Category Archives: Australian politics

Jim Chalmers open to clean energy investment reforms pushed by super funds

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Treasurer says government ‘committed to consider’ proposals, including concessional finance to bankroll new transmission infrastructure

Jim Chalmers has signalled the Albanese government is open to considering sweeping reforms being championed by industry superannuation funds to unlock billions in private capital to fund Australia’s clean energy transition.

After meeting on Tuesday with banks, venture capital firms, super funds and investor groups in Canberra, the treasurer told journalists he had committed to consider specific measures proposed by AustralianSuper, cbus, HostPlus, CareSuper, Hesta, UniSuper and the behemoth Australian fund IFM Investors.

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Australia news live: Reserve Bank to deliver year’s last interest rates decision as economists tip no change

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Poll finds 28 of 30 economists expect central bank to keep cash rate steady at 4.35%. Follow the day’s news live

Good morning, and happy Tuesday.

I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be with you on the blog today – many thanks to Martin for kicking things off.

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Australia urged not to rely on ‘drug dealer’s defence’ for gas exports and help wean Japan off fossil fuels

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Diplomats for Climate group says if government wants to use that defence ‘it needs to be the dealer who takes their clients to rehab and supports them off their habit’

The Albanese government should do more to leverage its relationship with Japan – arguably the world’s most important energy partnership – to help its trading partner move away from gas and towards a rapid and ambitious decarbonisation, former diplomats say.

Diplomats for Climate, an organisation supported by more than 100 former Australian officials, says “the future of gas lies in the ground”, but that a ban on new fossil fuel developments – the focus of a growing community campaign backed by scientific evidence – would not cut global emissions unless international demand was reduced.

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Coalition to have sizeable contingent at Cop28 despite Peter Dutton jibe at climate change minister’s attendance

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Frontbenchers Paul Fletcher and Bridget McKenzie part of group of nine MPs who will be in Dubai funded by Coalition for Conservation and Environmental Leadership Australia

A significant contingent of Coalition MPs – including federal opposition frontbenchers Paul Fletcher and Bridget McKenzie – will fly out to the Cop28 climate summit in Dubai funded by two ginger groups.

Despite Peter Dutton last week making fun of the climate change minister, Chris Bowen, during an interview on 2GB for travelling to the United Nations-led international climate change conference and “incurring all those emissions” – a significant delegation of Coalition MPs will also attend the summit and associated events.

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Jacinta Price declined 52 ABC interview requests to discuss Indigenous voice referendum

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A report by the national broadcaster found the prominent no campaigner ‘did not agree to a single interview on a major broadcast program’

High-profile no campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price turned down interview requests from the ABC to discuss the voice referendum more than 52 times, according to the national broadcaster’s referendum coverage review committee report.

The report found the yes campaign had about twice as much coverage overall as the no campaign. The reasons for that, according to the report, included a lack of people willing to come on to discuss the no side, time taken up by government press conferences which often argued for the yes vote, and a decision to focus on First Nations voices, who were predominantly arguing for yes.

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Late MP Peta Murphy remembered as ‘brave and loved’ by Anthony Albanese in emotional tribute

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‘It was so true to Peta’s character that she channelled her personal battle with breast cancer into public policy’, PM says

Anthony Albanese has confirmed that Labor MP Peta Murphy, 50, has died from breast cancer. The prime minister struggled to hold back tears as he confirmed Murphy’s passing in a short statement from parliament house on Monday afternoon.

Murphy, the member for Dunkley, attended the final sitting week of the House of Representatives last week before returning home for palliative care. The MP died at home in the company of her parents and siblings and her husband of more than two decades, Rod Glover.

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‘Unacceptable risk’ test to determine if freed migrants go back to detention under proposed law

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Labor hopes to push new laws through parliament this week to allow courts to order the re-detention of migrants or refugees freed after the landmark NZYQ high court ruling

People freed from immigration detention will be re-detained if a court agrees they pose an unacceptably high risk of committing a “serious violent or sexual offence” under proposed new Australian laws.

After a landmark high court ruling that indefinite immigration detention was unconstitutional, the Australian government will this week seek urgent passage of a proposal to allow some of the released migrants or refugees to be re-detained for up to three years at a time.

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NDIS funding showdown looms as Shorten seeks new deal with states

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Bill Shorten is due to release a review of the NDIS but says things won’t ‘change overnight’ amid resistance against moving some disability support services responsibilities to states

Bill Shorten is seeking to defuse a growing row with state and territory governments over funding for the NDIS, insisting the federal government does not want to “change things overnight”.

But with a showdown looming at national cabinet this week, disability advocates have urged leaders not to treat the community as “political footballs”.

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‘Until freedom and justice prevail’: rallies for Palestine march again through Australian capitals

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Also on Sunday, families and friends of hostages taken by Hamas addressed a gathering at a Sydney synagogue

Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters have gathered in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, pledging the rallies will not stop until “freedom and justice prevails”.

For the eighth week in a row, supporters for a free Palestine marched through the Sydney central business district, Melbourne CBD and in Logan, south of Brisbane.

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News live: Australia signs renewables pledge at Cop28; Brisbane mayor quits 2032 Olympics role

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Adrian Schrinner says the Palaszczuk government has ‘completely lost its way’ on road to event as he quits Brisbane 2032 Games delivery forum. Follow the day’s news live

Australia backs COP28 renewables, energy efficiency vow

Now for some more detail on Australia – along with 118 nations - signing a pledge at the COP28 climate summit to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030.

“We know that renewables are the cleanest and cheapest form of energy - and that energy efficiency can also help drive down bills and emissions,”

Australia has the highest penetration of rooftop solar in the world and has a plan to get to 82 per cent renewables by 2030 to deliver cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy.

It’s clear that the games have become more about over-priced stadiums rather than the promise of vital transport solutions.

The state government’s ham-fisted and foolish attempt to extort Brisbane ratepayers for tens of millions of dollars for a new RNA stadium was the final straw.

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Coles and Woolworths to face Senate scrutiny amid claims of profiteering

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Greens win support for inquiry into effect of market concentration on food prices and pattern of major chains’ pricing strategies

Australia’s big supermarkets will face fresh scrutiny with a Senate inquiry to investigate their market power and pricing decisions, amid concerns they have profiteered during an inflationary period marked by fast-rising food costs.

The Greens have secured cross-party support to set up the inquiry which will examine the effect of market concentration on food prices and the pattern of pricing strategies employed by the major chains, Coles and Woolworths.

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Australia and EU in talks about ‘the day after’ war in Gaza and unite on two-state solution

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European Commission vice-president says there must be ‘no role for Hamas in any post-conflict horizon’ during visit to Australia

Australia and the European Union are in talks about “the day after” the war in Gaza and are united on calls to revive a two-state solution, a senior official has said.

But the European Commission vice-president, Margaritis Schinas, added that Hamas had forfeited the right to be part of any political settlement.

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Brittany Higgins wore dress she was allegedly raped in to Liberal function weeks later to ‘reclaim it’, court hears

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Former Liberal staffer tells federal court defamation trial she initially thought she could ‘disassociate’ from the alleged rape

Brittany Higgins has told a court she wore the white dress she was allegedly raped in six weeks later to a Liberal function in an attempt to “reclaim it” and “disassociate it from the rape”.

But what was once her “favourite” pencil dress that she “used to wear all the time” was not reclaimed and was never worn again, Higgins told the federal court on Friday.

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Stage set for national cabinet clash over GST – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

The NSW Australian Paramedics Association will take part in a 12-hour strike today, from 7am to 7pm, despite the threat of legal action.

Members will still attend emergency “lights and sirens” jobs as part of an ongoing pay dispute.

We want to assure the public that emergencies will still be attended to, with our focus intensifying on life-threatening cases.

Our decision to limit responses to non-emergency jobs enhances our capacity to manage critical cases.

Facing potential legal repercussions and a substantial fine of up to $20,000 per day, our commitment remains firm.

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Lehrmann proceedings day seven – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Brittany Higgins says she does not count Linda Reynolds and her chief of staff Fiona Brown as villains in her story.

“Fiona Brown was just following instructions and I’ve never blamed her and I don’t blame her,” Higgins said.

“Linda Reynolds avoided me in my view, and did not meet her duty of care. I felt unsupported. I felt unsupported by both of them, but I don’t count them as villains in this story. I just don’t think they did the right thing by me.”

Higgins said her experience damaged her relationship with the Liberal party and she revealed she is no longer a Liberal.

She denied a suggestion from Whybrow that she leaked her story to the media in order to damage the Liberal party ahead of the election.

“I had no intention of impacting the election, but I did want to change the culture in Parliament House,” Higgins said.

“I was angry at the culture of Parliament House and I was hurt by the Liberal party, but I was still a Liberal.

“No longer, but I was still for a really long time.”

• an earlier version of this post incorrectly identified the election referred to as being in 2019

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Industry super funds warn slow transition to net zero puts Australia at risk of losing ‘attractive’ investments

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A new report argues that $12bn a year on average between now and 2050 will be required to transition to renewable energy

Industry super funds have warned the Albanese government that Australia’s energy transition risks falling behind as big funds chase more compelling investment opportunities in the US, UK and Europe.

AustralianSuper, cbus, HostPlus, CareSuper, HESTA and UniSuper have co-authored a new report with Australian fund IFM Investors calling for more favourable investment conditions underwritten by taxpayers to unlock private capital for the domestic transition to net zero emissions.

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Australia politics live: Albanese says Israel-Hamas war protest at Melbourne hotel ‘beyond contempt’

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Chalmers: ‘We are making some welcome progress in the fight against inflation’

Is Jim Chalmers confident that interest rates could fall from next year?

My job is to focus on this fight against inflation. And we saw overnight from the OECD, we saw from Deloitte Access Economics, we saw in the Bureau of Statistics data which came out yesterday, that we are making some welcome progress in the fight against inflation and that will determine the future directory trajectory of interest rates

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Tech giants should face new watchdog, Australian Senate inquiry finds

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Committee recommends standalone agency that would give consumers and digital platforms a central place to direct complaints

Tech giants could soon be subject to tougher laws including the introduction of a big tech watchdog and individuals’ rights to delete data if the recommendations of a Senate committee are adopted.

In a report handed down on Thursday, a Senate inquiry into big tech revealed concerns the powerful companies had too high a concentration over the market, resulting in anti-competitive practices.

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial live: Brittany Higgins tells court accusation she lied about rape to keep job is ‘insulting’ and ‘incorrect’

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A warning for readers: this blog contains graphic details of allegations of sexual assault. Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson in the federal court of Australia over allegations Higgins was raped by a Liberal staffer in Parliament House. Follow the latest news and updates

Higgins questioned about sequence of events

Steve Whybrow SC asked Higgins: “I’m suggesting to you that you alter and evolve your evidence as you find that extra information. Do you accept that?”

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Time running out to make prosperous transition to net zero emissions, Australia warned

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Climate Change Authority tells Labor government rapid action is needed, including accelerating emissions cuts from oil and gas

Australia risks falling short of its 2030 climate target and time is running out for it to make a prosperous transition to net zero emissions on its own terms, the independent Climate Change Authority has warned.

The authority’s annual assessment of Australia’s progress on climate said the country still had time to take advantage of the opportunities a net zero world presented, but it risked the transition to a clean economy being “dictated to us by the actions of others around the world” the longer it delayed.

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Extending incentives for rooftop solar panels beyond 2030 and expanding them to include household batteries and private electric vehicle chargers

Accelerating emissions cuts from oil and gas by introducing international best practice measures to cut methane emissions and leaks, and requiring facilities to sequester all carbon dioxide pollution

Coordinating with state and territory governments to agree on timing for the retirement of fossil fuel generators

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