Category Archives: Australia news

Barnaby Joyce says Scott Morrison never explicitly said he was also resources minister despite using special powers

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Former Nationals leader says he did not want to ‘go into bat’ on the increased powers out of concern Nationals may lose previously negotiated gains

Barnaby Joyce said Scott Morrison never explicitly told him he had sworn himself in as resources minister despite the former prime minister exercising special powers associated with the role, as prime minister Anthony Albanese said his predecessor’s actions could be subject to further inquiries.

In a testy interview, Joyce also told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday that he did not want to “go into bat” on the apparent increased powers because he believed the Nationals risked losing previously negotiated gains.

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Victorian health minister ‘concerned’ by reports patients forced to wait hours in tent outside hospital

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New $14m healthcare project is expected to ease the pressure on Victoria’s health system as it continues to buckle under demand

Victoria’s health minister admits she was concerned after two vulnerable patients were forced to wait hours inside a makeshift tent outside the emergency department at a major hospital this week.

Mary-Anne Thomas acknowledged the “discomfort” experienced by a young cancer patient and an elderly stroke patient at Box Hill hospital, as the state’s health system continues to buckle under pressure.

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Joyce says Qantas ‘not good enough’ in apology over airport chaos – as it happened

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Morrison didn’t call finance minister to apologise, Maiden says

There’s been an interesting point from Samantha Maiden on the ABC Insiders panel about the timeline of events between former PM Scott Morrison and his former finance minister Mathias Cormann.

Scott Morrison is really good at painting word images, right, and if you listened to that press conference this week, would you not get the impression that he called Mathias Cormann to apologise and he had called Josh? Would that be the impression you were left with?

That’s not what happened. What happened was Mathias Cormann calls Morrison on the weekend. He picks up The Weekend Australian, he reads the article, he comes to the international language of WTF and goes: “What happened here?”

Clearly you need to look at the response of all governments.

Primarily, it will be about the federal government. That’s what we have responsibility for, but the interaction between the levels of government of course, were critical to the response to the Covid pandemic.

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Victorian nightclub offers free lids after ‘rampant and repeated’ reports of drink-spiking

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Warehouse Ballarat says patrons used 500 drink lids in first weekend, which have made patrons ‘feel a lot more safe’

A regional Victorian nightclub has begun offering free lids to its patrons in an effort to prevent drink-spiking.

Warehouse Ballarat is taking the action after widespread reports of spiking incidents in the region dating back to last year.

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NSW police strip-searched more than 100 children as young as 13 in two-year period

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Exclusive: More than 4,400 strip searches were carried out in total between July 2020 and May 2022

The New South Wales police have been accused of misunderstanding their own strip-search powers after data showed officers continued to use the controversial practice on thousands of people, including children as young as 13, during the height of Covid.

Data reveals police in NSW carried out more than 4,400 strip-searches between July 2020 and May 2022, which includes a Delta-wave lockdown that lasted more than 100 days.

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Greens question governor general’s ‘non-disclosure’ of Morrison powers – as it happened

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Albanese government awaits legal advice from solicitor general over former prime minister’s power grab. This blog is now closed

More on the governor general’s diaries, from AAP:

Governor general David Hurley’s diary makes no mention of the five times he handed extra ministerial powers to then-prime minister Scott Morrison.

Morrison took on the health, finance, treasury, home affairs, industry, science, energy and resources portfolios between March 2020 and May 2021.

The Governor General’s Program lists in detail the numerous activities of Mr Hurley, including phone calls, official events and luncheons.

Morrison was secretly appointed health minister on March 14, 2020, with the knowledge of then-health minister Greg Hunt.

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Calls for governor general to explain exclusion of Morrison ministries from official diary

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Greens want to know if decision not to disclose extra ministerial powers was David Hurley’s or then prime minister’s

David Hurley’s diary makes no mention of handing extra ministerial powers to Scott Morrison, and the governor general has been called on to explain if this omission was his own decision or a request from the then prime minister.

Morrison, while still prime minister, took on the health, finance, treasury, home affairs, and industry, science, energy and resources portfolios between March 2020 and May 2021.

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Demolition job: the Liberal party war surrounding NSW building commissioner’s exit

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David Chandler’s job brought him into close proximity with developers. In NSW, that means politics is never far away either

David Chandler, a tough-talking 40-year veteran of the New South Wales construction industry, had reached the end of his tether when he resigned abruptly as the state’s building commissioner in July.

The man responsible for getting developers to fix unsafe buildings felt he had endured attacks on his character, a smear campaign swirling through the corridors of state parliament, lobbying by former ministers and a deteriorating relationship with his own minister.

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Railing against rail loop put Matthew Guy back on track – but there’s a long way to go

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With 14 weeks until the Victorian state election, the opposition has a mountain to climb in order to form government

Victoria’s opposition leader, Matthew Guy, effectively fired the starter’s gun on the state election campaign this week when he announced the Coalition would shelve the Suburban Rail Loop – the largest infrastructure project in the history of the state – if it wins in November.

After two weeks of negative headlines about a proposed donation scheme, which prompted the resignations of several key members of his team, Guy’s announcement seized back the initiative.

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No puppy love: post-lockdown lifestyles and cost of living are driving Australians to surrender their pets

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Animal shelters nearing capacity are encouraging people to adopt by slashing fees and hosting events to make room for other animals in need

The end of Covid lockdowns and the spiralling cost of living have left animal shelters overflowing, with organisations now forced to host adoption drives and slash their fees in an effort to get more animals out of shelters and into their forever homes.

This was in stark contrast to the high adoption rates and shelter shortages across Australia during the early days of the Covid pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

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Advocates angered by news Queensland police boss declined request to appear at inquiry

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Katarina Carroll declined invitation on same day police said they will ‘fully cooperate’ with domestic violence inquiry

Advocates say it was “disingenuous” for Queensland police to claim the commissioner would “fully cooperate” with a domestic violence inquiry when she had declined an initial invitation to attend.

The Queensland police service’s (QPS) commissioner, Katarina Carroll, told the inquiry on Thursday that she initially rejected an invitation to appear at a public hearing on 5 August.

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Ukraine makes bid for Russian embassy land in Canberra after lease terminated

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Ukrainian ambassador, who is currently touring Australia to look at defence supplies, says his government will formally apply for Yarralumla site

Ukraine is looking to snap up a plot of land in Canberra that is potentially available after the National Capital Authority terminated the Russian embassy’s lease.

The NCA said this week it cancelled the lease because of its “use it or lose it” policy. More than a decade since Russia’s building plans were approved, construction has failed to progress. The capital authority gave Russia 20 days to vacate the property.

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Mother welcomes murder charge two decades after Arthur Haines, 13, died in Sydney house fire

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Gregory Walker charged with alleged murder and arson after Haines died from burns following petrol bombing of Sydney house in 1998

The mother of 13-year-old Arthur Haines, who police alleged was murdered in 1998, says she is ecstatic police have arrested a suspect more than two decades after his death.

“I couldn’t believe … finally today is the day,” Julie Szabo said outside Surry Hills police station in Sydney on Friday.

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Northern Territory girl allegedly abducted 13 days ago found safe and well

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One person is in custody and more are helping police with their inquiries after girl taken to Darwin police station

One person is in custody and more are helping police with their inquiries after a young girl, allegedly abducted in the Northern Territory, was found safe and well.

A special taskforce was established to find the girl after she went missing on 7 August, with police focusing their efforts on a group they said “continued to peddle ideologies and false information”.

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Dropping plans for Indigenous cultural centre at Barangaroo a ‘backward’ step, Aboriginal leaders say

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NSW government under fire after scrapping proposed standalone venue at the Cutaway site

The New South Wales government has come under fire for its decision to cancel plans for an Indigenous cultural centre at Barangaroo’s enormous Cutaway site.

A number of feasibility studies and concept designs had been undertaken on the proposal for the subterranean landmark site, housing almost 5,500 sq metres of space. Wesley Enoch, an artist and playwright, and Rhoda Roberts, the head of Sydney Opera House’s Indigenous programming for nearly a decade, were among the First Nations arts leaders involved in the project.

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Queensland police deputy commissioner resigns over ‘vagina whisperer’ comment

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Paul Taylor apologises for remark at policing conference, which was aired at domestic violence inquiry

A senior police officer has announced his immediate resignation after an inquiry into Queensland police responses to domestic violence heard he had referred to his friend as a “vagina whisperer” at a policing conference.

The deputy commissioner, Paul Taylor, who has been a police officer for 45 years, said he was “deeply apologetic” for the harm his comments had caused and it was never his “intention” to offend anyone.

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Russian embassy spokesperson suggests Australian government unwilling to support espionage-proof building

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Teal independents to attend national EV summit today

Many of the newly elected independents who campaigned on a platform of stronger climate action are set today’s electric vehicle summit in Canberra.

Our support will be delivered through UN agencies to provide food, health and nutrition services, access to safe water and essential support for those at risk, including women and children.

Australia’s continued assistance to Sri Lanka supports our mutual interest in a secure and resilient Indian Ocean and reinforces our 75 year-strong relationship built on cooperation and community connection.

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Bali bomb maker Umar Patek could be released early from Indonesian jail

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Early release of ex-member of terror group linked to al-Qaida will cause distress for bereaved, says Australian PM

Umar Patek, the bomb maker who helped assemble the devices used in the 2002 bombing in Bali, could walk free early from prison this year.

The Indonesian ministry of law and human rights regional office in East Java has proposed the early release after the ex-member of Jemaah Islamiyah, an Indonesian terror group linked to al-Qaida, completed two-thirds of his sentence, plus remissions.

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Morrison ‘amused’ by afternoon of ministry meme merriment but Albanese says it’s no joke

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Shortly after apologising to Karen Andrews for secretly shadowing her ministry, Scott Morrison takes to social media to share jokey posts

Former prime minister Scott Morrison spent much of Thursday night making his own memes or commenting on Facebook jokes about his five secret ministry positions – but his successor as prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says his actions “aren’t a laughing matter”.

Morrison, who has resisted calls for his resignation after being accused of misleading his colleagues and the parliament, began interacting with Facebook jokes about his extra portfolio areas on Thursday afternoon, shortly after making a belated apology to his colleague Karen Andrews for not informing her he had been sworn in to administer her home affairs portfolio.

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Scott Morrison had a penchant for secrecy and centralising power – here are four examples

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Even before we learned the former PM was appointed to five extra ministries without telling anyone, there were warning signs of his need for control

This week we learned Scott Morrison was appointed to five extra ministries without his colleagues’ knowledge – but there were signs earlier in his prime ministership that he wanted to keep information secret and centralise power.

Morrison in 2019 arranged it so that he could hold meetings with anyone and treat them as cabinet-in-confidence. During the pandemic, the National Covid-19 Coordination Commission was set up essentially as a shadow public service.

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