What we learned: Sunday 27 August
With that, we will wrap the blog for now.
Here were the major events of the day:
The Victorian Liberals have claimed a turning point after holding on to Liberal safe seat Warrandyte in a byelection overnight, after charity manager Nicole Werner retained the north-east Melbourne stronghold. The byelection has widely been read as a test of Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto’s leadership after the party has been roiled by internal disputes over the last nine months.
Former Essendon footballer Michael Long will recreate his 2004 walk from Melbourne to Canberra in support of the yes campaign for the Indigenous voice to parliament.
Teal independent Allegra Spender says “young people feel abandoned” with the current economic arrangement after the intergenerational report was handed down.
A royal commission in South Australia has outlined how an ambitious overhaul for how the state will approach early childhood education will take shape.
Queensland’s deputy premier, Steven Miles, has brushed aside speculation of a leadership challenge against Annastacia Palaszczuk after controversial youth justice law changes and poor opinion polling. As acting premier while Palaszczuk is in Europe for a two-week holiday, Miles said she was doing a fantastic job and the leadership speculation did not align with his conversations with Labor colleagues.
A Sydney man has died in a house fire thought to be caused by lithium batteries, highlighting concerns among firefighters of an emerging problem.
A US military aircraft has crashed in the Tiwi Islands off the coast of the Northern Territory in Australia during military exercises.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government was acting on issues of concern to young people. He told Sky News: “We’re acting on climate change, we are acting on housing supply and housing affordability, there are legislated tax cuts coming into the system next year – the middle of next year.” He also said Australia’s exposure to China is a significant concern for its economy over the long haul, particularly if it continues to sputter.
Updated
Anthony Albanese discusses US military aircraft crash
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking to reporters in the Pilbara about the “tragic” incident involving a downed US military aircraft that crashed while taking part in the Predator’s Run military exercise.
No Australians were involved in the crash and the prime minister says:
The Department of Defence is very much on incident response and on making sure that every support and assistance is given at this point in time.
This is a difficult incident, we’re responding fully and our priority is on providing every assistance possible.
Updated
Report reveals 2,231 drug-induced deaths in 2021
Every four hours an Australian is dying of a drug overdose, AAP report.
There were 2,231 drug-induced deaths reported in Australia in 2021, according to a Penington Institute report released today. Of those, 1,675 were unintentional.
Seven out of 10 unintentional drug overdose deaths in 2021 were men and Indigenous Australians were almost four times more likely to die under those circumstances than non-Indigenous Australians.
The report reads:
The annual number of unintentional drug-induced deaths surpassed the road toll in 2014.
The gap between the two has continued to widen ever since.
The most common drug found in people’s systems was opioids, contributing to 45.7% of overdose deaths in 2021.
Deaths linked to the synthetic opioid fentanyl were cited by the report as a major cause for concern after skyrocketing by more than 800% since 2001.
Updated
An Australian couple have been seriously injured after falling from a wall near a tourist hotspot in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Croatian media reported the couple fell from a 10m high wall near Pile Gate, which marks the entrance to old town.
The man has undergone surgery for head and brain injuries and the woman is in critical condition in the intensive care unit. She is said to have injuries to her head, spinal cord, and fractures in her spine.
Police are investigating the incident.
One crew member rushed to hospital
One person aboard the downed US military aircraft has been transported by CareFlight to Royal Darwin Hospital in a critical condition, and two more in a stable condition.
They are continuing to respond to the crash.
More to come …
Updated
Wealth of data on Australian economy expected next week
Inflation figures and a speech by incoming Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock will be closely watched for signs of Australia’s economic slowdown.
Bullock, the central bank’s deputy governor, will deliver a lecture at the Australian National University in Canberra on Tuesday as she prepares to take over the top job from Philip Lowe.
The RBA board is due to next meet on 5 September, when it is widely expected to keep the cash rate on hold at 4.1%.
Lowe will deliver what the RBA is describing as his “final remarks” in Sydney on 7 September.
Feeding into the board’s thinking will be a wealth of data to be released over the week.
Retail trade figures will be released on Monday, giving an indication of how deep a series of interest rate hikes have cut into family budgets.
Building approvals, consumer prices and construction work data will be issued on Wednesday.
June quarter business investment figures to be released on Thursday will shed light on future spending intentions.
CoreLogic’s home value index for August will be issued on Friday, along with the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ lending indicators data for July.
Local investors will react to much-anticipated comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, who indicated the US central bank may need to raise interest rates further to ensure inflation is contained but acknowledged price pressures had eased.
His speech at the Economic Policy Symposium in Wyoming led Wall Street to finish higher, setting up the Australian share market to follow suit when it reopens.
– AAP
Updated
Peeled off ‘like an orange skin’: new technology to fleece sheep without shearing to be unveiled
Australian farmers are considering technology which involves injecting sheep so their fleece can be peeled off “like an orange skin” as an alternative to shearing.
Lead researcher Phil Hynd from the University of Adelaide said it allows for fleece to be broken off.
Previous attempts at biological wool harvesting focused on temporarily stopping wool growth, which resulted in fleece shedding.
The next 18 months will be critical in developing the method.
We will know whether the injectable works the way we think it will, we’ll have made progress on developing some engineering solutions to plucking it off.
The new approach aims to create a weakened zone of wool, with the idea that it doesn’t break off in the paddock under normal grazing conditions.
The wool continues to grow beneath the weak point, protecting the sheep after the fleece has been harvested.
But researchers say while early trials are looking promising, they still need to work out what mechanical devices can be created to remove the weakened wool.
Researchers will demonstrate the method at a field day near Deniliquin, in southern NSW, on Friday.
The research was funded by Australian Wool Innovation and will need to be approved by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority before it is made available to farmers.
- AAP
Updated
Australia’s south-east is in for a marine heatwave that’s literally off the scale, raising the prospect of significant losses in fishing and aquaculture.
The Bureau of Meteorology expects a patch of the Tasman Sea off Tasmania and Victoria will be at least 2.5C above average from September to February, and it could get much hotter than that.
As oceanographer Grant Smith explains, the colour-coded scale the bureau uses to map forecast sea surface temperature anomalies stops at 2.5C.
How high does it go? I can’t tell you because it goes off the colour bar.
We didn’t account for anomalies that high when we developed this … it could be 3C, it could be 3.5C, but we can’t see how high it goes.
For more on this story, read the full report here:
Updated
US military aircraft crashes near Tiwi Islands
A United States military aircraft believed to be carrying 23 personnel has crashed off the Northern Territory coast during a training exercise.
Emergency services were called to respond to the incident involving a Boeing MV-22B Osprey aircraft on Melville Island shortly before 10am local time on Sunday.
NT Police have confirmed they are responding to the crash. A Careflight aircraft has also been deployed.
No fatalities have been reported and Australian personnel are not believed to be involved.
The Department of Defence said the incident occurred during Exercise Predator’s Run 2023.
Initial reports suggest the incident involves United States defence personnel and that Australian Defence Force members were not involved.
At this critical early stage, our focus is on the incident response and ensuring the safety of those involved.
About 150 US marines are stationed in Darwin and taking part in military drills alongside personnel from Australia and the Philippines.
NT Health has been contacted for comment.
- AAP
Updated
Iggy Azalea forced off stage in Saudi Arabia
Australian rapper Iggy Azalea has been forced off stage during a show in Saudi Arabia when her pants ripped and she was prevented from completing the show.
The rapper apologised to fans in a series of posts to social media saying she was stopped from returning to the stage after delivering the line “Ladies make some noise, it’s a woman’s world!” which “apparently sent the authorities over the edge”.
Saudi Arabia please know to everyone at the show tonight…
— IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) August 25, 2023
I LOVE YOU!!!
And I’m soooooo sorry I wasn’t allowed to finish my show 😭
It’s not the promoter who put on the shows fault so show them kindness because they are amazing people and we all wanted to continue but were not…
I did but I also said
— IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) August 25, 2023
“Ladies make some noise, it’s a woman’s world!” And apparently that sent the authorities over the edge. Lol
I’m cool I just didn’t want the fans to be sad or angry at the show organizers cause it wasn’t their control or mine it was the police at the side…
Saudi Arabia advises women visiting the country to “cover as much flesh as possible to avoid drawing unwelcome attention”.
The kingdom has also been rocked in recent years by protests of women calling for reform and equal treatment. In May a 29-year-old Saudi Arabian women’s rights activist was arrested for posting demands for recognition of fundamental rights on Twitter and Snapchat.
Updated
Former SA premier welcomes royal commission’s recommendations
Former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill has responded to the South Australian royal commission’s proposed overhaul for early childhood education, calling for the state government to adopt its recommendations in full.
Weatherill, who now heads the Thrive by Five campaign for the Minderoo Foundation, which is run by mining billionaire Andrew Forrest, said in a statement on Sunday the opportunity presents a chance for “once in a generation reform”.
If adopted, these recommendations will greatly improve access to affordable, high-quality early learning for all South Australian families and give children a better start in life.
The rollout of three-year-old preschools will give thousands of young South Australian children access free early childhood education that will have lasting positive effects and will set them up for future success. This is good for families, for children and for the entire state.
Dedicated, accredited educational degrees focusing on the first five years will help ensure that the early learning educators are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to provide children with the best possible early education.
Improved rural and remote early learning infrastructure and services will allow families and children living in the state’s regions to have greater access to early learning services and will help bridge the gap between urban and rural early learning access.
The commission correctly identifies the vital importance of the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.
Access to high-quality early learning in this crucial time can help ensure that children have the possible start in life.
A universally accessible, high-quality, accessible and affordable early learning system will also greatly improve workforce participation by primary carers – who are predominantly mothers – and will boost the South Australian economy.
Weatherill said the South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas has “the opportunity to not only invest in and secure the futures of young South Australians” but to “lead by example” on a “national, broad-scale early learning reforms”.
Updated
Queensland deputy premier brushes off speculation he’ll challenge Annastacia Palaszczuk
Queensland’s deputy premier has poured cold water on speculation of a leadership challenge against Annastacia Palaszczuk after controversial youth justice law changes and poor opinion polling.
After the Queensland premier jetted to Europe for a two-week holiday, Palaszczuk’s deputy Steven Miles thrust his support behind her amid reports of dissension in Labor’s ranks.
Miles has been floated as a potential premier in waiting but insisted Palaszczuk was safe, declaring she would lead the government to the next election.
The acting premier said on Sunday she was doing a fantastic job and the leadership speculation did not align with his conversations with Labor colleagues.
I understand they’ll always be chatter, they’ll always be rumours and gossip.
What I know is a great strength of our government has been our stability and our unity, and the leadership that Annastacia has provided and I intend to continue that unity and stability.
Miles wouldn’t be drawn on the optics of the premier taking leave after the state government this week introduced a raft of new laws allowing children to be held in police watch houses.
“I don’t think a lot of people take too much notice of that,” he said.
– AAP
Updated
Flashback to 2004: Michael Long leads the walk to Canberra to raise awareness of the mistreatment of Indigenous Australians
Updated
Sydney man dies in house fire caused by lithium battery
A Sydney man has died in a house fire believed to have been caused by a lithium battery.
The 54-year-old man was eating downstairs with two women on Saturday night when the fire broke out. He attempted to extinguish the blaze with a fire extinguisher.
When firefighters arrived, the man was found unconscious on the bathroom floor upstairs with soot around his mouth and nose.
Firefighters performed CPR on the man until paramedics arrived, but his injuries were too severe and he did not survive.
The incident has highlighted a growing concern about the rate of lithium battery fires.
New South Wales Fire and Rescue Supt Andrew Shurety said he couldn’t put a specific number to how often fire crews were being called to lithium battery fires, but said it was a “marked increase” with “a number of fires including the fatal one last night”.
I’ve been a firefighter for over 30 years and I’ve never seen anything like this. In my personal opinion we’re going to be overwhelmed by it, which will be quite shocking to the community, unless we start taking precautions.
Lithium battery fires are caused by a chemical reaction inside the battery that produces a really intense flame that’s difficult to extinguish but also produces toxic gases that are worse than a normal fire would produce.
Shurety said that like other fire risks, people should take precautions about how and when they charge lithium batteries, including avoiding overcharging them, avoiding flammable locations like a bed and using reputable brands.
We see fires start from cheap brands that come in as import without warranties.
New South Wales Fire and Rescue has published detailed information on its website outlining precautions that can be taken.
Updated
An environmental activist who says he was pulled over by police at gunpoint and is subject to a restraining order issued on behalf of Woodside’s CEO has now been threatened with legal action by the energy giant.
Emil Davey was sent a letter by lawyers acting for Woodside Energy on 18 August requesting he hand over documents and communications relating to a protest at the company’s Perth headquarters in June.
Woodside is considering suing Davey and others for damages it says it incurred because of the protest. About 2,000 employees were reportedly evacuated during the protest after activists were suspected of releasing a foul-smelling gas and flares near the building.
The letter, seen by Guardian Australia, says that lawyers for Woodside believe people other than Davey and two others – Joana Partyka and Kristen Morrissey – may have been involved in the protest. Partyka and Morrissey have been sent similar letters.
For more on this story, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s Justice and court’s reporter, Nino Bucci:
Global meeting of minds in Sydney for nature summit
Leading environmental and financial minds will descend on Sydney for a world-first global summit in a bid to fuel billions of dollars of nature funding.
Sydney will host the first Global Nature Positive Summit in early October 2024, the federal and NSW governments jointly announced on Sunday.
The summit will provide a forum for delegates including ministers, environment groups, First Nations peoples, business, scientists and community leaders to brainstorm ways to supercharge investment in nature-repairing projects.
A global biodiversity framework, agreed to by 196 countries at a United Nations conference last year, set a target of $US200bn a year to be spent on nature repair by 2030.
Federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, acknowledged government funding was critical to the task but said many others groups must also play a role.
Turning the tide like this, from nature destruction to nature repair, will require a mighty global effort.
We need government leading the way, but we also need the private sector, environmentalists and First Nations groups all pulling in the same direction.
We’re bringing the best environmental and financial minds to Australia, to share our expertise, and discuss how we work together to protect this planet for our kids and grandkids.
The summit will also focus on transparency and reporting on measuring the nature-repairing effects of projects and developing partnerships and capacity, including through greater landholder participation.
– AAP
Updated
Albanese visits Pilbara amid forecasts mineral exports will double over next five years
Anthony Albanese is visiting Western Australia as he prepares to host a top-level meeting with his ministers.
Albanese will head to the Pilbara on Sunday to tour mining giant Rio Tinto’s rail and port operations.
He will host a cabinet meeting in Perth on Monday and address a business breakfast on Tuesday.
The prime minister’s visit comes amid renewed focus on mining and critical minerals after a landmark report found the potential for lithium demand to increase eight-fold by the 2060s, while coal demand could fall as the world heads towards net zero emissions.
Australia’s critical mineral exports are also forecast to double over the next five years.
Rio operates 17 iron ore mines in the Pilbara, four port terminals and a rail network spanning about 2,000km, supported by a Perth operations centre.
The miner employs 800 people across its Pilbara port operations.
Albanese brought his cabinet to the Pilbara mining town of Port Hedland in February and has pledged to regularly visit WA after the state’s voters played a pivotal role in helping federal Labor return to office.
The prime minister will be in Adelaide on Wednesday to announce the date of the Indigenous voice referendum.
Ministers are expected to kick off an election-style campaign after the date is announced with events throughout the country.
– AAP
Updated
Opposition finance spokesperson, Jane Hume, has accused the government of using the International Report as a Trojan horse to justify jacking up taxes and says she expects the upcoming referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament will fail.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Hume said there needed to be more focus on solutions rather than a re-highlighting of economic concerns.
The frustration with the intergenerational report is it didn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already know.
We know that the pressures are going to be on aged care, on health and on the NDIS but … there doesn’t seem to be any solutions on the expenditure side.
It just seems to be this inevitability that taxes are going to have to go up.
On the referendum, Hume said if it were to fail, Anthony Albanese would be responsible.
Unfortunately, the question that’s been put before us, my head and my gut says we cannot support this if we can’t understand it.
So this is a missed opportunity and it’s on Anthony Albanese.
- AAP
Updated
The Adelaide Advertiser has more background on the announcement from South Australia for interstate readers.
Before last year’s state election, the state premier, Peter Malinauskas, promised to roll out universal preschool for three-year-olds from 2026 and asked Gillard to hold a royal commission to determine the best model.
An interim report was delivered in April which suggested it would cost $212m by 2032 to deliver on the program, with the sector needing 660 more early childhood teachers and 1,000 other staff to meet the increase in demand.
Malinauskas has said the state government will adopt 13 of the report’s 43 recommendations immediately.
Updated
SA’s early childhood education overhaul requires ‘universal but not uniform’ approach: Julia Gillard
Former prime minister Julia Gillard has delivered the report of the royal commission into early childhood development which has outlined how a fundamental overhaul of early childhood learning in South Australia will work.
The report contains 43 recommendations for change, including more comprehensive child development checks for the first 1,000 days of life, better support for parents and improved access of children care.
Gillard said the report seeks to give children “the foundations for a better life” and recommends the state government maximise the number of children “are at or exceeding developmental benchmarks when they start school”.
Getting there will require a new approach which is universal but not uniform. And by that, I mean every child will benefit [and those who] need it the most will get additional assistance – high-quality, irrespective of a family’s postcode or the nature of the service that they choose.
And nation-leading, with South Australia investing in research so our early childhood development and care sector is always at the forefront and South Australia leading by becoming the first state in the nation to offer up to 30 hours a week of preschool for children who need the assistance the most at age three and age four.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference for the launch of the report, the South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, said its findings would help “change the lives of many young South Australians for many decades to come”.
Typically, in Australia and in recent years, we have seen royal commissions being used to look at what has gone wrong, what has gone wrong with a rearview mirror lens, looking over it and picking through the entrails of whatever public policy disaster has existed before it.
This royal commission has been very different in nature. This royal commission has at the heart to be the objective to get things right at the beginning, at the beginning of this significant public policy development but, most importantly, at the beginning of a young person’s life
Updated
Thousands of volunteers rally for referendum
Almost 30,000 “yes” volunteers are awaiting the official starting gun for the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum campaign.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Yes23 director Dean Parkin said South Australia would be an important state to campaign in as the prime minister gets ready to announce the referendum date in Adelaide this week.
It is widely expected to be 14 October.
We’re really excited about the date. I think it’ll sharpen the minds of voters and reinforce to everybody that later this year we’ll be asked a very simple question.
To recognise Indigenous peoples as the first peoples of this country through a voice and we’re just really keen to get that starter’s gun fired in terms of the actual time frame.
Parkin said the campaign would leave no stone unturned as more than 27,000 volunteers knocked on tens of thousands of doors to start grassroots conversations.
These are people that aren’t members of a political party or all unionists or other campaigners,” he said.
They’re just Australians wanting to get behind the ‘yes’ vote.
– AAP
Updated
Treasurer says Australians shouldn't be 'defeatist' on housing crisis
Jim Chalmers also says the government is acting on issues of concern to young people.
We’re acting on climate change, we are acting on housing supply and housing affordability, there are legislated tax cuts coming into the system next year – the middle of next year. So really across all of those fronts that Ken [Henry] was right to point to, frankly, they are some of the challenges that younger people do face in particular over the course of the next 40 years or so and we take those challenges seriously, and that’s why we’re acting on them.
Asked whether young people may just have to accept that home ownership is now beyond them with economic conditions as they are, the treasurer said people shouldn’t be “defeatist” as the government has a “hell of a reform program”.
One of the reasons why we’re pouring billions of dollars into more housing supply, one of the reasons why we’re working so closely with the states and territories, one of the reasons why we’re working with them to deliver this help to buy scheme that I spoke to you about at our national conference not that long ago – this is all about building more homes, it’s all about making it easier and cheaper – whether it’s renters or housing affordability if people want to get into the housing market.
Chalmers was also asked about the NDIS and suggested the federal government may consult with the states to rebalance funding for the NDIS. The treasurer said a “stunning” conclusion of the intergenerational report was that, left unaddressed, the federal government was assuming an increasingly greater share of the scheme’s funding.
So the NDIS costs tens of billions of dollars, the commonwealth’s share of that goes up over time, and so much of our effort, Bill Shorten’s, but the cabinet more broadly, is how do we make sure we get maximum value for money for a scheme, which is very important, which we value, which is here to stay, but which has costs growing.
The treasurer did, however, ruled out means-testing the NDIS.
Updated
Jim Chalmers says weakness in Chinese economy concering for Australia
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says Australia’s exposure to China is a significant concern for its economy over the long haul, particularly if it continues to splutter.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday about the launch of the intergenerational report, Chalmers said he had “pretty substantial concerns”.
It is concerning to see the weakness, the softness in recent weeks and months in the Chinese economy, because it has obvious implications for us, here in Australia. In China, they’re dealing with slowing growth, they’ve got deflation, there are concerns in their property sector, and to some extent in their banking sector, their exports have slowed as well.
The treasurer said the two biggest challenges ahead were the Chinese “growth outlook” but also “the lag impact of all those interest rate rises in the system”.
With inflation information to be released on Wednesday, Chalmers said the “overall direction of travel is pretty clear”.
Our economy is weakening as a consequence of what’s happening in the world and what’s happened with interest rates, at the same time as inflation is moderating.
However, the treasurer said any slowdown in China will not cause a recession in Australia.
Our expectation is that the Australian economy continues to grow, but slowly.
Updated
Spender says tax will a “front-line issue” at the next election, because “no one else is talking about tax reform across the major parties”.
She also says the Teal independents are going to continue to work together.
I think what we are trying to do is work together and work across the parliament. To be honest, I’ve worked with the Labor party, worked with the Coalition, worked with the Greens across the House and Senate and all those things make a – coming together is actually what you do in terms of being constructive. That’s what you do in business in real life and that’s what I try to do.
Asked whether she will form a party, she says no. She is in parliament to represent Wentworth.
I love the work and I think this is a really important time, but I think it’s a really important time to face the tough issues and not just hide behind basically the party politics because a bunch of people in this country are saying, ‘You don’t represent me. Are you not in there for the long term. You are more interested in your party and the government and not on those more important things’, and that’s why people elected me.
Updated
Greens proposals won’t solve housing policy: Spender
Spender says the Greens have “rightly” identified renters as a group that has been neglected in housing policy, but their proposals “are not going to solve the problem”.
They sound good, like lots of housing policy in the past, but they won’t solve the problem.
Supply is critical to solving the problem of housing and I applaud the government on what they are doing on trying to address the supply.
But a bunch of people being pushed out of their homes and increasing dilapidated response and then finally what you would see also is you would see fewer and fewer houses being built because of uncertainty of the return.
Updated
Spender says government could have gone harder on super changes
On super, Spender says the government has “missed a trick” on proposed changes to superannuation and could have gone “harder or broader” on changes.
They decided not to do that and I think that’s the shame.
On industrial relations reform, Spender says she wants to wait to see the detail of a proposal that will close a loophole that allows companies to pay labour-hire workers less than people doing the same job.
This is a challenge I make to the government, is what are they doing in terms of making it easier to run businesses? Because in some cases appropriate changes to the industrial relations base, but at the same time they do not have an agenda which is around trying to make it easier to run a business and actually to employ people.
Updated
Spender wants to ‘see the detail’ on taxing unrealised gains
Spender is asked about why she won’t support taxing unrealised gains – which is part of a broader crackdown on multinational tax avoidance. Spender says she needs to “see the detail on this one”. She is asked about an amendment she moved to keep a tax loophole open that would allow multinationals to continue profit-sharing arrangements.
Spender says she “made clear” at the time she moved the amendment because she had not been consulted.
We should make sure Australian companies and Australian families are not disadvantaged by multinationals avoiding tax. I 100% agree with the point, but it is just a matter of getting that detail right.
Updated
Allegra Spender says Australia creating ‘intergenerational tragedy’
Spender says the intergenerational report really “highlights the problem with our reliance on income tax” saying “it’s really clear we can’t keep relying on workers”.
We have been setting ourselves up for intergenerational tragedy, high Hecs debts, extremely higher cost of housing and rely more and more and more on them.
On investment properties and franking credits, Spender says “everything needs to be on the table” when looking at reform. Asked about the feeling among her constituents, who are some of the wealthiest Australians, Spender says “people in Wentworth are willing to have a broader view on what’s in our national interest”.
My community is more diverse than people think. Sixty per cent of my community are in apartments, 45% are renters, so it is more mixed than you think, but I had a lot of older Australians who say ‘I just don’t know how my kids are going to ever be able to afford a home or live near me’. There is a real concern that generations that are coming up right now are not doing well enough and so I think there are a lot of people – I’ve had people just last week, people in good careers with good levels of assets who said, ‘It is not in my interests, but I actually believe we should look at these things because it is in the national interest’.
Updated
Spender says stamp duty holding back home ownership
Spender says the major parties have “wedged themselves so effectively on tax that no one can say anything”.
Spender says she has gathered together a range of experts, including key economics, business leaders and business community groups, but also “social sector unions” to discuss “the challenges in the tax system and how can it play out”.
So far there has been a really strong consensus that stamp duty, for example, there is broad consensus across the community and across business and social sectors that stamp duty is a tax which really holds back home ownership for young people. New South Wales Treasury says that we would have 7% greater home ownership if we reform stamp duty in place with a land tax.
Updated
'Young people feel abandoned': Allegra Spender on tax and housing
Independent MP Allegra Spender says “it is actually young people who are already facing the implications” of the issues outlined in the intergenerational report.
Speaking to ABC Insiders, young people, Spender says, are already “facing the implications” and are feeling “abandoned”.
Young people are feeling abandoned by the tax system, by the housing system, and I think the tax system has to play a part in addressing that.
Updated
Victorian Liberals retain stronghold in byelection
The charity manager Nicole Werner has claimed victory in the Victorian seat of Warrandyte, retaining the north-east Melbourne stronghold for the Liberal party.
Werner was on track to secure more than 60% of the primary vote on Saturday night and was headed towards a two-party preferred vote of 69.8% ahead of Greens candidate Tomas Lightbody (30.2%).
The former youth pastor secured preselection after failing to reclaim the nearby seat of Box Hill for the Liberals in November when Labor was returned to government for another four years.
The contest has widely been read as a test of Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto’s leadership after the party has been roiled by internal disputes over the last nine months – though Pesutto has rejected this interpretation.
Speaking to supporters on Saturday night, he said the result means “there will be an earthquake going off inside the Labor party”.
The people of Warrandyte have been the voice of all Victorians tonight.
They have said loudly ‘enough is enough’.
– AAP
Updated
Michael Long to kick off long walk for the voice
The AFL legend Michael Long will today take his first steps on a walk to Canberra to drum up support for an Indigenous voice to parliament.
In a recreation of his 2004 Long Walk, the football great and son of two stolen generations members will trek hundreds of kilometres in the lead-up to the referendum.
Long, who played in two premierships and won a Norm Smith medal across 190 games for Essendon, begins his 19-day journey at Melbourne Town Hall at midday.
He is encouraging all Australians to walk to with him, whether it is for an hour, a day and or the whole way.
Long will stop in a number of regional communities to discuss the referendum including Broadford, Nagambie, Shepparton, Benalla, Beechworth, Albury, Gerogery, The Rock, Wagga Wagga, Gundagai, Jugiong and Yass.
The route stretches almost 800km and passes through Shepparton, Albury and Wagga Wagga, with Long scheduled to arrive at Parliament House in Canberra on 14 September.
Nearly 20 years ago, Long set off for the nation’s capital to speak with the then prime minister, John Howard, after attending another Aboriginal funeral and the abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.
Long said in a statement:
Today, as we prepare to vote in the referendum, we are still asking the same questions.
After Long completed 325km of the planned 650km journey in about nine days, Howard called for an end to the walk and agreed to meet.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will reveal when the Indigenous voice referendum will be held in Adelaide on Wednesday, with 14 October expected to be the date.
– AAP
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Allegra Spender to appear on Insiders
The independent Wentworth MP Allegra Spender will speak to ABC Insiders later this morning.
The treasurer Jim Chalmers, Jane Hume and Dean Parkin have already appeared on Sky News.
We’ll bring you all the latest as it happens.
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Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday Guardian live blog.
Bill Shorten will this morning appear at a press conference alongside Michael Long and Uncle Paul Briggs to mark the 20th anniversary of the Long Walk to Canberra. In 2004, Michael Long set out from his home in Melbourne to walk to Canberra. His objective was to challenge the then prime minister, John Howard, over the treatment of Indigenous Australians.
The Victorian Liberal party is on track to comfortably retain the seat of Warrandyte in north-east Melbourne in a byelection that had been read as a test of opposition leader John Pesutto’s leadership. Charity manager Nicole Werner claimed victory on Saturday with 60% of the primary vote.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started ...
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