Adam Bandt signals new rent freeze push and criticises ‘tax cuts for billionaires’ as Labor aims to get ‘help to buy’ scheme through parliament
New year, new housing fight.
The Labor government may have started the year keen to talk cost-of-living relief and housing solutions, but the Greens have entered 2024 vowing to push the Albanese government to make actual change.
Continue reading...Albanese yet to reveal government’s stance on South Africa’s case in international court of justice but Coalition says Australia must support Israel’s right to defend itself
The opposition has urged the Albanese government to rule out any support for what it says is South Africa’s “unbalanced” case against Israel at the UN’s international court of justice (ICJ).
The “unprecedented” case brought by South Africa at the beginning of the year will be heard in The Hague on 11 and 12 January with the potential for a provisional ruling within weeks. It accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel has called the allegations “a despicable and contemptuous exploitation” of the ICJ and urged the court to reject it.
Continue reading...Rank-and-file members say joining the ICJ case accusing Israel of genocide would send a ‘powerful signal to the world’
Rank-and-file Labor party members are urging the Albanese government to intervene in and support South Africa’s case against Israel at the UN’s international court of justice (ICJ), pointing to Australia’s previous support of Ukraine in a similar case against Russia.
The first hearing in The Hague is set for 11 and 12 January with a provisional ruling possible within weeks. Israel has responded to the allegations and urged the ICJ to reject it.
Continue reading...Albanese government would need to couple any increases in unemployment benefits and pensions with savings, experts say
Addressing competition issues and increasing unemployment benefits and pensions are ways the Albanese government could tackle cost-of-living pressures but they would have to be coupled with savings to avoid reigniting inflation, economists say.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, on Wednesday said he had asked Treasury and the finance department to develop “further propositions” for providing cost-of-living relief by the May budget.
Continue reading...Australia, along with Russia, remains one of the few countries in OECD without fuel efficiency standard
The federal government is facing pressure to “stop idling” and swiftly introduce new laws that will encourage carmakers to produce cleaner vehicles as Australia eyes its 2030 emissions reduction targets.
Automotive industry bodies and environment advocates say the European-style fuel efficiency standards would offer consumers greater choice of cleaner cars that are cheaper to run amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Continue reading...Seven of at least 148 people released after November judgment have since been rearrested
A further two former immigration detainees released in the wake of the high court’s NZYQ ruling have been rearrested after breaches of their conditions.
The men’s arrests over the Christmas period bring the total number of arrests to seven since the high court ruled that indefinite detention is unlawful where it is not possible to deport the non-citizen. At least 148 people have been released as a result of the November ruling, sparking a political crisis for the Albanese government.
Continue reading...Nick McKim says national security committee documents used to justify the war may answer questions about momentous foreign policy decision
The release of the 2003 cabinet papers “barely scratches the surface” of the Howard government’s “disastrous decision to go to war in Iraq” and reinforces the need for a parliamentary vote before committing Australia to future wars, Greens senator Nick McKim has said.
McKim has demanded the full release of all national security committee and cabinet documents related to the 2003 decision, which committed Australia to the US-led “coalition of the willing” to invade Iraq.
Continue reading...Cabinet papers from 2003 show there was no formal submission before decision was taken to join US-led ‘coalition of the willing’
Australia joined the US-led invasion of Iraq, one of the most contentious decisions of John Howard’s prime ministership, without a formal cabinet submission setting out a full analysis of the risks.
Cabinet papers published by the National Archives on Monday show the full cabinet signed off on the decision on 18 March 2003 based on “oral reports by the prime minister”.
Continue reading...The Howard government drafted a statement declaring its support for an emissions trading scheme before abruptly changing course
The Howard government drafted a statement declaring its support for an emissions trading scheme 20 years ago, only for the idea to be scuttled by business lobbying, newly released documents show.
Cabinet papers from 2003, released by the National Archives on Monday, show the then Coalition government was in possession of clear advice from Treasury that a broad-based market mechanism would be the cheapest way to reduce emissions.
Continue reading...Cabinet papers from 2003 show the government pursued talks without consulting peak Indigenous body – which it then abolished
The Howard government fought strongly against recognising the right of Indigenous peoples to “self-determination” and worked secretly with Canada to try to change a draft UN declaration, newly released cabinet papers show.
The cabinet papers from 2003, released by the National Archives on Monday, show that some Australian government departments held concerns about potential impacts of the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples, but Australia’s talks with Canada on amendments were being pursued with “no Indigenous consultation about the process or its product” as such input would be “premature”.
Continue reading...Political leaders also thank emergency services workers in annual Christmas messages
Anthony Albanese has used his annual Christmas message to pay tribute to flood-affected residents in northern Queensland while expressing gratitude to medical and hospitality workers.
The prime minister issued a short video message to the nation on Christmas Eve, wishing Australians well over the holiday period and paying particular tribute to defence force personnel.
Continue reading...Exclusive: The apparent error has been occurring for at least three years and has been blamed on a transition to new computer systems
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs has apologised for chasing elderly Australians for alleged pension overpayments and has blamed a systems error for wrongly targeting those aged over 90.
After a Guardian Australia report on the issue, a departmental spokesperson said a number of veterans were incorrectly subjected to compliance reviews, resulting in debt notices.
Continue reading...EVs made up just 2% of new car sales in May 2022, but now 8.3% of new car sales in 2023 are battery powered
The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, has welcomed a boom in electric vehicle sales, revealing the number of fast-charging sites has nearly doubled in the last year.
National strategies on electric vehicles are expected to more than double the number of charger stations again within three years, as the federal government seeks to incentivise the use of cleaner cars. New fuel efficiency standards, expected to be outlined in early 2024, are likely to further discourage the sale of higher-emitting vehicles, making electric cars more attractive.
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Continue reading...Coalition MP Colin Boyce claimed highest travel allowance of $29,623 for third quarter in 2022, while Adam Bandt claimed $15,309 for plane charter
Anthony Albanese and Richard Marles have defended themselves and their colleagues over millions in taxpayer-funded expenses claimed by federal politicians, as political spending again comes under the microscope after the release of long-delayed reports.
The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (Ipea) this week published new reports giving the public insight into how politicians spend public funds on office expenses and travel.
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Continue reading...Indigenous Australians department says it is giving advice on treaty and truth processes, but declines to reveal commission’s status
After the failed voice referendum, the Indigenous Australians department says it is still giving advice to the federal government on treaty and truth processes but the future of the Makarrata commission remains in limbo.
The 2022 budget provided $5.8m to start work on setting up the Makarrata commission, which was to oversee processes for making agreements and truth-telling. During the election, the government pledged more than $27m to establish the body.
Continue reading...Reporting what is being directly witnessed by MSF healthcare workers does not indicate loss of neutrality, Natalie Thurtle stresses
An Australian doctor who coordinated medical aid to Gaza has expressed horror at the “huge proportion of children being killed or maimed for life” as the UN security council again delayed a vote on a ceasefire resolution.
Dr Natalie Thurtle, who helped oversee the response by Médecins Sans Frontières until last week, said it was “very confronting for colleagues trying to provide healthcare when it’s possible to be shot through the window of the hospital”.
Continue reading...‘Very disappointing results, it is no wonder that so many Australians remain fed up with our major airlines,’ Catherine King says. Follow today’s news updates live
‘Very, very clear’ renewables are the cheapest form of energy, Bowen says
Renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy, including its storage and transmission costs, the energy minister told ABC RN.
Its conclusions this year are unimpeachable and very, very clear.
The cheapest form of energy is renewable energy, even including the costs that go with renewable energy around storage and transmission.
Continue reading...Fyles quit after it was uncovered she owned undisclosed shares in a mining company with interests in the territory
The current treasurer of the Northern Territory, Eva Lawler, will be the territory’s new chief minister.
Lawler will replace the outgoing chief minister, Natasha Fyles, who resigned after it was uncovered she owned undisclosed shares in a mining company with interests in the territory.
Continue reading...Expense report, which previously included itemised spending, now has almost zero detail on how money actually spent in each category
Anthony Albanese’s government has been accused of a lack of transparency after the much-delayed release of a report on politicians’ expenses was changed to strip out key details on what federal MPs billed to taxpayers on junk mail and online advertising.
Expense reports, which were previously presented with itemised spending on newspaper subscriptions, books and printing have been summarised to now only give an aggregated total, with almost zero detail on how money is actually spent in each category.
Continue reading...The reason Anthony Albanese cited for declining sounds very familiar. Almost like the Coalition said the much the same thing
The Australian government’s decision to rebuff a US request to send a warship to the Red Sea has been greeted in some quarters as a seismic event, but it’s not really a bolt from the blue.
Australia is facing “an increasingly challenging strategic environment which is placing greater demand on ADF resources closer to home”, a senior Australian political figure said.
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