Independent review recommends home buybacks for NSW flood victims. This blog is now closed
NSW residents warned to avoid fire in Croydon and Ashfield
Fire and Rescue NSW is advising residents living near a structural fire in Croydon and Ashfield to stay inside and avoid the area.
Continue reading...Exclusive: asylum seekers in the offshore detention centre who had contact with Australian journalists, lawyers and advocates were closely watched, documents reveal
The Australian government used private security contractors to collect intelligence on asylum seekers on Nauru, singling out those who were speaking to journalists, lawyers and refugee advocates, internal documents from 2016 reveal.
Intelligence officers working for Wilson Security compiled fortnightly reports about asylum seekers “of interest”, including individuals flagged as having “links with [Australian] media”, “contact with lawyers in Australia” or “contacts with Australian advocates”.
Continue reading...Minister for Indigenous Australians says negotiating organisations have one week to agree on future of community centre
Linda Burney has given the organisations negotiating the future of the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern one week to determine the future of the social and community hub, before the government intervenes.
In a heated community meeting on Friday, the minister for Indigenous Australians said her priority was for the tenants of the George Street facility to be given permanency, for the centre to stay open, and for its 50 staffmembers to keep their jobs.
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Continue reading...Adelaide-based public servant blew the whistle on the use of garnishee notices to claw back debts from taxpayers
Commonwealth prosecutors are seeking suppression orders in the case of former tax office worker Richard Boyle.
Boyle blew the whistle in 2018 on the Australian Taxation Office’s aggressive use of garnishee notices to claw back debts from taxpayers and businesses.
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Continue reading...The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says he will be “taking a break” next week, with his deputy, Richard Marles, to act in the top job in his stead.
Speaking on ABC Melbourne radio, Albanese said he would take a short period of leave and travel somewhere in Australia. He will be on leave from August 6-14.
Taking a break with security issues is more complex, I have found.
Three people remain in custody. We believe one of those persons is responsible for this matter.
Continue reading...The parliament will sit at 9am – once the morning proceedings are done, it will be into the climate bill – people are getting ready to head to the galleries to watch it pass the house.
It has been a very, very long decade. There are a lot of people who need to see this, even if there is still a very, very long way for us to go to actually start acting.
The inclusion of an Objects clause that addresses targets, accountability, expert advice and the need for climate action in line with the science makes it clear that this is the beginning of a new era in Australia,” Chaney said in a statement.
Continue reading...Jab will be prioritised for at-risk groups including gay and bisexual men – especially those who travel
The Australian government has bought 450,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine, including 22,000 that will arrive this week and next.
The third-generation Bavarian-Nordic vaccine will be prioritised for at-risk groups including gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, especially those travelling to countries with a significant outbreak.
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Continue reading...Adam Bandt says Greens will back legislation but signals further fight on new fossil fuel projects, while the Liberal MP says she’ll cross the floor
The House of Representatives is moving towards passage of Labor’s bill enshrining emissions reductions targets for 2030 and 2050 after the Greens signalled they would support the legislation and Liberal MP Bridget Archer confirmed she would cross the floor.
After weeks of negotiations, the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, confirmed on Wednesday his party would back the Albanese government’s legislation in both chambers, and king-making Senate independent, David Pocock, confirmed his priority was “getting a target locked in and legislated”.
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Continue reading...Defence review to be announced
The government is announcing a defence force review today, which it wants completed in about six months. Is this in response to China?
It’s because we need an ADF that is well-positioned to meet our security challenges over the next decade and beyond.
And we have inherited, as you all know, some real capability issues, some of which have been well publicised in the media. It is important that we look at how we ensure the Australian defence force can meet our security challenges, not just now, but in the years ahead. So, you know, I welcomed this and the prime minister and the defence minister will be having – we’ll have more details about this later today.
Continue reading...Inquiry also hears Amy Brown reveal Stuart Ayres’ praise for John Barilaro before New York appointment
The New South Wales government’s senior trade commissioner in London was recruited after being “added to the process late” and believed he had an “elevated status” that saw him threaten to “go to” the premier, Dominic Perrottet, during contract negotiations, an inquiry has heard.
In a day of explosive evidence to the inquiry investigating John Barilaro’s controversial appointment to a New York trade commissioner job, the chief executive of Investment NSW, Amy Brown, also revealed newly resigned deputy Liberal party leader, Stuart Ayres, told her the former deputy premier’s appointment was “good to go” after a meeting of senior ministers.
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Continue reading...His handling of this crisis, which led to the resignation of his deputy Stuart Ayres, has colleagues questioning whether he has the right stuff under pressure
The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, looked stressed as he fronted the media on Wednesday to announce that his deputy Liberal leader and trade minister, Stuart Ayres had agreed to resign from the ministry.
The scandal over the appointment of the former Nationals leader, John Barilaro, to a $500,000-per-year trade job in New York (that he created before leaving parliament) has festered for six weeks and stripped the shine off a premier who is yet to celebrate 12 months in office.
Continue reading...‘Completely around the wrong way’ to allow pensioners to work more without losing pay while jobseeker remains unchanged, advocates say
Increasing the jobseeker rate should take priority over other welfare reforms including allowing aged pensioners to work more without having their payments reduced, peak unemployment bodies say.
A private member’s bill introduced by independent MP Rebekha Sharkie on Monday would increase the income test threshold for pensioners, permitting older Australians to work more hours before their payments were docked.
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Continue reading...The resources minister, Madeleine King, has taken the first step in reining in the big three LNG exporters by ‘triggering the trigger’
Labor unlikely to extend the fuel excise cut
Asked about the fuel excise in that same interview, Jim Chalmers said:
I’ve been really upfront with people, Charles, for some time now – before the election, during the election and after the election – and pointed out that extending that would cost some billions of dollars and the budget can’t afford that. We’ve inherited a budget which is absolutely heaving with a trillion dollars in Liberal party debt. And when interest rates are rising, it actually costs more and more to service that debt.
The fastest-growing area of government spending in the budget is actually servicing the debt that we’ve inherited because, as interest rates rise, it becomes more expensive to pay that back. So every dollar borrowed, whether it’s by our predecessors or by the new government costs more to pay back and we need to be conscious about that. We need to be responsible about that and upfront about that. And that’s what we’re being.
This isn’t about any one individual. This is about a difficult day for Australians with a mortgage, another difficult day I think everybody is bracing for the interest rate rise that the governor and the Reserve Bank board has flagged.
These decisions are taken independently by the Reserve Bank, by its board and by its governor. People are expecting this outcome today. But it won’t make it any easier.
Continue reading...Liberal MP says he is open-minded on bill but doesn’t want it to become an ‘impost on the community’ amid high inflation
The veteran Liberal MP Warren Entsch says he is open-minded about Labor’s bill to enshrine a 43% emissions reduction target if he can be convinced the Albanese government has a concrete plan to achieve the cut without driving up power prices.
Ahead of the first substantive Coalition party room meeting of the 47th parliament on Tuesday, Entsch told Guardian Australia he was seeking advice on the bill and might lend support if there was evidence to suggest the number wasn’t a “brain fart”.
Continue reading...Former paediatric neurologist was speaking about the risk of long Covid when opposition MPs, most of whom were not wearing masks, interjected
Independent MP Monique Ryan, a former paediatric neurologist, has rebuked Coalition MPs for not wearing masks in the House of Representatives.
Ryan, who unseated Josh Frydenberg from his inner Melbourne seat of Kooyong at the May election, was heckled from the Coalition benches after she asked the health minister, Mark Butler, about how the government planned to manage the looming burden of long Covid.
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Continue reading...The housing minister, Julie Collins, says Australia’s rate of homelessness is “unacceptable”, as she promises a greater leadership role from the federal government in the sector.
Australia today marks the beginning of Homelessness Week, with social agencies calling on governments nationwide to do more to address housing and rental affordability, as well as the underlying factors contributing to homelessness.
Our reforms aim to ensure every Australian has access to safe and affordable housing to improve social and economic outcomes for all Australians, including those at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness,” she said on Monday.
According to the 2016 Census, in Australia there are over 116,000 people experiencing homelessness, and this figure is unacceptable.”
We all need to be heading in the same direction.
We need to be ambitious ... we all need to be working together to solve the housing affordability issues we have.
What’s happened is the states and territories have been doing their own thing and I don’t think there’s been enough national leadership.
In its gas inquiry 2017-2025 interim report released on Monday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the east coast gas market is facing a gas shortfall of 56 petajoules in 2023.
This gap is about 10% of annual domestic demand, ‘signifying a substantial risk to Australia’s energy security’, the report says.
Continue reading...Non-nuclear state Australia’s handling of nuclear-powered submarines will have to be ‘impeccable’, Australia Institute says
Australia needs to step up in the fight to stop nuclear conflict, and to prove to the world it is a safe nuclear custodian, a new report argues.
The report by the Australia Institute comes ahead of a major global conference that starts on Monday in New York, where Australia’s Aukus submarine deal will come under scrutiny.
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Continue reading...Minister says Labor’s plan is ‘five years in the making’ as she seeks to clear up confusion about approach
The Indigenous Australians minister, Linda Burney, says there will be extensive consultation with Indigenous leaders and engagement with the wider Australian community as the Labor government seeks to enshrine a voice to parliament in the constitution.
Burney, speaking at the Garma festival in Arnhem Land, also said Labor had a plan “five years in the making”, as she sought to clear up questions and confusion about the government’s approach.
Continue reading...PM: voice not ‘not a third chamber of the parliament’
Albanese is asked whether he believes the question being proposed is simple enough for Australians to understand what they’re voting for. Albanese says it is a “simple proposition which is consistent with good manners”.
It says where you are implementing a policy that affects a group, in this case the oldest continuous civilisation on the planet, something we should be proud about, you should consult, involve them.
This makes it very clear this doesn’t change in any way the primacy of our democratically elected parliament.
Where we have sought to impose things from Canberra, without that consultation, without their involvement, is where problems have arisen over the last 121 years.
Continue reading...Cathy Freeman, Paul Kelly and Linda Burney among those who have paid tribute to the musician after his death
The Indigenous Australian songwriter and activist Archie Roach has been praised as a “courageous” and “powerful” truth-teller, as leading figures in politics and the arts mourn his passing.
Roach died aged 66, after a long illness, surrounded by his family and loved ones at Warrnambool Base Hospital.
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