This blog is now closed
Today is the 16th anniversary of Rudd’s national apology
It is National Apology Day, which marks the anniversary of the day the former prime minister Kevin Rudd formally apologised to Indigenous people for the stolen generations.
Continue reading...Airservices Australia were grilled in Senate estimates after nationwide flight disruptions due to the missing staff. Follow the day’s news live
Dutton says Liberals will bin ‘right to disconnect’ if they win next election
Switching gears now – Peter Dutton has vowed to scrap the “right to disconnect” if the Liberal party wins the next election. Last week, Dutton told Sky News:
If you think it’s OK to outsource your industrial relations or your economic policy to the Greens, which is what the prime minister is doing, then we are going to see a continuation of the productivity problem in our country.
And as the Reserve Bank governor pointed out, if you don’t address it you’ll see interest rates continue to climb or you’ll see them stay higher for longer.
We’ve been overwhelmed by positive feedback from people who say - yeah, it’s not right that I should be on call 24/7 when I’m not getting paid for it.
And Peter Dutton wants you electronically bound to your boss, and having to answer calls 24/7, even if you’re not getting paid for it.
Continue reading...Prime minister says ‘there needs to be an explanation’ after former deputy prime minister was seen lying on a Canberra street swearing into his phone
The prime minister has called for the Coalition leadership to explain the actions of former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, who was last week filmed lying on a Canberra footpath having a phone conversation.
Guardian Australia understands Joyce won’t attend the Nationals party room meeting scheduled for Monday.
Continue reading...Byelection poll puts Labor ahead by a nose as rightwing campaign on Anthony Albanese’s ‘broken promises’ ramps up
Voters in Dunkley have backed Labor’s tax cut package by more than two-to-one, despite the party facing a barrage of negative cost of living ads from Advance Australia.
According to a uComms poll for the leftwing thinktank the Australia Institute, Labor has its nose in front in the byelection seat 52% to 48% – although that result is within the poll’s 3.9% margin of error.
Continue reading...Marape hails Whitlam for ‘hearing the cries of the founding fathers of Papua New Guinea for our own self-determination’. Follow the day’s news live
David Littleproud continued:
But there needs to be greater architectural reform, which is also what Professor Fels articulated, which is what the Nationals have said. When there’s too much market concentration, you have too much power.
And all we’re saying is that whether it is in the supermarket [or farm gate], we want fair prices from the farm gate to the supermarket gate.
I think that he demonstrated the need and reinforced what the Nationals have been calling for, when there’s evidence, clear evidence around price gouging.
We saw that with meat prices where farm grade prices dropped by 60% or 70% in June. Yet, the checkout price only dropped by 18%. They put pressure all the way down through the supply chain. And what Allan Fels has said in his inquiry is that we need to have more ACCC price investigations, where there’s clear evidence. And that’s what we were calling for and the government ignored that. And I think shoppers have paid too much.
Continue reading...The ‘Juno’ training helicopters will support essential training for aircrew before the arrival of new Black Hawks from the US later this year. Follow the day’s news live
The ADF expects that the training helicopters will be available for operations in Oakey in Queensland by around the middle of this year.
The government will argue these helicopters have been chosen because they can perform a variety of roles “including personnel and equipment transport and Defence assistance to the civil community”.
We need a highly capable Army. When the tough but necessary decision was made last year to expedite the withdrawal of the MRH-90s from service, it meant that we needed to look at all options when it came to filling the capability gap and the training which our servicemen and women need.
We have been working with the United States and United Kingdom on ways in which we can bridge this gap, and their support and willingness with the acceleration of the Black Hawks and leasing of training helicopters will have a significant impact.
Continue reading...PM says opposition ‘tying themselves in knots’ as parliament resumes. Follow the day’s news live
School funding data
(continued from previous post)
Continue reading...This blog is now closed
Labor tried to amend stage-three tax cuts, Albanese says
Anthony Albanese says Labor attempted to amend the stage-three tax cuts but its proposal failed by a single vote:
What we did in the parliament in 2019 is two things. One, we tried to amend our the stage-three tax cuts. We weren’t successful. We failed by just one vote. When that occurred, we thought that we weren’t prepared to stand in the way of all of the government to say they knew what the economy would look like in five years’ time.
One of the things, David, I have done is go to the National Press Club – and say we have changed our position. Why? We listened to people and particularly low- and middle-income Australians are under financial pressure.
What I can’t do as prime minister of Australia is to wring my hands and say, “If only there was something I co-do about it” What we needed to do was to look at what is the best way we can take pressure off cost of living without putting pressure on inflation.
We want it to be passed as soon as possible. Certainly, it needs to be passed during this existing session, so as to provide that easy transition for employers, the tax office, for others as well.
Circumstances have changed. We’ve responded.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
BoM issues wind weather warning for Tasmania
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds in parts of Tasmania.
Australia has a very important role to play as a signatory to the ICJ, a signatory to the genocide convention, to ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians and ensure that the investigations that are occurring with UNRWA … don’t inhibit funding and delivery of services that are going to basically save lives in coming days and weeks and months.
UNRWA has done the right thing in standing down the staff, sacking them. They have got an independent investigation occurring. 150 UN UNRWA staff have been killed, their families and children as well, over the past several months of this conflict. The UN is in the middle, sandwiched in the conflict, trying to do its best to save lives. Donor governments like Australia need to bear this in mind that, if funding ceases, there is nowhere else to turn to. People will simply collapse and die.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking to ABC RN, and says news that the inflation rate has plunged to a two-year low of 4.1% is “welcoming, encouraging progress”.
… We know that people are still under pressure and we need to not be complacent about it. We need to continue to work as we have with our three point plan, having the surplus, making sure we deal with cost of living pressures without putting pressure on inflation, and dealing with … supply-chain issues as well.
With parliament resuming next week, this is a wake-up call that 2024 is the last chance for meaningful democratic reform ahead of the 2025 election …
Australians should go to the next election with strict political donation disclosure laws, truth in political advertising laws in force and information about who’s meeting ministers made public as a matter of course.
Continue reading...Ms Bernard, a Kowanyama woman, was last seen at Archer River quarry on 10 February in 2013. Follow the day’s news live
Update on Queensland flooding
Senior BoM meteorologist Angus Hines spoke to ABC News Breakfast just earlier to provide an update on the rain and flooding in Queensland.
Last night the rainfall totals were between 50mm and 120mm which is still a very significant dose of rain, but bear in mind this time yesterday we were talking about 300mm leading to widespread flooding.
We could see these rivers with elevated levels for the next several days, as it will take a while for those flood waters to drain out, long past when the rainfall conditions have cleared up.
The goal for the AI taskforce is to be a trusted source of expert advice and assistance for the Law Society, and through it, for the solicitor profession across NSW. Its members will be drawn from the law, justice system, academia, and government.
The work of the taskforce will enhance the Law Society’s work to ensure that NSW leads the way in harnessing the best that AI has to offer for the legal profession while mitigating the risks.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
We’ve just spoken to St Vincent’s hospital and confirmed that the woman bitten by a shark in Sydney Harbour last night remains in hospital in a stable condition.
The woman, in her late 20s, was bitten on the right leg by a suspected bull shark in Elizabeth Bay last night.
Continue reading...The announcement of a business case budget is the latest development in the Albanese government’s slow moving high speed rail project
The Albanese government will spend $80m developing a business case for the Sydney-to-Newcastle stretch of its east coast high speed rail line, as the decades-long project inches further forward.
The transport minister, Catherine King, said the allocation of $78.8m was part of Labor’s $500m election commitment to the early stages of high speed rail, with the initial Sydney-Newcastle leg representing a “crucial waypoint” on the project.
Continue reading...Nearly 90% of areas in Australia better off under new plan, with taxpayers in remote and regional communities to gain the most, ANU analysis shows
Working-class communities in Coalition-held remote and regional electorates stand to gain the most from Labor’s proposed changes to income tax cuts, while voters in the byelection seat of Dunkley are also big winners.
The average taxpayer in Whitsunday, in the electorate of Dawson, East Pilbara in Durack, and Cairns in Leichhardt stands to gain over $600 more from Labor’s package than the Morrison government’s stage-three tax cuts, according to an analysis by the Australian National University associate professor Ben Phillips.
Continue reading...Anthony Albanese rejects calls for a fresh election by the opposition leader who continues to accuse the PM of breaking a promise
Peter Dutton has refused to commit the opposition to an official position on Labor’s amended stage-three tax cuts, as the government begins negotiations with the Greens and key independents.
Anthony Albanese said on Friday he would soon begin discussions with crossbenchers to get the updated tax cuts through parliament, as the Greens say they will push for further support for low-income earners.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
Australian and Aboriginal flags raised during Canberra ceremony
Following the welcome to country, the flag-raising ceremony has begun, with six flags raised including two Australian flags, two Aboriginal flags and two Torres Strait Islander flags.
Australia is home to the oldest continuous culture on Earth, 65,000 years of uninterrupted heritage, demonstrated by the unique archeological evidence found in the very ground that you may are sitting on, found in the rocks and stones of this very place. That makes this continent unique in the whole world.
Ngunnawal’s view of heritage transcends time, it is our way of being with nature, best expressed in the Ngunnawal language through the concepts of respect and deep honour, coming together in the wellbeing for all.
Continue reading...Victorian electorate will be first test of support for overhaul that shifts more of the benefit to low- and middle-income earners amid cost-of-living pressures
Ilene Jones’s wishlist for a tax cut is simple – more money to spend on school fees, a laptop for her son and groceries.
“It’s just the basics. It’s not extravagant,” she says.
Continue reading...The latest advice from the Bureau of Meteorology is that Tropical Cyclone Kirrily will begin crossing the coast from 10pm tonight. Follow the day’s news live
As we flagged just earlier, wind gusts associated with Tropical Cyclone Kirrily have already begun around the Whitsundays, with gusts over 100km/h.
In a Facebook group for Whitsundays locals, a new resident has asked an innocent question:
Hey there I’m kind of new to town from Melbourne. Does anyone know how to tie my tree down so that it doesn’t blow away?
“I would use fairy lights.”
“If you hop around clockwise on your left leg 3 times and then do a Kangaroo hop to the right, the drop bears will take care of it by having the tree extend it’s roots deeper.”
“If you’re really from Melbourne you would know how to tie down a tree with the windy crap weather down there. Ride a kangaroo to bunnings [and] get some ratchets.”
“From the state of the supermarket shelves I’m guessing everyone is using toilet paper to tie their trees down.”
“Take the leaves off and store inside. The rest will be fine.”
Continue reading...Prime minister to use National Press Club address to defend new plan as the ‘right thing to do’
Anthony Albanese has pledged to more than double tax relief for Australians on the average income in a suite of low and middle income tax cuts paid for by trimming benefits to high income earners.
At the National Press Club on Thursday the prime minister will defend Labor’s plan by arguing it will still deliver “a tax cut for every taxpayer” and that modification of the stage-three tax cuts was “the right thing to do” in changed economic circumstances.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
Morrison to take up separate position at Dyne Asset Management
As we brought you just earlier, Scott Morrison will be taking up a role with international advisory and consulting firm American Global Strategies after his resignation from politics late February.
Well, firstly, I think we should be quite thoughtful of which category we’re talking about for farmers. If you’re talking about fruits and vegetables, we are in material deflation and have been for about four months … That is because of demand and supply in Australia. It’s a domestic product, it’s subject to demand and supply. It is causing pain for many of those farmers. But hopefully that situation will change with regard to the new year.
… We buy directly [where we can] from farmers, and we try and smooth out the price that they get so that they can plan and manage their business effectively.
But when you look at the red meat index, it does look like it’s trending up based on what’s happening offshore. So these things do flow through …
Continue reading...