Key occasions
What we realized: Monday, 23 October
With that, we are going to wrap the weblog for the night. We’ll be again very first thing tomorrow for all the newest, together with the fantastic world of Senate estimates.
Right here have been at the moment’s main developments:
I’ll go away you with the query on everybody’s lips … who does First Canine Toto stick with when his dad isn’t house?
Kathryn Campbell expressed curiosity in defence earlier than Aukus transfer
Sarah Basford Canales
The prime minister and cupboard division has supplied additional perception into a choice to maneuver Kathryn Campbell to a senior Aukus function in defence, saying she had expressed “curiosity within the defence house”.
Throughout Senate estimates questioning by Greens senator Barbara Pocock, division officers stated the previous prime bureaucrat, who was overseas affairs secretary till July 2022, needed to work within the defence division.
First assistant secretary Andrew Walter stated Campbell had knowledgeable PM&C secretary Glyn Davis of her curiosity, and he then handed on that info to defence secretary Greg Moriarty.
In conversations with our secretary, Professor Davis, Ms Campbell had indicated a willingness to, or a hope to, proceed to serve the general public and we perceive that [an interest in defence] was conveyed.
… it was then a matter for the secretary of defence whether or not he took any curiosity in that, and located an acceptable function.
Moriarty instructed senators throughout estimates hearings in Might 2023 he had been approached by Davis to search for the place they might place Campbell.
[Davis] subsequently contacted me on the 14th of June to determine whether or not there could be a task for Ms Campbell on condition that she was prone to be transferring, or transferred from her place because the secretary of the Division of International Affairs and Commerce … He requested me to consider whether or not there was an acceptable function [for Campbell].
Campbell was suspended with out pay within the wake of the robodebt royal fee report. Defence confirmed she had resigned from the division with impact from Friday 21 July 2023.
Sarah Basford Canales
Officers from the prime minister’s division have been warned 20 minutes prematurely of former Victorian premier Dan Andrews’ announcement to cancel his state’s internet hosting of the 2026 Commonwealth Video games.
Prime minister and cupboard division deputy secretary, Elizabeth Hefren-Webb, instructed Liberal senator Simon Birmingham she was knowledgeable by the federal well being division 20 minutes earlier than the announcement.
Hefren-Webb stated the division had managed to cross the message on to the PM’s workplace regardless of the quick warning time.
Henry Belot
Asio boss says home spy company watching neo-Nazi teams intently
Again to Senate estimates, and Asio boss Mike Burgess has additionally been requested about his company’s response to public demonstrations and gatherings of neo-Nazi teams in Melbourne.
Earlier this month, a bunch of individuals wearing black marched by means of Melbourne’s Flinders Road station and carried out the Nazi salute. The state’s deputy premier, Ben Carroll, instructed parliament that the group “approached practice passengers to inquire about their Jewish id”.
Burgess stated Asio would proceed to observe the Nationwide Socialist Community intently:
Anybody that’s identified to us within the violent extremism cohort – both religiously or ideologically motivated within the case of the Nationwide Socialist community – might be topics of our investigations and we proceed to observe these actions intently.
Burgess went on to talk usually in regards to the group and its motivation:
We’re not anticipating them to plan acts of violence, these in the principle group. In fact, what they do is promote their trigger. They want to carry consideration to it and recruit extra members.
The terrorism menace stage is “doable” and meaning anybody from any ideology may go to violence with little or no warning, and that’s the issue we cope with at the moment. We’re involved and we proceed to observe throughout the spectrum of ideologies we’re coping with.
Palestinians in Melbourne’s north-eastern suburbs have held a silent vigil exterior the workplace of native Liberal MP Keith Wolohan in protest of him not talking on behalf of his constituents calling for ceasefire in Gaza.
Amin Abbas, founding father of Olive Children, stated the voters was house to lots of of Palestinians and Wolohan should “converse up for us”.
He stated in Menzies alone, greater than half a dozen households had misplaced relations prior to now few days as a result of ongoing battle.
A snap motion has been referred to as by members of the group within the voters, interesting to Mr Wolohan’s humanity, as a father and a household man, not only a politician, to make use of his voice and energy to finish the atrocities dedicated in opposition to the individuals of Gaza.
Peter Hannam
Snowy Hydro nonetheless awaiting NSW approvals to renew predominant tunnel boring
Dennis Barnes, Snowy Hydro’s chief govt, has caught with the newest $12bn price estimate to finish the enormous 2.0 pumped hydro venture as acknowledged again in August.
That sum doesn’t embody the price of additional transmission for the grid, which is why a ultimate determine is prone to are available at $20bn (as we famous right here).
Anyway, we realized from Barnes’ look earlier than Senate estimates at the moment that work on the 17km head-race tunnel from Tantangara reservoir to an underground energy station continues to be to restart. The tunnel machine (dubbed “Florence”) is but to obtain New South Wales authorities approval for its revised plans.
Recall that the machine barely obtained its full 140-metre size into the tunnel earlier than it hit unexpectedly moist and mushy floor, and properly, obtained bogged, late final yr.
ABC has reported the snag price $2bn alone, a determine Barnes downplayed. (The machine prices about $100m-$200m and has a crew of about 50.)
And as to why Florence didn’t begin with the slurry plant that might have allowed it to energy by means of the mush, that additional package was apparently supposed for dealing with naturally occurring asbestos. That materials might be reached about 7km in.
Barnes didn’t supply many different new numbers. Regardless of the fee blow-outs (the unique media releases had the fee at a paltry $2bn), he’s sticking together with his estimate that the venture continues to have a internet optimistic worth of $3bn – until different points emerge.
That sounds good, till you think about it’s largely optimistic as a result of future energy costs at the moment are predicted to be so much increased than when the unique (not-disclosed) enterprise case for a 2,000-plus megawatt pumped hydro plant was drawn up.
Sarah Basford Canales
No marketing campaign ‘turned many beforehand good-willed individuals in opposition to us’, Aboriginal group says
The Central Australian Aboriginal Congress has launched its assertion following Australia’s rejection of the Indigenous voice to parliament, saying it’s “saddened and disenchanted”.
The group, who supported the sure marketing campaign, famous each jurisdiction, other than the ACT, had overwhelmingly chosen to vote in opposition to a “fairer and extra inclusive nation”.
Its assertion learn:
Initially that invitation [for a voice] was well-received: a yr in the past, two-thirds of Australians have been in favour of the Voice.
Nonetheless, the … misinformation adopted by outstanding ‘No’ campaigners turned many beforehand good-willed individuals in opposition to us.
In doing so, they gave permission for racism to run wild.
Given the results of the Referendum and the conduct of the ‘No’ marketing campaign, there at the moment are severe questions on whether or not reconciliation continues to be a viable technique in Australia.”
The congress stated the wrestle for equality, justice and self-determination will proceed, including “in the end the nation state should cope with the enduring reality of Aboriginal sovereignty”.
Adeshola Ore
Victorian principal resigns after college students suffered antisemitic bullying and discrimination
The principal of a Victorian faculty the place 5 former college students suffered antisemitic bullying and discrimination has resigned from his function.
In a letter to the Brighton Secondary College group, the Victorian division of schooling says Richard Minack has “relinquished his place” as principal.
Dvir Abramovich, the chair of the Anti-Defamation Fee, says he hopes the resignation marks a “new daybreak” for the college.
Final month, the federal courtroom ordered the state of Victoria to pay greater than $430,000 in damages for negligence by failing to guard the scholars from racial discrimination.
The judgment discovered Minack breached racial discrimination legal guidelines by failing to take “acceptable and cheap steps” to discourage antisemitic bullying, harassment and Nazi swastika graffiti on the faculty.
Asio boss says these bringing violence to protests will obtain ‘full drive of my company’
Henry Belot
Asio director-general, Mike Burgess, has instructed a Senate estimates listening to that the home spy company is anxious about “a small subset of protesters” who could want to carry violence to protests about battle within the Center East.
Right here’s a bit of his opening assertion:
Asio is just not excited about those that interact in lawful protest, however moderately the small subset of protesters who could want to escalate protests or violence.
Burgess went to supply extra details about how Asio is monitoring protests across the nation:
We’re excited about people which have an ideology that claims ‘violence is the reply’. Individuals who will look to use protests and plan violence at protests will get full drive of my company.
However we’re not anti-protest and we avoid paying an curiosity into protests until after all, there are people that can exploit that for issues that we care about, from a safety menace viewpoint.
Virgin Australia floor workers threaten strike motion over ‘poverty pay’
Elias Visontay
Floor workers at Virgin Australia are threatening industrial motion, together with placing, amid claims they’re on “poverty pay”.
On Monday, the Transport Employees Union (TWU) introduced that staff will apply to the Truthful Work Fee for a protected motion poll, which means if granted, they will vote about taking industrial motion after negotiations with the airline stalled on Friday.
The TWU is claiming that Virgin – which not too long ago reported a $129m revenue – is refusing “to appropriate poverty pay, insecure work and questions of safety”.
“Floor staff and cabin crew have reported needing second jobs to compensate for low pay and unsustainable rosters as they wrestle with house loans and leases,” the TWU stated.
TWU nationwide assistant secretary Nick McIntosh stated:
The message we’re receiving loud and clear from TWU members above and under the wing is that Virgin should appropriate poverty pay, insecure work and unsafe circumstances, in any other case staff must stroll away from jobs which have grow to be unsustainable. These are staff which have remained loyal to Virgin by means of thick and skinny and are devastated that it has reached breaking level.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson:
We’re within the strategy of negotiating a brand new enterprise settlement for our Pit Crew workers. We proceed to barter in good religion with our individuals and the Transport Employees’ Union.
Guardian Australia understands that in negotiations final week, Virgin supplied workers no less than 3% pay will increase within the first yr of the brand new enterprise settlement – on prime of current award will increase – and an additional 3% improve in years two and three.
Watch out on the market, Queensland! There are a scorching few days to return:
