What we learned; Tuesday 11 June
It’s time to wrap up a big day of news here at the live blog. Here are our highlights:
Peter Dutton said the Coalition is committed to the Paris Agreement but won’t be forced on any detail about climate targets unless they win the next elections. Anthony Albanese responded by saying he does not think that Australians want yet another election fought on climate change.
The prime minister is looking forward to welcoming Li Qiang, who will make the first visit to Australia by a Chinese premier since 2017.
The foreign minister Penny Wong said Australia welcomes the UN security council’s resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Agriculture minister Murray Watt said Australia’s egg supply is not at risk from bird flu.
Nine was “rightly” accused of having a “blokey” culture in the past, its former head of news said.
And, it’s been a bad day for Bonza, with the airline sacking all of its staff as administrators revealed they are yet to receive a binding offer.
That’s all for now, good night and thanks for joining us.
Updated
Dutton defends climate policy as cost of living relief
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has pointed to the state of the economy as his primary motivation for winding back Labor’s legislated 43% emissions reduction target by 2030 – a move that could undermine Australia’s commitment to the Paris agreement.
The Liberal leader told 2GB on Tuesday afternoon he remained committed to net zero by 2050 but needed to be “realistic” about the cost of living.
When the prime minister made the commitment of 43%, the economy wasn’t in a state that it is now … It’s a very different environment.
When asked what his target would be so that Australians could receive “a bit” of cost of living relief, Dutton declined to offer a figure.
It’s very hard in opposition – without all the modelling and the advice from government – to put an exact figure on the table.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, earlier said Dutton’s climate policy was “absurd”, and that walking away from a 2030 target was the same as walking away from the Paris agreement.
But Dutton suggested countries could still reach that target without setting ambitious midterm targets.
Well, the Paris agreement is predominantly about net zero by 2050, and that’s what we’ve signed up to. You don’t need to go, you know, [go a] linear way to that – to try and get to the 43%, which most analysts at the moment say that the government won’t get to anyway.
Updated
QLD jails at 140% capacity, budget papers show
Queensland’s budget papers show its jails are even more overcrowded this year than they were last year.
The state’s jails are now at 140.3% “built cell” capacity, well above the 90-95% facility usage target, according to the department of corrective services’ service delivery statement.
Last year they were at 130% of capacity.
Just 28.2% of prisoners were in an education program, below the target of 32%.
The statement says this is due to “increasing costs and ongoing provider staffing issues”.
The department last year invented a new measure for overcapacity: “built bed capacity”. Many cells now have double-bunking in order to accommodate additional prisoners. Even with this measure, the service is struggling, at 95.7% of capacity, above the 95% target.
Updated
Economy delivering RBA some confounding numbers
We noted in a morning post on this blog that the ANZ had broken ranks with its three big rivals and pushed back the timing of when it expects the Reserve Bank to start cutting interest rates into 2025.
They underscore that the challenges facing the RBA board (which meets next Monday and Tuesday) is the economy is slowing and yet some cost pressures are picking up again – at least according to NAB’s monthly business survey.
As we note in this article, the gloom some businesses are reporting about conditions and confidence doesn’t seem to extend to their hiring prospects.
We’ll get labour market figures for May on Thursday from the ABS, so we’ll also get an updated reading on the national unemployment rate then.
Apart from inflation, it’s the other aspect of the economy the RBA has been watching particularly closely too.
Perhaps a strong result will prompt CBA, NAB and Westpac to postpone their current forecast for the first RBA rate cut – all currently set for this November – into 2025 as well. Investors, meanwhile, don’t think the central bank will be cutting interest rates until the middle of next year.
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Greens accuses QLD government of ‘longest wait time in recorded history’ for high needs people
It takes the Queensland government 21 months to allocate help to very high or highneeds people on average, according to budget documents.
It’s nearly twice the target of 12 months, and higher than the average wait times in 2022-23, just 19 months.
Greens South Brisbane MP Amy MacMahon said it was “the longest wait time in recorded history”.
“Labor’s budget is just tinkering around the edges of a broken system, while Queenslanders are struggling like never before,” she said.
“Labor has overseen a decline of social housing per Queenslander, there are fewer social homes per Queensland resident now than in 2015.”
About 99% of new households granted a social rental housing were either high or very high need, above the target of 95%, the service delivery statement says.
Just 58.4% of clients who were homeless or at risk of homelessness and needed help to find housing received support to do so. The target is 60% next year and was 65% this year.
The budget allocates $688m to homelessness support in 2024–25, including $578.7m for services and $109.3m for capital works.
Updated
NSW Fire and Rescue shares Revesby factory fire footage
A large number of dismantled cars were on fire and being tackled by more than 80 fire fighters, with the force slowly getting the upper hand on the fire in Sydney’s west, they said.
REVESBY | **VISION ALERT** Wrecking yard inferno. More than 80 Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters are slowly starting to get the upper hand of a large structural fire at Revesby in Sydney’s south-west.
— Fire and Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) June 11, 2024
Crews have managed to stop the fire... https://t.co/yQSSMi5bh5
Updated
QLD opposition backs government’s cost of living measures
Now over to Queensland, where the state’s LNP opposition says it will support the government’s cost of living measures.
But in a brief press conference this afternoon, shadow treasurer David Janetzki said the opposition had yet to decide which way to vote on the government’s bills.
We’ve always said that we’ll be supporting cost of living measures. And what we really need to see from this budget - and failed to see - is the long term structural plan to address cost of living pressures.
The budget is split into several bills. As is typical, the opposition will vote for the appropriations bills, which allow the government to pay public servants. But they may vote against the revenue measures bill, Janetzki said.
He accused the government of ripping off a swathe of opposition policies, including reduction in car registration and an increase in the stamp duty rebate for first home buyers.
But he wouldn’t be drawn in on the government’s Pioneer Burdekin pumped hydro project – the centrepiece of its plan for 80% renewables by 2035.
The government has budgeted $38.5m for “early works” on the project in 2024-25, and more over the forward estimates. Construction is expected to get under way in 2026-27.
Janetzki refused to say whether an LNP government would honour the budgetary commitment.
Updated
Australia welcomes UN security council Gaza ceasefire resolution: Wong
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says Australia welcomes the UN security council resolution “in support of a comprehensive ceasefire, a permanent end to hostilities and the start of reconstruction in Gaza”.
Wong said in a statement issued moments ago:
That no country voted against the resolution underlines the international community’s view that this war must end.
Algeria, China, Ecuador, France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom all supported the resolution put forward by the United States.
The resolution ‘welcomes the new ceasefire proposal announced on May 31, which Israel accepted, calls upon Hamas to also accept it, and urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.’
The three-phase proposal presented by President Biden offers the best pathway out of this conflict.
The resolution again reiterates international commitment to a two-state solution where Israel and Palestine live side by side in peace within secure and recognised borders.
Australia will continue to work with countries that support peace to press for agreement to this proposal. Any delay will only see more lives lost.
Civilians must be protected, aid must flow at scale and hostages must be released.
Updated
Australians voted for candidates who 'take climate change seriously' last election: PM
Given cost of living pressures, do Australians want yet another election fought on climate change?
PM Anthony Albanese this afternoon said he does not think so.
I think Australians at the last election voted for Labor candidates and for other candidates who said they would take climate change seriously.
It is, quite frankly, a lost decade that we had under the former government with 22 policies announced and none of them landed.
Australians want government to get on with the business of dealing with climate change because they know that whilst it’s a challenge, it’s also an opportunity. They also know climate change is real.
They have experienced it with bushfires, with floods, with increased numbers of, and intensity of, extreme weather events, which is what the science told us would happen here and around the world.
What’s more, they also want Australia to engage in a constructive way because that’s in our national interest with our Pacific neighbours and with our friends and allies.
It is remarkable that the lesson that Peter Dutton appears to have got from the last election is to be worse on climate than Scott Morrison was. That’s to double down and to continue to want to engage in these issues in a way that doesn’t look for any sensible way forward.
Updated
PM addresses question on whether pro-Palestinian protest activity had been peaceful
Guardian Australia’s Daniel Hurst has asked PM Anthony Albanese about Australia’s Palestinian community and whether he would confirm the majority of pro-Palestinian activity in Australia had been peaceful.
“In a democracy, peaceful protest has an important role for people to be able to demonstrate their views,” Albanese answered.
And there is a great deal of concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. It’s one that the Australian government shares. It’s one where the Australian government has clearly voted for a ceasefires in UN processes. I’ve issued media releases myself along those lines, together with the prime minister of Canada and the prime minister of New Zealand.
It is important also, as I said in parliament, that how people conduct themselves will reflect on the course which they wish to pursue. And people being blocked, blockaded from visiting their local member of parliament with Greens senators – people will have seen the footage, which they themselves have posted, such as Senator Faruqi and others, outside offices encouraging that blockading.
He said he did not know how stopping vulnerable people from getting assistance on Medicare or social security or immigration at electoral offices would further protesters’ cause.
You don’t turn up to an electorate office to get support, you’re not there for a political purpose. It’s not the role that they play. That is what elected members of parliament do. Those people – whether it be … throwing bricks at windows, whether it be painting of offices, or the US consulate or other buildings – do nothing to advance the cause.
Updated
PM says Australia ‘on track’ to meet 2030 emission reductions targets
Anthony Albanese says Australia is “very much on track” to meet 2030 emissions reductions targets. Speaking at Parliament House this afternoon, he labelled opposition leader Peter Dutton’s comments about climate policy “absurd”. He went on:
What we have done is adopt, as a parliament and as a nation, clear climate policies that put in place a legislative net zero by 2050, that put in place a legislative 43% reduction by 2030 and have a process of accountability and transparency through the Climate Change Authority.
That authority released information in December … They projected that we were on track on that point to 42% given the policies that were implemented. Since then, we have had production tax credits for critical minerals, for green hydrogen, we, of course, will continue to look towards policies that make a difference, that make sense for our economy but also make sense for our environment.
For Peter Dutton to walk away from any 2030 commitment, to be clear, is walking away from the Paris agreement.
He said that Australians will pay more under Dutton’s proposals.
Unless you take action on climate change, unless you address issues such as supply, then you will have higher costs under what Peter Dutton is proposing.
Peter Dutton is proposing abandoning the targets, abandoning investment certainty which will lead to less investment in the lead up to 2040, sometime when this nuclear fantasy will take place.
The business community have been very clear, and when we announced our position, we did so standing with the Business Council of Australia and other business leaders, who all have been asking for certainty – that certainty that Peter Dutton is getting rid of.
Updated
PM gives Dutton and Coalition a ‘big F for fail’ on climate policy
Anthony Albanese has called opposition leader Peter Dutton’s approach to climate policy “rather extraordinary”. The PM is taking questions from Parliament House as I type, but before doing so, he told reporters:
I’ll also make some comments … about Peter Dutton’s rather extraordinary abandonment of any pretence of having a climate policy.
His nuclear fantasy will result in higher power prices and more unstable energy grid and rising emissions. No 2030 target means walking out of the Paris agreement. That is very clear. And if you walk out of the Paris agreement, you’re left standing with Libya, Yemen, and Iran. That is not the company that Australia should want to keep.
We know that the consequences of that for our relationships in our region and around the world with our closest allies will be ones that are regrettable, to say the least.
Peter Dutton, after that announcement, within minutes, he had Senator Bragg out there saying something very different. And it’s clear that there hasn’t been any proper process to determine the Coalition’s policy on this issue.
Peter Dutton is divisive, the Coalition are divided and there is no detail about what they would pursue. The three D’s of the Coalition – divisive, divided, detail – which gives them a big F for fail when it comes to climate policy.
Updated
Prime minister announces first visit to Australia by a Chinese premier since 2017
The premier of the People’s Republic of China, Li Qiang, will visit Australia for three days from 15 June, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says.
“This will be the first visit to Australia by a Chinese premier since 2017 and represents another important step in stabilising our relationship with China,” Albanese told reporters at Parliament House this afternoon.
The premier and I will hold the annual leaders’ meeting here at Parliament House in Canberra. It will be followed by a state lunch here in the Great Hall, attended by members of the government, the opposition, as well as business and community leaders.
Premier Li will also travel to Adelaide prior to Canberra and then on to Perth. The premier and I will engage with Australian and Chinese business leaders at the seventh Australia China CEO roundtable. This will make a valuable contribution to strengthening relationships between business leaders in China and Australia. As people know, China represents around about 25% of our export debt in terms of a destination.
We’ll also acknowledge, of course, the deep contribution of the more than 1 million members of the Chinese Australian community to our nation’s multicultural success story. Premier Li’s visit to Australia follows my visit to Beijing in November last year.
Updated
Sydney’s tram network will be brought to a standstill as a pay dispute escalates between its commercial operator and unions.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union is calling for a 23% pay increase and improved conditions for workers on the inner-city light-rail network, reports AAP.
But negotiations have failed to deliver a deal, leading to industrial action on Tuesday that will culminate in a network-wide stoppage on Wednesday.
The union wants the four-year pay rise to keep pace with the rising cost of living, as well as an extra five days of sick leave to help manage fatigue.
Light-rail operator Transdev offered workers an initial 6% pay rise, followed by 4% increases over the next three years - a cumulative rise of about 19%.
The company’s offer did not include more sick leave and was rejected by the union.
“Our members have given us a very clear direction in terms of what they find acceptable,” Rail, Tram and Bus Union locomotive secretary David Babineau told ABC Radio today.
Babineau said the industrial action, which has been criticised for disrupting events such as crowds travelling to the Vivid festival, was an unfortunate necessity.
Updated
Revesby fire threatens to spread to neighbouring properties
More news from Revesby, where a factory is “well ablaze”, a spokesperson for NSW Fire and Rescue says.
A large number of dismantled cars in the premises on Fitzpatrick Street are on fire, with between 60 and 80 fire fighters battling the flames, they said.
The fire is “threatening” to spread to neighbouring properties, the spokesperson said.
No injuries have been reported.
Updated
Revesby factory engulfed by fire
A factory in Sydney’s west has been engulfed by a large fire.
Firefighters were called to the blaze on Fitzpatrick Street in Revesby at about 2pm.
More than 20 fire crews are on scene with multiple specialist aerial firefighting trucks set up, NSW Fire and Rescue tweeted.
The factory is near Bankstown airport, with photos on social media showing dense smoke in the area.
We’ll update you as soon as we know more.
Updated
New WA laws to allow gun seizures without a warrent from owners accused of domestic violence
Over to Western Australia, where police will seize firearms from gun owners accused of domestic violence under new amendments to further bolster already tough laws being debated by parliament.
The police minister, Paul Papalia, said the changes would empower police to take weapons without a warrant, reports AAP.
The changes come after the murder of Perth mother Jennifer Petelczyc and her daughter, Gretl, at the hands of registered firearms owner Mark James Bombara at their Floreat home in May.
“New measures will see police suspend a gun owner’s licence and confiscate their firearms as a matter of process every time domestic violence or the threat of domestic violence is reported,” Papalia told reporters today.
The gun owner’s licence will remain suspended until a review into that person’s status as a fit and proper person to hold a licence is completed.
Under the current laws, the mandatory seizure of firearms occurs when a violence restraining order is issued, but the amendments lower that threshold. Papalia said the proposed changes would anger some gun owners but it was fair and reasonable that safety takes priority over the privilege of owning a gun.
No law is guaranteed to prevent family and domestic violence, however, Jennifer and Gretl’s murderer would have been impacted by our new gun laws in a number of ways, including numerical limits, health checks and collector licence requirements.
Updated
Free menstrual products for outback communities
Free pads and tampons will be given to remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory to help with cost of living pressures, AAP reports.
The Albanese government has announced it will provide $12.5m over four years to the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation to work with communities to distribute the period products. About 12,500 women and girls are expected to benefit from the measure each year.
Period products in some remote communities can be almost double the price of those in cities, with a packet of pads ranging between $15–$25. This means women and girls are often forced to miss out on school, work and community events when they have their period.
The assistant health minister, Ged Kearney, said every woman and girl should be able to access menstrual products no matter where they live:
No one should have to choose between paying for menstrual products instead of food, fuel or rent, and no one should have to miss out on daily activities because they have their period.
The assistant Indigenous Australians minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, said people in remote places were doing it tough with high prices.
Updated
Thanks for your great work, Emily Wind, and hello. I’ll be with you for the remainder of the day.
Updated
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, my colleague Daisy Dumas will take you through the rest of our rolling coverage. Take care.
Brittney Lauga returns to Queensland parliament
Queensland MP Brittany Lauga has returned to Queensland parliament for the first time since she was allegedly sexually assaulted in April.
The assistant health minister took leave after alleging she was sexually assaulted and drugged in an attack in Yeppoon. She was also forced to shut her electorate office due to threats from the public.
Lauga was back on the treasury benches on Tuesday, in time for the last state budget of this parliament. The former town planner has vowed to run for re-election in the local seat, which she has held since 2015.
Updated
Bonza administrators say lack of binding offers left 'no choice' but to sack all staff
The administrators determining the future of budget airline Bonza have said they will likely be left with no choice other than to wind up the company, unless a surprise buyer emerges at the last minute.
The announcement from administrators Hall Chadwick came after it convened a town hall with Bonza’s 323 staff earlier today to inform them they had all had their employment terminated and that all future flights had been cancelled.
While administrators had initially been hopeful of finding a buyer to save the airline, the abrupt repossession of its entire fleet of aircraft left little value in the business beyond its air operators’ license.
In a statement this afternoon, Hall Chadwick said no formal offers for the airline had been submitted by a deadline set for last Friday. Parties that had previously expressed interest which conducted due diligence on the company ultimately opted against lodging a binding offer.
The administrators will now convene a major meeting for creditors, where employees, customers and trade suppliers will decide on the future of the company. The date of the major meeting has not yet been set, but is understood to be planned shortly.
Unless a potential buyer emerges at the last minute, creditors will have no option other than to wind up the company.
Updated
Skills shortage could lead to food insecurity: CSIRO
There’s an urgent need to train more scientists in plant breeding to help maintain global food production levels, according to research from Australia’s national science agency.
A lack of skilled scientists who specialise in plant breeding could lead to food insecurity, according to the joint paper between CSIRO, Lincoln University in New Zealand and McGill University in Canada.
Retiring experts and a lack of tertiary-qualified students are both contributing to the global shortage.
CSIRO scientist Lucy Egan, who led the study, said the skills shortage has been previously identified in the US as well and could impact agricultural production worldwide.
Of the total number of survey respondents, just over half were aged 51 and above, highlighting a generational gap in the sector. Dr Egan said:
What we’re seeing is a whole generation of highly skilled plant breeding specialists who are now reaching retirement age, with a gap left as university graduates opt to focus on other areas of plant science.
The implications of this shortage could be dire, including affecting global food security and the economies of different countries around the world, including Australia.
- via AAP
Updated
Bandt accuses Albanese of ‘Paris crocodile tears’ amid climate target row
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, has accused the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, of crying “Paris crocodile tears” in the latest row between the major parties of over 2030 emissions reductions targets.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, over the weekend indicated his intention to dump Labor’s legislated 43% emissions reduction target on 2005 levels by 2030 if elected next year. And earlier today, Dutton would not be drawn on offering a new 2030 target until after the election, despite remaining committed to net zero by 2050.
Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Monday the opposition leader was “afraid of the future” and had “abandoned any sensible policy”.
At a press conference in Melbourne, Bandt had both major party leaders in his sights.
With the Liberals completely ignoring the Paris agreement, Anthony Albanese is out crying Paris crocodile tears when his targets won’t meet the Paris Agreement goals either.
The Greens leader pointed to pledges by both parties to continue coal and gas production for years to come.
We’re heading to an election now, where the Liberals want nuclear and more coal and gas labour wants more coal and gas as well. And only the Greens are pushing to stop new coal and gas mines. No matter what the prime minister, no matter what Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton say, whatever their targets might end up being, they both want to keep opening coal and gas mines. That is a recipe for blowing our climate targets and to runaway climate change.
Updated
Greens leader welcomes UN security council ceasefire deal as ‘important step towards peace’
The leader of the Greens, Adam Bandt, has welcomed the UN security council ceasefire deal overnight as “an important step towards peace” but said the Australian government must now “put pressure on the Israeli government to accept it”.
He told reporters in Melbourne:
What has become clear is that the Labor government is very good about saying words, but they’re not prepared to back it up with actions.
The US-drafted resolution passed the UN security council with 14 votes in favour and one abstention by Russia. The US has suggested it is an Israeli government proposal, although it is clear that there are concerns from within the Netanyahu government. The US – which has previously vetoed several ceasefire proposals – responded to the resolution by calling on countries to press Hamas to accept the terms.
The Australian government has previously called on both parties to accept the US-backed ceasefire proposal. We are seeking comment from the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong.
Updated
Amnesty International Australia welcomes UN security council ceasefire deal
Early this morning, the UN security council adopted a resolution calling for Hamas to agree to a three-phase hostage-for-ceasefire proposal outlined by Joe Biden. You can read all the details below:
Amnesty International Australia has welcomed the resolution, with spokesperson Mohamed Duar saying:
The UNSC vote to endorse a ceasefire deal in Gaza is one of the most fundamental, positive developments for Palestinians in decades. The significance of this moment in history must not be underestimated.
It’s now time for the resolution to be implemented to protect civilians, to see the safe return of Israeli hostages and thousands of Palestinian prisoners, and to end the risk of genocide faced by Palestinians.
Duar said the Australian government “must use its position as a diplomatic and trade partner with Israel to continue to call for Israel to agree to the ceasefire deal and swiftly implement the conditions of the resolution”.
While we celebrate the passage of this resolution, Amnesty International will continue to pressure the Australian government to do everything they can to see this ceasefire deal agreed to and immediately implemented, to uphold a domestic ban on all arms and weapons parts to Israel and to urgently resolve the visa issues affecting Palestinians who have travelled to Australia seeking protection.
Updated
The Bureau of Meteorology has provided an update on the damaging winds being felt across south-eastern parts of the country today:
Severe Weather Update: Damaging winds gusts across south-eastern Australia. Video current: 11:30am AEST 11 June 2024. Latest forecasts and warnings: https://t.co/4W35o8iFmh or the BOM Weather app. pic.twitter.com/eEeNxLPShQ
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) June 11, 2024
Dutton’s call to ditch 2030 targets ‘bordering on criminal’, Teal MP says
Independent MP for North Sydney, Kylea Tink, said Peter Dutton’s call to ditch Australia’s 2030 targets if elected is “bordering on criminal.”
In a statement, Tink said:
The move would not only immediately stall current economic gains, but would also send a clear message to younger Australians that Peter Dutton’s party is prepared to completely abdicate their responsibility to fix the mess that a decade of poor climate leadership from the Coalition has already created…
We cannot fall for Peter Dutton’s fairytale thinking. The climate wars must be put to bed and if the Liberal and National parties do not wish to be part of that future, it is their own extinction they are guaranteeing…
Peter Dutton’s defeatist assertion that Australia will miss its 2030 climate targets should not mean that our leaders simply give up. Rather it should be a rallying call to double down and invest more in climate solutions especially given all the measures indicate we are already on target to hit 42% emissions reduction – just 1% off the 43% target.
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Liberal senator says Coalition will be ‘forthcoming’ on mid-term reduction plan before election
The NSW Liberal senator Andrew Bragg remains convinced the Coalition will be “forthcoming” about its mid-term emissions reductions plans before the next federal election despite Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, revealing he won’t offer a 2030 target before Australians go to the polls next year.
Bragg, who is in the party’s dwindling moderate faction, told Sky News on Tuesday “a lot of policy” will be needed to achieve net zero emissions by the middle of the century.
The federal Coalition is yet to announce the full details of its energy and climate action plan as it vies for a shot at government. Dutton has flagged it will include a mix of nuclear, gas and renewables and has indicated he will scrap Labor’s legislated 43% emissions reduction target by 2030.
On Tuesday, the opposition leader said he was committed to net zero by 2050 but would not offer the Coalition’s 2030 target until after the election. Shortly after, Bragg remained convinced details would be released before polling day.
I’m sure people will know exactly what they’re voting for, or what they’re voting against before the next election. I’m very sure that Ted and Peter will have this all worked out ... you have to show how you’re going to achieve something. We signed Australia up to the Paris agreement. We’re in for net zero, so we’ll have to show people how we’re going to do that and I’m sure that will be forthcoming.
Guardian Australia reported on Monday the former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and Morrison cabinet colleague Keith Pitt have urged the Coalition to abandon the Paris commitment altogether. Bragg said he was “not worried” about the calls:
Most people who look at this closely will look for two key points - are you in Paris? And are you in for net zero by 2050? And the answer to both questions is yes, the rest is noise.
Updated
The Victorian government minister, Steve Dimopoulos, was also asked about the possibility of expanding access to the state’s assisted dying scheme, though he would not offer his opinion.
Earlier today, he said a review into the first four years of the scheme’s operation was underway and a report would be tabled in parliament before the end of the year. Dimopoulos said:
It is such a sensitive issue and I think it’s probably far more appropriate that families of those who’ve taken the option and experts and doctors and clinicians actually have their say in the review before [the] politicians comment on the outcome of the review.
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Victorian opposition leader against further expansion to VAD laws
Victoria’s opposition leader, John Pesutto, says he is comfortable with the state’s voluntary assisted dying laws remaining unchanged, despite calls to expand eligibility, including by the widow of former AFL footballer Ron Barassi.
In an interview with the Age, Cherryl Barassi said the government should expand the laws to allow end of life by choice. At age 80 but with no advanced disease likely to kill her within six to 12 months, she does not qualify for help to end her life.
Asked whether he would support such a move, Pesutto told reporters he did not:
I’m very comfortable now with the system that is in place. I wouldn’t at this stage be looking to support any further expansion of that scheme.
You’ll recall that when this legislation passed the Victorian parliament two terms ago, there was a very extensive community debate and then, of course, a very long debate here in the Victorian parliament. I believe that those laws should remain as they are.
I certainly wouldn’t support an expansion of those laws ... one of the challenges you face is that once you start to undo the safeguards that are in place, where does it end? And it can’t just be a system that’s allowed to unravel.
Updated
Tasmanian Liberal MP Gavin Pearce won’t run at next federal election
The Liberal member for Braddon in north-west Tasmania, Gavin Pearce, won’t run at the next federal election.
The Tasmanian Liberal party president, Michael McKenna, said in a statement:
Gavin has been a champion for Braddon for the past five years.
Gavin’s decision to not re-contest the next election is understandable, after sacrificing so much time with his young family in service of his community.
On behalf of the Liberal party, I would like to thank Gavin for his commitment and service to his community and our party, and wish him all the very best for his future.
Pearce had increased his margin by more than 6% at the 2022 federal election, the statement said.
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Allegra Spender says Australia needs to ‘throw everything’ at emissions reduction
Teal MP Allegra Spender says that there is a “lot of work that needs to be done” in order for Australia to reach a 43% emissions reduction target by 2030 – and that she hopes reductions will go “further” than that figure.
Speaking with Sky News this afternoon, she said that “we need to throw everything we can at this, because we know that Australia is a country which is some of the most exposed country to the bushfires and the storms to the floods” that she says will worsen because of climate change. Nuclear power – as mooted by the Coalition – is expensive and slow, she said.
When asked about the bipartisan criticism of the Greens in light of pro-Palestinian protests that have seen MPs’ offices vandalised and accusations of antisemitism, she said she was behind Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton.
I do support the words of both the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in their criticism of the Greens last week in parliament.
I know that the Greens aren’t behind all of [the pro-Palestinian protests] but I think that they have been encouraging this. And I think they have been spreading misinformation as well and using this for political gain and I don’t support it, because these are tough times for our whole country.
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NSW to directly recruit locum doctors rather than rely on agencies
The NSW Health is taking the first steps to directly recruit locum doctors rather than relying on recruitment agencies which can be incentivised to price gouge.
NSW relies on filling staffing gaps through medical recruitment agencies which act as intermediaries between hospitals and doctors, and charge a minimum 10-15% commission.
In 2022-23, agency commissions for locum doctors represented around $37m, up from $20m in 2020-21, according to NSW government data.
The state government last year held a special commission of inquiry into healthcare funding, which received multiple submissions calling for the department of health to directly employ locums rather than source them through external agencies.
The state government says it is committing over $6m into a study of how setting up an internal medical locum agency would work and how much it could save.
NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said, “Building an in-house agency means we can drive down rising external fees and put more money back into the health workforce.”
The minister for health, Ryan Park, said:
I am determined to see more of our health spending flow directly to our clinicians, and I think that’s a very reasonable community expectation.
The government is focusing on strategies to address the growing cost of this service, and the proposed internal agency will help to lower external fees across the state. It will also allow medical locums to trust us to place them in our hospitals.
Our own Peter Hannam also asked about Peter Dutton’s statement the Coalition was committed to the Paris agreement – despite any backsliding being considered a breach.
Dutton responded:
I’ve heard this argument. I mean, what about the United States? Are they in breach? Because they’re not going to reach their targets.
He argued the Albanese government was “not going to reach its target either” and argued:
This government’s extending the life of coal-fired power stations at the moment. Is that in breach of the Paris commitment? It’s going to see them get further away from their target.
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Peter Dutton’s line that “the Labor party can try and please people in Paris” may be clearly geared to speak to a particular electoral constituency – but it is strikingly familiar.
In 2017, Donald Trump said when he announced plans to withdraw the US from the Paris agreement:
I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.
A friendly reminder that the Paris agreement is not a Paris-specific agreement but is a global deal that carries that name because it was adopted at a meeting in Paris in 2015 and seeks to limit global heating that has impacts everywhere, not just Paris. It was opened for signature in New York in 2016.
The Coalition’s then climate minister, Greg Hunt, said at the signing ceremony in New York that the Paris agreement was “a profoundly important milestone” and “is a turning point in the transition to a lower emissions economy”.
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Our own Peter Hannam asked Peter Dutton whether the Coalition would set a 2030 target before the next election.
Dutton responded that he “wouldn’t take advice” from the energy and climate change minister, Chris Bowen, and later said:
I’ve been very clear about the fact that we are wedded to net zero by 2050.
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Coalition committed to Paris agreement, will announce targets soon: Dutton
Peter Dutton has been speaking to the media and fielding questions about the Coalition’s energy policy.
He said the Coalition would “make our announcements in relation to our targets in due course”.
But I think it’s very clear that we have absolute commitment to Paris and our commitment for net zero by 2050. It’s important, it doesn’t need to be linear, as we’ve pointed out, and we’re not going to send the economy into freefall, and families bankrupt, through an ideologically based approach, which is what Anthony Albanese is doing at the moment.
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Leaving Paris agreement would be ‘economic disaster and climate catastrophe’, minister says
The assistant minister for competition, charities and treasury, Andrew Leigh, said it would be an “economic disaster and a climate catastrophe” to cut targets as part of the Paris agreement.
Speaking to 2CC Breakfast radio earlier this morning, he said breaching the Paris agreement “puts you in company with Iran, Libya and Yemen” and jeopardises Australian investment and jobs:
We [would] hurt Australia’s international reputation as a destination for clean tech investment [and] see Australian emissions go up [and] Australian jobs go down. It would be an economic disaster and a climate catastrophe. So Peter Dutton is actually worse on climate change than Scott Morrison or Tony Abbott … [because even Abbott] wouldn’t pull out of the Paris agreement.
Host Stephen Cenatiempo argued that the “climate war” line is a buzzword that “means nothing” but Leigh disagreed:
There was a huge war over climate and using the issue of climate in order to divide Australia. What we’ve seen in the United Kingdom and New Zealand is sensible conservatives working to get emissions reduction. The sort of approach that Malcolm Turnbull championed. The reason that Malcolm Turnbull got turfed out of the Liberal party leadership, not once but twice, was because he wanted a sensible, business-friendly approach on climate change.
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Police dig up buried truck as part of investigation Brazilian diver’s death
New South Wales police have excavated a buried truck as part of the investigation into the death of a Brazilian diver in Newcastle.
The diver was located unresponsive in the water at the Port of Newcastle on 9 May 2022, with 54kg of cocaine located nearby. He could not be revived, and was later identified as 31-year-old Brazilian national Bruno Borges Martins.
The location of an alleged second diver – 32-year-old Jhoni Fernandes Da Silva – remains unknown. To date, two men have been charged and remain before the courts.
On 28 May this year, detectives executed a search warrant at a Menangle property where they located a white Mitsubishi Fuso truck – which they will allege was used by those involved with the “failed drug rip”.
The truck was last seen travelling southbound on the M4 Motorway at Pennant Hills about 6.30pm on 8 May 2022.
Detectives are appealing for information about a Toyota Townace Van with the NSW registration WNY439, which was seen travelling with the truck.
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As Elias Visontay reported just earlier, all staff with budget airline Bonza have been sacked ahead of an announcement this afternoon.
We’ve got more details for you now in the full story, which you can read below:
Albanese government announces almost $15m for long Covid research
Australian researchers will hope to better understand the impacts of long Covid with $14.5m in funding from the government.
The World Health Organization defines long Covid as occurring in people still experiencing symptoms three months after their initial Covid-19 infection, when those symptoms can’t be explained by an alternative diagnosis.
As many as one in five suffer post-viral symptoms, according to a study from the Australian National University of 11,000 people in Western Australia who tested positive to Covid-19.
The government has today announced 12 grants, which are the first investments from a total $50m committed to generate better evidence on:
How people experience long Covid, including the impact on their physical and mental health and social and emotional wellbeing;
The population-wide and health system impacts;
The cause, progression and factors that influence prognosis;
National trials to rapidly assess and fast‑track therapies.
The health minister, Mark Butler, said
The Australian government recognises the long-term impacts of Covid-19, including for those who experience prolonged symptoms following an acute Covid‑19 infection. Long Covid is an emerging health issue, both in Australia and internationally.
The Albanese government is strengthening Medicare for all Australians, but particularly to provide the kind of multidisciplinary team-based healthcare for people with chronic and complex conditions like long Covid.
The announcement comes as health authorities and experts are warning the nation is in the grip of a new wave of Covid-19 and other winter illnesses:
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NSW police say masked home invasion in Sydney a 'targeted' attack
Supt Adam Whyte from New South Wales police has provided an update after a man was shot during an alleged home invasion by seven masked men in Sydney’s south-west. We covered this a bit earlier in the blog here.
Speaking to reporters, Whyte said that just after 12.30am this morning seven people arrived at a property in Carnes Hill and entered a home wearing face coverings and balaclavas, with three armed with either a machete, shotgun or pistol.
They’ve entered the home and terrorised the four occupants in that home, who were aged between 25 and 51. During that time, they demanded money. At some point, the firearm was discharged into a 25-year-old male, who’s currently at Liverpool hospital being treated for his injuries.
Whyte said the alleged offenders fired a shotgun into the side of a vehicle after exiting the house, and set fire to the front door (which later self extinguished) before all seven people left.
We can say that it is a targeted shooting, not a random shooting, [but] we’re still working through [the details] to work out the parties involved.
Whyte could not say whether the people left with any cash, or whether the alleged attack was gang related.
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Melbourne ratepayers to cover cost of fixing beheaded King George V statue
Melbourne ratepayers will be slugged more than $10,000 to clean a statue of King George V, which was beheaded and covered in red paint in the latest attack on colonial monuments in Victoria.
As AAP reports, the statue in Kings Domain on Linlithgow Avenue was targeted between Sunday evening and the early hours of the King’s Birthday public holiday on Monday.
Melbourne city council deputy lord mayor Nicholas Reece told ABC Radio this morning:
The clean up alone is about $10,000 and that’s before we get to the cost of repairing and reinstating the statue – this is ratepayers’ money we’re talking about here.
We cannot allow statues to be decapitated or chopped down like this, and that then becomes a trigger for them being removed. That’s not the way we do it in Melbourne.
The red paint, the decapitating – that’s an act of violence.
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All Bonza staff sacked ahead of airline announcement
There’s bleak news for budget airline Bonza after the administrators determining its future terminated all staff on Tuesday morning.
Guardian Australia understands that administrators from the firm Hall Chadwick notified all staff on Tuesday they had been terminated.
A spokesperson for the administrators told Guardian Australia a statement would be released on Tuesday afternoon detailing the future of the airline, after staff had been notified.
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AGL eyes energy transition and ‘connected devices’ with investment in software platform
With all this political chatter about emissions targets being met or missed, it’s worth a reminder that consumers are increasingly equipped to make a few decisions of their own.
As we noted over the weekend, there’s an array of devices available for consumers that allow their use to be remotely activated, as in this piece:
In fact, some of them – such as home batteries and, down the literal track, electric vehicles – will be enabled to supply power to the grid at times of high prices. Wily consumers will be able to make some money, and the whole grid might avoid some unnecessary investment.
Businesses scent an opportunity, too. On cue, today we have AGL Energy announcing they are pumping about $150m into the UK-based Kaluza to buy a 20% stake in the energy software firm.
Full details of how customers might benefit aren’t available yet, but it’s a pointer to where the industry is headed. More than a third of Australians have solar panels on their rooftops but, interestingly, only use about a third of the power they produce (according to a forthcoming book, My Efficient Electric Home Handbook).
In a statement, Kaluza founder Stephen Fitzpatrick said:
This AGL deal is a major step towards Kaluza’s mission to help power a world where net zero is within everyone’s reach. Australia is ahead of the curve in tackling the intense demands on its energy system – from the most volatile energy prices to the proliferation of EVs and incorporating solar into the grid.
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ANZ believes RBA interest rate cut won’t land until next year
Last week’s news that the economy had slowed to a crawl at the start of 2024 might have prompted borrowers to hope an interest rate cut couldn’t be too far off.
As one sign economists at least aren’t convinced, we have ANZ this morning becoming the first of the big four banks to push back their forecasts of the first rate cut until into next year.
Along with CBA, NAB and Westpac, ANZ had pencilled in a rate cut by November – or after the Reserve Bank board meets four more times. Now the ANZ is tipping February next year. The bank said:
The stronger-than-expected Q1 CPI ... makes it hard to see the RBA being sufficiently confident that inflation will return to and stay in the band by the time the November meeting comes around.
ANZ, though, still expects two more rate cuts in 2025, “most likely” in April for the first of them with the third not coming until the final three months of next year.
The consolation, I suppose, is that ANZ (and so far, most economists and investors) is not expecting another rate rise before the cuts begin.
Still, a couple of statistical surprises from the ABS might tilt those expectations one way or the other.
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Two alleged ‘targeted attacks’ on Melbourne businesses amid tobacco wars
Victorian police are investigating two alleged attacks on Melbourne businesses early this morning, amid the ongoing tobacco wars.
Police said a car rammed into the roller shutter of a tobacconist on Tarneit Road, Werribee just after 4am, before the alleged offender fled on foot, leaving the vehicle at the scene.
No one was inside the business at the time, and investigators are treating the incident as a targeted attack at this stage.
Meanwhile, police said a business on Costas Drive in Hoppers Crossing was targeted in a separate alleged arson attack this morning, just before 5am.
Police said a passerby managed to extinguish the fire before emergency services arrived, and no one was inside the business at the time of the incident.
Investigators are also treating this incident as a targeted attack.
Updated
Damaging winds forecast for much of Tasmania today
The Bureau of Meteorology says damaging winds will affect northern and western Tasmania today.
Victoria is also forecast to be hit by damaging winds today.
The Bureau said a cold front will pass across Tasmania today, bringing “a vigorous northwesterly flow ahead of it”.
Damaging winds of about 70km/h, with peak gusts above 100km/h, are predicted over the northern, western and some eastern districts, including the Furneaux islands and King Island.
The damaging winds were expected to ease below warning thresholds by this evening, the bureau said.
Great satellite pic thanks to @Windycom! It's an intense system! Damaging winds are being felt right across Tasmania with gusts so far up to 128kmh! How is it where you are? #Melbourne #melbweather #melbourneweather #Tasmania pic.twitter.com/tHeEFwclqq
— Victorian Storm Chasers (@VicStormChasers) June 10, 2024
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Snow starts to fall at Victoria’s Mt Hotham
Snow has begun falling at Mt Hotham in Victoria, with temperatures sitting below 0C since early this morning. The resort shared this video to X just earlier:
The #snowfalls have started at #Hotham temps sitting below 0°C since early this morning. Keep it coming! pic.twitter.com/f8z4vg0j2f
— Hotham (@_hotham) June 10, 2024
Australia’s ski season had a grassy start this year, with one resort trying to remain upbeat “although we may not have snow on the ground.”
In case you missed it, you can read the full story from Daisy Dumas below:
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Borrowers in arrears on the rise but from ‘a low level’, financial regulators say
Every three months, the Council of Australian Financial Regulators get together to kick the tyres of Australia’s banks, etc, to assess how they’re all travelling.
The council, as you might imagine, groups the Reserve Bank, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and treasury.
Anyway, their general assessment remains steady: yes, higher interest rates are hurting but borrowers are making adjustments and most are continuing to meet their repayments. The council said:
Members observed that the share of borrowers falling behind on mortgage payments has continued to rise, as have financial hardship applications, but from a low level.
The gang of four, so to speak, also checked in with the Australian Financial Security Authority (Afsa) for their regular annual chat. They told a similar story, with Afsa stating:
While personal insolvencies remained near historically low levels, the Council noted that there had been an increase in insolvencies for both individuals and companies, particularly small and medium sized enterprises, over the previous twelve months.
This followed a period where insolvencies had been well below usual levels reflecting the significant support measures put in place during the pandemic, including those from the ATO.
There’s no doubt many households and firms are hurting from the rate hikes and a slowing economy. It’s worth remembering, though, that debt arrears and bankruptcies were artificially suppressed during the Covid period and some bounce back or even catch up was inevitable.
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Nine 'rightly' accused of having ‘blokey’ culture in the past, former news boss says
Host Patricia Karvelas to Peter Meakin:
Recent headlines about the Nine Network, talk of cover ups of abuse, of a place where women are too afraid to speak out, about inappropriate behaviour, of toxic culture. Has this been a long running problem at Channel Nine?
Meakin said Nine was “rightly” accused of being “blokey” last century, and said:
There were certainly some people who didn’t behave as well as they should and we were aware of that at that time, but I wasn’t aware of the fact – maybe I was living in an ivory tower or something – but I wasn’t aware of a massive problem. Just the occasional offence.
Meakin claimed that a number of women came to him while he had a position of authority, but “generally they didn’t want to make their complaints public or official, they just wanted the problem sorted”.
He pointed to one case where a woman said she was being monitored by a superior with an “overbearing demeanour”. She “didn’t want to lodge an official complaint” so Meakin transferred her interstate “at her request”, and the alleged perpetrator remained working.
I don’t know if we’d accept [that outcome] now, but maybe we’d put more pressure on her to make an official complaint … I don’t regard it as a cover up but respecting her wishes.
Karvelas put to him that some women might not have wanted to make a formal complaint due to how this could impact their career progression, and Meakin agreed: “I’m sure that’s right.”
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Former Nine news boss says Costello’s successor ‘has her hands full’
The former head of news at Nine Peter Meakin has commented on the culture at the company amid the resignation of Peter Costello.
Speaking on ABC RN just earlier, Meakin said that “Peter Costello’s successor has her hands full, but I don’t think it’s an unachievable task”.
The former news and current affairs director Darren Wick abruptly left Nine in March after 29 years with the company after complaints of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour.
Nine’s chief executive, Mike Sneesby, has come under pressure about what he knew of the allegations against Wick and the terms of Wick’s departure, believed to include a payout close to $1m, most of which is entitlements.
Meakin, who left the company 21 years ago, was asked whether Sneesby’s position is tenable. He responded:
I’m no expert in this, but I would think so. Most of what’s been alleged … didn’t occur under his watch and he seems to be mainly criticised for the allegations of a golden handshake.
Was that golden handshake appropriate? Meakin:
Well, I don’t know. Because if it was just ‘keep your mouth shut and go away’ money then it’s not, but if it’s long service leave and holiday pay and all the rest of it …
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Putting 'all our eggs in the EV basket' not enough to reach transport emissions goals, study warns
Australia can’t rely entirely on electric vehicles to reduce transport emissions to safe levels, according to a new study, and governments must pursue other ways to cut pollution from the sector.
Monash University’s Climateworks Centre released modelling today that showed electric vehicles, both big and small, would need to make up 73% of all new vehicles sold by 2030 to meet Australia’s climate goals.
But if the low-emission cars and trucks only made up 56% of new vehicle sales, Australia would overshoot its transport emissions goal by 21%.
Climateworks Centre transport program lead Helen Rowe said the modelling showed electric vehicles would still play the biggest role in reducing transport pollution but there were ongoing challenges, such as supply shortages, that may necessitate a different approach.
We’ve tended to put all our eggs in the EV basket when it comes to transport decarbonisation in Australia, relying on that as the main solution. In the face of moderate uptake of electric vehicles today and quite low uptake of zero-emission trucks and light commercial vehicles, we wanted to think about the approach.
The report found efforts to avoid unnecessary travel and shifting modes of transport – like swapping car trips to public transport, plane travel for rail journeys, and truck transport for rail freight – could make deeper pollution cuts.
– via AAP
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Police urge people to be careful on ‘dangerous’ rock platforms after two women drowned in Sydney
Superintendent Joe McNulty from the New South Wales marine area command has provided an update on the two women who died yesterday after being swept from the rocks on Sydney’s coast.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, McNulty outlined what occurred yesterday. He said a group of five people had been picnicking at the Botany Bay national park and went for a walk on to the rock shelf.
At that time there was a very low tide, so that rock shelf was very exposed. And when they’re exposed there’s a lot of weed, they’re very slippery, and they’re actually quite a dangerous location to be in, especially so close to the ocean.
McNulty said a large wave knocked three women into the water – two were swept out to sea, while “very luckily” the third was plucked from the water by the remaining two from the group. A police helicopter flew overhead and identified two people in the water, and a police boat responded a short time later, recovering the two women and attempting CPR.
It’s very difficult operation doing CPR over wet people on a moving boat, or moving deck.
The women were brought back to shore where paramedics were waiting, but did not survive. McNulty said it was a “tragic accident” and urged people not to turn their back on the ocean when on “dangerous” rock platforms.
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Credit card gambling ban comes into force
Gamblers are now banned from using their credit cards and digital currency to fund online betting, AAP reports, in a bid to stamp down on problem gambling.
Credit cards linked to digital wallets, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and any other new forms of credit are included in the ban. It brings rules for online betting into line with land‑based gambling regulations.
The industry was given a six-month transition period, with the full ban taking force from today. Companies that don’t comply face fines of up to $234,750.
The federal government is mulling a push to phase out gambling advertising over three years, which was one of 31 recommendations that came out of a parliamentary inquiry on problem gambling.
The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, said the government would have more announcements on gambling prevention in the future:
Australians should not be gambling with money they do not have. This ban builds on the significant progress to minimise gambling harm that the Albanese government has made over the past two years, which is already benefiting thousands of vulnerable Australians.
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Damaging winds expected in Victoria today
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds about south-east Victoria today:
Severe Weather Warning for damaging winds
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) June 10, 2024
For people in parts of Central, East Gippsland, North Central, North East, West and South Gippsland and South West Forecast Districts.
Stay informed: https://t.co/T05ONtwAm3 pic.twitter.com/mw61tXzF86
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‘We have much, much more to do’ on emissions, Bowen says
Moving to the government’s energy policy, host Patricia Karvelas asked whether the government had underestimated how difficult the rollout of renewables would be?
Chris Bowen said the targets set were “clearly ambitious, as they should be, but also achievable.” He said that “a lot of the policies we put in place take time to work [and] we’ve never pretended otherwise” – pointing to the new vehicle efficiency standards as just one example.
Q: In the last two years we haven’t seen the results, right?
Bowen responded:
We have seen some emissions reduction but I agree we have much, much more to do. I’m pleased with what we’ve done in our first two years. I’m not yet satisfied because we have much more to do and we have to stay the course.
Now if you rip up the capacity investment scheme, if you rip up new vehicle efficiency standards, if you say – as the opposition has – we’re going to pause the rollout of renewables so we have time to do nuclear sometime in the 2040s of course, you’re not going to meet targets … you’re not trying to meet targets. And that’s the point: they don’t want to meet the target.
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Chris Bowen says opposition’s climate stance ‘a terrible mess’
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has criticised the opposition’s stance on the Paris agreement, and its general energy policy, as a “terrible mess”.
Bowen just spoke with ABC RN and said:
The opposition has been a mess all weekend. Peter Dutton didn’t just say we wouldn’t meet the target, and of course confirmed under his policy they certainly wouldn’t meet the target with the nuclear fantasy and ripping up the new vehicle efficiency standards and everything else – he actually said he would oppose the target and rip it up…
Since then, [the Coalition has] tried multiple formulations to try and retrofit some sort of coherence. All of those have failed.
Ted O’Brien, on your show yesterday and elsewhere, was implying ‘oh we’ll have a 2030 target but we’ll announce it after the election’. Now that either shows incompetence that they can’t look at what the impact of their policies are, or dishonesty that they know they’ll have terrible impacts, but they just won’t share them with the Australian people before. So this is all a terrible mess.
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Monique Ryan: ‘Young people deserve politicians ready to tackle climate change’
The independent MP for Kooyong, Monique Ryan, has responded to the Coalition’s energy stance in a post to X, stating:
Australia can be a clean energy superpower.
Instead, the Liberals/Nationals want us to abandon climate targets & the Paris Agreement.
Young [people] deserve politicians ready to tackle climate change & the [business] community needs confidence their clean energy investments are worth it.
Australia can be a clean energy superpower.
— Dr Monique Ryan MP (@Mon4Kooyong) June 10, 2024
Instead, the Liberals/Nationals want us to abandon climate targets & the Paris Agreement.
Young ppl deserve politicians ready to tackle climate change & the biz community needs confidence their clean energy investments are worth it.
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Steven Miles says today’s Queensland budget designed to address rising household costs
The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, says the state budget – set to be handed down today – is a “cost of living budget” designed to address household costs, defending the high debt.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, he said:
This projects our debt will remain far far lower that comparable states, particularly NSW and Victoria. And we’ll even be able to confirm today that we’ll finish this year in surplus, even though it was projected to be a deficit.
You’re right, to fund the initiatives we go into deficit next financial year but we return to surplus in years three and four, and that is a reasonable step for a government to take when households are struggling with the cost of living like they are right now.
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'We’re back to the same old climate wars in the Coalition,' Murray Watt says
Murray Watt says the opposition has “started the new climate wars” after Barnaby Joyce and Keith Pitt, two senior Nationals, called for Australia to pull out of the Paris agreement. You can read more on this from Karen Middleton below:
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, Watt said:
We’re back to the same old climate wars in the Coalition. I saw overnight that [Joyce and Pitt] openly called for the Coalition to pull out of the Paris agreement. They’ve spent the last couple of days trying to paper over the cracks in the Coalition, saying that they can withdraw the target without withdrawing from the agreement. Now it’s out there in the open for everyone to see. And you can set your clock by Barnaby Joyce causing new climate wars within the Coalition. It’s seem like we’re back to the bad old days.
He also defended the government’s progress on meeting its climate targets, saying:
We’re on track to get to 42%, which is only 1% short of the 43% target.
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Watt questioned on live sheep exports
Murray Watt was also asked about the ban on live sheep exports – with a committee now to look into this before the legislation goes through.
Is there anything that would change the government’s mind on this, given the pushback from the industry in WA?
Watt responded that the government had promised to phase out live sheep exports at the previous two elections and “we intend to proceed with that policy”.
But it’s important the house of representatives committee “has an opportunity to review the legislation before any vote is taken”, he said.
We need to remember that there are massive opportunities for Western Australia and the country as a whole to increase the onshore processing of sheep. At the same time that we’ve seen live sheep exports plummet over the last 20 years, we’ve seen massive booms in the amount of sheep meat that we’re exporting right around the world, as well as domestic consumption. And that’s where the value-adding will be in the future. That’s where the jobs will be in the future and that’s what we want to deliver to Western Australia.
Here is more from the government’s initial announcement to phase out live sheep exports, from last March:
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Australia's egg supply not impacted by bird flu, agriculture minister says
Agriculture minister Murray Watt says Australia’s egg supply is not at risk from bird flu.
Speaking on ABC News Breakfast just earlier, Watt said:
I know that there was a little bit of alarm yesterday prompted by Coles making a pre-emptive decision to limit egg sales to two cartons per customer. Obviously, many other retailers have not followed suit. So people are able to shop around if they do need to buy more than two dozen.
He said there were five poultry farms in Victoria infected with a particular strain of avian flu – but not the “highly dangerous strain … that we have seen circulating in other parts of the world”.
But the bottom line is that every day, Australia produces 18m eggs every day and there’s no risk to that supply stopping any time soon …
Of course, when you have this kind of an outbreak, there is always the possibility that it becomes bigger. But what I’ve seen and observed and spoken with the Victorian minister about is that the Victorian government has done a fantastic job in getting on the front foot early to limit the spread of this disease.
Our rural and regional editor Calla Wahlquist has more on this below:
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Grants for homes ‘save billions on big energy projects’
Each household should be offered up to $6,500 to install grid-connected solar batteries and landlords should be incentivised to join the renewable energy revolution, a report has found.
As AAP reports, the Clean Energy Council made the recommendations in a study released today that investigates the impact solar panels, home batteries and other consumer assets could have on Australia’s electricity market.
The report, which includes modelling from Oakley Greenwood, also found failing to adequately support household renewable energy investments could cost the nation more than $22bn and 18,200 extra jobs by 2050.
The council’s Powering Homes, Empowering People report examined how consumer energy resources could reduce costs in the electricity system.
It found that supporting households to take up renewable energy generation and storage devices, at the rate recommended by the Australian Energy Market Operator, would save $20bn otherwise spent on large-scale projects and more than $2bn on network infrastructure.
The report also found reaching the market operator’s consumer energy resources target would lead to 3.6m more homes installing solar batteries, save all electricity users between $35 to $71 a year, and create thousands more jobs in manufacturing, installation and maintenance.
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Good morning
Emily Wind here, signing on for blogging duty. Many thanks to Martin for kicking things off! I’ll be bringing you our rolling coverage throughout the day.
See something that needs attention on the blog? You can reach out via X, @emilywindwrites, or send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.
Let’s go.
Man shot as seven masked men force entry into Sydney home
A man has been shot during a home invasion in Sydney’s south-west by seven masked men.
NSW police said that about 12.45am this morning emergency services responded to reports of a man being shot in a house in Carnes Hill.
NSW Ambulance paramedics treated a 25-year-old man for a gunshot wound to the right leg. He was taken to Liverpool hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Officers from Liverpool police area command were told that seven men wearing face coverings had forced entry into the premises.
The men were confronted by the 25-year-old man – a resident of the home – before he was shot twice.
Petrol was then poured through the home – but not ignited – before the men left in two separate vehicles.
Shotgun damage was sustained to a vehicle parked in the driveway of the home.
A crime scene has been established as investigations begin. Police said they believe it was a targeted attack and have appealed for anyone with information to contact them.
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Palestinian footballers 'want to bring joy' to their people
Palestine’s football side is refusing to be distracted from their World Cup qualifier against the Socceroos this evening.
Already dealing with the shadow cast by the Israel-Gaza war, another diversion was thrust upon the squad on Saturday when 7 News reported that Palestine Football Association president Jibril Rajoub had been denied entry into Perth over a “technicality” in his visa application.
Prime minister Antony Albanese distanced himself from the decision on Monday, saying:
These decisions are made at arm’s length by the bodies, by the immigration department.
In their official pre-match press conference on Monday, the team was steadfast in their desire to keep their focus on their efforts to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and bring “joy” to the Palestinian people.
Midfielder Mohammed Rashid said:
“The things that are happening always have [happened]. Even if there was no war, there are certain things that happen around each player’s houses or families around Palestine that affect [them].
What’s happening right now it’s affecting all of us. Because it’s really hard to see... when you see any innocent person get hurt for no reason, you can’t you can’t help but get affected by it.
But when it comes to football, you try to, at least for the game, just get your head out of it and on your performance. Because if you’re performing well, you’re doing what you know your country deserves.
Read a full report on the buildup:
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‘Trump is a bully’
Malcolm Turnbull also spoke about how Australian leaders might deal with the “very different world” posed by a second presidential term of Donald Trump.
Speaking about his own experiences of dealing with Trump, Turnbull recalled the “big row … quite a heated one in fact” they had over the refugee resettlement deal he had made with Barack Obama.
He told ABC 7.30’s Laura Tingle on Monday:
Trump is a bully, obviously, a big domineering personality. And, most people’s instinct dealing with him is to suck up to him and be deferential and tell him what he wants to hear.
The only thing you get from a bully, if you give into them, is more bullying.
I had a very good relationship with Trump even though we’re very different politics … because I stood up to him, and he respected me for it.
Should Trump be elected, he said:
We will be dealing with a very different America … We have to deal with the hand of cards that we are dealt.
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Turnbull sounds warning over nuclear energy plan
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has taken aim at Liberal leader Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy policy, warning that it may alienate those whose votes were lost in 2022.
He told the ABC on Monday evening:
The cheapest form of new generation is solar. Renewables are not more expensive and this is the problem Peter Dutton has because he is out there saying renewables are more expensive and they’re putting prices up.
A second term of Donald Trump in the White House would not be good for the climate globally, while Australia’s rejection of the 2030 climate targets under Dutton would be a “big negative” for investment into renewables, Turnbull said on 7.30.
We need to maintain that continued momentum. The curious thing from an election point of view is why Dutton is doing it.
Because you know nuclear power is not going to deliver cheaper electricity, that’s perfectly clear, and is not going to deliver electricity any time soon. It will take decades to establish nuclear power plants and we don’t have an abundance of time.
And so it seems to me. and many other people in the Liberal party, that it’s an approach that’s going to further alienate the very people whose votes were lost in 2022. And I don’t see how it’s going to assist Peter Dutton in winning government.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be bringing you the top stories before my colleague Emily Wind comes along to take the controls.
Australia’s commitment to global climate goals is once again being questioned by the Coalition’s leadership and MPs. Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and Morrison cabinet colleague Keith Pitt have called for the Coalition to abandon the Paris global climate change agreement and related emissions reduction targets, claiming politicians risked getting “voted out” by backing the targets. The prime minister Anthony Albanese has accused Peter Dutton of walking away from climate action.
And it’s not just the current prime minister. Malcolm Turnbull told the ABC’s 7.30 last night that Dutton’s advocacy of nuclear power risks alienating the same voters who deserted the Coalition in 2022 and allowed independents to steal normally traditional conservative inner-city seats. Turnbull, who was ousted from the Lodge in large part thanks to Dutton, said nuclear power was too expensive and he could not see how it would help the opposition win power. Business leaders, meanwhile, have urged the Coalition not to go back to the “climate wars”, according to today’s Fin Review.
Palestine’s footballers have tried to brush off controversy before their World Cup qualifier in Perth against the Socceroos tonight by downplaying reports that the president of their FA was denied entry to Australia because of “technical” visa issue. With emotions running high in Australia about the Israel-Gaza war, the team’s midfielder Mohammed Rashid said the players just wanted to “bring joy” to people back home. More coming up.
As the Queensland government presents its budget today, the focus is on cost-of-living help. But we have an exclusive story that the Miles government will also pour $56m into establishing a forensic examination service for victims of sexual violence in public hospitals across the state. It comes after the Guardian reported last October that an alleged teenage rape victim was made to wait three hours for care because her treating doctor had no training in the field. More coming up on the Queensland budget and what to look out for.
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