What we learned: Wednesday 20 July
With that, we will wrap up the blog for the evening. Here are today’s major developments:
- Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro said “this is the job for when I get the fuck out of this place” inquiry heard. Barilaro denied the claims, calling them “fictitious”.
- The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has accepted all the recommendations from state integrity agency’s report into Labor’s branch stacking scandal, apologising and taking “full responsibility” for the conduct.
- The NSW Icac has found Drummoyne MP John Sidoti engaged in “serious corrupt conduct”. Sidoti has vowed to fight the findings, as the premier, Dominic Perrottet, called on him to resign.
- The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, announced the terms of reference of a review of the Reserve Bank of Australia, which will include examining whether changes are needed to the bank’s inflation targets.
- Viral fragments of foot and mouth disease and African swine fever have been detected in pork products at a Melbourne retailer.
- The PM said the chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, did not recommend mask mandates to him.
- The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, said the government has begun prioritising offshore visas.
- The Reserve Bank governor, Phil Lowe, said inflation has increased again in the three months since March.
- The new US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy – the daughter of John F Kennedy – will arrive on Friday.
- Three children have died after a house fire in Port Hedland in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
- There were 90 Covid deaths today across the country.
Updated
Sidoti: ‘I will continue to fight to clear my name’
Former Liberal minister John Sidoti has vowed to fight the Independent Commission Against Corruption finding that he engaged in “serious corrupt conduct”.
In a statement released shortly after 5pm, the independent Drummoyne MP raised issue with the watchdog’s methods and said the report released on Wednesday included errors.
He rejected the findings and has told his lawyers to lodge an application in the supreme court.
He said:
ICAC took complaints from a non-government majority upper house committee, they interviewed disgruntled Liberal Party members and interrogated my family to arrive at the conclusion that, as the elected local member I engaged with my local Liberal councillors, having robust communications for the sake of the community is corrupt.
Icac did not interview the people at crucial meetings to support what I had stated. They failed to chase down exculpatory evidence. This report has a number of unfounded inferences, errors and assumptions, and its findings are completely rejected.
The only positive for myself and my family is that the ICAC part of this saga is over. I will continue to fight to clear my name and have instructed my lawyers to lodge an application in the Supreme Court.
The commission found Sidoti had used his official role as a member of parliament to try to “improperly influence” Liberal City of Canada Bay councillors in relation to properties in Five Dock between late 2013 and early 2017.
Updated
Pauline Hanson on Sky News, complaining Labor hasn't shown her the 43% climate legislation, wonders if she's "too far right" for them
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) July 20, 2022
[literally 10 seconds later]
says linking Australia emissions to natural disasters is "bunkum", claims CSIRO never linked C02 to climate change
Fuel excise will return despite cost-of-living pressures, Bill Shorten says
The government services minister, Bill Shorten, has warned the government still intends on reintroducing the fuel excise, despite the ongoing rise in cost of living pressures.
Speaking to Sky News, Shorten laid some of the blame on the previous government as well:
We’re not going to be able to just indefinitely spend money on the fuel excise, but it is a tough issue. Families are doing it hard.
I wish when it comes to things like energy prices that the previous government had not been asleep for 10 years.
Our childcare measures are going to help families battling with those costs, and we’ve seen our support for a modest increase in the wage system, so Labor’s got some measures to help the cost of living, but fuel excise is horrendously expensive for taxpayers.
Updated
Opposition leader @ChrisMinnsMP told @2GB873 Sidoti should resign and Labor would support a motion to suspend him if he did not.
— Tamsin Rose (@tamsinroses) July 20, 2022
"It’s hard to see how Mr Sidoti could be that effective voice in the NSW parliament with such a big finding up against him."
Zoe Daniel says Ibac shows need for effective federal anti-corruption commission
The independent MP for the Melbourne seat of Goldstein and member of the teal wave, Zoe Daniels, says today’s Ibac findings have “exposed flaws” in Victoria’s anti-corruption legislation.
Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Daniels says it is a good time to emphasise the importance of a federal anti-corruption commission that can be effective:
I think this has exposed there are flaws in Victorian legislation. As you’ll see, the recommendations go to closing those loopholes.
So, for example, the electorate office staff being used, campaign staff or pseudo branch stackers, so therefore not working for the public, working for the politician or for the party. So I think what it does is it sheds light on flaws in that legislation.
And we are I think in the fortunate position as we pull together this model for a federal integrity commission that we can have a lock at what the state models are delivering, where the gaps are in order to make sure the federal commission has the teeth it needs.
I think the commission has a very specific role and the commission’s role is to find facts, expose and publish those facts, and then as needed refer those to the likes of the DPP. So the commission is never going to be in a position to enact a penalty on someone. That’s not the role of the commission. The commission is to find those facts and to refer them on.
But I think what we need with the commission that we’re pulling together is the capacity for the commission to refer these kind of cases to the Department of Public Prosecutions for example.
So I think the next step – and the federal provisions around the use of electorate office staff are stricter than those in Victoria – but I think the next step is to take a look at those and make sure those loopholes don’t exist federally.
Updated
Paul Kelly urges mask wearing, but stops short of backing mandates
So, potential mask mandates have been in discussion all day, and a key question has been whether or not a mandate is currently necessary, especially in light of the repeated insistence of their importance.
Australia’s chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, who urged people to wear masks indoors yesterday, was in discussion with RN Breakfast’s Patricia Karvelas about his recommendations:
Karvelas: Why are you reluctant to introduce mandates, and is it still in your back pocket as an option?
Kelly: I’m not the person who introduces mandates ...
Karvelas: Recommends. I should say recommends, then.
Kelly: I think the important thing here is these are difficult times and difficult decisions need to be made. But I’m going to have to leave that to the decision-makers to make those decisions.
Karvelas: OK. Let me ask then ... have you recommended mask mandates?
Kelly: I have recommended that we need to increase mask use ... we need to look at ways to increase mask use within the community. And we have left it there for others to consider the pros and cons of how to do that. That’s really a matter for others.
Karvelas: Why haven’t you made that recommendation stronger?
Kelly: The firm recommendation is increased mask use. And I’ll leave it there, I think.
Karvelas: Is it your view that mandates just don’t work any more?
Kelly: Mandates are contentious, as we know. And as I’ve said, I’m not going to talk to mandates. But my view is mask use should increase.
Updated
Dominic Perrottet calls on John Sidoti to resign from NSW parliament
The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, is calling on the former Liberal minister John Sidoti to resign from state parliament after he was found to have engaged in “serious corrupt conduct” by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Perrottet says he will seek to remove the independent Drummoyne MP if he does not resign.
He says:
I have contacted Mr Sidoti to inform him that I believe he should resign from the parliament. Should Mr Sidoti not resign, the NSW government will move a motion to have him suspended. The NSW government has also sought legal advice in relation to this matter. There is no place for corruption in the NSW parliament.
The commission found Sidoti had used his official role as a member of parliament to try to “improperly influence” Liberal City of Canada Bay councillors in relation to properties in Five Dock between late 2013 and early 2017.
The anti-corruption watchdog also recommended that the Director of Public Prosecutions consider whether the MP should be charged with misconduct in public office.
According to Nine News, Sidoti has said he will not resign from parliament and will would appeal the corruption findings in the Supreme Court.
He said:
I am going to fight this all the way, I’m not going anywhere.
EXCLUSIVE: John Sidoti tells @9NewsSyd “I am going to fight this all the way, I’m not going anywhere.” Vows to appeal corruption finding in the Supreme Court and says he will reject Premier @Dom_Perrottet request for him to resign from parliament. pic.twitter.com/fXhLjC7CsW
— Chris O'Keefe (@cokeefe9) July 20, 2022
Updated
Australia needs urgent renewable energy upgrade, Plibersek says
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, made waves with her National Press Club address yesterday, and today was backing it up with a series of media appearances.
Speaking to the Today show earlier this morning, Plibersek warned that Australia urgently needed to upgrade its renewable energy systems, adding that the nation was “not far enough down the road on renewables”:
The report says the state of the Australian environment is bad and it’s getting worse.
Across our land, sea and waterways, things are going backwards in most areas. We’ve lost more mammal species than any continent on earth.
It is a really tough challenge to restore and protect Australia’s environment. But if we don’t turn this around, if we stay on this trajectory, our planet will be worse for our kids.
We’re not far enough down the road on renewables.
It needs to be easier to get that power from the solar farm or the windfarm into the National Energy Grid, but we also need to increase storage.
It doesn’t always rain but we always have water on hand because we’ve got dams, we’ve got storage. We need to do the same with renewable energy.
Updated
AMA chief urges people to wear masks to ease strain on hospitals
Earlier today, Australian Medical Association president Dr Omar Khorshid was on the Today Show, and said people should “do the right thing by masking up.”
Dr Khorshid said it was important people heed the warnings, before authorities consider re-implementing mandates:
What we have is yet another Covid crisis before us with over 5000 of our hospital beds taken up by people with Covid, thousands upon thousands of healthcare workers unable to attend work because they’ve got Covid. And what that means is people who need hospital care simply cannot access the care they need.
So we’ve got a choice as a community. We can either do the right thing and try to protect those hospitals, keep the resources available for the Australians who need it, or ignore it until our chief health officers have got no choice but to bring back mandates.
So we all need to take a little bit of the bitter pill [and] do the right thing. That means getting your vaccines. Even though they’re not the complete solution, they’re part of it. It means if you have the slightest cold or flu systems to test yourself, and report those results to the government in the way you’re supposed to and not to be out and about.
We are not at this stage calling for mandates. But if we get to that point, and it may well be that that is coming, and if people are not doing the right thing, there may be no choice but for the government to step up to ask us to do the right thing by masking up.
Updated
ACTU calls for employers to provide N95 masks for indoor workers amid Covid surge
Sally McManus, secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, has tweeted that the union is calling for all employers to implement work from home if possible, and to provide N95 masks for indoor workers.
McManus said the union is also calling for ventilation and air purification indoors as well as fully paid sick leave for all workers isolating, saying these measures are necessary until this current wave of Covid infections “recedes.”
The ACTU Executive today heard from health care unions on the crisis in our hospitals with surging Covid and the extreme pressure & burnout workers are experiencing. They asked for solidarity from all unions to reduce the spread to relieve the pressure on them 1/2
— Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) July 20, 2022
Employers have a legal obligation to keep workers & workplaces safe. In light of all of this we are calling for until the wave recedes:
— Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) July 20, 2022
- WFH for all who can
- N95 masks for indoor workers
- ventilation & air purification indoors
- full paid sick leave for all isolating 2/2
Updated
Greens hope to 'improve and pass' government’s climate bill
The Greens have declared their preference is to “improve and pass” the government’s climate bill in the Senate, after a party room meeting in Brisbane this afternoon.
At this stage, there is no agreement on whether to block or pass the bill if it remains unamended, but MPs and senators have signed off on a commitment to “enter formal negotiations” with the government in an attempt to try to improve it.
Greens leader Adam Bandt says this week’s damning State of the Environment report gives the government justification to do more, and the party’s preference is to work with the government to strengthen the legislation.
“Our preference is to improve and pass this bill, but the government must come to the table,” Bandt said.
Similar to the concerns raised by independent MPs on the crossbench, the party is concerned about the adequacy of the target, the need for a ratchet mechanism, the 43% being a “floor not a ceiling” and the potential for new coal and gas projects to lift pollution.
“The Greens will begin formal negotiations with the government on its climate bill, but we’re concerned that the government’s desire to open new coal and gas mines will make the climate crisis worse,” Bandt said.
Europe is burning and Australia’s environment is collapsing, but the government wants to open new coal and gas mines. You don’t put the fire out while pouring petrol on it.
Updated
The Greens have announced they have begun “formal negotiations” on Labor’s climate bill.
In a statement, the party says they have met and had their first discussion regarding the government’s Climate Change Bill, as well as announcing they have “empowered” leaders Adam Bandt to enter negotiations on the bill.
They say their areas of concern remain the “adequacy of the target”, as well as needs for targets to be increased over time and for the bill to operate as “a floor not a ceiling.”
As well as the weak target that means more fires and floods, the Greens are concerned that the bill as drafted is a barrier to government lifting the weak 43% targets, isn’t ‘Dutton-proof’ against a future government that wants to lower the targets, doesn’t require government to actually do anything to cut pollution and allows more coal and gas.
We will engage in good faith negotiations with the government, and we hope the government will drop its insistence on having a weak target and opening more coal and gas.
Updated
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been busy today, announcing a review into the RBA and appearing in the media, although I wanted to zero in on one particular line.
Chalmers was asked about highly indebted households on RN Breakfast this morning, and to what extent they will be able to withstand any further interest rate rises.
Chalmers did not give much positivity in his answer:
It’s a mixed bag.
It depends how marginal you are in your home loan. It depends on your wages. It depends on your other financial circumstances. Certainly, some people have been able to build a buffer in their mortgages [during the pandemic]. But not everybody.
So these rate rises, which are designed to take some of the pace out of the economy, they will do that. That will impact on some people harder than others.
These interest rate rises are very difficult for people to accomodate in their household budgets at the same time [that] they’re dealing with the skyrocketing costs of petrol and groceries and electricity and other essentials.
So I don’t underestimate the impact these rate rises are having.
Updated
Thanks Natasha, and good afternoon all, its been a busy day with much to come, so let’s dive in.
I just shared Mostafa Rachwani’s story on the wild weather expected in NSW and Queensland, and now I am handing you over to the man himself who will be with you on the blog into the evening.
Fears of coastal erosion in NSW and Queensland
More wild weather is on the way for parts of Queensland and northern New South Wales, with heavy rain, damaging winds and hazardous surf bringing the risk of coastal erosion.
It comes as a cold snap grips south-east Australia, driving temperatures down and bringing with it widespread frost.
The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted damaging wind, huge swells and heavy rain along the stretch of the southern Queensland coast from Wednesday and northern NSW from Friday.
Updated
Foot and mouth disease fragments detected in meat imports to Australia
Viral fragments of foot and mouth disease and African swine fever have been detected in pork products at a Melbourne retailer, AAP reports.
Australia remains free of the diseases as the live virus was not detected, but agriculture minister Murray Watt reiterated the importance of biosecurity measures.
The products, believed to be imported from China, were detected in the Melbourne CBD as part of routine surveillance and have been seized.
It’s the first time viral fragments have been detected in a retail setting, Senator Watt said. He told reporters in Brisbane:
This is not the first time in Australian history that we have picked up foot and mouth disease viral fragments in meat products - it’s happened a number of other times in airport settings.
I want to assure people that our systems have worked, we have monitored this, we have undertaken surveillance operations and these products have been found, tested and now seized.
Further investigations about how the products entered Australia was being taken and it was likely prosecutions would occur, Senator Watt said.
Updated
SA rocket missions approved for launch
Two sub-orbital rockets will be launched from South Australia after federal government approval for the missions, AAP reports.
Rocket manufacturer ATSpace and spaceport provider Southern Launch will launch the Kestrel I rockets from the Whalers Way complex on Eyre Peninsula in coming months.
The VS02 and VS03 missions will fly the experimental rockets along sub-orbital trajectories to test their design under different operating conditions.
On the ground, the collection of rocket noise data during lift-off will also contribute valuable knowledge for the future operation of the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex.
Southern Launch chief executive Lloyd Damp said the missions would provide significant data to be used to inform best practice during future launch campaigns and the development of South Australia’s space industry. He said:
Southern Launch is committed to advancing a sustainable local space launch industry in Australia,” he said.
This industry will create new high-paying, skilled jobs for regional and rural Australians and in doing so, will advance Australia’s science and technology capabilities.”
Updated
National Covid summary: 90 deaths reported
Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 90 deaths from Covid-19:
ACT
- Deaths: 0
- Cases: 961
- In hospital: 160 (with 4 people in ICU)
NSW
- Deaths: 20
- Cases: 15,352
- In hospital: 2,236 (with 63 people in ICU)
Northern Territory
- Deaths: 0
- Cases: 642
- In hospital: 68 (with 1 person in ICU)
Queensland
- Deaths: 15
- Cases: 9,650
- In hospital: 1,034 (with 21 people in ICU)
South Australia
- Deaths: 22
- Cases: 4,774
- In hospital: 323 (with 11 people in ICU)
Tasmania
- Deaths: 3
- Cases: 1,586
- In hospital: 49 (with 2 people in ICU)
Victoria
- Deaths: 28
- Cases: 12,984
- In hospital: 906 (with 45 people in ICU)
Western Australia
- Deaths: 2
- Cases: 7,901
- In hospital: 457 (with 22 people in ICU)
Icac finds Sidoti engaged in “serious corrupt conduct”
Former New South Wales Liberal minister John Sidoti has been found to have engaged in “serious corrupt conduct” by the state’s Independent Commission Against Corruption.
The findings were made public on Wednesday afternoon after an almost three-year investigation into the independent Drummoyne MP’s conduct.
The commission found Sidoti had used his official role as a member of parliament to try and “improperly influence” City of Canada Bay councillors in relation to properties in Five Dock that would benefit his family.
The report read:
The Commission found that Mr Sidoti engaged in serious corrupt conduct by, between approximately late 2013 and February 2017, engaging in a protracted course of conduct, involving the use of his official position as a member of Parliament and the local member for Drummoyne, to try to improperly influence CCBC Liberal councillors, Helen McCaffrey, Mirjana Cestar and Tanveer Ahmed, to adopt and advance certain positions in relation to the Five Dock town centre that would benefit his family’s property interests in the area.
Despite his representations that he was acting at all times in the interests of his constituents, in particular, the business community and landowners in the Waterview Street block, the outcomes that he wanted those councillors to deliver were entirely directed to his private interest in increasing the development potential of his family’s growing number of properties in and around the Five Dock town centre.
Icac said it would seek the advice of the director of public prosecutions on whether criminal charges should be pursued.
The commission also made 15 recommendations in the report including changes to the way members of parliament are trained about the improper exercise of power and undue influence, in line with findings made in the investigation.
Updated
“We no longer hold out hope”: search for missing fishers ends
Police have concluded a search and rescue operation for three fishers who have been missing off waters in Far North Queensland since Sunday.
In a statement Queensland Police say they searched more than 3,000 square kilometres in the first day increasing daily, over surface, air and land.
Following the rescue of a fourth member of the group, found floating in waters off North Barnard Island Group on Monday July 11, all subsequent efforts have failed to locate his three companions, debris or items of investigative value following the failure of the stricken vessel’s outboard motor and capsize.
Acting Inspector Cassowary Coast Patrol Group, Brett Jenkins said the outcome was heartbreaking for the families of the missing men, the rescued man, the community and search party.
Regrettably, despite the best efforts of all members of the search and rescue team, whose dedication was nothing short of commendable, we have been unable to locate the men.
Tragically, while we no longer hold out hope for a positive outcome, I ask the community to be vigilant, boaties in particular, who are asked to report any debris or information to police.
Jenkins urged people to be prepared and alert to conditions.
Before you set out, ensure you tell a responsible person about your itinerary to raise the alarm early if you come into trouble.
Always take an EPIRB—and ensure all parties know where it’s located and how to activate it, the earlier the better if need be. And always, always don your life jacket at sea.
Regrettably, police have concluded search operations for three fishermen off waters in Far North Queensland. 🔗https://t.co/gcRoGqZbQA
— Queensland Police (@QldPolice) July 20, 2022
Updated
Daniel Andrews says mask mandates won't return despite surge in Covid cases
After lengthy questioning (nearly an hour) about the Ibac report, the Victorian premier is now fronting questions about the surge in Covid-19 cases and mask mandates.
Andrews says that after the National Cabinet meeting this past weekend, Australians will not see mask mandates return.
If you are asking me, is it my view that these rules are going to change? No, they have only just been made and I would also make the point to you that the National Cabinet on Saturday and, again I’m not here to comment for other premiers, but I think it is fair to say, from a conversation that went around the room, you’re not going to see mask mandates around the country, but you will see consistent advice from government that it is strongly recommended that people wear masks inside, people act on their symptoms, get tested, isolate.
He also said there is “unity” around wanting to reduce the isolation period down from seven days but “right now it is not the time to do it.”
Updated
Somyurek expresses relief and anger, Albanese confidence for Victorian Labor going forward
The Andrews press conference is still happening, with the premier continuing to face questions and criticisms in the face of what the state integrity agency’s findings have revealed of the Victorian Labor party.
Andrews has apologised and taken responsibility for the findings. These are some of the other reactions that have come through to IBAC findings.
The former Labor MP Adem Somyurek said:
On the one level, I’m happy. I’m relieved. I feel exonerated. I feel some good emotions on the one side because I’m finally getting my life back. But on the other side, I’m very angry.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese said:
What we have is a different set of rules and structures, different personnel in place, as a result of the need to ensure that people could have confidence in the Victorian Labor party going forward. I have that confidence and I note that the Australian people, in particular people in Victoria, expressed that confidence by electing additional Labor members to the federal parliament.
with AAP
Updated
Homicide squad and forensic field officer teams on their way to Port Hedland
Earlier this morning we shared the horrific news that three young children died in a house fire in the Pilbara town of Port Hedland.
WA Police held a press conference earlier today where acting deputy commissioner Allan Adams said:
Police will continue an investigation into the tragic deaths of what is believed to be three children after a house fire in Port Hedland.
The bodies of the three children were located during the firefighting operation.
Local police and detectives were at the scene yesterday.
A homicide squad and our forensic field officer teams are on their way to Port Hedland as we speak.
The mother of the believed to be deceased children is assisting police with their investigations in Port Hedland.
This tragedy will have a profound effect in the Port Hedland area, the family and extended family, and across the state.
Whenever we see these types of incidents occur they resonate through every West Australian.
Icac finds John Sidoti engaged in 'serious corrupt conduct'
Jumping back to NSW state politics, Icac has found Drummoyne MP John Sidoti engaged in “serious corrupt conduct”.
The Icac has found Drummoyne MP John Sidoti engaged in "serious corrupt conduct". It's been more than two-and-a-half years since he stood aside as a minister in Gladys Berejiklian's government as a result of the investigation. He now sits on the cross-bench. pic.twitter.com/e80DyIditN
— Michael McGowan (@mmcgowan) July 20, 2022
Updated
Behaviour was “unprecedented” premier says
Daniel Andrews is asked if he regrets not having acted in the decades he has been in parliament.
I am not looking backwards. What I will say is this, the truly shocking and unprecedented nature of what was going on is noted and the scale of this, the unique nature of this is noted by the agency today in the report.
It became known to us at about nine o’clock on Sunday night. By nine o’clock Monday morning, I had sacked a minister and set about an extreme intervention, and unprecedented intervention by a national party to essentially take over the Victorian party.
We did not wait because there was no time to wait, Jenny Macklin and Steve Bracks have worked hard to put down recommendations and have faithfully delivered on all of those. There is more work to be done, of course, and this report calls on us to do that, but also to just have this is a function of the rules of the party.
Updated
Victoria committing to “the largest overhaul of the integrity system in the country” attorney general says
The attorney general, Jaclyn Symes, has taken to the mic :
We thank the integrity agency for their important work. We are not shying away from the findings of the report and apologise for the conduct any members of the government have been involved in and committing to the largest overhaul of the integrity system in the country.
Symes says she is confident of bipartisan support in implementing recommendations and will start from today bringing together committees to progress them:
There is a good set of recommendations in the report and 21 will be supported by the government but as a premier has indicated, this is about the whole parliament, Victorian expectations, their representatives, and it is a good starting point, and ethics committee, bipartisan, multiparty membership of the ethics committee which will further develop the recommendations in the report because they go to the function of the Parliament, the function of MP more importantly, and I’m confident of bipartisan support.
As leader of the government in the upper house, it is common practice for me to deal with multi-parties and know this is something many members of Parliament will be interested in.
Updated
Andrews promises to go beyond the 21 recommendations in the report to respond to “disgraceful behaviour”:
To give you some examples, payment of benefits by traceable means, checks and balances to make sure the electoral roll is properly used, production of photo ID when a person joins a political party.
It is not good enough and not enough, you have those as a matter of party rules and they should be the law of the state ... I have indicated this to both the Ombudsman and the Ibac Commissioner but we will go well beyond that by writing that into law.
If a political party did not have processes, practices and plans to deliver all of those things and potentially things like external audits like we have had - the most extensive perhaps in Australian political history - if a political party did not take these seriously and deliver those things and more, than they would not be eligible for public funding. Public funding which of course increased substantially when we made sweeping donation reforms at the end of 2018.
In more general terms, but the report tabled today shows is absolutely disgraceful behaviour. Behaviour that does not meet my expectations or the expectations of hard-working members of the Victorian committee.
Updated
Andrews takes “full responsibility” and apologises
Andrews has said:
As leader of the party and leader of our state I take full responsibility for that conduct. That is what the top job is about and I apologise for it.
Updated
Andrews responds to Ibac findings, accepting all report recommendations
Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is speaking in response to the release of the state’s integrity agency’s report into Labor’s branch stacking scandal.
Andrews says the government will accept all 21 recommendations and “go well beyond” those recommendations in terms of reform.
Updated
ACCC trialling scam website takedown
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is quietly trialling a new service to take down phishing websites, with dozens taken down in the past three weeks.
The phishing sites - where they impersonate businesses in order to steal personal information and banking credentials - were taken down by UK company Netcraft in a trial by the ACCC and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb told a Law Council of Australia event on Tuesday.
The automatic takedown trial is focused on scam websites reported to the ACCC’s Scamwatch site, and to ASIC, and is the same used in the past four years by the UK’s national cyber security centre.
Cass-Gottlieb said:
Over the past three weeks we have submitted more than 300 malicious websites targeting Australians to the service, resulting in dozens of takedowns to date with dozens more pending. Many of these are phishing sites impersonating Australian businesses and government authorities, though others relate to puppy scams, shoe scams, cryptocurrency investment scams and tech support scams.
She said it was one piece of the puzzle in disrupting scam sites, in addition to informing consumers about scams, and getting more organisations to identify and disrupt scams as they arise.
We note Industry Codes are still being developed in many areas, but in any event organisations should already be taking the following steps in relation to phishing scam prevention.
Organisations know when they are a regular target of impersonation by scammers. Organisations should actively monitor for, warn about, and request the removal of websites impersonating their brand. Complaining of a branding or copyright violation to a website hosting provider is fast and easily proven relative to, for example, the ACCC requesting a website’s removal for not delivering goods after customer payment.
She said phishing scams were the most common scams Australians experience, with 32,000 reports in the first half of 2022 alone.
Cass-Gottlieb also took aim at banks for not doing enough to prevent people being taken in by cryptocurrency scams. She noted that one bank in the UK blocks all transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges, and while the ACCC isn’t calling for that, banks should be alert for customers who wouldn’t normally transfer money to such exchanges.
Updated
Federal court hears closing submissions in Mostafa Azimitabar case against federal government
In the federal court, closing submissions are currently underway in the case of refugee Mostafa “Moz” Azimitabar, who is suing the Australian government for unlawfully detaining him in the Park and Mantra hotels in Melbourne for 15 months.
Azimitabar was seriously ill when he was brought to Australia for medical treatment and kept in the hotels in late 2019.
His case alleges that the Australian government had no power to designate the hotels as places of detention. He also alleges the expenditure incurred by the government in setting up the hotels as detention centres was unlawful.
Azimitabar’s barrister Lisa De Ferrari SC on Wednesday morning said the hotels had been used to punish refugees after the Australian government publicly promised that no refugee who came to Australia under the Medevac legislation would be allowed to remain here.
The detainees faced severe restrictions on their movement. Azimitabar was repeatedly pat-searched, spent 23 hours a day locked in his room, and had no fresh air. The government has sought to justify the restrictions, at least in part, by blaming Covid-19.
But De Ferrari said:
There was no Covid-19 in Australia when the Mantra hotel was established as an [alternative place of detention], none. And the history shows that they did establish it because at the time the Medevac legislation had passed and great numbers of people were coming to Australia. The history shows that the commonwealth government was super clear that there was no way absolutely that any person who came to Australia as a medical transferee would ever be allowed to remain in Australia.
And what that meant was that they would be detained, and detained for a very long period of time, because incidentally, like my client ... they were all recognised to be refugees under the scheme that the government chose to put into effect through offshore processing.
So where would you send them? Not back to their country of origin, because that would be refoulement on the part of Australia. So they knew these people would be punished by being kept in these Apods [alternative places of detention] for a very long period of time, and they did that well before Covid-19 and they did that against the evidence that your honour has that the commonwealth had a policy of moving away from detention centres.
The hearing continues.
Updated
Person in custody after three children die in WA fire
A person is in custody after three children died in a house fire in Port Hedland in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, AAP reports.
The bodies of the children, aged 10, seven and five months, were found inside the house by firefighters who responded to the blaze on Anderson Street around 4.45pm on Tuesday.
Premier Mark McGowan said it was a terrible tragedy and a person was in custody:
There is currently a criminal investigation underway as to how the fire started and someone is in custody over that.
Updated
Perrottet denies ever discussing Barilaro taking up a trade commissioner job
The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, has denied ever discussing John Barilaro taking up a New York trade commissioner job when the roles were being devised in 2019.
It follows the explosive submission from Barilaro’s former chief of staff, Mark Connell, that the former deputy premier told him in April 2019 that he wanted the lucrative New York trade job for “when I get the fuck out of this place”.
The alleged conversation took place, Connell said, following a meeting with the then-treasurer, Perrottet, and investment minister and deputy Liberal party leader, Stuart Ayres.
In a short statement just released Perrottet said:
The former deputy premier, minister Ayres and I had numerous discussions in 2019 in relation to the establishment of Global NSW and at no point in any of those discussions was it ever raised that the former deputy premier may want to hold a position as a trade commissioner.
Labor leader, Chris Minns, has called on Perrottet to address the media over the explosive evidence before he flies out on a 10-day trade mission later today.
Barilaro has labelled Connell’s submission as “false” and “fictitious”.
Updated
Milton Dick ‘honoured’ to be endorsed as parliament’s new speaker
In case people missed this late yesterday, Queensland Labor MP Milton Dick has been confirmed as the parliament’s new speaker.
In a statement, Dick said he would accept the government’s nomination as Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 47th Parliament. Dick said:
I am honoured to be endorsed today by the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party.
Out of deep respect for the Office of Speaker I will be consulting with Members from across the House of Representatives, to consult and seek their support.
I will now follow and respect the processes of election to this important role.
Updated
Brrrr, it’s cold down south
There were very chilly conditions for the southern parts of the country this morning, with frost in Tasmania, while parts of Melbourne had the coldest morning in four years.
#Frost more widespread this morning in #Tasmania (the fading white in the valleys). Also about the state is some valley #fog in the south and west, and #snow lingering about the higher peaks from early in the week. https://t.co/sE8cPnCNXP pic.twitter.com/yYjEbYmMOC
— Bureau of Meteorology, Tasmania (@BOM_Tas) July 19, 2022
With settled conditions and clear skies, many parts of #Melbourne saw their coldest morning in 4 years today.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) July 19, 2022
Minimum temperatures <0°C in most parts, with plenty of frost around.🥶
A cool and sunny day ahead, top of 13°C in the city. ☀️
Observations: https://t.co/M58ZA9f0kX pic.twitter.com/vFSwbQ6Er3
Updated
Victorian opposition seizes on Ibac findings
The Victorian opposition has seized on the findings of a joint integrity agency investigation that revealed the widespread misuse of public funds for political purposes and a “catalogue” of unethical behaviour in the state’s Labor Party branch.
The investigation found two former Andrews government ministers breached parliamentary codes of conduct when they misused public funds to fuel a vast branch stacking operation, but there was not enough proof they had committed criminal offences to recommend prosecution.
It found the blatant use of public resources in the moderate Labor faction was extraordinary and shocking. But no evidence of potential misuse of public funds was discovered within other factions.
Opposition leader Matthew Guy said the report showed the Andrews government was “mired in corruption, cover-ups, and political games at the expense of Victorians”.
He said in a statement:
Victoria needs a Premier and a government totally focused on ending the health crisis and supporting communities to recover and rebuild.
Remember this November, Daniel Andrews and Labor are not a party for our state’s future.
Updated
‘We have the strongest possible partnership with Sri Lanka’: home affairs minister
Let’s return to the earlier Radio National interview from home affairs minister Clare O’Neil, who said Australia’s aid to Sri Lanka isn’t just “transactional” to stem potential asylum seeker boat arrivals.
O’Neil said Sri Lanka is one of Australia’s “very dear and old friends”, and warned the country’s food and fuel shortages, and economic crisis, would get “dramatically worse in the months ahead”. The minister visited Sri Lanka, historically a key transit point for asylum seeker boats trying to reach Australia, in mid-June and said she discussed the country’s economic crisis, crime, and people smuggling.
O’Neil said:
This is an area on which we have the strongest possible partnership with Sri Lanka.
Foreign minister Penny Wong announced last month that Australia would give Sri Lanka $50m in development assistance for food and healthcare needs. Asked whether Australia would provide more funding to the country, and whether Sri Lanka’s economic issues may prompt more asylum seeker boats, O’Neil said Australia was in discussions.
We’re continuing to talk to Sri Lanka about how we can support them. You’re making this sound very transactional and it’s genuinely not.
There is a geopolitical context here. Australia is safest in a region of prosperous, functional, strong democracies, of which Sri Lanka was one until very recently, so we have an absolute national interest in helping this country back on its feet.
But O’Neil also sent a stern message to people smugglers, reinforcing that Australia’s Operation Sovereign Borders stance on boat arrivals had not changed.
Don’t get on a boat... you will be sent back.
Everyone gets returned. That’s the Australian government’s policy.
Updated
Queensland reports 15 Covid deaths and 1,034 people in hospital
There were 9,650 new cases in the last reporting period, and 21 people are in intensive care.
Today we have recorded 9,650 new COVID-19 cases.
— Queensland Health (@qldhealth) July 20, 2022
Sadly, we have reported 15 deaths in the past 24 hours.
Full details➡️https://t.co/rKHIwrGADi pic.twitter.com/m97tBKuGbG
Updated
NSW opposition calls for answers after Barilaro’s chief of staff’s claims
The New South Wales opposition has seized on the evidence from John Barilaro’s former chief of staff, calling on premier Dominic Perrottet to front the media to answer questions before he leaves on a 10-day trade mission to Japan, South Korea and India on Wednesday.
NSW Labor leader Chris Minns said the submission from Mark Connell suggested the New York trade job was “created by John Barilaro for him to fill”.
Minns said:
These revelations indicate that that was the plan all along.
I think we all need to have the answer as to how and whether any other cabinet ministers in the NSW government were aware of this scheme and if they were, what steps will the NSW premier take in order to rectify this. At the end of the day this goes to the integrity of the NSW government.
Labor’s leader in the upper house, Penny Sharpe, who sits on the committee probing the appointment, also said she would welcome Barilaro giving evidence. She also said:
[It is] clear that both Mr Ayres and Mr Perrottet are going to have to come before the committee sooner rather than later.
Barilaro, as we told you earlier, has denied Connell’s evidence that he indicated he wanted the job as early as April 2019 as “false” and “fictitious”.
Updated
Albanese says CHO Kelly did not recommend mask mandate to him
Circling back to the Prime Minister’s press conference in Melbourne, where Anthony Albanese was asked about mask mandates.
Q: “Prime minister, did Professor Kelly, the chief health officer, actually recommend mandates to you?”
Albanese responded: “No.”
He was then asked if he is expecting his colleagues to wear masks in Parliament next week.
I’m expecting colleagues to follow the advice which is out there, which is if you can’t socially distance, if you’re around the corridors of Parliament House, then you should follow the advice which is to wear a mask.
The prime minister said chief health officers had spoken about wanting to encourage masks where appropriate.
The rationale is that we listen to the advice from the chief health officers. And what the chief health officers who met last week said was that they wanted to encourage mask wearing where it was appropriate.
And we know that there are some mandates in place. The truth is that if you have mandates, you’ve got to enforce them. And the mandates, like when I spoke to the New South Wales premier last week, he indicated that whilst there are mandates on public transport in New South Wales, not everyone is wearing a mask. So we do want to encourage that behaviour.
People have been incredibly responsible during this pandemic. People have done it tough. People have looked after each other, and I’m confident that they’ll continue to do so.
We’ll continue to take advice from the experts who are the chief health officers.
Updated
Barilaro denies former chief of staff’s claims, calling them ‘fictitious’
Former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro has put out a statement rejecting the explosive submission from his former chief of staff Mark Connell as “fictitious” and “false”.
As we’ve reported, this morning the upper house inquiry into Barilaro’s appointment to a lucrative New York trade job heard bombshell evidence from Connell regarding a conversation between the two that he alleges took place in April 2019.
Connell said the former deputy premier told him: “this is it; this is the job for when I get the fuck out of this place” prior to the jobs being publicly announced.
But Barilaro has dismissed the evidence, and insisted the inquiry should call him as a witness. He said in a statement:
The conversation he has recalled is fictitious, false and only serves as a reminder as to why we had to part ways.
If this inquiry is genuine in its intent to understand the process and the truth by which I was appointed, then surely I would be called up to provide this detail immediately.
The continued drip feed of select information from the inquiry into the public domain goes against all procedural fairness.
Updated
Companies should engage with staff on working-from-home decisions, health minister says
The health minister, Mark Butler, has taken to the mic at that press conference in Melbourne.
Butler is asked what employees should do in a situation where they are able to do their jobs from home but their employers are expressing a preference for them to come into work.
The chief medical officer Paul Kelly yesterday released a statement encouraging employers to consider whether working from home arrangements could be put in place over the coming weeks.
Butler said:
Our view [is it’s] really a case-by-case basis. Employers should be engaging with their employees ... In good practice this should not be a decision employers take unilaterally. They should be engaging with their employees. That is the best approach ... together coming to a view about the extent to which working from home arrangements on a very temporary basis could be put in place.
Updated
Albanese says more than 500,000 people had fourth jab in past week.
The prime minister provided figures on the uptake of antivirals and booster jabs:
As a direct result of the decisions that were made and announced over the past week to make antivirals more available to allow for telehealth consultations to go for longer so that people can get those antivirals prescribed. Some 30,000 additional people have had access to antivirals, bringing that number up to 116,000.
Just as people are out there getting their booster shots in record numbers. More than 500,000 in the last week have had their fourth shot.
Updated
‘Get your booster ... stay at home if you’re sick’: Albanese on Covid
Albanese says there are four key ways to make a difference ... with the spike in Covid cases Australia is going through:
Get your booster.
Get access to antivirals if you’re eligible.
Wear a mask if it’s appropriate.
And stay-at-home if you are sick.
Updated
Albanese says health and economy intertwined in Covid response
Albanese is saying health and economic outcomes are intertwined when it comes to the pandemic response, and it is not a choice between the two. He says the vaccine and antiviral medications are “making a real difference, literally saving lives, but also saving economies as well”.
We know that early on in the outbreak, there was a bit of a debate about whether it was health or the economy. And the truth is, unless you get the health outcomes right, unless you get the science outcomes right, the economic impact would have always been more severe.
The lesson of the pandemic very early on was that you needed to improve health outcomes or else you would not have a choice but to see economic costs imposed as a direct result of the pandemic. Livelihoods lost as well as, of course, lives lost. The work that’s being done here is incredibly important. Anti-viral medicines like the ones being made here at WEHI can alleviate the symptoms when people have the virus.
Updated
Anthony Albanese holds press conference focusing on Covid
Anthony Albanese is speaking in Melbourne at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, where anti-viral medications are made. He says the pandemic has helped to illuminate the impact of science.
If there is anything that has come out of this dreadful pandemic, that at least is a bit of a positive, it’s that there is now such a broad recognition across Australian society that science isn’t something that’s abstract, that produces books and produces papers – it’s something that makes a difference to people’s lives. It literally, as a result of collaborative research, including research done right here in Australia, including at this institute.
Updated
Victoria reports 28 Covid deaths and 906 people in hospital
There were 12,984 new cases in the last reporting period, and 45 people are in intensive care.
We thank everyone who got vaccinated and tested yesterday.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) July 19, 2022
Our thoughts are with those in hospital, and the families of people who have lost their lives.
More data soon: https://t.co/OCCFTAchah#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/TSTsrRmeL6
Updated
RBA governor welcomes review
On the RBA review Jim Chalmers outlined today (and Sarah Martin told you about earlier this morning) Phil Lowe says he welcomes the “health check” and thinks it may be quite helpful:
It’s entirely appropriate for the government to take stock ofAustralia’s monetary policy framework, something we welcome. Other central banks have periodically reviewed their frameworks. We have done it internally, continuously, but I think it’s useful in the public domain as well. We very much welcome it.
Updated
Not enough proof for prosecution, Victorian watchdog says
More from the press conference with the Victorian ombudsman Deborah Glass and the head of the state’s corruption watchdog Robert Redlich in Melbourne about their investigation into allegations of the misuse of public funds and branch stacking in the Victorian Labor party.
The investigation found two former Andrews government ministers breached parliamentary codes of conduct when they misused public funds to fuel a vast branch-stacking operation, but there was not enough proof they had committed criminal offences to recommend prosecution.
Redlich said it was not uncommon for anti-corruption agencies to find no criminal offences could be uncovered but to reveal institutional failings:
I’m not particularly troubled by the conclusion that we’ve reached in relation to the two former ministers ... that we cannot recommend to the director of public prosecutions for a trial to take place.
Updated
You can read that full statement from John Barilaro’s former chief of staff here:
Here's the full bombshell statement from John Barilaro’s former chief of staff, Mark Connell, to the inquiry into the former deputy premier's appointment to a New York trade role. pic.twitter.com/7zFvXK4Tpa
— Josephine Tovey (@Jo_Tovey) July 20, 2022
Updated
Possible the RBA did ‘over-insure’ the economy, governor says
Also interesting in Phil Lowe’s speech was this little mea culpa about whether the RBA’s stimulus during the pandemic (the government bon- buying program) has contributed to what Australians are experiencing now with inflation. In short, did the bank flush too much money into the economy?
Lowe says in hindsight, it’s possible the RBA did “over-insure” the economy. But he says it’s also important to remember the context of the times – how uncertain it was and just how “scary” the social, economic and health scarring was predicted to be.
And in that light, Lowe says the bank reacted to fulfil one of its core principles – to help ensure the welfare of the Australian people. But he also admits that yes, the bank has contributed to inflation:
In our case, we wanted to do what we could to provide insurance for Australians against the potentially catastrophic economic consequences of the pandemic. With the benefit of hindsight, it could be argued that we took out too much insurance. But that is the nature of insurance. If the event you were insuring against occurs, you are very glad you were fully insured. But if that event doesn’t occur, you are left questioning your decision and wondering whether you could have saved some money.
Understandably, judgments will differ as to whether we over-insured or not. But in the highly uncertain environment of the time, the right policy choice was to err on the side of too much insurance, rather than too little insurance. I recognise though that while this approach meant we avoided some damaging long-term scarring, it has contributed to the inflationary pressures we are now experiencing.
Updated
How important is psychology in these economic times? Very
Phil Lowe says the RBA is watching that we don’t talk ourselves into a higher inflationary cycle.
(He’s worried that we all keep worrying prices will increase, which could lead to prices increasing because businesses put up prices thinking their competitors are doing it anyway and people expect to pay more. Then workers’ demand higher wages to cover the price rises and businesses increase prices again.)
Lowe:
As I indicated earlier, an important consideration is how inflation expectations and the general inflation psychology in the community evolve. If inflation expectations shift up and businesses and workers come to expect higher rates of inflation on an ongoing basis, it will be harder to return inflation to target – doing so would require higher interest rates and a sharper slowing in spending. It is in our collective interest that this does not happen.
Updated
Victorian corruption watchdog says state’s integrity model is lagging behind
Robert Redlich said the report highlighted the weaknesses in the Victoria’s parliament’s integrity model, which lagged behind other jurisdictions in Australia:
Trust in our politicians is declining and will decline further if real action is not taken. Such action must be included in the clearest standard, reflected unambiguously in codes of conduct.
Deborah Glass said the case for reform now was “more compelling than ever”.
Redlich said he was confident Victoria’s parliament would give serious considerations to the reform. But he said cultural issues uncovered in the investigation were a matter for the Labor party:
How that is dealt with is a matter for the ALP ... the culture of branch stacking is at least 70 years old ... It’s a longstanding practice and the responsibility for that must lie with leadership.
Updated
Albanese stops short of calling for people to work from home if they can
Anthony Albanese has stopped short of calling for Australians to work from home if they can, as chief medical officer Paul Kelly advised yesterday in the face of the rising Covid wave.
Yesterday Kelly said the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee of experts “called on employers to allow work from home if feasible”. The PM stopped short of endorsing that in a radio interview on Melbourne’s 3AW.
He encouraged people to stay home if they were sick. But, despite repeated questioning about the need for a “clear message” on how Australians should take Covid precautions, Albanese said every workplace was different:
It depends what your work is, of course. For many workplaces, they’ve adjusted to be able to work from home, and that’s becoming more and more something that I think is a permanent feature for some businesses ... but for many people of course it is simply impossible to work from home due to the nature of their work.
Of course, many workers in frontline sectors including healthcare, hospitality and services can’t do their work remotely. But pressed on whether people should work from home if they can, Albanese again demurred:
It depends upon the workplace. Of course I don’t think there’s a prescriptive position that can be put forward but for many people, it’s convenient, they work in occupations whereby they can deliver for their business just as easily working from home ... but I’ve got to get out and about, for example.
Kelly yesterday said that employers should review their occupational health and safety risks and mitigation plans, and “consider the feasibility of some employees working from home, wearing masks in the workplace and support employees to take leave when sick”.
Albanese will give a press conference in Melbourne shortly.
Updated
Phil Lowe says the ‘neutral rate’ is 2.5%
If you’re following the economic news at the moment, you’re going to hear a lot about the “neutral rate”. At RBA deputy governor Michelle Bullock’s speech in Brisbane yesterday, economists were keen to get her views on the neutral rate and how that’s found.
The most basic explanation for the neutral rate (keep in mind I am not an economist or expert, like Peter Hannam or Grogs) is the interest rate which is neither stimulatory nor contractionary. It doesn’t cause any more spending or any less. It just is.
Lowe says the neutral rate is 2.5%.
Updated
Press conference on Victorian Ibac report
The Victorian ombudsman Deborah Glass and the head of the state’s corruption watchdog Robert Redlich are holding a press conference in Melbourne about their investigation into allegations of the misuse of public funds and branch stacking in the Victorian Labor party.
The investigation found that two former Andrews government ministers breached parliamentary codes of conduct when they misused public funds to fuel a vast branch-stacking operation, but there was not enough proof they had committed criminal offences to recommend prosecution.
It found the blatant use of public resources in the moderate Labor faction was extraordinary and shocking. No evidence of potential misuse of public funds was discovered within other factions.
Redlich said the report criticises a legislative framework that provides few consequences for abusing public resources:
While we consider the conduct to be egregious, the difficulties in the state of that law are such that we cannot recommend prosecution.
The report tabled in Victorian parliament today made 21 recommendations, including that the government establish an independent parliamentary integrity commissioner, ban MPs from being able to employ family members in their electorate office, and create an offence that would make it unlawful for ministers to allow a person to perform party political work while employed in a publicly funded role.
Updated
Three children die in Port Hedland house fire
Three children have died after a house fire in Port Hedland in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
Police said the fire, on Anderson Street in Port Hedland, had been reported to emergency services about 4.45pm on Tuesday.
Once it was brought under control, firefighters found the bodies of the children inside the house.
Detectives remained at the scene on Tuesday evening. Specialist investigators from the major crime division and forensics will travel to Port Hedland to continue investigations.
Updated
NSW reports 20 Covid deaths and 2,236 people in hospital
There were 15,352 new cases in the last reporting period, and 63 people are in intensive care.
COVID-19 update – Wednesday 20 July 2022
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 19, 2022
In the 24-hour reporting period to 4pm yesterday:
- 96.8% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
- 95.2% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/POmiHhsLpb
Updated
RBA chief warns of danger of ‘self-reinforcing cycle’ of inflation
The RBA governor has told his Melbourne audience that returning inflation to between 2% and 3% is going to be a bit of a challenge.
Phil Lowe points to the global uncertainty – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting fuel and oil crises and ongoing supply chain issues being chief among them. But he said domestically, there are also some challenges to overcome – such as household demand. Then there is human psychology and how we respond to rising prices (if you ever get a chance, behavioural economics is a fascinating school of thought well worth your time) and how’ll we’ll react to rising interest rates.
So it’s possible to dampen down inflation, Lowe says:
But the path ahead is a narrow one and it is clouded in uncertainty … We are also paying close attention to the general inflation psychology of households and firms. If people setting prices and wages were to believe that higher inflation will persist, they are more likely to push prices and wages up.
This could result in a self-reinforcing cycle: one in which higher inflation leads to firms being more willing to put their prices up and agree to larger wage claims, which then perpetuates the higher rate of inflation, and the cycle repeats itself.
This is what happened in the 1970s and it ended badly. There is little evidence of such a cycle at present and it is important that this remains the case. The RBA is committed to ensuring that the current period of higher inflation is only temporary and it will do what is necessary to bring inflation back to target. It will be harder to do this if the inflation psychology shifts.
The short version of that – we can very easily talk ourselves into higher inflation, simply by constantly talking about inflation.
Updated
Former Victorian Labor ministers engaged in ‘extensive' misconduct, investigation finds
No Victorian Labor MPs will be criminally charged despite an integrity investigation unearthing deliberate, extensive and unethical use of taxpayer resources.
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and the Victorian ombudsman have released their joint report into branch-stacking allegations:
Although the deliberate and extensive use of electorate officers and ministerial advisors for party-political purposes was unethical, and offends right-thinking people’s sense of propriety in the use of public funds, the conduct is not sufficiently clearly captured by any existing statutory provision or the common law offence of misconduct in public office.
The investigation was launched after allegations that the Labor moderate faction powerbroker Adem Somyurek handed over cash and used parliamentary employees to create fake branch members and amass political influence.
The practice is not illegal but is against Labor party rules.
Updated
Former NSW deputy premier said 'this is the job for when I get the fuck out of this place', Barilaro inquiry hears
There has been an explosive submission to the ongoing inquiry into John Barilaro’s appointment to a New York trade role from his former chief of staff, Mark Connell.
I refer to an incident which occurred in April 2019 ... a meeting occurred for the relevant newly appointed ministers responsible for trade and investment.
Mr Barilaro had been appointed the NSW minister for trade, approximately one month earlier, and attended this meeting. Also, in attendance was the then treasurer, the Hon Dom Perrottet and the Hon Stuart Ayres, who was appointed minister for investment.
After this meeting, Mr Barilaro came directly to my office.
He said, ‘I’ve just come from a meeting with Dom and Stuart regarding trade and we’re going to bring back the agent general in London as well as a bunch of other postings around the world.’
He then stated, ‘This is it; this is the job for when I get the fuck out of this place.’
I responded to Mr Barilaro and stated, ‘But, John, the agent general role will be filled well before you retire from this place.’
Mr Barilaro then said, ‘I don’t want to go to London, fuck that – I’m off to New York.’
Barilaro last month withdrew from the position, citing media attention as making the role untenable. He said:
I have always maintained that I followed the process and look forward to the results of the review.
BREAKING: John Barilaro’s former Chief of Staff tells an inquiry that Barilaro told him RE New York trade gig in 2019. “This is the job for when I get the f### out of this place.” @9NewsSyd pic.twitter.com/fdIbM2skVU
— Chris O'Keefe (@cokeefe9) July 19, 2022
Updated
Inflation has increased again in the three months since March, RBA governor says
Morning, everyone! The Reserve Bank governor Phil Lowe is addressing the Australian newspaper’s strategic business forum in Melbourne this morning, where inflation is the word of the hour.
Unsurprisingly, Lowe expects next week’s quarterly update will show inflation increased again in the three months since March. You don’t need to be a governor of a central bank to predict that (or a high school economics student – hi, Ms Driver!) – anyone who has had to put petrol in their car or buy groceries or pay a power bill knows the cost of living has increased.
Lowe’s inflation comfort point is between 2% and 3 %. Australia is at 5.1% and increasing. The bank chief says his job is now to help guide Australia back to the comfort zone, while not impacting employment:
The policy challenge for the RBA is to return inflation to the 2 to 3% target range while, at the same time, keeping the economy on an even keel. We don’t need to return inflation to target immediately, as we have long had, for good reasons, a flexible medium-term inflation target. But we do need to chart a credible path back to 2 to 3%. We are seeking to do this in a way in which the economy continues to grow and unemployment remains low.
Updated
Inflation will get worse before it gets better, treasurer says
Jim Chalmers is asked if he has any idea of how many people could find themselves behind on payments, and says he has been consulting with the banks and monitoring the situation as interest rates rise:
Some people have had a buffer but that will begin to erode as interest rates get higher, and the Reserve Bank has made it pretty clear, and the private banks are expecting this as well that Australians need to brace for more interest rate rises. We have got this inflation problem – it will get worse before it gets better, but it will get better, it will moderate next year.
One of the things I want to do in the ministerial statement that I will deliver next Thursday, the 28th, and the parliament is to talk about the things we have working for us – the low unemployment rate for example but also that things working against us, and I think the most confronting aspect of the ministerial statement will be our expectations for inflation, and also the impact of rising interest rates on economic growth.
Updated
‘They can’t deal with the whole challenge just by jacking up interest rates’
Asked about what he hopes to learn about the relationship between monetary and fiscal policy from this RBA review, and if “one has been getting it more right in recent times than another”, Jim Chalmers says:
To be fair to central banks around the world, this is a very different type of inflation challenge. We do have strong demand, which is part of the story, and rising interest rates are designed to take some of the sting out of that demand-side pressure.
We have got a lot of supply-side pressures as well. If you think about choked off supply chains, energy and food and security, think about labour shortages. All of these issues on the supply side are making the inflation challenge harder.
Chalmers says it’s the government’s job to focus on supply-side challenges but that central banks can’t can’t deal with the economic challenges only by “jacking up interest rates”:
The job for governments, the responsibility that I accept in the budget before that and after that is to try and deal with some of the supply-side issues. The plan Katy Gallagher and I released is geared precisely at these sets of challenges, about training more Australians, cleaner and cheaper energy, childcare reform so we can get people back to work if they want to do that. It is about investing in infrastructure, particularly digital infrastructure. It is about the sorts of industries that will give us well-paid jobs in the future.
All of that is on the supply side, and that is our job, so to be fair to central banks around the world and Australia, you know, they are dealing with part of this challenge but they can’t deal with the whole challenge just by jacking up interest rates and that’s why we do what we can to influence what we can influence.
Updated
‘We have some big decisions to make next year about the composition of the board’
Jim Chalmers says the RBA review will be handed down in March. He is asked about the timeframe for implementing recommendations on changes to monetary policy and inflation targeting going forward:
The timing of being able to act on the recommendations depends on the nature of the recommendations, whether there is a parliamentary aspect to it, whether it requires a different kind of thinking about the appointments and reappointments that are available to government in the course of 2023. It depends on what the panel comes forward with.
Chalmers says he hopes the timing will line up with being able to inform decisions about the composition of the board next year:
Why I have chosen to go at the near and of a reporting date is because I think it is possible to do all this work in that timeframe but we do also have some decisions to make next year about the composition of the board. The best way to factor that in is to make sure – whether it is recognising there is an appointment in May, recognising there is an appointment in August – is to make sure we have the best thinking going forward when we make those important decisions.
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Review to focus on future and adopting best practice, treasurer says
Jim Chalmers says he goes into the RBA review with a “genuinely open mind”:
I go into this review with an open mind, genuinely an open mind, about the best combination of institutional arrangements for the Reserve Bank so that we have the world’s best bank relying on adopting world’s best practice, and focusing on the future.
I want this to be a forward-looking overview, all about the best combination of arrangements into the future. I don’t want it to be an exercise in hot shots or second guessing, I don’t want it to be exclusively focused on a backward-looking blame-shifting exercise.
I want to genuinely see it being about how we have the world’s best central bank into the future, and how do we make sure that the institutional and other arrangements are set up as well as they can be to ensure that the right decisions, sometimes difficult decisions, are taken in the future in the interest of Australians and their economy.
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Jim Chalmers press conference
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is addressing the media in Canberra after his announcement of the first wide-ranging review into the setting of monetary policy and the Reserve Bank of Australia since the monetary policy arrangements were instituted in the 1990s:
This is an important opportunity to get the ball rolling on the Reserve Bank review that the country desperately needs to make sure that the setting of monetary policy is done it most effectively into the future as well.
The Reserve Bank is a crucial economic institution, which has served Australia well for more than six decades in its current form. We are facing to gather a complex combination of very difficult economic conditions in the near term as well as a range of longer term economic challenges as well. This is our opportunity to ensure that the monetary policy framework is the best it can be to make the right calls in the interests of the Australian people and their economy.
This review will consider the RBA’s objectives, mandate, interaction between monetary, fiscal and macro-credential policy, its governance, culture, operations and more.
Today I will release it – I am releasing the terms of reference for the review as well. This is not about revolutionising monetary policy in Australia, it is about reviewing it and refining it and reforming it. That is my objective.
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Reserve Bank appointment extended
Mark Barnaba has agreed to serve another year on the RBA board at treasurer Jim Chalmers’ request.
Barnaba’s five-year term as a part-time member of the board was due to expire at the end of August. It has now been extended by a year, which Chalmers says takes his tenure “beyond the finalisation of a wide-ranging review into the RBA”.
Chalmers released a statement praising Barnaba as:
An accomplished business leader, corporate adviser and non-executive director …
He is the current Chair of the RBA’s Audit Committee, Deputy Chair of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd and in 2015 was named a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for service to the investment banking and financial sectors, to business education, and to sporting and cultural organisations.
He is also former chair of the West Coast Eagles and a proud Western Australian.
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Joseph Stiglitz pushes windfall profits tax
Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz is on ABC radio this morning after calling on Australia to implement a windfall profits tax.
Stiglitz told the ABC that “the big energy companies didn’t do anything to deserve this, to bring about that increase”.
He has met with government leaders, including prime minister Anthony Albanese and treasurer Jim Chalmers. Asked if there is an appetite for the reform he is calling for, he says there is:
A feeling of constraints imposed by statements that were made in the process of the election. But circumstances change and, when circumstances change, policies need to change.
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‘Please come up and say hello if you see me!’
Tory Shepherd brought you that news that the US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, will be arriving on Friday.
Here’s the full video where Kennedy introduces herself and announces her imminent arrival:
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No change in Operation Sovereign Borders policy
Clare O’Neil is asked about the desperate situation in Sri Lanka, where many people are trying to find a way out.
She says it’s in Australia’s national interest to help Sri Lanka as part of strengthening the region.
But she says everyone who has tried to make it to Australia by boat since the election is back in their country of origin:
Operation Sovereign Borders is Australian government policy.
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Immigration program a ‘sacred nation building exercise’, home affairs minister says
Clare O’Neil is discussing what she wants to see in the country’s migration program.
Skills and training systems have to be a focus, she says, and a lot of her work at the moment is talking to the skills and training minister “to get these systems working together”.
She wants to look at Australia’s economic aims and “design a system aligned to national interests”. The immigration program shouldn’t be an afterthought.
She says it is “to me a sacred nation-building exercise”.
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Government to prioritise offshore visas
The new home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, is on ABC radio in her first broadcast interview to discuss migration reform.
O’Neil says she came into the office facing more than a million unprocessed visas.
She says the government is increasing staffing to process those visas.
The other “big change” she says is a shift in how visas are prioritised.
A lot of people awaiting visas to be processed are already in Australia, she says. Therefore, to best serve job vacancies and skills shortages, the government will prioritise people awaiting visas who are offshore.
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US ambassador to land in Australia on Friday
The new US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy – the daughter of John F Kennedy – will arrive on Friday.
In a YouTube message posted overnight, she said she was eager to learn about Australia’s First Nations people, multiculturalism and snacks.
Appointed by President Joe Biden, Kennedy said she would do everything she could to be “worthy” of the position, and talked about the two nations’ shared commitment to “individual freedom, the rule of law, and economic opportunity”.
She told the story of how, before he became president, her father’s boat was sunk by a Japanese destroyer and he was saved by two Solomon Islanders and an Australian:
So I’m honoured to carry his legacy forward in my own small way.
She said she and her husband had dreamed of coming back to Australia since their honeymoon here 36 years ago:
I look forward to working closely with prime minister Albanese and foreign minister Wong in the government to advance our shared democratic values, strengthen our commitment to a health, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific and advance the transition to a green energy world.
I hope to make friends and learn from as many people as I can, especially young people who deserve the strongest voice in their future.
So please come up and say hello, if you see me. What we do together in the next few years will determine the future of the region and the planet, and I can’t wait to get started.
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‘It’s a pretty strong recommendation,’ chief medical officer says of mask wearing
The chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, is speaking on ABC radio, saying Covid hospitalisations are “very close to our peak throughout the entire pandemic”.
Being pressed on why masks haven’t been mandated, Kelly says:
I’m not the person who introduces mandates ... I’m not the decision maker.
Asked if he has recommended them, Kelly says he has recommended increased mask use:
I have recommended that we need to increase mask use ... We’ve left it there for others to consider the pros and cons of how to do that. It’s a pretty strong recommendation.
"yesterday reaching 5200 hospitalisations with COVID is very close to our peak throughout the entire pandemic, and it will be more"
— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) July 19, 2022
- Prof Paul Kelly, CMO
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‘Best possible combination’: RBA review headed by treasurer’s top three picks
Jim Chalmers says it was a deliberate choice to have majority of women on the panel.
He says it’s the “best possible combination”, with the first three people he asked filling the roles.
He says “anything I can do, I will do” to improve women’s participation in economics.
How did you select the panel of people who'll be conducting the review, and was it a deliberate choice to have a majority of women?
— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) July 19, 2022
"It was.. I made a list of the 3 people I really wanted and these were the 3 first choices I had"
- @JEChalmers, Treasurer
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‘Now is the right time’ for RBA review, treasurer says
Jim Chalmers was on ABC radio this morning revealing what he wants the review of the Reserve Bank of Australia to deliver:
We face a complex and changing economic environment … and now is the right time to ensure we’ve got the world’s best, the most effective central bank.”
The review will report its findings in March.
The treasurer praised the RBA as a “quality institution with quality people” but says no central bank, like no government, gets “everything bang on”.
Do you think the RBA has got things wrong?
— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) July 19, 2022
"the RBA is independent ... the RBA is qualified and competent enough to explain their decisions and Governor Phil Lowe has done a heap of that in recent months in particular"
- @JEChalmers, Treasurer
He says he wants to “make sure institutional arrangements are right.” He’s not interested in “second guessing” the RBA.
He says it’s been a “really long time” since the last review, and not since the current regime was set up in 1990s.
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Fake picture deliberate attempt to distract from China’s human rights abuses, report says
A shocking tweet from a senior Chinese Communist party diplomat with a fake picture of an Australian soldier cutting a young person’s throat was a deliberate attempt to distract from human rights abuses in Xinjiang, a new Australian Strategic Policy Institute report says.
And the swift and angry response from then prime minister Scott Morrison was part of the plan, researchers argue.
Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian was tweeting amid criticism over China’s treatment of Uyghurs and in the wake of the Brereton report. Zhang said he was “shocked by murder of Afghan civilians & prisoners by Australian soldiers”.
The ASPI report says this was “whataboutism”. The research shows media interest in the tweet swiftly shot up to become four times greater than media interest in Xinjiang, and the effect lasted for a couple of months.
In the report, Assessing the impact of CCP information operations related to Xinjiang, authors Albert Zhang and Tilla Hoja analysed information including Chinese government documents and speeches, hundreds of thousands of Facebook posts and media articles and millions of tweets.
They found the CCP is using ever more targeted techniques to counter what they call the “lie of the century” – the incarceration of the Uyghur minority – and to spread the propaganda that people there are happy:
This includes using increasingly sophisticated online tactics to deny, distract from and deter revelations or claims of human rights abuses, including the arbitrary detention, mass sterilisation and cultural degradations of minorities in Xinjiang.
It found in the case of tweet, it was an “effective short-term distraction” but only partly successful.
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Treasurer announces terms of reference for RBA review
Jim Chalmers has announced the terms of reference of a review of the Reserve Bank of Australia, which will include examining whether changes are needed to the bank’s inflation targets.
It is the first review of the bank since the monetary policy arrangements were set up in the 1990s and will report to government with “clear recommendations” by March.
The review will be lead by three independent experts: Prof Carolyn Wilkins, a former deputy governor to the Bank of Canada; Prof Renee Fry-McKibbin, a leading macroeconomists at the Australian National University; and Dr Gordon de Brouwer, secretary for public sector reform and a long-serving senior public servant.
Chalmers said the review fulfilled the government’s commitment to conduct a broad-based review of how monetary policy was managed in Australia:
This is an important opportunity to ensure that our monetary policy framework is the best it can be, to make the right calls in the interests of the Australian people and their economy.
The review will call for public submissions, and will consider the “RBA’s objectives, mandate, the interaction between monetary, fiscal and macroprudential policy, its governance, culture, operations, and more”.
It will also assess the “continued appropriateness of the inflation targeting framework” of the bank, which is set at between 2% and 3%, and which drives the bank’s cash rate decisions.
It will consider the interaction of monetary policy with fiscal and macroprudential policy, “including during crises and when monetary policy space is limited.”
According to the terms of reference, the panel will also assess the RBA’s “performance in meeting its objectives, including its choice of policy tools, policy implementation, policy communication, and how trade-offs between different objectives have been managed”.
The RBA has faced criticism for a series of rapid increases to the cash rate to try to curb inflation, after previously indicating rates would remain steady until 2024.
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Good morning!
As Covid-19 hospitalisations continue to rise across the country, the numbers have become “pretty scary,” Dr Omar Khorshid, the president of the Australian Medical Association says, as Victorian hospitals have seen a 99% increase since 22 June.
The AMA chief says it’s becoming more likely that mask mandates will be reintroduced. The chief medical officer Paul Kelly still only “strongly suggest[s]” that Australians wear masks, as he encourages working from home.
The government has announced a review into the Reserve Bank of Australia, the first major review into the central bank since the current regime was set up.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers today releases the terms of references for the review, which will examine the RBA’s inflation target, as well as the structure of its board.
If you see anything you think should be on the blog you can get it touch on Twitter @natasha__may or email natasha.may@theguardian.com.
Let’s get going.
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