Category Archives: Australian politics

Electric car-ready homes will help firm up the power grid, Ed Husic says

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Governments urged to plan for emerging technologies that will allow bidirectional charging so vehicle batteries can power homes

Australia’s first mandate to make new apartment buildings “electric vehicle-ready” should be extended to all new housing, potentially turning entire suburbs into virtual batteries supporting the power grid, the federal science minister said.

Ed Husic helped helm Friday’s gathering of federal, state and territory building ministers in Sydney, where it was agreed to amend the national construction code to require new apartment blocks to be capable of charging cars in all their parking spots.

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Perrottet government faces challenge from new wave of teals in NSW’s 2023 state election

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Community-based groups are looking for candidates but they may find it harder to gain traction than federal independents

The Perrottet government will face a wave of community-based independent candidates at the next state election running on platforms of integrity in NSW politics, sustainability and local development issues.

Community-based groups, some of which include people who worked on federal campaigns for “teal” candidates, are being set up along the north shore of Sydney and in the east.

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Albanese meets with NBA legend in support of Indigenous voice – as it happened

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Greens call for immediate pay rises for minimum wage earners; 86 Covid deaths reported. This blog is now closed

The minister for employment and workplace relations, Tony Burke spoke to Channel Nine this morning, saying there is “a lot” government can do to help close the gender pay gap.

Burke said there is currently a 14% difference between what men and women are paid, which amounts to $250/week.

It’s a really common ploy in workplaces where women are being paid less than men. We want to get rid of those clauses.

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Shaquille O’Neal meets with PM in support of Indigenous voice to parliament

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Anthony Albanese announces the NBA legend will be part of the effort to mobilise support in the lead-up to a referendum

The prime minister is usually a towering figure in the national imagination, but on Saturday Anthony Albanese was quite literally dwarfed by Shaquille O’Neal during an announcement the NBA star would be lending his support to the campaign for an Indigenous voice to parliament.

The former LA Lakers centre is in Australia for a speaking tour and reached out to the government to inform himself about the proposal for the First Nations voice, Albanese said.

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Business lobby joins unions in calling for lift in minimum wages for skilled visa workers

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Business Council of Australia also calls for migrant intake boost as Greens set up Senate standoff to raise wages in female-dominated industries

Big business has agreed with unions that the pay floor for temporary skilled visa workers should be raised to $90,000,in a split with smaller employer organisations that warned this could “kill” migration.

The Business Council of Australia (BCA) has also called for a two-year boost to the annual migration intake to 220,000 a year in a submission ahead of next week’s jobs and skills summit.

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Scott Morrison received token payments for speeches and plans to join global lecture circuit

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Former PM has confirmed he accepted airfares, accommodation and incidentals for appearances in Seoul and Tokyo, including during a parliament sitting week

Scott Morrison has revealed he received honorarium payments for recent speeches in Japan and Korea, and plans to join the international lecture circuit through a global speakers’ agency.

Morrison confirmed on his register of MPs’ interests that he has become a director and shareholder in a new company offering “advisory services”, and that he accepted business class airfares, accommodation and incidentals for appearances in Seoul and Tokyo – the latter when he was absent from parliament during a sitting week.

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Australia news live updates: Greens accuse government of undoing its own climate legislation

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Adam Bandt reacts to Labor’s decision to open 46,000km of ocean to exploration, saying his party will continue to advocate for a moratorium on new coal and gas projects. Follow live

A massive haul of the drug “ice”, with an estimated street value of $1.6bn, has been seized in NSW in the largest discovery of its kind in Australia, AAP reports.

Last month, Australian Border Force officers homed in on a number of sea cargo containers that arrived at Port Botany in Sydney.

There would need a change to the law.. with the Liberals saying they’ll take an oppositional role, the only way that will happen is with the support of the Greens.

Our position is that workers should be able to bargain collectively at whatever level they choose.

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Don’t let ‘low bar politics’ hold back Indigenous voice, advocate to say in Lingiari lecture

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Thomas Mayor compares current fight for constitutional recognition to 1960s Wave Hill walk-off that led to land rights

Australia should reject “low bar politics” and act with the courage of Indigenous land rights leader Vincent Lingiari to fight for constitutional recognition and a voice to parliament, Thomas Mayor will argue in the annual Lingiari lecture.

The Torres Strait Islander man, Uluru Statement from the Heart advocate and maritime union member will give the annual oration at the Freedom Day festival in the remote Northern Territory community of Kalkaringi on Friday evening.

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Tougher seven-star energy efficiency standards for new Australian homes set to be approved

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State and territory building ministers will meet on Friday amid fierce debate about when and how new regime should begin

New Australian homes could have to comply with tougher energy performance standards within a year, with ministers set to agree to boost the required rating from six to seven stars.

That could cut the thermal energy use of homes by about 25%, experts say. But there’s fierce debate about when and how the new regime should begin.

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Albanese government urged to freeze rent rises for two years to avoid ‘national tragedy’

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Greens plea comes as research finds skyrocketing regional rents are contributing to unfilled job vacancies

The Greens are urging the Albanese government to impose a nationwide rent freeze for two years, saying the issue of rental affordability should be elevated to national cabinet ahead of next week’s jobs and skills summit.

New research from the Everybody’s Home advocacy group has found increased rents in regional areas are contributing to unfilled job vacancies, with some areas recording rental rises of more than 40% in the past two years.

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China increases warship capability with production of guided-missile destroyers, experts say

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Prof John Blaxland says China’s navy expansion is ‘in stark contrast’ to trajectories of other countries including Australia

China is “exponentially” increasing its warship capability and has reportedly re-started mass production of guided-missile destroyers.

The Chinese Communist party-controlled newspaper, the Global Times, reported on Tuesday that China would complete its military expansion and modernisation by 2035, “including the development of a blue-water navy, to match the country’s international status and better defend its interests”.

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News live: government pushing through ‘hopeless’ visa backlog, PM says; Reserve bank warns Australia must confront climate risks

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Anthony Albanese said visa delays were due to previous gutting of the public service, but said the government has reallocated staff from other areas into visa processing. Follow the day’s news live

Snow in the Blue Mountains

Residents in NSW are seeing snow as an icy blast sweeps through the south-east of the country.

We are genuinely overwhelmed by the incredible wave of support, love and messages we have received from so many people around Australia. This means so much to us as a family. Thank you to everyone for this. John will be blown away.

John will remain in hospital for a period of time for recovery and post operative treatment.

John has been through an eleven-and-a-half hour surgery in Melbourne yesterday and is now in a stable condition in ICU. The cancerous tumour was located in his mouth and it has been successfully removed. There is still a long road of recovery and healing ahead of us, but we know John is up for that task.

We are in awe of the incredible teams of healthcare professionals who have guided us through this very challenging time with such compassion. All of you undertook this big job and have given us a magnificent outcome. To all the surgeons, doctors, nurses and consultants – thank you one and all so very much.

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Speaker rejects Greens push to refer Scott Morrison to privileges committee

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Milton Dick found there was not enough evidence to suggest former PM deliberately misled parliament

A push by the Greens to refer Scott Morrison to parliament’s powerful privileges committee has been rejected by the Speaker, Milton Dick, who has found there was not enough evidence to say the former prime minister deliberately misled the lower house.

In a letter sent to the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, on Tuesday, Dick is understood to have advised the party that while Morrison’s decision to have himself appointed to five additional portfolios was “extremely serious”, there was not enough prima facie evidence to suggest he had deliberately misled parliament.

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Former PM says he did not misuse secret ministerial powers – as it happened

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If Morrison saga was playing out in the corporate world, he would have been stood down from job, Christine Holgate says

Former Australia Post boss, Christine Holgate continues to weigh in on revelations former prime minister Scott Morrison secretly appointed himself to the finance portfolio, overseeing her independent review without her knowledge.

I feel extremely disappointed … To to be told and go through that experience inparliament and then to be told that there will be an independent investigation into you, and then a full Senate inquiry. At no point did I ever know ... the arms-length independent review was actually overseen by Mr Morrison as the finance minister. That doesn’t sound very independent to me.

If this had happened in a corporate world, you know, that person would have been stood down for their job. There would be an enormous set of consequences. But unfortunately, this is allowed to take place in parliament, it feels. I think it’s almost incredible. And actually quite disturbing.

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Labor defence minister ends Peter Dutton’s ‘war on wokeness’ within department

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Leadership now says celebratory events ‘contribute to our inclusive culture’ by acknowledging diverse workforce

The defence minister, Richard Marles, has torn up a Coalition-era ban on departmental staff holding morning teas that celebrate diversity, with military top brass saying they want to foster an “inclusive workforce”.

The defence department secretary, Greg Moriarty, and the chief of defence, Gen Angus Campbell, have backed staff to celebrate events including LGBTQ+ Wear It Purple day and R U OK day after former minister Peter Dutton accused the military of pursuing a “woke agenda”.

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Anti-aircraft noise campaigners to target shareholders in bid for Brisbane airport curfew

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Independent review recommends moving flight paths to alleviate noise concerns but disgruntled residents want solutions sooner

Anti-aircraft noise campaigners say they will target investors in Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) as they threaten to ramp up efforts to force a curfew and cap on flights over the city.

Aircraft noise was the defining local issue at the federal election for many who live under flight paths that emerged when the Brisbane airport opened its second runway in mid-2020, playing a role in the election of Greens MPs in three inner-city seats.

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‘Free riders’: NSW unions want to charge non-members for pay rises they broker

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Exclusive: Peak body also wants employers to pay skilled visa applicants 30% above median wage to encourage local training instead

Non-union workers would be forced to pay fees for union pay deals while the requirement to advertise jobs domestically, before sponsoring foreign workers, would be abolished in favour of a higher wage floor, under two proposals by Unions NSW.

Under the plan employers could be forced to pay a skilled visa applicant 30% above the industry median wage before sponsoring an offshore worker, a move designed to incentivise training Australians.

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Australia news live: Greens seek to reconvene Senate committee into former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate’s dismissal

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Departments – not politicians – should decide government grant recipients, Grattan Institute recommends

The Grattan Institute has a very timely report out today with a plan to end pork barrelling, which calls for departments rather than ministers to make the call on who receives grants.

Ministers should be able to establish grant programs and define the selection criteria, but they should not be involved in choosing grant recipients.

Shortlisting and selecting grant recipients is an administrative function for the relevant department or agency. Ministers should have bigger fish to fry.

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Barnaby Joyce: the most perplexing contradictions in his account of the Morrison ministry scandal

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Repeated questioning of Nationals leader over when he knew about Morrison taking on resources portfolio provided confusing results

Barnaby Joyce was asked on Sunday what he knew, didn’t know and didn’t want to know about Scott Morrison’s additional powers.

The answers were hard to follow, to say the least. The former deputy prime minister said he kinda knew Morrison had appointed himself as resources minister and taken over the decision of the controversial Pep-11 gas licence off the NSW coast, but he also didn’t know.

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Barnaby Joyce says Scott Morrison never explicitly said he was also resources minister despite using special powers

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Former Nationals leader says he did not want to ‘go into bat’ on the increased powers out of concern Nationals may lose previously negotiated gains

Barnaby Joyce said Scott Morrison never explicitly told him he had sworn himself in as resources minister despite the former prime minister exercising special powers associated with the role, as prime minister Anthony Albanese said his predecessor’s actions could be subject to further inquiries.

In a testy interview, Joyce also told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday that he did not want to “go into bat” on the apparent increased powers because he believed the Nationals risked losing previously negotiated gains.

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