Australia politics live: Inland Rail review reveals ‘significant concerns’; senator asks if MPs’ phones safe from hackers

Critics of project left frustrated and ‘ignored’ by previous government’s failure to heed views of regional communities. Follow the day’s news live

Joyce v Plibersek

Can there be a greater punishment than being the Labor MP chosen to “debate” Barnaby Joyce on commercial TV each week?

Well this Treasury analysis shows that price rises will be moderated, they won’t go up as much as was initially predicted and that’s because our policies are working, and it’s a shame that Barnaby and his side actually voted against the policies that have brought down energy prices in Australia, on top of not doing anything when they were in government to prepare for these energy price rises.

But we know that families are still doing is tough and that’s why we’re also delivering cheaper medicine, cheaper childcare, free Tafe and higher wages.

Well, you just heard it there. It’s the great swindle. Remember they said they were going to bring down the price of electricity by $275. Now they’re lauding the fact that it’s still going up and it will continue to go up, and at some time in the future, listen to this, it won’t go up as much as they expected it to. Now if you think that is worth banking, good luck.

As everything, you will see Liddell get blown up* and this will be under the Labor party’s watch, another power station literally blown up, another restriction on power supplies as we reduce supply and increase price. And I don’t see anything marvellous happening in the future except a Labor party which thinks that the way to fix power prices is to cap the two evils. Remember they don’t believe in coal or gas, but they do believe in capping it because they do understand all of a sudden that it is absolutely connected to power prices.

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Nearly 20,000 refugees to get same rights as other permanent residents after being kept ‘in limbo’

Labor clears way for temporary protection and safe haven visa holders to apply for permanency

Nearly 20,000 refugees will soon be able to apply for permanency, giving them the same rights as permanent residents after being kept “in limbo”.

The changes – hailed by refugee advocates as “a victory of unity and compassion over division and fear” – were part a Labor election promise. They mean that about 19,000 temporary protection and safe haven enterprise visa holders will be eligible to apply for a permanent resolution of status visa.

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Environment groups call for urgent action on hazardous waste from e-cigarettes

Head of Clean Up Australia says disposing of vapes is ‘a new and serious environmental issue’

Environment groups have called for urgent clarity and regulation to respond to an increase in hazardous waste from e-cigarettes as vaping becomes more popular.

The number of people using e-cigarettes doubled between 2016 and 2019, according to the federal government, with a survey showing more than 30% of 14- to 17-year-olds have tried vaping.

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Australia should force banks to repay scam victims and adopt better protections, advocates say

Calls for federal government to mandate the checking of account details before money transfers are made

The federal government should take action to force banks to reimburse scam victims and check the account details match up on transactions to stop scams before the money is lost, consumer rights advocates say.

The call comes as Australia’s big four banks pushed back on mandatory reimbursements, arguing they could “inadvertently lead to increases in scam activity” and that customers should keep themselves safe.

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Greens appoint Dorinda Cox as First Nations spokesperson to replace Lidia Thorpe

First female Indigenous senator from WA says she and her predecessor are ‘very different politicians’

Dorinda Cox has been appointed as the Greens’ new First Nations spokesperson after Lidia Thorpe’s departure from the party.

Cox, a Yamatji-Noongar woman, has been handed the job as the party campaigns for a yes vote in the upcoming voice to parliament referendum.

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Jim Chalmers confident Australia will avoid recession despite warnings of more interest rate rises

The treasurer also noted ‘very encouraging’ signs on power prices falling, saying Labor’s energy price relief package was working

The treasurer Jim Chalmers says there are “very encouraging” signs on power prices falling and is still confident Australia will avoid a recession despite continuing interest rate rises.

Last week in its first meeting for the year, the Reserve Bank increased the cash rate for the ninth time in a row to 3.35% and warned it was considering even more interest rate rises in coming months.

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Fines against WA climate protester ‘absurdly excessive’, Human Rights Watch says; refund for Myki charges during outage – As it happened

Activist pleaded guilty on Friday to criminal damage. This blog is now closed

Productivity commission report will be released in March

Chalmers says he has received a five-year review from the productivity commission about how Australia can respond to flagging productivity across the Australian economy.

I’d like to do that sooner, ideally in May, so that we can have this national debate about our productivity performance and some of the recommendations in there. Now, inevitably, a government won’t pick up and run with every single one of the recommendations from the Productivity Commission, but there may be some that we can run with. There will be some that align with the government’s economic plan and our policy objectives.

No doubt people will want to ask him about that and he can explain it. I think there’s a broader issue here about how the bank communicates the context for its decisions. This is one of the things that I have been discussing with the RBA Review Panel. I actually discussed it with them on Friday in one of the regular meetings that I have with the review panel, how they communicate their decisions and the context behind their decisions is one of the key focuses of that review.

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Linda Burney warns MPs who walked out on apology not to ‘repeat the mistake’ with the voice

Those like Peter Dutton who now regret walking out on the stolen generations apology should grasp the opportunity offered by the Uluru statement

The Indigenous Australians minister, Linda Burney, will warn those who boycotted the apology to the stolen generations in 2008 – among them the opposition leader, Peter Dutton – not to “repeat the mistakes of the past” and grasp the opportunity offered by the Uluru statement from the heart.

Dutton was the most senior of a handful of Coalition MPs who walked out of parliament when the then Labor prime minister, Kevin Rudd, formally apologised to the stolen generations in 2008.

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Anthony Albanese to become first sitting Australian PM to march in Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

Prime minister likens upcoming Indigenous voice referendum to the successful 2017 marriage equality vote

Anthony Albanese will be the first sitting Australian prime minister to march in Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras when he joins the parade for the WorldPride festival.

The prime minister said he will be joined by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, the first openly gay woman in parliament, when he takes part in the event later in February.

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Australian intelligence agency advised departmental discretion on using Chinese equipment 14 months ago

Government’s new commitment to remove devices made by Hikvision and Dahua from buildings sweeps 2021 advice aside

An Australian intelligence agency declared a year ago it was up to government departments whether to use equipment from Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua, despite a new bipartisan push to remove such devices.

The advice from the Australian Signals Directorate was published in late 2021, at a time when the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, was defence minister.

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Australian TV broadcasters claim more gambling ad restrictions could cut free sport coverage

Free TV Australia has rejected calls for further restrictions, telling inquiry the current regime is poorly understood by the community

The peak body for free-to-air commercial broadcasters has strongly rejected calls for further restrictions on gambling advertisements, warning free coverage of sport may be cut as a result.

Free TV Australia has argued the extent of wagering advertisements on television has been grossly exaggerated by some anti-gambling advocates and the current restrictions are poorly understood by the community.

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Inquiry into ‘private urination matter’ at pesticides regulator uncovers additional misconduct allegations

Agriculture minister has referred serious allegations of misconduct at the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to police

Police have been called in to investigate the government’s pesticides regulator after a review of its work culture found further allegations of misconduct.

An independent investigation was launched in November into the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) after a Senate committee heard allegations that a senior public servant urinated on his colleagues.

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Australian missing in Turkey found alive but two still unaccounted for – as it happened

Ley denies opposition is a ‘no-alition’

Karvelas:

The prime minister use the word ‘no-alition’ to describe your political strategy this week – the reconstruction fund and your opposition to that, which was revealed this week. Is this opposition going to take the Tony Abbott approach, and just oppose everything?

Not at all. We just want the government to deliver on their promises. And we’re not giving them blank checks on the national reconstruction fund, either, because it’s $15bn. They haven’t explained how it will benefit our manufacturing sector with the imperatives right now that the industry sector needs.

The IMF has warned against these off-budget vehicles as $45bn of them in the government’s plan. And it’s not a plan for the economy as it is now. It’s not a plan for rising costs of living, for rising inflation. It’s not a plan that even makes the government’s own promises. So we’re just saying just deliver on your promises, prime minister.

Julian Leeser asked a perfectly sensible question in question time yesterday, which was about which part of the Calma-Langton report would you adopt? … It was a basic question about detail. The prime minister just didn’t even answer one single part of it.

But you could be part of the process. The prime minister is saying be part of the process.

We are part of the process … but if the prime minister can’t answer a simple question that wasn’t the least bit political, it was asked in a very flat, factual manner in parliament. And if he answered that in a political way, what that tells me [is] he’s politicising the debate. But I agree, I don’t want to see this politicised.

We don’t really have any guardrails around a final outcome with detail that lands exactly where we want it to, which is in the health and welfare of Indigenous Australians. … the prime minister has tied that to the concept of the voice but he can’t explain it. So until he provides the details, I believe it’s actually the Labor party that is putting reconciliation at risk.

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Social media campaign linked to Chinese government spreading disinformation about Australian politics, thinktank says

Posts amplify content about sexual assault and misconduct allegations in Parliament House to undermine trust in political system, researchers say

A coordinated foreign influence campaign linked to the Chinese government is using social media to undermine confidence in Australia’s democratic system, according to researchers at a Canberra-based defence thinktank.

The researchers believe the network is operating from within China and is either spreading disinformation about Australian politics or amplifying concerns about political scandals. They reference rape allegations made by the former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and against the former attorney general Christian Porter, which he strongly denies.

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Angus Taylor behind decision to delay energy price rise report until after 2022 election

Exclusive: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has revealed Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg also knew of the decision

The former energy minister Angus Taylor asked his department to consider delaying telling voters about electricity price rises before the May election, then made the decision to do so.

Taylor told media in October that he didn’t know about incoming price rises and that he didn’t see the Australian Energy Regulator’s report proposing to increase the default market offer. In May last year, a spokesperson for Taylor rejected claims the delay was for political reasons.

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Australia news live: crossbench ramps up pressure on Michelle Rowland after reports of Sportsbet donations

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Why are we not just saying yes?

Richard Marles:

We need to balance this, obviously, as all countries to do with our own capability and making sure that we maintain our own ability to operate in our own sphere here in the Indo-Pacific.

But we need to be doing what we can to support Ukraine and we’ll continue to take that through and as we have and right now, we stand as one of the largest non-Nato contributors to Ukraine.

This is going to be an open question going on. I think the the answer to it is we will continue a discussion with the Ukraine for as long as it takes to make sure that they can stay in the contest.

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Alan Tudge quits politics sparking byelection in former Liberal minister’s Victorian seat

The byelection will be an early test of the opposition leader Peter Dutton in a state where the Liberal party has under-performed

The Liberal party will face a high-stakes byelection in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs after the Victorian shadow frontbencher Alan Tudge confirmed he will quit politics.

Tudge, who holds the marginal seat of Aston, confirmed his departure after question time on Thursday, saying his resignation would be effective from next week.

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Greens and crossbench join Coalition to hand Labor first major defeat in parliament

Senate blocks attempt to water down super funds’ transparency rules

The Greens and Senate crossbench have teamed up with the Coalition to hand the Albanese a major parliamentary defeat, disallowing its regulations watering down superannuation funds’ transparency.

The Greens joined the Senate revolt on Thursday, after warning earlier in the week it intended to help defeat Labor because the government backflipped on the unrelated issue of million-dollar fines for bankers.

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Albanese’s stance against public funding for yes and no voice campaigns backed by Birmingham

Coalition frontbencher breaks ranks with Peter Dutton saying taxpayer funds should not be used for referendum campaigns

The Labor government is standing firm against calls for public funding for the yes and no campaigns for the voice to parliament referendum, even drawing backing from a Coalition frontbencher who appeared to break ranks with the Liberal leader’s stance.

Simon Birmingham said taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill for campaign advertising, despite it being being a condition of opposition leader Peter Dutton’s support for the referendum bill.

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Chinese-made security cameras to be removed from Australian government buildings

More than 900 products made by Hikvision and Dahua discovered at 250 federal premises

The federal government has committed to removing Chinese-made security cameras at government buildings across Australia, admitting there is a potential security problem that needs to be addressed.

An audit of surveillance equipment, conducted by the shadow cybersecurity minister, James Paterson, has confirmed that more than 900 products built by Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua are installed at government locations.

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