 federal election
Good afternoon from Canberra – where, after a week of discussion, the government has announced where it is going on super.
And, as flagged by Paul, Murph and I over the last couple of days, the government will cap tax concessions for people with more than $3m in their superannuation account.
So instead of a 15% tax concession, it will move to 30%.
Here is how Jim Chalmers explains it in his press release:
From 2025-26, the concessional tax rate applied to future earnings for balances above $3m will be 30%.
This is expected to apply to around 80,000 people and they will continue to benefit from more generous tax breaks on earnings from the $3m below the threshold.
This adjustment does not impose a limit on the size of superannuation account balances in the accumulation phase. And it applies to future earnings – it is not retrospective.
This modest adjustment to tax breaks for the biggest accounts is expected to generate revenue of about $2b in its first full year of revenue after the election.
The 2022-23 Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement released today shows that the revenue foregone from superannuation tax concessions amounts to about $50b a year. The cost of these concessions is projected to exceed the cost of the Age Pension by 2050.
You might notice it is not coming in until 2025-26. That is AFTER the next election.
Anthony Albanese says that is intentional:
It’s after the next election. It’s also not retrospective. It applies to future earnings. Labor built the superannuation system and we have fought to keep it strong. But Australians who are having to make tough decisions around the kitchen table expect their government to be prepared to make tough decisions around the cabinet table.
Updated
'99.5% of people with superannuation are unaffected by this reform', PM says
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is now speaking in Canberra about the changes just announced to superannuation.
After acknowledging the anniversary of the Northern Rivers floods, Albanese says:
The cabinet has met this morning and had a discussion about superannuation. You may have noticed it’s been occurring over recent times. This Government inherited a trillion dollars of debt with very little to show for it.
Today I’m announcing that the earnings on super balances above $3 million will be a concessional rate of 30% rather than 15%.
This proposal does not change the fundamentals of our superannuation system. 99.5% of people with superannuation are unaffected by this reform. Under 80,000 will be impacted by this.
Importantly, this change will not occur until 1 July, 2025. You will have noticed that’s beyond this term. It’s after the next election. It’s also not retrospective. It applies to future earnings.
Updated
Government confirms tax changes to superannuation accounts with balances over $3m
From 2025-26, the concessional tax rate applied to future earnings for balances above $3m will be 30%.
The change is expected to apply to around 80,000 people, which is 0.5% of the Australian population.
The 15% rate continues for balances under $3m.
breaking: Govt confirms superannuation changes
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) February 28, 2023
"From 2025-26, the concessional tax rate applied to future earnings for balances above $3 million will be 30 per cent"
"This is expected to apply to around 80,000 people" - 0.5% of people
15% rate continues for balances under $3m pic.twitter.com/qssEEFXvAS
Updated
Queensland education union calls for urgent action following damning report on health and wellbeing in sector
A union representing more than 17,000 principals, teachers and staff across Queensland and the Northern Territory has called for urgent action to address the health and wellbeing of students and staff following a damning report into the sector.
The Independent Education Union QNT branch secretary Terry Burke said the summary findings of the latest Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey reinforced the extent of the sector’s workload crisis.
The survey found the number of principals looking to retire had tripled in the last three years, broadly due to workload and a lack of time to focus on core duties.
Burke:
We see this in the burnout of our teachers and other school staff and the increasing rates of school refusal by students. We don’t have a teacher shortage - we have a shortage of teachers willing to work under oppressive workloads. Like teachers, our school leaders are forced to do too much work unrelated to their core duties, severely impacting their health and wellbeing.
Both government and school employers need to take urgent action on the issue of workload and work intensification in our schools by putting in place meaningful reforms to tackle the paperwork, red tape and obsession with data which are sucking the life out of our profession.
Updated
Andrews rules out pill testing
Victoria will not follow Queensland in rolling out pill testing, the state’s premier, Daniel Andrews, says.
Speaking to reporters at Box Hill Secondary School, in Melbourne’s east, he claimed the service created a false sense of security for drug users:
I don’t think that we will be putting in place a pill testing regime because I don’t think that you can take these drugs at any level and be safe. Pill testing can often give people the sense that it is safe to take these drugs. And it isn’t. The pharmacology, the evidence, is very, very clear.
The Queensland government on Saturday announced it would introduce pill testing at mobile and fixed sites following the trials in Canberra.
The service would allow users to have their illicit drugs chemically tested for the presence of potentially dangerous substances and chemical compounds.
Updated
Retails sales rebound, trade surplus swells – will this mean 10 out of 10 RBA interest rate rises come next Tuesday?
Data out from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) points to the resilience of the economy.
First up, retail sales rose 1.9% in January, reversing part of December’s 4% retreat. (CBA had tipped January’s sales to rise 2.1%.)
Department stores did particularly well, with turnover up 8.8% for the month, when seasonally adjusted.
Retail sales in January were up 1.9%, reversing part of December's 4% retreat, ABS says. pic.twitter.com/9DqG07oxXQ
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) February 28, 2023
On the trade front, Australia garnered a $14.1bn current account surplus in the December quarter up from a revised $753m surplus in the September quarter. (Initially, this was reported as a deficit.)
The trade surplus reached $40.9bn, the second highest on record, the ABS said, with higher commodity prices helping.
The net primary income deficit fell to $26.4bn following the record-high deficit of $30.4bn in the September quarter.
Australia's current account reported a $14.1bn surplus in the December quarter, up $13.4bn from a revised modest surplus in the previous three months (adding to 4th Qtr GDP growth). Higher commodity prices helped. (Source: ABS) pic.twitter.com/dq5aBe903p
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) February 28, 2023
Economists believe the fatter current account surplus will add 1.1 percentage points to the December quarter’s GDP growth (and make up for the 0.8ppt subtraction from the change in inventories, we saw yesterday).
We’ll get those GDP figures tomorrow.
Both the retail sales and trade numbers will be seen as positives for an economy absorbing a record series of interest rate rises.
Prior to today’s ABS figures, investors were lifting their expectations for how high the Reserve Bank will lift its key interest rate.
They are now looking at the equivalent of four more 25 basis-point increases to come.
The first of those will almost certainly come next Tuesday.
Investors reckon the RBA's cash rate could top out at about 4.35%, or a full percentage point higher than it is now. (They also expect the RBA will lift the rate 25bp on March 7th as an 81% chance.) pic.twitter.com/bs6NQKF4w0
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) February 28, 2023
If so, that would be 10 rises in 10 RBA meetings.
Updated
Liberal moderate Andrew Bragg calls for draft of voice to be released, warning it is ‘dead’ unless ‘no’ camp is convinced to change
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg warned the voice to parliament referendum is “dead” without a major increase in conservative support, claiming supporters were focusing on “convincing Australians who are already voting ‘yes’.”
“This will not be effective,” the NSW senator warned in a speech today.
Bringing all Australians to the table on the Voice is now urgent.
Bragg, a Liberal moderate and one of the opposition’s staunchest supporters of constitutional recognition for First Nations people, will give a speech to the Uphold & Recognise conference today - a gathering of constitutional conservatives who back the voice in principle.
He said that winning the backing of liberals and conservatives for the referendum “will be challenging but essential”, pointing out recent polling showing only 13% of Liberal voters supported the change.
The reality is, that the government needs to take liberal and conservative voters with them to succeed at this referendum. If only 13% of Coalition voters vote yes, the voice is dead.
In reality, at least 25% of Coalition voters will be required to vote yes if the voice is going to get up.
Bragg has called for a parliamentary inquiry into the referendum so that politicians can probe the proposed constitutional amendment and question. He repeated those calls in his speech, suggesting an exposure draft of the voice bill be released pre-referendum, but also suggesting a change in the overall campaign itself.
At the moment, a lot of the campaigning seems focused on convincing Australians who are already voting ‘yes’... We need to convince Australians who are on the fence or planning to vote ‘no’.
Bragg claimed this needed to include precise information about what the government “wants to achieve with a new power ... We need to know exactly what is being proposed by the government of the day”.
I am concerned too few Australians can see how this new power will be deployed to help communities close the gap.
My view is that an exposure draft of the Bill or at least a detailed policy should be published by the government. This must set out how the voice will improve lives and help close the gap in communities.
Updated
Harvey Norman posts fall in interim earnings and dividend as consumer spending slows
Leading retailer Harvey Norman appears to be seeing the signs of slower consumer spending, but remains confident of withstanding any economic headwinds.
The company today reported a fall in interim profit, but said the result represented solid growth that was above pre-pandemic levels.
First-half net profit totalled $369.8m – down from $433.7m in the previous corresponding period – on total revenue of about $2bn, including $1.5bn of sales of products to customers.
After stripping out foreign currency items, and land, building and other asset revaluations, the attributable profit for the six months ended December was $390.2m, down from $461.4m.
Harvey Norman said in a statement:
Despite the macroeconomic headwinds and cost of living pressures affecting discretionary retail, our strong balance sheet and our substantial growth in net assets throughout the pandemic has left us in a solid position to withstand these challenging circumstances.
We remain confident in our brands and the strong market position held by our Australian franchisees and overseas company-owned stores.
Brands include Harvey Norman, Domayne and Joyce Mayne.
Harvey Norman declared an interim dividend of 13 cents per share, down from 20 cents in the same period in the previous financial year.
- AAP
Updated
The Guardian is turning 10! And we want to hear from you
Guardian Australia turns 10 this year and we would love to hear from our readers about what Guardian Australia means to them.
We want to hear from readers all over Australia and the Pacific - and we want to see you in the region where you live.
We are making a short video very similar to this one, which was made when The Guardian in the UK celebrated their 200th anniversary in 2021.
Guardian Australia turns 10 this year and we would love to hear from you! Follow the instructions below and send us a happy birthday video using this form: https://t.co/noDuVOlCgP pic.twitter.com/8MZLQ7KyGK
— Guardian Australia (@GuardianAus) February 28, 2023
Please tell us where you are eg, “Hello and happy birthday from sunny Noosa”, let us know what Guardian Australia means to you and follow these directions when shooting your message:
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If possible, shoot at the highest quality your phone can record on.
We would love to get a sense of where you are, so please try and take a 10-20 second video on your phone that shows where you are (a beach, a farm, etc). It is better if you do this separately to the video of you answering the questions we listed above, mostly so we can get good audio from you.
Send your videos to the Guardian using this form or email guardian.australia.video@guardian.co.uk .
Updated
Immediate 3% pay rise offered to Curtin University staff after emphatic ‘no’ vote to previous offer by management
Curtin University staff have been offered an immediate 3% pay rise after overwhelmingly voting “no” to management’s latest enterprise agreement proposal.
BREAKING: Curtin Uni management has just confirmed its non-union ballot for a new enterprise agreement was decisively defeated by @NTEUnion with 72% of staff voting NO to management's offer. ✊✊✊
— Damien Cahill (@DamienCahill8) February 27, 2023
On Monday afternoon, it was revealed 72% of staff voted “no” to management’s offer, which offered staff 2.2% annual pay increases over the next five years.
NTEU Curtin branch president professor, Scott Fitzgerald, said staff had sent an “emphatic message” to management.
The NTEU is keen to strike a fair agreement as soon as possible. Now we need management to work constructively with us on our reasonable claims around issues such as pay, job security and workloads.
Given the overwhelming size of the No vote, Curtin management have finally responded to our calls for an administrative pay increase for all staff to help with the cost-of-living crisis while negotiations continue. Let’s not forget people who work at Curtin are the only staff in WA public universities who haven’t received a pay rise since July 2021.
Dylan Botica, president at the Curtin Student Guild, said it was pleased staff had sought to secure a “fairer offer”.
Workers at Curtin already do not have sufficient resources to provide feedback, answer student concerns and improve the student experience. We are pleased that they rejected a bad offer that would have made student learning conditions worse.
Updated
‘This is a lone actor event’, Smith confirms
That police press conference has wrapped up but here are some finals details.
Smith described the attacks as happening without any time for the officers to engage in negotiation:
Both incidents themselves had seconds. There is just not an impending time. It is immediate. He launches through the glass doors at the officers. They had very little time to react.
They’re trained to call out warnings in relation to it and that will be a matter for critical incident. I can assure you the cleaner had no idea of the attack and certainly the officers were caught upon fairly quickly and responded quickly as well.
Smith says he wants to “reassure the public this is a lone actor event. We are not looking at [anything] further in relation to it”.
Smith says the officers involved and the 28-year-old cleaner will receive “extensive counselling”.
Smith says the cleaner is in a stable condition.
Updated
Smith confirms man ‘launched at and tried to attack the two police’
A reporter asks police for more detail about what triggered a response from officers:
The initial press release said the man threatened police. But when you’re explaining it now, it seems he’s just standing outside the doors in what way was he threatening?
Smith confirms that the man attacked the two police:
I think maybe a better description of it - he launched at and tried to attack the two police.
You know, thank God, obviously, training and their response quickly, you know, averted an officer also being significantly injured in this matter.
It was an attack at the railway station. It was a further significant attack at the police station.
The nexus between the two is a matter for the critical incident team to discover. Obviously, that will include, you know, notifying the coroner and we have oversight who were there last night.
Updated
Previous interdictions related to checking Covid status of alleged attacker
Smith says the possibility that the alleged attacker had a history of mental illness is a line of inquiry being pursued by the investigating team but that none of the five police interdictions with the individual are related to mental health. Those interdictions were only related to police checking on his status while he was ill with Covid.
Smith:
There are only five interventions or five interdictions with this individual, none criminal and none relating to mental health or anything else.
Reporter:
So it wasn’t a breach of Covid rules? It’s that they had Covid and were checked on to maintain lockdown status that right?
Smith:
The south-west was subject of significant lockdown. Police obviously knocked on doors through that period. Those five are benign. They are benign to this investigation other than to establish that reference in the cops’ database.
Updated
Smith questioned about involvement of counter-terrorism unit
Smith is asked to provide detail on why the counter-terrorism unit was involved and says it is part of the response when someone arms themself with a knife:
It’s part of our model in terms of response. Obviously, when someone arms themselves with a knife, stabs an individual and then tries to attack - which the CCTV footage is highly concerning. It would have been a stressful situation for the officers. They had no alternative but to respond. When that’s involved, it triggers a number of intelligence responses and investigative responses which we’re dealing with as we speak.
Updated
Alleged attacker identified as 32-year-old Auburn resident who arrived on student visa in 2019
Asked about the identity of the alleged attacker, Smith says he arrived on a student visa in 2019:
What we know about this 32-year-old man:
He arrived in Australia on a student’s visa from India in 2019. He remains in that processor visa.
We are reaching out, or investigators from the critical incident led by homicide, are reaching out to the Indian consulate so we can confirm his identity. That process is expected to be delayed.
… He resides in the Auburn area. Some supplementary inquiries by the critical incident team - we locked down Auburn police station, Auburn railway station and a third residential area subject of a crime scene warrant which is being processed as we speak. We are leaving no stone unturned in establishing the intent of this individual.
Updated
Police investigation over Auburn shooting involved counter-terrorism intelligence
Smith:
A critical incident investigation has been established. It will be led by homicide.
There is significant response to this. It includes a large contingent of investigators from south-west region and includes some counter-terrorism staff, real-time intelligence centre, assisted by terrorism intelligence unit, have worked through the night to build a profile.
We can say the man had five interactions with police, none of them criminal, during the Covid period.
Updated
Police say man shot shortly after Auburn train station stabbing
Police are speaking in western Sydney about what occurred in the fatal overnight shooting in Auburn. They say a stabbing incident at the Auburn railway station preceded the altercation with police.
New South Wales Police assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith says:
A male person from Auburn, 32 years of age, entered the turnstiles of Auburn railway station. It was at this time he launched a frenzied attack on a 28-year-old cleaner working at the facility.
As a result of that stabbing he received a puncture wound to his left forearm and fell to the ground. The attack was not discontinued. It continued with a further frenzied slash and the 28-year-old victim has further suffered a puncture wound to the hip region.
Leaving that individual there, what we now know is around four minutes later, this same male, this same 32-year-old Auburn man arrived and was in the vicinity of the outside glass doors which separate the council building from the Auburn police station. He was hyperventilating and he appeared to be looking towards the police station.
Very soon after, a 000 call came over the air for responding police to attend the stabbing incident at Auburn railway station and two police officers moved from the police station through a set of glass doors and attempted to exit the building through the glass doors.
At that stage, the 32-year-old male then went to attack the officers, who both retreated inside the police station. The senior male officer then withdrew his Glock service pistol and fired three shots. Two of those shots connected with the chest area of the 32-year-old man, whilst a probationary constable, a female, in his near proximity, withdrew the taser to cover the suspect.
The male fell to the ground, he continued thrashing and he was subdued. He was treated by first aid. He was rushed to Westmead Hospital where life, unfortunately, was announced extinct at 1.32am.
Updated
Australia bans Liberian-flagged container ship for 90 days
A Liberian-flagged container ship has been banned from Australian ports for 90 days due to the operator’s dangerous maintenance practices.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority yesterday issued a refusal of access direction notice to the MSC Kymea II because of months of substandard performance from the ship’s operator, MSC Shipmanagement Ltd (MSC).
In a statement, AMSA said it has detained nine MSC ships over the past two years, including five ships in 2023 alone, many of which showed systemic substandard maintenance practices onboard.
The statement went on to give details of what defects the authority has found:
The AMSA inspection of the MSC Kymea II found 21 deficiencies in total, including a defective free fall lifeboat steering system, defective fire safety systems, dangerously-stored flammable materials, and multiple wasted or missing railing safety chains used to prevent stevedores from falling from heights when lashing cargo.
Another MSC vessel inspected two weeks ago was found with a corroded fuel-oil tank air pipe, and the evidence suggests that the ship attempted to hide the seriousness of the defect from authorities by covering up the rusted pipe with canvas and painting over it.
AMSA executive director of operations Michael Drake said the agency’s inspection regime has shown that MSC has failed to meet its obligations to properly maintain its vessels.
AMSA has zero-tolerance for sub-standard ships operating in Australian waters and we will not hesitate to ban vessels that fail to meet basic safety standards.
The Australian public has an expectation that ships operating in Australian waters meet or exceed the minimum international standards for safety and environmental protection. Ships should be on notice that this kind of repeated poor performance is not acceptable, and Australia will take action.
Updated
Billion-dollar loss for EnergyAustralia underscores grid’s fragility
We know the electricity grid has its woes. These include last June’s market suspension for about a week and last week’s warning from the operator about potential “reliability gaps” in coming years without “urgent” investment in renewables.
EnergyAustralia, one of Australia’s big three generator/retailers, has provided additional details on those strains after it reported a full-year loss of about $1bn for 2022 (via its Hong Kong-listed parent CLP).
Those losses came in part because of unplanned outages of its ageing Yallourn brown coal-fired power plant in Victoria. In NSW, its Mt Piper black coal-fired power plant also couldn’t get all the coal it had contracted from Centennial Coal, forcing it to buy more costly spot market coal.
(We covered some of those issues at Mt Piper in this feature.)
Anyway, as for what’s coming, EnergyAustralia said it would bring forward “major outages” at the 1480MW Yallourn where it will try to patch up two of its four units in 2023 and do the same for the other two next year. (The market operator will be watching that 740MW outage and how it might affect supplies.)
The company said:
This will provide the opportunity to address in a targeted way the main causes of forced outages in 2022.
For Mt Piper, the company has renegotiated the coal supply deal to include a second mine, Airly, to support Springvale “thereby partially reducing supply risk”, it said.
Separately, EnergyAustralia said it had pleaded guilty in December to three charges under the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act relating to the 2018 death of Graeme Edwards, an operator at Yallourn.
“EnergyAustralia again expressed its profound regret and remorse for the tragic and avoidable death of Mr Edwards and acknowledged the impact it has had on his family and his workmates,” it said, adding that sentencing in Victoria’s County Court earlier this month resulted in a $1.5m penalty for the company.
Updated
Watt says he takes Lismore promises ‘very personally’
Watt said the government “absolutely” intends on keeping the promises made to stand by the communities devastated by last year’s floods. He says it’s an issue he takes “very personally” having heard from the individuals who went through near-death experiences.
I would ask people to look at what we’ve done since coming to office. Keeping the commitments that we’ve made, whether it is to flood victims or anyone else, has been a core part of the way that the Albanese government has operated.
And I take it very personally, having spent so much time in Lismore, to make sure that we do follow through to people. I remember … You know, I’ve met people in the days after the floods, who thought that they were going to die, who were trapped in the cavities of their homes or being rescued [by] helicopters and the tinny army.
I don’t want to let those people down and our government doesn’t want to let those people down and we’ll stand with the communities as long as it takes to get them back in shape.
Updated
‘All Australians are thinking of the survivors’ on anniversary of floods, Watt says
The emergency management minister, Murray Watt, has told ABC News Breakfast he has “mixed feelings” on the one year anniversary of the Northern Rivers floods:
I’ve been back to Lismore seven or eight times since the floods, and I’ll be heading back there this evening for the memorial service.
On the one hand, every time you go there, you do see progress. You see shops reopening. You see big institutions like Norco, a big employer in the region, starting to rebuild. You do see people moving back into their homes.
But of course, at the same time, you recognise how much more there is to be done. This was a massive event, and I always remember the Lismore mayor telling me the first time I met him, was that this wasn’t just a flood - this was a disaster.
That’s the kind of scale of things that we’re dealing with. And I just want to say that I think that all Australians are thinking of the survivors, the emergency personnel, the ADF and all the community members who helped out a year ago through those terrible events.
Eight coal projects to be considered by NSW forecast to add 1.5bn tonnes to global emissions
Eight coal projects the New South Wales government will consider in 2023 would add at least 1.5bn tonnes to global greenhouse gas emissions if they all proceeded, according to analysis by Lock the Gate.
The anti-mining group said it was the largest proposed expansion of coalmining in the state since the Paris agreement on climate change was signed and showed a need for changes to planning laws to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
The analysis considered eight proposed expansions of existing mines that could be assessed and determined in NSW in 2023.
Models still tilting towards drier conditions for most of Australia
Later today, the Bureau of Meteorology will provide its fortnightly update of the main near-term climate drivers for Australia. (Global heating being the main background mover, of course.)
As we reported at the start of January, it’s been clear for a while that the “three-peat” La Niña was subsiding with the prospect of an El Niño taking its place.
The latest climate models used by the Bureau continue to point that way:
@BOM_au will provide an update on climate drivers later today. Latest model runs continue to point to an El Nino forming in the Pacific later this year (although usual caveats about the autumn 'predictability gap' apply...will need a few months to be sure). pic.twitter.com/HAP5bky9QS
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) February 27, 2023
As climatologists will underscore, autumn provides an annual predictability hurdle so we can’t be sure yet that we’ll get an El Niño forming in the Pacific.
Meanwhile, the Indian Ocean typically works in tandem with the Pacific, and the models too are leaning towards a positive phase of the ocean’s “dipole” (which compares relative warmth of sea surface temperatures in the west and east of the basin).
Similarly, the Indian Ocean is tilting to favour drier conditions for south-eastern Australia come next spring. Will also take a couple more months to be sure but odds do seem to moving to a drier outlook for much of Australia. (Source: @BOM_au ) pic.twitter.com/rakNiBkUYl
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) February 27, 2023
Again, we’ll need a month or two yet to be certain but both the Pacific and Indian oceans are setting up for drier conditions particularly for eastern Australia.
That might provide some solace for those in northern NSW and south-eastern Queensland who are marking the first anniversary of the huge floods.
However, those remembering the Black Summer fires of 2019-20 might not be so cheered by the prospect of increased risk of heatwaves, drought and bushfire if the current model projections hold up.
Updated
Primary school child reportedly hit by train in Adelaide
There are reports a primary school child has survived being hit by a train in Adelaide’s north this morning.
Police and paramedics were called to Tambelin railway station after a person was struck by a train just before 8.15am this morning.
According to the Adelaide Advertiser, it was a child, who the paper understands is conscious and breathing.
Police confirmed the crash occurred at Evanston Gardens involving a pedestrian and a train.
#BREAKING A primary school child has been hit by a train at Tambelin Railway Station. #theAdvertiser https://t.co/SgN0yqi36e
— The Advertiser (@theTiser) February 27, 2023
Updated
Education minister heading to India with higher education delegation
The education minister, Jason Clare, has revealed the delegation of higher education representatives accompanying him to India this week, where he will sign a sweeping mutual recognition agreement between the two nations.
Clare:
This will be the broadest and most favourable recognition agreement India has signed with another country and will enhance student mobility between both countries.
The Modi government’s National Education Policy has a target to get 50% of young Indians into higher education and vocational education by 2035. That’s nation-changing for India, and a genuine opportunity for Australian education providers to do more to collaborate with India.
The visit provides an important opportunity for Australian universities to showcase new partnerships and plans which they can deliver in India, including opportunities for joint degrees and campuses.
Among Clare’s delegation will be vice-chancellors and leaders from the University of Queensland, RMIT, Australian National University, the University of Sydney, La Trobe, the University of Wollongong, Western Sydney University, Central Queensland University, the University of NSW, the University of South Australia and Charles Darwin University.
University of Wollongong’s Global Brand Ambassador and former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist will also join the delegation.
Updated
Wendy’s v Wendy’s
US burger chain Wendy’s is making moves to roll out in Australia, but it won’t come without a fight from Australian brand Wendy’s Milk Bar, recognisable for its pink banner often found in shopping malls.
The US chain will hope to avoid the fate of Burger King, where the US chain was made to rebrand to Hungry Jack’s in Australia due to an existing Burger King franchise in the country.
My colleague Jordyn Beazley brings you the full story:
Updated
PM pays tribute to Northern Rivers flood disaster anniversary
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the Northern Rivers flood disaster on the one year anniversary since residents woke up to “streets turned into rivers”.
In the worst of times, the people of Lismore showed the very best of their character.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) February 27, 2023
When streets turned into rivers, people took their own boats and went house to house, looking for neighbours to help. pic.twitter.com/63O89jArq5
One year since those devastating floodwaters wrought destruction, we pay tribute to the resilience and spirit of affected communities right across NSW and Queensland.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) February 27, 2023
We remember those whose lives were stolen by this tragedy.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) February 27, 2023
And we continue to work to make our towns more prepared for natural disasters and more resilient into the future.
Updated
Man arrested in alleged $5m bushfire extortion attempt
A man has been arrested in Melbourne’s north-east following an alleged $5m bushfire extortion attempt.
Police allege the 27-year-old man from Bundoora sent an online message to a Queensland emergency service last year demanding the hefty sum be paid in crypto currency within three days or a bushfire would be lit.
Investigators traced the message back to Victoria and last week a search warrant was executed at a Bundoora address, where police seized several items, including two computers and a phone.
No money was paid and the threat was never carried out.
The man was taken into custody on Monday and charged with extortion with threat to endanger life, threat to destroy/damage property, possessing a drug of dependence, and failing to provide information under a warrant.
He is set to appear in Heidelberg magistrates court on 1 August.
- AAP
Updated
Electricity pole-mounted EV chargers installed in Sydney
The first pole-mounted electric vehicle charger in Sydney has launched as part of a plan by energy provider Ausgrid to install 30,000 stations throughout Australia over the next six years.
The charger, installed in the inner-west suburb of Glebe, is the first installed outside Newcastle where the project launched in December last year.
Sydney lord mayor, Clover Moore, said the facility could help to boost the confidence of apartment dwellers weighing up whether to buy an electric car.
Ausgrid chief executive, Marc England, unveiled the Sydney charger on Monday, in conjunction with charging infrastructure firm EVX and the City of Sydney.
England said the new facility was designed to be unobtrusive in the urban location and give current and future electric car drivers another option to recharge, particularly those who did not have access to a private garage.
Glebe is exactly the kind of suburb where demand for this solution will grow in the coming years, it is densely populated and many people don’t have access to off-street parking.
We believe that once the community see more charging infrastructure like this close to their homes, they will feel confident they can make their next vehicle purchase an EV.
Mounting the chargers on poles ensured the chargers would not take up “precious road and footpath space,” Moore said.
Ausgrid has committed to installing 30,000 pole-mounted electric vehicle chargers around Australia by 2029, with the technology promising to be cheaper to deploy than standalone vehicle-charging stations.
- AAP
Updated
Tony Burke ‘confident’ states will back engineered stone ban report
Earlier, the workplace relations minister Tony Burke told Radio National he was confident today’s meeting of work health and safety ministers will agree for Safe Work Australia to start now on a plan to ban engineered stone benchtops.
Burke said:
At the moment the number of Australians with silicosis keeps rising. This is part of the cause. If you could easily regulate it, you wouldn’t be considering a ban at all. The view I’m putting to ministers today … is that we should be asking Safe Work Australia as of today to be scoping the options for a ban as well ...
I have a good degree of confidence about how the meeting will go today. As we’ve had the conversations office to office, it hasn’t been a party political [issue] across which governments, Labor or Liberal. There has been a good degree of support that we shouldn’t be delaying scoping what a ban might look like.
Burke said that after Safe Work Australia reports back ministers will have to consider “a few different options” including what percentage of silica in benchtops should trigger a ban. After a decision in the second half of the year, it would take “a good 12 months or more” to phase it in.
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Lismore mayor reflects on work needed to rebuild a year on from floods
Lismore mayor, Steve Krieg, has told ABC News Breakfast that it is “still quite emotional, and very raw 12 months on” from last year’s flood disaster.
The fact we have thousands of people living in temporary accommodation, they’re paying mortgages on houses that are unliveable.
The businesses they worked in were so badly affected as well. There’s so much strain and stress on people in the northern rivers region. This isn’t Lismore specific, so to speak.
Today’s going to be a very hard day for the community. We hope that everyone rallies around each other. And we’ll get through today and look towards the future and rebuilding.
Asked about the mixed feelings today, with some wanting to avoid all mention of the anniversary while others feels the need to commemorate, Krieg says:
I can’t rewrite history, you can’t change what happened. You need to be objective and say, righto, this is what happened to our beautiful city. But how do we plan for that moving forward? You’ve got to keep the optimism and the hope alive that Lismore will come back and build back better.
Asked what he would like if he could have a “wishlist” from the government, Krieg says the federal emergency management minister “Murray [Watt] has been outstanding” but there have still been many roadblocks:
Every recommendation coming out of the studies the federal government is funding, the CSIRO study, we need that work to be done. We still have a tractor system to operate our pumps. $30m last week announced to upgrade our pump systems is a good start. But it’s important to remember it’s just the start. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us and we need those promises fully funded so that Lismore can grow and thrive again.
Updated
Tax statement to show super concessions cost $50bn a year
Today the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will release the tax expenditures and insights statement, which measures tax concessions, credits, deductions and other expenditures in Australia’s tax system.
The key findings of this year’s statement are:
Superannuation tax breaks are worth about $50bn a year
The 10 biggest tax breaks are worth more than $150bn annually
The majority of tax breaks go to high income earners.
Chalmers has noted in recent days that fewer than 1% of account holders have more than $3m.
Proposals to cap super balances or to limit tax concessions on large balances could be worth a few billion a year.
Fresh evacuations in Gisborne as NZ’s big wet continues
New Zealand’s saturated summer has one last sting in the tail, with residents in Gisborne facing fresh floods after an overnight deluge.
On the last day of a summer that will break records for rainfall, residents of the Gisborne suburb of Mangapapa were ordered to evacuate at 5am.
The city received about 60mm of rain in the eight hours to 8am this morning, on top of already saturated land.
Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz told Radio NZ:
The rain woke I’m sure everyone up in Gisborne at 3am, it’s rain like we’ve never heard it before.
Residents have reported flooding in around 10 streets already ... it’s pouring. Absolutely pouring.
There are reports the Matokitoki Stream has burst its banks, running about two metres higher than usual.
Gisborne District Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann said about 15 households had been ordered to evacuate and others had chosen to.
Climate agency NIWA said more than 100mm of rain has fallen in parts of northern Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne in the 24 hours to 9am this morning.
As at 9am, MetService have heavy rain warnings in place for the Gisborne-Tairawhiti district and the Wairoa region of Hawke’s Bay.
The latest rainfall has produced fresh slips and highway closures on the North Island’s east coast, cutting off remote communities such as Tokomaru Bay.
Parts of hard-hit Napier were also flooded again overnight from the same weather system, with residents urged to stay off key roads.
- AAP
Updated
On the voice, Dreyfus also confirms that the government’s intention is that the voice be able to provide advice to the executive government.
It’s been suggested the wording could be watered down and the executive advice provision removed in order to secure support from the opposition.
But Dreyfus confirmed the government still wants to include both:
Those are the words that were included in the draft that the prime minister laid out in the historic speech that he gave at Garma on the 30th of July.
… I’m convinced that the voice will be effective if, as a constitutional requirement, it is able to make representations to the parliament and to the executive.
But I also understand that when we introduce the constitution alteration bill, it will go to a parliamentary committee.
There will be public submissions as is appropriate and will come to final wording when the bill is debated in both houses of the Australian parliament, which will be a process finalised probably in June.
Updated
Government discussing modernising referendums with opposition: Dreyfus
Ahead of the referendum on the Indigenous voice to parliament, Dreyfus says there have been cooperative discussions with the Coalition on the need to modernise referendums to make them more like general elections.
Those discussions are continuing. And we want there to be as far as possible agreement across the parliament on how the referendum is to be conducted. I think there is already agreement that we need to modernise the really adequate processes that apply to referendums current, most of it comes from an act that passed in 1912. We need to modernise it to make sure that this referendum that’s going to be conducted in the second half of this year looks like as far as possible a general election. And there have been so far cooperative discussions with the opposition.
The much more important bill of course, is the constitution alteration bill which is going to follow in late March, and that will contain the words to change the constitution. But the process is on track. And we are, as all of my colleagues, the prime minister [and] Linda Burney [have] kept saying, wanting this to be an inclusive, cooperative process which involves the whole parliament.
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Mark Dreyfus ‘hopeful of doing more’ to better protect journalists and sources
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, is speaking to ABC Radio following his meeting yesterday with key media figures on how to better protect journalists and their sources.
They discussed a range of issues around privacy laws, whistleblower protections, defamation and warrants, such as those that were used to raid the ABC and the home of journalist Annika Smethurst in 2019.
I think most Australians agree that journalists should never face the prospect of being charged just for doing their jobs.
I think there’s agreement across the parliament across the community about that, and that improved protections are overdue.
This is the start of a process. I’ve invited journalists and media organisations to put forward further thoughts. So it’s a start of that conversation yesterday. But I’m hopeful of doing more moving on.
Last year, Dreyfus dropped the prosecution of whistleblower Bernard Collaery. RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas asks him whether he will also drop cases for David McBride who has been prosecuted for allegedly leaking top secret defence information to the ABC or Richard Boyle who has allegedly revealed unethical debt recovery practices. Dreyfus says he won’t comment on the cases, which are currently before the court.
Updated
The NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, and the opposition leader, Chris Minns, are both expected to attend the memorial in Lismore.
Amid criticism for the speed of the home buyback, Perrottet on Monday noted the mammoth task facing authorities and the community.
It will be a long journey ahead. It will be a challenge and we will stand with those communities have we had as we have over the last 12 months.
Minns said it would be a tough day for residents affected by the floods but all of NSW was committed to continuing the rebuild of the Northern Rivers.
Minns said ahead of his visit to Lismore:
One year on from the floods that devastated the Northern Rivers, we are reminded of your resilience, your courage, your community spirit.
From the tinny army, to the locals who put their own lives in danger to save others, to our emergency services.
The first home buyback offers were issued on 21 February, with all 250 offers expected to be issued by April.
- AAP
Updated
‘Exhausted’ Lismore marks a year since traumatic floods
With the devastating Lismore floods still imprinted on the NSW city and its 45,000 residents, locals will pause for the Gathering of Reflection and Healing.
Five lives were lost and more than 3,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in the Northern Rivers city on 28 February 2022, when a month of record rainfall lifted the Wilsons River to a new high of 14.4 metres.
The memorial today will be preceded by a private ceremony to acknowledge the herculean effort of dinghy owners who ferried hundreds of people from rooftops to safety.
The event kicks off three weeks of events in the city, including a music festival in the CBD this weekend and a celebrity cricket match on 11 March.
About 60% of businesses have returned to the CBD, but the relocation of schools means hundreds of their customers have gone.
Ella Buckland, whose house was inundated with 1.5 metres of water, told AAP:
Initially everyone was pumped up on adrenaline.
And then you had little wins, like the coffee shop coming back and everyone was really excited and supportive and kind, like cuddling people who you didn’t know.
Now everyone is just exhausted.
- AAP
Updated
ABS seeks feedback on what questions to ask in 2026 census
The government is seeking public feedback on questions that will be in the 2026 census – which new questions should be added, and which old ones should be dropped.
Assistant minister for treasury, Andrew Leigh, said the Australian Bureau of Statistics was opening public consultations today on the next census.
Following feedback before the last census in 2021 (the census is done every 5 years), the ABS added new questions on long-term health conditions like asthma and diabetes, and about Australian Defence Force participation.
But the ABS will also consider questions that could be discontinued, with previous census counts dropping topics like whether people had been married more than once, or about televisions and internet connections in households.
Leigh said feedback on census topics can be submitted through the ABS website.
Leigh said in a statement today:
Omitting less relevant topics makes it easier to add new questions.
The Census helps Australians understand how we’re changing as a nation. The public has a vital role to play in shaping the topics to be included in the Census. As Australia’s population changes, so too does the information we need to make the right policy decisions for our future.
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‘Really clear’ wages are not driving inflation, Tony Burke says
Circling back to the interview with employment relations minister, Tony Burke. He’s asked about soaring corporate profits, which were up more than 10% in the December quarter compared to wages which rose 2.6%, and whether that demonstrates that it’s corporate profits driving inflation – as the union movement is arguing – not wages.
Burke replies:
It is really clear that wages are not driving inflation, are not the principal driver of inflation here. It’s really clear we don’t have some sort of spiral of inflation being caused by high wage growth. It’s also really clear we don’t have high wage growth.
I was pleased that the last wage price increase got up to 3.3%. To the extent that that’s the highest it’s been for some time and had we not taken actions that we took last year, particularly with respect to the minimum wage and awards, you wouldn’t have got to figure as high as but it’s still much, much lower than inflation.
So the argument that somehow wages are the problem here is an argument that I think really needs to be put to bed.
Updated
‘Maggot-infested’ meals allegedly served to Snowy Hydro workers
Hopefully you’ve already eaten your breakfast before you take a look at this story which comes from AAP, or you might just lose your appetite:
Workers on the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project are threatening to walk off the job over conditions, saying safety is being compromised and workers have been served maggot-infested food.
The Australian Workers’ Union has released photos of steak riddled with maggots allegedly served on the site in the NSW Kosciuszko national park where workers are building a national renewable energy project.
AWU NSW secretary, Tony Callinan, said the food being served was indicative of a broader management problem on the site.
Callinan said in a statement today:
Supermax prisoners are served better food than the workers building Snowy Hydro 2.0.
You have workers living, literally locked up in a camp with limited recreational facilities in the middle of nowhere, being fed maggot-infested food.
The site has an abysmal safety record. It’s an absolute pressure cooker right now.
Many workers were living off canned tuna and two-minute noodles, and were threatening to walk off the job.
Callinan alleged:
The problem is the joint venture who was awarded the contract is pinching every penny they can to try and improve their profit margin.
The union also claims it receives regular reports of serious safety issues on the site. Callinan said:
The whole site’s a tragedy waiting to happen.
Comment is being sought from Snowy Hydro.
Updated
Tony Burke confident enough ministers will be on board to fast-track engineered stone ban
The minister for workplace relations, Tony Burke, is speaking to ABC Radio ahead of his meeting with other state and territory workplace safety ministers which will consider banning the engineered stone linked to a deadly lung condition.
Burke says he doesn’t want to repeat the mistake that was made waiting to ban asbestos:
We waited 70 years from when we were told about the dangers of asbestos before we got to a ban. I don’t want us to be making the same mistake this time.
Burke says he doesn’t want to let 12 months lapse while Safe Work Australia scopes out what a ban would look like; “I want that work being done straight away,” he says.
If 60% of ministers at the meeting are on board, the ministers will fast-track banning the dangerous material. Burke says he’s reasonably confident they will have the numbers to do so:
I’ve got a good degree of confidence as to as to how the meeting will go today. But obviously, jurisdictions are free to put whatever view they want.
But as we’ve had the conversations office to office, it hasn’t been a party political thing across which governments Labor or Liberal, there has been a good degree of support for the concept that we shouldn’t be waiting any longer before we’re at least scoping out what a ban might look like.
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Chief of air force pushes for low-cost killer drones
My colleague Daniel Hurst has told you what the defence minister, Richard Marles, told the Avalon airshow last night. At the same event, Australia’s chief of air force, Robert Chipman, has flagged Australia needs to urgently acquire large numbers of low-cost killer drones to be able to take on well-armed adversaries.
The airshow is one of the country’s biggest defence industry expositions before it opens to the public from Friday.
The Australian reports that Chipman told the audience of Australian and international air force heads at yesterday’s symposium ahead of the event that that “fifth-generation” fighters such as the F-35 “will not be enough” to win future conflict:
(Drones) don’t replace the roles of contemporary combat aircraft, but they might serve as a useful complement.
We are considering the potential of low-cost drones to bring mass to our air combat system. And we’re considering what key measures are necessary to defend against them.
The impediments to boosting capability are often policy-related, procedural or cultural … While advanced platforms teamed with cutting-edge and disruptive technologies can be gamechangers, we won’t realise their advantage without evolving our thinking.
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Ministers asked to fast-track ban on silica products
State and territory workplace health and safety ministers will be asked to fast-track a ban on the domestic use of silica, following its link to a deadly lung condition.
An estimated 600,000 workers have been exposed to silica dust generated through mining, construction, building and manufacturing.
Kitchen benchtops made from engineered stone are particularly dangerous, with about one in four stonemasons who work with them developing the deadly and incurable disease silicosis.
The federal workplace minister, Tony Burke, will put the ban proposal to ministers at a meeting today, with the hope regulations could be drafted by the end of the year.
The dust and diseases taskforce recommended governments start considering a ban in July next year.
But a report by Safe Work Australia to be presented to the ministers will recommend three actions: an education and awareness campaign, better regulation of silica dust across all industries and further analysis and scoping of a ban on use of engineered stone.
If two-thirds of ministers agree, Safe Work Australia will be tasked to begin consultations on a potential ban on engineered stone, including silica content levels and other risk factors.
Safe Work will present a report on the potential ban within six months, and draft regulations by the end of the year.
As well, Burke is set to announce the federal government will consider an importation ban, after consulting stakeholders. Burke said:
If a children’s toy was harming or killing kids we’d take it off the shelves – how many thousands of workers have to die before we do something about silica products?
We can’t keep delaying this. It’s time we considered a ban. I’m not willing to wait around the way people did with asbestos.
Occupational health experts say the material can’t be worked with safely despite the use of equipment such as masks.
- AAP
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Good morning!
Natasha May on deck with you. Thanks to Martin Farrer for kicking things off for us.
Workplace health and safety ministers are meeting this afternoon to discuss banning the importation of engineered stone, a material that has been linked to a deadly lung condition known as silicosis in the stonemasons handling it.
The federal minister for workplace relations, Tony Burke, says that if two-thirds of ministers agree, Safe Work Australia will be tasked to begin consultations on a potential ban on engineered stone, including silica content levels and other risk factors.
In Victoria, the international Avalon airshow kicks off in Geelong today.
Chinese and Russian militaries have been excluded from the event where a new Australian-designed lethal drone will be unveiled this morning.
In NSW, a memorial will be held commemorating the one year anniversary of devastating floods in the Northern Rivers where five lives were lost and more than 3000 homes were damaged or destroyed.
The memorial will be preceded by a private ceremony to acknowledge the tinny army that ferried hundreds of people from rooftops to safety.
Let’s get into it.
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New technology diminishes advantage of Australia’s remote geography: Marles
Richard Marles also told the industry event last night that Australia could no longer rely on its remote geography, which had previously been “a huge asset in the defence of our continent”.
The defence minister said capability advancements – particularly in the last decade – meant “the advantages of our geography have been diminished”:
Today we face a range of threats – including longer-range missiles, hypersonics and cyber-attacks – which render our geographic advantages far less relevant.
Marles did not give exact timing on when the Aukus submarine plans would be announced by Australia, the US and the UK, but it is widely expected to be in March. He did, however, give a broad outline on what the “optimal pathway” would entail:
This announcement will describe how Australia will evolve our submarine capability from operating our six diesel-electric Collins Class submarines today to the point where Australia is building and operating its own nuclear-powered submarines in the future. We will describe how we intend to invest in Australian industry to make this happen. We will make clear how Australia and our partners will meet our non-proliferation obligations and, in the process, establish the highest bar possible for transfers of this technology. And we will articulate the cost.
While describing nuclear-powered submarines as “the single biggest leap in Australian military capability since the war”, Marles also emphasised that the government would remain focused on diplomacy:
And while Australia will always do what we must to get the hard power equation right so that we have the capabilities which keep our people safe, I also want everyone to understand that our government knows the frontline of Australia’s engagement with the world is diplomacy. And this will be our abiding focus. For it is through diplomacy that we can create pathways for peace.
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Marles says Australia will be transparent with Pacific partners amid defence spending boost
The defence minister, Richard Marles, has promised that Australia will be upfront with its partners across the region to ensure there are “no surprises” amid an increase in defence spending and the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.
The Morrison government’s original announcement of Aukus in 2021 sparked a diplomatic rift with France and concerns in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Marles told a defence and industry dinner in Melbourne last night that China was “driving the largest conventional military buildup we’ve seen anywhere in the world since the second world war and much of this buildup is opaque”.
He said that meant it had “never been more important for Australia to employ sober, responsible and clear-eyed statecraft”.
Marles said Australia would increase its overall defence spending and grow its military capability “in a way that is both predictable and transparent”. He added:
We want to ensure we are consulting our partners in the region, and around the world, so that there is understanding and no surprises.
Marles said the Defence Strategic Review – to be released alongside the government’s response to it in April – included a line from former defence chief Angus Houston and former defence minister Stephen Smith that “investing in our Indo-Pacific regional partnerships is essential”.
Marles said the Albanese government agreed and wanted “our partners to be confident in the steps we are taking and the level of transparency we intend to maintain – not just at the time of these announcements, but over the years ahead”. He added:
I conveyed this commitment to my counterparts in the Philippines and Thailand during my visit last week. I conveyed it to Minister Subianto Prabowo of Indonesia during his recent visit to Australia.
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Man armed with knife shot dead at Sydney police station
A critical incident investigation is under way after police shot dead a man armed with a knife in the early hours of Tuesday morning, New South Wales police said in a statement.
About 12.08am, an as-yet-unidentified man attended Auburn police station, in Sydney’s inner west, and threatened officers with a knife before he was shot, the statement said.
Officers immediately performed first aid and the man was taken to Westmead hospital but died a short time later.
Police believe he was involved in the stabbing of a 28-year-old man at 12.03am at Auburn railway station. Neither man is known to one another.
The younger man is at Westmead hospital in a stable condition.
A critical incident team composed of officers from state crime command’s homicide squad will now investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the discharge of a police firearm.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to the rolling news blog. I’ll bring you the top overnight stories before my colleague Natasha May takes over.
First up, CSIRO scientists are warning this morning that the spread of superbugs resistant to antibiotics and antifungal treatments threatens a “global health crisis” unless there is greater coordination and better management of patient data. It comes as researchers say that an invasive strep A variant first identified in the UK and thought to be behind a surge in deaths has likely contributed to a similar uptick in serious disease and hospitalisations in Australia.
The voice to parliament referendum will be at the top of the political agenda today as leading social justice groups step up a push to win a yes vote in the face of some divided opinions. The Fred Hollows Foundation, Oxfam Australia, the Australian Council of Social Service and First Nations advocacy organisation Antar will lead nearly 150 organisations in the Allies for Uluru Coalition, which will be launched in Melbourne today.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, told a dinner in Melbourne last night that China was “driving the largest conventional military buildup we’ve seen anywhere in the world since the second world war and much of this buildup is opaque”. It meant that it had “never been more important for Australia to employ sober, responsible and clear-eyed statecraft”. We’ve got more to come on what Marles said.
One of Australia’s biggest trucking companies, Scott’s RL, has gone into administration, putting 1,500 jobs at risk. The company is a refrigeration trucking specialist and is a key contractor for all the major supermarket supply chain, so the insolvency also threatens to disrupt the nation’s food supply chains. We’ll have more on this story soon.
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