What we learned, Monday 11 March
Thank you for joining us on the live blog today – hear is a wrap of the main news:
Jim Chalmers announced the slashing of 500 “nuisance tariffs” worth nearly $30m on a range of goods including washing machines, shoes and fridges.
The federal government began seeking feedback from the public on its plans to outlaw “doxing”, spurred after the sharing of details of a large group chat of Jewish Australians.
Most of south-eastern Australia sweltered amid continuing heatwave conditions, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting a top of 37C for Melbourne today, hot weather expected for most of Victoria, and extreme fire danger ratings in place for the south-west region of Victoria.
The byelection for Scott Morrison’s seat of Cook was announced to be held 13 April. It is now a very safe Liberal seat, on a margin of 12.5%.
Private boys’ school Cranbrook announced an independent review into the school’s handling of serious child safety concerns after the resignation of its high-school’s headmaster Nicholas Sampson.
China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, said jailed Australian dissident Yang Hengjun’s health is “not perfect”.
Twelve-year-old Hussein Al Mansoory was found “safe and well” in an Auburn medical centre stairwell, after being missing for 48 hours.
Victorian opposition leader, John Pesutto, said the state needs better safety regulations for outdoor festivals, and that the music and arts festival held near the Grampians (which was called off early) was a “disaster waiting to happen”.
A United Airlines flight returned to Sydney with reports of hydraulics fault, joining the airline’s lineup of emergency incidents in the last week.
And in other aerial drama, 50 people were treated by ambulance crews after an incident at Auckland International airport involving an in-bound aircraft, with one patient in a serious condition.
Updated
Fifty people treated as one seriously injured after aircraft incident in Auckland
Fifty people have been treated by ambulance crews after an incident at Auckland International Airport involving an in-bound aircraft, with one patient in a serious condition.
The incident reportedly involved a “technical problem” on a LATAM Airlines flight from Sydney to Auckland, according to local news.
Hato Hone St John responded to the incident at 3.58pm with five ambulances, two operations managers, one Major Incident Support Team vehicle, one Command Unit and two rapid response vehicles.
Their crews assessed and treated approximately 50 patients, with one patient in a serious condition and the remainder in a moderate to minor condition, according to a Hato Hone St John statement. Thirteen patients have been transported to Middlemore hospital by ambulance.
Radio New Zealand report that a passenger on board the flight, Jacinto, said there was a “mid-air drop”.
“People got pretty injured,” he said. A number of passengers were not wearing their seatbelts at the time, he said.
“People were really scared as well.”
Updated
BHP economist sees ‘very threatening’ wave of Chinese EVs for other carmakers
Huw McKay, BHP’s chief economist, has been offering his thoughts on China (and other matters) at the AFR’s business summit in Sydney.
Australia’s biggest company by market value (even with today’s 2.6% share price drop) has a lot riding on China’s economic performance (as does Australia). Anyway, McKay sees China’s growth at 4.5%-5% this year, potentially a bit under Beijing’s own “around 5%” GDP growth goal.
As China pivots away from its ailing domestic property sector, it will ramp up exports of manufactured goods such as electric vehicles. Rival traditional carmakers are perhaps downplaying what’s coming “because it’s very, very threatening”. Already the biggest car market, about one in three Chinese car sales are EVs, and it’s rising.
McKew cited the case of a medium-sized SUV that sells for 40,000 euros ($A66,000) in Turin, Italy. The same car will sell for 5,000-6,000 euros in China, or be exported from China at 20,000 euros. Expect trade tensions to rise – even if consumers in countries like Australia stand to benefit.
On the ongoing conundrum about how China’s construction sector can be in the pits but the iron ore price magically seems to be holding up, McKew remains optimistic. The property sector in China now consumes about 25% of standard steel output in that country, down from 35% a few years ago. And distressed Chinese property firms make up only about 1/10th of that steel demand.
Last year was China’s fifth in a row of 1bn tonnes of steel production and, despite all the headwinds, BHP expects this year will be another one.
The Australian government, with its second straight budget surplus hinging a lot on iron ore prices holding up, will be hoping McKay is right about his forecasts.
Updated
The extreme heatwave that has scorched most of south-eastern Australia is expected to ease over the next few days, paving the way for a warm autumn.
South Australia and Victoria continued to swelter on Monday. SA was expecting maximum temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s while temperatures in the high 30s were forecast for Victoria.
A cool change was forecast to bring relief, with temperatures expected to drop to the low 20s in Victoria and low 30s in South Australia on Tuesday. Tasmania was set to record cooler temperatures later on Monday, with maximum temperatures forecast in the mid 20s for most of the state.
Read more here:
Here is the full story by our transport and urban affairs reporter, Elias Visontay, on the NSW government’s interim report on Sydney’s toll road network and potential increases. The report recommends that Sydneysiders driving across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and tunnel should be forced to pay fees in both directions and proposes all paid roads be unified under a consistent “declining distance-based rate” of tolling. Read more here:
Updated
New LNP candidates for state election will ‘reflect modern Queensland’, opposition leader says
Queensland’s Liberal National party has announced a 22-year-old environmental activist as one of its latest candidates as the party aims to bolster its female representation.
Ariana Doolan, 22, was announced on Monday as the LNP candidate for the state seat of Pumicestone, while Amanda Cooper, a former Brisbane city councillor, will contest the seat of Aspley for the party.
Both electorates are included in the count of 14 seats the LNP needs to win the October election.
The leader of the opposition, David Crisafulli, said the party has put forward 10 female candidates in the 14 most marginal seats in the state.
When I stood before you, three years ago, I staked my leadership on making sure that [LNP candidates and MPs] would reflect the modern Queensland. I said I wanted to see more women, more young people …
I want Queenslanders to see how serious we are about making sure that we drive generational change.
The LNP currently has just six women out of 34 members in the state opposition.
Updated
Dad who died in boating tragedy saved daughter's life
A dad who died in a boating accident on a Queensland dam saved his daughter’s life, police say.
The 40-year-old father and his daughter, 9, went overboard from their broken-down boat on Saturday morning.
Their family of six – including four children – were on board the boat at Kinchant Dam near Mackay.
The girl was rescued by a person on a jetski after half an hour in the water.
Her father’s body was found on Monday morning.
Inspector Glenn Cameron said investigations are continuing into the incident.
“The preliminary information is that the actions of the man who is now deceased saved his young daughter’s life,” he said.
Cameron said whether the pair were wearing lifejackets will be part of the investigation.
The mother and three other children all made it to shore safely.
Cameron thanked volunteers and community members involved in the search, saying the man’s family was front of mind.
“Thoughts are with the family who have lost a loved one in these tragic circumstances,” he said.
- Australian Associated Press
Updated
Tasmanian Labor leader announces shared-equity home ownership scheme
Back to the upcoming election in Tasmania.
Labor leader Rebecca White says the housing crisis is so bad even people with “good jobs” had been shut out of the market.
White, who is having a third tilt at becoming premier, announced Labor would introduce a home ownership shared-equity program enabling first-time owners to buy a house with no deposit.
The scheme will be open to couples earning up to $200,000, or single people earning up to $150,000, with “extra allowances” for those with children.
White said the standard arrangement would be for the government to take a 20% share of the property.
The value of eligible properties will be capped at $600,000 for existing houses and $800,000 for newly constructed homes.
White said there would be no cap on how many people could participate, with the scheme to be reviewed after two years.
We’ll put up the deposit you need – and you can pay us back when you sell the house or when you’ve saved enough to buy us out.
Liberal housing spokesperson and incumbent MP Nic Street said the pledge was virtually the same as an existing scheme.
The MyHome program, introduced in 2022 and accessed by 190 households, allows people to buy their first home with a 2% deposit.
Street said:
All Ms White has done is take our existing policy, put a lick of paint on it, and shamelessly tried to pretend it’s something brand new.
The Liberals again campaigned on tourism, a day after announcing they would help fund construction of the world’s largest chocolate fountain at the Cadbury headquarters in Hobart.
They promised $4m for more destination marketing and a $5m fund for aviation opportunities.
- Australian Associated Press
Updated
United Airlines flight returns to Sydney with reports of hydraulics fault
United Airlines flight UAL830 from Sydney to San Fransisco has returned to Sydney Airport with reports of hydraulics fault, Guardian Australia understand.
The aircraft has been taken offline while the fault is investigated and passengers deboard from the aircraft.
The incident joins a line up of United Airlines emergency landings in the last week. On Friday, United flight 821 from San Francisco to Mexico City became the fourth emergency, landing at Los Angeles international airport after crew reported hydraulics issue.
Updated
Albanese rallies ‘true believers’, flags tough Tasmanian election
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has rallied the ALP’s “true believers”, conceding the only Labor opposition in Australia faces a tough battle to win the Tasmanian election.
The island state is heading to the polls on 23 March with the Liberals, who have been in power for a decade, chasing a record fourth term.
If voting follows recent opinion polls, neither of the two major parties will have the required 18 seats to form majority government.
Labor has just 26% of voter support, with the Liberals on 39%, according to a survey of 1,000 people in February.
Albanese says if state Labor leader Rebecca White becomes premier, her No.1 priority will be to address the cost of living.
“Last year, down in Hobart, we came together to celebrate 120 years of Tasmanian Labor,” Albanese told the party’s campaign launch at a Launceston brewery on Monday.
Through every one of those years Labor has relied on the energy ... of our true believers ... in the union movement and the branches.
... that has never been more important.
Because in tough contests like this election, at a time when people are busier than ever and the media they consume is more fragmented than ever, real conservations face-to-face ... they matter more than ever before.
White, who is having a third tilt at becoming premier, announced Labor would introduce a home ownership shared-equity program enabling first-time owners to buy a house with no deposit.
- Australian Associated Press
More to come in the next post.
Updated
Vietnam War monument vandalised with Gaza message
The Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial in central Canberra has been vandalised with red spray paint, with a message that reads:
Eyes on Rafah!
This is genocide!
The colony will fall.
The graffiti, which appeared on Monday morning, was accompanied by a drawing of an eye.
A spokesperson from ACT Policing said law enforcement was aware of recent acts of vandalism. In a statement to AAP they said:
Police remind the community that peaceful protest is part of healthy democracy, however criminal acts will not be tolerated.
- Australian Associated Press
Updated
Sydney homeless numbers continue to rise, more people sleeping in their cars
The latest annual homeless Sydney Street Count shows homelessness figures have slightly increased from previous years:
This year’s street count found 280 individuals sleeping rough in the local area.
This represents a 1.1% increase from the 277 counted during the same month last year.
Crisis and temporary accommodation beds, vital for providing immediate relief and support, were at 96.6% occupancy during the same period, showing an increase of 3.6% from last year.
Simone Parsons, chief operating officer at Bridge Housing, says:
The annual street count reaffirms what we already know: Sydney has a housing problem. The increase in occupancy of crisis and temporary accommodation beds underscores the urgent need for more housing and sustained support.
While the numbers may show a slight increase in homelessness, we are seeing higher numbers in some communities, including an increase in people sleeping in cars. More housing takes time, in the meantime we need to focus on the transformative power of initiatives like Together Home. It’s time for the NSW Government to recognise its efficacy and commit to permanent funding.
Updated
Police call for businesses to check premises for missing boy pays off
NSW police is giving an update on Hussein Al Mansoory, the 12-year-old boy who has now been found “safe and well” at a local medical centre in Auburn after being missing for more than 48 hours.
A staff member at the medical centre “thought to check the stair well” after public messaging around the search for Hussein, the police spokesperson said.
He was found well. He smiled. He was sitting up. He’s been taken to hospital just for a check-up. But on all accounts, he’s doing well.
His family were told immediately that we had found him. They were ecstatic and attended the scene straightaway.
So, I would like to thank all the police involved. A big thank you to the SES over the last couple of days. We’ve had over 200 volunteers drop everything to assist. And … hundreds of members of the public who assisted in the search. I would like to thank everyone, it’s a great result.
Updated
CBA’s Comyn compares banks favourably to the likes of Apple
Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn has singled out Apple, which made roughly $12bn in revenue and paid $160m in corporate tax based on the 2020 corporate tax transparency report from the Australian Tax Office data.
That leaves their corporate tax rate at effectively 4%, so obviously we’re at 30.5%.
He also says when tech companies attend official hearings, their “attitude towards answering questions is completely different to the attitude of Australian corporates”.
- Australian Associated Press
Updated
Big tech should be in policymakers’ sights, CBA boss Comyn says
Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn says regulating big tech should be a “very important agenda item” for the federal government.
The head of Australia’s biggest bank defended domestic industries from accusations of a lack of competition and dominance by a few key players, saying the gaze of regulators and policymakers should also be directed at the global tech giants.
He told the Australian Financial Review’s Business Summit:
I sometimes worry and wonder about the criticisms that are levelled on Australian companies, and particularly large Australian companies.
He said big corporates employed millions and the top 15 firms represented 42% of corporate tax paid in the nation.
While Comyn welcomed the questions asked of corporate Australia in the form of various parliamentary committees – the latest round of which has been directed at the supermarket sector – he said there was “insufficient scrutiny” on major digital platforms and technology firms.
“I hope it is a very important agenda item for both the government and policymakers in this country,” he said.
- Australian Associated Press
More to come on this in the next blog post.
Updated
Victoria needs better safety regulations for outdoor festivals, opposition leader says
Victorian opposition leader, John Pesutto, says the music and arts festival held near the Grampians, which was called off early, was a “disaster waiting to happen”.
The CFA advised festival-goers attending the event in Moyston to leave on Saturday morning because of the risk of bushfires but the event continued until Sunday, when authorities cancelled the remainder of acts due to perform.
Pesutto says the government should have taken a proactive role in cancelling the event earlier, citing safety concerns:
This was a disaster waiting to happen and that there was no major fire event around the festival is just something we can be thankful for but could have been much worse. We need a better system for mitigating the risks, making sure that festival organisers are not going to put young people and anyone else attending those festivals in harm’s way. We don’t want to see regional Victoria suffer with the absence of these events. We want them to be held but held responsibly, where there are proper safety management plans in place, [where] we don’t have thousands of people whose only means of access and egress from the site is a single dirt track.
Updated
South Australian heatwave killing scores of trees
More than 80 heat-stressed trees fell down across South Australia as the state swelters under a heatwave.
“More heat = more trees down,” SA SES say in a post to X, urging people to “seek out alternative shade options” away from trees.
“Stay safe by not parking cars/setting up camp under them.”
From Sat-Sun, we had 80+ trees down across SA. More heat = more trees down
— SASES (@SA_SES) March 11, 2024
Stay safe by not parking cars/setting up camp under them. Seek out alternative shade options away from them
More tips: https://t.co/ohPj9vCJvY
Life-threatening emergency: 000 pic.twitter.com/eSxwvACzfh
Updated
Missing boy found 'safe and well'
A boy who has been missing in western Sydney for two days has been found safe and well, according to a statement from NSW police.
Hussein Al Mansoory, 12, was last seen running from Auburn Memorial Park towards the intersection of Station Road and Rawson Street, Auburn, at 10.30am Saturday 9 March 2024.
He was reported missing, with serious concerns for his welfare because he has Down syndrome and autism and is non-verbal.
“Following inquiries and an appeal for assistance, the boy was found in Auburn about 12.40pm today,” the statement said.
“Police would like to thank the media and the community for their assistance.”
Updated
China ambassador: If dissident Yang Hengjun commits no more crimes he might not be executed
As for a release on health grounds? “Theoretically, if Yang Hengjun complies to the [court] ruling” and serves his sentence “without making further problems, no further crimes, there’s a chance he will not be executed”.
Asked about former Paul Keating’s often scathing assessments of Australia’s current stance towards China (including by the Albanese government), Xiao says the former Labor PM was a “great leader” and a “great statesman”.
Xiao says he has met Keating on “several occasions”.
“I don’t see Mr Paul Keating as really pro-China ... I have a very strong impression that [he] is pro-Australia.”
Xiao didn’t buy into what a re-election of Donald Trump as US president would mean for Sino-US ties, and says it is “not true” that China wants to drive the US out of the Pacific.
“The Pacific is big enough, the world is big enough” for China and the US to coexist peacefully, he says.
There was no mention of Taiwan (and very little of it in Chinese Premier Li Qiang‘s annual report to the National People’s Congress in Beijing, last week). Perhaps that’s a topic for another day.
Updated
China’s ambassador says jailed Australia dissident Yang Hengjun’s health is 'not perfect'
China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, has been speaking at the AFR’s business summit in Sydney. (His intro was so brief Xiao felt the need to mention he was “a seasoned diplomat” who had worked in “so many different countries”, including for the past two years as Beijing’s envoy to Canberra).
Xiao made the expected comments about how China’s GDP growth target of 5% for 2024 was “not high and not low”, and indeed was the “proper” rate to be a sustainable speed. (Economists are dubious about whether China can easily shake off its property sector woes, which are weakening consumer confidence. They expect some consumer-targeted spending policies later in the year. Let’s see.)
Australia has been keen to see the remaining (anti WTO) trade tariffs on wine, lobster and some red meat exports removed, or it may have to go to the World Trade Organisation after all. Xiao says only that Chinese authorities are “reviewing and investigating those tariffs”, and that things are “moving on the right track and in the right direction”.
The AFR’s Phil Coorey pressed Xiao on the fate of jailed Australian Yang Hengjun, who was recently given a suspended death sentence in a closed court.
Xiao says Yang is an “individual judicial case” that should not disrupt overall relations between the countries. He says Yang has committed “espionage crimes” that would be serious in Australia. (Yang’s supporters say the writer has been held for his pro-democracy activities.)
Xiao says he can “understand” the reaction in Australia from the government, public and the media because Yang has joint Australian citizenship “for certain purposes”. (This is a bit hard to understand as Yang became an Australian citizen in 2002, and by Chinese law, people can’t hold dual citizenship.)
As for concerns about Yang’s health, Xiao says “as far as I learned”, Yang’s health is “not perfect” but his health problems are not necessarily as has been described by his relatives. (They view them as dire.)
“We have professional doctors looking after him,” the ambassador says. “We make sure that his basic medical care and his basic rights are being protected and guaranteed.” Xiao adds that Australian diplomats are making regular visits.
More to come in the next post.
Updated
Analysis: Greens maintain pressure on government to resume UNRWA funding
From the beginning, the Australian government has emphasised that the allegations against UNRWA staff were “grave”. Last week, Australia set out its demands: “a clear commitment” that UNRWA would heed recommendations from investigations and “internal reforms with clear timelines”.
Australia has also been urging Israel to share the underlying evidence against the UNRWA staff (most of whom the agency sacked in January; two others were reported dead).
At the same time as the government faces internal pressure to resume funding, the Greens are attacking it over its handling of the issue and the time taken to resume funding. The deputy leader of the Greens, Mehreen Faruqi, added to that pressure in a statement overnight:
How many more horrifying images of famine-like conditions and starved Palestinians does the Labor Government need to see to restore life-saving funding to UNRWA?
Updated
Resumption of UNRWA funding by Canada, Sweden could give Australia ‘diplomatic cover’ to follow suit
Let’s return to an issue my colleague Josh Butler brought to you earlier today. He reported on growing expectations Australia might soon resume funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the wake of similar decisions by Canada and Sweden. How did we get to this point and where to from here?
UNRWA – in operation since 1950 – provides a range of education, health care, relief and social services to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Australia, the US and the UK were among more than a dozen donors to suspend funding to the agency in late January, after the Israeli government alleged that 12 UNRWA staff members were involved in the 7 October Hamas-led attacks on Israel.
From the beginning, the Australian government characterised this as only a “temporary” pause. It affected about $6m in emergency top-up funding that the foreign minister, Penny Wong, had announced in mid-January (not the $20m in Australia’s core funding for the 2023-24 financial year that had already been delivered prior to the accusations).
Within days of the pause being announced, Guardian Australia reported the Australian government was in talks with close allies and was considering conditions to reinstate funding to UNRWA in light of the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza during Israel’s military operations. On 1 February, Wong gave a strong signal that resuming funding was the desired direction of travel, describing UNRWA as the only realistic route “if we are serious about trying to ensure that fewer children are starving” in Gaza. She described the coordination with allies as “urgent”.
However, it took another five weeks for Canada and Sweden to resume funding. These moves are widely seen as giving Australia some diplomatic cover to follow suit, and it is safe to assume this is the most likely option. However, it is understood the Australian government has yet to make a decision on the matter.
Updated
NSW police again appeal to public for information about missing 12-year-old boy
Following this morning’s press conference, NSW police are again appealing for information related to the search for a vulnerable 12-year-old boy in Auburn.
Following inquiries, police believe Hussein Al Mansoory may have been in the vicinity of Norval Street and Hevington Road, Auburn, at about 9pm on Saturday.
His last confirmed sighting was at 10.30am that morning, when he was seen running from Auburn Memorial Park towards the intersection of Station Road and Rawson Street.
Police said:
Police and family hold very serious concerns for Hussein’s welfare as he lives with down syndrome, autism, is nonverbal and has not been sighted for two days.
Hussein is described as being of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern appearance, of slim build, about 140cm tall, with short black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a white shirt and a nappy/diaper. Hussein is not wearing any shoes.
Hussein may be scared of strangers and run away if approached, police recommend if anyone sees Hussein to immediately contact triple zero.
Updated
NSW also examining equity, accessibility of community mental health outpatient care
A parliamentary inquiry is also examining the equity and accessibility of outpatient community mental health care in NSW.
It has heard existing funding arrangements are creating perverse incentives for practitioners to spend less time with patients in need of services.
Consultant psychiatrist Karen Williams told the inquiry per-patient Medicare gap payments encouraged managers to push general practitioners towards shorter sessions and the current funding arrangements needed rethinking.
The Fully Fund Mental Health campaign, backed by leading mental health groups, is calling for year-on-year increases, a dedicated revenue stream to provide ongoing funds for services and priority funding for community-based programs for at-risk groups.
These include rural, regional and remote communities, economically disadvantaged communities and young people.
Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists NSW chair Angelo Virgona said other states were powering ahead on mental health reform.
“NSW is being left behind to the detriment of all its citizens,” Virgona said.
- Australian Associated Press
Updated
NSW Funding fix needed to help dire mental health system
Leading organisations are calling on the NSW government to invest in a mental health care system that is on the brink of collapse because of long-term underfunding.
Despite enjoying the largest budget, data shows NSW has invested the least per capita in mental health services over the past three years compared with other states and territories.
Rates of psychological distress have almost doubled over the past decade yet funding has not kept up.
Mental health represents 15% of the total burden of disease in the state but only receives five per cent of overall health-care funding.
Multiple advocacy groups, including the Black Dog Institute, the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses NSW and the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists have launched a campaign for funding to meet community demand.
Black Dog Institute chief scientist Samuel Harvey says:
The fact is the NSW mental health system is critically underfunded and on the brink of collapse.
Across the state, we are seeing mental health services stretch to their limits, the mental health workforce is burnt out and people who need help are falling through the cracks.
- Australian Associated Press
(More to come on this in the next blog post)
Updated
Albanese: Coalition’s promotion of nuclear energy an ‘alibi for inaction’ on climate crisis
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is launching Labor’s Tasmanian state election campaign in Launceston.
Albanese said the Coalition’s claim to want civilian nuclear energy is not a plan to do something but an excuse to do nothing (to combat climate change), labelling it an “alibi for inaction” and a new form of denial.
He says:
In fact, nuclear energy is a lot like the Liberal Party. No help to anyone today. Completely wrong for Australia’s future and notorious for waste that takes forever to clean up. Labor is the party of the light on the hill. The Liberals just want us to glow in the dark.
Updated
Sydney’s Cranbrook school to hold review of handling of child safety concerns
Private boys’ school Cranbrook has announced an independent review into the school’s handling of serious child safety concerns following the resignation of its high-school’s headmaster Nicholas Sampson.
In an update sent from the Cranbrook School Council to its community following “the events” of last week, the council says the teacher alleged to have sent multiple graphic emails in 2014 to a former female student is still on leave.
Inquiries are ongoing.
The school council understands that there is significant work required to maintain the confidence of the school community.
Our priority is to ensure that students experience minimal disruption and that our staff are fully supported. The school council believes strongly in the quality and integrity of Cranbrook’s educational programs and the excellence and commitment of its staff.
The School Council will soon start the search for a new head of school.
It will also establish an external avenue to report “serious concerns”, available to current and former staff, students and parents, commission an external review of the school’s handling of serious child safety matters since 2010 and review its policies and procedures.
Updated
Antoinette Lattouf ‘prone to exaggeration’, not a ‘reliable historian’, ABC lawyer says
Antoinette Lattouf has been accused of being “prone to exaggeration” and someone who “has not shown herself to be a reliable historian”, according to the lawyer representing the ABC in the journalist’s unfair dismissal claim.
Ian Neil made the comments about Lattouf, who is currently taking an action against the ABC in the Fair Work Commission, during his closing submissions.
Earlier this morning, Lattouf gave evidence for the first time, telling the Fair Work Commission that an inability to work for the ABC would have a “significant effect” on her ability to get other work as a journalist.
Lattouf was asked about a conversation she claims she had with ABC content director Elizabeth Green on her way out of the ABC building after being told she was not required to come back for the final shifts of her December contract. Lattouf said she told Green she was worried “I’ll never work for the ABC again”.
Neil grilled Lattouf for more than an hour in a tense cross-examination, that saw frequent objections from Lattouf’s lawyer Mark Gibian.
Neil argued that Lattouf had not been dismissed by the ABC in December, but rather had been told she would not be required to present the final two shifts of Sydney’s Mornings radio program. Lattouf disputed this, saying that she had been told by ABC management: “words to the effect of ‘we’re taking you off air’.”
Lawyers for the ABC and Lattouf are currently giving closing arguments, with the case expected to conclude today.
Updated
NSW police don’t believe case of missing 12-year-old anything ‘sinister’
Auburn unit commander of the SES Jamie Newman says there’s nothing to suggest anything “sinister” has contributed to the boy’s disappearance.
At this point we’re dealing with it as a boy who’s wandered off. However, from the get-go, our detectives have been involved, we’re reviewing CCTV, we’re doing canvassing of CCTV.
So, we have always got that in the back of our mind. We’re not going to lose time in case it does go that way. However, at this point we’ve got nothing to suggest it’s anything sinister.
His family have been involved in the search and are in regular contact with SES and the police. There is someone waiting for him at home in case the boy returns.
Updated
Police ask public to call Triple 0 if they see missing 12-year-old Hussein Al Mansoory
CCTV near the train station when the boy went missing showed him wearing a nappy and t-shirt, wandering around alone.
Asked if it is “disappointing” nobody assisted the child when he was in a vulnerable state, superintendent Simon Glasser says “all I can ask for now is if people do sight him they call 000”.
Glasser:
Obviously, the footage of him just in a t-shirt, a nappy, no shoes, just shows how vulnerable he is. So if anyone does see him, we ask they call Triple 0, maintain visual contact, visual sighting of him, and stay on the phone to Triple 0. We ask that you don’t necessarily approach him directly because that could cause him to run off again.
Updated
No new sightings of 12-year-old boy missing in Western Sydney
The boy went missing from home but was last seen at a local park around 10.30am on Saturday, Glasser says.
The park was in the vicinity of Auburn railway station.
Glasser:
We have had several other possible sightings and we have been looking into all of those but our last confirmed one was when he first went missing around the railway station.
Amid hot weather, Glasser says 48 hours would be a “struggle for anyone”, adding that the priority is for anyone who has seen the boy to get in contact.
Almost 70 personnel were working until midnight yesterday, while almost 100 are active today.
Updated
Hot weather, NSW boy’s vulnerability means his disappearance a ‘high-risk’ case
This is as “high risk as it gets” for a missing person, Glasser says.
There have been several calls of possible sightings of the boy, but none have been confirmed.
The boy is fond of a particular type of music which has been played in the area in the hope of coaxing him out, while drones are also assisting in the search.
Glasser:
We’re highly concerned. This is as high-risk as it gets for us with a missing person. He’s 12 years’ old, he’s got special needs, and he’s been out and about by himself for 48 hours now. So it’s as high-risk as it gets … it’s already at a critical point, we’re throwing everything we have at it.
Asked how the family are holding up, Glasser says they are “quite distraught” and “frantically looking for their son”.
Updated
NSW police ask businesses to check their premises for missing 12-year-old boy
Police are providing an update on the missing 12-year-old boy in Western Sydney.
They are still searching for the boy, with “all our resources out” including police specialists, the SES and local resources.
Asked if there’s been a change in strategy, superintendent Simon Glasser says “not too much has changed there other than being a Monday now”.
A lot of our businesses, building sites, are open. So we’re just asking anyone that has common areas, emergency exits, areas that could hide a young child that they get those areas checked.
We’ve got numerous specialist police. Search coordinators, public order police assisting in the search … we also have our dog unit on stand-by if we have possible sightings.
Anyone with a large premise with fire escapes or access areas difficult for the public to see has been asked to search their properties.
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Byelection for Scott Morrison’s seat of Cook to be held 13 April
We have a date for the Cook byelection, which is likely to be relatively straightforward after the departure of former prime minister Scott Morrison.
It is currently a very safe Liberal seat, on a margin of 12.5%.
Management consultant Simon Kennedy won the Liberal pre-selection for the seat, beating mayor Carmelo Pesce, while Labor is not expected to put forward a candidate.
Pollsters will cast their vote on 13 April – just over a month away.
Cook byelection to be held on 13 April. Going to be a quick campaign in what is expected to be a walkover for Liberal Simon Kennedy. pic.twitter.com/HlmCZTFetC
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) March 10, 2024
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Pitch Music organisers arrange free buses for patrons after festival cancelled
Attendees are beginning to return from Pitch Music and Arts Festival in Victoria after it was cancelled due to extreme fire danger.
Following consultation with authorities, Pitch organisers posted notices on social media on Sunday night saying everyone at the site had been advised to pack up and depart that night or early on Monday.
Free busses were running to Melbourne on Monday morning, with additional shuttles running to Ararat station until 6pm.
Friends and family had expressed frustration at being unable to contact patrons due to a lack of phone service in the area. Organisers initially delayed programming on Saturday, replacing music acts with “light entertainment” including yoga.
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Search continues for 12-year-old boy missing in Western Sydney
New South Wales Police and NSW SES will address the media in the next hour as the search continues for a missing 12-year-old boy in Western Sydney.
Dozens of emergency service crewsspent the night searching for the young boy, Hussein Al Mansoory, who was last seen running from Auburn Memorial Park towards the intersection of Station Road and Rawson Street at about 10.30am on Saturday.
There are serious concerns for his welfare as he has Down syndrome and autism and is non verbal.
A large multi-agency search will continue today, with officers assisted by NSW SES, the Public Order & Riot Squad (PORS), PolAir and the Rescue and Bomb Disposal Unit.
Superintendent Simon Glasser and Auburn Unit Commander Jamie Newman will address the media in Auburn at 11am.
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Queensland police find body in Kinchant Dam
In Queensland, emergency services crews have located a body believed to be the 40-year-old man missing since a boating incident in Kinchant Dam on Saturday.
The body was located in the water at 6.50am this morning, Queensland police have confirmed.
Police will prepare a report for the Coroner.
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Melbourne’s Yarra City council investigating higher parking fees for bigger cars
Still in Victoria, an inner city Melbourne council is going to vote on investigating increasing parking fees in line with the size of vehicles.
Councillor Sophie Wade’s motion, to be voted on on Tuesday, could make Yarra City council – which includes the busy inner-city suburbs of Fitzroy, Richmond and Collingwood – the first municipality in Australia to align parking fees with the size of cars.
The motion asks the council to investigate ways to discourage large and heavy vehicles like SUVs, including “proportionate parking fees based on a
vehicle’s size”.
It notes the “dangers posed” by the increasing size and weight of vehicles on Australian streets, the heavy pollutants of large cars and car crash data which suggests children are eight times more likely to die when hit by an SUV compared with a smaller passenger car.
Last month, Paris voted to charge three times higher parking rates for SUVs compared with other cars, backed by other French cities including Lyon.
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Pill testing at music festivals such as Pitch urgently needed, Victoria Greens says
The Victorian Greens have weighed in on the suspected overdose death of a festival-goer at Pitch Music and Arts Festival over the weekend.
The 23-year-old was airlifted in a critical condition to the Alfred hospital in Melbourne from Mafeking near Ararat, in the state’s south-west, in the early hours of Sunday but later died.
The Greens said the death could have been prevented if the state government implemented pill testing.
Victorian Greens drug harm reduction spokesperson, Aiv Puglielli:
Pill testing services play a crucial role in preventing this tragic loss of life.
Even with pure MDMA we’ve seen how extreme heat can deal a deadly blow. So with untested drugs circulating, this was truly a disaster waiting to happen.
If we want to prevent more overdoses we need pill testing established on-site at music festivals as a matter of urgency.
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Meanwhile, the prime minister has had a “breathtaking” morning alongside chief minister of the ACT, Andrew Barr and first dog Toto (this is speculation, you can see a leash in the images but not the dog itself).
What a breathtaking sight to start Canberra Day. pic.twitter.com/vIhh6rJu46
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) March 10, 2024
Chalmers wants ‘every single one’ of RBA board members to stay on
One of the unfinished parts of the RBA overhaul is the creation of a specialized monetary policy board, separate from a governance board.
At the present, there are nine board members, giving treasurer Jim Chalmers the scope to reshape how interest rate decisions might be made.
The coalition has talked up the prospect of the board being stacked and has called on the current group to be retained.
Chalmers said he was open the members staying on but one question is which of the two boards they wanted to be part of (if either).
I hope every single one of them continues to serve on one of the two boards.
Perhaps some of them could make “a bigger, better contribution to the governance board”, Chalmers said.
Time, though, is running a bit tight if the new board is going to be ready by mid year (perhaps in time for the rate cuts to begin if the economy stalls).
Speaking of which it seems like Treasury might not have been shocked if GDP had been showing actual shrinkage in the December quarter. The 0.2% growth rate brought some sighs of relief.
Chalmers told the AFR summit that the timing of the next election would be up to the PM. If the government goes full term there would be time for a March 2025 budget he said.
(A second budget surplus is “within reach”, Chalmers said. That seems all but a given, with one economist in the audience opining that spending cuts are one thing you won’t see in the May budget that’s coming).
If a full term transpires, Australia would have had five budgets in about three years. Probably a record number?
If so, that’s one growth industry at least.
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Search for man in Queensland dam after weekend boating incident
In Queensland, a search operation is still continuing for a 40-year-old man who went missing after a boating incident in Kinchant Dam on Saturday.
Emergency services were called to the dam, 35km south-west of Mackay, on Saturday morning following reports of a man and girl overboard from a broken-down boat.
The nine-year-old girl was rescued and transported to hospital as a precaution, while a 42-year-old woman and three other children were also safely ashore an hour later.
But the man is yet to have been found. Water Police and Police Divers are on scene, and the dam is currently closed to recreational use.
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Warning after man charged for leaving baby in hot car
Parents are being reminded not to leave children unattended in cars, particularly in hot weather, as much of New South Wales faces heatwave conditions.
A man will face court next month after he allegedly left a 13-month-old boy in a car on the Central Coast on Sunday.
Emergency services were called to the car park of an aquatic centre in Toukley, about 50km south of Newcastle, after a toddler was found alone in an unlocked car.
The little boy was found by a member of the public, still strapped into his car seat.
Police said the front passenger window of the car was slightly open but all the doors were closed and the engine was turned off, with no air-conditioning in the 28C heat.
The child was red and sweating and was assessed by paramedics, but was otherwise not injured.
A 40-year-old man returned to the car about 15 minutes later, after being contacted by police.
Police will allege the man left the child unattended in the vehicle for 40 minutes while he was inside the swimming centre.
He has been issued with a future court attendance notice for the offence of leaving a child unsupervised in motor vehicle, causing emotional distress.
He is expected to appear at Wyong local court on 24 April.
Family and Community Services were also notified of the incident.
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Chalmers takes axe to 500 ‘nuisance tariffs’
As has been noted on this blog, treasurer Jim Chalmers has announced plans to cut so-called nuisance tariffs that raise a pittance but weigh businesses down with red tape.
Chalmers has been speaking at the AFR’s business summit this morning in Sydney.
With almost 500 product lines to choose from, the treasurer singled out freezer imports that are worth some $660m a year but collected about $28,000 in tariff revenue. Or the $80m in toothbrushes, bringing in less than $22,000.
X-ray products of some $160,000 in value collected less than $200.
According to one person, the origin of the cuts came from a line item that Chalmers noted in a briefing. He then tasked Treasury to comb through the lists for similar tariffs that raise very little money but added a lot more in compliance costs.
Some free trade agreements were not quite so free so some candidates had to be excluded. Anyway, Chalmers said he’s seeking more feedback ahead of the May budget when the terminal tariff lists will be completed.
Chalmers acknowledged that the $30m a year in saved costs will only give consumers “a bit of an extra help” to deal with the cost of living. (That assumes businesses pass on the savings, to.)
The treasurer repeated the lines that “inflation is still the main game” but the government can’t ignore the economic slowdown.
Chalmers said the government would put “economics before politics” again in his third budget. With an election looming, though, it’s likely that the commentariat at least will be assessing what’s coming from a “politics before economics” viewpoint.
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Heatwave bakes Australia's south-east
Meanwhile, most of south-eastern Australia is set to sizzle amid continuing heatwave conditions.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a top of 37C for Melbourne today, with hot weather expected for most of Victoria.
An extreme fire danger rating is in place for the South West region of Victoria, with emergency crews on high alert.
South Australia is also sweltering in the heat, with Adelaide set to peak at 38C today, after another hot night, where temperatures remained above 27C.
Most of regional South Australia will see temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s, with a total fire ban widely declared.
The bureau warns the conditions will persist in parts of SA, Victoria, NSW and Tasmania until Wednesday.
BoM senior meteorologist Sarah Scully told ABC News that the warm weather was coming due to a high-pressure system sitting in the Tasman Sea. She said relief could come later in the week:
A southerly change is expected to move through early on Tuesday, giving the southern states some reprieve but it won’t be until Wednesday or Thursday that a colder air mass will push in and bring those temperatures down.
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PM quizzed over restoring UNRWA funding
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was asked about restoring UNRWA funding following Canada and Sweden’s lead.
Albanese told ABC Canberra:
We in fact had doubled funding for UNRWA to provide support for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The funding for this financial year was all delivered, more than $20m. The funding that was paused was additional funding on top of that. Our funding for this year [was] double what the former government had done. We have very clear statements about the humanitarian need of people in Gaza who are suffering terribly. The consequences of action that’s taken place there should not impact on innocent civilians the way that it has. We’ve been very clear about that. And we continue to call for not just humanitarian support – and we are giving consideration to the range of supports that can be given including through other forms as well, in terms of essential food and lifesaving delivery there.
This is interesting because it sounds like support outside the framework of unpausing funding to UNRWA.
Pressed if Australia will un-pause that funding, Albanese replied:
Well, we are taking advice on what further support we can give. But we understand that part of the problem as well is getting access into Gaza. And we have consistently have called for that access to be given. We’re working with like-minded countries to make sure that can occur.
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Outer suburban drivers overtake inner-city drivers in EV uptake
New data from the Electric Vehicle Council shows that outer suburban drivers have overtaken inner-city drivers in their EV uptake.
According to the council, inner metropolitan EV orders (38.95%) are being outstripped by those placed in outer metropolitan suburbs (43.29%).
The divide is even greater when combining EV uptake in outer metro, regional and rural areas (61.05%).
Electric Vehicle Council chief executive, Behyad Jafari, said the data showed some stereotypes on EV uptake needed updating:
I think some tired stereotypes about EVs in Australia will need to be updated.
What this data tells us is that the average EV buyer lives in the suburbs and might well be keen to use the new car to take the kids camping on the weekend. They might even be thinking about towing a boat.
Suburban EV buyers who are sensitive to the cost of living will be looking forward to no longer worrying about foreign oil spikes or costly regular repairs and services.
This demographic shift represents a new reality that opponents of EVs will rapidly have to come to terms with. EVs are not novel – they are now a suburban, mainstream Australian reality and that trend is only set to continue.
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Road toll review recommends paying fees in both directions across Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydneysiders driving across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and tunnel would be forced to pay fees in both directions, a review into the city’s patchwork toll road network has recommended, alongside a vision to unify all paid roads under a consistent “declining distance based rate” of tolling.
On Monday, the New South Wales government released the interim report of its review into Sydney’s toll road network, which has recommended a raft of changes to achieve a “reset” of the network, which would have the effect of spreading the city’s toll burden – estimated to cost drivers $123bn over the next 37 years – predominantly from the west to the eastern and northern suburbs.
A key recommendation is for the establishment of a state “TollCo” – a new body “to take back control of tolls”.
The new TollCo, as recommended by the review authors former competition watchdog chair Allan Fels and David Cousins, would be able to provide authority for a system of network tolls, while taking into consideration the array of individual tolling contracts with private owners so that third parties minimum revenues are still met.
The review also recommended tolling drivers on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel, as well as the Eastern Distributor, in both directions – they are currently only charged in one direction. Crossing Sydney Harbour would also attract an “infrastructure charge” in addition to the new network and declining distance charge approach.
Across the city, there are 13 roads over 179km with tolled sections, which has led to claims that is Sydney is the most tolled capital city in the world. All but two of the toll roads are run by private operator Transurban as part of an array of long-term agreements which stipulate minimum guaranteed revenue.
Sydney’s toll roads have several different pricing structures – some charge a fixed fee, others charge for the distance travelled, while for another road, users pay an access fee as well as for the distance travelled. There are also roads where users are charged differently depending on the time of day or day of the week and some roads only toll users in one direction.
“Tolls need a big shakeup ... no holds barred,” Fels said.
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Search continues for missing 12-year-old boy in Sydney
AAP is reporting that dozens of emergency service crews have spent the night searching for a young boy who went missing in western Sydney.
Hussein Al Mansoory, 12, was last seen running from Auburn Memorial Park towards the intersection of Station Road and Rawson Street, Auburn, about 10.30am on Saturday.
There are serious concerns for Hussein’s welfare as he lives with Down syndrome and autism and is non-verbal.
State Emergency Service crews and police, including PolAir and the riot squad, have been searching for him and are particularly focusing on construction sites.
They believe Hussein could have taken shelter in a construction site in the area to escape the hot weather Sydney faced over the weekend.
Locals in the Auburn area have been asked to check sheds, garages, back yards and properties for any signs of Hussein, who was last seen wearing a white T-shirt.
He is described as being of Middle Eastern appearance, of slim build, about 140cm tall and with short black hair.
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Australia expected to resume funding to UNRWA
The federal government is working with allies on “ensuring aid flows to Gazans in desperate need”, with expectations Australia might soon resume funding to the UNRWA.
Australia and other donors to the United Nations Refugee Works Agency, the UN body providing aid in Gaza, paused funding after Israel alleged some staff had been involved in the 7 October Hamas terrorist attack. The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has said Australia wants to resume funding once it receives guarantees around stronger processes for UNRWA spending such contributions, and with Sweden and Canada announcing plans to restart their funding, the federal government is facing calls to follow suit.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for Wong said: “The Australian government has been working with a group of donor countries, who also paused funding, on the shared objective of rebuilding confidence and ensuring aid flows to Gazans in desperate need.”
UNRWA’s commissioner general, Philippe Lazzarini, told the UN’s general assembly last week the agency was at “breaking point” from a “financial crisis”, noting medical staff in Gaza were forced to amputate limbs without anaesthetic and babies were dying of malnutrition.
Australia’s representative to the UN last week called on Israel to cooperate fully with investigations into their claims about UNRWA staff, and “provide all available evidence so that these serious allegations can be properly assessed and appropriate safeguards put in place”.
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Bowen promises vehicle efficiency standards plan will provide savings
Federal energy minister Chris Bowen is insisting this morning that the government’s vehicle efficiency standards will provide “some pretty good savings”.
Speaking on the Today Show earlier, Bowen said the plan would get more options for buyers, adding that some drivers could save as much as $1,800 a year in fuel costs under the plan:
This is about really getting better quality cars into Australia that use less fuel, and the more you drive the more you’d save.
So some pretty good savings to be had if people choose to take the more efficient model, and we want to give them more choices.
These are options that would be available right from January 2025. Obviously, that’s when the policy would start, but we’d ramp it up over time, because we do need to give car companies some time to respond.
We will take on board good faith suggestions that help us implement it, not people who are trying to get around it or slow it down or water it down, but good faith suggestions from people who know the industry to say, listen, you’ve got a good idea here, but here’s how we think it could be done better. Sensible ideas will be sensibly listened to.
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Sydney drivers will spend $123bn on toll roads over next 37 years
Sydney drivers will spend $123bn on tolls over next 37 years, a review into the city’s patchwork toll road network has found, as the Minns government lays the groundwork for an overhaul of how drivers are charged.
On Monday, the review’s interim report was released, finding that by 2060, drivers will spend $123bn on toll roads measured in 2023 dollars, and in nominal dollars, the figure will be $195bn in nominal terms.
Driving the mammoth spend on tolls is the privately owned Westconnex project, the final stage of which included the Rozelle interchange which caused traffic chaos when it opened late last year. Of the $123bn toll spend by 2060, 52% of this amount will be spent on Westconnex. Over the next 37 years, Sydneysiders will have paid for the construction cost of the entire Westconnex project three times over.
The interim report “lays bare the reality of privatisation, all at the expense of the people of Sydney”, the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, said. Minns, in an indication the government plans to overhaul how tolls are charged, said:
Sydney is the most tolled city in the world. And now we know trying to fix it requires a significant reset of the tolling network … We were elected with a mandate to undertake work on toll reform, to make tolls simpler and fairer.
Analysis in the review also found that while toll roads were meant to alleviate pressure on existing free-to-access arterial roads, many drivers avoid the paid roads. “Rather than use the toll roads, motorists are continuing to utilise the more congested untolled roads,” the report said.
The review also conducted a review of 1,500 drivers across Sydney which found that 87% felt tolls were too high and 70% felt toll prices were unfair. Earlier on in the review process, the report’s chief author, former competition watchdog chair Allan Fels, flagged splitting the toll network into geographic zones to spread the burden more fairly from the west of Sydney to the east.
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Doxxing ban consultation starts
The federal government is seeking feedback from the public on its plans to outlaw “doxxing”, spurred after the sharing of details of a large group chat of Jewish Australians.
Attorney general Mark Dreyfus called for public submissions on the proposed new laws, saying “the targeted and malicious release of personal information without permission is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated”.
The doxxing legislation will come separately to other planned reforms to the Privacy Act and laws against hate speech.
“The increasing use of online platforms to harm people through practices like doxxing, the malicious release of their personal information without their permission, is a deeply disturbing development,” Dreyfus said.
“Australians should have trust and confidence that their personal information is kept safe and secure in the digital age.”
The government swiftly promised doxxing laws after the publication online of the log of a group chat of over 600 Jewish writers and artists. Some parts of the WhatsApp chat had reportedly included discussions about coordinating complaints against public figures over their comments about Israel’s actions in the Gaza war.
Dreyfus said the government’s process around the proposed doxxing laws would include roundtable discussion with key stakeholders, individuals with lived experience of doxxing, and media organisations to discuss “how to appropriately balance competing rights”.
The consultation period is open until 28 March on the Attorney-General’s Department website.
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Jacqui Lambie says slashing of tariffs won’t do enough to support businesses
Sticking with tariffs for the moment, independent senator Jacqui Lambie says the government’s plan isn’t enough.
Appearing on the Today Show, Lambie said the plan wasn’t going to do enough to support businesses through the cost-of-living crisis.
If this is their way of slashing red tape for businesses out there, it’s not even going to be close enough.
So I don’t I don’t believe ... you’re going to get much less off for tyres or anything else. And you can see they’re actually not sucking in a lot of savings from all of this.
They [the government] want to get bigger and better than this ... Those small businesses and businesses out there are on the back foot right now, and they need some help.
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Treasurer announces slashing of ‘nuisance’ tariffs on shoes, toasters and tampons
Jim Chalmers has announced the slashing of some 500 “nuisance tariffs” worth nearly $30m on a range of goods including washing machines, shoes and fridges, as the government cleans up old regulations.
It includes the slashing of $3m in tariffs on menstrual sanitary products.
The treasurer says Australian businesses aren’t protected by these tariffs, which apply to a range of goods which are now imported duty-free thanks to various trade agreements, but local businesses still have to go through various regulatory processes and paperwork anyway.
Such compliance takes time and costs money. The government claims that slashing the tariffs – which they’re calling the biggest tariff reform in 20 years – will cut costs for businesses and consumers, as well as boosting productivity.
Although the costs of the tariffs bring in relatively little money, so the benefits to consumers may be relatively small. Examples given include cutting tariffs on toothbrushes ($22,000 in revenue annually), fridge-freezers ($28,000), X-ray film ($200) and toasters ($1,000).
At the upper end, the government is cutting $3m in tariffs on menstrual products, $140,000 on fishing reels, $95,000 on pens and $140,000 on washing machines.
“The tariffs identified have been selected because their abolition will deliver benefits for businesses without adversely impacting Australian industries or constraining Australia in sensitive FTA negotiations,” a release from Chalmers’ office said.
Chalmers acknowledged the small tariffs on some goods, but said the changes would give “small amount of extra help with the cost-of-living challenge by making everyday items such as toothbrushes, tools, fridges, dishwashers and clothing just a little bit cheaper”.
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Good morning
Good morning everyone, Mostafa Rachwani with you today, to take you through the day’s news.
We begin with the federal government, which will today begin a public consultation on new laws to combat doxxing. The community is being urged to provide feedback on the laws, which intend to crackdown on the practice of doxxing, something the attorney general called “malicious”.
Elsewhere, almost 500 nuisance tariffs will be scrapped in the new financial year in the hopes of saving businesses $30m in compliance costs. The Albanese government intends to eliminate 14% of Australia’s tariffs on imported goods from 1 July. This will include hand tools, fridges, clothing and menstrual and sanitary products, and the government hopes the changes will boost productivity and reduce red tape.
Finally, a record-breaking heatwave is continuing to bake south-east Australia, with temperatures set to soar again today. Melbourne is expected to peak at 37C today, while Adelaide will peak at 38C. We’ll keep you updated on conditions and everything else happening around the country.
