Category Archives: Australian politics

Three more deaths confirmed in Australia bushfires and hundreds of homes destroyed – as it happened

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East Gippsland fires claim homes in Buchan, Sarsfield and Mallacoota, and 176 properties lost on New South Wales south coast. Follow live news and latest updates
• Are you affected by the bushfires?
• How big are the fires burning in eastern Australia? Interactive map

We are ending this blog for today.

While fires continued to burn today they were not as catastrophic as Tuesday. Instead, we learned a lot about the absolute devastation wrought along the NSW south coast and Victoria’s East Gippsland region.

Related: Australia fires: nine dead and hundreds of properties destroyed, with worse to come

Yep - locals on the ground told @abccanberra Drive this evening that about 50 of 60 homes in North Rosedale are gone. About a third of the homes in South Rosedale. Unconfirmed, but solid local sources. One of the prettiest, loveliest places on earth. So very, very horrible. https://t.co/fL5qn0dKFV

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Cabinet papers 1998-99: Coalition’s campaign to unleash the GST laid bare

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Tax reform dominated debate, as ministers discussed East Timor and the 2000 Olympics – and resisted climate action

On 1 July Australia’s goods and services tax will have been in place for 20 years. It is uncontroversial in concept, with no major party advocating its abolition. Every so often there are calls for it to be increased from 10% or expanded – calls that are usually rebuffed.

But just how fraught the GST was to introduce is one of the key insights from the release of cabinet papers by the National Archives of Australia, covering the years 1998 and 1999. There were other concerns: East Timor’s independence, the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the failed republican referendum, and familiar resistance to doing anything but the minimum on climate change.

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‘Sad day for women’: Queensland LNP leader under fire for ‘Princess Palaszczuk’ comments

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Deb Frecklington said she had ‘no choice but to remain grounded’ because she had children, and said the premier’s fashion choices were ‘too much’

Federal and state Labor MPs have rounded on the Queensland LNP leader, Deb Frecklington, after she criticised Annastacia Palaszczuk for her fashion choices and said she had “no choice but to remain grounded” because she had children.

In an interview with the Sunday Mail, Frecklington said Palaszczuk had “deliberately changed her image – the whole ‘Princess Palaszczuk’ is pretty obvious – but I haven’t changed mine”.

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What happened? The policies Scott Morrison’s government appears to have abandoned

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Action to protect LGBT students, a payday lending crackdown and an integrity commission are among the Coalition’s lost causes

Governments should be judged not just on what they do with their time in office but also on what they don’t do.

There are only so many hours in a day, and so many parliamentary sitting weeks in a year (there were just 10 since the May election). Nevertheless it’s important to know not just what the top priorities are but also what’s been pushed to the backburner.

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Coalition minister breaks ranks with government to call for volunteer firefighters to be paid

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Darren Chester says he believes there should be payment for ‘one-off’ events or fire levy

The call to pay volunteer firefighters facing extreme, prolonged events such as the current bushfire emergency is getting louder, with a Morrison government minister breaking ranks to call for changes.

The veterans’ affairs minister, Darren Chester, said he had been talking to his Victorian electorate about a payment model for “one-off” events, floating the idea of a fire levy, with evidence continuing to point to longer and worse bushfire seasons as a new normal.

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‘A difficult year’: Scott Morrison thanks firefighters in Christmas message – video

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Australian prime minister thanks firefighters and volunteers for their work amid drought and the ongoing bushfire crisis in his Christmas message, and pays tribute to two New South Wales rural fire service firefighters who died last week.

In his message, the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, also paid tribute to firefighters, and said that while Christmas was a time to celebrate, it could be a difficult time for some

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Home affairs warned Australian government of growing climate disaster risk after May election

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Exclusive: Department’s brief said that ‘coordinated national action’ was needed to ward off increasing disruptions

The government was warned by the Department of Home Affairs after the May election that Australia faced more frequent and severe heatwaves and bushfires, and that livelihoods would be affected without effective action on climate change.

The department’s incoming government brief to the home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, warned of “disasters” exacerbated by climate change.

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Australia fires live: NSW and SA count cost of bushfires after Balmoral and Cudlee Creek devastation – latest

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Cudlee Creek fire revealed to have destroyed 86 homes in South Australia while 100 more estimated lost in New South Wales as residents wait to discover extent of devastation from weekend’s fires. Follow the latest news and updates

SA Premier and Governor tour the fireground in Woodside in Adelaide Hills #safires @abcadelaide @CFSAlerts pic.twitter.com/VRfRvWLdny

Many more homes could have been lost in the NSW town of Balmoral on Saturday when the RFS firefighting crew ran out of water.

Guardian Australia’s Helen Davidson reports flames began reaching 200m above the treetops and the town, which is on tank water, simply did not have enough to meet demand.

We were desperately trying to get more water into us, desperately calling for more to come in. A member from another brigade spoke to his boss about getting another truck into us really quick. That company saved a lot of homes.

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I lived through Aids denialism in South Africa. Morrison’s slippery climate stance is doomed | Sisonke Msimang

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Using tactics straight out of the Trump playbook, the PM has mocked those who are outspoken

It is painful to watch political denial in action. Believe me, I’ve been down this road before. I lived through Aids denialism in South Africa and I’m witnessing denial again in Australia.

In the last few weeks, as fires have raged across New South Wales, and as the nation has grown increasingly furious about Scott Morrison’s lack of leadership, I have felt like I am in a time warp.

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Australia fires: NSW devastation laid bare as 72 homes destroyed in SA bushfires

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Australian PM Scott Morrison says government won’t change its climate change policy as New South Wales premier says ‘not much left’ of town of Balmoral

The devastation from Australia’s bushfire crisis became clearer on Sunday, as the South Australian premier said 72 homes had been destroyed and his New South Wales counterpart revealed there was “not much left” of the town of Balmoral, south-west of Sydney.

It is feared the figures for homes lost may get much worse as authorities continue to assess the damage from Saturday, and with dozens of fires still active.

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Scott Morrison apologises for taking holiday during Australia’s bushfire crisis

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Prime minister says he ‘deeply regrets’ any offence caused by him taking leave during fires, and he will return to Sydney

Scott Morrison has apologised for going on holiday while Australia is in the grip of an extended bushfire crisis and a record-breaking heatwave.

In a statement on Friday morning the prime minister explained he had brought forward his leave with his family due to the need to travel to Japan and India in January.

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China’s ambassador to Australia says reports of detention of 1m Uighurs ‘fake news’

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Cheng Jingye also says detained Australian writer Yang Hengjun’s rights are being protected

China’s ambassador to Australia has labelled reports that one million Uighurs are being held in detention “fake news”, seeking to excuse mass incarceration as a deradicalisation measure.

At a rare press conference at the Chinese embassy in Canberra, Cheng Jingye claimed the mass detention in Xinjiang province had “nothing to do with human rights, nothing to do with religion” and was “no different” from other countries’ counter-terrorism measures.

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Julian Assange’s extradition fight could turn on reports he was spied on for CIA

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Allegations a security firm at Ecuadorian embassy gave footage to CIA come as 100 doctors urge Australia to protect him

Julian Assange’s fight against extradition to the US could last years, and his argument could hinge on reports he has been illegally spied upon and his sensitive information given to the CIA.

Meanwhile, more than 100 doctors from across the world have written to the Australian government, urging it to act and “protect the life of its citizen”, in a letter to be delivered to the foreign affairs minister on Tuesday, amid warnings Assange’s health continues to deteriorate.

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In the wake of the bushfires: stricken residents face grim job of rebuilding

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More than 700 houses have been destroyed since the bushfire crisis began. What happens next for those who have lost everything?

One month after a bushfire burned the home they built from scratch in the northern New South Wales town of Nymboida, Stu Mackay is sifting through the rubble to find cast-iron tools. The tools are heirlooms, and the Mackays will need them to rebuild.

Theirs is one of 632 houses lost in NSW since Friday 8 November, when deadly weather conditions sent fast-moving bushfires through communities along the state’s north coast. Guardian Australia spoke to four people who lost their home or business on that first day.

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Coalition rejects code of conduct for ministerial advisers

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Scott Morrison resists Thodey review recommendations for increased accountability and mandated public-sector experience

The Morrison government has rebuffed a recommendation that it establish a legislated code of conduct for ministerial advisers, professing itself happy with the status quo.

The recommendation to bring ministerial advisers into a clearer accountability framework is contained in the long awaited Thodey review of the public service, which was released by the prime minister, Scott Morrison, on Friday. The review also recommended that the government set guidance for ministerial offices to have at least half of ministerial policy advisers with public service experience.

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Bushfires: Coalition responds to calls for more water bombers with $11m aerial firefighting boost

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Funding injection to National Aerial Firefighting Centre comes days after Morrison rejected calls for more help for firefighters

Australia’s aerial firefighting force has been given an $11m funding injection from the Morrison government amid growing concern about the resourcing of firefighters combating the bushfire crisis.

On Thursday the federal government announced it would nearly double the commonwealth’s annual contribution to the National Aerial Firefighting Centre, which coordinated the 140 aircraft used to battle fires across Australia.

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The Coalition’s religious discrimination bill: what’s changed and can doctors refuse treatment?

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The new bill is designed to respond to a revolt from conservative religious organisations that forced the Coalition to miss its self-imposed deadline

On 10 December, Scott Morrison and the attorney general, Christian Porter, released the second draft religious discrimination bill.

The new bill is designed to respond to a revolt from conservative religious organisations that forced the Coalition to miss its self-imposed deadline to introduce the bill to parliament by year’s end.

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Birth of boy sparks renewed calls to rescue Australians in Syria’s squalid al-Hawl camp

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Brutal winter, poor healthcare and limited food raises fears for welfare of infant, born to Sydney woman Rayan Hamdoush

An Australian woman has given birth to a baby boy in the al-Hawl camp in Syria, prompting revived calls for Australia to rescue 67 nationals still held in the camp.

Rayan Hamdoush, 24, from western Sydney, was pregnant when she entered al-Hawl. She gave birth to the boy on 30 November. The boy’s father, Samer Hajj Obeid, also from Sydney, is missing.

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Hong Kong democracy protester says he was ambushed by masked Chinese men in Australia

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Exclusive: ‘Frontline’ protester alleges he was chased by group but Chinese embassy says allegations are ‘nonsense’

A “frontline” Hong Kong democracy protester who recently fled the territory in fear of his safety says he was ambushed and chased in an Australian city by a group of masked Chinese men.

“They were nearby my house and waiting for me,” Jack* told Guardian Australia. “They knew my address, they knew where I was going to be.

“I think they don’t want to hurt me, they just want to make me scared. It was like intimidation, a message that ‘we know where you are’.”

Guardian Australia has been able to confirm some elements of Jack’s story, including that he arrived in Australia a few months ago and has attended pro-Hong Kong demonstrations since arriving. He has since reported the incident to police.

Human rights advocates and China experts say the claims match a trend of intimidation and surveillance on Australian soil. Several recent incidents – including a brawl at the University of Queensland where pro-China participants were praised by the consulate – have raised concerns about the extraterritorial activities of China, including the state’s pursuit of critics beyond its borders.

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A federal integrity commission with teeth

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Under increasing pressure from the public and the opposition to create a federal anti-corruption body, the Coalition has put forward a proposal for a commonwealth integrity commission. However, critics, including one Coalition MP, say the proposed watchdog is weak, and gives undue protection to politicians.

Lawyer and columnist Richard Ackland analyses the current proposal and the case for a strong federal integrity commission.

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