US warns Australia against joining treaty banning nuclear weapons

US embassy in Canberra says treaty ‘would not allow for US extended deterrence relationships’

The United States has warned Australia against joining a landmark treaty banning nuclear weapons, saying the agreement could hamper defence arrangements between the US and its allies.

But New Zealand said it was “pleased to observe a positive shift” in Australia’s position in a United Nations vote and “would, of course, welcome any new ratifications as an important step to achieving a nuclear weapon-free world”.

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Australia politics live: $591m cost of cancelling French submarines revealed in Senate estimates; Bob Brown charged with trespass

Tony Burke is also being quite conciliatory about David Pocock’s concerns about the bill.

Asked by Patricia Karvelas if he is prepared to make more amendments to the IR bill, Tony Burke says that is standard after a senate inquiry process.

I suspect there’ll be more to come.

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Labor senator rebuked for referring to Bridget McKenzie as a ‘naughty little girl’ in parliament

Glenne Sterle made the comments during a heated Senate estimates hearing, provoking condemnation from colleagues and opposition members alike

Labor senator Glenn Sterle has come under fire for referring to Bridget McKenzie as a “naughty little girl” during an argument in Senate estimates, comments described by one of his own colleagues as “completely unacceptable”.

Sterle later apologised to the Nationals senator, but Coalition leaders suggested the comments were out of step with a respectful workplace.

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Mark Dreyfus says AAT has ‘unacceptable’ record on bullying and condemns appointment process

Attorney general says Liberal party should be ‘tarnished forever’ over appointments to administrative appeals tribunal

The administrative appeals tribunal has a “completely unacceptable” record of bullying complaints on top of the Coalition’s “miserable record” of stacking the body, the attorney general has said.

Mark Dreyfus made the comments in question time on Tuesday, seizing on the latest controversy involving the tribunal to bolster Labor’s case to reform or replace it due to partisan appointments made by the Coalition.

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Robodebt inquiry hears officials were under pressure to come up with budget savings

Former Department of Human Services official Scott Britton tells royal commission his team looked at whether they could use data to streamline compliance

A former Australian government official involved in the creation of what became the robodebt scheme has told a royal commission his Department of Human Services team was under significant pressure to come up with budget savings.

The royal commission is investigating the botched Centrelink debt recovery scheme, which ran from July 2015 until November 2019 and which the inquiry heard continued despite internal legal warnings, culminating in a $1.8bn settlement with hundreds of thousands of people.

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Toddler in critical condition after being attacked by two dogs at NSW motel, police say

Boy, two, bitten on the face and neck during attack at a motel at Cowra in the NSW central west

A toddler who was attacked by two dogs in the New South Wales central west is in a critical condition, police say.

The two-year-old boy was mauled on the face and neck by the dogs at a motel in the town of Cowra on Tuesday morning, NSW police said in a statement.

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Queensland records biggest population gain as census reveals city exodus

Australian census data shows 102,000 people left New South Wales and 10,000 abandoned Victoria

Far more people are moving to Queensland than any other state or territory, while New South Wales recorded the biggest net loss, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows.

There was a net gain of more than 100,000 people to the Sunshine State in the five years to 2021, according to internal migration numbers from the census.

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In emotional letter from Iraqi jail, Australian Robert Pether warns his prognosis is ‘bleak’

Exclusive: In newly released correspondence, arbitrarily detained engineer speaks of fear skin cancer will return

Australian Robert Pether, jailed in Baghdad last year over a business dispute, has penned an emotional letter warning his prognosis is “bleak”, his human rights are being violated, and he is facing a potential “death sentence”.

In the letter to his family, released to Guardian Australia, Pether also reveals his daily torment about how he should break it to his children that he might not be coming home.

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Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock oppose Labor ‘rushing through’ workplace bill

Albanese government has agreed amendments to get business on board but independent senators won’t be bullied into passing omnibus legislation

The Albanese government is ratcheting up pressure on Senate crossbenchers to support its contentious industrial relations legislation after Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock signalled concessions to employers were not enough to expedite the bill’s passage.

Labor used the resumption of federal parliament on Monday to welcome last week’s 15% pay rise for aged care workers and declare that other workers battling escalating cost-of-living pressures needed industrial regulations that worked in their interests, given inflation was now forecast to peak at 8%.

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Government urged to split IR bill to help low-paid people now – as it happened

Migration system review will focus on process

For those wondering, here is a little more detail on the migration review Clare O’Neil announced this morning.

Accessed the name, date of birth, address, phone number and email address for around 9.7 million current and former customers and some of their authorised representatives. This figure represents around 5.1 million Medibank customers, around 2.8 million ahm customers and around 1.8 million international customers.

Did not access primary identity documents, such as drivers’ licences, for Medibank and ahm resident customers.

Medibank does not collect primary identity documents for resident customers except in exceptional circumstances.

Accessed Medicare numbers (but not expiry dates) for ahm customers. 

Accessed passport numbers (but not expiry dates) and visa details for international student customers.

Accessed health claims data for around 160,000 Medibank customers, around 300,000 ahm customers and around 20,000 international customers.

This includes service provider name and location, where customers received certain medical services, and codes associated with diagnosis and procedures administered.

Additionally, around 5,200 My Home Hospital (MHH) patients have had some personal and health claims data accessed and around 2,900 next of kin of these patients have had some contact details accessed.

Accessed health provider details, including names, provider numbers and addresses.

Did not access health claims data for extras services (such as dental, physio, optical and psychology).

Did not access credit card and banking details.

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Medibank says it won’t pay ransom for customer data stolen in cyber-attack

‘Limited chance’ such a move would result in return of data or prevent it being published, health insurer chief says

Medibank is refusing to pay a ransom to the alleged hacker who stole data relating to 9.7 million customers because there is no way the organisation can “trust criminals” not to further exploit people, the health insurer’s CEO, David Koczkar, says.

Last month Medibank revealed a hacker using compromised high-level credentials had been able to access the personal information of up to four million customers, including ahm and international student customers.

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Queensland election watchdog warns ‘intrusive’ public review bill will have ‘chilling effect’

Proposed laws may allow access to sensitive and confidential information and could undermine public confidence, commissioner says

Queensland’s election watchdog has warned proposed law changes will have a “chilling effect” on its perceived ability to oversee free and fair elections.

A bill before the state’s parliament would allow for reviews of public entities, including direct access to premises and documents. The Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) wants to be excluded from such reviews, which other statutory bodies, including the Crime and Corruption Commission and the Queensland Audit Office, are already not subject to.

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‘Watered down’ legal concerns included in robodebt briefing for Scott Morrison, inquiry hears

Earlier document warned proposed debt recovery measures would have ‘fundamental impacts on social security policy and legislation’, royal commission told

Legal concerns over what became the robodebt scheme were “watered down” but still included in briefing documents prepared for Scott Morrison, a royal commission has heard.

The inquiry into the botched Centrelink debt recovery scheme has previously heard the Department of Social Services in late 2014 held damning internal legal advice warning the key method used to raise those debts may be unlawful.

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Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka denied bail in Sydney court on rape charges

NSW police want details of case suppressed while Gunathilaka’s lawyer has suggested T20 World Cup player could appeal bail decision

Sri Lankan international cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has been refused bail by a Sydney magistrate after he was charged with raping a woman in the city.

Gunathilaka, who is in Australia for the T20 World Cup, was arrested at his central Sydney hotel in the early hours of Sunday and refused bail by a court later that day.

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Australia triumph at Hong Kong Sevens for the first time in 34 years

  • Nathan Lawson scores thrilling late gold medal-winning try
  • Maurice Longbottom named player of the final against Fiji

Australia’s rugby men have earned a remarkable triumph at the Hong Kong Sevens, winning the global circuit’s blue riband event for the first time in 34 years.

Coached by John Manenti, the side proved their world series triumph may be just the start of something big on Sunday as they began their 2022-23 campaign by beating Olympic and World Cup champions Fiji 20-17 in the final after a nail-biting finish.

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Forest regeneration that earned multimillion-dollar carbon credits resulted in fewer trees, analysis finds

Exclusive: Claim by academics, including former integrity chair of Australia’s carbon credit scheme, raises further doubts about system

Projects meant to regenerate Australia’s outback forests to store carbon dioxide have been awarded millions of carbon credits – worth hundreds of millions of dollars – despite total tree and shrub cover in those areas having declined, a new analysis has found.

It is the latest claim that raises doubts about the integrity of Australia’s carbon credit system, which the federal government and polluting businesses rely on to meet targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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More monkeypox jabs arrive in Australia to boost vaccination rate ahead of WorldPride events

New advertising campaign encourages those at higher risk of infection ‘to look out for symptoms and get vaccinated if eligible’

The federal government has launched a new national advertising campaign to promote monkeypox vaccination to a “post-Covid and vaccine-fatigued audience”.

The health minister, Mark Butler, will also announce on Monday that a second shipment of almost 40,000 vials of the monkeypox vaccine Jynneos has arrived in Australia and will be made available through the states and territories.

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Disadvantaged students at risk of falling behind as parents struggle to afford school costs

Uniforms, lunches and excursions heap pressure on parents already dealing with rising cost of petrol, groceries and rent

The cost-of-living crisis is having dire effects on school-age children, as parents struggle to afford uniforms, lunches and excursions, a report by the Smith Family has found.

Two-thirds of the almost 2,000 parents and carers supported by the organisation who were surveyed for the report had found it harder to afford what their children needed for school this year. Half the parents surveyed said the main reason was the increasing cost of petrol, groceries and rent.

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Daniel Andrews pledges veterans card while Matthew Guy offers stamp duty savings for first home buyers

Premier says more to come on cost-of-living measures and asks ‘what is the point’ of News Corp story on his 2021 fall

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has pledged $37m to introduce a veterans card if re-elected later this month, while the opposition leader, Matthew Guy, offered stamp duty savings for first home buyers.

The Victorian veterans card, to be rolled out from mid-2023, would entitle the state’s 90,000 veterans to a $100 discount on the registration of one vehicle, as well as free trailer and caravan registration and free fishing and boating licences. Veterans would be entitled to free public transport on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

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Flood threat remains in NSW; Daniel Andrews asks ‘what is the point’ of Herald Sun story revisiting his fall – as it happened

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Chaney ‘not convinced’ IR changes will ‘drive an increase in wages’

On the proposed industrial relations changes, Chaney says she supports the proposal where it will lift wages in low-paid sectors of the economy but is wary of introducing “another layer of complexity” into workplaces and is not convinced multi-employer bargaining will actually lift wages.

I’m completely supportive of the fact that we need to increase wages and increase share of wages to GDP. I think the expansion – the multi-employer bargaining for the supported stream is a good thing, [in] those low-paid industries, and that may well get wages moving.

[It will benefit] childcare, aged care, largely feminised industries, and that seems to make a lot of sense. I’m concerned about the overreach and this extension of multi-employer bargaining to any group that are deemed to have a common interest, as determined by the Fair Work Commission. I think it’s great for IR specialists and lawyers.

I can understand the government’s desire to keep its promises, but when you look at where we are, really there is nothing to take the place of the revenue lost in those tax cuts, so it needs to be part of a broader review of how are we going to pay for the things we need.

I reckon they should be delayed, pending a broader review of the tax system and it may be that a result that have could be trimming them at the top, or it could be looking at different sources of revenue that mean we can rely less on personal income tax as we see our population age.

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