What happened on Wednesday 16 November 2022
With that, we’ll wrap up our live news coverage for the day.
Here’s a summary of the day’s main news developments:
Deliveroo is quitting the Australian market, with the food delivery service announcing it had suspended orders made through its app and entered voluntary administration.
A woman’s body has been found in flood waters in the New South Wales town of Eugowra, where locals say they are still in shock after an inland “tsunami” devastated the town. Guardian Australia spoke to the woman’s brother.
Australia’s Reserve Bank should keep lifting the interest rate to ensure inflation is contained, and the country should stick with plans to introduce stage-three tax cuts planned for 2024, the head of the International Monetary Fund’s Australian division said.
Workplace relations minister Tony Burke has accused tugboat operator Svitzer of “blackmail” and “economic vandalism”, revealing the government will encourage the industrial umpire to stop its lockout of workers.
Anthony Albanese has condemned Russia’s “reckless and dangerous use of force” after G7 leaders staged an emergency session on the sidelines of the G20 summit to assess a blast from a Russian-made missile in Poland that killed two civilians.
The editor-in-chief of the Australian, Chris Dore, has resigned suddenly, citing “personal health issues”.
Donald Trump launched his 2024 bid for the Republican nomination for president on Tuesday night. His daughter Ivanka has decided to not actively join her father’s bid to retake the White House.
Thanks for following along. We’ll be back to do it all again tomorrow.
Updated
Government announces review of university sector
The education minister, Jason Clare, is giving the Bradley oration at Sydney University. The oration is named in honour of Denise Bradley, whose work led to the creation of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency.
Clare is continuing the work Tanya Plibersek began during Labor’s time in opposition, working on a reset of government relations with universities.
Part of that reset is an Australian Universities Accord, which will review the university sector as a whole, and government’s role in it.
It’s something universities have been waiting on and tonight, Clare announced the panel and the terms of reference.
Leading the panel will be Prof Mary O’Kane, Prof Barney Glover, Shemara Wikramanayake, Fiona Nash, Jenny Macklin and Prof Larissa Behrendt.
The key areas for review:
Meeting Australia’s knowledge and skills needs, now and in the future This will include recommendations for new targets and reforms recognising that more than nine in ten new jobs will require post-school qualifications, and fifty per cent of new jobs are expected to require a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Access and opportunity, including improved access to higher education and greater access for people from underrepresented backgrounds.
Investment and affordability, which as the title suggests, will look at university funding, as well as its affordability for students and a review of the ‘job-ready graduates package’.
Governance, accountability and community, which will look at the regulatory and workplace relations settings, as well as the contributions higher ed makes to Australia at large.
The connection between the vocational education and training and higher education systems – which will examine whether there is more opportunity to align vocational training with universities
Quality and sustainability, with the challenges for domestic and international students examined
Delivering new knowledge, innovation and capability, a reference which will look at university research and the opportunities for collaboration and commercialisation.
An interim report will be prepared for mid-next year, with the final report due in December 2023.
Updated
Australian ambassador to Iran summoned
Iran’s government has taken offence at comments from prime minister Anthony Albanese over the death of Mahsa Amini, with Australia’s ambassador to the country being summoned by Tehran.
Nournews, a semi-official news agency in Iran, reported that Australia’s ambassador had been called in over comments made by Albanese over internal developments in the country.
“It seems that the prime minister of Australia has taken a wrong approach based on false information, which does not help the relations between the two countries,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani, according to Reuters.
We’ve contacted the prime minister’s office, and Iran’s embassy in Canberra, for comment.
It is currently unclear exactly which comments Iran has taken umbrage at, but Albanese told SBS News last month that he condemned “the actions of the Iranian regime in cracking down on democratic protests, which were occurring in Iran”.
The protests have continued for weeks after the September death of Amini, who died after being arrested by Iran’s “morality police” for not wearing a head scarf.
“It’s important to assert the human rights of women in Iran,” the PM said to SBS.
SBS reported that Albanese said Australia would support “women who are exercising their human right to dress as they see fit”.
“These protests are protests about human rights, and I stand, I do think most Australians will overwhelmingly stand with the women and the people of Iran in standing up for their human rights,” he said.
Updated
NSW Liberal party branch charging $110 for fundraising dinner featuring One Nation’s Mark Latham
A New South Wales Liberal party branch is charging voters $110 a head to listen to outspoken One Nation politician Mark Latham discuss the proposed First Nations Voice to parliament at a fundraising dinner.
The controversial upper house MP is being spruiked for the 9 December event, despite key Liberal figures – including the state’s treasurer, Matt Kean – heavily criticising comments by the former federal Labor leader, who became a rightwing commentator before entering the NSW parliament.
The Liberal senator for the Northern Territory, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, also features on the invite for the Northern Sydney Conservative Forum event, which is being run by the party’s Roseville brach. The invite notes Price “is opposed to the ‘Voice’”.
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Transport Workers Union seeks meeting with Deliveroo’s administrators
A short time ago, food delivery giant Deliveroo announced it would end operations in Australia effective immediately. The company said it had determined that it “cannot reach a sustainable and profitable scale in Australia without considerable financial investment, and the expected return on such investment is not commensurate with Deliveroo’s risk/reward thresholds”.
The Transport Workers Union, which has advocated on behalf of food delivery workers in the gig economy, has already called a meeting with its Deliveroo rider members who it says are “devastated over the sudden loss of their jobs”.
In a statement, the TWU said “Deliveroo has always been the outlier of the gig industry in Australia, railing against reform supported by Uber and DoorDash to level the playing field for companies while lifting standards for workers under deadly pressures.”
Michael Kaine, TWU national secretary, said “workers must be the priority for administrators” and called on the federal government to “urgently act on its commitment to gig reform and fair standards for all transport workers”.
Kaine said:
“This will be a shock to the thousands of food delivery riders who rely on Deliveroo for income. The TWU has sought urgent consultation with administrators on what entitlements might be clawed back for food delivery riders who stand to lose their jobs in the blink of an eye. These are workers that have been ripped off minimum wage and other rights, and put under deadly pressure to prioritise speed over safety when delivering food.
Deliveroo’s sudden and cowardly act treating workers as callously in exit as it did in operation highlights the urgent need for the federal government to enact gig reform.
Updated
High court narrows Unions NSW case to byelection spending cap
On Wednesday the high court began hearing the Unions NSW case against NSW’s electoral provisions which threaten third party campaigners with criminal penalties if they coordinate their campaigns and exceed the aggregate electoral spending cap.
At least - that’s what the law said when the case started. Earlier in November the NSW parliament repealed the offending provision (section 35 of the Electoral Funding Act).
Unions NSW’s counsel, Justin Gleeson, had the task of convincing the court they should still hear the case and issue a declaration the law was unconstitutional.
He argued that the unions had refrained from electoral expenditure and citizens were “denied the benefit of communications they were entitled to receive under the constitution” due to the implied freedom of political communication.
Gleeson submitted that his client feared if the case were adjourned or dismissed, that NSW will pass a new law or regulation in a similar form at an “inconvenient time”, raising the prospect of an urgent application to reconvene the court as late as 19 December ahead of the 25 March election.
Gleeson said Unions NSW had sought undertakings the government would not put the regulation back in, but they refused without good reason. “That strengthens our fear,” he said, challenging counsel for NSW to say something to allay that fear.
Counsel for NSW, Bret Walker, rejected the idea that “the state” - the polity of NSW - had “done something unmeritorious” by repealing the law or refusing to provide an undertaking, telling the court that “nothing was further from the truth” and it was an “entirely inappropriate suggestion”.
Walker said it was common that the party in government may not hold a majority in the upper house, and withdrawing or repealing a law was an “unremarkable” thing as part of political compromise. Nor was it “alarming or eyebrow raising” for members of the government to say they deplored the law’s repeal. But nothing can be drawn from that to say what will happen in future, he said.
Walker said it was “completely unrealistic” to expect him as counsel to provide a “monosyllabic answer” about what the future holds.
After the lunch break, the chief justice Susan Kiefel said “at least a majority” of the court would answer that Unions NSW did not have standing to seek a declaration that the now repealed law was unlawful, siding with the NSW government.
The court continued to hear argument on the narrower part of the case - whether the $21,600 byelection spending cap, which is still in place, is lawful.
The court adjourned and will recommence the hearing on Thursday.
Labor accuses tugboat operator of ‘economic vandalism’ over planned worker lockout
Tony Burke has accused tugboat operator Svitzer of “blackmail” and “economic vandalism”, revealing the government will encourage the industrial umpire to stop its lockout of workers.
The workplace relations minister made the comments at the National Press Club on Wednesday as the Fair Work Commission met to consider suspending or terminating the lockout due to its potential impact on the Australian economy.
On Monday the Danish company announced a planned indefinite lockout of 590 workers at 17 ports from midday on Friday fuelling fears of widespread supply chain disruptions ahead of Christmas.
That announcement prompted the Fair Work Commission to intervene – warning the lockout may “threaten to cause significant damage to the Australian economy or an important part of it” – the same reason it suspended a proposed 48-hour stoppage in February.
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Richard Marles visits flood-affected Eugowra township
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, was joined by Nationals MP Michael McCormack in Eugowra today, to meet with residents affected by the floods that have decimated the town.
Marles gave a quick door stop, saying the federal government will support the NSW government in any way it can, particularly with getting basic services, like water and power back online.
I think it is about looking at all of those key services which are not available right now. Communication, running water, sewerage, power is unavailable in different parts of the town.
All of that is what we need to be working really closely with our counterparts of the New South Wales Emergency Services to make sure that we can get back up and running as quickly as possible.”
Marles added that in his capacity as defence minister, he’d ensure defence personnel were available to support recovery efforts.
The Defence Force stands ready to provide all the assistance that it can. This is obviously a matter where we work with the New South Wales Government, wherever requests are made, we’ll be meeting them.”
McCormack only gave a short comment, noting the “bipartisan” support from Canberra for relief efforts, and praising Marles for attending flood affected towns. “I think it shows good leadership coming here today, and we’ve heard some devastating stories,” he said.
Updated
SES warns of 'severe and widespread' damage to flood-hit Eugowra
The State Emergency Service in New South Wales has entered the flood-hit town of Eugowra to assess damage, with 21 buildings so far deemed “completely destroyed” and 216 buildings damaged.
Sean Kearns, SES NSW assistant commissioner, said a large proportion of the roughly 300 homes in Eugowra are expected to be damaged.
Kearns said:
Emergency services have engaged engineers to determine if houses are structurally sound and whether some residents may be able to return to those homes that are safe to enter. We expect the damage to be severe and widespread for the Eugowra community of about 700 people.”
In a statement, NSW SES said it continues to resupply isolated communities with emergency supplies, including the area of Walgett, Lightning Ridge and Collarenebri, which is about the size of Switzerland.
“NSW SES has directed people in northern parts of Gunnedah to evacuate due to dangerous major flooding, and to continue to stay away from floodwater in western NSW due to prolonged flooding. Storms, including rain and wind, are forecast for next weekend, however it is not expected to be as severe.”
As of 4pm on Wednesday, there were 117 SES warnings active, including 24 emergency warnings, 73 watch and act alerts and 20 at advice level. There were 261 requests for assistance in the past 24 hours, and 17 flood rescues have been performed.
Earlier today, police announced a woman’s body was found in flood waters in the New South Wales town of Eugowra, where locals say they are still in shock after an inland “tsunami” devastated the town.
Read more:
Updated
Deliveroo to end operations in Australia
Food delivery service Deliveroo has announced it will end its operations in Australia, citing the company’s “disciplined approach to capital allocation”.
In a statement, the company said “management is committed to driving growth and delivering on its path to profitability while aiming to have strong, profitable businesses in each of the markets in which it operates, built on the foundation of leading hyperlocal market positions”.
The statement said:
In Australia, the market is highly competitive with four global players, and Deliveroo does not hold a broad base of strong local positions. In H1 2022, the Australian business represented approximately 3% of Deliveroo’s total Gross Transaction Value (GTV) and negatively impacted the Company’s adjusted EBITDA margin (as % of GTV) by approximately 30 basis points.
Working with the local Australian leadership, the Company has determined that it cannot reach a sustainable and profitable scale in Australia without considerable financial investment, and the expected return on such investment is not commensurate with Deliveroo’s risk/reward thresholds.
Given this position, Deliveroo has decided to end its operations in Australia. The Company’s subsidiary in Australia, Deliveroo Australia Pty Limited (DAPL), has therefore been placed into voluntary administration by its Director and will permanently cease trading imminently.”
Administrators have been appointed, and “appropriate compensation packages” will be provided to creditors.
“This includes guaranteed enhanced severance payments for employees as well as compensation for riders and for certain restaurant partners,” the company said.
Eric French, chief operating officer, said: “This was a difficult decision and not one we have taken lightly. We want to thank all our employees, consumers, riders and restaurant and grocery partners who have been involved with the Australian operations over the past seven years.”
Editor in chief of the Australian steps down
The editor-in-chief of The Australian Chris Dore has resigned suddenly, citing health issues.
In his note to his staff Dore said: “Last month, I marked my four-year anniversary in the job. Any editor will admit the past few years have felt like dog years and as you know, I have no off-switch. I am exhausted, and have recognised I can’t keep going on like this.
“I have long-standing personal health issues I need to resolve and am leaving News to concentrate on restoring my health. I will also be undergoing surgery this week, so will have to postpone farewells until a later time.”
Dore has been editor-in-chief for four years after starting on the paper 31 years ago.
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GP suspended over Covid exemptions loses bid to appeal decision
A Melbourne GP who had his registration suspended amid a Medical Board of Australia investigation into whether he was improperly issuing Covid-19 vaccination exemptions has failed in a supreme court bid to review the decision.
Dr Mark Hobart, who is also a candidate for the Democratic Labour Party in the upcoming Victorian election, sought a judicial review of the November 2021 decision to suspend his registration while the board investigated the exemptions, and whether Hobart had published incorrect or misleading information about Covid-19 and the public health response to the pandemic.
Hobart submitted that the board’s power to take immediate action, under s 156 of the National Law, could not be used to suspend a practitioner’s registration indefinitely, as he said had occurred in his case.
But Justice Melinda Richards found on Wednesday that this had not occurred, and dismissed his application.
Hobart had been informed that his registration was suspended following eight reports to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) between 14 December 2020 and 26 October 2021 that Hobart may have advised patients not to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and issued vaccination exemptions to patients without a proper basis.
The decision to suspend Hobart also referred to him being the director of a company that was associated with a website and Facebook page that “disseminates information that may contravene the position of local, state and federal government and health authorities; and evidence-based guidelines which are in place to protect public health and safety”.
Hobart said that the material was not misleading or deceptive in its nature, nor defamatory, and was in accordance with evidence-based guidelines.
Richards said that as of July 2022, six of the eight notifications that were the basis for the suspension were still under investigation, and there were several other notifications concerning Hobart also under investigation.
She said:
While I have sympathy for Dr Hobart’s wish for the process to move more quickly, I accept that the investigation of all of those matters is ‘a time consuming and resource demanding exercise’ involving considerable work for Ahpra staff.
Dr Hobart has declined Ahpra’s requests to participate in an interview or provide a written response to the concerns raised in the notifications, which might have moved the investigation along.
It was estimated that the investigation will be concluded by the end of 2022, at which point Ahpra will provide a report to the board which it will consider before deciding on which action to take against Hobart, Richards said.
Hobart is a candidate in the lower house seat of St Albans, in Melbourne’s west. He has claimed on Twitter that he issued 2000 vaccination exemptions in three months prior to having his registration suspended.
I gave 2000 exemptions from 8/21 to Nov/21 . All desperate patients. Waiting 6 weeks. Had to close books and phone. Human tragedy on a vast scale. It must not happen again!
— Dr Mark Hobart (@realMarkHobart) August 23, 2022
Updated
Victoria’s electoral commissioner to take leave of absence
Victoria’s electoral commissioner, Warwick Gately, is set to take a leave of absence mid-way through the election campaign.
Gately issued a statement on Wednesday confirming he will take a leave of absence from Friday to undergo important surgery that cannot be delayed. Dana Fleming, deputy Electoral Commissioner, will be acting electoral commissioner until his return in January.
He says:
I am disappointed that I will not be able to see the State election through to its end, but I have been working closely with Ms Fleming on the planning and delivery of this election for the last 18 months. Part of our business continuity process takes such a situation into account, and I expect a seamless transition.
Early voting opened on Monday, with the state election to be held on 26 November.
Updated
A widower whose bride of 10 days was killed in a buggy accident on the couple’s tropical Queensland honeymoon has been charged over her death.
The 30-year-old NSW man was driving a registered golf buggy with his wife on board on Hamilton Island in June when they crashed.
The buggy tipped, leaving his 29-year-old wife with fatal injuries. She died at the scene.
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Australian crptyo exchange freezes withdrawals
A Brisbane-based crypto exchange has suspended withdrawals, citing spillover from the collapse of FTX, reports AAP.
“Due to the impact of FTX Australia’s administration, we are not able to operate business as usual and have suspended all deposits and withdrawals until further notice,” Digital Surge said in a message on its website.
“Our current priority is to protect and support you, our users, and keep you informed as the situation develops.”
In an email to customers the exchange said it “does hold some limited exposure to FTX” and was “working hard to understand the situation as it relates to our users”.
Updated
Clive Palmer fails to prevent criminal charges proceeding
Mining magnate Clive Palmer has failed in a supreme court bid to stop criminal charges proceeding against him.
Palmer lost the latest round in his legal fight against the corporate watchdog and regulator after being hit with charges on two fronts.
The billionaire businessman and his company Palmer Leisure Coolum were charged by the commonwealth director of public prosecutions in 2018 for alleged takeover law breaches.
The charges relate to a proposal to buy out investors in timeshare villas at Palmer’s Coolum resort, in south-east Queensland, which did not eventuate.
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Updated
Queensland children may be pleading guilty to crimes they didn’t commit to avoid bail laws, report says
Queensland children could be pleading guilty to offences they didn’t commit, a new report suggests, with the state’s police commissioner saying its nation-leading rates of youth incarceration reflect the “community’s expectation”.
The comments from Mark Ryan came after he released an eight-month-old report, assessing new bail laws designed to enable the Palaszczuk government’s “crackdown on youth crime”, late on Tuesday night.
That report said children could be pleading guilty to offences they didn’t commit or were being imprisoned for first-time, low-level offences under the state’s youth justice laws.
But Ryan said the report showed the laws were working as intended, by keeping more serious repeat offenders in detention for longer.
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Elias Visontay is going to take you through the rest of the afternoon.
Thanks for spending a few hours with me and take care of you.
Since the storms hit central west NSW on Sunday, the Orange Ex-Services Club has been acting as a makeshift evacuation centre for flooded Eugowra residents.
Hundreds were flown to the relative safety of the regional hub after taking shelter in Eugowra’s showgrounds. It’s still only accessible by boat.
When evacuees wander in, the club’s CEO, Nathan Whiteside, says they’re given a voucher for a meal and clothing before they’re rehomed - many of them arriving soaking wet, with nothing but the clothes on their back.
On Monday evening, he reckoned there were around 60 people at the services club for a meal and a chat – many of them shellshocked, having endured 24 hours of trauma. The following day, dozens more continued to arrive.
We had 200 residents evacuated to here, so a third of the town is in Orange. We’ve been referring them to professional help but the staff are helping as well. We had staff walking dogs up and down the street while owners had dinner, and checking on each other.
The club has also been accepting donations – water, vouchers and money, mostly. Bedding and pillows have to be stockpiled. There’s nowhere to take it.
Whiteside visited Eugowra on Tuesday to drop off items. He says it’s hard to describe what he saw outside of cliche.
I’ve never been to a war zone, but that’s what I envision it’s like. There were houses washed away, 800 metres from where they should be. Cars and caravans dislodged, moved and ruined, including police cars, ambulances. It came up so quick trucks had to evacuate. Apart from the showgrounds, it’s gone through everywhere.
One man built hit house 20 years ago on a mound at a 150-year flood height. The water went a metre through his house. It’s never been there before, and it hasn’t just trickled through. It’s come out of nowhere. It was just devastating for someone who knows the town as a kid. It’s only a little town, but it’s going to cost a fortune to rebuild it.”
Updated
In Bali, Anthony Albanese has also commented on the reports a Russian missile landed in Poland and killed two people:
I also will comment on the tragic news that we had from Russia’s missile attack on Ukraine overnight – deeply concerning. Russia’s reckless and dangerous use of force promotes danger for the entire region and we have seen that and I send my condolences to Poland on the loss of life.
As the secretary general and President Biden have said, we need to have a full investigation as to how this has occurred in the circumstances, it must take place and we should consider what as an international community is an appropriate response.
Updated
The watchdog scrutinising national security laws will question senior police and government officials about Australia’s use of indefinite detention powers for high-risk terrorist offenders.
The criminal code allows for the “continuing detention” of terrorist offenders where courts are satisfied they pose an unacceptable risk of committing a serious terrorism offence if released at the end of their usual prison term.
The Independent National Security Legislation Monitor is currently probing whether the laws are proportionate to national security risks, whether they are consistent with Australia’s human rights obligations, and whether the laws currently give adequate procedural fairness and safeguards for such offenders.
The inquiry has already held public hearings in June. But it has just announced a new public hearing on Monday, when it will question senior officials from the Australian federal police, the Department of Home Affairs, and the attorney general’s department about how the laws are being used. Australia’s human rights commissioner, Lorraine Finlay, will also give evidence.
Updated
Penny Wong is asked about Donald Trump’s announcement of a 2024 presidential run as the final question and says:
I won’t comment on US domestic politics but will say to you that our lines and relationship with the United States is based on shared values, our shared security imperatives and a faith in democracy.
Updated
Q: What would that look like and how would it work?
Penny Wong:
Ultimately it is a matter for China how it seeks to respond. I would say that we are complementary economies. We believe there is mutual benefit in those trade blockages or those trade impediments being removed, and we will continue to assert that, that has been my message to China since we were elected and it was consistent with that. Also [that was the] message [from the prime minister] with his meeting with President Xi Jinping.
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Q: On that note, minister, can you please explain to the general public the significance of the parameters of the meeting with China and what the significance means for Australia?
Penny Wong:
Australia’s relationship with China has been in a difficult place, we know that. And since the government came to power we have said that we think it is in the interests of both countries, Australia and China, for that relationship to be stabilised.
We know there are differences that we need to manage, differences that will need to be dealt with, but those differences are best managed through and including engagement.
So we will cooperate where we can, we will disagree where we must and we will engage in national interest, and it is a good thing that we are seeing dialogue again, at the leader level as well as previously.
Q: Do you hope that the improved relationship with China, do you hope that they might help intervene with Russia to pull them back from the conflict?
Wong:
I have said this before. I have said at the UN general assembly on behalf of the country, that while all of us should care, not just for human reasons, about the conflict in Ukraine but because we know that history tells us that peace and security requires the rule that one country not invade another be followed so we should all care about countries, small and large.
Secondly, I have said that the world does look to China, which is a great power and a G5 nation and a permanent member of the security council, to use its influence to end a war that is not only illegal and immoral but a war that risks security, and we all want peace.
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Q: On the prime minister’s meeting with President Xi Jinping, do you think China will be more inclined to reassess heavy trade sanctions on Australian goods after last night’s meeting?
Penny Wong:
Ultimately that is a matter for China. I have made clear in two in-person discussions with the Chinese foreign minister ahead of the G20 meeting, that we believe it is in both our countries’ interest to stabilise the relationship and we believe that unimpeded trade is also in the interests of both countries.
Q: What does President Xi Jinping’s words meeting China halfway actually look like?
Wong:
I have expressed the view that we should move together. And we know that we live in the same region, we know that we have strong economic complementarity and we also know the Australian government and Australian people, there are differences between Australia’s interests and China’s interest which we will have to manage. There are differences which go to our national interest, our national security and we will manage them but it is better managed wisely and it is better managed with dialogue and that is what we intend to do.
Q: What does he mean by those words though, meeting halfway?
Wong:
I can control what we say and I can give you an indication of what what I say means.
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Q: Has Australia offered further help to Ukraine going forward?
Penny Wong:
Obviously we are a very large contributor to Ukraine both in humanitarian assistance and military support. I know the prime minister has engaged with counterparts, not only in this visit but also at the G20, and we will continue to do what we can in relation to Ukraine.
Q: What kind of response does the world need to see from Nato today?
Wong:
I think the Nato allies are demonstrating the sort of response we would want – there is calm, consultation, a lot of engagement and if you look at both the public statements and what we know privately, there is honestly very good engagement from Nato partners and that is what we want. Peace is secured by countries working together and peace is secured by leaders maturely handling these sorts of situations, and I think you can see from both the Polish leadership, President Biden, other members of Nato, that sort of leadership.
Updated
Penny Wong is being very careful not to cross any lines here.
You asked a question that asked me to be drawn on the investigation and I would again say to people, particularly at this time, it is very important that we are careful and prudent and cautious about how we report this and how we talk about this. And I would heed what the Polish president has said, that there would be an investigation to ask people to be both calm and prudent.
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Q: Has there been, and I appreciate you are probably in discussions with the prime minister, has the Australian government got any contingencies or got any concerns about potential escalation in the conflict in Ukraine?
Penny Wong:
We’ve always been concerned, the whole world is concerned about what is occurring in Ukraine in its own right and the consequences of escalation and miscalculation.
And if you look at what we have said, what Nato partners have said, and what the US have said, what the Europeans have said, we are condemning the illegal and immoral invasion, but we are also saying there is always a risk of escalation and miscalculation, that is why Russia should withdraw.
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Q: Where were these missiles launched from to the best of Australia’s knowledge?
Penny Wong:
This is why it is important for us to be prudent and careful. As the Polish government has said, they will undertake a proper investigation into the origin of these missiles and I would urge people to, as the Polish government has, to await the outcomes of that investigation.
Penny Wong says she has spoken to both the Australian ambassador in Ukraine and also to the Polish charge d’affaires about reports a Russian-fired missile landed in Polish territory and killed two people.
Wong does not go into detail, or confirm or reject anything.
I understand this is news that is worrying and deeply concerning to Australians. And what I would say to you is this, I would echo the words of the Polish prime minister who said that he called on all Poles to remain calm and prudent.
We echo that. We will stay in close contact with our friends and partners.
I spoke to the prime minister this morning, he was obviously still at the G20 in Bali and he will be engaging with others including our European counterparts and other friends and partners, as always, to ensure that we continue to work with others to keep Australians safe and secure.
Updated
Penny Wong condemns Russia's deadly missile attacks
The foreign minister is speaking in Adelaide.
I’ll start by saying Australia stands with Ukraine. We condemn Russia’s deadly missile attacks and reports have indicated that Russia has fired up to 100 missiles in Ukraine which will constitute the largest such attack against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine since the invasion began.
We know that Russian reckless use of force against Ukraine is illegal and immoral, we also know that the reckless use of force is dangerous for the region. The missile strike is deeply concerning. It’s a stark reminder that any conflict comes with the great risk of miscalculation.
G20 leaders put gardening skills on show in Bali
One more on the mangroves.
The leaders have been handed hoes to assist with planting. Let’s just say diplomatically some G20 leaders handled their garden implements more competently than others.
A roar of laughter in the media centre just now as reporters from G20 countries watched the tilling of the soil via a live feed. The tools were then held aloft overhead for the convenience of photographers.
It felt quite reassuring to be laughing with global colleagues for a minute – given the events we are witnessing.
Updated
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Former Tesla Motors Australia director pleads guilty to insider trading
Kurt Schlosser, a former director of Tesla Motors Australia, has pleaded guilty in Sydney to two counts of insider trading, Asic has said in a media statement.
The Downing Centre local court heard that on 16 September 2020 Schlosser bought 86,478 shares in a mining company, Piedmont Lithium Ltd, on the basis of inside information. Tesla had reached an agreement with Piedment to supply the mineral used in battery storage.
Schlosser subsequently sold the shares after news of the deal was made public, pocketing a net profit of $28,883.53.
Schlosser also passed on the information to a friend on 16 September “knowing that his friend would be likely to acquire Piedmont shares”.
Schlosser, who pleaded guilty to the two counts yesterday, has been committed to appear in the Sydney district court on 16 December 2022.
Asic said:
At the time of the offending each breach of s1043A of the Corporations Act carried a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment.
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G20 leaders gather for tree planting at mangrove forest in Bali
Hello again from Bali.
If you’ve been following all the high-octane events all morning, you will know a planned visit by summit leaders to Bali’s only remaining mangrove forest was derailed by a snap G7 meeting to consider the explosion in Poland.
If you are just joining the blog, you can track back and look at the previous posts recording the events as they happened.
Lovers of mangroves (and I am one) will be relieved to know the event is now back on.
The leaders are chatting in a pavilion in their G20 polo shirts. Joe Biden is not wearing the G20 merch, nor is Emmanuel Macron, just for the record.
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China’s Xi Jinping to hold bilateral talks with Papua New Guinea’s PM
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has requested a meeting with the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape, later this week, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Bangkok.
Marape accepted the invitation to the meeting early this week, saying the invitation from Xi was a “high honour for Papua New Guinea”.
Marape said in a statement:
Papua New Guinea does not hide our friendship with nations. We show that we are friends to all countries including China. Being the second-biggest economy in the Asia-Pacific region, it is important that we maintain our relationship with China.
We cannot afford to be friends to one and enemy to the other.
I am totally honoured for this opportunity. I know President Xi has other bilaterals that he would have picked ahead of meeting with PNG, but he has chosen to meet with us.
The invitation comes as the Chinese president has resumed diplomatic discussions with several countries, including Australia, meeting with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, after years of a frosty relationship between the countries.
It also comes as China has sought to strengthen its ties with Pacific countries, of which Papua New Guinea is the largest, which has caused some controversy in the last year, particularly following the signing of a secretive security deal between China and Solomon Islands.
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‘G20, I used to love that, I used to make deals for our country,’ Trump says
Donald Trump then moves on to the G20. For … reasons.
Joe Biden is the face of left-wing failure and Washington corruption. He had a big G20 dinner tonight, everybody flew over to wherever they flew over and guess what, he never showed up, they’re still looking for him.
What’s going on?
G20, I used to love that, I used to make deals for our country like you wouldn’t believe.
There was one, give me the next one, give me the next one and we started stopping them taking advantage of our country.
We renegotiated deals with Mexico and Canada, US embassy, we got rid of the worst trade deal ever made, Nafta.
That’s why the farmers love Trump, because we did a great job. But manufacturers also. We did a great deal. We restructured our terrible deal with, terrible deal with Japan and I did it with Prime Minister Abe, a great man who, unfortunately, it’s so sad, a great friend of mine, but we restructured and made it a really terrific deal and with so many other countries.
The best of all was what we did to China. We made an incredible deal, but after Covid I don’t even bother talking about it because the devastation that that caused for the entire world was too much to bear.
I will ensure that Joe Biden does not receive four more years.
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‘Just as I promised in 2016, I am your voice,’ Trump declares
Donald Trump has announced his bid for the presidency in 2024 with his typical humble and down-to-earth manner:
Because the only force strong enough to defeat the massive corruption we’re up against is you, the American people. It’s true. The American people, the greatest people on earth, we love them all. And we love both sides.
We’re going to bring people together. We’re going to unify people and it was happening in the previous administration, previous to the previous, and what was bringing them together was success. Prior to Covid coming in, the people were calling me, they were calling me, you wouldn’t believe it – people that were so far left I figured they’d never speak to me and I would never speak to them, but our success was so incredible, like never before, and then Covid started coming in from China.
We call it the China virus, some people call it other things, but it was devastating and we built it back and did an incredible job. But when people say Republicans or Democrats or liberals or conservatives, I say we can do that together. We were doing that, that was happening just prior because the success was greater than this country has ever had, we were leap-frogging China and leap-frogging everybody else, and everybody wanted a piece of it.
But just as I promised in 2016, I am your voice. I am your voice.
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Australia’s Hazara community to mark 40 days since brutal attack on Kaaj educational centre in Kabul
On Friday, Australia’s Hazara community is holding a candlelight vigil to commemorate 40 days since the brutal attack on the Kaaj educational centre in Kabul on 30 September.
The attack claimed nearly 60 young Hazara lives.
Within the Hazara community, the 40th day after a person’s death – known as chehellom – has cultural and religious significance. Memorial services, family gatherings, religious ceremonies and other rituals are held to grieve and honour the memory of the departed.
The event, to be held in Sydney, is at:
Parramatta Centenary Square, Parramatta
Friday 18 November 2022
7pm– 9.30pm
Sydney Hazara community is organising candlelight vigil to commemorate the 40th day of the massacre at Kaaj Educational Centre in Kabul and remember the 60+ Hazara school girls victims & to bring awareness of the genocidal attacks #Hazara ppl—November 18 2022.#StopHazaraGenocide pic.twitter.com/LOnyWC2nlf
— Hayat Akbari (@Hayat_Akbarii) November 15, 2022
An ethnic and religious minority in Afghanistan, Hazaras have faced systemic persecution over decades across Afghanistan, discrimination, violence and extrajudicial killings that have increased significantly since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.
Hazara people first came to Australia seeking asylum in significant numbers in the 1990s and 2000s. Currently there are an estimated 71,000 Hazara people in Australia. Many remain deeply connected to the plight of Hazara people in Afghanistan through familial relations and community links.
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Will the Senate sit longer than is set down?
There has been talk that there will be another week of Senate sittings in the first week of December – because there is just so much for it to get through.
Tony Burke says:
Obviously, as leader of the house, I am terribly wary of ever telling the Senate what to do, and doing so would get not only a reaction from the Senate crossbench, I expect I would get a reaction from both Katy Gallagher and Penny Wong, so I know the issue of additional sitting days within the Senate is something being discussed among the Senate.
I don’t believe that that issue has landed yet. If it does, then at that point we will look at how we schedule the House of Representatives to be able to consider messages from the Senate, because it will have an impact on us, but those issues, whereas with the House of Representatives, it is entirely a decision of government.
The prime minister says to the Speaker, they need parliament, we get parliament, whereas with the Senate you need a majority of the Senate to be able to agree. It is a different system. I know that the conversations are happening.
I want to be able to do everything we can to give comfort to the Senate so that they feel they have had time to be able to work through the legislation, but I am also, I am impatient to get it through because I know that you don’t get a pay rise the next day when this legislation goes through.
There is a lag and the fact that there is a lag, some people say we may as well wait until next year – no, no, no. It makes it even more urgent, because if people are facing the sorts of pressures we know they are facing now, we have to do everything we can to be able to get their wages moving soon. So if that involves additional sittings, I am certainly supportive of it, but will leave it to the Senate.
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Tony Burke labels Svitzer lockout plan ‘economic vandalism’
On that, there is another question to Tony Burke at the National Press Club:
Q: The barrister representing you in the Svitzer hearing has just told the hearing that he hasn’t received instructions as to whether he should seek termination or a suspension, or push or argue either way. I wonder if you can just clarify what exactly the government’s instructions to that barrister for that hearing on whether the government is supporting a specific suspension or termination, which would then push those parties into arbitration as we saw in the Qantas dispute a few years back.
Tony Burke says:
I won’t go into detail as to what you have said because obviously you have something right now that, in terms of a quote that I don’t have in front of me, so you respect that, but what I will say is this. We are making clear the potential damage to the Australian economy of this dispute.
What Svitzer are attempting to do is economic vandalism.
Now some will argue, oh well, the current law gives them no other choice. If they waited three weeks, I intend to give them a new law.
They have decided to act now in a way that puts a whole lot of the Australian economy at risk, not simply their own workplace. The full impact of that, I wanted to make sure was made clear to the commission. I support the commission bringing this end, I don’t want to do anything that interferes with the independence of their decision but it is completely the proper role of the Australian government to make clear how irresponsible and dangerous this lockout is.
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Fair Work Commission to rule on tugboat operator Svitzer’s lockout
A full bench of the Fair Work Commission will on Thursday decide whether tugboat operator Svitzer must suspend or terminate its plan to lock out its own workers from Friday amid a protracted industrial dispute, after the Danish company refused to enter into last-minute conciliation despite union willingness to do so.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Fair Work Commission vice-president, Adam Hatcher, directed legal teams representing various maritime worker unions, port operators, stevedoring companies and the government to submit evidence about whether the proposed industrial action – to indefinitely lock out 590 workers at 17 ports from midday on Friday amid an impasse with employees over a new enterprise agreement – threatens to cause significant damage to the Australian economy or an important part of it.
Parties must make their submissions by 11am on Thursday, with the hearing to commence at 1pm – less than 24 hours before the lockout is set to begin. Hatcher said the hearing may need to continue on Friday morning.
Hatcher heard the various unions, port operators, stevedoring companies and the minister for workplace relations to state their position on Svitzer’s proposal. “I think everyone agrees this lockout should not go ahead,” Hatcher said.
On Tuesday, Hatcher announced the commission would consider suspending or terminating the lockout – considered industrial action – after Svitzer announced its plan, noting the proposed action could threaten “to cause significant damage to the Australian economy or an important part of it”.
However, Stuart Wood, representing Svitzer, told the Fair Work Commission on Wednesday “we’re not prepared to withdraw the lockout”. Wood recounted the various meetings, negotiations, industrial actions and Fair Work Commission interventions that had already taken place between Svitzer and its employees yet failed to help the parties agree on a new enterprise agreement.
Hatcher pleaded with Svitzer and the unions to attempt conciliation ahead of Thursday’s hearing before the full bench. While Wood said he didn’t believe further conciliation would resolve the matter, Mark Gibian, representing the Maritime Union of Australia, suggested the proposed industrial action should be withdrawn and suspended until after Christmas. “We don’t think the outstanding issues are incapable of resolution,” Gibian said.
Gibian, as well as Yaseen Shariff, who represented the minister for workplace relations, Tony Burke, expressed concern at having to submit evidence by 11am on Thursday regarding the economic damage the lockout would cause, suggesting they would need more time. Shariff noted the lockout “would have the effect of non-servicing of naval vessels”.
Svitzer is the largest tugboat operator in Australia, with 100 vessels and 50,000 tug movements a year, meaning the lockout is likely to shut down container movements and disrupt supply chains.
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Paul asks for clarification:
Q: So you won’t intervene because he should refer it there?
Tony Burke:
Also the economic impact about the Svitzer dispute, for example. It has been started by the commission in terms of calling it on, not by me, and I think that is the appropriate way for it to happen. But we will turn up and argue because it is the case of an impact on the entire national economy and the Australian government is the organisation best fit to make that case. With respect to New South Wales and the train dispute, the NSW government have the best information on the exact impact of that. It is appropriate for the NSW government to make that case to the commission, I am not going to prejudge it.
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Our own Paul Karp is up now *waves*
Q: The NSW government has asked you to refer the Sydney trains industrial dispute to the Fair Work Commission. Will you intervene in that dispute? And doesn’t it follow your comments about arbitration of impractical disputes changing the bargaining dynamics, and industries that have strong unions at the moment like the MUA and the RTBU, it’s possible that some workers make less under your bill because militant unions would have to moderate their demands to not end up in the commission?
Tony Burke says:
OK, I will deal with the last point first, which is, I can’t be in the world of prejudging how the commissioner will conduct arbitration.
I believe in having an independent umpire and I think it is really unhealthy for the minister of the day to be going over the top and saying this is how I expect you to use your independent powers.
And it’s not like a majority of the commissioners are appointed by me. We’re down to the point now where of the 40-something commissioners there is only 11 who had their work prior representing the employee side of the bargaining table.
So how the commission deals with arbitration – want them to be practical and common sense but don’t want me to be telling them what to do.
With respect to the letter from Damien Tudehope, your timing is impeccable. Just before I came here I wrote my letter back.
The minister has asked me to use my powers to terminate industrial action. They are powers that have never been used by a minister in the history of the act. It’s always viewed as an absolute last resort and all ministers, including me, have had a view that the correct way to deal with these issues is for the umpire to make the decision, as is happening with respect to the tugboat operator Svitzer today.
So that is my preference. I have in the letter also reminded the minister that there is a particular power under the Fair Work Act for state ministers to make this exact case for the Fair Work Commission and I’ve encouraged him to do so.
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Q: You said that you wanted to explain what problems you need to fix ... Under current examples, if an employer is dealing with a group of workers and they are represented by two unions, if the unions are in dispute but a majority of workers agreed to take an EBA, they can have a vote and it goes off to the commission. As I understand it, you are proposing a situation where, for example, a university is dealing with the NTEU and the CPSU. Say one of those unions doesn’t agree, but that’s the smaller union, insofar as it’s got fewer members, so the majority agrees to take, to accept the offer, but because your legislation requires written agreement from both, there is no vote, it goes to the commission. Now, what is the problem you are trying to fix if the smaller union has the effect of power of veto over the majority workers?
Tony Burke:
I am really grateful you have raised it. I am conscious that these areas of multi-employer bargaining have effectively been largely locked up for people to be able to access it.
And I am being cautious as we open these up. There is two effective elements of that caution.
The first is the one you have described in terms of before things going out to a vote, making sure that the employee organisations that have been part of the negotiation agree to it going to the vote. The other part of it is the exclusion of effectively the areas of the economy covered by the construction division of the CFMEU.
The other two exclusions where I am just showing a degree of caution and it is to make sure that we avoid two problems. One in construction, I just don’t feel that part of the industry has the maturity right now to be where I am willing to risk opening up this in that way they are not losing any rights in terms of what they currently have but in terms of the opening up of this, I am just cautious.
The second part of it, though, is I am also cautious with multi-employer bargaining, that we could end up in a situation where you could have some very fast movers of some employers using a consultant, not using, not wanting to use employee organisations. I am very cautious about having agreements go through where pressure is put on employees and effectively we are getting substandard agreements.
The outcome of that, the whole thing was set up to get wages moving and substandard agreements go out and we don’t get wages moving. I am very wary of that and so that is why I am being more cautious.
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NSW makes coercive control a criminal offence
New South Wales has become the first Australian state to create a standalone offence for coercive control following a vote in parliament today.
The premier, Dominic Perrottet, says the laws will deter abusers:
There is no doubt that these reforms, which are the first of their kind in this country, will help save lives and deter an abusive and controlling pattern of behaviour that is unacceptable.
Some advocates for change have argued that the government rushed them through with insufficient consultation while they broadly supported the criminalisation of the behaviour.
Speaking after the final vote, the attorney general, Mark Speakman, said lives would be saved as a result.
Speakman said the government could have held further consultation “chasing the perfect” but instead had chosen to legislate a review within two years of the laws coming into effect.
People found guilty of coercive control will face up to seven years in jail.
NSW AG Mark Speakman speaking after the parliament passes coercive control laws. He says it will save lives of women across the state. Max penalty 7 years in jail. pic.twitter.com/NgU1TVU4n2
— Tamsin Rose (@tamsinroses) November 16, 2022
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Further to my last post, at the conclusion of his remarks to reporters, Joe Biden was asked whether or not there was concrete information the missile came from Russia. The president said:
There is preliminary information that contests that. I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate.
He said the next step was a meeting of Nato ambassadors.
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Can he guarantee routes won’t be cut?
Tony Burke:
I am not on the board Qantas, I am not making the decisions and I am not seeking to be on the board of Qantas … if they want to make decisions about their flights, they will make decisions about their flights, but if they want to pretend that it was because we tried to get wages moving then I don’t think that will be an entirely accurate line of reasoning.
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And what about Qantas’s comments today that this bill will lead to the airline having to cut marginal routes?
Tony Burke says:
With respect to Qantas, Qantas is one of the companies, generally with the consultation process, we engaged through peak bodies. Qantas is one of the companies we brought in for direct negotiation.
I have to say, the Qantas position was don’t change a single law. And that was never an option for the government.
I don’t accept the argument that if you do anything to get wages moving for a company like Qantas that somehow everything is suddenly in jeopardy. There will always be some big words and I referred to the various scare campaigns at the start of the speech, and various words of crisis will be used, but in fairness, if you look at the current laws, it is hard to find many companies that have had more different ways of working around the current laws than Qantas has. I’ll put it in those terms.
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How are negotiations going with the ACT independent senator David Pocock, who is one of the votes the government needs to get this legislation through the Senate?
Tony Burke says:
With respect to Senator Pocock, I am conducting good-faith conversations with the crossbench including Senator Pocock so I am not going to speak out of school in those conversations, but I will tell you my preference. My preference is the bill in its current form was up.
I acknowledge there will be negotiations. And I would much sooner be in a position where we were tweaking individual sections than removing entire sections of the bill.
How negotiation goes, you will see when you get to the end of the story. But if I can put it in these terms, I can’t think of an Australian economy, particularly when people are on low to middle incomes where I say, oh, we don’t need to get your wages moving. And I really don’t want to be in a situation where we are taking complete sections out of the bill.
That is a conversation we will continue to have and hopefully today I have helped make some of the case. I suspect members of the crossbench might be listening a little bit, don’t know.
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Will the government pay for the childcare pay increase, if there is one?
Tony Burke doesn’t give a yes, but he doesn’t give a no either.
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Back to Tony Burke and the National Press Club president, Laura Tingle, opens up the questions with a long one:
If I could just reflect on what the world would look like under this legislation. We have had 10 years of another world. We’ve got a great power imbalance it seems in a lot of workplaces as a result and we have also seen a decline of union coverage.
My question to you is, if you want to get wages moving again in a workforce where people probably don’t know a lot about their rights, you’ve outlined a few of those scenarios about single enterprise agreements and the incentives to avoid multi-employer schemes, but even in a lot of workplaces where they have become disassociated with the system … because of the problems of enterprise bargaining, how is it going to be, where are the incentives for people to actually, you know, change the agreements? For example, what is it going to look like in the retail sector that you have talked about?
How will it mechanically happen that people are going to start to have different sorts of arrangements between employers and employees?
Which results in a long answer:
Retail is one where you will see fairly quickly some of the larger employers that had seen previous agreements blown out because of the way the overall test has been implemented, they will come back to the bargaining table pretty quickly. Big employers we’ll see pretty quickly.
It is very much up to the workforces and the employers as to where they want to opt in, for smaller businesses in particular, on the cooperative scheme. No doubt some will. Particularly I think you will find it for businesses that are very similar. If there is effectively a model agreement that they can opt in to, you will see a fair bit of that.
The other thing I have to acknowledge is there are some workplaces that no matter what laws you put in place, people get treated worse.
One of the things that I deeply respect about the trade union movement is its delegates structure. Where effectively they make sure that the laws that already exist are being felt on the ground.
And the wage theft stories over recent years. There will be some workplaces where no matter what laws we put in place you get some rogues that are treating people in ways that are completely unacceptable.
The next stage of legislation, what I intend to bring in next year, will deal with wage theft and a series of those loopholes that we need to close. So I am not going to pretend that this looks like wages moving for everyone straightaway but I can picture pretty quickly a whole lot of workers, including the ones who serve us each day where we buy our groceries, where they will have pathways to get to the wages that they have been denied for quite some time, and there will be businesses that will be craving a simpler system, they will get one.
That said, everyone will between now and the thereafter try to argue to their own advantage – that is the nature of a democracy – but the bill in its current form it gets wages moving and it provides a strongest outcomes of the people with the least bargaining power.
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Joe Biden says G7 leaders support Poland and Ukraine, calls Russia’s behaviour ‘totally unconscionable’
Hello again from Bali.
The US president, Joe Biden, has just addressed reporters covering the G20. He says G7 leaders have agreed to support Poland’s investigation into the explosion in its territory.
Biden says there was “total unanimity among the folks at the table”.
Biden described Russia’s behaviour – attacks on cities and infrastructure – as “totally unconscionable”.
The president expressed incredulity that Russia would “escalate” when world leaders have gathered in Bali.
“We support Ukraine fully in this moment,” Biden says.
You should be able to watch his remarks here.
I’m discussing a meeting with world leaders on the loss of life in Eastern Poland and the United States’ commitment to support Poland’s investigation. https://t.co/duaAT0lEoZ
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 16, 2022
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Donald Trump announces 2024 presidential bid
Meanwhile, the former US president Donald Trump has filed the paperwork declaring he will be in the race for the 2024 presidential nominee.
Trump will have to be the Republican’s candidate to be able to run and is facing a very strong challenge from the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, who was one of the bright spots for the Republican midterm campaigns and is being increasingly seen as the next leader of the Grand Old Party.
Follow our live blog here:
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Tony Burke says government will argue for Svitzer lockout to be halted
Tony Burke then moves on to the threat of industrial action, using the most recent case which has raised it in the public eye – Svitzer’s threat to lock out its workforce.
Burke says:
I think Australians understand that we are a country where we have relatively low rates of industrial action compared to the rest of the world.
What Svitzer are now doing is basically playing a game of blackmail with the Australian economy. It doesn’t just hit their sites, it then hits the ports, it then hits the truck drivers and rail workers who transport goods, it then hits people into logistics and warehousing sector and then finds its way as a problem all the way to empty supermarket shelves.
It has an extraordinary impact on the economy.
I welcome the decision of the Fair Work Commission to bring the issue in. I have given instructions today the Australian government to be represented, so I’ve given instructions today for the Australian government to be represented at the hearings and we will be arguing that the lockout must stop.
That the damage to the Australian economy being damaged by what Svitzer is proposing is completely unacceptable. I wish the test was in the bill and not the current law.
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Tony Burke hails consultation with business and unions on workplace bill
Tony Burke talks about the consultation which has gone into the bill so far:
In the drafting process there are business people here and different business organisations and representatives of the union movement that are involved in consultation, directly with me, directly with my department.
As the legislation was then released formally into the parliament, further negotiations took place and I’m particularly grateful, both to the Business Council of Australia, to AIG and others for engaging and for the ACTU.
Of all the negotiations, no one was happy with every element of the bill. But everyone has been decent enough to understand there is a determination in the government to get wages moving and I think sometimes a private acknowledgement that without changing the law we won’t get wages moving.
That last bit goes to the point that everyone agrees that wages should get moving, but without actual structural change there is no hope that it will actually happen.
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Tony Burke dismisses IR 'scare campaigns' at press club
The workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, has started his National Press Club speech with a rebuttal of the various “scare campaigns” against Labor’s IR bill, joking that he “can’t compete” with them.
Burke says the Master Builders campaign about the CFMEU doesn’t work, because the construction industry is excluded from multi-employer bargaining.
To the Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association, Burke notes that the east coast workforce are already on enterprise agreements, and on the west coast, majority support for collective pay deals doesn’t exist.
The prospect of “coast to coast strikes” is nil, Burke argues, because to get a multi-employer pay deal, workers have to have a “common interest” and there is a vote at each business before they can join.
The Labor bill changes “not a word” of the Fair Work Act’s restrictions on pattern bargaining.
Burke also quips about the shadow employment minister, Michaelia Cash, who has claimed the bill will shut down Australia.
He notes Cash has previously said electric vehicles would “end the weekend”, joking that “it now seems Monday to Friday are up for grabs as well”.
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Paul Karp is at the speech for us – and he is also an IR expert – so he will bring you what you need to know with this address. I’ll keep you up to date on the bits of the speech you might find interesting, as well as cover off the question and answer session.
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Tony Burke is not reading from a speech as he delivers this press club address, at least so far. He is only looking down for a moment. So this speech seems something he knows very well and he just has dot points.
It’s how Burke does a lot of his parliamentary speeches.
But it means knowing your brief. Which is why we see a lot of MPs reading from speeches. When it comes to IR though, at least on this part of it, Burke knows his points and what he needs to hit.
Workplace minister Tony Burke speaks at National Press Club
Tony Burke has opened his press club speech with his usual wry sense of humour, apologising to those who have run scare campaigns against the government’s fair pay, secure work bill, for not having the bits in the legislation they are complaining about.
He saves the biggest apology for the Coalition’s Michaelia Cash:
I owe the most heartfelt apology is Senator Michaelia Cash. There is nothing they can do that can properly deal with the way Senator Cash has calmly and with characteristic nuance explained that the bill will close down Australia.
I knew from previous media conferences that Senator Cash had a view that a Labor government would end the weekend. Apparently Monday to Friday are now up for grabs as well.
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A very big thank you to Natasha and a very good afternoon to you, dear readers.
Let’s get into Tony Burke’s speech.
I am handing the blog over to the inimitable Amy Remeikis as the employment minister, Tony Burke, steps up to speak at the National Press Club.
Amy will bring you the news on what he has to say as well as keeping you abreast of all the events at home and and abroad we’ve been following today.
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ACTU say weak wages growth shows ‘the urgent need for changes’
Perhaps not surprisingly, the ACTU has seized (as some in the media like to say) on the relatively slow advance in wages compared with inflation.
The 4.2 percentage points gap between the wage price index and the consumer price index “breaks the previous record for all-time real wage cuts, set by the last set of wage growth numbers”, it said. (As we noted earlier.)
The ACTU said modelling released by the Centre for Future Work earlier this week estimated that the average wage rise per worker if the new workplace bill before parliament would raise bargaining coverage to the OECD average for mixed enterprise and multi-employer bargaining would be almost $1,500 in the first year after the bill becomes law.
The latest WPI showed “the limits of what can be done with a broken system”, the ACTU assistant secretary, Liam O’Brien, said:
Even with historic wage rises flowing through this quarter to minimum and award-dependent workers, everyone is still going backwards, at an average of 4.2%.
To get pay rises across the economy we need to make bargaining more accessible, in more workplaces. The secure jobs, better pay bill is a critical step towards achieving that goal, and the faster it becomes law the faster Australian workers will see the benefits.
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Biden convenes meeting of leaders to discuss situation in Poland
The latest press readout from the White House notes that Joe Biden has convened a meeting of leaders to discuss the explosion and loss of life in eastern Poland.
In attendance were the German chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, French president Emmanuel Macron, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, Japanese prime minister Kishida Fumio, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel.
Asked by a reporter whether he could provide an update, Biden replied: “No.”
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‘The whole town is in shock,’ Eugowra local says
Locals in Eugowra have been describing the flood waters as a “tsunami”, as they begin surveying the wreckage.
One local says a “wave of water came from the hills”, as residents panicked and drove off as soon as they can.
Others stand by their homes in a state of shock, the sun shining on their destroyed homes.
Robert Cross was lucky enough to be on hand to save his mother, who was gripping her fence for dear life as the water came through.
His wife Susan says it was “touch and go” with her mother in law, had they not arrived on time.
She was holding on to the fence, we really didn’t know if she’d get out, we haven’t spoken about it but as we process we realise she might not have been with us today.
Susan describes surreal scenes, saying that the water that came through was five feet (around 1.5 metres) high, and incredibly fast.
We’re calling it a tsunami, because what else would you call it? Within five minutes it was five feet high.
We just can’t believe it. The water was indescribable. If you didn’t see it, you wouldn’t believe it.
We’re in shock, in disbelief. It’s never been this bad in Eugowra, never. I kept telling myself this isn’t happening, how can this be happening?
The whole town is in shock, we’re all just looking around, wondering if this is real or a nightmare.
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Wages pick up most in retail, while ACT lags among jurisdictions
The September quarter wage numbers threw up some interesting variations across industries and localities.
The retail trade came out on top with a 4.2% annual pace of wage growth, including 2.4% for the quarter alone. As the Australian Bureau of Statistics noted, the sector’s changes were linked to the timing and size of recent award increases.
Healthcare and social assistance featured prominently with quarterly increases of 1.5%, while education and training recorded the weakest growth of 0.8% and 2.2% on a quarterly and annual basis, respectively.
Among the sectors, the biggest quarterly wage increases came in the retail sector, ahead of real estate services. (Source: ABS) pic.twitter.com/p5EMS5oACR
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) November 16, 2022
For those in the ACT, the quarterly increase of 1.2% in wages was the weakest, while the Northern Territory posted the fastest advance at just over double that at 2.5%.
An extra note about the difference in the private and the public sector. The former’s quarterly gain of 1.2% was the biggest since the same quarter in 2010.
By contrast, the growth in public sector wages matched the level of the June quarter, and was similar to the rate – 2.4% – recorded before the pandemic, the ABS said.
The ABS says the average size of hourly wage rises for public sector jobs recording 'a wage movement' was 2.3%, similar to the size recorded before the pandemic. The proportion of jobs that received a wage movement (30%), was also similar to pre-pandemic levels. pic.twitter.com/UJIhblzNHS
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) November 16, 2022
Updated
Body found amid search for woman in Eugowra flood waters
Dianne Smith, aged 60, has been missing following devastating flash flooding in Eugowra.
Police say they have now found the body of a woman they believe to be Smith, but the identity has yet to be formally confirmed.
Woman believed missing in flood waters - #Eugowra https://t.co/2nRhL2FXvj pic.twitter.com/OhVOmAnTZI
— NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) November 15, 2022
NSW police say:
The body of a woman has been found by police searching Eugowra.
It is believed to be that of a missing 60-year-old woman; however, the identity is yet to be formally established.
Smith had last spoken to a relative on the phone about 9.30am on Monday, after calling from her car in Eugowra.
When relatives were not able to contact her again she was reported missing to officers from Parkes police station.
Updated
Just the latest from Bali. I alerted you a little while back to an emergency huddle of G7 leaders to assess the explosion in Poland. Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is now not participating in the scheduled walk through Bali’s last remaining mangrove forest. I’m not sure whether all the leaders have pulled out, but can tell you the summit host, Joko Widodo, is the only leader we can see in the forest, surrounded by the world’s media.
Updated
Shareholder anger at Medibank AGM
Medibank’s board has faced shareholder anger over the company’s massive cyber-attack, at the insurers annual general meeting today.
Almost all of the questions put to Medibank chair Mike Wilkins during the question and answer session were about the attack – why it happened and what the company was doing to rectify it.
Wilkins defended the company’s security processes, saying he believed that what was in place prior to the cyber-attack were “robust”. But he said that whether that was true would be subject to the external Deloitte investigation currently being conducted.
He said multi-factor authentication was used by the company as a standard, but reiterated that the attack occurred through the compromise of a user with high level credentials within Medibank’s systems.
Wilkins also blamed state and federal laws for requiring the company to keep customer data for at least seven years, but said should those laws change to reduce the time needed to keep data, Medibank would adjust its policies.
Updated
‘I can only describe it as a war zone,’ Eugowra resident says of floods
A common refrain among locals in Eugowra is that the town looks like a war zone.
The sheer violence of the water is on full display, with cars tossed onto their sides, glass and debris everywhere and locals attempting to take stock of it all.
Curtis and Darren Wykamp are cleaning out their father’s home, after he was airlifted off his roof on Monday.
The brothers carry out pieces of destroyed furniture, stepping between mud and rubble.
It’s just complete destruction, this house pretty much needs to be bulldozed, the water filled up the bottom level.
I can only describe it as a war zone. There’s nothing salvageable here.
Their dad was due to retire in December, but is spending his nights at an emergency shelter in Orange.
Curtis says that while his father is a tough man, he could feel the emotions when they were reunited.
It’s pretty tough seeing this, it’s heartbreaking to have to go through his home and throw everything out.
He was stuck on his roof for five or six hours, he was fairly emotional when he saw us yesterday though.
Updated
G7 countries in a huddle in Bali
Keeping you across the latest developments on the incident in Poland, the Reuters news agency has just alerted – leaders from the US, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Spain, Italy, France and the UK will hold an emergency meeting about the blast in Poland. To the best of our knowledge, these leaders are currently in Bali’s last remaining mangrove forest. The Indonesian president is there now, surrounded by reporters.
Public sector lags as wages pick up pace in quarter
The wage price index for the September quarter itself did show some acceleration, with a 1% increase. That was slightly above the 0.9% expected by some economists, and was touted by the ABS as the fastest quarterly growth in hourly wages since the March quarter of 2012.
Some consolation perhaps, but not a lot when CPI is roaring along at the fastest pace since 1990.
The public sector, though, is clearly the drag. According to Michelle Marquardt, ABS’s prices guru, private sector wages for the quarter were up 1.2%, or twice the 0.6% gained by public sector toilers.
Marquardt said:
Labour market pressures in the private sector combined with the largest Fair Work Commission award increase in more than a decade saw rises in both the size of average wage changes and the proportion of private sector jobs recording a wage change.
The average size of hourly wage increase for those jobs where the wage rate moved was 4.3%, up from 2.9% in the September quarter 2021.
A similar tale is true at an annual level, with those in the private sector notching up 3.2% gains in wages, well ahead of the 2.3% extra for public sector workers.
With the September quarter WPI coming in at 3.1%, its clear the public sector is holding things back. Those in the private sector registered a 3.2% increase from a year earlier, public sector workers secured only a 2.3% rise, the ABS said. pic.twitter.com/dhivLHrgdx
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) November 16, 2022
Updated
Family fears for woman missing in Eugowra floods
Two people are missing after floodwaters inundated Eugowra, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
Diane Smith, 60, and 85-year-old Ljubisa “Les” Vugec have been missing since Monday, with police having sent out geo targeted messages this morning.
Smiths brother, Daniel Townsend, was lost for words when asked about her.
I’m not worried about anything other than her right now.
I can’t even begin to tell you how I’m feeling. I’m just waiting for that knock on the door. I feel terrible.
Some of the family are actually down looking for her now.
Townsend runs the local newsagent, and he pointed to a line drawn around a metre up in his shop.
That’s how high the water got, it even lifted the cool room. Everything is destroyed, we have to start again.
I’ve literally only got the clothes on my back, I have nothing else. It’s all just material really, while we wait for my sister.
Daniel Townsend’s sister is one of the two people missing after floods decimated Eugowra. He told me family are out looking for her, that he can barely put into words his devastation, and that he’s just “waiting for that knock on the door.” His new agent was completely destroyed pic.twitter.com/vY9yNj0cfD
— Mostafa Rachwani (@Rachwani91) November 16, 2022
Updated
Wages rose 3.1% in September quarter but lagging inflation by record gap
Wage price growth fell well short of inflation in theSeptember quarter.
Australians’ wages rose at an annual rate of 3.1% in the September quarter, the ABS has just announced. Economists had tipped a rate of about 3%.
As noted earlier, headline consumer prices rose at a speed of 7.3% in the July-September period, leaving wage increases in their wake by a record rate.
Updated
Biden offers support to Poland after explosion feared to be from Russian missile
In my preview of the G20 a minute ago, I referenced the concerning events overnight in Poland, and a meeting of NATO ambassadors later today. According to the latest readouts from the White House, Joe Biden spoke last night to the president of Poland, Andrzej Duda.
According to the readout, Biden expressed “deep condolences for the loss of life in Eastern Poland earlier this evening.”
President Duda described Poland’s ongoing assessment of the explosion that took place in the eastern part of the country near the border with Ukraine.
President Biden offered full US support for and assistance with Poland’s investigation.
President Biden reaffirmed the United States ironclad commitment to NATO.
The two leaders said that they and their teams should remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds.
A subsequent readout notes that Biden has also spoken to the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. Vladimir Putin is not at the G20 in Bali. The Russian foreign minister was at the summit yesterday, but he departed last night after the leader’s dinner.
I spoke with President Andrzej Duda of Poland to express my deep condolences for the loss of life in Eastern Poland and offer our full support for Poland's investigation of the explosion.
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 16, 2022
We will remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as it proceeds. pic.twitter.com/m6OSwcHKtD
Updated
Wage price gap expected to set dismal new record
We’ll shortly get the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures for its wage price index for the September quarter. (The most recent one is here.)
Economists are expecting wages to have gone up 0.9% or so for the quarter and about 3% compared with a year earlier. The latter is likely to be the focus because no matter which inflation rate you pick, wages aren’t rising as fast meaning “real wages” are in retreat.
We know the consumer price index already for the September quarter was at 7.3%, so a 3% WPI reading would imply a contraction of real spending power with those salaries of more than 4 percentage points.
Sounds like a lot because it would be a record. The June quarter holds that gong, with the gap between wages and consumer price gains of 3.6 percentage points. (Before that, you have to go back to the September quarter of 2000 for the next widest gap, at 3 points.)
Cue gnashing of teeth any minute now. Expect, too, some politics to be sparked.
Any acceleration in the slide of real wages would come as the Albanese government seeks support in parliament for its so-called secure jobs, better pay bill.
The bill would replace the existing low-paid bargaining stream with a “supported stream”, supporting workers to negotiate better pay and conditions across multiple employers.
Stand by for the numbers.
Updated
Medibank hack was ‘deliberate, designed to extort money’, CEO says
Medibank CEO David Koczkar told the annual general meeting the cyber attack had been “deliberate, designed to extort money by targeting our customers. Particularly some of the most vulnerable people in the community.”
He said it was an incredibly challenging time for the company but one he was confident Medibank will recover from.
The Russian hacker group behind the attack last posted health claim data for a few hundred customers on the dark web on Monday, and said they would hold off publishing more until Friday. The group said it was hoping for a positive outcome from Wednesday, suggesting the group may be paying close attention to the AGM.
Updated
IMF says RBA should ‘continue to raise interest rates’
The Reserve Bank‘s job in raising interest rates isn’t done, with more rate hikes needed to ensure high inflation doesn’t become entrenched.
That’s the verdict from the annual mission from the International Monetary Fund to inspect Australia’s economic performance and prospects.
On the whole, Australia has recovered faster from most other “advanced economies” from the Covid lockdowns, and while GDP growth will more than half next year from 2022 levels, we should still be faring better than most other wealthy nations.
The economy should expand 3.7% this year and ease to 1.7% in 2023, Harald Finger, the IMF’s division chief for Australia and New Zealand, told Guardian Australia this morning in Sydney.
The RBA, though, “should continue to raise interest rates, and fiscal policy should support it in moderating domestic demand growth through judicious budget execution and saving of any revenue overperformance”, was the official take from the IMF.
Finger didn’t say how much further the RBA needed to go because it remains unclear yet how much tighter monetary needed to be. Having most mortgages on variable rates meant the transmission of monetary policies is pretty quick. On the other hand, households socked away a lot of cash during Covid.
“In the near term, we think the risks are still on the side of having to raise interest rates” to stop inflation expectations taking hold, he said.
As a tick for the Albanese government, Finger described its first budget as “responsible”, noting its conservative commodity price forecasts provided scope for revenue upgrades as more money than expected pours in for our dirt and rocks.
More to come shortly on wages.
Updated
Victorian police appeal to public to help find stolen cavoodle
A Victorian family came home yesterday to find signs a thief had rummaged through their home, stealing no material possessions but something of far greater value – their three-year-old cavoodle named Pearson.
Detectives are now appealing to the public for assistance in solving the burglary that took place in Carlton North.
Victoria police say:
Investigators believe the offender/offenders have climbed the back fence of the Lygon Street home and broken in via a back sliding door sometime between 1pm and 7.15pm.
While there were signs the thief had rummaged through the home, it appeared the only thing stolen was 3-year-old Pearson who was locked inside at the time.
Investigators have released an image of Pearson in the hope someone may recognise him and contact police.
Updated
Medibank to begin contacting customers who had health data stolen
Medibank has said it will begin contacting the 480,000 customers who had their healthcare data stolen by hackers.
Medibank CEO David Koczkar made the announcement at the company’s annual general meeting in Melbourne on Wednesday.
“To date, Medibank has been providing updates to 9.7 m current and former customers, including international student and ahm customers, about what was taken. For the vast majority it is basic information such as name, date of birth, address, email address, phone number and gender, but for 480,000 customers it includes health claims made with the health insurer.”
Koczkar said now that the company had verified what health claim data was taken, Medibank is in a position to begin informing those customers.
Koczkar said customers who have had their health data appear in data dumps on the dark web have been informed by the insurer within 48 hours of the data being posted.
Medibank chair Mike Wilkins told the meeting that the cyberattack was “unprecedented”:
There is no doubt that this crime is having an enormous impact on our customers and our community. This is a shocking crime - the size and scale of which we have never seen before.
Both Wilkins and Koczkar both defended the company’s decision not to pay the ransom to the hacker group, saying the advice suggested there would be little chance it would not lead to further extortion of customers, or guarantee the data would not end up online.
Updated
Preview of G20 day two: Albanese to meet with French, Indian and UK leaders
Good morning from Bali. We are rolling into the second day of the G20 summit after a busy night where the Australian prime minister met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping – the first meeting at this level between Canberra and Beijing since 2016.
Anthony Albanese will spend the morning inspecting a mangrove forest with other G20 leaders before rolling into summit events and a busy program of bilaterals. On the sidelines of the summit he will meet representatives from the European Union council and commission.
Late afternoon and evening Australian time, after the formalities of the summit have concluded, Albanese will meet the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi and the new prime minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak. Today will be Albanese’s first face to face meeting with Sunak. Albanese will pursue defence and climate cooperation with France and Britain, and regional issues with Modi.
The G20 is working towards some kind of condemnation of Russia in the summit’s closing communique. We’ve reported on this wrangle over the past couple of days – the short version is most G20 leaders want to condemn Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, but China and Russia don’t want forceful language. On that front, events overnight look concerning. There are reports of an explosion in Poland, close to the border with Ukraine, reportedly caused by a stray Russian missile. News wires tell me NATO ambassadors will meet on Wednesday at the request of Poland.
Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong has responded to the reports on social media.
Australia stands with Ukraine in condemning Russia’s deadly missile attacks.
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) November 15, 2022
Reports these missiles have also struck Polish territory are deeply concerning.
We again call on Russia to withdraw its forces and end its illegal, immoral war.
We haven’t seen the prime minister yet. I’ll keep you up to date with any developments at this end.
Updated
Australia to join offshore wind alliance to power energy shift, Bowen says at Cop27
Australia will join an offshore wind alliance to catch up on the technology and harness some of the best winds in the world.
Climate and energy minister Chris Bowen said at international climate talks:
Countries around the world have taken advantage of the jobs and energy that offshore wind can provide.
It’s time for Australia to do the same.
The Global Offshore Wind Alliance is a grouping of governments and companies that aims to get to at least 380 gigawatts of global offshore wind capacity by 2030.
Belgium, Colombia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States have joined the alliance during Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.
The group was launched in September by the International Renewable Energy Agency, Denmark and the Global Wind Energy Council to tackle the climate and energy security crises.
Offshore wind capacity will need to be more than 2000GW by 2050, from more than 60GW currently, to help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees and achieve net zero carbon emissions, according to the agency.
Floating wind farms can be strategically positioned offshore, each one capable of replacing an ageing coal-fired plant and plugging into the electricity grid.
Experts say Australia has “second mover advantage” with technology costs falling while new federal laws provide investment and regulatory certainty.
The Albanese government has announced six proposed regions to support Australia’s ambition to get the electricity grid to 82% renewable energy by 2030.
– from AAP
Updated
McAllister meets with delegates representing First Nations voices at Cop27
The assistant minister for climate change, Jenny McAllister, has met with the Australian delegates representing First Nations voices at Cop27.
She says:
Our national and international climate policies must make space for First Nations experiences, knowledge and priorities.
I met with the Australian delegates who are making sure that First Nations voices are heard at COP27. Our national and international climate policies must make space for First Nations experiences, knowledge and priorities. pic.twitter.com/LnWeianjKO
— Senator Jenny McAllister (@jennymcallister) November 15, 2022
Despite the government stance that it is improving Australia’s global reputation on cimate, it has come under fire at the conference for resisting the international push to end fossil fuel subsidies.
Not good enough!!
— Dr Sophie Scamps MP (@SophieScamps) November 15, 2022
Fossil fuel subsidies must end.
Is this government legitimate about reducing emissions or not?
Australia criticised for resisting Cop27 push to end international fossil fuel subsidies#cop27 #auspol https://t.co/BkJuWJ0OV7
‼️Latest on need to urgently transition coal out in 🧵👇🏼 in @IEA report to have any hope of respecting Paris Agreement goal of 1.5 degrees. #auspol #climate #COP27 https://t.co/0rylpxC2C2
— 🌏 Zali Steggall MP (@zalisteggall) November 15, 2022
Updated
Rideshare fees to rise as Christmas party season arrives
Catching a ride to a Christmas party could cost a lot more this year as demand forces up the price of rideshare services in Australia.
How much more you’ll be asked to pay will depend on what state you live in, according to service aggregator Placie, which found prices soared by up to 40% in one state last year.
The company which compares the price of rideshare, taxi and premium car services in its app crunched figures from Christmas demand in 2021.
It found demand rose dramatically in the first three weeks of December despite lockdowns and health warnings about the Covid pandemic.
Placie chief executive Jo Hewlett said Australians should brace for even higher price rises in 2022 as more people gather for holiday celebrations. She said:
We looked at the data from last year and we saw 35 per cent uplift in demand and average prices surge by 25%.
This year you can imagine the rise when we’re all dying to get out there and celebrate Christmas with family and friends. If a dormant year showed these kinds of prices, the next few weeks will bring higher costs.
– from AAP
Updated
Vanuatu’s first youth orchestra perform in Australia
Vanuatu’s first youth ensemble have traveled to Australia to perform, take part in workshops, and to watch a performance by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
The orchestra of 34 students from the Lycee Francais in Port Vila have twice weekly lessons during their lunch hour, playing on instruments provided by the school.
Check out these beautiful photos from their tour.
'Now I feel comfortable': Melbourne United's Isaac Humphries comes out as gay in first for NBL
Melbourne United’s Issac Humphries has come out as gay, becoming the only openly gay male professional basketball player currently playing in a top-tier league anywhere in the world.
In a social media video and through a statement released by his club this morning, the 24-year-old centre came out publicly, saying he had been through “extremely dark times” on his journey but is “now happy with who I am”.
Humphries said:
I have hidden something about myself my whole life, from everyone I love, and even myself sometimes. It is a truth about myself that I have wanted to deny for a long time, but now I feel comfortable in telling you all. That truth, is that I am gay.
I have finally come to a point where I know I can reveal myself as a gay man and still play professional sport.
— Isaac Humphries (@IsaacHumphries7) November 15, 2022
Humphries also makes history by becoming the first ever Australian male basketball player, and first player in the NBL, to be openly gay. He follows in the footsteps of footballer Josh Cavallo, who tread a similar path in October last year.
The Melbourne United chief executive, Nick Truelson, praised Humphries’ “tremendous courage” and said he hoped the player’s bravery would inspire others to follow.
Truelson said:
Today is an incredible step in Isaac’s journey, and we as a club are wholeheartedly supportive of him.
Not only as a member of our club, but as a person. This is a momentous occasion for him personally, but also for male sport on a global scale.
Updated
November snow in Victoria and Tasmania
More pictures have been shared online from around Tasmania after the state was blanketed in snow yesterday evening.
This morning on ABC Radio National, Patricia Karvelas also received texts from a listener seeing snow in Victoria.
As Mt Hotham dropped to -7C overnight, the Bureau of Meteorology says it’s the state’s coldest temperature on record for November.
We have SNOW in Tasmania ❄️ 30 degrees last week, temperatures in the negative tonight! ☃️ Today's pics: 1 Cradle Mountain (IG lyriowow) 2 Callington Mill, Oatlands (IG tales_from_flat_rock_farm) 3 Hartz Mountains National Park - Joss Jensen 4 Central Highlands - The Highland Fly pic.twitter.com/QyWkH4RPox
— Tasmania Today (@today_tasmania) November 15, 2022
Another #cold November morning for #Victoria. Mt Hotham dropped to -7.0°C overnight, the state's coldest temperature on record for November. Elsewhere, Ballarat fell to 1.8°C, Hamilton to 3.7°C, and Melbourne to 7.2°C.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) November 15, 2022
View our temperature forecasts: https://t.co/g4IaA6P3JQ
Updated
Medibank's immediate response to cyber-attack to cost up to $35m
Medibank’s response to the cyber-attack is likely to cost the company up to $35m in the first half of the financial year, its chief executive will tell shareholders.
Medibank chief executive David Koczkar will say in his address at today’s annual general meeting in Melbourne:
Based on our current actions in response to the cybercrime event, we currently estimate $25m to $35m of pre-tax non-recurring costs will impact earnings in the first half of 2023.
These non-recurring costs do not include further potential customer and other remediation, regulatory or litigation related costs.
Australia’s biggest private health insurer is in the middle of a massive data hack, with hackers stealing personal information from all of the health insurer’s 9.7 million former and current customers.
The hackers, who police said were from Russia, have been releasing the stolen information in daily batches.
Koczkar will say:
We are steadfast in our resolve to not reward this criminal behaviour, nor to strengthen a business model that is based on extortion. This is a watershed moment for our community - a harsh reminder of the new frontier in cybercrime that we all face.
– via AAP
Updated
Australia criticised for resisting Cop27 push to end international fossil fuel subsidies
Guardian Australia’s environment editor, Adam Morton, is in Sharm el-Sheikh at the Cop27 conference, where the Albanese government has drawn internal criticism for resisting the global push to end international public subsidies for fossil fuels.
Labor party’s grassroots environment wing has called the decision “disappointing” and asking for an explanation.
Morton writes:
Australia chose not to sign an agreement known as the statement on international public support for the clean energy transition partnership at a public event held at Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday. The partnership, created in Glasgow last year, is backed by 36 countries and five public finance institutions that have committed to direct export credit support towards clean energy and away from “unabated fossil fuels”.
Read the full story here:
Heightened fire conditions across much of Queensland today
Recent warm weather has led to heightened fire conditions across much of the state today. With high Fire Danger Ratings in place for much of Qld, keep your eyes peeled for warnings. Make sure you report any bushfire activity as soon as possible by calling 000. 📷 Pimpama Nov 11 pic.twitter.com/A9rShQFW6H
— Qld Fire & Emergency (@QldFES) November 15, 2022
Plibersek says she will regulate solar sector if industry does not improve recycling
The environment minister Tanya Plibersek has spoken to AM Radio about that recycling news, honing in on the 83% content of solar panels which aren’t recycled.
Solar panels have been on a warning if the industry doesn’t improve its recycling I will regulate.
Australia joins global no-plastic pledge
Australia has joined a global push to end plastic pollution within the next two decades, AAP reports.
Environment minister Tanya Plibersek today announced Australia would join the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution initiative, which has a goal of putting a stop to plastic pollution by 2040.
Plibersek said plastic pollution was a global problem that needed an international solution and no single nation could solve the issue alone. She said:
My vision is for us to achieve a plastic-free Pacific within our lifetime.
Here at home, we’re feeling the impacts of unsustainable global plastic production.
In the Torres Strait and Timor Sea, abandoned fishing gear is killing marine animals on an industrial scale.
The coalition, which is led by Norway and Rwanda but also includes countries such as the UK, Germany and Canada, aims to end plastic pollution by limiting consumption and production to sustainable levels.
It also plans to create a circular economy for plastic products in which they are either reused or recycled when no longer needed.
Plibersek agreed with state and territory environment ministers last month to reform the regulation of plastic packaging by 2025.
The announcement follows news earlier in November that Australia’s largest soft-plastic recycling scheme, REDcycle, was being temporarily scrapped, leaving millions of plastic bags sitting in warehouses rather than being reused.
Updated
Wong says reports of Russian missiles hitting Poland ‘deeply concerning’
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has reaffirmed Australia’s support for the Ukraine in a tweet following Russia’s latest missile attacks.
Australia stands with Ukraine in condemning Russia’s deadly missile attacks.
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) November 15, 2022
Reports these missiles have also struck Polish territory are deeply concerning.
We again call on Russia to withdraw its forces and end its illegal, immoral war.
Follow developments in the war here:
Updated
Transparency International welcomes Labor’s whistleblower plan
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has this morning revealed Labor’s plan to deliver “immediate improvements” to whistleblowing laws with a bill to be introduced in the final sitting fortnight of 2022 ahead of a fuller review in 2023.
The first tranche of reforms will deliver on an election commitment to act on recommendations of the 2016 Moss review into the Public Interest Disclosure Act.
Transparency International Australia chief executive, Clancy Moore, has responded:
We welcome the news by the Attorney-General to introduce legislation to improve protections for people that blow the whistle on corruption. This should include a dedicated whistle-blower authority and stronger protections for both public and private sector whistle-blowers. Whistle-blowers are often the single most important people to bring corrupt conduct to light. They should be protected and not prosecuted as has been the case recently. This news by the government is a step in the right direction.
Updated
NSW floods causing 'Lismore-level devastation': Andrew Gee
Nationals MP Andrew Gee is the federal member for Calare, which covers the area of central west NSW including Eugowra, which was devastated by flash flooding Monday.
Gee is speaking to ABC Radio and says it’s “Lismore level devastation but with smaller communities”. He’s also shared some pretty harrowing details and stories about what the community has experienced.
Gee says buildings were “picked up from their foundations and washed down streets”.
He says floodwaters have left “cars strewn over town” and over 90% of homes “hit in some way.”
On the eastern side of Eugowra, only three homes weren’t hit, Gee says.
The residents talk about a tsunami coming at them.
He shares the story of one of his constituents.
Floodwaters picked his vehicle up and slammed him into a house side on.
The man crawled through a window in the house, where he saw a mother and three children who he helped get onto the roof.
By the time hoisted last child up, flood waters were approaching his neck.
Updated
Turnbull says there is a ‘pressure from rightwing media” to appear hard on China
He says:
Just because you label a particular policy or statement ‘hashtag standing up to China’, and it plays well in the headlines, does not mean that you’re not shooting yourself in the foot.
Turnbull calls for politicians to act in a “sober adult way.”
Updated
Turnbull says Dutton used to wedge Morrison on China but expects more mature Labor approach
Malcolm Turnbull is now discussing some of the circumstances in the former Coalition government which led to the diplomatic freeze between Australia and China.
Turnbull has been highly critical of the now opposition leader and former defence minister Peter Dutton of wedging then prime minister Scott Morrison on China and escalating tensions. Turnbull said it was “highly irresponsible” of Dutton to do so.
He says he expected a more mature approach from Anthony Albanese on this issue.
Turnbull pinpoints China’s “overreaction” to Morrison’s call for there to be a Covid inquiry as the event which saw the relationship between the countries reach its lowest point.
Updated
Turnbull says Albanese’s Xi meeting not a ‘deep dive’ but still ‘important’
The prime minister Anthony Albanese is the first Australian prime minister to have a meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping since Malcolm Turnbull in 2016.
Turnbull is now speaking with ABC Radio.
He says the half hour meeting “wasn’t exactly a deep dive but the important thing is that it happened”.
We should be looking forward to a more normal relationship resuming.
Turnbull is asked what a normal relationship with China might look like. He says there will be areas identified for collaboration, but other areas cooperation won’t be possible because of national security concerns.
The reality is that we don’t have a perfect level of trust, and neither do China with us.
Updated
Medibank set for AGM amid fallout from cyber-attack
Medibank will today hold its annual general meeting amid the fallout from the huge data hack that has left the company in turmoil.
The board is expected to face a grilling from shareholders at the meeting, a month on from hackers stealing personal information from all of the health insurer’s 9.7 million former and current customers.
Medibank shares sat at $3.55 before the hack and dropped as low as $2.75, as directors refused to pay a $US9.7m (almost $A15m) ransom.
Shareholders are expected to vote on performance bonuses for Medibank’s executives and re-elect directors.
The hackers, who police said late last week were from Russia, have indicated they’ll be watching the meeting to see if the insurer opts to take a different course regarding the stolen data.
Releasing their latest batch of stolen information - 500 records for people’s mental illness diagnoses - the hackers said they wouldn’t post more until the meeting was over. They earlier wrote in an update:
There is some more records for everybody to know.
We’ll announce that next portion of data we’ll publish at Friday, bypassing this week completely in a hope something meaningful happened on Wednesday.
A 100 officer-strong, standing cybercrime operation targeting the hackers will be led by the Australian Federal Police and Australian Signals Directorate.
Data including names, phones numbers, Medicare numbers and sensitive health information were taken by the hackers during the breach.
– via AAP
Updated
Russia playing a ‘dangerous game’, Simon Birmingham says
ABC Radio asked Simon Birmingham about reports from this morning that a Russian missile has hit Poland near the Ukraine border: The shadow foreign affairs minister says:
This is deeply, deeply troubling news.
If an accident occurs it can result in a real escalation ... it shows just how dangerous a game Russia is playing.
For live updates on the situation in Ukraine, follow our blog:
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What does Birmingham expect will come out of this dialogue?
We can’t expect instant miracles, but the ultimate test of dialogue will be the outcomes that are received if this dialogue is successful, to see breakthroughs in regard to those trade barriers... and also critically the just treatment of Australian’s detained in China.
And then of course challenges in terms of engagement within the region, that we must continue to argue for China to respect international law, international rules and norms
Opposition welcomes Albanese’s meeting with Xi
The prime minister Anthony Albanese yesterday met with China’s president Xi Jinping. After the historic meeting, Albanese said:
We will cooperate where we can, disagree where we must.
The shadow foreign affairs minister Simon Birmingham has spoken with ABC Radio this morning.
RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas asked Birmingham if he gives the Albanese government credit for pulling off this meeting, where the former Coalition government couldn’t.
Yes, it’s a very good thing that this meeting has happened. Having a dialogue is always far preferable than having a stand-off.
It’s important the [Australian] government continues to stand firm on those matters of Australia’s national interest, as they have indicated they’re doing.
On the possbility some of the Coalition’s trumped-up rhetoric against China led to this very prolonged period of Australia being in the deep freeze, Birmingham says there were “many difficult issues” the former government confronted, including China’s actions in the South China Sea, Covid, and the detention of Australians. He says many of these issues will continue into the future.
All of those issues have created additional tensions.. no doubt there will be challenges in the future.. but where possible I hope we can maintain progress in terms of the stabilisation of the relationship.
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Police statement on missing people in Eugowra
Here’s the information NSW police have put out regarding the two missing people in Eugowra, both last seen Monday morning.
Ljubisa ‘Les’ Vugec, aged 85, was last seen at a home in Evelyn Street, Eugowra, about 9am Monday 14 November 2022.
When family could not locate him or contact him, he was reported missing to officers from Central West Police District, who commenced an investigation into his whereabouts.
Family and police hold serious concerns for his welfare.
Dianne Smith, aged 60, last spoke to a relative on the phone about 9.30am Monday 14 November 2022, after calling from her car in Eugowra.
When relatives were not able to contact her again she was reported missing to officers from Parkes Police Station.
“Apocalyptic” is how one Eugowra resident, Tess Herbert, described the flash flooding to ABC Radio. An “inland tsunami” is how another, Mat Reid, put it to my colleagues.
If you want to understand a bit more about the devastation to the small central west NSW town, Caitlin Cassidy and Cait Kelly have this story:
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SES issues more than 100 flood warnings across NSW
Evacuation orders are currently affecting Forbes, Eugowra and Gunnedah.
The orders for Gunnedah are the latest, only coming through late last night.
🚨NSW SES has 122 current warnings across NSW:
— NSW SES (@NSWSES) November 15, 2022
24 Emergency Warnings
377Watch and Act
21 Advice
👉 See the interactive map and more information on all warnings on our website: https://t.co/BCnxAdPqqR. pic.twitter.com/l0lxOt8uzl
EMERGENCY WARNING- PARTS OF NORTH GUNNEDAH
— NSW SES (@NSWSES) November 15, 2022
People in the following areas to EVACUATE NOW due to dangerous major flooding:
Bloomfield St
Little Conadilly St
Rosemary St
Tempest St
Maitland St
Marquis St
Maitland St
Elgin St
Abbott St
Little Conadilly Sthttps://t.co/FZooFaAris pic.twitter.com/bZqLT7Zxad
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Emergency crews carry out 17 flood rescues in NSW
The SES have responded to 329 calls for help and performed 17 flood rescues in the past 24 hours.
AAP have more detail on the flood rescues in NSW:
Fourteen people were rescued in Forbes at around 8pm last night after the Plainsman Motel was inundated.
A rescue helicopter rescued an elderly couple, their daughter and two small dogs from a Forbes home that was threatened by rising waters about 10pm.
Just before dawn this morning, two people were plucked from the roof of a submerged vehicle in flood water at Condobolin.
The SES has issued 25 emergency warnings across the state, while in Forbes about 1,000 people and up to 600 homes and businesses are affected by evacuation orders.
Fourteen aircraft have been designated to support stranded residents and another four are helping with logistics and transport.
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Two missing amid major flooding in NSW
Good morning! Natasha May now on deck with you. A bit more information about flooding as rivers continue to swell across the south east of the country.
The peak of the flood in the central west NSW town of Forbes is expected today and the Lachlan River could reach 10.8 metres, just above the peak of the town’s last major flood a fortnight ago.
Emergency services are searching for two people missing in the town of Eugowra, following roof-high flash flooding Monday.
Dianne Smith, 60, last spoke to a relative on the phone from her car on Monday morning and Ljubisa “Les” Vugec, 85, was last seen at his Eugowra home around the same time.
More than 160 emergency personnel, including 12 volunteers from New Zealand, have been deployed to help in the flood-ravaged central west.
People in parts of the north-western town of Gunnedah have been told to evacuate as the area is hit with major flooding.
The Namoi River is predicted to peak near 8.2 metres early in the day.
Major flooding continues across several rivers in SE Aus. A Severe Weather Warning for heavy rainfall is current for eastern TAS.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) November 15, 2022
Showery and cool conditions are forecast to continue in SE Aus before drier weather arrives on Thurs.
Latest warnings: https://t.co/t7ZB5p9k69 pic.twitter.com/fNatwbNhhT
- with AAP
Updated
White Ribbon Australia backs away from Sydney jetski parade
Another headline-maker this morning is anti-domestic violence group White Ribbon Australia which has distanced itself from a controversial plan for 50 jetskis to ride on Sydney Harbour.
The fundraising idea for a flotilla of jetskis to form a ribbon shape on Friday’s White Ribbon Day has been labeled “tokenistic” and a “tone-deaf stunt” by some anti-violence groups and the NSW Labor opposition, though others welcomed it as a valuable awareness-raising activity.
The organisation’s national director, who had previously defended the idea, points out the event was not organised by the official White Ribbon group but was co-ordinated by NSW Maritime.
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There’s a lot of press reaction to the Albanese-Xi meeting.
In the Sydney Morning Herald, international editor peter Hartcher argues that “this what capitulation by a great power looks like”. He says that, in contrast to some Beijing propaganda, China instituted the rapprochement and we can expect export bans to fade away in the comiong months.
It’s too much to expect Xi to be embarrassed. But the Australian apologists for China, who hysterically warned of economic armageddon unless Canberra surrendered, should be ashamed.
In contrast, in the Australian Greg Sheridan says that although it appeared to be like old times again as the leaders of China and Australia exchanged warm handshakes, the reality is different.
This is a chastened and mature Australian leadership, which has absorbed all the sobering lessons of the 10 years of Xi Jinping’s rule in China.
Updated
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of today’s news on Wednesday 16 November.
The big story overnight was Anthony Albanese’s meeting with Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Bali last night. The prime minister told the Chinese president that Australia would stick to its values as he laid down a marker in the first top-level talks between the two countries for six years. Our political editor, Katharine Murphy, says the meeting showed Anthony Albanese is realistic about the relationship and is prepared to negotiate a way through the diplomatic maze. Standby for lots of reaction to what went down at the luxury Mulia Resort in Nusa Dua.
Albanese’s agenda for today is expected to include formal bilaterals with British prime minister Rishi Sunak, French president Emmanuel Macron and Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.
Floods were discussed by Albanese and Xi and they continue to dominate the agenda back home as people in central New South Wales start cleaning up after days of devastating floods surged through towns, sweeping away houses, cars and and anything else in their path. Our reporters Caitlin Cassidy and Cait Kelly sent this dispatch about incredible scenes of devastation, and some equally incredible rescues.
Also today, the inquest into the shooting death of the Northern Territory teenager Kumanjayi Walker is expected to hear from Zachary Rolfe, the policeman who pulled the trigger. And after 41 years in the NSW parliament, controversial Christian crusader Fred Nile prepares to makes his final speech today.
