What we learned, Wednesday 13 August
We will wrap up the live blog here. This is what made the news:
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, signed Australia to a joint statement with 29 international partners decrying the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Belinda Allen, a senior economist at the Commonwealth Bank, expects the RBA to wait until November before cutting again – but that could depend on how the data unfolds.
The Commonwealth Bank recorded $10.25bn in annual cash profits – up 4% – and delivered a bumper $2.60 payout per share to shareholders.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said he is up for “big reform” as his government heads into a long-promised productivity roundtable next week.
The Australian Federal Police said a man was arrested at Sydney Airport after an incident where a police firearm was discharged inside the T2 domestic terminal.
The NSW government is considering a temporary ban on e-bikes, e-scooters and other e-mobility devices on trains and metro services amid growing concerns about the fire risk of lithium-ion batteries.
The commonwealth ombudsman has found the Department of Home Affairs wrongfully detained 11 people in the past year, including an Australian citizen and another person improperly held for 18 months.
David Southwick, the Coalition police spokesperson, described the Victorian government as “all talk and no action” when it came to introducing tougher protest laws.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers said the government was focused on other measures when asked about the unions’ suggestion of a four-day work week.
Until tomorrow, enjoy your evening.
Updated
Ombudsman warns more resources needed for investigating whistleblower complaints
The Commonwealth Ombudsman says his agency needs more resourcing to investigate complaints made by whistleblowers about the handling of their disclosures.
The federal government’s whistleblowing system is complicated but, put simply, a public servant wanting to shed light on potential wrongdoing has to submit a public interest disclosure (PID) to their agency’s PID officer.
The PID is assessed by the officer to determine whether it’s valid, and then allocated for investigation. If a discloser is not satisfied with the investigation, it can go to the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
In cases where a PID officer identifies a conflict of interest – for example, allegations against the agency’s senior bosses – it can also be referred to the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
It’s a regime that’s been heavily criticised since it was introduced because many would-be whistleblowers get sucked into a bureaucratic and legally technical blackhole.
The ombudsman, Iain Anderson, described it this afternoon in a parliamentary inquiry as an “overly complex, overly prescriptive regime” in need of serious simplification.
But perhaps the most interesting revelation was that the ombudsman only has 1.5 staff members on hand to deal with any complaints.
While Anderson admitted the number can “fluctuate”, he also conceded “it probably wouldn’t have been more than four or five at the most”.
Meanwhile, Anderson noted the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption had about 25 staff to handle referral and investigation complaints.
Updated
