What we learned today, Wednesday 23 August
Thanks for joining us on the Australia news live blog today. That’s where we’ll wrap up our coverage. Here are some key developments:
The Queensland government has introduced legislation to allow it to imprison children in police watch houses for adults “even if it would not be compatible with human rights”.
The New South Wales corruption watchdog Icac has been granted the power to use in its investigations recordings that have been obtained illegally by third parties.
The Albanese government will appoint a taskforce to provide a rolling competition review in a bid to lower cost-of-living pressures by creating a more productive and dynamic economy.
The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries has kept hidden the results of surveys it conducted to gauge community opinion on shark nets.
The Catholic church has successfully used the death of a known paedophile priest to permanently halt a civil claim by two Indigenous survivors, one of whom is dying of cancer.
Thanks very much for sticking with us today. We’ll be back, bright and early, tomorrow.
Updated
Icac given power to use illegally obtained recordings in NSW corruption investigations
The New South Wales corruption watchdog has been granted the power to use in its investigations recordings that have been obtained illegally by third parties.
The state government on Wednesday gave the Independent Commission Against Corruption the new power to assist it with an ongoing investigation after a request from its chief commissioner, John Hatzistergos.
Hatzistergos wrote to the premier, Chris Minns, the special minister of state, John Graham, and the attorney general, Michael Daley, on 9 August.
According to a statement by Graham and Daley, Hatzistergos’s letter “indicated” that Icac has obtained evidence that appears to be recordings of private conversations made by a third party:
The records may have been made in contravention of the state’s surveillance devices laws and are of interest to an ongoing investigation.
In his letter, the chief commissioner advised that the Icac wishes to lawfully obtain, possess, publish and communicate the recordings and reports of the recordings as part of an ongoing investigation.
Updated
