What we learned; Monday 4 March
And that’s where we’ll leave you this evening. Here are the highlights from today:
Anthony Albanese met with the Malaysian prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, in Melbourne today on the first day of a three-day Asean summit. The pair announced a range of deals ensuring closer collaboration on issues including cybersecurity and nuclear non-proliferation.
The federal government is pressing ahead with planning for a possible visit by King Charles later this year.
The shadow housing minister, Michael Sukkar, has said housing will be a “very compelling part” of the Coalition’s policy offering at the next election.
Walter Sofronoff’s extensive communications with a columnist at The Australian gave an impression of bias against the former ACT director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, during his inquiry into the Lehrmann trial, a court found.
NSW premier Chris Minns said “change needs to be made” to NSW police policies and procedures after Luke Davies and Jesse Baird were allegedly murdered by a serving police officer. Mines also said a pro-Palestine protest during the Sydney Mardi Gras parade on Saturday “wasn’t too much of a big deal on the night”.
More than 100 pieces of correspondence sent to the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, in the week the ABC pulled the journalist Antoinette Lattouf off air have been blocked from release to Guardian Australia.
Australia’s rental vacancy rate has reached a new record low of 0.7%, Domain’s February rate report has revealed.
Some 80% of people on low incomes are reporting becoming severely unwell because of heatwaves, including more than 90% of First Nations communities, according to new research from the Australian Council of Social Service.
More than 30,000 customers across Western Australia lost power, including customers in the south-west of the state and Perth’s northern suburbs.
And a homeowner has been fined $8,250 by the NSW Environment Protection Authority for a mass crayfish kill in a Blue Mountains creek last year.
Thanks so much for your company this afternoon. We’ll be back bright and early tomorrow morning. See you then.
Updated
ACT government considering response to Sofronoff inquiry
The ACT government says it’s still considering how to respond to today’s judgment .
Meanwhile, Ian Meagher, the solicitor for former ACT director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, said his client is “delighted” with the court’s decision and is “now looking forward to moving on with his life”.
Earlier this afternoon, Justice Stephen Kaye ruled Walter Sofronoff’s extensive communications with The Australian columnist, Janet Albrechtsen, gave rise to an impression of bias against Drumgold.
Sofronoff, who headed the inquiry into how the trial against Bruce Lehrmann was conducted, had interacted with Albrechtsen on 273 occasions leading up to and during the probe.
Justice Kaye also overruled Sofronoff’s finding that Drumgold had acted with “grossly unethical conduct” during his cross-examination of retiring Liberal senator Linda Reynolds.
The ACT government said this afternoon:
The government is considering the terms of acting Justice Kaye’s decision and will make no comment at this time. We observe, however, that the report’s findings in relation to other persons and the recommendations in relation to the criminal justice system remain undisturbed.
It is expected to deliver a more comprehensive response on Tuesday.
Updated
