Category Archives: Australian politics

Government could repatriate Australian women and children from Syrian detention camps if it had ‘political will’, court says

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The federal court dismissed the case brought by Save the Children and ruled that the government had no legal obligation to bring them home

If the federal government had “the political will” to repatriate Australian women and children from Syrian detention camps “it would be a relatively straightforward exercise”, the full bench of the federal court has said in a judgment.

But there is no legal obligation on the government to bring its citizens back to Australia, the court ruled.

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Australian federal politicians awarded 3.5% pay rise by independent tribunal

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Anthony Albanese will take home $607,471 a year from July – up from $586,929 – while Peter Dutton will receive $432,239

Members of Australia’s federal parliament and other public officer holders will pocket thousands more each year from July after the independent remuneration tribunal announced a 3.5% wage rise.

The decision by the Remuneration Tribunal, an independent body that determines the pay of federal politicians and bureaucrats, will mean backbench MPs will now take home about $233,643 a year – up from $225,742 the previous year – or about $4,493 a week before tax.

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Curfews on released detainees are not punitive and less onerous than Covid restrictions, commonwealth says

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Ankle bracelets only ‘produce slight discomfort or embarrassment’ and can be hidden under clothes, commonwealth tells high court

Curfews imposed on non-citizens released from immigration detention are not punitive because they are less “onerous” than the Covid-19 curfews in Victoria and New South Wales, the federal government has suggested.

The commonwealth makes that claim in its defence to a legal challenge against the electronic monitoring and curfews imposed on people released as a result of the high court’s ruling that indefinite detention is unlawful.

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Seven hires comedian Mark Humphries to parody weekly news

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Humphries’ weekly satirical sketches ran for five years on the ABC before being axed last year

Less than a year after the ABC dropped the regular satirical segment on 7.30, Seven News has hired comedian Mark Humphries to continue the tradition of making fun of the news at the end of the week.

Seven’s new director of news and current affairs, Anthony De Ceglie, has recruited Humphries to perform a segment for the Sydney bulletin, with a view to expanding the spot nationally.

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Chinese premier Li Qiang’s Australia visit overshadowed by officials’ apparent attempt to block Cheng Lei’s view at event

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The first visit to Australia by a Chinese premier in seven years was marked by anti-China groups protesting China’s disregard for human rights

The Australian government has rolled out the welcome mat as China’s premier, Li Qiang, visited Canberra, but his trip may have been overshadowed by an apparent attempt by Chinese officials to block the view of the formerly detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei during a signing ceremony.

The first trip to Australia by a Chinese premier in seven years is the most striking symbol yet of the easing of tensions in a previously turbulent relationship.

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Virgin Australia plane makes emergency landing – as it happened

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Ex-Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann arrives at a Toowoomba court

Bruce Lehrmann arrives at a Toowoomba court for a committal hearing into allegations he raped a woman in 2021.

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Climate 200 names nine new Coalition seats where it hopes to replicate teal wave at next election

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Exclusive: After months of speculation the fundraising giant has identified more electorates where independent campaigns meet its criteria for support

Climate 200, the fundraising giant that bankrolled the teal independent wave at the last election, has thrown its support behind independent campaigns in nine more Coalition-held seats.

After months of speculation, the group said it would support independent campaigns in the Queensland electorates of McPherson, Moncrief, Fisher and Fairfax as well as the New South Wales electorates Cowper and Bradfield, and Casey, Monash and Wannon in Victoria.

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Labor urged to put human rights record before trade as Chinese premier visits Canberra

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Anthony Albanese should seek commitments for concrete action in his talks with Li Qiang, campaigners say

Human rights advocates have called on Anthony Albanese to place China’s human rights record ahead of economic and trade discussions in his meeting with China’s second most powerful leader on Monday.

They said it was time for Australia’s Labor government to demand concrete action from China in addressing human rights complaints against it as “statements of concern” were not achieving results.

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From social housing to $1.5m for a studio: minister hits out at ‘dud deal’ sale of Sydney’s Sirius building

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Exclusive: Rose Jackson says losing public housing in expensive central suburbs leaves society worse off, and this week’s state budget will address issue

A decade ago the only way to secure a bed in Sydney’s brutalist icon, the Sirius building, was a proven need and time on the social housing waitlist. Now the price of admission starts at $1.55m – for a studio apartment.

The last of the 76 apartments in the redeveloped complex in the shadow of the Harbour Bridge are on the market after the building was sold to a developer by the former Coalition state government for $150m in 2019.

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Australia news live: Minns ‘really sorry’ final Vivid drone show cancelled with 20 minutes notice; Malinauskas welcomes ‘exciting’ panda news

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The current pair, Wang Wang and Fu Ni, will return to China this year. Follow the day’s news headlines

Labor ‘continuing to consult’ on Makarrata commission, Albanese says

Anthony Albanese says he will attend Arnhem Land’s Garma festival in August to “talk about a way forward” on Indigenous policy after the defeat of the voice referendum, keeping open the prospect of setting up a Makarrata commission to advance truth and treaty processes.

Treaty process is undergoing at the various states and that’s appropriate. With regard to Makarrata, we’re continuing to consult on those issues. said.

Indigenous leaders, of course, were very disappointed by the referendum result. I’ll attend Garma once again this year and sit down with people and talk about a way forward.

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Peter Dutton’s plan to ditch 2030 emissions target would drive up power bills, Penny Wong says

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Comments come after opposition leader claims higher grocery prices are result of Labor ‘not taking into account gas and nuclear’

Penny Wong has warned that ditching 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets would lead to higher electricity prices as Peter Dutton foreshadowed an election campaign fought on energy policy.

The opposition leader told Sky News on Sunday that energy would be a “big difference between the two parties as we head into the next election”, a week after backing away from Australia’s legislated 2030 emissions target of a 43% cut compared with 2005 levels.

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‘Twists and turns’ in Australia-China ties are over, Li Qiang says – but Penny Wong highlights tensions

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Coalition blunders have left countries locked in ‘permanent contest’ over Pacific, minister says

China’s second-most powerful leader has announced that the “twists and turns” in Australia-China relations are over – and invited Australian officials to pick a new pair of pandas for Adelaide’s zoo.

But Penny Wong chose to highlight the tensions that remain in the relationship before a series of talks with Premier Li Qiang, who arrived in Australia on Saturday evening and was met by protesters outside the zoo on Sunday.

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Anthony Albanese open to Makarrata commission for truth and treaty for Indigenous Australians

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But the government is being urged to move more quickly in outlining policy after failure of voice referendum

Anthony Albanese says he will attend Arnhem Land’s Garma festival in August to “talk about a way forward” on Indigenous policy after the defeat of the voice referendum, keeping open the prospect of setting up a Makarrata commission to advance truth and treaty processes.

But key advocates for the referendum have urged the government to move more quickly in outlining its new agenda, including honouring the prime minister’s election night pledge to implement the Uluru statement from the heart “in full”.

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Offshore windfarm zone off Illawarra coast given green light in bid to ‘power Australia’s clean energy future’

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Zone will be 20km off the coast and exclude areas significant for little penguin and for southern right whale migration

The federal government has given the green light to an offshore windfarm zone south of Sydney, making it Australia’s fourth such zone to be declared.

Announcing the project in the Illawarra on Saturday, the climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the move would bring thousands of new jobs and help “power Australia’s clean energy future”.

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Australian banks to alert customers on interest rate moves under changes to get savers better deals

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Move comes after consumer watchdog found banks were using pricing strategies that were highly complex or took advantage of the tendency to set and forget

People will be alerted each time their interest rate moves and when promotional offers expire under a suite of changes aimed at prodding bank customers to snag a better deal.

The federal government plans to act on a number of recommendations from two Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reports that found bank customers could earn and save more if not for barriers stopping them switching to better offers.

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Germany’s top climate envoy says ‘this is the critical decade’ after Dutton ditches 2030 target

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Representative from Europe’s biggest economy and key player in global climate talks says deep emissions cuts by 2030 ‘essential’ to limit climate heating to 1.5C

Germany’s climate envoy has dismissed claims the Paris agreement is only about reaching net zero emissions by 2050, warning that deep cuts by 2030 are “essential” and scientific evidence shows “this is the critical decade” to act on global heating.

Australia’s opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has refused to commit to a 2030 emissions reduction target prior to the next national election, prompting claims from Labor, the Greens and independents that the Coalition isn’t serious about acting on the climate crisis.

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Police investigate after pro-Palestinian slogans graffitied on Canberra war memorial – as it happened

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The education minister, Jason Clare, has said stricter regulations on social media for teenagers had bipartisan support.

Speaking to Channel 7’s Sunrise, Clare called social media a “cesspit”, and added that Labor’s age verification trial would be the first step to protecting young people.

I think we all agree that social media’s a cesspit. We all agree we don’t want our kids on it. It’s about how do you do it?

This should be something where the Labor party and the Liberal party can work together.

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Independent MP Kylea Tink’s electorate of North Sydney to be abolished under AEC proposal

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New South Wales draft boundaries would also affect the seats of Bennelong and Bradfield, held by Labor and Liberals respectively

The Australian Electoral Commission has recommended one of the country’s oldest electorates, North Sydney, be abolished in a boundary shake-up that could have far-reaching consequences for the major parties.

After reviewing population changes and submissions, the AEC has released its draft proposal for New South Wales’s new electoral boundaries, recommending the federation seat currently held by independent MP Kylea Tink be abolished.

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All roads lead to Rome as Albanese and Dutton stress-test their pre-election pitches | Karen Middleton

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The policy discourse has shrivelled to its political core, where every soundbite becomes both an attack and a defence – and it’s just the beginning

Policy debate between the prime minister and opposition leader has become a version of “all roads lead to Rome”.

There’s a political dimension to every policy proposal, but the public discourse on ideas for change has shrivelled to its political core over the past week or so.

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Environmental groups apply to take Tanya Plibersek to high court over coalmine approvals

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Minister should have assessed climate damage that would be caused by two large developments, advocates say

Conservationists will ask the high court to examine whether the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, should have assessed the climate damage that would be caused by two large coalmine developments.

The Environment Council of Central Queensland has sought special leave in Australia’s highest court to appeal against the federal court’s dismissal of what is known as the Living Wonders case.

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