Category Archives: Australian politics

Dominic Perrottet urges people in NSW to stay out of flood water – as it happened

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Trough tracking over NSW towards the coast is bringing intense rainfall and the risk of flash flooding, Bureau of Meteorology says. This blog is now closed

Storey warned despite blue skies in some areas this morning, heavy rain will set in from the afternoon through to tomorrow.

That heavy rain coming on top of saturated soils and catchments and dams that are already full and overflowing [we] can really see that flooding risk escalate really, really quickly. Not only riverine flooding risk, which we’re monitoring closely, but that flash flooding risk, in particular. A lot of roads may see flash flooding affecting them very, very quickly and catching people unawares.

There is definitely a flood fatigue situation across many, many parts of the state. And in particular in the west and the south of the state as well, who have been experiencing major flooding now for what feels like the best part of a year. Many areas in the west and south are still subject to major flooding as we speak, and with the heavy rains continuing in those areas in the coming days, that’s going to exacerbate that risk.

Unfortunately, the bureau’s forecasting an above-average rainfall storm and flood season, so we’re probably gonna see many more events like this over the coming months.

With the expected heavy rainfall impacting the Hunter, Greater Sydney, and Illawarra over the next sort of 24 hours, so our key focus is on that flash flooding risk in those areas.

If you are in those affected areas or travelling through those affected areas, monitor those conditions and never drive through floodwaters. A lot of roads are already flooded in many parts of the state and will be flooded in the coming 24 hours. So, make those smart decisions for yourselves and your families. And the smartest decision you can make is to never drive through those floodwaters.

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Julia Gillard: one-woman play starring Play School’s Justine Clarke to debut in 2023

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Sydney Theatre Company’s announcement of the work, written by Joanna Murray-Smith, aligns with 10-year anniversary of former PM’s misogyny speech

A new one-woman play focusing on the life of Australia’s first and only female prime minister, Julia Gillard, will debut on stage next year.

The play Julia, written by Joanna Murray-Smith, one of the country’s most prominent playwrights, has been billed as a highlight of the Sydney Theatre Company’s (STC) 2023 season, and will feature actor and Play School presenter Justine Clarke in the eponymous role.

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Albanese meets Solomons PM – as it happened

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Anthony Albanese meets with Solomons Islands PM Manasseh Sogavare, who reiterates ‘no foreign military bases’ pledge. This blog is now closed

Skill shortages ‘an indictment on the failure to plan’: skills minister

The National Skills Commission’s annual update of the skills priority list is out today, showing the number of occupations facing skills shortages have almost doubled in past year.

Well, I wouldn’t say exactly that. I would say, though, it is very high that we have so many occupations where there are significant shortages.

I mean, the fact that it almost doubled in a year speaks to a labour market that is crying out for skills. But also, it is an indictment on the failure to plan, invest in education and training to have the skills our labour market, our economy and our employers need and our workforce need so that they can find good jobs.

We do need to make sure, 1) the investment in education and training is in the right places so that we supply the skills needed for our economy now and into the future. And, of course, 2) we need to have a much faster way of delivering on the skilled migration pathways for industries that are crying out for skills. And whether they be nurses or tech worker, baggage handlers. Wherever you look across the economy, there are shortages and it is a very significant priority of this government.

Conditions haven’t changed that significantly.

The government went to the last election saying again and again they would honour the legislated tax cuts.

In the time since we’ve seen in Australia interest rate rises yes ... but we’ve seen an Australian economy that continues to perform very strongly.

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Brittany Higgins kept dress unwashed for six months after alleged rape, court hears

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Higgins tells court she didn’t want allegation against Bruce Lehrmann to be a ‘media frenzy’ and wasn’t sure if making complaint would cost her her job

Brittany Higgins says she left the dress she wore on the night of her alleged rape untouched and unwashed for six months as she attempted to work out whether making a complaint would cause her to lose her job, a court has heard.

Higgins continued her evidence in the ACT supreme court on Thursday, also telling the jury she had felt “pressured from my workplace” to not pursue a complaint against fellow political staffer Bruce Lehrmann.

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Bernard Collaery likens his prosecution by Australia to a ‘Moscow show trial’

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Witness K’s lawyer gives first speech since case against him was dropped, argues for reform of the National Security Information Act

Bernard Collaery has likened his prosecution to a “Moscow show trial” and said the Coalition pursued him and former spy Witness K in an attempt to hide the “dirty linen” of its dealings in Timor-Leste.

In his first speech since the case against him was dropped, Collaery on Wednesday night gave an excoriating assessment of the protracted, secretive prosecution that he said caused immense turmoil for him, his family and friends, and his legal team.

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Australia news live: flood warnings issued as east coast braces for heavy rain and storms

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Kieren Perkins has backed diversity in sport at the national press club and Manasseh Sogavare, the PM of Solomon Islands, is due to arrive in Australia this afternoon on a flight from Singapore. Follow the day’s news live

Fire extinguished in Sydney shopping centre

Maria Kovacic elected NSW Liberals president

The election next March will be hard fought.

Our party will be talking directly to our community, including western Sydney and the regions, about how the Perrottet Government can improve their lives and help their families.

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Banks raise interest rates in response to RBA – as it happened

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Australian dollar drops and shares bounce higher on reserve bank’s dovish move. This blog is now closed

Sexual violence rife on dating apps

Dating apps need to better protect their users after a study revealed high rates of sexual violence, stalking, assault and unwanted sharing of explicit images, AAP reports.

This is highly concerning given the significant and potentially long-term impacts associated with these victimisation experiences.

These impacts include poorer health and wellbeing, including overall life satisfaction, social isolation and lower self-esteem, as well as increased risk of re-victimisation.

Considering the long- and short-term implications for victim-survivors after experiencing these harmful behaviours, there is an obvious need to develop mechanisms for protecting users.

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Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer accuses Brittany Higgins of ‘erasing’ details from night of alleged rape

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Steve Wyborn tells court Australians had been ‘sold a pup’ with Higgins’s allegations Lehrmann sexually assaulted her in Parliament House

Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer has told jurors that Brittany Higgins “erased” key details from the night of her alleged rape inside Parliament House, saying the Australian public had been “sold a pup” over the allegations.

On Tuesday the trial of Lehrmann, a former political staffer, over the alleged sexual assault of Higgins inside Parliament House began in Canberra.

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Richard Marles meets Nauru’s new president – as it happened

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Optus not forthcoming on breach, Tanya Plibersek says

A federal minister has slammed Optus for not being forthcoming with either customers or the government more than a week on from the cyber attack, AAP reports.

One of the real problems is the lack of communication by Optus, both with its customers and the government.

I don’t think the company is doing a particularly good job with its customers or providing the government with the information we need to keep people safe.

Those in the know say it wasn’t a very sophisticated way to get into the Optus information.

Why can’t they protect your privacy and get back to people and say we have a real problem here and be careful?

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Australian children rescued from Syrian camps need tailored support to reintegrate into society, expert says

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Shane Healey urges government to establish holistic and ‘individualised’ process for kids who spent formative years in violent conditions

A former ADF Special Operations intelligence analyst who is now an expert on countering violent extremism says Australian children brought out of Syrian refugee camps will require intensive support to successfully integrate into the community.

“It’s a long, intensive and individualised process but, done holistically, will have excellent results,” Shane Healey said. “Australia has the capability and the expertise to support these children.”

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Majority of Australians back sound economic management over keeping promised tax cuts, survey suggests

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Almost half of those polled support axing stage three cuts while one quarter thought they should be kept

Support for the stage three tax cuts remains low with the majority of Australians backing sound economic management over sticking to election promises, a new survey suggests.

The research from the Australia Institute found that high-income earners were particularly likely to support the repeal of the stage three tax cuts, despite being the main beneficiaries of the changes.

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Current cybersecurity laws ‘absolutely useless’, Clare O’Neil says – as it happened

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On Optus, Dreyfus describes the incident as a “wake-up call for corporate Australia” and flags changes to the Privacy Act.

Keeping the very personal data of customers who had ceased to be customers years ago. I have yet to hear a reason why that was going on. And Optus failed to keep the information safe.

Companies throughout Australia should stop regarding all of this personal data of Australians as an asset to them, they should think of it as a liability. This is a wake-up call for corporate Australia.

We will look very hard at the settings in the Privacy Act. I may be bringing reforms to the Privacy Act before the end of the year, to try to both toughen penalties and make companies think harder about why they are storing the personal data of Australians.

That report this morning is simply, in in one of newspapers is wrong. Union officials are not excluded. Any third party seeking to adversely affect public decisions making in corrupt way will be subject to investigation by the commission.

The activities set up under this bill for this commission are directed at the public sector in Australia. It’s not directed at private activity. It’s directed at the public sector and is interaction third parties have with public officials, adversely affecting the way they go about their duties in a formal, honest manner.

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Select group of Optus customers should cancel licences and passports immediately, minister says

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Clare O’Neil says Optus has emailed 10,200 customers who had their records posted online after 10 million people affected in larger cyber hack

The 10,200 Optus customers who had their personal records posted online last week in the wake of the telco’s massive data breach should immediately cancel their driver’s licences and passports, the federal government says.

Optus has written to the 10,200 customers exposed last Monday after 10 million Australians had their records stolen from the telco a week earlier.

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Anti-corruption body could examine Scott Morrison over Coalition’s ‘sports rorts’, Labor suggests

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Attorney general Mark Dreyfus insists new commission ‘is not an exercise in political payback’ and says it could tap phones of federal politicians

The new federal anti-corruption body could investigate Scott Morrison and the Coalition’s sports rorts scandal, the attorney general has said, while conceding some legal experts are opposed to holding public hearings only in “exceptional circumstances”.

Mark Dreyfus said on Sunday the proposed National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc) would be able to tap politicians’ phones, including encrypted apps, as long as it had a warrant. Unions would not be exempt from the commission’s ability to interrogate third parties, he added.

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‘Socialism sucks’ stickers on display as CPAC Australia stokes fears of Indigenous voice

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Speaker after speaker – after wheeling out standard complaints about progressive politicians – poured scorn on the voice concept

Saturday’s CPAC conference in Sydney showed Australia’s political right is gearing up for a fight against the government’s proposed Indigenous voice to parliament – and highlighted the potential political perils of Anthony Albanese keeping many details of the constitutional change out of the public arena for now.

The Conservative Political Action Conference filled a small corner of the International Convention Centre, bringing a mixed assortment of federal senators, rightwing media personalities and international guests together for an audience of around 900. A hodge-podge of topics boiled down to broad grievances around “cancel culture”, “shadow banning” and “wokeism”; speakers variously criticised the “conservative cowardice” of Coalition politicians, the mainstream media and talk of “white privilege”.

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Peter FitzSimons to step down as ARM chair as Abetz attacks republic campaign’s ‘elitism’

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The author and journalist says his exit will pave the way for younger, more diverse voices

The chairman of the Australian Republic Movement, Peter FitzSimons, has announced he will step down from the role, paving the way for younger, more diverse voices to take the reins.

But the Australian Monarchist League says a change of leadership won’t revive the campaign or change how “elite” it is.

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Tony Abbott tells CPAC an Indigenous voice to parliament would promote ‘discrimination’

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Former Australian prime minister, senator Jacinta Price and former senator Amanda Stoker attack voice at conservative conference

Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has claimed the Labor government’s proposed Indigenous voice to parliament would “institutionalise discrimination” in a speech to a conservative political conference that focused heavily on criticisms of the Aboriginal consultation body.

The Coalition senator and Warlpiri woman Jacinta Price, who also spoke at CPAC in Sydney, described the voice as “racial separatism”, telling attendees they would be “called a name” if they opposed the change. Former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker described the concept of the voice as “terrifying”.

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Peter FitzSimons to step down as ARM chair; protesters picket CPAC – as it happened

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FitzSimons says a new generation is stepping up to lead republic campaign. This blog is now closed

‘I managed to crawl right under the skin of Penny Wong’: Price

Price has bragged that her first speech to parliament ended in Penny Wong fleeing the chamber.

I managed to crawl right under the skin of Penny Wong.

I put it to Wong we need to co-design an Asian voice to parliament.

So that policies that affect Asian Australians can be their responsibility and any time I need expert advice on how to better improve Wong’s life, I can consult with the Asian voice.

I thought ‘thank you Lord for strategically placing me after my Labor colleague to deliver my first speech’.

There could be no better contrast.

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Liberal party emails supporters claiming Labor wants to give noncitizens voting rights

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Some noncitizens can already vote in Australia, a parliamentary committee is considering extending that to permanent residents from New Zealand

Liberal party headquarters have seized on a routine review of Australia’s most recent federal election to claim Labor wants to give noncitizens voting rights.

An email sent to Liberal party supporters has urged people to write a submission to the electoral matters parliamentary committee, claiming Labor wants to extend voting to New Zealand citizens living in Australia.

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Labor’s deal with gas exporters will lock in high prices, consumer groups say

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Agreement raises concerns transition to lower emissions energy sector will be harder and more expensive

Energy user groups have condemned the Albanese government’s agreement with gas exporters saying it will lock in high prices that will force businesses to close, hurt households and hobble the transition of the electricity sector off fossil fuels.

The resource minister, Madeleine King, on Thursday said the government had signed a new agreement with the big gas exporters from eastern Australia that would ensure there was sufficient supplies to meet local demand.

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