Langton to seek legal advice on Dutton’s posting of ‘absolutely not true’ headline
Marcia Langton said the headline in the Australian yesterday was not what she said and that the truth matters.
Langton said the Australian had changed its headline “three times I believe” and it had been rewritten “three times” but Peter Dutton still hasn’t removed the original post.
So by the end of the day, yesterday, the article had been rewritten three times, the headline had been changed three times. And today, I will have to go to a lawyer and ask a lawyer to write to Peter Dutton requesting that he remove this post from his Instagram because it is absolutely not true.
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I deny it absolutely. And as you say, there is a recording of what I said at the Bunbury meeting. And what I said is very clear.
I was explaining how the no campaign is using fears and lies to frighten no voters into voting no, that the no campaign is claiming that this, our proposition in the referendum, will create apartheid. And so it’s very important to answer people’s questions and explain exactly how this kind of [campaign] works.
Key events
Benita Kolovos
Does the bushfire forecast change if El Niño is declared? Symes says it’s unlikely:
It’s a good question and it’s question I’ve asked. It doesn’t make a lot of difference. That’s the scientific definition or category of a particular weather pattern involving the atmosphere and the sea. But for our intents and purposes, it doesn’t change what we do in Victoria.
She says the government will provide another update before the start of summer with the latest data.
Benita Kolovos
Victorian emergency services commissioner Rick Nugent says he is concerned some Victorians who have made a tree change during the pandemic may be underprepared for bushfires given they’ve experienced mild summers. He says:
People who have moved to regional areas need to … have a plan and to actually sit down with your family and understand what your plan is. The challenge now is sometimes we go through different extreme weather days multiple times over the season and you may have to leave more than once. It’s much better than being caught.
Emergency services minister Jaclyn Symes says the government will be launching an advertising campaign, called How Well Do You Know Fires, to raise awareness among this group. The campaign will also target people in growth corridors, where grassfires are a concern, and holidaymakers.
She says:
Because of the last seasons and the amount of rain … there is a lot of growth out there so grass fires are a real concern in growth areas … They move fast and it can be quite scary.
Symes says the bushfire season is not forecast to be catastrophic, despite what we saw over the northern hemisphere summer.
It is not anticipated to be another Black Saturday. The message is that we have some pockets of rather dry areas … the majority of the state is returning to a normal fire season. Normal fire season means high risk but there is a lot of moisture that’s already in the ground at the moment, which will lead to an unlikely campaign bushfire season for instance. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible at this stage . Normal means you still need to take action you still need to be aware. But I understand people are nervous when you see the images that are coming out of Maui and Greece. I get that.
Parliamentary gift shop gets a makeover
After its first revamp since 1996 (which happened after it was trashed by protesters who broke through police barricades and into the public space of the parliament), the Parliamentary Gift Shop is officially re-opened and welcoming customers.
Presiding officers Milton Dick (speaker of the house) and Sue Lines (president of the Senate) did a short shift behind the counter.
The store is now, as we understand it, carrying only Australian-made items, but we hope the price points still allow for school students to take back a little something from their visit.
For those keeping track, after a re-arrangement of business in the senate yesterday, the housing Australia future fund legislation was brought back on for debate and is expected to pass sometime this afternoon.
The Greens agreed to support the bill after negotiating for another $1bn on top of the $2bn for social and affordable housing (to begin flowing out seperate to this fund, immediately).
The party didn’t get any movement on rental caps or freezes but have said it will keep fighting.
Paul Karp has the Qantas decision covered off:
Daniel Hurst
Crossbenchers intensify push for release of secret climate crisis report
Crossbench MPs and senators have stepped up their calls for the government to release a declassified version of a secret intelligence report into the national security risks posed by the climate crisis.
As flagged on the blog earlier today, Warringah MP Zali Steggall organised a briefing for fellow crossbenchers conducted by former Australian defence force chief Chris Barrie and former deputy air force chief John Blackburn.
They have just finished a press conference at Parliament House alongside Allegra Spender, Zoe Daniel, David Pocock, Kate Chaney, David Shoebridge and Sophie Scamps.
Steggall told reporters the government “continues to refuse to share its findings”, which meant the Australian people were not fully informed of the geopolitical risks across the region, making it harder to develop a coherent response.
She said it was not satisfactory for the prime minister to say there is already a large amount of information in the public domain about climate security risks.
Barrie added:
We need some leadership from the damn federal government, which is missing in action.
Shoebridge said nuclear-powered submarines would be of no use in responding to climate disasters or increased refugee flows.
Last month Anthony Albanese told parliament the government made “no apologies for not releasing national security advice, which, appropriately, goes to the national security committee”.
Benita Kolovos
Victorians urged to ready for earlier fire season
Victoria’s emergency services minister, Jaclyn Symes, and the new emergency management commissioner, Rick Nugent, are holding a press conference to urge people to prepare for an earlier start to the fire season for some parts of the state.
Symes says the seasonal bushfire outlook for spring suggests Victorians can expect a drier and warmer spring with a high chance of an earlier start to the fire season in the central, western and northern parts of the state.
She says other parts of the state will return to normal conditions after several wetter-than-average summers:
I do have to stress that normal conditions in our state, in our country, does mean higher risk so I’m taking the opportunity … to get the message out there that now is the time for you to prepare for this season. It is time to mow your lawns. It’s time to clean your gutters. It’s time to take care of your properties. Many people will know the drill but they haven’t had to really be focused on it in the past couple of years. This year is different.
Andrew Messenger
Court dismisses bid to have Queensland graft watchdog’s report released
A report by Queensland’s corruption watchdog into the state’s former public trustee will not be released to the public, after a milestone decision by the High Court.
After an anonymous 2018 allegation of corruption by trustee Peter Carne, the Crime and Corruption Commission completed a report which the High Court said was “highly critical of him” – but did not recommend criminal charges.
Carne challenged the CCC’s right to make the document public on the basis that the document is “not a report” for the purposes of the commission’s act.
After losing his original case in Queensland’s supreme court, the state’s Court of Appeal sided with Carne, stopping the CCC from publishing.
On Wednesday the High Court dismissed the CCC’s appeal, with costs awarded to Carne.
The court found the commission could only release a report into an individual, under its act, where it has “decided that prosecution proceedings or disciplinary action should be considered”.
The landmark judgement significantly narrows the ability of Queensland’s premier corruption agency to report on public figures. Former deputy premier Jackie Trad also launched court action to prevent the CCC publishing a report which did not find corrupt conduct on her part.
Carne resigned in 2020.
Peter Hannam
Qantas shares hold up
Qantas’s loss in the high court today looks like another devastating blow for the carrier’s image.
However, investors don’t yet take it as bad news. The airline’s shares have been higher most of the morning, and were recently up 0.5%.
That’s not a lot, and could turn negative soon, but for now Qantas is outperforming the top 200 share index, which is down 0.4% for the day.
The lack of a big drop suggests investors were anticipating the high court would stick with its original ruling that Qantas’s outsourcing of about 1,700 ground handler jobs during Covid was unlawful.
Eden Gillespie
Queensland Greens call for daily updates on detained children
The Queensland Greens have called on the state government to publicly release real-time data about children detained in police watch houses and adult prisons.
On Wednesday the Greens MP for Maiwar, Michael Berkman, asked the government if it would commit to daily reporting of children in these facilities, including details about how long they’ve been detained as well as their age, gender and Indigenous status.
He claimed amendments rushed through parliament last sitting week to legalise the imprisonment of children in police watch houses and adult prisons would result in more children detained.
Youth justice minister Yvette D’Ath did not confirm whether the government would consider the proposal.
She said the watch house amendment came after advice by the solicitor general that indicated the government may have been illegally detaining children in watch houses for three decades.
D’Ath said if a legal challenge was brought, children would have been transported from watch houses to youth detention centres, which are already at capacity, placing staff and young people at risk.
You can add the Australian Services Union to the group of people thrilled with the outcome of the high court decision on Qantas:
ASU assistant national secretary Emeline Gaske said in a statement:
Today’s unanimous decision by the high court is a win for workers against a company that has a well-known history of trampling over workers’ rights and exploiting loopholes in the laws that are meant to protect workers.
While we wholeheartedly embrace this ruling as a victory for all Qantas Group workers and their right to stand together, it’s vital that the federal government expedite action to close those loops that allow for exploitation in our industrial relations system.
These weaknesses should never be exploited to undermine the hard-earned rights of Australian workers to secure, well-paid jobs.