Australia news live: Greens say nature ‘bulldozed off national agenda’; balcony with 40 teens collapses on NSW south coast | Australian politics
Senator Hanson-Young says nature ‘bulldozed off national agenda’
Sarah Basford Canales
The Greens say they will continue to push for a deal with the Albanese government on federal environment reforms and a national gambling ad ban over the summer after a frenetic final sitting week.
On Sunday, the party’s Senate leader, Sarah Hanson-Young, said the issues remained “unfinished business” after a deal between the Greens and environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, was kiboshed by Anthony Albanese at the last minute.
Hanson-Young said:
I’m going to be working hard over summer to make sure we can get this reform that is desperately needed on the environment front, for protecting our forests, stopping the extinction of our wildlife and driving down pollution. Our environment is at a crisis point. Nature needs us. We can’t just keep having nature bulldozed off the national agenda.
The Greens senator said stalled movement on both fronts was due to “vested interests” having a lot of influence in Parliament House.
Whether it’s Gina Rinehart and the mining lobby, and the loggers on the environment front, trying to drag down any inch of protection, or on the gambling reform, the big gambling lobby having their having their claws and their mitts in the government and the opposition stopping any reform, passing the parliament…
Key events
The NSW State Emergency Service is urging people not to drive through floodwaters, after responding to more than 313 incidents and conducting nine flood rescues in 24 hours.
Acting assistant commissioner, Paul McQueen, said the service had responded to 900 incidents across the state since storms began earlier this week:
The nine flood rescues conducted overnight were in the Northern Rivers, Illawarra, Sydney and Western NSW regions.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting widespread rain, showers, and thunderstorms with moderate to heavy falls to continue into next week, increasing the risk of flash flooding and riverine rises.
McQueen:
The message is simple – Please never drive, ride, or play in floodwaters. I also want to thank those who do the right thing and turn around to find another way. By doing this, you are saving our volunteers from being put into harm’s way.
You don’t know what condition the road underneath the water is in and can’t see hidden obstacles and debris under the surface. Flooded rivers may also contain hidden debris, snakes, spiders, chemicals and sewage.”
Woolworths to reopen distribution centre
Supermarket chain says it will reopen a key distribution centre in Melbourne tomorrow morning, after convincing a cohort of workers to return despite ongoing industrial action.
In a statement, the company said its Melbourne south regional distribution centre was the most significant of five centres currently affected by the action.
Up to 1,500 employees began rolling 24-hour strikes on 21 November in warehouses in New South Wales and Victoria, seeking improved wages and safety. The campaign has led to empty shelves at many stores.
Woolworths said it would reopen the centre after contacting three-quarters of its staff, with 72% indicating they wanted to return and be paid before Christmas. The United Workers Union has led 11 days of industrial action at the centre.
In a statement, Woolworths called on the union to allow workers to safely return to the distribution centre:
We know that there have been shortages on our shelves in some Woolworths stores and that this is really frustrating for our customers.
We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and would like to thank our customers for their understanding and for treating our teams with respect.
We continue to seek to negotiate with the United Workers Union and have requested that they allow safe passage for our team wishing to return to work and for vehicles tomorrow at MSRDC.
This will ensure we can operate the site safely and supply much needed essential food and grocery products to our Victorian customers and communities.”
Senator Hanson-Young says nature ‘bulldozed off national agenda’
Sarah Basford Canales
The Greens say they will continue to push for a deal with the Albanese government on federal environment reforms and a national gambling ad ban over the summer after a frenetic final sitting week.
On Sunday, the party’s Senate leader, Sarah Hanson-Young, said the issues remained “unfinished business” after a deal between the Greens and environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, was kiboshed by Anthony Albanese at the last minute.
Hanson-Young said:
I’m going to be working hard over summer to make sure we can get this reform that is desperately needed on the environment front, for protecting our forests, stopping the extinction of our wildlife and driving down pollution. Our environment is at a crisis point. Nature needs us. We can’t just keep having nature bulldozed off the national agenda.
The Greens senator said stalled movement on both fronts was due to “vested interests” having a lot of influence in Parliament House.
Whether it’s Gina Rinehart and the mining lobby, and the loggers on the environment front, trying to drag down any inch of protection, or on the gambling reform, the big gambling lobby having their having their claws and their mitts in the government and the opposition stopping any reform, passing the parliament…
Teens injured in NSW balcony collapse
About 40 teenagers were standing on a balcony on the New South Wales south coast when it collapsed late on Saturday night, injuring four teenagers.
NSW police officers were called to a house on Elizabeth Drive at Vincentia, near to Jervis Bay, at about 11.30pm.
The force has provided a short statement:
Officers from South Coast Police District were told approximately 40 people – all aged in their teens – were on the balcony when it collapsed.
Four people – three females and one male – aged in their teens were injured and were treated at the scene by Ambulance Paramedics for minor leg and back injuries and taken to hospital for further treatment.
Josh Nicholas
Analysis reveals supermarkets’ most promoted porducts
Health and beauty products are the most frequently promoted products at major supermarkets, a new Guardian Australia analysis shows, with shampoos and conditioners among the items that are almost permanently on sale at Coles and Woolworths.
The big grocery retailers also heavily promote unhealthy foods, which are often displayed prominently near checkouts and at the end of aisles, despite an anticipated government clampdown on such selling tactics.
Promotions are typically funded either solely by a product manufacturer, or through an agreement between the manufacturer and the supermarket to share the reduced profit margins, in expectation of increased sales. Multinationals usually wield the biggest marketing budgets.
Fatal car accident in regional NSW
Two people have died after a two-vehicle crash near Muswellbrook in regional NSW on Saturday afternoon.
According to police, officers were called to reports of a head-on-crash involving two sedans on Denman Road, Edderton, around 5.30pm.
Police say a woman believed to be in her 70s, who was driving one of the cars, died at the scene. A man believed to be in his 20s, who was a passenger in the second car, also died at the scene.
Another man and two other women aged in their 20s were also treated at the scene by paramedics.
Police said a crime scene has been established. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Kate Lyons
Warning plastic waste found in food and garden waste
“Massive amounts” of plastic contamination is getting into food and garden waste through user error and misleading “biodegradable” labelling, waste industry experts have warned.
Leading figures at some of Australia’s largest waste companies are calling for the government to standardise certification of compostable products, as many bin liners, compostable coffee cups and other material labelled “compostable” or “biodegradable” do not break down into organic matter.
The warnings come as states across the country are introducing food and organic waste collection programs in households in an attempt to halve the amount of food waste that ends up in landfill by 2030. In NSW, councils will be required to collect food and organic waste from all households by 2030.
Boy in Perth hospitalised after being struck by car
An 11-year-old has been hospitalised with serious injuries after allegedly being struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser in Perth.
According to Western Australia police, the boy was allegedly struck while crossing the intersection of Jersey Street and Hay Street in the suburb of Jolimont, in the city’s west.
Police say the boy was crossing the street with his mother, who was not injured. The force says the 18-year-old driver was also unharmed.
Police are now investigating what has been described as “a serious crash” and are examining the scene.
Sarah Basford Canales
Burke explains rejection of visa for former Israeli minister
Continuing with Tony Burke’s appearance on Sky News this morning, the home affairs minister has defended his decision to reject a visa for former Israeli minister, Ayelet Shaked.
Shaked was due to visit Australia for a speaking tour before her entry was rejected.
Burke said Shaked’s visit would have undermined social cohesion, noting he did not want to import hatred from overseas:
Whether those hatreds are demeaning of Israelis or demeaning of Palestinians, I’m going to have the exact same hard line … my view is really simple – if you’re simply coming here to demean people, we can do without you.
The home affairs minister said Shaked had publicly expressed “horrific” views about Palestinians in Gaza, including referring to Palestinian children as “snakes”.
Burke said “we don’t need that in Australia”.
Sarah Basford Canales
Burke ‘very grateful and respectful’ of negotiations with Indonesia over Bali Nine
Tony Burke will be discussing the future of the remaining so-called Bali Nine members with his Indonesian counterpart during a visit to the south-east Asian nation this week.
The Bali Nine were nine young Australians arrested in 2005 for attempting to smuggle 8kg of heroin to Australia. Two of the group, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were sentenced to death and executed in 2015. Five others remain in jail.
On Sky News this morning, Burke declined to say anything further about whether the convicted drug smugglers might serve the remainder of their sentences in Australia after any negotiations.
Burke said:
I’m very grateful and respectful of Indonesia. It’s got its own justice system. I’m very respectful and grateful that they want to be able to have that conversation, and I’ll be approaching that conversation with a good deal of humility and listening to where the Indonesian government’s up to.
Peter Hannam
Tests to NSW’s energy system possible again this week
Summer is officially under way, but a lot of eastern Australia had a warm late spring.
As we saw last week, it didn’t take a lot of heat to stress the power grid, especially when so much of the coal-fired generation capacity was offline for maintenance.
You can read our review of the week but also what’s expected in coming months, particularly for NSW and Victoria, in this piece:
Even though a couple of big coal units should be back on line from this weekend, it looks like there may be a few tight periods this week too.
For instance, the Australian Energy Market Operator was this morning calling for more reserve generation to be made available for tomorrow.
The market is likely to respond but it’s a reminder that we can expect similar calls from the operator each time there is a lengthy hot spell in coming months especially if the warmth stretches over a couple of big population centres (eg Melbourne and Sydney, or Sydney and Brisbane).
Woman discovers snake crawling up her leg while driving on Melbourne freeway
A Melbourne woman was forced to flee her car barefoot after discovering a deadly tiger snake was slithering up her leg while driving.
According to Victoria police, the woman had been travelling at 80km/h on the Monash Freeway when she felt something on her foot:
Remarkably, she was able to fend the snake off her and weave through traffic before pulling over and leaping out of her car to safety.
Police were called to the scene after reports the woman, who was stranded on the side of the freeway, was trying to flag down other cars:
Still in a state of shock and needing to ensure she wasn’t bitten; the driver was assessed by paramedics while police pondered on how to deal with the snake.
The tiger snake is the fourth most venomous snake in the world. It was eventually removed from the car by Melbourne Snake Control.
Passing motorists were left in bewilderment as the massive snake was safely removed from the vehicle.
Tony Burke dismisses concerns about mass deportation of non-citizens under new laws
Sarah Basford Canales
Earlier this morning, the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, dismissed concerns about a mass deportation of non-citizens after tough new laws were introduced as “bizarre speculation”.
The migration law changes, which passed parliament late on Thursday night, allow Australia to pay third countries to take non-citizens.
In November, home affairs department officials confirmed about 80,000 people in Australia are on a removal pathway, but stressed many return to their home countries voluntarily.
Burke told Sky News on Sunday the new powers were simply an “extra tool” for the government.
I’m not about to make some big, grand announcement of a mass deportation, or anything like that. This is an extra tool that we should have had, that we now have available, and I’m glad we got the support to get that through the parliament.
Aukus acting as a form of ‘Asian Nato’, Taiwan says
The Aukus partnership is a form of “Asian Nato”, the Taiwanese government says, after welcoming further transits of Australian warships through the Taiwan Strait to counter China’s military activity.
The Taiwanese deputy foreign affairs minister, Francois Wu, said that the proposal floated by the Japanese prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, for a Nato-like security pact in Asia would probably anger Beijing.
Here’s what Wu told a group of Australian reporters at the ministry of foreign affairs in the capital Taipei:
Maybe it’s not good for the stability of the region. But having said that … Aukus, in some way, is another form of an Asian Nato.
You just don’t need to call [Aukus] Nato, but it is a real Nato.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is an alliance of 30 European and two North American nations set up to defend each other against attacks by third parties.
In a joint statement, Australia, the UK and US earlier this year said they were consulting with New Zealand, Canada and South Korea to identify possibilities for collaboration on capabilities under Aukus Pillar II, which covers advanced capabilities.
– AAP
Melbourne tobacco store allegedly set alight after being rammed by car
A tobacco store in Melbourne’s northern suburbs was allegedly rammed by a car in the early hours of Sunday morning, before being set alight.
Fire Rescue Victoria says the fire, which “extensively damaged” the store, will now be investigated by Victoria police:
Crews arrived on scene within five minutes to find a car had penetrated the front of a single storey brick shop, with flames issuing from the building.
Wearing breathing apparatus, firefighters worked quickly to attack the fire with hose lines. Crews successfully prevented the fire from spreading to the neighbouring apartment building.
No one was injured by the fire, which was extinguished about 4.40am by 25 firefighters.
Residents living next to the store were evacuated as a precaution.
Vanuatu climate envoy says bid for ICJ ruling about delivering ‘the results we need to survive’
Vanuatu’s special envoy on climate change, Ralph Regenvanu, has spoken to the ABC about the country’s historic bid for the international court of justice to rule on the climate crisis.
The UN’s top court will begin hearings on Monday, with 15 judges to determine on the obligation of nations to prevent climate breakdown, as well as consequences for inaction.
Regenvanu, who has written a piece on this issue for Guardian Australia, told the ABC that industrialised nations were “not doing what needs to be done to maintain a positive future for the world”.
The voices of smaller states in vulnerable nations – the ones that have not been responsible for climate change but are suffering the worst effects – are always overshadowed in climate negotiations. The results we need to survive are not being achieved.
You can read Regenvanu’s piece here:
Sarah Basford Canales
Albanese tight-lipped on discussions with incoming Trump administration
As we’ve mentioned, Anthony Albanese kept a lot of cards close to his chest during his interview this morning on ABC’s Insiders. Another one of those was on interactions with the incoming US president, Donald Trump.
The US president-elect has been creating a storm of headlines around the world over his intention to impose heavy tariffs on imports into the US. As Insiders host, David Speers, noted, the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, paid Trump a visit to his Mar-a-Lago resort recently to discuss the proposed 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods.
Heavy tariffs could also be placed on Chinese imports, which the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has already warned will have economic flow-on effects for Australia.
Asked whether Albanese might pay Trump a snap visit over the summer, the prime minister stayed mum:
I’m doing the job I was elected to do. I’ve had a productive discussion with President Trump and it was very positive.
Albanese was also asked about Trump’s pick for the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. Trump’s decision to choose the former US congresswoman has been scrutinised due to her history as a vocal critic of “warmongering” US foreign policy and sympathetic commentary on Russia.
So, should Australia be comfortable with sharing national secrets with the US if Gabbard is confirmed as its top intelligence official?
Albanese said:
The relationship between Australia and the United States is a strong one. It’s never been stronger than it is right now, and as Five Eyes partners, we cooperate through our intelligence agencies, and I’m sure that we’ll continue to do so in the future.
