Category Archives: Labor party

Penny Wong refuses to release documents related to Qatar Airways decision – as it happened

Posted on by

The foreign minister claims public interest immunity over Dfat advice. This blog is now closed

Rishworth won’t confirm adoption of any disability royal commission recommendations, ahead of report release

Families and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth has refused to confirm if the government will be adopting any of the recommendations made in the disability royal commission report ahead of its public release today.

I’m not going to comment on any specific recommendations.

Obviously, we need to also make sure people with disability have choice and control.

You never change a country for the better through fear, you change it through hope and optimism and compassion and justice.

That’s what this referendum is about.

This is a body that won’t provide funds, that won’t run programs, that will just give advice to the government, and that experience of past bodies, and issues that have arisen has been factored in by Indigenous Australians when they’ve made this request.

Continue reading...

China lifts trade restrictions as relationship improves – as it happened

Posted on by

Trade minister Don Farrell welcomes ‘positive step forward’ but says Australia pressing for all remaining restrictions to be lifted. This blog is now closed

Chalmers also declared the government is not “currently contemplating” a fuel subsidy, as prices continue to rise.

It comes after new data released yesterday showed cost of living is still increasing, with fuel costs jumping 9.1% in August, gas up 12.9% and electricity 12.7%.

It’s not something that we are currently contemplating. And one of the reasons for that is we’ve got I think, a much better way of providing cost of living help for people.

Historically, what the Reserve Bank tries to do is to understand the overall direction of travel.

And the direction of travel has been really clear, inflation is moderating overall, we’ll get these bumpy and lumpy figures month to month from time to time, but it’s moderating overall.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Jacinta Allan expected to become new premier of Victoria after Dan Andrews resigns; Tesla battery storage fire in Queensland

Posted on by

Bill Shorten says Allan is a ‘leader in her own right’; rule quirk means Labor may have acting premier

Andrews’ handling of pandemic ‘a legacy of his strength’, Bill Shorten says

NDIS minister and former Labor leader Bill Shorten has spoken highly of outgoing Victorian premier Daniel Andrews while speaking to ABC RN this morning.

I think the pandemic was the most unusual period in Victoria … and I think that we were learning a lot as we went along during that.

When I think back to those first few days, in March 2020, I think the aim was to ensure that we had enough hospital space to be able to treat people if they got very sick, and that required, I think, a high degree of central leadership.

Police will continue to monitor the situation as there are a large number of batteries on site … Nearby residents are urged to monitor [social media] and be prepared for police to door-knock homes in the area if the situation worsens.

Continue reading...

Jacinta Allan expected to be appointed Victorian premier amid Labor factional fight

Posted on by

Socialist left ally of Daniel Andrews is seen as his successor, but battles for deputy leader are expected on Wednesday

Victorian Labor MPs have arrived at state parliament ahead of a meeting that is tipped to see Jacinta Allan become the state’s new premier – despite a brewing factional battle over who will become deputy.

Allan, the state’s deputy leader, is expected to be backed by the Labor caucus at a midday meeting to replace the outgoing premier, Daniel Andrews, who will officially resign on Wednesday afternoon.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews remoulded the state of Victoria – but the wheels were beginning to wobble

Posted on by

Time will tell if the premier’s legacy will be his huge infrastructure projects and social reforms or his exercise of power and debt burden

Daniel Andrews has been one of the most transformational leaders in Australia’s history. Victorians will be living with his legacy for decades – encountering it when they drive, catch public transport, raise their children and, for some, even at the point of death.

His main legacy is already clear: the huge infrastructure and public transport projects that will mould life in Australia’s fastest-growing capital for the century ahead. If they work, they will keep Melbourne livable, despite the pressures of a booming population.

Continue reading...

Deputy premier puts hand up for Victoria’s top job – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Canterbury Road fire: firetrucks wetting down area

Supt Adam Dewberry with Fire and Rescue NSW has just provided us with an update on the factory fire on Canterbury Road in Sydney’s south-west.

Vacancy rates under 1% in most of these suburbs show the immense strain on housing availability. When you’re allocating nearly half your income on rent … the financial stress becomes unbearable.

Our index is more than just numbers; it’s a call to action. Policymakers and stakeholders need to acknowledge this growing crisis.

The relentless climb in rent and plummeting vacancy rates are not just statistics but indicators of a quality of life that is rapidly deteriorating for Australian renters.

Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews resigns as premier of Victoria

Posted on by

Labor’s longest-serving premier in the state made the announcement at a snap press conference on Tuesday

Daniel Andrews has announced his resignation as the Victorian premier, after nearly nine years in office.

The announcement was made at a snap press conference outside parliament on Tuesday and comes after prolonged media speculation about his future. Andrews’ deputy, Jacinta Allan, later confirmed she would run for leadership of the Victorian Labor party.

Continue reading...

NT chief minister allegedly assaulted – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Semi-professional firefighters being considered: Watt

Watt is asked about whether Australia can continue to rely on a volunteer firefighting force to respond to increasingly larger and more threatening fires as a result of climate change.

That work will carry into the new year and I don’t want to pre-empt those recommendations but as I say, we are taking short-term steps in the meantime by investing in those kind of groups like Disaster Relief Australia. But it is possible in the future that we will have the need of turning to semi professional firefighter services like they have in California, where people can be paid just for the fire season, rather than the entire year. There are all those sort of options under consideration at the moment.

We do live in a more uncertain strategic world than we have in the past and it is important that the ADF can be focused on their core mission, with is the defence of the nation, and the reality is that every time we do call on the defence forces to assist in a disaster situation, that is taking them away from their training and their preparedness for their core duty.

I think in a situation like we faced in Lismore and the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, there is no doubt you would need the ADF deployed for that kind of thing and in the recent floods in the Kimberley, we were bringing people from across from Townsville, aircraft in Townsville and getting the But it is about making the balance right and not over-relying on them.

Continue reading...

Smorgasbord of conspiracy theories join forces at Sydney’s unofficial no rally – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

And now that I’ve introduced you to the “wanking off the dolphin” story, I’m going to skedaddle. Jordyn Beazley is set to steer the mighty blog ship for the next little bit, enjoy!

Our reporter Ben Doherty has been following developments at the UN this week and here’s the top of his story on Penny Wong’s speech, which was delivered in New York this morning Australian time.

With its special responsibility as a permanent member of the security council, Russia mocks the UN every day it continues its illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine.

The rest of the permanent members and all member states must be unyielding in our response to Russia’s grave violation of Article II of our shared UN charter.

Continue reading...

Lidia Thorpe may ‘pull back’ on voice opposition if Labor does more on Indigenous deaths in custody

Posted on by

Exclusive: Independent senator says Anthony Albanese ‘needs to act’ on recommendations of 1991 royal commission

The independent senator Lidia Thorpe has said she could “pull back” on opposing the voice if the government commits to implementing recommendations of the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody, urging Anthony Albanese to announce action before referendum day.

Thorpe told Guardian Australia this week that she was “not necessarily campaigning” against the voice but was hoping for a no result, and agreed with no campaign leader Warren Mundine’s claim that treaties would be more likely in the event the referendum fails.

Continue reading...

By making a deal with developers on housing, Daniel Andrews may find it harder to negotiate with the Greens

Posted on by

Greens hold the balance of power in the upper house. They are also angered at the planned redevelopment of 44 public housing towers

In politics, optics are everything.

It’s why when the Victorian government unveiled its housing statement – an ambitious policy that it says will reshape the state by delivering 800,0000 homes over the next decade – it did so alongside the building and property sectors.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Uluru Dialogue accuses Dutton of ‘deception’ over voice – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Jim Chalmers is now on RN Breakfast, where he was asked by host Hamish McDonald whether he was reconsidering the stage-three tax cuts given much of the $22.1bn budget surplus comes from the taxes of “hard working Australians”.

Chalmers said the government has not changed its view on the tax cuts, which recent data showed will flow disproportionately to high-income earners and men:

Well, first of all, it’s partly a function that people are working more and earning more. The labor market is incredibly resilient given what’s coming at us from around the world. And so unemployment is lower than what many people anticipated. And wages have began growing again, and that’s a good thing too. And that’s one of the reasons why the budgets in better nick but also getting good better prices for our commodities and what that means for company tax.

We haven’t changed our view about the stage three tax cuts, but we have found a way to provide substantial cost-of-living relief for people on low and middle and fixed incomes, because we recognise people are doing it tough and they’ve been our priority.

Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese expected to announce inquiry into Australia’s Covid response – reports

Posted on by

A three-strong panel will look into how governments responded, according to reports, but the opposition says it won’t have enough powers

A leading infectious diseases expert says an inquiry into the Covid pandemic must look at all aspects of governments’ responses, including factors beyond medical issues, such as decisions around lockdowns and school closures.

The federal government is on Thursday expected to announce a special commission of inquiry into the Covid pandemic, the Australian Financial Review reported late on Wednesday.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Central Land Council executive condemns Jacinta Price’s ‘denial of history’ in press club comments as ‘disgraceful’

Posted on by

The CLC executive – 90 elected members who represent 75 communities across nine regions – said comments insult survivors of 1927 Coniston massacre. Follow the day’s news live

New report combats ‘inaccurate assertions’ about teaching courses

Almost three-quarters of Australian teachers are satisfied with their training programs, a new report has found, undermining the suggestion poor course content is leading to workforce shortages in the field.

Rather than focusing on the unsubstantiated claim that teachers are generally dissatisfied with ITE programs, we should instead focus on the willingness and capacity of ITE providers to continually improve these programs.

This will require a shift in focus from policymakers - away from the overwhelming emphasis on ITE and towards effective, system-wide [development] that becomes a regular part of teachers’ workload rather than a bolt-on.

Not a preamble. Not a footnote in the Constitution. First Nations people want structural change that can make a practical difference.

A mechanism that can make children’s lives better. Not just something that will feel good - something that will do good.

As the Minister, I will go to the voice and say: ‘this school attendance program isn’t working’. Help me to get the best possible advice to fix it … From every corner of the country – about how we can do better.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Victoria to spend public housing money on Carlton towers; RBA considered further rate hike

Posted on by

Reserve bank considered a 25 basis point hike before deciding to hold benchmark cash rate unchanged at 4.1%, minutes reveal. Follow the day’s news live

O’Neil: government response on cybercrime will not take away responsibilities of corporations to secure data

Clare O’Neil is asked whether the government is considering implementing a “safe harbour rule” like other countries have that would enable businesses to report what’s happened but then be saved from prosecution.

What’s really important to understand … is the way in which a cyber attack unfolds is quite different than other types of crime. So if you get something stolen from your house, the police can come in and you can identify the items that are gone usually pretty much immediately. Cybercrime is not like that. Often what is taken is invisible and it will take sometimes months to understand exactly what has happened.

So what what we are thinking about at the moment is how to make sure we’ve got as open disclosure as possible at the crisis point of the attack. So when we know there is an intruder on the system … we need to help companies [eject] them from the system as quickly as possible. That doesn’t take away from any responsibilities that corporations will have ultimately around the transparency of what has happened, and reporting that to government and to regulators.

We’ve got really good reason to believe that the cybersecurity environment is actually going to worsen. And I say that not to scare people, but to help them understand that we can see what is coming at us and that is why the government is so fiercely active on this issue.

What I mean by that is that cybercrime is a relatively new form of criminal activity. And I think what we’re seeing is countries around the world start to build and develop responses that will actually help us bring perpetrators to account …

Continue reading...

Labor’s first NSW budget in a decade will provide ‘practical assistance’, treasurer says

Posted on by

A $7bn shortfall has been forecast this financial year, but Daniel Mookhey says any cuts to be made will be in areas that ‘don’t affect people’

The New South Wales, treasurer Daniel Mookhey, says Labor’s first budget for the state in more than a decade will lay the groundwork for future reform, make cuts “in areas that don’t affect people” and provide support for a “once in a generation” cost-of-living crisis.

“We are looking for every available opportunity we can to provide practical assistance to people,” he said.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Replacing Australia’s retiring coal power stations with small nuclear reactors could cost $387bn, analysis suggests

Posted on by

The figure adds fuel to the growing political dispute over the pace and form of Australia’s energy transition

The federal government says it would cost as much as $387bn to replace Australia’s retiring coal-fired power stations with the form of nuclear power proposed by the Coalition.

The figure, produced by the energy department, is the projected cost of replacing all of the output from closing coal-fired plants with small modular reactors.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Qatar Airways chief says Australia’s decision to block flights ‘very unfair’ after pandemic support

Posted on by

Akbar Al Baker says request for more flights into Australia was ‘legitimate’ at a time the airline was ‘so supportive of Australia’

Qatar Airways says the Australian government’s decision to block its request for extra flights was “very unfair” given the airline’s support for Australians during the pandemic.

The airline’s bid to fly an extra 21 services into Australia’s major airports was rejected with ministers citing a range of reasons including it being contrary to the national interest.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Indigenous voice no campaigner Warren Mundine says date of Australia Day should be changed

Posted on by

Mundine says win for no vote more likely to lead to treaties; Walk for Yes events held around Australia

Asked about the Indigenous Advisory Council, Mundine says the body was “just a committee” that advised the Prime Minister and Cabinet “in ways that we could improve things”. He says this body was different to the proposal for the voice which will create unnecessary bureaucracy.

Well, the difference between us and the voice, as I said, we weren’t a representative body, we were made up of all different races. And we were experts in these areas of what needed to be done … and also we weren’t in the constitution. We were totally outside that.

This is one of the problems I had, and this is one of the [reasons] why I stepped away from the Uphold & Recognise movement, was because I didn’t see – why did we have to have it in the [constitution]? Because that creates a position that [Indigenous Australians] are always going to need help and are always victims, and I didn’t agree with that.

I say treaties in the plural sense because we have to recognise Aboriginal culture. Aboriginal culture is our First Nations, and the first thing we learn about life is that one nation cannot talk about another nation’s country, only those traditional owners of those countries can talk about those countries, and therefore when you talk about like a state treaty or a national-type treaty, it doesn’t make sense in our culture.

If it is a “no” vote, that’s when the real work starts. As Jacinta said, the senator, she said we have to have accountability. We are spending billions of dollars every year and according to Closing the Gap we are still not going places. We have to deal with that.

Continue reading...

Burney decries ‘unbelievably racist and bullying’ treatment in candid remarks to NSW premier – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Burney says Price’s comments ‘simply wrong’

Indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney also described Jacinta Price’s comments as “simply wrong”.

It’s a real betrayal to the many families that have experienced things like Stolen Generations.

The idea that colonisation in any country ... doesn’t have long and far-reaching effects is simply wrong.

There are many people I’ve spoken to last night, this morning, that are very distressed and quite frankly, pretty disgusted. But I am going to focus on the goal here and that is a successful referendum.

Continue reading...