What we learned today, Wednesday 23 August
Thanks for joining us on the Australia news live blog today. That’s where we’ll wrap up our coverage. Here are some key developments:
The Queensland government has introduced legislation to allow it to imprison children in police watch houses for adults “even if it would not be compatible with human rights”.
The New South Wales corruption watchdog Icac has been granted the power to use in its investigations recordings that have been obtained illegally by third parties.
The Albanese government will appoint a taskforce to provide a rolling competition review in a bid to lower cost-of-living pressures by creating a more productive and dynamic economy.
The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries has kept hidden the results of surveys it conducted to gauge community opinion on shark nets.
The Catholic church has successfully used the death of a known paedophile priest to permanently halt a civil claim by two Indigenous survivors, one of whom is dying of cancer.
Thanks very much for sticking with us today. We’ll be back, bright and early, tomorrow.
Updated
Icac given power to use illegally obtained recordings in NSW corruption investigations
The New South Wales corruption watchdog has been granted the power to use in its investigations recordings that have been obtained illegally by third parties.
The state government on Wednesday gave the Independent Commission Against Corruption the new power to assist it with an ongoing investigation after a request from its chief commissioner, John Hatzistergos.
Hatzistergos wrote to the premier, Chris Minns, the special minister of state, John Graham, and the attorney general, Michael Daley, on 9 August.
According to a statement by Graham and Daley, Hatzistergos’s letter “indicated” that Icac has obtained evidence that appears to be recordings of private conversations made by a third party:
The records may have been made in contravention of the state’s surveillance devices laws and are of interest to an ongoing investigation.
In his letter, the chief commissioner advised that the Icac wishes to lawfully obtain, possess, publish and communicate the recordings and reports of the recordings as part of an ongoing investigation.
Updated
Kean defends decision to leave nurse positions unfunded
The former NSW treasurer Matt Kean is defending the decision to leave more than 1,100 nurse positions unfunded.
Incoming briefings to the Minns government have revealed the previous Perrottet government left 1,112 temporary nurses unfunded beyond the 2024-25 financial year, according to the current health minister, Ryan Park.
In question time today, Kean, now the shadow minister for health, defended the Coalition’s intention to sack the nurses across 14 local health districts, saying these were Covid-19 recovery nurses:
The minister is being deliberately quarrelsome, misleading the house about nurses that were Covid recovery nurses.
Park said the health system could not afford to lose essential health workers:
The fact is, even post-Covid, our health system is under immense pressure and we cannot afford to lose thousands of nurses.
Updated
Narrow point in gender gap yet women still earning less
The gender pay gap has narrowed to a record low yet women in full-time work are still earning $13,000 a year less than men, AAP reports.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the gap shrank from 13.3% in February to 13% in May.
While the data showed the smallest gender pay gap, women were earning 87 cents for every dollar earned by men.
The bureau’s head of labour statistics, Bjorn Jarvis, said the gap fell for the second cycle in a row:
This lines up with the increase in full-time wages in female-dominated jobs such as teaching and nursing.
The gap is now around 0.9 points lower than just before the pandemic, 4.4 points below where it was a decade ago and around two points below the pre-mining boom low in 2005.
Updated
‘Not rich’: peak body for SA landlords says investors aren’t wealthy
Margaret Kohlhagen, the president of the Landlords’ Association of South Australia, has denied property investors are doing it easy.
Speaking to the rental inquiry, she said:
As a landlord, they’ve got the mortgages to pay, the council rates to pay, emergency services to pay, the land tax to pay, insurance payments, property management payments, strata fees and maintenance to come out of that pool of rent.
It might seem like a large amount, but if you break it down to those areas, it’s not quite that much at the end of it.
So I highly disagree that there is rich landlords out there.
Updated
Renters at risk of heat-related disease, advocates say
Just jumping down to the Victorian rental affordability inquiry, the health NGO Sweltering Cities’ executive director, Emma Bacon, has called on the state government to implement standards to keep renters safe in the coming heat.
Bacon said:
We’re expecting a hot summer, and renters in hot homes are at risk of heat-related illnesses. Without added protections in the minimum rental standards, renters will continue to foot the bill and face the consequences of living in dangerously hot homes.
Rental homes are on average less energy efficient and renters can’t make simple cooling modifications to their homes like better blinds or adding screen doors for ventilation.
Putting cooling in the Victorian minimum rental standards will reduce illness and deaths this summer and beyond. Heatwaves are our deadliest environmental disasters and vulnerable people including older people, babies and people with disabilities are hit hardest.
We’re calling on the Victorian government to introduce insulation standards, clear the Vcat backlog and make sure cooling repairs are legally considered urgent issues. All of this will make a tangible difference for Victorian renters. The Victorian government can act now to make this summer safer.
Updated
Australia has much riding on world keeping a lid on temperature increases
We knew the government’s intergenerational report, to be released in full tomorrow, would have a bit more on climate change, and a drop to journalists this afternoon sketches out some of what it will say.
In short, Australia’s economy will be hammered if global temperatures were allowed to rise beyond the 2C (versus pre-industrial times), the upper limit pledged in the Paris climate agreement.
The report says:
The direct impact of higher temperatures on labour productivity alone could reduce economic output over the next 40 years by between $135bn and $423b in today’s dollars.
(Our economy is now about $2tn in size.)
Australian crop yields could fall by as much as 4% by 2063, while tourism would shrink by twice as much in a 2C warming trajectory versus a 3C warming one. Natural disasters could cost the federal government’s disaster recovery funds 3.0-3.6 times more than now, the report says.
We’ll have a separate story soon, but it’s fair to say these predictions are probably conservative.
Would crops really only shrink 4% if rainfall and heat patterns shift?
The tourism reduction is partly because higher sea levels will erode our beautiful beaches – but what of the Great Barrier Reef, which is likely to be a fragment of its current state if sea temperatures rise another degree.
Still, it is good to have more attention to climate issues.
The first IGR (as we noted in an earlier post) made just two references to climate change in 2002-03. To be fair, though, governments have generally done a risible job at limiting emissions, and our understanding of the threat has advanced since then. We must do better on both.
Updated
Police charge two teenagers in relation to Surry Hills fire
NSW police have charged two teenage boys in relation to a once-in-a-decade blaze at a historic building in the inner-Sydney suburb of Surry Hills earlier this year.
Detectives issued court attendance notices to two 13-year-old boys. According to police, they are both facing charges of property destruction and trespassing.
One boy has also been charged with two counts of shoplifting, which is alleged to have occurred at a grocery store on the same day.
The two boys will appear at the children’s court early next month.
Updated
Airports chief warns duopoly becoming too strong to intervene
Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin’s dominance of the Australian aviation market is so strong that regulators and governments will find it difficult to intervene on any issues, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
James Goodwin, the CEO of the Australian Airports Association, on Wednesday told the parliamentary inquiry into promoting economic dynamism that the market dominance of major players such as Qantas, which together with budget carrier Jetstar has a 66% share of the domestic aviation market, and Virgin, which holds 29%, is harming consumers.
Goodwin said:
When we have a duopoly like this with 95% market share of those two airlines … really the market starts acting in a very coordinated sort of way. So it’s very hard for any new competitors to come in.
Goodwin said Qantas and Virgin’s dominance allowed them to decide “where they are flying, how much they’re charging, and that becomes a new way of doing business”.
It becomes very cosy and comfortable to put it that way, that there is no need to necessarily do really anything against the law because it is just so comfortable.
It also means that regulators and governments generally might also find it increasingly difficult to try and intervene as well because the market becomes so reliant on the dominant players … Customers and the passengers at the moment are victims of this duopoly. What we see are those high air fares that people are just needing to pay.
Goodwin also backed calls to swiftly overhaul the legislation governing access to Sydney airport’s takeoff and landing slots, amid long-held accusations that major airlines are strategically scheduling then cancelling services out of Sydney to block competitors from introducing rival services:
Updated
Queensland bill would allow children to be held at watch houses ‘even if not compatible with human rights’
The Queensland government has introduced legislation to allow it to imprison children in police watch houses “even if it would not be compatible with human rights”.
The police minister, Mark Ryan, introduced the amendment as part of a swathe of changes to an unrelated bill in state parliament this afternoon.
In explanatory notes for the bill, Ryan said the amendments override the human rights act in order to allow a place to be declared a youth detention centre “even if it would not be compatible with human rights”:
This could include a police watchhouse or corrective services facility.
The minister said the override was time-limited and would expire on 21 December 2026 – but can be extended by 12 months by regulation.
It should not be required once infrastructure at Woodford and Cairns [planned new youth detention centres] becomes operational.
It’s the second time the state government has suspended the human rights act, after it passed a bill to make breaching bail a criminal offence for children.
Updated
Real Estate Institute of Queensland says ‘scarcity’ is ‘critical issue’ driving rent increases
When asked at the federal rental inquiry what the driver of the 28% increase in rent increases was over the past three years, the Real Estate Institute of Queensland CEO, Antonia Mercorella, said:
The market forces allow rents to go up, and I’d say scarcity is the critical issue.
What it also does, to go back to that competitive nature. What we have seen is lots of people coming from interstate, although rental bidding is prohibited in Queensland, and you can’t seek a bid or solicit rental bidding.
What we have seen is in order to secure a property, particularly from people from interstate, they have been offering more.
She said they had seen lots of investors coming off fixed rates, though there was no set data that shows how many, and what number of them might be selling property.
That listing data does seem to indicate that there are more investors selling and some of that would be mortgage stress – the exact percentage it’s difficult to know.
Mercorella said REIQ does not support rent controls, but would like to see an increase in the vacancy rate.
Updated
University of Sydney senate and executives declare support for Indigenous voice
The University of Sydney’s senate has issued a statement outlining its support for an Indigenous voice to parliament.
Simultaneously, the university’s chancellor, Belinda Hutchinson, and vice-chancellor, Mark Scott, have issued a separate joint statement explaining why they have decided to declare their positions.
Here’s a section of their statement:
As you would expect, there have been different perspectives in an institution that cherishes debate, free speech and the testing of divergent views.
Some have felt that even though the University has never taken institutional positions on contentious societal matters of the past, including the 1967 referendum, and the marriage equality debate, this is a matter of such importance that we should do so this time.
There were other concerns that a statement by the University indicating a position would suggest unanimity in view – or seek to impose an institutional perspective on the individuals who form our community.
At the University’s most senior leadership bodies, we have all agreed that the top priority is for everyone to be informed on the key issues underpinning the referendum and be engaged in the democratic processes. Today, we have released a statement on the Voice from the University Senate.
The most significant power will come – not with a statement on an institution’s behalf – but with our community’s empowered voices actively partaking in this vital democratic engagement as we prepare to vote.
In our personal capacity, we are both supporting a Yes vote in the Voice referendum as a vital step in healing and reconciliation and ensuring Aboriginal voices are heard on critical matters affecting First Nations people and all Australians, especially education, employment and health.
Updated
‘What hope have you got?’ Prominent investor criticises Asic
The Melbourne investor James Baillieu has criticised the corporate watchdog Asic for failing to keep those alleging serious misconduct in the loop.
Baillieu told a Senate inquiry into the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on Wednesday that the regulator’s responses to reports of potential misconduct had been “pretty hopeless” over the three decades he’d been in the industry.
He pointed out one case in particular where he delivered them a “smoking gun” but Asic still failed to act.
“What hope have you got?” Baillieu said.
The prominent investor told senators he put $1m of his money into retailer marketplace IRexchange in 2018 but said he came to believe it was “the biggest straight up and down case of fraud that I’ve encountered in my 30 years in business as an Australian lawyer”.
The IRexchange chief executive, Brett Charlton, strongly rejected the allegations at the time in comments to the Australian Financial Review.
Baillieu told the committee he had asked for his $1m back and passed on key documents to Asic and the AFR.
Asic placed a stop order on IRexchange’s plans to propose a $17.5m initial public offering. The online marketplace has since gone into liquidation.
Baillieu said he had spoken to investigators who told him they were taking the situation “very seriously” and suggested they might pursue criminal charges. He last heard from Asic in 2021.
He said:
It would be just basic common sense for Asic to cooperate, to some extent, with a complainant. If the complainant is a serious one ... to come back to them and say ‘look, we’ve reached a blockage point on this issue, um, do you know any more? Or have you got any more information? Or do you know who might have more information? But it seems Asic may reach these blockage points and not even circle back, and just give up. And that’s not good process.
Updated
One-third of Australians experience physical violence, ABS finds
Women are more likely to be assaulted by their partner at home while men experience physical violence from strangers in public, latest data shows, AAP reports.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics found one-third of Australian adults have experienced physical violence since the age of 15.
Most men reported being physically assaulted by a male who was a stranger (57%), while three in four assaults happened outside of home such as at a pub or in the street.
For women, 63% reported their perpetrator being a male intimate partner and 70% said the assault happened inside a home.
The statistics were similar for women experiencing sexual violence, with male intimate partners the most common perpetrator (53%).
Women were also three times more likely to have been assaulted by a man they knew rather than by a stranger, the data shows.
Here’s the bureau’s Will Milne:
In the 12 months after the assault, two-thirds of women experienced anxiety or fear for their personal safety and one in nine had to take time off work.
Receiving inappropriate comments about their body or sex life was the most widely reported behaviour, experienced by 800,000 women.
Half a million women received an indecent text, email, or post, while 400,000 were subjected to unwanted touching or grabbing.
Updated
Political showdown looms in NSW for ‘wall of death’ shark nets
Politicians from across the parliamentary divide have sounded the alarm on “wall of death” shark netting as the NSW government confirms the century-old technology will return to beaches, AAP reports.
The move could stymie Labor’s parliamentary agenda as key members of the crossbench flagged they could withhold support for other bills if the government ignores environmental concerns.
Official data shows the nets catch few targeted white and tiger sharks and that most animals caught, including turtles, are threatened or protected species.
Several coastal councils and conservation groups have called for non-lethal shark management alternatives to permanently replace the nets, which are installed at beaches from Newcastle to Wollongong between September and the end of April each year.
Other measures include drones, so-called smart drumlines and alert systems that are already used at multiple beaches.
The premier, Chris Minns, said he was not confident emerging shark protection technology was ready to replace nets at some of the country’s most popular beaches from next Friday.
Updated
‘Now is also the time for communities to start preparing’
The minister for emergency management, Murray Watt, is urging people in bushfire-prone regions to start preparing for summer.
Large swathes of Australia are likely to experience an “increased risk” of bushfires due to forecasts of above-average temperatures, decreased rainfall, high fuel loads and changing weather patterns, according to the Australasian Fire Authorities Council outlook.
Here’s Watt’s statement on X, formerly known as Twitter:
While governments and authorities are doing our bit to be better prepared, now is also the time for communities to start preparing for the risk of potential fires and heatwaves.
That means you need to have a bushfire plan, and now is the time to start working on it.
Today @AFACnews confirmed what we’ve been preparing for: this bushfire season will be serious.
— Senator Murray Watt (@MurrayWatt) August 23, 2023
While governments and authorities are doing our bit to be better prepared, now is also the time for communities to start preparing for the risk of potential fires and heatwaves. pic.twitter.com/Nf4zOykHGr
Updated
Intergenerational report likely to be a conversation starter rather anything definitive
“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future,” is a view attributed to the Danish Nobel physicist Niels Bohr, and one that comes to mind when we think of the intergenerational report.
The lengthy tome (we hear it will nudge 300 pages) will be released tomorrow by the treasurer, Jim Chalmers. We’ve had five of these since the first was launched two decades ago by Peter Costello, the Howard-era treasurer.
The report will project how Treasury thinks Australia will look in 2063 on a range of metrics, such as population size and the state of the budget.
We looked at the reliability of such forecasts in this piece today:
One economist told us recently his bank tried to be as accurate as possible for clients about one year out. (His bank miscalled the past three RBA monthly meetings.)
The IGR will extrapolate in part from the May budget, which had forecasts running out to 2033-34.
Ben Phillips, a modelling expert at the Australian National University, said:
Three years of the forward estimates is probably about as far as you want to go for a realistic sort of forecasting.
So 10 years is pushing it and 40 years is really what I would just call an interesting projection into the future.
Expect climate change to feature in the IGR in a much bigger way than previous ones. The first had just two mentions, including this reference which could be read to support a price on carbon emissions:
“These environmental problems often occur when people do not face the full costs of or receive the full benefits from their actions,” it said in 2002-03.
Interestingly, Chalmers at a media event in Sydney today talked about Australia having “geological, geographical and meteorological advantages”.
Given our exposure to extreme heat and volatile rainfall – likely to be made worse in a hotter world – we’re keen to understand where the weather of our futures might give us an edge.
Updated
Jason Clare highlights school funding inequality after Naplan results released
The education minister, Jason Clare, continues to respond to today’s Naplan results, which found one in 10 students were not meeting literacy and numeracy standards.
The results also found students with high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage are even less likely to be keeping up.
Jason Clare has highlighted the gap between funding for private and government schools.
Every non-government school is either funded at the level that David Gonski recommended, is above it, or on track to be there by the end of the decade. But no public school is, apart from public schools in the ACT. That gap needs to close.
As part of this year’s NAPLAN we have raised the minimum standard students have to meet.
— Jason Clare MP (@JasonClareMP) August 23, 2023
We did this to identify the students who need additional support. The next step is to provide that support.
Here’s what I said about this at @PressClubAust last month. pic.twitter.com/uX4AMGUpJR
Got a question about the referendum?
An upcoming episode of Guardian Australia’s The Voice Ask Me Anything podcast series will feature prominent Indigenous yes and no campaigners.
In the news:
Liberal MPs have condemned “abhorrent” and “revolting” commentary about Indigenous people aired at no campaign leader Warren Mundine’s Conservative Political Action Conference.
Senator Lidia Thorpe has called on the government to call off the referendum, saying it had caused only harm and division.
The voice referendum date is to be announced in South Australia next Wednesday.
Do you have a question for them about the voice or the latest news updates?
Please email your questions to voicequestions@theguardian.com
Updated
Queensland government creates standalone chief midwife position
The Queensland government has split the roles of chief nurse and chief midwife, in an effort to solve the state’s crisis in maternity units.
The health minister, Shannon Fentiman, announced the government would spend $16m to expand midwifery group practice and also fund scholarships for new midwives.
Fentiman said:
We need our chief midwife to lead our 3,000-strong midwives right across the state to work on developing new initiatives and reform for our midwives.
That reform around maternity and midwifery care needs to be led by a midwife.
The Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union said it welcomed the shift – but still wanted more, including a workforce plan and staff to patient ratios in maternity wards.
The union’s secretary, Kate Veach, said:
For mothers, babies and women today, they will have a significant good and positive impact on the services that they’re providing and services that they’re receiving.
Fentiman said the chief midwife would be appointed within “months”.
In response to reports by the ABC that a range of regional hospitals had been forced on maternity bypass in the last year as a result of staff shortages and other problems, the minister said she hoped new care models like midwifery group practice would prove more “sustainable”.
We are doing everything we can to recruit not only more midwives, but GP, obstetricians and gynaecologists consultants as well. It is really difficult right now with workforce shortages to make sure we have those staff, but we are absolutely working on it.
Updated
Thanks for joining me on the blog today! I’ll leave you with my colleague Henry Belot, who will continue our rolling coverage into the evening. Take care!
Brisbane renter’s recent 33% rent increase was ‘a shock and totally unexpected’
More from the federal rental inquiry hearing in Brisbane today.
Robyn Cook said she has been renting for four decades - all of her adult life. She is currently renting a three-bedroom townhouse in Brisbane with her husband and two adult children.
We have lived at our current home for two and a half years since 2021 ... The first time we renewed our lease, the rent was increased by $20 a week, which was to be expected. I thought that was pretty reasonable.
This year, however, our rent was increased by 33% - an extra $160 a week. This was quite a shock and totally unexpected.
When they moved in, the house it was $465, they are now paying $650 a week.
Cook said they were hoping to save so they could buy a small dwelling when they retire but the rent increases are eating into their savings.
Updated
Landlord warns rent caps or freezes could push rental prices higher as supply shrinks
Property investor, Darryl, a “fully-funded” retiree, said he was concerned about the discussion around rent caps.
Also speaking at the federal rental inquiry in Brisbane today, he said:
Such restrictions will just create property owners [getting out] of the market, and that will create far more demand because there’ll be fewer properties for rent, and that will increase rents even further.
Are the costs if you freeze rents, are the costs incurred by the private property investors also to be frozen? I doubt it.
Darryl sold one of his big four-bedroom homes in Queensland recently to a retired couple. He did not say how many properties exactly he owns. He said more investors in the market would help.
You need to encourage private investors to get more residential property, not get out of it.
Updated
Rat traps under beds and long waits for maintenance – inquiry hears of the life of the Australian renter
Renters have shared how they are living with rat traps under their beds, waiting weeks for essential maintenance and have been hit with large rent increases.
But property investors have hit back at the push to freeze rents, saying they should not be punished and there should be more policies to encourage investment in the market.
Speaking at the federal rental inquiry, which is sitting in Brisbane today, Leanne, who did not give her last name, explained how she has rented her home in Highgate Hill since 1999.
She said no maintenance outside of essential repairs has been done on the dwelling in 24 years. The dwelling has a rodent problem and she has had to put traps under her bed. Her rent recently increased by $40 a week.
I just waited two weeks for a new washing machine. There are eight people in our flats using one washing machine. I looked on Google, $600 is all that cost.
Updated
As yes campaign takes question to the people, Mayo declares they will win the voice referendum
Thomas Mayo has declared the yes campaign “will win” as the referendum draws nearer, adding the movement is ready to take the question of Indigenous recognition to the Australian people.
On average, we’re getting 1,000 new volunteers every week. It’s going to be the biggest campaign that Australia has ever seen … we’re really ready to take this question to the Australian people about recognition and listening to Indigenous people and we’re confident that they will say yes.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will make the announcement for the referendum’s date in Adelaide next week. Asked whether South Australia was strategically important to secure the four state majority needed at the polls, Mayo said the camp wasn’t taking “any state for granted”.
We want to win South Australia and we want to win six out of six states. And we’re confident that we can do it … this is simply about recognition, and listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people - the key to closing the gap. It’ll be a wonderful month to celebrate over 60,000 years of continuous cultural heritage.
Mayo said the downtrend in polling wasn’t something campaigners were concerned about, adding they were “ready for the challenge”.
It is the final poll that matters. Having conversations with fellow Australians about this is what matters. And the feeling that I get on the street is that there is overwhelming support for this.We believe that fairness, and the truth is on our side, and that gives us the best hope of winning, and we will win.
Updated
Thomas Mayo calls on Peter Dutton to address Gary Johns' involvement in no campaign
Thomas Mayo, spokesperson for the yes campaign, has expressed disappointment at racist commentary from the no camp as the announcement of the referendum date approaches.
Speaking in Sydney on Wednesday, Mayo said there were “a lot of questions” Peter Dutton and the no campaign needed to answer after a conservative conference held by CPAC Australia, an organisation chaired by Warren Mundine, gained wide condemnation.
Mayo:
The racist rhetoric and the attacks on Indigenous leaders in the campaign has been really disappointing. And there’s a lot of questions that Peter Dutton and the no campaign need to answer from what happened on the weekend at the CPAC conference, about Gary Johns’ involvement in the no campaign.
Johns has faced calls to resign from the no campaign against the Indigenous voice referendum, after he was criticised for making “offensive” and “extreme” comments – including suggesting blood tests for welfare payments.
Mayo said the yes campaign was instead “getting out there” and having positive conversations in the community.
We are communicating with people about what a wonderful thing this will be when we accept Indigenous culture and heritage as part of who we are, and set up the way for us to be listened to, so that we can see better outcomes in health and education and employment, and all of those things. And that’s what matters.
Updated
BoM issues extreme fire danger warning for parts of NT, including Darwin
There is an extreme fire danger warning in place for Darwin, Adelaide River and southeast Gregory in the Northern Territory, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Meanwhile, a catastrophic fire danger is in place for Barkly North.
Extreme fire danger is current for Darwin, Adelaide River and southeast Gregory.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) August 23, 2023
Catastrophic fire danger is current for Barkly North.
If you live in the #NT, follow advice from PFES and BFNT for fire preparedness and safety.
Latest: https://t.co/FeXfnQmsDc pic.twitter.com/0Bu4sxf3yG
The BoM is urging NT residents to follow advice for fire preparedness and safety.
Updated
Brennan suggests tweaking competition laws for better ‘tradeoffs’
The outgoing Productivity Commission chair, Michael Brennan, was also asked about competition law reform, after the Albanese government announced a review that will include merger laws.
Brennan said:
Not to be critical about what’s proposed in relation to mergers, I think there is potentially worthwhile reform there. Stephen King, one of our commissioners, has a vast knowledge about these things and is pretty positive about some of the things that have been talked about. I guess the issue is, there is a dilemma. A merger can on the one hand lessen competition, which could create concentration which could go to hampering diffusion of good ideas across the economy, maybe there’s less innovation once you’ve got a whole lot of dominant players. Equally, you don’t want to artificially prolong the life of unproductive firms - that’s not going to be good for productivity.
Brennan suggested “tweaking” competition law to make better tradeoffs. He said there was a similar point to be made about large tech companies, and whether we are worried about “behemoths”.
Updated
More questions raised over Asic’s investigation abilities as Senate inquiry continues
Another witness has fronted the Senate inquiry into Asic’s ability to investigate corporate misconduct.
Rolfe Krolke, a former senior executive of tech company Nuix, told senators on Wednesday he had taken serious allegations, including about insider trading, to Asic regarding Nuix’s initial public offering (IPO) in 2020.
Committee chair, senator Andrew Bragg, said Asic had informed the committee it had investigated the allegations but, despite finding the actions “suspicious”, had found no direct evidence relating to them.
Krolke said it appeared Asic investigators were looking for evidence of digital communications explicitly showing insider trading was occurring. Bragg suggested investigators might be waiting a long time for that to happen.
Krolke said he was never interviewed by Asic but understood other senior executives of Nuix had been spoken to.
Asic launched two other investigations into Nuix over its prospectus and alleged continuous disclosure breaches.
It came after its initial offering of $5.31 a share dropped sharply in the months after going public.
Asic has since dropped the investigation into Nuix’s prospectus, but is pursuing the claims of disclosure breaches in court.
Nuix denied the allegations made against the company and its director and said it intends to defend against them.
In an answered question on notice provided in February, Asic said the matter is “ongoing”:
Generally, Asic will not comment on whether a matter is referred to the CDPP before a prosecution is commenced.
Updated
Penny Wong thanks Vietnam’s PM for warm welcome during Hanoi visit
Foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has shared a photo of her meeting with Vietnam prime minister, Pham Minh Chinh, during her visit to Hanoi in Vietnam this week:
Australia and Vietnam share a Strategic Partnership and an interest in a peaceful, stable and prosperous region.
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) August 23, 2023
Thank you to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh for the warm welcome to Hanoi.
A privilege to meet with you as our countries celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations. pic.twitter.com/qxjjkGksfr
It is Wong’s second visit to Vietnam as foreign affairs minister, working to deepen Australia’s cooperation with a key ASEAN partner, she said in a statement.
Updated
Rise in invasive strep A cases prompts call for vaccine
A rise in strep A cases across Australia has prompted calls for a vaccine, with young children, elderly people, pregnant women and Indigenous Australians particularly susceptible to complications.
Infections with strep A bacteria are common in childhood, usually causing short and minor illnesses treatable with antibiotics. But in seemingly random and rare cases, infection with strep A can cause a severe form of illness known as invasive strep A, which can lead to complications including death, sepsis, amputations and tissue damage.
Though still rare, the incidence of invasive strep A has risen from 3.7 cases per 100,000 children in Australia in 2018, to 5.2 per 100,000 children in the third quarter of 2022, a Lancet Regional Health study found.
There were 23 cases in children in 2020, compared to 107 in 2022.
You can read the full report here:
Updated
State government a factor in supermarket competition
Michael Brennan has been asked by our chief political correspondent, Paul Karp, about record profits reported by Coles and Woolworths.
Karp asked whether the profits are a sign of a well-functioning market and whether breaking up any duopoly might be beneficial.
Brennan said state governments have had an impact on this issue:
One of the things that has been an inhibitor to competition in supermarkets has been planning at the state level because Coles and Woolies are pretty well embedded in the planning systems, pretty good at identifying sites, potentially pretty good even at freezing out rivals.
He did not agree there was a need for a binding grocery code of conduct.
It’s easy to look at that aggregate and say ‘we need to break that down, we need more competition’. The challenge is what are the policy tools available to you to do that without the unintended consequence of making some consumers worse off?
Sometimes it’s levers you don’t expect. It’s some other aspect of our general regulatory set-up that may be the thing that’s the constraint on competition. I would be looking at those sort of things first before getting into … compulsory codes and what not.
Updated
‘Both were cherished members of the community’: Patterson family issues statement after funeral
In their full statement, the family of Don and Gail Patterson, who died after suspected mushroom poisoning, said they had been buried last week in a private funeral.
Couple Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, and Patterson’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, died in hospital after eating lunch at the Leongatha home in Victoria’s south-east on 29 July.
In a leaked police statement, Erin Patterson, the woman who cooked the meal, has denied any suggestion she poisoned the two couples on purpose.
The full statement:
The family of Don and Gail Patterson wishes to extend an invitation to the community for a public memorial service to celebrate and remember the lives of Don and Gail.
Both were cherished members of the community, known for their humility and the positive impact they had on those around them.
The Patterson family has expressed their deep gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and understanding during this challenging time.
They have been touched by the many memories and stories shared by friends, acquaintances, and even strangers who were touched by Don and Gail’s kindness and generosity.
In keeping with Don and Gail’s wishes and character, the family has chosen to commemorate their lives in a manner that reflects their values and the love they shared with their community.
A private burial was held earlier this week, attended by close family members.
The upcoming public memorial will be an opportunity for all who knew Don and Gail to come together, share memories, and celebrate the lasting legacy they have left behind.
Updated
Outgoing Productivity Commission boss calls for rethink of public service mentality
Michael Brennan is now taking questions from reporters at the National Press Club.
First up is the ABC’s Laura Tingle, who has asked how the public service can best transform the way it seeks to close the gap between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians.
Brennan says the bureaucracy needs to take a longer-term view:
Rather than thinking ‘we need to front up to senate estimates’, or we need to ‘front up to the auditor-general’, there are broader key performance indicators; that we have invested in a community-controlled organisation and we’re working in partnership with them, that we trust them, that we’re in this with them for the long-term, and that we’re working with them on how it is they’re delivering for the community they serve.
Updated
Latham on front foot with tweet justifying his actions over NSW One Nation finance allegations
Shortly before Pauline Hanson’s office sent out her statement on Wednesday, Mark Latham provided his own update on X - the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Latham wrote:
The easiest thing in politics is to do nothing, to not interfere with another MP, especially when you know the interference will be unwelcome and end in animosity and division.
Only a moron goes down this path time after time, with the same disastrous result time after time.
Updated
Minns rules out Mihailuk’s return to Labor
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said earlier on Wednesday that Tania Mihailuk would not be welcome back in the Labor Party.
Mihailuk, the ex-Labor shadow cabinet member turned upper house crossbencher, is the only remaining member of One Nation in the NSW parliament following the departure of Mark Latham and Rod Roberts.
Minns also said the allegations made by Latham and Roberts were serious and should be investigated:
It’s always been the case that when you’ve got public money that’s been handed over to political parties, it has to be treated with the absolute highest ethical and legal obligations of those party office holders.
Updated
'Bring it on' says Pauline Hanson over calls for One Nation finances investigation
One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, has “strongly welcomed” an investigation into the allegations about finances of the party’s New South Wales branch levelled by Mark Latham on Tuesday in parliament.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Hanson said:
Bring it on.
I completely welcome an investigation by the NSW electoral commission into these allegations. It’s telling that allegations by these individuals have only been made under parliamentary privilege, and only made now despite a clear reference to matters which they claim took place years earlier.
Her comments come after Latham quit One Nation to sit as an independent in the NSW parliament and accused the right-wing party of misusing taxpayer money after he was sacked as its state leader.
His upper house colleague Rod Roberts also quit One Nation and backed Latham’s allegations in a speech he made in parliament on Tuesday under parliamentary privilege.
The special minister of state, John Graham, has referred the “serious” allegations to the NSW Electoral Commission for an investigation after Latham wrote to him alleging that the party used loopholes in electoral funding laws to “misappropriate” taxpayer money.
Hanson said Latham and Roberts should resign from parliament when One Nation was “exonerated”.
Their seats belong to the NSW voters who supported One Nation, and those voters deserve to have One Nation representatives occupying them.
I’m confident One Nation’s finances are in order and in compliance, and we will happily cooperate with any investigation or inquiry. It’s not our integrity that’s in question.
The departure of Latham and Roberts leaves One Nation with only one member in the NSW parliament: the ex-Labor shadow cabinet member turned upper house crossbencher, Tania Mihailuk.
Updated
A lot of talk about productivity but a little less of the thing itself, laments Brennan at Press Club
The outgoing chairman of the productivity commission, Michael Brennan, is addressing the National Press Club today.
This comes as treasurer Jim Chalmers is set to release the latest intergenerational report tomorrow, and today announced a competition policy review (read more here).
Coming to the end of his five-year term, Brennan said there seems to be a lot of talk about productivity but “a little less of the thing itself”.
Brennan begins his speech with an anecdote of how long it takes to make a loaf of bread. He said it takes the average person four minutes, because that is the amount of time required by someone working at today’s average wage to make enough money to purchase a standard loaf.
Now, in contrast, in 1901, it took 18 minutes of the average worker’s time to purchase a loaf of bread.
Back then, agriculture employed 25% of the Australian workforce, today it’s around 5%. Wheat production has gone from one million tonnes to 25 million tonnes. So each tonne of wheat is produced with less land and vastly less labour.
It’s the story of replacing human labour with machinery, the horses with tractors, the application of all sorts of science, crop types, pesticides, fertilisers, etc. That combined with a similar productivity growth that occurred in the manufacturing industry, the transport industry, over the course of the 20th century, it’s all there, baked into the humble loaf of bread and that is productivity.
Updated
Greens to tackle big four payroll tax
The NSW Greens will seek to close a loophole that it says has allowed the big four consultancy firms to avoid paying tax on partner pay.
The party’s treasury spokesperson, Abigail Boyd, said closing the loophole would be an Australian first that would generate an additional $50-60m in payroll tax revenue. Partners are often considered part-owners of the firm.
Until recently, very little was known about how the big four (KPMG, PwC, EY, Deloitte) partnerships are structured. Initially, they were hesitant to make their partnership deeds public, although PwC did confidentially supply a copy to a senate committee. KPMG has subsequently made its deed public.
Boyd said the Greens would move an amendment to the Payroll Tax Act 2007 as part of the forthcoming Revenue, Fines and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 on Thursday:
The partnership structures of these mega consulting firms is a farce - does anybody really believe that there are 1000 equal co-owners of Deloitte, EY, PwC or KPMG?
Senior executives and chief executives at all major listed companies are already covered by payroll tax, as are other major consulting firms like McKinsey and Accenture. It’s time for the big four accounting firms to stop asking to be treated as a protected species and start paying tax like the rest of us in NSW.
Updated
Amber Heard avoids prosecution over 2015 Pistol and Boo quarantine incident
American actress Amber Heard will not be prosecuted over allegations she lied about the illegal importation of her two dogs, Pistol and Boo, into Australia in 2015.
Eight years ago, Heard was charged with breaching Australia’s quarantine laws by bringing the dogs into the country without declaring them. At the time, then-agriculture minister, Barnaby Joyce, threatened to destroy the dogs unless Heard and her ex-partner, Johnny Depp, took them back to California.
In 2016, Heard and Depp made headlines when a video apology they filmed – and that was played in court – went viral:
According to a statement yesterday from the department of agriculture, fisheries and forestry, it collaborated with agencies, both in Australia and overseas, to investigate the claims against Heard.
Ultimately, the case has been dropped.
The statement reads:
A brief of evidence was referred to the Commonwealth director of public prosecutions, who has made the decision not to prosecute in this instance having applied the prosecution policy of the Commonwealth.
Updated
ASIC took 18 months to act on insider trading allegations, ex-employee of ASX-listed company alleges
A former employee of an ASX-listed company has alleged ASIC took 18 months to arrange an initial meeting after he alleged his employer had been engaging in insider trading and share price manipulation.
The Senate inquiry into ASIC’s powers to investigate corporate misconduct allegations is underway and witnesses are detailing their experiences with the watchdog.
Travis Peluso, who worked as a director of investor relations for Magnis Energy Technologies, told the inquiry on Wednesday morning he had first taken the “broad brief” of allegations to ASIC in March 2020.
ASIC investigators met with Peluso virtually in October 2021, around 19 months later, but Peluso claimed they did not have the relevant documents, or access to them.
ASIC told the committee it had investigated the claims surrounding Magnis and had found nothing to substantiate them. The investigation was closed in November 2022.
“I certainly wouldn’t go through the exercise again,” Peluso said, adding he had received threats on social media and from lawyers with nothing to show for it.
When I reflect on what I provided them, I fail to understand how the law couldn’t actually act and make an assessment different to where they got to.
Updated
Best option is more home ownership, economists say
At the federal rental inquiry in Queensland, committee for economic development of Australia’s Andrew Barker and senior economist Cameron Murray from the University of Sydney have just been speaking.
The big argument against capping rent or regulating standards is that investors will leave the market because they will not be able to make as much money. And that will impact supply.
Murray says it would be a good thing if landlords sell:
For 150 years landlords have threatened to leave the market. It’s not clear to me where they’re going to take their money when they sell. Every sale has a buyer.
Today, we’ve got more landlords than we had 45 years ago.
The peak of homeownership was in 1971 around 72% and it’s now 66%.
The more homeowners there are, the fewer who are disrupted when rental prices move quickly because their homeowners are insulated from that price.
So, if we want higher home ownership, we actually can’t escape the reality that higher home ownership means landlords must sell. Otherwise we will always have 3.3 million private rental homes. If we want to have less than that, a low percentage of the stock, we need landlords to sell. So I’d be totally fine with that.
Updated
University of Melbourne staff to strike for a week over pay disputes
Staff at the University of Melbourne will strike for an “unprecedented” seven days after negotiations with management over job security and pay increases reached a standstill.
From midday on Monday, members of the union will stop work in the first act of disruption, followed by strikes across faculties and work areas including the Faculty of Arts, Melbourne Law School, VCA school of art, student services and the library.
NTEU national president, Dr Alison Barnes, said members voted to take action after representatives of vice-chancellor Duncan Maskell “refused to engage” with the union’s claims around job security, workloads, flexible working arrangements and a pay rise in line with inflation.
The university is already embroiled in two separate allegations of staff underpayment with the Fair Work Ombudsman. Barnes:
Even after repaying $45 million in lost wages, university management is trying to deny staff the fair pay increase they deserve. Universities need to abandon approaches like Melbourne’s to enterprise bargaining. It’s seriously out of touch with the universities accord which is rightly pushing institutions to become exemplary employers.
NTEU Victorian division secretary, Sarah Roberts, said the decision followed industrial action during open days at Melbourne University over the weekend.
This bear knows what’s what #unimelbopenday pic.twitter.com/kSwJh3ay4J
— Jeff Sparrow (@Jeff_Sparrow) August 19, 2023
It’s time for common sense to prevail - return to the negotiating table and make some progress.
Updated
Rex questions influence of Qantas and Virgin lobbying
The deputy chair of Rex Airlines, John Sharp, has questioned whether Australia’s major airlines have lobbied federal governments not to act on recommendations designed to crack down on anti-competitive behaviour that Qantas and Virgin stand accused of.
A parliamentary inquiry into promoting economic dynamism in Sydney today has heard criticisms of the legislation that governs access to Sydney airport’s takeoff and landing slots, which allows airlines to retain their slots so long as they actually operate a scheduled service at least 80% of the time.
Sydney airport, as well as a coalition of industry groups, including Rex, accuse Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin of strategically scheduling then cancelling services out of Sydney to block competitors from introducing rival services, citing the high cancellation rates on routes out of Sydney as proof of the behaviour.
Sharp has spoken of the “desperate need for reform” and raised a government-ordered review into Sydney airport’s slots system that made several recommendations in 2021, including greater scrutiny of cancellation data and more communication with airlines to determine if cancellations are anti-competitive. The recommendations have not been acted upon by either the previous Coalition or the current Labor government. Sharp said:
I’ve often wondered why the Harris report has sat gathering dust on someone’s shelf for the last two and a half years and I just wonder what influence has been utilised to achieve that.
Sharp suggested some airlines in Australia have achieved a dominant position – he noted Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin have 95% market share – due to the existing regulation “and so a change would be resisted by them and I wonder how they managed to influence the outcomes here by leaving this report sitting on a shelf gathering dust”.
Updated
Asic’s actions ‘problematic’, Senate inquiry told
Australia’s corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, is under the microscope today as part of a Senate inquiry looking into its ability to investigate reports of alleged misconduct within the corporate sector.
Senators will hear from witnesses from private industry about their experiences with the watchdog.
Insolvency peak body Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association (Arita) fronted the inquiry first on Wednesday morning, describing some of Asic’s actions as “problematic” and accusing it of failing to deliver its core duties.
The Arita chief executive, John Winter, described examples where the body had referred reports of “significant fraud” to Asic only to be met with silence.
Winter said those that are investigated are hit with “laughable” penalties:
From phoenixing through to fraud and insolvent trading, sadly that yield very, very few prosecutions of directors.
When we know phoenixing alone costs the Australian community more than $4bn per year, we wonder how that is allowed to continue on Asic’s watch. Indeed, as we see this, we are constantly reminded of a former Asic chair’s comment that Australia is paradise for white-collar crime.
Winter said the Australian Taxation Office was doing the “heavy lifting” despite not being an enforcement agency for the corporate sector.
He described it as nailing US mobster Al Capone for tax fraud, instead of racketeering.
Updated
Queensland and SA face early fire seasons
A summary of what other states can expect throughout the spring period as the bushfire season approaches:
Australian Capital Territory: Spring outlook is for average fire potential. It experienced a dry winter, but three years of good rainfall has allowed for good water catchment and soil moisture. Will continue to be monitored as summer approaches.
Tasmania: Anticipating a normal fire season leading into spring after three relatively benign fire season.
South Australia: Has significant fuel loads following a number of wet seasons, with grassland expecting to dry around the north and the south-west. Expecting an early start to the fire season, with higher-than-average temperatures over coming months.
Western Australia: Normal fire activity expected throughout the whole state for the spring period. Unprecedented flooding in the Kimberley earlier this year will mean a delayed fire season there. In southern half, there is a soil moisture deficit with a rapid drying of the landscape expected in November.
Queensland: Six months of well-below-average rainfall with prolific grass growth, now drying rapidly. Bush and grassfire activity over southern Queensland observed over the last three weeks. Residents encouraged to start preparing for bushfire season, but in order to avoid starting fires, consult the local brigade.
Northern Territory: Drying conditions are expected to have an impact as we move into El Niño conditions. Normal fire potential expected for the Top End, Katherine and Arnhem Land, while there is an increased risk of wildfires to travel across vast distances in central Australia.
Read our earlier posts for New South Wales and Victoria.
Updated
The fire authorities have all been speaking about the importance of preparedness ahead of the upcoming bushfire season.
You can read more about what is to be expected, and how to prepare, here:
‘Higher-than-normal potential for fires’ in Victoria
Amanda Leck, the deputy commissioner of Emergency Management Victoria, said the state can expect a warmer and drier-than-average spring, and potentially an earlier start to the fire season.
The earlier start is forecast for central, western and northern Victoria. A strong drying trend is expected in Gippsland and the Mallee area, “with higher-than-normal potential for fires should this part of our state remain dry throughout the spring period”.
We’re especially concerned about communities that have vegetation load that was not burned in the [2019-20] fires.
Drier-than-average conditions are expected to continue in Victoria following below-average rainfall across the state, Leck said.
Updated
NSW ‘bracing for difficult fire season’, RFS commissioner says
National fire authorities are speaking about the upcoming bushfire season from Brisbane, outlining the conditions people can expect across different states.
Rob Rogers, the commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service, said a large part of the state has above normal fire potential for spring.
He said areas of concern are in western parts of the state around the Blue Mountains, right out west and all the way to the Queensland border. There is an area of concern along the coast, both north and around Bega “in areas that didn’t burn in 2019-20”.
All of those areas we’re concerned about and whilst it’s correct, we’re not as dry as we were in 2019-20. Some areas in the north and the south on the coastal areas are already starting to experience drought conditions.
Rogers said there are currently 46 fires burning across NSW and he expects this to accelerate in the coming weeks:
We’re bracing for a difficult fire season because unlike 2019-20 when we were in that drought, we’ve had significant rain so the grassland areas, particularly in the western part of the state, are prolific. Grass is more than a metre tall and we’ve had frost and dryness starting to off that grass so it’s all ready to burn.
Updated
Calls for slot scheduling rule to lift to 95-5
Sydney airport has said it “firmly believes 80% is too low a bar to clear, particularly on the busiest routes” and that it “would ideally like to see the use it or lost it rule lifted from 80-20 to 95-5”, which “would still give a buffer of 2.5 times the long-term cancellation rate at Sydney of 2.1%”.
The airport also noted airlines already get special dispensation due to bad weather – one of the reasons they cite for high cancellation rates out of Sydney.
Critics point to the high cancellation rates out of Sydney airport – flights to Melbourne are cancelled almost 10% of the time – and claim the behaviour dubbed “slot hoarding” is locking out airlines hoping to introduce more services to major cities, such as Rex and Bonza, from meaningfully competing with the Qantas and Virgin duopoly. Qantas group and Virgin staunchly deny they engage in slot hoarding.
Read our explainer on Sydney airport slots here:
Updated
Sydney airport calls for tighter rules on flight cancellations
The Sydney airport wants any airline that cancels a flight more than 5% of the time to lose its scheduled slot, as it renews its accusations that Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin are strategically scheduling then cancelling services out of Sydney to block competitors from introducing rival services.
The airport is among a coalition of industry organisations with long-held criticisms of the legislation that governs access to its takeoff and landing slots, which allows airlines to retain their slots so long as they actually operate a scheduled service at least 80% of the time.
The Sydney airport CEO, Geoff Culbert, said in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into promoting economic dynamism that regulations are preventing the airport from reaching its maximum capacity and that “the absence of a framework that prevents slot misuse has allowed incumbent airlines to accumulate more slots than they need”.
The submission said:
Over the decade leading into Covid, Sydney airport began to see a pattern of behaviour, supported by the data, which indicated that the major incumbent domestic airlines historically filed for more slots than they needed. The airlines then cancelled certain flights on high-frequency routes, consolidating those services with lower passenger numbers on to flights either side of the original time, but always staying above the 80% usage requirement.
The airlines are incentivised to do this because there is no cost to apply for a slot and no penalty for not operating a slot during a season. Additionally, the 80-20 rule means that airlines only need to clear a very low threshold to retain that slot for the next season... this has been allowed to go untempered for many years, and unless there’s a change to the rules, we do not see a scenario where behaviours will change or competition can increase.
Updated
Public memorial announced after suspected mushroom poisoning
A public memorial has been announced for two of the three people who died after suspected mushroom poisoning in Victoria last month.
Don and Gail Patterson, along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, died after eating a beef wellington believed to have poisonous death cap mushrooms in it.
Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, a local pastor, is still in hospital fighting for his life.
Don and Gail’s family have announced there will be a public memorial for them at the Korumburra Recreation Centre on 31 August.
The ABC has reported a statement from the family, which says:
The Patterson family has expressed deep gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and understanding during this challenge.
They have been touched by the many memories and stories shared by friends, acquaintances, and even strangers who were touched by Don and Gail’s kindness and generosity.
Their deaths are being investigated by homicide detectives, who have said they are not yet considered “murders” and said they are keeping an open mind.
In a leaked police statement, Erin Patterson, the woman who cooked the meal, has denied any suggestion she poisoned the two couples on purpose.
Updated
A birthday to forget
A Victorian man has had quite the unhappy birthday, allegedly being caught driving 85km over the speed limit and soon to receive a notice to surrender his EV.
The Oakleigh man was detected driving a Tesla at an alleged speed of 185km/h in a 100km/h zone on Murray River Road about 2pm on Tuesday – his birthday.
The vehicle also had two unroadworthy tyres, police say.
Rather than enjoying a trip to the snow, the 32-year-old spent his birthday being interviewed over speed- and vehicle defect-related offences and is expected to be charged on summons.
Updated
Puppies found safe, cuteness undiminished
In some good news for you this Wednesday morning:
Mount Isa police have returned five four-week-old puppies to their “extremely grateful and appreciative” family after they were reported stolen.
About 4pm on Monday, the owner of the missing litter reported the theft of five shepherd-husky pups from their yard in the Mount Isa suburb of Townview.
The investigation quickly led police to homes in Pioneer, where they found two puppies, and Happy Valley, where they found one more. The three puppies were returned home safe by 8.30pm, but two were still missing.
They were found at an address in Townview on Tuesday morning and quickly returned home, reunited with the rest of the litter.
Police say two juveniles are assisting with the investigation.
Updated
Renewables investment pipeline drying up – just when we need a rush
Investment in new wind and solar farms has all but stalled, with developers facing a “raft of barriers” despite strong political support, the Clean Energy Council said in its latest quarterly report.
The first half of 2023 produced the slowest pace of final investment approvals in the council’s six years of data tracking. Just four generation projects accounting for 348 megawatts – or roughly the size of a single coal-fired power station unit – secured financial commitment in the June quarter.
Now that’s not the news energy users want to hear. As the federal energy minister, Chris Bowen, has been keen to highlight, Australia needs to install 22,000 500-watt solar panels daily for eight years and 280 megawatts of new windfarms each month out to 2030 for the country to meet the (implied) target of 82% renewable energy by then.
The one area where investment is powering along (so to speak) is new storage. In the June quarter $2bn in new deals got the financial signoff, topping the $1bn mark for the first time.
We look a bit deeper into the issues here and how governments are signalling a shift towards keeping coal-fired plants available for longer (if not necessarily operating):
Updated
Greens: Naplan results show need to overhaul school funding
The Greens have weighed in on today’s Naplan results, pointing to a fall in performance as evidence for the need to overhaul school funding.
This year’s results found about 10% of students were failing to meet minimum standards in literacy and numeracy, compared with about 7% last year.
The Greens’ schools spokesperson, Penny Allman-Payne, said the fall in student performance mapped “directly with the growing resource gap between the private and public systems”.
As a share of total education expenditure, Australia spends more on private schooling than almost any other OECD country – and it’s growing. School should help kids on a path out of disadvantage, but Australia’s two-tiered system is baking in disadvantage and supercharging inequality.
Allman-Payne said “predictably” the results had generated calls for changes to teaching methods and training, including from the shadow education minister, Sarah Henderson. Allman-Payne:
How about we make sure there are enough teachers, support staff and resources in the classroom in the first place before we start telling teachers how to do their job? We need to … deliver full funding to public schools at the start of the next national school reform agreement in January 2025.
The education minister, Jason Clare, said the poor Naplan findings were a result of changes to the test’s minimum standards, which raised the bar on where students were expected to perform, while adding that early identification and intervention was “critical”.
Updated
Extra rent assistance will do little with no rental cap, advocates say
In the budget, the government announced a 15% increase to rent assistance, but the CEO of Tenants Queensland, Penny Carr, says it will do little for those on low income:
People … on those low incomes, they’ll still usually be paying more than 30% of their income in rent.
And then there are also a lot of people who can’t access rent assistance, who are living in housing stress as well because rent assistance is tied to another commonwealth payment.
The executive director of Q Shelter, Fiona Caniglia, said:
It’s a welcome addition, but I do think it needs to be examined in terms of rent increase. If there’s no limit on rent increases, then a 15% increase may not be enough because of the unlimited nature of rent increases.
Both of them said without a limit on how much rent can be increased, it will incentivise landlords to push them higher. Caniglia said they’re already seeing this in Queensland:
Limiting the increases to once a year, without limiting the amount that can be increased, has incentivised increasing rent on that one occasion that it can be changed.
So we’re seeing a surge in what people are asking that one time a year and then that can cause people to quit their tenancy.
Updated
Jim Chalmers announces competition policy review
The federal government has announced a review of competition policy settings, with a focus on developing reforms to increase productivity, reduce the cost of living and boost wages.
In a joint statement, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and the assistant treasurer, Andrew Leigh, said:
Australia’s productivity growth has slowed over the past decade, and reduced competition has contributed to this – with evidence of increased market concentration, a rise in markups and a reduction in dynamism across many parts of the economy.
We need to ensure our competition policy settings are fit for purpose in the face of the big shifts under way in our economy, so we can make the most of digitalisation, the growth in services, the net zero transformation, while supporting our nation’s most vulnerable.
A competition taskforce has been established in Treasury to conduct the review, which will look at competition laws, policies and institutions to ensure they remain fit for purpose.
The review will be progressed over two years and involve targeted public consultation, providing continuous advice rather than a formal report, “so progress can be made over time”.
The taskforce will be supported by an expert panel including the CEO of the Grattan Institute, Danielle Wood, and former ACCC chair Rod Sims.
Updated
City of Sydney eyes heritage listing for Chinatown gates
The city of Sydney has moved to add Chinatown’s ceremonial gates to the heritage register, recognising their local historic and social significance.
The tiled archways on Dixon Street in Haymarket were completed in 1980 and bookend one of Sydney’s best-known destinations for Asian food, culture and communities.
The Sydney lord mayor, Clover Moore, said the gates provide a ceremonial entrance to the only surviving original Chinatown in the city centre:
The Haymarket precinct is of great significance to Chinese Australian communities and businesses in Chinatown expressed their desire for the importance of the ceremonial gates to be formally acknowledged.
Restoring and heritage listing these iconic gates will ensure they can be enjoyed for generations to come.
At its August meeting, the council voted to amend the its local environmental plan to list the Chinatown gates as a heritage item of local significance.
The amendment will be on public exhibition for community feedback.
Meanwhile, plans are under way to restore the gates next year.
Updated
Seven out of 10 tenants had rent increases, Queensland advocates find
The federal inquiry into the worsening rental crisis has kicked off in Brisbane.
Tenants Queensland surveyed 130 tenants (not a huge number) but the results showed 70% of them had rent increases in the past 12 months.
The CEO, Penny Carr, said they have spoken to 30,000 tenants in the past 12 months – and the most common concerns are bond, termination of tenancies and repairs:
From the end of last month we’ve had 400 contacts where people were asking about rent increases. Out of that 400, very few were CPI or less. On average, those increases were at 25% of the current rent or $100 a week. Thirty per cent of those contacts we had with people had rent increases of between 25% and 50% of the current rent.
They’re just absolutely unaffordable increases for people.
Carr said they want three things: ending all notices to leave that don’t have a just cause, affordability measures that stabilise rents (such as limiting increases to CPI or a figure like 3%) and liveability:
So making sure the quality of the product that people are renting meets community standards, but also that there’s energy efficiency as we make this transition [to renewables so] that renters don’t get left behind.
Updated
First home buyers need 16 years to save for house deposit – new research
New research by Finder shows that first home buyers across Australia need 16 years on average to save for a house deposit.
People would need to save an average $299,868 for a house deposit and $188,523 for a unit, the comparison website found.
It would take the longest to save for a deposit in NSW, with 20 years needed to save for a house and 14 for a unit, according to the analysis.
This equates to $470,660 needed in savings for a house deposit.
Richard Whitten, the home loans expert at Finder, said many first home buyers can’t afford to save such a significant amount:
Wage growth over the past few decades simply hasn’t kept up with skyrocketing property prices.
Saving up enough for a deposit, especially when the cost of everything from food, energy, and insurance – not to mention rent – is rising, is a big barrier to overcome.
Buying a home is becoming increasingly out of reach for many Aussies.
Finder’s research is based on a 3.5% annual growth on home prices, 3% average savings interest and a 3.5% annual growth in the median household income. It also assumes households save 3.5% of their income after spending on rent, groceries, bills and transport.
Updated
Supermarkets increasing their margins on food
With Woolworths and Coles both recording surges in revenue, it’s worth looking back at Jonathan Barrett’s earlier reporting on supermarkets increasing their margins on food throughout the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis.
The Guardian Australia analysis of Coles and Woolworths financial accounts over a five-year period show the dominant supermarkets were able to use the pandemic to not just sell more goods, but also increase the amount they profited from sales.
You can read the full report here:
Updated
Woolworths profit up by 4.6% to $1.62bn
The country’s biggest supermarket chain, Woolworths, has recorded a dramatic lift in margins for its Australian food business, pushing the company’s profitability well beyond pre-pandemic levels during a cost-of-living crisis.
The company’s net profit rose by 4.6% to $1.62bn for the full financial year, while overall sales hit $64.29bn, derived from its Australian and New Zealand supermarket operations as well as Big W.
But it is the profitability of the Australian supermarket business that may grab the attention of policymakers. The company’s preferred gauge of profitability, known as operating margins, spiked from 5.3% to 6% during the financial year.
The metric shows that Woolworths was able to more than pass on inflationary costs to shoppers.
The ability of the big supermarket to not just retain but fatten margins during the inflationary period supercharged its overall profit and represents a likely inflation trigger.
The Woolworths chief executive, Brad Banducci, described the result as a “return to relative stability” after several years of pandemic disruptions.
Updated
Matildas’ Perth Olympic qualifiers may be moved to bigger stadium
The West Australian is reporting that Football Australia is open to moving the Matildas’ three Olympic qualifiers in Perth to Optus Stadium.
In late October and early November the Matildas will face Iran, the Philippines and Chinese Taipei in Olympic qualifiers at HBF Park. There has been a surge in demand since the Women’s World Cup, exhausting ticket allocation.
Speaking to the West, the Football Australia chief executive, James Johnson, said his preference was for the games to stay at HBF Park but he was not opposed to moving to the larger Optus Stadium if Football Australia is confident it can sell out tickets:
We’d need to talk to Tourism WA, the Department of the Premier and also the Asian Football Confederation as well.
But if there is a demand and if we feel that we’re going to be able to sell out Optus Stadium, of course we’d be open to exploring that.
Updated
Price hike takes huge slice out of Domino’s profits
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises has vowed not to lift prices any further after suffering a steep fall in profit triggered by unhappy customers.
The Australian franchise, which also operates in Europe and Asia, suffered a 74% fall in net profit to $40.6m for the full financial year.
The company’s chief executive, Don Meij, said on Wednesday the company did not always get the “value equation” correct when deciding how to distribute inflationary costs.
For example, some of the changes we made, including the introduction of a delivery service fee, did not resonate with some customers and over time they ordered less frequently.
I want to be clear to our customers facing cost-of-living pressures: we do not expect to pass on pricing increases this year.
Updated
Baby dead after being found unresponsive in car
A baby has died in an outback Western Australian town after being found unresponsive in a car, AAP reports.
The child was found in the vehicle in Fitzroy Crossing, in the Kimberley region, on Tuesday and taken to the Fitzroy Crossing hospital, police said.
Officers were called to the hospital about 3pm. The baby was not able to be revived.
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the baby’s death.
Updated
Farmers federation concerned about buybacks in Murray-Darling plan
The chief executive of the National Farmers Federation, Tony Mahar, spoke to ABC News Breakfast this morning about the new Murray-Darling Basin agreement between the commonwealth and all basin states except Victoria.
The agreement gives states three more years to finish water projects, with more water buybacks also on the table. You can read the full details from my colleague Anne Davies here.
Mahar said the farmers federation has “real concerns” the government has “immediately jumped” to water buybacks. He argued that water coming out of the basin risks food and grocery prices going up and risks bipartisan support:
The key thing of this plan is so complex that everyone has to be kept around the table. You disenfranchise a state like Victoria – a third of the agricultural production comes out of Victoria. The plan will fall to pieces and basin communities and farmers and businesses will be devastated.
Mahar said the federation will lobby for legislation on the agreement to be blocked or at least changed until there is a bipartisan approach.
Updated
Murder charge after ‘mummified’ remains found in house
A murder charge has been laid following the discovery of decomposed remains hidden inside a Gold Coast home for a year, AAP reports.
Detectives investigating the death of Tomislav Nemes at Benowa arrested the 48-year-old suspect on Tuesday.
The mummified remains of the 69-year-old were found at the Edinburgh Road residence during a welfare check after interstate relatives raised concerns on 17 April.
Following extensive investigations, police say the accused man will appear before Southport magistrates court on Wednesday.
Nemes and his family moved to the tourist strip from the ACT in 2018.
Friends and relatives told investigators they lost touch over the years before Nemes disappeared.
Updated
Clare flags taskforce on sexual assault at universities
The education minister, Jason Clare, was also asked whether he would work to establish a specialised taskforce on sexual assault at universities.
Yesterday while he was speaking at the AFR Higher Education Summit, Clare said student safety on university campuses has “not been good enough” and more needs to be done to protect students from sexual harm. (You can read more on that here.)
Clare has already established a working group on the issue and told ABC RN a taskforce “may be one of the things that comes out of this”.
I’ve been speaking to organisations like End Rape On Campus … who have been advocating for this and [I] have been really affected by the point that they’ve made, that we’re just not doing enough in our universities to take action where sexual assault occurs …
We’ve got to take action and universities aren’t just places where people work or study, it’s places where people live, it’s stories of people living in the same dormitory where the perpetrator is around the corner.
Clare said this is why the working group is important – to develop recommendations and figure out a pathway forward.
Updated
School funding must be linked to resources to help struggling students: education minister
More from the education minister, Jason Clare, who spoke to ABC RN this morning about the latest Naplan findings.
He said the case has been clearly made that not only do schools need to be funded “fully and fairly”, but funding needs to be linked to the resources that will help students who are falling behind.
That is my chief concern here … If you fall behind and you stay behind, you’re more likely to drop out.
Clare said falling rates of children from poor families who finish high school “keeps [him] up at night”:
Six years ago in public schools it was 83% of children finishing high school, last year it was 76 …
This is happening at a time where you’ve got to finish high school and then go on to Tafe and university, otherwise it’s going to be harder and harder to get a job and build a career and do everything in your life that you hope to do.
Updated
Clare: early intervention ‘critical’ to improving Naplan outcomes
The education minister, Jason Clare, says the poor Naplan findings are a result of changes to the test’s minimum standards, which raised the bar on where students were expected to perform.
This year’s results found about 10% of students were failing to meet minimum standards in literacy and numeracy. Clare compared this to around 7% last year.
He said the next step was to provide the additional support required.
The changes we have made to Naplan have raised the bar. We have done this on purpose ... so we can really identify the students who need additional support.
Research released this week by the Australian Education Research Organisation (Aero) found only one in five students who are below the minimum standard in year 3 are above it in year 9.
Clare said early identification and intervention was “critical”.
That’s what the O’Brien review into the next national school reform agreement is all about. Making sure we are tying funding to the sort of things that help children who fall behind to catch up, keep up and finish school.
Updated
Hanson-Young: Victoria ‘like spoiled brats’ by not joining Murray-Darling plan
Sarah Hanson-Young was also critical of Victoria’s decision not to sign up for the new Murray-Darling plan.
She told ABC News Breakfast that South Australia is “at [the] mercy” of Victoria across the border and that Victoria is “carrying on like spoiled brats”:
It is not good enough. We need a national plan that will return water to the river to keep it flowing right down to the bottom.
I am very concerned without a guarantee that the water, that 450 gigalitres of water that was promised to SA that is needed to save the environment, particularly in the lower reaches, with Victoria carrying on like spoiled brats, it is very difficult to believe that that water will ever come.
She said that is why legislation ensuring there is a guarantee of water is important:
Currently, as outlined by the minister, there is no guarantee and we have got to get that fixed.
Updated
Hanson-Young calls for guarantees on new Murray-Darling Basin plan
The Greens environment and water spokesperson, South Australian senator Sarah Hanson-Young, spoke to ABC News Breakfast about the new Murray-Darling Basin plan announced yesterday between the federal government and all but one basin state:
The federal environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, announced yesterday that the states will have three more years to complete water efficiency projects in the Murray-Darling and will be offered more money, but more water buybacks from agriculture are also on the table.
Hanson-Young argued that without any guarantees the water will “actually be delivered by these new deadlines”, it is simply “a plan to kick the can down the road”.
We have seen this happen over and over again and frankly South Australians are sick and tired of the broken promises and the environment can’t cope with any more.
We have seen a decade of delay, of dragging the chain, of promising, ‘Oh next time, next year, wait until the 2024 deadline and SA will get the water we were promised’.
It hasn’t come. We need guarantees before the parliament locks this in place.
Hanson-Young said she wants to “work constructively” with Plibersek on solutions.
Updated
Children’s mental health not improved since Covid, research shows
The pandemic may be behind us but its impacts are still prevalent in the mental health of young people, new research shows.
A University of South Australia study, released today, found children’s mental health and wellbeing had gradually worsened over the past six years, particularly during and after the pandemic.
The study of about 60,000 South Australian children aged nine to 14 found most wellbeing measures, ranging from optimism and happiness to worry and sadness, had consistently worsened from 2020.
Female students, older students and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to have poor wellbeing.
The lead researcher, Dr Dot Dumuid, said the pandemic had fostered an environment of “widespread uncertainty and anxiety”.
Now that pandemic restrictions have been lifted, life has not necessarily gone back to how it was pre-pandemic. Wellbeing clearly dropped during Covid and has shown little signs of improvement since then.
Co-researcher Prof Carol Maher said the findings were likely to be globally relevant.
The pandemic, sweeping changes in children’s lifestyles – from physical activity and screen time to sleep and diet – and the pervasive influence of social media aren’t regional anomalies. They’re global phenomena likely impacting children’s wellbeing worldwide.
Updated
NSW solicitors welcome new high court appointments
The Law Society of NSW has expressed its “warm support” for the appointments of Stephen Gageler as the chief justice of the high court and Robert Beech-Jones as a new justice of Australia’s highest court.
The appointments follow the retirement of the chief justice, Susan Kiefel, who will step down on 6 November.
The society’s president, Cassandra Banks, said the two widely respected jurists bring the experience of storied careers in the law to their new roles:
Chief justice designate Gageler has earned a reputation as having an unequalled knowledge and understanding of constitutional law, an expertise that was sharpened before and during his term as solicitor general of Australia.
Justice Beech-Jones has provided extraordinary service to the law in NSW, commencing practice as a solicitor in Sydney for the firm now known as Freehills, before being called to the bar in 1992. His honour’s appointment to the high court of Australia, to replace the vacancy left by Justice Gageler’s elevation, will enhance Australia’s system of justice.
Banks said she looked forward to representing the state’s 40,000 solicitors in farewelling Beech-Jones from the NSW supreme court bench in October.
Updated
Referendum date to be announced next Wednesday
It’s now locked in: the announcement about the referendum date will be made on Wednesday 30 August in Adelaide, the prime minister’s office has confirmed.
The PM, Anthony Albanese, said in a statement this morning:
Very soon, our nation will have a once-in-a-generation chance to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our constitution – and make a positive difference to their lives with a voice.
Next week the date will be announced. I will be campaigning for constitutional recognition. Because if not now, when?
Albanese said the referendum campaign would be a chance to “celebrate our shared history and build a better shared future”.
Nothing to lose, everything to gain. Every Australian will get a say in this. Every Australian will have the opportunity to vote yes for a practical, positive difference in people’s lives.
No confirmation yet of what day the referendum will be held, but 14 October is still widely expected by government and campaign sources.
Updated
Union calls for ‘real action from the politicians’ to fund public schools
Australia won’t be able to close its education achievement gaps without closing the resources gap, argues the Australian Education Union (AEU).
As my colleague Caitlin Cassidy reported this morning, one in 10 students are not meeting Naplan standards in literacy and numeracy and students with high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage are even less likely to be keeping up:
In a statement, the union acknowledges Naplan is just one measure of student achievement but says the “overall pattern” indicates “unacceptable” achievement gaps between students from different backgrounds and locations.
The AEU president, Correna Haythorpe, said:
While nationally one in 10 students are identified as needing additional support in literacy and numeracy, that proportion rises to as high as nine out of 10 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in very remote parts of the NT.
What we need is real action from the politicians to ensure public schools are funded to deliver the additional support to the children who need it.
Haythorpe argued that funding public school systems at 100% of the schooling resource standard across Australia is “the only way” to ensure every child gets the opportunity to success and “we have the teachers we need for the future”.
This has to happen by 2028.
Updated
Australia a ‘role model’ in resisting China’s economic coercion: German minister
The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, says her country has “learned a lot from Australia” when it comes to reducing the risk of economic coercion.
Baerbock said in a webinar with the Lowy Institute last night:
In Australia, you experienced painfully how China is willing to use economic coercion when it imposed restrictions on key exports like wine, meat and coal – to exert political pressure.
You have actually been a role model in not bowing to that pressure. I want to express my great respect for the courage and resilience as well as the sense of proportion that you demonstrated.
Baerbock called for “de-escalation and dialogue to avoid conflict” – but she also said it was important to speak up “when others bend our common rules”.
Speaking about the need to diversify trade links, Baerbock said:
In Germany, in my country, we have learned – I must say painfully – how vulnerable our one-sided dependencies on Russia’s energy imports made us and we don’t want to repeat that mistake.
For many countries in the world, and particularly here in this region, China is by far their biggest trading partner.
But China is not always as predictable, transparent and reliable as is needed to allow a stable economic relationship. Australians know what this means.
In other remarks, Baerbock said Germany “will certainly come back for the next rounds” of the Pitch Black and Talisman Sabre military exercises in Australia:
Because if international law is broken in your region, it can be broken anywhere. Your security matters to our security.
Updated
John Farnham ‘all clear’ of cancer
Australian music legend John Farnham has released his first personal statement in more than a year.
The statement – a message of thanks to his fans – comes exactly 12 months after Farnham underwent a 12-hour surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his mouth.
Since then Farnham has been in and out of rehabilitation care and has undergone subsequent reconstructive surgeries, and was officially declared “all clear” of cancer last month.
Farnham said he is the “luckiest man I know right now”:
It’s been a year since my first surgery and to be honest I’ve lost count as to how many other procedures there’s been since then. I’m sure someone’s kept track of them all – let’s just say, there’s been a few.
But, I’m home now and I’m a very grateful and happy man. I’m sitting here in my living room lapping up the attention from my beautiful wife, Jill, my boys Rob and James, and my mini schnauzer, Edmund.
Farnham said it is only now, a year on, he can appreciate and comprehend how many messages of love and support he’s received since his first surgery:
I don’t know what to say, other than thank you so very much. It honestly means the world to me.
Farnham said he is going to celebrate today’s milestone with pizza, “because I can!”
I can’t wait to see what might be next on the menu. Bring on 2024.
Updated
Thanks to Martin for kicking things off this morning! I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be with you on the Australia news blog today. If you see something that needs attention, feel free to send me an email: emily.wind.casual@theguardian.com
And with that, let’s get started.
Education minister says Naplan results show need for reform
The education minister, Jason Clare, says the Naplan results released this morning show the need for reform to overhaul the attainment gap between cities and remote regions.
The Naplan results showed fewer than 30% of students in very remote schools rated as “strong” or “exceeding” in literacy and numeracy.
That compared with at least 60% of students at major city schools across years 3, 5, 7 and 9 hitting those high targets in almost all learning areas.
Nationally, one in 10 students across all grades were found to need extra support, while on average a third of all Indigenous students were in that category.
“There is a massive over-representation in that group of children who are below the minimum standard, who are Indigenous, who live in regional Australia, whose mums and dads come from a poor background,” Clare said.
“If these kids who, identified early, can’t break out of that minimum standard, it tells us that our education system needs some serious reform to identify those children and then do something about it.”
Here’s our full story on the results:
Updated
Indigenous voice referendum date likely to be announced next week
The referendum date is likely to be confirmed formally at an event in Adelaide next week, with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, expected to officially lock in 14 October as the Indigenous voice voting day in South Australia – a must-win state for the yes campaign.
Guardian Australia understands Adelaide has been chosen as the location for the announcement, reflecting its importance to the yes campaign. The required “double majority” for the referendum change to succeed means that the Yes23 campaign needs to win four out of six states: Western Australia and Queensland are expected to vote against the change, while New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania are tipped to support the voice.
That leaves South Australia as potentially the lynchpin of the entire campaign, for both sides; with victory in that state key to the referendum failing or succeeding.
The date of 14 October has been long-tipped as the likely day of the referendum date due to a complicated set of timing factors, including considerations around football grand finals in early October and the rainy wet season in Australia’s north later in the year. However, the government may have other possible dates if it decides, for instance, to alter the parliamentary sitting calendar.
Government and campaign sources were tight-lipped on Tuesday night on speculation about the referendum announcement, but Guardian Australia understands voice supporters are preparing for an event in Adelaide in the middle of next week, around 30 August.
If 14 October is confirmed as the date, it would start a six-week campaign – slightly longer than the normal federal election campaign period.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer, bringing you the top overnight lines before my colleague steps up to the plate.
Anthony Albanese is expected to announce the date of the Indigenous voice referendum next week at an event in Adelaide, and 14 October is looking the most likely. With the yes campaign needing to carry four out of six states and Queensland and Western Australia expected to vote no, strategists say the yes team must win South Australia to go with hoped-for wins in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. And as the campaign builds, today we report how a New Zealand culture war activist is being co-opted by far-right groups in Australia that could spread “dangerous falsehoods” about the vote.
It’s Naplan results day today and they show that one in 10 students are not meeting standards in literacy and numeracy. Students with high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage are even less likely to be keeping up. We’ve got more on this coming up. It comes as advocates are calling for urgent federal investment in high schools to ensure children with disabilities are supported through their final years of study.
Australia is experiencing an intense surge in cases of “invasive strep A”, which develops from the common bacteria strep A, a study published in medical journal the Lancet Regional Health has found. Our medical editor Melissa Davey has the full story of this potentially deadly infection.
Updated
