Category Archives: Australian politics

NSW to review treaty consultation plan after voice referendum defeat

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Exclusive: With Indigenous leaders ‘shell-shocked’, sources say there are a ‘lot of conversations’ in the Minns government about next step

The New South Wales government will review part of its state treaty consultation plan, a key election promise, in the wake of the crushing federal referendum defeat on the voice to parliament.

The government isn’t confirming the appointment of three commissioners to oversee the process as planned – and previously outlined by the Aboriginal affairs and treaty minister, David Harris, in April. Sources say the consultation process and timeline will now be reviewed.

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Australia breaches WHO treaty with carbon neutral certification of big tobacco company

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Endorsement of British American Tobacco by Climate Active was revoked after complaint was made, FoI documents show

The government has been forced to revoke carbon neutral certification given to a big tobacco company after the endorsement was found to be in breach of a World Health Organization treaty to which Australia is a signatory.

Freedom of information documents show a complaint was made by the managing director of the Carbon Reduction Institute, Rob Cawthorne, to the health department in August 2022 about British American Tobacco (BAT) receiving the certification from Climate Active.

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Defence whistleblower David McBride makes last-ditch request to attorney general to end prosecution

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Former military lawyer’s legal team warns public has made its ‘disapproval of the continued prosecution abundantly clear’

David McBride’s legal team has made a last-ditch request to the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, to intervene and end his prosecution, warning the public had made their “disapproval of the continued prosecution abundantly clear”.

McBride, a former military lawyer, is facing trial in the ACT courts next month for his alleged leaking of documents to the ABC, which were used to produce a series of articles exposing alleged war crimes by Australian troops.

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Teal MPs call for national road-user charges after high court shuts down Victoria’s EV tax

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‘We need … to maintain our roads in a way that’s fair, and aimed at helping, not hindering, electrification of transport’, says Monique Ryan

Teal independent MPs have welcomed the high court’s decision to strike down Victoria’s electric vehicle tax, urging the federal government to instead legislate national road-user charges.

Zoe Daniel, Allegra Spender, Monique Ryan and Kylea Tink have all called for road use charges to apply fairly to all vehicles, with a nationally consistent scheme that does not target EVs.

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LNP’s cold political calculation dares Annastacia Palaszczuk to make treaty an election issue

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Iron-willed during Covid, it’s become harder to know what Queensland’s premier really stands for

In the Queensland parliament in May, Annastacia Palaszczuk spoke bluntly about “uncomfortable truths”.

“Each generation is called to make its mark on its age,” Palaszczuk said. “A treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is ours.

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Australians told ‘do not travel’ to Lebanon – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

No move on paying super to people on paid parental leave

But so far, the government has not moved on paying superannuation to parents (mostly women) on paid parental leave.

Super, of course, is really important and it’s something we would very much like to look to in the future when the budget can afford it. But this is a very big step forward, the current arrangements, but we’ll continue to look around superannuation into the future and consider it in each budget context.

I think with the reserved period as well, we’re going to see an increase in shared care, both parents taking some time out, which is really, really important if we want to get a more equal burden of, you know, of that share of care.

So that is really important as well.

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Albanese government accused of ‘deep division’ and ‘confusion’ over Israel-Hamas conflict stance

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Sussan Ley’s comments come after Labor MPs including Ed Husic and Anne Aly break ranks to condemn Israel’s blockade on Gaza

Sussan Ley has accused the Albanese government of “deep division” and “confusion” over its official stance toward the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The science minister, Ed Husic, said on Thursday morning he was concerned Palestinians were being “collectively punished for Hamas’s barbarism” in the besieged Gaza Strip, with the death toll rising to more than 3,000.

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Australian ministers say Palestinians are being ‘collectively punished’ for Hamas barbarism

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Ed Husic backed by fellow Labor frontbencher Anne Aly who says Israel ‘could be investigated’ for alleged war crimes

Palestinians are being “collectively punished for Hamas’s barbarism”, senior federal minister Ed Husic has said, in the strongest condemnation yet of Israel’s reprisals in Gaza by a member of the Australian government.

Fellow Labor frontbencher Anne Aly immediately backed Husic saying it was “difficult to argue” that Palestinians, including 1,000 children who had been killed, were not being “collectively punished”. Aly, the early childhood education minister, suggested Israel could be investigated over whether it had committed war crimes.

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Majority of Australians support truth in political advertising laws, poll shows

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Australia Institute survey a boost to Labor legislation to tackle misinformation ahead of next federal election

Almost nine in 10 Australians support truth in political advertising laws, with majorities of both yes and no voters concerned about “lies and misinformation” during the voice referendum debate.

Those are the results of a survey of 1,547 voters by the Australian Institute conducted from the close of polls on Saturday evening to Tuesday, which also calls on the Albanese government to come up with new solutions to close the gap.

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Albanese says Gaza hospital blast ‘deeply distressing’ as Australia urges against wider regional conflict

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PM condemns ‘any indiscriminate attacks’ on civilians while Penny Wong says spread of conflict would compound ‘risks to Israel’s security’

Anthony Albanese has described the deaths of hundreds of people at a Gaza hospital as “deeply distressing” as the Australian government urged all parties to avoid an escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The prime minister on Wednesday condemned “any indiscriminate attacks” on civilians, while the foreign minister, Penny Wong, warned a wider regional conflict would cause even more civilian deaths.

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Australia politics live: Penny Wong condemns ‘any indiscriminate attacks and targeting of civilian infrastructure’ after Gaza hospital blast

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‘Protection of civilian lives must come first and respect for international humanitarian law is paramount,’ Australian foreign minister says. Follow the day’s news live

Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour speaks on the referendum

Just before the house adjourned for the evening on Tuesday, Labor Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour gave a speech about the referendum which is very much worth your time:

I want to say a few things about what led us to the recent referendum and what it means for those first peoples Australians most affected by the outcome, particularly the first peoples Australians in my electorate of Lingiari.

Because of some arcane parliamentary tradition, which I understand derives from English House of Commons, we are obliged to call the making of a speech at this time and in this place a ‘grievance debate’.

The price tag of Israel’s right to defend itself cannot be the destruction of Palestine.

Israel’s right to defend its civilians cannot equate to the annihilation of Palestinian civilians. I hereby call for an immediate ceasefire to come into effect, alongside many world leaders and experts.

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Australia politics live: Albanese accuses Ley of lack of respect for Indigenous voice campaigners in fiery question time

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Albanese highlights ‘concerning’ Coalition voice rhetoric as Dutton targets PM over treaty and truth telling. Follow the day’s news live

‘We’re holding a thorough consultation process,’ Jacinta Allan says

Under the proposal, a government minister will appoint commissioners, though the Greens-chaired integrity and oversight committee will have the power to veto candidates.

A new parliamentary ethics committee

Improvements to mechanisms relating to public interest disclosures about MPs

Updates to the MP code of conduct

We’re holding a thorough consultation process to ensure we achieve the highest standards of conduct and integrity of MPs in all aspects of their work for Victorians.

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Australian citizens in Palestine raise fears about Dfat efforts as rescue buses cancelled

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Buses had been scheduled to take Palestinian Australians from Ramallah in West Bank to Jordan but they did not go ahead

Palestinian Australians in the West Bank who fear a surge in violence have raised concerns over the Australian government’s efforts to help them escape the region, after rescue buses to Jordan were cancelled.

With no airport in the West Bank, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) had scheduled buses to take Australian citizens from the Palestinian city of Ramallah over the border into Jordan, due to concerns about the ability of these dual nationals to access flights out of Israel’s Ben Gurion airport.

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Australian parliament unites to condemn hate speech including antisemitism and Islamophobia

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PM says Hamas should be condemned for committing ‘mass murder on a horrific scale’ while Greens warn of ‘looming humanitarian crisis’

The Australian parliament has united to condemn “all forms of hate speech” including antisemitism and Islamophobia, with the prime minister declaring that the country must not succumb to the “forces of division”.

As the death toll mounted in Israel and Gaza and concerns grew about spillover tensions in Australia, Anthony Albanese said Hamas should be unequivocally condemned for committing “mass murder on a horrific scale”.

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Indigenous voice referendum: how each polling booth voted across Australia

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The city-country divide was stark, but zeroing in on booth level paints a more complex picture

Australian voters in the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum were starkly divided, with people in rural areas rejecting the proposal while those in inner cities backing the advisory body.

But digging deeper into the voting booths themselves exposes other patterns.

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Cabinet to consider interim listening mechanism after resounding no vote on voice

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Albanese government plans to let dust settle after Saturday’s loss with focus potentially shifting to state-based voice and treaty processes

Federal cabinet is meeting to discuss the Albanese government’s next steps to address Indigenous disadvantage, with senior government figures favouring an interim listening mechanism to provide advice directly to the prime minister.

After the resounding defeat of the voice to parliament on Saturday night, Guardian Australia understands the government will consider on Monday options including appointing a new short-term policy advisory group reporting to the prime minister.

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‘Echo chamber of elites’: outer urban areas ignored by yes campaign, Labor MP Mike Freelander say

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South-west Sydney MP says ‘a lot of people felt disfranchised’ as Hunter MP Dan Repacholi says voters were ‘more keen to hear about cost of living’

The Yes23 campaign to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the constitution “ignored” outer urban areas and was an “echo chamber of elites talking to elites”, the Labor MP Mike Freelander has said.

Freelander, the member for Macarthur in south-west Sydney, is one of several Labor MPs “very disappointed” but not surprised by the yes side’s poor showing outside inner-city areas.

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Indigenous communities overwhelmingly voted yes to Australia’s voice to parliament

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Polling catchments where Indigenous Australians form more than 50% of the population voted on average 63% in favour of the voice

Regions with a high proportion of Indigenous Australians overwhelmingly voted yes in the referendum – including the community where prominent no campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s family is from.

The yes vote in polling catchments where Indigenous Australians formed more than 50% of the population was, on average, 63% in favour of enshrining an Indigenous voice to parliament, according to political analyst Simon Jackman, who estimated the proportion of Indigenous Australians at each polling area based on data from the 2022 election.

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Jacinta Nampijinpa Price questions AEC ‘conduct’ after largely Indigenous communities vote yes

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Shadow Indigenous Australians minister says ‘there’s a lot of manipulation’ in remote communities

The shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, has questioned the impartiality of the Australian Electoral Commission’s delivery of remote polling.

Price also suggested people handing out how-to-vote cards “overpower vulnerable Aboriginal communities”, seeking to counter the fact many Indigenous communities had voted yes to a voice to parliament.

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How did your electorate vote in the voice referendum? Check out our interactive map

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While electorate-level results play no part in the overall Indigenous voice referendum outcome, polling data reveals interesting demographic trends

The voice to parliament referendum has been defeated, with a majority of people and every state voting against the proposal.

While electorate-by-electorate results play no part in a referendum, the results can reveal interesting geographic trends. On Saturday, the eastern suburbs and inner west in Sydney recorded a majority yes vote, compared with a majority no vote in the western suburbs.

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