The Tasmanian senator Tammy Tyrrell says she is quitting the Jacqui Lambie Network, but plans to stay in the Senate as an independent – saying the party leader had suggested her former party mate “go it alone”.
Tyrrell said in a statement this evening:
Today I have advised the Jacqui Lambie Network that I am resigning from the party. I’ll remain in the Senate as an independent senator for Tasmania.
This is not something I’ve taken lightly. It’s become clear to me that I no longer have the confidence of the Jacqui Lambie Network to be able to represent it in the Senate. While Jacqui has not kicked me out of the Network, she has suggested that I go it alone.
I am not doing this because I want to harm Jacqui or the Network. I want to see Jacqui and the JLN continue to succeed. As it is now clear that the Network does not have confidence in my ability to contribute to that success, I do not wish to do anything in my advocacy for Tasmania that might harm it.
With that in mind, the best thing I can do is to step aside to allow the Network to shine. I don’t want to hold them back. I believe this is the best thing for Jacqui, the Network, myself, but most importantly, the people of Tasmania right now.
We’re reaching out to Lambie for comment.
Tyrrell has shared this YouTube clip – claiming “Jacqui has indicated she’s not happy with the way I’ve been representing the Jacqui Lambie Network”, but that there were “no hard feelings” between the pair.
Clearing could soon commence at the site of a planned defence housing development at Lee Point/Binybara in Darwin after the environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, determined she was unable to make a declaration to protect the area on cultural grounds.
The developer, Defence Housing Australia, last year voluntarily agreed to pause clearing while the minister assessed an emergency application by Larrakia traditional owners under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Act.
Plibersek had until 31 March to make a decision and today notified the applicants that after considering the evidence she was not satisfied that the specific area that would be developed met the act’s requirements for a “significant Aboriginal area in accordance with Aboriginal tradition”.
Traditional owners made the application in August last year. It followed a large campaign in Darwin in which hundreds of community members protested against bulldozing at the site and called for it be protected for its ecological and cultural significance. Savanna woodlands at Lee Point are habitat for native species, including endangered gouldian finches.
In a statement, Plibersek said:
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Heritage Protection Act only allows me to make a protection declaration within the area of the development put forward for the section 10 application. Based on evidence provided to me and the definitions under law, I was not satisfied there is a significant Aboriginal area within the 132 hectare development area.
However, I recognise the wider Binybara (Lee Point) peninsula is a culturally important area, with significant sites already protected under Northern Territory Law.
92% of Lee Point Peninsula is recognised and protected under Northern Territory Law.
I welcome the recent announcement from the Northern Territory Government to give further protection to Lee Point through the creation of a 1,500 hectare national park.
Queensland police have revoked the emergency declaration for Edge Hill saying there is no immediate threat to the public.
The declaration was made after a police incident involved a firearm being discharged, but was revoked at 3.45pm local time.
Police say investigations into the incident remain ongoing and they are looking to speak with three people.
They are described as a man with fair skin, black hair and no facial hair, a woman in her 30s with tan skin and wearing a dark top or dress, and a man in his 30s with tan skin, curly black hair and wearing a white shirt.
Members of the public are urged not to approach these people and to inform police if they see them.
While investigations remain ongoing, police believe there is no immediate threat to the public.
Royal commission into veteran suicide must be catalyst for long-overdue reform: chair
The chair of the royal commission into defence and veteran suicide, Nick Kaldas, says history will judge government and military leaders on how they respond to the suicide crisis in Australia’s military community.
The inquiry today concluded its final public hearings, with evidence from the chief of defence, Gen Angus Campbell, apologising for deficits in the care the defence force has provided its people and pledging to do better.
In his closing statement, Kaldas said:
History will absolutely judge those who are in a position to make a difference – and service members, veterans, their families and the future workforce of the ADF will be watching.
We all owe it to our sailors, soldiers and aviators to ensure they receive the protection and support they need and deserve.
Commissioner Kaldas said the commission must be the catalyst for long-overdue reform:
We hope this royal commission has been the much-needed shock to the system that will inspire the change required to address the national tragedy of defence and veteran suicide once and for all.
The commission will be watching closely over coming months to see whether or not the 73,700 claims with a DVA officer as at 29 February this year are dealt with in a more-timely manner, and whether their ‘business-as-usual’ approach delivers faster decisions for veterans, and their families, who historically have been driven to the brink – and in some tragic cases, beyond – while waiting years for their claims to be even looked at.
Help for veterans and their families is available 24 hours a day from Open Arms on 1800 011 046 or www.openarms.gov.au and Safe Zone Support on 1800 142 072 or https://www.openarms.gov.au/safe-zone-support. The crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
ASIC secures first greenwashing verdict with Vanguard victory
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission says it has won its first civil “greenwashing” case after taking action in the federal court against Vanguard Investments Australia.
According to the judgement, Vanguard engaged in conduct that was “liable to mislead the public as to the nature, the characteristics and the suitability for their purpose of those financial services” over a period that spanned about two and a half years from August 2018.
Specifically in focus was a fund - the Vanguard Ethically Conscious Global Aggregate Bond Index Fund (Hedged) - that made some claims that didn’t turn out to be accurate. Asic said in a statement:
Vanguard had claimed the Index excluded only companies with significant business activities in a range of industries, including those involving fossil fuels, but has admitted that a significant proportion of securities in the Index and the Fund were from issuers that were not researched or screened against applicable [Environmental, social and governance]criteria.
Sarah Court, Asic’s deputy, said Vanguard had admitted it had mislead investors “on a number of its claims”. Court said:
In this case, Vanguard promised its investors and potential investors that the product would be screened to exclude bond issuers with significant business activities in certain industries, including fossil fuels, when this was not always the case.
Asic and the competition watchdog, the ACCC, have identified tackling “greenwashing” - in which firms make misleading claims about their environmental credentials. of their products - to be among their priorities. Court said:
It sends a strong message to companies making sustainable investment claims that they need to reflect the true position.
The federal court will hold a further hearing on 1 August to decide what penalty it will impose on Vanguard.
Greens accuse government of burying new approval of Santos project
The Greens havesent out a media release accusingthe government of “taking out the trash” on Easter eve after the publication of a new approval for a component of Santos’s controversial Barossa offshore gas project.
The government has granted approval under national environmental laws for construction of a duplicate pipeline into Darwin harbour as part of the development.
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, claims the government “hid this dirty approval until parliament adjourned for over a month” and while the parliament was being asked to consider potential changes to petroleum regulations:
Labor are climate con-artists, approving more coal and gas projects and hiding from parliamentary scrutiny.
Guardian Australia contacted the environment department yesterday to ask about the pipeline project after noticing its status had been updated to say approved but that the usual approval documentation that is published when such a decision is made was missing. The department published that documentation last night with a spokesperson saying it had not been uploaded due to “internal administrative website issues which have now been fixed”.
The document says a delegate for the environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, approved the pipeline project about two weeks ago on 15 March.
Cairns residents urged to stay inside after reports of gunshot
Police are warning residents of Cairns to say inside as an emergency declaration after an unfolding police incident involving a firearm being discharged.
Queensland police said they were called to Edge Hill shortly after 1pm after reports of a shot being fired.
Upon arrival, it appeared two vehicles had collided and one person discharged a firearm at another before leaving on foot.
An emergency situation was declared just before 2pm, with boundaries encompassing Pease Street, Woodward Street, Polentz Street and Russell Street.
Members of the public are advised to avoid the areas while police respond or stay inside with their doors and windows locked.
Multiple roads may be affected by police stops within the local area.
Using informal channels to report ADF complaints ‘a sociocultural norm’: Gen Angus Campbell
Let’s take stock of the chief of the Australian defence force’s evidence today at the final day of hearings of the royal commission into defence and veterans’ suicide.
As we reported earlier, Gen Angus Campbell started the day offering an apology for “deficiencies” in the wellbeing, support and care that ADF members needed, both during and after their service.
Throughout the course of the day, Campbell was questioned at length about processes for handling complaints about alleged misconduct. He said there were formal channels but some people used other means, such as emails to “report concerns to myself or to one of the other chiefs or to their service headquarters or to one of the four ministers of the Defence portfolio or to, indeed, the prime minister and on occasions the governor general and to the media”.
The chair of the royal commission, Nick Kaldas, returned to this issue later in the day, asking whether people resorting to writing to ministers and prime ministers might “indicate that the normal reporting channels are failing miserably”. Campbell replied:
No, commissioner, I don’t think that’s the case. I think it is much more that it is a sociocultural norm [to send an email] that you do this.
Kaldas didn’t sound convinced, telling the hearing:
I appreciate in the military space it may be different, but in the civilian world it would be viewed as the normal channels having failed. It’s probably more of a comment than a question.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has officially quantified the effect of Swiftflation, with retail spending on clothing, footwear and personal accessories up 4.2%.
Seven sold-out Taylor Swift concerts in Sydney and Melbourne boosted retail spending in February, with over 600,000 Swifties flocking to these events. Spending on clothing, footwear and personal accessories saw the largest increase of 4.2%. pic.twitter.com/u9JULtaUhw
— Australian Bureau of Statistics (@ABSStats) March 28, 2024
Descendant of colonial family calls for removal of monuments to ancestors
A descendant of the Henty family – regarded as Victoria’s earliest European settlers – has called for monuments memorialising her ancestors in Victoria’s south-west region to be removed.
Suzannah Henty, an art historian whose work focuses on anti-colonial and decolonial contemporary works, appeared at Victoria’s Indigenous truth-telling inquiry today.
NSW elective surgery waitlist shrinks but remains above pre-pandemic levels
Elective surgery lists have markedly improved for patients across NSW but people are still waiting far longer than before the Covid-19 pandemic, AAP reports.
The state government credits a surgical taskforce in bringing the overtime waitlist for planned surgeries down 85% since the expert group was established late last year.
The premier, Chris Minns, today said the figures were encouraging after the number of people overdue for planned surgery in NSW in recent years exploded, mainly due to widespread suspensions of elective procedures during the pandemic.
He told reporters:
The overdue waitlist used to number 14,000 … it’s down to about 2,000.
The numbers refer to patients waiting longer than the clinically recommended maximum 30 days for urgent surgery, 90 days for semi-urgent surgery and 365 days for non-urgent surgery.
A taskforce was established in late 2023 to tackle the record amount of time patients were waiting for care in emergency departments.
Schools body chair resigns after child sex offender identified on his board
The chair of a major independent schools body has resigned following reports a convicted child sex offender was on his board during an investigation of a teacher’s sexually explicit emails at Cranbrook School.
John Ralston, former chair of the Association of Independent Schools NSW (AISNSW), became ineligible to remain in his position after resigning from the board of a member school last night - a requirement for elected directors.
It followed an ABC investigation which found fellow board director Peter Cullen Macarthur disclosed in 1995 he had been convicted of two sexual assaults, one on a child, and was allowed to remain in his position for another two decades.
In an email from chief executive Margery Evans to independent principals, seen by Guardian Australia, she confirmed Ralston’s resignation would take effect immediately, and commended him for more than three decades in the position.
On behalf of the board and executive ... I wish to thank [Ralston] for his service and wisdom and wish him the very best for the future.
Ralston was initially fated to depart his tenure in May, but has brought his resignation forward.
Federal parliament to examine music festivals after Splendour cancellation
Federal parliament will examine a troubling trend of music festivals in trouble, after yesterday’s cancellation of the Splendour in the Grass festival.
The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts has announced an inquiry into the challenges and opportunities within the Australian live music industry. In a statement, the committee said:
In the wake of numerous venues closing and cancellations of some of Australia’s most established and successful music festivals in recent years, it is timely the Committee considers the industry-wide issues facing the sector.
Federal member for Lyons Brian Mitchell Photograph: Ethan James/AAP
Brian Mitchell, the Labor MP and committee chair, said:
Australia’s live music industry is currently facing considerable operational challenges. In the last couple of years, after the reopening of live music venues and festivals post COVID lockdowns, we have seen the sector face new and unprecedented issues.
In the wake of venue closures and festival cancellations, the Communications and Arts Committee has announced an inquiry into the challenges and opportunities within the Australian live music industry. Submissions are welcome by 30 April 2024.
— Australian House of Representatives (@AboutTheHouse) March 28, 2024
He said the committee believed there were common struggles including shifting consumer behaviours, loss of skilled industry workers, and cost of living ramifications.
The Committee would like to hear about barriers to industry growth, including to export, the impact of current grant and support programs, and capacity building in the sector. The impacts of emerging audience behaviours and mechanisms for audience development will also be explored, along with the suitability and location of venues and artist development and career pathways.
The committee is keen for submissions by April 30.
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, the lovely Natasha May will bring you the rest of our rolling coverage, with plenty yet to come. Take care, and enjoy your long weekend.
Former senator supports motion to block gender-affirming surgery for minors
Exclusive: The former federal senator Amanda Stoker has issued a statement of support for an LNP motion to suspend gender-affirming surgery, puberty blockers and hormone treatment for those under 18 until a review takes place.
The successful motion, seen by Guardian Australia, called upon the federal and state governments to implement an urgent review of all current treatments of “paediatric gender dysphoria”.
Stoker, who is running for the state seat of Oodgeroo in the October election, supported the motion which passed on Sunday among Liberal National party members at the Metro South Region Policy Forum.
The motion will now go to the state LNP convention policy committee who will decide where it sits on the conference agenda. LNP resolutions which are passed at the state conference aren’t binding on the party.
In her supporting statement, Stoker said her submission to the committee will note the “urgency of this issue.”
This motion was originally passed last year at a Griffith [LNP] Women meeting. It was listed for debate at the LNP Convention 2023 and LNP Council 2023, however, as it was placed low in the agenda it was not debated.
We call again for an urgent review … considering the current medical evidence across the world.
Former federal senator Amanda Stoker Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Another successful motion at the forum called on the next “federal Coalition government and LNP state government” to change the school curriculum to teach students that there is “a natural cycle of climate change … and to reassure them that the world is not going to come to an end if the temperature goes up by a few degrees”.
