Category Archives: Australia news

Australian federal election 2022: Albanese seizes on PM’s ‘bulldozer’ admission; Chinese spy ship off WA coast ‘an act of aggression’, Dutton says

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Opposition leader says ‘bulldozers wreck things’ after prime minister blames pandemic for how he has governed country; Chinese spy ship spotted off Western Australia; Marise Payne and Penny Wong debate foreign policy at National Press Club; nation records at least 52 Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s news

On what Anne Ruston said, here is some of what Scott Morrison said about the 5.1% figure on 11 May:

Anthony Albanese says that he wants wages to go up by 5.1% and he thinks that Australians don’t know what the impact of that would be on their interest rates, on unemployment or on inflation in the cost of living.

He thinks Australians don’t get the link between these things. He thinks he can just say what he likes and you can have your cake and eat it.

I think you’ll find that the government has been very clear in its condemnation of the comments by Mr Albanese, not because of the figure that he put out there specifically, but the fact that he’s just chosen to put a figure out there you know, without bothering to consult, take advice, you know, there’s no science around it.

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Craig McLachlan allegedly threw tantrums and threatened Rocky Horror Show cast members, court told

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Defence barrister tells defamation trial McLachlan had ‘tendency to get angry easily’

Craig McLachlan has been portrayed in court as an allegedly powerful and angry lead actor who threw tantrums, threatened cast members and physically abused actresses.

Defence barrister Michael Hodge QC on Friday took a defamation trial jury through several incidents in which McLachlan, 56, was alleged to have been furious at supervisor directions, musicians missing cues and fellow actors changing their performances without notice.

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Weather tracker: deadly floods follow week of torrential rain in Australia

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Analysis: Queensland flash floods have cut off communities and killed one woman, swept away in her car

Torrential rain has been hitting eastern Australia since Monday, with rainfall totals on the north-east coast widely achieving in excess of 100mm. In Yabulu, north of Townsville, there was major flooding on Tuesday as 196mm of rain fell within 24 hours. This was not the highest total recorded, however, with 244mm of rain falling on Tuesday at Mourilyan, near Innisfail on the Cassowary Coast.

The threat of heavy rain sank south across Queensland to the south-east, reaching Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday; stations in the south-east recorded up to 100mm, with a station in Dayboro recording 161mm. A further 100-150mm of rain fell on Friday across the south-east.

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Hundreds escape flood waters in Queensland as state lashed by severe thunderstorms

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More than 700 roads cut or affected by floods with intense rainfall set to continue in region between Caboolture and Gladstone

Hundreds of Queenslanders have fled to higher ground or been rescued from flood waters with thousands on alert on Friday night as severe thunderstorms lash the state’s south-east.

Intense rainfall has hit Brisbane, Ipswich, the Lockyer valley, Darling Downs, Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast, Wide Bay-Burnett, Bundaberg and Gladstone, the result of a massive low-pressure trough.

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Builders and bulldozers: Anthony Albanese rubbishes Scott Morrison’s late attempts at change

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Prime minister says ‘I haven’t got everything right’ as opposition leader urges ‘if you want change, change the government’

A buoyant Anthony Albanese declared himself a “builder” on Friday as he scoffed at Scott Morrison’s pledge to learn from mistakes he made as a “bulldozer” throughout the pandemic – a late attempt by the prime minister to recast his character in the final days of the election campaign.

With his personality and record under siege from Labor, Morrison has promised to change his leadership style and admitted he had lessons to learn from his first term as PM.

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Evacuations as more than 500 roads cut by south-east Qld flooding – as it happened

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Queensland Fire and Emergency Services says it’s had to rescue people in low-lying areas where water has risen quickly.

QFES says most people rescued haven’t had “situational awareness” of the unfolding event or made the “decision to turn around.”

If it is flooded, forget it. We have lost far too many lives on the roads this year and in previous events.

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More regional aged care homes to close unless government funds pay rise, experts say

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With around two-thirds of regional nursing homes operating at a loss, industry says ‘the crisis is upon us, but it’s going to get worse’

Many more rural Australians may have no choice but to spend their final years away from their families and communities given two-thirds of regional aged care homes are operating at a loss.

Closures are already happening and will accelerate if the next federal government fails to properly fund a pay rise for aged care workers, experts say.

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Chinese-speaking voters critical of Coalition’s ‘militaristic’ stance on China in lead-up to 2022 election, WeChat study shows

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Labor also faces criticism, but Albanese is gaining ground in news coverage on Chinese social media platform, research finds

The Coalition’s muscular position toward China is not going down well with Chinese-speaking voters, while Labor is facing criticism over its more generous approach to humanitarian immigration, an analysis of WeChat audience comments reveals.

The study of more than 3,000 political news stories and associated comments appearing on the Chinese social media platform, WeChat, has been undertaken by researchers at Monash and Deakin Universities over the past 11 months, including during the election campaign.

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Andrew Laming says watchdog has done ‘nothing’ since he refused to repay expenses it found he wrongly claimed

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Outgoing LNP politician rejects the finding, saying he will appeal and that he has not been contacted by anyone chasing him for payment

Outgoing Liberal National party politician Andrew Laming says the expenses watchdog has done “nothing” since he publicly refused to pay back more than $8,000 in travel expenses he was found by it to have wrongly claimed.

The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (Ipea) audited a single month of Laming’s travel in 2020 after a Guardian Australia series on MPs’ expense claims.

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Labor pledges millions in funding to protect threatened species and Great Barrier Reef

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Opposition says it will also provide a response to the Samuel review into Australia’s national environmental laws

Labor says it will establish a national threatened species program and provide a full response to the independent review of national environmental laws if it forms government.

In a policy announced Thursday evening the party promised $224.5m over the forward estimates for a national threatened species program that will include addressing the backlog of almost 200 overdue and outdated species recovery plans.

The Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, and Labor’s environment spokesperson, Terri Butler, said they would also work with state and territory governments to develop a national conservation strategy.

They did not say what the conservation strategy would entail.

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Living costs in outer suburbs would be slashed under plan to ‘electrify everything’, analysis finds

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Fitting every home with solar panels and batteries and replacing gas devices and petrol cars could save households more than $5,000 a year

A plan to “electrify everything” with rooftop solar, batteries and electric vehicles would save households across the country more than $5,000 a year and particularly benefit those living in outer Melbourne suburbs, according to a new analysis.

Electrification would involve fitting every home with solar panels and batteries and replacing gas devices – cooktops, hot water and heating systems – and petrol cars with electric models.

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Coalition targets marginal seats with almost $3bn in election spending promises

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Labor has pledged close to $1bn for its top 10 marginals with Victorian seat of McEwen leading list of commitments

The Coalition has made almost $3bn in spending promises across 10 marginal seats ahead of the election, including a surprising $300m to try to flip the Labor seat of McEwen in Melbourne’s outer north.

The knife-edge seats of Bass in Tasmania and Gilmore on the New South Wales south coast have attracted the most pork-barrelling commitments from the Liberal party, with more than $500m committed to projects in Bass, held by Liberal MP Bridget Archer on a 0.4% margin, and $430m in Gilmore, held by Labor on a 2.6% margin.

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Morrison’s objection to lifting wages in line with inflation puts spotlight on pensions linked to CPI

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Prime minister says such a move would be ‘incredibly reckless’ but payments such as pensions are already tied to cost-of-living changes

Economists and advocacy groups have seized on the Morrison government’s objection to lifting minimum wages by the inflation rate, noting benefits such as pensions are tied to how consumer prices change.

Prime minister Scott Morrison blasted comments by Labor leader Anthony Albanese on Wednesday that he would “absolutely” support wages keeping pace with prices. That call was “incredibly reckless”, Morrison said, adding that wage increases of 5%-plus were “like throwing fuel on the fire of rising interest rates and rising costs of living”.

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Australia election 2022 live news: former high commissioner to Solomon Islands attempts to confront Morrison on campaign trail

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Simon Birmingham says Anthony Albanese ‘making it up as he goes along’ on wage rises; Peter Dutton takes swipe at Clive Palmer over seat preferences; at least 53 Covid deaths recorded. Follow all the day’s news

Josh Frydenberg told ABC TV he believed Scott Morrison won last night’s debate.

He also believes moderate Liberals have done enough to influence the party from the inside:

Let me take those issues individually. Firstly, on climate, I was a strong advocate, so was Dave Sharma, Katie Allen, Trent Zimmerman, Tim Wilson and many others about getting Australia to net zero emissions by 2050.

We argued inside the tent for that commitment and it’s in Australia’s best interest that it’s a bipartisan commitment. It’s Australia’s best interest that we have a long-term economic plan to get there.

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Surge in NSW flu cases sparks concern over hospital capacity with Covid numbers high

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State’s chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, urges people to get flu vaccinations as 2,000 cases reported in last week

Surging cases of the flu are putting extra demand on emergency departments around New South Wales, with major outbreaks in boarding houses contributing to a doubling in cases in a week.

According to NSW Health, 2,000 flu cases were reported in the week to 7 May – up from 1,024 the week before.

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Matt Kean warns of Trump-like shift in Liberal party if teal independents oust moderates

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In election pitch, NSW treasurer says party at risk of becoming like Republicans, with Putin sympathisers and anti-vaxxers

The New South Wales Liberal treasurer Matt Kean has warned of the dangers of a Trump-like shift to the right within the conservative party, as he pleaded with voters not to boot out moderate MPs in favour of teal independents on 21 May.

The plea was supported by the state’s premier, Dominic Perrottet, who said voters would regret stepping away from the party if independents won seats over moderate Liberals.

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G-strings in the mist: ‘You wouldn’t expect Jane Goodall to be fronting a campaign for underwear’

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Renowned primatologist ‘had a laugh’ at the idea she’d be surrounded by models wearing Australian bamboo fabric brand Boody

Underwear-clad models stand in a rainforest, surrounded by ferns. Sunlight shines through the morning mist. “Humans,” intones renowned primatologist Dr Jane Goodall. “What unusual animals we are.”

As the camera pans over a closeup shot of a male model’s boxer briefs, the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees says, “It’s a big job making our world a better place, but getting started? Well, that’s as easy as changing your underwear.”

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Matthew Guy uses budget reply speech to attack Victoria’s response to the pandemic

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Opposition leader makes no new policy announcements ahead of election, but criticises levels of debt

The Victorian opposition leader, Matthew Guy, has delivered a budget reply speech focused on attacking the government’s response to the pandemic, without announcing any new policies ahead of the November state election.

Guy characterised the premier, Daniel Andrews, as an “arrogant and unchecked” leader, who would send Victoria “broke” as a result of Covid-19 lockdowns, cost overruns on major projects and record debt levels.

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Camper found safe and well as flooding rain lashes Queensland

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Police end search for man, who was seen chasing his dog before flood waters cut off access to his campsite

A camper reported missing after chasing his dog near flood waters has been found, as heavy downpours continue to lash south-east Queensland.

Police said the 36-year-old man was reported missing from an Imbil campsite, south of Gympie, on Thursday morning, but was found safe and well on Thursday.

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Kevin Rudd attacks ‘idiot’ Peter Dutton over ‘hairy-chested’ comments on China

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Former Labor PM says if China wanted a reset with Australia he ‘could not think of a dumber thing to do’ than the Solomon Islands deal

Kevin Rudd has launched a personal attack on Peter Dutton, labelling the defence minister an “idiot” for believing hairy-chested commentary about China would improve Australia’s strategic circumstances.

The former Australian prime minister also took aim at Beijing, saying that if Chinese officials really wanted a reset in the relationship with Australia he “could not think of a dumber thing to do than what they just did in the Solomons”.

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