Category Archives: Australian politics

Bureau of Meteorology super computer delays ‘very concerning’ ahead of summer

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Exclusive: Insiders say ‘stuff-ups’ have occurred despite millions being spent on consultants, as senator warns of high stakes in ‘what could be a catastrophic fire season’

Preparation for this summer’s weather extremes from fire alerts to cyclone warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology could be affected by the bungled introduction of a new super computer despite many millions being spent on consultants, insiders say.

The new computer, dubbed Australis II, is twice as powerful as its predecessor but has been sitting idle for a year. It may not be fully operational until mid-2025, according to a timeline shared to staff and seen by Guardian Australia.

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Labor faces push to triple number of NT and ACT senators and give territorians a bigger say in referendums

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Exclusive: Under national conference proposal, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory would have six senators

The Albanese government will be pushed at Labor’s national conference to triple the number of territory senators and increase the power of territorians’ votes in referendums.

Under the proposals the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory would be represented by six senators each, half the number of senators from each of the states, and territories would count for the double majority in referendums.

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Noel Pearson says Indigenous voice is not about ‘party politics’ and will cut wasteful spending

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Pearson says referendum is not a competition ‘between blue and red’ after Anthony Albanese’s Garma festival speech

The prime minister’s Garma speech was the “unequivocal” support for an Indigenous voice to parliament of an Australian leader, not a party politician, the Cape York leader, leading “yes” campaigner and Guugu-Yimithirr lawyer Noel Pearson has said.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, told the Garma festival in north-east Arnhem Land on Saturday that he would not defer or delay the referendum, and dismissed “no” campaigners as being “desperate to talk about anything but the actual question”.

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PM accuses Coalition of ‘creating noise and confusion’ over voice – as it happened

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Australia has ‘nothing to fear and everything to gain’ from a yes vote, Anthony Albanese says. This blog is now closed

Albanese says he won’t announce date of voice vote at Garma

Albanese will not announce at Garma what date the voice to parliament referendum will be held on:

I’ve made it clear a year ago what the timetable would look like, that it would be in the last quarter of this year. Obviously when we get into December, you are into the rainy season, so that gets knocked out. September, it could be held then except we have the footy finals.

We’ll make an announcement soon. We’ll talk through with the Australian Electoral Commission and make sure it’s an appropriate date, one that doesn’t clash with other events.

What is occurring with this referendum is it’s a clear proposition … the words are clear that have been put forward, they’ve been passed by the parliament, overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Indeed, across the parliament, both sides say they support constitutional recognition. Both sides say that you need to legislate the voice. The only difference is that Peter Dutton is saying that if you actually … enshrine it in the constitution, that that is something that they oppose.

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Australia’s defence department clamps down on private consultants

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Exclusive: federal government has moved to stop the re-engagement of consultants within Defence after more than $1.3bn spent in the last financial year

The Australian government is moving to curb the revolving door between the Department of Defence and private consultants amid increasing scrutiny of the practice.

Guardian Australia understands Defence has introduced a new moratorium on entering into contracts with personnel who have left within the past 12 months.

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Anthony Albanese vows ‘no delaying or deferring’ of Indigenous voice vote

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In Garma speech, PM says there is ‘nothing to fear and everything to gain’ and no vote in referendum would only lead to ‘more of the same’

There is “nothing to fear and everything to gain” from an Indigenous voice to parliament, Anthony Albanese has said at the Garma festival in Arnhem Land on Saturday, in his strongest pitch yet for Australians to vote yes in the upcoming referendum.

The prime minister promised to stay the course on the vote, due between September and December this year.

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‘An opportunity to be lifted up’: Anthony Albanese hails local clan council as model of Indigenous voice at Garma festival

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The event began with a solemn and loving tribute to beloved late Gumatj leader Yunupingu

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has reaffirmed his commitment to implementing the Uluru statement in full, saying “no one will be hurt by a yes vote in this referendum, but we have an opportunity to be lifted up”.

Asked by reporters if he still was committed to the Uluru statement in full, Albanese simply answered: “yes”.

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Australia news live: ‘nonsense’ to suggest Qantas has an outsized influence over Albanese government, Alan Joyce says

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Queensland to give free meningococcal B vaccine to infants, children and adolescents

The meningococcal B vaccine will be made free for infants, children and adolescents in Queensland.

After hearing the stories of heartbroken Queensland families, I had to act.

We know the meningococcal B strain can be lethal and – if a young person is lucky enough to survive the disease – it’s likely they will develop permanent and sometimes devastating complications.

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Robodebt: 16 bureaucrats named in royal commission report face investigation by public service agency

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Independent reviewer to decide if the former and current staff have breached the public service code of conduct

The government’s central public service agency has revealed it will investigate 16 referrals relating to former and current bureaucrats named in the robodebt royal commission report.

In an update on Thursday afternoon, the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) – which has established a taskforce to deal with code of conduct referrals – said it had written to the individuals to notify them.

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Albanese lashes Dutton over Garma festival no-show as leaders trade barbs over Indigenous voice

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PM and opposition leader spar over referendum, apology to the stolen generations and the prospect of treaty in heated parliamentary debate

Anthony Albanese has accused Peter Dutton of “undermining the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people” by opposing the Indigenous voice, launching a strident defence of the referendum and criticising the opposition leader for declining to attend the Garma festival this weekend.

As the Coalition again pursued the government in question time over the treaty element of the Uluru statement from the heart, asking how long it would take and what it would cost, Albanese sought to re-focus attention on the referendum. The prime minister questioned why the Liberal party opposed a constitutionally enshrined voice despite backing a legislated model, claiming the opposition was seeking to divide the nation.

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Past and present public servants to be investigated – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Home prices to keep rising despite higher rates: REA

National property prices are expected to increase by up to five per cent in 2023, having already lifted more than two per cent since the start of the year, AAP reports.

We saw price increases despite rising interest rates and reduced borrowing capacities and anticipate moderate price increases to continue over the coming months.

Don’t wait for a flare to rise from Canberra, until you get started.

The campaign has truly begun. Get out there, talk to your family, talk to your friends.

This is your moment.

I urge you to campaign for a future you want to see.

We will win this referendum, conversation by conversation. Silence doesn’t make history, people make history.

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Finance department hires consultant to advise on hiring consultants in move compared to ABC’s Utopia

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Exclusive: Department’s $32,000 contract, which comes after PwC tax leak scandal, slammed as ‘laughable scenario’

The finance department has entered into a $32,000 contract with an external consultant to provide advice on how it should engage other external consultants who also provide advice to government, in a move that has been slammed as a “laughable scenario”.

The contract has been compared to an episode of the ABC satire Utopia and as an example of the public service’s reliance on external expertise, even as the federal government tries to save money and do more work in-house.

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Greens decry property tax breaks costing 78 times what Labor proposes to spend on social housing

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Max Chandler-Mather says magnitude of the tax concessions ‘morally reprehensible’ as stoush continues over housing crisis

The value of tax breaks given to property investors is 78 times the promised minimum spend on social housing under the Albanese government’s flagship fund, new data released by the Greens shows.

Max Chandler-Mather, the Greens’ housing spokesperson, described the magnitude of the tax concessions as “morally reprehensible” as the minor party digs in on opposing the housing Australia future fund (Haff) in its current form.

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Climate crisis: Australia must ready for ‘devastating’ regional disruption, MPs told

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Failed states, a rise in authoritarian politics and heightened risks of conflict among potential threats outlined in thinktank’s assessment

Australia must prepare for “devastating” climate-fueled disruption in the Asia-Pacific, including failed states, forced migration and regional conflicts over water shortages, a stark briefing for federal politicians warns.

The Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration thinktank has summarised the potential threats and impacts of the climate crisis in a note targeted at MPs.

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Dutton was briefed five times on US-Australia talks over impact of war crimes allegations on alliance

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Exclusive: Documents show officials raised concerns SAS might be mentioned in US state department’s human rights report

Peter Dutton was briefed five times about sensitive discussions between the United States and Australia over whether war crimes allegations jeopardised military cooperation, Guardian Australia can reveal.

Australian officials also privately raised concerns with the then defence minister that the issue might be mentioned in the US state department’s annual reports on human rights around the world.

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Megan Davis dismisses Coalition concerns over Indigenous treaty, saying ‘none of this is secret’

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Exclusive: Uluru statement from the heart architect says information on Labor’s approach to treaty has been ‘on the public record for over half a decade’

Uluru statement from the heart architect Prof Megan Davis says information about the voice and treaty has been “in plain sight” since 2017, downplaying the Coalition’s concerns about treaties and noting such agreements are already in train across multiple states.

Labor has committed to the 2017 Uluru statement in full, including treaty, the second element of the statement, with Anthony Albanese making the pledge on multiple occasions, including his election victory speech.

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Australia news live: NSW to review ‘red flags’ systems after child abuse charges; premier calls for urgent meeting of state agencies

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Chris Minns calls meeting of state government agencies after Queensland childcare worker was charged with 1,623 child abuse offences. Follow live news updates today

In a back and forth between Patricia Karvelas and prime minister Anthony Albanese on whether he supports a federal treaty, he says the no voice to parliament campaign is trying to muddy the waters:

What the no campaign want to do is to focus on everything that’s not happening.

What is happening is a vote in the last quarter of this year for a voice to parliament. And what that is about is recognising First Nations people in our constitution and then listening to Indigenous Australians so as to get better results. That’s what the focus is on. And what I find, I think, very enlightening, is … the no campaign want to talk about everything except for the question.

Well, where does it say that? It doesn’t even say that in the Uluru statement. It doesn’t say that, it doesn’t speak about the commonwealth negotiating treaties. It doesn’t say that Patricia. So don’t get sucked into it.

Today, the Greens need to vote for this legislation. You can’t say that you’re supporting housing, supply, public housing and then vote against it.

I’m not prepared to negotiate on Radio National, Patricia. People talk all the time across the parliament all the time.

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Cancelling Antarctic climate research will damage Australia’s reputation, experts say

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Exclusive: Lawyers and environmentalists warn international community is watching carefully amid ‘science, logistics and influence race’

Australia’s international reputation and diplomatic influence will be damaged unless the federal government intervenes to ensure crucial climate change research in Antarctica is not cancelled, international lawyers and environmentalists have warned.

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, is also facing political pressure from the Greens and the Coalition, which have both raised concerns about plans to cancel or heavily restrict studies of record-low sea ice, ice shelves and declining penguin populations due to a budget crunch.

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Labor to meet Greens over housing bill – as it happened

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RFS predicts severe bushfire season to come

Firefighters are scrambling to catch up on bushfire preparations as NSW braces for a hot summer, AAP reports.

The No 1 factor for that not going ahead was the weather conditions, the rain, the flooding, that’s meant the crews weren’t able to get out and do that important work in communities.

There is plenty more to be done and this boost in mitigation personnel will enable even more vital work to be undertaken.

This is a tragedy. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the Australian Defence Force personnel on board. All were from the 6th Aviation Regiment based at Holsworthy army barracks in Sydney and valuable members of our community.

Our thoughts are also with those who served alongside these four young men – their friends and colleagues in uniform – and the broader defence community.

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Asylum seeker walking 1,000km from Ballarat to Sydney to raise awareness about temporary protection visas

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Neil Para and his wife and two eldest children have been on a temporary protection visa since they arrived in Australia in 2012

For 11 years, Neil Para’s life has been riddled with uncertainty.

He fled war-torn Sri Lanka for Malaysia in 2008 in search of a safer life for his growing family, temporarily leaving his pregnant wife behind.

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