Good afternoon. More revelations continue to surface at the robodebt royal commission, with a former Coalition minister today admitting to making false statements about the scheme in 2019.
Stuart Robert’s (pictured above) testimony is among the most important as he served as the minister for government services during the time of the robodebt scheme.
Responding to questions about an interview with the ABC’s Laura Tingle in August 2019, Robert said he gave untrue statements because he had “no choice as a cabinet minister but to defend government policy”.
Robert also rejected as nonsensical claims levelled by a former department secretary on Tuesday that the minister had responded to her recommendation that the program cease and the government apologise by saying “we will double down”.
“I completely reject that … in the strongest possible terms,” he said.
You can catch up on all the robodebt royal commission coverage here.
Top news
WA to open new areas for oil and gas exploration | The McGowan government is facing criticism for plans to release more acreage for potential fossil fuel extraction, despite warnings from the International Energy Agency to halt such new projects if the world is to meet net zero by 2050. “It’s hard to imagine a worse thing a government could do regarding climate and environment in 2023 than to lock in the carbon someone will seek to burn in 2073,” said Tim Beshara of the Wilderness Society.
Sydney drive-by shooting | A man, named in media reports as Taha Sabbagh, has been shot dead in front of his 12-year-old son during a drive-by shooting in south-west Sydney. Police said the 40-year-old man was outside the Elite Fight Force mixed martial arts gym in Sefton just after 6.30am on Thursday when the killers struck.
More EV charging stations in South Australia | The Royal Automobile Association will roll out 140 stations across Adelaide and regional locations, including 86 AC fast-charging stations and 54 DC rapid and ultra-rapid locations, with construction to be complete by the end of next year.
Spears stolen by Captain Cook to be returned | Four spears stolen from Kamay, now known as Botany Bay in Sydney, are to be returned to their traditional owners after more than 250 years. The spears have been in the hands of Cambridge University’s Trinity College since shortly after arriving in the UK in 1771.
German air force chief in Australia | War in Ukraine won’t distract Europe from supporting its Indo-Pacific allies, Lt Gen Ingo Gerhartz has said. Germany will soon unveil a new national security strategy, but the European Union last year also adopted a “strategic compass” that raised concerns about China’s “increasingly assertive regional behaviour”.
Indonesia cough syrup deaths | More than 200 Indonesian children have died after taking syrups contaminated with toxic chemicals, and now their parents are demanding justice. “What I want is for the public to understand what we’ve gone through. How did this begin? What kind of system led to these children suffering from this injury?” said one parent.
Romanian PM’s ‘AI’ adviser | Watch out Canberra staffers, AI might be gunning for your jobs. Romanian prime minister Nicolae Ciuca has unveiled a world-first “new honorary adviser” – an artificial intelligence assistant named “Ion”.
Fifa supermodel backlash | Fifa’s decision to appoint supermodel Adriana Lima as an official ambassador for the Women’s World Cup was “tone deaf” and unnecessary, according to gender equality campaigners and players.
Man lost in Amazon drank urine | … and ate worms to survive. Jhonatan Acosta, 30, had been on a hunting trip with four friends in the Amazon rainforest but became separated from his party on 25 January. Exactly a month later, last Saturday, he was found by search and rescue teams.
Full Story
Why are company profits soaring during a cost of living crisis?
Some of Australia’s biggest companies such as Qantas, Woolworths and Woodside are making huge windfalls during the cost-of-living crisis. We look at why these profits are contributing to inflation in this 19-minute episode.
What they said …
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“We are very clear [and] upfront in the principles of this consultation that Australia Post will not be privatised.” – Michelle Rowland
The communications minister ruled out privatising Australia Post following the release of a discussion paper seeking to make changes to the postal service. The Boston Consulting group had suggested in a review to the previous Coalition government that aspects of Australia Post be privatised.
In numbers
That estimate includes the use of oil and gas sold to Woodside’s customers. Australia’s national annual emissions are about 490m tonnes.
Before bed read
Consumer watchdog Choice put 44 dishwashing liquids to the test and found the best performing product was also one of the cheapest – Coles’s ultra advanced power soak lime, which retails for $1.90.
The “ultimate flop” this year was Morning Fresh ultimate power clean spray citrus fresh which, at the relatively steep price of $11 a bottle, scored just 45% – equivalent to the score of plain water.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: SCAN. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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