What we learned, Friday 26 August
And that’s where we’ll leave you on this Friday afternoon. Here’s just some of what happened today:
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced the appointment of Virginia Bell AC to lead the inquiry into former PM Scott Morrison’s secret ministries. She will give her report by 25 November.
Former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro was charged with alleged assault and malicious damage relating to a scuffle with a cameraman earlier this year.
The PM, and the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, announced a federal biodiversity certification and trading scheme, like carbon credits, for landholders who restore or manage habitat.
Albanese committed to $75m in post-disaster resilience funding for all 62 local government areas affected by the February-March floods.
Queensland’s resources minister, Scott Stewart, approved the expansion of a mothballed open-cut coalmine on the prime agricultural land of the Darling Downs.
The employment minister, Tony Burke, reaffirmed that Labor will empower the Fair Work Commission to order minimum conditions for gig workers.
The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, met with her state and territory counterparts to address the gap in living standards between Indigenous people and the rest of the country.
A massive haul of the drug ice, with an estimated street value of $1.6bn, has been seized in NSW in the largest discovery of its kind in Australia.
Our weekend bloggers will keep you updated with your news fix over the next couple of days. Look after yourselves.
Updated
The greatest pitfall for Labor in Morrison inquiry could be distraction – analysis
Anthony Albanese has called a snap inquiry into Scott Morrison’s secret multiple ministries, setting up a standoff over whether the former prime minister will or won’t cooperate.
The inquiry will be headed by Justice Virginia Bell, who retired from the high court in February 2021 – one of a conga line of justices to come off the bench and move relatively quickly into a fresh inquisitorial role.
All week Morrison, the Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, and the former PM’s ally Stuart Robert have been preparing the ground to argue that Labor has overreached and the inquiry is nothing but a “witch-hunt” or a get-square against Morrison.
Morrison has said he will cooperate with any “genuine” inquiry, which he claims must include the role of Labor premiers during the pandemic.
Dutton and Robert have pointed to the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, calling for a “severe, political consequence” for Morrison as evidence of partisan motives.
On Friday, Albanese and the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, claimed Bell’s credentials proved the inquiry would be both serious and at arm’s length. The terms of reference are modest and sensible, they said.
There are still genuine questions to be answered. Here are some of them:
Updated
