What we learned: Friday, 6 December
With that, we will call it stumps for the day. Enjoy your evening – our weekend team will be back bright and early to bring you all the latest.
Here were today’s major developments:
Victoria police are investigating a suspicious fire at a synagogue on Glen Eira Avenue in Ripponlea. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, labelled the incident an “attack on Australian values” and called it antisemitic, as did the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, who will deploy additional resources to the area.
The prime minister will use his latest trip to Western Australia to announce $21m in funding for critical minerals projects, just days after WA’s government helped sink the federal nature positive laws given concern about its impact on mining and industry.
Immigration minister Tony Burke has confirmed that “a bit less than half” the Palestinians who arrived in Australia on tourist visas have been transferred over to humanitarian visas.
And TV personality Maggie Tabberer has died aged 87.
Queensland Labor may oppose parts of ‘adult crime, adult time’ bill in parliament
Queensland Labor MPs have hinted the party may oppose parts of the LNP government’s flagship “adult crime, adult time” legislation next week.
Opposition members of a parliamentary inquiry into the legislation submitted a dissenting statement, which raised a number of reservations about the bill.
“It is clear from many stakeholders that there is no evidence to support the premise that this approach will result in a reduction in victim numbers,” they wrote.
In fact, almost every expert who made a submission to the Justice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee’s inquiry into the Making Queensland Safer Bill reinforced the evidence that in fact it is likely to increase offending.
The inquiry had just eight days to consider the laws, which dramatically increase maximum sentences for children as young as 10 convicted of proscribed “adult offences”. For instance, a child murderer must be sentenced to life behind bars with a minimum 20 year non-parole period. It violates the state’s human rights act.
Many submitters complained the pace of the parliamentary inquiry made it impossible to identify errors in the legislation. The committee also held just two days of hearings. One of them was occupied by a series of Townsville non-experts, including the city’s business council, but it couldn’t find time for a former state attorney general, and didn’t hear from the police commissioner or victims commissioner.
Despite a chorus of concern by the experts, it ultimately made a single recommendation: that the bill be passed.
It will return to parliament for a final vote next week.
Updated
Severe thunderstorm warnings for areas north and west of Sydney
Severe thunderstorms likely to produce “damaging winds and heavy rainfall” are hitting parts of New South Wales, with the warning zone extending through Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and Gosford/Wyong areas.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the slow moving thunderstorms were detected near Cattai and Maroota about 4.40pm, forecast to reach Wilberforce and Glenorie by 5.10pm and Windsor by 5.40pm.
The NSW State Emergency Service has advised people to move their cars under cover or away from trees, secure loose items, keep away from fallen power lines and stay indoors away from windows amid the risk of flash flooding.
A more general severe thunderstorm warning is also current for the Hunter, central tablelands and parts of the mid north coast, metropolitan, Illawarra, south coast, southern tablelands, north-west slopes, south-west slopes and Riverina districts.
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Albanese government files to extend surveillance of convicted terrorist Benbrika
Convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika could be kept on a tight leash as the federal government tries to extend surveillance of him.
Police have been surveilling the Melbourne man and keeping tabs on his communications since he was released from prison after the federal government successfully extended a supervision order.
On Friday the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, filed an application to extend the order by another year.
A spokesperson from his office said this was the “strongest possible action available under law and followed advice from all operational agencies involved in the matter”.
It is now a matter for the court.
Benbrika was convicted over plots to attack Melbourne landmarks including Crown casino and the MCG on AFL grand final day in 2005.
After almost two decades behind bars, Benbrika walked free in 2023 with 30 strict conditions on his release including a lifetime ban from Crown and the MCG and an order preventing him from going within one kilometre of an airport or port.
The federal government’s application for an extended supervision order on his release was only the third time such an order has been imposed since laws passed in December 2021.
– AAP
Updated
Mehreen Faruqi: ‘Insurance companies should not be taking advantage of the climate crisis to jack up premiums.’
Insurance has become the “latest major stressor” for communities facing disasters from the climate crisis, the Greens have said.
A report released today into the impact of climate risk on insurance premiums and availability made eight recommendations to tackle growing insurance affordability stress, including increasing the disaster ready fund and requiring the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to monitor and publish reports on premium prices.
Chair of the committee and Greens deputy leader, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, urged the federal government to adopt all recommendations as a “good start” to addressing community stressors.
Insurance is increasingly unaffordable and unavailable because insurance companies are either pulling out or hiking premiums and making people’s lives even harder.
It’s bad enough that communities are traumatised by climate-driven disasters, but then they have to suffer insurance companies and their onerous, drawn-out claims process which have little to no transparency. Insurance companies should not be taking advantage of the climate crisis to jack up premiums.
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Lawyers warned against using AI in legal casework
Legal organisations in Victoria, New South Wales, and Western Australia have released a joint statement warning lawyers against using ChatGPT and other public artificial intelligence systems in their casework.
The joint statement from the Law Society of New South Wales, the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia and the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner came on Friday after a number of cases in Australia in the past year where courts had identified AI use in court cases where it had generated fake case citations.
The statement says lawyers must maintain client confidentiality, and that lawyers cannot safely enter confidential information into public AI chatbots or services like ChatGPT, and any commercial AI tools where client information is entered, lawyers should review the contract terms to ensure the information is kept secure.
AI tools should also not substitute a lawyer’s own legal advice as “LLM-based tools cannot reason, understand or advise”, the statement says.
Due to AI “hallucinations” producing incorrect information, the statement says lawyers using AI to prepare documents must verify the information in those documents.
The statement also says lawyers should be transparent with clients over use of AI, and limit AI use to lower-risk tasks.
Updated
Panthera administrators issue statement on sale to Francom Group
We reported yesterday that Panthera, one of Australia’s biggest private debt collectors, had been sold and its brand name would cease to exist.
That follows a Guardian Australia investigation that revealed how the company had circumvented a blacklisting designed to stop it from conducting debt collection in Victoria, imposed after findings it had unlawfully attempted to retrieve money from people who owed nothing.
Panthera is now facing criminal charges and has been in voluntary administration for months, a process managed by PwC.
The administrators issued a statement late yesterday on Panthera’s sale to Francom Group. The transaction transforms Francom into one of the biggest debt collectors in the country.
Voluntary administrator and PwC partner Adam Colley said:
We set out to identify a suitable purchaser that would provide ongoing job security for Panthera’s workforce, continuity of operations, and a positive result for stakeholders. This transaction with Francom allows for these outcomes. We will continue to work with Panthera and Francom’s management and staff to ensure a smooth transition of the business to the new ownership structure.
Updated
Six people jailed over $10m tax fraud
Six men have been sentenced to a combined maximum term of 43 years in prison for participation in a $10m tax fraud and money laundering operation.
The men were sentenced following a joint multi-year investigation of a serious organised criminal syndicate allegedly using labour hire and payroll companies associated with the building and construction industry to defraud the commonwealth.
The AFP alleged in court the criminal syndicate ran a tiered structure of corporate entities providing labour hire services, which would receive money to pay the wages and tax of workers. The defrauded funds were then allegedly moved to companies directed by syndicate members, their relatives and associates, and offshore to Singapore.
AFP detective superintendent Kristie-Lee Cressy said those who sought to exploit and steal from the commonwealth were preventing the potential investment of millions of dollars in essential services and infrastructure for the community.
Anyone who deliberately sets out to exploit and defraud the financial system is engaging in criminal behaviour. The AFP, through the SFCT, is dedicated to targeting offenders and bringing them to justice.
Updated
Man arrested after explosions and fire in Gosford, NSW
A man has been arrested after several explosions and a fire occurred in Gosford yesterday afternoon.
About 2.20pm yesterday, emergency services were called to an office building on Donnison Street in Gosford, following reports of several explosions. The building was evacuated, and no injuries were reported.
Shortly afterward, police were called to a separate office building on Donnison Street following reports of a fire.
At the scene, police were told that a man allegedly entered the office and lit a fire before leaving the scene. A 54-year-old employee was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics for smoke inhalation, while no other injuries were reported.
Police – assisted by specialist resources – set up multiple crime scenes. Following inquiries, a 66-year-old man was arrested in his home this afternoon. He has been taken to Wyong police station and was yet to be charged.
Investigations continue.
Updated
Albanese on radicalisation of young people online: problem is it ‘often can’t be seen’
Finally, Albanese is asked about reports in several outlets today, including Guardian Australia, that security agencies in the Five Eyes countries – Australia, the US, Britain, Canada and New Zealand – are pleading for their citizens to do more to stop young people falling prey to radical, violent ideologies.
Albanese said it was of concern that up to 20% of people being radicalised and potentially engaged in harmful activity are “very young people, some as young as 12”.
This is of concern … the problem with radicalisation online is it often can’t be seen. By definition, it can happen in privacy, with someone on a computer screen and we have seen tragically the impact of that, not just here in Australia but around the world.
The agencies have chosen to make this announcement today to encourage a vigilance when it comes to these issues because radicalisation online is an issue, it’s one of the things that we’ve had a debate about [with] social media recently and young people having access to it – part of the concern that parents have is not knowing what their sons and daughters are engaged in online.
Part of the motivation for the social media ban that was carried, it’s about giving parents more power to have those conversations with the young ones about what is going on online.
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Albanese on UN vote: ‘the same way the Howard government voted for a long period of time’
Reporters turn to Australia’s UN vote to demand the end of Israel’s “unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible”, marking the nation’s return to the position for the first time in more than two decades.
Just eight nations including Argentina, Israel and the US, voted against it, while seven others abstained.
Albanese:
157 countries voted for that resolution including the Five Eyes partners the United Kingdom, New Zealand, as well as Australia, as well as people who work closely with Germany, Italy, other countries in our region. And it’s exactly the same way that the Howard government voted for a long period of time.
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Albanese says antisemitism has been ‘on the rise’
Asked if antisemitism is becoming “increasingly aggressive” in Australia, Albanese says it has been around for a “long period of time” but contends it has “been on the rise”.
I spoke with Jillian Segal, our antisemitism envoy, this morning as well. We have taken action at providing increased support in security funding for Jewish organisations, we have introduced a landmark ban on the hate symbols … and we’ve got legislation to have Australia’s first National Student Ombudsman to deal with those issues … we will continue to be vigilant on this issue.
Updated
Albanese on Melbourne synagogue attack: an ‘attack on Australian values’
Questions turn to the attack on a synagogue in Melbourne overnight.
The prime minister labels the incident “shocking” and an “attack on Australian values”.
To attack a synagogue is an act of antisemitism. It is attacking the rights that Australia should have to practise their faith in peace and security.
Albanese says he spoke with the president of the synagogue personally this morning and was told the community engages in peaceful activity and supports one another.
This is the heartland of the community. We know that two people were seen, spreading some sort of fluid to encourage a fire and spreading it with brooms and they were seen on CCTV footage and the police will do their job.
I spoke with the head of AFP … that federal agencies will be available because it is important. It’s important that these people be held to account for what is a shocking crime.
Updated
King continued
King is asked about comments from the opposition that tying critical mineral projects to community benefits will be taking them “hostage”.
She refutes this.
The opposition has been critical of the production tax credits incentive really because they want to grab that $17bn to pay for an un-costed, unknown nuclear power policy.
We all know that. To try to quote that something around community benefits principles [is] a bad thing is absolutely absurd.
Updated
Resources minister on critical minerals projects across Australia
Minister for resources, Madeleine King, fronts the mic to speak about a further $21m federal government investment in critical minerals projects across the country, also announced today.
We need to have governments working together, the federal with the state government, working with the mining industry and that all comes together in our production credits for critical minerals, a $17bn program that will see this kind of industry rocket out of this country and into the region.
And it is about time the Coalition and Liberals under Peter Dutton had a good, hard think about what they are going to do to support the resources sector. At the moment they are stepping away from their support of critical minerals and rare earths while this Albanese Labor government is stepping up to support what will be a national, sovereign capability that helps Australians, helps A Future Made in Australia but importantly, helps our whole region in energy security for the future.
Updated
Albanese announces integrated rare earths refinery in WA
The prime minister is speaking now in Perth, decked out in some high-vis, where he is announcing Australia’s first integrated rare earths refinery. The project, to be delivered by Iluka Resources, is expected to support around 900 jobs during construction and 250 when operational.
Anthony Albanese:
This is so exciting for WA. This project will unlock processing of Australian deposits of light and heavy rare earths. These have critical applications in defence and renewable energy technologies which Australia relies on for our national as well as our economic security, both of those things.
The federal government’s funding is contingent on the body “delivering outcomes that will maximise project benefits” for Australia in line with the Future Made in Australia Act.
We want to see the benefits of this investment opportunity flow to communities, to workers and to businesses right throughout Australia and this is one of the first – what will be one of the largest announcements – as a direct result.
Updated
Storms forecast for parts of NSW
The New South Wales State Emergency Service (SES) has urged communities to “prepare now” with severe weather and possible flash flooding forecast for the weekend.
Storms are forecast to hit the Illawarra, Southern Tablelands, Lower Western, South Coast and Upper Western regions from this afternoon.
The front is expected to intensify on Saturday, bringing widespread falls of up to 50mm and localised falls of up to 100mm.
Communities expected to be affected are Holbrook, Tumut, Gundagai, Young, Cootamundra, Wagga, the Snowy Mountains and surrounds.
NSW SES state duty commander, assistant commissioner Dean Storey, said the SES was prepared for thunderstorms over the next 48 hours but urged people to be across their local forecast and associated warnings.
The NSW SES is reminding people to drive to the conditions and not through flash flooding. If you come across a flooded road, stop and find an alternative route because it’s not worth the risk to your life, or the lives of our volunteers.
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Many thanks to Rafqa Touma for guiding us through the day. I’ll be bringing you all the latest from Adelaide Oval where India have won the toss. Just kidding, there’s another blog for that.
Updated
Thanks for tuning into today’s live blog. Handing over now to Caitlin Cassidy who will keep you updated with the afternoon’s news.
More on housing affordability
Renters faced a similar story of woe, with the proportion of income required to meet median rents increasing by 0.3 percentage points over the quarter, meaning tenants now spend about a quarter of their pay on rent.
Rental affordability declined in every state and territory except Victoria and Queensland, decreasing Australia-wide by 3.0 percentage points over the past five years and 3.6 percentage points over the past 20 years.
NSW remains the most unforgiving state or territory to live as a renter or mortgage holder.
Families with an average loan repayment are now spending 58.1% of their income on each instalment, while tenants spend 28.7% of their pay.
- Australian Associated Press
Updated
Worst housing affordability in almost three decades
Australian families are spending nearly half of their incomes paying their home loan as housing affordability drops to its worst point in almost three decades.
The outlook doesn’t look any better for renters, with tenants now forking over an even higher proportion of their pay for rent.
Housing affordability has reached a historic low, and the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s 2024 September quarter report has recorded the “most challenging conditions” since it began monitoring the landscape in 1996.
Households across the nation spent 48.6% of their incomes on loan repayments during the September quarter, a 0.4 percentage point increase from the previous three months and 2.9 percentage points over the year.
Though there were some improvements in Tasmania and the Northern Territory, housing became less affordable in every other state.
The weighted average capital city median house price grew to $1,050,370 after a 0.2% increase during the September quarter and 6.2% growth over the past 12 months.
In just five years, housing affordability has declined 16.8 percentage points compared to 12.2 percentage points across the past two decades.
“Rising mortgages sizes coupled with stagnant variable interest rates continue to push affordability further out of reach,” institute president Leanne Pilkington said.
- Australian Associated Press
More to come in the next blog post.
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Sydney police presence to be ramped up after Melbourne synagogue attack
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has released a statement on the Ripponlea synagogue attack.
He says he was “appalled” to hear about the attack at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne last night and police presence will be ramped up around “key places” in Sydney.
We stand in solidarity with our Jewish friends both in Sydney and around the country.
Just two weeks ago we had that disgusting night of vandalism in Woollahra.
I have spoken to Jewish community leaders this morning and I know NSW Police have also been in contact.
NSW Police will be increasing patrols and as well as high visibility taskings around keys places in Sydney. You deserve to feel safe in your own city.
If these acts are designed as a campaign of intimidation, they will fail.
Updated
Santos should be held accountable for terms such as ‘clean energy’ in climate change plan, court hears
Santos should be held accountable for its use of terms like “clean energy”, “zero emissions”, “clear and credible” in relation to its climate change strategy, according to the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility’s (ACCR) final right of reply in its greenwashing case against the gas company.
“What matters most is the words that are actually used,” argued Noel Hutley SC, representing ACCR in the federal court on Friday.
When Santos released its strategy for net zero emissions by 2040, the company had confidently represented the plan as clear, credible and based on real activities, Hutley said.
Our case compares the reality of what occurred in the development of the target with the emphatic quality of the announcement that Santos chose to make.
There must be reasonable grounds for the confidence with which a target or a plan is expressed … [given] the confidence with which matters are expressed are apt to influence people.
ACCR has consistently argued that Santos misled investors by conveying the impression that gas was “clean energy”, that hydrogen produced from gas was “zero emissions” and that there were “real activities” underpinning the company’s plan for net zero.
In contrast, Neil Young KC, representing Santos has argued the company’s climate targets and strategies represented a statement of “present intention” and “not a promise or prediction”.
The landmark case, which began on 28 October, was the first to challenge the veracity of a company’s net zero plan, and test whether corporations could be held legally accountable for their climate reports and strategies.
ACCR was asking the court to make declarations that Santos had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct, and for injunctions prohibiting Santos from engaging in deceptive conduct in future and forcing it to issue a corrective notice about the environmental impacts of its operations.
The Hon Justice Brigitte Markovic will deliver the final words in the landmark greenwashing case, when she hands down her decision.
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Asked if attack was ‘domestic terrorism’, Allan says police ‘aren’t ruling anything out’
The Victorian premier has been pushed on whether today’s act was a “form of domestic terrorism”.
She replies “Victoria Police aren’t ruling anything out” and says she has been receiving direct advice from the chief commissioner.
I will let those investigations run their course. My advice from Victoria Police … is they’re not ruling anything out at this stage. An attack on a synagogue is an act of antisemitism, so we can absolutely identify that this is an act of antisemitism that we stand here together united to resoundingly condemn.
Asked repeatedly if the attack is a sign she has “lost control” of the state, Allan replies:
I will take advice from Victoria Police. I will take the advice from the Victoria Police and the chief commissioner who advise me that, in terms of acts of violence, they have the tool and powers to investigate and prosecute people.
The press conference then ends after repeated questioning from an individual in the crowd.
Updated
Allan says focus is on Jewish community, not offenders
Asked what her message would be to the offenders, Allan replies there are “many things” she would like to say but her focus is on the Jewish community.
My message today, and my focus today, is not on these people who bring violence and hate and evil to the beautiful streets of Melbourne, my focus today is on the Jewish community … who should be in the hearts of every Victorian today.
There were people inside … who were praying, who were studying … practising their faith and every Victorian of every faith deserves the right to do that safely, so my thoughts are more with the members of the community … not the people who bring hate.
Asked about any personal blame for “not acting on antisemitism properly until now”, Allan says the state government’s focus has been to support members of the Jewish community who are grieving the conflict in the Middle East.
Updated
Allan says vilification ‘should be a crime’
Allan points to the anti-vilification bill before parliament, which would include vilification into the Crimes Act.
It should be a crime and it will give Victoria the strongest powers in the country to clamp and attack this vicious behaviour but also sends a very clear message that there is no place in Victoria, in the strong community that we are as Victorians, for this sort of hateful behaviour.
Asked if Victoria will recall state parliament early to consider the bill, she replies “we have committed to use this summer period is a period of consultation”.
It won’t be a period of summer holiday for many, it will be a period of consultation on this bill. And can I acknowledge that to date, there has already been extensive consultation with the Jewish community, who have provided support for the bill and where there are ways we can strengthen the bill as a consequence of the feedback, we will, but let’s be clear what we are talking about here today is a criminal offence, it’s a criminal offence, it is a violent attack on a place of worship.
I know Victoria police, having spoken over the course of the day to the chief commissioner, are devoting significant resources to this crime.
Updated
Jacinta Allan pledges $100,000 for synagogue
Allan pledges $100,000 for rebuilding work at the synagogue, “guided by the community”, which will “start today”. A stronger police presence will also be placed in the area.
The minister for multicultural affairs has also provided $1m in additional security grants for organisations around the state.
I’ve been speaking with the chief commissioner over the course of today who has confirmed with me and confirmed with the community that there will be stronger increased police patrols and presence in this part of Melbourne into next week.
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Allan on synagogue attack: ‘What else is an attack on a synagogue other than an act of antisemitism?’
Allan calls the attack on Adass Israel synagogue in Ripponlea a “hateful, violent attack” on a peaceful place of worship, and echoes the prime minister’s characterisation of the incident as antisemitic.
We all stand here today to condemn in the strongest possible terms this hateful violent attack on a beautiful, peaceful place of worship … built by Holocaust survivors who fled that most evil regime in Europe and chose Melbourne and Victoria as their home.
Without the contribution of those Holocaust survivors, Victoria just wouldn’t be the strong state it is today … it is an attack on all faiths that I absolutely resoundingly condemn, as do all Victorians in the Victorian community. We condemn this hateful act, this violent act. It was an act of violence as well as an act of hate … what else is an attack on a synagogue other than an act of antisemitism?
Updated
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is speaking in Melbourne now alongside members of the Jewish community.
I stand here with members of the strong, proud Jewish community that are such an important and beating heart of the city of Melbourne, the state of Victoria and the nation that is Australia, and I thank so many of our community for standing with us here today in what is … one of the toughest times, on one of their darkest days.
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Victoria’s brown coal hydrogen project closer to a likely demise
More than 18 months ago, we reported the near-friendless plan to turn Victoria’s brown coal into hydrogen was all but dead.
The problems were multiple. Victorians would have to foot the bill for capturing and storing the inevitably large emissions from converting lignite (brown coal) into hydrogen.
The state and federal governments were being asked to stump up multiples of the $50m both had tipped in, and then there was the reluctance for the Japanese partners to commit to more than a few years of buying the costly-to-transport fuel.
Well, Japanese media reported about three weeks ago that one of those partners - Kawasaki Heavy Industries - had given up the plan. (Ships might move faster than that news.) In short, KHI, one of Japan’s biggest manufacturers, had given up waiting.
The Victorian government initially gave us a general statement only to decide it had no comment, after all. We wondered if Treasurer Tim Pallas was still the only backer in the cabinet, but we’ll have to wait for another time for an answer.
We also approached the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain, the group running the project, for a comment.
Ellen Sandell, the Victorian Greens leader, said “this disastrous coal project has never stacked up environmentally or economically ... Now the wheels are well and truly falling off”.
“It’s time for this project to be scrapped forever,” Sandell said.
Given the lack of interest in Melbourne or Canberra to fork out more money for the venture, its fate does look to be sealed, bar the final media release.
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Maggie Tabberer dies aged 87
The family of TV personality Maggie Tabberer have confirmed her death in a post to Instagram. They wrote:
This morning we lost our beautiful mother and Nanna. She was an icon in every sense of the word and we will miss her dearly… Along with the rest of Australia.🥰 rest in peace Nanna. We love you to bits forever.
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AFP and Asio warn of ‘shocking’ numbers of teens in terrorism cases
Asio and Australian federal police have revealed that two teenagers aged 16 and 14 have been convicted under Australia’s counter-terrorism laws and warned that “shocking” numbers of their priority cases involve young people.
The anonymised details of the two unrelated cases have been published as part of an unprecedented coordinated plea from security agencies in the Five Eyes countries – Australia, the US, Britain, Canada and New Zealand – for their citizens to do more to stop young people falling prey to radical, violent ideologies.
“In every one of the terrorist attacks, disruptions and suspected terrorist incidents in Australia this year, the alleged perpetrator was a young person,” Asio’s director general, Mike Burgess, said in a statement accompanying the analysis.
Read the full story here:
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Union says Fair Work hearing over Woolworths warehouse a ‘distraction’ from ongoing dispute
As a Fair Work Commission hearing was under way for Woolworths attempting to force United Workers Union (UWU) workers picketing outside warehouses to allow workers to reopen the warehouses and stock increasingly empty shelves in shops across the eastern seaboard, the union has described the action as a “distraction” from the ongoing negotiations.
The strike of around 1,500 workers in distribution centres stocking Woolworths has now lasted 16 days, and Woolworths has attempted to re-open one of the warehouses in Victoria using workers from a rival union, but has been prevented by striking workers outside the warehouse.
At a press conference in Melbourne on Friday, UWU national secretary, Tim Kennedy, said the Fair Work hearing was a “distraction” and if Woolworths is successful it wouldn’t change anything.
If those orders are granted, it doesn’t change the situation, because the collective bargaining dispute and the decision workers have taken under the collective bargaining laws and their right to strike under law continues on until we reach agreement. So in many respects, it’s a pure distraction and a leverage point.
Negotiations between Woolworths and the UWU over wages and conditions continue, and Kennedy said, in discussions with Woolworths management, they were beginning to understand the concern from workers around the use of an algorithmic framework that measures worker output by the minute.
These warehouses are dangerous places to work in, people get injured in them, they can actually get killed in them, and if you privilege speed over safety, you do a lot of damage and so the nature of this dispute is not purely just about money. It’s about the nature of the work and how people can feel safe and secure to go to work because they’ve only got one body and they also can only do as much as they can, and there is no accountability or transparency or understanding about how these speeds are set, and they’re the things we need to resolve.
He said workers were prepared to return to work once an in-principle agreement is made with Woolworths, and workers vote in favour.
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Australian antimicrobial use significantly higher in affluent areas, study finds
The use of antimicrobial drugs in Australia is greater in areas with richer and more highly educated residents, new research suggests.
Antimicrobials kill or slow the growth of microbes, and include antibiotics for bacterial infections, antiviral and antifungal drugs.
The study, led by researchers at the University of Queensland, looked at the presence of 102 different antimicrobial drugs at 50 wastewater treatment plants across the country, which cover around 50% of the national population.
It found that antimicrobial usage was greater in higher-income areas, as well as places where there was a higher proportion of residents attending university or already with a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education.
Australia has high rates of antimicrobial use – it ranks in the top 10% for per‐capita antibiotic consumption in the world.
Study co-author Dr Jake O’Brien said in a statement:
Extensive use may pose a risk for the development of antimicrobial resistance, which is a critical global health challenge projected to cause up to 10 million deaths annually by 2050.
Responsible use is crucial to prevent antimicrobial resistance, which experts have previously described as a “looming global health crisis” that could make some of most critical drugs to modern medicine ineffective.
The five most common antimicrobials or breakdown products, all detected in more than 90% of samples, were amoxicilloic acid, cephalexin, ciprofloxacin, sulfapyridine, and sulfamethoxazole.
Dutton is asked whether Coalition nuclear plan would be cheaper than renewables
Asked whether the Coalition’s nuclear plan would be cheaper than Labor’s renewable plan, opposition leader Peter Dutton said “100% renewables only” will drive up electricity and gas prices and make the electricity network less stable.
He spoke at a press conference a short while ago:
What we have demonstrated through Frontier Economics, which I think is the most dominant economic model in the country when it comes to energy, is the government’s 100% renewables is not only driving up electricity and gas prices but it is making the electricity network less stable. That’s why we are seeing many factories go offshore. We lose the jobs, we lose the economic productivity, and the government’s policy that Chris Bowen has put together is not costing $122 billion as the government claims, it is now costing more than $550 billion. Some people say that that figure is too conservative and that it could cost over $1 trillion.
And there is nothing for free here. People listen to the prime minister and hear him say that the wind is free and the sun is free – why are your power bills going through the roof?
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Dutton says Australia's UN vote for end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories leaves us ‘less safe’
Peter Dutton says we are an “essential ally of Israel”. Asked at a press conference a short while ago whether Australia’s UN vote for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories “will mean more terrorism”, the opposition leader said:
I think the prime minister needs to give very detailed information of the government’s stance in relation to Israel, as a complete departure from the promise the prime minister made to the Australian Jewish community before the last election. He said he would adopt a bipartisan position, as has been the case for his predecessors. It’s impossible to imagine Bob Hawke or Paul Keating or even Kevin Rudd or Julia Gillard would have taken the path that Prime Minister Albanese has.
I think it has left our country less safe, I think it has created an air of uncertainty.
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Peter Dutton on Melbourne synagogue fire: a ‘shocking turn of events’
Opposition leader Peter Dutton addressed the press a short while ago. Speaking about the suspicious fire at a Melbourne synagogue this morning, he said:
To see the firebombing of a synagogue, a place of worship, is something that is not welcome and has no place in our country whatsoever. And today we should double down on our support of the Jewish community, who will be feeling this very acutely.
Armed guards were protecting kids at Jewish schools this very day and that is unacceptable in our country. There is a lot of work and a lot of leadership that needs to be provided to make sure that people of Jewish faith and people right across the country can be given assurances around safety, basic safety requirements, where people go to a synagogue or they go to another place of worship, when they go to a supermarket, they should do so safely in our country and that has been a very, very sad, shocking turn of events in Melbourne overnight.
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Elective surgery admissions surge
Admissions for elective surgery were the highest on record in 2023-24, data published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare today shows.
Elective surgeries are procedures that are deemed medically necessary but are planned surgeries and not considered an emergency and, as a result, may be subject to delays
While most elective surgeries performed in Australia occur in private hospitals, the AIHW data provides an overview of elective surgeries from public hospital waitlists.
It shows cataract extraction was the most common procedure for those admitted from an elective surgery waitlist, accounting for 11% of all intended procedures. The greatest percentage increases in admissions from elective surgery waitlists were for vascular surgery (12% increase compared with 2022-23) and paediatric surgery (8.2% annual average growth since 2019–20).
There were 771,600 admissions from public hospital elective surgery waitlists in 2023-24 (excluding the Northern Territory where data is still being collated), a 5% increase from 2022-23.
An AIHW spokesperson said the increase in the number of admissions from public hospital elective surgery waitlists follows a period of considerable disruption to the health system as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Focus on demand side of energy equation
Most of the attention of governments – and the media – tends to be on the supply side of the energy equation.
We have tended to neglect the demand side, particularly energy efficiency matters, but there’s an emerging understanding that “demand response” will be critical to ensuring grid stability.
In short, the spread of devices that can be remotely switched on or off, smart meters that can provide price signal to nudge usage depending on availability of supply, and the decentralising of generation (eg rooftop solar) and batteries, mean the grid is becoming much more flexible.
Today, a group of diverse peak bodies – from the AiGroup, Acoss, the Energy Efficiency Council and the Property Council – called on the government to set up a national energy performance agency to give consumers greater clout in the debate.
At present, responsibility for managing energy costs is spread across portfolios and governments, and that makes it harder for it to gain bureaucratic or community traction.
There should also be national energy performance targets, so progress can be tracked, more representation of those with consumer and demand-side expertise.
It sounds a bit arcane and even a bit revolutionary (the Daily Telegraph today took offence at the prospect that air-conditioners might be remotely controlled). The reality, though, is upon us, and for some the prospect of free electricity after an upfront payments might be what they happily choose to take up, as we noted earlier this year:
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Gosford fires ‘a callous and brazen attack’, NSW police say
Police do not yet know the motive behind fires allegedly set in Gosford yesterday. They said at a press conference:
At this stage motive is something we are very interested in. It’s obvious there was a reason why the man went to both locations and we are keen to ascertain what the reason is but at this stage we don’t know.
This is a callous and brazen attack … It is violent behaviour which as NSW Police we will not tolerate and that is why we established a strike force to investigate the matter and we are putting a lot of resources in the inquiry to bring this to a resolution as quickly as possible.
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Police deliver update after blast and fires in Gosford
NSW police are addressing media after an explosion and fires in Gosford yesterday:
We believe this is a targeted attack and not a random incident.
Two crime scenes unfolded here on Donnerson Street in the Gosford CBD very quickly yesterday afternoon. The first was in the Legal Aid building where there were reports of an explosion. That building was quickly evacuated and no one there was injured, very fortunately.
But as things were unfolding outside the Legal Aid building, police were called two blocks up the street to the building behind me, in the Gosford CBD, where there were reports of a man entering one of the levels of the buildings where there are legal offices located lighting a fire and then as he moved away and made his way outside about 50 people needed to be evacuated. No serious injuries reported from that one as well.
One at the other location. I would describe it as a moderate fire that caused moderate internal damage to those premises. That fire was extinguished by Fire and Rescue NSW. At that location, a 54-year-old employee suffered smoke inhalation and was treated at the scene by New South Wales ambulance and did not require any further treatment. Happily, no other person was injured as a result of that could have been an entirely different outcome.
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Energy ministers gather as peak bodies call for more attention to ‘demand response’
Federal, state and territory energy ministers are gathering in Adelaide today (some are Zooming in) to cap another full-on year for the sector.
No doubt summer and the readiness of the grid to cope with heat will come up. As we noted here this week, the Australian Energy Market Operator sees extra renewables and 58% more storage (ie batteries) than a year ago should help.
A lot will hinge, though, on the reliability of the ageing coal-fired power plants, a point underlined by last week’s power squeeze in New South Wales. The nation’s biggest coal plant, Origin’s Eraring, was struggling a bit to get all its units back online, for instance, which is why specialists like University of NSW’s Dylan McConnell reckon it’s a “toss of the coin“ whether we’ll get through the summer without some major disruption.
Today’s meeting will also discuss what the grid should look like post-2030. Last week federal energy minister Chris Bowen named the panel and terms of reference for the review, as we covered here:
There’ll be a media conference and statement after about 2.30pm Aedt that we’ll monitor.
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Counter-terrorism police join investigation of Melbourne synagogue fire, PM says
In an ABC radio interview, Anthony Albanese spoke at length about the Melbourne synagogue fire. The prime minister said he’d received a briefing from AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw and that counter-terrorism police were involved in the investigation:
There are two persons of interest who were there and witnessed, what was witnessed was them using accelerant and then spreading it with a broom, clearly designed to maximise the damage that could occur. Victoria police arson squad,are leading the investigation at this stage.
The Melbourne joint counter-terrorism taskforce will be liaising, of course, with Vic pol, and the police will be making a statement later this morning.
It’s a terrible morning to awake to this news, which all Australians should unequivocally condemn. This is an outrage. The violence and intimidation and destruction at a place of worship is something that we should never see in Australia. It’s risking lives, it’s clearly aimed at creating fear in the community.
Albanese said he’d spoken to Labor MP Josh Burns, who is Jewish, and in whose electorate of Macanamara the Ripponlea synagogue is located.
He told me that this is a community that very much revolves around the synagogue. Many Holocaust survivors came from Hungary, in particular after world war two, and it’s been a centre of community activity. It’s a peaceful organisation and community and this attack is just an outrage.
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One witness treated for hand injury
Victoria police say they are aware of one witness who received an injury to his hand at the scene of a suspicious fire at a Melbourne synagogue this morning.
Addressing press a short while ago, police said they will increase patrols in the area:
I have spoken to local area commander, patrols will be increased. I want the public to be reassured that we’ll do our utmost. Again, I’m here for that reassurance. That is we are taking this seriously. We’ll give the local community what they need and that is we want them to be able to go about their business and pray safely.
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Police seek security footage from synagogue neighbours
More from the police press conference on the suspicious synagogue fire in Melbourne. Police “implore the community” to assist investigators by looking at their own security footage:
We want them to identify if around 4.10 they saw two individuals, there may be more, loitering around this area. We’re looking for vehicles, we’re looking for those two individuals. We want some starting points. We know from experience that these investigations get solved through CCTV. We need the community’s help.
We implore the community. I know this is not going to be a stretch for the local community here to give us assistance. We know the local community want these people caught as we do.
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Blaze deliberate and targeted, police say
Victoria police believe the fire at a Melbourne synagogue this morning was “deliberate” and “targeted”.
The officer in charge of the arson squad is addressing press live in Melbourne:
Our first and foremost priority is to identify those individuals that are responsible for this. We believe it was deliberate, we believe it has been targeted. What we don’t know is why. And we will get to the why.
I’m here … to give that reassurance to the community that we will do everything we can to bring these individuals before the courts, and to let the community know that we’re going to do our best to make sure that they can return as they should to their local synagogues and do what is absolutely Australian – that is to be able to worship without fear.
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Masked pair seen ‘spreading an accelerant’, police say
Two people in masks were allegedly seen “spreading an accelerant of some type” inside the Melbourne synagogue that was ablaze this morning, Victoria police have said. They are addressing press about the incident, which is being treated as suspicious:
At that location, deliberately lit fire was detected. What we do know – a witness who was attending morning prayers has entered the synagogue, and upon entering has seen two individuals who were wearing masks, they appeared to be spreading an accelerant of some type inside the premises. This individual has left. Police were subsequently called to the premises where the premises has been engulfed and has suffered extensive damage.
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Plea for overhaul of mental healthcare
Australia’s mental healthcare system has critical workforce shortages and is increasingly difficult to navigate, the Australian Medical Association say in its position statement on mental health and wellbeing, released today.
The AMA calls for all levels of government and non-government organisations to “design and properly fund a mental healthcare system that is patient-centred, needs based, and informed by evidence”.
General practitioners are now the frontline for patients with mental illness, AMA president Dr Danielle McMullen says.
Mental illness is the No 1 reason for patients visiting their GP, according to Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ Health of the Nation reports.
McMullen says:
Mental healthcare is already chronically underfunded, but severe workforce shortages and inadequate staffing, the complexity of presentations, and increasing patient loads are further contributing to a system reaching breaking point.
It is vital the key areas of the mental health workforce, including psychiatry and general practice, are adequately resourced and structured to be able to provide the best possible care for people who desperately need help.
There is a critical need for governments to ensure GPs are properly supported in this role, including investing in longer consultations, GP-led multidisciplinary care and accessible referral pathways.
We need all governments to work collaboratively to improve the function, size and distribution of Australia’s mental healthcare workforce to ensure care is available for some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
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Melbourne synagogue fire a 'deliberate, unlawful attack', PM says
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has condemned a “deliberate, unlawful attack” on a Melbourne synagogue, calling for those responsible to “face the full force of the law”.
Albanese is in Perth today, and we’re expecting a media appearance on ABC Melbourne radio shortly. The PM’s office has shared a statement saying:
I unequivocally condemn the attack on a Melbourne synagogue early this morning.
I have zero tolerance for anti-semitism. It has absolutely no place in Australia. This violence and intimidation and destruction at a place of worship is an outrage.
This attack has risked lives and is clearly aimed at creating fear in the community.
The PM said he had been briefed by the AFP commissioner, and offered commonwealth assistance to Victorian authorities:
This deliberate, unlawful attack goes against everything we are as Australians and everything we have worked so hard to build as a nation.
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‘We remain a close friend of Israel,’ Richard Marles says
Asked if Australia’s vote in the UN for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories shows a departure from being allied with Israel, deputy prime minister Richard Marles says:
We remain a close friend of Israel.
Patricia Karvelas had asked Marles on ABC RN: “The office suggests, representing Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government, that Australia may no longer be a key ally of the Jewish state. How do you see it? Are you a key ally? Or does this show a departure?”
She then asked again: “Are you a key ally? Is there a different position? Because that’s how they see it.”
Marles:
We’re a close friend, and we don’t see that there is any change in our friendship, our relationship, our support for Israel, nor, PK, is there any change in our support for pursuing a two-state solution. That’s been the bipartisan policy of our nation for decades, and the way in which we vote in the United Nations seeks to give expression to that.
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Marles rebuffs criticism from Netanyahu
Deputy prime minister and defence minister Richard Marles rejects the assertion that Australia’s UN vote for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories would invite more terrorism and antisemitism.
Patricia Karvelas asked Marles on ABC RN this morning to respond to comments from Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Australian: “It’s been described as disappointing the position Australia has taken, and the vote at the UN would undoubtedly invite more terrorism and more antisemitic riots, including in Australia.” Karvelas asked: “Is that the consequence?”
Marles responded:
I don’t accept that at all, obviously.
All we are doing, as I’ve just said, in expressing our voice in the United Nations, is to support Israel but is also the support a two-state solution and we’ve been doing that over a long period of time, and we do that consistently with other countries in the world who are friends and allies of Australia and so I absolutely don’t accept that proposition.
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Synagogue fire ‘a deliberate act of violence’, Jason Clare says
Federal education minister Jason Clare speculated that the synagogue fire in south Melbourne, being treated as suspicious by police, was not an accident.
He told 7 News’ Sunrise program:
It’s pretty clear from your reporting that this is no accident, that this is a deliberate act of violence, an attack on a place of worship, and let’s call it out.
This is the absolute opposite of what Australia is all about.
Liberal frontbencher Sussan Ley said the blaze was “very, very concerning”, adding:
It makes me feel quite sick to the stomach.
I feel for the Jewish community today waking up to this news.
– Australian Associated Press
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Sixty firefighters called to synagogue blaze
Here is more on the Melbourne synagogue fire being treated as suspicious by police, courtesy of Australian Associated Press:
About 60 firefighters and 17 trucks were called to the Adass Israel synagogue at Ripponlea in Glen Eira about 4.18am on Friday.
Fire Rescue Victoria’s assistant chief fire officer Brayden Sinnamon said the 30m by 20m building was “fully involved” in the fire and the blaze severity had been escalated, with crews using breathing apparatus.
He said two people had been evacuated with minor injuries but no other properties were damaged.
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PM to announce $21m for critical minerals projects
Anthony Albanese will use his latest trip to Western Australia to announce $21m in funding for critical minerals projects, just days after WA’s government helped sink the federal nature positive laws given concern about its impact on mining and industry.
The prime minister will be in Perth for a three-day visit, with the first day being led with a new pledge under the government’s signature Future Made in Australia policy. The cash, for five critical minerals projects, will create up to 400 new jobs, government sources said.
The funded projects include $3.8m for a vanadium project in Brisbane, $3m for a graphite refinery in Townsville, $7.4m for a feasibility study into a project in Perth, and $5m for a plant in South Australia.
Albanese said:
A strong resources sector means a healthy economy and good, well paid local jobs.
My Government is committed to supporting the growing critical minerals and rare earths industry.
WA is seen as a crucial state for Labor’s bid to retain majority government at the coming federal election. Albanese often boasts of how often he has flown west to visit Perth and mining regions.
Guardian Australia understands Albanese intervened to veto a deal on the nature positive legislation, which would have set up a federal environmental protection agency, after lobbying from WA premier Roger Cook and miners.
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Immigration department speeding up humanitarian visas for Palestinians, Tony Burke says
Immigration minister Tony Burke has confirmed that “a bit less than half” the Palestinians who arrived in Australia on tourist visas have been transferred over to humanitarian visas.
Burke was on SBS Arabic last night, where he said the cohort had been moved from the 12-month tourist visa they arrived on to the 786 Temporary (Humanitarian Concern) visa, which is valid for three years:
And can I say they have been some of the happiest meetings I’ve ever had.
The announcement represents a shift in the government’s approach to the cohort of Palestinian refugees who arrived in Australia after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza.
Until October, the government had only reportedly granted humanitarian visas to just 12 families.
Burke said the government had begun to speed up its processing times for the arrivals, subject to the “normal security checks”:
People are constantly worried about their 12-month visas, what happens when it runs out. Eventually I’m moving everyone from the protection pathway to the humanitarian pathway, subject to the normal security checks.
We have got through a bit less than half the caseload at the moment and we are now starting to speed that up.
Everyone is going through all the Asio checks, and the checks you’d want people to go through.
We want to give you some security, we want to put you on the same visa the Ukrainians were on, with an understanding that during the life of that visa, we’ll make a decision about resolving your status.
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Suspicious fire at Melbourne synagogue
Victoria police are investigating a suspicious fire at a synagogue on Glen Eira Avenue in Ripponlea.
It is understood the blaze started about 4.10am this morning. No one was injured but the synagogue sustained significant damage, police said.
A crime scene has been established and an investigation is under way.
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Good morning
And welcome to the live blog.
Last night immigration minister Tony Burke told SBS Arabic that Palestinians who arrived in Australia on the 12-month tourist visas have been transferred over to three-year humanitarian visas. Burke said the government had begun to speed up its processing times for the arrivals, subject to normal security checks.
Meanwhile, the consultancy firm McKinsey was paid $1.6m over 11 weeks to “inform” and “guide” Australian energy and climate policy, despite its work for the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies.
And prime minister Anthony Albanese is en route to Western Australia, where he will announce $21m in funding for critical minerals projects, just days after WA’s government helped sink the federal nature positive laws over concern about their impact on mining and industry.
I’ll be rolling your news updates through the day. If there is anything you don’t want us to miss, send it my way on X @At_Raf_
