Category Archives: Australian politics

Builders and the Fair Work Commission are delaying CFMEU members’ pay deals, union leader says

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Electrical Trades Union secretary says it’s ‘appalling’ that agreements struck before the CFMEU was placed into administration ‘aren’t getting through’ the FWC

Blue-collar unions have taken aim at builders and the Fair Work Commission for delays approving pay deals struck before allegations of criminal misconduct and bikie links resulted in the construction union being placed into administration.

Troy Gray, the Electrical Trades Union Victorian secretary, said it was “appalling” that administrators have removed three union-appointed directors from the board of industry super fund Cbus and that enterprise agreements “aren’t getting through” the FWC.

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Labor will have itself to blame if it loses western Sydney over Gaza issue, says Muslim Vote convener

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Wesam Charkawi says Albanese’s party has ‘created this movement through their decisions’ as pro-Palestine communities feel Labor has failed them

A new Muslim political movement backing independent candidates says Labor will have itself to blame if Peter Dutton wins the next election, and that people should not assume the candidates they support will preference Labor.

Sheikh Wesam Charkawi, one of the conveners behind the Muslim Vote movement, said the group would be aiming to support “at least five candidates” in New South Wales and Victoria.

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Australia news live: BoM predicts warm spring as Sydney faces high fire danger and four states warned of high winds

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Windy weekend in prospect as BoM forecasts warmer-than-usual spring. Follow the day’s news live

Good morning and welcome to the end-of-week news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories to get you up to speed before hosting duties switch to Emily Wind.

Mano Yogalingam was 23 years old and had “his whole life in front of him”. But the stresses and strains of living with the prospect of being deported back to Sri Lanka pushed him over the edge and he took his own life this week. Our top story this morning hears from refugee advocates who say the death of the Tamil asylum seeker has exposed the failings of the fast-track immigration system. “All of these people have been failed by the system. It’s a total cobweb of cruelty,” one said.

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Commonwealth Bank CEO labels Greens’ tax policy ‘insidious populism’ after firm’s $9.8bn profit

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Matt Comyn tells parliamentary inquiry that criticism of business profits ‘erodes trust in institutions’

The Commonwealth Bank chief executive, Matt Comyn, has described a proposed excessive profits tax as “insidious populism” and labelled criticism of profitable businesses as “fact-free rhetoric” that is damaging trust in public institutions.

Appearing before a parliamentary inquiry on Thursday, the head of Australia’s biggest bank appeared frustrated by questions about payment surcharges and corporate relationships and abruptly turned his attention to address criticism of big business.

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Australia news live: Josh Burns breaks ranks to call for gender and sexuality questions in census

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Follow today’s news headlines live

Severe weather warnings are in place across southern parts of the country for strong winds, including Victoria and Tasmania.

Here’s a wrap of the warnings currently in place, according to the Bureau of Meteorology:

Victoria – a strong cold front is expected to reach Victoria later today, clearing to the east tomorrow morning. Locations which may be affected by the wild weather include Portland, Bacchus Marsh, Falls Creek, Mt Hotham, Mt Buller and Omeo.

For the Central, West and South Gippsland and East Gippsland areas, a warning for abnormally high tides is in place.

Tasmania – a strong cold front is also expected to reach Tasmania later today, crossing the state tomorrow morning. The entire state is covered by the severe weather warning.

New South Wales – north-westerly winds are forecast to strengthen later today as a strong cold front approaches from the west. Locations which may be affected include Wollongong, Nowra, Bowral, Batemans Bay, Katoomba and Goulburn.

Meanwhile, fire danger ratings for the greater Sydney and Illawarra have been downgraded to “moderate” today after reaching “high” yesterday.

Western Australia – gusty, showery conditions are expected over parts of the South West Land Division today.

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Sex discrimination commissioner urges Labor to reverse decision excluding gender and sexuality census questions

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Anna Cody worries the Albanese government’s backflip could ‘strengthen the voices of discrimination’

The sex discrimination commissioner has called on the Albanese government to put gender and sexuality questions in the census, as the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, appeared to open the door to revising the controversial decision to exclude them.

On Thursday Anna Cody wrote to the government warning backtracking on a commitment to ask about gender and sexuality “carries serious implications for the health, wellbeing and general equality of LGBTIQA+ Australians and their families”.

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Australian PM caught on camera joking with senior US official over funding of Pacific policing plan

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Anthony Albanese tells journalists to ‘chill out’ over comments filmed in the wings of Pacific Islands Forum

The Australian prime minister has been caught on camera in Tonga joking with a senior US official about going “halvies” on the cost of a newly announced Pacific policing plan.

The deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, appeared to suggest in the video that the US had been planning to pursue an unspecified security-related proposal but had been encouraged by Australia not to proceed.

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Brittany Higgins had counselling days after her alleged rape, court hears

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Lawyer Rachael Young tells the court Higgins had encountered a delay in accessing parliament’s employee assistance program

Brittany Higgins had counselling within days of her alleged rape in Parliament House, a defamation trial has been told.

Higgins is being sued by her former boss, senator Linda Reynolds, over a series of social media posts the ex-defence minister alleged damaged her reputation.

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‘Impossible’ to make policy for LGBTQ+ community without extra census questions, crossbenchers say

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Crossbench MPs demand explanation for government’s decision to drop proposed ABS questions about sexuality, gender diversity from census

Crossbench MPs are seeking an urgent explanation from the Albanese government about why it dumped new topics on sexuality and gender diversity from the next census – a decision that left the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras “deeply concerned and disappointed”.

The move, confirmed by the assistant minister for the Treasury, Andrew Leigh, on Sunday, comes more than a year after the Australian Bureau of Statistics issued its statement of regret over the distress felt by the LGBTQ+ community as a result of being left out of the census.

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Australia news live: thousands rally in capital cities as CFMEU workers walk off sites; fears of overdose crisis as use of nitazenes grows

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Rallies in support of the CFMEU have kicked off across the nation’s capital cities, from Sydney, Melbourne to Brisbane. Follow the day’s news live

Jim Chalmers accuses Liberals of ‘economic insanity’ on potential housing cuts

Jim Chalmers was asked about the $100bn in cuts the Coalition is set to announce today, mostly from Labor initiatives, if it wins the next election. Would this appeal to the electorate?

What we know from what’s in the newspapers today is that they plan billions of dollars to cuts in housing at a time when we’ve got a very severe housing shortage, and this goes with the absolute economic insanity of the Liberals and Nationals. During an extreme housing shortage, they want to swing the axe on billions of dollars in housing funding.

Also this is $100bn they reckon – let’s see the details. They flagged more than three times that amount when it comes to cuts, so let’s hear them come clean on the other cuts. Let’s hear what it means for Medicare and pensions and for the economy more broadly.

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Albanese government seeks to cap new international student enrolments at 270,000

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Labor will also dump a controversial ministerial direction that gave priority to students applying to low-risk institutions

The Albanese government aims to cap new international student enrolments in Australia to 270,000 in 2025 and dump a controversial ministerial direction that gave priority to students applying to low-risk institutions.

In a statement released on Tuesday the education minister, Jason Clare, revealed the details of the proposed national planning level, which would pare university enrolments back to 145,000, or around their 2023 levels.

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Jim Chalmers calls Peter Dutton ‘most divisive leader’ in modern Australian history

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Treasurer uses John Curtin Oration to accuse opposition leader of deliberately stoking culture wars and division

The treasurer has unleashed a stinging attack on the opposition leader, calling Peter Dutton “the most divisive leader of a major political party in Australia’s modern history”, as he defended the Labor government’s economic performance since coming to office.

Delivering the annual John Curtin Oration in Melbourne, which marks the anniversary of Curtin’s Labor government’s 1943 landslide election victory, Jim Chalmers accused the opposition leader of starting culture wars, dog whistling and dividing Australians “deliberately, almost pathologically”.

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Albanese government rejects Setka’s claim Labor double-crossed him over CFMEU administration as ‘ridiculous’

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Construction Forestry Maritime Employees Union members to protest administration in capital city rallies on Tuesday

Labor has emphatically rejected claims by former construction union official John Setka that the Albanese government agreed to let him stand down in return for not putting his union into administration.

The workplace relations minister, Murray Watt, said this was a “ridiculous claim” and rejected as “absolutely fanciful” suggestions Labor had double-crossed him by proceeding to put the union into administration over accusations of criminal misconduct and bikie links against the body.

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Australia urged to show ‘true climate leadership’ as Pacific Islands Forum begins – as it happened

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Investigations under way after alleged theft of non-fuctional guns from museum

An investigation is under way after a museum in Lithgow, in the NSW Central Tablelands, was allegedly broken into overnight.

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Bill Shorten accuses Greens of NDIS misinformation as he tries to reassure participants over new laws

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NDIS minister says participants will still be able to request funding for support that is not on approved list if it is genuinely needed

The national disability insurance scheme minister, Bill Shorten, has assured participants that under Labor’s changes, support not on a list of approved items could still be accessed if it is genuinely needed.

The comments come as the Greens and disability advocacy groups warn a draft list outlining which supports and services can be funded, and which ones cannot, will leave some participants worse off.

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How do you best choose an Australian aged care facility and what do the star ratings mean?

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Experts have questioned why so few homes are rated substandard, given the commission found one in three residents experience neglect, abuse or poor care

The star rating system of aged care homes was introduced in December 2022 to help older people and their families compare the quality and safety of services and providers.

Developed as a recommendation of the royal commission, the system has repeatedly come under scrutiny. Experts and unions have questioned why so few homes are rated substandard, given the commission found one in three residents experience neglect, abuse or poor care; and how homes on the non-compliance register manage ratings of three stars and above.

If you are having issues or concerns with your aged care, call OPAN on 1800 700 600. The National Dementia Helpline is also available on 1800 100 500.

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Government gives itself power to pay any non-citizen to leave Australia

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Exclusive: Greens decry expansion of scheme to ‘all non-citizens’ – including those whose asylum claims were rejected after arriving by air – as a ‘bribe’

The federal government has quietly given itself the power to pay any unlawful non-citizen to leave Australia or for foreign countries to resettle them, in what the Greens have labelled an attempt to “bribe” asylum seekers.

New regulations made on 15 August expanded the return and reintegration assistance program (RRAP), which currently pays up to $7,500 cash plus expenses to people on bridging visas, or those who arrived by boat, to leave Australia.

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NSW Liberal Andrew Bragg claims some party colleagues may be ‘playing footsies with nimbys’

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Moderate senator says the idea of new developments in established suburbs does not sit well with some Liberals

New South Wales Liberal frontbench senator Andrew Bragg has accused some of his party colleagues of “playing footsies with nimbys” for blocking real estate developments in Sydney’s suburbs that he says would help ease the housing crisis.”

The shadow assistant minister for home ownership told Guardian Australia that some Liberals were encouraging a not-in-my-back yard attitude to expanding housing stock in some metropolitan areas and obstructing measures that could help increase supply.

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Australia news live: winter heat record set in South Australia; NZ suspends import of all Australian tomatoes

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South Australia has notched up its hottest winter day on record. Follow the day’s news live

David Anderson says it was ‘the right time for me’ to resign from ABC

The ABC managing director, David Anderson, is speaking with ABC RN after yesterday’s announcement of his resignation.

And I think the right time for the ABC. It is something I had thought about now for months, and went away on leave, spoke to [ABC chair] Kim [Williams] a lot. Kim tried to get me to change my mind. [I] came back from leave with it, certain in my mind that I was making the right decision.

We’ve got a long lead time for the board to find a new managing director, and I’ve been asked to and I agreed to stay on until that person starts, which could very well be April next year.

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Labor quietly extends work and Medicare rights to some visa-holders from Gaza and Israel

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Rights granted to two subclasses of bridging visa E as part of ‘additional assistance’ to those affected by conflict

The federal government has extended work rights and Medicare access to some visa-holders from Gaza and Israel as it prepares to shift those who arrived on visitor visas since the 7 October attacks on to bridging visas.

Without public announcement, the government issued a regulation on 5 August extending Medicare access to people holding two subclasses of bridging visa E who had already been granted work rights, and also to immediate family members who are also visa-holders.

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