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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Nino Bucci and Emily Wind

Westpac cops $9.8m penalty from Asic over ‘unconscionable conduct’ in Ausgrid trading case – as it happened

Westpac sign in Melbourne
Westpac will pay $9.8m to the corporate regulator to settle legal proceedings. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

That's it for today, thanks for reading

Here are the main stories on Wednesday, 31 January:

  • Inflation drops to a two-year low, easing fears of another RBA rate rise;

  • Westpac will pay $9.8m to the corporate regulator to settle legal proceedings over financial transactions linked to the privatisation of electricity supplier Ausgrid in 2016;

  • The minister for the Pacific, Pat Conroy, says Australia will work with Nauru to continue to meet its security needs, just weeks after the country switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China;

  • Queensland man charged with murder of Kowanyama woman he told inquest went ‘walkabout’ 11 years ago;

  • Sydney Harbour shark bite victim thanks ‘heroic and very kind neighbours’;

  • ABC managing director David Anderson rejects the idea the broadcaster is being influenced by pro-Israel lobby; and

  • The head of the inquiry into the handling of Bruce Lehrmann’s prosecution spent 10 hours on the phone to journalists during the probe, a court has been told.

We will see you back here for more news tomorrow.

Updated

Ex Coalition MP Wyatt Roy now working for Saudi Arabia city project Neom

Former MP Wyatt Roy, one of many Coalition MPs to feature in the ABC’s Nemesis documentary on Monday, is making another cameo, this time in a slightly less well received program...

Updated

Court orders temporary halt to logging Tasmanian forest

Conservationists have won a temporary injunction to stop logging in an area of forest south of Hobart they say is home to breeding habitat for the swift parrot.

The Tasmanian supreme court granted the injunction on Wednesday afternoon pending a hearing of the legal challenge brought by the Bob Brown Foundation.

A swift parrot sitting on the ground.
For decades, Tasmanian forests home to the rare and endangered swift parrot have been logged. Photograph: Alamy

“This is a huge win for Tasmania’s forests and wildlife. It is the first of a rolling series of challenges to the destruction of our heritage forests,” Bob Brown said outside the court.

“This is both gratifying and a terrible indictment of the state and federal governments.”

Updated

NSW parliament set to vote on spit hood ban

A coalition working to ban spit hoods in Australian jurisdictions says it has had a positive meeting with NSW politicians, and expects a parliamentary vote on the issue as early as next week.

The hoods have been described as dehumanising, and have been linked to deaths in custody.

In 2021, South Australia became the first Australian jurisdiction to implement a legislative ban on the use of spit hoods.

The National Ban Spit Hoods coalition urged NSW lawmakers to seriously consider the bill to ban hoods in the state, saying the bill captured its “goals and desires”.

Australia says it will work with Nauru despite China switch

The minister for the Pacific, Pat Conroy, says Australia will work with Nauru to continue to meet its security needs, just weeks after the country switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China.

Conroy was in Nauru today to attend the country’s 2024 Independence Day celebrations and for a “productive” meeting with the president, David Adeang.

The Australian government has played down the significance of Nauru’s shift in diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, but has also been working to shore up relationships with Pacific countries amid concerns China is stepping up efforts to strike security and policing agreements.

Conroy said in a statement after the meeting:

Australia and Nauru are family. Our shared history and culture connect us together. These bonds are based on trust and mutual respect.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shakes hands with Nauru’s minister of foreign affairs and trade, Lionel Aingimea, after the two countries resumed diplomatic relations.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shakes hands with Nauru’s minister of foreign affairs and trade, Lionel Aingimea, after the two countries resumed diplomatic relations. Photograph: Getty Images

Australia and Nauru have a strong and enduring partnership, supported by our shared history and close ties between our people. We have decades of defence and law enforcement cooperation, working together to meet Nauru’s security priorities. As Nauru’s largest development partner, we are investing in inclusive economic growth, sustainable infrastructure, jobs, skills and connectivity to ensure prosperity for communities now and for generations to come.”

Adeang said his government was “deeply appreciative of the friendship that has flourished between Nauru and the Commonwealth of Australia”. Adeang said:

Over the years our bonds have not only strengthened but also transformed into a profound mutual respect. We consider ourselves an integral part of the extended Australia family, and an indelible mark of Australia’s influence remains with us as our people, our cultures, and our futures become ever closer.

Updated

Worth a look – Australia Institute director Richard Denniss speaking at the National Press Club about stage-three tax cuts earlier today.

Updated

Quite bizarre: the Melbourne radio station 3AW are reporting that 120 cars are stuck underground because of a maintenance bungle at a St Kilda apartment building. Apparently a tradie installing a speed bump on a ramp cut through the wrong concrete, and now they could be stuck there for WEEKS.

Westpac engaged in ‘unconscionable conduct’ in trading case

Westpac will pay $9.8m to the corporate regulator to settle legal proceedings over financial transactions linked to the privatisation of electricity supplier Ausgrid in 2016.

The payment, consisting of a court-approved penalty along with other costs, stems from the way Westpac handled a transaction designed to manage interest rate fluctuations for the Australian Super-led consortium buying a controlling stake in Ausgrid from the NSW government.

Given the size of the multibillion-dollar deal, minor rate changes can have significant financial consequences.

‘Westpac exposed its client to significant risk', Asic deputy chair says.
Westpac ‘exposed its client to significant risk’, Asic deputy chair says. Photograph: Con Chronis/AAP

According to the federal court, Westpac engaged in “unconscionable conduct” in its pre-hedging strategy, which refers to the bank’s use of financial instruments to manage its own risk ahead of the $12bn interest rate swap transaction for the consortium.

Sarah Court, deputy chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, said she shared the court’s concern regarding the maximum penalty allowed to be imposed for such conduct.

Westpac’s derivatives trading desk recorded a trading profit of about $20.7m on the day the transaction was executed, according to Asic.

The maximum penalty was significantly lower than the potential profits derived from Westpac’s actions.

“In this case, Westpac’s behaviour was unconscionable and exposed its client to significant risk,” Court said in a statement.

The court found that Westpac failed to have adequate arrangements to manage the conflict of interests between it and the consortium.

A Westpac spokesperson acknowledged the agreement with the regulator to settle the civil proceedings.

“The proceedings relate to historical interest rate hedging activity as part of the 2016 Ausgrid privatisation transaction,” the spokesperson said.

Updated

‘Enormous’ barriers to women pursuing sexual harassment claims: ACTU

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has described the barriers women face in pursuing sexual harassment claims in court as “enormous” as it offers its green tick for a bill that it believes will level the playing field for victim-survivors.

A Senate committee is examining changes proposed by the Albanese government that will send the bill for court costs during sexual harassment cases to the accused if the matter is taken to court.

Under the existing laws, the unsuccessful party must pay for their own and the other party’s legal bill.

Sascha Peldova-McClelland, a senior legal officer for the ACTU, told the hearing on Wednesday nearly 3 million Australians experienced sexual harassment every year but only 11 cases on average made it to court.

“This is a shockingly low figure and this is because the barriers to bring in claims are enormous and many women make the very rational decision to not risk their financial future by pursuing the case in the courts.”

The Law Council of Australia warned in its submission earlier this year that proposed changes to remove cost barriers could result in “arbitrary and unintended consequences” such as clogging the courts with “unmeritorious” claims.

Peldova-McClelland said there was no evidence to support this claim, and that there were already protections in place to prevent it.

“The real problem is that the high costs and risks of litigation stop many meritorious claims from proceeding. This bill aims to take just one of those risks away.”

Updated

Two arrested over Melbourne burger store fire

Two men have been arrested after a suspicious fire at a burger chain in Melbourne’s south-east.

Police on Wednesday confirmed a 27-year-old man was arrested in Carnegie about 9.15am on Wednesday, while a 25-year-old man was arrested in Dallas about 11am. The latter was taken to hospital under police guard for injuries they say were “unrelated to today’s arrest”.

Police say both men are assisting with their inquiries and are expected to be charged with and arson-related offences.

The fire destroyed the Burgertory store on Glenhuntly Road, in Caulfield on 10 November.

Moorabbin inspector Scott Dwyer said at the time:

Our members have been working diligently on this case to hold those responsible to account and prevent further crimes like this from occurring.

Not only did this blaze destroy a business, it also put innocent members of the public at risk of being injured.

Victoria police will continue to target anyone connected to criminality that recklessly puts others in harm’s way.

Updated

Government urged to buy back flood-threatened homes

The industry body representing Australia’s general insurance industry wants the government to put aside $250m a year to buy back or raise homes that are being exposed to increasingly extreme flood events.

The Insurance Council of Australia wants to see the fund in the next budget and says it should be matched dollar-for-dollar by states and territories to create a $500m annual fund that could move about 750 families out of flood zones each year.

The council said schemes already in place in Queensland and New South Wales after the 2022 floods had put $1.6bn aside to buy back properties at risk, with about 1,300 buy backs offered so far.

The fund would build on the schemes that were put in place in New South Wales and Queensland in the wake of the record-breaking 2022 floods.

About $1.6bn in joint funding has been set aside to buy back at-risk properties, with about 1,300 buy backs offered so far.

The council’s chief executive, Andrew Hall, said:

The major flooding events over this summer and back to 2022 have demonstrated the scale of the challenge Australia faces in responding to extreme weather events, and why more investment is urgently needed to better protect Australian lives and properties.

Insurance costs were going up, he said, because of the impacts of floods and the rising costs of rebuilding and repairing damage. But risk was the ultimate driver of insurance costs.

In a pre-budget submission, the council also wants incentives for state governments to remove insurance taxes and reforms to planning rules and building codes to cut the risk of extreme weather.

Updated

Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, I’ll leave you with Nino Bucci to see you through the rest of today’s rolling coverage. Take care!

The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, has shared some photos on social media from his meeting with the Nauru president, David Adeang, today.

Conroy said:

I deeply appreciate the longstanding friendship between Australia and Nauru.

We are family. Australia is committed to listening to the needs of Nauru and working to deliver on Nauru’s priorities.

Pleased to have had a productive meeting with President Adeang on our shared security and development interests.

Updated

Hopes of RBA rate cut help propel stocks to record highs

As noted in the inflation post earlier (and this article), the Reserve Bank’s work looks to be done as far as more interest rises. The question will probably be how soon we see rates falling.

One effect of steady or falling interest rates is that companies will tend to be more profitable if their borrowing costs retreat. After nearing record highs in recent days, the ASX 200 index of the top (you guessed it) 200 companies has hit new intraday heights in afternoon trading.

A closing of 7,629 points in the index would also be a record day-end number too.

All four banks are up as happens, with CBA hitting a record too by the looks. Bad debt provisions typically shrink when the economy is doing better, and falling borrowing costs – when that eventually occurs – will help.

CBA expects the RBA rate cuts to start by September, with 75 basis points lopped from the current 4.35% cash rate in 2024, and a further 75bp sliced in the first half of 2025.

That forecast hasn’t budged with today’s CPI news but perhaps the release of updated RBA predictions (along with their first rates verdict for 2024) might trigger a rethink. We’ll know by Tuesday afternoon.

Updated

Perth swelters through heatwave

Much of Western Australia, including Perth, is c sweltering through a heatwave, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The latest warning says maximum temperatures are reaching the low to mid 40s, with overnight minimum temperatures in the low 20s to low 30s.

Severe heatwave conditions are expected to ease over southern parts of the state during the weekend, it said.

Updated

Jacinta Allan vows to deny Will Fowles access to parliament

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, says she will not let the Ringwood MP, Will Fowles, rejoin the parliamentary Labor party as long as she remains premier.

Last year, Fowles resigned from the parliamentary Labor party over an alleged incident that was described by the then premier, Daniel Andrews, as a “serious assault”. Fowles has strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

In October, Fowles was arrested and interviewed by the sexual crimes squad but released without charge. Yesterday, Victoria police confirmed an investigation by the sexual crimes squad into the reported incident in the Melbourne CBD last year had closed with no charges laid. Fowles maintains his innocence.

But Allan says there is no pathway back to the Labor party for Fowles. Speaking to reporters earlier, she said:

The member for Ringwood was asked to resign from the Victorian parliamentary Labor party in August of last year and I want to be very clear – the member for Ringwood will not be returning … As long as I have the privilege of chairing the meetings of the parliamentary Labor Party that will be my position.

She said the wellbeing and safety of staff was “not negotiable”:

My responsibility is to the wellbeing and safety of staff. They deserve the right to a safe and secure workplace that remains my key priority and my focus.

Updated

Tax avoidance bill ‘strikes right balance’: ATO

The Senate economics legislation committee is examining Labor’s multinational tax avoidance bill, which the government has accused the Coalition of unnecessarily delaying because this is the second inquiry into it.

At today’s hearing, officials from the Australian Taxation Office said the bill “strikes an appropriate balance”. They were also asked how big a problem debt deductions by multinational corporations are to the tax system.

Assistant commissioner Rhys Manly said:

In the 2021 tax year, we had international related party borrowing of $520bn. There were $13.2bn interest expenses paid. Large market audits investigate related party financing, and the tax risk is $4-5bn. One third of large market objections relate to related party risks. The tax expense at risk is $1-3bn. We have assurance reports for the top 100 taxpayers, 55 of these involve related party financing. For the top 1000 taxpayers, 50% involve related party financing.

In its submission, the Tax Justice Network said:

We are concerned that those mounting the argument that there has not been enough consultation would instead prefer the bill not proceed and are seeking every opportunity to delay its passage.

Further, even if they cannot delay the passage, their hope may be to obtain as many amendments as possible to reduce the effectiveness of the Bill in reducing profit shifting and aggressive tax avoidance practices, such as debt loading from related entities to maximise interest repayments to itself that a group can claim as tax deductions in Australia.

Greens say WA public school funding plan will lock in underfunding

The Greens say a public school funding plan announced for WA today was simply “an agreement to make an agreement” and will lock in underfunding into the future.

In a statement, the Greens education spokesperson, Senator Penny Allman-Payne, said:

States and territories are able to claim 4% in non-school costs as part of their contribution to public school funding. That means that even if this deal-to-make-a-deal produces actual funding reforms, the WA school system will only receive 96% of its bare minimum funding.

If this is the model that the federal education minister is looking to roll out to the rest of the country then Labor is leaving 2.5 million public school kids short changed. Again.

To fix the teacher shortage crisis, ensure all schools have the resources they need, and end schooling inequality, Labor must deliver 100% full SRS funding to all public schools by the start of the next National School Reform Agreement, in January 2025.

Updated

Sydney Harbour shark bite victim thanks 'heroic and very kind neighbours'

A statement has been issued on behalf of Lauren O’Neill, who was bitten by a shark in Sydney Harbour on Monday night.

In the statement, O’Neill said she wishes to thank her “heroic and very kind neighbours” for the critical assistance they provided her.

Lauren is also immensely grateful to the NSW ambulance paramedics and Kings Cross police for their swift and caring actions at the scene.

She would also like to thank all the clinicians at St Vincent’s hospital, particularly the specialist surgical teams who worked through the night. Her likely full recovery is testament to their extraordinary skills.

Finally, Lauren would like to thank her beautiful family, friends and colleagues for their unflinching care and support.

She would also like to thank the public for their outpouring of support and kindness, and as she turns to focusing on her recovery, asks that her privacy, and that of her family’s be respected.

Updated

More details on public school funding in WA

As we flagged this morning, Western Australia is set to become the first state to have fully funded public schools.

The education minister, Jason Clare, announced that the federal government has signed an agreement with the state government today to fully-fund all public schools in WA by 2026.

According to a joint statement, the agreement involved signing a “statement of intent” to increase all public school funding in WA from 95% of the school resourcing standard (SRS) to 100% by 2026.

This will involve an additional $777.4m investment by the commonwealth from 2025 to 2029. The WA government committed to investing at least an equivalent amount over this period, bringing total additional investment in public schools to $1.6bn.

Currently, the commonwealth provides 20% of the funding for public schools. This will now increase to 21.25% in 2025 and to 22.5% in 2026 in WA.

The joint statement reads:

Currently, no public school in Australia, except for schools in the ACT, is at the full and fair funding level.

The Albanese Government is committed to working with all states and territories to get all public schools on a path to 100 per cent of the SRS.

Just earlier, the Victorian government said it is pushing for the federal government’s share of education funding to increase to 25%, despite WA accepting 22.5%. Benita Kolovos has all the details here.

Updated

Protest over co-ed plans for prestigious boys’ school

Parents and alumni of a prestigious Sydney boys’ college have staged a protest outside the 160-year-old private school over plans to take in girls for the first time, AAP reports.

Newington College in Sydney’s inner west announced its intention in November to shift to co-education across its kindergarten-to-year 12 program.

The school has exclusively taught boys since it was founded in 1863, and the decision has led to a fierce backlash among some parents and former students.

About 25 people protested outside the school as students returned to classes today after the summer holidays. Many complained that the move to co-education represented an unacceptable change to the school’s culture.

The school logo at Newington College.
The school logo at Newington College. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

“Old Newingtonian” Tony Retsos said he intended to pay for his first-born grandson to attend the school.

There are current parents that signed up on the basis that it’s an elite boys’ single-sex school. That’s what it’s been for 160 years.

Fellow alumni Robert Orr agreed, saying the decision would mean there was one fewer boys-only school for Sydney parents to choose from.

The school’s council chairman, Tony McDonald, previously said the switch was intended to promote inclusiveness among students and the decision was made after feedback from students, parents, staff and alumni.

The staged shift to co-education will start in the junior school in 2026 and for high school students from 2028, with the college fully co-educational by 2033.

‘Hard question’ for Coalition is timing of Dunkley byelection: Denniss

Our very own Paul Karp asks this question of the pair:

The Coalition has said that their principle is nobody should get less than stage-three … what do you think of a possible amendment to make the Labor package even more generous by not taking from high-income earners to pay for the tax cuts for the low- and middle-income earners?

Spender said she supports cutting income tax for lower income earners, but also supports reducing taxes on people who are working “across the board”.

[I think] they have to work out how they’re going to pay for it and I don’t think that’s simply cutting tax, I think that’s rebalancing and reforming the tax system. I frankly think we haven’t had the conversation yet as a country around this because both of the major parties won’t have that conversation.

Denniss argued the “hard question” for the Coalition is going to be whether they “support these tax cuts for low- and middle-income earners before the Dunkley byelection or after”.

I think reality is going to bite and the only thing Peter Dutton is in control of at the moment is the timing of that.

He also questions where the National party MPs are at on stage-three. He pointed to comments from the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, who said an income of $190,000 is “not a lot in this day and age”.

Denniss:

There aren’t a lot of people in most National party seats earning anything like $190,000. So the Coalition between the Liberal party and the National party, you might be able to understand why once upon a time they were trying to win inner-city seats by throwing lots of tax cuts to high income earners … What is the National party trying to do in 2024?

Updated

‘That’s what grownups do’: Denniss on stage-three tax reforms

After a bit of back-and-forth about the government breaking an election promise (it’s much of the same that we’ve already heard), Richard Denniss put the decision into an economic context.

(This was after he made a joke about saying no to a different event today, so he could speak at the press club – “I rang the event organisers and I said, ‘I lied, I broke a promise’, and they said, ‘I understand the context in which you broke that promise, Richard. I think that’s a great opportunity and you should take it.’ That’s what grownups do.”)

Anyways, here was what Denniss had to say about the decision to change stage-three:

In the lead-up to the last election, the Reserve Bank governor said that he didn’t expect to increase interest rates until 2024. You know what? He did! Thirteen times. And everyone’s mortgages went up while they were waiting for the tax cuts, and people’s rents went up.

Promises are contextual. I don’t think Labor should have gone to the last election promising to support the stage-three tax cuts because they were a bad idea. But even if they’d promised to do them and I thought it was a good idea at the time … and then interest rates went up 13 times, and energy prices went up, and real wages fell, and they turned around and said, ‘I think we should break our promise’, I’d still be sitting here today saying good call. That’s what grownups do.

Updated

Spender on possibility of hung parliament and tax reform

Taking questions, Allegra Spender is asked by a reporter:

If we end up with the situation of a hung parliament, would you make genuine tax reform a condition of your support for either prime minister Anthony Albanese or opposition leader Peter Dutton to become prime minister?

Spender said she hopes we don’t get to that phase because the government and the opposition will have “significant political pressure” to bring real tax reform to the next election.

[The government has] broken a promise on what they were going to do. They said they weren’t going to make any changes to tax, [but they have]. I don’t think they can go to the next election and say we’re not going to make any changes to tax, they will not be believed.

So this is their choice now, this is the opportunity the government has to say, ‘OK, there are some really significant issues with our tax system. This is the time to change it, to look that in the face, and to go the election with that.’

And ditto from an opposition point of view – they can say, no, no, no, they can criticise all they like, but until they’re serious about putting a policy forward I think a lot of people will say, ‘What is your plan instead?’

I hope very much we won’t get to that place. If it comes to that, I would certainly say that should be a negotiation point if we come to a hung parliament.

Updated

Stage-three tax cuts a ‘good start’ but we ‘need to go further’: Denniss

Speaking on the stage-three tax cut changes, Richard Denniss said these are a “good start” but “we need to go a lot further”.

He proposes collecting more revenue from the PRRT and using it to boost rent assistance for low-income earners struggling with their utility bills:

If we collect more tax and lower the price of energy, lower the price of medicine, lower the price of childcare, lower the price of going to the doctor, you know it will do - it will lower inflation.

This is not complicated stuff. And we would reduce inequality, and we would increase the wellbeing of millions of Australians.

Updated

‘Australia is a low-taxed country’: Denniss

Richard Denniss argued that Australia’s tax system does need reform, and the decision to redesign the stage-three tax cuts was right, but said:

… you can’t even start a proper conversation about tax until our business community will stop telling lies about the tax system.

To be clear, according to the pinko leftie communists at the World Bank, and the IMF and the OECD, which is now run by that well-known socialist, Mathias Cormann, Australia is a low-taxed country. And anyone who can’t say that out loud should be excluded from a debate about tax in Australia.

So, what needs to be done to fix Australia’s tax system? Dennis argued Australia needs to stop subsidising “things that do harm”, noting that Australia spends $11bn a year subsidising fossil fuel use and extraction.

He added:

The easy way to reduce our reliance on personal income tax would be to increase the petroleum resource rent tax. Let’s do that. Let’s collect billions of dollars of extra revenue and if the consequence of that is [it] discourages some investment in fossil fuels, as luck would have it, that’s exactly what the climate scientists tell us needs to happen.

Updated

Tax debate in Australia ‘dishonest’, Richard Denniss says

Executive director of the Australia Institute, Dr Richard Denniss, is making the argument that Australia does not over rely on income tax.

We under rely, we under collect on taxes on pollution, and taxes on wealth.

Independent MP Allegra Spender and The Australia Institute executive director Richard Denniss at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday
Independent MP Allegra Spender and The Australia Institute executive director Richard Denniss at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

He argued that the “so-called tax debate” in Australia is “dishonest”:

[Because] the same business leaders who brag about the destruction of a carbon tax, and who brag about the destruction of a resource rent tax … the same businesses groups who brag about the destruction of the broadening of our tax base are the ones complaining that our tax system relies too heavily on personal income taxes.

This is outrageous. If Australia were to expand its tax base by taxing pollution, by taxing wealth, then it wouldn’t look like we were over relying on personal income tax.

This is not complicated. The lobby groups, the business groups, are having a bob each way. Having fended off carbon taxes and fended of resource profit taxes they’re combining we’re too reliant on personal income tax.

Updated

Allegra Spender proposes tax reform ideas at press club

We’ll go across to the National Press Club now, where the independent member for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, and the executive director of the Australia Institute, Dr Richard Dennis, have been speaking.

At the end of Spender’s speech, she flagged she would be putting forward a number of ideas around tax reform to her community that are not a “finalised policy”, but an opportunity for robust discussion.

[These ideas] will naturally evolve as I try to build consensus, and I look forward to the scare campaigns that no doubt, my opponents will dream up. But this is the challenge that I put to the major parties – I challenge major parties to deny that we have long-term problems. They know that this is true, and they feel it and we feel it in the community. I challenge them to pretend that tax isn’t one of the solutions to the major problems this country faces. And I challenge them to be part of the solution, rather than wedging each other from the side.

Updated

Allan questions Peter Dutton’s ‘creeping influence’ on Victorian Liberals

Circling back to the press conference of the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan.

Allan is asked about a report in the Age that the opposition leader, John Pesutto, ignored repeated requests to engage with the co-chairs of Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly and did not meet with them in the months leading up to the Coalition withdrawing support for a treaty.

Victorian premier Jacinta Allan
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan Photograph: Con Chronis/AAP

She responds:

John Pesutto deliberately concealed this decision from First Peoples, didn’t consult with First Peoples, didn’t consult with the government and deliberately concealed this decision, not just from First Peoples here in Victoria, but indeed from the entire Victorian community …

You’ve got to question … what was the influence on John Pesutto in making this decision? Was it Peter Dutton, and his creeping influence into the Victorian branch of the Liberal party? What are the factors at play? These are really issues for John Pesutto to answer.

Updated

Stickiness in inflation mostly in services and things we can’t do without

Most of the inflation numbers are cheery, such as the December month alone posting an increase of 3.4%, well shy of the economists’ tip of 3.7%, and getting with Coo-ee of the RBA’s 2%-3% target range.

Monthly numbers, though, aren’t as comprehensive as the quarterly ones, and that will be the central bank’s focus.

Slicing and dicing the figures, non-discretionary goods and services were up 4.8% from a year earlier for the December quarter (and up 0.6%) in the quarter itself. Baring in mind wages were probably rising at about a 4% clip, many households will still be getting squeezed in real terms.

Discretionary goods and services, meanwhile, were rising at only a 3% pace in the December quarter from a year earlier, suggesting perhaps retailers were having to paring their price increases to keep customers going through their doors.

There’s also quite a difference between tradable goods and services and non-tradeable ones. Perhaps because China is busy exporting deflation because of its own weak demand, tradeables were only 1.5% more expensive than a year earlier (and the lowest in almost three years). Non-tradeables by contrast were up 5.4%.

There’s increasing expectation that electricity prices will be lower after 1 July given the fall in wholesale prices in 2023 (as reported here last week). Power prices in the December quarter were up 1.4%, or a third of the pace of increases in the September quarter, the ABS said.

From a year earlier, electricity prices were up 6.9% (or less than the half the increase we saw in the September quarter. The timing of the government’s energy bill rebates made a difference. Since the June quarter, power prices are up 5.7% but without the rebates the increase would have showed up as a 17.6% hike, the ABS said.

CPI data is only gathered in the city (sorry regional and rural consumers). Hobart’s 3.3% annual increase was the least among the cities, with Adelaide’s 4.8% pace the highest.

Budget ‘pressure on all levels’: Chalmers

Back to Jim Chalmers’ press conference, where he was just asked about Victoria’s financial position and its upcoming budget.

He responded:

When it comes to the position of the Victorian budget, I think it is worth recognising that all of our budgets are under pressure. The Victorian budget is and the national budget is.

We have made some good progress when it comes to budget repair, first surplus in 15 years and another one in prospect, but there is still a lot of pressure on the commonwealth budget as there is on the Victorian budget.

We will work together with [the Victorian treasurer, Tim Pallas] where we can to try to get the best outcomes for the people that we both represent. We need to recognise it is not just pressure on one level of governments budgets, there’s pressure on all levels and we need to be responsible and realistic about that.

Updated

Victoria pushes for 25% federal education funding

The Victorian government says it is pushing for the federal government’s share of education funding to increase to 25%, despite Western Australia accepting a deal that will see the commonwealth increase its share from 20% to 22.5%.

Speaking from Wyndham Park primary school, the deputy premier and education minister, Ben Carroll, told reporters:

I spoke with [federal education minister] Jason Clare last night, to say we want more than 2.5%. We’re advocating for 5%. I’m also talking with all my colleagues around Australia on this matter … We want to make sure that the commonwealth – which 80% of their funding is going to independent private schools – lifts beyond 22.5%, that they get to 25%. We think that’s the interest of Victoria and more broadly, that’s in the interest of all of Australia.

He said he was hoping to meet with Clare in person to strike a deal:

We are working cooperatively with the minister, we’d discussed this matter last night and we’ve agreed it’d be ideal if we could sit down minister to minister with our two secretaries, to try and see how we can get the best deal for Victorian school students.

The premier, Jacinta Allan, added:

As the deputy premier has indicated there are negotiations that are ongoing. Western Australia, for their own reasons, have struck their own arrangements with the federal government … Other states are continuing to have those discussions with the federal government and Victoria’s position is very, very clear. We expect our fair share of support for Victorian families and for Victorian schools, we expect that 5% difference to be funded by the commonwealth government as part of these negotiations.

Updated

Chalmers flags ‘genuine economic strength’

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said that despite the challenges and “pressure coming at us from around the world [and] country”, we are moving forward from a position of “genuine economic strength”.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers in Canberra on Monday
Treasurer Jim Chalmers in Canberra on Monday. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

If you think about 2024, what we are seeing here is inflation is slowing, real wages are growing, and from 1 July we will see tax cuts flowing.

We have had two consecutive quarters of real wages growth, we are seeing encouraging moderation in inflation and from 1 July … 84% of Australians will get a bigger tax cut to deal with the cost-of-living pressures we still see in our economy.

Updated

Fight against inflation not ‘mission accomplished’: Chalmers

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking to the media after the release of the December quarter CPI figures, that dropped just earlier.

He said the numbers are encouraging but Australians are still “under pressure”, pointing to the stage-three tax cuts as providing cost of living relief.

These figures show we are making more welcome and encouraging progress in the fight against inflation, but it is not ‘mission accomplished’ because we know people are still under the pump.

He said inflation has come down “really substantially” since 2022, but it needs to moderate “further and even faster”.

It is worth noting that today’s figures are better than the market expected. Annual inflation moderated 1.3 percentage points in the December quarter, the fastest pace of moderation since annual inflation peaked at 7.8% in the December quarter of 2022.

Updated

Phone calls become focus of Shane Drumgold’s legal action

Shane Drumgold’s legal team are seeking to use 10 hours of phone calls to journalists to show Walter Sofronoff had an “apprehension of bias” against him during his inquiry.

The former ACT director of public prosecution is taking legal action against Sofronoff and the ACT government in an effort to quash the inquiry’s findings that he had mishandled the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann.

At a directions hearing at the ACT supreme court this morning, Drumgold’s counsel, Dan O’Gorman, said he would seek to use phone records indicating Sofronoff had 65 phone calls to journalists between 9 February and 31 July to support his argument.

Of those 65 phone calls, he said 55 were made to The Australian and 10 were made to other media outlets. According to Gorman the 55 phone calls to The Australian, which he said were mostly to the columnist Janet Albrechtsen, spanned 7.5 hours.

He said that emails and text messages between Sofronoff and Albrechtsen have also been submitted as evidence.

O’Gorman told the court that Albrechtsen over the months of the inquiry had expressed an “adverse attitude” toward Drumgold through her articles, and alleged that Sofronoff’s relationship with the columnist was not in line with the media rules he put in place.

Sofronoff, in his affidavit, argued that it was his job as inquiry chair to speak with journalists, and his communications were above board.

Lawyers for the ACT government and Sofronoff are challenging admissibility of the phone records and other communications between the inquiry chair and journalists, arguing much of it is not relevant.

Justice Stephen Kaye told the parties the case wasn’t “an inquiry into an inquiry” and would be “strictly” a judicial review on very confined administrative law grounds.

Kaye is yet to rule on whether the phone records and Sofronoff’s other communications with journalists would be admissible when the trial begins on 13 February.

Updated

Australia’s biggest groundwater licence allowed to go ahead by NT court

The Northern Territory supreme court has dismissed two legal challenges to the granting of a groundwater licence at Singleton Station.

The cases were brought by the Arid Lands Environment Centre (ALEC) and traditional owners against the Northern Territory government and Fortune Agribusiness.

The licence is Australia’s biggest groundwater licence and will allow for the extraction of up to 40bn litres of groundwater a year for 30 years.

The cases had sought a judicial review of whether the licence had been properly granted in accordance with the territory’s water laws.

The case was the first legal challenge pursued by ALEC in the NT supreme court and its chief executive, Adrian Tomlinson, said the decision to go to court was not taken lightly:

This action was taken because the enormous groundwater licence enables water to be taken from a shallow aquifer that supports groundwater dependent trees, soaks, springs, swamps, sacred sites and cultural values across the landscape.

Updated

Australia and US to cooperate on tackling serious crime

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, is in Washington DC today and has announced a “landmark agreement” with his US counterpart, Merrick Garland, boosting international cooperation when addressing serious crime.

According to a statement from the two AGs, the agreement will help tackle serious criminal activity, including terrorism and child sexual abuse, when the information law enforcement needs is held by overseas providers.

Dreyfus said:

This agreement means Australian law enforcement agencies will be able to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute serious crime, while ensuring robust safeguards are in place to protect the rights and privacy of individuals and organisations and ensure accountability.

Updated

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has responded to the December quarter CPI figures that dropped just earlier.

You can read all the details from Peter Hannam below:

Writing on X, Chalmers said:

New data from the [ABS] shows we are making very welcome and encouraging progress in the fight against inflation, Government policies are helping, but this is not mission accomplished because we know people are still under pressure.

Today’s very welcome results are even better than market expectations, but we know people are still under pressure, which is why [Labor’s] cost of living tax cuts for middle Australia are so important.

Updated

BoM says severe thunderstorms possible for Queensland and NSW

As the clean-up efforts continue in Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology said severe thunderstorms are still possible in western, central and northern parts of the state today.

Thunderstorms are possible across “most of the state”, it said, apart from the south-east or far south-west.

Meanwhile in NSW, storms are possible along the central and northern ranges, western slopes and across the northern inland this afternoon:

Updated

Rock concert scheduled for Sydney CBD on Anzac Day forced to move

A controversial rock concert set to play out in the centre of Sydney on Anzac Day has prompted furore from a veterans’ group as promoters look for another venue, AAP report.

The Pandemonium concert in the Domain, headlined by rockers Alice Cooper and Placebo, was scheduled to take place near the annual Anzac Day march through the city centre.

RSL NSW’s president and former commando Mick Bainbridge said the concert had been approved without any consultation with the organisation and the event was inappropriate on a “day for respect and quiet contemplation”.

Gates were due to open for the event at 11.30am on April 25 and the festival was due to finish about 11pm, according to concert organisers.

“Pandemonium is a rock fans (sic) dream come true, with an unparalleled line-up of rock legends,” the event’s website reads.

The premier, Chris Minns, today confirmed the concert would not be going ahead as planned.

There’s not going to be a rock concert in the middle of the city on Anzac Day.

Updated

New solar record reached, but regulator warns power bills yet to reflect change

Record low coal and gas-fired generation forced wholesale electricity prices lower in the closing months of 2023, as every region of the country notched up a new solar output record, AAP reports.

While prices are sharply lower than the peaks of two years ago, Australia remains vulnerable to price spikes should heat waves strike from January to March, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) said on Wednesday.

In a quarterly update, the regulator also warned it would “take time” for power bills to reflect recent lower costs.

Combined, wind and solar farms reached a record high of more than a quarter (26%) of generation output in the national electricity market (NEM) from October to December, up from a record 23% a year earlier.

Average annual wholesale electricity prices in the NEM dropped by between 44% and 64% and average annual east coast gas market spot prices fell by 43% in 2023. Jarrod Ball, a AER board member, said:

The proportion of electricity output sourced from coal and gas fell to a record low of 66%.

Although relatively little new (large-scale) generation entered the market, a significant increase in new entry is currently scheduled for 2024.

Updated

Falling meat and seafood prices helped offset rises in insurance and rents

The December quarter CPI figures will bring sighs of relief for many, not least the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, (who’ll bob up shortly in Melbourne).

The dollar fell about 0.1 US cents to 65.9 US cents and the Australian share market added about 0.4% as investors moved their bets about interest rate rises. Another RBA increase seems very unlikely, and now the attention will be on when the RBA starts to cut.

Among the movers for the month, meat and seafood dropped, with lamb (and goat) 12.1% cheaper, while beef and veal was 1.5% cheaper, the ABS said.

Housing costs were up 1%, while rents rose 0.9% for the quarter (but a lot lower than the 2.2% pace in the September quarter.

Insurance, though, rose 3.8%, quickening from September’s 2.8% pace. Over the year, insurance was up 16.2%, or the most since the March quarter of 2001, the ABS said. (With the ongoing disasters in Queensland those rises might not be done yet.)

More soon, but you also follow on here:

Updated

Inflation drops to a two-year low, easing fears of another RBA rate rise

Inflation in the December quarter was 4.1%, the slowest rate of price increases since the final three months of 2021, the ABS has just said.

Economists had forecast the consumer price index would land at 4.3%, down more than a percentage point from September quarter’s 5.4% rate.

For the three months alone, CPI was down to 0.6%, compared with 1.2% for the September quarter and the 0.8% pace pundits had predicted.

The CPI numbers are the first major figures out for 2024 and they will be examined closely by the RBA board when it meets next week. Its own forecasts, last released in November, had anticipated inflation would end 2023 at 4.5%, so any number close to or below that level will likely reassure the board no further interest rate rises are required.

Updated

Family of missing Indigenous woman react after man charged with her murder a decade after last sighting

The family of a missing Indigenous woman hope her remains can be found and returned home, after the charging of a man with her murder more than a decade after she was last seen leaving a remote pub.

Footage captured the 23-year-old mother of two, who was from a tight-knit Indigenous community on Queensland’s Cape York peninsula, at a pub in the town of Coen on the night of 10 February, 2013.

Family has requested media refer to the missing woman as Ms Bernard.

This morning, police said they had charged a 62-year-old from Coen with Ms Bernard’s murder. The man will appear in the Cairns magistrates court today.

In a statement, Ms Bernard’s family said the past 11 years had been “a long sad journey for us as a family”.

They expressed hope Ms Bernard’s body could be found and returned to her traditional homeland for burial alongside her loved ones.

The family also expressed frustration at the way police handled the investigation when Ms Bernard was first reported missing more than a decade ago.

Our women do not go missing and they don’t run off into the dark for no reason.

Updated

US ambassador for cyberspace on undersea cables to Pacific Islands and the race with China

The US ambassador at large for cyberspace and digital policy, Nathaniel Fick, was in Australia this week to discuss undersea cable projects that aim to provide internet connectivity in the Pacific.

Cables, data centres and satellites are all areas of key security concern in an era of “generational sustained competition” with China, according to Fick, who spoke at a media roundtable in Sydney this morning.

In October, the US and Australia announced an arrangement to support submarine cable connectivity for Pacific Island countries including Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Google has also flagged plans for its South Pacific Connect initiative, which will connect Fiji and French Polynesia to the US and Australia.

Asked whether the US would require countries that act as hubs for cable networks to avoid partnerships with Chinese technology firms such as Huawei, Fick said there would be “a spectrum” of agreements or guidance.

We’re in the process right now of prioritising where these branching units will be located, and which islands will have the opportunity, if they choose, to plug into the system.

Governments that are aiming to become digital hubs like this know that continued investment on the part of the large vendors, and continued support from governments including ours, does depend upon conviction that the whole digital ecosystem is secure.

Updated

Australia joins meeting with UN chief over Gaza aid suspension

Australia is participating in a meeting in New York with the UN secretary general, António Guterres, alongside other donor countries that have suspended funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

The meeting, being held this morning Australian time, comes after Guterres said he was “personally horrified” by the accusations that 12 UNRWA staff may have been involved in the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel.

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the UN said Guterres’ message to donors, especially those that had suspended their contributions, was to “at least guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations, as we have tens of thousands of dedicated staff working throughout the region”.

The spokesperson added:

The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met.

Australia has yet to publicly spell out the conditions for reinstating Australia’s funding to the agency, including $6m that the foreign minister, Penny Wong, pledged in mid-January. But Australia is seen as likely to act broadly in line with the US, the UK and other countries that had suspended their funding.

On Monday the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said he wanted to resume the funding “but there’s a pause on while this investigation takes place” and his government wanted to ensure “that protections are put in place to ensure that the money that Australia is giving goes to the right purpose”.

Aid agencies and Palestinian diplomats have appealed for the funding to be reinstated, citing the extreme humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza as Israel continues its military operation in the besieged territory.

For more details, see our story from Monday:

Updated

Over two thousand people still without power in regional Queensland

According to Ergon Energy, 1,227 people are still without power in regional Queensland as a result of unplanned outages.

The outages are affecting a wide range of council areas, but seem to be concentrated in Mackay (309 customers affected) and Townsville (333).

There are 37 unplanned outages. When you account for planned outages, there are 2,341 without power in regional Queensland.

Updated

How Queensland's flood clean-up is progressing

The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, also spoke to the media from the Murrumba Downs to provide an update on the clean-up situation across the state.

Here are they key updates:

  • Volunteers are conducting 399 disaster assessments on properties in Bray Park, thought to be affected by the flooding.

  • The federal and state government has activated hardship payments for those in Bray Park affected by flooding, but more suburbs are expected to be added throughout the day.

  • There is still some flooding around Beachmere and a few other places.

  • The SES received 300 calls for assistance, mostly around Moreton Bay and the Sunshine Coast.

  • The Caboolture hospital and Caboolture satellite hospital have both reopened and are operating as normal after being impacted by flooding.

  • 300 people in north Queensland remain without power.

Updated

Albanese thanks emergency services workers and volunteers in flooded Queensland

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking to the media from Queensland, speaking about his visit to flood-impacted areas.

He took the chance to thank emergency services and volunteer organisations who worked around-the-clock to respond to the various weather events:

…some of whom had been up to Townsville over the weekend, helping their fellow Queenslanders, and were back here [at Murrumba Downs] helping their neighbours.

That is the sort of spirit that we consistently see that at the worst of times, we see the best of the Australian character and here in Queensland, we see the strength of the fortitude and resilience that Queenslanders have, but the determination to help each other, and that is a fantastic thing.

Updated

Australia’s traditional culture: ten-pin bowling?

When people say that Australia has no culture, they are clearly forgetting our strong ties to… bowling?

At the Asian Cup in Qatar, each of the participating nations has a booth set up to display its traditional wares and culture. A wide range of clothing and food is on display, but as Scott McIntyre has noted, the Australian booth simply has two ten pins and a tennis ball:

According to the photo, it also looks like some rubbish/a paper bag is in the display?

The people need answers!

Updated

Inflation likely ebbed further in the December Quarter, economists say

We’ll get the first big economic numbers in 2024 later this morning when the ABS releases the December quarter consumer price index.

In the September quarter, the CPI came in at 5.4% and economists expect inflation in the final three months of 2023 to come in at about 4.3%. Compared with the previous three months, CPI should land at about 0.8%.

The Reserve Bank board meets next Monday and Tuesday after their summer break and the inflation data will be examined closely. (They also look at the trimmed mean measure, which excludes outlier price movements. That’s also likely to land at about 4.3%.)

Prior to today’s release, investors were still only putting a minimal risk of another interest rate rise. At this point, the first rate cut is only a 50:50 chance come June. A surprisingly weak CPI figure will probably see the bets shift toward cuts come a bit sooner.

If CPI does come in at 4.3%, it’ll be the slowest rate of price increases since the December quarter of 2021 (when then-RBA governor Philip Lowe was still signalling interest rates may not need to rise until 2024).

December’s CPI will also be out, with economists tipping price increases slowed to 3.7% in the final month of 2023 compared with a year earlier. That would be down on November’s 4.3%, but economists don’t give as much credence to the monthly figures as they do the quarterly ones.

Still, something with a “3” on it for CPI would give heart that the RBA’s target range for inflation of 2%-3% is not that far off

Anyway, stay tuned for the numbers to land on this blog at 11.30am AEDT. Not long to wait.

Updated

Yoorrook appoints new commissioner for Indigenous truth-telling inquiry

The former federal court judge Anthony North KC has been appointed a commissioner for Victoria’s Indigenous Truth-Telling inquiry.

The Yoorook justice commission is currently investigating injustices affecting First Nations Victorians in education, health, land and housing.

North, a federal court judge between 1995-2018, is head of the Victorian law reform commission. He says he is honoured to contribute to the work of Yoorrook:

I hope that my skills and experience will help advance its work: to tell the truth of our history. That truth is the foundation for community understanding, which is necessary so that we can move towards a more just society

Yoorrook is due to deliver a final report to the Victorian government by mid-2025.

Updated

Chalmers flags cost-of-living measures in May budget

Speaking to the media, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, flagged that the government would contemplate further cost-of-living measures for the May budget, but didn’t want to pre-empt those discussions.

He said:

We have said before and I’m happy to repeat again today, the focus for us right now is bigger tax cuts for middle Australia to help with the cost of living, but we are prepared to contemplate any affordable or responsible additional measures that we can take in the May budget to ease the pressure … in communities like this one and around the country.

I don’t want to pre-empt those discussions, we will always try and do the right and responsible and possible thing. We’re pleased with the impact of those electricity bill rebates so far and obviously we’ll consider a whole range of ideas between now and the May budget.

Updated

Chalmers: Liberals ‘diabolically out of touch with middle Australia’ on stage-three tax cut changes

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking to the media in Melbourne, spruiking the changes to the stage-three tax cuts. He said:

We’re trying to get average tax rates down in this budget, in this economy, and what we need to recognise here is that there is more than one way to return bracket, and there’s more than one way to reform the tax system.

Chalmers argued that Sussan Ley’s comments that the opposition would unwind the stage-three changes is the “only definitive position” they’ve taken so far.

Earlier, the shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, would not answer directly whether the opposition plans to unwind the changes, insisting they want to see the legislation first.

In Melbourne, Chalmers pointed to figures showing that 85% of people in Coalition seats are set to benefit from the stage-three changes:

Chalmers:

…they are diabolically out of touch with middle Australia and with their own communities, the communities that they are supposed to represent, [who] stand to be among the biggest beneficiaries of what we are proposing here. So they are putting politics before the people that they are supposed to represent.

Updated

Victorian swimmers urged to avoid Apollo Bay due to increased shark activity

People are being urged to avoid Apollo Bay in south-west Victoria due to an increase in shark activity.

The Victorian Fisheries Authority issued an alert for the area this morning, and said a whale carcass is leading to the increased shark activity.

A whale carcass can attract sharks to the area and mean they are closer to the shore than normal.

While it is not uncommon for sharks to be present off the Victorian coast, you should exercise additional caution in the area.

People are urged to avoid the area and report any shark sightings to triple-zero or lifesavers.

Updated

Man charged with murder in relation to disappearance of Ms Bernard

Queensland police have charged a man with murder in relation to the disappearance of 23-year-old Kowanyama woman Ms Bernard in 2013.

Ms Bernard was last seen at Archer River quarry on 10 February in 2013, about 11pm. She had been seen at the Exchange hotel in Coen that evening and was expected to travel to Kowanyama, but never arrived.

Yesterday, detectives charged a 62-year-old Coen man with one count of murder. He will appear in the Cairns magistrates court today.

Updated

Pat Conroy attends Nauru Independence Day celebrations

The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, is visiting Nauru at the moment, and has attended the country’s Independence Day celebrations.

He wrote on X:

Australia and Nauru’s deep partnership is underpinned by our shared history. I look forward to building our partnership into the future and many more celebrations.

Updated

Shadow finance minister evades question on if she trusts Treasury figures as stage-three tax cut debate rolls on

As to be expected, the back-and-forth debate on changes to the stage-three tax cuts is continuing.

On Sunrise this morning, the social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, and the shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, went head to head on the issue. Hume was asked if the opposition plans on supporting the legislation, given that 85% of people in Coalition seats are set to benefit.

Hume said the opposition wouldn’t be making a decision until it had “seen the details”. She argued that it “simply doesn’t seem right” that the cuts won’t add to inflation – even though this is what Treasury has determined.

Host Natalie Barr asks: are you saying Treasury got the numbers wrong on this?

And here ensues the back-and-forth, with Hume claiming “we haven’t seen the details”, Rishworth saying the numbers are “out there”, and Barr asking what more details are needed.

Barr: Jane [Hume], so you don’t trust Treasury?

Hume skirts the question and said she doesn’t trust Rishworth or the prime minister, but is pressed to answer the question directly. She responds with various iterations of, “show us the legislation”. Rishworth:

You seem to be trying to walk back on what Sussan Ley said, who said she would roll this back and increase tax for middle Australia. You’re all over the shop. You’re divided.

Hume:

We will always support lower and simpler taxes. You are the ones who have gone back on your word. You are the untrustworthy ones …

Rishworth:

Well then you should support this legislation, Jane.

Updated

Emergency crews helping clean up after ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily hits Queensland

Emergency crews are busy helping local communities in Queensland with the clean-up following ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily and the subsequent heavy rain and flooding.

The acting commissioner of the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service, Steven Smith, told ABC RN crews would be assisting with wash outs, tarping, leaking or damaged properties, and removing debris:

Queenslanders are incredibly resilient. Every time the challenge of these events is significant for individuals, there’s loss and there’s impact and there’s a mental toll that comes with the loss associated with events of this nature.

What you see is mates helping mates, neighbours helping each other [and] communities wrapping around and providing support to try and get people back on their feet, and bring normality back to their lives and get them back on a path to recovery.

Updated

Adelaideans targeted in new NSW regional living push

The latest effort to persuade city-dwellers to flock to the NSW regions has been extended to Adelaide’s essential workforce, AAP reports.

The Make the Move campaign aims to boost the number of essential workers in regional NSW by spotlighting the stories of nurses, police, teachers, firefighters and midwives who quit the city for the regions.

But workers in Sydney are not the only ones in the government’s sights. The extensive ad campaign will also aim to encourage South Australian essential workers to consider moving to nearby regional NSW communities such as Broken Hill.

Broken Hill is the only NSW community to use South Australia’s time zone and also uses Adelaide as its major medical base.

The premier, Chris Minns, said his government was serious about ensuring the people of regional NSW had access to quality critical services, and “a robust regional workforce is a vital part of that”.

Updated

Purcell says she is ‘happy to be the sacrifice’ to start conversation on AI laws

Georgie Purcell told ABC RN she is “more than happy to be the sacrifice to start this conversation” around AI.

She also said we need to do more to make public life more welcoming to women:

I think we’ve done a lot of work and come a long way in regards to the really obvious, vulgar ways in which women were treated, we’re not seeing the Julia Gillard-esque style of sexism anymore. What happens in more subtle and perverse ways [is] just like what happened to me this week.

Purcell said she faces unconscious bias due to being open about her past as a stripper, which some people use to discredit her.

It regularly came up in the conversation yesterday, online from people who didn’t agree with my views, are saying that I was comfortable doing that as a job, so why would I be uncomfortable with this? And fundamentally, it comes down to consent: I consented to doing that job within the bounds that I felt comfortable [compared] to having my body [edited and appearing] on the nightly news.

Updated

Georgie Purcell suggests laws not keeping pace with AI risks

Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell also spoke with ABC RN about the editing of her image by Nine News.

She spoke more about the broader implications of AI, particularly for women when it comes to deep fake images:

This has happened to me this week, it also actually happened to Taylor Swift this week with deep fake [images] using AI, happening to her all over Twitter on a much larger scale.

I think we need to seriously consider that our laws are probably not keeping pace with emerging technologies like AI and the risks they pose not just women in public life, but everyday women as well.

I’ve heard stories from young women who have had just enough photos on their Instagram profiles for them to be taken and altered to appear naked without their consent, and it’s deeply deeply concerning …

Updated

Queensland emergency services urge caution as conditions ease across state

The Queensland Fire and Emergency Service is urging people not to become complacent on safety, even though raining has eased across Queensland overnight.

The service wrote on X:

Creeks and river catchments remain swollen, and many roads remain impacted. Make sure you plan ahead and check the Qld Traffic website before hitting the road this morning. It is never a good idea to try and drive though floodwater.

Updated

Purcell raises AI concerns after Nine News image manipulation

Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell spoke to ABC News Breakfast just earlier, after Nine News used an image edited to make her breasts look bigger and expose her midriff.

The network blamed this on “automation by Photoshop”, but a spokesperson for Adobe said use of its generative AI features would have required “human intervention”. You can read the full story on this from Benita Kolovos and Josh Taylor below:

Speaking about the incident, Purcell said it is “quite confronting seeing your own body altered on the nightly news” – especially after one of the “worst days of work” she has had. (This is in reference to the Victorian government’s decision not to ban duck hunting).

I’m used to [the] sexist mistreatment of women in politics. My biggest concern is that other young women and girls will see what’s happening to me and be scared to into public life. That’s damaging to democracy.

The MP said she has accepted Nine’s apology:

I’m not sure I buy the AI excuse, but I’ll [leave] the commentating on that up to the experts.

She hopes that lessons are learnt from this, because “it’s something that we shouldn’t tolerate and something that wouldn’t happen to a male politician”.

I have deep concerns that AI is moving at a pace that our laws can’t keep up with and I think we need to seriously consider looking at them… It is such a huge threat to women in public life.

Updated

Anderson says Kim Williams will be a ‘fantastic’ chair for the ABC

Wrapping up the interview, David Anderson said he has spoken with incoming ABC chair Kim Williams since the announcement was made last week.

I think Kim’s a great appointment. I think he’ll be a fantastic chair. I think that something about him that I know to be true, is that he has a deep belief in like broadcasting and the importance of the ABC.

Patricia Karvelas: Do you share [his concerns]? Do you think the ABC is too obsessed with the internals?

Anderson:

I’m very interested in Kim’s perspective on this and interested to talk to him more about what he sees and as a consumer of the [ABC].

Updated

Anderson ‘does not believe’ institutional racism exists at the ABC but says important to find why people feel it does

Patricia Karvelas asks ABC managing director David Anderson if there is institutional racism at the ABC. He responded:

I don’t believe so, but it is pretty sad that we still need to be on the lookout for racism. We have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to racism.

Karvelas:

But journalists of colour say they feel policed at a different level than white journalists. Is it right?

Anderson:

I don’t believe it’s right, but you need to hear those concerns. So I believe when people say that, it is important that they’re heard and recognised, acknowledged and that you look for why that might be the case that someone feels like that…

Unfortunately [racism] exists in society and it shouldn’t. I want to make sure that it doesn’t exist in our organisation. If people are experiencing this, then we need to find out why and get rid of it as soon as we can.

Updated

Anderson rejects idea ABC is being influenced by pro-Israel lobby

David Anderson argued that “quite often people complain” about the ABC’s coverage because the ABC doesn’t take a view:

People are outraged that because of our impartiality position, and our objectivity … that we’re not taking a view, a worldview that aligns to theirs.

He was asked about criticism the ABC is being influenced by the pro-Israeli lobby, and rejected the idea completely.

There is quite coordinated campaigns that come to us on email, and you can tell because they’re all formatted, and I’ve been aware that they are coordinated for some time and it’s not just around this particular coverage that sort of kicked off … in October with the horrendous incidents that have happened over there in Gaza.

Anderson said it’s “not just the Israel lobby group that coordinate these things”.

Updated

Anderson says ABC coverage on Israel-Hamas stands up to scrutiny

Speaking to ABC RN, managing director David Anderson was asked directly about comments made by the ABC’s global affairs editor John Lyons. You can read about this below:

Q: What’s your response to his criticism?

Anderson said he has a “lot of respect” for Lyons, and said he is entitled to his own opinion.

I think he’s a he’s a mentor to others, and people look up to him. And again, he’s entitled to his views. I’ve been in touch with John and encouraged him to get in touch with me directly if he’s got concerns with that.

I think that our coverage has been good … I think it has stood up to scrutiny. We get many, many complaints. Many, many people write to us from both a pro-Israeli perspective and a pro-Palestinian perspective.

Updated

ABC director: diversity and impartiality are not exclusive

ABC managing director David Anderson said he “fundamentally disagrees” with the notion that diversity and impartiality are somehow exclusive:

We all hold our own backgrounds, our own lived experiences, whatever that might be – geographical, socio-economic, political, culturally diverse, whatever that is. I believe people act impartially at the ABC and I think they do so regardless of that.

He rejected the notion that bias is “creeping into reporting” at the ABC and said there are systems in processes in place to prevent this, pointing to the ombudsmen, regulator and ACMA. He also defended the ABC’s coverage of the Israel-Gaza war:

I don’t think there’s bias [and I think] some of the criticisms around our coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and the humanitarian catastrophe that’s unfolding in the Gaza strip, I think our reporting’s been very good.

He said in his five years as managing director, he has faced more scrutiny on other issues in the past.

The scrutiny that’s upon us is unrelenting, as it should be… we should welcome criticism.

Updated

ABC managing director believes public trust not damaged by fair work case, but ‘time will tell’

ABC managing director David Anderson is speaking with Patricia Karvelas on ABC RN. This follows his meeting with union members yesterday, a week after a vote of no confidence by staff.

You can read all the background on this issue below:

Anderson said he doesn’t believe public trust in the ABC has been damaged as a result of the Fair Work case brought by journalist Antoinette Lattouf, but “I guess time will tell”.

He didn’t speak to the Fair Work case directly, stating it was an ongoing legal matter, but spoke to the meeting with union members yesterday. Anderson said the main issue they raised with him is that staff want to feel heard, supported and have the confidence to raise issues on coverage:

Other issues they raised with me were around complaints, complaint handling, as well as personal use of social media.

So it was a it was constructive discussion that was broad-ranging. It was held in good faith and [we] have undertaken to work with unions. I’ll meet with them again in the future.

Updated

Update on Queensland flooding

Senior BoM meteorologist Angus Hines spoke to ABC News Breakfast just earlier to provide an update on the rain and flooding in Queensland.

He said while there was still some rain overnight, it was lighter and less intense that yesterday. The rain has moved from the south-east – which had copped the most significant flooding – up the coast through the Wide Bay and Burnett area.

Last night the rainfall totals were between 50mm and 120mm which is still a very significant dose of rain, but bear in mind this time yesterday we were talking about 300mm leading to widespread flooding.

Hines said that “by and large”, today will be a day of clearance, improvement and drying out for the state. However, two major flood warnings remain in place for the Condamine and Moonie rivers in the southeast.

We could see these rivers with elevated levels for the next several days, as it will take a while for those flood waters to drain out, long past when the rainfall conditions have cleared up.

Using long-range forecasting, Hines said there is “a hint” we could see further tropical development in the Coral Sea, but “this is far from locked in” and it’s too early to say whether another cyclone may develop.

Updated

Law Society of NSW convening AI taskforce

The Law Society of NSW will convene a taskforce to help guide the legal profession through the opportunities and pitfalls of artificial intelligence (AI).

The society president Ben McGrath announced the measure last night, and said the taskforce of legal and tech experts would help guide the state’s 40,000 solicitors.

He said:

The goal for the AI taskforce is to be a trusted source of expert advice and assistance for the Law Society, and through it, for the solicitor profession across NSW. Its members will be drawn from the law, justice system, academia, and government.

The work of the taskforce will enhance the Law Society’s work to ensure that NSW leads the way in harnessing the best that AI has to offer for the legal profession while mitigating the risks.

Updated

Victoria records first locally-acquired case of mpox in six months

Victoria has recorded its first locally-acquired case of mpox in almost six months, with the health department reminding those at-risk to be aware of the symptoms and ensure they are fully vaccinated.

The department said the case has not been linked to international travel, suggesting local transmission may be occurring.

The acting chief health officer, Christian McGrath, said it was a particularly important time to be vigilant for symptoms and be double-vaccinated, with increased travel at this time of year and several pride events in Victoria.

Since May 2022, there has been an international outbreak of mpox that has predominantly impacted men who have sex with men.

Victoria recorded 70 cases of mpox in 2022, and due to increased awareness and the vaccination program, this fell to eight in 2023.

Mpox is caused by infection with the mpox virus. Common symptoms include a rash, lesions or sores, fever, chills, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and sore throat.

Updated

Victorian police to crack down on jet ski ‘hoons’

Victoria police says it has teamed up with the water police squad to crack down on jet ski “hoons” on the Mornington Peninsula this summer.

According to a statement, every water police squad member will now be equipped with a body-worn camera – to “improve community and police safety [and] enhance oversight of police conduct through the provision of objective audio and video evidence”.

Police said the “bolstered presence” on the Mornington Peninsula would mean more proactive patrols in vehicles, on foot and on water.

Residents and visitors can expect to see police blitz popular beaches to spot dangerous operators, as well as flood boat ramps to conduct breath tests, licence checks and vessel inspections.

More than 200 infringement notices to jet ski riders committing offences on the water have been issued this summer. People have been caught travelling too close to swimmers and vessels, speeding and not wearing a lifejacket.

Water police squad acting inspector Lynden Blackley said:

We’ve already seen far too many concerning jet ski incidents this year, resulting in operators and their passengers injuring themselves and ending their day in hospital.

Updated

All WA public schools to be fully funded by 2026, according to new agreement

The education minister, Jason Clare, has announced the commonwealth and West Australian governments will sign an agreement today to fully fund all of the state’s public schools.

Making the announcement on X/Twitter, Clare said WA’s most disadvantaged schools would be funded first (fully funded from 2025). He also said every child in the state would be attending a fully funded public school in 2026.

This is just the first step. The Albanese government is committed to working with all states and territories to fully and fairly fund all public schools.

This is a landmark day in the history of public education in WA and for building a better and fairer education system across Australia.

This funding will be tied to the things that will help children to keep up, catch up and finish school.

Updated

Good morning

And thanks to Martin for kicking things off! I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll be with you on the blog today.

See something that needs our attention? You can get in touch via X, @emilywindwrites or send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.

With that, let’s get started.

Queensland flood victims to receive financial help

More on those Queensland floods from AAP: a severe weather warning was current overnight from north of Brisbane on the Sunshine Coast up to Bundaberg, with six-hourly rainfall totals between 80mm and 150mm possible through to this morning.

Severe thunderstorms were set to extend rainfall totals up to 250mm in some areas, leading to more flooding.

Queensland premier Steven Miles is expected today to outline financial assistance to be made available for flood victims. He told Seven Network:

I want all Queenslanders to know wherever they are affected by these floods we will be there to make sure that they are supported through the clean-up and getting back on their feet.

Today rain is expected to drift north through the Wide Bay and Burnett areas.

By tonight showers and storms are forecast for the tropical north but the south-east is set to be dry.

But heavy rain causing flooding is still lingering in the Mount Isa area in the state’s north-west due to the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily, days after it crossed the coast.

Updated

Rain finally expected to ease in south-east Queensland

The full extent of south-east Queensland’s flooding damage may soon be revealed, with rain finally set to ease, AAP reports.

Thousands of people lost power, more than 20 schools were closed, roads were cut and 39 swiftwater rescues were completed as severe weather lashed the area yesterday.

Some of the worst hit were north of Brisbane in the Moreton Bay area and the Sunshine Coast, while Lockyer Valley further west was also inundated.

Queensland premier Steven Miles said authorities had tried to assess the damage on Tuesday but crews kept getting called away for swiftwater rescues.

Dozens of homes are believed to be damaged in Bray Park alone.

There were concerns last night for other people in the Moreton Bay area as well as the Sunshine Coast, particularly in the Caboolture River’s low-lying catchment with rain continuing.

Evacuation centres have been set up in the Moreton Bay region where the SES responded to 100 calls for help.

Updated

58% back tax switch, Australia Institute poll shows

Nearly three in five voters across all demographics support changing the stage-three tax cuts so that people earning less get a greater slice of the pie, AAP reports.

Asked by the Australia Institute in late January, 58% of voters supported middle- to low-income earners benefiting more from the proposed tax changes.

Only one in four Coalition voters and a third of Australians earning more than $200,000 a year wanted to keep the policy as originally legislated by the Morrison government.

Far fewer respondents supported repealing the tax cuts entirely, with almost a third saying they weren’t sure or didn’t know.

Richard Denniss, executive director of the Australia Institute, said it was an indication voters of all tax brackets in the 1,017-strong survey recognised the original scheme as “bad economic policy”.

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to the rolling news blog. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be bringing you the top overnight stories before my colleague Emily Wind comes along shortly.

Anthony Albanese is being urged today by dozens of prominent Australians to make Australia an activist middle power to engineer a detente between the US and China. In an open letter to the prime minister, former foreign ministers, a Nobel laureate and academics urge the Albanese government to step up diplomatic efforts to “avert the horror of great power conflict” between the superpowers. Two of the most well-known figures, former foreign ministers Bob Carr and Gareth Evans, argue in a piece for Guardian Australia that Canberra can help the superpowers “enter into a comprehensive new detente to resolve differences peacefully”.

Back on the domestic front, Labor is heaping pressure on Peter Dutton’s opposition to support its income tax changes. The party’s analysis, released by the office of treasurer Jim Chalmers, has shown that up to 89% of taxpayers in some regional and suburban Coalition electorates will be better off, or 3.4 million people out of a total of 4 million. Another poll today, from the Australia Institute, shows a majority of voters in favour of changes to this year’s legislated tax cuts to benefit middle- and low-income earners.

Queensland premier Steven Miles is expected to today outline financial assistance for flood victims today after days of intense rainfall in the south-east part of the state. More rain is forecast for today, which could hamper attempts to clean up and assess damage. The BoM warned of potentially life-threatening flash flooding due to the deluge.

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