Bruce Lehrmann is being asked to pay $13,250 for “extensive damage” and unpaid rent at the multimillion-dollar property in the north-eastern Sydney suburb of Balgowlah provided for him by Seven Network. Read more here
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Politics latest: 2030 emissions target would destroy the economy, Peter Dutton says
The Opposition Leader says he won't sign up to an emissions reduction target that will send families and businesses 'into bankruptcy'.
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Damages claim against Bruce Lehrmann heads to court
Coalition pledges to raise social media age
Opposition leader Peter Dutton says a future Coalition government would raise the minimum age kids in Australia could join social media, Emma Kirk writes.
Mr Dutton said within their first 100 days of government the Coalition would raise the age from 13 to 16 years old if elected.
“I would put it at the top of my priority list,” he said on Nova. “It reflects the community values and where the view is for the vast majority of Australians at the moment.
“So, I honestly, I can’t understand an argument against putting in place sensible measures.”
Mr Dutton said raising the age to 16 would give “parents more power in the equation” because there was a lot of pressure and examples of kids being isolated from their friendship groups and not being able to communicate.
“That was the case over Covid, and many of them wouldn’t have coped without the ability to share their story and their journey.
“It’s the case that we need to have just a sensible, moderate approach. Nobody’s saying ‘ban the internet’ or any of that sort of nonsense.”
– NewsWire
Dutton 'won't destroy the economy' for 2030 target
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says the 2030 emissions reduction target will destroy the economy.
Mr Dutton was asked on Wednesday about his decision to go to the next election opposing Labor’s 43 per cent carbon emissions reduction target by 2030 but keeping to zero emissions by 2050.
He said that such a target would “destroy the economy” and send families and businesses “into bankruptcy”.
"I’m not going to sign up to an arrangement that destroys our economy and sends families and small businesses into bankruptcy," Mr Dutton said. "I’m just not going to do that.
"I lived through the 1991 recession. Families are struggling under this government at the moment and I think we have a better way forward and we’re laying that plan out to the public."
NAAJA chair should be sacked, NT minister says
Northern Territory domestic violence minister Kate Worden has called for the immediate sacking of North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency chair Hugh Woodbury, following revelations he abused his pregnant partner.
The Australian this week revealed the NAAJA board knowingly appointed Mr Woodbury chair, despite the fact he stood on his partner's stomach while she was expecting their third child, slammed her arm in a door and repeatedly yelled derogatory slurs at her in front of their toddler.
He served a 12-month good behaviour bond and was fined $200. No conviction was recorded.
Ms Worden told reporters on Wednesday she "100 per cent" thought Mr Woodbury should be stood down from the role as chair.
"There has to be some penalties. There has to be something that impacts perpetrators of domestic violence, whether that be their careers are limited down the track," she said.
"We shouldn't have them in positions of power and authority, and I think that's a position that we do take as a government."
She said it was "totally inappropriate" that Mr Woodbury "is in that position as a leader for such a significant and important organisation".
The NAAJA board, in a statement to The Australian on Wednesday, said "people who do the hard work to turn their lives around deserve a second chance".
Ms Worden said there were "lots of opportunities for a second chance" for perpetrators in the NT, but said "you cannot actually sit at the top of an organisation and lead an organisation if you have a record as a DV perpetrator".
Ms Worden was asked about funding arrangements for NAAJA, and whether the NT government would intervene in the organisation's governance.
NAAJA is currently being provided $83m under the five-year National Legal Assistance Partnership, which is set to expire in 2025. The NT government is responsible for administering the federal funds.
The Standing Council of Attorneys-General will reassess a new NLAP arrangement soon, after the federal government tabled an independent report into the funding agreement earlier this year.
Ms Worden said it was a matter for the federal government to intervene.
"I would like to think that they would be talking to NAAJA at the moment about what's appropriate," she said.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus did not respond to The Australian's request for comment on Tuesday.
AFL backs head umpire after CFMEU criticism
The AFL has strongly backed its head of umpiring Stephen McBurney after Victorian CFMEU leader John Setka demanded his sacking, with employers accusing the construction union of trying to hold the league to ransom.
Business groups said they were appalled by Mr Setka threatening to wage a “work to rule” campaign against the AFL on any league-related projects, including the proposed Tasmanian stadium, unless the league sacked Mr McBurney as its head of umpiring.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Mr Setka of trying to stand over the AFL, and challenged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to condemn the union leader’s conduct.
Mr Setka said the union would not cooperate with the AFL to address any delays or cost overruns on league-related projects until Mr McBurney, who as Australian Building and Construction Commissioner initiated legal action that resulted in millions of dollars of penalties against the Construction Forestry and Maritime Employees Union, was sacked as the AFL umpires boss.
In a statement on Wednesday, the AFL said it hoped any action by the CFMEU did not impact players, supporters or the wider community who benefitted from upgrades to local clubrooms and our stadiums.
“Steve McBurney umpired 401 games, including four AFL grand finals, has been a long-time mentor to umpires at every level and has done an outstanding job since returning to the AFL to take up the role of Head of Officiating,” the AFL said.
Mr Setka told The Australian that the union had an “obligation to pursue anti-union, anti-worker f..kers like (Mr McBurney) and we will until the end of the earth”.
“This is going to cost the AFL a lot of f..king money. I hope it’s worth it. Projects without our full cooperation are going to be a f..king misery for them,” he said. “They will regret the day they ever employed him.”
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Mr Setka’s language and behaviour showed why it was a mistake by Labor to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission
ACCI’s chief of policy and advocacy, David Alexander said the ABCC held the CFMEU to account for its rampant violations of industrial law.
“The tactics used by John Setka in the building industry are now spilling into the AFL arena,” he said.
“John Setka is brazenly threatening to hold the AFL to ransom in order to settle an old political score. Australian sports fans will be appalled that their code could be held in such contempt.”
Dutton's 'failure of leadership' on climate: PM
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has lashed Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for not detailing an alternative 2030 emissions reduction target, labelling it an “extraordinary failure of leadership”.
“What Peter Dutton is saying is that he won’t have a 2030 target, he won't tell you what he will do before the election,” the Prime Minister said.
“This is an extraordinary failure of leadership from Peter Dutton. It shows he’s not up to the job of being the alternative prime minister of this country. And just in the last 24 hours we’ve had at least five different positions put by Coalition – including Coalition shadow ministers – like Barnaby Joyce calling to scrap net zero by 2050, others like Bridget Archer calling for a target and support for our existing target for 2030.
“Whenever Peter Dutton has put out a detail of a policy, it has fallen into a heap within minutes. And that’s why he has gone now more than two years without having a single costed, alternative policy.”
Mr Albanese said the Opposition Leader was “scared of the current, but he is terrified of the future”.
“What you need to do is to shape that future or the future will shape us,” he said. “The world is moving. The global economy is transitioning to clean energy and Australia has a comparative advantage. We need to seize the opportunities which are there, for new jobs created with new investment particularly in our regions.
“Peter Dutton wants to scare that investment away and wants Australia to fail.
“Peter Dutton is isolated in the naughty corner and wants us to join Iran, Yemen, and Libya as countries outside the Paris Accord and outside climate action.”
Chalmers dismisses talk of reforming GST
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has rejected suggestions that the federal government is looking to reforming the GST system.
“It is not something we are attracted to,” he told the audience at the Morgan Stanley Australia Summit in Sydney on Wednesday.
Mr Chalmers said the government was committed to making some tax reforms such as making multinationals pay their fair share of tax, introducing production tax credits to encourage critical minerals processing, and tax breaks for small business, but he said the government was not planning to change the current GST tax system.
He added that any changes to the GST would involve other changes such as having to compensate some people who were adversely affected and giving more money away to the states, and that it could also be met with other claims on the budget such as calls for more spending on infrastructure.
“It hasn’t been something which has been attractive to us,” the Treasurer said.
“We have focussed our tax reform efforts on other areas.”
Mr Chalmers told the conference the government was aiming to get migration down from more than 500,000 last year to the mid 200,000 next year without “jolting” the economy.
“We want to get migration down to more normal levels and we have to do it in a considered, responsible and methodical way,” he said.
“We take our responsibility in migration very seriously.
“We want to manage it down to more normal levels in a way that doesn’t jolt the economy or make our skill shortage worse.
“You don’t fix a housing shortage by making the skill shortage worse.
“Migration has always been an important part of our economy and it will continue to play an important role but we are going to manage it down to something which looks more normal."
Nuclear plants will be in Nats seats: Littleproud
Nationals Leader David Littleproud has declared nuclear power plants will be in National Party seats and that Australians would "know very soon the specific sites" proposed by the Opposition.
His comments come during a week of heated debate on net zero emissions targets and how likely it is for Labor to reach its interim climate goals.
When asked if he was happy to go to the next election with nuclear power plants proposed in National electorates, Mr Littleproud said "the answer is yes".
"We will be very upfront and honest. They will be in National Party seats," he told ABC breakfast".
"We've been very clear that they will be limited to where existing coal power stations are, so we don't need the extra 28,000 of transmission lines to plug the renewables.
"We're clear, there are 12 to 14 existing coal-fired power stations across the country so, we can limit to that. But you'll know very soon the specific sites. We'll look you square in the eye and be honest."
Mr Littleproud said he and Peter Dutton "won't hide anything" from constituents.
Electricity warnings 'a signal to investors'
Warnings of electricity shortfalls provide a clear investment signal to investors to accelerate plans for renewable energy developments, but they also underscore Australia’s rapid progress – the country’s energy market operator has said.
The Australian Energy Market Operator this year said Australia was facing a decade of unreliable electricity supplies without urgent action, a warning that ignited fierce debate about the merits of the country’s transition away from fossil fuels.
However, AEMO chief executive Daniel Westerman aid the warning should be seen as an investment signal.
“These reports are a clear signal to investors that sustained and ongoing investment in generation, storage and transmission is needed to ensure that Australian energy consumers continue to have access to reliable energy,” Mr Westerman said in a speech in Melbourne.
National job ads plunge by 20pc
The number of jobs being advertised by businesses has plunged nearly 20 per cent in the past year as the economic slowdown works its way throughout the economy.
Data from online employment company Seek shows that national job ads fell 0.6 per cent month-on-month in May to a total decline of 17.9 per cent in the past year.
The fall in jobs ads comes as the number of applications per job increased 0.3 per cent.
Seek economist Matt Cowgill said the reduction in job ads was a small decline in May compared to the previous month.
"The main contributor to the fall in volume was the Hospitality & Tourism and Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics industries, whereas roles in Healthcare & Medical and Education & Training rose month-on-month," he said.
“While the large Eastern Seaboard states of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria recorded a decline in ad volumes, there was a notable 5.4 per cent increase in job ads in Tasmania – this was due to a rise in demand for workers in Healthcare & Medical and Hospitality & Tourism.”
NSW had the sharpest decline in job ads at 1.7 per cent, or 24.1 per cent for the year, while Qld slid 1 per cent and Victoria was off 0.7 per cent in May.
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