Category Archives: Australian politics

Deal allows police to march in parade – as it happened

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On the “broken promise” of changing the stage-three tax cuts (the latest Guardian Essential poll had Albanese falling in the trust stakes) the prime minister said:

We made not an easy decision. We made the right decision for all the right reasons. We know that families are under cost of living pressure.

The idea that we could sit back and ignore the clear recommendations that this was the best way that we could have an impact on providing that assistance to middle Australia without putting upward pressure on inflation – we couldn’t ignore that.

This is just a terrible incident that’s occurred here. The loss of the two young men and I feel for the grieving of the family, the friends. They obviously were full of life, because so many people interacted with them. It’s a really tough day for, as well, the queer community, and it’s been a very difficult time.

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Daryl Maguire had ‘emotional hold’ over Gladys Berejiklian, Icac lawyer tells court

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The disgraced MP for Wagga was a ‘special kind of serial pest’ but ex-premier’s shared vision of the future with him clouded her judgment, court hears

Gladys Berejiklian’s former boyfriend, the disgraced ex-MP Daryl Maguire, was a “special kind of serial pest” who had an “emotional hold” over the former state premier, a lawyer representing the New South Wales corruption watchdog has told a court.

Defending the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s findings of corrupt conduct on the part of Berejiklian, Stephen Free SC told the court of appeal Berejiklian’s “vision for her future” with her Liberal colleague had impacted her judgment.

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Lidia Thorpe backs Mardi Gras over NSW police decision – as it happened

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The trade minister, Don Farrell, is at the World Trade Organisation ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi where he had a sideline chat with China’s commerce minister, Wang Wentao, overnight.

Sideline chats are the unofficial official talks – it’s not considered a bilateral, but both sides have to agree to the talk in order for it to happen. So it’s not just a see them and grab situation between sessions. It’s a little more planned than that.

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Australia politics live: John Howard joins donations drive for Dunkley byelection; Barnaby Joyce ‘having the week off’ parliament

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Nationals leader David Littleproud confirms frontbench colleague has notified him he won’t be in Canberra for the sitting week. Follow the day’s news live

Parliamentary sparkies walk off job in pay protest

Parliament House electricians and tradies are walking off the job for 24-hours today in protest of their wages.

I would say to the government, if not, why not? We need to have enforceable rules about this. We need to have clear, publicly available selection criteria – that’s not asking too much.

…We need to have laws that have teeth on this so that governments of all persuasions can be held accountable for what they do.

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Greens-Coalition alliance may force Chalmers to keep power to overrule RBA on rates

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Chalmers had announced plans to scrap the veto power but former treasurers and RBA governors say it is a vital ‘safety valve’

An alliance between the Greens and Liberal parties in the Senate could force Jim Chalmers to keep a government power that allows treasurers to overrule Reserve Bank decisions on interest rates.

Chalmers announced plans to scrap the veto power in the government response to recommendations from a panel which reviewed the Reserve Bank operations and made suggestions for improvement.

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Lowering cost of higher education critical to meeting Australia’s skills shortage, report warns

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Universities accord also urges government to dramatically scale up access to higher education for disadvantaged groups

Access to higher education among disadvantaged Australians must be dramatically scaled up and the financial burden of studying eased if the country is to meet acute skills shortages, a major report has found.

The highly anticipated universities accord final report, being released by the education minister, Jason Clare, on Sunday, was expected to lay out the blueprint for the tertiary sector over the coming decades.

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‘Incredible failure’: KPMG rejects claims it assessed ‘the wrong company’ before $423m payment to Paladin

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Exclusive: Firm’s denial comes after weeks of intense criticism, including accusations that it misled parliament

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Consultancy firm KPMG Australia has rejected claims it conducted due diligence on “the wrong company” before the federal government gave nearly half a billion dollars to a controversial company with no track record.

The firm’s objection to comments by a member of a Senate inquiry examining its conduct come after weeks of intense criticism and accusations it repeatedly misled parliament over its use of so-called power maps, which identify influential decision makers within departments.

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Ukraine appeals to Australia and France for more ammunition as it marks two years since Russian invasion

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Ukrainian ambassador to Australia also urges west not to succumb to ‘fatigue’ in its support for Ukraine

Ukraine is appealing to Australia and France to deliver more ammunition to the country as it marks the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, also urged western leaders not to succumb to “fatigue” over the protracted war, saying: “I think the only country which can feel fatigue can be Ukraine, actually, because we are the ones who are being killed.”

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Nationals deputy leader Perin Davey could face official complaint over apparent slurring in Senate

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Exclusive: Davey says she is aware complaint may be lodged, which could lead to her party membership being cancelled or suspended if upheld

The Nationals’ deputy leader, Perin Davey, is facing the prospect of an official complaint from a party member over an incident in which she slurred and stumbled over words in a Senate hearing.

According to the NSW Nationals’ constitution, complaints that a member’s “general behaviour, public utterances, or writings, have been such as to bring or attempt to bring discredit or undue embarrassment to the party” can be grounds to cancel or suspend their membership.

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Australia news live: NSW police officer charged with murder after disappearance of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies

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Former celebrity blogger expected to face court. Follow updates live

What will happen if there’s a storm during today’s Taylor Swift concert?

With a thunderstorm forecast at Sydney Olympic Park this evening, many are asking what this means for the Eras tour?

The show will play, rain or shine. The only exception would be severe weather, which could impact the safety of artists and patrons. Such a decision would be made by NSW Police, the event promoters and Venues NSW staff.

Please follow venue screens and staff instructions in these circumstances.

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Fire situation ‘will get worse before it gets better’ – as it happened

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Competition minister Andrew Leigh just spoke with ABC RN about, you guessed it, competition.

Speaking about supermarket prices and concentration in particular, Leigh said he is worried that Australia’s market concentration has “increased over recent decades”.

We’ve got evidence now from very good micro data, which wasn’t available a few years back, that market concentration has gone up, that markups have increased – that is the gap between costs and prices – and that there’s less job switching than there was in the past which is a problem, because switching jobs is one of the best ways people boost their wages. All of that points to a less dynamic economy, and maybe one of the reasons why we just had the lousiest decade of productivity growth in the post-war era.

It’s not a priority that we’re focusing on at the moment.

In London to support Julian Assange’s hearing on whether he can appeal his extradition to the US. Julian’s extradition would strike at the very heart of free speech [and] democracy. Enough is enough. The US must drop the extradition of Julian Assange.

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Job agencies suspending Centrelink payments at an alarming rate, data reveals

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Exclusive: Smaller Workforce Australia providers, including those catering to Indigenous jobseekers, have effectively suspended more than 90% of their caseloads

Some of Australia’s outsourced employment service providers have effectively suspended the Centrelink payments of more than 90% of the jobseekers on their books, new data reveals.

Jobseekers have their payments suspended as part of the mutual obligations regime, which is meant to ensure jobseekers are actively looking and preparing for work. If they do not fulfil activities such as job applications, training courses, interviews and meetings with job providers, their Centrelink payments are suspended.

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Public servants must do more to manage conflicts of interest, APS commissioner tells top bureaucrats

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Exclusive: Letter to department heads does not cite specific incidents but comes after scandals involving government grants and consulting firms

The public service must do more to eliminate conflicts of interest and ensure personal relationships in the workforce are not leading to power imbalances, the sector’s chief has told senior bureaucrats.

The Australian Public Service commissioner, Gordon de Brouwer, outlined his concerns in a letter to the leaders of all government departments, and sought their assistance to identify, disclose and manage all conflicts.

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New Australian environment laws would not stop widespread deforestation, organisations say

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Three groups familiar with draft conservation laws say they do not go far enough and may allow political influence on development decisions

New national environment laws being developed by the Albanese government fail to address systemic flaws in the existing system and would continue to allow widespread deforestation, according to three organisations familiar with the plans.

Officials representing the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, have been sharing sections of draft conservation laws to be introduced this year in consultation meetings with conservation, business and other groups.

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Australia news live: wages rise by 4.2% over 2023 in highest growth since 2009; flight cancellation crackdown

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Transport minister Catherine King unveils overhaul to legislation governing Sydney airport, to significantly increase transparency over allocation of take-off and landing slots. Follow the day’s news live

Man dies after electric unicycle crash in Victoria

A man has died after crashing his electric unicycle in Bellfield yesterday evening.

We have concerns for his health. We have been working consistently since coming to government, particularly behind-the-scenes, to say that we believe Mr Assange should be returned … These sort of issues of diplomacy are not always best done through a megaphone, but we will continue to advocate for an end to this and see Mr Assange returned home.

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Tasmania’s unique electoral system means all bets are off on the Liberals’ future

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Though the state’s ruling party has been marked by defections and dissent, the opposition has struggled to make its mark

For the second term in a row, Tasmania will head to the polls about a year before an election is due after Australia’s last remaining Liberal premier, Jeremy Rockliff, called an early election for 23 March.

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Nationals deputy leader Perin Davey reveals health issue behind apparent slurring in Senate estimates

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Senator says two emergency operations in 2019 after abscess erupted behind her tonsils have left her with speech challenges

The Nationals deputy leader, Perin Davey, says a medical incident almost five years earlier is behind an incident at a Senate estimates hearing where she appeared to slur and stumble over words.

The Coalition frontbencher, who admitted to having two wines before the incident but insists she was not inebriated, also said she felt personally attacked and claimed someone “selectively” clipped a video of her appearance to imply she had been incoherent throughout the hearing.

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Shoppers sceptical of whether Coles or Woolworths specials offer actual savings, Choice survey shows

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New data from consumer group reveals four in five shoppers say it is hard to know whether markdowns represent value for money

Most shoppers don’t believe Coles or Woolworths specials or sales promotions make it clear they offer actual savings, new data from consumer group Choice shows, with four in five consumers finding it difficult to discern real discounts.

Of almost 11,000 people surveyed, 88% of respondents said they were worried about the rising costs of groceries, while 83% of respondents said they thought some of the supermarkets’ marked down items made it hard to know if they were value for money.

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Hastie’s defence comments ‘unhinged and misleading’, Conroy says – as it happened

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Ex-cyclone Lincoln could gather strength and redevelop

A massive storm that lashed the Top End with heavy rain could gather strength and redevelop into a tropical cyclone, AAP reports.

We’ve seen all the leaders of major parties say they take on board and accept in the recommendations … but it appears very little has changed on the ground. We still have unlimited and unmonitored alcohol consumption in Parliament House and in the workplace.

That’s why I put to the prime minister random testing could be introduced. Because we know from – even from driving, it’s a deterrent. As soon as you have a risk of getting caught, it changes behaviour.

People have had enough of politicians thinking there’s different standards that apply to them in Parliament House than what applies in other workplaces.

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Labor accused of trying to ‘silence Aboriginal voices’ over possible changes to gas project consultations

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Bill also criticised by Greens and Environmental Defenders Office who claim it will help fast-track offshore gas developments

An Indigenous activist who took on Woodside in the federal court has accused Labor of seeking to “silence Aboriginal voices” over changes that may water down consultation requirements for offshore gas development.

Mardudhunera woman Raelene Cooper, a founder of the organisation Save Our Songlines, has spoken out about a bill that aims to preserve approvals for offshore gas projects against reconsideration if rules are tightened in future.

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