What we learned today, Tuesday 26 November
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Here are the main stories:
TikTok warned the bill to ban under 16s from social media is tantamount to requiring every Australian to have a “licence to be online” because every person using social media in Australia will need to have their age assured.
The Human Rights Commission said the social media ban should not pass in current form.
At least three Nationals publicly voiced their concerns over the social media ban bill, including Keith Pitt, Matt Canavan and Bridget McKenzie – as well as Liberal MP Garth Hamilton. Opposition communications spokesperson, David Coleman, later said the government has agreed to several amendments which will be seen in the Senate.
Australia-China relationship are in “very good shape after “immense improvement”, Chines ambassador Xiao Qian said.
The minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, said findings of missing and murdered Indigenous women inquiry are “horrific”.
The sports minister, Anika Wells, said changes to gamblings advertising could affect Australian sport on world stage.
An anti-abortion bill sponsored by two Coalition senators will stay on the Senate notice paper after seven crossbenchers sided with the Coalition and voted down a Greens motion to dump it.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, announced new anti-vilification and social cohesion laws that were introduced to parliament today.
Labor’s housing bill passed the senate this afternoon, coming after the Greens’ housing spokesperson, Max Chandler-Mather ,said his party had “pushed as hard as we can” on housing.
The NSW government will refund $5.5m in fines that were issued under Covid-19 health measures and which disproportionately penalised people living in western and south-western Sydney.
Queenslanders gathered outside parliament to protest LNP’s treaty stance.
Sydney and Melbourne house prices to keep falling but rate cut will cause bounce, report predicts.
The Victorian Nationals have a new leader in Gippsland South MP Danny O’Brien, after Peter Walsh stepped down overnight.
Leading economists have predicted a $33.5bn budget deficit for this financial year.
Updated
Christian lobby welcomes anti-abortion bill stay
The Australian Christian Lobby has hailed the failure of a Greens motion aimed at discharging a private senators’ anti-abortion bill as “a victory for the democratic process”.
The Greens Senate leader, Larissa Water, wanted the Senate to discharge the human rights (children born alive protection) bill, which has been on the notice paper for two years and is co-sponsored by Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan and South Australian Liberal senator Alex Antic. If passed, the bill would force medical practitioners to provide medical care to a baby born alive after a termination procedure.
The ACL CEO, Michelle Pearse, welcomed the Coalition and seven crossbenchers voting down the bill:
“The ACL was pleased to see senators afford this Bill an opportunity for proper consideration and debate rather than shutting down the democratic process. We must allow this Bill to go to a proper vote.”
The Greens motion to discharge the bill followed the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, telling Coalition MPs recently that they should not seek to restart public debate on abortion ahead of next year’s federal election.
Updated
