What we learned today – Thursday 2 July
And with that, we’ll close the blog. As always, thanks for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow morning. Until then, here were today’s top stories:
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Federal parliament held its the final sitting day before the winter break, the day after the Midwinter Ball. A few Liberal MPs spoke publicly to put pressure on the government to implement stronger gambling reforms.
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The Senate passed legislation to return human oversight to an aged care algorithm described by elderly Australians and their carers as “cruel” and “inhumane”, with the government conceding some decisions made by the tool need review.
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And landmark legislation to allow registered nurses to prescribe specific medications under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) passed parliament.
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Elsewhere, two teenagers were arrested after a 15-year-old boy was left for dead with suspected stab wounds outside a hospital in Melbourne.
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The chief executive of the governing body for NSW’s 600 Catholic schools stood aside after his naming in the announcement of a watchdog investigation into allegations of corruption in the state Liberal party. My colleague Penry Buckley has written a helpful explainer about what’s going on, which you can read here.
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Lawyers for the federal government said they were concerned at the “disturbing” potential that the Christian Brothers Catholic order may have inappropriately transferred property to another entity years before claiming it was broke and couldn’t afford to pay abuse survivors’ civil claims.
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Wildlife officials warned Tasmanian they could be “loving Neil to death” if they don’t give the popular 1,000kg elephants seal space.
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Second man charged in relation to alleged failed people smuggling venture
The Australian federal police (AFP), the Queensland police service (QPS) and Australian Border Force (ABF) say they have jointly charged a second man in relation to a alleged failed people smuggling venture into Australia.
In a joint media release, the agencies said officers spoke with the 30-year-old Chinese man in a supermarket carpark in Weipa in far north Queensland on Thursday, following a report from the community about suspicious activity in the area.
They said they initially detained the man under the Migration Act and, meanwhile, arrested and charged a 34-year-old Taiwanese man over his alleged role in the venture, who remains before the courts.
After further inquiries, the agencies said they arrested the 30-year-old man today and charged him with one count of aggravated offence of people smuggling (involving at least five persons), contrary to section 233C(1) of the Migration Act 1958.
The maximum penalty for this offence is 20 years’ imprisonment.
The man is expected to appear before Cairns magistrates court on Friday.
The agencies say their investigation is ongoing ongoing.
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KPMG Sydney office lockdown caused by threat from staff member, company says
KPMG’s Sydney office was forced into lockdown yesterday after an employee made a threat and police were called in.
A KPMG spokesperson said the firm was told late Wednesday morning a staff member had made a threat and emergency response procedures were immediately implemented. They added:
We were advised around midday that the individual was under police care and updated staff that the potential threat had been resolved.
The incident, first reported by Instagram page the Aussie Corporate, saw KPMG staff alerted to an “external threat”, believed to be directed at the firm’s offices at International Towers, Barangaroo.
Guardian Australia understands the threat is not ongoing and the staff member was not in the office on Wednesday and has not returned. New South Wales police said officers attended a home at 11am yesterday after reports of concern for welfare and NSW Ambulance paramedics took a man to hospital for assessment.
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Liberals suspended during ‘damaging’ NSW Icac investigation
Members of the NSW Liberal party named in allegations by the state’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) have been suspended during a public inquiry into allegations of corruption, the party has confirmed.
Yesterday, the NSW Liberal leader, Kellie Sloane, said the “serious allegations” should be thoroughly investigated, but wouldn’t comment further.
Sloane has confirmed she asked the NSW Liberal party to suspend members named in Icac’s allegations, and today the party confirmed that these suspensions had taken place in line with its processes.
The state opposition leader held a press conference today to respond to the allegations, conceding they were “a massive distraction and an incredible disappointment” in the lead-up to an election. She said:
I really don’t want to be standing here today dealing with it, but it’s important that I do, that I tell people what my values are, the values of my team are, and that is integrity, accountability.
Sloane said she did not know if current members of the state opposition would be adversely implicated in Icac’s hearings, but said she would request any further Liberal party members named in allegations by the watchdog be suspended.
She added:
I can only deal with what’s in front of me, and yesterday it was the individuals that were named in the press release from Icac, and I, honestly, have no more information other than that.
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Catholic Schools NSW CEO steps aside following Icac allegations
The chief executive of the governing body for NSW’s 600 Catholic schools has stood aside following his naming in the announcement of a watchdog investigation into allegations of corruption in the state Liberal party.
As we reported yesterday, the Independent Commission against Corruption (Icac) has announced it will hold a wide-ranging public inquiry from 27 July into allegations, including that Liberal figures “solicited or accepted” illegal donations to recruit or renew members to the party – known as branch stacking.
As part of this Icac is investigating donations made by Catholic Schools NSW, allegedly arranged and approved by its CEO, Dallas McInerney.
On Thursday, Catholic Schools NSW confirmed McInerney would stand aside during hearings. It said:
The board has approved interim governance arrangements while this process is underway. As part of those arrangements, Mr Dallas McInerney will temporarily step aside from the exercise of his day-to-day responsibilities as Chief Executive Officer.
In a statement reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, McInerney said he had offered to stand aside “to allow the work of Catholic Schools NSW to continue its important mission” and that:
I was keen to privilege the work of Catholic Schools NSW before my own standing.
McInerney, a former member of the Liberal state executive, is a factional ally of the federal opposition leader, Angus Taylor, who is not accused of any wrongdoing. Yesterday, McInerney resigned from the board of the NSW Education Standards Authority. He has been contacted for comment.
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That’s it from me for the fortnight, thanks so much for following along on the blog – there’s been plenty of action!
It might be a little quieter in Canberra (famous last words) for the next five weeks due to the winter break.
I’ll leave you with the wonderful Catie McLeod for the rest of the day’s news – take care.
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Labor shuts down Coalition’s attempt to censure minister over Menzies comments
There was a bit of a scuffle in the house after question time, where Dan Tehan tried to suspend standing orders and censure the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, over a quote at the National Press Club.
Tehan was visibly angry and called for Conroy to be censured for calling former prime minister Robert Menzies “a Nazi appeaser”.
This is an utter, utter disgrace.
Leader of the house, Tony Burke, immediately moved that Tehan “no longer be heard”, and to shut down Tehan’s motion.
Labor’s majority in the house means that the whole thing is dismissed.
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TLDR: here’s what happened in question time
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There was a wider array of questions from the opposition today, starting with the government’s controversial aged care algorithm tool, to border control, to private health insurance.
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The final question from the opposition brought out a prime ministerial slap down of Angus Taylor’s Midwinter Ball speech, which was reported to be not very good (I couldn’t possibly comment).
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The Liberal MP Simon Kennedy was kicked out of the chamber for asking the PM whether he cares about the “suicide victims of problem gambling” in the middle of a dixer.
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Speaking of gambling, the independent MP Sophie Scamps asked the PM why he wasn’t going further on gambling reforms, accusing him of protecting gambling company profits.
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And the independent MP Monique Ryan asked the education minister if he would do something to fix job-ready graduates before 2028 – he called the scheme a “failure” but didn’t make any commitments for immediate action.
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APS pay bargaining period begins
Bargaining for common pay and conditions across the federal public service begins today more than three years after bureaucrats achieved an 11.2% pay rise offer over three years.
In a briefing earlier today, the government’s chief negotiator, Alison Stott, said she and her team expected a “large bargaining room, lots of unions, lots of employees, and lots of claims to consider” but did not yet reveal any starting position or offer.
Last time around, sector-wide bargaining was split into two broad categories to deal with the varying arrangements and roles across nearly 200,000 public servants over more than 100 departments and agencies. Part A of bargaining rounds deals with the common pay and conditions while part B deals with agency-specific offers.
The existing agreements are set to expire by the end of next February.
The public service minister, Katy Gallagher, said the process was about “delivering fair, consistent conditions for public servants while supporting a strong, capable and modern public service”.
This next round of bargaining is another opportunity to build on the progress already made, continue improving commonality in pay and conditions, and support the APS to be the model employer it should be.
Public servants do important work every day for the Australian community. The Albanese government will continue to engage constructively to support fair, practical and sustainable outcomes across the APS.
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After a final dixer to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese calls time on the last QT of the fortnight.
Keogh asked about allied health cap for veterans
The One Nation MP David Farley is next and asks the veterans’ affairs minister about the $5,000 cap on allied health services for veterans.
The minister, Matt Keogh, said on Tuesday that one in 10 veterans may go over the cap, which Farley says is actually 30,000 people, and asks why the government won’t carve out that cohort from the cap immediately.
Keogh says the cap replaces the existing system that requires veterans to go back to GP every 12 referrals, to get access to allied health services – which will help nine in 10 veterans.
He says for the one in 10 – or 30,000 veterans – the government is engaging with them “to make sure that they’re getting the right level of healthcare to meet their allied health needs”
“But also where there are other needs that they may need to provide them with the best overall wellbeing outcome, whilst maintaining the integrity in the system.”
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Albanese trashes Taylor’s Midwinter Ball speech, saying ‘I wouldn’t mention last night’
The Liberal MP Ben Small is next and asks the most broad question he possibly can, about “Aussie legend” Joseph Dowd, who has spent more than $17,000 on billboards critical of the tax changes, and is spending another $16,000 to play the prime minister in a tennis match (an auction item from last night’s midwinter ball).
Small asks:
So when Joseph gets to the lodge, will the prime minister tell him why his word on negative gearing and capital gains taxes was broken, or will Joseph be served up, another Labor tax hike?
Anthony Albanese laughs as Milton Dick calls it a “very, very, very broad question” which is going to get a very broad answer. And a broad answer we get indeed.
The PM takes a stab at Angus Taylor’s speech from last night, which was meant to be off the record, but was reported – by others – to have not received many laughs.
If I was someone on that side, led by this leader of the opposition, I wouldn’t be mentioning last night. I would pretend it was all a bad dream!
I’m sure you were there, and many were, and we’re not supposed to talk about it, in spite of the fact he just came in and asked a question about it!
“You’re a bad dream mate,” quips Taylor in response.
The PM continues:
The leader of the opposition mentioned him in his speech, and he’s obviously a mate, and they think it’s very clever to do all this … But let me make this point as well – if it’s a choice between someone who’s in the sector somewhere and who’s got enough money to buy billboards and spend all this, or first–home buyers struggling to get into a home, I’m for the first–home buyers!
And let me tell you this – the more they go down this road, the more aces we will serve up.
“Game, set, match!” shouts a Labor MP.
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Independent MP accuses Albanese government of protecting gambling company profits over saving lives
Back to the crossbench, Sophie Scamps asks the prime minister why the government has chosen “to protect the profits of gambling, media and sporting companies, instead of implementing all of the inquiry’s recommendations in order to save the lives of Australians?”
The inquiry she’s referring to is the late Labor MP Peta Murphy’s landmark You win some, you lose more report, which made more than 30 recommendations, including a full ban on online gambling advertisements and a ban on inducements.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese says, “this legislation will make an enormous difference”.
“No it won’t”, shout several Coalition MPs.
The PM says the legislation goes further in some ways than the recommendations in the report, by banning gambling ads on stadiums – including the one in fellow independent, Zali Steggal’s electorate of Warringah.
This is good reform. This is a major step forward. And the Parliament should vote for it. If they don’t, if they don’t, then you do have the option of the status quo.
“No it’s not,” shout more Coalition MPs.
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Nationals MP asks PM about ‘mean’ cut to health insurance rebate for older people
The Nationals MP Pat Conaghan asks the prime minister about a “mean-spirited act” to cut the private health insurance rebate for over 65s, and how many older Australians will be worse off?
The health minister, Mark Butler, takes the question and says it’s one he’s answered before.
He says the reason for the policy is because under the previous system, households next to each other “on the same income, on exactly the same income, have been receiving a different level of support for their private health insurance based solely on their age”.
Our modelling indicates that this will lead to a change of about 44,000 people in the health insurance system, or about, I think, 0.4% of the health insurance membership. Set that against the fact that health insurance membership has been climbing by 2% per year on a very consistent basis over the last several years, health insurance will continue to grow.
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Albanese quizzed on whether house prices will sink
The Nationals MP Jamie Chaffey is up next and says the PM has twice been asked in parliament this fortnight to guarantee that housing prices won’t tank. So he now asks the PM to tell the House whether the number of first home buyers has increased since the budget, and by how many.
Anthony Albanese immediately ignores the question and brings up some quotes from shadow housing minister Andrew Bragg (which we know won’t go down well with the opposition).
Albanese says:
When it comes to house prices, the shadow minister for housing has made some comments about this. He has said this on just 1 July, “I think these will blips and bumps”. He went on the day before, in case you think it was an accident, “in other markets”, speaking about Sydney and Melbourne, “there may be price growth. There may be short–term hiccups.”
Dan Tehan gives the PM one minute and 11 seconds before standing up, and says Albanese has spent the entire time just talking about the opposition.
There’s a bunch of back and forth here which ultimately ends with Milton Dick ruling that the PM can use quotes but they should be directly relevant.
Albanese continues with a jab at the opposition, and then cites a few young people who have just bought their first home – which somewhat addresses the question, but he doesn’t give us a number.
I do find it astonishing the question about housing when quoting what the shadow minister for housing has said, yesterday, the day before, and the month before, that they object to that. But that says it all about the chaotic rabble that are opposite.
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Burke mocks Taylor in response to border security question: ‘He’s the current leader of the opposition’
Why is the Albanese government so weak in protecting Australia’s borders, asks the shadow foreign minister, Ted O’Brien. He cites shots recently fired at a border force vessel, and the group of 12 individuals who arrived by boat in horth Queensland “who managed to have a frothy at the pub before authorities detained them”.
The government this morning said that operation in north Queensland had closed, and the individuals who arrived without a visa had been removed.
This gets home affairs minister Tony Burke incensed:
It has been more than a decade since there has been a successful people smuggling operation. More than a decade … But this character. This character, this leader of the opposition, the guy who wants to bring all three right wing parties together …
The manager of opposition business, Dan Tehan, stands up to get the minister to refer to Angus Taylor by his correct title under the standing orders.
Burke continues, and gets a little snarkier:
Mr Speaker, at 2.30 on 2 July, he’s the leader of the opposition, and I refer to him as the leader of the opposition.
Tehan’s then back because Burke isn’t addressing the fact that the officers had a “frothy” before making the arrests.
Burke’s not having it and starts shouting:
Instead of standing with those Australian officials, you want to mock them … what happened in Weipa – clearly a question they wrote before they realised every one of those individuals had been removed from Australia.
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Job ready graduates has ‘failed’ says education minister, but won’t commit to fixing it before 2028
How can the government justify not doing anything about the controversial job ready graduates scheme, when under the current timeline, it will take at least until 2028 for arts degrees to stop costing more than $50,000, asks independent MP, Monique Ryan.
She’s referring to this story in the Guardian today:
The education minister, Jason Clare, acknowledges that the scheme has failed and that the Australian tertiary education commission – that was legislated earlier this year – is currently working on it, but won’t commit to doing anything in the interim.
I have said it’s failed. I’ve said work on fixing it is unfinished business. And I have said – and you will know – that the Australian Tertiary Education Commission has also pointed out the work they’re doing on the cost of teaching and learning, that they will finalise next year.
He plugs Labor’s 20% cut to Hecs debts that it did after the last election.
Liberal MP kicked out of question time after criticising PM on gambling reform
During a dixer to the PM on the government’s gambling reforms, the Liberal MP Simon Kennedy (a vocal anti-gambling campaigner) shouts at the PM:
What about the suicide victims of problem gambling or don’t you care about them?
The interjection gets him booted out by Milton Dick, who then offers a stern warning:
We’re not going to have that behaviour, with people just yelling out nonstop during an answer… I ask all members to just reflect on their behaviour today.
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Aged care and algorithms in focus in question time
It looks like the spotlight will remain on Sam Rae today, with Angus Taylor next to the despatch box again asking whether Labor will support the bill to provide human oversight of all aged care decisions.
Anthony Albanese takes the question first and says that there is human oversight over all of these processes, and lashes the “party of robodebt to actually have the hide to come in here and talk about these issues shows extraordinary, extraordinary gumption”.
The problem here is that actually, clinicians have said there has been no ability for humans to override the system when an algorithm has made a decision that doesn’t match the reality of the situation for an older person.
Tim Wilson makes an unparliamentary remark that he’s forced to withdraw, which he does with a dismissive wave of the hand … which leads Labor MP Basem Abdo to make another remark in response to the wave, and gets him promptly kicked out by Milton Dick.
Rae then continues:
Assessments are always conducted by qualified human assessors with clinical input, documented from start to finish. And this is about delivering a system that is efficient, accurate, and fair.
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Question time begins
It’s question time and there is a change of pace today, with the Liberal backbencher Cameron Caldwell asking the aged care minister about a 98-year-old constituent who died while waiting for home care, after his application was reviewed by the controversial integrated assessment tool and was assessed as “low priority”.
He asks if the government will support the bill, that passed the Senate this morning, to bring back human oversight of the tool.
The aged care minister, Sam Rae, gives his condolences to the family, and then tries to defend the government’s reforms across the sector.
He says that at the peak of the aged care crisis in 2018 more than 16,000 older Australians were dying every year while waiting for care.
Standard priority cases are waiting, on average, three months less. Medium–priority cases are waiting two months less. High–priority wait times are now just one to two months. And those assessed as urgent priority, as always, will receive their full funding within a single month.
Caldwell stands up to raise a point of order, to push Rae to say whether Labor will support that bill.
Rae then continues:
There is no artificial intelligence in our aged care assessment system. And it is dishonest for any actor to pretend otherwise. The integrated assessment tool uses qualified human assessors to complete the clinical assessments, and that is then used to apply the Aged Care Rules so that we have a system that is fair for every single Australian.
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Registered nurses to be able to prescribe medication as laws pass parliament
Landmark legislation to allow registered nurses to prescribe specific medications under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) has passed, with the aim of easing GP workforce pressures and giving people living in rural and remote areas cheaper, more equitable access to treatments.
The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association president, Denise Lyons, said the change recognises the crucial role of nurses in providing timely, safe and accessible health care.
“Primary health care nurses are highly trained, skilled health professionals,” she said.
We are looking forward to working with state and territory governments, and other stakeholders to support implementing nurse prescribing safely, effectively and in a way that delivers real benefits to communities across Australia.
The bill went on a bit of a rollercoaster ride in the last 24 hours, after the Coalition and Greens banded together to support an amendment to the legislation by Jacqui Lambie which would also allow eligible podiatrists to prescribe drugs on the PBS (they can currently prescribe drugs to patients but aren’t able to prescribe PBS drugs, meaning patients have to go back to a GP to access cheaper medicines).
It meant the amended bill had to go back to the House, which has a Labor majority who rejected the amendments and punted it right back to the Senate. Today the Senate voted to support the bill without those amendments.
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Big unit: Neil the seal – in pictures
And here’s a few Neil the seal pics to brighten your day!
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Tasmanian warn public to respect beloved seal, citing risk of 'loving Neil to death’
Breaking out of politics for a moment for one very special seal …
Wildlife officials have warned people to give Neil the seal his space during his visit to Tasmania, saying some have gone so far as bringing their babies close to him for a photo.
Dr Kris Carlyon, the section head for wildlife health at Tasmania’s department of natural resources, said while he understood the widespread interest in the mammal – a southern elephant seal pushing 1,000kg – there was a real risk of the public “essentially loving Neil to death”.
We have seen examples around the world where large, potentially dangerous animals have had to be euthanised if there is risky behaviour by the public, results in an unmanageable safety concern.
He can look cute, cuddly, placid but he’s a large marine predator and we certainly wouldn’t be approaching things like polar bears, bison in other parts of the world.
He urged the public to let Neil rest while he’s on land for about six weeks to rest after a busy period feeding in the Southern Ocean. Some people have tried to leave meals for Neil, but he does not need food.
Neil’s fame is a bit of a double-edged sword … Right now the attention Neil gets helps with awareness of our threatened species, helps with his protection in some ways. But it also encourages perhaps risky human behaviour, people trying to get selfies with Neil, people trying get that little bit closer for that good photo.
He urged residents to stay at least 20 metres away from Neil, 50 metres if you have a dog, and to not get between the seal and the water.
Neil’s not inherently aggressive in the sense that some other animals might be. He’ll certainly defend his space and if he feels threatened he may lash out. So really it’s about that proximity and staying away.
Officials said they could resort to a risky attempt to relocate Neil if public safety grows too great, but they hope it is not needed.
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Will the US bring nuclear weapons to Australia under Aukus?
Back to the National Press Club, where my colleague Tom McIlroy asks Pat Conroy about the arrangements with the US under Aukus. A former departmental secretary told estimates a few months ago that American military assets could come to Australia carrying a nuclear weapon without the knowledge of the Australian government or Australian citizens. So, could that happen?
Conroy says Australia is a signatory to the treaty of Rarotonga which commits participants to a nuclear-free south Pacific, and that the US is “very cognisant of us being a signatory to that treaty”.
McIlroy asks Conroy several times directly to confirm that the US won’t be able to bring nuclear weapons to Australia – but he won’t give a crystal clear guarantee.
On McIlroy’s third try, Conroy says:
The US has a long stated policy of neither confirming or denying whether their platforms carry nuclear weapons. That’s an approach for them. They respect our commitment to the treaty.
The host Tom Connell then asks for further clarification, and whether the US could bring nuclear weapons but not use them here. Conroy replies:
The Treaty of Rarotonga is very clear on that, it is about nuclear weapons being in the region, not use of them.
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KPMG appoints board member who defended document secrecy as new chair
KPMG Australia has appointed its first-ever independent chair as it struggles to move forward from a widening audit leaks scandal, with Michael Ebeid to replace Martin Sheppard.
Sheppard refused to share legally privileged documents regarding the scandal with a parliamentary inquiry on 19 June, only relenting after a fiery day of hearings. He resigned on 23 June.
Ebeid was the only independent director to defend KPMG’s privilege claim over the documents during the hearings, at odds with his two colleagues and his predecessor Mike Baird.
Ebeid replaced Baird last September when KPMG shuffled its three independent directors over to the Asia Pacific board last year, leaving the Australian board without any independent members.
In a statement today, Ebeid said he planned to strengthen independent oversight and he believed KPMG could recover from its challenges and improve.
I have agreed to take on this role because I believe in and respect KPMG. … My first priority is to restore the governance and effectiveness of the Board.
KPMG’s former chief executive, head of audit and chief operating officer have all stepped down but there have been calls for more executives to go. Ebeid said he would accelerate the appointment of a new CEO, adding:
The incoming CEO will have a clear mandate to refresh the executive team where required.
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Datacentre boom leads to surge in imports of related machines and equipment
The boom in datacentres has been accompanied by a surge in equipment imports needed to fit out the warehouses, as international purchases of office and automatic data processing (ADP) machines hit a record $24.6bn in the year to May.
Trade data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that the annual ADP import figure has ballooned from $15.6bn this time last year.
The latest data underlines the phenomenally rapid growth in datacentre investment, but also the contradictory economic forces at play.
Through the first three months of this year, the boost to economic activity from building data centres was completely offset by the drag from higher equipment imports.
There are hopes that all this investment will lay the foundations for future productivity growth.
For now, however, these hopes are overshadowed by worries that the datacentre boom is competing for scarce labour, land, energy and water resources – with little immediate payoff beyond higher inflation.
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Pat Conroy denies split between Labor members and federal MPs on Aukus
The minister for defence industry, Pat Conroy, is speaking at the National Press Club today, as Tom McIlroy brought you earlier, and is asked about the split between the Labor rank-and-file who have vocally opposed Aukus, against the federal party who are pushing full steam ahead.
Conroy says things are all smooth and rejects the premise that the debate hasn’t settled across the Labor movement.
At the national conference it got well over an 80% vote. For any contentious issue that’s an overwhelming majority and I’m confident that the support is strong. It’s natural for all parties to look at this issue, not just in Australia but in the UK and the United States.
He’s then asked if the rank-and-file and key Labor members like Peter Garrett and Paul Keating who are vocal critics of the deal – can be convinced to support Aukus.
Conroy says it’s “frankly ridiculous” to think that Garrett, who has campaigned against nuclear for more than four decades, would suddenly change his position.
We need to be reasonable about this. The debate in this country sometimes – and I don’t want to get into sledging the fourth estate because I’m about to have 30 minutes of questions from them but I just think there’s a hyperbole here that is just ridiculous. We’re hitting every milestone. There’s an element of confirmation bias where every single piece of news demonstrates someone’s pre–held position about AUKUS.
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Hourglass dusted off in Senate as bells stop working
The Senate was briefly shifted back to the last century (or maybe the one before?) when the (electronic) bells stopped ringing and the chamber had to revert back to an hourglass.
The bell either rings for one minute or four minutes when divisions are taking place – but that was temporarily replaced by the old school sand timer.
We’re told they’re now back in action, and we (and most of the senators in there) are re-entering the 21st century.
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Andrew Hastie rejects suggestions he could quit Liberal party: ‘I’m not on my way out’
Andrew Hastie has vowed to recontest the next election as a Liberal after it was reported he was considering leaving the party.
Hastie made the statement in an interview with 2GB radio this morning, after the Nine newspapers published a piece by political commentator Niki Savva which said Hastie was on the verge of abandoning the Liberal party should his colleagues not support him in his fight against Pauline Hanson and One Nation.
Asked about Savva’s piece, Hastie told 2GB:
No, I’m not on my way out.
I am here to stay, and I will recontest the next election. It’s as simple as that.
The Australian people have a rotten government, a government that can’t be trusted, whether it’s on taxation or super or borders. Pick an issue, they can’t be trusted.
We need to deliver centre-right government for the Australian people. We need to focus on the Australian people’s challenges and problems, and we need to come up with solutions that improve our prosperity, improve our security, and give Australians more hope for the future.
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Greens and opposition team up to make details of $2.5bn Nauru deal public
The Greens, the Coalition and other independents have teamed up to push the federal government to reveal the details of its $2.5bn arrangement with Nauru to deport non-citizens from Australia to the tiny Pacific nation.
In the Senate this morning, the motion by the Greens senator David Shoebridge to table the secretive memorandum of understanding was passed after the unlikely allies joined forces to vote against the government. One Nation and independent senators, including David Pocock, also voted to pass the motion.
Ultimately, the motion passed 33 to 21 with the government asked to table the document by 28 July 2026. The odds of that 2025 agreement being made public by the end of the month, however, appear unlikely given the government has consistently claimed public interest immunity. I guess we’ll see if there’s a change of heart.
Read more:
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Zoe McKenzie joins Liberal calls for stronger gambling reforms to ‘protect young people’
A few Liberal MPs are speaking out publicly to put pressure on the government to implement stronger gambling reforms.
Adding herself to that list is Zoe McKenzie, who was also one of the Liberals that signed an open letter to the government, alongside the likes of John Howard, again calling for Labor to go further.
She tells Sky News that after the late Labor MP Peta Murphy “chaired an extraordinary inquiry”, the government was pretty much silent on it until budget day, and believes the Liberals should hold them to account.
My colleagues, many of my colleagues, and I signed an open letter in terms of, you know, doing more on gambling ads, and so we’d like to see more happen. We want to see people protected.
Every single week there’s a family that comes in, concerned about the impact that gambling is happening. So much gambling is happening, and the losses in this country are so great. So, we have to do what we can to protect young people, and it doesn’t need to be a hideous, onerous, and difficult process that seems to be the process contained in labor’s legislation.
She’s on a panel with the Labor MP Andrew Charlton, who defends the legislation and believes the government has “got the balance right in these reforms”.
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A ‘constellation’ of forces targeting progressive Jews, says Sarah Schwartz
Progressive Jewish people are targeted by a “constellation” of forces, including neo-Nazis and pro-Israel advocates, the Jewish Council of Australia’s executive director Sarah Schwartz has told the royal commission into antisemitism.
You can read more from her on that here.
She also told the inquiry that the social media abuse accelerates particularly when there is coverage by News Corp, some of which she referred to Victoria police.
The police then took out a personal safety intervention order to protect her, which she only found out about when a journalist from The Australian called her about it.
The next day there was a story canvassing views that the order represented an attempt to suppress free speech. Schwartz said:
What was most distressing to me is that The Australian chose to republish some of the offensive imagery that was the basis on which police applied for the [order].
The article included pictures of a rat, a suggestion the JCA should be called the “Kapo Council” and social media posts about Schwartz.
She said it became clear to her that although police were “doing their very best”, she had to withdraw the intervention order because it was actually going to make her less safe.
Guardian Australia has contacted The Australian.
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‘The PM has a gambling problem’: Liberal MP calls for stronger gambling ad reforms
The Liberal MP Simon Kennedy, a key campaigner for gambling reform in parliament, says we should ditch the “opt-out” option and make streaming services make users opt in if they really want to see gambling ads. This would make a ban on gambling ads a default option on streaming platforms.
He tells Sky News that SBS launched an opt-out option for its streaming platform from gambling advertising, but just 0.2% of people have found it.
He ads that social media companies need the toughest restrictions of all to stop them “tailoring gambling ads, [and] influencer ads” to users.
In the US, you can open carry an AK47 in South Carolina, but you can’t see a gambling ad. I was in the US, so I watched 20 World Cup games with my son, we didn’t see one gambling ad. The first game back, within 20 minutes before the game Bet365 was on, walking my son through the odds …
The prime minister has a gambling problem. He needs to fess up and tighten these laws.
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Court hears concerns over Christian Brothers’ transfer of property
Lawyers for the federal government have told a court they are concerned at the “disturbing” potential that the Christian Brothers Catholic order may have inappropriately transferred property to another entity years before claiming it was broke and couldn’t afford to meet survivors’ claims.
The New South Wales supreme court on Thursday ordered a moratorium on all abuse claims against the Christian Brothers, a Catholic order that played a significant role in the church’s abuse scandal. The Christian Brothers sought the moratorium because it said it was going broke and wanted to establish a separate scheme to sell off its remaining property and divide up the proceeds between a range of creditors, including survivors.
The moratorium will give time for survivors to consider whether to support the scheme.
But significant concerns have emerged about the way the Christian Brothers has transferred property out of its control to another entity, Edmund Rice Education Australia. Property records obtained by the Guardian show those transfers were made for $1 each, even in cases where they involved multimillion-dollar homes in Sydney.
In a hearing before the NSW supreme court, Sera Mirzabegian SC, representing the commonwealth, said the federal government was “concerned to ensure that institutions take responsibility for abuse [and] that they provide appropriate compensation”.
Mirzabegian said the commonwealth had particular concerns about “historical asset transfers between the Christian Brothers and EREA” and whether they were “proper and appropriate”.
She said it would be “obviously disturbing” if the transfers resulted in assets not being available to compensate survivors.
The court heard the Christian Brothers provided evidence to the court this week about the nature of the transfers. But Mirzabegian said the evidence contained “discrepancies about the value of the land”.
What is abundantly clear from that evidence is that it unfortunately raises more questions than it answers.
A Christian Brothers spokesperson previously told the Guardian the property was transferred as part of a slow, progressive process of turning over Christian Brothers school land and property to EREA, which was delayed by what the spokesperson describes as the “complexity of transferring individual titles across multiple jurisdictions”.
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Paterson defends decision to refer social media bill to a Senate inquiry
Shadow cabinet minister James Paterson says the government is embarrassed, which is why they’re trying to rush their reforms to the social media ban for under-16s through without scrutiny from a Senate committee.
The communications minister, Anika Wells, accused Angus Taylor of being a “craven”, for kicking the bill – which would double fines for platforms breaching the ban and give the eSafety commissioner more powers to compel documents – to an eight-week inquiry.
Paterson told reporters this morning the bill was originally rushed through, and that a Senate inquiry process is “entirely appropriate”.
They’re embarrassed that they’ve stuffed it up well and truly. They thought that they had a brilliant idea, and we agree in principle it’s not a good thing for young people to be on social media, but they didn’t do it properly.
They rushed it through in the first place, and now they’re trying to rush through a fix because they are embarrassed that it is being widely flouted. I think it’s an entirely appropriate thing to refer it to a Senate inquiry, as the Senate has now done, even though the Labor party fought us to do so every step of the way.
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Tax reform critic to face off the PM on the tennis court
One of the loudest voices against Labor’s tax reforms says he is going to continue his fight against the prime minister in person … on the tennis court.
Financial commentator Joseph Daoud got plenty of attention (and quite a bit of press) when he plastered billboards reading “Stop the Ambition Tax” across Canberra following the budget’s announced reforms to negative gearing and capital gains tax.
Labor is pushing ahead anyway. So at last night’s Midwinter Ball in Canberra, Daoud bid on – and apparently won – an item in the charity auction promising a game of tennis at The Lodge with the PM.
He immediately took to LinkedIn to boast, saying the budget lacked “healthy consultation” so “I did find a way to make sure you listen”. The attached image showed his winning bid was $16,500.
He insists it’s not a publicity stunt. One of his LinkedIn followers commented “Hahahaha tier 1 trolling”, to which Daoud replied “No trolling, genuine questions!”
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‘This is intolerable’: Wilkie moves to suspend standing orders in the House over gambling reforms
The independent MP Andrew Wilkie has moved to suspend standing orders in the House – ie pause the regular proceedings – to bring on a motion denouncing the government over their gambling reforms, which were introduced this morning.
He tells the House:
This parliament is a fellow traveller with the gambling companies, the media companies and the sporting codes who are like jackals feeding on the carcass of gambling addicts.
This is intolerable, deputy speaker. I call on the government to put aside that rubbish bill that was tabled today.
Tony Burke immediately stands up to shut down the motion and puts forward a vote to resume regular programming.
Obviously, because Labor has the numbers, they’re able to quickly quash Wilkie’s motion.
Updated
Christian Brothers say they owe $774m to abuse survivors
The Christian Brothers estimates it owes $774m to abuse survivors that have current or future claims against it.
The New South Wales supreme court is currently considering a bid by the Catholic order to halt all cases against it. The Christian Brothers says it is about to run out of money, and instead wants to create a scheme to sell off its remaining property and divide the proceeds between a range of creditors, including survivors.
The Christian Brothers says it has about 36 properties worth about $216m, though Guardian Australia has identified a range of other properties – land, school buildings and multimillion-dollar homes – that have been transferred to a separate entity, Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA), for $1 each.
A spokesperson has previously said the transfers were part of a slow, progressive process of turning over Christian Brothers school land and property to EREA, which was delayed by what the spokesperson describes as the “complexity of transferring individual titles across multiple jurisdictions”.
The court heard on Thursday that the Christian Brothers estimated its liability in relation to current and future abuse claims was $774m. The order’s lawyers said “the net liability position is significant”.
But the court also heard the scheme would “preserve all rights that may have accrued in relation to transactions, including in respect to EREA”.
The court also heard the scheme proposed by the Christian Brothers would be managed by KPMG.
The hearing continues this morning.
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‘If you’re old enough to go to work, you’re old enough to receive superannuation’: Greens push for super reform after Senate defeat
Labor has chosen wealthy corporations over kids, says Greens senator Barbara Pocock, after the government didn’t support the minor party’s move in the Senate to make employers pay superannuation to under 18s.
The current rules state that employers only have to pay under-18s super when they work more than 30 hours a week.
Yesterday the treasurer, Jim Chalmers said the government was consulting with young people and left the door open to legislating the reform, but that the priority right now was the introduction of payday super (making employers pay super at the same time as wages).
Pocock spoke to journalists this morning outside Parliament House and said the Greens would push to fix the issue:
We saw Labor choose to put 12% of the pay of some of Australia’s low lowest-paid young workers straight on to the bottom lines of some of our wealthiest corporations.
Labor has knocked back super for under 18 who work 30 hours or less. This is a great thing for Coles, Woolies, Maccas, Hungry Jack’s. It’s a very bad thing if you’re 15,16, or 17 years old, working hard every week but not paid your super.
This is incredibly unfair. If you’re old enough to go to work, you’re old enough to get paid, old enough to pay tax, then you’re old enough to receive superannuation.
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Labor introduces gambling bill, still waiting for a pathway through parliament
Anika Wells has introduced the government’s gambling reforms to parliament more than three years after a landmark report was handed down, recommending a full ban on online gambling ads.
The government is yet to secure the support of the Coalition or Greens to get it through the Senate – both want to see stronger reforms.
Wells tells the House while introducing the bill that gambling ads have become “inescapable and constant”.
People are seeing too many ads, particularly during children and family programs, and live sport events.
The Albanese government wants Aussie kids to be able to participate in sport, whether that’s cheering on their team, knowing the stats of their favourite player, or having a kick down at their local sporting field.
And we want them to be able to do this without being bombarded with a gambling promotion.
Bombardment doesn’t mean ban, however the rules will reduce the number of ads on TV. Broadcasters will still be able to play three an hour between 6am and 8:30pm, and there will be a complete ban during sports games within those hours. But most of us know, sports matches often play after 8:30pm.
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‘Hugely disappointing’: Monique Ryan says threat looms over house voting rules
As we brought you a moment ago, the manager of the house, Tony Burke, delayed a move to force divisions to have a minimum of 10 members on either side, and if not, the decision would be declared immediately without completing the count.
The independent MP Monique Ryan says the threat still looms large for the crossbench, even if the government pauses to consult on the change.
She tells Guardian Australia it’s “hugely disappointing”:
The government [is] threatening to stifle parliamentary debate, after the crossbench moved a number of critical amendments yesterday to improve the NDIS legislation.
The crossbench is larger than ever before, and the crossbench is the only effective opposition in the house. The crossbench should be allowed to debate legislation in the detail that legislation deserves.
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Government loses vote on aged care legislation in the Senate
Even Pauline Hanson and One Nation have sided with David Pocock, the Greens and the Coalition to vote for a bill that would bring back human oversight to the aged care integrated assessment tool.
The government has just lose the vote on the private members’ bill in the Senate – but there’s no way it’ll be supported in the house, so it’ll get stuck somewhere in the parliamentary void.
But amid that political pressure, the government has this morning made some concessions to its tool, and said there would be a human override pathway for older people with “complex circumstances”.
Pocock thanks the shadow health and NDIS minister, Anne Ruston, and the Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne, as well as the journalists who have covered the “real human impact of systems that aren’t delivering for Australians”:
Often we hear about numbers, we hear about big numbers in terms of cost, number of Australians affected etcetera. Those numbers are humans.
There’s a welcome announcement from minister [Sam] Rae after the pressure from the Senate, but it’s very unclear exactly what that’s going to deliver. And so I really thank the Senate for debating this important issue, for this bill being brought forward, to stand up for old Australians.
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‘We’re the frog in the pot’: independents warn against government proposal to change divisions in the house
The independents are arcing up about a proposed reform by the government that divisions should have a minimum of 10 members on either side, and if not, the decision will be declared immediately without completing the count.
For now, Tony Burke, the leader of the house, says Labor will suspend that action and take advice on it.
The independents say the change is in response to more than half a dozen divisions yesterday over their amendments to the NDIS bill – all which were rejected by the government.
The independent MP for Bradfield, Nicolette Boele, says this would be a “step in the wrong direction” if the government went ahead with changing the rules:
Our democracy is increasingly fragile – why has the government looked at that and decided now is the moment to make it harder to see how politicians vote on behalf of their communities? It’s another quiet step away from transparency and accountability.
We’re the frog in the pot: it starts with convoluted procedural change – and it ends with less transparency in how our elected MPs vote on behalf of the people they’re here to represent.
Burke justified the idea in the house but said he’d consult further before putting it to a vote (which Labor would win):
If everybody acted the way we might want to act in a particular moment, the house could itself become unmanageable.
I have been asked by some people for further consultation on this. I would make clear to the house that the motion that I put on the notice paper remains the government’s position.
No one should pretend that this is a gag or a denial of democratic process or anything like that. The reason for this is we cannot have a situation where any one member of parliament acts like they’re the only person in the room. That’s what we can’t have.
Updated
‘Labor has failed older Australians’: opposition and crossbench pile pressure on government over aged care tool
Over in the Senate this morning, the bill I mentioned earlier being put up by the Coalition, Greens and David Pocock is being debated – which would add a human override function to the aged care integrated assessment tool.
The bill certainly makes the timing of the government’s announcement – that it will make minor changes to the tool and allow human override in “complex circumstances” – interesting. I’ll let you decide if it’s a coincidence.
The bill states that the IAT must operate to “support, not replace, professional judgment of approved needs assessors”, and allows a right to reassessment for all older Australians assessed by the tool since the act’s commencement on 1 November.
The shadow health and NDIS minister, Anne Ruston, tells the Senate:
This bill restores a simple principle, decisions about care should be made by a qualified person, a qualified professional, not a computer algorithm with no human capacity …
Minister [Sam] Rae’s rapid view is a damning admission. That the tool is failing, yet he has ruled out reinstating human override while only tinkering around the edges. Labor has failed older Australians on every single turn.
Their reckless algorithm’s first approach is driving assessors out of the sector in droves and leaving older Australians worse off than they have previously been.
Labor senator Nita Green tells the chamber that while the government “shares the intent of this private senator’s bill”, it won’t support the legislation because they claim the provisions in it will be “counterproductive and may not achieve what they set out to do”.
Updated
‘No people-smuggling venture has been successful for more than a decade’: Burke
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, says a group of people who attempted to enter Australia by boat in Weipa in north Queensland have been removed, and the operation has now concluded.
Yesterday the Australian federal police said they charged a Taiwanese national over his alleged role in the “failed people smuggling venture into Australia”.
Police said they arrested the 34-year-old man in a Weipa supermarket car park.
Burke has just released a statement:
The operation in Weipa has now concluded. Every person who attempted to enter Australia without a visa has now been removed. Those who assisted them will face the full force of the law.
It remains the case that no people smuggling venture has been successful for more than a decade.
The government did not specify where the group has been sent.
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‘There is always more that we can do’: Anne Aly says further gambling reforms a possibility
Anne Aly – who doesn’t gamble – says it’s Australian to want to have a “flutter” or gamble, it’s a part of the culture, which makes reform difficult.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast earlier, the minister for small business said while she doesn’t believe it’s inevitable the government will have to make some serious adjustments to its reforms to get the Coalition or Greens over the line, there could be more changes to it down the track.
(I’ll also note here that the reforms don’t impact your ability to have a “flutter”, they just restrict companies being able to advertise that to you.)
Asked if she’s comfortable with kids still being able to regularly seeing ads, Aly says Labor is undertaking “the biggest sweep of gambling reforms that any government has ever taken”.
There is always more that we can do. We are not a government that sits still. We are a government that undertakes action and that keeps on moving, whether it’s in terms of raising wages for minimum wage workers that we [have] done ever since we’ve come into office in 2022, whether it’s tax cuts for Australians that we’ve consecutively delivered in 2022, whether it’s gambling reform, but there is always more to do.
Updated
Following on from last post …
RN Breakfast host, Mel Clarke, asks Rae why the government is always being dragged by its feet on aged care reforms.
You might remember in the Senate last year the government was about to lose a vote between David Pocock, the Greens and Coalition which would have forced 20,000 extra home care packages to come online as the waiting list for the support blew out. The government then cut a deal with the Coalition to try and claim it as a win.
This time Clarke points out there’s another private member’s bill which does something similar to what the government is now doing – by putting human override back into the system.
Rae won’t comment on the politics, and again tries to defend the system.
I’m not going to weigh in on the politics of the Senate. It’s not my natural habitat, I’m afraid. What I can tell you is we’ve been listening to older people. We always said we would do that all the way through this process. I make regular changes to the way this system operates to get better outcomes. This is a point that we’ve been discussing publicly and I’ve been engaged with across the entire community for a period of time and made clear that I was giving this consideration.
Updated
Minister defends aged care automated tool after key concession
Sam Rae, the aged care minister, claims he’s been clear “all the way through” that the controversial integrated assessment tool would require ongoing refinement.
Rae tells ABC RN Breakfast there’s been misunderstanding and confusion over the system in trying to justify the tool, and says there is still some human engagement in the process.
But he’s announced this morning that the government will allow human override of the tool in some complex cases, after receiving hundreds of complaints from older people in the system.
But he’s not actually clear on what defines a “complex” case and says the trigger for the additional clinical assessment (the human override of the tool) will be “subject to some of the conversations we want to have over this winter break”.
Older people and their family members already have this option to seek a review … within the initial assessment process, there’s a review component. So they can already seek a review. The older person or as I said a supporter can seek a review through that review process. This is another option where clinical judgment is applied. We think this will apply to a very small number of assessments but where the needs of that person aren’t captured. And so there needs to be an escalation for that.
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‘We want sport to be about families, not addicting children,’ says Leeser
Julian Leeser won’t reveal exactly where the Coalition’s red line is on the government’s gambling legislation, but does say it’s being looked at closely, and the guiding principle is that kids shouldn’t be infiltrated with gambling ads while they’re watching sport with the family.
The government’s gambling bill restricts ads to three per hour between 6:30am and 8:30pm on TV, but we know a lot – if not most – sporting matches are still going well after 8:30pm or are even starting after 8:30pm.
That’s in contrast to the former Liberal leader Peter Dutton’s proposal for all online gambling ads to be banned during, one hour before and one hour after games.
Whenever my colleagues and I talk about gambling restrictions, it’s always on the basis that we want to protect children and families that are enjoying sport. Sport is family time, and it’s time that across the generations people enjoy games … that shouldn’t be interrupted by gambling. And sometimes gambling, particularly online gambling, can destroy lives. So it’s important that we do restrict some of this behaviour and I know we’ll be looking at those laws closely.
Asked if he agrees with Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young that more should be done to ensure parents are protected from gambling, Leeser says he’s “sympathetic” to the position.
Children are much better off when parents spend their money on essential services, getting them to school, making sure they’re properly fed and the like rather than on gambling … So in principle, I have some sympathy for that view.
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‘It’s got worse since Bondi’: Julian Leeser details experience of antisemitism
Julian Leeser, a Liberal frontbencher and Jewish MP, says he has been called a “traitor and a Mossad agent” on social media, detailing the antisemitism he’s experiencing.
He tells RN Breakfast he believes antisemitism on social media has gotten much worse, and “much worse” since the Bondi terror attack in December.
He says the saturation of antisemitism on social media is being examined by the royal commission on social cohesion, and will await their recommendations on how to hold the tech giants more responsible for the content spreading.
It’s got actually worse since Bondi. I’m called a traitor and a Mossad agent. And graphic and sexual imagery is used about me because I’m a Jew of the sort that I will not repeat on your program. I love this country. I want my children to enjoy this sort of Australia I enjoyed growing up …
I think the social media companies are more than on notice about this now. And I think this is one of the issues that the royal commission is looking at. And I think we need to look at the recommendations that come out of the royal commission.
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‘Eight weeks to shred documents’: Wells on social media law delay
The main reason for Anika Wells’ media appearances this morning is to kick the Coalition and the Greens for sending that social media bill – increasing fines for platforms and handing the eSafety commissioner more power – into an eight-week inquiry.
Wells tells RN Breakfast that the “500-word” legislation is not complex, and doesn’t need that extra scrutiny.
She adds that the warnings from the eSafety commissioner about the risk of not being able to compel documents from the platforms, to crack down on breaches, makes the legislation “genuinely urgent”.
It’s not complex, and I think Angus Taylor should explain why he is honestly giving big tech eight more weeks to prepare their case, eight more weeks to get their ducks in a row, potentially eight weeks to shred documents now that they know these changes are coming.
I think this is genuinely urgent. I’m crestfallen. Angus Taylor has decided to walk away from bipartisanship and he should explain why he would make such a craven and expedient decision.
Updated
Wells defends gambling reforms among heavy criticisms it doesn’t go far enough
While Anika Wells might be furious that the social media bill is going to an inquiry, she’s trying to appear less fussed about the government’s gambling legislation being kicked off to be examined by the Senate.
The Greens yesterday forced the legislation into inquiry, which will report back on 17 August (in the sitting fortnight after the winter break).
Wells is doing the media rounds this morning and has shuffled over to the ABC studios and is speaking to RN Breakfast.
One of the key concerns from critics is that the legislation does nothing to stop inducements, which are incentives such as bonus bets to keep people gambling. Wells argues the government’s BetStop program addresses that.
And asked why the government isn’t all-out banning online gambling ads from TV, Wells suggests parents should just bypass free-to-air television entirely and watch through a streamer (as they don’t log in as an adult).
If you chose to watch – I don’t want to name any particular given that we’re on the ABC – but if you are watching the football World Cup on SBS, another public broadcaster, for example, you have the ability to opt out of seeing gambling advertising and from 1 January on streaming. And we know the trend for viewing in Australia is that more than half of the population now view these things online through streamers.
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Anika Wells criticises Coalition and Greens for punting social media bill to inquiry
Anika Wells is having a crack at the opposition and Greens, accusing them of delaying the social media bill to an inquiry for examination.
A quick reminder: the bill doubles the penalty for platforms that breach the ban for under-16s and gives the eSafety commission more powers to compel documents from the companies.
Speaking on Sunrise earlier this morning, Wells accused the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, of siding with the big tech companies over kids and parents.
It is a craven and tribal decision for Angus Taylor to push this off for eight weeks … Until yesterday this was a bipartisan measure proudly vetted across the world and it’s on Angus Taylor to explain why a 500-word, four-page bill needs eight weeks of inquiry.
Updated
Government makes concession on controversial aged care assessment tool
The government has done a partial U-turn on its controversial aged care integrated assessment tool that critics said had no human override capability, and was being reviewed.
The IAT involves an assessor asking an older person questions about their physical, social and personal circumstances to determine how much government-funded home support they are eligible to receive.
Ahead of the IAT’s launch, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing quietly added an algorithm to classify IAT responses and determine a funding classification. The department’s user manual states that assessors must accept the IAT’s classification outcome when assigning home support.
This has caused hundreds of complaints and requests for internal review.
This morning, the aged care minister, Sam Rae, who has been in hot water over the issue, has told the ABC that in limited circumstances the system will now allow some human oversight for complex cases.
In some limited circumstances, people’s complex circumstances don’t necessarily fit neatly into a framework. And in those small number of circumstances, we want the system governor to be able to make the necessary decisions to get the most appropriate outcomes for older people …
We’ve listened and we’ve done the policy work to make sure that we get the best outcomes for older people.
Updated
Australia to give $2m in humanitarian assistance to Venezuela
The government has announced it will send $2m in humanitarian assistance to Venezuela, after it was struck by earthquakes last month.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says the full scale of the tragedy is still emerging, and the death told, which is already in the thousands, is expected to increase in coming days.
The funding, the government says, will be delivered through partners including the Red Cross and UN and will be contributed alongside other nations including the US and the UK, to provide emergency food, shelter, water, hygiene and psychosocial support.
In a statement, Wong said:
Our thoughts are with the people of Venezuela, the Australian-Venezuelan community, and all those affected by the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela. Australia’s humanitarian assistance will support access to food, shelter, medical care and other essential services.
Updated
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you. Thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
It’s the final sitting day of the week, but after a big Midwinter Ball last night there might be a few wearier-than-usual eyes gracing the chambers (and the press gallery corridors).
The main legislative game for the government today will be gambling – with its reforms being introduced to the House today. They currently don’t have anyone to pass it through the Senate, but yesterday the opposition suggested they were working with Labor and hoping to “get the balance right”. The Greens have also suggested they could be in talks with the Coalition to try and force Labor’s hand into making the bill stronger. We’ll see how that shakes out today.
Let’s get cracking!
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Best dressed at Canberra’s Midwinter’s Ball
It was Canberra’s night of nights last night with the staging of the press gallery’s Midwinter’s Ball.
As is customary, the political classes got dressed up in their best outfits and headed out where photographers were on hand to record their fashion efforts for posterity.
The glamorous gathering took place under the critical eye of our own Caitlin Cassidy, who judged Labor’s Anne Aly to be best on ground among the women. Aly posted to social media that she actually crocheted her own dress!
Tanya Plibersek’s husband Michael Coutts-Trotter took out Caitlin’s award for the men with his defiantly non-black jacket.
Check out our gallery here:
Updated
Taiwanese man charged over people-smuggling operation
A Taiwanese man has been charged over a failed people-smuggling operation that left campers startled when they saw a boat carrying foreign nationals land on a remote beach, Australian Associated Press reports.
The newly arrived group stunned holidaymakers when they were spotted on a far north Queensland beach before visiting a local bakery and being apprehended near a pub, the Cook MP, David Kempton, said.
About 12 people – believed to Chinese – arrived by boat at a remote camping spot before travelling to nearby Weipa on the Cape York Peninsula early on Tuesday.
A 34-year-old Taiwanese national was arrested in a supermarket car park at Weipa on Tuesday after a report of suspicious activity in the area.
Police have since charged the man with one count of aggravated offence of people-smuggling involving at least five people.
He was remanded in custody after facing the Cairns magistrates court on yesterday before his next appearance today.
The man faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment if found guilty.
Another man, 30, was also detained by police pending further inquiries.
Updated
Progressive patriotism underpinning defence strategy: Conroy
The minister for defence industry, Pat Conroy, says strong national defence and a strong industry to provide the equipment required for protecting Australia is part of the government’s “progressive patriotism”.
Conroy will address the National Press Club in Canberra today, making the case that Labor, and not the Coalition, is the true party of defence and national security.
The speech will coincide with the release of the 2026 Defence Industry Development Strategy and details of the government’s defence reform process. Already it has been reported that Conroy will point to nearly $30bn in wasteful spending on defence projects. An audit found the average cost of a small sample of projects increased by nearly 40%, or $29bn, before contracts were finalised.
Conroy will say.
Progressive patriotism, in the eyes of the Albanese government – and the great labour movement – is confidence in, and celebration of, what our national project has built
It is confidence in how it is evolving, and confidence in the future. Strong defence of our country – including the need to invest in our defence industry, people and systems – is a critical part of understanding what Australian progressive patriotism looks like today.
Building our defence industry, delivering the capabilities we need, is an investment in our country and offers the further dividend of deterrence to protect what our great national project has built.
We will bring you more on the speech at lunchtime today.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.
We’ll wrap up some of the overnight news before Krishani’s on deck, and also bring you a preview of today’s press club speech from the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy.
He’s arguing that Labor, these days, is the natural party for defence thanks to an ideal he describes as “progressive patriotism”. More on this soon.
