Politics latest: Supermarkets probe a 'Mickey Mouse review, claims Peter Dutton

Peter Dutton says the Emerson report into supermarkets was conducted by a Labor mate with an outcome predetermined by the Treasurer and won't offer price relief to consumers.

Noah Yim and Tricia Rivera

less than 2 min read

April 8, 2024 - 2:59PM

Leader of the opposition Peter Dutton. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Appleyard

Welcome to The Australian's rolling coverage of news from Canberra and around the nation.

Live Updates

EU forges ahead with nuclear while Australia at odds

Agency writers

Honoured to be at the @PressClubAust & to give an overview of 🇪🇺 recent actions in energy, how we managed the #energycrisis, our cooperation with Australia & what we do to support #Ukraine.

Full remarks from the meeting with 🇦🇺 National Press Club👇https://t.co/PdzuxM3CMF pic.twitter.com/GqcNdD4osT
— Kadri Simson (@KadriSimson) April 8, 2024

The European Union will forge ahead with the development of small modular nuclear reactors with a view to deploying them by the early 2030s, its energy commissioner has stated, as the Albanese government shuns the uptake of the technology.

While not explicitly weighing in on the proposal to develop nuclear generation in Australia, Kadri Simson, the political bloc’s energy commissioner, told the National Press Club on Monday that Brussels was expecting to rely on small modular reactors (SMRs) technology to help meet its climate targets.

“In Europe, one of the technologies with considerable potential is nuclear, more precisely small modular reactors,” Ms Simson said.

Technological developments on small modular reactors, Ms Simson said, offered an opportunity for low-carbon power generation,while assisting energy supply and reliability.

“They can help bring the price of electricity down, they can produce heat for industrial processes and urban districts, they can generate power for balancing the grid.”

While Ms Simson said it was up to individual EU member states to determine if nuclear was an appropriate addition to its own energy mix, she added governments were increasingly looking to all available renewable and low-emissions energy sources to bolster supply.

“There is a growing sense that we need to be pragmatic and fully leverage the potential of various technologies – including nuclear – for those countries who want to do so,” she said.

Earlier this year, the European Commission established a new industry alliance aimed at accelerating the development of SMRs.

Ms Simson’s address comes amid an increasingly heated debate over the role of nuclear generation within Australia’s energy grid with the Coalition currently developing a policy which proposes to build reactors on the sites of decommissioned coal fired power stations to bolster baseload electricity supply to firm intermittent renewable sources.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has pledged that a future Coalition government would plan to deploy its first SMR by the mid-2030s.

However, industry experts have poured cold water over the proposal, citing that the technology remains in development, is yet to prove commercially viable, and is likely to be extremely expensive.

A US-based venture to develop a small modular nuclear reactor (SMNR) collapsed late last year, squibbing $US600m ($AU930m) of taxpayers’ funds after cost overruns extinguished the project’s commercial viability.

Meanwhile, nuclear powered generation is viewed in some markets, including Europe, as key towards decarbonisation goals, largescale reactors have also been plagued by cost blowout and mutli-year delays.

The United Kingdom’s Hinkley Point C project, which will develop a two-unit 3.2-gigawatt nuclear power station, has been delayed until 2029 at the earliest, an is expected to cost £46bn ($AU88.2bn), more than double its original estimate.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stepped up his attack on the Coalition’s plan, arguing that with SMRs not available for commercial deployment, large scale reactors would take decades to build.

“Peter Dutton’s policy is for nothing to happen, meanwhile for there to be in the future a real shortage of energy because nothing has happened. That’s what his recipe is for,” Mr Albanese said.

“There isn’t a single private sector organisation putting their hand up saying that they want to fund a nuclear reactor here in Australia.”

As Brussels seeks to reduce its reliance on Russia for enriched uranium following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, Ms Simson added Australia had a critical role as a supplier of the commodity for civilian nuclear energy generation.

“This was particularly important when supplies were at risk of disruption due to recent geopolitical events,” she said.

– Jack Quail

ALP response to Australian deaths in Israel-Gaza conflict condemned

Noah Yim

Galit Carbone, left, who was born and raised in Sydney before settling in Israel in her late teens, was killed by Hamas in the October 7 attacks. She is pictured with her daughter Maia, middle, and Nicole, right, on Nicole’s wedding day. Picture: supplied

The brother of Australian woman Galit Carbone, who was killed by Hamas on October 7, has condemned the Australian government’s response to his sister’s death compared to that of aid worker Zomi Frankcom.

“Putting my sister on page five at the background there in case someone will read it and putting the aid worker – as sad as it is and the Israeli government apologised and they’re putting an inquiry through it – it is sad, every death,” Geoffrey Majzner told Sky News.

“But come on, let’s not compare the level of death here, come on, seriously.

He said his family had reached out when Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong visited Israel but controversially did not visit the sites of the October 7 attacks.

“One of her aides or her, whatever, responded in such a cold and weak manner, that is really insulting, you know,” he said. “Telling me, we visited Mr Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem [the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre], who gives a ‘d’, you know?

“Really, you could visit Mr Chairman on any other 364 days of the year.

“You’ve got an Australian that was murdered here, come and see the family, two kids, her brother, her father, her something.

“The Australian ambassador came to the funeral, and the consul came to the funeral. And we felt like we’re part of another place altogether, we felt them.

"But after that, nothing."

He said international opinion had since become “way, way beyond any nightmare”.

“All over the place, all over the world, people don't even think that the 7th existed or happened,” he said. “People think – like the Holocaust – it’s just a made-up fairytale that someone invented.”

Rate hikes hit Australian households the hardest: IMF

Patrick Commins

Only about 15 per cent of Australian mortgages are on fixed rates, against 90 per cent in the US. Picture: Getty

Rate hikes hit Australian households harder than anywhere else in the world, the International Monetary Funds says, justifying the Reserve Bank’s decision to not push interest rates as high as in other developed economies such as the US.

New IMF research finds that our very low share of fixed-rate mortgages, heavy household debt burdens and constraints that limit the supply of new housing put Australia at the top of a list of 25 countries as measured by households’ vulnerability to rising borrowing costs.

“Why are some feeling the pinch from higher rates and not others? The answer partly lies in differences in mortgage and housing market characteristics,” IMF economists wrote ahead of the release of the second chapter of the upcoming World Economic Outlook. “The effects of rising monetary policy rates on activity partly depend on housing and mortgage market characteristics, which vary significantly across countries,” they wrote.

For example, about 90 per cent of American home loans are fixed, the IMF report showed, most commonly by 30 years. In contrast, only about 15 per cent of Australian mortgages are fixed.

Australia was also a standout in terms of household debt, at a level equivalent to more than 100 per cent of GDP.

READ the full story

Labor warned against supermarket policy overreach

Geoff Chambers

Lydia Lynch

Supermarkets must treat their suppliers fairly and provide consumers with the lowest possible prices, but heavy-handed regulation could have unintended consequences. Read ACCI's media release here https://t.co/OtRWwUg2uR pic.twitter.com/tqW2x2CnW9
— Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI) (@ACCINews) April 8, 2024

A leading business group has warned of unintended consequences from making a supermarket code of conduct mandatory, as the Coalition pushes for broader powers including the potential to force food and grocery giants to sell assets if they act in bad faith.

Following the release of former Labor minister Craig Emerson’s interim supermarket review, which recommended fines up to 10 per cent of turnover, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said the government needed to “be cautious when introducing significant regulatory requirements that could set significant precedents”.

Farmers were split on the proposals, with the Queensland Strawberry Growers Association warning the mandatory code would be “toothless” as growers were fearful of taking on major stores, while the National Farmers Federation backed the recommendations.

Jim Chalmers on Monday seized on divisions within the Coalition over divestiture powers, accusing the opposition of having a “different view on competition policy between 6.46am … (and) 6.47am” and that the opposition was “all over the shop when it comes to competition policy and supermarkets”.

The attacks came as splits deepened within the Coalition over divestiture powers, with opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson calling for them to be implemented while finance spokeswoman Jane Hume raised concerns saying they may not lead to a reduction in grocery bills.

“There’s always concern with divestiture powers whether they will actually decrease prices,” Senator Hume said.

Peter Dutton denied splits within his party, saying the opposition had been “very clear and consistent” on supermarket policy as he attacked Dr Emerson’s inquiry as a “Mickey Mouse review conducted by a Labor mate”.

The Australian last week revealed Nationals MPs had little confidence the Coalition would take divestiture powers designed to break-up big supermarkets to the 2025 election.

Coalition sources on Monday confirmed Mr Dutton and opposition Treasury spokesman Angus Taylor were leading the development of a competition policy with Nationals leader David Littleproud focused on putting guardrails in place and applying greater economic reality to “big stick” measures.

READ the full story

Greens demand retired wells probe after oil leak

Agency writers

An oil leak off the Gippsland coast of Victoria has prompted the Greens to demand an urgent inquiry into decommissioning old and retired gas infrastructure across the state.

Deputy Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell, said there were reports a pipeline linking two ageing ExxonMobil oil platforms off the coast was being investigated as the source of an oil leak in Bass Strait.

She said the party was calling for an inquiry to understand the risks of ageing infrastructure to Victorians and develop a map for decommissioning existing plants, wells and pipelines.

Ms Sandell said without bonds to require companies to stump up costs for proper clean up and rehabilitation, offshore pipelines were a ticking time bomb which could leak or cause a disaster at any moment.

– Newswire

Disbelief over wind farm proposal on whale migration route

Agency writers

A humpback whale breaches in WA's Geographe Bay. Picture: Supplied

In what is believed to be a world first, the federal government has proposed developing an offshore wind farm in the middle of a whale super highway off Western Australia’s southwest coast.

Each year, tens of thousands of whales use the water in and around Geographe Bay on their annual migration to Antarctica.

The bay is described as a pristine marine ecosystem off Bunbury, about 168km south of Perth, and stretches 98km along the coastline to Cape Naturaliste, between Dunsborough and Yallingup.

The area is one of WA’s most popular tourist destinations and recreational playgrounds, with endless sandy beaches, turquoise waters and an abundance of marine life.

More than 30,000 humpback whales pass through Geographe Bay on their way south as they head towards their feeding grounds.

Endangered southern right whales use the bay to rest and nurse their calves.

The community is in disbelief that an offshore wind farm has been proposed in Geographe Bay and say there has been a lack of information and consultation from authorities.

Geographe Marine Research have monitored the movement of whales through the bay for years and believe a wind farm would be better located on land.

They recently started tagging blue whales in the area and have recorded whales outside the bay area using an acoustic datalog, inside the proposed wind farm zone.

Geographe Bay Marine research board member Rodney Peterson said their concern was that the wind farm would be the world’s first in a whale migration route.

“No one can predict how the whales will react to that,” he said.

“It wasn’t that long ago that we nearly wiped whales off the planet.

“The blue whales and southern right populations haven’t come back like the humpbacks.

“We need to see more details about the wind farm and the area that is being proposed.

“The government has not come forward with any details and that is what’s lacking.

“They just need to come forward with research to show why this is a good area, although if they did the research, they would probably find it is not a good area.

“We nearly killed all these whales now we are going to do this to their migration path.”

In February, the federal government started seeking community feedback on the proposed wind farm area, which could span about 7674sq km

While the project is still in the early stages, if the area is approved by the federal and state governments , it could be located 20km to 70km off the populated coastline.

One of the proponents looking at the project is Copenhagen Energy, a Danish renewable energy developer, which has stated that the energy produced would be enough electricity to power approximately three million homes and offset an expected six million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

They are looking at up to 200 wind turbines operating in the proposed area 24 hours per day, 365 days a year for up to 50 years once operational.

Copenhagen Energy has submitted an application to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water based on their initial environmental, social and economic studies.

Copenhagen Energy chief executive officer Jasmin Bejdic said since then the project had advanced considerably.

“Copenhagen Energy will update and resubmit its plans as part of the federal government regulatory process,” he said.

“The first licence required is a feasibility licence. During the feasibility stage, proposed projects are assessed for environmental approvals including under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

“A further management plan is prepared to cover the entire proposed project, including on the consultation that has taken place with existing marine users, First Nations groups and relevant government departments.

“Steps taken to identify, avoid and mitigate potential impacts, including by sharing benefits from the proposed project are also outlined in the management plan.”

Mr Bedjic said they had been involved in stakeholder engagement for more than two years, which included various community groups.

“However, we accept that many people are only now becoming aware of plans for offshore wind in WA,” he said.

“When appropriate, we will re-engage with stakeholders including local, state and federal departments and agencies, community groups, unions, industry, ports, fishing bodies and education and training organisations.”

Mr Bejdic said the federal government must first make a determination on the suitability of its chosen area for offshore wind.

“The final area may change from that initially indicated when consultation began,” he said.

“Considerable work will be done on all elements of the social, economic and environmental aspects of our Leeuwin Offshore Wind Farm in order to meet the strict requirements.

“Assuming all necessary approvals are granted, Copenhagen Energy hopes to be providing first energy from its Leeuwin Offshore Wind Farm in 2030.”

Climate Change and Energy minister Chris Bowen said the zone was chosen for its “ideal location for offshore electricity generation because of the high speed winds in the Indian Ocean, its proximity to large energy users and could enable up to 20 gigawatts of offshore wind to be developed.”

Mr Bowen said offshore wind would be a critical new clean energy industry for Western Australians as electricity demand increased, helping to provide thousands of jobs along the way.

“The Albanese government is committed to genuine consultation on offshore wind – that’s why we want communities, industry and businesses to have their say on an offshore wind area off WA from the very beginning.”

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam said she shared community concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the project and believed the consultation process so far has raised more questions than answers.

“The offshore wind farms will have a profound effect on our beautiful coastline and yet there are still many unanswered questions about the full impact it will have on the health and wellbeing of residents living in nearby coastal communities but also on whales, migratory birds and our fish stock,” she said.

“The recent community consultation sessions provided no constructive information or reassurance.

“Residents deserve open and transparent information about the impact of the project and it is not unreasonable to expect the federal government to be able to provide details by this stage of the planning process.

“I have met with southwest locals who are understandably outraged by the process so far, and I will continue to work alongside them to ensure this proposal does not go ahead.”

A spokeswoman for Mr Bowen said they appreciated that proposals for all kinds of new infrastructure and industries could raise concerns and questions from local communities.

“The information sessions were purposely scheduled across a range of days, times and locations, including online, to provide multiple options for people to have the opportunity to engage directly with government representatives,” the spokesperson said.

“We acknowledge many people still have questions about the West Australian zone, and the offshore wind industry more broadly.

“We will be providing opportunities to continue engaging over the coming months, and obviously throughout the various development stages of the zone over the coming years.”

– Emma Kirk

Lobbyists’ easy access to MPs increases corruption risk: expert

Agency writers

Watch Anne Kantor Fellow Vivien Clarke and Democracy & Accountability Director Bill Browne appearing before the Senate Committee inquiry into the presence of lobbyists in Parliament House ⬇️https://t.co/YZ7bo94fZg
— Australia Institute (@TheAusInstitute) April 8, 2024

Federal ministers should be forced to publish their diaries each month and lobbyists access to leaders should be restricted to counter undue influence and potential for corruption, an inquiry has heard.

Experts and public advocates have called for a crackdown on Australia’s “weak” federal lobbying system that allows lobbyists to roam the halls of parliament unescorted.

Orange passes, which require sponsorship from an MP or senator and are valid for three years, allows the holder around-the-clock access to restricted areas of Parliament House.

University of Sydney law Professor Anne Twomey said the pass gives lobbyists the power to ‘drop in’ to a parliamentarian’s office without an appointment, casually run into them at one of the cafes, or catch them as they return from a division in the chamber.

“It allows lobbying to occur in an informal and undocumented way, without a formal appointment recorded in a diary and without the attendance or knowledge of a staffer or official,” Professor Twomey told a senate committee

“In short, it opens the door to undue influence and potentially corrupt behaviour. Facilitating such opportunities is both unwise and inappropriate.”

Monday’s inquiry heard that the number of new lobbyists on the public register has nearly doubled since 2020.

Research suggests that almost 40 per cent of lobbyists are former politicians, public servants and ministerial advisers.

Monash University Associate Professor Yee-Fui Ng said lobbyists using sponsored passes should be required to publicly register their details, including with whom they meet, to align with rules used in countries like Canada and the US.

She argued ministers should also be required to publicly disclose meetings, citing a recent scandal in the UK in which MPs were paid to ask questions put forward by lobbyists to parliament.

“Parliamentary time is a scarce resource and we shouldn’t let people pay for such access,” Dr Ng said.

“I think for the broader notion of fairness – the regulatory notion of transparency is good.”

Vivien Clark from the Australia Institute said lobbyist influence could be exposed and reduced by forcing ministers to publish their ministerial diaries.

She pointed to NSW, Victoria and Queensland, which all require ministers to disclose diary summaries outlining scheduled meetings with lobbyists, stakeholders and other external organisations.

“If we’re talking about decisions that were made a year ago or months ago, and you’re only just finding out in few weeks that the minister has had all kinds of meetings with specific lobbyists or interest groups – it’s not good enough to find out 18 months later,” Ms Clark said.

Later, experts raised concerns over the extensive links between Australia’s elected officials and the influence of big tobacco.

Dr Christina Watts, who published a study last year that found about half of tobacco lobbyists had previously held jobs in parliament, said the government’s anti-vaping reforms risked being weakened under the current lobbying rules.

“The tobacco industry and their allies very much use a stretch of campaigns, they will very indirectly support various individuals and pose them as perhaps people in the public who are concerned about the issue,” Dr Watts said.

“They really strategically distance themselves from those individuals, so tracking financially back to big tobacco is a very difficult thing to do.”

Dr Watts identified a ‘cooling-off period’ requiring former ministers to wait 18 months before lobbying on issues related to their former portfolio as one of the biggest defincinies in this area.

Last year, independent Monique Ryan introduced legislation to parliament that would force ministers and senior public servants to wait three years before they could take up work as a lobbyist in the same portfolio.

It would also extend the existing lobbyist register to cover more people and establish financial penalties on those who broke the rules.

– Eleanor Campbell

Labor 'very swift' on illegal boats: PM

Noah Yim

Anthony Albanese has defended his government’s record on disincentivising illegal boat arrivals, saying it has acted “very swiftly”.

“Operation Sovereign Borders is in place and that provides that people who come as unauthorised boat arrivals in Australia will not be allowed to be settled here,” the Prime Minister told ABC News. “They will be removed.

“We don't want people risking their lives and we also don't want the quite evil trade of people smuggling to be able to profit from such activities.”

Responding to a question as to whether recent arrivals may have been spurred on by the High Court’s NZYQ decision that ruled indefinite immigration detention of the plaintiff was unlawful, Mr Albanese said “people smugglers will always market whatever they can, what misinformation”.

“What my government's job is to do is to make it very clear what our position is,” he continued.

“We have done that not just in word but in deed and the way that we have acted very swiftly in recent days again underlines the futility of the people smuggling business targeting Australia because we have in place very strong measures.”

Israel held to a 'higher standard' than Hamas: PM

Noah Yim

Both Israelis and Palestinians have a right to live in peace and security and to be able to prosper.

And innocent civilians must be protected. pic.twitter.com/k4zTnj9Ho3
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) April 8, 2024

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has repeated his assertion that the Israeli government has not yet provided “adequate explanation” for its drone strike on the World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza.

“We believe that there has not been an adequate explanation for how this has occurred,” the Prime Minister told ABC News.

“What structures will be put in place to ensure that these sort of incidents cannot occur in the future?

“There have been almost 200 aid workers that have lost their lives during the conflict that has occurred between Hamas and Israel, and that is unacceptable.

“We have made the point that Israel, of course, has a right to defend itself, but how it defends itself matters and the international law continues to apply.”

When asked whether he expected the Israeli government to provide newly-appointed special adviser Mark Binskin with “highly classified military recordings”, Mr Albanese said that was the expectation.

“We would expect that someone of Mr Binskin's stature, frankly, would be given every cooperation from the Israeli Defence Force and the Israeli government,” he said.

When asked whether Israel was being held to a “higher standard” in its wartime conduct, Mr Albanese said the set of expectations on terrorist organisations and democratic countries were different.

“Hamas are a terrorist organisation and that is why they are outlawed,” he said. “They don't respect the rule of law and they are an organisation that targets civilians and with the atrocities that occurred on October 7 which is why we unequivocally condemn it.

“But democratic nations have different responsibilities. They have responsibilities to comply with international law and that is what we expect of Israel.”

Abuse survivors paid $1.3bn amid funding warning

Agency writers

The national redress scheme was set up in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Picture: News Regional Media

The government has paid out $1.31bn in redress to institutional child sexual abuse survivors, but legal services advocating for them fear an uncertain and underfunded future unless there is an urgent intervention.

In a joint inquiry into the national redress scheme on Monday, MPs and senators heard from the Department of Social Services that more than 38,000 applications since the scheme began in 2018, currently averaging about 294 each week.

The national redress scheme was set up in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and is open for applications until the end of June, 2027.

More than 15,700 claims have been finalised, with 14,716 payments totalling approximately $1.31bn made.

But crucially, March 2024 saw the highest number of applications received by the scheme in one month since it began.

The release of the latest figures came just after Knowmore, an independent legal service providing free advice to child sexual abuse survivors, said they feared tens of thousands more could slip through the cracks unless the government urgently intervened and gave them more funding.

“We are stretched beyond breaking and following the last reduction of our funding in 2023, we’ve had to make some really difficult decisions,” chief executive officer Jackie Mead told the committee.

She said the funding model was outdated because it was based on modelling that suggested the projected survivor numbers would decrease.

Instead, there’s been a 40 per cent increase between the 2021/22 financial year and the current year.

“We’ve continued to request funding adjustments from government to meet that demand all while seeking to meet the increasing needs of survivors,” she said.

“We just cannot be expected to continue to do the same or more with less, and we’ve therefore been forced to make some really difficult service delivery changes as a result of the last round of funding cuts.

“We had to decide whether we would service less people with increased wait times, or reduce the support and time that we offered. All of those are unpalatable.”

Ms Mead said the service had ultimately chosen to service less people, reducing the scope of those accessing support.

She said there was ongoing uncertainty in the lead-up to the May budget, and had “not received any word from government about additional funding”.

“A 25 per cent reduction in our funding and workforce capacity is expected for the next financial year and frankly, the options to address this are even less palatable than the ones that we faced last year,” she said.

The Department of Social Services later said March 2024 had been the busiest month to date, receiving 1434 applications.

The department said while application numbers had increased considerably, there had been a “small increase” in application processing times.

The last eligible applicants can lodge a claim is June 30, 2027.