Independent review recommends home buybacks for NSW flood victims. This blog is now closed
NSW residents warned to avoid fire in Croydon and Ashfield
Fire and Rescue NSW is advising residents living near a structural fire in Croydon and Ashfield to stay inside and avoid the area.
Continue reading...The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says he will be “taking a break” next week, with his deputy, Richard Marles, to act in the top job in his stead.
Speaking on ABC Melbourne radio, Albanese said he would take a short period of leave and travel somewhere in Australia. He will be on leave from August 6-14.
Taking a break with security issues is more complex, I have found.
Three people remain in custody. We believe one of those persons is responsible for this matter.
Continue reading...The parliament will sit at 9am – once the morning proceedings are done, it will be into the climate bill – people are getting ready to head to the galleries to watch it pass the house.
It has been a very, very long decade. There are a lot of people who need to see this, even if there is still a very, very long way for us to go to actually start acting.
The inclusion of an Objects clause that addresses targets, accountability, expert advice and the need for climate action in line with the science makes it clear that this is the beginning of a new era in Australia,” Chaney said in a statement.
Continue reading...Adam Bandt says Greens will back legislation but signals further fight on new fossil fuel projects, while the Liberal MP says she’ll cross the floor
The House of Representatives is moving towards passage of Labor’s bill enshrining emissions reductions targets for 2030 and 2050 after the Greens signalled they would support the legislation and Liberal MP Bridget Archer confirmed she would cross the floor.
After weeks of negotiations, the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, confirmed on Wednesday his party would back the Albanese government’s legislation in both chambers, and king-making Senate independent, David Pocock, confirmed his priority was “getting a target locked in and legislated”.
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Continue reading...Defence review to be announced
The government is announcing a defence force review today, which it wants completed in about six months. Is this in response to China?
It’s because we need an ADF that is well-positioned to meet our security challenges over the next decade and beyond.
And we have inherited, as you all know, some real capability issues, some of which have been well publicised in the media. It is important that we look at how we ensure the Australian defence force can meet our security challenges, not just now, but in the years ahead. So, you know, I welcomed this and the prime minister and the defence minister will be having – we’ll have more details about this later today.
Continue reading...The resources minister, Madeleine King, has taken the first step in reining in the big three LNG exporters by ‘triggering the trigger’
Labor unlikely to extend the fuel excise cut
Asked about the fuel excise in that same interview, Jim Chalmers said:
I’ve been really upfront with people, Charles, for some time now – before the election, during the election and after the election – and pointed out that extending that would cost some billions of dollars and the budget can’t afford that. We’ve inherited a budget which is absolutely heaving with a trillion dollars in Liberal party debt. And when interest rates are rising, it actually costs more and more to service that debt.
The fastest-growing area of government spending in the budget is actually servicing the debt that we’ve inherited because, as interest rates rise, it becomes more expensive to pay that back. So every dollar borrowed, whether it’s by our predecessors or by the new government costs more to pay back and we need to be conscious about that. We need to be responsible about that and upfront about that. And that’s what we’re being.
This isn’t about any one individual. This is about a difficult day for Australians with a mortgage, another difficult day I think everybody is bracing for the interest rate rise that the governor and the Reserve Bank board has flagged.
These decisions are taken independently by the Reserve Bank, by its board and by its governor. People are expecting this outcome today. But it won’t make it any easier.
Continue reading...Liberal MP says he is open-minded on bill but doesn’t want it to become an ‘impost on the community’ amid high inflation
The veteran Liberal MP Warren Entsch says he is open-minded about Labor’s bill to enshrine a 43% emissions reduction target if he can be convinced the Albanese government has a concrete plan to achieve the cut without driving up power prices.
Ahead of the first substantive Coalition party room meeting of the 47th parliament on Tuesday, Entsch told Guardian Australia he was seeking advice on the bill and might lend support if there was evidence to suggest the number wasn’t a “brain fart”.
Continue reading...The housing minister, Julie Collins, says Australia’s rate of homelessness is “unacceptable”, as she promises a greater leadership role from the federal government in the sector.
Australia today marks the beginning of Homelessness Week, with social agencies calling on governments nationwide to do more to address housing and rental affordability, as well as the underlying factors contributing to homelessness.
Our reforms aim to ensure every Australian has access to safe and affordable housing to improve social and economic outcomes for all Australians, including those at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness,” she said on Monday.
According to the 2016 Census, in Australia there are over 116,000 people experiencing homelessness, and this figure is unacceptable.”
We all need to be heading in the same direction.
We need to be ambitious ... we all need to be working together to solve the housing affordability issues we have.
What’s happened is the states and territories have been doing their own thing and I don’t think there’s been enough national leadership.
In its gas inquiry 2017-2025 interim report released on Monday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the east coast gas market is facing a gas shortfall of 56 petajoules in 2023.
This gap is about 10% of annual domestic demand, ‘signifying a substantial risk to Australia’s energy security’, the report says.
Continue reading...Uluru Statement from the Heart advocates praise Anthony Albanese’s Garma festival speech but Coalition wants more details
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, acknowledged we have been here before as a nation: at a crossroads, about to decide a path that will affect the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Islander people for generations to come.
But for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, this time the stakes are so much higher, because the past is littered with the broken promises of politicians.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed
Business Council calls Albanese government the most engaged she’s seen
Westacott, the council’s chief executive, told ABC Radio:
I can’t remember a more engaged government than this. I have had call after call after call from ministers.
When you add up all those little things it makes a big difference.
We need to rebrand Australia as a place we want people to come to work.
Continue reading...As Australia’s most diverse federal parliament opened, new members introduced themselves and set out priorities
The 47th parliament is the most diverse ever, including a record number of women, 11 First Nations representatives and a lower house crossbench of 16 independent or minor party MPs.
But before any of the new MPs can speak on important bills or other parliamentary business, the first order of business is a speech to introduce yourself and set out priorities.
Continue reading...AAP has a preview of today’s inflation figures, which are going to be horrible:
Australia could be about to record its worst inflation outcome in more than 31 years, paving the way for higher mortgage and lending rates.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the consumer price index data for the June quarter – when the price of a supermarket iceberg lettuce hit $10 – on Wednesday.
The financial market consensus is for a headline annual inflation rate of 6.2% – the highest since the December quarter of 1990.
That would be more than the 5.1% rate logged in the March quarter, which was the fastest pace of annual price growth in 21 years.
“Since then, inflation has likely broadened and deepened,” St George chief economist Besa Deda said.
The quarterly outcome is forecast at 1.8%, which would be slightly lower than the 2.1% recorded in the previous quarter.
But the range of economists’ forecasts for the quarterly number is wide – between 1.6% and 2.8% – signalling uncertainty about how deeply entrenched price pressures have become since March.
While the main drivers of inflation in the June quarter will again be fuel and food costs, housing and building costs are also likely to be strong – perhaps as high as 20% year-on-year, according to JP Morgan economists.
Other factors are adding to the pressure, particularly in the housing sector, where rents are rising and demand for new homes and related construction services and products remains strong.
It is the first question time today. In case you missed it, here is Murph’s analysis on the plan so far:
Continue reading...Legislation enacting royal commission’s recommendations for sector expected to pass parliament despite opposition’s accusation of ‘playing politics’
The aged care sector has urged the new federal parliament to quickly pass delayed legislation enacting key recommendations of the royal commission, saying residents “can’t afford to wait any longer” for reforms around new funding, governance and conduct of staff.
A bill legislating the royal commission’s recommendations was the first to pass the House of Representatives and expected to easily and rapidly pass through the parliament. The Labor government is also calling on the Coalition opposition to back some of its central election promises, including mandating nurses in aged care facilities on a 24/7 basis.
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Continue reading...PM says if Australia didn’t export coal there would be ‘replacement coal from other countries that’s likely to produce higher emissions’
Anthony Albanese says Labor will not support a moratorium on fossil fuel projects because doing so would have a “devastating impact on the Australian economy”.
Ahead of the introduction of legislation on Wednesday enshrining Labor’s 2030 and 2050 emissions reduction targets, the prime minister told ABC TV on Tuesday night a moratorium was “the policy of the Greens”.
Continue reading...As PM, Scott Morrison focused on stopping Labor, but at the opening of the new parliament, Anthony Albanese envisioned a more humanist business
We might look back in three years, or sooner, and conclude the modest promise of the opening day of the new 47th parliament was a mirage, or worse, a lie. But Tuesday conveyed the sense of a corner being turned.
Scott Morrison wasn’t there. His absence was probably for the best, because the style of politics that Morrison personified was repudiated in myriad ways.
Continue reading...Former PM says he is ‘unable to attend’ first sitting week in Canberra as Labor calls for details about Tokyo engagement
Scott Morrison has skipped the first sitting week of parliament to speak at a conservative leaders’ summit in Tokyo that does not begin until Thursday afternoon.
The former Australian prime minister and member for Cook announced on Monday that “as a consequence” of having accepted the invitation he is “unable to attend the first three sitting days of the new parliament this week”, from Tuesday 26 July to Thursday 28 July.
Continue reading...Cash: No way the Coalition will support a lower emissions target
The next interview on ABC radio RN is with the shadow employment minister, Michaelia Cash, who has a lot to say about the scrapping of the ABCC. Cash, you may remember, was one of its biggest supporters while in government.
The Coalition won more votes than the Australian Labor party.
Continue reading...Tanya Plibersek’s department gave green light despite state of environment report finding Australia’s natural heritage is in poor and deteriorating health
Ancient giant trees and threatened birds, mammals and ecosystems are being sacrificed for a ring road south of Perth approved by the Albanese government, leading conservationists say.
Habitat for the critically endangered western ringtail possum and endangered black cockatoos will be allowed to be cleared for a section of the $1.25bn Bunbury outer ring road.
Continue reading...Candidates include Evan Mulholland from the Institute of Public Affairs and Moira Deeming, who called for abortion laws to be repealed
Several Victorian Liberal MPs have raised concerns the preselection of candidates at the weekend could undermine efforts to present as a more progressive party ahead of the November state election.
Evan Mulholland, from the right-leaning Institute of Public Affairs, was preselected on Sunday for the top spot on the Liberal party ticket for the upper house Northern Metropolitan Region, replacing Craig Ondarchie. This came after Melton city councillor Moira Deeming was endorsed for the Western Metropolitan Region on Saturday.
Continue reading...Workplace relations minister opens door to considering industrial relations changes as he announces gutting of building watchdog
Workplace relations minister Tony Burke has confirmed the current better-off-overall test that ensures workers do not go backwards will be on the table for discussion at the Albanese government’s jobs summit in September.
Burke said on Sunday he had been “sceptical” about having a conversation with employers and unions about the test, known as the Boot, at the September summit because he wanted Australian workers to have higher wages and conditions. The minister told the ABC he would “take some convincing” to overhaul the test.
Continue reading...