A potential political hurdle has emerged for the Albanese government as it tries to win parliamentary support for its energy plan.
The Greens have balked at reports fossil fuel companies will receive compensation in return for price caps, but have reserved their final position on the legislation until after a party room meeting tomorrow afternoon.
“The public should not be compensating with big coal and gas corporations. It should be the other way around,” the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said today.
Anthony Albanese denied there will be any compensation on radio today, but admitted “payments” could be made to incentivise fossil fuel companies. He said he is confident the plan will pass the parliament later this week.
Top news
Free PCRs via referral | The way this country manages Covid is changing as of 1 January 2023. According to the National Covid-19 Health Management Plan released today, Medicare-funded PCR tests will largely only be available via a referral from a “medical or nurse practitioner”. If you do test positive in 2023 and want antiviral drugs to help kick symptoms, they will be available with either a positive PCR or RAT.
Queensland man guilty of murdering partner | James Morton Mason has been found guilty of murdering his partner, Alexis Parkes, in a house fire. Mason told police that, after an argument, he set a car alight underneath Parkes’ house in Brisbane’s north in February 2020, a trial heard. He had pleaded guilty to arson, but not murder. A woman in Australia dies every 10 days at the hands of a current or former partner.
Missing NSW woman’s body found | The body of Esther Wallace has been found almost two weeks after the 47-year-old bushwalker disappeared in central west New South Wales. Police found the body at 4pm on Sunday about 2km from where Wallace was last seen at Federal Falls in the Mount Canobolas state recreation area, near Orange. Wallace was reported missing early on 30 November after she became separated from her partner while walking in sandals in rugged bushland about 1am.
Progressive Patten to lose Victorian seat | Fiona Patten, the Reason party leader who has played a key role in shaping progressive policies in Victoria over the last eight years, has conceded defeat in the state’s upper house. Once final results are tallied, it is likely Patten will be ousted by former Labor minister Adem Somyurek, who contested the election for the conservative Democratic Labour party.
Victoria’s wintry summer | If you’re in Victoria this week, you might be wondering where summer has gone. Temperatures will remain in the mid to high teens for the next week, reaching its lowest maximum on Wednesday with a forecast of 15C. Sydney hasn’t got off lightly either, with severe thunderstorms causing flash flooding in the city earlier today. The main thunderstorm activity is – as of writing – shifting to north-east NSW and south-east Queensland.
Ukraine strikes Russian barracks | Video footage posted on social media showed what was claimed to be a hit on Russian barracks in the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol. The strike – reportedly with Himars rockets – was one of several carried out overnight on Russian bases. Explosions were also reported overnight in the Russian-occupied Crimea including Sevastopol and Simferopol.
China ramping up pressure on Taiwan | China is looking for another “pretext for practising their future attack” on the island, Taiwan’s foreign minister says, after a record-breaking year of military threats and incursions. China conducted live-fire military drills in August after US house speaker, Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan. There have been more than 1,500 Chinese incursions into Taiwan’s air defence zone this year, up from 380 in 2020.
Cher’s mother dies | Georgia Holt, the singer, actor and mother of musician Cher, has died at the age of 96. Cher announced the death on Twitter on Saturday US time, writing “Mom is gone”.
Full Story
The legacy of Keating’s Redfern address – with Lorena Allam, Stan Grant and others
Saturday marked 30 years since Paul Keating addressed a crowd in Redfern, and delivered what is often referred to as the greatest speech in Australian political history. “The Redfern address” was the first time a prime minister spoke about the dispossession and violence Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had survived. What impact did it have? Listen to this 19-minute episode.
What they said …
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“… the Australian community can expect to experience new [Covid] waves on a regular basis for at least the next two years.” – Paul Kelly, chief medical officer
Covid will be with us for some time yet, but with the government rolling back PCR testing and other forms of support, and the growing threat of long Covid, are we sufficiently prepared?
In numbers
And that number has stalled. The latest data released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows the pay gap remains stuck at 22.8%.
Before bed read
Ken Campbell never liked sport, but then one day in his 60s he decided to keep his wife company on a trail run and discovered the joy of being out in the wild. At 70, he ran a 100km ultramarathon – with arthritis.
“I fall all the time,” he says, “[but the] sense of wellbeing and accomplishment will carry me on for ever. If I can’t run, I will walk.”
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