Candidates for abolished seat of Higgins target Senate ‘job share’
Two Melbourne women who were planning to run for the now-abolished seat of Higgins on a job-sharing basis now say they will run for a Senate spot.
Lucy Bradlow, a political communications expert, and Bronwen Bock, an investment banker, announced in April they planned to run for federal parliament as independent “job-sharing candidates” for the Melbourne metropolitan seat. If they were successful, they planned to share a laptop, as well as split official duties and travel to Canberra on alternate weeks.
The Australian Electoral Commission has since abolished Higgins in its redistribution prior to the next federal election. And the pair said in a Facebook post on Friday they now plan to run for the Senate – as a single senator:
Higgins no longer exists, but our belief remains. We believe Australians deserve real representation, real action, and a government that works for its constituents. That’s why today, we are launching the Better Together Party – our campaign to be the independent job-sharing Senator for Victoria. We want to give Victorians a real voice in the federal Senate. We stand for a new era of politics, where collaboration and inclusivity drive innovative policies and meaningful change for all Australians.
But we can’t do it alone. We need you to join us on our journey. If you’re registered to vote ANYWHERE in Australia, you can be part of the Better Together Party and have a voice in our future. It’s easy and free to sign up. Visit our website TODAY to join us and learn more about our policies and values.
Key events
The Bureau of Meteorology has published a weather outlook for the weekend ahead, with rain set to affect the north-west:
Australia needs ‘strong, decisive’ response to deaths in custody: Senator Thorpe
Yesterday, independent senator Lidia Thorpe’s motion for the attorney general to provide quarterly reports on deaths in custody passed the Senate.
It passed with the support of all non-government senators. The quarterly statements will detail, by state and territory, the number of:
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Deaths in custody, including breakdown by age groups and cause of death
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Ongoing coronial inquests;
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Incidents of self-harm in custodial settings; and
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Miscarriages and stillbirths in custodial settings.
In a statement today, Thorpe said Australia needs “a strong, decisive federal response and nation leadership on these critical issues”.
Yesterday Labor senators were alone in opposing this motion. The entire crossbench and the Coalition are united on this. We want to see the federal government finally start taking responsibility for what is happening in this country’s criminal legal system.
Labor will make the excuse that these are just ‘state issues’, but we should not accept this weak cop-out. The attorney-general meets regularly with the states and territories, he can and should require them to provide this data.
Further Cook Strait ferry drama in New Zealand
A ferry containing 88 passengers and crew lost power and drifted for two hours in New Zealand’s notoriously dangerous Cook Strait, AAP reports.
In the latest drama to hit ferry sailings between the North and South islands, the Connemara was tugged back to Wellington early on Friday morning after the mishap.
Wellington harbourmaster Grant Nalder told Radio NZ the ferry, run by private operators Bluebridge, lost power about 10.30pm as it was sailing off the south coast of Wellington, bound for Picton.
The incident occurred in thankfully light winds, and the Connemara was drifting south-east, away from land.
The NZ transport minister, Simeon Brown, called the power outage an “unfortunate incident” that would prompt the Connemara’s grounding, and told Radio NZ:
The vessel won’t be allowed to go back into service until [Maritime New Zealand] has investigated and is assured that it is safe for it to do so.
Bluebridge said 24 passengers, 13 freight drivers and crew were on board the overnight freight sailing, which returned to its Wellington wharf at sunrise.
Candidates for abolished seat of Higgins target Senate ‘job share’
Two Melbourne women who were planning to run for the now-abolished seat of Higgins on a job-sharing basis now say they will run for a Senate spot.
Lucy Bradlow, a political communications expert, and Bronwen Bock, an investment banker, announced in April they planned to run for federal parliament as independent “job-sharing candidates” for the Melbourne metropolitan seat. If they were successful, they planned to share a laptop, as well as split official duties and travel to Canberra on alternate weeks.
The Australian Electoral Commission has since abolished Higgins in its redistribution prior to the next federal election. And the pair said in a Facebook post on Friday they now plan to run for the Senate – as a single senator:
Higgins no longer exists, but our belief remains. We believe Australians deserve real representation, real action, and a government that works for its constituents. That’s why today, we are launching the Better Together Party – our campaign to be the independent job-sharing Senator for Victoria. We want to give Victorians a real voice in the federal Senate. We stand for a new era of politics, where collaboration and inclusivity drive innovative policies and meaningful change for all Australians.
But we can’t do it alone. We need you to join us on our journey. If you’re registered to vote ANYWHERE in Australia, you can be part of the Better Together Party and have a voice in our future. It’s easy and free to sign up. Visit our website TODAY to join us and learn more about our policies and values.
Jonathan Barrett
Consumer advocate says insurance sector faces ‘market failure’
A consumer advocacy group has told a parliamentary inquiry the insurance sector has suffered a “market failure”, with fast-rising home premiums leaving families exposed.
Tyrone Shandiman, founder of the Australian Consumers Insurance Lobby, cited the example of a pensioner in Townsville, in Queensland’s north, paying 40% of her pension for home insurance. Shandiman said:
We believe in the first instance insurers should have the opportunity to deal with problems within this market, but we do not support market failure, and the market is failing.
We believe that when the insurance market is not meeting the needs for consumers, governments must intervene.
Australia is grappling with an insurance crisis, leaving many households either unwilling or unable to insure their homes, with those in and around areas prone to natural disasters the most affected.
Shandiman said that high premiums were forcing people to under-insure or drop insurance altogether, which meant they required government assistance when things went wrong.
The Greens-chaired select committee on the impact of climate risk on insurance is holding a public hearing in Sydney today.
Sydney rail chaos shelved as free fares get union tick
Earlier, we brought you news that Sydney’s business community was pleading with rail workers to call off industrial action, ahead of meetings to confirm free-travel arrangements for this weekend’s footy finals. You can read all the details earlier in the blog here.
As AAP now reports, Unions NSW assistant secretary and lead negotiator, Thomas Costa, said trains could run as needed while the free-travel offer was in place. He told ABC Radio:
If you’re offering free fares over the weekend, we’re happy to run the trains as normal. Whether the trains run as normal or not will be up for management and their ability to manage the timetables.
The rail union’s opposition to the conversion of a stretch of the Bankstown line to metro train is running in parallel to an enterprise agreement claim for a 32% pay rise over four years and a 35-hour work week.
Transport for NSW secretary, Josh Murray, said there would still be interruptions over the weekend as officials worked through last-minute schedule changes:
We’re putting those special event services into the timetable and we’ll provide more information about what the regularity of those will be because it’s last minute.
NSW nurses and midwives to strike next week
The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association says members will strike for 24 hours next week, as pay negotiations continue with the state government.
Thousands of nurses and midwives will strike from the start of morning shift next Tuesday. The union says the Minns government failed to demonstrate a willingness to negotiate in good faith by close of business yesterday.
Earlier this morning, NSW health minister, Ryan Park, said the government accepted to pay nurses an interim 3% increase, back-paid to 1 July this year, contingent on the industrial action ceasing.
NSWNMA general secretary, Shaye Candish, said in a statement:
We have genuinely tried to avert this action, but the government has simply failed to demonstrate a willingness to move.
Our members are desperate to provide the safe level of care NSW patients need when seeking treatment inside public hospitals, but instead of their skilled work being remunerated accordingly, their employer believes a baseline 3% pay offer is enough.
It’s not acceptable for the state government to continue turning a blind eye to the pay inequity that is seriously undermining this state’s largest female-dominated workforce. We now have the lowest paid nurses and midwives in the country.
Caitlin Cassidy
Jewish council calls for inquiry into all kinds of racism on university campuses
A judicial inquiry into antisemitism on campuses risks silencing Palestinian voices and stoking a culture war, the Jewish Council of Australia has warned.
Sarah Schwartz, executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia and an academic at the University of Melbourne, has told a Senate inquiry into the proposed bill that it risked increasing antisemitism by conflating Judaism with the state of Israel.
We have never been more visible. Our identities and communities are constantly platformed, written about in the media and weaponised by politicians to justify support for a nation state accused of genocide.
Such an inquiry risks pitting racialised groups against each other. An inquiry into antisemitism alone places it in a category separate to other forms of racism, thus creating a perception of a hierarchy of racism which we say will only generate division between Jewish and other racialised groups.
Instead, she said the body would support an inquiry into all kinds of racism on university campuses – including Islamophobia and racism towards Indigenous Australians, as was recommended in the Australian Universities Accord.
The Senate inquiry into the proposed bill has received more than 600 submissions, including from students who have expressed fear of attending campus due to rising antisemitism.
However others, including the Loud Jew Collective, warned the proposed commission of inquiry was being proposed “not to combat antisemitism but rather to exceptionalise Jews and to demonise Palestinians and their supporters”.
NT teachers to be highest paid in country under new deal, education minister says
The NT’s education minister, Jo Hersey, says teachers in the territory will become the highest paid in Australia under a new pay deal.
In a statement, she said more than 90% of teachers voted in support of the Territory government’s pay offer of a 12.9% pay increase over three years.
The Territory must be competitive if we are going to attract and retain excellent teachers and this deal delivers the country’s best pay deal.
Other benefits include a $1,000 increase in the Katherine and Alice Springs attraction and retention allowance, she said, which is now worth $4,500 a year.
Over the life of the agreement, the increase represents a 13.46% compounded pay rise.
The commissioner for public employment will lodge the agreement with the Fair Work Commission for approval, and until then, the current enterprise agreement continues to apply.
Man in critical condition after alleged shooting in rural NSW
An investigation is under way after a 46-year-old man was shot in the abdomen at a rural property in New South Wales.
Officers were called to the Hillston property, 100km north-west of Griffith, about 2.30am and were told the man and two women – 31 and 56 – were in the home when three people allegedly entered, one armed with a firearm.
Police allege the resident was shot twice before the alleged intruders left.
The man was treated by paramedics and taken to Griffith hospital, and has since been airlifted to a major metropolitan hospital in a critical condition with life-threatening injuries.
Inquiries are now under way, police said.
Graham Arnold to depart immediately as Socceroos head coach
Football Australia has released a statement, confirming Graham Arnold will depart immediately as head coach of the Socceroos.
FA said Arnold advised them of his decision to resign earlier this week.
Arnold has served as the head coach since August 2018, marking his second term with the team after a brief interim role in 2006-2007.
James Johnson, CEO of Football Australia, said:
While we respect his decision and are saddened to see Graham leave the national team set-up, this scenario is not uncommon in international football. We will act swiftly in appointing a new head coach to ensure continuity and stability, particularly as we approach the crucial second window of the AFC Asian Qualifiers next month.
Arnold said that “leading the Subway Socceroos has been the pinnacle of my career and a true honour”.
I’ve given 40 years of service to Australian football, with the last six years in my role as Socceroos’ head coach. I said after our game against Indonesia that I had some decisions to make, and after deep reflection, my gut has told me it’s time for change, both for myself and the program.
Caitlin Cassidy
Sydney academics concerned policy requiring permission for megaphones and posters on campus may be illegal
More than 50 academics at the University of Sydney’s Law School have signed an open letter expressing concerns a new campus policy which requires explicit permission for megaphones to be used or posters to be put up on campus may be illegal.
The letter, delivered to the chancellor, vice-chancellor and Senate on Friday, said the policy “unreasonably limits” the right to free protest on campus and was introduced without consultation, breaching the university’s own policies and inconsistent with Australia’s obligations under international law.
The policy breaks with a proud history and tradition of protest at the University of Sydney. It disproportionately curtails the freedoms of expression, assembly and movement that have long been enjoyed responsibly by the staff, students and the general public at the university.
A spokesperson for the University of Sydney said it always welcomed feedback and appreciated the “time and consideration” colleagues had taken to share their views about its new policy, adding they planned to review it before the end of the year, with formal submissions encouraged.
We updated the policy to ensure we are striking the appropriate balance between protecting freedom of speech and academic freedom, while making sure our campuses are safe and welcoming for all our students and staff, and our core operations can take place without disruption.
It comes as the university is under fire on Friday at a Senate inquiry on antisemitism on campus. The Zionist Federation of Australia president, Jeremy Leibler, told the inquiry the vice-chancellor’s engagement with Jewish and Israeli students was “extremely sub-standard”.
That provided anti-Israel protesters with a powerful lesson and a disturbing lesson.
The PM was asked why he doesn’t go to New York for the UN next week, which he hasn’t attended since taking office?
Anthony Albanese said he was coming to the US just for the Quad and had “been to the overseas meetings that I have to go to.”
He listed upcoming meetings he would be attending, including the G20, Chogm – and hosting King Charles and Queen Camilla during their visit – plus the Asean and East Asia summit in Laos.
I have prioritised the visits that I have to make and I know I get criticised for not doing more international travel. The irony of that, when compared with some of the coverage of when I do travel, is not lost.
Asked if he didn’t view the UN as important, he said “of course it is, but Penny Wong, our foreign minister, will be attending.”
Also asked if he would be meeting with Donald Trump, Albanese said “I am meeting the president of the United States. It is Joe Biden and I will meet with him.”
Albanese says alleged Indian spying will ‘no doubt’ be raised with Modi at Quad meeting in US
Anthony Albanese was asked if he had the chance to speak with Narendra Modi since the announcement Australia expelled two Indian spies in 2020.
The PM was asked, what will you be saying to him to get an ally, a friend, to cease and desist from that kind of spying on Australian soil? He responded:
What I do is act diplomatically and have those discussions, and that will no doubt be something that is raised…
I spoke with prime minister Modi a couple of weeks ago in August … after his re-election and congratulated him… I raise issues privately [which is] how we deal with things diplomatically, and I’ll continue to do so.
PM responds to release of footage showing interaction between Chinese and Australian aircrafts in 2022
The White House has said China would be high on the agenda during Quad discussions.
The PM was asked if he agrees with this, and if the release of footage showing an interaction between a Chinese aircraft and an Australian aircraft was “perhaps some sort of preemptive warning to Australia about Chinese strength?”
Anthony Albanese responded:
We know that in our region there is strategic competition, and of course that is a factor when we look at the way that our region is operating, the relations between the rise of China with nations in our region.
But that is not the only focus of course. This is a focus on our four nations, the security and stability that democracies can provide and we want to, with regard to China, my position is very clear. It is that we will cooperate when we can, we will disagree where we must, but we will engage in our national interest.
And that is something that has led to an improvement in the relationships with China, and that does not mean there aren’t differences there, there are. We talk about them and we discuss them in appropriate forms and we discuss them very directly.
Anthony Albanese was asked if he is concerned Donald Trump would walk away from the Quad alliance, if elected in November.
The PM said he was not concerned, because “this is a relationship between our two great nations forged during World War II”.
Ever since then, we have relied upon our friends in the United States and they have been able to rely upon us as well.
PM arrives in Philadelphia for Quad leaders meeting
Anthony Albanese has arrived in Philadelphia, US, ahead of the Quad leaders meeting, and has been speaking to reporters.
The prime minister said the Quad meeting provides “an opportunity to talk directly to the leaders of the United States in president [Joe] Biden, my friend prime minister [Narendra] Modi from India and my friend the prime minister [Fumio Kishida] of Japan.”
We will be discussing ways in which we can provide further support in the region, to developing nations, including the action that we are taking together on climate change and supporting their energy security…
As I said in my Shangri-La dialogue address last year in Singapore, peace and security do not just happen, you have to work on it. You’ve got to work for stability and that is what the Quad focus will be over the next couple of days.
