As it happened: Social media ban among 31 bills to pass Senate overnight; PM expects parliament to return in new year

Thanks for reading the national news blog. This is where we’ll end today’s coverage.

To conclude, here’s a look back at the day’s major stories:

• Anthony Albanese signalled his election campaign slogan today after driving a raft of major policy reforms through the Senate, declaring the government has the back of ordinary Australians.

• The prime minister is scrambling to calm Labor MPs dismayed by his decision to override Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and cancel her deal with the Greens to establish a national environment watchdog.

• Cbus chair Wayne Swan has defended the controversial appointments of three CFMEU-linked directors to the board of the $94 billion superannuation giant, as he apologised to 10,000 members who waited too long to receive their death and disability benefits.

• In NSW, three men who gang raped three women during a buck’s weekend have been jailed for nine to 14 years for what a judge described as “callous”, “degrading and heinous” crimes.

• In Victoria, Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett has ended his review of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra before it began.

• In Queensland, one of Australia’s worst paedophiles has been jailed for life for hundreds of sex offences he committed over the course of 19 years while working in childcare centres.

• In Western Australia, firefighters have gained the upper hand in the battle against a fierce blaze threatening coastal communities north of Perth, but authorities warn challenging weather conditions will test their defences.

• In business news, Google is facing multiple proposed Australian class action lawsuits, with two law firms investigating claims the tech giant engaged in anticompetitive conduct in the multi-billion dollar digital advertising market.

• In world news, Vladimir Putin has praised Donald Trump as an “intelligent” politician who will find a solution to the war in Ukraine, while threatening to turn key targets in Kyiv “to dust”.

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The Australian sharemarket dropped marginally lower to end the trading week, spurred by losses from the banking and property sector.

The S&P/ASX 200 fell 8.1 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 8436.2 points at close on Friday.

The Australian sharemarket edged lower again on Friday.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

The Australian dollar saw minor gains in value, and was trading at US 65.17 cents as at 4.20pm AEDT.

Resolute Mining edged up 4.8 per cent after announcing it had paid a $US50 million ($77 million) payment to the Malian government. The country’s military junta detained company chief executive Terence Holohan and two other employees for almost two weeks after demanding a renegotiation of business terms and additional back tax payments.

Star Entertainment shares finished flat after hitting an all-time low of 18 cents during the session.

Read the full market wrap here.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has blamed vested interests for the collapse of Labor’s planned environmental reforms in another veiled swipe at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for scuppering the deal.

Speaking on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing on Friday afternoon, the SA senator said the Greens had good faith negotiations with Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek for several months to create a national environment watchdog before the planned bill was taken off the agenda this week.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“Australia’s environment is really at a crisis point, so we do need to do something,” Hanson-Young said.

“Sadly, obviously, the vested interests, the powers at be – the miners and the loggers – got their way and had that deal squashed.

Gone green.Credit: Matt Golding

“But I don’t give up hope. The reality is, our environment needs us. Our environment needs a strong voice in the parliament. That is the Greens’ job, and we will keep pushing.

“If we come back in February, and we can have another crack at it, I will be there ready to have a go.

“Again, we do not get everything we want, but we do get a lot, and we need much more for nature.”

Read more about Labor’s shelved environment bill here.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has unveiled the team tasked with carrying out his promised new 100-day review of 2032 Olympic Games planning.

Global commercial property figure Stephen Conry AM will chair the newly renamed Games Independent Infrastructure and Co-ordination Authority, Crisafulli said.

The group now has 100 days to complete their review and hand it to the government, with a draft due at least 14 days before that.Credit: File, LinkedIn, Supplied

An independent authority featured in the pitch for the Games to come back to Australia, but was publicly abandoned by the Queensland government last year. Steven Miles then promised it again when he was elevated to the top job last December.

Crisafulli first proposed the idea of a new 100-day review, should he win the election, after the Miles government’s 60-day venue review led by former Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk.

That process struck down a Gabba rebuild and proposed a new stadium be built at Victoria Park – a call rejected by Miles, who turned focus to QSAC, and Crisafulli, for whom the Gabba idea remained.

Read a full wrap of today’s developments here.

Independent MP Monique Ryan says she voted against a social media ban for kids in federal parliament today because she believes it will be unenforceable, despite acknowledging the online platforms can harm young Australians.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think it will work as intended,” Ryan told the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing in the last hour.

Independent MP Monique Ryan in parliament earlier this month.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

“I know social media can cause harm; no doubt about that. We are all concerned about that, and we would all like to take action on it effectively. Unfortunately, I think this legislation will not do that.

“It has been rushed through really quickly. Experts from a number of academic fields have told us it will not work; it will be ineffective.

“And there are also significant privacy concerns the government and has failed to address in putting this bill before the house and the Senate. That being the case, I wasn’t able to support it this week.”

Ryan said legislating a requirement for social media companies to exercise a duty of care to users – as fellow independent Zoe Daniel has proposed – would be a more effective way to reduce online harm.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just called into ABC radio in Sydney to farewell long-time drive host Richard Glover, who is stepping down today after 26 years in the job.

In a short and light-hearted chat, the prime minister didn’t speak about the hectic last week in federal parliament, which finished with the Senate passing dozens of bills last night.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Instead, Albanese spent most of the interview congratulating Glover for his contribution to Australian media over several decades.

“As a listener, I say thank you,” he said, before praising Glover’s “integrity” as an interviewer.

“You have incredible skill. You listen, you engage, you challenge. And you are a serious journo when, at times, unfortunately, I think there’s a lot of just yelling ... in the media, rather than actually seeking information, and having a genuine discussion.”

Glover thanked Albanese for his praise, but joked he needed to go out with a scoop, asking: “When’s the next election?”

Albanese responded: “2025. There you go!”

Electronic gadgets, home entertainment and holiday bookings have helped drive booming Black Friday sales, putting shoppers on track to spend a record amount despite cost-of-living pressures.

Australian consumers were on target to splurge $6.7 billion at this year’s Black Friday to Cyber Monday sales, up 5.5 per cent from 2023, the Australian Retail Association said.

A Black Friday sale sign in Melbourne’s CBD today.Credit: Eddie Jim

The bumper figure is being largely attributed to cash-strapped consumers seeking discounted holiday-season gifts as many household budgets feel the pressure from high interest rates and inflation.

Association chief industry affairs officer Fleur Brown said crowds were big in stores for most segments, with actual trade expected to hit the industry group’s multibillion-dollar forecast.

“Certainly there is a leaning to things like clothing and accessories, technology, television, mobile phones, that kind of thing,” she said.

AAP

Google is facing multiple proposed Australian class action lawsuits, with two law firms investigating claims the tech giant engaged in anticompetitive conduct in the multi-billion dollar digital advertising market.

Law firms Phi Finney McDonald and Maurice Blackburn this week separately announced proposed class actions against Google.Credit: AP

Law firms Phi Finney McDonald and Maurice Blackburn have this week separately announced proposed class actions against Google, alleging the company has a dominant position at all points of the digital advertising supply chain, taking billions of dollars in revenue away from publishers and advertisers as a result.

Phi Finney McDonald principal lawyer Joel Phibbs, who led action against Google and Apple in a Federal Court app stores trial earlier this year, is now investigating the tech giant for its conduct in the ad tech market.

Read the full exclusive story here.

Australians risk being used “as pawns and bargaining chips in geopolitical games” through hostage diplomacy as the federal government reviews how it tackles such cases.

A Senate report, released today, found those taken captive by authoritarian or corrupt regimes “suffer lengthy imprisonments frequently marked by inhumane treatment and human rights violations that deprive them not only of their liberty but also their dignity”.

“They are denied any semblance of justice, unable to access help, and cut off from their families and the rest of the world,” the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee found.

Academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was wrongfully detained in Iran on trumped-up espionage charges, described a lack of support when returning to Australia, with no medical or psychological help provided.

Other former detainees gave similar evidence and outlined hardships for their families.

AAP

A significant jump in COVID-19 hospitalisations and infections has health authorities urging caution as the festive season heats up.

The number of people hospitalised with the virus in Victoria increased by 59 per cent between October and November, the state’s latest COVID-19 surveillance report revealed.

Victoria’s seven-day hospitalisation average rose to 197 by November 26, representing a “significant increase” according to the state’s health department. The number of cases notified to the department has also increased 44 per cent in the past month.

“It’s the simple things that can have a big impact: if you’re feeling sick, please stay home,” Victorian Chief Health Officer Clare Looker said on Friday. She said JN.1 was the dominant variant and there was no indication that the virus had become more severe.

COVID-19 infections have also increased in Western Australia after three months of relatively low and stable figures, according to WA Health Department data on hospitalisations and wastewater sampling.

NSW and Queensland have experienced slight increases to reported infections, but their overall numbers of COVID-19 cases remains low.

The federal Department of Health and Aged Care vaccination rates were down for all states and territories in the November reporting period.

AAP