Category Archives: Australian politics

‘In two years no one will care’: expert in institutional amnesia explains where flood response falls down

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Ongoing focus on disaster management needed to avoid kneejerk reactions from one event to the next

Australia’s response to flood emergencies will only improve when governments can maintain focus in the times between crises, a researcher specialising in the topic has warned.

Speaking before the release of reports into this year’s floods in Queensland and NSW, Dr Alastair Stark, an associate professor of public policy at the University of Queensland, said disaster inquiries often produced effective lessons only for their implementation by governments and agencies to stall.

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Australia news live: nation records 66 Covid deaths as push for Albanese to continue pandemic leave payments and free RATs grows

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NSW has recorded 12,228 new cases and 14 deaths in the past 24 hours.

There are 2,027 people in hospital and of those, 60 are in ICU.

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Albanese to restore Covid leave payment as emergency national cabinet meeting called

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Australia’s chief medical officer will give a briefing to state and territory leaders on Saturday as government backflips on pandemic support

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Anthony Albanese will propose that Canberra and the states extend the pandemic leave payment during a snap national cabinet briefing that has been expedited to Saturday.

The government has spent the past week signalling the existing $750 payment would not be extended over the winter for budgetary reasons, but that decision has been reversed after mounting pressure from backbenchers, premiers, and health experts.

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Senior public servant questioned Women’s Network rebrand but not phallic logo design, documents show

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Federal government’s ‘women’s champion’ did not raise concerns about purple, elongated emblem but asked who initiated rebrand

A senior public servant designated as the federal government’s “women’s champion” raised questions about a controversial new logo for the Women’s Network, though no concerns were raised about the design’s phallic appearance, according to newly released documents.

The purple, elongated logo was swiftly withdrawn in March after much public mockery, with the National Older Women’s Network describing the image as “either thoughtless or an insult”.

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Labor to reshape carbon credit committee as Coalition-appointed members resign

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Climate change minister Chris Bowen has accepted the resignation of three members of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee

Labor will make substantial changes to a committee responsible for ensuring the integrity of the national carbon credit system after the departure of three members appointed by the Coalition, including the chair.

A spokesperson for the climate change minister, Chris Bowen, confirmed he had accepted the resignation of three members of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee.

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Chris Bowen shares draft climate bill as independents and Greens turn up heat for more ambitious action

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Greens call for moratorium on new oil and gas projects as some independents urge Labor not to rush major policy for political reasons

The minister for climate change, Chris Bowen, is under intensifying pressure to beef up the government’s proposed legislation enshrining emissions reduction targets, with the Greens and some independents declaring the current commitments inadequate.

Bowen met on Thursday with climate focused independent MPs and representatives from the Greens to share a draft of the bill he will introduce during the first sitting week of the new parliament. He has invited MPs and senators to suggest amendments or ideas over the coming days.

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Labor backbenchers call for pandemic supports to continue as PM announces snap national cabinet meeting

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Exclusive: Federal Labor MPs join NSW Labor leader Chris Minns in calling for Albanese government to rethink decision on Covid policies

Labor backbenchers are calling on the government to restore Covid pandemic leave payments, saying the measure is needed for people struggling with the cost of living to help slow the spread of the virus.

It comes as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has agreed to hold a snap national cabinet meeting on Monday morning with state and territory leaders, after Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk requested an update on the health advice and Covid situation from the chief medical officer.

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Nation records 78 Covid deaths – as it happened

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The International Monetary Fund could downgrade its expectations for global economic growth this month.

Its head Kristalina Georgieva has hinted as much, saying the war in Ukraine, higher than expected inflation and the Covid pandemic are to blame.

As G20 ministers and central bank governors gather in Bali this week, they face a global economic outlook that has darkened significantly.

Recent indicators imply a weak second quarter – and we will be projecting a further downgrade to global growth for both 2022 and 2023 in our World Economic Outlook Update later this month.

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Labor backing fossil fuel projects could scupper Greens support for 43% target

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Adam Bandt vows to push Albanese government ‘further and faster’ on emissions reduction

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, says the party’s support for the government’s climate legislation may hinge on whether it continues to back new fossil fuel projects, vowing to push Labor to go “further and faster” on its emission reduction goals.

Hitting back at the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, after he suggested the government would not negotiate with the Greens to pass the legislation through the Senate, Bandt accused Labor of being the “only obstacle” to greater climate ambition in the new parliament.

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Linda Reynolds more than six months late in declaring series of share trades on register

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Coalition senator blames ‘administrative oversight’ for delayed disclosure of shares including in Electro Optic Systems, which had previously been awarded millions in government contracts

Senator Linda Reynolds was more than six months late in declaring a series of share trades on her register of interests, including one involving a defence company which had previously been awarded millions in government contracts during her time as defence minister.

Reynolds, who was defence minister until March 2021 when she became government services minister, acquired shares in Falcon Metals, Electro Optic Systems Holdings and BrainChip Holdings in October and November 2021.

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More than 700 aged care Covid outbreaks – as it happened

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Cockroach alert at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane

As the Maroons and Blues prepare to face off in the State of Origin final decider tonight, another showdown is occurring between the SES and the “influx” of cockroaches in the stadium where the final will take place.

To be very clear, my government has not made this decision, this is a decision that was inherited from the former government and state governments.

I’d encourage concession cardholders to go and get the 10 free rapid antigen tests that they’re eligible for by the end of this month. There’s still a lot of time to go and do that. Of course, on top of that, there are free rapid antigen tests available in aged care facilities, across a range of areas as well in addition to that.

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‘We are family’: Anthony Albanese meets Solomon Islands PM amid tension over China deal

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Manasseh Sogavare says relationship with Australia is ‘strong’ despite his recent security pact with Beijing

Anthony Albanese has met with the Solomon Islands prime minister in Suva to discuss their common interests of climate change and regional security issues, despite recent tensions between the two nations over China.

It is the first time that Albanese has met Manasseh Sogavare. The relationship between the countries has become increasingly tense since the signing of the controversial security pact with China earlier this year, but ahead of the meeting Albanese reiterated the importance of the relationship and said it “will be even better after this afternoon”.

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‘Millions’ of Australians will be infected with Covid in coming weeks, health minister says

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Mark Butler is urging Australians to get their booster jabs as case numbers rise and pandemic supports are scaled back

The Australian health minister, Mark Butler, has warned “millions” of people will be infected by Covid in coming weeks, urging Australians to take boosters even as the government winds down other Covid supports.

On Wednesday, Anthony Albanese, doubled down on the federal government’s decision not to extend free rapid antigen tests for concession card holders beyond 31 July.

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End of rapid Covid test and telehealth subsidies criticised – as it happened

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Payments extended to eight more local government areas and sped up to prioritise victims over auditing; free Covid rapid tests for concession card holders to end this month. This blog is now closed

A new campaign has launched today to tackle racism by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Chin Tan, the race discrimination commissioner, was on ABC Radio this morning discussing the campaign he says calls on all Australians to reflect on the causes and impacts of racism, not only on its victims but Australia’s collective wellbeing as a society.

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Australia sees climate crisis as a national security issue, defence minister tells US

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Richard Marles delivers speech in US warning of increased militarisation in South China Sea and importance of climate action to Pacific allies

Australia’s defence minister, Richard Marles, has warned of the use of “force or coercion” in the South China Sea and “intensification of major power competition”, references to China’s rising power in the Indo-Pacific.

Marles made the comments in a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies on his visit to the US, committing Australia to closer cooperation with the US, higher defence spending and to address the climate crisis in part as a national security issue.

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Vaccines and antivirals not enough to combat Australian Omicron surge, experts warn

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Doctors accuse government of ‘mixed messages’ as hospitalisations rise, saying they should be open to more preventive measures

Doctors have urged Australia’s political leaders not to rule out reinstating mask mandates and social distancing if chief health officers back these measures to combat rising hospitalisations from the winter Omicron wave.

The president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Omar Khorshid, said it was important politicians did not block such measures if that was recommended by their medical experts.

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Australia a ‘trusted global partner’ on climate again, Albanese to tell energy forum

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Prime minister will open international forum in Sydney, saying the Indo-Pacific faces ‘enormous’ challenges but also opportunities

Anthony Albanese will declare Australia has now rejoined the ranks of “trusted global partner” on climate action while committing his government to finding common ground across the Indo-Pacific to address both the climate crisis and the emerging economic opportunity of the clean energy revolution.

The prime minister will open the Sydney Energy Forum on Tuesday before travelling to the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji, where he hopes to progress Australia’s proposal to co-host a United Nations climate summit with Pacific neighbours.

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Guardian Essential poll: Albanese’s approval wavering as honeymoon fades

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Disapproval of PM’s performance ticks up while 60% think masks should return to stop Covid’s winter spread

A majority of voters favour a return to mask wearing to help slow transmission during the Omicron third wave, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll, which also finds Anthony Albanese’s initial honeymoon with voters has moderated.

The latest survey of 1,097 respondents finds more than half of Guardian Essential respondents (56%) continued to approve of the prime minister’s performance (down three points since June), while 24% disapproved (up six points in a month).

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Nation records 13 Covid deaths as WA and ACT reduce official reinfection period – as it happened

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Police questioning three people after man’s body found near Brisbane train station

Three people are being questioned about the suspicious death of a man whose body was found near a train station in inner Brisbane, AAP reports.

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Australia ‘doesn’t respond to demands’, Anthony Albanese tells China

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PM reacts to Beijing’s four-point advice on improving relations following high-level G20 meeting between the two countries

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Anthony Albanese has said Australia “doesn’t respond to demands”, after China listed four ways the relationship between the two countries could be improved.

“We respond to our own national interest,” Australia’s prime minister said on Monday.

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