Category Archives: Australian politics

Labor seeks to avoid controversy over Palestine at NSW conference amid grassroots pressure

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Delegates expect event to pass only what insiders consider the ‘bare minimum’ on recognition motions

Senior Labor figures are attempting to prevent an outbreak of discontent at this weekend’s New South Wales state conference, with delegates expecting the event to pass only what insiders consider the “bare minimum” on recognition motions.

Despite strong pushes from Labor branches and grassroots members for a strong statement on the recognition of Palestine and sanctions on the Israeli government, sources say the party is focused on avoiding a show of disunity.

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Ceasefire ‘needed desperately’, PM says in joint statement – as it happened

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Q: Will Malarndirri McCarthy, the assistant minister for Indigenous Australians, replace you?

Linda Burney said that was “way above [her] pay grade” but that McCarthy was a dear friend:

The most important thing is for me to support whoever it is in the role and to give them the space to be able to chart their own path … Aboriginal affairs is every minister’s responsibility, not just the minister for Indigenous Australians.

My job is to support that person as much as I can.

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Albanese is only losing two ministers – but replacing them won’t be straightforward

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Two out means two up and two in. Beyond that simple calculation, reconfiguring Labor’s frontbench becomes more complicated

As Anthony Albanese prepares to reveal changes to his ministry on Sunday, the basic calculations are straightforward: two out means two up and two in.

The two confirmed ministerial resignations, from Linda Burney and Brendan O’Connor, create vacancies for two more from the left faction. If Albanese sticks strictly to the formula, it should be one from New South Wales, in place of Burney, and a Victorian in for O’Connor.

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Linda Burney hailed for ‘courage’ and ‘dedication’ amid departure as minister for Indigenous Australians

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Burney, a Wiradjuri woman and the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to the federal House of Representatives, has ‘a record of profound firsts’, PM says

Kindness, grace, resilience and integrity are the values Linda Burney says have driven her 21-year political career, and they were on display as she announced her departure as minister for Indigenous Australians on Thursday.

Burney is relinquishing the ministry but will stay on as the member for Barton until the next election. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said he would announce her successor on Sunday.

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NSW Greens office targeted with Islamophobic and white supremacist graffiti

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Police say they are searching for a male who allegedly vandalised the inner-west Sydney office in what is the latest political graffiti attack

Police are investigating after the New South Wales Greens’ office was graffitied with Islamophobic and white supremacist messages.

The graffiti, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning at the office in inner west Sydney, called an Islamic prophet a white supremacist.

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The bombshell legal ruling that made it impossible for Australia to delay sanctions against Israeli settlers

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Labor is ‘carefully considering’ the ICJ findings on the occupied Palestinian territories – and soon it will have to give its view

It’s the bombshell legal ruling that made it politically impossible for the Australian government to continue to delay imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers.

While much of the Australian media were focused on the latest twists in the US presidential election, the international court of justice delivered sweeping findings against Israel’s conduct in the occupied Palestinian territories, ratcheting up pressure on all governments to take a firmer line.

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Man dies after trying to drive truck on to NSW ferry; global sea ice levels hit record low – as it happened

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Q: Why target the individuals when it’s state policy?

Penny Wong said the Australian government has been “clear in terms of state-to-state relations about our view on settlements”.

They are unlawful under international law. We’ve been clear about that … We have also said that we want to continue to take steps towards a two-state solution.

That may not be the view of some people in the Israeli government, but that is the view of the Australian government.

These individuals have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians, including things such as beating, sexual assault and torture, resulting in serious injury and in some cases death.

We have imposed these after careful consideration and we would expect that all Australians would recognise the weight of these.

Settlements are unlawful under international law. We are continuing to act in ways that we can to look to how we protect a pathway to a two-state solution, and part of that is to ensure we also impose penalties who perpetrate violence against Palestinians.

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Australia imposes sanctions on Israeli settlers and youth group over violent attacks on Palestinians

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Penny Wong says settler violence in West Bank includes ‘beatings, sexual assault and torture’ as she announces Magnitsky-style sanctions

Australia has imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on seven Israelis and a youth group who Canberra says have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.

The foreign minister, Penny Wong, says Israel has received a lot of support globally, urging its government to “recognise the importance of its standing and legitimacy in the international community”. She says settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law and a “significant obstacle to peace in the Middle East”.

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NT military exercise suspended after pilot escapes crash – as it happened

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Import ban fails to curb flow of Nazi-linked items

The number of items imported into Australia bearing Nazi imagery has not been slowed by a national ban on the symbols, AAP reports.

The importation into Australia of Nazi memorabilia, both historically genuine items and modern recreations, has not abated with the passage of [the ban].

Where these goods are imported in quantities which indicates the goods are likely to be traded, the Australian Border Force refers the goods to the Australian federal police to consider investigation under the criminal code.

Consumers are crying out for clear information on how to save money, protect their health and reduce emissions – and they want that information online where they make their purchasing decisions.

We call on the state and federal governments to give consumers the real truth about the risks of gas appliances, by mandating comprehensive pollution labels on all their ads and websites.

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Australia not ruling out sanctions against Israel settlers as concerns grow over ‘troubling’ behaviour

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Exclusive: Senior Australian government source says ICJ ruling the continued Israeli occupation of territory seized in 1967 was illegal ‘can’t be ignored’

The Australian government is increasingly alarmed at Israel’s “troubling pattern” of behaviour and has not ruled out a more assertive response, including sanctions against settlers.

In the wake of a sweeping international court of justice ruling read out in a courtroom in The Hague late on Friday that said the continued Israeli occupation of territory seized in 1967 was illegal, a senior Australian government source said the advisory opinion “can’t be ignored”.

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US ‘committed’ to Aukus regardless of who is president, admiral says – as it happened

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‘Tumultuous’ coverage must not worsen post-3G, farmers say

Telcos face the ire of rural Australians if the 3G network shutdown goes awry and are being warned they will be held publicly accountable for any fallout, AAP reports.

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Nine Entertainment journalists vote for industrial action – as it happened

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Biden has been ‘a great fan of Australia’: Albanese

Anthony Albanese is speaking with ABC RN after Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the US presidential race.

The president has been a great fan of Australia. [A] very significant economic relationship has grown out our trade during his presidency … He’s someone who has stood up for values of social inclusion, and importantly as well for Australia and for the world he’s been a leading figure on climate action.

He was a gracious host to myself and Jodie during our state visit last year … [He] will continue to be over the coming months the most important leader in our globe. Of course, the United States is our most important ally.

The policies won’t change much. I mean, he’s obviously very interested in policies around tariffs and trade. I don’t think that will change much from his first term.

I think the challenge for us with with Donald Trump is to remind him that one of America’s unique advantages is its network of allies and partners and to make the maximum use of that. And there’s been great progress … in terms of Aukus [and] many groupings in the Indo-Pacific … and all these need to be sort of maintained and strengthened and that requires American leadership.

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Sydney commuters face delays as light rail workers strike – as it happened

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Emergency meetings to assess IT outage fallout

Further emergency meetings will be held to examine the fallout of a global IT outage in Australia, AAP reports.

We are still in recovery stage … there is still more work to do to make sure that the residual issues arising from this outage are able to be addressed.

There will be opportunity in time to reflect on what’s occurred over the last couple of days, whether it exposes vulnerabilities that we are able to address.

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Bad actors seizing on Microsoft IT outage to scam public, Clare O’Neil warns

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Home affairs minister says small businesses should be cautious of emails from people posing as CrowdStrike or Microsoft

Scammers are attempting to use the global CrowdStrike outage on Microsoft Windows systems to steal from small businesses by offering fake fixes, the Australian government has warned.

The world has begun to recover from a global outage of Windows systems running the cybersecurity company Crowdstrike’s software, after the company issued a faulty update. But bad actors have seized upon the crisis to attempt to scam the public, the home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, said on Saturday.

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CrowdStrike has ‘issued a fix’ to Windows outage – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. Follow the latest developments on the global Microsoft outage live blog

Shorten says last CFMEU Labor donation was over two years ago

Earlier on the Today Show, the NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, was asked about the CFMEU and said that the last donation received by the Labor party from them was more than two years ago.

We’ve said that we’re suspending all donations from the CFMEU. In fact, we’ve suspended the CFMEU from the Labor party … The last donations were over two years ago. We’ve taken the action to stop any financial relations with the CFMEU.

I want to make clear there is zero tolerance for anyone who tried to subvert the demerit and penalty system. This taskforce will help ensure the penalties apply to all road users.

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Australia’s $50,000 arts degree is here – putting university fees on par with the UK and US

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The Hecs/Help scheme was not designed so people making a regular wage remained in debt until death, expert says

There was a time when would-be poets, historians and writers could expect to pay off an arts degree at an Australian university within the decade, if they were able to find stable employment. Fast forward to now and they may die with their debt.

Arts degrees in Australia are poised to cost more than $50,000 for the first time, with experts warning some students will never be able to pay off their debts.

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Forrest says Fortescue still committed to hydrogen despite job cuts – as it happened

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A drone delivery service will launch in Melbourne today.

Food delivery service DoorDash is working with Wing – a subsidiary of Alphabet, AKA Google – to deliver the service.

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Palestinian-Australian charged with trespass after allegedly refusing to leave Anthony Albanese’s electorate office

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Sarah Shaweesh says she entered the prime minister’s office as a constituent seeking information about her family’s declined visa application

A Palestinian-Australian constituent of Anthony Albanese seeking visa help has been arrested and charged with trespassing, after she allegedly refused to leave the prime minister’s electorate office in the Sydney seat of Grayndler.

Sarah Shaweesh livestreamed her arrest on social media, saying she was a local constituent who lived in Marrickville, and the police had “threatened to arrest me because I went into the office to ask about my family’s declined visa applications”.

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WA Labor multicultural group in revolt over treatment of Fatima Payman

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Exclusive: Two officeholders quit, with one claiming the party had ‘become a spineless jellyfish’

Labor’s multicultural branch in Western Australia is in upheaval, with two officeholders quitting the party in protest at the treatment of Fatima Payman.

Guardian Australia can reveal that the branch’s treasurer and vice-president have resigned, with one claiming the party had “become a spineless jellyfish” that “throws its own under the bus at the drop of a hat”.

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Anthony Albanese tightens purse strings for his ministers as Labor turns focus to next election

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Election promises are now the sole priority for any new funding in the budget update

Anthony Albanese has narrowed the scope of new policy announcements to political essentials only, telling ministers before the mid-year budget update that they can seek funding for measures that fulfil election promises and nothing more.

Guardian Australia has confirmed that Albanese wrote to his ministers last week, making it clear that election promises are now the sole priority for any new funding in the budget update, due by mid December but possibly sooner. Everything else approved but not yet funded will have to wait – possibly until a second term.

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