Labor government locks in compensation scheme for financial misconduct victims despite ‘god-like powers’ warnings

Minister for financial services says government’s accountability regime is ‘locked and loaded’ and will not be changed

The Labor government will push ahead with a new compensation scheme for victims of financial misconduct, refusing to water down civil penalties for the finance sector, and rejecting a claim it would give the responsible minister “god-like powers” to punish banks.

The assistant treasurer and minister for financial services, Stephen Jones, said the government’s financial accountability regime was “locked and loaded” and will not be changed, and rejected Liberal senator Andrew Bragg’s call to have parliament determine the scope of a new levy on financial industry members that will pay for the scheme.

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Federal budget 2022 reply speech live: opposition leader Peter Dutton to respond to Labor’s October budget – latest updates

Leader of the opposition to give his reply to the treasurer Jim Chalmers’ first budget. Follow the day’s news live

The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi will give notice of a private senator’s bill she will introduce today aiming to halt the indexation on student loans and increase the repayment threshold to above the median wage.

Faruqi says it is one way which would help ease the cost of living burden on people with student debt:

Student debt is no small problem. About three million people in Australia have the burden of student debt.

At a time when the cost of living is biting hard, governments can no longer ignore the student debt crisis and its impacts.

What we have said all the time is that we want wages to grow, and we want them to stay growing. Not to have a short-term growth and then have at the expense of potentially higher unemployment.

So that’s the first thing. The second thing is we’ve got to get an IR system that drives productivity. That’s not about working harder for less, it’s about working smarter. It’s about creating the environment where people use new technology, where they innovate, where they share ideas, where they open new markets, where they have more skilled people.

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Investigation into Liberals’ ‘Ditch Dan’ donations won’t be finished before Victorian election

The Victorian Electoral Commission is examining donations made during the 24-hour fundraiser

An inquiry into the Victorian Liberals’ “Ditch Dan” donations drive will not be complete before voters head to the polls.

The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) confirmed Thursday that the outcome of its investigation into the 24-hour fundraiser in August won’t be known until after the 26 November state election.

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Queensland government moves to have police immediately sacked if they are sentenced to jail

Currently, officers may not be dismissed until all criminal appeals and disciplinary action are finalised

Queensland police officers who receive a jail sentence for a crime will be “immediately dismissed” under new legislation proposed by the state government.

The police minister, Mark Ryan, said the bill would avoid the “unacceptable situation” of officers remaining in the service after being sentenced to imprisonment for criminal offences.

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Spirit of Tasmania operator found guilty of animal welfare breaches over deaths of 16 polo ponies

Magistrate rules TT-Line made no inquiries to ensure the horses were individually stalled and there was adequate ventilation

Spirit of Tasmania ferry operator TT-Line has been found guilty of breaching animal welfare laws over the deaths of 16 polo ponies on a summer Bass Strait voyage.

The horses had competed in a tournament in Tasmania and were travelling from Devonport to Melbourne in a converted refrigeration trailer on the night of 28 January 2018.

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Kumanjayi Walker inquest: flying doctor pilots feared remote NT community runway may have been ‘sabotaged’, court told

Teenager died on floor of Yuendumu police station as pilots allegedly argued about state of the runway

The Royal Flying Doctor Service refused to fly to an Indigenous community after a police officer shot and severely wounded Kumanjayi Walker, a Northern Territory inquest has been told.

The 19-year-old died on the floor of the Yuendumu police station as the pilots allegedly argued about the state of the runway in the remote community north-west of Alice Springs.

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Fears for teenager missing in outback Queensland as NT authorities notified of her disappearance

Tea Wright-Finger, 19, was last seen near Richmond, where temperatures could reach 42C this weekend

Authorities as far away as the Northern Territory have been alerted to a missing woman last seen in outback Queensland 11 days ago, as the search through rough cattle scrub is also extended to her family’s home town.

Police on Thursday alleged that a vehicle that Tea Wright-Finger, 19, had been driving on the day she disappeared had been reported stolen eight days earlier from the Whitsunday town of Proserpine.

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Australian defence force troops to train Ukrainian soldiers in the UK

Government emphasised ADF members will not be entering Ukraine, as total Australian aid to Kyiv reaches $655m

Up to 70 Australian defence force personnel will be deployed to the UK to train Ukrainian troops in the latest increase in Australia’s support for Kyiv.

The Albanese government announced the decision late on Wednesday while emphasising that the ADF members would not be entering Ukrainian territory.

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Fish feed additive banned in EU found in Tasmanian salmon at concerning levels, researchers say

Experts call for tighter regulations as tests find ethoxyquin exceeds maximum limits in Tassal and Petuna salmon

A fish feed additive banned in the European Union out of concerns for health impacts in animals and humans has been found in Tasmanian salmon at concerning levels, say experts who are calling for tighter regulations.

Dr Christian Narkowicz, an organic chemist, last year commissioned the National Measurement Institute to test salmon for residues of ethoxyquin.

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Federal budget: Jim Chalmers flags intervention in energy market as prices surge

ACCC to review gas industry as Labor’s budget forecasts point to a 56% rise in power prices over the next two years

The Albanese government has asked the competition watchdog to review the code of conduct covering the gas industry and recommend options to toughen the current regime in the hope of delivering energy price relief to households and businesses.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission confirmed it had new riding instructions from the government after the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, on Wednesday flagged fresh government intervention in the energy market.

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Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers argued Scott Morrison’s apology to Brittany Higgins was ‘particularly egregious’

Newly released judgment on Lehrmann’s failed attempt in April to halt sexual assault case shows defence argued then PM’s comments could prejudice fair trial

Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers accused former prime minister Scott Morrison of making a “particularly egregious” remark during his apology to Brittany Higgins which risked prejudicing his chance of a fair trial, according to a newly released judgment.

Lehrmann tried and failed to permanently stay the case against him in April, arguing pretrial publicity had denied him the opportunity of a fair trial.

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Melbourne street artist spared conviction over Shane Warne mural

Court hears children of late cricketer wrote a letter of support for Jarrod Grech describing him as ‘lovely’

A Melbourne street artist has been spared a criminal conviction after being pursued by police for painting a mural in tribute to late cricketer Shane Warne.

Jarrod Grech, 35, faced Melbourne magistrates court on Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal damage over a tribute he painted on a Carlton wall in March.

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Treasurer says Taylor’s fingerprints ‘all over’ energy policy chaos – as it happened

Over on Sky News, the questions were all about the next budget:

Host: Joining us live now in Canberra is the prime minister, Anthony Albanese. Prime minister, good morning to you. So, a safe budget to pay for your election commitments. Are tax increases and spending cuts next?

Hang on, Pete. We’ve just had the budget last night. You’re now talking about future budgets. Let’s talk about what we did last night. What we did last night was to fulfil our election commitments, provide cost-of-living relief with cheaper childcare, cheaper medicines, more paid parental leave, more support for affordable housing. And we want to get wages moving again. We did all that without putting pressure on inflation by targeting our investments in things like infrastructure, improving the National Broadband Network, making sure that there’s that growth in the economy without putting pressure on inflation. That was our focus last night. And we managed to achieve it.

Look, we inherited a trillion dollars of debt, Peter, as you know. We inherited a trillion dollars of debt with not much to show for it. What we did last night was to make $22bn of savings. We took the revenue gains that have come through, 99% of those revenue increases from the higher costs of fuel and energy, we put them straight to the budget bottom line, 99% of them. So it was a responsible budget that saw a significant drop in the deficit to $37bn from what was anticipated. That is a responsible thing to do. Because we want to make sure that we fight inflation because that is necessary if we’re going to get real wages moving in the way that we want them to.

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Queensland police commissioner vows to do more to protect whistleblowers after inquiry revelations

Officers who made complaints say internal witness support unit is understaffed and overwhelmed

Queensland’s police commissioner has vowed to do more to protect whistleblowers, after an inquiry revealed that officers who expose sexual abuse, misogyny and racism in the service often face reprisals from their colleagues.

Police who made complaints against their colleagues have told Guardian Australia that the internal witness support unit – established to support whistleblowers who report breaches of discipline, misconduct or corrupt conduct – is understaffed and overwhelmed.

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Australia’s inflation rate hits 7.3%, the highest since 1990, heaping pressure on households

Families and businesses feeling the pinch as soaring CPI ensures more interest rate rises to come

Australia’s inflation rate accelerated in the September quarter as energy prices soared, heaping pressure on households and businesses and ensuring more interest rate rises to come.

The consumer prices index (CPI) has risen 7.3% over the past year and increased by 1.8% in the July to September period, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. Economists had predicted annual CPI would quicken to 7% from the 6.1% pace reported in the previous quarter.

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Billions in ‘dirty’ money going into NSW pokies should be addressed by cashless gaming card, crime commission says

Review finds measure is needed to break ‘link between organised crime and gaming machines’

New South Wales should introduce a cashless gambling card to address the billions of dollars in “dirty” money being gambled in pubs and clubs in the state every year, the state’s crime commission has found.

On Wednesday a joint law enforcement agency inquiry into money laundering in NSW issued a damning final report that found “large sums” of the proceeds of crime are gambled by criminals in pubs and clubs across the state, “rewarding and perpetuating crime in the community”.

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Medibank confirms hacker had access to data of all 3.9 million customers

Data breach, which exposed all Medibank, ahm and international student data, could cost health insurer $35m

Medibank has revealed all of its 3.9 million customers have had their data exposed to a hacker, in a significant escalation of the cyber-attack on the Australian health insurer.

In an update to the Australian Stock Exchange on Wednesday, the company said that since Tuesday’s announcement that all customer data may have been exposed, the investigation into the breach has now established the hacker had access to all Medibank, ahm and international student customers’ personal data, and significant amounts of health claims data.

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NSW Liberal MPs face potential preselection battles amid a frontbench exodus

Possible challengers from within the party are emerging in Holsworthy and Camden ahead of March election

The New South Wales government faces the possibility of losing two sitting Liberal MPs in bitter preselection contests as it deals with an ever-growing list of senior ministers departing at the next election.

Melanie Gibbons and Peter Sidgreaves, the MPs for Holsworthy and Camden, are each facing potential challengers from within the Liberal party ahead of the March poll, and could be set to join the growing list of government MPs heading for the exit doors.

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Narrabri evacuated as flood waters enter homes in saturated northern NSW

Hydrologist says flood levels similar to last year but this time the water has nowhere to go, prolonging the disaster

About 1,500 residents in Narrabri, in the north-west slopes of New South Wales, have been told to evacuate as the flooding crisis continues across swathes of eastern Australia.

There were 121 current emergency warnings in place across NSW on Tuesday, including 22 directing people to evacuate or move to higher ground, as swollen rivers threatened homes.

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Government to crack down on NDIS provider fraud amid warning scheme will soon cost $50bn annually

Bill Shorten says $126m earmarked in Labor’s October budget will help protect national disability insurance scheme ‘from crooks’

The federal government is creating a “fraud fusion taskforce” to try to claw back nearly $300m from national disability insurance scheme providers, amid warnings the NDIS could cost more than $50bn annually within four years.

The new body, which will replace the existing NDIS fraud taskforce, will target “fraud and serious non-compliance” with the help of law enforcement, regulatory and intelligence agencies.

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