Liberal senator says widely reported letter by Shane Drumgold to AFP caused significant ‘loss and damage’
Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has launched another high-profile defamation action, this time against the ACT government and former chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold.
A writ lodged in the West Australian supreme court on Monday says Drumgold sent a letter accusing the senator of “disturbing conduct” during Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial.
Continue reading...ACT senator wants to move forward with workers’ compensation for PTSD and banning discrimination against employees experiencing domestic violence
Employer groups and the Coalition have backed calls from David Pocock to split Labor’s industrial relations bill and deal with uncontentious parts this year, including workers’ compensation and discrimination law reforms.
The influential crossbencher is considering moving a private senator’s bill to move forward with provisions improving access to workers compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder in the ACT as a priority.
Continue reading...Federal police declines to provide more details about the reports, which were made in the year after Brittany Higgins went public
Federal police received 28 allegations of misconduct by parliamentarians, their staff or “official establishments” in the year after Brittany Higgins’ allegations first became public knowledge.
But the Australian federal police has declined to outline any further details, including which state or territory police force it passed the reports to for further investigation.
Continue reading...Association chief urges community to come forward with complaints as fallout from Sofronoff inquiry into prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann continues
The police union says the Bruce Lehrmann case was “like no other” and shouldn’t deter complainants from coming forward or having faith in the justice system.
The fallout from the Sofronoff inquiry report continued on Tuesday, following the ACT government’s extraordinary criticisms of inquiry head Walter Sofronoff KC over the premature leaking of the report to journalists.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Under national conference proposal, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory would have six senators
The Albanese government will be pushed at Labor’s national conference to triple the number of territory senators and increase the power of territorians’ votes in referendums.
Under the proposals the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory would be represented by six senators each, half the number of senators from each of the states, and territories would count for the double majority in referendums.
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Continue reading...Advocates say caps or freezes may help reduce pressure on renters but experts warn they are not a simple fix
Renters are bearing the brunt of Australia’s housing crisis, with stories of extortionate rent increases for poor quality homes making headlines all too often.
One solution being flagged by advocates is to control rents, either through freezes or caps on how much landlords can increase the amount.
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Continue reading...ACT chief justice calls secrecy ‘anathema to the rule of law’ as sentencing decision finally made public
The Australian Capital Territory’s chief justice, Lucy McCallum, has described secrecy as “anathema to the rule of law” while releasing the long-awaited sentencing decision against Witness J.
The man, known by the pseudonym Alan Johns and also as Witness J, was jailed in complete secrecy after pleading guilty and being convicted for the disclosure of confidential information.
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Continue reading...Treasurer says volatility in the global economy to have ‘flow-on effect on budget’. Follow the day’s news live
The shadow minister for foreign affairs, Simon Birmingham, is chastising the PM for letting there be any doubt whether he will be attending the Nato security summit.
Bangarra Dance Theatre supports voting ‘Yes’ in voice referendum
For over three decades, Bangarra Dance Theatre has been privileged to be entrusted with sharing the powerful voices of the world’s oldest living cultures – the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures of this nation.
The stories we tell have awakened a national consciousness to the deep scars of our colonial history, and the legacy of unseen trauma left in its wake. We attend to this knowing that by carrying Story, we also carry a responsibility to give insight into our experiences, promote understanding, and effect change. But is this enough?
Continue reading...Relationship between ACT police and DPP ‘beset by tension’, first public hearing told
The #MeToo movement and “intense public discussions” about low rates of convictions “seemingly affected” decisions made to investigate and prosecute Bruce Lehrmann for the alleged sexual assault of Brittany Higgins, an inquiry has heard.
Erin Longbottom, counsel assisting the inquiry into the Australian Capital Territory criminal justice system’s handling of the case, made that submission on Monday morning at the inquiry’s first hearing.
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Whether it was proper for ACT police to conduct a second evidence in chief interview with Higgins on 26 May 2021;
“Confusion about whether Mr Lehrmann should be charged and how matters affecting the credibility of Ms Higgins were to be treated by police in deciding whether to charge Mr Lehrmann, and by the DPP in deciding whether to present an indictment”;
Delivery of the brief of evidence to Lehrmann’s lawyers on 6 August, after he was charged but before a plea was entered, which included counselling notes about Higgins; and
“The apparent close engagement” between investigating officers and lawyers for Lehrmann during the trial “which led to some distrust between police and the DPP”.
Continue reading...Federal opposition leader wants Labor to legislate its preferred model before referendum is held this year. This blog is now closed
‘I’m genuinely interested in advancing the cause of reconciliation’
Peter Dutton is asked about whether the prime minister has been given a copy of his letter – Anthony Albanese has said he has not received it – and Dutton says a copy has been provided to the prime minister’s office and he expects “he will respond in due course”.
I don’t think that’s unreasonable. Certainly not racist. It’s not being opposed to reconciliation. It’s all about, frankly, just being informed about what it is they’re being asked to vote on. I don’t think that is unreasonable to ask the prime minister to provide that.
I’ve met with the prime minister and I’m grateful for the meetings that we’ve had and he knows that I’m genuinely interested in advancing the cause of reconciliation.
I’m speaking of millions of Australians, we’re asking you the reasonable questions.
Continue reading...ACT chief minister and attorney general have announced inquiry following claims police pressured director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC not to pursue the Lehrmann case
The ACT government has launched an inquiry into the case of Bruce Lehrmann after explosive allegations the police “aligned” with the defence in his trial for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins.
The Australian Capital Territory chief minister, Andrew Barr, and the attorney general, Shane Rattenbury, announced the probe on Wednesday, three weeks after prosecutors said they would not pursue a retrial as it would pose an “unacceptable risk” to Higgins’ health.
Continue reading...A bipartisan push in the upper house means the ACT and Northern Territory are free to legislate on euthanasia after a 25-year ban
The territory governments have had their rights to make laws on euthanasia returned after 25 years, with a bipartisan push in the federal Senate overturning a Howard-era ban on the final night of the parliament for the year.
The Australian Capital Territory will begin considering euthanasia laws early in 2023, after the repeal of the assisted dying ban was greeted with cheers and clapping in the Senate late on Thursday.
Continue reading...NSW roads impacted by rainfall
Man falls to his death while hiking near Gold Coast waterfall
Emergency services were initially called to Tanninaba Falls around 12.15pm following reports a man falling several metres down a cliff face.
Crews located the man at the bottom of the cliff and was declared deceased a short time later.
Continue reading...Bureau of Meteorology forecasts heavy rain in spring driven by negative Indian Ocean Dipole and warm waters in the north
Australia could be lashed with more rain and possible floods for the next three months with La Niña conditions predicted to return for a rare third consecutive year.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology raised the El Niño-Southern Oscillation La Niña outlook from “watch” to “alert” on Tuesday afternoon.
Continue reading...Ed Husic pushes for ‘brain regain’
Industry minister Ed Husic will this week host a series of five roundtable meetings with science and technology leaders in the lead-up to the federal government’s jobs summit, in a bid to kickstart what he called “brain regain” – attracting Australia’s bright minds working overseas to return home, to combat the so-called “brain drain”.
These discussions will also include ways to increase the representation of women and people of diverse backgrounds in skilled occupations. One of my priorities is on “brain regain” – encouraging Australian researchers and innovators to return home. I am interested to hear ideas on how this can be best achieved.
I can’t emphasise strongly enough that this is the start of engagement with these industry sectors. After the jobs and skills summit I will continue the work with industry leaders to ensure we apply practical solutions to accelerate Australia’s pathway to high-skilled, high-value economy.
He’s applied for a job and that’s coming with a significant degree of scrutiny, as it should do. That’s part of the territory if you’re going to put yourself forward for those roles.
If he felt the need to protect the environment from offshore drilling for gas off Sydney’s northern beaches and he felt he needed to swear himself in as minister, that’s something I support.
Continue reading...Independent calls for $100m debt to be wiped as part of negotiations over Labor’s $10bn housing policy, which also faces Greens resistance
The new independent senator David Pocock will use his balance of power position in the Senate to push for the ACT government’s $100m public housing debt to be waived as part of negotiations over Labor’s new housing policy.
Legislation for the government’s new $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund also faces resistance from the Greens, with the party’s housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather saying the proposal is not “good enough” to secure support in the Senate.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed
Labor wants consensus between business and unions – Burke
Burke says “everything is on the table” including the potential for fixed enterprise bargaining. He also says that the government would like to seek consensus between business and union groups if it can. Asked specifically about a deal struck between the ACTU and the Business Council last year, Burke says he doesn’t know whether that is possible now but he’d be interested in exploring it.
If I can find agreements where there’s consensus I don’t know whether the consensus of that agreement of a couple of years ago still existed in identical form, but if a consensus like that turns up at the job summit you could work on the basis I will be inclined to grab it, because that did have safeguards around it to prevent workers from in fact going backwards.
When you don’t have an energy policy for a decade that’s inflationary. When you have a skills crisis and refuse to invest in skills, that’s inflationary. So in establishing the first bill will be dealing with in the Parliament will be jobs and Skills Australia, we have already had Chris Bowen taking action in terms of making sure we are dealing with the energy crisis. But none of this turns around straight away.
Continue reading...New South Wales and Queensland set for coastal showers with wet weather to last into mid-next week
The winter dry spell is set to end this week with the east coast of Australia set to receive a deluge leading up to the weekend, while record-breaking rainfall is expected for parts of northern Australia.
A cold front moving towards the east coast will bring coastal showers and wet weather to most of the New South Wales and Queensland coast.
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Continue reading...Residents urged to avoid travel as cold front brings frigid temperatures, rain and damaging winds to several states
Blizzard conditions are on their way for large parts of New South Wales and Victoria’s alpine areas as a “vigorous” cold front brings cold showers, strong winds and frigid temperatures, while South Australia has been hit by torrential rain.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued severe weather warnings for damaging wind gusts and blizzard conditions for southern NSW and across much of Victoria, with peaks gusts of up to 130km/h likely over Alpine areas.
Continue reading...Delay of up to three weeks possible for trial of Bruce Lehrmann, who has pleaded not guilty to assaulting Higgins in Parliament House in 2019
The trial of the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins may be delayed by up to three weeks after his barrister pulled out days before the case was due to be heard.
Bruce Lehrmann, who is charged with sexual intercourse without consent, has pleaded not guilty to assaulting Higgins at Parliament House in Canberra in 2019.
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