Category Archives: Australian politics

Bill Shorten’s Julianne Stewart speechwriter paid $300,000 a year by Services Australia, Senate estimates told

Posted on by

Julianne Stewart has secured two-year contract despite agency employing 200 media and communication staff

A professional speechwriter contracted to work with the government services minister, Bill Shorten, is expected to cost taxpayers $600,000 over two years, despite Services Australia employing 200 media and communication staff.

Appearing in Senate estimates on Monday, Services Australia confirmed Julianne Stewart has secured a government contract worth about $300,000 a year, which is in its second year. The arrangement came to light after the tender was published on the government’s AusTender website.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Former ADF chief to report on Zomi Frankcom’s Gaza aid convoy death in ‘coming weeks’ – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Wage increase should be more than inflation so workers get real pay rise: McManus

Sally McManus says workers are still coming from behind:

I won’t be too happy if it’s 3.5%. That’s smack on inflation. I think it should be more than inflation.

People should see a real wage increase.

One of the things that, you know, some people argue is … this weird wage price spiral idea which has been well and truly debunked over the last few years.

Just because one group of workers get a pay rise, like, the lowest paid … that’s not going to automatically flow on to everyone else.

Continue reading...

Allowing Josh Frydenberg to recontest Kooyong a ‘crazy’ idea, Liberal senator says

Posted on by

Jane Hume is against opening preselection for former treasurer while Karen Andrews argues he would be ‘absolute asset’

Senior Liberals are split on reopening preselection to allow Josh Frydenberg to recontest Kooyong for the party, which the shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, has denounced as a “crazy” idea.

On Monday Karen Andrews, the former home affairs minister, came out in favour of Frydenberg, arguing he would be an “absolute asset” and the Liberal party should do “all that we can” to attract him back into parliament.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Sydney drenched by month of rain in day; man arrested after woman found dead in Darwin

Posted on by

Follow the day’s news live

The Coalition has questioned why the government is using drones to monitor people released from immigration detention.

Cabinet minister Murray Watt confirmed on Insiders earlier that “drones are being used as part of this operation, but more in the sense of monitoring the accommodation that people are living in, in for example ensuring that it’s not too close to schools or other areas that they’re not supposed to be living close to.”

There’s a couple of issues here. One, either Andrew Giles accidentally and casually disclosed a previously secret drone surveillance program operating domestically in Australia in a Sky News interview with your colleague Kieran Gilbert. Or he made it up and it’s not actually happening at all.

And in a fresh statement provided by the Department of Home Affairs to SBS, I understand yesterday afternoon, they refer to using aerial surveillance to look at people’s locations and other buildings in the area.

Continue reading...

Dutton is demanding Australia resist ICC arrest warrants for Israeli leaders – and a Howard-era law could help him

Posted on by

Legal experts say a ‘carve-out’ clause in the law relating to extraditions could let the attorney general decline to enforce arrest warrants issued under international law

In 2002, a little-known backbencher by the name of Peter Dutton rose in parliament to ask the then prime minister, John Howard, about a new mechanism for prosecuting war crimes.

The newly elected member for Dickson’s dixer to Howard was straightforward: “What is the basis of the government’s decision to ratify the statute of the International Criminal Court?”

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

The winners and losers of Australia’s proposed electoral redistribution explained

Posted on by

Labor has lost a key seat in Victoria but could replace it by picking up a newly created electorate in Western Australia

The Australian Electoral Commission has announced proposed new boundaries for federal electorates in Victoria and Western Australia to be used at the next election.

A number of seats have been changed dramatically, with one seat abolished – the electorate of Higgins in Victoria – and a new one created.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Coalition’s ex-detainee curfew amendments made regime unlawful, high court toldin high court

Posted on by

Exclusive: Lawyers for YBFZ argue default ankle bracelets and curfews are punitive and breach the separation of executive and judiciary

Coalition amendments beefing up the Albanese government’s regime of electronic monitoring and curfews for people released from immigration detention have been cited in the high court as a key reason to strike the laws down.

Lawyers for YBFZ, a stateless man from Eritrea challenging the laws, have argued the curfews are unconstitutional, in part, because the default is that they are imposed on all non-citizens unless the minister is satisfied the condition is not necessary to protect the community.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

ABC boss rejects suggestion it ‘cowered to a News Corp pile-on’ over Laura Tingle comments

Posted on by

David Anderson says News Corp is ‘obsessed’ with the ABC after Tingle faces backlash over ‘racist country’ comments

The ABC managing director, David Anderson, has told Senate estimates he believes the attack on the political journalist Laura Tingle this week was a “News Corp pile-on” but denies the broadcaster’s response was “cowering”.

Justin Stevens, the public broadcaster’s news director, said on Wednesday that Tingle’s remarks at the Sydney writers’ festival did not meet the ABC’s editorial standards and that she had been counselled.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Hundreds of Australian public servants call on government to ‘cease all military exports to Israel’

Posted on by

More than 300 employees of federal, state and local governments sign letter warning against Australia’s ‘complicity’ in war crimes

Hundreds of public servants from across Australia and across state and federal agencies have signed an open letter calling for the federal government to “immediately cease all military exports to Israel”.

The letter, signed by more than 300 people, notes a warning from UN experts in February that the transport of weapons or ammunition to Israel to be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: government has discretion over acting on ICC arrest warrants, officials say

Posted on by

Meanwhile, government to rewrite visa cancellation rules after independent tribunal gave non-citizens with serious criminal convictions their visas back. Follow the day’s news live

Andrew Giles was asked why he wasn’t told about what was happening with his directive in the tribunals – why there weren’t meetings to receive updates.

He said there were meetings with his department which were taking place “pretty regularly”.

What has been unacceptable is the fact that these AAT decisions to set aside cancellations that were made under section 99 that were made by this government by my department – we were not advised, I was not told that these cancellations had been overturned by the tribunal.

That’s the issue that I’m deeply concerned about. And that’s what I’m focusing on fixing now.

There are around 30 that I’ve called up as a matter of absolute urgency and they are dealt with through the day and night.

I’m gonna get to the bottom of this – a protocol that I put in place was not adhered to, that is entirely unsatisfactory. As I said, I’m now focused on dealing with the urgent issue which is the cancellation consideration, I put in place a new protocol and I want to get to the bottom of what happened and why.

Continue reading...

Two murderers and 26 sex offenders released under NZYQ ruling not electronically monitored

Posted on by

ABF commissioner tells Senate there is a ‘big difference between some murders and other murders’

At least two murderers or attempted murderers and 26 sex offenders released from immigration detention are not required to wear an electronic ankle monitor or observe a curfew.

Australian Border Force officials revealed at Senate estimates on Wednesday that half of the 153 non-citizens released as a result of the high court’s ruling on indefinite detention are not subject to electronic monitoring, including some convicted of serious offences.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

MP urges colleagues not to use Gaza as ‘opportunity to gain votes’ – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

WA shooter’s daughter says police ‘ignored’ warnings

Social services minister Amanda Rishworth has been asked about the powerful statement Ariel Bombara released yesterday, claiming Western Australian police had “ignored” warnings from her and her mother that their lives were under threat.

By that point we felt completely helpless and I had to focus on getting mum to safety. I did everything I could to protect my mother, and when my father couldn’t find us he murdered her best friend and her best friend’s daughter.

Rents have surged in Australia’s capital cities, with only 5.9% of city overall rentals now costing less than $400 a week.

At the start of the pandemic, one in five house rentals in Sydney cost less than $400 a week – that figure is now one in 50.

In Melbourne, one in 25 house rentals now costs less than $400.

The national share of rentals available under $400 dropped by one third annually to just 10.4%.

ACT had the smallest share of properties listed to rent under $400 at 2.1%, followed by Sydney (3.8%) and Perth (5.6%).

Melbourne saw the largest annual decline in the share of houses listed for less than $400 a week, followed by Adelaide and Sydney.

In regional markets, only 16.3% per cent of houses were advertised for under $400 a week in April.

Regional WA (14.8%) had the smallest portion of homes listed to rent below $400 of the regions, followed by regional Queensland (15.8%) and regional NSW (21.5%).

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: cabinet ‘crafting the offer’ for next election, PM tells caucus; transport department boss quizzed over Taylor Swift shirt

Posted on by

Anthony Albanese reminds his colleagues that government now in the final 12 months of its first term. Follow the day’s news live

‘Last 24 hours only reinforces need’ for immediate humanitarian ceasefire, return of hostages and aid access, Conroy says

Pat Conroy was also asked about Israel’s assault on a refugee camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah.

Well, we’re incredibly concerned by what we saw in Rafah. And that’s why we’ve been continuing to call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. We’ve also called for an immediate return of all hostages that Hamas have taken. And the immediate opening of access so we can get massive amounts of humanitarian support into the Gaza. So immediate humanitarian ceasefire, release of hostages and immediate flow of aid is critical. That’s the Australian government’s position and you’re absolutely right, what we’ve seen overnight or over the last 24 hours only reinforces the need for those three things.

No, to be quite frank, we don’t. The Papua New Guinean government has asked the UN agencies to coordinate partner countries and those assessments are going on right now. But this is an incredibly inaccessible part of Papua New Guinea. And it’s a really challenging process for everyone.

Continue reading...

Change in visa rules was to apply in absence of ‘serious offending or family violence’, Andrew Giles was told

Posted on by

Labor is standing by ‘ministerial direction 99’ despite cases that appear at odds with advice given in early 2023

A rule change that meant a non-citizen’s ties to Australia would be considered before their visa was cancelled was intended to target people without “serious offending or family violence”, the immigration minister was told in early 2023.

But reports detailing the criminal history of some non-citizens who have had their visas restored appear at odds with the intention of that advice to Andrew Giles – leading the Coalition to pledge it would tear up the new rules if elected.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Fatima Payman labels Israel’s strike on Rafah ‘deplorable’ and calls on government to cease trade

Posted on by

Labor senator the first government member to publicly voice outrage over strike in southern Gaza that killed 35 people

Labor senator Fatima Payman has labelled Israel’s strike on a displaced person’s camp in Rafah “deplorable”, calling on her own government to stop trade with Israel and recognise a Palestinian state.

Payman is the first government member to publicly voice outrage over the strike on Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood, in southern Gaza. At least 35 people were killed, according to Palestinian medics.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Peter Dutton wrong to claim Australia was consulted on ICC pursuit of Israeli leaders, government says

Posted on by

Not ICC practice to consult all states before making application for arrest warrants, Dfat says

The Australian government has flatly rejected Peter Dutton’s claim that it was consulted by the international criminal court regarding the pursuit of Israeli leaders over their conduct of the war in Gaza.

The opposition leader has repeatedly urged the government to publicly condemn what Dutton has called the ICC prosecutor’s “terrible decision” to apply for arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and defence minister, Yoav Gallant.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Labor takes aim at Adam Bandt’s refusal to support two-state solution in Middle East – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Bandt condemns antisemitic graffiti on school, calls for end to Gaza invasion

Adam Bandt was also asked about the threatening graffiti discovered at Mount Scopus Jewish day school in Melbourne on Saturday, where the words “Jew die” were painted on the school’s front fence.

I condemn those words. There’s of course no place for that and we’ve said from the very beginning, from the first moment this got debated in parliament, no to antisemitism, no to Islamophobia, no to the invasion.

I think what you are seeing across the country is a very strong push for peace. People are fighting not only against antisemitism, but fighting to end the invasion of Gaza as well.

It’s up to Palestinians and Israelis to equally enjoy those rights. And if that’s what they choose to self-determine, then that’s what they choose to self-determine. Our point is that the international community can no longer pretend that the slaughter and the invasion is not happening.

Well, support for Israelis as well as Palestinians, as I’ve said, both having their rights to self-determination under international law. Now, at the moment, what is happening at the moment is that we are seeing over 34,000 people killed. A region brought to the brink of starvation and this is a manmade famine.

Continue reading...

‘Parents need to step up’: Labor to launch $40m sexual consent campaign to combat ‘confusion’

Posted on by

The federal government hopes parents will educate themselves so they can teach their children ‘to have safe, healthy relationships’

Parents should educate themselves about sexual consent so they can teach their kids about it, the federal government says, with a new $40m national campaign encouraging adults to learn about the issue to address “confusion”.

The consent education advocate Chanel Contos said it was “not enough” simply to teach children about the issue in schools, saying parents also needed to step up and talk to their kids about consent. She encouraged parents to educate themselves and speak to other adults about consent.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Coalition’s brave nuke world a much harder sell after new CSIRO report

Posted on by

The agency’s GenCost analysis says a first nuclear plant for Australia would deliver power ‘no sooner than 2040’ and could cost more than $17bn

The Coalition’s pitch on nuclear energy for Australia has had two recurring themes: the electricity will be cheap and it could be deployed within a decade.

CSIRO’s latest GenCost report – a document that analyses the costs of a range of electricity generation technologies – contradicts both of these points. It makes the Coalition’s job of selling nuclear power plants to Australians ever more challenging.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: students at two universities pack up pro-Palestine camps; Queensland rejects carbon capture project over aquifer fears

Posted on by

Follow the day’s news live

Taiwan interested in critical-minerals trade with Australia

Taiwan’s representative to Australia, Douglas Hsu, spoke to ABC RN just earlier about China’s military drills around Taiwan and trading with Australia.

We will continue to show our interest in engaging with Australia on the trade front. I think in the past few months, especially on critical minerals, I had a few opportunities to travel to West Australia and Northern Territory to talk with the businessman in the critical minerals industries.

I found that well, first of all, I was very surprised or impressed by the scale of Australia’s mining industry, and we’ll definitely look forward to bringing more Taiwanese business to work even more closely with Australian partners.

It’s really about ensuring services can do early work that can stop children from experiencing harm, helping kids before they get to crisis point and intervening early to break that cycle of violence and abuse.

Continue reading...