Category Archives: Anthony Albanese

Australia’s ambassador to be summoned after Jerusalem reversal – as it happened

Posted on by

Labor will reverse Coalition decision to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This blog is now closed

Health minister says ‘there has always been’ fraud in Medicare system

Karvelas asks Butler if he can speak to whether there is fraud in the Medicare system, and how widespread it is. He replies:

Well there is fraud in the Medicare system unfortunately … There are 24 cases in front of the courts right now where prosecutions are being pursued for fraud.

There is and there has always been a small number of cases of fraud and they’re pursued appropriately.

I want to come down on the side of truth obviously.

It does seem extraordinarily high. I understand the reaction from the AMA to the concept that 30% of consults are inappropriately billed – because a figure like that has never been used, in spite of the pretty longstanding compliance and audit systems governments of both political persuasions have had.

It’s way out of whack with any other figure that’s ever been provided to government, including as I said by the national audit office, that only did a review of the program a few years ago.

Continue reading...

ABC calls for mandate to ensure it hosts federal election debate

Posted on by

Bid follows national broadcaster being turned down last election by Scott Morrison to appear in leaders’ debate despite its broad reach

The ABC has called for legislation to ensure it hosts and broadcasts at least one leaders’ debate during a federal election campaign.

The public broadcaster made the case for a mandated ABC election debate in a submission to the inquiry into the 2022 federal election, which continues its public hearings in Canberra on Tuesday.

Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: thousands of homes at risk in Victoria floods; Nationals accuse budget of targeting regions

Posted on by

The Goulburn River at Shepparton reaches almost 12 metres and is still rising as residents fill sandbags to protect properties. Follow the day’s news live

Government needs to be securing future of regional communities in net zero transition, McKenzie says

RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas:

Isn’t part of the problem, though, this this deal that Barnaby Joyce and your party, extracted in exchange for supporting net zero was never really outlined in detail. It was shrouded in secrecy and confusion. Haven’t you left yourself kind of vulnerable in the lack of detail?

I think one of the things that’s becoming more and more clear and obvious around the debate about decarbonising Australia’s economy is that there are actually going to be specific communities and places that are more heavily impacted than others. It’s been one of the National party’s great arguments in the last decade because it’s true.

And so what we secured, were able to secure, was funding to ensure that those communities would be able to secure the opportunities that are purported to come with a move to net zero but also be supported to diversify their local economies and to overcome some of the challenges that are unequivocally heading their way.

The Labor party has ripped the guts out of programs at fund regional Australia and has simultaneously awarded over $2bn to Daniel Andrews’ re-election campaign here in Victoria. And voters are going to be heading to the polls within three weeks of the budget being handed down. So it’s hard not to be cynical, I guess, at what seems a blatant politicisation of infrastructure funding.

And now his own minister yesterday on your Insiders program confirmed that Infrastructure Australia hasn’t even looked at this suburban rail loop the and the only person that has is the Victorian auditor general and the report was scathing, so I think there’s huge concerns that this government has a vendetta against the regions and is using any excuse they can to rip regional funding out of the budget, and to re-profile and re-allocate it to re-elect labour premiers.

Continue reading...

Victoria floods: Thousands of homes to be inundated or cut off as some swollen rivers peak on Monday

Posted on by

Former quarantine facility in Mickleham to act as a shelter and more than 100 schools to be closed

The shuttered Mickleham quarantine facility is being turned into a flood recovery centre amid Victoria’s worsening flood crisis, with thousands of homes expected to be inundated or cut off and some rivers not expected to reach their peak until Monday.

Approximately 6,000 properties were without power on Sunday and more than 9,000 people had already applied for emergency support payments.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Australia news live: 120 schools to be closed on Monday amid Victorian flood crisis

Posted on by

Residents in Victoria’s north told to move to higher ground; Anthony Albanese and 100 ADF personnel on the ground as situation worsens. Follow live

Federal government ‘in conversation’ with NSW about Warragamba dam wall

King is asked about how the infrastructure spend is being divvied up with New South Wales clearly getting less than Labor-lead states. King says the decisions were based on the projects that had been submitted to the federal government ahead of the budget.

We will work with the New South Wales government as we lead into the May budget.

Of course we will look at it. At this stage we don’t have enough information from the New South Wales government on which to make a decision.

There is back and forth between Infrastructure Australia and the New South Wales department and I haven’t seen any of that yet.

This is for the early works of this project. We haven’t made any further commitments. We will talk to the Victorians around that as we go forward. They have an election they are facing and this will be a contested project, I’m sure, but something we have confidence in.

Continue reading...

‘If not now, when?’: PM addresses first meeting of volunteers to educate Australians about voice referendum

Posted on by

Sydney’s Inner West council aims to train 1,000 people for a civic education program that could become a model for other jurisdictions

The prime minister has committed to “throwing everything” at implementing an Indigenous voice to parliament at a surprise appearance in his home suburb of Marrickville.

Speaking at a packed Uluru Statement from the Heart summit on Friday night, Anthony Albanese addressed the first meeting of volunteers who have signed up to educate Australians about the voice.

Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Lidia Thorpe to lodge press council complaint over voice report; attorney general says pursuit of Assange has ‘gone on long enough’ – as it happened

Posted on by

Mark Dreyfus says most anti-corruption hearings will be private and only public in exceptional circumstances. This blog is now closed

US security expert says chances of Putin using nuclear weapon are “small”

During his visit to Canberra, the chief executive of the Washington-based thinktank the Center for a New American Security, Richard Fontaine, weighed in on the US president, Joe Biden’s recent comments that the world could face “Armageddon” if Russia’s Vladimir Putin uses a tactical nuclear weapon to try to win the war in Ukraine.

I seriously doubt that anybody handed the president a set of written talking points that had the word Armageddon on it. On the other hand, there is very grave concern about the rattling of the nuclear sabre, because the chances, I think, of Russia using even a tactical nuclear weapon are small, but they’re higher than they were. And they’re probably higher than any time since 1962 with the [Cuban] missile crisis.

The use of nuclear weapons is one of these low probability, extremely high consequence events. So even if the probability is relatively small, the consequences would be so grave. If they were to do this, we would wake up in a different world the next day.

Yes, absolutely. Every country really has a dog in this fight, because what we’re talking about here is a violation of the fundamental rules of international order, the cardinal element of which is the prohibition against territorial conquest by force. And that’s exactly what we’re seeing here.

Continue reading...

Albanese urged not to ‘lose the moment’ for tax reform as he squashes debate on stage-three cuts

Posted on by

Economists say the tax cuts are unaffordable and should be trimmed or changed, either now or in May

Economists have urged the federal government not to squander the chance for tax reform, after the prime minister hosed down speculation about possible changes to the legislated stage-three cuts in this month’s budget.

The chief executive of the Grattan Institute, Danielle Wood, said she would be “sad” if “we lost the moment” for a substantial discussion about tax changes and hoped a broader debate was still possible before the next budget in May.

Continue reading...

Albanese meets Solomons PM – as it happened

Posted on by

Anthony Albanese meets with Solomons Islands PM Manasseh Sogavare, who reiterates ‘no foreign military bases’ pledge. This blog is now closed

Skill shortages ‘an indictment on the failure to plan’: skills minister

The National Skills Commission’s annual update of the skills priority list is out today, showing the number of occupations facing skills shortages have almost doubled in past year.

Well, I wouldn’t say exactly that. I would say, though, it is very high that we have so many occupations where there are significant shortages.

I mean, the fact that it almost doubled in a year speaks to a labour market that is crying out for skills. But also, it is an indictment on the failure to plan, invest in education and training to have the skills our labour market, our economy and our employers need and our workforce need so that they can find good jobs.

We do need to make sure, 1) the investment in education and training is in the right places so that we supply the skills needed for our economy now and into the future. And, of course, 2) we need to have a much faster way of delivering on the skilled migration pathways for industries that are crying out for skills. And whether they be nurses or tech worker, baggage handlers. Wherever you look across the economy, there are shortages and it is a very significant priority of this government.

Conditions haven’t changed that significantly.

The government went to the last election saying again and again they would honour the legislated tax cuts.

In the time since we’ve seen in Australia interest rate rises yes ... but we’ve seen an Australian economy that continues to perform very strongly.

Continue reading...

Majority of Australians back sound economic management over keeping promised tax cuts, survey suggests

Posted on by

Almost half of those polled support axing stage three cuts while one quarter thought they should be kept

Support for the stage three tax cuts remains low with the majority of Australians backing sound economic management over sticking to election promises, a new survey suggests.

The research from the Australia Institute found that high-income earners were particularly likely to support the repeal of the stage three tax cuts, despite being the main beneficiaries of the changes.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

‘Socialism sucks’ stickers on display as CPAC Australia stokes fears of Indigenous voice

Posted on by

Speaker after speaker – after wheeling out standard complaints about progressive politicians – poured scorn on the voice concept

Saturday’s CPAC conference in Sydney showed Australia’s political right is gearing up for a fight against the government’s proposed Indigenous voice to parliament – and highlighted the potential political perils of Anthony Albanese keeping many details of the constitutional change out of the public arena for now.

The Conservative Political Action Conference filled a small corner of the International Convention Centre, bringing a mixed assortment of federal senators, rightwing media personalities and international guests together for an audience of around 900. A hodge-podge of topics boiled down to broad grievances around “cancel culture”, “shadow banning” and “wokeism”; speakers variously criticised the “conservative cowardice” of Coalition politicians, the mainstream media and talk of “white privilege”.

Continue reading...

Peter FitzSimons to step down as ARM chair; protesters picket CPAC – as it happened

Posted on by

FitzSimons says a new generation is stepping up to lead republic campaign. This blog is now closed

‘I managed to crawl right under the skin of Penny Wong’: Price

Price has bragged that her first speech to parliament ended in Penny Wong fleeing the chamber.

I managed to crawl right under the skin of Penny Wong.

I put it to Wong we need to co-design an Asian voice to parliament.

So that policies that affect Asian Australians can be their responsibility and any time I need expert advice on how to better improve Wong’s life, I can consult with the Asian voice.

I thought ‘thank you Lord for strategically placing me after my Labor colleague to deliver my first speech’.

There could be no better contrast.

Continue reading...

Australia’s CMO warns further Covid waves ‘highly likely’ – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

The minister for sport, Anika Wells, is speaking to ABC Radio about an announcement to expand the government’s scope to help people in sport report racism, abuse and mistreatement.

It comes after a range of high-profile cases in elite sport, including the damaging review into Hawthorn Football Club which contained allegations of serious mistreatment of First Nations former players, as well as the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report into the culture of gymnastics, the findings in Swimming Australia’s review of the treatment of female swimmers and the Do Better report.

It absolutely is concerning ... it’s shocking and certainly action will be taken.

Continue reading...

News live: Australia supports inquiry into Iran death, Wong says; first majority female high court bench

Posted on by

Attorney general Mark Dreyfus has announced the appointment of justice Jayne Jagot to the high court. Follow the day’s news live

Queensland seeking partnerships from the federal government in renewable plan

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, was asked to clarify how long the state will keep exporting coal for:

There’s still going to be countries that need our coal and, of course, the metallurgical coal [that] is needed for steel production. Let’s be clear about that. Until there’s alternative to manufacturing steel, the world will still need metallurgical coal.

The plan is $62bn. We have a $6bn down payment on that … we’ve already got $11bn worth of private investment coming in.

But there will be even more coming in as well. So roughly, it will be around, over $30bn, between $30bn and $40bn we’re providing, but we’re seeking partnerships from the federal government.

Well, in Europe, of course, there’s a lot of reliance on gas coming in from the Ukraine and parts of Russia, is my understanding.

But what we’re doing here very clearly is [ensuring] that the hydro dams get built. And then, as the hydro dams come online, that’s when you start phasing down the reliance on coal-fired power stations.

We’re building sea walls as we speak. People are having to build their houses on 7-to-12-foot stilts above the ground because of the water coming underneath. Ancestral graves that the ABC has reported on are being washed away. This is happening in Queensland. It’s not just an island on the Pacific ocean. It is happening to Queenslanders. To Australians. And we all have a duty to look after one another.

Continue reading...

Clare O’Neil suggests Labor may legislate fines after Optus data breach – as it happened

Posted on by

The Nationals want to get back to their roots – the regions.

The country party are launching a “regional listening tour” to find out what is affecting people in the country.

Migration is not the only solution to the challenges our regions are up against,” Littleproud said.

We need to look at what can be done now to help those Australians that are already in town.

We know distance is one of the greatest barriers to opportunity. So we’re coming to your town to create this opportunity to share your concerns and help us come up with the solutions.

For example, would a Regional University Centre stop our children from leaving town? Or could paying their HELP debts be the incentive they need to stay where we need them?

Continue reading...

First ad for yes vote on Indigenous voice asks all Australians to talk about referendum

Posted on by

‘History is calling’, according to ad from Uluru Dialogue group, which says it’s the start of a ‘journey of nation-building’

The first ad campaign to encourage a yes vote in a referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament is an emotive pitch targeted at everyday Australians from different walks of life.

The Uluru Dialogue group has produced the ad to support its voice referendum campaign, “History is calling”. It coincides with one local council making a call for 1,000 volunteers to sign up for a training program to raise support for a yes vote.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Australia news live: China meeting ‘constructive’, Penny Wong says; up to 9.8m Optus customers affected by data breach

Posted on by

The foreign minister is in New York City for the UN general assembly. Follow the day’s news live

In New South Wales politics this has just happened:

The Senate is also up and about with a condolence motion being held in the upper house as well.

Continue reading...

Thorpe leads protest in Melbourne – as it happened

Posted on by

Q: Is an external review now the precedent for anyone at other clubs who may come forward with similar allegations?

McLachlan:

Our integrity team is investigating many things concurrently. I think it depends on the nature of the allegation and the particular circumstance. But that’s certainly what we felt was warranted here. And I hope that history says that all allegations will be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly and confidentially.

And that’s the challenging part about this, that these courageous people have come forward and now there’s a huge spotlight on them. And I hope it doesn’t deter them to lean in on this and have that conviction to tell their stories to this independent panel so that we can get to the bottom of this.

I spoke to our senior Indigenous players last night. Eddie was on the call. Shaun Burgoyne was there, and Shane Edwards and Steven May and Neville Jetta and others.

And what was confronting for them – and I think they’d be happy for me to talk about this – Burgoyne was there right through this period, and was confronted and challenged he didn’t see any sign of this. I know that was weighing heavily on him.

Continue reading...

Greens urge Labor to redirect fossil fuel subsidies to renewables in budget – as it happened

Posted on by

Victorian government commits $1bn to emergency departments in Melbourne’s north

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has vowed to expand two of the state’s busiest emergency departments in Melbourne’s north, in a pre-election $1bn health pledge.

We know there is pressure in the system.

This means more emergency department space, more emergency department patients being treated and a stronger and better health system for millions more.

Continue reading...

Guardian Essential poll: Australians divided on whether King Charles should be head of state

Posted on by

Survey respondents split 50-50 but women, older voters and Coalition supporters more likely to back new monarch, poll suggests

Australians are divided over whether King Charles III should be the country’s head of state, with the latest Guardian Essential poll suggesting a 50-50 split between those who support the new UK monarch and those who do not.

The survey of 1,075 people, taken after Queen Elizabeth II’s death, gives little hope to the republican cause with fewer than half of the respondents (43%) supporting Australia becoming a republic – a figure that has barely moved over the past five years.

Continue reading...