Category Archives: Australian politics

Voice would help ‘change frustration’ over health and education, Linda Burney says

Posted on by

Canberra has to listen to locals, minister tells a community meeting in WA, as Richard Marles says Indigenous affairs is an ‘offence to the fair go’

The Indigenous voice would help “change the frustration” of Aboriginal Australians in health and education, Linda Burney has said, adding that those issues had been “ghettoised” into her portfolio in the past rather than dealt with more closely by responsible ministers.

Speaking at a major community meeting in Western Australia’s Pilbara region on Wednesday night, the minister for Indigenous Australians said that the proposed national voice was part of the Albanese government trying to “do things differently”.

Continue reading...

Labor’s refusal to extend school chaplaincy tax deduction will cause cuts, Christian group says

Posted on by

Parents’ secular education group wants chaplains scrapped and student wellbeing officers employed instead

Australia’s largest supplier of school chaplains has labelled the Albanese government’s decision not to extend its eligibility to receive tax deductible gifts “disappointing and unexpected”.

Scripture Union Australia has warned the decision would probably result in cuts to chaplaincy services after Labor allowed its deductible gift recipient (DGR) status, previously granted by the Morrison government, to lapse.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Next RBA governor should not be a senior public servant, Peter Dutton says

Posted on by

Speculation mounts Cabinet will sign off on decision on Friday, as Liberal leader says position should have no connection to government

A senior public servant should not be appointed the next Reserve Bank of Australia governor in order to avoid any connection with past governments, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, says.

As speculation mounts the government is set to sign off on the appointment at a Cabinet meeting on Friday, Dutton said the potential successor should not come from the public service.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: calls for flu jab increase after second child’s death; Tasmanian Greens leader resigns

Posted on by

Follow all the day’s news live

Andrew and Nicola Forrest, billionaires in iron ore mining, have separated after 31 years of marriage.

They said the separation will not impact their mining operations, in a statement:

After 31 years of marriage, we have made the decision to live apart.

Our friendship and commitment to our family remains strong.

Continue reading...

Federal MP Anne Webster allegedly received death threat from homeless man in Darwin

Posted on by

The Victorian Nationals MP was allegedly threatened in phone calls and emails with the accused, 39, due to face a Brisbane court on Friday

A 39-year-old homeless man has been charged with sending a death threat to the federal Nationals MP Anne Webster.

The man, of no fixed address, was arrested by the Australian federal police at Brisbane international airport on Tuesday. He appeared in the Brisbane magistrates court on Wednesday when he was remanded in custody to reappear on Friday.

Continue reading...

Indigenous voice: no campaign’s deep links to conservative Christian politics

Posted on by

The no camp employs lobbyists that specialise in conservative Christian campaigning, Guardian Australia can reveal

The lobby groups campaigning to sink the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum have deep links to a number of conservative Christian organisations and consultancies, a Guardian investigation can reveal.

The no campaign is working with companies that appear to specialise in conservative Christian campaigning, including a US-headquartered marketing and fundraising firm that aims to help Christian nonprofit ministries “fulfill their mission”. Our investigation also shows links between the no campaign and the failed conservative push to defeat the marriage equality postal survey in 2017.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: ANZ says customers ‘by and large are faring extremely well’ despite interest rates squeeze

Posted on by

Follow the day’s news live

A student on New South Wales’s Central Coast has died after contracting the influenza virus, just days after NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant warned circulation of influenza B was rising and young people were at heightened risk from the strain.

You can read the full story here:

Having a budget which is in much better nick means that if at some future point – and we’re not contemplating additional measures right now – but at some future point if we need to, we do that from a much more solid foundation. And that’s because we’re managing the budget so responsibly.

Continue reading...

China delays decision on Australian barley tariffs in setback on resolving trade disputes

Posted on by

Exclusive: The Albanese government says it is ‘disappointed’ Beijing’s review couldn’t be completed in the initial three months

China has asked for an extra month to decide whether to scrap hefty tariffs on Australian barley, dashing hopes of an imminent breakthrough in one of the biggest trade disputes between the two countries.

The Albanese government said it was disappointed by the delay, and warned that it was ready to revive its case at the global trade umpire, the World Trade Organization, if Beijing doesn’t scrap the measure by August.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: China’s access to TikTok data ‘needs to be interrogated’, Shoebridge says

Posted on by

Follow the day’s news live

It will be easier for women to medically terminate pregnancies up to 63 days of gestation, now that the Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved an application from MS Health to amend restrictions on the prescribing of MS-2 Step (Mifepristone and Misoprostol).

MS-2 Step was only able to be prescribed by a doctor certified to prescribe the medicine, and then dispensed by a pharmacist who was a registered dispenser.

We’re investing in the care economy, we’re investing in manufacturing and we’re investing in critical infrastructure to create secure, well-paid jobs for Australian workers.

While we know that slowing global growth, higher prices and higher interest rates will impact our economy and labour market and continue to strain household budgets over the coming months, Australia is in a better position than nearly anyone else to face the challenges ahead.

Continue reading...

Australia to send surveillance aircraft to Germany to help protect supplies to Ukraine

Posted on by

Anthony Albanese says an E-7A Wedgetail plane will be dispatched as part of an effort to monitor logistics hubs

The Australian government will send a surveillance aircraft to Germany to help monitor the flow of military and humanitarian supplies into Ukraine.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced the deployment after talks with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in Berlin on Monday, a day before attending a Nato summit in Lithuania where the war in Ukraine will dominate discussions.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Coalition faces fresh questions over Scott Morrison’s future after damning robodebt report

Posted on by

Pressure builds on former prime minister to leave politics as Liberal MP says Morrison’s presence is ‘difficult’ for party to move forward. Follow the day’s news live

Young sailor rescued from rough seas in Great Australian Bight

Xavier Doerr is a 22yo sailor who was rescued in the Great Australian Bight over the weekend by an Indonesian cargo ship, after his sail boat was hit by rough weather and capsized.

I appreciated the trouble I was in after the collision.

I started taking on water. My boat is built so it cannot sink.

I don’t really want to comment on my colleagues.

What I will say is that the royal commission report was very sobering for the government, which I was a member of, and for the entire political class and the bureaucracy and we do have to very carefully study the report and its recommendations, particularly so it doesn’t happen again.

Neither me or any of my other colleagues are in a position to direct Scott Morrison on how he responds to this report.

He’s entitled to take whatever position he wants on the royal commission.

Continue reading...

Seven public servants criticised in robodebt report as agencies consider response

Posted on by

Royal commissioner Catherine Holmes found that bureaucrats misled cabinet and ombudsman

At least seven public servants including the former Department of Human Services secretaries Kathryn Campbell and Renée Leon are the subject of adverse findings in the robodebt royal commission report released last week.

The commissioner, Catherine Holmes, found that public servants had engaged in conduct including misleading cabinet that legislation was not required for the unlawful scheme, and misleading the commonwealth ombudsman.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Meta vows to crack down on abuse and misinformation surrounding voice to parliament referendum

Posted on by

Exclusive: Parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads says it will ensure content on its platforms is ‘contributing to democracy’

Facebook and Instagram want to be “contributing to democracy” and not exacerbating harms surrounding the Indigenous voice referendum, the company’s Australian policy head has said, as the social media giant beefs up protections on misinformation, abuse and mental health before the national vote.

Meta, the parent company of the two apps, on Monday announced it would boost funding to factcheckers monitoring misinformation, activate global teams to locate and respond to potential “threats” to the referendum – including coordinated inauthentic behaviour – and form a partnership with ReachOut for mental health support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The company will also maintain transparency tools such as its ad library that tracks political spending.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

New register allows gamblers across Australia to ban themselves from all online wagers

Posted on by

The ‘Betstop’ scheme to be launched next month enables self-exclusion from all online gambling sites using just one form

Australians will soon be able to ban themselves from all online gambling companies in every state and territory using just one form, almost five years after legislation was introduced to parliament.

A national self-exclusion register for online gambling dubbed “BetStop” will be launched on 21 August, the federal government says.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Early robodebt critics outraged by how long Coalition persisted with unlawful scheme

Posted on by

Shocking to learn politicians and public servants ‘were basically just lying to us’, Andrew Wilkie says

Early critics of robodebt have said they are shocked, appalled and outraged by how long the Coalition government persisted with the unlawful scheme.

The independent MP Andrew Wilkie and former the administrative appeals tribunal member Terry Carney were responding to the release of the royal commission report on Friday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Keating calls Nato head a ‘supreme fool’ over plan to open office in Asia – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Racist throwback to Jim Crow days in America

Burney says the advert that ran in the Financial Review encouraging a “no” vote on the referendum over the Indigenous voice to parliament was “totally unacceptable”.

I think Matt Kean, the Shadow Health Minister in New South Wales, really nailed it, David, where he likened it to a racist throwback from the Jim Crow days in America, but it was also incredibly sexist and it is something in the words of Matt Kean, the ‘no‘camp has every right to have a say, but there are better ways of doing it.

I know Aboriginal Australia and I know that people know what the important issues - things like what I’ve identified - education, health, housing, jobs - and Josie Douglas who is this remarkable Aboriginal woman in the central land council put it perfectly: We are about changing lives, not changing dates.

Continue reading...

Kathryn Campbell retaining Aukus role would be ‘insult’ to robodebt victims, crossbenchers say

Posted on by

Former head of the Department of Human Services faces calls to resign after royal commission findings

Crossbench MPs have called on the senior public servant Kathryn Campbell to consider resigning after the robodebt royal commission, claiming it would be “an insult” to the victims if she retains her Aukus role.

The royal commission report tabled in parliament on Friday said Campbell, a former head of the Department of Human Services, had been “responsible for a department that had established, implemented and maintained an unlawful program”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

PwC to repay $800,000 for work on robodebt after damning royal commission report

Posted on by

Embattled consulting firm also reveals it no longer employs partner involved in work on the scheme for the Department of Human Services

The consulting firm PwC will repay more than $800,000 it pocketed for work it completed on the robodebt scheme and has confirmed a partner involved in the work is no longer employed by the embattled company.

The firm’s acting CEO, Kristin Stubbins, confirmed that it would repay the $853,859 it was paid by the Department of Human Services to review the scheme.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Peter Dutton concedes individuals made ‘mistakes’ on robodebt but warns against ‘trial by media’

Posted on by

Opposition leader accuses Labor of politicising the royal commission findings and calls Bill Shorten a ‘political animal’

Peter Dutton has conceded that “mistakes” were made by “individuals” involved in the unlawful robodebt scheme, while warning against a “trial by media” on the findings of the royal commission.

At the Liberal National party’s state conference in Brisbane on Saturday, the federal opposition leader accused Labor of politicising the issue and referred to the government services minister, Bill Shorten, as a “political animal”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

How the Coalition collaborated with ‘friendly media’ to silence robodebt victims

Posted on by

Alan Tudge’s office planned to use sympathetic outlets such as News Corp to counter reporting on scheme, royal commission report reveals

When Alan Tudge needed to promote what became known as robodebt in December 2016, he found willing media outlets in the Australian newspaper, 2GB and A Current Affair.

“Welfare debt squad hunts for $4bn,” the Australian dutifully reported at the time. The then-human services minister next went on 2GB, where then-host Chris Smith said in the introduction: “Are all those people with their hands in the taxpayer pocket in genuine need?”

Continue reading...