IT expert wins long-running freedom of information court battle over robodebt documents

Justin Warren first lodged request with the then Department of Human Services in January 2017

The federal court has ruled against a decision blocking access to early robodebt documents drafted under the former Coalition government, as part of one man’s long-running fight to shed light on the scheme’s origins.

Justices Geoffrey Kennett, Anna Katzmann and Shaun McElwaine ruled that a December 2022 decision made by the administrative appeals tribunal (AAT) to keep some robodebt documents exempt, including draft costings and new policy proposals, should be set aside due to procedural unfairness and because the AAT had incorrectly agreed with the cabinet confidentiality exemptions Services Australia applied.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Robodebt was illegal but were its officials corrupt? This decision means now we won’t know

The National Anti-Corruption Commission won’t investigate six individuals referred by the royal commission. It’s yet another blow for victims

An email landed in my inbox not long after the National Anti-Corruption Commission announced its refusal to investigate the robodebt scandal.

It was from Michael Griffin, a robodebt victim. Griffin, like countless others, descended into a spiral of shock and shame after he was wrongly told to repay a $3,197 welfare debt in late 2016.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Border force apologises for failing to prevent ‘misconduct’ after reports found bullying and harassment

Exclusive: Apology issued to staff includes pledge ‘to foster a safe, inclusive, empowered, accountable and supportive workplace’

The Australian Border Force has apologised to its staff for failing to “prevent workplace misconduct from occurring” after two damning reports found sexual discrimination and harassment rife in the ABF.

The ABF’s senior leadership issued the apology in May, after Australian Human Rights Commission reports into the culture of the marine unit and the broader ABF found bullying and harassment “are normalised” in some sections of the workforce.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘I felt your pain’: Wayne Swan criticises Labor’s ‘future gas’ strategy in address to party activists

Exclusive: ALP president and former treasurer tells environment group he shared their disappointment over the contentious pre-budget announcement

The Labor party’s national president, Wayne Swan, has criticised the Albanese government’s future gas strategy, opposing its encouragement of new gas fields and telling the party’s environment activists they should push for a plan to lessen domestic demand.

In an online address to the Labor Environment Action Network (Lean) on Tuesday night, Swan sympathised with the activists who were dismayed that the strategy, released a week before the budget and which frustrated some inner-city Labor MPs, emphasised a role for gas “to 2050 and beyond”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

More intense, frequent tropical cyclones may devastate seabird colonies – study

Up to 90% ‘lost in the blink of an eye’, say scientists studying Cyclone Ilsa’s effect on birds on Western Australian island

Increased tropical cyclones due to global heating could lead to dramatic declines in seabird populations, according to a new study.

Scientists found that after Cyclone Ilsa – a category-5 tropical cyclone – hit Bedout Island in Western Australia in April 2023, several seabird populations experienced a collapse of 80-90% due to the storm at the internationally important breeding site.

Continue reading...

‘You’ve just assaulted me’: Peter Costello accused of ‘violent behaviour’ by News Corp journalist

Video shows The Australian’s Liam Mendes fall to the ground during encounter with Nine Entertainment chairman at Canberra airport

Peter Costello, the former federal treasurer and current chairman of Nine Entertainment, has been accused of assaulting a journalist from The Australian newspaper as he refused to answer questions about the embattled media company.

But Costello has dismissed the allegations, saying “there was no assault” and that the journalist “fell over an advertising placard”.

Continue reading...

Nine independent MPs and Greens back UN call for Australia to ban fossil fuel advertising

‘The industry is rapidly strangling our planet,’ says Andrew Wilkie, who joins Allegra Spender, Sophie Scamps, Zali Steggall and Monique Ryan in call for ban

At least nine independent MPs and the Greens have backed the UN secretary general’s call for the Australian government to ban fossil fuel advertising and for media companies to stop accepting money to promote coal, oil and gas companies.

Many described fossil fuel advertising as greenwashing that damaged the climate, the environment and people’s health, and compared its use to steps taken by “big tobacco” before cigarette advertising was banned in 1992.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Politics live: question time claims and counter-claims over Australia’s military ties with Israel

Follow all the day’s news live

Going fully electric would save households more than $600 a year for next four decades, report says

Households would save an average of $608 a year for the next 40 years if new residential buildings in New South Wales were required to be fully electric, according to a report commissioned by climate organisation 350 Australia.

It cuts energy bills for local residents and small businesses during a cost of living crisis and reduces climate pollution, at almost no cost to councils. It will be low-income people and renters who will benefit most from council-led electrification.

Continue reading...

Only 20 doctors listing fees on Australian government’s $24m medical costs comparison website

Disclosure in Senate estimates comes in response to David Pocock’s questions about ‘astounding’ out of pocket fees for private surgery in ACT

Only 20 doctors are disclosing their fees on the federal government’s $24m medical costs comparison website, despite the health department encouraging patients to shop around for affordable specialist care.

The Medical Costs Finder website was a $2.5m initiative launched in 2019 by the former Coalition government to help patients find and understand typical costs for private procedures.

Continue reading...

‘Very sorry for your suffering’: Greg Lynn apologises at murder trial for actions after campers’ deaths

Former Jetstar pilot describes struggle that led to deaths of Russell Hill and Carol Clay, after pleading not guilty to murder


A former Jetstar pilot accused of killing two elderly campers in the Victorian high country has apologised to their families for the “suffering that I caused” and testified that he did not murder them.

Gregory Stuart Lynn, 57, has taken the stand in the Victorian supreme court on Thursday, after pleading not guilty to murdering Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, at a remote camping site in the Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Robodebt: national corruption watchdog won’t investigate officials referred by royal commission

Nacc says it decided not to launch corruption probe ‘as it would not add value in the public interest’

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc) won’t pursue an investigation into six individuals referred by the robodebt royal commission, due to separate public service investigations being carried out into five of them.

The Nacc said on Thursday that it was “unlikely it would obtain significant new evidence” and had concluded it was “undesirable for a number of reasons to conduct multiple investigations into the same matter”.

Continue reading...

‘Who pulled the trigger?’: verdict looms for Charlise Mutten’s alleged murderer Justin Stein

Jury begins deliberations over whether Stein, 33, murdered his former partner’s daughter. He has pleaded not guilty

A jury has begun deliberations over the alleged murder of Charlise Mutten after being told the issue in the case is not how the schoolgirl died but who pulled the trigger.

Charlise’s body was found near the Colo River, north-west of Sydney, on 18 January 2022 with gunshot wounds to her face and lower back.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

T20 World Cup 2024: Australia beat Oman by 39 runs – as it happened

4th over: Australia 25-1 (Warner 11, Marsh 1) Shakeel Ahmed into the attack with his pacey left arm spin. Gah! His first ball is a drag down that Warner clubs away for four. The bowler is on the button after that though, round the wicket and with a flat trajectory, firing it in at the stumps and pads. He beats Warner’s edge and gets out of the over for just six runs in total.

3rd over: Australia 19-1 (Warner 6, Marsh 0) Mitch Marsh arrives at the crease. Oman have a slip in place and Bilal Khan has his dander up. Marsh blocks back the final two balls of the over. Good stuff this.

Continue reading...

Molly Ticehurst was promised state help to ‘intruder-proof’ her home. Two weeks later she was dead

Exclusive: Grieving parents say NSW government’s Staying Home Leaving Violence scheme ‘failed’ their daughter

Molly Ticehurst was promised help to “intruder-proof” her Forbes home as part of a state government domestic violence program two weeks before her former partner allegedly murdered her, with her grieving parents now accusing the scheme of offering her “false hope”.

Ticehurst’s parents, Tony and Kate, say their 28-year-old daughter was let down by the system and the people who promised to install lights, cameras and tough window screens at her home after she reported her ex-boyfriend Daniel Billings to police.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Tiger shark regurgitates whole echidna, leaving Australian scientists ‘stunned’

Mammal was likely swimming between Queensland islands when it ‘just got unlucky and got snapped’ – spikes and all – in apparent world-first

The last thing a group of scientists busy tagging marine animals along the coast of north Queensland expected to see was a shark regurgitate a fully intact echidna – but that is exactly what happened.

In what is believed to be a world-first, researchers from James Cook University, including former PhD student Dr Nicolas Lubitz, were tagging marine wildlife off the coast of Orpheus Island between Townsville and Lucinda in May 2022.

Continue reading...

Australia only granted defence export permits to Israel for repair of equipment since conflict, estimates told

Eight permits have been approved since 7 October, officials say, but only for items that have to be repaired in Israel and returned to Australia

The Australian government has granted eight permits to send defence-related equipment to Israel since the Gaza conflict erupted, but said they related to items requiring repair by Israeli manufacturers before being returned.

After facing months of criticism from the Greens over the issue, the government has given its most detailed account yet of Israel-bound equipment.

Continue reading...

Queensland government to fuel state’s transition to renewable energy with $26bn investment

Premier Steven Miles will announce state’s largest ever investment in green power ahead of next week’s budget

The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, is expected to announce today a pledge in next week’s budget to spend $26bn on renewable energy.

It would be the largest ever investment in green power for the sunshine state, and is about $7bn more than previously earmarked.

$16.5bn towards renewable energy and storage projects

$8.5bn to build a “SuperGrid”, including the CopperString project and renewable energy zones

$500m for network batteries and support of local grid solutions

$192m for the transmission and training hubs in Townsville and Gladstone.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

A nuclear coastline and AI-generated mutant fish: Dutton labels Labor ‘childish’ as social media campaign ramps up

Labor tactics against Coalition’s forthcoming nuclear plans are reminiscent of those used by Kevin Rudd against John Howard in 2007

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has complained the government’s scrutiny of his yet-to-be-announced nuclear power plan is “childish”, as Labor seeks to emulate a successful anti-nuclear push from Kevin Rudd’s 2007 campaign.

A social media spat is emerging over the Coalition’s nuclear policy, with Labor raising fears about mutated fish with AI-generated images and one minister posting daily reminders that the opposition is yet to outline its plan – despite first raising it two years ago.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese accuses Coalition of ‘secret’ plans to cut Australian wages

In speech to ACTU conference, prime minister says opposition’s ‘gut instinct is always to gut workers’ rights’

Anthony Albanese has accused the Coalition of “secret” plans to cut wages through changes to industrial relations laws.

The prime minister said the Liberal and National parties’ “gut instinct is always to gut workers’ rights” in an address to the Australian Council of Trade Unions conference in Adelaide on Wednesday evening.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: RBA governor still confident economy will slow without stalling; no-confidence vote for embattled Townsville mayor

Council passes unanimous motion of no-confidence in its mayor Troy Thompson. Follow the day’s news live

Australia’s existing submarines won’t get Tomohawk missile upgrades

Australia’s existing Collins-class submarines will not be fitted with Tomahawk cruise missiles as part of work to extend their life before the Aukus submarines come into service.

For instance, we will consider whether tomahawk missiles can be fitted to the Collins-class submarines.”

The government has also received advice from Defence, in consultation with the United States, that adding Tomahawk cruise missile capability to the Collins class submarines is not viable and does not represent value for money.

The Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines Australia will receive in the early 2030s will come with the Tomahawk as standard equipment. Tomahawk cruise missiles will also be used by Navy’s Hobart class destroyers and the government has agreed in-principle to fit the Hunter class frigates with Tomahawks, subject to a feasibility study. [end quote]

NDS agrees with the government that managing the sustainability of the NDIS is critical — the community expects no less. We need fundamental and systemic reform, and that must be accompanied by proper resourcing for sector transformation.

The system is broken. Training, supervision and retaining highly skilled practitioners to provide quality care is essential, but not adequately covered in the current funding model.”

A continuation of previous workforce trends showing that workforce issues in the disability sector have become entrenched.

The disability sector continues to rely heavily on casual disability support workers, who have a very high turnover.

The biggest variation this year was a in proportion of permanent employees who work full time – with the number of full-time employees growing by 10%, the highest in close to a decade.

Conversely, part-time employment dropped to 70% this year. The increase may be related to the current cost-of-living crisis.

Turnover continued the upward trend growing to 24% this year, while permanent staff turnover jumped to 16%, the highest it has been since this survey began. These figures represent a churn of almost 16,500 individual employees leaving their jobs and over 19,000 new appointments over a one-year period.

Continue reading...