Category Archives: Australian politics

‘If not now, when?’: Thomas Mayo pleads with voters not to delay Indigenous voice to future generations

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Leading yes campaigner questions how many lives will be ‘lost or cut short’ in the meantime if referendum does not succeed

The leading yes campaigner Thomas Mayo says problems facing Indigenous Australians cannot be fixed without a mechanism like the voice to parliament and has pleaded with voters to back the referendum rather than delaying the vital reform to future generations.

Mayo called the voice “the moral and logical thing” for Australians to support, saying it was inevitable that something like the advisory body would need to be set up at some point.

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Australia news live: Julian Leeser makes last-minute plea for voice; thousands rally for Israel

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Former shadow attorney-general says the referendum should be about ‘hope’; Peter Dutton and NSW premier speak at Sydney gathering. Follow the day’s news live

Morrison-era climate agency to be reviewed on effectiveness in preparing for natural disasters

A climate agency created in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires will be put under the microscope as Australia heads into a hot weather season predicted to deliver extreme weather events.

Our government is committed to building greater national climate and disaster risk information capability, to provide authoritative data and analytical tools for governments, industry, and the public.

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Australians ‘hold you in our hearts’, Anthony Albanese tells Jewish community

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Amid rising tensions between supporters of Israel and Palestinians, the prime minister says Jewish people will be protected from any antisemitic threat

Anthony Albanese has told Australian Jews that his government is committed to keeping them safe amid rising inter-community tensions following the Hamas attack on Israel and the prospect of all-out war in the Middle East.

As thousands of people gathered in Sydney on Wednesday night to commemorate the deaths of civilians and show support for Israel, the prime minister addressed the Jewish community at St Kilda Shule in Melbourne.

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Voice no campaigner claims Uluru statement supporters want ‘their own military’

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Kerry White, a Narungga elder, former One Nation candidate and Warren Mundine backer, also claims the stolen generation was not ‘stolen’

A no campaigner linked to Warren Mundine’s Recognise a Better Way group has falsely claimed supporters of the Uluru statement want “their own military” and voiced a conspiracy theory that the creation of Indigenous treaties would see the UN take over Australian land.

Kerry White, a Narungga elder, one-time One Nation candidate, and committeemember of the Recognise a Better Way group set up by Mundine, went on to allege the stolen generation “wasn’t stolen” and that there was “nothing wrong” with assimilation policies.

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Australia needs climate trigger laws, conservation groups say after failed challenge to coalmines

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Calls come after federal court dismisses legal action against environment minister’s decisions on two mine expansions

Conservation groups say Australia’s environment laws must be changed to include a climate trigger after the federal court dismissed a legal challenge against the environment minister’s decisions on two proposed coalmine expansions.

Known as the living wonders case, the legal action launched by the Environment Council of Central Queensland (ECoCeQ) alleged the minister, Tanya Plibersek, failed to protect the environment from climate harm when she decided the projects could move the next stage of the federal assessment process.

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Key Labor MP urges new independent watchdog for job services providers

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Julian Hill has warned the National Employment Services Association the era of ‘massive multibillion-dollar “set and forget” tenders’ is over

Job services providers should face a new regulator with powers to oversee pricing and quality, according to the government chair of an inquiry into employment services.

The era of “massive multibillion-dollar ‘set and forget’ tenders” is over, the Labor MP Julian Hill has warned the National Employment Services Association, the peak body for providers responsible for enforcing mutual obligations on jobseekers, on Wednesday.

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Australia news live: Sydney pro-Palestine rally to go ahead without NSW police approval; Cheng Lei freed from China

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Heavy traffic near Sydney airport after truck crash and fluid spill

Traffic remains heavy near Sydney airport after a two-truck crash caused a fluid spill.

This is one of the most important priorities for us coming out of what’s occurred in the previous days.

Minister Wong is [working] really hard on that. The Australian government will do whatever is necessary to protect [its] citizens.

We’ll do whatever is necessary to make sure we can secure the safety of Australians … We’re working very hard to make sure we protect Australians not just overseas, but here at home.

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Australians can ‘lift burden of history’ with yes vote, says emotional Albanese at Uluru

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Prime minister visibly moved by song and dance of traditional owners as he attempts to rally the nation behind the voice plan

Australians have the opportunity to “lift the burden of history” from Indigenous people by voting yes to the voice to parliament, a clearly emotional Anthony Albanese has told a gathering of traditional owners at Uluru.

The prime minister sat with leaders from central Australia, including the most senior traditional owner of the rock, Reggie Uluru, on a hot afternoon in the national park at the base of the rock on Tuesday.

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Australia news live: protesters at ‘agitated’ pro-Palestine rally at Opera House may face charges, NSW police say

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Home affairs minister issues social media reminder that Hamas is listed as a terrorist organisation in Australia. Follow live

Here are some images of the Australian landmarks that were illuminated in blue and white colours last night in support of Israel.

The Sydney Opera House:

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Pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney calls for Australia to drop support for Israel

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Protesters march on Sydney Opera House but prime minister Anthony Albanese says people need to ‘take a step back’

Hundreds of Australians have marched in solidarity with Palestinians after the Israeli government formally declared war against Hamas in response to its surprise attack.

The militant group Hamas launched a co-ordinated attack across Israel on Saturday, killing hundreds of civilians were killed and taking dozens of hostages in the largest incursion since the 1973 Yom Kippur war.

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A no vote will ‘bring shame upon us’ and signal reconciliation is no longer viable, Noel Pearson says

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In a late plea for a yes vote in the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum, the respected leader says he fears ‘for the future of my people’ if it is defeated

Noel Pearson says he will walk away from advocating for a “middle path” of compromise if the voice to parliament referendum fails, claiming reconciliation would not be viable in the event of a no vote.

The longtime Indigenous activist and respected community leader says he would instead allow a new generation of Indigenous leaders to chart a different path forward.

Pearson said he fears “for the future of my people” if the referendum is defeated on Saturday, making a late plea for voters to vote yes in recognition of Australia’s history and avoid a failure he says would be “ugly as sin”.

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Australia news live: Parliament House in Canberra to be lit up in blue and white in support of Israel

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Follow the day’s news live

AAP has the latest polling results ahead of the Indigenous voice referendum day this Saturday:

Two surveys show the no campaign is still ahead a week out from referendum day despite one poll indicating a slight late gain in support for the yes vote in the past month.

Not at all. It’s only done when people cast their ballots.

We’ll wait and see when they cast their vote. I’m not getting ahead of the Australian people.

I know there’s some arrogance has crept into the no side campaign, but it’s a campaign based upon fear and it’s similar to the sort of arguments that were put prior to the apology to stolen generations. And if people think about that … there weren’t any negative consequences for anyone.

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Labor should review decision to block extra Qatar Airways flights to Australia, Senate inquiry says

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Committee seeks more time so it can quiz former Qantas boss Alan Joyce about the Albanese government’s Qatar Airways ruling

The Albanese government should immediately review its decision to block Qatar Airways from launching extra flights to Australia, a Senate inquiry has recommended, as it called for a significantly expanded role and powers for the competition and consumer watchdog in the sector.

The Senate select committee on bilateral air service agreements – set up to examine the rejection of Qatar Airways’ request to almost double its flights into Australia’s major airports – has also recommended its own extension to November so the former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce could front members upon his return to Australia, and so other Qantas representatives who provided “unsatisfactory” responses could be re-quizzed by senators.

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Liberal party apologises to voice voters for giving advice labelled ‘blatant disregard’ of rules

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People who took up party’s incorrect suggestion on applying for postal ballots could miss out on voting in referendum, MP warns

The Liberal party has apologised to voters for incorrectly suggesting they could apply for a postal vote before writs for the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum had been issued, with the party conceding they will now need to reapply.

The independent MP Kate Chaney has blasted the party for its “blatant disregard” of Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) guidelines and warned that voters may be disenfranchised because they were informed less than two weeks from the 14 October poll.

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Almost half of private school parents would consider switching to a better funded public system, survey finds

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Lonergan Research survey finds 63% of parents agree public schools are underfunded as ABS data shows decline in public enrolments

Almost half of all parents with children in Australia’s private schools would consider moving them to the public system if it was better resourced, according to a new survey.

The Lonergan Research survey, commissioned by the Greens, polled more than 1,000 parents nationally with children enrolled from kindergarten to year 12.

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PM says Australians in Israel safe – as it happened

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‘Our support is totally unwavering’: PM on Ukraine

Albanese says that despite questions about whether support for Ukraine may be wavering under US Republications, Australia remains committed to supporting the country as it defends itself from a Russian invasion.

This is a struggle to defend the rights of a sovereign state to exist, to defend the rights of a democracy to exist.

Our support is totally unwavering.

This is indiscriminate. Civilians being targeted, killed and murdered, as well as many of them being taken hostage. This is dreadful.

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Labor won’t try to legislate Indigenous voice if referendum fails, Anthony Albanese says

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‘If Australians vote no, I don’t believe it would be appropriate to then go and legislate anyway,’ prime minister says a week out from vote

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says the government won’t try to legislate a voice to parliament if the no vote wins next weekend’s referendum on enshrining the body in the constitution.

Albanese on Sunday was asked on ABC TV: “If it’s a no vote, you walk away from the voice altogether?”

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Indigenous voice: electoral commission decision not to send mobile voting teams into hospitals condemned

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Australian Medical Association and Uluru Dialogue say patients and medical staff could be disenfranchised after AEC continues Covid-era policy

Australia’s peak medical body and a key group backing the Indigenous voice to parliament have raised concerns patients and medical staff may be disenfranchised in the referendum, after a pandemic-era decision not to send mobile voting teams into hospitals was made permanent.

During the 2022 federal election, the Australian Electoral Commission decided it was not appropriate to send polling officials into hospitals, given the risk of Covid infection and transmission, and the AEC has confirmed the policy is still in place for the referendum.

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Anthony Albanese casts yes vote in ‘once in a generation’ voice to parliament referendum

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PM says he won’t take lectures from Tony Abbott and John Howard after pair claim voice wouldn’t help central Australia

Anthony Albanese has cast his vote for an Indigenous voice to parliament and said Australians have “nothing to fear from voting yes, but everything to gain”.

After visiting an early voting centre in Marrickville with his son Nathan by his side, the prime minister also hit back at Tony Abbott and John Howard, who on Saturday claimed the voice would not improve outcomes for Indigenous people in central Australia.

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PNG threatens to send refugees back to Australia unless it keeps funding humanitarian program

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Exclusive: Papua New Guinea official accuses Australia of abandoning 70 men but government maintains it has no responsibility for them

Refugees exiled to Papua New Guinea a decade ago will be sent back to Australia if the Australian government fails to continue funding PNG’s humanitarian program, Port Moresby’s most senior migration official has warned.

PNG’s chief migration officer, Stanis Hulahau, said the refugees had been abandoned by Australia and the PNG businesses that had been housing and caring for the men were owed tens of millions of dollars.

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