What we learned: Wednesday 24 August
And with that, we will close the blog for the day. Here’s what happened today:
Crikey is using a legal threat from Lachlan Murdoch to drive subscriptions, a statement of claim lodged by the co-chairman of News Corporation alleges.
Scott Morrison’s predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull, said the inquiry into Morrison’s secret ministerial portfolio “must go beyond Morrison”, adding that “something has gone seriously wrong” at Government House.
Stuart Robert said the deputy prime minister’s comments on the inquiry “scream of a political witch hunt”, while the deputy Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, said the government should be “bursting” with economic solutions rather than probing Morrison.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, confirmed the inquiry will bring “change in law”, adding “Morrison shouldn’t be hiding behind the pandemic.”
Meanwhile, Simon Birmingham, the opposition leader in the Senate, said the opposition would support legal change following Morrison advice.
Sydney commuters will be faced with a second day of train strikes this week, despite the government delivering a deed it says will meet the rail union’s demands.
Queensland teachers reportedly set to have their pay cut for refusing to get vaccinated against Covid-19 are “facing the consequences of that choice”, the federal aged care minister, Anika Wells, said.
The New South Wales Labor MP Tania Mihailuk has rejected allegations of bullying levelled through the media this week, adding that she was “strong-willed” but “not a bully”.
Jonathan Kearns, head of domestic markets at the Reserve Bank, warns Australia must confront climate risks.
The NSW roads minister said the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Harbour Tunnel and under-construction Western Harbour Tunnel will not be privatised.
The National Council for Fire and Emergency Services gave a fire season outlook, saying there is “a varied fire potential”.
Australia released more than 45,000 sq km of ocean for oil and gas exploration,
The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association announced there will be a 24-hour strike from 7am on Thursday 1 September.
Updated
Sydney commuters to face a second day of train strikes this week
The outcome comes despite the government delivering a deed it says will meet the rail union’s demands, AAP is reporting.
The employee relations minister, Damien Tudehope, called on the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) to give up on upcoming industrial action on Wednesday, saying an agreement was close to being reached which would satisfy union demands.
The long-running dispute revolves around the government’s new intercity trains, a Korean-built fleet the union says are unsafe and require modifications.
The fleet were designed for drivers to monitor platforms via CCTV, with a risk a driver would not be able to see if someone had fallen through the gap between platform and train.
Tudehope said a deed had been presented to the RTBU on Wednesday afternoon, which had been negotiated by minister for regional transport and roads Sam Farraway.
We call on the union today to execute that document and to call off the industrial activity, which has inconvenienced the people and commuters of this state.
However, Tudehope conceded the deed had not yet been signed by either party, and the RTBU maintained it was too late to avert planned strikes on Thursday.
This is something which the government has entered into in good faith,” Tudehope said.
The union will not be taken by surprise in respect of any of the terms of the agreement which has been submitted.
We would expect the unions now to abandon the industrial activity, which they have engaged in circumstances where they have held the commuters of Sydney to ransom over a long period of time.
Farraway said he’d met with the Combined Rail Unions and RTBU over the past fortnight and had collaborative discussions about completing a deed over the Korean-built trains.
It comes after a chaotic Tuesday on Sydney’s rail network, with the T1, T7 and T9 lines affected and the T5 line prevented from operating.
Further strikes are planned on Thursday, with workers on the City Circle and at Redfern to go on strike.
Updated
