Advice on voice a ‘cynical political tactic’ to confuse voters, Coalition claims – as it happened

We need governments to be bold. We need them to back our solutions. To get out of the politics that you play with our lives. We cannot lose another generation of our children. No more ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

The families and traditional owners of Mparntwe (Alice Springs) have written this powerful piece on the politicisation of their people and home.

Read it in full here:

Eric the marine dinosaur was a pescetarian, scientists discover

A sea lion-sized marine dinosaur dubbed Eric who swam in Australian waters hundreds of millions of years ago was a pescetarian who enjoyed fish snacks, scientists say.

Eric, a plesiosaur named after a Monty Python song, was found to contain 17 previously undescribed fish vertebrae, confirming the Jurassic beasts were mainly pescetarian.

Australian National University scientists believe their study is the first of its kind in Australia to use X-rays to see inside the gut contents of a fossilised dinosaur.

“Previous studies examined the exterior surface of Eric’s opalised skeleton to find clues,” the lead researcher, Joshua White, said.

“But this approach can be difficult and limiting as fossilised stomach contents are rare to find and there can be more hidden beneath the surface that would be near impossible for palaeontologists to see without destroying the fossil.”

The findings improve our understanding of how extinct organisms evolved and help predict how yet-to-be extinct marine life will adapt to climate change.

Thousands of people gathered at one of Australia’s biggest mosques to mark the end of Ramadan – we have some stunning photos:

The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, says she will use her electorate allowance to pay subscription fees to Twitter Blue, writes Josh Butler.

Full story here:

We reported earlier about Macquarie Dictionary publicising its “words to watch” for April – now Matilda Boseley has this great video for you:

Australia set to ease citizenship pathway for New Zealanders

Labor and Labour governments on either side of the ditch are sending Trans-Tasman relations to new highs, with Australia poised to improve citizenship pathways for New Zealanders, AAP reports.

The NZ prime minister, Chris Hipkins, says he’s hopeful of a “reasonably significant” announcement on the weekend when he travels to Brisbane to meet Anthony Albanese.

Kiwis living in Australia are hopeful of getting a fairer deal that more closely resembles how Australians are treated in NZ.

Hipkins says he hopes those Kiwis who want to call Australia home could also call themselves Australian citizens.

They’ve made their lives in Australia and they are in this kind of state of suspended temporariness. They’re permanently temporary in Australia.

That’s not something that Australians find when they come to New Zealand.

This has been a challenging couple of decades where the free movement has been limited on one side, so I’m looking forward to us being able to make some progress.

Home affairs officers lack understanding of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, study finds

Queer refugees fleeing persecution in their homelands are facing a tough task to prove their sexuality to Australian authorities, AAP reports.

A study published in the peer-reviewed social science journal Sexualities found that Department of Home Affairs officers assessing refugee status claims did not understand the complexities of some LGBTQ+ asylum seekers.

The Victoria University researcher Brandy Cochrane and independent scholar Lotte Wolff found that Australia’s refugee assessment system “perpetuates the forced categorisation (of) queer applicants into LGBTIQ+ labels”.

Their research was based on interviews with several Australian legal representatives who were not named because they did not want to jeopardise the applications of their refugee clients.

One lawyer said immigration department officers had ingrained stereotypes of how gay refugees were supposed to behave.

“Definitely in terms of gay men, if you are someone that wants to sit at home and just meet people over dinner parties and you are not flamboyant and going out dating or on Grindr, a lot of department officers find that difficult to understand,” the lawyer said.

Respondents said an expectation of these refugees “coming out” to prove they were legitimately gay did not take into account the sometimes dangerous countries they come from, where homosexuality is criminalised.

AAP sought comment from the home affairs department regarding the study’s findings but did not receive a response.

Trade minister Don Farrell to visit China

Chinese commerce ministry has confirmed trade minister Don Farrell will visit soon.

A spokesperson confirmed to Global Times that a delegation of 15 senior Australian company executives and local government officials will travel to China next week on 23 April.

It will be the first industry delegation to visit the country in three years and HSBC Australia, Telstra, ANZ Banking Group and Rio Tinto are reportedly among the companies sending representatives on the six-day visit.

Five people died in a catastrophic three-vehicle crash near the Victoria and New South Wales border, shortly after police pulled over the speeding driver of one of the cars involved.

Full story here:

Hello everyone – this is Cait Kelly. I will be with you for the rest of Friday.

Let’s get into it!

That’s it from me, Cait Kelly is taking the helm. Have a lovely weekend!

Traditional owners lose McArthur River mine challenge

Traditional owners from the Northern Territory have lost their challenge against a decision to reduce the security bond of the McArthur River mine, AAP reports.

Gudanji woman Josephine Davey Green, her husband Garawa elder Jack Green and the Environment Centre had asked the NT supreme court for judicial review of three decisions made by the territory’s mining minister regarding the lead and zinc mine.

The Environmental Defender’s Office argued on their behalf that the minister erred when deciding to slash the environmental security bond of the mine by almost $120m.

It also challenged the minister’s decision to approve an expansion of the Glencore-owned mine, about 60km south-west of Borroloola, without a long-term closure plan.

Justice Judith Kelly disagreed on Friday. She said in her judgment:

The plaintiffs have failed to establish that the decisions of the Minister which have been challenged in this proceeding have not been made in accordance with the mandatory requirements in the Act or that the decisions are unreasonable.

Students at elite Sydney private school investigated over killing of goanna

Senior students at an elite Sydney private school have allegedly killed a goanna while on a cadet camp.

The King’s School released a statement confirming “a goanna was killed by students” on the camp at the end of the last school term.

A spokesperson for the boys-only school said:

The school does not condone the behaviour, which is inconsistent with the values and expectations of behaviour at King’s.

Staff reported the matter to police who are investigating the incident which occurred on the afternoon of Wednesday 29 March.

The police said in a statement that they were made aware of the incident on 5 April.

Victoria coy on new age of criminal responsibility

Raising the age of criminal responsibility in Victoria to 12 rather than 14 would make no sense and ignores best practice, human rights, children and Indigenous advocates say, AAP reports.

Currently, children as young as 10 can be arrested, held on remand and jailed across the nation for committing crimes.

Australian states and territories have agreed to develop a plan to raise the age to 12, but a draft report last year recommended raising the age to 14 without exception.

The Victorian government could be poised to adopt the lower figure, with an announcement likely as early as next week.

Attorneys general are scheduled to meet in Darwin on 28 April after premier Daniel Andrews earlier this year flagged Victoria would soon go it alone if a national consensus couldn’t be reached.

The Northern Territory and ACT governments have committed to raising the age to 12 and 14, respectively, while Tasmania plans to raise the minimum age of detention to 14 but keep criminal responsibility at 10.

The Victorian justice department has been working on proposals to raise the age to either 12 or 14.

A spokesperson for Victorian attorney general Jaclyn Symes declined to confirm if proposals to raise the age would be put to state cabinet on Monday. She said:

Victoria continues to work with other jurisdictions to consider the details involved in any increase to the age of criminal responsibility, but reserves the right to make further announcements in this space.

Century-old temperature record eclipsed in Sydney

Hunches sometimes result in a story, and this was one of them.

For just over half a year, the mercury managed to creep to 20C or above every day in Sydney (taking the old Observatory Hill site, near the CBD).

In fact, the stretch lasted 184 days, breaking a record of 180 such days that the Harbour City enjoyed (or endured if you like the cold) since just before the Great War.

And if not for a 19.8C top on Thursday (I demand a recount), the record would likely have run for at least another week on current forecasts by the Bureau of Meteorology.

Ben Domensino, a senior meteorologist at Weatherzone, was among those a bit surprised to see the record fall. He expected such a record to last until we had a drier spell. All that cloud and often rain tends to suppress daytime maximums, for instance.

And recall that this run of 20C or warmer days began in mid-October, a month that delivered Sydney’s record wettest October (in the city’s wettest year, by a long shot).

Anyway, temperatures have been trending higher over time because of, you guessed it, climate change. Juice up the atmosphere with greenhouse gases, as we are doing, and don’t be surprised if warmth records continue to fall.

There’s more on this record and what drove it, in this piece:

SG advice shows voice is ‘safe and practical’ change: director of Yes 23 campaign

Dean Parkin, director of the Yes 23 campaign, said the SG advice showed the voice was “not only legally safe but improves our system of government”.

Or in other words, this is a safe and practical change that will be focused on the real issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.

The advice comprehensively confirms the tireless efforts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over many years to get this point of putting the question of a voice to the Australian people in a referendum.

Parkin and Davis have both been involved heavily in the government’s referendum working group process.

Supporters of Indigenous voice back release of solicitor general advice

Key supporters of the Indigenous voice have warmly backed the release of solicitor general legal advice backing the proposed constitutional amendment, saying it would address “scaremongering” about the referendum.

Prof Megan Davis, co-chair of the Uluru Dialogue and a key architect of the voice, noted that “the weight of legal opinion clearly points to the proposed wording being legally sound”.

The scaremongering about the scope of the voice and its legal impactions can now cease.

Questions about allowing the voice to make representations to the executive government have been answered by some of the highest constitutional legal officers in the country and backed up by advice from the solicitor general.

Davis noted that similar advice had been provided by a “who’s who of constitutional experts” including former high court justice Kenneth Hayne, Prof Anne Twomey, Bret Walker SC and Prof George Williams.

The NSW Bar Association concur. Even constitutional conservatives like Greg Craven and Julian Leeser said they would vote yes at referendum under the current proposed wording.

While we still need to wait for the committee report and the parliament to pass the proposed set of words, if they remain as currently drafted, Australians can be confident they will both deliver on the ask of the Uluru statement of the Heart and are constitutionally sound.

Channel 10 has more visuals of the deer and its escape from the Melbourne townhouse:

Deer breaks into Melbourne home

Alexander Hill switched on his phone after a work meeting to discover a slew of missed calls and a text message that read:

There’s a stag in the house and blood is everywhere.

The ABC is reporting the story of a deer, which had broken into the Melbourne family’s inner north-east townhouse and wreaked havoc.

Hill told the national broadcaster his theory was this:

[The deer] has seen his reflection in the window next to our door and then has taken that as another stag in his territory and gone at the window.

He’s gone through the window, the curtain has fallen back behind him so he’s suddenly stuck in a white box.

The family then waited two hours for a ranger with access to tranquillisers to arrive at the house. However, in the end tranquillisers were not necessary as the deer bolted into nearby parkland after the front door was opened.

If you want to hear what the PM thinks are the key elements of the solicitor general’s opinion of the voice, Albanese has shared this video of the passages he read out at the press conference earlier:

Financial hardship levels low but may not last

Financial hardship may still be below pre-pandemic levels but the head of the Australian Banking Association warns borrowers could suddenly reach a breaking point.

ABA chief executive officer Anna Bligh said rates of financial hardship, repossessions and defaults were still low compared to historical averages but banks had started recording a “slight uptick” in the 90-day default rate.

She said there were also signs of stress across unsecured lending, such as credit cards and personal loans, with Australian borrowers typically prioritising their mortgage repayments over other types of debt.

The last Australian Prudential Regulation Authority data on the 90-day default rate, which indicates three missed payments, fell slightly for both individuals and businesses in the December quarter.

But based on what banks were telling her, she said they were expecting this rate to lift modestly in the first three months of 2023.

Bligh likened the buildup of financial stress to a rubber band:

Everybody can stretch, you know, they can stretch for the next payment they can stretch for the next interest rate rise.

And then something happens to the car, you know, and the elastic band breaks.

She said banks were “very aware” that they might start seeing this at a “slightly bigger scale”.

– AAP

NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman speaking in Sydney

The new NSW Liberal leader says the party has suffered setbacks in the past 18 months but the Liberals “remain a party with timeless values … of opportunity, of aspiration and reward for initiative”.

Our reporter Tamsin Rose is there:

Investment in prevention of natural disasters ‘absolutely critical’

More investment in prevention and preparedness to deal with the expected increase in climate-driven natural disasters is critical, a Senate committee has been told. AAP reports:

South Australian country fire service chief officer Brett Loughlin says a greater emphasis on prevention and preparing for major events would reduce the subsequent response requirements from emergency agencies.

He says this would translate to fewer deployments by the Australian defence force and more sustainable state-led operations.

In South Australia alone, we’ve had eight level 3 incidents, the most complex and damaging of fire events in the past 10 years. Four of those have been in the past three fire seasons.

However, the paradigm remains firmly as one of response.

We know the issues, we know what is coming so investment in prevention and preparedness is absolutely critical.

Loughlin said the CFS strived to give equal weight to prevention, preparedness, response and recovery but the reality remained that its resources were limited and its work was “heavily weighted” towards response.

Calls to broaden laws cracking down on TikTok

New laws cracking down on social media apps due to security concerns need to extend beyond TikTok to stop a future “whack-a-mole” situation, a federal inquiry has heard.

A parliamentary committee examining the risks to democracy from foreign interference through online platforms was told that while the Chinese-owned TikTok was an issue, other platforms in the future may also need to be addressed.

Lindsay Gorman from the Alliance for Securing Democracy told the inquiry broader laws during the app’s infancy could have addressed foreign interference issues.

I do not think a platform by platform approach is remotely effective, as we’re seeing with TikTok today.

If we had this comprehensive framework that we recommended in place years ago, we would have addressed TikTok back in 2019 or 2020, and we will be ready for the next one because it’s absolutely a game of whack-a-mole if we’re taking it platform by platform.

Gorman said similar concerns are emerging about a new app being launched by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, and addressing issues with TikTok may not cover other platforms yet to emerge.

The federal government has followed the lead of other western countries and banned TikTok from government devices, due to concerns regarding the links between ByteDance and the Chinese government, along with how data is being used.

TikTok denies it is harvesting sensitive data or is a national security risk.

– AAP

Bargain basement private island in the Whitsundays sold for $1m

According to the vendor, Poole Island is surrounded by coral and “the bluest water”, with two homes and a windmill powered swimming pool.

It was meant to be sold in March, but the buyer went missing and it went back on the market.

Now, according to The Australian, it has been snapped up by a South Australian real estate agent.

Let’s hope the anonymous buyer enjoys it more than Natascha Mirosch did:

Coalition wants to see ‘all of the advice’ released by solicitor general: Sussan Ley

Ley is saying that the opinion released today appears to have been written in the last couple of days and that she would like to see “all of the advice, including the initial advice released”.

Asked by a reporter if the opposition can say they are genuinely open to changing their mind based on this advice, Ley says:

Legal advice is important and it forms part of the landscape around conversation on the voice.

This advice was written it appears in the last couple of days. I would like to see all of the advice, including the initial advice released. I would like to understand all of the perspectives from all of the expert opinion. Because it varies, as it always does.

But the most important thing Australians need to see is explanations from the Albanese government that answer the questions that we have been now patiently asking for months.

How will this work in practice? How will local and regional voices have their issues heard? What difference can they expect in their lives and how soon? These are good questions, they are questions we all get asked, they are questions the prime minister still does not answer.

Coalition will give ‘due diligence’ to solicitor general’s advice, Sussan Ley says

The deputy leader of the opposition, Sussan Ley, is speaking in Caloundra in Queensland. Following Anthony Albanese releasing the solicitor general’s opinion, Ley says the PM knows the voice is important:

But I know what is more important, is the start date of his promises to actually give Australians what they are crying out for.

The budget isn’t two and a half weeks. We need to see a plan that tackles inflation.

Only then can Australians have confidence this is a government that understands what is happening to them every day in their world.

Asked if the opinion changes the Coalition’s position on the voice, Ley says:

We will have a look at the advice. It is important we do that and give it due diligence.

Rundown of NSW Liberal leadership team

Most of the New South Wales Liberal leadership team has been settled, with Mark Speakman taking the top job as opposition leader and Damien Tudehope regaining his position as leader of the party in the upper house.

The party’s most senior woman, Natalie Ward, was selected as deputy leader of the upper house after earlier indicating she had wanted to lead the party in the legislative council.

Speaking after the vote, the new lower house whip Adam Crouch said Speakman had secured a “strong result” but would not confirm numbers.

The Guardian understands Speakman received 22 votes against challenger Anthony Roberts’s 13.

The party still lacks a deputy leader.

Doubled rebate makes Queensland most generous state on EVs

Queensland has doubled incentives for drivers to get behind the wheel of electric cars, making it the most generous state in Australia for switching to EVs, AAP reports.

Drivers will now be eligible for a $6,000 subsidy under the Zero Emission Vehicle Rebate Scheme when they buy an electric vehicle worth up to $68,000.

It’s double the $3,000 available when the scheme launched in July 2022.

Energy minister Mick de Brenni said today:

We’re seeing the prices of EVs fluctuate on the back of rising materials costs and inflation … so we’ve increased the eligible price cap to $68,000 and increased the rebate amount from $3,000 to $6,000 for eligible households.

We want more zero-emission vehicles on Queensland roads.

The minister said it could ease financial pressure on households by saving thousands in petrol costs.

We also want to see fleets transition to further drive down emissions. That’s why Queensland businesses can apply for up to five rebates per financial year, providing an opportunity for local businesses to make the switch to electric fleets.

What the solicitor general’s opinion on the voice means

One point to clarify on the solicitor-general document that just dropped - it gives the solicitor-general’s opinion on the voice amendment (which is that the change is sound and won’t clog up the courts) but it isn’t exactly the same document that went to cabinet. That might sound like a minor distinction, and it is, but it could be a factor in how the Coalition opposition responds to this announcement.

Some context - Peter Dutton has for some time been asking for the government to release the advice the SG provided to the referendum working group and the federal cabinet. Pointing to reporting in The Australian newspaper in recent months, Dutton has claimed on multiple occasions that PM Anthony Albanese had “rejected the advice otherwise of the Solicitor-General” on the question of whether the Voice should be able to make representations to the executive government.

Dutton, of course, hasn’t seen the advice (the government doesn’t usually drop cabinet documents to the opposition leader). But in his press conference announcing the Liberals’ plan to oppose the voice, Dutton still claimed the PM had gone “against the advice of the Solicitor-General”.

Now, the government has said for a while they won’t release the advice, because the advice is a cabinet document and the government doesn’t release cabinet documents. But they’ve now released this lengthy opinion from the SG. So what gives?

Because today they’ve released a different document. This document today, dated as being written April 19 (two days ago, obviously well after the cabinet considered and approved the amendment) isn’t the advice that went to cabinet. It might be very similar, and it does show the actual opinion of the SG (which is that the voice is sound, it won’t clog up the courts and it won’t slow down decision making), but it’s technically not the same document.

Albanese said just now:

We don’t release nor do any government ever release advice to Cabinet.

And that’s where we could see Peter Dutton go with his response - pointing out that because the government hasn’t done what he asked for, in releasing the advice (even though it’s likely to be functionally very similar and still the assessment of the SG), it may still not satisfy his concerns. We’ll bring you the opposition’s response when we get it.

Outcome of inquiry allowing religious schools to hire based on faith pushed back by eight months

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) says it is “seriously concerned” about an eight-month delay on the outcome of an inquiry into legal exceptions allowing religious schools to discriminate against LGBTQ+ students and teachers.

The Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) final report was due to be handed to attorney general Mark Dreyfus today, but was pushed back late yesterday to 31 December.

PIAC director of policy and advocacy, Alastair Lawrie said any delay that left LGBTQ+ students and staff open to discrimination was troubling.

The length of this extension is particularly concerning as it means vital protections will likely not be passed this year. No LGBTQ+ student should be forced to enter the classroom in Term 1 of 2024 fearful of discrimination.

It’s time for Dreyfus, and the Albanese government, to step up and pass amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act before the end of the year. Religious schools – which receive significant public funding – should not have a free pass to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Tasmania, the ACT, Victoria and the NT already protect LGBTQ+ students and staff against discrimination. Queensland protects students and has committed to protecting teachers, as has WA.

Albanese predicts Coalition won’t be satisfied with voice opinion

Circling back to the PM’s media conference in Sydney.

Albanese is predicting the opposition will still find more “nonsense arguments” to oppose the proposed changes.

Albanese:

Quite clearly Peter Dutton is not interested in bipartisanship … a whole lot of nonsense arguments have been put up, including the solicitor-general’s argument. There will be another one.

When the Coalition have a look at the solicitor-general’s advice – my prediction, my bold prediction – is that they will say now there is another test that has to be made. They still won’t support it. They have made that clear. The National party didn’t even wait to see what the question was before they rejected it as well.

That is why Australians, I believe, are tiring of the negativity of the opposition. Just because Peter Dutton has the title of opposition leader, shouldn’t mean he opposes everything. But he has taken his title literally.

Hospital denies reports about Barry Humphries

St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney has denied reports that Barry Humphries is unresponsive. The hospital has confirmed Humphries is resting, stable and in “the best of hands at St Vincents.”

Mark Speakman expected to become NSW Liberal leader

New South Wales Liberals are voting on a new leader this morning.

The party room meeting kicked off at 10am in parliament.

The former attorney general Mark Speakman is expected to take the top spot after weeks of brokering deals across the party.

Entering the building this morning, the Cronulla MP said he was on a “united team with Damien Tudehope and Natalie Ward” as he entered with the pair of upper house members.

Regulator to examine how banks set interest rates

The competition regulator will consider the approach banks use to determine interest rates on home loans and deposits amid growing concerns over their pricing practices.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said today it would look into any mismatch in pricing as part of its inquiry into retail deposits, with submissions due by 19 May.

The ACCC said:

While increases in the cash rate have generally been passed through to interest rates on variable rate home loans, the interest rate increases for retail deposit products have often been smaller or conditional.

The Reserve Bank ordered 10 consecutive cash rate rises dating back to May in a bid to slow spending to combat inflation. The central bank then paused its hiking cycle in April, leaving the official rate at 3.6%.

Concerns over pricing have re-emerged in recent months after the country’s biggest lenders posted bumper profits as financial pressures intensified on households.

The regulator said Australians hold over $1.45tn in savings, transaction or term deposits.

For many Australians, the interest earned on these accounts is an important source of income, and consumers are understandably keen to ensure they are receiving a good return on their savings.

The inquiry, ordered by the federal government, will examine how interest rates of similar products vary between consumers depending on the amounts deposited, whether they are new or existing customers, or if they belong to a particular demographic.

Solicitor-general says voice would not clog courts

The solicitor-general’s opinion on the Indigenous voice is that it would not clog up the courts or slow down government decision-making through its power to advise the executive government (public servants and the cabinet).

The proposed constitutional amendment “would not pose any threat to Australia’s system of representative and responsible government,” the opinion said.

The opinion, dated 19 April, released today shows that Stephen Donoghue believes the voice “would not impose any obligations upon the Executive Government to follow representations of the Voice, or to consult with the Voice prior to developing any policy or making any decision.”

The opinion states:

The text of proposed s 129 imposes no such requirements. Further, no such requirements can be implied by reference to proposed s 129(ii), because that would be inconsistent with the deliberate textual choice to empower the Voice to make “representations” rather than to “consult”, and with the ordinary operation of responsible government.

For those reasons, in my opinion proposed s 129 would not preclude the ordinary operations of government from continuing unless the Executive Government has first consulted with, or received representations from, the Voice.

A small number of conservative critics have raised concerns about the voice’s proposed power to make representations to the executive government, arguing that it would be an impediment to decision-making or lead to excessive court cases – or both.

The opinion states that litigation about executive decision-making is already commonplace.

The suggestion that a consequence of empowering the Voice to make representations to the Executive Government will be to clog up the courts, or to cause government to grind to a halt, ignores the reality that litigation concerning the validity of decisions of the Executive Government is already very common, and that it does not have either of those consequences.

Accordingly, even if proposed s 129(iii) did not empower the Parliament to legislate to specify the legal effect of representations of the Voice (which in my view it clearly does), proposed s 129 would not pose any threat to Australia’s system of representative and responsible government.

Pair escape from light plane crash off Western Australian beach

A woman and a teenage boy have swum to shore after the light plane they were in crashed into the sea off Leighton beach, just north of Fremantle, AAP reports.

WA police say the plane crashed about 30 to 50 metres offshore just after 5pm (WST) on Thursday and is now mostly submerged in the water.

The pilot, a 45-year-old woman, and a 15-year-old boy reported to be her son were checked over by paramedics after they reached the beach.

Police said in a statement:

They were both able to exit the plane and swim to shore.

The pair were flying to Jandakot airport from Exmouth, where they had viewed Thursday’s solar eclipse, ABC TV reported.

‘Every budget decision is seen through a gendered lens,’ says Gallagher

Less than three weeks out from the budget, the minister for finance and women, Katy Gallagher, says “every budget decision is seen through a gendered lens.”

Gallagher yesterday led a consultation for the national strategy for gender equality, and says the government is “getting cracking because, frankly, women have waited long enough.”

Australian Law Reform Commission’s anti-discrimination inquiry extended

Protections for LGBTQ students and staff in religious schools will be further delayed following an extension of the Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) anti-discrimination inquiry.

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has allowed the commission until the end of this year to hand down its recommendations into religious exemptions for educational institutions under federal anti-discrimination and employment laws.

It’s a move Equality Australia says will delay “urgently needed protections” but the Australian Association of Christian Schools (AACS) has welcomed.

The legal director of Equality Australia, Ghassan Kassisieh, said discrimination against LGBTQ+ people was happening in religious schools across the country because of gaps in Australian laws that made it lawful:

While we have waited for the law to change to protect our community, more people have lost their jobs and more children have been forced to leave school or been denied leadership roles. These legal gaps could have been addressed very simply, and quickly.

We have engaged constructively with the ALRC and hope it uses the extension to get the detail right. People should not lose their jobs because they refer to their same-sex partners at work or be denied opportunities for leadership because they come out as gay or transgender, or support LGBTQ+ people.

Vanessa Cheng, the executive officer of AACS, said the extension came as a recognition that the recommendations put forward did not adequately address the government’s own terms of reference.

And as all teachers know, when the homework task is not right, extensions must be given …

The ALRC has a lot of work to do to get this right. We hope the extension of time allows it to deliver a much more balanced set of recommendations which will protect the personal rights of staff and students while also allowing the freedom of religious schools to build a ‘community of faith’.

Victoria University $73.2m in the red

Victoria University has become the latest tertiary institution to publish a net operating deficit in 2022 as fallout from the pandemic comes back to bite.

At a town hall meeting on Thursday, vice-chancellor Prof Adam Shoemaker confirmed the university recorded a net operating deficit of $73.2m last year, pinned to lower than expected student numbers and reduced value of investments.

In March, it was revealed universities logged a record $5.3bn surplus in 2021. But of Australia’s 38 public universities, 10 have now disclosed their 2022 results ­recording a combined deficit of more than $900 million.

Shoemaker:

As expected, last year was a very tough one for us, as it was for many universities across Australia. While we have no borrowings, and our cash position remains strong, our operating expenditure exceeds revenue. We will have to work collectively and responsibly to return to surplus. We will examine all parts of the institution to do this.”

During its Town Hall, Victoria University also confirmed it would release a statement regarding its commitment to the Uluru Statement of the Heart.

Husic stands firm on stage-three tax cuts

Independent MP Zoe Daniel has done a survey of what her electorate of Goldstein thinks of the stage three tax cuts. She says the majority of her fairly affluent electorate wants to see the cuts reconsidered.

Asked it that’s persuasive, Husic says:

We took a commitment to the election … we take very seriously if we say one thing at the election we’re going to make sure we honour it.

Husic scoffs at gas companies threatening to cut investment if taxes are raised

We know the treasurer Jim Chalmers is looking at options to reform the petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) ahead of the budget. But this morning the sector is pushing back, forecasting that its companies will deliver a windfall $16bn in taxes, excises and royalties by the end of the financial year.

Husic isn’t buying the argument:

At various points in time the sector doesn’t like highlighting how much profit it is benefiting from, only at another point when they want to avoid tax exposure, this gets raised …

They are doing very well, they can price in a much more moderated way …

It is a bit rich for all of these firms to say, well, if you make any moves here, regulatory uncertainty will force us not to invest at a time where gas prices where they’re at. I’ll leave that to your good [RN breakfast] listeners to make their mind up as to whether or not that’s believable.

New government tool to help households rate home energy efficiency

The government will roll out a new tool for Australians to identify how energy efficient their homes are, and help compare with other homes in the market.

Husic says the pilot program between CSIRO and CoreLogic Australia will provide the data needed to bring down emissions from Australian homes:

We’ve got about nearly 12% of the country’s emissions are as a result of what’s happened in our homes. There are about 10 million residential buildings in the country. And we haven’t had data – particularly for the banking and finance sector – that they can see how energy efficient homes are.

And we’ve got a we are doing a lot of work as a government to try and improve that efficiency. And I chair the building ministers meeting that sets future building codes for new homes, but to be able to use artificial intelligence from the CSIRO working with firms like CoreLogic to be able to crunch the numbers and inform ways in which to build much cheaper products potentially, is a really big deal.

So being able to have that set up for the first time is a terrific initiative is something that I think will be important in trying to bring down emissions.

Ed Husic says board appointments alone won’t guarantee RBA diversity

The ministry for industry, Ed Husic, says he believes new appointments to the RBA board alone isn’t enough to bring diversity to the central bank – he says there need to be “deeper structures” put in place.

Speaking to ABC Radio this morning Husic says:

As a government, I can give you this assurance. We do like to take into account people’s views from different vantage points. I do think it is important that where decisions have an impact – not just in terms of investors or industry but the people that work in them or the broader community – I think it’s a healthier decision …

Some people will fix on ‘well, someone should have a seat at the board’ for that to occur and I understand why they’ll make those arguments. I’m not necessarily convinced that that specifically guarantees that will occur, just having one person on the board. There need to be a lot deeper structures for people to have that sense that they’ve had a say and that they can have an ability to influence and inform decision making.

Penny Wong calls on both sides of Sudan conflict to cease hostilities

The minister for foreign affairs, Penny Wong, says Australia condemns the violence in Sudan and changed the travel advice warning Australians against visiting the country.

Violence broke out in Sudan when two generals turned rivals after a faltering transition to civilian-led government.

Wong has called on both parties to cease hostilities.

If you want to read more about the situation in Sudan, this explainer tells you what’s behind the fighting, how the military rivalries developed, and what’s at stake in the region:

Angus Taylor says government doesn’t need to raise taxes

Two weeks out from the budget, Taylor says if the government “gets it house in order” it shouldn’t need to raise taxes.

Following Taylor’s calls for the government to manage its finances in a way that takes pressure off Australian households, Rowland asks:

Managing [the] budget and, by definition, bringing down the deficit involves two things pretty much: cutting spending and raising taxes, do you support both of those?

Taylor:

No, firstly it means having a strong economy. That is the single most important thing you can do. Then you need to make sure that your economy is growing faster than your spending. This is an objective that we had when we were in government.

We achieved it between 2013 to 2019, in the lead-up to the pandemic. It is achievable and it should be a goal for this government. In doing that you repair the budget, take pressure off inflation, interest rates and in the process you avoid having to raise taxes.

The government shouldn’t be raising taxes. It doesn’t need to if it gets its house in order.

Chalmers ‘completely ignored’ RBA review’s recruitment process, Taylor says

Yesterday Jim Chalmers also named two new appointments to the existing nine-member board: Iain Ross, a former Fair Work Commission president and former assistant secretary of the ACTU, and Elana Rubin, who has also worked with the ACTU. But Angus Taylor is this morning criticising the appointments for ignoring the recruitment process:

We were disappointed that the first two appointments that have been made by the treasurer, he completely ignored the recruitment process, the merit-based rigorous process that is laid out in the review. We do think it is important that the government is going to say it supports the recommendations of the review, it walks the walk and doesn’t just talk the talk.

Michael Rowland:

Aren’t those appointments we speak of Ian Ross and Elana Rubin all aimed to bring greater diversity views to the Reserve Bank board. The board is dominated by RBA officials and the Treasury secretary and big business leaders?

Taylor:

We want intellectual diversity. The review laid that out plainly and I endorsed the need for that. There is a clear process, a rigorous merit-based process that is laid out in recommendation 14.2 of the report and the government hasn’t followed it with its first two appointments. We want the government to get serious about the recommendations that are laid out in this report.

Chalmers ‘jumping ahead of himself’ on RBA review, Taylor says

The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, believes the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is “jumping ahead of himself” accepting all 51 recommendations of the RBA review.

Taylor, speaking to ABC News, is asked if he has endorsed all 51 recommendations like the treasurer:

No, I think [Chalmers] is jumping ahead of himself. We are working closely with the government. I worked closely with the review panel and we very much welcome the report.

We think there is some very good features of this. The sharp focus on the 2% to 3% inflation target. The clear focus on accountability and transparency of the Reserve Bank. We are very open focus on that monetary policy board and a merit-based recruitment process for board members for that board and the pre-existing board, all these things we think are a step in the right direction.

We are working through the recommendations. We will do it in a spirit of bipartisanship.

Good morning! Natasha May on deck with you.

‘Australia has the world’s best combinations of wind and solar energy resources’

We’ve also got former ACCC commissioner Rod Sims writing for us today and he agrees with the treasurer that Australia can become a green energy superpower.

In fact he argues that green energy represents an even bigger opportunity for Australia than the resources boom of the past 20 years because it’s more sustainable:

Australia has the world’s best combinations of wind and solar energy resources, and it has enormous sources of biomass for a zero emissions chemical industry.

Think about that.

The world is moving to a zero emissions economy – albeit at an uncertain speed – and we can have the lowest-cost zero emissions electricity available for large-scale economic development in the world.

Second, we have among the largest resources of the minerals needed in the energy transition. Renewable energy is not easily exported so it makes sense for industry to relocate to the source. Put simply, more of Australia’s minerals should now be processed in Australia.

Read his whole piece here: