Category Archives: Australian politics

Australia charts hottest spring on record for mean temperatures – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

The health minister, Mark Butler, is holding a press conference in Adelaide to announce the endometriosis drug Visanne will be added to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme. It’s the first listing of an endo treatment in three decades.

This is a condition that impacts more than 1 million women – one in seven women and teenage girls – and for too long, too many women have been made to suffer in silence.

[They’ve] been told by many healthcare professionals, it has to be said, that this is “normal”. That it is a normal part of period pain or many other explanations for debilitating, crippling pain.

This is all about providing cheaper medicines and cutting-edge treatment to Australian patients generally, but [particularly] in the area of endometriosis, which has attracted such inadequate support for hundreds of thousands of Australian women.

This listing is beyond time.

The major contributor to the record has been the minimum temperatures, which averaged 17.2ºC over the spring season for the site, and were elevated by cloud cover, precipitation, and most notably, humidity.

Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese insists environment laws still on agenda despite killing deal with Greens

Posted on by

PM overruled negotiations between environment minister and the Greens after speaking with WA premier last week

Anthony Albanese insists Labor’s plans to establish a national environmental watchdog are still on the table after he quashed a deal with the Greens in parliament’s final sitting week.

Last-minute negotiations between the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, and the Greens senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, were overruled by the prime minister on Tuesday after he spoke with the Western Australian premier, Roger Cook.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australians abroad at growing risk of being detained and ‘used as pawns’ by rogue nations, inquiry warns

Posted on by

Special envoy needed to help free citizens subjected to ‘hostage diplomacy’ by authoritarian regimes, senate committee finds

Australia needs a specialist envoy dedicated to freeing its citizens arbitrarily detained by rogue nations, a senate committee inquiry has recommended.

The practice of “hostage diplomacy” is an increasing threat, the senate committee found, and Australians should be specifically warned that authoritarian regimes in some countries – naming China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Mali and Myanmar – arbitrarily detain Australian citizens.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Millions of Australians charged $4.3bn may be part of debt miscalculation controversy

Posted on by

Services Australia tests found about 64% of employment income-related debts may be affected by the unlawful calculation practice

About 3 million Australians charged debts totalling $4.3bn by the Australian government may have been affected by an unlawful debt calculation practice.

The commonwealth ombudsman has said an “extremely large number of Australians [are] potentially significantly impacted” in response to the latest estimate released by the Department of Social Services.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Senator calls social media ban a ‘sham’ – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Canavan says under-16 social media ban has caused new generation to become passionate about democracy

Nationals senator Matt Canavan was loudly outspoken against the under-16 social media ban bill and voted against it – but as we know, the bill ultimately passed.

It has been great seeing people learn how the parliament works. And with that in mind, note that the social media bill is not yet law. Tomorrow morning it heads back to the House of Representatives because there were amendments passed in the Senate tonight. It then has to go to the governor general. But both these steps are almost certain to happen.

Thanks again for all of your help and support. We got some amendments on digital ID so it was not for nothing and the fight continues.

As it currently stands, underlying inflation is still too high to be considering lowering the cash rate target in the near term.

Continue reading...

‘Pushing isn’t always pretty’: Adam Bandt on why the Greens blocked Labor’s agenda until last sitting day of the year

Posted on by

But Bandt would not be pressed on Anthony Albanese’s decision to cancel a environment deal the Greens and David Pocock struck with Tanya Plibersek

Adam Bandt is defending the Greens’ persistent refusal to pass key parts of the government’s agenda until Thursday’s legislative landslide, urging voters to understand they were “doing it for a reason”.

As parliament cleared the last of dozens of bills before rising until next year, Bandt acknowledged that holding out against core Labor measures had drawn accusations of obstructionism.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Meta accuses Australian government of failing to consider young people’s voices with world-first social media ban

Posted on by

One independent MP calls bill – which passed on Thursday – a ‘1970 solution for a 2024 problem’

Social media company Meta has accused the Australian government of rushing to introduce an under-16 social media ban without properly considering the evidence and voices of young people.

But Australian politicians who supported the world-first legislation argue it is necessary to ensure another generation of teenagers do not experience “as much damaging content” in years to come.

Continue reading...

Tanya Plibersek deal on nature laws was overruled by Anthony Albanese

Posted on by

Exclusive: Environment minister agreed detail with Greens but the PM intervened after lobbying from WA premier and miners

Tanya Plibersek struck a deal in writing with both the Greens and independent senator David Pocock on supporting her Nature Positive legislation before Anthony Albanese vetoed it hours later in a private meeting with Adam Bandt and Sarah Hanson-Young.

Guardian Australia understands that Plibersek notified Albanese on Tuesday of what had been agreed before writing to her negotiating partners setting out the detail.

Continue reading...

After a year of fighting, the Greens grant most of PM’s Christmas wishes in late bill flurry

Posted on by

This week, and particularly the passing of 31 bills on a frenetic final day, has done a lot to cement Labor’s first term agenda

On Thursday after question time, Anthony Albanese gave an end-of-year speech thanking his colleagues and opponents, although at times it was difficult to tell which was which.

Turning to the crossbench, the prime minister spoke about the importance of respect in politics but couldn’t help himself when it came to an obligatory reference to the “Greens political party”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Paul Karp is Guardian Australia’s chief political correspondent

Continue reading...

Labor passes migration and social media ban bills after marathon Senate sitting

Posted on by

More than 30 pieces of legislation pass the upper house amid a flurry of deals with the Coalition and Greens

A late final sitting in the Senate for the year has seen more than 30 bills pass the upper house, including controversial migration laws that allow the government to pay third countries to take non-citizens and ban travellers from specified countries.

Senators sat until almost 11.30pm on Thursday after the Albanese government struck an earlier deal with the Greens and the opposition to pass 31 bills, in addition to a social media ban on under-16s debated from 10pm.

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: Thorpe says her suspension from Senate a ‘colonial action’ and stages pro-Palestine protest from gallery

Posted on by

Follow today’s news live

Nuclear costings coming ‘in coming weeks and months ahead of election’: Taylor

The shadow treasurer was also asked when the Coalition would release the costings of its nuclear plan.

We will not be announcing it on your program this morning, as much as you might like me to.

Continue reading...

Communications minister’s office admits gambling ad reform taking ‘longer than hoped’

Posted on by

Exclusive: Emails seen by Guardian Australia from Michelle Rowland's office say they ‘can’t commit to a revised timeframe’ on the long-awaited reforms

The communications minister’s office has apologised to multiple people harmed by the gambling industry after delaying long-awaited advertising reforms, admitting government action has taken “longer than hoped”.

Emails seen by Guardian Australia shows Michelle Rowland’s office “can’t confirm a revised timeframe” for when it will formally respond to a report from the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, which called for a total wagering ad ban some 18 months ago.

“I acknowledge the ongoing toll this is taking on you and others, and I’m personally very sorry that we have not been able to secure an outcome thus far,” a staffer for the minister said in an email.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: Hanson fails in bid to refer Payman over citizenship; Thorpe withdraws ‘shut your mouth’ comment to Labor senator

Posted on by

Follow the day’s news headlines live

Labour market steadying as latest monthly CPI result looms

The consensus for much of the year has been the Reserve Bank’s 13-year high interest rates would squeeze demand in the economy, nudge up unemployment and help bring down inflation. And then it could start cutting its cash rate.

And then more recently, we’re actually starting to see [the labour market] tighten.

Continue reading...

First Nations Voice makes history in South Australia: ‘We are determined to prove you wrong’

Posted on by

Inaugural address from Leeroy Bilney, outlining racist history of Australia and future challenges, greeted with acclaim

The First Nations Voice has delivered its first message to the South Australian parliament: “We are determined to prove you wrong.”

MPs had to squeeze together to make room for all those who turned up to Wednesday’s special joint sitting to hear the Voice’s inaugural address.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Hanson alleging Fatima Payman in breach of section 44 ends with Thorpe giving Senate the finger

Posted on by

Hanson alleges Payman, who was born in Afghanistan, has not shown evidence she has revoked that citizenship

An extraordinary row has erupted in the Senate as Pauline Hanson attempted to have Fatima Payman investigated for an alleged section 44 citizenship issue, with Lidia Thorpe throwing papers at the One Nation leader and flipping her middle finger as she stormed out of the chamber.

The Senate president, Sue Lines said, she had advised the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service of the incident between Hanson and Thorpe this morning, saying she was “incredibly disappointed” in the behaviour which she described as “physically threatening”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Banks and bookmakers tricked by ‘sophisticated’ gambling syndicate may have breached anti-money laundering laws

Posted on by

Exclusive: Documents seen by Guardian Australia show syndicate placed bets with Sportsbet while using another person’s name

Banks and bookmakers that were hoodwinked by a gambling syndicate that created multiple accounts in other people’s names to hide their true identities may have breached their anti-money laundering obligations.

Guardian Australia has confirmed a gambling syndicate paid $1,000 to desperate men for their ID documents, which were used to create multiple bank and betting accounts in their names. Cash was deposited into these bank accounts and gambled with at least nine bookmakers.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Senate crossbenchers side with Coalition to oppose Greens motion to dump anti-abortion bill – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

The independent MP Zoe Daniel was on ABC News Breakfast earlier to discuss her alternative to the under-16 social media ban, which she introduced as a private member’s bill yesterday.

Daniel said her bill would implement an overarching statutory duty of care on social media companies “that goes to safety by design – but that in and of itself is not enough”.

What you need to make that work is the companies to assess the risks, mitigate the risks, be transparent about how they’re doing that.

The bill builds in penalties so if the companies do not comply, they could be fined up to 10% of global revenue. Also, their onshore executives could be held accountable for that … and the bill also has a provision to enable users to have control over the algorithm, as exists overseas, particularly in the EU …

[There are] obviously privacy concerns, and given the government’s had to pull their misinformation [and] disinformation – or their censoring the Australian public – bill from the Senate this week, we want to make sure we get strong, robust laws that don’t damage the [right to] privacy and make compulsory Australians having to have digital IDs.

Continue reading...

Musk argues social media bill may not be lawful – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Does the delay on gambling ad restrictions have anything to do with the demands of lobbyists?

Clare O’Neil said it wasn’t about lobbying, but “about making sure that we get this right”.

And the minister has pointed to previous attempts to scale back gambling advertising that have actually resulted in more gambling advertising. This is a delicate area, and we’ve got to get the balance right, and that’s what the minister is seeking to do.

These complicated matters, they just are. You know, if this was a really simple problem to fix, then it would have been fixed a long time ago.

I would say our government deserves credit for stepping up and saying we’re going to take action on this, and the minister [Michelle Rowland] is doing what is appropriate, which is diligently working through what the proposals will look like.

The minister is working with people, experts, stakeholders, others who will be affected by this legislation, and the government has said will come forward with … proposals early next year.

Continue reading...

Thorpe and Faruqi to ask Senate to investigate alleged racism and sexism in parliament

Posted on by

Exclusive: Two senators sponsor motion calling for a review of rules covering discriminatory language and behaviour

Lidia Thorpe and Mehreen Faruqi will ask the Senate’s procedure committee to investigate racism and sexism in federal parliament, raising concerns about “white privilege” and how women of colour are treated in politics.

The two senators, former colleagues in the Greens before Thorpe quit the party for the crossbench, have co-sponsored a Senate motion calling for investigation into whether the chamber’s rules should be updated to “eliminate language, behaviour, decision-making, and practices that are sexist, racist or otherwise exclusionary and discriminatory”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Labor dumps misinformation bill after Senate unites against it

Posted on by

Communications minister Michelle Rowland will also not unveil any gambling ad ban legislation in the last sitting week of the year

The Albanese government has dumped its controversial mis- and disinformation bill, conceding there is “no pathway” to getting the proposal passed through the Senate.

The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, insisted misinformation and disinformation remained a grave concern for democracy, national security and online safety, but said the government would not proceed with the proposal. It is the second time Labor has pulled the bill, after an initial version also failed to gain support and raised concerns about freedom of speech online.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...