Thank you for joining us on the blog today. Here is a wrap:
Back and forth ensued over the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, comparing a pro-Palestinian protest at the Sydney Opera House to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. Dutton defended the comparison today (“I don’t resile from that at all”), while the federal education minister, Jason Clare, slammed it (“if you want to run the country, you can’t run your mouth”). The Tasmanian premier, Jeremy Rockliff, said “it is never appropriate to compare the Port Arthur tragedy with anything, in any circumstance,” and the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties argued such statements “dangerously conflate unrelated issues, leading to misinformation and unwarranted associations”.
The Australian Medical Associationreleased new analysis showing private health insurers’ management expenses and profits are the “key drivers of premium increases” for customers.
Tasmania’s Liberals formally secured minority support, after independent MP and former Labor leader David O’Byrne provided a written assurance of confidence and supply.
New data revealed two-thirds of Tafe teachers are considering leaving the sector due to the ongoing impact of nearly a decade of Coalition cuts to public vocational education and pressure from the fee-free Tafe program.
Thank you for joining us on the blog today. Here is a wrap:
Back and forth ensued over the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, comparing a pro-Palestinian protest at the Sydney Opera House to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. Dutton defended the comparison today (“I don’t resile from that at all”), while the federal education minister, Jason Clare, slammed it (“if you want to run the country, you can’t run your mouth”). The Tasmanian premier, Jeremy Rockliff, said “it is never appropriate to compare the Port Arthur tragedy with anything, in any circumstance,” and the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties argued such statements “dangerously conflate unrelated issues, leading to misinformation and unwarranted associations”.
The Australian Medical Associationreleased new analysis showing private health insurers’ management expenses and profits are the “key drivers of premium increases” for customers.
Tasmania’s Liberals formally secured minority support, after independent MP and former Labor leader David O’Byrne provided a written assurance of confidence and supply.
New data revealed two-thirds of Tafe teachers are considering leaving the sector due to the ongoing impact of nearly a decade of Coalition cuts to public vocational education and pressure from the fee-free Tafe program.
Vaping penalties should be kept in ‘civil space’ rather than criminal, police tell NSW inquiry
Assistant commissioner Scott Cook said it was not known how much money organised criminal groups made from vapes while disputing claims that gangs controlled the market.
He suggested penalties around vaping be kept in the “civil space”, such as a licensing scheme under which suppliers could be threatened with cancellations.
The last thing we want to see as police is criminalisation of vaping, particularly for young people – it will bring them into contact with the criminal justice system they will never get out of.
The illicit market around tobacco and nicotine products with import restrictions was “nowhere near the prohibited drugs illicit market”, he added.
Asked if police needed more power to control the sector, the assistant commissioner said: “no, not at all.”
In addition to sufficient search and seizure powers, police had “significantly higher priorities than doing enforcement work for vapes”, he said.
The committee’s deputy chair, Hugh McDermott, suggested those priorities were not for police to decide, adding that children as young as 11 were becoming addicted to illegally sold vapes due to a lack of enforcement.
But Cook said if that was the government’s position, then NSW Health should be resourced to do that properly.
McDermott earlier noted industry representatives declined to appear at the inquiry.
Holding the smoke, students find new way to hide vaping
Attempts to combat vaping could have perverse outcomes as students try to avoid detection and organised criminals eye off a market that only recently became illicit.
An inquiry has been told schools are taking a health-focused approach to getting children to quit while a senior police officer has warned against criminalisation.
Students caught vaping at school were being offered health-based interventions, education department deputy secretary of student wellbeing Martin Graham told a NSW parliamentary committee today.
“There’s lot of vaping going on,” he said.
The direction is not just about the education for why you shouldn’t vape, but also, moving them onto cessation, so helping them to get off the vapes.
Graham said vaping had been added to behavioural policies with principals “who know their kids best” entitled to suspend students.
Schools with a specific need for vaping detectors in toilets can request them, but they provided a false sense of security and could drive more dangerous behaviour.
One that was brought to us by the young people and health professionals was suddenly a trend to try and hold the smoke in your lungs to avoid the detector … that’s just making things way worse.
Enforcement since a crackdown started in January has primarily been handled by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Border Force and, more locally, NSW Health.
NSW police were mainly interested in retailers with suspected links to organised crime, which assistant commissioner Scott Cook told the inquiry might take an increased foothold in a now-illicit market.
“The vape market, up until recently, was supplied on a legal basis … in other countries where these vapes are coming from, they’re all legal,” he said.
One teen dead, another hospitalised, after stabbing in Sydney’s west
A teen has died and another is in serious condition after multiple stabbings near a school in Sydney’s west. One person has been arrested, according to a NSW Police media release.
Emergency services responded to the stabbings on Power Street, Doonside, about 3.40pm today.
Before officers could arrive on scene, two teenage boys presented to Blacktown police station with stab wounds.
They were treated at the scene for serious injuries.
A teenage boy died at the scene, and the other was taken to hospital in a serious condition.
Police have established crime scenes at both locations and are investigating. Inquiries are ongoing.
Union denounces ACT government’s appointment of robodebt official
The Community and Public Sector Union has called out the ACT government for its decision to appoint an official involved in the robodebt scandal, saying it could have a “detrimental impact” on the union’s dealings with the territory’s administration and could “undermine the confidence of public servants”.
The main public sector union has singled out the appointment of Lisa Carmody as the new deputy director general of the ACT government’s central department as “alarming”.
During royal commissions hearings, Carmody, then the human service department’s acting chief counsel, said she had brief discussions in early 2017 with the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) about concerns over the scheme’s lawfulness.
Ultimately, the AGS did not end up providing a legal opinion until late March 2019, more than two years later. The AGS said then the scheme was likely unlawful. The royal commission’s final report, which found the scheme was “crude and cruel” and illegal, did not make any adverse findings against Carmody.
In a media release on Friday afternoon, the CPSU’s ACT regional secretary, Maddy Northam, called on the ACT chief minister, Andrew Barr, to reconsider the decision.
The CPSU is concerned that this appointment could have a detrimental impact on the ACT government’s relationship with the union movement and undermine the confidence of public servants when raising concerns with management.
An ACT government spokesperson clarified Barr was not involved in the recruitment process and added the CPSU’s assertions were not supported by the final robodebt report.
A nationwide search was undertaken to recruit for this role, including a full merit based assessment and due diligence process. The Robodebt Royal Commission final report does not support the assertions of the CPSU. When Ms Carmody commences in the role, she will look to actively engage with all key stakeholders.
Andrew Forrest accuses Facebook of ‘blatantly refusing’ to take action against scam ads
Australian billionaire and philanthropist Andrew Forrest has accused Facebook’s parent company of “blatantly refusing” to take action against scam ads on its platform, as a criminal case he brought against Meta in WA was discontinued.
On Friday, the commonwealth director of public prosecutions filed a discontinuance motion due to insufficient evidence in the criminal case brought by Forrest in the Western Australia district court over scam cryptocurrency ads bearing his likeness on Facebook.
Forrest said it was a tragedy for the innocent victims of the adverts who had lost their life savings.
A Queensland farmer has found a “pretty impressive” 45kg giant jackfruit.
“I was surprised when we cut it off and felt how heavy it was,” Peter Brighton said. It took two people to pick the fruit from a tree on his farm in Feluga, south of Cairns
Read about the jacked jackfruit from Eden Gillespie here:
Government requests urgent briefing after conflicts of interest revealed in Australian War Memorial’s $550m upgrade
An urgent briefing has been requested by the government after a scathing report into the Australian War Memorial’s $550m upgrade revealed conflicts of interest, contract irregularities and cost blow-outs, AAP reports.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said he was concerned by the revelations:
The minister has requested an urgent briefing by the ANAO (Australian National Audit Office) on its findings and recommendations, and will discuss these with the Australian War Memorial’s management as a priority.
You can read more on what the audit found from Guardian Australia’s Daniel Hurst here:
The federal government has promised $17m to improve the health of one of Australia’s most important wetland areas.
The region, at the end of the River Murray in South Australia, provides vital habitat for a host of native aquatic and bird species, but is also used by some of the planet’s most impressive travellers.
Dozens of species that migrate from as far away as Siberia and Alaska visit the area each year, to feed and rest alongside native birds including the endangered Australasian bittern and the vulnerable sharp-tailed sandpiper.
The money, for the Coorong, Lower Lakes, Murray Mouth and South-East landscape, will be used to improve shorebird and wetland habitat.
Specifically, there will be new infrastructure on wetland and flood plain flats to increase the area and duration of quality shorebird and wetland habitat, among other things.
The money will underpin Australia’s commitment to international obligations including the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.
The federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, said:
Restoring the Murray Mouth, Lower Lakes and Coorong is a critical investment in the health of the whole system.
This new project will ensure the survival of our internationally significant wetlands and the plants and animals who call them home.
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today. The lovely Rafqa Touma will be here to guide you through the rest of our rolling coverage. Take care, and enjoy your weekend.
Advocacy groups call for ‘programs and funding’ in response to heat map
Advocacy groups have welcomed the release of a heat map from the federal government (see earlier post) but are urging them to address the root cause of extreme heat – climate change.
Emma Bacon, the executive director of Sweltering Cities, said certain communities are feeling the impacts of extreme heat more than others. She pointed to Western Sydney, facing “climate, health, housing and cost of living crises all at once”.
In my experience, the people living in hot homes and hot suburbs across the country know that heatwaves are dangerous and that members of their community are at risk. People aren’t underprepared for extreme heat through lack of knowledge, they’re being prevented from following health advice because they’re anxious about electricity bills so don’t turn on air con, or they’re renters and can’t make simple upgrades to their homes to be more energy efficient.
The map demonstrates that some of the most dangerous areas are home to millions of people. We need to stop burning fossil fuels that contribute to rising temperatures and will make this crisis unmanageable for the public and the government. We cannot properly adapt to run-away global warming.
Bacon hopes the heat map will be a “wake up call” for the government, and said she is “eagerly awaiting” an announcement of how federal, state and territory governments will respond to the map “with programs and funding to help our communities be safe”.
A view over Sydney from Rozelle on a hot day. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
