What we learned, Wednesday 29 June, 2022
With that, we’ll wrap up our live coverage for the day. Here’s a summary of the main news developments:
- A coroner investigating the deaths of Hannah Clarke and her children recognised the mother’s “astounding” bravery, saying it was unlikely anyone could have stopped Rowan Baxter’s murderous plans.
- The New South Wales government has agreed to demands from the state’s rail union to make hundreds of millions of dollars in modifications to a new train fleet after a years-long industrial dispute.
- Businesswoman Jenny West was given a “verbal offer” for a New York-based trade commissioner job, but the head of Investment NSW, Amy Brown, was told to “unwind” the process after an instruction from the office of the then deputy premier John Barilaro, an inquiry has heard.
- The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has met with his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Madrid.
- Australia’s governor general, David Hurley, has apologised for a decision made “on the spur of a happy moment” to pose for a photo with and provide a testimonial for a builder who completed his home renovation, which was later used in the company’s advertising material on its website and social media.
- Australia recorded at least 59 deaths from Covid-19.
Thanks for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow to do it all over again. Have a pleasant evening.
Updated
Social media users report Service NSW app glitch preventing voucher use
Social media is awash with New South Wales residents complaining about a glitch with the Service NSW app, as millions of dollars of government-issued restaurant and entertainment vouchers are set to expire on Friday.
On Wednesday night, several Twitter users reported that when they went to access their vouchers, they were met with a screen that said “something went wrong”.
The message said: “We’re unable to load your vouchers. Try again later.”
Bummer. NSW Dine and Discover down! @ServiceNSW pic.twitter.com/bOjQsqSKuJ
— William Koon (@w_a_koon) June 29, 2022
The error also appeared multiple times when Guardian journalists attempted to open the app.
Some Twitter users complained the issue occurred at the point of sale, forcing them to pay for their bill without the voucher.
Guardian Australia contacted Service NSW for clarification.
Went to use our dine and discover voucher before they expires tomorrow. @ServiceNSW owes me a pizza. pic.twitter.com/1giLoswaez
— Addie (Rade) (@Gamer_Rade) June 29, 2022
Updated
Penny Wong says Australia is considering imposing sanctions on Myanmar
At a media appearance in Kuala Lumpur earlier today as part of her visit to Malaysia, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, signalled that the Australian government is actively considering imposing sanctions on Myanmar.
More than one year on from the military coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, the junta continues to detain Australian Sean Turnell despite pleas for his release.
Asked if there was any move to impose sanctions against Myanmar, and whether she had sought advice on any military figures who would be best to target, Wong said:
I said clearly before the election that was something we thought was necessary, and you should anticipate that that’s a matter under active consideration.
But what I would say on Myanmar is this: obviously, Myanmar has been a topic in the meetings I’ve been having in the region. I have been struck by the extent to which members of Asean with whom I have met are realistic about, and share our frustration about, the lack of progress in relation to the five-point consensus.
It’s important for us to engage with regional leaders about the next steps we wish to take as well as others seek to take in Myanmar.
Wong later said:
Prof Turnell is our first priority when it comes to Myanmar and we have obviously engaged with regional counterparts about this issue.
Wong also noted she engaged with the National Unity Government of Myanmar – a government in exile formed by politicians ousted by the coup – while in opposition and said: “I can flag to you that it is my intention to do so again.”
Updated
Ownership of Darwin port Australia’s decision as sovereign nation, US Marines commanding officer says
The US respects Australia’s right to make its own sovereign decisions about the ownership of the Port of Darwin, according to the commanding officer of the US Marines in Darwin.
With Anthony Albanese flagging a fresh review of a Chinese company’s long-term lease over the port, US Marines Corp Col Christopher Steele said he had not encountered any practical hindrances from the ownership arrangements.
Steele, who is commanding officer of the 2022 Marine Rotational Force-Darwin Rotation, told reporters in Canberra this afternoon:
I’m certainly aware of the ownership of the port. The perspective that we have is that Australia is an ally, Australia is a sovereign nation and it has made the decision ... I have not had a problem not being able to do something in Australia. I think my only problem is I want to do too much.
The Northern Territory’s then Country Liberal party government granted a 99-year lease over the Port of Darwin to Landbridge Group in 2015.
The previous Morrison government last year ordered a review of any national security implications surrounding the Port of Darwin, but this did not lead to any action.
Albanese, who was previously critical of the sale, said during a visit to Darwin earlier this month that “we’ll have a review of the circumstances of the port”. The prime minister added that this work would be done “in an orderly way”.
Speaking to reporters at the US embassy today, Steele said there were currently about 1,800 Marines in Darwin as part of the latest rotational force, but the numbers fluctuated because the US also brought in a “surge force” for specific named exercises.
At the same press event, US Marines Corp Capt Joseph Di Pietro voiced support for increased trilateral exercises with Japan and Australia:
These are two of our most important allies. They are very closely related and we absolutely cherish any opportunity to train with them from a tactical level. The opportunity to do that at Southern Jackaroo a few months ago was critical.”
Updated
The independent MP for Fowler, Dai Le, has commented on the cuts to crossbench staff.
With staff being cut from eight to five, attention has turned to two apparent anomalies:
- The fact regional MPs (Helen Haines, Rebekha Sharkie and Andrew Wilkie) will keep six staff.
- The fact senators receive the same as MPs, despite senators being in balance of power (and needing to scrutinise more legislation).
Le told Guardian Australia:
From my perspective, each electorate has its own challenges. Once you accept the challenge of distance [for regional MPs], what about electorates like mine, with the distance of language, and different cultural and social needs?”
MPs and senators will seek a meeting with Anthony Albanese when he returns from his Nato trip. Albanese spoke to a few before he left, including Kate Chaney, Kylea Tink and senator David Pocock, and claimed the ones he spoke to had been more “constructive” than some others complaining in the media.
How to win friends and influence people, or divide and conquer?
Updated
The New South Wales government has agreed to demands from the state’s rail union to make hundreds millions of dollars in modifications to a new train fleet after a years-long industrial dispute.
On Wednesday the transport minister, David Elliott, announced the government would make changes worth about $260m to the new intercity fleet (NIF) in a bid to avoid the union taking further industrial action later this week.
The decision is a major backdown by the government, which is facing industrial action by a range of public sector workers, including a planned teachers’ strike and stop-work meetings by nurses on Thursday.
The NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union had refused to operate the intercity fleet without the modifications, claiming the trains were unsafe to run.
Read more:
ACT Senator, David Pocock, has commented on Andrew Barr’s call to give the ACT more senators.
He said:
The Census data provides a solid evidence base for increasing the ACT’s federal representation in the Senate. This is something we should have a conversation about to ensure the ACT is adequately represented as a territory.
While that’s an important discussion, my priority remains restoring territory rights.
Enabling the ACT government to have a mature debate on important issues like Voluntary Assisted Dying is what the community wants to see urgently delivered given the Canberrans facing these difficult decisions.”
Updated
Longer ambulance offload times are associated with greater 30-day risks of death and ambulance re-attendance, according to Victorian research published today by the Medical Journal of Australia.
Improving the speed of ambulance-to-emergency transfers is urgently required, the authors of the paper concluded.
Researchers from Ambulance Victoria, Monash University, Royal Melbourne hospital, Alfred Health, and the Baker Heart Research Institute analysed data from adults with non-traumatic chest pain transported by ambulance to Victorian emergency departments between 1 January 2015 and 30 June 2019.
Lead author Dr Luke Dawson, a cardiologist at Alfred Health and Monash University, said the study included 213,544 people with chest pain transported by ambulance to emergency departments over that time period.
“The median offload time increased from 21 minutes in 2015 to 24 minutes during the first half of 2019,” Dawson said.
“... The risks of death and ambulance re-attendance with chest pain within 30 days of initial ED presentation were higher when the offload time exceeded 17 minutes, and that longer offload times were associated with presentations by people over 65 or women, at hospitals with larger total bed numbers, and presentation between 8 am and midnight, on weekdays, or during winter or spring,” Dawson and colleagues wrote in the paper.
Read more here:
Updated
Albanese and Johnson meet at Nato summit
We just saw live images of prime minister Anthony Albanese meeting with his British counterpart Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Madrid.
The pair shook hands and smiled as cameras snapped pictures of them in front of each countries flags.
As they sat down, Albanese pointed out that Australia has been the largest non-Nato contributor of aid to Ukraine.
That was about all we heard. We’ll have more from that meeting later.
Updated
Public servant first offered Barilaro's New York job to give evidence at inquiry
Jenny West will be called to give evidence at the inquiry investigating the plum $500,000 New York trade job given to former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro.
A former public servant and businesswoman, West was originally offered the job in August of last year. She will be called to give evidence at the inquiry’s next hearing on 6 July.
At the first public hearing of the inquiry on Wednesday, the CEO of the agency responsible for making the appointment, Amy Brown, revealed she had verbally offered West the position before being instructed to scrap the recruitment process.
The Guardian has previously revealed the offer took place. It has also previously been revealed that after her offer was rescinded, West wrote a detailed memo to the head of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Michael Coutts-Trotter, raising concerns about the process.
Brown told the inquiry that she had been instructed to “unwind” the offer after a “government decision” to instead make the role a ministerial appointment.
She was informed of the decision by Barilaro’s office, who at the time was the minister responsible for overseeing the appointments.
Brown told the inquiry that West was “extremely upset” when she was told of the decision on 1 October last year.
A few days later, on 4 October, Barilaro announced he was resigning from parliament and the new minister, deputy Liberal party leader Stuart Ayres, decided not to go ahead with making the roles ministerial appointments.
When asked during the inquiry why she didn’t reoffer the job to West, Brown said that the situation had become “quite irreconcilable” because West was “very unhappy”.
Brown said:
The relationship declined quite quickly once she was informed that she may not be going to New York so by the end of the first process I’d formed the view there was no suitable candidate.”
Updated
Regulators to scrutinise impact of social media algorithms
The Australian regulators responsible for overseeing Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media networks say they will be focusing in the next year on the impact of algorithms, and what the platforms are doing to protect consumer data and reduce harm.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the eSafety commissioner, and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) met on Tuesday to determine their focus for the next financial year.
They said improving transparency around how data is held, how users are protected from harm, and misinformation is a key focus.
The regulators also said they would examine the impact of algorithms in how they recommend what people see, how they profile people, how they work in moderation, and the promotion of disinformation or harmful content.
There will be workshops and stakeholder meetings held throughout the next year.
Updated
National Covid summary
Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 59 deaths from Covid-19:
ACT
- Deaths: 0
- Cases: 1,458
- In hospital: 116 (with 1 person in ICU)
NSW
- Deaths: 11
- Cases: 11,067
- In hospital: 1,526 (with 40 people in ICU)
Northern Territory
- Deaths: 0
- Cases: 334
- In hospital: 20 (with 4 people in ICU)
Queensland
- Deaths: 20
- Cases: 5,366
- In hospital: 597 (with 11 people in ICU)
South Australia
- Deaths: 0
- Cases: 2,847
- In hospital: 235 (with 8 people in ICU)
Tasmania
- Deaths: 1
- Cases: 1,174
- In hospital: 38 (with 5 people in ICU)
Victoria
- Deaths: 23
- Cases: 10,777
- In hospital: 463 (with 25 people in ICU)
Western Australia
- Deaths: 4
- Cases: 5,921
- In hospital: 229 (with 14 people in ICU)
Victoria’s new planning minister, Lizzie Blandthorn, will make independent decisions despite a potential conflict of interest with her lobbyist brother, the state government says.
Blandthorn, who took over the planning portfolio this week as part of a cabinet reshuffle, is the sister of Hawker Britton director John-Paul Blandthorn.
Hawker Britton’s clients include construction company John Holland, which is tasked with building the West Gate Tunnel, as well as developers Mirvac and the Dennis Family Corporation, and Melbourne airport.
The planning minister has the power to make decisions around permits and land rezoning, but the state government said arrangements would be in place to ensure any potential or perceived conflicts of interest were managed.
A government spokesperson said:
All ministers are expected to act with integrity as they manage their portfolios to deliver the best outcomes for Victorians.
The secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the secretary of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, and the Victorian Public Sector Commissioner are developing a robust management plan to ensure the independence of the minister for planning’s decision-making process.”
Blandthorn referred to the government’s written response when comment was sought from AAP.
Read more:
Morrison government ‘couldn’t be bothered to act’ on gig economy regulation, Tony Burke says
The Albanese government has congratulated ride-sharing giant Uber and the Transport Workers’ Union for striking a landmark agreement on proposed employment standards and benefits.
Tony Burke, minister for employment and workplace relations, issued the congratulations for the “significant deal that recognises gig workers need more rights” as his government plans to legislate to give the Fair Work Commission new powers to set minimum standards for gig workers.
Burke accused the previous Morrison government of saying regulating the gig economy was “too complicated”, and said the agreement struck by Uber and the TWU “shows that’s not the case at all” and that the Coalition “just couldn’t be bothered to act”.
Burke said:
We don’t want Australia to be the sort of country that allows workers to earn less than the minimum wage or be subjected to dangerous, unregulated conditions.
Australians want the flexibility and the convenience of the gig economy but they don’t want the people on the other end of the app getting ripped off or dying on our roads.
Without proper regulation, even if a platform tries to do the right thing by their workers – as Uber has today – the risk is they will be undercut by a rival that turns up on the market.
That’s why the government will extend the powers of the Fair Work Commission to be able to set minimum pay and standards for gig workers. It is the appropriate independent body to do this job. This will deliver a national approach that gives the commission the scope and flexibility it needs to deal with “employee-like” forms of work”.
You can read more about the landmark agreement here:
Updated
The Human Rights Law Centre has warned that cuts to the staffing of crossbenchers will undermine their important role in dealing with whistleblowers.
Crossbenchers such as Andrew Wilkie have long had a role in interacting with whistleblowers and facilitating their disclosures using the powers of parliamentary privilege.
But the role is often complex, requiring a nuanced understanding of the Public Interest Disclosure Act and a weighing of the public interest.
Such considerations require resourcing and staff, according to HRLC senior lawyer Kieran Pender. He told Guardian Australia that this was under threat by the recent staffing cuts announced by Labor.
Politicians and their staff play a critical democratic function engaging with constituents who have concerns, including whistleblowers. There have been many notable examples of whistleblowers raising public interest concerns via parliament, particularly through independent and cross-bench politicians.
Last year, the House Privileges Committee emphatically confirmed the importance of this function to the democratic process and upheld the protection provided to whistleblowers by parliamentary privilege. Staffing cuts will make it harder for politicians to engage, support and empower Australian whistleblowers.
Updated
Coroner’s recommendations after Hannah Clarke inquest include training for specialist domestic violence police ‘as a matter of urgency’
Jane Bentley, the coroner investigating the deaths of Hannah Clarke and her children that we mentioned in the previous blog post, has made several recommendations as a result of the inquest.
Her recommendations included a five-day face-to-face training program for specialist domestic violence police officers “as a matter of urgency”, a mandatory face-to-face domestic violence module for all officers and state government funding provided urgently for men’s behaviour change programs in prisons and communities.
She also called for a multi-disciplinary specialist domestic violence police station to be trialled for a year. The station should include specialist officers including a detective, a support worker, a lawyer to advise police and victims, and representatives fro
Clarke’s parents said at the end of the “unthinkably confronting” hearing they hoped the inquest will help others avoid the same fate.
Lloyd Clarke, her father, said nothing would have stopped Baxter.
“He was just one of those people ... so callous and used everyone as a pawn in his monstrous ways,” he said outside court.
He said his daughter and grandchildren’s murders, and the coronial inquest, had helped start an “uncomfortable conversation” on domestic violence and said it needed to keep going despite the end of the inquest.
Sue Clarke, her mother, added: “Every now and then I think a true monster is born and you can’t stop them.
“He [Baxter] underestimated how much a mother will fight and how strong a mother is. He didn’t love the children like she did. He had no idea what a mother will do.”
She called for the recommendations to be adopted across all Australian jurisdictions, not just Queensland.
Updated
Coroner says it was unlikely anyone could have stopped Rowan Baxter’s plan to kill Hannah Clarke and children
A coroner investigating the deaths of Hannah Clarke and her children recognised the mother’s “astounding” bravery, saying it was unlikely anyone could have stopped Rowan Baxter’s murderous plans.
AAP reports that coroner Jane Bentley’s voice broke as she finished handing her findings in a Southport court on Wednesday following a nine-day hearing in March.
Bentley said Baxter was not mentally ill, but a “master of manipulation”. “I find it unlikely that any further actions taken by police officers, service providers, friends or family members could have stopped Baxter from ultimately executing his murderous plans,” she added.
Clarke was leaving her parents’ home in Brisbane’s Camp Hill suburb to take Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three, to school when estranged husband Baxter jumped into her vehicle on 19 February, 2020.
The 42-year-old splashed fuel inside the car and set it alight, before stabbing himself with a knife, dying nearby. The children’s bodies were found in the vehicle, while Clarke, 31, died the same day in hospital.
The inquest was shown CCTV footage of Baxter buying zip ties, cleaning fluid and a fuel can days before the killings. He also bought three Kinder Surprise chocolates - presumably for his children - when he purchased fuel.
Counsel assisting the coroner Jacoba Brasch QC told the hearing Baxter may have initially intended to kidnap Clarke, burn her, then give his children chocolates and it “would all be happy families”.
But he turned to “plan B” once the 31-year-old defied him by asking a bystander for help when Baxter ambushed her, she said.
Updated
Candidate for John Barilaro’s NY role had offer retracted after ‘government decision’, inquiry told
Businesswoman Jenny West was given a “verbal offer” for a New York-based trade commissioner job, but the head of Investment New South Wales, Amy Brown, was told to “unwind” the process after an instruction from the office of the then deputy premier John Barilaro.
In an explosive hearing of an upper house inquiry investigating how Barilaro was eventually offered the $500,000-a-year role, Brown, a senior public servant responsible for filling the role, revealed West was told she had got the job in August last year.
The government, including the premier, Dominic Perrottet, has previously insisted that no suitable candidate was found during the first recruitment process, but during the hearing Brown described her as an “excellent candidate”.
Read more from the inquiry:
Updated
‘The message is we’re back’ in fight against climate crisis, Chris Bowen says
Chris Bowen will travel to Egypt for the next United Nations climate summit in November, and said he plans to let world powers know the new Australian government “is back at the table”.
Bowen, the climate change and energy minister, said:
We’ll be going and the message is we’re back. Australia is back at the table as a world leader. That’s the message I’ll be taking to Egypt.
And this COP. As I said before, if my conversations in the early stages are anything to go by, the response from our partners will be very warm and strong. It has been from John Kerry, from Jennifer Granholm, Alok Sharma. I know the prime minister has felt the same in his conversations with world leaders. I expect that to be reflected in Egypt.
Updated
Commonwealth fleet EVs would move into secondhand market after turnover, Bowen says
Climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, is taking questions from journalists after his National Press Club address.
Asked how government policies will increase electric vehicle uptake in line with Labor’s projection, Bowen gives the example of taking the commonwealth car fleet to be 75% no emissions. He notes this fleet is about 10,000 cars, and has a flow-on effect in the market.
He said:
The commonwealth turns over its cars every three years. That leads into the secondhand market. At the moment you can’t buy a secondhand electric car in Australia. As we all know, if you want an affordable car, it’s most certainly a secondhand car. If you’re at a place in the market as many young people, buying their first car, they would love an EV.
Updated
And with that, I will hand the blog over to Elias Visontay for the rest of the day, thanks for reading.
Chris Bowen says avoiding blackouts ‘was no easy thing’ during worst of energy crisis
First up, a question on how close we got to blackouts during the height of the energy crisis. Bowen says:
Supply was tight. At several of the evening peaks, we would have gone through load shedding before we got to blackouts so – load shedding was a possibility we were preparing for. I’m confident that that would have avoided blackouts but I didn’t want to go down the load shedding line either.
And working together we managed to avoid that. No load shedding and no blackouts, and that’s a tribute to everybody involved, but it was no easy thing and, as I said, it shows the scale of the problem we’re dealing with. Far too many megawatts taken off with not enough megawatts brought on. That’s the problem, a deficit in energy generation as well as some market issues.
So, that was what we were facing. Now, in terms of your question about confidence, I’m very confident that all the people who work together to avoid load shedding and blackouts in the recent weeks will continue to do so.
As I have said, we run the risk of major unexpected outages, that’s a risk when you have a system that is under pressure, but any challenges we face, we will apply the same determination to put consumers first and ensure reliable energy supply in those difficult circumstances.
Updated
Australia’s new climate approach has been given “very warm” reception internationally, Chris Bowen says
Bowen has described the international climate emergency as a “jobs opportunity” for Australia:
We have already moved quickly to demonstrate to our international partners that we’re here to help and to lead. I have held, in the past and last month, discussions with the US secretary of energy, with President Biden’s special envoy for climate change as well as the COP26 president.
It’s fair to say that the reception to our government’s approach has been very warm. With a shared sense of excitement about the opportunities for strengthening the economic ties with these key partners in the global transformation under way, I’ll be continuing these conversations at the Sydney energy forum next month with visiting energy ministers from around the world.
The government will continue to support our partners in the region as they work to address climate change including with new financing arrangements.
Updated
Chris Bowen says national energy plan ‘the most dramatic economic transformation’ Australia has faced in modern era
Returning to Bowen, who has maintained his fiery pace during this address and is welcoming the integrated system plan (ISP) final document from Aemo, to be released tomorrow and outlining the future of the energy grid.
He then goes on to outline a national plan to cover all investments needed for renewable economy:
The plan is to cover what storage we need and where. It needs to cover what hydrogen we need and the pipelines we need to get it around the country. It needs to cover all the necessary investment. It needs to cover the enablers to the program like the upskilling of our workforce and making things in Australia.
I was delighted when the state and territory energy ministers, Labor, Liberal and Green, all represented around the table, unanimously agreed to work with me on that plan in our recent meeting. I described it as the ISP on steroids. The best time to second working on that plan was 10 years ago, and the second time is now. That’s what we’re doing.
This is the most dramatic economic transformation our nation has faced in the modern era and we have eight years, just over 90 months, to do it. That means we have to be all in.
Updated
Tasmania records one Covid death, SA and ACT record no deaths
Meanwhile, we have some Covid figures for the day.
South Australia has recorded 2,847 new cases and zero deaths:
South Australian COVID-19 update 29/06/22.
— SA Health (@SAHealth) June 29, 2022
For more information, go to https://t.co/XkVcAlWPSN or contact the South Australia COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787. pic.twitter.com/fOoX0apBiK
The ACT has recorded 1,458 new cases and zero deaths:
ACT COVID-19 Update – 29 June 2022
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) June 29, 2022
💉 COVID-19 vaccinations
◾ Aged 5-11 years (1 dose): 80.6%
◾ Aged 5-11 years (2 doses): 68.9%
◾ Aged 5+ years (2 doses): 97.4%
◾ Aged 16+ years (3 doses): 77.2% pic.twitter.com/Jh5lEofFUZ
And finally, Tasmania has recorded 1,174 new cases and one death.
Updated
Albanese government will seek to enshrine national emissions reduction target of 43% by 2030, Bowen says
Ok, Bowen is flying through a series of details. He says there are four elements to the Albanese government’s climate change bill:
Firstly, we’ll seek to enshrine a nationally determined contribution of 43% emissions reduction by 2030 and net zero by 2050. Secondly, we will task in law the Climate Change Authority to assess and publish progress against these targets and advise government on future targets including the 2035 target. Thirdly we will legislate a requirement for the minister for climate change to report annually to parliament on progress in meeting our targets.
I see this report as frankly ... forcing the government to be transparent about progress and plans and, frankly, obliging the opposition of the day to share its views and plans as well.
High on our list of priority is the much needed upgrade to the transmission system. Our grid is not fit for purpose, and our rewiring the nation
program will make it so. Rewiring the nation will help us get the renewable energy from where it’s generated to where it will be consumed.This will include, under our government, increasingly, offshore wind, and will help us manage the electricity system as we shift to a much higher renewable share of generation.
They say the wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine and that’s true everywhere. But across our country it’s normally blowing or shining, and improved transmission will help us get the renewable energy from wherever it’s being generated at the time to where we need it.
We’re fortunate as we embark on rewiring the nation that we have the blueprint ready to government – in fact, tomorrow Aemo will release the 2022 integrated systems plan, the final version of it. The ISP shows our energy mix changing, predicting the [most likely] change scenario.
Updated
Chris Bowen says he plans for electric vehicle tax cut to take effect from 1 July
Bowen has shifted his focus to the future, highlighting that Labor wants to work with the business sector on renewables, and adding that it was time for the “climate wars to end”.
Next, he says the government intends to introduce two pieces of legislation which will implement the electric vehicle tax cut:
We promised to cut the tariffs and abolish the fringe benefits target on affordable EVs from 1 July and that’s exactly what we’ll do. Of course the parliament doesn’t sit until late July so we’ll ask the tax office to make the normal arrangements to ensure it is implemented retrospectively from 1 July in accordance with the usual proceed quarter. Of course the EV tax cut is just one part of our electric vehicle policy.
We also promised Driving the Nation, to deliver [an EV] charger once every 150km on the highway, to convert the commonwealth fleet to 75% EVs, to deliver a refuelling network, to deliver stations on freight routes and the development of Australia’s first electric vehicle strategy.
Updated
Opposition’s claims about energy crisis were ‘bizarre and laughable’, Bowen says
Bowen has continued ripping into the previous government and current opposition, saying some of their responses to the energy crisis have been “laughable”:
They weren’t just incompetent, they were dishonest about it. And all this came at a great cost to the country, a dive in renewable energy investment, not enough investment in storage, not enough investment in transmission.
Further uncertainty was created through the market through their announcing of the underwriting of the new generations investment program which hasn’t seen a single watt added to the market.
Lots of big announcements, but not one watt of generation funded or underwritten by the previous government despite all the spin.
This was the worst of all – they managed to chill private sector investment by announcing they would invest but then they didn’t deliver any of that investment themselves.
Now we see the results. By their early actions the new opposition are making themselves irrelevant to the debate. No recognition or contrition for their actions. More denigration of renewables by the new leader of the opposition, a unilateral declaration by him ... that they will not support the government’s climate change bill despite the investments for certainty.
Bizarre and laughable claims that somehow the new government talking about renewable energy spooked coal-fired power generators into not working, and an economically illiterate attempt to answer that the answer to higher prices is to introduce the most expensive form of energy that takes many years to build – nuclear.
Updated
Chris Bowen begins National Press Club address
Energy minister Chris Bowen has begun his National Press Club address by rattling off all the “failures” of the previous government in climate, adding that he believed the May election saw a “gale” (not wind) of change in Canberra:
It’s tempting to say May 21 saw the winds of change blow through our country, but in fact, a gale blew away nine years of climate delay, denial and dysfunction.
After years of climate change being weaponised, after years of baseless fear campaigns about the cost of climate change election there was an election, and that resulted in a Labor victory with a climate agenda.
We have seen in dramatic form in the last few weeks the real life results of delay, denial and dysfunction when it comes to energy policy. This really has been a Taylor-made crisis.
Nine years of stop-start policymaking, direct action and an attempt to water down the renewable target and abolish [the Australian Renewable Energy Agency] and the CFC and abort the Clean Energy Target, a discarded National Energy Guarantee, the disparagement of storage, ... campaigns of denigration against companies and CEOs who dare to argue that a well managed transition to renewables was important.
The former government’s signature energy investment, Snowy 2.0, [is] running 18 months late. They knew this before the election but hid it from the public and the market which needs this information to make decisions about new investments in their final year in office they oversaw a big spike in emissions, 4.1 million tonnes. That is their legacy.
Updated
Kaurna ancestral remains returned to their lands in Wangayarta Memorial Park
200 Kaurna ancestors have been laid to rest in the Wangayarta Memorial Park, which was created so the Aboriginal people of the Adelaide Plains could be returned to their lands.
The SA Museum is the custodian of about 4,500 ancestral remains, remains that were stolen from traditional burial grounds, used for “research” in universities and by medical practitioners, and traded around the world.
More than 100 were repatriated in a ceremony late last year, brought home to rest in the soil of their Country, soil brought from around the state to Wangayarta by Uncle Moogy Sumner.
Sumner said he had been involved in repatriating ancestors for 40 years, travelling around the world to bring them home. It’s not easy, he said, and he talks to them:
You know, you went across there a long time ago on a big sailing ship. You’re coming back now on a 747.
Kaurna and Narungga elder Rosalind Coleman said the repatriation was important because of the respect it showed for ancestors, for cultural beliefs, and for the hurt that has been caused.
We are the descendants of the people, our Kaurna people, our Kaurna ancestors … we have obligations, cultural commitments, and the responsibility to make sure they come home.
Repatriation is about restoring dignity and making right the wrongs of the past.
University of Adelaide professor Benjamin Kile, the head of health and medical sciences, apologised for the role his institution played in keeping the remains from their rightful place.
Updated
We are expecting energy minister, Chris Bowen, to address the National Press Club shortly:
TODAY: @Bowenchris, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, will make his Address to the National Press Club of Australia at 12:30pm AEDT. Tune in live on @abcnews or later on ABC iView. pic.twitter.com/c4F4jj8oWs
— National Press Club (@PressClubAust) June 29, 2022
Updated
Air New Zealand to install economy bunk beds on long-haul flights
Air New Zealand will soon allow economy passengers to lie down and take a nap in communal, bunk bed-style sleeping pods on its planes, as it attempts to entice passengers on to its more than 17-hour ultra-long-haul flights.
In what the airline says will be a world first when its new cabins are installed by 2024, premium and regular economy passengers will still be sold traditional seats that do not recline into a bed.
However, these passengers will be able to book four-hour sessions in lie-flat sleeping pods – which the airline has named “Skynest” – at an additional cost.
Pods will have a mattress and sheets – which will be changed by cabin crew after each booking – and will be stacked on top of each other to take advantage of the height of the cabin.
Each pod will have a privacy curtain, USB charging and “ventilation outlets”.
Read more about the pods here:
Updated
Richard Marles: Coalition handling of submarines 'one of the worst failures in defence procurement that we have seen in our history'
Earlier this morning, acting prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, told RN Breakfast that it was “optimistic in the extreme” to expect Australia to have an operational nuclear submarine by the 2030s.
Marles told host Patricia Karvelas that the previous government was to blame for failing to land on a deal on the submarines within a reasonable timeframe, and defended the two year extension handed to chief of the defence force, General Angus Campbell and the vice chief of the defence force, Vice Admiral David Johnston:
I think you need to look at the personnel that you have that you can put on the field and the way in which we can get the best use from them.
It’s not them who oversaw the issues and the problems that we now face. It was the former government. I mean, the former government’s handling of national security, specifically defence procurement and specifically the procurement of submarines was one of the worst failures in defence procurement that we have seen in our history.
They went about matters in an entirely political way. But they went with an option with Japan and then abandoned it. They went with an option with France, spent billions of dollars, abandoned [it].
The truth of where the former government left us at the time of the election is that they were looking at a new nuclear submarine in the 2040s. That’s where they were at.
We will be looking at every option available to try and bring that time forward. I think bringing it forward to eight years from now would be extremely optimistic.
Updated
Good morning, Mostafa Rachwani with you for a short while, and a quick thanks to Stephanie Convery for her stellar job this morning.
And that’s where I’m going to sign off for the day. I’m leaving you in the capable hands of Mostafa Rachwani, and later this arvo you’ll have Elias Visontay to keep you company too. See you tomorrow morning!
WA governor and former Labor leader/defence minister Kim Beazley, interviewed on Sky News, is asked what advice he would give the Albanese government about China. "Put the megaphone away and keep the principles," Beazley says, adding: "I think that's what they're doing."
— Daniel Hurst (@danielhurstbne) June 29, 2022
Benita gets it.
You know its Wednesday when you've had your lunch before midday.
— Benita Kolovos (@benitakolovos) June 29, 2022
Deputy Liberal leader told Investment NSW boss of Barilaro’s interest in trade job
Deputy Liberal party leader, Stuart Ayres, told Investment NSW chief executive, Amy Brown, that John Barilaro might apply for the New York trade job.
Brown, giving evidence to an upper house inquiry into Barilaro’s appointment to the plum $500,000 job, said Ayres gave her a “heads up” that the former deputy premier might put his hand up for the job.
Ayres did not inform her about any other potential candidates, she said.
Brown said that Ayres did not indicate any preference or otherwise about his candidacy, though, saying he is “very respectful of the public service and our processes and so he was very cautious about not having those conversations”.
As we’ve previously said, Brown has told the inquiry that the job was previously offered to Jenny West in August last year, but the offer was rescinded after an instruction from Barilaro’s office.
Brown said the instruction came from his office after a government decision to make the jobs ministerial appointments. Brown says West was “extremely upset” when she was told she would not be taking up the position. She said:
The relationship declined quite quickly once she was informed she may not be going to New York ... The whole situation felt quite irreconcilable.
Updated
Some minor to moderate flooding in parts of rural NSW – check the warnings for your area.
⚠️Minor to Moderate #Flood Warning issued for the #Culgoa and #Bokhara Rivers at #Weilmoringle, #Kenebree, and #Goodwins. River levels at Kenebree and Goodwins are now peaking. See https://t.co/AdztI2rqg1 for details and updates; follow advice from @NSWSES #NSWFloods pic.twitter.com/bSPP4e0jgM
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) June 29, 2022
New eradication zone set up in race to control bee parasite
NSW authorities racing to stop the spread of the deadly varroa mite threatening the bee industry have discovered the parasite in three new locations and established another biosecurity zone, AAP reports.
A total of seven infested premises have now been discovered through contact tracing, including the initial detection at sentinel hives near the Port of Newcastle last week.
The NSW minister for agriculture, Dugald Saunders, says a new eradication zone has been set up at Bulahdelah on the NSW Mid North Coast:
This means a new 10km eradication zone, 25km for surveillance and an extended 50km biosecurity zone have been implemented to rapidly shut down that new incursion and stop further spread.
Critically, this case is directly linked to a previously identified property, which shows the prompt and efficient response by the Department of Primary Industries is working well.
Saunders says the expansion of the biosecurity zones is no cause for alarm.
The other two new cases identified on Tuesday are located at Newcastle and at Seaham.
What’s expected to be hundreds more beehives around the NSW city of Newcastle and town of Bulahdelah will now be destroyed in coming days.
An emergency order remains in place prohibiting the movement of bees in the state after the varroa mite was found at hives near the Port of Newcastle last week.
Updated
I wrote about why Melbourne might have been named Australia’s most liveable city (in short: because it is a nervous wreck and aren’t we all) https://t.co/FbuUA383EI
— anna s-r (@annaspargoryan) June 29, 2022
Last Saturday, taking the stage at Glastonbury, Sampa the Great made history. A vision in bright red, the Zambian rapper and songwriter, born Sampa Tembo, addressed the crowd with a sly grin on her face:
I’m standing on this stage with the first Zambian band to perform at Coachella. The first Zambian band to perform at the Sydney Opera House … and the first Zambian band to perform at Glastonbury!
Shaad D’Souza spoke to her, exclusively, for Guardian Australia immediately after her set. You can read that interview here:
Time to prepare for a wet spell if you're on the east coast. Computer model runs are starting to show a focus for the rainfall from the South Coast to Hunter from Sat to Mon. Forecasts and warnings here: https://t.co/wPHAytdHla pic.twitter.com/UpKrUpVX9n
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) June 29, 2022
Jenny West 'verbally' offered New York role but offer was retracted after government decision, inquiry told
Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown has just told an upper house inquiry into John Barilaro’s appointment to the New York job that it was “verbally” offered to another candidate last year.
But that decision was rescinded, she said after “a decision of the government” including “an instruction to me to unwind all contracts for those yet to commence”.
That instruction – given late in September last year – came from the office of John Barilaro, Brown said, because, she said, the government intended for the roles to be filled by ministerial appointment.
Brown earlier said Barilaro’s office had asked her for advice on whether the trade commissioner jobs at the centre of an upper house inquiry could be made via “ministerial appointment” in September of last year.
Barilaro was eventually appointed as the New York-based trade commissioner role, after he created the roles as minister. It has previously been revealed that staff in Investment NSW, the agency responsible for making the appointment, investigated whether the roles could instead be made by ministers.
On Wednesday, Brown said the agency made that request after a request from John Barilaro’s office. She said:
In the first instance I was asked what is the mechanism by which [the trade commissioners] are employed and I explained they were public servants employed under the Government Sector Employment Act and I was asked what are other mechanisms by which they could be employed [including] ministerial appointments.
Updated
Here’s a little background about the Barilaro inquiry, and an exclusive today from Michael McGowan who has been reporting on this issue as it develops.
Evidence begins in Barilaro inquiry in NSW
The chief executive of Investment NSW, Amy Brown, has begun giving evidence to an upper house inquiry into the appointment of former deputy premier John Barilaro to a plum $500,000 job in New York City.
After significant controversy over the role, Brown says she has reflected on the appointment of Barilaro and says that she is “confident” that she “fulfilled my duties” over the role.
Brown says that Barilaro’s position was approved on 16 June, the day before it was announced. He begins in the role on 20 July.
Part of the controversy over the role is the fact it was not approved by cabinet when two other trade commissioner jobs were signed off on.
In her opening statement Brown concedes the appointment process for the trade roles was “imperfect”, but that arrangement “did not reflect how those appointments should be made”. That arrangement was “rectified and was corrected well before Mr Barilaro was appointed”.
In other words, Brown says:
The final determination rests with me as the employer.
Poll: three-quarters of Australians surveyed think US ties increase chance of involvement in war in Asia
More than three in four Australians believe the alliance with the United States makes it more likely Australia would be drawn into a war in Asia against the national interest, a new poll shows.
The Lowy Institute’s annual foreign policy poll suggests that Australians are increasingly worried about the rise of authoritarianism and global instability, while their preference for democracy has reached a record high.
Three-quarters of Australians (74%) surveyed say “democracy is preferable to any other kind of government”, an increase of nine points from 2019, according to a nationally representative online and telephone survey of 2,006 Australian adults in March.
The Sydney-based thinktank said a gap between older and younger Australians on the importance of democracy, which had been prominent in previous Lowy Institute polling, appeared to have “almost disappeared”.
The poll found strong support for the alliance with the US, even though there was a mix of views about the potential consequences and benefits.
Read more about the poll results here:
Updated
Barilaro job hearings begin
The parliamentary inquiry into the appointment of former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro as the state’s trade commissioner to the United States has just begun.
My colleague Mick McGowan will be sending updates throughout the morning, so stay tuned – we’ll have all the developments on that soon.
Updated
Interns and fourth-year students should be able to keep vaccinating people in Victoria, pharmacists say
Victoria’s pharmacy students and interns were an “untapped resource” before the pandemic hit, and pharmacists say they should be allowed to vaccinate people on a permanent basis, AAP reports.
Fourth-year students and interns were called on to bolster Victoria’s Covid-19 vaccination efforts as part of a “surge workforce” under the Andrews’ government’s public health emergency orders.
Earlier this month, their involvement was extended to administering flu jabs under supervision.
But when the orders expire - potentially in July for Covid-19, and in September for flu - they will not be allowed to keep vaccinating Victorians.
Steven Walker, a Monash University senior lecturer and pharmacist, said there is a big opportunity for their continued involvement in community vaccination.
Walker hopes the Victorian government might consider changing legislation so students and interns can continue vaccinating people:
Currently in Victoria, only pharmacists are permitted to do formalised training to become accredited immunisers.
That’s different to other states [where] students and interns are able to complete such courses and be recognised as accredited immunisers.
Given the government’s been encouraging people to get the influenza vaccine with the recent changes in eligibility for free vaccines, there was a huge amount of workload for those community [pharmacies].
Our hope is that, if we can prove that the students and interns can do it, why not just keep it going?
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia agrees students and interns who have done the required training should continue vaccinating people under supervision, arguing it would help the already stretched health system and could improve retention rates.
Updated
Blockade Australia taking day to ‘rest and regroup’
There were no Blockade Australia protests in the Sydney CBD this morning, despite the climate crisis activists having planned a week of action, as the protesters took a day off to “rest and regroup”.
Organisers posted a message to their Telegram channel on Tuesday saying there would be no protests on Wednesday, AAP reports.
NSW Police have arrested 21 activists over the past two days, with 11 arrested on Tuesday and 10 on Monday at demonstrations across the city.
About 40 people marched from Sydney’s Hyde Park up William Street towards the inner east yesterday morning.
On Monday, about 50 people took part in a march through the CBD. One of those arrested included a 22-year-old woman who locked herself to the steering wheel of a car, blocking traffic access to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.
Protesters who disrupt major roadways, ports and railways in NSW can now be charged with newly-legislated penalties of up to two years in prison and a fine of $22,000.
Updated
Passport office queues: still not getting better.
Governor general apologises for promoting builder
The governor general, David Hurley, has apologised for a decision made “on the spur of a happy moment” to pose for a photo with a builder who completed his home renovation, which was later used in the company’s advertising material.
News.com.au reported on Tuesday that Hurley had been quoted in testimonials on the social media pages and website of luxury builder Homes By Howe, which carried out renovations to the governor general’s private home.
“We’re really delighted with the outcome and end product,” the governor general says in the testimonial.
Following backlash upon the news report’s publication, and questions reportedly being raised by the Albanese government, Hurley issued a statement of apology on Wednesday morning:
Regarding media reports on the renovation of my private house. I made a mistake by agreeing, on the spur of a happy moment, to express my appreciation for the builder in a video and photos. I apologise for my mistake.
I received no benefit of any kind for my participation. My words were not intended to be used in direct commercial advertising and reference to my appointment was not to be made. Nevertheless, I should have checked that my guidance was accurately followed. I have asked the builder to remove all material related to my comments.
Updated
A little delay on Victoria’s Covid numbers this morning.
There is a delay in this morning’s COVID-19 update. We will share the update as soon as possible.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 28, 2022
NSW records 11 deaths from Covid-19 with 1,526 people in hospital
There were 11,067 new cases recorded in the last 24 hour reporting period. There are 40 people with Covid in intensive care in the state.
COVID-19 update – Wednesday 29 June 2022
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 28, 2022
In the 24-hour reporting period to 4pm yesterday:
- 96.6% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
- 95.1% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/1UzQ2YiLOH
Turnbull says Albanese ‘is not Scott Morrison and that’s a big advantage’
Australia’s new prime minister will have an easier time mending relations with the French “because he is not Scott Morrison and that’s a big advantage”, the former leader Malcolm Turnbull has told journalists in Paris.
Turnbull said Anthony Albanese, who will meet the French president in Paris on Friday, was honest and “never had a reputation for being deceitful and untruthful”.
This would help in thawing the freeze in relations between Canberra and Paris that followed Morrison cancelling a A$90bn (£48bn) submarine deal with French defence contractor Naval Group last September.
The new Australian Labor government remains committed to acquiring nuclear-powered submarines under the Aukus agreement with the US and the UK – the decision at the heart of the rift with France.
It is understood to be working to a March deadline to make major decisions on how and when those submarines will be built, along with any interim solution to bridge a “capability gap” in the nation’s defences.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Political representation for the ACT may increase post-census
Did you note amid all the stories about the census data on Tuesday that the population of the ACT had grown significantly?
Well, the Australian Capital Territory’s chief minister, Andrew Barr, told my colleagues Paul Karp and Josh Butler that there might be a case for an increase in the territory’s political representation: a “modest increase” from two senators to four “may be appropriate” for the territories, he said.
Since his election in May, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has stressed the importance of “one vote, one value” on several occasions, raising expectations that boosting the number of territory senators and mainland MPs could be part of a suite of reforms to be considered in a parliamentary inquiry into electoral law.
The census data shows the ACT has a population of 454,499, compared with Tasmania’s 557,571. The ACT is represented by two senators, while all states including Tasmania are represented by 12.
In the House of Representatives, the ACT is represented by three MPs.
Read more about the data and the complications of the proposal here:
Updated
PM to meet with world leaders during Nato summit
Anthony Albanese is holding talks with a bunch of international leaders ahead of and during the Nato summit this week, including New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea. He will also sit down with the British prime minister, Boris Johnson.
Later this week, Albanese is flying to Paris to meet with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in which he’s expected to try to mend the rift between Australia and France in the wake of the Morrison government jettisoning the $90bn submarine deal last year.
Albanese is yet to confirm whether he will visit Ukraine, following an invitation by the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to travel to Kyiv, with security assessments still underway – it’s reportedly a 50/50 chance at this stage.
Updated
Great job, #Melbourne! At 7:37am you shivered your way through the latest sunrise of the year!
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) June 28, 2022
From here, sunrise will get earlier & earlier as we roll towards summer 😎⛱️
Sunrise times will differ across #Victoria; explore the geodetic calculator here: https://t.co/HFmEjZ8kbv pic.twitter.com/axAWU55yOX
Albanese to speak on Australia’s ‘iron-clad’ commitment to global order
The prime minister Anthony Albanese is going to give a speech in Madrid today in which he’ll spotlight Australia’s “iron-clad” commitment to upholding the global order, AAP reports.
In an address to a Nato Public Forum event, Albanese is expected to say that under the Labor government, Australia will defend values respecting international laws and territorial integrity.
AAP have supplied some advance lines from his speech:
By supporting peace and sovereignty in Europe, we are underscoring our iron-clad commitment to these norms in our own region, the Indo-Pacific.
We recognise there is strategic competition in our region, and Australia is not afraid to stand up with all the countries of our region for an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
It will be through Australia’s actions that you will see our resolve.
We will deal with this issue in a mature way, with firmness and resolution.
Albanese is also expected to praise Nato alliance members for their “inspiring” responses to Russia after its “brutal” and “unjustified” invasion of Ukraine, and the alliance Australia is “invested for the long-term” in the Nato relationship.
Updated
Uber and Transport Workers’ Union strike agreement on gig economy employment standards
Ride-sharing giant Uber and the Transport Workers’ Union have struck a landmark agreement on proposed employment standards and benefits ahead of expected new gig economy regulation from the Albanese government.
The union and Uber have also agreed to jointly support the creation of a new independent government-funded regulatory body to create industry-wide standards for rideshare and food delivery gig workers, following months of negotiations.
Under the agreed standards, the body will be responsible for creating minimum and transparent enforceable earnings, benefits and conditions for people who work on the rideshare platform. The body will also act as a means for resolving disputes over platform employment issues, such as when a worker’s account is deactivated.
The standards also outline that the rights of workers to join and be represented by a union will be respected.
The Transport Workers’ Union national secretary, Michael Kaine, told Guardian Australia:
It is quite a remarkable document. It’s a remarkable set of principles.
It’s something that identifies that we need change, and there is a pathway to change, and we’ve got a new federal government that’s indicated that it wants to act in this area as well. So the stars are aligning for us all.
Read the full story here:
Updated
The number of social housing units in Australia rose by less than 1% last year and actually went backwards in some states, while waiting lists across the country blew out further and rental stress among jobseekers receiving rent assistance doubled.
As the new Albanese government seeks to increase social housing stock nationally, a report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on Wednesday showed demand for housing support continues to outstrip supply.
The data released with the AIHW report showed social housing – public housing and properties leased out by community housing providers – was stuck at 4.2% of overall housing stock.
That was steady from 2020 and down on the 2012 figure of 4.8%.
Read more:
Updated
Mark Dreyfus clarifies Labor's opposition to 'unnecessary secrecy'
After the first national cabinet meeting as prime minister, Anthony Albanese, revealed the commonwealth had made no effort to change its rules of secrecy, despite his criticism of his predecessor Scott Morrison over the issue.
On Tuesday evening, the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, clarified that the government’s position is that it is not in favour of “unnecessary secrecy” but it still intends to block documents from freedom of information using exemption.
Dreyfus told Radio National’s Law Report:
There’s a convention that applies to the cabinet papers of former governments, which is that they remain the cabinet papers of former governments and not available for public distribution. And by and large observing that convention, we will continue to apply whatever settings the former government had in place.
But going forward, very much, it’s our view that the meetings of First Ministers are ones that, if there is a need to provide protection from [FOI] applications, then the exemptions in the [FOI] Act that have been there since the first enactment ... in 1982, which protect commonwealth-state relations that those exemptions are the ones which should be relied on. What we don’t want to see is the creation of unnecessary secrecy.
What we don’t want to see is reliance on an exemption that applies to the meetings of federal cabinet incorrectly applied to meetings between First Ministers of the states, territories and the Commonwealth.
While it’s good to see that the Albanese government is not persisting with the fiction that national cabinet is a sub-committee of the federal cabinet, it still sounds like no documents will be produced.
Updated
SA power operator fined $900,000 for breach
The operator of South Australia’s Tesla big battery has been fined $900,000 after a software glitch left it unable to help stabilise the grid, AAP reports.
Hornsdale Power Reserve (HPR) was ordered on Tuesday to pay the penalty after being taken to the federal court by the Australian Energy Regulator.
The court heard HPR had breached national electricity rules between July and November 2019 after it made offers to the Australian Energy Market Operator and was paid to provide market ancillary services which it could not provide.
The contingency frequency control ancillary services are required to help keep the lights on following a power system disturbance.
Aemo brought the conduct to the regulator’s attention following a power system disruption at Kogan Creek Power Station in Queensland in October 2019.
The disruption was not caused or contributed to by HPR.
An investigation by Tesla later identified a firmware update carried out in July as the cause of HPR’s failure to provide its promised services.
Justice Anthony Besanko on Tuesday ordered HPR to pay a $900,000 fine in regards to several breaches of the national electricity rules.
He acknowledged submissions from HPR that the contraventions were inadvertent and the relevant payments had been repaid to AEMO upon request. No actual loss or damage was caused by the breaches, he noted.
The AER’s chair, Clare Savage, said in a statement the penalty sent an important message to the market at a time when many new operators were joining the grid:
It is vital that generators do what they say they can do if we’re going to keep the lights on through our market’s rapid transition to more variable renewable generation.
Updated
Morning summary
Good morning folks, and welcome to another day of rolling news.
Australia’s fractured relationship with France has caused a “critical” trade deal with the EU to “stall” over perceptions Australia isn’t “fair dinkum” on climate change action, Anthony Albanese has said. The prime minister is in Europe this week ahead of the Nato summit which will consider further sanctions on Russian for its continuing war on Ukraine. He’s been meeting with various international counterparts on his trip, including Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, on Tuesday.
The federal energy minister, Chris Bowen, will give an address at the National Press Club today in which he’s expected to talk about the government’s renewable energy plan in the wake of coal-fired power station shutdowns, a cold snap and spiking gas prices adding to cost of living pressures for already-squeezed Australian households.
Industrial action in NSW continues, with the Rail, Tram and Bus Union to meet today to consider whether to continue with their planned strikes this week. They are in a dispute with the NSW government over safety concerns regarding the new intercity train fleet.
Meanwhile, hundreds of nurses voted on Tuesday to continue with industrial action, rejecting the NSW government’s offer of a 3% pay rise. The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association general secretary, Brett Holmes, said members will now pursue a pay rise of 7%.
And a parliamentary inquiry will today scrutinise the appointment of the former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro to a lucrative trade job in New York.
There’ll be stacks more throughout the day so stay tuned. And as always, if you see something you reckon needs my attention, you can email me at stephanie.convery@theguardian.com or ping me on Twitter @gingerandhoney.
Onward!
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