Category Archives: Australia news

Industry call for Australia to ‘unlock wealth’ of new oil and gas fields at odds with IEA warning

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Increasing supply is ‘absolutely part of the solution’ to decarbonising the economy, Appea chair tells conference

Fossil fuel representatives have joined the Morrison government in rejecting scientific warnings that no new oil and gas fields should be opened if the world is to deal with the climate crisis, with a national conference hearing Australia should be “smart enough” to back continued expansion.

Increased gas and oil supply was “absolutely part of the solution” to decarbonising the economy, the annual conference of gas industry group the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (Appea) was told.

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Emotions run high as showdown on NSW assisted dying bill approaches

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If passed, the state will be the last in Australia to allow terminally ill people to choose when they die

When she moved from Melbourne to Sydney, Siobhan O’Sullivan did not consider what it would mean for the way she died.

But since being diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer mid-2020, the 48-year-old thinks about that decision a lot.

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Scott Morrison tells A Current Affair ‘jobkeeper saved the country’ – as it happened

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Prime minister tells Tracy Grimshaw ‘I could have been more sensitive at times’; nation records 66 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Ita Buttrose:

We will retain an internal system of editorial complaint handling. We accept the recommendations, but we have amended one already. The review recommends that the ombudsman should report directly to the board. We should report to the board and the managing director, but the directors felt that this would simply be continuing the system we already have and we wanted a different more independent approach. So the ombudsman will report directly to the board and the process will be separate from editorial management.

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Concerns for businesses despite expected rise in Melbourne CBD’s population

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City of Melbourne’s draft 2022-23 budget papers predicts 8,230 CBD businesses next year, down 10% on last year’s forecast

Melbourne’s CBD population – and the number of parking tickets – is set to boom under projections by the city’s council, but the peak property industry group has warned that more needs to be done to get people back into offices.

The City of Melbourne’s draft 2022-23 budget papers, handed down on Tuesday, reveal expected revenue is forecast to increase by 13% to $538.7m, but the number of businesses operating in the CBD is projected to fall by more than 10%.

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Anthony Albanese defends delaying release of policy costings until two days before election

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Labor leader chased by reporters asking questions on costings, while Scott Morrison challenged over refusal to appear on NITV

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has defended the party’s decision not to release the party’s costings until Thursday, saying he has been “transparent” throughout the election campaign.

But delaying until after the advertising blackout begins at midnight on Wednesday has opened Albanese up to criticism from the Coalition, and triggered a hostile press conference in Perth on Tuesday that saw reporters chase Albanese from an event asking questions.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, was also pursued after a press conference in Darwin, with a reporter challenging him on why no one from the Coalition had agreed to appear on the National Indigenous Television network while he was campaigning in the seat of Lingiari, which has the highest proportion of First Nations voters in the country.

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‘Hello it’s John Howard calling’: former PM says Liberal party asked him to ‘campaign extensively’

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The current prime minister is unpopular in city marginal seats, so the Coalition is banking on robocalls and letterbox drops from Howard to sway voters

Australians might have been sitting down for dinner about 7pm on Monday, or tuning in to the news, but for those living in marginal seats there was a chance they were interrupted – by the former prime minister John Howard.

“Hello it’s John Howard calling from Sydney for the Liberal party,” were the words voters in seats such as North Sydney, Wentworth and Hughes heard when they answered their landlines and mobile phones.

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Western Sydney’s time as a ‘stronghold’ for either major party is over, expert says

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Diversity of opinions at the ballot box in western Sydney ‘defies prediction and conventional political logic’, report says

There is a growing “electoral volatility” in western Sydney, with experts saying residents have “departed from the script” in a region which could prove critical to deciding the federal election.

A new study from the Centre for Western Sydney that analysed federal election voting patterns found a level of volatility above national trends.

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Pentecostalism and the LNP’s fight for its soul in Queensland’s Darling Downs

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The seat of Groom has been held by conservatives since federation, but Labor and independent candidates have shaken up the race this election

A bastion of conservative Christian politics, the electorate of Groom has become a frontline in the battle for the soul of the Coalition.

And while religion barely rates a mention in the official campaign for Groom, there are concerns about the rising influence of pentecostalism, which could explain why the second safest seat in the country has suddenly become seen as one to watch.

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‘Poisonous pamphlets and pork’: what messages are cutting through to voters in this messy campaign?

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Here’s what is weighing on the minds of five undecided voters before the federal election on 21 May

Undecided voters will play a key role in deciding the outcome of Saturday’s election with many waiting until the final week, days, or even hours, to make their decision.

So what in this very long, and at times messy, campaign has cut through?

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Australian Conservation Foundation names Mount Isa the most polluted postcode in the country

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Mount Isa Mines responsible for 91% of emissions in the outback city despite having an ‘industry-leading air quality management framework’

Mount Isa has been named the most polluted postcode in Australia in a new report from the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF).

The ACF said the outback city is one of four Queensland locations listed among the Top 10 most polluted postcodes in the country, alongside Gladstone, Stanwell and Tarong.

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Over 70% of Australia’s aged care workers yet to receive $800 pandemic bonus, poll suggests

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Union poll finds majority of members have not yet received any payment as aged care peak body says both parties fall short on policy

More than 70% of aged care workers are yet to receive a single payment through the Morrison government’s pandemic bonus scheme four months after it was announced, staff polling suggests.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced in January up to $800 would be made available to aged care workers through a bonus scheme designed to recognise their efforts in the pandemic and stem the loss of workers from the sector.

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New poll predicts Allegra Spender will win Wentworth from Liberal MP Dave Sharma

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Exclusive: Spender-commissioned poll says independent will win on preference flows but is at odds with YouGov polling on the electorate

A new poll has the independent Allegra Spender on track to claim the prize blue-ribbon seat of Wentworth in Sydney’s east, with the Liberal MP Dave Sharma’s primary vote at 36%, down from 47% at the 2019 election.

Spender, who is backed by Climate 200 and is running on a platform of action on climate change and integrity in politics, has recorded a 33.3% primary vote and is now enjoying high recognition.

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Former Kiribati president slams Australia’s ‘politicisation’ of climate action and power of fossil fuel lobby

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Five days before Australian election, Anote Tong urges leaders to understand climate crisis means ‘survival is on the line’ for Pacific islands

A former president of the Pacific nation of Kiribati has blasted the influence of the fossil fuel lobby in Australia and the “politicisation” of climate policy, issuing a plea for leaders to adopt a “more moral” stance to cut emissions.

In a forthright speech five days before the Australian election, Anote Tong called for a proper understanding of what the climate crisis means to countries like Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands, saying “our survival is on the line”.

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Trent Barrett quits Bulldogs after coach’s poor NRL record continues

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  • Barrett leaves Belmore having won just five of 34 matches
  • Quits before emergency board meeting on Monday

Trent Barrett has quit as Canterbury coach after the Bulldogs’ poor start to the season which has them bottom of the NRL ladder. A 16-6 loss to Newcastle on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium in the Magic Round opener proved the final straw for Bulldogs officials, who spent the weekend discussing Barrett’s future.

Barrett took the decision out of the board’s hands, stepping down from the role effective immediately on Monday morning. A three paragraph statement from the Bulldogs confirmed the news but gave no indication of the club’s future plans.

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Australian federal election 2022 live: Albanese calls Coalition housing scheme ‘an attack on future generations’; AEC finds signs in breach

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Anthony Albanese labels Coalition housing scheme ‘an attack on future savings’; AEC says Advance Australia ‘Greens’ signs in breach of electoral act; home price increases will be ‘marginal’ under new plan, Scott Morrison says; PM says Labor was informed about Aukus when they ‘needed to be’; NSW records four Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s news live

Labor campaign spokesperson Jason Clare has a new line.

He told ABC TV:

The next week is really important. Australians have a big choice to make this weekend. It is a choice between a better future under Labor and more Scott Morrison.

As Australians think about this, they would be thinking “Do you want to wake up on Sunday morning and roll over and see Scott Morrison?”

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‘She is ridiculous’: Sam Kerr earns yet more plaudits after match-winner in FA Cup final

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  • Striker scores twice as Chelsea secure double with 3-2 win
  • Australian ‘an amazing centre forward’, says Emma Hayes

Sam Kerr has been labelled the complete centre forward by the Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, after the Australia captain netted another double to help her side to a second piece of silverware in the space of a week.

Having scored two sensational volleys last weekend to help secure the Women’s Super League title with victory over Manchester United, Kerr was again on the scoresheet twice on Sunday as Chelsea won the Women’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.

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Australian authorities to buy out fisheries citing climate crisis

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$20m permit buyback aims to help recovery of jackass morwong, redfish, john dory and silver trevally

The federal government will spend $20m to buy out fisheries in Australia’s south-east in part because the climate crisis is affecting population numbers of some species, making current fishing levels unsustainable.

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority will buy back vessel permits in the south-east trawl fishery, which is the largest commonwealth-managed fin fish fishery in Australia.

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Adam Bandt outlines seven demands for Labor in Greens’ balance-of-power wishlist

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Party confident of winning at least one seat in Brisbane, where it will launch its campaign on Monday

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, will release a $173bn balance-of-power wishlist at the party’s campaign launch in Brisbane on Monday night, outlining seven key concessions it wants from Labor in the event of a minority government.

The Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, has ruled out doing any deals with the Greens to form government, while Bandt has said the party will not support the Liberals under any circumstance.

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Coalition minister concedes plan to allow first homebuyers to access super will push up house prices

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Allowing access to up to $50,000 of retirement savings ‘like throwing petrol on a bonfire’, industry super group warns

The Coalition has conceded its plan to allow first homebuyers access to superannuation will push up prices, as industry super and progressive thinktanks warned it could add tens of thousands to the cost of a home.

The policy, unveiled at the Coalition launch on Sunday, to allow first homebuyers access to up to $50,000 of retirement savings has prompted warnings that house prices in Sydney could increase by as much as $134,000.

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Liberals launch new housing policy – as it happened

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Paul Keating condemns Liberal housing scheme; Anthony Albanese speaks at Brisbane rally, after promoting Labor’s manufacturing plan; 20 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Labor leader Anthony Albanese appearing on ABC Insiders now, opening with a cheeky comment about how “it’s good to have a political leader appearing on the ABC”.

First question is about cost of living and an increase to the minimum wage, which Albanese uses to wedge the government.

“There is a very clear divide here. A government that says that low wage growth was a key feature of their economic architecture and Labor that says that, “We want an economy that works for people, not the other way around” and that people who are on minimum wages are doing it tough.”

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