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| Australia live news update: Labor climate target ‘not based on the science’, Greens say; RBA leaves cash rate at record low | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Follow all the day’s news | Follow all the day’s news |
| Good afternoon all, Mostafa Rachwani back again, with a quick thanks to Caitlin Cassidy for holding the blog down. Much going on, so lets dive in. | |
| With that, I will hand the baton back to Mostafa Rachwani. | |
| Before I go, nobody asked, but I’m team Tasmania or the ACT for the fifth Ashes test. | |
| Former Nationals leader Michael McCormack is up on Afternoon Briefing responding to his colleague George Christensen’s appearance on right wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s InfoWars. | |
| Christensen, among other things, laughed when Jones compared Australia’s Covid quarantine to an Auschwitz concentration camp during the program. | |
| McCormack said he watched all 36 minutes of the show, a 36 minutes he would “never get back”: | |
| More from Glass on the investigation into the Victorian government’s border scheme. She emphasises she was not critiquing the scheme itself, but the manner in which it was applied, particularly as case numbers in Victoria continued to rise: | |
| Ombudsman Deborah Glass is appearing on ABC Afternoon Briefing, discussing her damning report on the Victorian government’s border exemption scheme. | |
| An investigation into the scheme found only 8% of applications were granted between July and September: | |
| Greens leader Adam Bandt has addressed questions over the party’s balance of power in the lead-up to the election. | |
| Labor has ruled out strengthening its 2030 climate target if it is forced to negotiate with other parties to form a minority government. Its current targets would reduce emissions by 43% by 2030, which the Greens have argued is too low. | |
| Bandt says the Greens don’t want to block Labor’s climate policy, but “improve and pass it”. | |
| An update from the protests in New South Wales, where public teachers and principals have been rallying in the Sydney CBD. Those who remain on the streets are braver than I as it’s now bucketing down. | An update from the protests in New South Wales, where public teachers and principals have been rallying in the Sydney CBD. Those who remain on the streets are braver than I as it’s now bucketing down. |
| The Teachers Federation Union has been calling for more competitive salaries, more sustainable workloads and greater job security. | The Teachers Federation Union has been calling for more competitive salaries, more sustainable workloads and greater job security. |
| They want a pay increase up to 7.5% a year to reverse the decline in teachers’ wages compared with other professions. | They want a pay increase up to 7.5% a year to reverse the decline in teachers’ wages compared with other professions. |
| There’s just been a potentially significant development in the case against Bernard Collaery. | There’s just been a potentially significant development in the case against Bernard Collaery. |
| Collaery has been fighting an attempt by the attorney general Michaelia Cash to introduce new secret evidence to attempt to convince the court to hold part of his trial behind closed doors. | Collaery has been fighting an attempt by the attorney general Michaelia Cash to introduce new secret evidence to attempt to convince the court to hold part of his trial behind closed doors. |
| You might remember that in October, Collaery had a major win in the Australian Capital Territory court of appeal, which overturned secrecy orders hiding significant elements of his case from the public. But lawyers for Cash are now attempting to put fresh evidence, which Collaery cannot see, before a judge to justify the secrecy, saying that the national security situation has changed significantly in the more than 12 months that the court of appeal took to deliver its judgment. | You might remember that in October, Collaery had a major win in the Australian Capital Territory court of appeal, which overturned secrecy orders hiding significant elements of his case from the public. But lawyers for Cash are now attempting to put fresh evidence, which Collaery cannot see, before a judge to justify the secrecy, saying that the national security situation has changed significantly in the more than 12 months that the court of appeal took to deliver its judgment. |
| Collaery’s lawyers opposed the move, saying it was hugely unfair and would create a never-ending “vortex” of delay and secrecy. | Collaery’s lawyers opposed the move, saying it was hugely unfair and would create a never-ending “vortex” of delay and secrecy. |
| Justice David Mossop has just ruled that the government cannot update its evidence or add new evidence in the way that it had desired. But Mossop said the government can, if it wishes, make a new application under the National Security Information (NSI) Act to hide parts of the trial, which would take account of the changed national security circumstances. | Justice David Mossop has just ruled that the government cannot update its evidence or add new evidence in the way that it had desired. But Mossop said the government can, if it wishes, make a new application under the National Security Information (NSI) Act to hide parts of the trial, which would take account of the changed national security circumstances. |
| Collaery is facing trial for his alleged role in revealing an Australian intelligence operation that bugged the offices of the Timor-Leste government during 2004 oil and gas negotiations. He and his client Witness K, a former spy, helped Timor-Leste mount a case before the international courts on behalf of Timor-Leste. | Collaery is facing trial for his alleged role in revealing an Australian intelligence operation that bugged the offices of the Timor-Leste government during 2004 oil and gas negotiations. He and his client Witness K, a former spy, helped Timor-Leste mount a case before the international courts on behalf of Timor-Leste. |
| Two cases are linked to the Norwood cluster and two arrived from interstate. | Two cases are linked to the Norwood cluster and two arrived from interstate. |
| Residents from a Melbourne aged care home struck by Covid appeared malnourished, dehydrated and “barely conscious” after being transferred to a hospital, an inquest has been told and AAP’s Gus McCubbing reports. | Residents from a Melbourne aged care home struck by Covid appeared malnourished, dehydrated and “barely conscious” after being transferred to a hospital, an inquest has been told and AAP’s Gus McCubbing reports. |
| Outbreak managers replaced the entire St Basil’s Home for the Aged staff with an emergency workforce on 22 July last year, during Melbourne’s second wave. Within hours of the handover, inexperienced nursing staff were struggling to care for the mostly Greek-speaking residents, who had already missed meals and medicine. | Outbreak managers replaced the entire St Basil’s Home for the Aged staff with an emergency workforce on 22 July last year, during Melbourne’s second wave. Within hours of the handover, inexperienced nursing staff were struggling to care for the mostly Greek-speaking residents, who had already missed meals and medicine. |
| The inquest into the Covid deaths of 45 St Basil’s residents and another five residents who likely died of neglect has heard evidence from Victoria Atkinson, who handled the intake of 10 residents evacuated from the Fawkner facility to Bellbird Private Hospital on 25 July. | The inquest into the Covid deaths of 45 St Basil’s residents and another five residents who likely died of neglect has heard evidence from Victoria Atkinson, who handled the intake of 10 residents evacuated from the Fawkner facility to Bellbird Private Hospital on 25 July. |
| Atkinson said the Blackburn South hospital was converted into a Covid ward within six hours, having only been told St Basil’s residents would arrive the day before. Bellbird staff had to try to learn Greek after St Basil’s residents arrived without identification or medical history. | Atkinson said the Blackburn South hospital was converted into a Covid ward within six hours, having only been told St Basil’s residents would arrive the day before. Bellbird staff had to try to learn Greek after St Basil’s residents arrived without identification or medical history. |
| Atkinson: | Atkinson: |
| St Basil’s recorded its first Covid case on 9 July before staff were replaced by a commonwealth-sourced surge workforce on 22 July. | St Basil’s recorded its first Covid case on 9 July before staff were replaced by a commonwealth-sourced surge workforce on 22 July. |
| In other news, it’s heartening to discover Jim Chalmers’ life is full of deeply rewarding, fridge-worthy memories: | In other news, it’s heartening to discover Jim Chalmers’ life is full of deeply rewarding, fridge-worthy memories: |
| AFP said police had been investigating Foster for more than six months and his eventual arrest was subject to “a whole heap of things and information”. | AFP said police had been investigating Foster for more than six months and his eventual arrest was subject to “a whole heap of things and information”. |
| Queensland police will now seek to extradite him to the state where he will be subject to judicial proceedings. | Queensland police will now seek to extradite him to the state where he will be subject to judicial proceedings. |
| In Canberra, the Australian federal police (AFP) are providing an update on the arrest of wanted fugitive Peter Foster. | In Canberra, the Australian federal police (AFP) are providing an update on the arrest of wanted fugitive Peter Foster. |
| The 59-year-old man was arrested at a house near Gisborne in the Macedon Ranges and is currently being assessed at the Royal Melbourne Hospital for a medical condition. AFP said he was living “comfortably” at his location: | The 59-year-old man was arrested at a house near Gisborne in the Macedon Ranges and is currently being assessed at the Royal Melbourne Hospital for a medical condition. AFP said he was living “comfortably” at his location: |
| Read Ben Butler’s story here: | Read Ben Butler’s story here: |
| Stood-down Collingwood Football Club player Jordan De Goey will appear by video-link on Thursday morning after he was charged with assault in New York in late October. | Stood-down Collingwood Football Club player Jordan De Goey will appear by video-link on Thursday morning after he was charged with assault in New York in late October. |
| De Goey has been suspended indefinitely from training or playing with the club since the incident. He said he would “vigorously deny” the charges. | De Goey has been suspended indefinitely from training or playing with the club since the incident. He said he would “vigorously deny” the charges. |
| It’s beginning to feel a bit like groundhog day over here on the east coast: | It’s beginning to feel a bit like groundhog day over here on the east coast: |