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‘Roo-ver’ wins vote to name Australia’s first lunar rover
Australia’s first lunar rover will be named Roo-ver after thousands of people cast their votes in a public competition.
The semi-autonomous rover will travel to the Moon as part of a NASA mission as soon as 2026, helping to collect lunar soil from which scientists hope to extract oxygen, a key element in rocket fuel.
More than 8000 submissions were made during the Australian Space Agency’s naming competition, with almost 20,000 votes received.
Roo-ver claimed 36 per cent of the votes to beat three other shortlisted names: Coolamon, an Indigenous name for a multi-purpose tool used for gathering; Kakirra, an Indigenous name for the Moon; and Mateship.
The announcement was made at the Australian Space Forum on Wednesday, which brought together key industry figures from around the world, with guests from various nations joined by NASA astronaut Shannon Walker.
AAP
Woolworths CEO to front supermarket Senate inquiry
By Jessica Yun
Brad Banducci, the chief executive of Australia’s biggest supermarket Woolworths, has confirmed he will front the Senate inquiry into supermarket prices.
Initiated by the Greens to examine whether the supermarket giants are price gouging customers during a cost-of-living crisis, the motion to establish the inquiry has passed the Senate, paving the way for a Senate Select Committee on Supermarket Prices to be established.
Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci says he welcomes the opportunity to appear before a Senate inquiry into Supermarket prices.
While Banducci has not yet received a formal request to appear, the chief executive is eager to make it clear to Australians that he will be appearing.
“We are very aware of the pressures facing many Australian families. We welcome the opportunity to explain to the senate how we are working to balance the needs of our customers, our team and our suppliers in the context of economy-wide inflationary pressure,” he said in a statement.
“As we have done at several inquiries this year, we will openly and constructively assist the parliament with its work on this important topic.
“We are proud to directly employ 180,000 team members in Australia and support the livelihoods of 18,000 suppliers in the communities we serve.”
Woolworths and Coles both posted billion-dollar profits for the 2023 financial year, which has sparked anger among some Australians frustrated at bigger grocery bills, but have repeatedly denied accusations of profiteering.
The first hearings are expected to be held early next year.
More tributes to Peta Murphy from the parliamentary condolence motion
Earlier today, we reported on Anthony Albanese’s tribute to Peta Murphy, the Labor MP for the Victoria seat of Dunkley, who died on Monday aged 50 from cancer.
Murphy had been in parliament since 2019, with her breast cancer returning just two weeks before she was sworn in.
Flowers were placed on Ms Murphy’s seat in the lower house in her memory, with many MPs wiping away tears during the condolence speeches.
A bouquet of flowers is placed on the desk of Peta Murphy, as Labor MP Lisa Chesters wipes her eyes during the condolence motion.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
While Albanese led the condolences, here are some of the other remarks made by fellow parliamentarians.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Ms Murphy had so much more to give the parliament.
“She chose to use the bumps in her life’s journey to make a difference as a member of parliament and make a difference she most certainly did, living up to the ideals that she set for herself,” he said.
Skills Minister Brendan O’Connor, who Murphy served as chief of staff between 2016 and 2019, remembered her humility.
“She was not comfortable with pride or being the centre of attention, which is a funny thing for a politician, unless it was for a cause bigger than her,” he said.
“She was principled, she was in a hurry to change things, but her work was always accompanied by compassion and integrity.”
Labor MP Kate Thwaites, who entered parliament the same year as Ms Murphy, praised her passion and close friendship.
“She never left you in any doubt where she stood on an issue and she would always come down on the side of making things fairer,” she said.
“Peta didn’t like talking about her cancer and it’s not what she wanted to be known for, but she was also very conscious of the platform she had to argue for better outcomes for people with cancer.”
Nationals MP Darren Chester, who earlier paid tribute to Ms Murphy during her last week in parliament, honoured her intelligence, humour and warmth.
“We’ve been a bit ripped off. The nation’s been robbed of even greater achievements of the member for Dunkley,” he said.
“She made sure the cancer didn’t define who she was. Peta defined the cancer on behalf of women around the country.”
AAP with Josefine Ganko
Fourth man charged after High Court release from detention
By Alex Crowe
A Sudanese-born man has become the fourth detainee to be charged after being released from indefinite detention, following his arrest in Melbourne for theft and breaching his visa conditions.
The 45-year-old man was arrested at a Melbourne hotel after he allegedly breached the conditions of his Commonwealth visa last Friday, by failing to observe his curfew obligations.
The man is alleged to have visited Melbourne Airport and stolen luggage from a traveller who was asleep in a terminal.
The Australian Federal Police arrested the man earlier today and charged him with one count of theft and one count of failing to comply with a curfew condition under the Migration Act. The new laws were passed on November 16 and carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $93,000 fine.
The man is the fourth former immigration detainee to be charged following a High Court decision against indefinite detention on November 8.
On Monday, Afghan refugee Aliyawar Yawari fronted court in South Australia after allegedly indecently assaulting a woman on Saturday night at an Adelaide hotel, less than a month after his release.
A second ex-detainee, 45-year-old Mohammed Ali Nadari, was accused of drug possession when police allegedly found him with cannabis in western Sydney on Saturday afternoon.
Emran Dad, 33, was arrested in Dandenong on Tuesday morning after he breached his obligations as a registered sex offender.
The Sundanese-born man is scheduled to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court later today.
US man arrested over Wieambilla shooting sent ‘Christian end of days ideology’ to shooters
By Cloe Read and Josefine Ganko
A 58-year-old US man arrested in connection with the 2022 Wieambilla shootings was in contact with the shooters via YouTube.
Gareth Train communicated with the man via comments on YouTube videos from May 2021 until the shooting in December 2022.
In a press conference, QLD Police Assistant Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon described messages sent by the man to Gareth and Stacey Train as containing “Christian end of days ideology”.
Police previously labelled the shootings by Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey Train as a religiously motivated terrorist attack.
Before they were killed by Queensland tactical police, Gareth and Stacey filmed themselves in the dark on the rural property and uploaded a video that referenced a man named “Don”. At the time the video was released, the full identity of “Don” was not clear.
Scanlon confirmed the US arrest was in relation to the YouTube video.
“Those matters are only before the court this morning in the US, but that’s the interaction that has emanated to cause this investigation,” she said.
“Evidence has been seized and is being analysed by the FBI,” Scanlon continued.
Queensland police earlier issued a statement saying the Counter Terrorism Command had travelled to the US, and a 58-year-old man was arrested near Heber Overgaard, Arizona.
Scanlon said the 58-year-old had been remanded in custody.
Under US federal law, it is a felony to communicate a threat to injure or kidnap another person online.
The arrest was made in relation to the shooting of officers Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and Good Samaritan Alan Dare, who were gunned down by Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train at a rural property in Wieambilla, west of Brisbane, in December 2022.
Warning on risks as buy now, pay later surges
By Clancy Yeates
The influential Bank for International Settlements has warned that rapid global growth in buy now, pay later (BNPL) services could create risks in the financial system due to a potential build-up of loans that are more likely to go bad than credit cards or personal loans.
As regulation looms for Australia’s BNPL sector, a new report from the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said BNPL had surged globally, and Australia and Sweden had the highest usage rates relative to their population.
Buy now, pay later services could pose risks to the financial system, but Australia is leading the way on regulation, the BIS said.Credit: Louie Douvis
The study credited Australia with leading the way in BNPL regulation, after the government earlier this year unveiled its plan to subject the sector to responsible lending obligations.
But the BIS raised concerns about global risks, saying data on BNPL around the world suggested users were generally younger and tech-savvy, but often less financially literate than older generations.
This raised the risk that some BNPL users engaging in “imprudent” spending on the platforms, and some customers taking on too much BNPL debt.
BNPL services such as Afterpay and Zip allow customers to borrow money via digital instalment loans, but because no interest is charged, the sector has escaped the regulation that applies to credit cards.
Extinction Rebellion target Labor MP’s office
By Alex Crowe
Climate activists have gathered outside Labor MP Peter Khalil’s office in Melbourne’s north, the second demonstration from Extinction Rebellion today designed to put pressure on leaders to take action to protect the environment.
Climate activists, flanked by ‘Blinky’ the smoke-breathing Koala, gather outside Labor MP Peter Khalil’s office in Melbourne’s north.
The group briefly blocked traffic on Sydney Road in Coburg, during what they say will be the first of four days of disruptions culminating in a large-scale demonstration on Saturday.
Activist Violet Coco said the group has targeted Khalil’s office because Labor had approved or expanded eight gas projects since their term in office began.
Coco, who was briefly jailed for blocking the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2022, said new gas projects were the “opposite of what the science tells us needs to be done”.
Extinction Rebellion began the week of activism, which coincides with the COP28 summit, by stopping traffic during peak hour in the Melbourne CBD on Wednesday morning.
The group plans to disrupt traffic during peak hour again later this afternoon.
This afternoon’s headlines
By Caroline Schelle
Thank you for your company today.
I’m handing over to Josefine Ganko, who will be anchoring the blog for the rest of the afternoon.
Here’s what you need to know if you’re just joining us:
Penny Wong questioned on Dreyfus’ fiery exchange with reporter
By Olivia Ireland
Senate question time has kicked off with questions directed towards the Minister representing the Prime Minister Penny Wong about Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus losing his temper at a Sky News reporter earlier today.
Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic asks Wong: “The attorney-general was aggressive and condescending in his bullying approach in response to the question … do you believe this is an appropriate way for government ministers to conduct themselves?
“Does the attorney-general owe Ms [Olivia] Caisley an apology?”
Wong responds through significant interjections: “As a matter of principle, we all have a responsibility to act appropriately to one another, and there are obviously times when all of us might fall short of that,” she said.
“We have seen in this place at times people behave in ways which perhaps in hindsight they might think was unwise, and certainly there has been a fair degree … of shouting and aggression at times in this chamber.”
Reduction of NDIS costs necessary: Albanese
By Olivia Ireland
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the Commonwealth, states and territories agree that NDIS funding is unsustainable, but want to make sure people who need that support continue to get it.
“NDIS funding is agreed by everyone, including the review, to be unsustainable. What we want to do, though, is to make sure … that those people who need that support continue to get it,” he said.
Anthony Albanese says the current cost of the NDIS is unsustainable. Credit: James Brickwood
“For others, it might be that they don’t need the full NDIS scheme into the future, so we’re still talking about ... an 8 per cent growth rate, but for foundational support, we recognise that for support to be given in a school or childcare setting, there may well be additional costs for the states and that will be shared.”
The NDIS review, which will be released tomorrow, will show a range of areas to reduce costs, Albanese said.
“It is very, very possible – and indeed necessary – for costs to be reduced. Not in terms of the support that people need, but in terms of bureaucracy and some of the businesses that have been established and some of the structures which are there.”
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2023-12-06 06:26:50Z
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