Category Archives: Victoria

Albanese rallies against ‘fear and division’ at Labor campaign launch – as it happened

Posted on by

Anthony Albanese and senior Labor members speak at ALP campaign launch in Perth; Scott Morrison speaks at Sydney rally; Coalition outlines e-safety plan; Greens announce LGBTQ+ equality plan; Victoria reports seven Covid deaths; NSW reports five; South Australia reports two. This blog is now closed

Simon Birmingham is pushed on what the Coalition will actually do on the cost of living but there isn’t a clear answer. See this exchange with Insiders host David Speers:

Q: So essentially to get wages going is to keep doing what you’ve been doing for the last nine years?

David, our plan is a comprehensive economic plan and in contrast to the Labor party. We have outlined clearly plans for … that jobs growth. Jobs growth fuelled by lower taxes and tax relief for Australians that continue to be implemented in terms of lower income taxes, support for more businesses.

David, it is a plan that we’ve outlined in quite a lot of detail, compared to ...

If you look at this year’s budget, small business, a particular focus in relation to investment in technology …

The approach we’ve taken is to fix a particular problem in the housing market and that was the fact that you had to save, of course, for your deposit, takes months and months, years and years, to get that 20% deposit to avoid having to pay mortgage insurance, that was meaning that people were having to pay rent at the same time as saving.

Continue reading...

Coalition pledges to cut medication costs; 53 Covid deaths – as it happened

Posted on by

Prime minister announces a $10 cut to PBS scripts from next year in an attempt to tackle cost-of-living pressure, while Labor vows to hold a royal commission into the robodebt scandal. This blog is now closed

Now some questions on China’s security deal with the Solomon Islands.

Morrison, asked about the timing of the announcement, says:

We’re very aware of the influence that the Chinese government seeks to have in this country. We, in fact, introduced laws to prevent it. So any suggestion that the Chinese government doesn’t seek to interfere in Australia – well, we didn’t put that legislation in for no reason. We put it in there to ensure that Australian security could be safeguarded from foreign influence in our own country.

The Chinese government would say that, wouldn’t they?

There are temporary measures that we put on the budget, longer term measures in the mid-year statement. It is a fairly common way that we do budgets …

This is a longer term measure and it will start next calendar year. So the reason that we’re talking about it now, normally we would make an announcement like that later in the year.

Continue reading...

Victoria’s government quietly prepares an election budget while attention is diverted

Posted on by

Analysis: In the days before last year’s budget, $4.2bn in commitments were announced. Just $277m has been announced ahead of Tuesday’s

With all eyes fixed on the federal election campaign, you’d be forgiven for nearly forgetting Victoria’s treasurer, Tim Pallas, is set to hand down a state budget in a couple of days.

So far, all we know is that health will be a main theme of the pre-election budget. Improving lengthy ambulance wait times, emergency department overcrowding and the state’s triple zero call-taking system are front of mind after several much-publicised deaths, including that of a 72-year-old man who waited more than three hours for a bed at a regional hospital earlier this month.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

New Murray-Darling Basin Authority boss fails to mention environment in all-staff memo

Posted on by

Staff raise concerns after incoming chief executive Andrew McConville emphasises agricultural outcomes in introductory letter

The new chief executive of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Andrew McConville, has caused consternation after sending an all-staff memo outlining his approach to the job which failed to mention the regulator’s environmental role.

A former chief executive of the Australian Petroleum Producers & Exporters Association (APPEA), McConville was appointed to the top job at the MDBA by the Morrison government just days before the federal election was called.

Continue reading...

Scott Morrison suggests ‘remarkable similarity’ between China and Solomon Islands rhetoric – as it happened

Posted on by

Prime minister responds after Solomon Islands PM says he heard about Aukus pact through media; Labor leader heads to Perth after week in Covid isolation as deputy Richard Marles tests positive; at least 26 coronavirus deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

I’m not sure if voters care about all this debate about debates, but it goes on:

Anthony Albanese agreed to debate Scott Morrison anytime. Morrison wants a debate on Seven and on Nine. The ABC has been cut out, as has the National Press Club.

Well, I think the national broadcaster can have a role here as well and the prime minister thinks that he is the only person who has a say in this.

The national secretaries of the Liberal party and Labor party should sit down, work these issues through, like adults.

I’m up for more debates.

... But I’m not up for the prime minister deciding when, who, how that all occurs. We both need to be involved in this process and the Labor party needs to be engaged so I’m certainly up for more debates.

Well, it’s all relative, I guess, in in terms of what I have to do. So today, this morning, I’ve got a round of interviews. Just the doctor’s advice that when I’m feeling tired – which he advises, and others [are] telling me is the case, that I’ll continue to feel tired and a bit fatigued, particularly over the next week – that I need to be conscious about that, I need to rest when I can and just be a bit sensible.

It’s no use not looking after your health. There’s still three and a bit weeks to go in this campaign. He’s advised that each and every day, if I get that rest, I’ll feel better, and I certainly feel much better today than I did yesterday.

Continue reading...

Buyers warned about rushing into government’s First Home Guarantee scheme

Posted on by

Predicted rate rises and falls in property values pose risks to those considering loans with a 5% deposit, experts say

First-home buyers have been warned to plan carefully before taking advantage of a federal government scheme that would allow them to secure property with a 5% deposit, at a time interest rates are predicted to rise.

Experts say the First Home Guarantee scheme could be appropriate for people who plan to stay in one spot for a while and are comfortable riding out a possible property value trough, but warn it could still be risky, especially in regional areas.

Continue reading...

Frydenberg expects ‘close’ battle to hold seat as Labor cost of living attacks continue – as it happened

Posted on by

Treasurer ‘not taking anything for granted’ in Kooyong; low wage growth under Coalition ‘not an accident’, says Jason Clare; Jacqui Lambie and Pauline Hanson in dispute over preference deal claims; at least 50 coronavirus deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Jim Chalmers has also been everywhere. Labor’s choice for treasurer has his one message to push, and he’s making sure he gets it into every interview.

This was him following the PM on the Seven network:

You would hear it around Australia and I hear it as I move around Australia. The problem is, if things are going well, he takes the credit; if things are difficult, he never takes responsibility, and we just saw that in that interview as well.

If something is going well, he takes credit. Doesn’t take responsibility for the [things that go wrong].

I have never been a commentator on what the reserve bank should do.

I respect the independence of the reserve bank, and they need to make the judgments they need to make ... in the best interests of the Australian economy, and I have no doubt they will do that.

There’s a big difference between what occurred in 2007 and where we are now, the reserve bank did that last time and the rate was 6.5%, today it is 0.1% and so I think the circumstances of the economic environment we are in now is very different.

Continue reading...

Victoria stands down 420 public school teachers over vaccine mandates

Posted on by

About half had failed to get a booster shot before the March deadline and have been placed on unauthorised leave

About 420 public school teachers across Victoria have been stood down for failing to meet Covid vaccination requirements – with the majority of them not working because they haven’t received a third dose.

Despite previous fears of staff shortages in schools, Guardian Australia understands there are 420 full-time-equivalent teachers across Victoria’s public school system who are unable to work as they have not met the state’s vaccination mandate.

Continue reading...

Uncle Jack Charles makes history as first Indigenous elder to speak at Victorian truth-telling commission

Posted on by

Yoorrook commission will establish official record of Indigenous experiences since colonisation

Victoria’s Indigenous truth-telling commission has opened public hearings, with respected actor and activist Uncle Jack Charles the first to share his story.

Born to a Wiradjuri father and a Bunurong mother, Charles was called as the first Indigenous elder to speak at the Yoorrook Justice Commission on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Veronica Nelson made repeated calls for help before her death in custody, inquest hears

Posted on by

Melbourne coroner’s court hears audio of the 37-year-old Yorta Yorta woman screaming in pain in her prison cell

Yorta Yorta woman Veronica Marie Nelson made repeated calls for assistance in the hours before she was found dead in a maximum security prison cell, a coronial inquest has heard.

The 37-year-old, who also has Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung and Wiradjuri heritage, died at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre on 2 January 2020, four days after being arrested because she had failed to attend a sentencing hearing for a shoplifting offence.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Payne says China military base in Solomons would be a ‘red line’ – as it happened

Posted on by

Queensland senator Matt Canavan adds to uncertainty about Coalition climate commitments; foreign minister accuses Labor of ‘playing politics’ on national security after Penny Wong criticises Scott Morrison for ‘refusing to take responsibility in Pacific’; at least 50 Covid deaths as WA to ease mask mandate in some settings. This blog is now closed

Scott Morrison is in Townsville (north Queensland) today where he will be making announcements on energy.

Given what we just heard from Scott Morrison there, it’s worth your time having a listen to climate and environment editor Adam Morton on today’s Full Story podcast examining if the policy differences between the Coalition and Labor and ultimately asking: is either party preparing enough for the transformational change ahead?

Economic modelling should be used as a guide. Both sides of politics lean on it more as a forecast that will be fact ... I don’t think anybody can tell us exactly what our power bills will be in 2025, 2030, 2050 but no one disagrees that more solar and wind is good in terms of lowering prices because it is much, much cheaper to generate what’s in place.

Continue reading...

Veterans praise number of young people at Melbourne’s Anzac Day services

Posted on by

Estimated crowd of 50,000 listen to Last Post at Shrine of Remembrance after Covid restrictions lifted

For Vietnam veteran Peter Liefman, seeing the crowd’s smiling faces made leading the Anzac Day march through Melbourne even more special.

The 74-year-old, who was a national serviceman in 1971, was chosen to lead Monday’s march along St Kilda Road through to the Shrine of Remembrance with fellow Vietnam veterans Gary Taylor and David Grierson.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Anzac Day commemorated; ABC reviewing presenter’s social media activity – as it happened

Posted on by

Deputy Labor leader says Chinese Solomon Islands base would make Australia ‘less safe’; Anzac Day services and marches return for the first time since pandemic began; Peter Dutton compares events in Ukraine to ‘the 1930s’; ABC presenter Fauziah Ibrahim under social media review; at least 17 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Sticking with Brendan O’Connor for a moment, the shadow defence spokesperson says Labor would have “grave concerns” if a Chinese military base were established in Solomon Islands.

This comes after Scott Morrison yesterday said the establishment of a base there would be a “red line”, without saying how his government would actually respond, with O’Connor saying it was just “post-facto rhetoric”:

We understand what the prime minister says by that. But, really, it’s post-facto rhetoric. We need to see better investment and better engagement in the region ... rather than react after the fact.

Given the change in tone and rhetoric and words used by the prime minister, we will seek a briefing from the government. We’ve been getting updates all the way through, and we appreciate that.

It was a smaller sum. [The government’s plan] would go no way to provide support for veterans. It would not increase the frontline staff required to respond to their needs. It would do in no way enough to support those people who’ve put themselves in harm’s way.

People are waiting for days, weeks, months just for some of the more simple applications and claims.

Continue reading...

Australia live news updates: Scott Morrison accuses Labor of ‘sewer’ tactics over Gladys Liu ad; Daniel Andrews attacks ‘cruel’ trans debate; 17 Covid deaths

Posted on by

Coalition and Labor to focus on Northern Territory as week three of the federal election campaign begins. Follow all the developments live

Queensland Health has issued a recall notice for vegan chocolates after they were found to contain milk.

More details would be provided but it looks as if the Foods Standards website is offline for maintenance.

Continue reading...

Anzac Day: health authorities urge Covid-19 precautions at gatherings

Posted on by

With the return of full services after two Covid-disrupted years, officials advise caution despite easing of restrictions

Health officials are urging Australians to take Covid-19 precautions at Anzac Day commemorations despite restrictions easing in most states and territories.

With many jurisdictions preparing for the return of full-scale Anzac Day services after two Covid-disrupted years, Victoria’s health department has shared risk-mitigation tips.

Continue reading...

Covid funding to states should be extended, Daniel Andrews says

Posted on by

Victorian government wants extension of commonwealth funding arrangement to combat pandemic

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has reignited calls for the commonwealth to extend its increased health funding for Covid, warning the effects of the pandemic will not end after winter.

But the state opposition has lashed the Andrews government, saying the pressure has been caused by “years of Labor mismanagement” prior to the pandemic.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Decriminalisation of public drunkenness delayed by Victorian government

Posted on by

Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service ‘disappointed’ that official repeal will not occur in November

Victoria will delay repealing public drunkenness as a crime, in a move that has triggered the state’s Indigenous legal service to urge the state government to prioritise the “overdue reform”.

The offence was to be officially repealed in November, but Guardian Australia understands the decriminalisation of public drunkenness may not take effect until 2023 – more than five years after the death of 55-year-old Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Australia politics live news: Albanese says he’s ‘had better days’ in first TV interview since Covid diagnosis; PM says Pacific leaders under ‘enormous pressure’

Posted on by

China doesn’t ‘play by same rules’, PM warns of China’s influence in Pacific region; Labor’s frontbench to replace Albanese in physical campaign; WA premier Mark McGowan tests positive for Covid; Morrison attacks NSW independent commission against corruption for ‘sickening’ treatment of Gladys Berejiklian; at least 46 Covid deaths recorded— live updates

Speaking to ABC Brisbane this morning, (he truly has been everywhere this morning) Scott Morrison was asked his thoughts on the ABC:

We continue to fund the ABC, we continue to keep up the pace on ensuring that it is a competent and professional broadcaster and particularly to support the work that the ABC does in regional areas.

I think the recent floods once again highlighted, I think the ABC at its best, and that’s when it’s providing important information in the middle of natural disasters and things of that nature.

At the start of this week [December 2021], the prime minister told reporters: “Gladys was put in a position of actually having to stand down and there was no findings of anything.”

Fact: Berejiklan resigned as premier in September, voluntarily.

Continue reading...

Sharma labels Deves’s comments on trans people ‘reprehensible’ – as it happened

Posted on by

Dave Sharma condemns comments of Warringah candidate Katherine Deves; Labor MP Terri Butler’s electorate office hit by car; nation records at least 50 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Q: But senator, I do want to take you up on that. This was the debate we were having in the dying days of the parliament, and all the national security experts and veterans in the field say it was unhelpful and that the ALP was anything other than supporting Australia’s policy, so why are you continuing this line of attack?

Simon Birmingham:

The Labor party have created the points of difference in the way they expressed themselves and the language they used. When last in office, let our investment in our defence forces whittle away to the lowest share of the economy. We brought it back to 2% of the GDP, and having that credible investment is what has enabled us to strike new defence pacts and partnerships with countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, making us a credible partner for defence and strategic investment in areas of artificial intelligence, in missile equipment and investment, and the nuclear-powered submarines.

I think we have seen a Labor party, who when China were making decisions to apply trade sanctions and tariffs against Australia, Labor seemed to want us to reach a compromise with China rather than to stand up for Australia.

Anthony Albanese spoke at the National Press Club not that long ago – he suggested we should negotiate or settle some of the points with the Labor party – sorry, with China. Well, ultimately, we have to stand up for Australian interests.

Continue reading...

Epidemiologists split over easing of Covid restrictions in NSW and Victoria

Posted on by

While business groups celebrate change to isolation rules, some experts remain cautious

The easing of Covid restrictions in Victoria and New South Wales has been welcomed by industry groups, despite concerns from some epidemiologists that it sends the wrong message at a time daily infections remain high.

From Friday, people in both states who live with Covid-19 cases or are deemed close contacts will no longer have to quarantine for seven days, provided they have no symptoms.

Continue reading...