What we learned: Monday, 21 November
With that, we will wrap up the blog for the evening. Amy Remeikis will be back with you first thing tomorrow morning.
Until then, here were the major developments of the day:
In one of the final question time sittings of the year, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has returned to culture wars of the past, questioning why Labor signed up to funding a climate fund when charity “begins at home”.
Several companies have vehemently denied claims aired by the independent MP Andrew Wilkie under parliamentary privilege today that they had been “lying for years about the quality of our coal” and had been engaged in bribes. Wilkie made explosive claims that companies including Peabody energy, Glencore and Macquarie Bank have been involved in “lying for years about the quality of our coal”.
The independent MP for Mackellar, Sophie Scamps, supported Wilkie’s call for a parliament inquiry into the allegations.
Australia’s top intelligence official, Andrew Shearer, has praised the US-led release of intelligence ahead of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a “masterclass” in how western governments can gain a strategic upper hand.
And a group of primary school students have been taken to hospital on Sydney’s north after reports of a chemical explosion. Children believed to be about 10 years old were treated at Manly West public school on Monday afternoon, with some transported to hospitals for further treatment.
Updated
Man charged in WA over stabbing murder of woman at Perth hotel
Western Australian police have charged a man in relation to the murder of a woman at a Perth hotel.
In a statement, police confirmed that homicide squad detectives charged a 42-year-old man in relation to the death of a 40-year-old woman in east Perth.
Police were called to a hotel on Adelaide Terrace on Sunday morning where they located a woman with stab wounds. She was taken to hospital but later died.
The man, who is known to the victim, was taken into custody at the time and has since been charged with murder. He was refused bail and is due to appear in Perth magistrates court on Tuesday.
Updated
