Mark Dreyfus rejects human rights commissioner’s claim Indigenous voice would undermine principles of equality

Attorney general declines to comment on calls for commissioner Lorraine Finlay to consider her future in the role

Federal attorney general Mark Dreyfus “does not agree” with the human rights commissioner that the proposed Indigenous voice to parliament would undermine human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination in Australia, but would not comment on calls for the commissioner to consider her future in the role.

In an opinion piece published in the Australian on Thursday, commissioner Lorraine Finlay wrote that the draft wording of the referendum question and proposed amendment to the constitution “inserts race into the Australian constitution in a way that undermines the foundational human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination, and creates constitutional uncertainty in terms of its interpretation and operation”.

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Laura Tingle becomes ABC staff-elected director – as it happened

The 7.30 political correspondent will sit on the broadcaster’s board alongside chair Ita Buttrose. This blog is now closed

Report of new gas tax for Australia

The Australian Financial Review is this morning reporting that a new gas tax looms as the government tries to raise revenue to begin budget repair.

Major companies such as Woodside Energy, Santos and Shell and their tax advisers have signed confidentiality agreements with Treasury on the PRRT consultation.

Since Treasury resumed the stalled work for Labor late last year, it has cast the net wider to probe other PRRT areas, such as deductions, in an attempt to raise revenue sooner for the government from the profits-based tax.

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Penny Wong moves to dampen expectation of breakthrough in Julian Assange case

Foreign minister warns of ‘limits to what diplomacy can achieve’ in efforts to bring Assange home

The Australian government has moved to dampen expectations of a breakthrough in the case of Julian Assange, saying there are limits to what diplomacy can achieve.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said Australia would continue to express the view to both the US and UK governments that the case against the WikiLeaks co-founder “has dragged on long enough and should be brought to a close”.

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Shorten attacks Robert’s links to lobbyist – as it happened

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Chalmers hopes for bipartisanship on RBA review

Jim Chalmers will receive the review into the Reserve Bank tomorrow. He says he will be releasing its report in April, along with some of the actions the government intends on taking.

I think people do understand how critically important the decisions taken by the independent Reserve Bank are and so we need to give the RBA the best possible basis to make those decisions. And one of the things that we’ve tried to do throughout is we see this as a bipartisan opportunity will see this as an opportunity for some bipartisanship.

What I’ve done is made sure that the panel hasn’t just kept me up to speed on their thinking and across their thinking but also the opposition and also the crossbench as well and I’ve got my differences with Angus Taylor, but I do want to say that he has been engaging with this Reserve Bank review panel in good faith and I appreciate that.

Our submission will be consistent with our values and our policies and our objectives and one of our highest priorities is to get wages moving again in meaningful and sustainable ways.

I think it’s common sense to prioritise the lowest paid as you go about that. You know, some people might pretend that we’ve got an inflation problem in our economy because the lowest-paid Australians are getting paid too much and that is obviously absolute rubbish.

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Pauline Hanson calls on Mark Latham to apologise for ‘disgusting’ homophobic tweet

Independent Alex Greenwich does ‘not intend to engage’ with One Nation MP’s comment aimed at him, but others spring to his defence

The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, has called on Mark Latham to apologise for comments about the sexuality of fellow state MP Alex Greenwich that left the New South Wales environment minister, Penny Sharpe, “physically sickened”.

Latham, the NSW One Nation leader, made the comments on Twitter on Thursday morning in response to an article in which Greenwich called Latham “a disgusting human being”. The article was about LGBTQ+ protesters being targeted outside an event Latham spoke at earlier this month.

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Pirate porn and candle wax: review of Australian film classification recommends end to ban on fetishes

Report says some depictions of violence in pornography should be allowed, with government to first tackle gambling in video games

Australia should ditch its censorship of certain fetishes and some instances of violence in pornography, according to a review that could open the way to everything from wax fetishes to pirate pornography.

On Wednesday the Albanese government released a review of the classification system handed to the Morrison government three years ago, promising to prioritise reforms to tackle in-game gambling.

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‘Simply about survival’: ACTU calls for 7% pay rise for lowest-paid workers to keep pace with inflation

Minimum hourly rate would rise to $22.88 – or $45,337 a year – if the Fair Work Commission grants the increase

Australian unions have called for a pay rise of 7% for the lowest-paid workers, a raise in the national minimum wage of $1.50 an hour to keep pace with inflation.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions made that submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual minimum wage review, which sets the pay of more than 2.6 million employees on the national minimum or award wages.

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Australia politics live: rate rises must stop with inflation coming down, Greens say; Brereton named anti-corruption commissioner

Commission appointments must be signed off by the governor general. Follow live

Sorry – I am told by a couple of senators that it was “technically” 4.13am.

So expect to see a few bleary-eyed senators in the coffee lines this morning.

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Senate inquiry to investigate support for Australians with ADHD

Greens senator Jordon Steele-John says people with condition struggle with ‘cost, wait time and stigma’

Assessment and support services for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder will be the subject of parliamentary scrutiny after the Australian Senate backed a Greens proposal for an inquiry on the issue.

The Senate community affairs references committee will examine barriers to “consistent, timely and best practice assessment” of ADHD and related services, including the adequacy of access to diagnosis and support, biases inherent in ADHD assessment and research, and the cost of medication.

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Greens, Coalition and entire crossbench unite to force inquiry into ‘broken’ FOI system

Senate to investigate after resignation of commissioner Leo Hardiman, who cited his lack of powers to make changes to fix delays

The Greens, Coalition and crossbench have teamed up to set up an inquiry into the freedom of information commissioner’s resignation over dysfunction and delays in the FOI system.

The FOI commissioner, Leo Hardiman, announced his resignation earlier in March citing his lack of powers to make changes necessary to improve the timeliness of reviews of FOI decisions.

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National reconstruction fund secures crossbench support – as it happened

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Pesutto gives no answer on if Deeming can continue to promote anti-trans views as part of Liberals

But John Pesutto also can’t answer whether Moira Deeming can continue to campaign against trans rights – a stance Deeming had before she was in the parliament and a key feature of her first speech to the Victorian parliament.

Look, what what I have always said from the very start, is that as leader of the Victorian Liberal party, I want public debate not just in the state but nationally, to be respectful and civil and courteous, and to be inclusive so that people can participate in discussions.

I am a supporter of free speech, but any connection of the Liberal party with people who share platforms with people who are extremely … people in hate speech is a concern to me and will never be acceptable in the party.

Well, I’m not happy with those tweets, and they’re very great concern and will represent if that continues, it will obviously represent a real problem going forward for Moira to return the [party].

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Dominic Perrottet, Matt Kean and the lure of Canberra: what next for NSW power duo?

While Kean has ambitions to move into federal politics, the outgoing premier’s friends say the more likely direction for him is business

Could Dominic Perrottet and his former treasurer Matt Kean continue their double act as the moderate-right New South Wales power duo in Canberra?

Kean has made no secret of his ambition to move to federal politics and on Sunday ruled out contending for the leadership of the NSW opposition, further fuelling speculation.

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Anthony Albanese criticises ‘very strange’ question on whether voice will have input on energy policy

Prime minister says people shouldn’t look for ‘distractions’ on voice to parliament’s ability to advise executive government

The government has criticised questions over whether the Indigenous voice to parliament will have input into energy policy and Reserve Bank decisions, with Anthony Albanese saying people shouldn’t look for “distractions” in the debate.

The prime minister last week unveiled the wording of the proposed amendment to the constitution, confirming the advisory body could make representations to both parliament and executive government, meaning it could have input into administrative decisions, the development of laws and the work of public servants.

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Australia politics live: Howard says Labor’s dominance won’t last long; emissions bill haggling down to the wire

The government is yet to strike a deal that will get its safeguard mechanism bill through the upper house. Follow the day’s politics live

Paul Fletcher won’t answer the question of whether or not he will run again in Bradfield.

He is dancing around this question like he is auditioning for the new Fred Astaire biopic. (Tom Holland has the role, and anyone who has seen his Umbrella dance will know why.)

I continue to consider serving the people of Bradfield to be an enormous privilege and … any rational politician always considers what they’re going to do as you come to the end of each term.

I’ve done that before the end of each past term, but what I can tell you is it’s an honour to serve the people of Bradfield. I continue to be committed to it, energetic in doing, so I spent most of Saturday across a whole range of polling booths engaging with my constituents. I enjoyed it. I found it energising, and I believe that the Liberal party has a very important role in serving the people of Australia and certainly in serving the people of Bradfield and that’s something I’m committed to.

I think the first point is that after three terms and 12 years, inevitably, it becomes harder to win a fourth term.

It’s the nature of our democracy of Australian democracy that the electorate starts to look for alternatives.

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Australia news live updates: Minn vows to ‘govern for everybody’ after NSW election win; arrest at Sydney anti-abortion protest

Labor win marks Coalition’s declining power around the country; woman held for breaching the peace at rally that began at St Mary’s Cathedral. Follow all the day’s news

Speers asks what will happen if the voice feels like its advice has not been sought out – will it be able to go to the high court?

Dreyfus says it is a possibility.

Again, I point to the third paragraph of these words, David, which puts beyond doubt the power of the parliament to regulate how that is to happen. And the reason why those words are there are to make sure that we’re going to have certainty, we’re going to know how this is going to operate.

I‘m hoping that it does. I’m hoping. Because we’ve seen from experience that when members of parliament, government departments, do listen to Aboriginal communities, we get better outcomes.

… You can point to examples right across the board where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are listened to, we get better policies, we get better laws. When they’re not listened to, we end up wasting a great deal of money and we end up with failed policies, and it is all too many failed policies that we can point to over recent decades.

That’s a misunderstanding of what this constitutional provision does. What this constitutional provision does is to set up permanently an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to parliament at executive, and the power that’s given to the voice is to make representations.

Of course we’re going to need to make sure that there’s, at a mechanical level, the ability for the voice to make representations, but it’s not that – as has been suggested and as your question suggested – there will be some requirement for government departments to be going off and seeking that advice.

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South Australia becomes first state to enact Indigenous voice to parliament

Premier hails ‘momentous legislation for our First Nations people’ while acknowledging it does not have unanimous support in state parliament

South Australia has become the first state to legislate for an Indigenous voice to parliament.

The Labor government’s bill passed the House of Assembly in a special sitting on Sunday.

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NSW election 2023 live results: polls have closed and votes are now being counted after Dominic Perrottet and Chris Minns made final pitches – latest news

Premier casts vote in seat of Epping and Labor leader says he is ‘feeling optimistic’ as party hopes to return to power after 12 years in opposition

Dominic Perrottet has given some more expansive comments after voting a short time ago in his seat of Epping. He and Labor leader Chris Minns spoke last night, exchanging text messages and wishing each other good luck.

Here’s some more from the premier:

It’s a real honour to serve the people of New South Wales. There’s a lot at stake in this election. I will be working hard all day.

It’s not about the Liberal or National party. Ultimately, elections are about our people. My team has the plan to deal with the challenges of today, but we’re all wanting to set up the state for the children.

Our party has been here for 12 years, it’s transformed New South Wales. We were the worst performing economy, the state had stalled. We’ve turned that around. We’ve built schools and hospitals, the motorways have transformed people’s lives. But it’s all about the future and where we go from here. I believe my team has the plan, the experience, energy and ideas to take the state forward.

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Indigenous voice a ‘safe and sensible’ legal option that will not impede parliament, experts say

Change of wording to constitutional amendment increases parliament’s power over the advisory body amid concerns about its authority

Constitutional experts have backed the proposed Indigenous voice as a “safe and sensible” legal option, dismissing concerns that the advisory body would be too powerful.

Several advisers to the referendum process say a change to wording of the constitutional amendment confirms that parliament has power over the voice, and that the advisory body wouldn’t be a so-called “third chamber” as opponents have claimed.

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The Greens face one of the biggest decisions of their political lives as Labor’s climate policy hangs in the balance

Some Greens want to pass the safeguard mechanism changes and keep fighting on fossil fuels while others want to attack it as a Coalition creation that can’t be redeemed

The future of one of Labor’s signature climate policies – updating the safeguard mechanism to deal with industrial greenhouse gas emissions – hangs in the balance. The government held off pushing it through parliament this week while negotiations continued with the Greens and key independent senator David Pocock over a potential deal to strengthen it.

The design of the policy is not the Greens’ responsibility, but what happens next is largely up to its party room – with the Coalition opposed, the government can’t get its legislation through without their support. The minor party is divided. Its 15 members will meet through the weekend ahead of a potential decision by Monday. It could go either way. Given the party operates on a consensus model that allows time to find common ground, it could also remain unresolved into next week.

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Albanese hits hustings ahead of NSW election day – as it happened

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Burney says the solicitor general’s advice supports the ultimate wording of the referendum question which the government released yesterday.

Patricia Karvelas:

I know you’ve said that on the solicitor general’s advice – which the opposition leader is demanding is released publicly – that it’s up to the prime minister.

… But you know about the advice. Does the advice of the solicitor general support the ultimate wording you’ve landed on?

Yes it does.

I am absolutely confident that we have got the words and the amendments correct. They are simple. They are understandable for the Australian public.

I think that the Liberals are looking for excuses, and I think they’ve almost run out.

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