What we learned, Thursday 30 May
And that’s where we’ll wrap up this evening. Here’s a snapshot of what we learned today:
The Labor senator Fatima Payman has resigned from two parliamentary committees, after speaking out in recent weeks to accuse the Israeli government of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and using the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
At Senate estimates, ABC managing director, David Anderson, defended journalist Laura Tingle against what he called this week’s “frankly vicious attacks”.
The immigration minister, Andrew Giles, has revealed the government is using drones to track the 153 people released from immigration detention as a result of the high court’s ruling on indefinite detention.
Officials from the Attorney General’s Department have refused to speculate on how Australia would act if the international criminal court issues an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister.
The Ukrainian president and European Union ambassadors have privately urged the Australian government to send a high-level minister to a peace summit in Switzerland to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The parliamentary human rights committee has recommended the creation of a federal Human Rights Act.
The federal government has committed $107m to help people who are still in the live sheep export trade (by sea) transition by 1 May 2028.
The Greens will introduce an amendment to the prominence and anti-siphoning bill to ensure sport remains on free-to-air television.
Coles and Woolworths have been granted a 10-month reprieve to help deal with the 11,000-tonne mountain of soft plastics discovered after the demise of recycling program, REDcycle.
The NSW health minister has warned of a “triple threat of flu, Covid and RSV” this winter, which has already resulted in a surge of emergency department presentations.
China lifted most of its sanctions on Australian beef exports.
Mining company BHP has given up on its attempts to buy rival miner Anglo American for $75bn in what would have been the biggest takeover deal in Australian history.
More than half of the nation’s gas exports attract zero royalty payments, Australia Institute research has found, effectively giving away a public resource to multinational corporations for free.
Thanks for your company today. We’ll be back with more live news tomorrow morning, bright and early. See you then.
Updated
David Anderson rejects suggestion ABC cowered to ‘News Corp pile-on’ over Tingle comments
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has told Senate estimates there are many people who are upset that Laura Tingle was counselled by ABC management because they agree with what she said.
Hanson-Young asked ABC managing director if the ABC has “cowered to a News Corp pile-on”.
David Anderson agreed it was a News Corp pile-on but denied the ABC was cowering or had reacted to the Australian’s criticism:
Yes, it was a News Corp pile-on but we are not cowering.
Anderson said he thinks Tingle’s writers’ festival comments have hurt the ABC and the journalist herself partly because they have been unfairly reported by some media:
I will say that you know, some media organisations have really taken this and run with it. There is also social media trolling happening for our people as well. Again, all of which is hurtful to both individuals and the ABC itself. So that’s why I, like Ms Tingle, are regretful that this is the situation that we’re in.
Anderson agreed that News Corp was “obsessed” with the ABC but disagreed the corporation should be banning its journalists from ABC platforms.
Updated
