Category Archives: Labor party

Atagi recommends additional Covid vaccine booster for people over 75 – as it happened

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Health minister’s office confirms government has accepted expert body’s advice. This blog is now closed

AMA says Coalition should ‘get out of the way’ of 60-day dispensing changes

The Australian Medical Association has welcomed the start of 60-day dispensing and urged the Coalition against reversing the decision. The opposition is expected to attempt to overturn the decision with a disallowance motion when parliament resumes next week.

Patients have waited for five years to get the hip pocket savings this policy delivers due to hardline opposition from pharmacy owners. It’s time for patients to get a fair go and for the Coalition to get out of the way of this long overdue health reform and to stop defending pharmacy owner profits.

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Labor running a ‘protection racket’ for Qantas with Qatar decision, federal opposition says

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Coalition to pursue Albanese government when parliament resumes next week, with shadow transport minister Bridget McKenzie arguing it should ‘come clean’

The Coalition will use next week’s sitting of federal parliament to “vigorously pursue” the Albanese government over its decision to reject the bid by Qatar Airways to fly more services into Australia.

Senators will also consider whether to recall Qantas for more questioning before parliamentary committees.

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Australia news live: ‘maintain the love’, Noel Pearson says, rebutting John Howard’s no campaign message

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Prominent yes campaigner and Cape York leader ‘surprised’ by former PM’s message to ‘maintain the rage’. Follow the latest updates live

Jane Hume to vote no despite anticipated home state yes

Liberal senator Jane Hume appeared on the Today show earlier this morning, saying she would be voting no in the upcoming referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament, however she conceded her home state of Victoria will likely vote yes.

My home state is probably where there’ll be a Yes. But the yes vote is very well resourced from corporates and individuals and that’ll be ramping up. I don’t think the No campaign can take anything for granted in these last few weeks.

That describes both the yes and the no case. They can make up their own mind.

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Australia’s gig economy workers set to benefit from minimum pay and protection against ‘unfair deactivation’

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Labor bill gives Fair Work Commission power to set minimum standards for hundreds of thousands of ‘employee-like workers’ on digital platforms

Gig economy workers in Australia including ride-share drivers and food delivery riders could soon benefit from minimum pay and protection against “unfair deactivation”.

Under a bill to be introduced by the Albanese government next week, the Fair Work Commission will be given the power to set minimum standards for hundreds of thousands of “employee-like workers” on digital platforms from 1 July 2024.

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Australia news live: ‘no downside, only upside’, PM says, confirming Indigenous voice to parliament referendum date as 14 October

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The formal announcement of a voice referendum date triggers a campaign from both the yes and no camps, before Australians eventually head to the polls. Follow today’s live news updates

Report points to Snowy 2.0 project costs blowing out to $12bn

Nine’s Sydney Morning Herald and the Age are this morning reporting that the cost of Snowy Hydro’s 2.0 giant pumped hydro project has doubled in six months to $12bn.

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Protesters interrupt ANU event – as it happened

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Victoria bans Nazi salute, symbols and gestures in public

The Victorian government will today introduce legislation to parliament to ban the Nazi salute.

Victorians have zero tolerance for the glorification of hateful ideology. We’re making sure people who use these symbols and gestures to harass, intimidate and incite hate are held accountable for their cowardly behaviour. While we wish making these laws wasn’t necessary, we will always tackle antisemitism, hatred and racism head-on – because all Victorians deserve to feel accepted, safe and included.

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Josh Murray made donation to NSW transport minister’s campaign before she appointed him as secretary

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Emails released to parliament show former Labor staffer made $500 donation to Jo Haylen’s campaign before party won election

The New South Wales transport secretary, Josh Murray, made a donation to Jo Haylen’s campaign before she picked the former Labor staffer to lead her department.

Limited details of the $500 donation were contained in emails that were released to parliament between members of Haylen’s team discussing talking points related to the appointment of the secretary.

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Rumours of a Queensland coup are premature – but Palaszczuk’s popularity is waning

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The deputy premier, Steven Miles, called speculation about a challenge ‘rumours and gossip’

Annastacia Palaszczuk has never faced a serious threat to her leadership.

In 11 years as Labor leader – the past eight as premier – there have been no attempted coups or plots, or Canberra-style white-anting by ambitious rivals. Most senior ministers are part of the furniture. Backbenchers rarely vent their concerns, even privately.

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Australia news live: grocery prices should ease, Gallagher says; eye-infection causing microbe found at NSW swimming spots

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Comments follow Coles and Woolworths announcing annual profits of more than $1bn even after a spike in cost-of-living pressures on households. Follow today’s live news updates

A Gold Coast city councillor has been charged with murder, AAP reports.

A 58-year-old man was found deceased inside an Arundel property by emergency services, after police were called to the residence around 3pm yesterday.

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Australia news live: two teenagers charged over Sydney building fire

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Follow today’s live news updates

Children’s mental health not improved since Covid, research shows

The pandemic may be behind us but its impacts are still prevalent in the mental health of young people, new research shows.

Now that pandemic restrictions have been lifted, life has not necessarily gone back to how it was pre-pandemic. Wellbeing clearly dropped during Covid and has shown little signs of improvement since then.

The pandemic, sweeping changes in children’s lifestyles – from physical activity and screen time to sleep and diet – and the pervasive influence of social media aren’t regional anomalies. They’re global phenomena likely impacting children’s wellbeing worldwide.

Chief justice designate Gageler has earned a reputation as having an unequalled knowledge and understanding of constitutional law, an expertise that was sharpened before and during his term as solicitor general of Australia.

Justice Beech-Jones has provided extraordinary service to the law in NSW, commencing practice as a solicitor in Sydney for the firm now known as Freehills, before being called to the bar in 1992. His honour’s appointment to the high court of Australia, to replace the vacancy left by Justice Gageler’s elevation, will enhance Australia’s system of justice.

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Massive economic pain for Australia if temperature rises exceed 2C, intergenerational report predicts

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Report says hundreds of billions of dollars and millions of work hours in productivity are at risk due to hotter conditions

Success in limiting global warming will spare Australia a sharp fall in economic activity but would see coal exports fall to a trickle by 2063 under a low-emissions scenario, according to the government’s intergenerational report.

The report, to be released in full on Thursday, will provide much greater detail on the range of impacts and their scale in a warming world than the five previous intergenerational reports.

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Australia news live: Brisbane to undergo ‘mock earthquake’; Coles profit up to $1.1bn

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Supermarket operator posts 4.8% rise in full year cash profit, lifted by strong rise in groceries revenue. Follow today’s live news updates

AEC monitoring disinformation about electoral processes

Rogers said the AEC has seen an increase in mis- and disinformation over the last few years, particularly around the electoral process itself.

It’s all about the electoral process. We’re seeing an increase in [disinformation]. We’re seeing an increase in threats to staff. Which is very disappointing. And we’re monitoring that very closely.

At the last federal election, we had similar issues. We’re seeing behaviours we haven’t seen previously. The people who work elections are community members … Treat people with respect and civility.

We’re ready for it whenever it may be. That’s what we do in any case. We’re used to these events when we don’t know the date until a few weeks out. We’ve got all systems go.

We would ultimately like the rate to be exactly the same as the general roll, but it’s very close.

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Essential poll: three in four Australians say rents should be capped to inflation or frozen until economy improves

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Housing tussle between Labor and the Greens does not impact PM’s popularity with 37% feeling positive about Anthony Albanese

Three in four Australians believe rents should either be capped to inflation or frozen until economic conditions improve, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.

Presented with choices about rental policies, 44% of the 1,151 respondents supported an annual increase to rents by no more than inflation, while 34% believed rents should be frozen until the economy turns around.

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Senator responds to report – as it happened

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Conroy says comments at Labor conference about strategic balance in Pacific

Conroy is asked about comments he made at the Labor conference, saying it is against Australia’s interest to have one power dominate our region, especially one that breaches international laws.

And is it your view that China is trying to do that, dominate our region?

I’m not going to be going into what other countries are doing but it’s clear that we’re seeing great strategic competition in our region, and it’s appropriate that we respond through increased diplomatic engagement and an increasing deterrence in the Australian Defence Force.

They all play complementary roles in promoting peace and stability in our [region].

So this is about peace and stability in our region by deterring conflict and I know you will respond that saying, well, aren’t we just engaging in military buildup, but in the end, the only way we pursue peace and stability is by presenting strength. This is what this is about.

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CPAC Australia: hardline culture warriors rail against Indigenous voice, ‘fake news’ and ‘woke corporates’

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Tony Abbott, Warren Mundine and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price were among those urging attendees to oppose the voice to parliament

“We are one,” the motto above the CPAC logo proudly blared on the lanyards around the necks of attendees for the Conservative Political Action Conference in Sydney on Saturday.

It clashed somewhat incongruously with the even bigger text attached to the bright red media passes given to the few journalists who came to cover the event: “FAKE NEWS”.

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Labor national conference: who won, who lost and where is the party going next?

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Those wanting further changes to the party’s platform will have to wait another three years

After two-and-a-half days of discussions, disagreements and backroom deals, the 49th national Labor conference has closed its doors.

The forum designed to allow delegates to tinker with the party’s platform was relatively uncontroversial, with most of the work done behind the scenes in the weeks and months leading up to the conference.

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Premier defends Games compensation; Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney – as it happened

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Indigenous voice central to Conservative Political Action Network Conference and final day of ALP conference. This blog is now closed

Anika Wells, sports minister, says the government has learned the lesson of the sports rorts scheme. She will not be making final decisions on funding approvals, and will instead leave decision-making to the expert panel of former sportswomen.

We want to put athletes at the heart and listen to the athletes’ voice and that’s what we are doing with this program that we are announcing today.

They have more than delivered on their mission, so now it is time for us to do our part. The next generation is inspired and now we need to build them the safe and welcoming spaces in sport to facilitate their participation and success in the years to come.

This is about ensuring that the next generation of Sam Kerrs and Mackenzie Arnolds get not just the applause as Mackenzie and Sam have, but they get the infrastructure and facilities that they need. We are going to see an explosion in participation in sport, and that is why this $200m will make a difference to not just recognise that this has been a moment of national inspiration, but to seize the opportunity for the next generation coming up to be able to fulfil the dreams that are being felt right around our nation.

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Has the first shot been fired in Victorian Labor’s succession?

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MPs say leaks about alleged branch stacking have escalated the factional war about who will eventually replace Daniel Andrews

Daniel Andrews has not announced plans to resign – but the first shot may have been fired this week in a fight over who will take over leadership positions in the Victorian Labor party when he does.

While unlikely to cause long-term damage to either the premier, or its subject, minister Lily D’Ambrosio, the leak of branch stacking allegations to a newspaper has been described by state MPs as an escalation in the war between Labor’s factions as they begin planning for a future without Andrews at the helm.

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ALP national conference day 2 – as it happened

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Labor MP openly dissents on Aukus but Marles says it’s a ‘modest step’. This blog is now closed

Earlier this morning, Richard Marles did his regular segment with the Nine network, where he and Peter Dutton “debate” the week’s issues.

Which included the Labor conference position on Aukus and the “statement in detail”.

Firstly, these were announcements that we made back in March. In fact, what this is going to do is create 20,000 jobs around the country, direct jobs around the country, a point that we made back in March, because this is going to be one of the great industrial endeavours of our country, to have us constructing nuclear-powered submarines in Australia. And there will be jobs in South Australia.

There’ll be jobs in Western Australia as well. But we’re going to be reliant on a supply chain which actually goes into the industrial base of the whole country, into places like Queensland, NSW, Victoria. So, these are points that we made back in March. But we’re not afraid of a difficult debate.

When Russian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border last February, everyone expected that the conflict would last weeks, if not days. No one imagined that 18 months later Ukraine would be standing defiant and proud.

That the war in Ukraine has defied all predictions tells us that our world and indeed our region is uncertain, but that we do have agency. It tells us that we live in serious times requiring serious people and that the narrow-minded, gratuitous way in which the former Liberal government was running defence and foreign policy is hopelessly inadequate for the times that we now face.

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Labor thrashes out Aukus position at party conference amid dissent from MP and unions

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Heckling, outrage and claims of ‘appeasement’ as stage-managed debate at ALP event gives way to genuine disagreement

There was a personal defence from Anthony Albanese. Aukus supporters lobbed claims of “appeasement” at its critics, which were angrily rejected by a Labor MP and leftwing unions. But in the end, Labor finally thrashed out its position on the Aukus nuclear-submarine acquisition.

Late on Friday morning, the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, and the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, sought to head off a party conference showdown, moving a 32-paragraph statement that argued spending $368bn on nuclear submarines would enhance Australia’s national security.

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