What we learned, Friday 1 December
And that’s where we’ll wrap up. Thanks for sticking with us this Friday. Here’s a short snapshot of what we learned:
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has refused to apologise to Peter Dutton over suggestions by senior ministers that he had protected paedophiles.
The shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, said the prime minister should force the home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, to apologise for comments she made in parliament yesterday.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has condemned a North Korean satellite launch last month as “reckless”, and issued sanctions in response.
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has flagged that he will ask the federal government to reconsider its GST arrangements at next week’s national cabinet meeting.
Floods are threatening to cut off a second Victorian town after a landslide isolated a community after a deluge across eastern Australia. Eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales were bracing for further rain on Friday after some areas recorded more than 150mm of rain in a day.
Victorian government ministers will now have to publish their diaries, following an overhaul of their code of conduct that comes into effect today.
The NSW Australian Paramedics Association conducted a 12-hour strike today, from 7am to 7pm, despite the threat of legal action. The NSW state government has said it wants to reach a deal and will continue to negotiate with the union.
The ancestral remains of 14 Indigenous people have been returned to Australia from the Smithsonian natural history museum in Washington DC.
The federal, state and territory governments have agreed to a national framework for generative AI in schools.
A record number of marriages were registered last year, according the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
We’ll be back with more tomorrow. Until then, look after yourselves.
Updated
GST dispute drives wedge between commonwealth and states
A dispute over GST and infrastructure funding has driven a wedge between the commonwealth and the states at a meeting of the nation’s treasurers in Brisbane.
The council on federal financial relations – which includes the federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and all of his state and territory counterparts – met in the Sunshine State today.
Typically, all members put out a unanimous press release at the end of the quarterly meeting. But in an unusual move, the states issued their own communique due to lack of consensus on two issues.
The main sticking point: demands the five-year-old guarantee that no jurisdiction will be worse off by changes to GST allocations, be made permanent.
The communique reads:
Without the guarantee, the Commonwealth will be fully responsible if states and territories are forced to consider a new tax or levy to ensure essential services are not compromised or reduced.
They welcomed the short-term fix but pointed to “windfall company tax receipts” levied by the commonwealth, arguing that “it seems only fair to share our nation’s prosperity”. Next year’s federal budget is expected to be in the black to the tune of about $10bn.
The communique continued:
Without permanently honouring the no-worse-off guarantee, the Commonwealth will leave most states and territories with a significant decrease in ongoing revenue.
The collective loss to states and territories is estimated by the Commonwealth to be around $4.9bn per annum, and is expected to grow over time. This equates to the salaries of over 30,000 nurses or teachers each year.
To add insult to injury, all but one of the authors of the communique are Chalmers’ fellow party members. Tasmania’s Michael Ferguson is the only Liberal treasurer in the country.
The group also continued a chorus of complaints about the process behind the federal government’s infrastructure investment program review, released last month. According to the communique:
State and Territory Treasurers were unanimous in rejecting the proposal to reduce Commonwealth funding for vital regional roads from 80 per cent to 50 per cent, an unacceptable outcome for Australians who need these roads each day.
Updated
ACCC allows Coles’s acquisition of two milk processing facilities
Supermarket giant Coles expects its acquisition of two state-of-the-art automated milk processing facilities from Saputo Dairy Australia will be completed in the first half of next year after the competition regulator gave its blessing, AAP reports.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced on Friday it would not move to block the $105m deal first announced in April between Coles and the Australian subsidiary of Canadian diary giant Saputo Inc.
The facilities are in Laverton North, Victoria, and Erskine Park, NSW. Both are close to Coles distribution centres.
Each has the capacity to process 225m litres of milk a year and they are predominantly used to process Coles Own Brand 2L and 3L milk.
Coles’s chief executive, Leah Weckert, said the supermarket giant was pleased with the ACCC’s findings:
Once completed, the acquisition of these state-of-the-art facilities will enable Coles to improve security of our milk supply and supply chain resilience and allow us to continue to build on the strong relationships we have developed with our dairy farmers.
Melina Morrison, chief executive of the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals – the peak body for Australia’s co-operatives and mutuals sector, was disappointed by the ACCC’s decision:
As processing facilities are further concentrated in the hands of a few investor-owned dairy processors and retailers, there is less and less pressure on these businesses to share profits with farmers.
That means farmers will have less capacity to reinvest in the sustainability of their own businesses.
The ACCC deputy chair, Mick Keogh, acknowledged the strong concerns raised by some industry participants about the acquisition.
He said the ACCC found that given most of the capacity at these plants was contracted to Coles, the acquisition was unlikely to result in a substantial lessening of competition.
The ACCC found other dairy companies such as Lactalis and Bega would continue to be competitors for raw milk in central NSW and the acquisition was unlikely to change this.
Updated
Cost of GST ‘no worse off guarantee’ has ‘substantially increased’: Jim Chalmers
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has released a statement following a meeting of the state and territory treasurers in Queensland today.
He said some of the topics under discussion were health, hospitals and the NDIS, and that discussion on the issue of the GST “no-worse off guarantee” was “productive” and will continue at next week’s national cabinet meeting.
Chalmers continued:
The cost to the Commonwealth of the GST no-worse off guarantee has substantially increased since the original deal was put in place, and any extension would have significant fiscal implications for the Commonwealth.
Any developments on GST need to recognise the pressure on all our budgets, not just on state budgets.
Updated
It’s time for First Dog On The Moon. He’s talking about words.
Review urges major changes to ‘oppressive’ national security secrecy laws
A landmark review into “oppressive and unnecessary” national security secrecy laws that allowed a government official to be secretly imprisoned in a Canberra jail has recommended major changes to prevent the “shameful tale” happening again.
Grant Donaldson, the outgoing independent national security legislation monitor, released his review on Thursday evening, offering 40 recommendations he hopes will “demystify” the little-understood rules.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said he would consider the recommendations but added the government supported the principles of open justice.
He said at the report’s tabling:
The Albanese government is committed to ensuring we have appropriate laws in place to protect national security information while upholding the principles of open justice.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Bondi beach lifeguards buggies stolen
Sydney’s famous Bondi lifeguards have been dealt a rough start to the summer after their beach-side tower was allegedly broken into and two emergency buggies stolen.
Police were called to the beach just before 5am on Friday to reports of the alleged break and enter.
“One of the beach buggies was located on Bondi beach, the other remains outstanding,” a NSW police spokesperson said.
“Police established a crime scene and have launched an investigation into the incident.”
One of the buggies – relied on for emergency services – was found early in the morning, bogged in the sand.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Minns to push PM on GST ‘no worse off guarantee’
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has flagged that he will ask the federal government to reconsider its GST arrangements at next week’s national cabinet meeting.
Minns was already expected to ask for more commonwealth funding to help pay for education, infrastructure and the NDIS in NSW.
Speaking to reporters earlier this afternoon, Minns said he would also speak to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, about the GST.
He said:
I don’t think what I’m asking for is outrageous.
We need to make sure we’ve got resolution in relation to the GST guarantee. Because we’ve got billions of dollars that are required to run schools and hospitals.
NSW wants the federal government to extend the GST “no worse off guarantee” beyond its current expiry date in 2027.
The then-federal Coalition government introduced the guarantee in 2018 to ensure no state would be worse off from the earlier introduction of a GST floor that meant every state would receive at least a 70% share of the GST revenue collected within in its borders.
The GST floor was introduced after lobbying from the West Australian government, which argued it was not fairly benefiting from the GST carve up.
Updated
‘I’m not going to make this personal’: Minns on Paramedics strike
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, and the health minister, Ryan Park, have responded to the paramedics’ 12-hour strike today, that we reported on earlier.
Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Park said he’d met with the executive team of the Health Services Union and a number of delegates and put forward a proposal about working through the matter with private arbitration. That offer was rejected, Park said:
We have agreed to continue to talk. I want to be very clear on this. We have agreed with the Health Services Union that we will continue to talk and negotiate next week. We do agree that paramedics need to be paid more. But let’s also be very, very clear. This industrial action that is threatened to take place on New Year’s Eve would cripple triple 0 services. That is not something neither the government nor individual paramedics or the Union could explain to the people of New South Wales.
Minns also made comments:
We need to make sure that this industrial action doesn’t spill into having unintended consequences where people who are very sick or could potentially die can’t have access to a paramedic or an ambulance to get to hospital …
I’m not going to make this personal and I’m not going to launch any kind of attack on the union movement. The only thing we want is an agreement, but I have to lay out where we are and where the period of intensive negotiations has left us on this Friday afternoon.
As we reported earlier, union members are attending emergency “lights and sirens” jobs on Friday, but limiting their response to non-emergency jobs.
Updated
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today – I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Stephanie Convery to lead you through the rest of today’s news.
Take care, enjoy your weekend, and to my fellow east-coasters – stay dry!
Matildas’ striker Kyah Simon has backed netball players in their dispute over pay and conditions, saying Australia’s footballers have deep empathy for their plight and that all the nation’s women athletes should continue to push for better rights.
The Central Coast Mariners star made the comments at the MCG, where she accepted the Sport Australia Hall of Fame’s Don Award on behalf of the Matildas, who were judged to be the athletes to provide the most inspiration to Australians in 2023. The national team finished fourth at the World Cup in a tournament that broke ratings records and attracted millions of fans.
The Don Award 🏆🎖️
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) December 1, 2023
Joining an illustrious group of previous winners, including the @socceroos, Cathy Freeman OAM, Ash Barty AO and more!#Matildas #SAHOF23 #TheDonAward pic.twitter.com/txzzhTuddF
Netball Australia and its players have been locked in negotiations this year over their latest pay deal. The parties are meeting in Melbourne today with hopes to find a resolution to the long-running funding brawl.
Continue reading here:
Doctors urge action on climate change outside WA parliament
As we reported earlier, West Australian doctors and health professionals were planning to protest outside state parliament and urge stronger action on climate change. AAP has all the details of how this went:
More than 50 doctors and other health professionals rallied outside West Australia’s parliament, urging the Cook government to do more to combat climate change.
General practitioners, emergency doctors and surgeons were among those calling for fossil fuels to be phased out to protect the community from the negative effects of global warming.
Doctors for the Environment Australia said hospitals were already seeing the impacts of climate change and the government needed to prioritise the health and wellbeing of the community over the fossil fuel industry.
Doctors and health professionals representing the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and the Public Health Association Australia were also involved in the rally.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners WA said climate change was a public health emergency. A spokesperson said:
GPs in WA and across Australia are already seeing the impacts of climate change on our patients, including from more extreme bushfires, heatwaves, droughts, and storms, which affect both physical and mental health.
Updated
Government signs tax deal with Portugal
The government has signed a new tax treaty with Portugal – the first tax treaty between the two nations.
The assistant minister for competition, charities and treasury, Andrew Leigh, said in a statement the treaty will enhance trade and investment opportunities between the two nations:
The treaty will give Australian businesses new opportunities to access Portuguese capital through reduced withholding tax rates.
This will lower costs for Australians investing in Portugal and will improve access to Portuguese technology by reducing the tax rate applied to intellectual property.
Leigh said the treaty will also reduce compliance costs for taxpayers and “improve certainty” for businesses that have dealings between Australia and Portugal.
Once both countries have completed their domestic implementation requirements, the treaty will enter into force.
Updated
More volunteers sought from generous nation of donators
Australians are volunteering less but giving more money, AAP reports, as the government examines recommendations on ways to boost the nation’s altruism.
A draft report on philanthropy from the Productivity Commission found Australians donated more than $13bn to charities in 2021, a 26% increase since 2017.
But the number of Australians volunteering with organisations has declined during the past decade, with six million participating in 2022.
The Productivity Commission deputy chair, Alex Robson, said Australia was a “generous nation” but there were more incentives to donate than volunteer.
The decline in formal volunteering has directly coincided with a rise in informal volunteering, where people support non-family members outside their household.
A significant amount of Australian altruism comes from tax-deductible donations, but Robson says many charities cannot receive these kinds of funds because of complexities and anomalies in the system.
The Productivity Commission’s report recommends simplifying the deductible gift recipient system so that more charities could take in these donations, which would ultimately provide Australians with more choices.
The final report is due in the first half of 2024, with submissions open on the draft document until 9 February.
Updated
The Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Angus Hines has provided a detailed national weather forecast for the next few days ahead:
Weekend Weather Update: National weather forecast, Friday 1 December 2023. Video current: 12:30pm AEST 1 December 2023. For the latest forecasts and warnings go to our website: https://t.co/4W35o8iFmh pic.twitter.com/nLvT86t7iL
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) December 1, 2023
He said more rainfall is expected along already-drenched parts of south-east Australia, but parts of the country will start to see warm and dry weather at the weekend.
This warmer weather should spread into the wet areas early next week, he said.
Updated
NSW Health Services Union looks to support Paramedics strike
While NSW members of the Australian Paramedics Association take part in a 12-hour strike today, defying orders from the state’s industrial relations commission, their colleagues in the Health Services Union are threatening to forgo their registration in support.
Paramedics have to pay to re-register to practise each year, from 1 December.
David Mecham, a paramedic and HSU delegate from Griffith, said:
What we are saying this year is that well ‘OK if you’re not going to recognise us as professionals then we aren’t going to pay to be called paramedics’.
From the 1st of January we will be officially deregistered as paramedics … so we have a one-month grace period to re-register.
Workers have asked for a 20% pay rise to bring them into line with colleagues in other states.
Mecham said skill levels had increased significantly over many years, leading to more responsibilities for first responders and better outcomes for patients.
However, NSW Health has never recognised our upskilling and professionalism through pay. Whereas every other state has recognised that and increased the pay accordingly.
He said HSU delegates were in talks with the government on Friday.
APA members are attending emergency “lights and sirens” jobs on Friday, but limiting their response to non-emergency jobs.
The health minister, Ryan Park, has been contacted for comment.
Updated
Wong condemns North Korea’s satellite launch
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has condemned a North Korean satellite launch last month as “reckless”, and issued sanctions in response.
Wong said Australia condemns North Korea’s satellite launch on 21 November, and that it “seriously undermined security and stability in our region”:
This use of ballistic missile technology is in violation of UN security council (UNSC) resolutions.
Australia is imposing targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on a further seven individuals and one entity “associated with North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction or missile programs and the satellite launch”.
Wong said:
These sanctions are issued in coordination with new designations announced by the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Australia is working with our allies and partners to slow the development of North Korea’s destabilising weapons programs and increase pressure on its procurement and revenue generation networks.
Wong said North Korea must “comply fully with UNSC resolutions” and abandon its “unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner”.
Together with our partners, we call on North Korea to engage in constructive dialogue and move toward permanent peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Updated
Labor blames Peter Dutton for indefinite detention ‘mess’
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre says it has filed a case with the high court, challenging the legality of the government’s “rushed, extreme” new laws for refugees who were unlawfully detained and then released after the court ruling last month.
The ASRC’s client – a refugee known as RVJB who has been living safely in community detention for almost one year – will argue that the new law interferes with his “liberty, bodily integrity, privacy and dignity”:
[The client will argue the law is] punitive and disproportionate – making it unconstitutional in the same way the high court found the government’s detention regime to be.
The ASRC said the conditions of the law represented a “drastic overreach” of government powers:
These conditions will apply for the rest of a person’s life, and include ankle monitors to track every movement, strict curfews, and extreme reporting requirements. Some may restrict people’s ability to see their children and families. People will face criminal penalties for breaches of certain visa conditions, with even minor breaches attracting a minimum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.
A principal solicitor at the ASRC, Hannah Dickinson, said she has worked with RVJB for five years and has witnessed his “suffering in detention [and] extraordinary resilience and grace”:
Our client has been trying to recover from the trauma of cruel and unconstitutional detention and he’s doing all the right things to rebuild his life.
Everyone should be treated equally before the law. Constitutional limits on government power are essential in a democratic society, preventing people being punished at will.
Updated
East coast forecast
The Bureau of Meteorology has suggested rain along the east coast of Victoria and NSW will ease today and increase again tomorrow, before clearing on Sunday:
Heavy rain has brought widespread flooding to eastern #Vic & SE #NSW. Numerous #FloodWarnings are current, with major flooding for the #Avon and #Thomson Rivers. Rain easing today, increasing again tomorrow, then clearing Sunday. Stay up to date via https://t.co/4W35o8iFmh pic.twitter.com/VVzwnurNKF
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) December 1, 2023
Updated
Robert French defends snap indefinite detention decision
Former chief justice Robert French has implicitly rejected criticism of the high court for delivering its order on indefinite detention before reasons, citing precedents in previous cases for urgent decisions.
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, has said the government had expected a decision in the NZYQ case in 2024. That was because it was “unusual” for the court to overturn a 20-year-old precedent, and to give a result without full reasons, she claimed.
French told an audience at the annual Harry Evans lecture today that “there have been precedents in the past” of decisions being announced by “at least a majority” before full reasons were ready. He cited criminal cases in which the court decided in favour of acquittal, meaning the court would “announce immediately and give reasons later” because “nobody should spend a day longer in unlawful detention than possible”.
French cited precedents in other urgent cases including: on GFC-era stimulus payments, the period for enrolment after an election is called, and a challenge against government spending on WorkChoices ads.
The controversy has been kicked along by the high court’s reasons in NZYQ, which revealed:
The order was announced as having been agreed to by “at least a majority” because two members of the court ([justices Jacqueline] Gleeson [Jayne] Jagot) did not agree that the Court should make orders without publishing reasons and, in any event, required further time to consider the matter. Having considered the matter, Gleeson and Jagot agree with the order made on 8 November 2023.
So: two judges didn’t want a snap decision. O’Neil has claimed it’s unusual. French says: not really.
Updated
Last chance to vote for name of lunar rover
Voting closes at midnight tonight to name Australia’s lunar rover, set to visit the moon as early as 2026.
There are four finalists to chose from – Coolamon, Kakirra, Mateship and Roo-ver – and you can cast your vote online.
Since voting opened, I truly don’t think I’ve seen anyone campaigning harder than Riverina MP Michael McCormack:
It’s one small step from you that may lead to one giant leap for #Coolamon kind!
— Michael McCormack (@M_McCormackMP) December 1, 2023
Don’t forget to cast your vote to put @VisitCoolamon on the Moon!
Visit https://t.co/xgrRqvV6Ji before midnight tonight to vote for Coolamon to be the name of @AusSpaceAgency’s lunar rover. pic.twitter.com/vK7k5pLChP
He really, really wants Coolamon to win, you guys.
Updated
School disruption under the spotlight
The Senate education and employment references committee has released its interim report on school disruption.
The report makes nine recommendations, including the introduction of a “behaviour curriculum” and more training for teachers to “manage classroom behaviour”.
It recommends that future schools are funded and constructed on the basis they will deliver “the best learning environments for students” – “such as traditional classrooms, as opposed to open-plan classrooms”.
It also recommends an integration between education and healthcare services to ensure timely access to student support services.
The Greens have tabled a dissenting report, arguing the interim report fails to address the “underlying causes of challenging teaching environments”.
Greens education spokesperson Senator Penny Allman-Payne said the Greens had opposed the inquiry from the outset, and its focus on training and pedagogy “really misses the point”:
It’s no surprise that we’re seeing an increase in behaviours of concern in the classroom. The vast majority of socioeconomically disadvantaged kids and kids with a disability attend public schools, and nearly every single public school in the country receives significantly less than the bare minimum funding they need …
We should be addressing the causes of disadvantage and properly resourcing our schools so that teachers have the time to plan properly and provide proper support to every student.
The Greens reiterated their call for the government to deliver full funding to all public schools at the start of the next national school reform agreement in January 2025.
Updated
Coalition continues push for Labor apology over claims Dutton protected paedophiles
Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson said the prime minister should force home affairs minister Clare O’Neil to apologise for comments she made in parliament yesterday.
During question time, O’Neil claimed the opposition “tried to support paedophiles over children” by voting against a bill she said would “stop paedophiles standing in front of schools”. She withdrew the comment but stood by the assertion.
Dutton vehemently denied this accusation and said the Labor party had “crossed the line”. Albanese refused to apologise for the comments earlier this morning.
Posting to X/Twitter, Paterson said:
Another display of weak leadership from the Prime Minister today. If he’s not willing to endorse or repeat the ridiculous slurs his Ministers made about Peter Dutton, he should force them to apologise.
Another display of weak leadership from the Prime Minister today. If he’s not willing to endorse or repeat the ridiculous slurs his Ministers made about Peter Dutton, he should force them to apologise.
— James Paterson (@SenPaterson) December 1, 2023
Updated
Stratford flood waters fall
Major flooding at Stratford along the Avon River in West Gippsland is easing this afternoon, according to VicEmergency.
The Avon River peaked at 7.26m about 8.30 this morning. It is likely to fall below the major flood level (6.50m) this afternoon, and below the moderate flood level (6m) this evening.
Rainfall is forecast for the remainder of today and into the weekend, so VicEmergency said renewed river level rises could occur:
The situation will continue to be closely monitored.
WATCH & ACT - RIVERINE FLOOD - Avoid the Flooded Area - Avon River
— VICSES News (@vicsesnews) December 1, 2023
Major flooding is occurring along the Avon River.
Stay safe - avoid the flooded area. Be aware of potential hazards caused by flooding and never enter floodwater.
More details at https://t.co/crnvOAf28Z pic.twitter.com/3Sn0q93VDL
Updated
End to wage cap and new dispute resolution for NSW workers
An end to wage caps, fairer wage negotiation and dispute resolution are a step closer under landmark new industrial relations laws in NSW, AAP reports.
Hundreds and thousands of workers from health staff and paramedics to teachers and police are set to benefit after an industrial relations reform bill passed parliament today.
The legislation will overhaul the state’s Industrial Relations Commission, removing the power to cap wages, and reinstates a specific court to deal with work health and safety breaches.
Voluntary interest-based bargaining will mean agencies and unions will be required to sit down together to find mutually agreed improvements to pay and conditions.
A re-established industrial court will preside over workplace health and safety matters and underpayments.
Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the changes signalled the start of genuine, meaningful public sector bargaining:
It has been a long, difficult 12 and a half years for public sector and essential workers in NSW – but that is now at an end.
The wages cap is gone and workers will be able to negotiate for a fair and decent wage increase.
Updated
Goodbye, Luzia …
Parliament House will farewell a long-term, dedicated employee today.
Cleaner Luzia Borges is retiring after 35 years of working at Parliament House, since it first opened in 1988. Today is her last day on the job.
Both prime minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton paid tribute to her work during parliament yesterday, while Borges sat in the gallery with her family.
Albanese said parliament underwent continual change, with elected representatives, advisers and public servants moving around and moving on.
But Borges, he said, has been “one of those rare certainties”:
[She has been] here from day one when the flag first went up on this wonderful, new Parliament House that is, of course, above us; part of the office for every prime minister, going back to the great Bob Hawke, performing a demanding job.
It’s hard. It’s physical work every day, yet every day Luzia has such a genuine and joyful presence, a warmth that cheers even the coldest Canberra morning, a light that brightens even the glummest day.
There’s a magnetism about Luzia that over the years has drawn everyone to want to meet her and to have a chat and have a photo with her, from President Obama to the Dalai Lama. She’s got quite a collection.
Dutton said Borges was a “wonderful person, with a beautiful, warm heart”, and joked:
The point of relief for all of us is that you’ve said to us that there will be no book published in retirement! That will be a relief to prime ministers and ministers past and present!
Updated
Digging a little bit more into the marriage data …
The most popular date to get married in 2022 was 22 October, when 2,202 couples tied the knot.
That date is actually the fifth most popular wedding date in the last 10 years. The highest recorded number of weddings on a single day since 2012 was 10 November 2012, when 3,081 marriages occurred.
Australians like a classic spring wedding, it seems.
Updated
Record number of couples tied the knot in 2022
A record number of marriages were registered last year, according the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Figures released by the ABS today show there were 127,161 couples who married in 2022, an increase of more than 13,000 more than in 2019.
James Eynstone-Hinkins, ABS head of health and vital statistics, said:
There were around 79,000 marriages in 2020 and 89,000 in 2021, showing the impact the pandemic had on couples’ ability to get married in these years.
While this was the highest number of marriages on record in Australia, the marriage rate of 6.1 for every 1,000 people aged 16 years and up, is comparable with pre-pandemic years (5.6 in 2019 and 6.0 in 2018).
There was evidence of “pent-up demand” in the data from most states and territories, the ABS said, after seasonal trends for weddings were disrupted during the pandemic.
At the other end of the spectrum, 49,241 couples divorced in 2022, with a rate of 2.4 divorces for every 1,000 people aged 16 years and over.
Updated
‘Every scam stopped is a win for consumers’
As reported earlier, new figures released by the Australian Communications and Media Authority show that Australian telcos have blocked more than 336.7m scam texts since July last year.
Acma chair Nerida O’Loughlin said the figures provide “stark evidence” of the scale of scam activity, with about 16 scam texts blocked for every adult in the country:
There is no single or easy solution to address scams, however every scam stopped is a win for consumers and helps make Australia a harder target for these criminal syndicates.
These are promising results to report during Scams Awareness Week as telcos build their capability to help stop the relentless attacks by scammers.
Acma said it was developing the pilot of a Sender ID registry, which would help protect the message headers of brands and government agencies (eg MyGov) from impersonation by scammers.
Updated
Doctors for the Environment Australia to protest on steps of WA parliament
WA health professionals are to gather on the steps of state parliament, urging action on climate change to protect the health of Western Australians.
Doctors for the Environment Australia is calling for an end to any new fossil fuel infrastructure and production, the phasing out of existing fossil fuels, a removal of fossil fuel subsidies, investment in renewable energy and a fast-tracked transition.
The group said climate change threatens the WA health system, with the state “highly vulnerable” and already suffering the consequences of worsening heat, fires and smoke.
It said ambulance callouts were higher on hot days, with emergency departments facing increasing presentations of heat-related illness, respiratory disease, cardiovascular events and mental health conditions.
General practitioner and group spokesperson Dr Tim Leahy said:
We have just endured a record heatwave for November with Summer still to come. Emergency departments, hospitals, and GP practices are already seeing the impacts first hand.
Concerningly, two thirds of young Australians are now recognised as having their mental health negatively impacted by climate change and government inaction is reported as being the most important factor.
Gas extraction in WA will only drive further global warming. For the sake of our children’s health and to safeguard their future, we must act urgently …
The WA government needs to stop adding fuel to the fire, stop new gas projects, and contain the escalating health crisis.
Updated
NSW taxpayers being asked to ‘subsidise’ native forest logging
The NSW forestry agency has recorded an annual loss of $15m for its hardwoods division, the majority of which is produced through native forest logging.
According to NSW Forestry Corporation’s annual report “wet weather had a substantial impact on the production of hardwood timber and reduced the earnings” because logging cannot occur during wet weather. This meant timber production was 20% lower than expected.
General inflationary pressures also drove up costs, contributing to a financial loss for the hardwoods division that was $6m greater than the previous financial year, the report says.
The agency’s softwood plantations division made $19m in 2022-23, which was also lower than expected due to increased costs and reduced demand for timber, according to the report.
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW said the result for the hardwoods division meant NSW taxpayers were again being asked to “subsidise” native forest logging, which chief executive Jacqui Mumford said was a “a damning indictment on our state”:
The report shows that it cost $15 million more to cut down and pulp trees from native forest than was made selling them.
Once again, the taxpayer will bear the cost. These are vital funds that could be used to fund teachers, nurses, and national park rangers.
The NSW government has been under increased pressure over the impacts of native forest logging. The Environment Protection Authority has issued two stop work orders to the forestry agency in recent months over potential impacts on endangered greater glider habitat.
Updated
Smithsonian returns Indigenous remains to Australia
The ancestral remains of 14 Indigenous people have been returned to Australia from the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington DC, AAP reports.
A ceremony was held overnight in the US marking their repatriation to Australia before the Indigenous ancestors will be returned to their traditional custodians.
Of the ancestors, seven will be returned to custodians from the Ngarrindjeri community in South Australia, the Eastern Maar community in Victoria and the Yawuru community in Western Australia.
A further five will come home to Victoria, the Northern Territory and Western Australia under government stewardship, while two will be returned to a community in Victoria.
Indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney welcomed the repatriation of the ancestors as an “important step towards reconciliation”:
This sets a positive example for other collecting institutions internationally in recognising First Nations people as the rightful custodians of their ancestors.
Since 1990, the remains of 1,700 Indigenous Australians have been returned from museums around the world, including 139 from the US. Arts minister Tony Burke said the government would continue to advocate for repatriation:
Bringing First Nations ancestors home – where they belong – is incredibly important work.
Updated
Union celebrates split
The Mining and Energy Union has marked its first day of independence from the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union.
It is registered with the Fair Work Commission as a standalone trade union effective from today.
General president Tony Maher said it was a “historic day” for the union, delivering on a strong wish from members to be independent:
We have been representing coal miners since the 1850s, in various forms. Today’s Mining and Energy Union builds on our proud tradition and track record, with a clear focus on meeting the current and future challenges facing workers in mines, ports and power stations.
MEU general secretary Grahame Kelly said the transition from CFMEU to MEU would be “seamless” for members, with the day-to-say structures of the union unchanged:
The significance of our independence will be felt over time, with the ability to make our own decisions based entirely on our members’ interests.
Updated
Greens react to Victorian code of conduct changes
The Victorian Greens spokesperson for integrity, Tim Read, who also chairs the parliament’s powerful integrity and oversight committee, has welcomed the changes to the ministerial code of conduct but says the state needs to go further:
Labor really shouldn’t have to be forced by Ibac and the Greens to introduce these long overdue reforms when there is so much more to do on raising integrity standards.
Investigation after investigation has shown that our state’s political integrity standards are lacking, and misconduct is rife …
Victoria could be a leader on integrity in our country and instead we’re a laggard. We need to legislate the codes of conduct for lobbyists, ministers and their staff and strengthen them to require clearer information on potential conflicts of interest.
Updated
Victorian government to make ministerial diaries public
Victorian ministers will now have to publish their diaries, following an overhaul of their code of conduct that comes into effect today.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, announced a suite of changes to the code of conduct that include new reporting obligations that will require ministers and parliamentary secretaries to:
• Disclose interests and declare conflicts for publication in the newly established ministerial register of interests.
• Disclose accepted gifts, benefits and hospitality for publication in the ministerial register of gifts, benefits and hospitality.
• Publish quarterly diary summaries containing details of scheduled meetings with stakeholders, external organisations and third-party lobbyists.
Ministers will also be banned from employing family members as staff or in certain public sector bodies.
The changes follow recommendations of two anti-corruption investigations, including Operation Watts, which uncovered “egregious” and “extensive misconduct” by Victorian Labor MPs, including rampant nepotism, widespread misuse of public resources and a culture of branch stacking dating back decades.
Allan said:
The updated code of conduct will hold ministers and parliamentary secretaries to the highest standards – that’s what all Victorians expect and deserve.
Updated
Birmingham urges respect for complexities
Meanwhile, opposition foreign affairs spokesperson Simon Birmingham echoed his colleagues’ calls to maintain peace within Australia.
He told Sky News:
People are free in Australia to express their views [but] they should do so never in a way that intimidates others.
They must do so in a way that is respectful of complexities here and the fact that there are tragedies felt by all sides.
– from AAP
Updated
Don’t just listen to the loudest voices, Tony Burke says
The tone of debate and level of animosity in the community over the conflict between Israel and Hamas cannot be judged by the loudest voices, employment minister Tony Burke has said.
Speaking to AAP, he said:
There is a risk that if people just go to the loudest voices, they’ll find the most offensive comments.
You can misjudge a whole lot of the goodwill that is in fact there in Australian society.
Updated
Severe thunderstorms forecast for Queensland
More severe thunderstorms are likely for Queensland today, between Longreach and Maroochydore, and across central and southern parts of the state.
Heavy rainfall, large hail and damaging wind gusts are all possible, the Bureau of Meteorology warns.
Thunderstorms are also possible over south-east Queensland from late this afternoon.
⛈️Severe thunderstorms likely (red area) between Longreach and Maroochydore, and possible across central and southern #Qld, with heavy rainfall, large hail, and damaging wind gusts. Thunderstorms possible over #SEQ from late afternoon. Warnings if needed: https://t.co/FBmpsInT9o pic.twitter.com/rMKftdgJP6
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) November 30, 2023
Updated
‘The chilling effect’
Here’s more from AAP on NSW police gaining the power to launch hate crime prosecutions:
The lack of successful prosecution came to light amid heightened tensions concerning the Israel-Hamas war that reignited eight weeks ago.
But the Coalition, while supportive of opening the door to police-led prosecutions, warned that the change could also allow citizens to bring private prosecutions.
Opposition leader Mark Speakman and shadow attorney general Alister Henskens said yesterday:
The government’s poorly drafted legislation risks weaponising the provision in the hands of people trying to shut down free speech.
Even if people are ultimately acquitted there is the chilling effect of being threatened with having to go through a criminal prosecution.
Parliament’s upper house ultimately agreed to amendments proposed by independent MP Rod Roberts, to specify prosecutions for hate crimes can only be commenced by NSW police or the DPP.
Attorney general Michael Daley had previously attempted to hose down the Coalition’s concerns. To his knowledge, no private prosecution had been run in the past two years.
Even if one was launched, the DPP had the power to take over baseless or any other prosecutions and discontinue them.
The effect of the change will be reviewed every 12 months.
Updated
NSW police gain power to launch hate crime prosecutions
NSW police will have the power to prosecute people for threatening or inciting violence based on race, religion or sexual orientation, without gaining external approval, under changes passed by state parliament.
During a late sitting last night, the upper house agreed to an amendment that only police or the director of public prosecutions, not private citizens, would have the power to commence hate crime prosecutions.
Seeking permission from the DPP was cited by the government as a key reason no person had been convicted under the law since its introduction in 2018.
All eight charges laid up to June – two on race grounds, two on religion and four on gender identity – have been withdrawn.
No charges have been laid for hate crimes based on a person’s sexual orientation or HIV/AIDS status.
– from AAP
Updated
Cooper the working dog rescued from ledge in Glass House Mountains
And now for some Very Important Animal News:
Queensland Fire and Emergency have rescued a working dog from a high ledge amid thunderstorms this week.
Cooper the working dog got scared by the storms on Wednesday night, running away and getting stuck on a high ledge at Mt Ngungun.
— Qld Fire & Emergency (@QldFES) November 30, 2023
Our remote rescue crews worked through steep, slippery conditions to get Cooper safely back on the ground 🥹
The exhausted pooch was very thankful… pic.twitter.com/05mcBBLftn
On Wednesday night, Cooper ran away and got stuck on a high ledge at Mount Ngungun in the Glass House Mountains. Remote crews worked through steep and slippery conditions to get the dog safely back on the ground. Queensland Fire and Emergency said:
The exhausted pooch was very thankful to be rescued, happily accepting a big drink of water and a reunion with his family
Updated
November broke the dry spell over eastern Australia
As per the earlier post, Victoria still has major flood warnings on four rivers – the Avon, Buchan, Genoa and Thomson – and moderate flood warnings for the Mitchell and Macalister rivers, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
The rains across eastern Australia left much of the region with a wetter-than-average November, BoM says.
Couple of recent big rain events brought above-average rainfall to much of eastern Australia… pic.twitter.com/8s703Ynzta
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) November 30, 2023
The relatively damp November didn’t make much difference to southern parts of Australia, much of which posted a drier than average spring. (Very dry in far north Queensland, too.)
But spring as a whole was relatively dry in the south… (Source: @BOM_au ) pic.twitter.com/jahVRhwYtn
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) November 30, 2023
Late spring can be pretty stormy and, according to Weatherzone, Australia clocked more than 40 million lightning strikes for the month.
All 40.5 million lightning pulses detected over Australia by @weatherzone's Total Lightning Network during November. pic.twitter.com/SRr8nxtksj
— Andrew Miskelly (@andrewmiskelly) November 30, 2023
Data on how warm November and spring were should be clearer later today.
Updated
Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial continues – follow live
Brittany Higgins has returned to the witness stand in the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial against Lisa Wilkinson and Network Ten.
We have a separate live blog on this, which you can follow here:
Updated
Albanese does not support telehealth for voluntary assisted dying
The prime minister also responded to a federal court ruling that telehealth cannot be used to approve voluntary assisted dying.
Anthony Albanese told 3AW:
If you’re asking me about the issue of support being through telehealth rather than a doctor being present – that is not something I’d support.
These things are, historically, been the subject of a conscious vote. If you’re asking me my opinion, [about] something that has not been raised with me by any state government, my personal opinion is that these issues are serious and telehealth should not be used, because I’d be concerned about some of the implications there.
Albanese said he supports VAD with “very strict conditions” to ensure “appropriate protections are in place”.
Updated
Albanese refuses to apologise to Dutton over Labor claims he protected paedophiles
Anthony Albanese has refused to apologise to Peter Dutton over suggestions by senior ministers that he had protected pedophiles.
The two bases for that claim are: that Dutton exercised a discretion to allow NZYQ to apply for a visa (although it was refused); and that the Coalition had voted against a bill preventing people convicted of serious offences who are on bridging visas after release from detention going near schools. Dutton rejects the claim.
Albanese was asked repeatedly this morning by 3AW’s Neil Mitchell if he would apologise. Albanese told 3AW:
I’m accountable for what I say. I’m accountable for what I say – and he has accused consistently those ministers. What the minister [Clare O’Neil] said was his opposition to the legislation that was before the parliament on Monday is completely inconsistent with what he has said.
Albanese said the opposition had “suggested that somehow we wanted these people to be out on the streets, none of that is true” because the high court had required them to be released:
I stand by the fact that my ministers have been doing everything they can to protect community safety, and Peter Dutton has been focused on just politics.
Speaking to Sydney radio station 2GB, Dutton said the assertion against him was “the complete opposite of the truth” and that he has been praised in parliament before for setting up the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation:
I’ve arrested sex offenders before, it is one of my life’s passions to make sure that women and kids are safe and I feel very genuinely and deeply about it.
Updated
Emergency crews monitor flooding in Gippsland as waters yet to peak
VicEmergency is continuing to warn about major flooding at Avon River in Gippsland’s west.
A flood peak of about 7.4 metres at Strathford is likely late this morning. It is now at 7.25 metres and rising.
The watch and act warning reads:
The Avon River upstream of Stratford at The Channel has peaked above the minor flood level. Major flooding is occurring at Stratford, with a major peak expected late Friday morning.
Rainfall during Wednesday and Thursday across the Avon River catchment has resulted in river level rises. Further rainfall is forecast for Friday and Saturday.
The situation will continue to be closely monitored.
WATCH & ACT - RIVERINE FLOOD - Avoid the Flooded Area
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) November 30, 2023
This Major Flood Warning is being issued for Avon River.
A MAJOR FLOOD PEAK AROUND 7.40 METRES AT STRATFORD LIKELY LATE FRIDAY MORNING
More details at https://t.co/dnxhFJjffL pic.twitter.com/7rRtb3Qq1q
Updated
Dutton says Labor ‘crossed the line’ with claims he protected paedophiles
Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the Labor party “crossed the line” in parliament this week.
During question time yesterday, Clare O’Neil claimed that the opposition “tried to support paedophiles over children” by voting against a bill she said stops “paedophiles standing in front of schools”. She withdrew the comment but stood by the assertion.
Asked about this on the Today show this morning, Dutton said he hadn’t received an apology and wasn’t expecting one. He said the comments were “the complete opposite of the truth” and argued Anthony Albanese is “sending his ministers out”:
He didn’t have the guts to make the comments himself.
I would have thought if he is man enough he will apologise. I am not expecting one. That is up to him.
Asked if he would take legal action, Dutton said he would wait to see if an apology was “forthcoming” and make a decision after that.
Asked why the opposition didn’t just vote for the legislation on Monday, Dutton said “we wanted it to be tougher”:
The government has had months to be able to work this up and our argument was the best chance to get the people off the street and back into immigration detention, so they couldn’t commit more crimes, was to toughen it up.
Updated
Union welcomes report that exposes flaws in employment services system
The Community and Public Sector Union has welcomed the release of the government’s Rebuilding Employment Services report, which exposes the failures of the privatised employment services system.
The union has been campaigning to end the privatisation of employment services, rebuild a public sector employment agency and reform the punitive mutual obligations system.
CPSU national secretary Melissa Donnelly said the report has confirmed “what we already knew”:
Privatisation has failed and the commonwealth public sector must be put back at the heart of employment services.
It is not fit-for-purpose, and is failing employers, jobseekers and taxpayers.
Donnelley argued the report “falls short” in failing to recommend mutual obligations be abolished, saying it is “the ineffective and punitive compliance framework that underpins the current model”:
The recommended reforms in the report are positive, but a true departure from the current punitive system will require further significant work from the government.
From the outset, the CPSU has argued that the current system is not one we can tinker with or tweak. It is a broken system that we need to replace.
That is why the CPSU is campaigning to renationalise employment services through the creation of a modern, fit-for-purpose CES.
Updated
Jason Clare and Sussan Ley call for compassion and social cohesion
Liberal MP Jason Clare and deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley both appeared on Sunrise this morning, urging social cohesion as the Israel-Hamas war continues.
Clare said the 7 October attack was “appalling” and condemned it but said people needed to remember that “Hamas is not Palestine”:
There are a lot of innocent people caught in the crossfire and all of those dead bodies we see on our TV every night, if you’re a Jewish Australian or Palestinian Australian, that’s different, because those people are often their family. And that is why they’re angry, it’s why they’re scared, it’s why they’re asking for compassion from us.
Clare said a friend of his who was in Tel Aviv on 7 October had returned to Australia and, when she arrived home, the “first thing she did” was “wrap her arms around” her Muslim friends:
We can’t change what is happening on the other side of the world but we’ve got to get this country together, which means all of us turning the temperature down a bit.
Ley said the “humanity in this situation is the most important thing”:
This is a lack of social cohesion I have never seen in the finest multicultural country in the world.
I am calling on everyone to … wrap our arms around our fellow Australians and remember what we have in this country is incredibly special and we can’t afford to lose it.
Updated
‘Some pretty unprecedented weather’
East Gippsland mayor Tom Crook spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier about the heavy rain and flooding his region is facing.
He said some communities in the region were getting double their average monthly rainfall in just the past 24 hours, with multiple road closures and water affecting infrastructure and businesses.
Crook said a road closure would remain in place until later today where a landslide on Mallacoota Genoa Road has cut people off from being able to get in and out:
The Department of Transport [will] work with local contractors to remove debris and try and get the road open as soon as possible.
Crook said the community of Bemm River would likely be cut off this afternoon as flood waters make their way down the catchment:
You’ve got farmers moving stock to high land and the community banding together to do what they can to stay safe during this difficult time.
The full extent of the damage would not be seen until the flood waters started to recede in the coming days:
It’s only a month since we saw bushfires break out again in East Gippsland, and then at the same time, on the VicEmergency app, as we had watch-and-act warnings for bushfires, we also had flood warnings at the same time.
Certainly starting to experience some pretty unprecedented weather.
Updated
Minns government scraps plans to extend term of Racing NSW chair
The New South Wales government was forced to scrap plans to extend the term of Racing NSW chair Russell Balding in the early hours of this morning after the Coalition and crossbench teamed up to try to strengthen oversight of the body.
The racing body will now need to scramble to get in place a new chairman by mid-December when Balding’s term expires after the government withdrew its legislation to allow the unprecedented extension.
The Minns government announced it would seek a third extension of Balding’s tenure just over two weeks ago, with racing minister David Harris insisting it was needed to ensure “continuity of corporate knowledge”.
The Coalition and members of the crossbench voted last night on several amendments to the bill that would strengthen oversight.
The government then withdrew the bill entirely before parliament rose for the year shortly before 2am.
Opposition leader Mark Speakman said:
The government has mismanaged this process from the start.
Updated
Pro-Palestine protest at Melbourne hotel ‘disgraceful’
Asked about a pro-Palestine protest on Wednesday night, staged inside a Melbourne hotel lobby where Israeli hostages’ family members were staying, Labor MP Julian Hill said this was “disgraceful” and he condemned it “without hesitation”:
I’ve had texts from friends, long-term friends who are Jewish, thanking me for my nuanced and balanced statements on the issue. But that action was not appropriate.
This is Australia, this is not who we are, we need to dial back the temperature [and] dial back the rhetoric, and the language that politicians, that community leaders use actually matters.
Hill said he had “contempt” for people and political parties trying to “harvest votes or take any extreme positions”:
I’ve spoken privately to a couple of Liberal MPs who are sensible, saying, just restrain your leader, called Dutton [up].
He wouldn’t go into specifics of private conversations but Hill said there was a sense among “sensible people” in the Greens and Liberal parties that “the more that people [who] are taking extreme positions for political purposes could moderate their language, the better for social cohesion”.
He reiterated that people have a right to speak up about what they believe but “the language that we use matters”.
Updated
‘Only a political solution’ can end Israel-Hamas conflict, Julian Hill says
In a change of subject, Labor’s Julian Hill was asked if he supported a full ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Hill said every civilian life matters and “any decent human” would welcome the current pause.
He said he had been a longtime advocate for a “just and enduring” peace, and that the conflict “didn’t just start on October 7”:
As many people in my community know this is a 75-year-old conflict.
I think it’s a deeply human response to want to see a ceasefire … I welcome the cessation in hostilities.
Hill said there was “only a political solution to this conflict”.
Updated
‘Fiendishly difficult’ to redesign a human service system
ABC host Patricia Karvelas: Do you have the support of the government to try and change this?
Julian Hill:
That’s up to the government to respond to and we’ll do that.
We said in the report that we know that this is a fiendishly difficult thing to do to redesign a human service system, and we’re not naive.
Some of the biggest resistance [may come from] those who’ve had the belief that you just outsource everything.
We think we need to change the mindset – instead of contracting out, we’d need to contract service partners in.
I believe there is an appetite for reform.
Updated
Employment services system ‘torturing people’
Julian Hill said the employment services sector was “in crisis”, with 14% staff turnover, low paid, female-dominated and de-unionised:
These are wonderful people trying to support people back into work, and we’ve got this hunger game-style culture, torturing unemployed people at times or punishing people pointlessly, motivating providers with fear, hearing stuff with fear and it’s disconnected from local communities.
He said the system needs a “fundamental rebuild”.
Asked how the system “tortures” people, Hill said more than 70% of people in face-to-face services over the last “year or so” have faced a payment suspension. He said this causes trauma, and pushes some people into poverty when they can’t pay their bills.
But he doesn’t want to abolish mutual obligations – Hill wants them broadened and tailored to the individual:
We absolutely need participation requirements, to be very clear. We’re not proposing a voluntary system. We’re not proposing to abolish mutual obligations.
Hill also said that “full privatisation has failed and government has to have a more active role”:
That doesn’t mean recreating a giant bureaucracy that does everything. But the world’s best systems have a public core to the system.
Updated
‘Excessive’ number of employment services providers on Workforce Australia
Julian Hill also spoke about the number of employment services providers, saying it is “flawed” and “excessive”.
He used another analogy to highlight this:
You’ve got numerous employment providers lined up, one on every street corner, it seems. It’s like five ice-cream shops all selling this same kind of vanilla ice-cream. And the department’s role seems to be to make sure everyone gets a lick.
It’s a flawed theory of competition and it’s excessive.
Updated
Workforce Australia system is ‘not working’ for jobseekers or employers, Julian Hill says
The Labor MP Julian Hill, who is leading a parliamentary review of the Workforce Australia employment system, just spoke to ABC RN.
His conclusion?
We no longer have a coherent national employment services system.
We’ve got an outsourced social security compliance management system that sometimes gets people a job against all odds.
It’s not working for long-term unemployed people and it’s not working for employers. It’s driven employers away from the system.
Hill said mutual obligations were like “using a nuclear bomb to kill a mosquito”:
It’s tying the system up in red tape [with] the current approach, it’s driving employers away and it’s not helping people get into work.
There will continue to be participation requirements in the system but they need to be broadened and tailored to the individual and actually support people.
Updated
Flood warnings summary for Victoria
Let’s take a look at the flood warnings for Victoria amid the east coast rain and thunderstorms.
There are 11 watch and act warnings in total – seven to avoid the flooded area and four to move to higher ground – and a large number of these are around the Gippsland area.
Watch and act (avoid flooding) – Mitchell River downstream of Glenaladale. It might reach the moderate flood level of 5.5m by this afternoon.
Watch and act (avoid flooding) – Macalister River downstream of Lake Glenmaggie. Rainfall is expected to continue easing today.
Watch and act (avoid flooding) – Major flooding for Avon River. Further rainfall cast for Friday.
Watch and act (avoid flooding) – Thomson River downstream of Wandocka, where major flooding is occurring. Further rainfall expected today.
Watch and act (move to higher ground) – Thomson River Cowwarr Weir to Wandocka.
Watch and act (avoid flooded area) – Snowy River downstream of McKillops Bridge.
Watch and act (avoid flooded area) – Major flooding at Buchan River.
Watch and act (avoid flooded area) – Major flooding at Bemm River.
Watch and act (move to higher ground) – Major flooding at Genoa River.
Watch and act (move to higher ground) – Moderate flooding at Cann River.
Updated
NSW paramedics strike
The NSW Australian Paramedics Association will take part in a 12-hour strike today, from 7am to 7pm, despite the threat of legal action.
Members will still attend emergency “lights and sirens” jobs as part of an ongoing pay dispute.
The Industrial Relations Commission yesterday ruled the action by the smaller of the state’s two paramedic unions would not be protected, with the threatened strike also condemned by the rival Health Services Union.
Despite government legal efforts to halt the action, the APA says its members remain determined. President Brett Simpson said:
We want to assure the public that emergencies will still be attended to, with our focus intensifying on life-threatening cases.
Our decision to limit responses to non-emergency jobs enhances our capacity to manage critical cases.
The union says more than 90% of its members voted to support the strike.
Facing potential legal repercussions and a substantial fine of up to $20,000 per day, our commitment remains firm.
The union says NSW paramedics are the lowest paid in the country, with staff not only suffering financially but experience a draining of skilled professionals to other states.
- with AAP
Updated
Calls for better protections for survivors of post-separation financial abuse
The Centre for Women’s Economic Safety is calling for boosted protections for victim-survivors of post-separation economic abuse. This would include mortgage and lending reforms, aimed at helping women and their families stay in their own homes.
Eighty-four per cent of those on the CWES lived experience advisory panel experienced financial and economic abuse after separation, and 94% have been left to pay shared financial liabilities or debt belonging to an ex-partner.
Women over 55 are also the fastest-growing cohort of homeless in Australia, and domestic abuse is the biggest contributing factor, CWES says.
CEO Rebecca Glenn said “all too often we ask, ‘Why doesn’t she leave?’” when our lived experience data shows that abuse doesn’t end at separation”.
One concerning trend is perpetrators refusing to contribute to mortgage repayments when their partner leaves. In these cases, banks can, and often do, seek full repayments from the victim …
We know this is a complex area where there isn’t one single lever we can pull to solve the problem. That’s why we are calling for banks and regulators to work together with the federal government to support survivors of economic abuse through innovation and reform.
1800Respect (1800 737 732)
Updated
Australia scores five new billionaires as wealth of ultra-elite grows
The latest UBS billionaire ambitions report for 2023 shows that Australia has five new billionaires – and one dropout.
According to the data, there are 41 billionaires in Australia, up from 37 in 2022. The report says 75.6% of Australia’s current billionaires are self-made.
The wealth of Australia’s billionaires has also grown – at US$173.5bn for 2023, up from US$156.7bn last year. This is a 10.7% growth in wealth.
The report says that for the first time in its nine editions new billionaires have acquired more wealth through inheritance than entrepreneurship:
A total of USD 150.8 billion was inherited by 53 heirs, exceeding the
84 new self-made billionaires’ total of USD 140.7 billion.
Anyways, who knows what’s on special at Coles this week?
You can read more about the report more broadly here:
Updated
Good morning, and happy Friday!
I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be bringing you our rolling coverage on the blog today.
See something that needs attention? You can contact me via X/Twitter @emilywindwrites or send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.
With that, let’s get started.
Updated
National framework for generative AI in schools
The federal, state and territory governments have agreed to a national framework for generative AI in schools.
The framework outlines how teaching, privacy, security and student wellbeing must all be considered when using generative AI in education. It includes sections on cybersecurity and making sure use of AI complies with copyright law.
The framework will be reviewed every 12 months, and the government has provided $1m to Education Services Australia to establish product expectations for generative AI technology.
Federal education minister Jason Clare said:
Generative AI presents opportunities for students and teachers, but there are also risks such as the privacy and safety of school children.
This framework will help guide all school communities so they can enjoy the potential benefits to teaching and learning that generative AI offers, while mitigating the risks.
Importantly, the framework highlights that schools should not use generative AI products that sell student data.
Updated
Hundreds of millions of scam texts blocked by telcos
Australian mobile companies have blocked more than 336.7m scam text messages in the year and a half since a new industry code came into effect in July 2022, the Australian Communications and Media Authority has said.
The new figures have been released in Scams Awareness Week, and Acma chair Nerida O’Loughlin said it shows promising results:
These figures provide stark evidence of the scale of scam activity, with approximately 16 scam texts being blocked for every adult in the country.
There is no single or easy solution to address scams, but every scam stopped is a win for consumers and helps make Australia a harder target for these criminal syndicates.
Acma is developing a pilot for a sender ID registry which is aimed at stopping scammers impersonating brands like MyGov in the message header. The result should stop scammers messages appearing in pre-existing text message threads in phones.
Updated
Queensland claims Olympic infrastructure funding win
Funding has been secured for a key Brisbane Olympic project after a Queensland delegation visited Canberra, deputy premier Steven Miles has claimed.
But critics are questioning the success of their “convoy to Canberra”, Australian Associated Press reports.
Miles led the delegation who met federal infrastructure minister Catherine King to air concerns about the axing of nine projects worth $363m.
But Miles yesterday claimed a major Brisbane 2032 Games project would go ahead, saying federal government funding had been secured for a Sunshine Coast rail extension to Maroochydore.
He said the federal government would reserve $1.44bn for the project’s construction, with a further $160m available for a business case, planning and early works. He told parliament:
The direct Sunshine Coast rail line will be prioritised as part of the transport program for the 2032 Games.
But deputy opposition leader Jarrod Bleijie said the $1.6bn set aside for the project was reconfirmed in the federal government infrastructure review two weeks ago.
Miles also said the commonwealth had also confirmed a commitment to the $1bn inland freight route, known as the “Second Bruce”.
Updated
Flood warnings for parts of Victoria and NSW
Several flood warnings were in place in Victoria as of last night, with major alerts for the Thomson River, the Genoa River, the Buchan River, the Macalister River and the Bemm River.
The Bemm River was expected to peak by this afternoon and if it did flood, access to the community would be cut, an SES spokesperson said.
Moderate flood warnings were in place for the Cann River and the Snowy River downstream of McKillops Bridge.
A severe weather warning was in effect for heavy rainfall and damaging winds for parts of East Gippsland, as well as the north-east, west and South Gippsland forecast districts as of Thursday.
Several advice-level flood warnings were in place for NSW, with some south-eastern parts of the state expected to record up to 300mm of rain by the end of Friday.
A severe weather warning for heavy rainfall for people in parts of the south coast and Snowy Mountains remained in place on Thursday night before conditions were expected to ease.
The bureau warned flooding could persist after rain subsided in NSW and Victoria.
Updated
Flood-hit eastern Australia bracing for more rain
Here’s the latest on the weather from Australian Associated Press:
Parts of Australia drenched by an eastern deluge are expected to be hit by more rain as flood waters threaten to cut off a coastal town.
Eastern Victoria and southern NSW were bracing for more rain overnight Thursday after some areas recorded more than 150mm over 24 hours.
Kameruka Estate near Bega recorded 200mm of rain in 24 hours as of Thursday evening, while Mallacoota over the Victorian border – where a landslide earlier cut off the town – registered 112mm.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned a low pressure system would start moving further away from the coastline from Friday but rain would continue to fall on waterlogged areas into the weekend.
Rain was expected to hit soaked parts of Victoria for the next day or two, with some areas of the state’s east expected to record falls of 200mm.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage as a big week in politics comes to an end. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ve got a taste of our biggest and best stories before my colleague Emily Wind fires up the work station.
It’s crunch time for the Albanese government on how far it’s prepared to go to limit carbon emissions with a number of huge fossil fuel developments awaiting approval. Our exclusive story reveals how the projects will release 22bn tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere if they are allowed to go ahead – or about 40% of annual global emissions.
It comes as super funds warn the government that Australia’s energy transition risks falling behind as big funds chase more compelling investment opportunities in the US, UK and Europe. And after the annual climate data dump, it’s clear Australia still has a long way to go to on emissions, especially from big-polluting industries.
The alcohol industry is targeting health-conscious younger Australians with nutritional claims such as “low calorie”, “low sugar” and “gluten free” appearing on half of pre-mixed alcoholic drinks. According to new research revealed exclusively to the Guardian, 52% of products made at least one of these nutrition-related claims, despite research showing alcohol is inherently unhealthy.
Parts of eastern Australia drenched by a deluge this week are expected to be hit by more rain as flood waters threaten to cut off a coastal town. Eastern Victoria and southern NSW saw more rain overnight after some areas recorded more than 150mm yesterday. Kameruka Estate near Bega recorded 200mm of rain in 24 hours as of last night, while Mallacoota over the Victorian border – where a landslide earlier cut off the town – registered 112mm.
Updated
