What happened today, Friday 14 May
OK, and with that we shall wrap up the blog for the day and for the week. Here are today’s main developments:
- The New South Wales MP Gareth Ward has stepped down from his role as the minister for families and from the Liberal party after revealing he was the subject of a police investigation.
- More than 70 of the 150 vulnerable Australians booked on the India repatriation flight have been thrown off the passenger list after they either tested positive to Covid-19 or were deemed close contacts of cases.
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Christian Porter’s defamation case against the ABC has effectively stalled while a judge decides whether his high-profile barrister has a conflict of interest in the case.
- Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, has urged an end to the violence in the Gaza Strip as the death toll rises amid fears of war.
- Tasmanian Liberal MP Adam Brooks will resign after being charged with alleged firearms offences by Queensland police.
- The Australian National University’s centre for social research and methods found confidence in the Morrison government has dipped below 50%.
- Incidents of family violence have jumped in Victoria, as the state emerged from Covid lockdowns.
- Australian neo-Nazi Tom Sewell has been arrested by counter-terrorism police in Melbourne over an alleged armed robbery earlier this month.
- Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys has lost his defamation case against the ABC over a report on the slaughter of retired racehorses.
Thanks for joining us today – please enjoy your weekend, wherever you may be!
Updated
I just want to break up the news a little with this lovely photo gallery of Muslims celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan:
Two children and two adults have been critically injured in a crash on the Warrego highway north-west of Toowoomba, according to the ABC.
Police said a bus carrying 17 children crashed into a car around 10km from Wallumbilla, in southern Queensland, this afternoon.
The two adults were trapped in the car and emergency crews had to cut a door and the roof of the car to get to them.
#Update1 - 20 patients are being treated at the bus and vehicle crash in #Wallumbilla. Two critical children, two critical adults, 15 stable children and one stable adult. Patients have already begun transport to Roma Hospital. Aero-medical assistance is being arranged.
— Queensland Ambulance (@QldAmbulance) May 14, 2021
Updated
So, it’s been a pretty hectic Friday evening, with Labor senator Penny Wong now lashing the PM for his “lies” on the Middle East.
In a statement, Wong points out that Scott Morrison, speaking at a Liberal party event today, said:
As a government, we believe in a two-state solution. It seems now in politics here in Australia that is no longer a bipartisan view and I think that’s disappointing.
But Wong points out the Labor has held the same position, having released a statement as recently as yesterday outlining it:
We join foreign minister, Marise Payne, in calling for a halt to actions that increase tensions including land appropriations, forced evictions, demolitions and settlement activity…
We remain committed to a just and enduring two-state solution, based on respect for human rights and consistent with international law.
Wong slams the PM for “lying about long-standing bipartisan foreign policy positions”.
This is a politician who will say and do anything if he thinks it’s clever political management, and who will always put his interests ahead of the national interest.
Mr Morrison’s prime ministership began by breaking decades of bipartisanship with the Jerusalem embassy debacle to pander for votes in the Wentworth byelection.
At a time when Australians with connection to the region are concerned about the safety and wellbeing of their loved ones, the prime minister’s attempts to gain political advantage on this issue is particularly offensive.
Updated
Racing NSW boss loses defamation case
Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys has lost his defamation case against the ABC over a report on the slaughter of retired racehorses.
V’landys claimed the ABC’s 7.30 program titled The Final Race, broadcast in October 2019, had conveyed four defamatory meanings about him.
The report featured graphic footage of retired racehorses being slaughtered at the Queensland abattoir Meramis.
The four claimed meanings included that he “callously permitted the wholesale slaughter of thoroughbred horses” and “dishonestly asserted that no racehorses were sent to knackeries for slaughter in NSW”.
But in the federal court on Friday, Justice Michael Wigney concluded the program did not convey those meanings, although it did not portray Vlandys in a positive light.
The judge said:
The ordinary reasonable viewer was likely to have been disturbed and even angered by the graphic footage of cruelty to racehorses.
The juxtaposition of that footage and Mr V’landys’ confident assertions about the effectiveness of Racing NSW’s rules made his assertions look rather foolish.
It also tended to convey that the regulators, including Mr V’landys, were ineffective if not incompetent when it came to dealing with the problem of ‘wastage’ in the racing industry.
It did not, however, convey that Mr V’landys actually knew that racehorses were being slaughtered and that his denials were callous and dishonest.
V’landys was ordered to pay the broadcaster’s legal costs.
Updated
Amnesty International condemns Morrison's India repatriation flight
Amnesty International has slammed the Morrison government for their organising of the repatriation flight to India, after it was revealed the flight had a high positive Covid test rate.
Amnesty International campaigner Joel MacKay called the attempt to bring vulnerable people in India back home “lazy policy-making.”
This is sadly not surprising, but it is entirely a situation of the Morrison government’s making. Refusing repatriation is lazy policy-making – it’s much easier to leave stranded Australians behind in India than it is to do the heavy lifting to make it safe for them to come home. The prime minister is taking the easy way out.
You can only imagine the heartbreak if you’re lucky enough to be allocated to one of the very few flights back to your home country, only to find that testing positive to Covid throws you on the mercy of a health system utterly failing under the weight of a pandemic out of control.
As Amnesty has been saying for a year, the government has an obligation under international human rights law to facilitate the return of its citizens. The government has had a year to work out an adequate quarantine system where those who are Covid positive can receive high quality care. What good is a quarantine system that can’t house sick people?
At this rate, all the people who desperately need to return from India won’t be repatriated for at least another four months. Not to mention all those people in other parts of the world who are still struggling to return.
The increasingly isolationist approach of this government is very concerning, particularly as it is in danger of breaching international law.
The organisation called for the government to book extra repatriation flights and to expand the national quarantine facility, support the states and territories to expand the hotel quarantine program, and support the Trips waiver proposal that will see Covid-19 vaccines distributed to developing nations faster.
Updated
Just a bit more on NSW Labor MLC Penny Sharpe’s reasons for resigning from the shadow Labor ministry over the mandatory disease testing bill.
In her speech on the legislation, she said the bill would give frontline workers the wrong signal that they are at significant risk of being infected with HIV, or hepatitis B or C if they are spat on or come into contact with other bodily fluids.
She said:
This is just not the case. The risk of transmission is almost zero. There does, however, remain a risk. It is why the communication and management of that risk is so important. It is why testing should only take place if there is an actual risk to that worker. If mandatory testing would guarantee that frontline workers could have peace of mind; if it would stop the need for them to follow risk management protocols after an incident; if it would prove that there is no chance that they had been infected then I would be more comfortable with this bill. Mandatory testing does not do this.
Those who will be forced to have blood taken from them will be among the most vulnerable in the community, she said:
It should be an action of last resort. The people who will be impacted by this bill will be those who come into close contact with frontline workers. Many of them will Aboriginal. Some will be only 14 years old. Many will have drug and alcohol issues, too many will have mental health problems and some will also have cognitive disability.
Updated
Australian neo-Nazi Tom Sewell arrested
Australian neo-Nazi Tom Sewell has been arrested by counter-terrorism police in Melbourne today, over an alleged armed robbery earlier this month.
Two men – 28-year-old Sewell and another 22-year-old – were arrested by counter-terror police, who also executed search warrants in Eildon Parade, Rowville.
You can read more on the story from Michael McGowan here:
Updated
The meeting between some of the stranded Australians and Anthony Albanese, Penny Wong and Michelle Rowland has ended. It was organised by Turbans for Australia, a group which is trying to raise the plight of the Australian-Indian diaspora who have been left without a way home and in a lot of cases, answers on how they can get home.
There was no resolution – there can’t be. It’s up to the government to change the policy, and right now, with a lack of adequate quarantine facilities, and a slow vaccine rollout, that is not going to happen. Albanese thanked the group for their time and their “contribution in making up modern Australia” and said it will take “passion and determination” to try and bring about change.
The issues will be raised in Senate estimates. There are not a lot of other answers to this – we don’t currently have a vaccination plan for Australians who are in India but they can’t get on a repatriation flight if they test positive for Covid – and in India, the number of infections is still growing daily. They don’t know what any of this will mean for their visas – are they still eligible to return to Australia given the amount of time they have spent overseas, and will their visas have been paused for the time they have been stuck in India, or is that it? Students don’t know when they can return to study, parents don’t know when they can be reunited with their children, and we don’t know yet how we are going to get unaccompanied minors home – let alone everyone else in that 9,000 strong cohort.
There’s not a lot of answers, but there is an increasing amount of desperation.
Updated
Labor is not able to offer a lot of answers to these stranded Australians participating in this Zoom meeting – which Michelle Rowland is very up front about.
We don’t have the answers to a lot of them, because we are not in government.
For Australians stranded in India, they do not know what is happening to their visa status – no one can tell them. They will not be vaccinated by the Australian government, and don’t know if they receive private vaccinations using the vaccines India is using, whether that will count in Australia. Those who are lucky enough to qualify for a loan from the department of foreign affairs are only able to access $2,000 – getting home will cost $6,000 at least. Minors need a direct relative to take them home – and there are about 173 who are unaccompanied in India. So how do you get them home?
Penny Wong has said Labor will raise these questions in estimates. This group has met with Alex Hawke previously though – and don’t feel confident they will get any more answers.
Updated
So, Marise Payne and Greg Hunt have just released a statement on the return of Australians from India, saying a plane has just departed Sydney to pick up passengers from New Delhi.
The statement also says the flight will carry “life-saving oxygen equipment” to India, as part of Australia’s support for the country.
Payne said:
These government-facilitated flights will be focused on returning Australian citizens, residents and families who have registered with our High Commission and consular offices within India and will prioritise the most vulnerable people.
According to the statement, the flight will be the second to carry essential medical supples to India, under the Morrison government’s $37.1m support package.
Updated
Victoria sees spike in incidents of family violence in 2020
Incidents of family violence have jumped in Victoria, as the state emerged from its Covid lockdowns.
AAP has the story:
The Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) on Friday released findings that revealed police recorded 7,981 more incidents of family violence in 2020 compared to 2019, representing an uplift of 9.4%.
This increase mirrors a three-year trend, CSA said.
There was a 15.3% increase in June last year, and a 16.1% increase in October, according to CSA’s Covid-19 family violence data portal, suggesting increases in reporting of family violence were linked to the easing of the lockdowns.
Family or sexual violence-related ambulance callouts were also higher during every month of 2020 compared with the same month in 2019, with the exceptions of November and December.
In these two months, there was a decrease of 13.7% and 20.9% respectively in callouts.
CSA chief statistician Fiona Dowsley said while the data suggests the number of incidents recorded and services provided was higher throughout 2020 compared to 2019, significant spikes in police-recorded incidents occurred as lockdown restrictions eased.
This, Dowsley said, emphasised the importance of “considering potential barriers to reporting faced by victim survivors when lockdown measures are in place”.
Victoria’s 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence recommended establishing the data portal as part of its findings.
Updated
A Zoom meeting between Australians stranded in India and surrounding countries and Anthony Albanese, Michelle Rowland and Penny Wong has begun.
More than 50 Australians are telling their stories. Most returned to care for family, or to meet their visa requirements, and have been stranded, in a lot of cases, since March. The ban on returning citizens has made accessing a way home even harder. One, a 14-year-old boy who is in India with his mother, has just been told his Australian school will no longer be offering online schooling, meaning he is falling behind. His father has been trying to organise the return of his family for more than a year.
So far, Labor can not offer any answers. Albanese has told the meeting that it is a “fundamental principle” that Australians should have access to their own country.
The real tragedy is the separation of families and Australia should be doing all they can to get them home.
Updated
Thanks Josh, and the rest of the team for guiding us through the day’s news.
I will have the blog for the rest of the evening, and there is still much to get through so let’s get stuck in.
And with that, I will hand over to my colleague, Mostafa Rachwani, to take you through the evening.
NSW Labor’s shadow minister for family and community services, Penny Sharpe has resigned from the shadow ministry because she will not vote in favour of the state government’s mandatory disease testing legislation.
The legislation will require anyone who assaults a frontline worker to be subjected to a mandatory blood test for HIV and hepatitis B and C.
Labor will support the legislation, but Sharpe said she would abstain, meaning she will need to resign “with great sadness” from her roles, but would remain in parliament.
For over 30 years I have been involved in law reform and policy development with the focus of trying to save lives and minimise risk to the community from blood borne viruses.
I have campaigned with others to remove the stigma faced by those who have been infected with HIV and hepatitis.
She said that experience meant she could not support the bill.
Updated
Barry O’Farrell says he has asked the government to look at what can be done to ensure the flights can be full in the future if others test positive. Say for example, a standby system. He didn’t say it in those words, but I think that was what he was getting at.
Updated
Australia’s high commissioner in India, Barry O’Farrell, is on ABC being asked about the news that nearly half of those who were due to come back to Australia on the first repatriation flight since the travel ban will no longer be able to travel due to either testing positive for Covid-19, or being a close contact of someone who has.
He says 10,000 have registered to come home.
On the issue of unaccompanied children in India trying to get back to Australia, he says the difficulty is getting airlines to accept unaccompanied children coming back, and secondly needing an adult to quarantine with them on their return to Australia.
He said:
People in Australia should understand that these children are normally brought to India by their parents, they stay with their grandparents, a safe environment for a number of months and then normally the parents will pick them up and take them to Australia. But both India and Australia closed their borders, and there is an international flight ban, there are very few flights in and out of Australia, and there were very few that enable unaccompanied children, especially young children, to return home unaccompanied.
Updated
The plane bringing Australians back from India was sent over this morning with more medical supplies.
Pleased to see a government facilitated Qantas flight leaving Sydney today to return Australians from India. The flight is carrying 1056 ventilators & 60 oxygen concentrators to support 🇮🇳’s COVID-19 response. We will continue to support our friends during this challenging time. pic.twitter.com/8brvIAKovP
— Marise Payne (@MarisePayne) May 14, 2021
Guardian Australia has now confirmed that of the 150 vulnerable Australians booked to take the first repatriation flight home from India when the travel ban expires, more than 40 have tested positive to Covid-19. The number who will be unable to fly rises to more than 70 when you factor in the close contacts of those who have tested positive.
The flight is due to leave Delhi after midnight and travel to the Northern Territory where repatriated Australians will quarantine at the Howard Springs facility.
These numbers come from the first Covid test, which is administered 48 hours before flying. There is a second test administered eight hours before flying (later this afternoon), meaning it’s possible that more than 70 people will be barred from the flight.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to substitute other Australians onto the flight at short notice because of the strict processes to prepare for the repatriation flights (to gather at a hotel for a period and test negative before flying).
There are 9,500 Australians stranded in India, 950 of who are classed as vulnerable and 173 of who are unaccompanied minors.
Here’s some more detail on how the contact tracing for the latest Covid case in Victoria is going via the daily department press release:
All three of the individual’s household primary close contacts have been tested and returned negative results. As primary close contacts, they remain in isolation. In addition, as of midday today:
- 41 patrons and staff who attended the Curry Vault CBD exposure site are currently identified as primary close contacts. All have returned negative test results.
- 17 people who attended the Pact Altona North exposure site are currently identified as primary close contacts, and 14 negative test results have so far been returned.
- 31 people who attended the Indiagate Epping exposure site are currently identified as primary close contacts. All have returned negative test results.
- 60 people who attended the Woolworths Epping exposure site are currently identified as primary close contacts, and 49 negative test results have so far been returned.
Six people now in Victoria have been identified as having recently left Level 3 of the Playford Hotel in Adelaide during the potential transmission period of positive Covid-19 cases undertaking South Australian hotel quarantine.
All six are undertaking 14 days home quarantine in Victoria since their departure from the Adelaide hotel.
They were tested yesterday and all six have returned negative results.
It’s been reported that about 70 Australians will be unable to fly on the first repatriation flight scheduled to arrive in Darwin tomorrow because they have contracted Covid or are close contacts of cases.
The Guardian has contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for further clarification, and a spokeswoman said the department was working to provide more clarification on the matter.
It is unclear if the seats the roughly 70 passengers have been forced to forfeit because of their Covid status will be offered to other vulnerable Australians before the plane departs.
It is understood the flight was planned to repatriate about 150 Australians.
Australia’s high commissioner to India Barry O’Farrell told the ABC:
Obviously I’m disappointed, as are those Australians who will not be on today’s flight.
My team has worked hard across India to get them bookings on this flight because they are vulnerable.
Updated
No new Covid-19 cases in South Australia.
South Australian COVID-19 update 14/5/21. For more information, go to https://t.co/e4B14m8DML or contact the South Australian COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787. pic.twitter.com/2l0zmhLUkj
— SA Health (@SAHealth) May 14, 2021
Also in that News Breakfast interview was this exchange in which Stuart Robert defended Liberal MP Andrew Laming by saying he is “clearly” meeting the standard he has set for himself.
I’m not sure that is quite the ringing endorsement he intended.
Here is the full exchange:
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
Okay. Just before we go, your Queensland Liberal Party college Andrew Laming was back in Parliament this week. He’s been accused of all sorts of unsavoury conduct towards women, including trolling women online. Why does the Government still take his vote?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Well, Andrew Laming’s released a statement. He’s gone and sought assistance. He’s gone and received medication and training. So he’s doing everything he possibly can. And I’ll leave his statements to stand for what he’s doing and what he’s up to.
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
He took a photo of a young woman as she was bending over to fill a fridge in a Brisbane landscaping store. He described that as an utterly appropriate workplace photo. What do you think of that conduct?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Well, again, Andrew Laming has dealt with that issue a number of months ago when it arrived. He released a statement about it, and we should leave it at that.
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
Is Andrew Laming a man of good character, in your view?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Well, again, Andrew Laming has released a statement about his behaviour. He’s talked about the training he’s undergoing, the medical attention he’s sought, as well as the medication he’s sought.
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
Yes, but you’re a colleague of his. Is he a man of good character?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Well, I’m not one who judges character, Michael. If we all went around judging each other’s character...
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
[Talks over] You’ve known him for a fair while. You’ve been in parliament a while and so has he…
MINISTER ROBERT:
[Talks over] there’d be two friends amongst the place...
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
I know, but is he a man of good character?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Andrew Laming is a man who has outlined the challenges he’s had. He’s outlined the training and medical assistance he’s sought, as well as the medication he’s sought. And he’s fulfilling all of those obligations that he’s set for himself.
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
And the government will still take his vote looking forward?
MINISTER ROBERT:
We’ll continue to work with Andrew as long as Andrew continues to adhere to all of the standards he’s set for himself, which clearly he is.
70 Australians reportedly barred from first evacuation flight from New Delhi
Multiple outlets are reporting 40 people who were due to be evacuated from New Dehli on the first evacuation flight since the India travel ban have tested positive to Covid-19, meaning they can no longer fly. Including close contacts, 70 out of the 150 Australians who booked on the flight will not be able to return now.
#BREAKING: More than 70 people who were due to return home to Australia on the first repatriation flight from India will be unable to board the plane. Around 40 have tested positive for COVID-19 and another 30 have been identified as close contacts. @abcnews
— Chelsea Hetherington (@chelsea_hetho) May 14, 2021
Updated
The employment minister, Stuart Robert, was asked on ABC News Breakfast this morning about Anthony Albanese’s commitment in the budget reply speech to criminalise wage theft.
Asked if wage theft should be criminalised, Robert falsely claimed the Coalition had tried but didn’t have the Senate numbers to do so:
I think it should be. And in fact, our industrial relations bill that got knocked on the head in the Senate actually included provisions to do exactly that ... Wage theft unfortunately was not able to be gotten through the Senate, whereas that [casual provision] was the provision we took through. I think we all agree that it should be illegal for wages not to be paid legitimately and lawfully to Australians. We’re on a unity ticket on that.
In fact, the Coalition removed the wage theft section from its own bill after other pro-business sections were blocked.
Labor’s shadow industrial relations minister, Tony Burke, told Guardian Australia:
The Liberals had the numbers to pass wage theft through the Senate. Easily. Labor and the Senate crossbench voted to keep wage theft laws. The government teamed up with One Nation to withdraw the laws out of pure spite. When they realised Labor would not support cuts to pay and conditions they had a tantrum and voted against their own wage theft legislation. They sent a clear message to wage thieves: keep it up.
Updated
In case you missed it, independent MP Craig Kelly yesterday indicated he wants Facebook to be found in contempt of parliament for removing his Facebook page after he repeatedly posted misinformation.
NEW VIDEO: “Craig Kelly MP banned from Facebook, wants them done for contempt of parliament” https://t.co/lNvvgXslHz
— Stilgherrian (@stilgherrian) May 14, 2021
Here’s his 8-minute speech from the House of Reps yesterday. I figured this may have been lost in all the Budget news. Enjoy.
Scott Morrison comments on Israel-Palestine
Prime minister Scott Morrison has just been asked about the situation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank at a post-budget lunch.
Morrison said:
It’s obviously a deeply sensitive topic. And it’s one I’m both personally and our government is deeply concerned by, the terrible and escalating violence we’re seeing in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. As always we’d urge all those involved to exercise restraint, to restore calm so people can live peacefully. And avoid unilateral actions that might destabilise peace.
That said, Israel unquestionably has the right to defend itself and its people. Unquestionably. And equally Palestinians need to be able to live peacefully.
As a government we believe in a two-state solution. It seems now in politics in Australia that is no longer a bipartisan view, and I think that is disappointing. That is certainly our government’s view. We stand strongly with the nation of Israel and its many challenges over many, many years.
Indiscriminate attacks with wanton disregard for civilian casualties perpetuate the cycle of violence and bloodshed. The protection of civilians remains paramount. And it’s just very important that we continue to be mindful of the human beings who are in positions of great dangers, uncertainty and fear.
The world is not as we’d like it to be – it is as it is. And within that we have to recognise the rights of nations like Israel to defend themselves. And our shared obligation to ensure that we all can live peacefully in the region, including in Palestine.
Morrison’s reference to the two-state solution no longer being bipartisan in Australia is an attack against his Labor opponents, and not strictly accurate.
At its national conference in March, Labor recommitted to a two-state solution but also agreed to an amendment that a Labor government would recognise Palestine as a state and “expects that this issue will be an important priority for the next Labor government”.
Updated
Immigration minister Alex Hawke has been forced to defend new laws that allow for refugees convicted of serious crimes to be locked up for life.
Refugee lawyers are furious after the indefinite detention powers were quickly and quietly ushered through parliament with bipartisan support this week.
Individuals affected by the laws are now faced with a stark choice between going back to their country of origin – where they could face persecution – or spending decades in immigration detention.
Hawke insisted the laws were not created to redesign the country’s immigration detention framework.
“The government takes its international obligations very seriously, and has a longstanding policy to not forcibly remove an unlawful non-citizen in breach of Australia’s non-refoulement obligations,” he said.
“The amendments are designed to ensure that detainees are not required to be removed in breach of Australia’s international protection obligations.”
Jana Favero from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre said the bill had been rushed through parliament without proper scrutiny of its alarming consequences.
She said the legislation did nothing to protect against the forcible return of refugees to their country of origin.
“Even worse, its real consequence and purpose is to obscure worsening human rights abuses through the minister’s discriminative, arbitrary and unchecked power to indefinitely detain refugees whose visas have been cancelled, for the rest of their lives without any independent oversight or fair legal process,” Favero said.
Labor successfully moved amendments to introduce a merits review into the process and ensure the laws are reviewed by parliament’s intelligence and security committee after two years.
The Greens opposed the legislation.
Updated
*Updated vaccination figures*
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) May 14, 2021
The total number of vaccines administered in NSW is now 867,188, with 264,135 doses administered by NSW Health to 8pm last night and 603,053 administered by Australian Government providers including GPs, to 11:59pm on Wednesday 12 May 2021. pic.twitter.com/il4U8ntzwt
A man who went on a violent rampage in Sydney’s CBD after murdering a vulnerable woman in a “cruel, brutal attack” has been jailed for at least 33 years, AAP reports.
Mert Ney pleaded guilty to the stabbing murder of escort Michaela Dunn, 24, in a Clarence Street apartment on 13 August 2019.
The 23-year-old also admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm for stabbing Lin Bo during his rampage.
In the NSW supreme court on Friday, justice Peter Johnson jailed him for 44 years with non-parole period of 33 years.
He found Ney was a dangerous man who had had gone into the city to murder a young woman, to use violence and to terrify people.
Although he had yelled “Allahu Akbar” on the street and delivered the Islamic State salute, the judge found he was not a religious zealot and the crimes did not relate to terrorism.
Because of Ney’s mental health, he rejected the crown’s submission that he should be jailed for the rest of his life.
Updated
Victoria’s environmental regulator has accused an e-waste recycling company of causing water and atmospheric pollution after a fire in Melbourne’s north, AAP reports.
The Environment Protection Authority laid 12 charges against MRI Pty Ltd on Friday in relation to a fire that allegedly polluted Merlynston creek and Foden reserve in August 2020.
MRI was also charged with contravening conditions of its licence relating to the storage of e-waste at its Campbellfield factory.
It faces a maximum penalty of $396,528.
MRI’s factory blaze sent out toxic smoke and took 75 firefighters roughly five hours to extinguish.
Last year the EPA found the firm was storing more waste than its licence allowed and directed it to stop accepting any more until back under the threshold.
A show-cause notice was later issued by the EPA, demanding MRI explain why its licence should not be suspended.
Melbourne has experienced several large-scale industrial fires, with warehouses full of illegally stored toxic chemicals erupting in flames at West Footscray and Campbellfield in 2018 and 2017.
Updated
Labor is seeking to wrest the federal seat of Brisbane from the Liberals with the preselection of businesswoman Madonna Jarrett.
AAP reports Jarrett, Deloitte Australia’s director of global risk and public policy, is a former policy adviser in the Goss state government.
Voters in the seat of Brisbane went against trend to register a swing from the Liberals’ sitting member, Trevor Evans, at the 2019 election. Evans – the assistant minister for waste reduction – holds the seat by a margin just less than 5%.
The 2019 contest iwas made tighter by the fact Andrew Bartlett, a former Queensland senator, ran for the Greens and scored more than 22% of the primary vote.
Before 2010, Labor had held the seat for 30 years.
Updated
The ABC has cut away from the PM’s speech so I will try to find a stream, or just return when we get the broadcast again.
Updated
Scott Morrison says if Australia had the same Covid fatality rate as other parts of the world, we would have had 30,000 more deaths than we have currently recorded.
Scott Morrison is telling Liberal members why his government has been decidedly un-Liberal in its policies in response to Covid, but why he sees that as being Liberal.
He said:
It has been about a year, in fact a bit more than that, since Covid crashed into the globe and the virus today and the pandemic that we face today continues ... In fact, it is worse now than it was at this time last year and we live in a world that is increasingly uncertain and I want to echo what Angus [Taylor] has just said. We have to deal with the times we are in. We have to deal with the world as it is, not as with necessarily would like it to be.
I think that is the practical nature of Liberal-National governments and always has been. It was the Menzies government originally that was dealing with the building process after World War II, [and then there’s] the prosperity period that was enabled under the Howard government. We are dealing with the pandemic times and having to take the decisions consistent with liberal values enable us to take this country through.
Updated
PM addresses post-budget lunch
The PM is speaking at a post-budget lunch in Sydney now, so I’ll bring you some of what he says.
Updated
Funny that.
There’s...something different about this latest Moderna announcement compared with the Pfizer one earlier in the year. Can’t quite pick what it is... #auspol pic.twitter.com/vg1tCKQrek
— Michael Rowland (@mjrowland68) May 14, 2021
Scammers are pretending to be the Australian Cyber Security Centre, offering to resolve malware issues, and then trying to get sensitive personal information, or bank account login details.
They might also request people to buy cryptocurrencies or gift cards for them.
❗ ALERT ❗ Scammers are impersonating ACSC employees or claiming to be working in collaboration with the ACSC. We will never contact you to request access to your computer. To protect yourself and others, please share. https://t.co/Lg3eIaZ85y pic.twitter.com/JHaEs6kz9p
— Australian Cyber Security Centre (@CyberGovAU) May 14, 2021
Anglicare Australia has welcomed Labor’s social housing commitment in last night’s budget reply speech.
Anglicare Australia’s executive director Kasy Chambers said:
For years we have been saying that the federal government should be leading efforts to build social housing. Housing is a national problem and it needs national leadership.
Years of neglect have led to a huge shortfall in social housing across the country. We need more than 430,000 homes across the country. That number is only going to grow.
Last night’s speech recognised that the Australian government should be a leader instead of a spectator. The pledge to build 20,000 new homes, and to keep building, is a solid start.
This commitment would make a real difference for people across the country who have been waiting for years for a home – especially women, children, and older people.
Anglicare Australia’s rental affordability snapshot, released before the budget, showed that single parents on jobseeker or the parenting payment can afford less than 0.3% of private rentals.
Most of these parents are women; 40% of them rely on these payments as their main source of income.
Social housing is the best way to keep them out of housing stress and make sure they have a secure home.
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Porter ABC defamation case on hold
An attempt to block Christian Porter’s high-profile Sydney barrister from acting in the former attorney general’s defamation case turned an otherwise procedural hearing in the federal court on Friday into a fiery encounter which saw justice Jayne Jagot effectively put the case on hold for a fortnight.
Though Porter’s high-stakes case against the ABC and journalist Louise Milligan is months from trial, an intervention from Jo Dyer, a friend of the woman who accused Porter of rape, to stop Sue Chrysanthou SC acting for Porter led Jagot to make an order on Friday effectively pausing the case.
Dyer, a debater with the complainant in the late 1980s, appeared in a Four Corners episode in November in which she accused Porter of displaying “an assuredness that’s perhaps born of privilege”.
She has claimed she sought advice from Chrysanthou after an article in the Australian newspaper described the program as “a poorly executed political hatchet job”, and that the Sydney defamation specialist had reviewed a legal letter sent on her behalf.
Dyer’s lawyers are seeking an order restraining her from acting in the case on the basis it is “necessary to prevent prejudice to the proper administration of justice, and to preserve confidentiality and legal professional privilege”.
Lawyers for both Porter and Chrysanthou have argued the barrister has no substantive memory of her dealings with Dyer.
Jagot had earlier said Chrysanthou may need to be “quarantined” and “isolated” from the case until the matter was decided, but after fiery submissions from Porter’s other silk, Bret Walker SC, in which he said isolating her would cause “irreparable harm” to the former attorney general’s case, decided to instead delay the hearings until 26 May.
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Employment minister Stuart Robert wants wage theft outlawed despite abandoning the commitment two months ago, AAP reports.
Labor has committed to criminalising wage theft if it wins power at the next election.
Robert claims the Coalition also remains committed to the idea despite dumping the provisions from its industrial relations package earlier this year.
“Wage theft, unfortunately, was not able to be gotten through the Senate,” he told the ABC on Friday.
“We all agree that it should be illegal for wages not to be paid legitimately and lawfully to Australians. We’re on a unity ticket on that.”
Robert declined the invitation to introduce legislation specifically aimed at criminalising wage theft, despite the guarantee it would sail through parliament.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has accused the Coalition of behaving like an eight-year-old child who threw a tantrum when it spiked the wage theft provisions.
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The deputy prime minister looking at things, cutting ribbons.
Servicing up to 3,000 people, the 17.9-kilometre #Yass to #Murrumbateman water pipeline is now complete.
— Michael McCormack (@M_McCormackMP) May 14, 2021
This $14.2 million investment will dramatically improve water quality and supply, especially during Summer. #RegionsMatter pic.twitter.com/fSkIVvjCT6
The Greens are seeking to oust a prominent Labor MP at the next federal election and put the first Indigenous Victorian in the lower house, AAP reports.
Arrente woman, unionist and writer Celeste Liddle has been preselected as the Greens candidate for the Melbourne seat of Cooper.
Labor’s Ged Kearney – a former president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions – won the seat in 2019, defeating Greens candidate David Risstrom 64.65% to 35.35% on a two-candidate basis.
The Greens outpolled the Liberals on primary votes.
If elected, Liddle would be the first Victorian Indigenous member of the House of Representatives.
“Celeste is a fierce advocate for working people and I’m thrilled that she’s chosen to take her years of community activism and campaigning to the heart of Australia’s democracy,” Greens leader Adam Bandt said on Friday.
“With Celeste Liddle and the Greens in the balance of power after the next election, the people of Cooper would have one of the most powerful MPs in the country.”
Cooper is a progressive, multicultural seat with a sizeable population of Indigenous people.
Liddle said if elected she would continue a long tradition of activism.
“Cooper [is] a seat named after Yorta Yorta man William Cooper who is celebrated internationally for his private citizen protest against the atrocities of Kristallnacht, and was one of the key organisers of the 1938 day of mourning protest,” she said.
“Should I be successful, I would hope to continue his legacy of activism and compassion.”
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More cold days ahead for south-eastern Australia.
You will feel the chill 🥶 if you live in southern #SA, #NSW and all of #Vic and #Tas, as cold fronts move through from the Southern Ocean, bringing a 3-day wintery blast of cold, wet and windy weather.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) May 14, 2021
Latest forecasts & warnings: https://t.co/YRNaGYP9ci pic.twitter.com/yaqsY43HpF
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The Australian Signals Directorate refuses to say who was behind an attack on parliament’s IT systems in March, despite confirming it knows who it was.
The parliamentary services department confirmed an outage of the system that manages mobile devices was caused by the department shutting the system to prevent an attempted intrusion into the parliamentary computer network.
It meant parliamentary staffers were unable to access their emails on the weekend the attack occurred.
Although no data was lost, the system is still only being used in a limited capacity, with most people on the network now connected to a new mobile device management system that was fast-tracked when the attack occurred.
In response to a question on notice from Labor in Senate estimates, Australian Signals Directorate said it had identified who was responsible but said “attribution is a matter for government, and only made when in the national interest”.
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Community leader Prof Eleanor Bourke will chair Victoria’s Australia-first inquiry into injustices committed against Indigenous people, AAP reports.
The Wergaia/Wamba Wamba elder will head the five people who will run the Yoo-rrook justice commission.
Dr Wayne Atkinson, Sue-Anne Hunter, Distinguished Prof Maggie Walter and Prof Kevin Bell QC were also announced as commissioners.
The inquiry will look at historic and ongoing injustices and is named after the Wemba Wemba-Wamba Wamba word for truth.
It will be independent of government and have the powers of a royal commission and will recommend reforms and help guide the state’s treaty negotiations with communities.
“I feel, for this century, this was a logical step for us,” Bourke said at Friday’s announcement.
“People are watching us ... [I start] with some trepidation. I didn’t sleep very well last night, but we just need to get on with that.”
The announcement was made at Melbourne’s Yarra Bend park, the site of the Merri Creek Protectorate State and Merri Creek Aboriginal School, where many Aboriginal communities were separated from their lands.
Next week’s state budget will set aside $58m for the commission.
First People’s Assembly of Victoria co-chair Marcus Stewart said 64 people had applied for the five commission places.
“What we have in front of us is an amazing opportunity for all Victorians, but most importantly it marks a day for our community, our mob in Victoria.”
The commission will deliver an interim report by 30 June next year and a final report by 30 June 2024.
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The Queensland government says it’s taking smaller Covid-19 vaccine deliveries because more supplies are going directly to GPs, AAP reports.
The state received 41,160 doses in the week ending 25 April and 24,570 doses the following week.
Health minister Yvette D’Ath said the drop occurred because AstraZeneca doses, unsuitable for younger health workers, were returned to the federal government.
Official health advice is that Australians under 50 should get the Pfizer vaccine.
“You will see a total reduction in our vaccines going forward because we are not getting AstraZeneca supplied to us over the next two weeks,” D’Ath said.
A deal has been struck with the commonwealth for AstraZeneca doses to be sent directly to Queensland GPs for the wider rollout.
“There is no less AstraZeneca coming into Queensland for Queenslanders,” she said.
“It is coming in; it’s now going directly to GPs, instead of coming to the state government.”
The vaccine rollout will restart in the Torres Strait on Monday, more than a month after it was paused on 16 April.
The state government halted the vaccine drive there amid concerns about giving the region’s younger population the AZ vaccine.
However, supplies of the Pfizer vaccine have arrived and the rollout will continue.
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Hello, Josh Taylor here for the next few hours on the live blog. We are expecting the PM to give a post budget address in Sydney at 1.30pm. So I’m sure we will have more on that in the next couple of hours.
A leading UK climate official says Australia is alone among major countries in that neither its national government nor opposition have a significant climate plan, frustrating local business leaders.
Nigel Topping, the UN’s “high-level champion” whose role involves global outreach to drive global ambition ahead of the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow in November, said he had not seen another country in which no major political party had a plan to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Morrison government would face “a certain amount of pressure” to lift its ambition on climate at the G7 meeting in England next month, where Australia is one of four invited guest nations. All G7 members have targets to cut emissions by at least 40% below 2005 levels by 2030 and reach net zero emissions no later than 2050.
You can read the full report below:
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Payne calls on Israel and Palestine to end violence
Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, has urged an end to the violence in the Gaza strip as the death toll rises amid fears of war, AAP reports.
More than 100 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed in the most violent flare-up in several years.
Speaking in Washington on Friday, Payne said the Australian government was deeply concerned about the escalating violence.
We’ve unequivocally called on all leaders to take immediate steps to halt violence, to maintain restraint, and to restore calm ...
Our strong view is that violence is no solution ... Whether they are rocket attacks or indiscriminate acts that fuel the cycle of violence and bloodshed, they are also never justified.
We have urged all parties to refrain from violent or provocative acts, calling for a halt to any actions that increase tensions.
Payne said Australia would play an active role if discussions were held by the United Nations, which fears the situation could explode into full-scale war.
On Thursday prime minister Scott Morrison restated the government’s policy of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, describing Australia as an agent for peace.
He urged Australians with ties to the conflict to act with tolerance and respect.
By all means, people can have concerns and views, and there is a tolerance for that, but at the same time we do not want to import the troubles of other parts of the world into this country.
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Tasmanian Liberal MP to step down
There is some big breaking news coming out of Tasmania today. Liberal MP Adam Brooks, will resign after being charged with alleged firearms offences by Queensland police, premier Peter Gutwein said.
Gutwein has confirmed Brooks was interstate and would not be taking up his in parliament.
He maintains his innocence in terms of these new charges. He’s indicating that he’s seeking legal advice, and intends to defend himself ...
He is very unwell ... He is seeking treatment, but he’s not in a good space at the moment.
#Breaking: Adam Brooks is being treated interstate for mental health. Premier Gutwein says he is unwell but getting support in Queensland. He has been visited by Queensland Pol and charged with a firearms offence. He has resigned. @WINNews_Tas #politas. pic.twitter.com/vFX5iyG0lw
— Tarlia Jordan (@tarliaj14) May 14, 2021
Adam Brooks will not take his seat in parliament and will resign today. Premier Peter Gutwein says he has been charged by QLD police over firearms offences. He also says Adam Brooks is undertaking treatment for his mental health. #politas
— Judy Augustine (@JudyAugustine) May 14, 2021
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Hello all, Matilda Boseley here to take you through the next little bit of the day on the blog. Thanks so much to Ben Doherty for his amazing coverage this morning!
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More on Christian Porter:
We’re months away from the trial, but Porter’s defamation case against the ABC is already getting complicated.
An interlocutory hearing down for this morning was complicated by a separate application made by Jo Dyer, a friend of the woman who accused Porter of rape, to stop high-profile Sydney barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC from acting for the former attorney general on the basis she had previously advised Dyer in a separate matter.
Justice Jayne Jagot said this morning that the application meant she would either be forced to stay the proceedings until the Chrysanthou matter was resolved – likely to be later in May – or the barrister would have to be “effectively isolated” from the case until that happened.
The hearing has been delayed until 10.30 while Porter’s other lawyer, Bret Walker SC, is fetched to appear on whether Chrysanthou can be heard in the matter.
The Dyer application is also down for later today but that’s expected to just be a confirmation of the timeline of that matter.
Porter was back in parliament this week.
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* So it wasn’t Romy after all ...
** Contractually mandated, sole pop-culture reference.
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To Australian politics, and the parliamentary sitting week just concluded:
The Greens want federal parliament to set up an independent commission of inquiry into Christian Porter’s fitness to be a minister and an allegation of sexual assault against him.
In February the ABC reported a cabinet minister had been accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old in 1988 when he was 17. Porter subsequently denied the allegation and has since sued the ABC for defamation.
The Greens senator Larissa Waters hopes to introduce a bill that would set up an inquiry given the allegation will not be directly tested in Porter’s defamation case against the ABC.
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Also overseas, from Julian Borger: there have been more than 130 incidents of unexplained brain injury known as Havana syndrome among US diplomats, spies and defence officials, some of them within the past few weeks, it has been reported.
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And to the Middle East:
AFP reports that the Israeli army now says it has not entered the Gaza strip:
#BREAKING Israeli army says has not entered Gaza Strip pic.twitter.com/xyMSmLpYC5
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 13, 2021
Journalist Anshel Pfeffer, who reports for Haaretz and the Economist, has tweeted: “The Israeli army’s line now, after a series of contradicting briefings over the last couple of hours, is that there are no Israeli troops actually inside the Gaza strip right now. Make of it what you will.”
The Israeli army’s line now, after a series of contradicting briefings over the last couple of hours, is that there are no Israeli troops actually inside the Gaza Strip right now. Make of it what you will.
— Anshel Pfeffer אנשיל פפר (@AnshelPfeffer) May 13, 2021
Meanwhile, in 2 hours since Israel began its latest massive attack on Hamas in Gaza, there has been another rocket attack on Ashkelon and Ashdod on average every ten minutes
— Anshel Pfeffer אנשיל פפר (@AnshelPfeffer) May 13, 2021
Here is our report on what we know so far:
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To our region. Samoa, one of the most stable democracies in the Pacific – the prime minister there is the third-longest serving in the world – is in the midst of a bloodless coup.
It’s an extraordinary situation, and this is a vital explainer from Fiona Ey.
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From our hard-working friends at AAP:
Defence minister Peter Dutton insists the quarantine system will be able to cope when the travel ban lifts and flights from India resume.
The first plane load of Australians from India will land on Saturday morning after flights were suspended for several weeks to allow the Howard Springs quarantine facility in Darwin to deal with positive Covid-19 cases before more potentially infectious people arrived.
Dutton said the commonwealth had been working closely with the Northern Territory government since the India travel ban was imposed.
“We will continue to work particularly with vulnerable groups to help them back into our country as quickly as possible,” he told Nine on Friday.
“We have put in other measures around pre-flight testing and making sure if we’re bringing people out of a zone like India at the moment we can do it safely so we don’t undo what is a magnificent story here in Australia.”
Complicating that story is mixed messages about the timetable for the vaccine rollout.
Dutton insists everyone willing to be vaccinated will receive two shots by the end of this year.
“Now some people will make a decision that they don’t want the vaccine, and the government is not going to force them to have the vaccine, so let’s be realistic in terms of some parts of society,” he said.
This end of year deadline puts Dutton directly at odds with the prime minister, who has spent the week walking back an end date for the rollout’s completion.
The treasurer and health minister have also clashed on the rollout timeline.
Deputy opposition leader Richard Marles leapt on the mixed messaging.
“You’ve got complete confusion, even with Peter today, as to whether or not there’s going to be two jabs by the end of the year,” Marles said.
“They can’t give you a straight answer in relation to that question and we all know properly vaccinating the country is how we actually more forward and past this in an economic sense.”
The government has ordered 25m doses of Moderna vaccines, giving its rollout a shot in the arm.
Marles said the vaccine deal should have been secured last year.
“The reason why we are now back on the queue is because the work they’re doing now they didn’t do last year when it mattered,” he said.
“This time last year we knew vaccines were in the pipeline. It was then the government should have been actually spreading the country’s risk.
“Instead they bet the house on the idea AstraZeneca being manufactured in Australia would be able to do the whole job.”
The first 10m doses of Moderna are due to arrive this year while the rest – booster jabs for different variants – are slated to be delivered next year.
The Moderna jab has not yet been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration but the company is expected to apply for that soon.
People under 50 are set to receive the Moderna vaccine.
CSL is already making the AstraZeneca vaccine in Melbourne; the Pfizer vaccine is fully imported.
A clear flow of supply will be needed as GPs begin the rollout to all Australians aged over 50 next week.
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Survey finds confidence in Morrison government has dipped below 50%
The ANU’s centre for social research and methods has released longitudinal survey data showing that confidence in the federal government has dipped below 50% for the first time during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The survey of 3,200 adults found a very large decline in confidence from 54.3% in January to 45.4% in April. Confidence peaked at 60.6% in May 2020, but the current score is still higher than the lows of 27.3% the federal government hit in January 2020 after the summer bushfires.
Study co-author Nicholas Biddle said:
There has been a large decline in the number of Australians who said they would vote for the Coalition. In January this sat at 40.3%. In April this was 37.3%. Between January and April satisfaction with the direction of the country also declined – dropping from 78.9% of Australians saying they were satisfied to 75.7%.
There were also some interesting findings about sexual harassment:
- More than three-quarters of Australians (76.8%) think “men getting away with committing sexual harassment or assault” was a major problem
- Almost three-quarters of Australians (71.6%) said “women not being believed when they claim that they have experienced sexual harassment or assault” was also a major problem
- A minority of Australians (40.9%) say “employers firing men who have been accused of sexual harassment or assault before finding out all the facts” was a major problem
- A slightly larger number (41.9%) think “women claiming they have experienced sexual harassment or assault when it hasn’t actually occurred” was a major problem.
To me, that suggests allegations of sexual harassment or assault are incredibly divisive. And the issue is a lot more nuanced than believing men or believing women as a good chunk of the sample must have said both that men get away with harassment but women claim it happened when it didn’t.
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In September last year the government lost a case in the federal court which ordered it to release a Syrian refugee it was holding in immigration detention indefinitely.
Yesterday it pushed through legislation which allows it to detain refugees indefinitely, potentially for the rest of their lives.
The bill ostensibly was written to strengthen Australia’s non-refoulement obligations: that is, confirming it would not send refugees back to a place where they would face harm.
But it has also given ministers in the home affairs portfolio extraordinary powers of detention, and even to withdraw recognition of a person’s refugee status – their right to be protected from harm.
The Morrison Government has broad powers to cancel visas of refugees for a range of minor reasons.
— David Burke (@DavidHRLC) May 13, 2021
Now it has the power to even overturn the refugee status of these people and send them back to harm
Refugee status must not be a day-by-day propositionhttps://t.co/qbzlaoSG3X
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To return to the federal budget:
Jessica Sier reports:
Housing affordability is likely to remain a crippling problem for Australia’s low-income earners, community housing providers say, and Tuesday’s budget fails to address supply shortages and the rental crisis gripping the regions.
Although the industry is relieved housing affordability is on the national agenda, it said the government’s plan to provide $124.7m over two years to support homelessness and affordable housing falls short of the needed infrastructure spending.
“It’s just not going to change the dial on the bricks and mortar problems we have,” Rob Ellis, the general manager community services and housing at BaptistCare, a provider of community housing, said.
“We’re talking about women and children becoming homeless and having no place to go, and we often have to turn them away because we literally don’t have any houses. It’s terrible.”
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Israel appears to have launched its most intense attack on Gaza so far.
Israel’s military has said “ground troops” have begun attacking in the Gaza strip after days of airstrikes, prompting fears of a ground invasion.
“[Israel defence forces] air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza strip,” the military said in a statement just after midnight local time, without providing further details.
Shortly afterwards, in an apparent reference to the operation, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted: “The last word was not said and this operation will continue as long as necessary.”
Hazem Balousha, a journalist in Gaza city, said residents heard intense bombardments and attacks to the north of the strip since just after midnight.
“It lasted half an hour,” he said. “Very loud; buildings were shaking. My building was really shaking.”
We have rolling coverage of that worsening conflict here:
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“All of us were incredibly shocked and distressed by what unfolded yesterday afternoon.”
And with that, the premier’s strained press conference is done.
Berejiklian continues.
“As I understand it, he has not been contacted by police, and the extent of any allegations isn’t known.”
The premier learned of the allegations through media reports.
“After the reports came out, I spoke to him and asked whether he’d done anything wrong. He denied any wrongdoing. I asked him whether police had contacted him and he said no.”
There is a significant political element to this. The loss of Ward from the government benches following the resignation of Michael Johnsen (also over sexual assault allegations) has left the Berejiklian government in minority. There is a byelection for Johnsen’s former seat of Upper Hunter next weekend.
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Berejiklian says Gareth Ward has 'done the right thing' stepping aside
Gladys Berejiklian has spoken briefly to the media this morning about the allegations of sexual violence made against MP Gareth Ward.
“What transpired yesterday afternoon was extremely concerning and distressing. Mr Ward has done the right thing in stepping aside from his ministry and also the Liberal party room,” she said.
“At this stage I have no further information.”
The report of those allegations is here. Ward denies them.
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We are reliably informed NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian will hold a press conference imminently. We shall bring you that when it happens.
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The federal government tried to stop the publication of an academic paper that found it needed to drastically increase its spending on threatened Australian wildlife.
Internal documents released to Guardian Australia under freedom of information show senior officials in the federal environment department spent months pressuring scientists from the government-funded Threatened Species Recovery Hub.
The scientists had drafted a paper in 2019 that compared Australian threatened species funding with that in the US. They found Australia was spending just a tenth of what the US dedicated to trying to recover endangered wildlife.
The documents show that before a meeting with two of the hub’s scientists at the University of Melbourne, the department drew up options, including “don’t publish the paper” or remove references to the government program.
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Thursday night was the traditional budget-in-reply speech from the leader of her majesty’s opposition. The indefatigable Sarah Martin covered Anthony Albanese’s address to parliament:
Albanese will establish a $10bn social housing fund to build 30,000 affordable homes for vulnerable Australians and frontline workers if Labor wins the next federal election, as he promised to “deliver for working families” as prime minister.
He also pledged to create 10,000 energy apprenticeships, criminalise wage theft, and make employers responsible for workplace sexual harassment.
Saying Labor was committed to “building back stronger” after a pandemic that had seen Australians make incredible sacrifices, Albanese said the country deserved a government that was “worthy of your efforts”.
“I want Australia to emerge from this crisis stronger, smarter and more self-reliant, with an economic recovery that works for all Australians,” he said.
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Morning fellow travellers. Friday. The end of the week beckons, the sunlit uplands of the weekend your reward. Ben Doherty with you for a little while.
Much moving this week. The budget has dominated the parliamentary week, with experts arguing the financial blueprint for the nation fails to address Australia’s housing shortage and homelessness.
Thursday night’s budget in reply speech from Anthony Albanese carried a $10bn pledge for a social housing fund if Labor wins the next election.
Internal documents released to Guardian Australia show the federal government tried to stop the publication of an academic paper that found it needed to drastically increase its spending on threatened Australian wildlife.
The prime minister has denied he spoke in error when described the formulation of Australia’s one-China policy, answering a question about support for Taiwan by referencing “one country two systems” – a policy that governs Hong Kong. There is no mention of Hong Kong in the transcript.
The NSW MP Gareth Ward has stepped down down as minister over sexual violence allegations, denying “any wrongdoing” but saying he will leave the Liberal party room while police investigate.
And, after accusations of online harassment and abuse against Andrew Laming, Scott Morrison’s warm welcome to the MP this week feels like a rebuke to Australia’s women, writes Sarah Martin.
The government also passed legislation allowing it to indefinitely detain refugees, a law written in response to being ordered by the federal court to release a Syrian refugee it was warehousing in detention.
Internationally, Oliver Holmes reports Israel’s military is drafting a plan for a possible ground operation in Gaza, as it presses ahead with a fierce air offensive on the enclave and as Hamas, the militant group that runs Gaza, fires volleys of rockets deep into Israel.
India’s rampant wave of Covid infections continues. More than 4,000 people died from the virus on Thursday, according to official figures. The real toll is likely factors higher.
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