Category Archives: Australia news

Federal election 2019: Tanya Plibersek will not contest Labor leadership ballot – politics live

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Deputy leader says ‘now is not my time’ to run for Labor leadership, as Coalition inches towards majority after Australia’s election. Follow all the day’s events

The count continues, as do the Labor leadership deliberations.

We should find out tomorrow if it will be a contested ballot, or if Anthony Albanese, as the only declared candidate, is elected unopposed. Jim Chalmers, Chris Bowen and Clare O’Neill (as a deputy contender) are names repeatedly thrown around as maybe challengers.

And the Liberals have just moved ahead in Macquarie – it’s only 20 or so votes at this stage – but it’s the first time the Liberals have been ahead in the count. If that trend continues, Scott Morrison is looking at holding 78 seats.

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Australia’s Labor party weighs up future after shock election defeat

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Postmortem begins as MPs express devastation over unexpected and bruising result

The fight for the future of Australia’s Labor party has begun after it lost what was considered up until the final days of the campaign to be an unloseable election, in a result that Labor MPs said was “devastating”.

While counting was still ongoing, the Liberal National Coalition was predicted to win 76 seats in the 151-seat House of Representatives. The Australian Labor party (ALP) was predicted to win 69.

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Australian federal election 2019: Labor leadership talk begins after Morrison’s ‘miracle’ win – politics live

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Coalition seeks final seats to form majority government after winning Australia election. Meanwhile Labor faces leadership contest and recriminations. Follow all the latest updates, live

The AEC has laid out its plan for the remaining count:

Our team is today progressing the count and undertaking the significant and essential large-scale task of sorting, securely packaging and transporting all declaration votes – votes cast outside of an elector’s home division. This involves millions of ballot papers and more than 40,000 transport routes.

“This logistical activity occurring today is huge and complex, and illustrative of the highly manual process we undertake in delivering the count for the federal election,” [AEC commissioner] Tom Rogers said.

The business community is turning its attention to a potential minority government. From AAP:

Business groups are hoping for a sensible approach to how the country is run after prime minister Scott Morrison unexpectedly won the federal election, albeit in a possible minority Coalition government.

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO, James Pearson, hopes the speeches made by Mr Morrison and outgoing Labor leader Bill Shorten on the importance of bringing Australians together will translate into a “sensible and calm approach” as government is formed.

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Australia’s ruling Coalition claims election victory in major upset

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Scott Morrison’s government set to hang on to power despite polls predicting his demise

It was billed as the climate change election, and the climate lost.

Despite enduring its hottest year on record and a series of environmental calamities that have brought the climate emergency into sharp relief, Australia has voted for the centre-right Liberal party and its coalition partner, and against taking forceful action on the climate crisis.

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Australian federal election 2019: Tony Abbott concedes defeat to Zali Steggall in Warringah – politics live

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Western Australia seats crucial as Queensland swings to LNP. Follow all the updates and analysis, live

It’s worth noting that the polls have predicted a very different result to what we are seeing now.

The primary vote gap between Labor and the Coalition is a lot bigger than the polls suggested.

For those who missed when I was talking about Dawson a few weeks ago in the campaign, the mood there was that the stories were part of a southern conspiracy to remove George Christensen.

So they fell in behind him.

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How Australia ended up taking in Rwandans accused of killing tourists

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Australia’s government faces questions over secret deal with US in which the men were granted humanitarian visas

Just hours out from a federal election, the Australian government is facing questions over its decision to grant humanitarian visas to two Rwandan men accused of the brutal 1999 murder of tourists in Uganda.

The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has said that the men were subject to – and cleared – security checks, and on Friday distanced himself further by suggesting the approvals occurred when his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull was prime minister.

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Cheryl Grimmer case: NSW won’t force prosecution of man previously charged with toddler’s murder

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Attorney general won’t appeal court’s decision to omit suspect’s confession to killing Grimmer, which was made when he was 17

The New South Wales attorney general will not intervene to force the prosecution of a man charged with the murder of toddler Cheryl Grimmer 49 years ago.

Mark Speakman said on Friday that he would not use his power to instruct the department of public prosecutions to appeal the supreme court’s decision to omit a crucial piece of evidence in the cold case.

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Morrison knew in 2016 of Australia’s resettlement of Rwandans accused of killings

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Exclusive: US advice was that the men, who have refugee status and were accused of murdering tourists in Uganda in 1999, presented no security threat

The national security committee of cabinet was briefed about all aspects of the American refugee swap deal in late 2016, including the resettlement of two Rwandan men accused of murdering tourists in Uganda.

Guardian Australian understands the NSC was briefed, and the then treasurer, Scott Morrison, the home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, and the foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, were aware of all the elements of the agreement signed by Malcolm Turnbull and Barack Obama in 2016.

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Bob Hawke dies aged 89: Blanche d’Alpuget leads tributes to former Australian PM – rolling coverage

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Political leaders, former colleagues and friends all pay tribute to Australia’s longest serving Labor prime minister who has died at home in Sydney

Gumatj leader and Yothu Yindi Foundation chair Galarrwuy Yunupingu worked with Hawke towards an Indigenous treaty, and presented him with the Barunga statement in 1988.

In a statement, he expressed his “deep sorrow” at Hawke’s passing.

Mr Hawke was a very popular leader, and a friend of the Yolngu people.

His efforts to bridge the gap between black and white Australia were always sincere, and continued after the end of his prime ministership.

Former PM Julia Gillard: “Without question, Bob was the greatest peacetime leader Australia has ever had. And up to his very last days, he remained both an inspiration and a friend.

“In many ways the true measure of Bob’s incredible ability is that he made the difficult look easy. Now more than thirty years after he smashed an old model and remade a country, everyone thinks they supported him at the time.

Bob Hawke was the greatest peacetime leader Australia has ever had.

As a teenager Bob inspired me, as a PM he guided me.

I will miss him. I wish so very much that Bob had been able to see one more election day.

My condolences to Blanche, his children and grandchildren. pic.twitter.com/4wPHdIeBUZ

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Bob Hawke, former Australian prime minister, dies age 89

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Labor PM, who served from 1983 to 1991, modernised Australia’s economy and introduced significant social reforms

Australia’s 23rd prime minister and Labor elder statesman Bob Hawke has died.

Hawke died peacefully at home, aged 89 years, according to a statement by his widow Blanche D’Alpuget released on Thursday evening.

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Misogyny, violence, racism, classism: the toxic forces behind our shameful poverty rates

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How does poverty remain entrenched while wealth bounds on? The answer isn’t only about economics, but also about culture

Australia is now the wealthiest country in the world and yet our poverty rates have remained persistently high over decades of economic growth.

Why does poverty remain entrenched while overall wealth bounds on? How is it that this is tolerated, let alone reinforced, by government policies? The answer isn’t just about economics, it’s also about culture. There are dark forces at play that allow the experience of poverty to persist despite being surrounded by wealth.

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Federal election 2019: Bill Shorten says Labor ‘the only game in town’ on wages – politics live

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Labor leader wants to bring together business groups and unions for meeting, as Bob Hawke calls Shorten a ‘consensus leader’. All the day’s events, live

Today the high court has released its full reasons for its decision in the case brought by former Liberal National Queensland president Gary Spence to challenge Queensland’s developer donation ban. Orders were delivered in April upholding Queensland’s ban, closing a loophole that would have allowed developers to donate to candidates in the federal election campaign.

The first thing to note is that Spence did not come close to winning on the point of whether the ban impermissibly burdens the implied freedom of political communication.

Scott Morrison ‘aspiration’ count:

14 May – 21 times

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Australian man one of six dead after midair seaplane collision in Alaska

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Four Americans and a Canadian also among those killed after crash involving cruise ship sightseeing planes

An Australian man has been confirmed as among six people killed after two sightseeing seaplanes crashed midair in Alaska.

Four Americans and one Canadian were also among those killed when two planes carrying 16 people – including the two pilots – collided and plunged into the icy cold waters of a inlet near the south-eastern Alaskan town of Ketchikan on Monday, the US coast guard said.

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Australia’s biodiversity at breaking point – a picture essay

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Land clearing, deforestation, emissions, drought and warming oceans are all worsening the attack on Australia’s threatened species

Australia’s biodiversity is in trouble. The UN global assessment report painted a stark picture: the decline of the world’s natural support systems means that human society is in danger. According to the report, nature is being destroyed at a rate tens to hundreds of times higher than the average over the past 10 million years. More than a million species are at risk of extinction, natural ecosystems have declined by about 47% and the biomass of wild mammals has fallen by 82%. All of this is largely because of human activity. And the resulting impacts are likely to worsen unless we take action immediately.

As Guardian Australia has reported, Australia’s natural support systems are at breaking point. Increased land-clearing, warming oceans and a drought exacerbated by climate change are taking their toll on our biodiversity. The country is already experiencing rising oceans, marine heatwaves, longer fire seasons and extreme heat patterns. These are consistent with a changing climate.

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Australia to import wheat for first time in 12 years as drought eats into grain production

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Biosecurity concerns raised over import from Canada as Australia’s winter crop forecast to drop 20% below 20-year long-term average

Australia is planning to import wheat for the first time in 12 years after drought across the eastern states saw grain production fall 20% last year.

The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources confirmed this week it had issued a bulk import permit to allow wheat to be brought in from Canada to be processed for the domestic market.

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Liberal party formally warned after breaching electoral laws

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Party failed to properly authorise content appearing on Sydney Morning Herald, New Daily and Medical Daily sites

The electoral watchdog has formally warned the Liberal party about the lack of sourcing on party ads appearing on major news websites.

Ads trumpeting the Liberal party’s tax plan have appeared across major news websites this week, as the party makes a last-ditch attempt to woo voters.

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‘Suddenly the police came’: 76-year-old climate protester arrested outside Liberal MP’s office

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Caroline Danaher remains unapologetic after being charged with trespassing in front of Sarah Henderson’s office

A 76-year-old woman arrested and charged for trespassing at Liberal MP Sarah Henderson’s office said she’ll be back again to protest against political inaction on climate change, and that “every one in this country should be doing the same to their local representatives”.

Every Friday for the past four months, Caroline Danaher has sat outside Henderson’s office with two deck chairs. In 40C heat or in the rain, her goal is a meeting with Henderson, whose office is in the marginal Victorian seat of Corangamite.

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Adani deal with Myanmar military-linked company raises human rights alarm

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Australian expert worries Queensland coal may help fund armed forces accused of genocide

The Adani Group has signed a US$290m commercial deal with a holding company controlled by the Myanmar armed forces, who have been accused by UN investigators of committing genocide and crimes against humanity.

The Indian conglomerate behind the controversial Carmichael coal project in north Queensland was granted permission in April to develop a container port in Yangon, on land owned by the Myanmar Economic Corporation. The MEC generates significant revenue for the Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw.

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Federal election 2019: Labor’s Belinda Hassan target of suspected arson attack – politics live

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The ALP’s candidate for Dawson confirms ‘scary incident’ where the fuel tank of her car was broken into. All the day’s events, live

And then it ends with this:

PK: Finally, you want to remove Josh Frydenberg, who fought hard for the National Energy Guarantee and for a compromise to move forward on climate change and energy. Is that a smart move?

Patricia Karvelas: One of the critiques of you is past involvement in Link Energy’s purchase of fossil fuel assets in 2010. Do you regret that?

Oliver Yates: I think the question is you need to see it was a company who bought them before I was even on the board. This is part of the Liberal dirt sheet. It’s round to everybody...

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Library stink: smell of durian prompts evacuation at University of Canberra

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Fire and rescue teams in Australia remove rogue fruit in a sealed bag after it was left near an air vent

A piece of fruit prompted the evacuation of an Australian university library last week.

On Friday afternoon fire and rescue teams in the Australian Capital Territory responded to calls of “a strong smell of gas” inside the University of Canberra library.

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