What we learned today, Monday 25 November
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Here are the main stories:
The deputy prime minister’s chief of staff, Jo Tarnawsky, is suing her boss and the government after it failed to resolve the employment stalemate that has seen her locked out of her office since May.
The independent senator David Pocock called Labor “gutless” for delaying gambling ad reform. A recovering gambling addict who testified before a parliamentary inquiry into gambling harm also criticised the government’s decision to delay advertising reforms.
At the short hearing on the federal government’s social media ban bill, mental health groups and experts were asked whether the good outweighs the ban on social media for under-16s.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, made a speech in the House of Representatives calling for the parliament to give “unanimous” support to his government’s bid to ban under-16s from social media, saying world leaders were “applauding” the push.
The government also said its digital ID won’t be used to assure ages on social media, but when pressed could not point out in the under-16s ban legislation where it was specifically prohibited.
Elon Musk’s X warned the bill to ban under-16s from social media may not be lawful, and the company is reserving its legal rights.
Julie Inman Grant, the Safety Commissioner said it was her role to “enforce the laws”, not endorse, and the under-16 social media age ban was a matter for the parliament.
The Greens said they would wave through Labor’s housing plan so they can “focus on campaigning for renters and against Peter Dutton at the next election”.
The expected power crunch has shifted to Thursday as a heatwave lingers over eastern Australia.
The NSW Council of Civil Liberties says an “extraordinary” number of people were arrested at the Riding Tide climate protest in Newcastle yesterday, because of “draconian anti-protest laws” in the state.
A man has been charged after cars and buildings were damaged or vandalised with anti-Israel graffiti in Sydney’s east last week.
Updated
Mayors blindsided by NSW housing proposal
Mayors of the areas home to Sydney’s supersized housing precincts have been left “blindsided” after the NSW government announcing major zoning changes without first telling them.
Six precincts were up for consideration and all had at least 1,000 additional homes added to their expected housing density in new zoning announced on Monday – except for the Kellyville and Bella Vista area, which had its total cut by three-quarters.
The premier, Chris Minns, told reporters he thought that was a “reasonable compromise”:
The number of new homes being built in the Blacktown local government area is massive, far, far higher than Macquarie Park and Hornsby.
The mayor of Blacktown, Brad Bunting, said the decision was “a win for common sense” and praised the government’s decision.
However, that precinct also reaches into the Hills shire, where the mayor, Michelle Byrne, was unhappy to have learned about the rezoning via morning media reports:
It’s disappointing that the minister has steamrolled council with this announcement. There are a lot of issues with this half-baked proposal that need to be addressed.
Byrne said the finalised proposal had wiped housing growth from Blacktown and put all of the increase into the Hills.
The City of Ryde initially issued a statement thanking the government for its consultative approach but in a subsequent statement said staff had been “blindsided by today’s announcement” and had found “major discrepancies” between the government’s announcement and departmental master-planning documents.
The North Sydney mayor, Zoë Baker, also said she had not been notified ahead of the announcement for the Crows Nest precinct, slamming the ruled 3% minimum for affordable housing as “wholly inadequate”, while a Hornsby shire council spokesperson said the new development plan included a number of changes made without consulting the council.
Updated
Innisfail child dies after being found unresponsive in vehicle
Queensland police are investigating the death of a child in Innisfail this afternoon.
Officers responded to reports of a child found unresponsive in a vehicle about 1pm.
Upon arrival, emergency services provided medical assistance, however the child was declared deceased.
Investigations are continuing, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
Updated
Man dies at swimming hole in Royal national park
A man has died after being pulled unresponsive from a swimming hole in the Royal national park in NSW.
Emergency services were called to Winifred Falls at about 2.35pm after reports of a drowning.
Officers attached to Sutherland shire police area command attended alongside NSW ambulance paramedics and found a man had been pulled from the water.
The man was treated at the scene by paramedics, but he could not be revived.
The man, who is yet to be formally identified, is believed to be aged in his 20s.
Police established a crime scene and commenced inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the man’s death.
Updated
Liberal MP apologises for staffer filming in ministerial wing of Parliament House
The Liberal MP Tony Pasin has apologised for a staff member filming in the corridor of Parliament House’s ministerial wing, saying “unbeknownst to me” his employee filmed inside the infrastructure minister Catherine King’s office.
King made claims of “discourtesy” from Pasin in an interaction last week, where she alleged filming inside her office when Pasin and a staffer attended for a “drop-in” session.
Pasin was not in parliament on Thursday but a spokesperson said in a statement last week he “denies the accusations levelled against him by minister King”. On Monday, the House of Representatives speaker, Milton Dick, said he had considered the matter but would not be referring it to the privileges committee.
Pasin told the chamber that a new staff member of his had filmed him around Parliament House, “including in the ministerial corridor”. The MP conceded the filming was done “in error” but were “in no way covert”.
“I acknowledge the error. I note that I apologised to you, and through you to all occupants of this building. I have re-familiarised myself with the rules for media-related activities,” Pasin said.
But Pasin went on to deny that he filmed in King’s ministerial suite, or that he downloaded the footage to a laptop. He maintained that, “unbeknownst to me”, his staffer continued filming as he entered King’s office.
“On returning to my office, and having been made aware of that footage, the member of my staff was directed to delete it,” Pasin said.
“I have apologised to Minister King. Filming in her suite should not have occurred, and I accept responsibility for my staff member’s error.”
King gave a short statement in response, saying “Australians do expect and deserve to see parliamentarians conduct themselves in a manner befitting this place. That goes to respect for each other.”
Updated
Power crunch shifted to Thursday as heatwave lingers over eastern Australia
As we flagged last week – and updated here today – eastern Australia will face a pretty warm end to spring, with temperatures soaring.
A few days ago, the forecasts had pointed to relief coming to eastern New South Wales at least by Wednesday. That looks more likely to be Friday, as the heatwave stalls a bit over the region.
Penrith, in Sydney’s west, can expect tops of 39C and 40C on Tuesday and Wednesday, with each daily update nudging the forecast higher it seems. Sea breezes should keep Sydney’s CBD to maximums of 31C and 33C for those two days, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
The mercury on Thursday, though, will still be nudging 30C in Sydney and 33C in Penrith.
One consequence is that the power grid will be strained for a bit longer, particularly in NSW, although Queensland will be hoping its generators don’t have any unplanned outages.
The Australian Energy Market Operator had been forecasting the potential for blackouts on Wednesday afternoon in NSW, dubbed a lack of reserve level 3. That forecast was cancelled a little while ago, only for an LOR to be issued for Thursday afternoon.
Now, it’s likely the market will respond (that’s the point of these alerts), but moving target, from Tuesday to Thursday, is a reminder of the limited spare generation capacity there is in the grid.
Some will say “net zero policies are to blame”. The fact that about 6 gigawatts of coal-fired power plants are facing planned or unplanned maintenance this week in eastern Australia seems to be the real culprit.
Updated
An Australian injured in a West Bank shooting has called for an investigation into the incident. Watch the video here:
Ranem Abu Izneid was studying in her room on 15 November at Al-Quds University in Abu Dis, in the West Bank east of Jerusalem, when she was hit by shrapnel after Israeli forces allegedly fired live rounds in her direction.
The shrapnel caused severe injuries to her right eye, neck and chest. “I want a transparent, full investigation on the situation,” the Australian citizen says. “I’m grateful for the help that I got from the Australian embassies, but it’s not enough.”
Updated
Greens to back Labor's housing bill
The Greens have released a statement saying they have waved through Labor’s housing plan so they can “focus on campaigning for renters and against Peter Dutton at the next election”.
They said renters should grant them the balance of power at the next election if they “want to end tax handouts for property investors and an end to unlimited rent increases”.
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said the party had “pushed as far” as it could:
There comes a point where you’ve pushed as far as you can. We tried hard to get Labor to shift on soaring rents and negative gearing, but we couldn’t get there this time.
We’ll wave the housing bills through and take the fight to the next election, where we’ll keep Peter Dutton out and then push Labor to act on unlimited rent rises and tax handouts to wealthy property investors.
Updated
Good afternoon, Mostafa Rachwani with you for the rest of the day’s news.
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, I’ll hand over to Mostafa Rachwani to take you through the rest of today’s news.
The Greens are expected to give a press conference any minute now on their decision to help pass Labor’s Help to Buy bill – stay tuned for all the details.
‘We have to stamp out racism,’ Thorpe says
The independent senator Lidia Thorpe was also on Afternoon Briefing just now, discussing the racism inquiry she is moving in the Senate alongside the Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi.
Thorpe said she had experienced racism in the workplace, and the Senate chamber, and “procedures do not know how to deal with the racism in the chamber”.
Asked if there were any prime offenders, Thorpe said: “Absolutely, there’s quite a few.”
If it was any other workplace, this [wouldn’t] be acceptable. We want the Senate through the vote we’ll see this afternoon – and hopefully Labor does support this – if they want to change the behaviours in the Senate, it needs to be fair for everybody …
I think that everyone needs to be held accountable for any racist slur in this workplace, whether it be this place or any other. We have to stamp out racism. It’s a sickness. It makes people sick. And we are only complicit and we’ll only continue to have a divided country if we don’t deal with racism, and we have to stamp it out at all levels.
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King expects critical minerals collaboration with US to continue under Trump
Just earlier, the resources minister, Madeleine King, was on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, asked about the future of critical minerals under a second Trump presidency.
She said the work done on critical minerals has been “extensive” – and that Australia’s geology is “irrefutable”.
The other thing to remember is the work between Australia and the US on critical minerals began under the former Trump administration … It started with Donald Trump, it continued under President Joe Biden and I expect it to continue under the new Trump administration.
If we can speak to the new US administration about how it affects other parts of our economy, well, we’ll do that as it comes.
Updated
Karen Andrews makes valedictory speech
In parliament, the LNP MP Karen Andrews has been giving her valedictory speech.
She was first elected to the lower house in 2010 and served as a cabinet member from 2018 to 2022. In April last year, Andrews quit the shadow frontbench and announced she would retire at the next election. This afternoon, she has told the parliament:
As I leave parliament, I do so with a deep sense of pride in what has been accomplished and with enormous gratitude for the opportunity to serve. The work that we do in this place matters, it matters a lot, and the impact that we have on the lives of Australians is something that I have always taken seriously and will never, ever forget.
Andrews says that when was appointed to cabinet, she “became the first female federal cabinet minister from Queensland”.
Earlier this afternoon, the Labor MP Brian Mitchell gave his valedictory speech.
Also expected to deliver their valedictory speeches this afternoon are the Liberal MP Gavin Pearce, Nationals MP David Gillespie and LNP MP Warren Entsch.
Updated
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, and housing spokesperson, Max Chandler-Mather, have called a press conference for 4.30pm.
Guardian Australia understands the Greens will announce they have decided to help the government pass its Help to Buy bill establishing a federal shared equity scheme. The scheme allows the government to contribute 30% of the purchase price of a home for those who earn under the income threshold, or 40% for a new-build – reducing the cost for the homebuyer.
This follows months of Labor refusing to negotiate with the Greens. On one view, the minor party’s decision rewards the Albanese government’s take it or leave it approach. On another view, it avoids walking into Labor’s trap of painting the Greens as blockers.
Last Friday the Greens substantially reduced their demands, abandoning calls to reform negative gearing and capital gains tax in favour of calling for an extra 25,000 social and affordable homes. The housing minister, Clare O’Neil, refused. It appears the Greens have blinked.
Updated
Heatwave breaks a few records across the country’s south-east, BoM says
Energy authorities, as we’ve noted in today’s article and on this fine blog, face a nervous couple of days in NSW and Queensland as searing temperatures look set to strain the power grid.
We’ll keep an eye on temperature records (can’t be many times Penrith in western Sydney has had seven days in a row above 30C in November, as is forecast) but the present heatwave already has the Bureau of Meteorology dusting off a few records.
Coonawarra in south-east South Australia had a November maximum temperature record (40 years of records), with its 37.9C on Friday pipping the previous high by 0.1C.
Essendon airport, meanwhile, clocked up two days (37.1C and 37.5C) on Friday and Saturday, the first time that site had two November days in a row above 37C. (It’s got 54 years of records.)
More generally, Melbourne had its first back-to-back November days above 35C since 2009, BoM said.
Mount Gambier in south-east South Australia was among the sites to set their highest minimum November temperatures, with 23.4C on Saturday eclipsing a previous high-low (so to speak) of 22.7C. That site has 80 years of records.
Ballarat aerodrome, with 67 years of records, similarly set a record high minimum for November with 22.9C, about 0.8C above the previous high.
Behind the heatwave, meanwhile, came some heavy falls. A BoM spokesperson said:
A number of stations stretching from central South Australia to north-west Victoria had their wettest two-day rainfall total in November for at least 10 years.
Updated
Bob Katter marks half-century as a politician
A missile shield across northern Australia and training school kids in how to use rifles are just a couple of Bob Katter’s policy ideas that may never see the light of day.
As AAP reports, the renegade veteran MP is celebrating 50 consecutive years in public office.
He spent 20 years as a Queensland state MP before serving the past three decades in federal parliament as the MP for the regional electorate of Kennedy.
Katter spent six years at university without a degree, was expelled twice from one school, remained qualified to move from a sergeant to an officer in the army reserves for 10 years without doing so and was the longest-serving Queensland parliament backbencher.
He thanked his wife, Suzie, who attended a ceremony at federal parliament today, alongside his five children and several grandchildren.
Anthony Albanese and the speaker, Milton Dick, gifted the Queensland MP a book of all his speeches from parliament. Katter’s father was also the member for Kennedy between 1966 and 1990, while his son Robbie was first elected to the Queensland state parliament in 2012.
Updated
Question time concludes
With that, question time has wrapped up for today.
Updated
PM asked why the blanket ban on gambling ads has been abandoned
The independent MP Allegra Spender has asked why the government has abandoned its promise to put a ban on gambling advertisements?
The prime minister responds that “we have done more in two years to tackle gambling harms than any other government since federation”.
We have also made it very clear that the status quo is untenable, but we continue to engage with stakeholders on our response to what is an important issue.
Anthony Albanese instead points to a number of measures the government has taken – including mandatory customer ID verification for online wagering, banning the use of credit cards for online wagering, taglines in gambling advertising, funding for specialist financial counselling and nationally consistent staff training.
Updated
Digital ID framework will not be used for age assurance, Rowland says
Back at question time, the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, takes a dixer on the under-16s social media ban bill, and says:
We have made clear the digital ID framework is not in scope and would not be used for age assurance. The government is also providing additional resources to the information commissioner to ensure that it is equipped to oversee this legislation when it comes to privacy.
Updated
Musk argues bill to ban under-16s from social media may not be lawful
Elon Musk’s X has warned the bill to ban under-16s from social media may not be lawful, and the company is reserving its legal rights.
In a written submission to the one-day inquiry on the bill, X said:
We have serious concerns as to the lawfulness of the bill, including its compatibility with other regulations and laws, including international human rights treaties to which Australia is a signatory.
The social media platform, which has already had successful legal tussles with the eSafety commissioner in recent years, said while it was examining age assurance options for X, the bill would have negative impacts on the rights of children and young people, and would also not be effective.
The bill is vague and lacks fundamental definitions which are necessary to provide certainty and clarity to those providers that it seeks to regulate, especially alarming in the context that the Bill is setting up a punitive regime.
Musk last week posted on X that the bill was a “backdoor” to control all Australians’ access to the internet. Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, said the bill wasn’t backed by experts:
Many experts have highlighted the significant unintended consequences of this legislation, notably that it could deny young people access to valuable mental health and wellbeing resources, while potentially driving them toward less regulated and more dangerous online spaces than the mainstream, highly regulated platforms covered by the bill.
Guardian Australia understands the committee received more than 15,000 submissions in the one day the committee was accepting submissions. So far just 73 have been published online.
Updated
‘I hope that the member for Sturt has apologised to his constituents for voting against energy relief,’ PM says
The Liberal MP James Stevens has asked a question about increasing energy prices.
Anthony Albanese responds that the “question for the member for Sturt, is why [he] voted against energy price relief not once, but twice”.
I hope that the member for Sturt has apologised to his constituents for voting against the energy relief scheme … Your party policy is to invest unknown billions of their taxpayer dollars in publicly owned nuclear reactors sometime in the 2040s, and between [then], there is no plan whatsoever to secure security of energy supply.
Updated
Labor ‘tinkering around the edges’ on online gambling ban, Hanson-Young says
The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has accused the Labor government of “tinkering around the edges” almost 18 months after a parliamentary report recommended a complete ban on online gambling.
Yesterday, Labor revealed it would not release its online gambling legislation, with Penny Wong telling Senate question time the government has a “very full agenda” and is focusing on legislation it can pass.
Hanson-Young then asks:
Will the government rule out taking donations or having more dinners, lunches, birthday celebrations with the gambling lobby before you act on banning the ads?
Wong looks confused. The Senate president, Sue Lines, jumps in to confirm the question does not fall into Wong’s ministerial responsibility. Wong gives it a shot anyway:
I don’t know who is having birthday celebrations, but I don’t think people having birthday celebrations with lobbyists would be anyone’s idea of fun, to be honest with you … What I would say is in relation to donations, Senator Farrell has worked tirelessly across the parliament on this, and I would invite Senator Hanson-Young to support the legislation in the parliament which deals with donations.
Updated
Officials working with families to bring Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles home, PM says
The independent MP for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, has asked a question about the death of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles – and what the government is doing to help the families in bringing their bodies home.
The prime minister says Australians are “devastated” at the “tragic loss of these two young women”.
I know all Australians think of their families at this moment who are facing the grief which is every parent’s nightmare. There is no crueller arithmetic than adding up the years not lived, the potential not fulfilled, the dreams not lived or that might have been.
My government continues to support Holly and Bianca’s families, just as we continue our efforts with local authorities on investigations into this tragedy. Officials are working closely with Bianca and Holly’s family to bring them home.
He says Australian officials in Laos and Thailand are working closely with local authorities, including an offer of assistance from the Australian federal police.
Our officials have also brought together representatives from other countries who [have] citizens impacted … We want to work with other governments based upon this experience to see whether any action can be taken.
Updated
Cop29 agreements have zero cost, Bowen says
The shadow climate minister, Ted O’Brien, has asked the PM how much taxpayer money the government has committed to spend on agreements arising from Cop29.
Chris Bowen gets up to respond, and answers: “Zero.”
Last week, the government was requested by other governments to enter into certain agreements and arrangements, which we did agree to.
We joined, for example, the global energy and storage pledge, which is a very good thing to do. We joined the call to action for no new coal at the request of and suggestion of the United Kingdom government, and we signed the Australia-UK climate and energy partnership …
We work with governments across the board on renewable energy, agreements those opposite could not [sign and] enter into, and the member for Fairfax implies there was a cost – there was zero cost.
Updated
Coalition ‘delivers nothing but slogans’ on energy prices, Bowen says
The Liberal MP Melissa McIntosh has asked how small businesses are “meant to survive under this energy and cost-of-living crisis”?
The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, responds that the government has delivered two rounds of energy bill relief “opposed by those opposite”.
We’re getting on with the job of practical projects to small businesses, as well as [the] energy bill relief we deliver, while the opposition delivers nothing but slogans.
Updated
Coalition ‘wants to press the pause button’ on renewables, PM says
The Nationals MP Sam Birrell has asked about a promised $275 reduction in power bills, and says the government has broken a promise by not delivering on this.
Anthony Albanese says the government is delivering on its commitment to renewable energy – and “we know that those opposite want to have a debate about our plan for renewables firmed by gas [compared] with their plan for, I don’t know what, between now and the 2040s when nuclear will come in”.
When we’re talking about a plan to go forward as the world, that plan is being driven by renewables and the shift that’s happening with the transition to clean energy, that is what is happening …
The United States added 39 gigawatts of new renewables last year and no nuclear. And last year, China added 217 gigawatts of new renewables and only one gigawatt of new nuclear.
The reason why the world is transitioning to clean energy is because they understand not only is that good for the environment, it is also good for their economies, and that is why Australia is a part of that global transition that is occurring. Those opposite wants to press the pause button …
Updated
‘Quite outrageous’: claims shoppers charged more for unpacked fruit and vegetables than for plastic-wrapped produce
The independent MP Monique Ryan has asked the environment minister about claims supermarkets have been found charging more for unpacked fruit and vegetables than for plastic-wrapped produce.
How is the government holding supermarkets to account for this?
Tanya Plibersek responds that it is “quite outrageous that the supermarkets are actually making it more expensive for families to do the right thing when they’re doing their shopping”.
Bananas come in their own packaging, and oranges, in their own packaging, they do not need to be wrapped in plastic as well.
Plibersek says the supermarkets have been too slow to reinitiate the collection of soft plastics as well.
We’re also … working with state and territory governments on packaging regulation. We need to create less of this waste in the first place. We need to make sure we’re making demands on packaging makers, like upping the level of recycled content and packaging, reducing unnecessary packaging, getting rid of those particularly bad additives.
The minister points to the plastics treaty being negotiated in South Korea at the moment, and says talks are in their final stages.
Australia has been advocating very strongly for an ambitious treaty that restricts the production of new plastic and focuses much more on recycling the plastic that we’ve already got in circulation globally. We are absolutely determined to reduce the amount of plastic being used.
Updated
Bowen takes aim at '10 years of denial and delay' after Coalition targets Labor over rising emissions
The manager of opposition business, Paul Fletcher, has asked how the public can take the government seriously on climate change when emissions have gone up?
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, takes aim at the opposition for “presid[ing] over 10 years of denial and delay [and not telling] the Australian people what [its] 2030 target is [and saying] we should rely more on coal and gas while we wait decades for nuclear to come forward”.
As the prime minister has foreshadowed, this week we will release the annual climate change statement in accordance with the act. That is the best practice in terms of transparency and accountability when it comes to emission reductions.
I will release the Climate Change Authority annual progress report, which I have received, and will table in the house …
I look forward to the opposition’s detailed policy response, which will outline – no doubt – full costings of their nuclear plan, no doubt, the emissions impact of their nuclear plan …
Updated
Coalition quizzes Labor’s future plans on misinformation bill
Over in the Senate, Coalition senators are pressing the federal government over whether it plans to revive the recently dumped mis- and disinformation bill after the next election.
The Senate’s government leader, Penny Wong, is asked by the Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie whether Labor would count on support from the Greens to pass it in the future.
Wong says she is advised Labor will not be proceeding with the bill due to a lack of support in the upper house and has no plans to reintroduce it.
McKenzie then asks:
Given the Albanese Labor government can’t, or won’t, say whether it will pursue this bill again or if it would do a deal with the Greens following the next election, how [are] the thousands of Australians who oppose this bill meant to think anything other than it being a delaying tactic by Labor rather than a genuine withdrawal?
Wong responds:
There has been more misinformation … you are desperate for a scare campaign, aren’t you? You don’t want to listen to what I have to say. But what I would say to you, Senator McKenzie, is there is an issue … disinformation and misinformation in our democracy, and those of us who care about democratic institutions, including the few on [the opposition side] who do care about democratic institutions, should work with the government working out how we protect our democracy against disinformation and misinformation. That would be the responsible thing to do.
Updated
Sussan Ley questions government’s 2035 emissions reduction target
The acting opposition leader, Sussan Ley, gets up to ask the first question, on emissions reduction targets. She asks why the government is keeping its 2035 target a secret?
Anthony Albanese says that when the target of 43% by 2030 was passed, one provision was that the Climate Change Authority needed to provide advice on future targets.
That is the law … For those opposite, who do not have a 2030 target, to actually stand up and say what is your target for 2035? That is after 2030, it is just extraordinary …
We are on track to achieving the targets we have established.
The O’Connor MP Rick Wilson is sent out under 94a, just minutes into question time.
The PM is back on his feet and goes on to say: “The short answer is I’m complying with the law.”
Those opposite don’t have a target for 2030, opposed net zero by 2050, and have a nuclear plan sometime in the 2040s, and no idea how you keep the reliability of energy supply in the meantime. None. No idea, no costing, no plan.
Updated
The speaker, Milton Dick, says that Parliament House will be illuminated in orange at 7.30pm tonight to mark 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.
Updated
Ley marks International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
The acting opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is also saying a few words to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
She speaks of Isla Bell, and says:
[She] was just 19 and had her whole life ahead of her. It is alleged that she was bashed to death in an apartment in Melbourne. Her body was [allegedly] loaded into a fridge and moved several times before being dumped. On the day that [she] should have been celebrating her 20th birthday, Isla Bell’s body was [allegedly] being hidden from view by men seeking to hide their crimes.
The sad fact is that these events, the killing of women and girls, has been a constant presence for as long as I can remember. Countless women and girls have been killed, attacked and coerced and manipulated …
Women should feel safe everywhere, always. They should feel safe in their homes and where matters of domestic violence arise, they should feel safe and supported in their decision-making, including when leaving a violent relationship.
Updated
Question time begins
Question time has begun in the House of Representatives, where the deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is representing Peter Dutton – who is absent today for family reasons.
Anthony Albanese has begun by marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women:
We think of every woman robbed of the future she had every right to live, every death is its own universe of devastation. We think of all who live or grow up in the shadow of violence. We think of those who live with abuse, with fear, and we think of all the First Nations women and children who have been murdered or disappeared.
This is a stain upon the soul of our nation [that] cannot stand … We all feel anger [at] all stories we read on the page. But rather than let this overwhelm us, we must be energised to keep acting and working to change.
The prime minister says that the “fear of violence should not be a normal nor accepted part of womanhood”.
Updated
Labor’s three migration bills, explained
The Albanese government has a trio of migration bills before parliament to facilitate the removal of non-citizens from Australia, including paying third countries to take them and creating powers to confiscate mobile phones in detention.
The bills are listed to be debated on Wednesday and Guardian Australia understands that the Coalition and Labor are closing in on a deal to pass all three.
What is in them, and what new powers would the government gain? You can read the full explainer below:
Question time to begin shortly
Today seems to have just flown by – it’s nearly 2pm, which means question time in the House of Representatives is due to begin in about 10 minutes.
Grab a coffee, and get ready – we’ll bring you all the key developments as they happen.
Updated
Russian ambassador claims Russian media more liberal than Australia’s
The Russian ambassador, Alexey Pavlovsky, was on ABC radio earlier this morning, where he made a number of eyebrow-raising claims, including that Russian media was more liberal than Australia’s.
The Moscow envoy told the ABC Radio National host Steve Cannane that responsibility for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine lay “squarely on the west”.
On credible claims of torture by Russians on Ukrainians in detention found by the UN, Pavlovsky said it was “propaganda” and claimed, without evidence, the UN’s reports were “biased”.
Asked whether he believed Russian forces were torturing Ukrainians in occupied territory, Pavlovsky said he didn’t “accept it as a yes or no question”.
I don’t accept it, because reality is much more complicated than the ABC wants to make it.
Cannane said Pavlovsky couldn’t spread “false information” about the Russian military without being charged with criminal offences under Russian law. The ambassador added Russia was “much more liberal” than Australia, referencing Labor’s recent dumping of the mis- and disinformation bill. Pavlovsky said:
The world needs responsible and reasonable politicians. Unfortunately, Australian politicians do not qualify.
Read more from our colleagues in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv:
Updated
Greens and Labor both accuse each other of working with Dutton on housing
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, gave a doorstop this morning about housing legislation, after the government rejected the Greens’ latest compromise offer to pass the Help to Buy legislation (see earlier post).
According to a transcript from his office, Bandt argued that Labor is “more interested in picking a fight with the Greens than working with us to tackle the rental and housing crisis”.
Going into the final week of parliament, Labor’s approach is to pick a fight with the Greens and do deals with Peter Dutton. That is very distressing.
Labor has also been accusing the Greens of working with Dutton over housing.
Bandt argued that for Labor, it is “their way or the highway”.
We put forward some food faith proposals to the government. Our proposals were based on the government’s own model. We’ll have a look now at what to do about the legislation when it comes up tomorrow, but what’s clear is that Labor has given up on the millions of renters who are struggling with soaring rent increases.
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Claim and counterclaim on 25,000 extra social and affordable housing units
Labor is sticking by the housing minister Clare O’Neil’s claim that directing the Housing Australia Future Fund to invest in 25,000 social and affordable homes would be unlawful.
The basis for that claim is that the Greens’ demand was to fund providers of a particular 25,000 units that had applied to the Haff in an earlier round.
On that view, it is no answer for the Greens to note a general ability to set the Haff’s strategy and direction.
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Tink targets Labor for phone ban in detention
The independent MP Kylea Tink has also detected some slippage on the Labor side when it comes to banning phones in detention.
In a statement she just sent out, Tink noted that in 2020 Labor’s Andrew Giles said there was “no justification for blanket prohibitions”, while Josh Burns said Peter Dutton’s 2020 bill was “not about a proportionate response from government but about cruelty and politics”.
Tink said:
What has changed, other than Labor running scared of Peter Dutton? While Labor has been inching closer to the Coalition on immigration policy, they are no longer trying to hide the fact that their immigration policies are a ‘cut and paste’ of Peter Dutton’s.
Mobile phones are a lifeline for people in immigration detention helping them to communicate with family, friends and the outside world. This is an attempt by Labor to silence a Peter Dutton scare campaign on immigration while silencing any criticism from detainees – preventing them from speaking to journalists, or advocates.
Although, given Dan Tehan has said the Coalition supports the bill, it will pass easily – no need to convince the crossbench now.
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What’s stopping children from using VPNs to bypass social media age ban?
The communications department has hinted at lawsuits against tech companies if teen users are using virtual private network connections to bypass the age assurance law by making their connection to the platform appear to be coming from outside Australia, where the age assurance requirement would not apply.
The LNP senator Matt Canavan asks the social media inquiry:
Will kids just be able to use a VPN? What’s stopping someone just using a VPN?
Department first assistant secretary for digital platforms, Sarah Vandenbroek, says:
Well, that comes back to questions of extraterritoriality and ensuring that the [eSafety] commissioner continues to be supported in any litigation that’s undertaken.
The department deputy secretary, James Chisholm, says platforms would also be expected to check against information on the platform, such as if a user purporting to be outside Australia is posting photos from Bondi beach.
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Coalition will support bill to confiscate phones in detention
The shadow immigration minister, Dan Tehan, has revealed the Coalition will support Labor’s bill creating powers to confiscate drugs and mobile phones in detention.
The phone ban bill, along with the migration amendment bill and Labor’s first deportation bill are all listed for debate on Wednesday. Guardian Australia understands that the parties are close to a deal on all three.
But Tehan said the Coalition would support the phone ban bill without amendment. In his remarks, he targeted Andrew Giles, Peter Khalil and Josh Burns for comments they made in 2020 opposing a similar bill proposed by the Coalition, such as Giles describing it as a solution in search of a problem.
However, Labor’s bill has greater safeguards including requiring immigration detainees be given alternative means of communication if their phones are confiscated.
It’s a good development that the Coalition hasn’t tried to toughen this up in a way that makes the law vulnerable to challenge – as occurred on the ankle bracelet and curfew visa conditions.
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More context on claim Greens’ proposed housing concession ‘unlawful’
Earlier this morning, the housing minister, Clare O’Neil, said that the Greens’ proposed concessions on the Help to Buy bill (which the government didn’t agree to) were “nonsense” and “unlawful”.
She argued that one of the Greens’ proposals would have required her to direct Housing Australia to fund homes it has decided not to fund, “and that is against the law”.
For a bit more context on those claims: While the minister cannot direct Housing Australia on particular projects, the minister can give direction about strategy and policy – including undertaking further funding rounds.
The Greens’ proposal was for the government to provide additional funding to Housing Australia to unlock more social and affordable homes.
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Forrest calls for ‘plastic tax’ as global treaty to end plastic pollution negotiated
The Australian businessman Andrew Forrest has called for a “plastic tax” as more than 175 countries – including Australia – negotiate a legally binding global treaty to end plastic pollution in Busan, South Korea.
A “polymer premium” applied as a small price per tonne on plastic production could be used to fund waste management and further research as well as cleaning up past pollution, Forrest wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Environmental group WWF Australia said the treaty was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a global solution to the worsening crisis, with plastic pollution expected to triple by 2040. Kate Noble, the WWF plastic policy manager, said:
Plastic pollution is a global scourge but its impact across Oceania – a large continent that is predominantly oceans, and home to some of the world’s most incredible biodiversity and pristine marine environments – is particularly horrific.
WWF has urged governments to include explicit text in the treaty to ban and phase out the most harmful plastic products, mandatory product design requirements to ensure remaining products are safe and easy to reuse and recycle, and funding and mechanisms for strengthening the treaty over time.
Negotiations conclude on 1 December.
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World leaders 'applauding' push for social media ban, Albanese says
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has made a speech in the House of Representatives calling for the parliament to give “unanimous” support to his government’s bid to ban under-16s from social media, after Guardian Australia this morning reported a simmering concern among some Coalition MPs about the rushed legislation.
The Nationals MP Keith Pitt and some colleagues are raising issues about the fact children can work at age 14, but wouldn’t be able to go on Facebook until 16 – as well as concerns about the legislation being rammed through parliament within a week with only a token Senate inquiry. The Nine newspapers also reported the Liberal MP Garth Hamilton had voiced concerns.
In an address to the house just now, Albanese claimed world leaders in North America, Europe and New Zealand had recently told him “they are all looking at what we are doing, and they are applauding what we are doing in showing leadership in this area”.
Defending the decision to set the age limit at 16, Albanese said the restriction was in place because “as we develop and mature, we’re better at spotting the fakes and the dangers”.
We build up the mental resilience to ignore the worst of the nastiness. We learn the difference between online followers and true and real friends, we learn not to measure ourselves and our lives against impossible standards or a fake image of perfection.
If children don’t have that chance to learn, if they don’t have the grounding of real experiences and real friendships to support, if they fall into the vortex of thinking what happens online is all that matters, then we know the consequences can be devastating.
The PM went on to say his bill was “worthy of the unanimous support of this parliament”.
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NSW’s forecast power shortfall reduced but conditions remain ‘tight’
Earlier this morning, we noted that the Australian Energy Market Operator had issued an alert for a pretty big potential supply gap in NSW on Wednesday afternoon, and it was seeking a response from the market.
Well, it has received some of that desired response. So instead of 1700 megawatts (about the size of the now closed Liddell power station when it was having a good day), the forecast supply gap has been cut to 351MW.
And instead of an eight-hour stint when supply might not meet demand (aka “blackouts”), the period has shrunk to five hours from 4pm (Aedt) to 9pm. Aemo said in a statement:
High temperatures and strong electricity demand, combined with some generation outages, are causing tight electricity supply forecasts in New South Wales tomorrow and Wednesday afternoon.
“Aemo has alerted the energy industry and is working with power station operators and transmission businesses to boost electricity availability,” adding that if the market’s response is inadequate, it will take “actions” to ensure supply.
And, as we noted, Queensland also faces “tight electricity reserves” on Wednesday afternoon. Hopefully they don’t get tighter too.
NSW holding off any official call for power use reduction as mercury climbs
As noted in an earlier post, the electricity grid in parts of eastern Australia faces strains this week as a low- to severe-intensity heatwave sweeps eastwards.
NSW’s energy minister Penny Sharpe told a media conference in Sydney (mostly about the fire dangers of lithium batteries) that the “first thing” is for people to take care of themselves in the coming heat. (Parts of western Sydney are expected to reach 38C-39C tops tomorrow and Wednesday.)
You should drink water, you should check in on neighbors, and you should think about whether you need to walk out in the middle of the day in the beating hot sun.
Sharpe, though, said the Australian Energy Market Operator was making the call on strains to the power grid although “we’re obviously keeping a close eye on it”.
While not giving “any official advice at this point,” the minister said people consider “on really hot days” whether every single light needed to be in the house or whether air conditioner really needed to be set at 19C say.
There are some big gaps for Aemo to fill, though, so we’ll be watching closely too.
Meanwhile, fire danger risks in NSW will be elevated in some regions early this week as the mercury climbs. The likelihood of light winds and the fact the landscape hasn’t dried out - yet - will spare the state more severe fire conditions this time around.
Fire risks in NSW remain mostly moderate to high (thanks to light winds, moisture in the vegetation, etc). (Via @bom_au) pic.twitter.com/MX0tTCq6aV
— @phannam.bsky.social (@p_hannam) November 25, 2024
Mis- and disinformation bill withdrawn in the Senate
Just earlier this morning, the government’s mis- and disinformation bill was officially withdrawn in the Senate.
The opposition leader Peter Dutton welcomed the move in a post to X, saying this is “a win for free speech for our democracy”. He also called on Labor to “rule out bringing this legislation back, now or after the next election.”
Nationals senator Matt Canavan wrote that it was “the most anti-democratic law ever introduced to the Australian parliament.”
Greens senator David Shoebridge also wrote on X that it was a good outcome:
Good outcome. Now do the social media age ban.
Man arrested at Sydney airport and charged over vandalism in city's east
A man has been charged after cars and buildings were damaged or vandalised with anti-Israel graffiti in Sydney’s east last week.
Just after midnight on Thursday, emergency services responded to reports of a vehicle on fire on Wellington Street in Woollahra.
This vehicle and a further nine vehicles parked along Wellington Street, Tara Street, Fullerton Street and Ocean Street were also allegedly graffitied.
Another vehicle allegedly received minor damage as a result of the fire. Police estimate the total value of the damage to be in excess of $70,000.
Three buildings on Ocean Street and Fullerton Street were also allegedly graffitied. At this time, the total estimated value of the damage is between $20,000 to $30,000.
Following an investigation under Strike Force Mylor, a 20-year-old man from Mascot was arrested at around 3:50am this morning at Sydney airport.
He was taken to Mascot police station and charged with 21 offences:
Fourteen counts of destroying or damaging property.
Three counts of entering a building or land with intent to commit an indictable offence.
One count of destroying property in company using fire to the value of more than $5,000.
One count of destroying property in company using fire to the value of less than $2,000.
One count of having a blackened or disguised face with the intent to commit an indictable offence.
One count of behaving in an offensive manner in or near a public place or school.
He was refused bail and is due to appear in the Downing Centre local court today.
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Hanson-Young: ‘You’re asking us to ram through a piece of legislation without any evidence’
A theme of hearing on the proposed under-16s social media ban is around the short timeframe the government is expecting the Senate to review the bill. Today’s hearing is just three hours long and is the only examination of the legislation.
The comms department’s deputy secretary James Chisholm was asked by the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young why the government had not released the review into the Online Safety Act given it goes to many of the issues that the age ban bill aims to address.
Chisholm said the timing of the release was a matter for the minister.
Hanson-Young said:
This is why this is such a joke. A piece of legislation is being rammed through that relates directly to the issues that were raised in this review.... You’ve just said a whole lot of recommendations. It’s been kept secret from the public, secret from the Senate, and you’re asking us to ram through a piece of legislation without any evidence.
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The government says digital ID won’t be used for age assurance – but does the bill rule it out?
The federal government has said its digital ID won’t be used to assure ages on social media, but when pressed could not point out in the under-16s ban legislation where it was specifically prohibited.
The infrastructure department’s first assistant secretary for digital platforms Sarah Vandenbroek said:
I know there have been questions raised in a few areas about whether there’s any linkage here to the government’s digital ID system. And to be clear, there is no linkage. That is not the intention. The trial will look at the different methodologies and assess not just their accuracy, but also their security and privacy settings to see which of those technologies might be considered a reasonable step.
But when asked by Nationals senator Matt Canavan about where specifically the legislation rules it out, the department indicated there was no specific exclusion in the bill. Canavan:
Can you point me to the bid in the legislation which restricts the eSafety commissioner from designating digital ID as a means of age verification ... Once it goes through the Senate, that’s it. I don’t get to touch it again. Is there anything in the law that says that?
Department deputy secretary James Chisholm:
Nothing in this law that says that.
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Arrests at Rising Tide protest ‘should be of deep concern to all’, civil liberties group says
The NSW Council of Civil Liberties says an “extraordinary” number of people were arrested at the Riding Tide climate protest in Newcastle yesterday, because of “draconian anti-protest laws” in the state.
Almost 200 people were arrested yesterday after pausing activity at the Newcastle port, the world’s biggest coal port.
In a statement, the council president, Timothy Roberts, said the NSW government’s “efforts to stop protests and criminalise and demonise protesters at all costs should be of deep concern to all”.
Where to deploy police resources is a decision for the NSW government and the police. They have chosen to use these resources against peaceful protesters in defence of the fossil fuel industry.
Paddling a kayak in the Port of Newcastle is not an offence, people do it every day safely without hundreds of police officers. A decision was made to protect the safe passage of the vessels over the protection of people exercising their democratic rights to protest.
We are living in extraordinary times. Our democracy will not irrevocably be damaged in one foul swoop – it will be a slow bleed, a death by a thousand tranches of repressive legislation, and by thousands of arrests of people standing up in defence of their civil liberties.
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Watch: More from the under-16s social media ban inquiry
Here’s another video from the inquiry this morning into the bill to ban under-16s from social media.
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Questions over which platforms will be included in social media ban for children
The digital industry group Digi says it is a “serious flaw” in the under-16s social media ban bill that it’s not clear which platforms it will apply to, including YouTube.
The detail over which platforms are covered is determined by the minister through legislative instrument, and allows a lot of discretion over what is included and what is not.
Digi’s policy director Dr Jennifery Duxbury said this was a serious flaw in the bill:
The bill doesn’t make it clear who is in or out of scope. And that’s, you know, to us, that is a really serious flaw in the bill, but it is absolutely unclear who is in or out, and we don’t know what criteria will be used to determine these exemptions.
The explanatory memorandum suggests that some services will be out of scope, but that will occur until a future date, and that date is unknown.
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Platforms can’t provide teens mental health support, inquiry told
Here’s a video from the inquiry into the under-16s social media age ban this morning:
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Industry group cops heat at inquiry in absence of social media platforms
Meta, TikTok, X and other platforms are not at the inquiry on the social media ban for under-16s today, so industry group Digi is copping the heat from politicians on their behalf. Here’s a flavour of that today.
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson:
Grieving families such as Matt and Kelly Howard, whose daughter Charlotte took her own life, and Rob Evans, whose daughter Liv was only 15 when she died, have been campaigning for social media age limits. Can you please explain to those parents and to other parents who’ve lost their children why you are right and they are wrong?
Digi managing director Sunita Bose:
These are absolutely tragic events, and as a parent of two myself, I cannot imagine anything worse. We must remain focused on how we protect young people online without cutting them off from the connection and the mental health support that previous witnesses have discussed today, we do this by teaching young people how to safely navigate online spaces, how to seek help.
One of the risks we’re concerned about is that while the mainstream digital platforms are far from perfect, we have to remember that these are the services that do have safety guard rails. They do work with the eSafety Commissioner, and in young people’s determination to get online and to connect with others, there is a risk that they will go to darker, less safe, less regulated online spaces where they won’t be able to seek that help, and they may be unwilling to share with a parent that they’ve done so.
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Deputy PM's chief of staff suing Marles and government over employment stalemate
The deputy prime minister’s chief of staff, Jo Tarnawsky, is suing her boss and the government, after it failed to resolve the employment stalemate that has seen her locked out of her office since May.
Tarnawsky has filed a claim for adverse action under the Fair Work Act, naming the Commonwealth, her boss Richard Marles and the prime minister’s chief of staff Tim Gartrell as respondents.
The claim alleges victimisation for having complained about bullying. Tarnawsky has said the alleged bullying did not involve Marles himself.
Tarnawsky is alleging that Gartrell was involved in the commonwealth’s contraventions. She is not alleging Gartrell was involved in bullying.
Making a statement at Parliament House this morning, six weeks after she went public about her employment situation, Tarnawsky said “good exits” from senior jobs in politics “are possible”.
It should not be unreasonable for any of us to expect to depart with dignity, to walk away better from our time working in this building.
Last month, Guardian Australia revealed Tarnawsky had not had direct contact with Marles since May, after she raised allegations with him about bullying within his office and he told her to find another job.
Marles told parliament in October that Tarnawsky was “a wonderful person”, he felt “deeply sad” about the situation but because of legal processes, he could not comment further.
Those processes were formalised today though Tarnawsky’s court action.
Tarnawsky’s lawyer, Marque Lawyers managing partner Michael Bradley, said Tarnawsky would be seeking compensation. He alleged she was “punished … in a state of limbo, frozen out for more than 200 days now”.
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Recovering gambling addict blasts government delay on betting ads
A recovering gambling addict who testified before a parliamentary inquiry into gambling harm has also criticised the government’s decision to delay advertising reforms.
Mark Kempster has banned himself for being directly contacted by bookies, but over the last two years, some have still encouraged him to return to gambling. He now works with the Alliance for Gambling Reform:
It’s been 20 months since I gave evidence to this inquiry. The Albanese government has had that entire time to try and regulate a completely broken, predatory industry that is ruining Australians every day. It’s unfathomable this has now been delayed again.
Every week I get messages and calls from people falling into addiction and every one of them feels utterly trapped by the industry. They all feel they can not get away from the advertising of online gambling.
Kempster has called on the government to honour the legacy of the late Labor MP, Peta Murphy, who led a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry that recommended a total ban. Murphy died in late 2023.
Peta Murphy provided the government with an overwhelming comprehensive guide on how to help and protect people like me. Yet her party is doing everything they can to dismiss her legacy by continually kicking the can down the road.
Updated
Earlier (see post), Nationals leader David Littleproud said it was “dangerous to conflate digital ID” with the under-16s social media ban.
But Nationals senator Matt Canavan has argued in a post to X that there is “not an OUTRIGHT ban on social media companies retaining the information they collect to verify your age” in the bill. He wrote:
Keep in mind, ALL users will have to verify the age even though the ban only applies to children under 16. But as long as they have your “consent”, they can use your identity docs for other purposes or even to disclose to others.
There are some constraints, the consent must be voluntary, informed, current, specific and unambiguous. But this could possibly be just a checkbox that many will not understand the implications of.
Inquiry hears that children will work around social media ban, as concerns raised about age assurance and privacy
The committee examining the under-16s social media ban bill has heard that children will work around the ban, and it will mean every Australian will have to have their age checked.
Project Rockit CEO Lucy Thomas said requiring age assurance for all Australians raises privacy concerns.
Nationals senator Matt Canavan warned that age assurance could potentially push older people off social media if forced to grapple with age assurance technology.
Sunita Bose, managing director of Digi – the industry group for the platforms including Meta and Snapchat, said the assurance process would affect everyone:
To verifiably know whether someone is 14 or 40, young people and adults alike will need to take regular actions like providing an ID, an image of their face, or link to myGovID.
The community needs to be consulted on their willingness to provide more personal information every time they use one of these services.
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Thorpe and Faruqi to ask Senate to investigate alleged racism and sexism in parliament
Overnight, Josh Butler reported exclusively that Lidia Thorpe and Mehreen Faruqi will ask the Senate’s procedure committee to investigate racism and sexism in federal parliament – raising concerns about “white privilege” and how women of colour are treated in politics.
Thorpe and Faruqi are expected to give a press conference on this at 11am AEDT – we’ll bring you the latest on this shortly.
In the meantime, you can read Josh’s story in full below:
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Quotes from young people read out at inquiry into social media age ban bill
Project Rockit CEO Lucy Thomas has been using her time in the under-16s social media ban hearing to read out quotes from young people given they are “not in the room” to speak about the impact the ban will have on young people. Some of those include:
Reece from Tamworth:
Social media has helped me figure out and become comfortable with my sense of self.
There is a large community that is able to connect me with people all over the world living in a regional area. It’s difficult to find people dealing with the same personal developments and social media really helped.
Lamisa from Western Sydney University:
Social media has given me creators who are people of colour, and I think it has really allowed me to learn that I don’t have to justify my existence, that I’m allowed to have an opinion, and that I’m allowed to have a voice about who I am.
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Nationals leader on Newcastle protests: ‘I actually think we should just ignore them’
Speaking to Sky News, David Littleproud also weighed in on the Rising Tide protests in Newcastle and said “everyone has to be angry these days and have a cause”.
I get it, but there’s a way to do it … Do they really think that that’s wise to go and put themselves in harm’s way, in front of a tanker and think that … makes a point? I actually think we should just ignore them …
Littleproud said he understood “we’re all moving towards that [energy] transition” but argued “you can’t destroy [the] economy on that journey”.
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Nationals leader says social media age ban not about digital ID, despite 'hysteria'
The leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud, spoke with Sky News just a moment ago about the under-16s social media age limit bill.
As Josh Butler flagged earlier, several Nationals MPs have raised concerns about the bill, and as the Nine papers report, there is a growing pushback inside the Liberal party too.
Asked about this pushback, Littleproud said there is “conflation and confusion” on what the bill is about:
This isn’t around digital identification … and this isn’t about trying to hand over people’s personal identity and their forms – their driver’s license, their passports … I think there’s some elements that have tried to criticise that to whip up hysteria in the community, when the reality is that’s not that at all.
Littleproud pointed to TiKTok as an example, and said it has the technology to ban users that are too young without needing to obtain ID.
I think you’ll find that we’re having further discussions and negotiations with the government, and the principle still comes back to protecting young children, and protecting young girls who are the subject of abuse and offence …
It’s not a perfect fix, but it’s another tool that that parents can have. And I just think it’s dangerous to conflate digital ID, we didn’t support that.
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Resources minister says Greens and Coalition are ‘populist, vote-grabbing’
The resources minister, Madeleine King, spoke with ABC RN earlier this morning about the critical minerals production tax incentive bill, due to be put to parliament today – it doesn’t have majority support, so why put it forward?
She said it’s about putting forward the position of government and industry, and “if Peter Dutton and the Coalition choose not to support the resources sector, well people should know about that.”
The important thing about this incentive is that it drives further investment into an emerging industry that does face a lot of challenges from international markets. So people, whether it be the Greens, the independents, but particularly the Coalition – who really should know better – need to step up and [give broad] support.
As the West Australian reports, the incentive would refund 10% of the processing and refining costs for projects that start between 2027/28 and 2039/40 – for up to 10 years per project – plus tax credits of $2 per kg made available for the production of renewable hydrogen from 2027/28.
The minister also took aim at the Greens and Coalition amid the final sitting week, labelling them “populist, vote-grabbing parties”.
We’re trying to do the right thing for the Australian community, whereas they want to block this to be able to put out another TikTok … It’s absolutely disgraceful.
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Short hearing into social media age ban bill kicks off
At the kick off of the short hearing on the federal government’s social media ban bill, mental health groups and experts were asked whether the good outweighs the ban on social media for under-16s. Dr Danielle Einstein said no:
I do not see any benefits for mental health from social media. I’ve looked really hard at the evidence. And even if there, if there were to be some, I think they are far outweighed by their disadvantage. But for mental health, I do not see any benefits.
Headspace’s head of clinical leadership, Nicola Palfrey, warned of the risk of the ban:
The thing that headspace is concerned about with the social media ban is what we do from young people, and research does indicate is that there’s help seeking that goes online.
There’s seeking out of information with regards to mental health and wellbeing, and definitely with regards to connection, particularly for those young people that there may be risk of being disenfranchised, so remote rural communities belonging to minority groups and so forth, so places where they find connection online that otherwise they can’t find in real life.
Project RockIt’s CEO, Lucy Thomas, said there were risks and harms online but said any ban should be approached carefully, otherwise “we risk dialling back young people’s rights and pushing them into more isolated and less supported spaces online”.
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Barnaby Joyce calls Newcastle port protesters ‘selfish’
The Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce also spoke with Sunrise about the Rising Tide protest, taking aim at the protesters and labelling them “selfish”:
Look around your house. Your television, watch, clothes, car, fuel in the car – comes from overseas. Somebody somewhere has been putting something on the boat and sending it in the other direction … That dear folks is things such as coal, gas, iron ore, wool, wheat, cotton – a lot of the evil things you don’t like.
What these people are doing is going out in the harbour [and saying] I want Australia to be poor. They never suggest what pensions they would [want] removed or schools they don’t want built. They go out and say I want Australia to be poor because I have a selfish desire I can inflict on you … without accepting the consequences financially of what that means.
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Plibersek questioned on coal approvals and Newcastle protest
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, spoke with Sunrise earlier about the number of coal mine developments or extensions approved under her watch, Responding, Plibersek, said:
Well, I’ve approved 10 times more renewable energy projects than coal projects – 65 renewable energy projects. I’m the first environment minister to stop a coalmine, because of the impact it could have had on water going on to the Great Barrier Reef …
She turned to the Rising Tide protests in Newcastle, and said:
Of course, in Australia you have a right to peacefully and safely express your view. But if you’re breaking the law, if you’re endangering others, if you’re diverting police resources, then I think you need to face the consequences of that …
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O’Neil says government supporting families of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles
The housing minister, Clare O’Neil, also spoke with ABC News Breakfast this morning and was asked about the Australian teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, who are among six tourists who have died from a suspected methanol poisoning event in Laos.
Asked how the government would be supporting both families, O’Neil said:
This is an unmitigated tragedy and I’m a parent – it’s a rite of passage for young people to travel throughout Asia and have fun, and it’s just heartbreaking what’s happened here.
I really want to extend my condolences to that family. Dfat is working with the two families here and I know we’ll be doing everything we can as a government to support them both in the grieving that they need to do here, and in the work that they’re trying to do to get some of the problems they see that have occurred overseas addressed.
O’Neil said the government has “undertaken education campaigns around methanol poisoning” and would continue to “work with the families to see what we can do”.
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Australia urged to do more on climate crisis as activists rue trillion-dollar Cop29 funding gap
Here’s the latest from Adam Morton this morning, who is in Baku for Cop29: The Australian government has been urged to “step up” and do more to address the climate crisis, after it played a role in a contentious deal on global finance to help poor countries deal with the problem.
You can read the full story below:
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Eastern Australia heatwave could strain power grid
The early-season heatwave that began searing southern Australia late last week is making its way east, as forecast a few days ago.
Inland parts of Sydney, for instance, are in the midst of a week of days with temperatures reaching the 30C. Penrith is expected to reach 38C tomorrow and 39C on Wednesday as the heat peaks.
A severe heatwave for parts of eastern NSW today extending to Wednesday. (Via @bom_au) pic.twitter.com/OBb8tIT93O
— @phannam.bsky.social (@p_hannam) November 24, 2024
It looks like the power grid will be strained as air conditioners are switched on and stay on. The crunch, for NSW at least, has shifted back to Wednesday from Tuesday.
The Australian Energy Market Operator has forecast a so-called level 3 lack of reserve for the state over a considerable period on Wednesday, from 12.30pm Aedt to 8.30pm.
“The maximum load (other than interruptible loads) forecast to be interrupted is 1731 megawatts” at 3.30pm, local time, it said.
Aemo is seeking a market response.
Aemo can intervene if the market doesn’t respond, but it hasn’t set the time for an intervention. It may need to order generators to switch (assuming they can) or seek big power users (eg Tomago aluminium smelter) to switch off.
Queensland, as it happens, is also facing some lower level (2) lack of reserve forecasts for stints of Wednesday afternoon. Those alerts from Aemo suggest the northern state won’t have much electricity spare (if any) to sending to its southern neighbour.
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Growing pushback within Liberal party to social media ban, Nine newspapers report
As we reported earlier, several Nationals MPs have raised concerns about the under-16s social media ban, citing potential unintended consequences and the lack of a proper Senate inquiry into the world-first legislation. The Nine newspapers have also reported a growing pushback inside the Liberal party too.
The Nationals senator Matt Canavan, one of the first Coalition MPs to raise public issue with the bill, said the “inquiry” into the bill – lasting just a few hours today – was a “joke.” He wrote on X this morning:
The ban on social media for under 16s is subject to just a 5 day senate inquiry. It’s a bad joke but I will be at the 3 hour senate hearing this morning from 9am.
The hearing will feature witnesses including youth mental health advocates, the Digi group representing tech companies, and officials from the communications department.
It begins at 9am and we’ll bring you more when it kicks off.
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Lambie says fast-tracked Senate inquiry on social media age ban is ‘shameful’
Jacqui Lambie also weighed in on the under-16 social media ban, and described the fast-tracked Senate inquiry as “shameful”.
There is a Senate inquiry on that this morning, which is shameful in itself. I mean the bloody thing doesn’t start for 12 months, and yet they’re trying to ram something else down our throats instead of getting it right.
So I will be sitting in that inquiry this morning, I’ll be very interested to see the unintended consequences that are coming out of that.
Lambie said it was “really quite difficult up here at the moment between the Greens and the Coalition, to be brutally honest with you”.
‘Yes, we’re going to support you. And then a day beforehand says, no, we’re not [going to support you] on certain things.’ I mean, it’s getting beyond the point of ridiculous.
I don’t know whether we’ll sit again either in the new year, so if the Coalition and the Greens want to go [away] empty handed and go, ‘well, actually we could have supported this, but we didn’t’ just to make things difficult, then good luck with their votes.
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Lambie says Senate a ‘mess’ this week
Senator Jacqui Lambie says that it is a “mess” in the Senate, as the final sitting week of parliament begins. She spoke on the Today Show earlier, and said:
[The government has] just got a list of stuff, you’ve got no idea really what they’re going to list each day. It’s an absolute mess up in the Senate, to be honest with you. But I will say one thing – we need that housing deal ticked off because people need roofs over their heads. So if anything, can they please get that done?
Last week, Labor said it was looking at gambling ad response this year
Just quickly circling back to Clare O’Neil on RN talking about gambling advertising and the government’s long-awaited response to the Peta Murphy report – she said the government’s plans to tackle gambling ads would come “early next year”.
It’s worth recalling that just days ago, communications minister Michelle Rowland – in whose patch the gambling rules sit – said the government was looking at a response this year. What a difference a week makes.
Yesterday the lines out of the government were only that the legislation wouldn’t arrive this week. Of course, this is the final sitting week of the year, so no legislation this week means no legislation being introduced into parliament this year – but the government could detail its legislation in a press conference or media release outside of parliament. Rowland unveiled the broad details of the under-16s social media ban, for instance, in a press conference with Anthony Albanese when parliament was not sitting.
On ABC Afternoon Briefing on 19 November, last Tuesday, host Greg Jennett asked Rowland:
Time is, of course, running out this year. Michelle Rowland, you’ve got this bill to negotiate, social media ban for teens and the outstanding online gambling advertising restrictions. You did promise a, quote, comprehensive response this year. Will that be done by legislation this calendar year?
Rowland responded:
We are aiming to have it done this year.
Jennett went on to ask if it would be legislation, as opposed to codes of practice. Rowland responded:
Well, we’ll take advice on that, but the government has made no decisions in this regard. We’ve been consulting widely and it is our intention to reach a conclusion on that as expeditiously as possible.
Obviously, this is an area that has been of high concern, but we do want to make sure our response is comprehensive and robust and we get it right.
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Will Greens block housing bills in the Senate this week?
If it comes down to it, are the Greens willing to block these bills in the Senate this week? Larissa Waters said:
Well, we’ll now have those discussions about what we should do and what will best help renters and people who are trying to get a roof over their heads.
But we’re just extraordinarily disappointed that the prime minister seems to have dug his heels in and won’t help people in the way that they need helping.
Greens senator says PMs ‘ego’ getting in the way of housing bill concessions
Greens senator Larissa Waters spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier, asked about the government’s decision to reject the Greens’ compromises on housing (as Josh Butler flagged earlier).
She said that the government has shut the Greens down “at every opportunity”, saying:
We came back what we thought was a really moderate offer which would still help about 60,000 people by just funding an additional 25,000 homes, and I’m incredulous that overnight we had the government say that they won’t even do that …
I think renters and people who are trying to [buy] their own home will be astounded that it seems like the prime minister’s ego is getting in the way of people having the homes that they need. I can’t quite understand the psychology there.
Pocock says Labor’s housing bills are ‘important pieces of the puzzle’
Moving to housing, David Pocock was asked if the Greens should be supporting the government’s legislation.
He said most Australians would support what the Greens are proposing in principle – more housing being delivered. But he says the bills are “important pieces of the puzzle”.
In a housing crisis, I think we have two bills that are not going to solve everything but are important pieces of the puzzle … These are really good steps forward. And so if the government’s willing to amend the legislation, I think it’s a real goal.
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Pocock on social media ban: ‘I really support this in principal … but this seems like policy on the run’
On the under-16 social media age ban, David Pocock is still undecided on whether he will support the bill. What more does he need to know? He told ABC RN:
I’m keen to see how they propose it’s actually going to work. Again, I really support this in principle. This is something that we have to confront as a society … But this seems like policy on the run …
This is a big problem, but we actually need an ecosystem approach. We need a ban to go hand-in-hand with the digital duty of care … And what I’ve seen in the misinformation and disinformation bill, which has now been been shelved, is an unwillingness to actually tackle some of the root causes of social media harm, and that is around the algorithm, where these big social media companies don’t want us to know how they’re actually running their businesses.
Asked about the three-day inquiry, and whether you can adequately look into these issues in such a short amount of time, Pocock said: “No, I don’t think you can”.
The usual process is that the questions you don’t get to ask, you then put on notice. It’s pretty hard seeing how you get questions back on notice if the committee’s meant to report tomorrow.
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Pocock calls Labor 'gutless' for delaying gambling ad reform
The independent senator David Pocock says it is “gutless” the government hasn’t brought forward legislative gambling ad changes this year.
Asked if it was reasonable that the legislation is too complex to complete this year, he responded: “No, it’s not.” He told ABC RN:
This is absolutely gutless from the Albanese government, and it’s a huge win for Peter V’landys and the gambling industry, that really betrays Peta Murphy and and her legacy.
As you put to the housing minister, the recommendations were very clear. The work had been done in that report. We know partial bans don’t work. That’s why they were they were advocating for a phased-in ban over three years, and the government seems to have bolted under pressure from the gambling companies and from free TV.
Is it really about pressure from lobbying groups? Pocock responded:
Well, you just have to look at what’s happening in the parliament in these last two sitting weeks. 400 pages of electoral reform … they’re going to be rammed through both houses of Parliament by the major parties …
At the same time, the social media ban, which I really support in in principle, but there’s been no scrutiny of this. They’re willing to have a sham three day Senate committee hearing and just get it through and be able to point to it and say, ‘Well, this is the silver bullet that’s going to solve everything’. So I don’t accept it all …
I think both major parties need to be asking themselves on this: who do they actually work for? Who are they sent to this building to work for?
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O’Neil on the surviving Bali Nine inmates
Moving to other news, Clare O’Neil was asked about reports that negotiations between Australia and Indonesia are ongoing regarding the surviving Bali Nine members being repatriated to Australia.
O’Neil said she doesn’t have any further information on the negotiations:
What I do know is that the prime minister has made a request, as many previous prime ministers have made, that mercy be shown to these young Australians.
They committed a horrible crime, a crime that hurt lots of people, and no one should lose sight of that. But [they’ve] now spent 20 years in Indonesian jails, two of them have already paid with their life. So I think it’s absolutely appropriate that the prime minister do as previous prime ministers have done, and advocate for those people who are Australian citizens who are stuck overseas.
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Does the delay on gambling ad restrictions have anything to do with the demands of lobbyists?
Clare O’Neil said it wasn’t about lobbying, but “about making sure that we get this right”.
And the minister has pointed to previous attempts to scale back gambling advertising that have actually resulted in more gambling advertising. This is a delicate area, and we’ve got to get the balance right, and that’s what the minister is seeking to do.
Gambling ad legislation expected ‘early next year’: O’Neil
The government is not planning to introduce legislation around gambling ad restrictions this year, despite previous commitments.
Clare O’Neil was asked about this – and why the government can pull legislation together on social media so quickly, but not this, despite the report being handed down nearly 18 months ago – and responded:
These complicated matters, they just are. You know, if this was a really simple problem to fix, then it would have been fixed a long time ago.
I would say our government deserves credit for stepping up and saying we’re going to take action on this, and the minister [Michelle Rowland] is doing what is appropriate, which is diligently working through what the proposals will look like.
O’Neil said the government is “fiercely committed to making sure that this occurs”.
The minister is working with people, experts, stakeholders, others who will be affected by this legislation, and the government has said will come forward with … proposals early next year.
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O’Neil asked if government has failed to find workable solution on housing
Q: You’re blaming the Greens for blocking progress on housing, but isn’t this a failure on the government’s part to find a workable solution? You don’t have the majority in the Senate, isn’t getting their approval or the approval of the Coalition part of your job in delivering more houses?
Housing minister Clare O’Neil said the government had “tried to work with parties around the parliament to address these issues” – and again accused the Greens of “consistently coming in to back in Peter Dutton’s approach on these things”.
O’Neil said the time of negotiation and conversations was six months ago, saying:
The Greens are going to go to the next election either as an ineffective party of protests that has blocked and delayed action on things they say are important to them, or a party that lets the government get on with addressing the housing needs of Australia.
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Housing minister says Greens' concessions on Help to Buy bill are 'nonsense'
The housing minister, Clare O’Neil, is speaking with ABC RN about the housing legislation due to go before the parliament this week.
She said the Help to Buy scheme would come before the Senate tomorrow, and its second housing bill “a little bit later in the week.”
Asked about the Greens’ proposed concessions, which the government didn’t agree to, O’Neil accused the Greens of working with Peter Dutton to “block and delay everything that our government has tried to do on housing”.
It is a consistent approach of the Greens … It was yet another political stunt.
O’Neil said the government “seriously” looked at the Greens’ proposal and got advice from treasury, but described the proposals as “nonsense” and “unlawful”.
One of the proposals put forward would have required me as minister to direct Housing Australia to fund homes that Housing Australia has … looked at and decided not to fund, and that is against the law. That is against the Housing Australia Act. So this is just one of a whole range of serious problems with what was put forward.
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Is the eSafety commissioner concerned about role of Musk in Trump administration?
Julie Inman Grant was also asked about the role that X owner Elon Musk is going to play in the incoming Trump administration? She responded:
Well, my job is not to be concerned with what Elon Musk is doing, unless he is hurting the safety of Australians, and that is why we will continue to regulate without fear or favour and to make sure that we’re safeguarding Australians online safety, and that has always been my focus.
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eSafety commissioner weighs in on under-16 social media age ban
Julie Inman Grant, the eSafety Commissioner, says it is her role to “enforce the laws”, not endorse, and that the under-16 social media age ban was a matter for the parliament.
She was asked about the legislation while speaking to ABC RN earlier this morning, and said:
There’s an inquiry happening today, and what I have continued to say is that it’s really, really important that any bill like this is nationally consistent, and that this is just one piece of an interlocking set of provisions – including the digital duty of care that minister [Michelle] Rowland has announced – and the education, digital literacy work that we’ve been doing for years.
So all of these need to work in tandem together, and we’ll see what the outcomes of the inquiry are. And of course, we will enforce and carry out what the will of the parliament is.
She said it had been an “important national debate”, particularly around the “addictive design features” of social media platforms, and “we understand the ideas behind this”.
We also need to make sure that particularly vulnerable and marginalised kids still have a way to connect and to create and explore. So whatever we do, when we implement what will become the law, we’ll try to do this in a way that is really protective of the range of children’s rights, including their ability to communicate and express themselves online.
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More on the NSW housing announcement: larger proposals to get fast-tracked
Continuing from our last post: the rezoning will come into effect on Wednesday and development applications will then be able to be lodged to build new homes. Proposals that are more than $60m will get fast-tracked.
The government also has a 3% affordable housing rate for all new developments across the eight stations, though it is higher in some areas. In a statement, Paul Scully said:
The finalisation of the TOD Accelerated Precincts means development applications can be submitted and assessed, so that housing construction can start as quickly as possible. Elements of the planning pathway have been streamlined for the assessment of proposals in these locations, which will allow for greater speed without compromising the quality of the assessment or the final result.
We made an election commitment to rebalance Sydney’s housing growth around existing transport infrastructure and today we’re delivering the blueprint for those homes.
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NSW government to build 58,000 homes around eight Sydney train stations
More than 58,000 homes will be built on land around eight train stations across Sydney, according to the New South Wales government, who will today release their master plans for the precincts.
Last year, the government announced the rezoning of land within 1.2kms of stations at Bankstown, Bays West, Bella Vista, Crows Nest, Homebush, Hornsby, Kellyville and Macquarie Park, as part of their signature housing policy, called the Transport Oriented Development Program. The program also includes $520m to improve community infrastructure in the areas.
Following a six-week consultation period, the planning minister, Paul Scully, will today announce the final plans for each area. He said the rezoning will allow for:
18,000 homes for Homebush, accompanied by new open spaces and active transport links.
6,000 homes in Hornsby plus a new library, community and culture centre and road, walking and cycling upgrades. There are also plans to increase the local tree canopy by “up to 50%”.
4,600 homes in Bella Vista and Kellyville, with new playing fields and active transport links to be created.
14,000 homes in Bankstown, with plans to “encourage the delivery of a new bus interchange” near the shopping centre.
9,600 homes in Macquarie Park, to be accompanied by the creation of 14 hectares of “new and improved parks, plazas and open spaces”. Some 3.15m square metres of commercial floor space will also be opened up, which the government says provides capacity for about 100,000 jobs.
5,900 homes in Crows Nest and new road and public open space upgrades and increased tree canopy.
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Housing standoff continues after government rejects Greens' Help to Buy compromise
The government has rejected the Greens’ latest compromise offer to pass the Help to Buy housing bill, continuing the long-running stand-off into the parliament’s final week for 2024.
Government sources said the Greens’ demands would be variously unlawful, unhelpful or require spending Labor saw as wasteful. The government is now challenging the Greens to back the Help to Buy bill anyway, still not budging on any demands – with a final vote in the Senate scheduled for tomorrow. Clare O’Neill has today said:
This continuous charade from the Greens has to stop. You get the distinct impression the Greens want Australians to continue to be in housing distress, so Adam Bandt can try to harvest those grievances into votes. It’s the crassest form of politics there is, straight out of the Peter Dutton playbook.
After initially demanding changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, among other requests, the Greens last week backed down and gave a revised list of compromises for their support. They included the government funding more homes under the Housing Australia Future Fund within the next year, increasing the number of affordable tenancies under the Build to Rent legislation, and altering settings around Help To Buy. Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather said yesterday:
The Greens are offering Labor an opportunity to announce the construction of 25,000 social and affordable homes, helping over 60,000 people into affordable homes in the middle of a housing crisis, why on earth would Labor block that?
But the government has rejected the updated offer, claiming the Greens’ ideas won’t work and that they would go against legislation banning the minister from making specific funding decisions. The employment minister, Murray Watt, a senior government voice in the Senate, said yesterday that passing Help to Buy was the government’s biggest priority this week.
O’Neil said:
Consistently throughout this Parliament, the Greens have blocked and delayed action on the housing crisis, looking for every excuse to vote down legislation which is clearly good for the country.
The Build to Rent saga continues ahead of the vote coming this week. It remains to be seen how the Greens will vote.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome back to the Australian politics live blog, as we begin the final sitting week of the year. There is a raft of legislation the government is still hoping to pass, with MPs and senators not due to return until February – and possibly not until the other side of an election if Anthony Albanese calls one in late January.
So, can Labor pass its legislative agenda? Paul Karp has written this analysis, a must-read for the week ahead.
On the Help to Buy housing bill, the government has rejected the Greens’ latest compromise offer to pass the legislation, continuing the long-running stand-off. Josh Butler will have all the details in a moment.
The under-16 social media age ban – likely to pass with the backing of the opposition – remains the topic of much discussion after the three-day inquiry only opened submissions for a single day. The eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant spoke with ABC RN earlier and said it was her role to “enforce the laws”, not endorse, and that it was a matter for the parliament. We’ll bring you more of her comments in a moment.
And in New South Wales politics, more than 58,000 homes will be built on land around eight Sydney train stations, with the state government expected to release their master plans for the precincts today.
I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage today. You’ll have the whole Canberra team bringing you the latest – Karen Middleton, Paul Karp, Josh Butler, Sarah Basford Canales and Mike Bowers.
Let’s get started.
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