Category Archives: Labor party

Albanese is only losing two ministers – but replacing them won’t be straightforward

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Two out means two up and two in. Beyond that simple calculation, reconfiguring Labor’s frontbench becomes more complicated

As Anthony Albanese prepares to reveal changes to his ministry on Sunday, the basic calculations are straightforward: two out means two up and two in.

The two confirmed ministerial resignations, from Linda Burney and Brendan O’Connor, create vacancies for two more from the left faction. If Albanese sticks strictly to the formula, it should be one from New South Wales, in place of Burney, and a Victorian in for O’Connor.

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NSW Greens office targeted with Islamophobic and white supremacist graffiti

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Police say they are searching for a male who allegedly vandalised the inner-west Sydney office in what is the latest political graffiti attack

Police are investigating after the New South Wales Greens’ office was graffitied with Islamophobic and white supremacist messages.

The graffiti, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning at the office in inner west Sydney, called an Islamic prophet a white supremacist.

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Man dies after trying to drive truck on to NSW ferry; global sea ice levels hit record low – as it happened

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Q: Why target the individuals when it’s state policy?

Penny Wong said the Australian government has been “clear in terms of state-to-state relations about our view on settlements”.

They are unlawful under international law. We’ve been clear about that … We have also said that we want to continue to take steps towards a two-state solution.

That may not be the view of some people in the Israeli government, but that is the view of the Australian government.

These individuals have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians, including things such as beating, sexual assault and torture, resulting in serious injury and in some cases death.

We have imposed these after careful consideration and we would expect that all Australians would recognise the weight of these.

Settlements are unlawful under international law. We are continuing to act in ways that we can to look to how we protect a pathway to a two-state solution, and part of that is to ensure we also impose penalties who perpetrate violence against Palestinians.

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NT military exercise suspended after pilot escapes crash – as it happened

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Import ban fails to curb flow of Nazi-linked items

The number of items imported into Australia bearing Nazi imagery has not been slowed by a national ban on the symbols, AAP reports.

The importation into Australia of Nazi memorabilia, both historically genuine items and modern recreations, has not abated with the passage of [the ban].

Where these goods are imported in quantities which indicates the goods are likely to be traded, the Australian Border Force refers the goods to the Australian federal police to consider investigation under the criminal code.

Consumers are crying out for clear information on how to save money, protect their health and reduce emissions – and they want that information online where they make their purchasing decisions.

We call on the state and federal governments to give consumers the real truth about the risks of gas appliances, by mandating comprehensive pollution labels on all their ads and websites.

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US ‘committed’ to Aukus regardless of who is president, admiral says – as it happened

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‘Tumultuous’ coverage must not worsen post-3G, farmers say

Telcos face the ire of rural Australians if the 3G network shutdown goes awry and are being warned they will be held publicly accountable for any fallout, AAP reports.

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Nine Entertainment journalists vote for industrial action – as it happened

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Biden has been ‘a great fan of Australia’: Albanese

Anthony Albanese is speaking with ABC RN after Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the US presidential race.

The president has been a great fan of Australia. [A] very significant economic relationship has grown out our trade during his presidency … He’s someone who has stood up for values of social inclusion, and importantly as well for Australia and for the world he’s been a leading figure on climate action.

He was a gracious host to myself and Jodie during our state visit last year … [He] will continue to be over the coming months the most important leader in our globe. Of course, the United States is our most important ally.

The policies won’t change much. I mean, he’s obviously very interested in policies around tariffs and trade. I don’t think that will change much from his first term.

I think the challenge for us with with Donald Trump is to remind him that one of America’s unique advantages is its network of allies and partners and to make the maximum use of that. And there’s been great progress … in terms of Aukus [and] many groupings in the Indo-Pacific … and all these need to be sort of maintained and strengthened and that requires American leadership.

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CrowdStrike has ‘issued a fix’ to Windows outage – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. Follow the latest developments on the global Microsoft outage live blog

Shorten says last CFMEU Labor donation was over two years ago

Earlier on the Today Show, the NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, was asked about the CFMEU and said that the last donation received by the Labor party from them was more than two years ago.

We’ve said that we’re suspending all donations from the CFMEU. In fact, we’ve suspended the CFMEU from the Labor party … The last donations were over two years ago. We’ve taken the action to stop any financial relations with the CFMEU.

I want to make clear there is zero tolerance for anyone who tried to subvert the demerit and penalty system. This taskforce will help ensure the penalties apply to all road users.

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Australia’s $50,000 arts degree is here – putting university fees on par with the UK and US

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The Hecs/Help scheme was not designed so people making a regular wage remained in debt until death, expert says

There was a time when would-be poets, historians and writers could expect to pay off an arts degree at an Australian university within the decade, if they were able to find stable employment. Fast forward to now and they may die with their debt.

Arts degrees in Australia are poised to cost more than $50,000 for the first time, with experts warning some students will never be able to pay off their debts.

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‘Harrowing’ footage sparks calls for Queensland government to remove children from police watch houses

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Exclusive: Labor MP Jonty Bush among those speaking out about state’s youth justice policies after Guardian Australia investigation

Queensland’s most prominent victims’ rights groups say the state government must remove children from police watch houses after the release of confronting footage showing the “brutal” treatment of children in the adult holding cells.

The videos, published after a year-long investigation by Guardian Australia and SBS The Feed, showed young people locked in “freezing” isolation cells, becoming panicked and struggling to breathe.

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Forrest says Fortescue still committed to hydrogen despite job cuts – as it happened

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A drone delivery service will launch in Melbourne today.

Food delivery service DoorDash is working with Wing – a subsidiary of Alphabet, AKA Google – to deliver the service.

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WA Labor multicultural group in revolt over treatment of Fatima Payman

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Exclusive: Two officeholders quit, with one claiming the party had ‘become a spineless jellyfish’

Labor’s multicultural branch in Western Australia is in upheaval, with two officeholders quitting the party in protest at the treatment of Fatima Payman.

Guardian Australia can reveal that the branch’s treasurer and vice-president have resigned, with one claiming the party had “become a spineless jellyfish” that “throws its own under the bus at the drop of a hat”.

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Anthony Albanese tightens purse strings for his ministers as Labor turns focus to next election

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Election promises are now the sole priority for any new funding in the budget update

Anthony Albanese has narrowed the scope of new policy announcements to political essentials only, telling ministers before the mid-year budget update that they can seek funding for measures that fulfil election promises and nothing more.

Guardian Australia has confirmed that Albanese wrote to his ministers last week, making it clear that election promises are now the sole priority for any new funding in the budget update, due by mid December but possibly sooner. Everything else approved but not yet funded will have to wait – possibly until a second term.

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Australia news live: Tony Burke announces independent administrator of CFMEU

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Fair Work Commission’s Murray Furlong appointed as administrator of construction union. Follow the day’s news live

Tim Ayres flags ‘proportionate’ federal response to CFMEU

A Labor senator says that federal intervention into alleged criminal behaviour within the CFMEU will be effective and proportionate, AAP reports.

Tony and the team in there are doing the careful work of making sure that the government’s response is effective, well-weighted and effective.

While I don’t forecast the debates in terms of the national executive, we have received these requests from the premiers, we will act upon them, and we’ll act in accordance with the requests from the premiers.

We’re very blessed in this country. We don’t have a gun culture, we don’t have a history of political violence, we don’t at this point in time – thank God – have the fragmentation and polarisation that sadly exists in America to quite the same extent.

So look, can you rule these things out? Of course not. Do I expect it? Well, maybe some time in the next 100 or 200 years, sure. Almost anything could happen in that period of time. But is is imminent? I doubt it very much.

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Band’s gig postponed amid deportation call – as it happened

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Weather update for Victoria and New South Wales: rain, floods, gusts and snow

Angus Hines, a senior meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology, spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier to provide an update on the rainfall across Victoria.

That has given us minor to moderate flood warnings including in parts of the Yarra River this morning, as all of the rain from last night and yesterday evening drains out through the river network and out towards the ocean.

Take actions to protect your life and property against potential hazards caused by flooding.

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Guardian Essential poll: three-quarters of Australians believe MPs enter politics to serve own interests

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Survey also shows deep dissatisfaction with the state of democracy, as Clare O’Neil warns against the ‘virus’ of populism taking hold across the world

Less than 40% of Australians are satisfied with how democracy is working in Australia and three-quarters believe politicians enter politics to serve their own interests, the latest Guardian Essential poll has found.

The percentage of Australians who are satisfied with Australia’s democracy – 37% – is an increase from the 32% of people who felt the same way when the question was last asked in March, but well short of the high of 47% recorded in May 2022.

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Union’s response to allegations ‘falls short’, minister says – as it happened

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Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned about what he calls the “normalisation of extremism” in politics in the wake of the attempted assassination of former United States president Donald Trump at the weekend.

In a round of television and radio interviews this morning to spruik the tax cuts now being delivered in Australians’ tax returns, Chalmers also spoke about the Trump rally in Pennsylvania that injured the former president and left one attendee dead and two others critically injured before the alleged shooter was shot and killed.

We need to be able to disagree in a peaceful way.

We can’t let extremism and polarisation and violence be the norm in our politics. Democracies are supposed to help mend and moderate our differences, not magnify and horrify them. And unfortunately, what we’re seeing with what feels like increasing regularity, is the ugliness and the polarisation and extremism in politics.

There is a role obviously for peaceful protests and looking for consensus in our country doesn’t always mean looking for unanimity – there will always be a range of views. But I think if you look around the world and you look around the democratic world, then you can see that politics is getting uglier, more violent, more polarised in extreme ways, and these are very troubling developments.

We’ve got a big choice to make as democratic societies, we’ve got an opportunity here to step back from the normalisation of that violence, to make sure that we disagree in civil ways and not in violent ways, and that we settle our difference with votes not violence.

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Politicians in Australia need better security as debate becomes more polarised, expert says

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Prime minister doesn’t want to see interaction with public reduced but admits he is concerned about ‘escalation of rhetoric in some of our political debate’

It would be a “tragedy” if Australian politicians were forced to withdraw from the public and rely more heavily on security, Anthony Albanese has said, after an assassination attempt on Donald Trump prompted a focus on the safety of federal MPs.

Some politicians say they have been concerned about increasing harassment and violent acts targeting MPs, while others argue against boosting security. However, some experts believe it is time to rethink the safety arrangements for elected members in Australia.

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CFMEU could be deregistered ‘if that’s what needs to be done’ after allegations, minister says

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Federal workplace minister Tony Burke has asked for advice on the extent of powers following claims of criminal links within construction division of union

All options are on the table when it comes to tackling allegations of links between the construction union and organised crime, the federal workplace relations minister says.

Tony Burke has asked his department to advise him on ministerial powers to respond to reports alleging bikies were acting as union delegates and other links between construction projects and organised crime.

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Anthony Albanese appeals to western Sydney amid Muslim voting campaigns on Gaza war

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The seats of Blaxland and Watson have higher percentages of Muslim voters than Labor’s 2022 winning margin

Anthony Albanese has appealed to voters in Labor’s heartland seats in western Sydney not to dump the party over the war in Gaza, insisting his MPs are “working hard to deliver” practical improvements.

The leader of the house, Tony Burke, and the education minister, Jason Clare, are among the Labor MPs considered to be vulnerable to campaigns run by new groups known as The Muslim Vote and Muslim Votes Matter.

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Australia news live: religious sect allegedly thought 8-year-old diabetic ‘should not use insulin’, court told; Alice Springs curfew won’t continue

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The curfew declaration will conclude at 12.55pm today, local time. Follow the day’s news live

The mayor of Alice Springs, Matt Paterson, spoke to ABC News Breakfast just earlier as authorities meet to determine whether a three-day curfew on the central Australian town will be extended.

He is “still waiting to hear” whether the curfew will be extended – a decision for the police commissioner. Asked whether he believes it should be extended, Paterson says:

It’s obviously worked in the CBD, but we are hearing that it is pushing crime out into the suburbs. So we’ll wait to see what happens. Ultimately, the community gets to have a breath while there’s extra resources and police in town, so we’ll just wait to see what’s decided …

The curfew is a reaction to events over the past week or so, and we can’t continue to put these in. We need to think about the long-term solutions.

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