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Trial date set for Reynolds-Higgins defamation battle
By Aaron Bunch
A trial date has been set for Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds and her former political staffer Brittany Higgins’ high-profile defamation battle.
The former defence minister, who plans to retire from politics at the next election, is suing Higgins over a series of social media posts she says have damaged her reputation.
Mediation has failed to resolve the case, which returned to the WA Supreme Court for a directions hearing on Wednesday.
A trial date of August 2 was agreed on, with the matter set down for four to five weeks to accommodate more than 20 witnesses and parliamentary sitting dates.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison could be called as a witness, the senator’s lawyer has previously said, along with other members of the federal Liberal Party, including Senators Michaelia Cash and Wendy Askew.
Although a trial date has been fixed, the parties could choose to attempt mediation again to resolve the case.
AAP
Amended vape ban passes Senate
By Dominic Giannini
Health professionals have welcomed a world-leading ban on vapes, with the sale of e-cigarettes restricted to pharmacies as part of a government crackdown on recreational smoking.
The amended legislation passed the Senate on Wednesday after the government secured a deal with the Greens and will head to the lower house to be stamped before becoming law.
Under the deal, pharmacists will be able to sell vapes with limited nicotine content over the counter once they have a discussion with a person about health harms and confirm they’re over 18.
It’s a watered-down version of the federal government’s initial proposal to require smokers to get a doctor’s script.
People under 18 will need a prescription to buy a vape and they will only be sold in plain packaging and without flavouring to stop children being targeted.
The law is slated to come into effect on July 1.
The Australian Medical Association welcomed the bill’s passing. President Steve Robson said reducing the availability of vapes and imposing stricter controls was a major turning point.
“The ultimate goal is to stop people taking up vaping and support those already hooked on this deadly habit to quit, working primarily with their GP – and this legislation does exactly that,” the professor said.
The last-minute changes to the vape ban provoked the fury of the Pharmacy Guild, which said pharmacists were healthcare professionals and not tobacconists as it came out swinging on Monday night.
“The Senate’s expectation that community pharmacies become vape retailers and vape garbage collectors is insulting,” a guild spokesperson said.
“Everyone wants to keep illegal vapes out of the hands of kids and teenagers, but the Senate wants pharmacists to stock vapes next to children’s Panadol, cold and flu medicine and emergency contraception.”
AAP, with Paul Sakkal and Natassia Chrysanthos
ASX market wrap: Sharemarket down after inflation ‘shocker’
By Millie Muroi and Jessica Yun
The Australian sharemarket has just closed for the day.
Consumer discretionary stocks and real estate investment trusts fell sharply after higher-than-expected inflation data raised the odds that the Reserve Bank might consider raising rates instead of much-hoped-for rate cuts.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 55.8 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 7783 points at the close, with eight out of the 11 sectors on the local bourse closing in the red.
The monthly consumer index lifted 4 per cent over the year to May, up from 3.6 per cent measured in April and more than the 3.8 per cent predicted by economists. As a result, investors are lowering their expectations that we might see a rate cut this year.
Public servants ‘trolling’ Australia with awards for ‘ineffective’ $2b scheme, report finds
By Shane Wright
A bipartisan parliamentary committee has urged that public servants be stripped of awards they were given for their “congestion-breaking” ways to fast-track government grants that breached the law and ignored advice they were unconstitutional.
In a report released today, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit accused members of the Department of Health of effectively “trolling” the public by rewarding staff involved in the Morrison government-created scheme that has since been the basis of a scathing review by the auditor-general.
The $2 billion Community Health and Hospitals Program was created in late 2018 to funnel cash into projects to take pressure off the health system, such as specialist hospital services, drug and alcohol treatment and mental health.
But an auditor-general’s investigation found the scheme had been “ineffective” while falling short of “ethical requirements”. In some cases, the Department of Finance had warned the health department it did not have the legal power to award grants. Health had to monitor the media to keep track of announcements made by the Morrison government which did not involve the department in some decisions.
The parliamentary committee, chaired by Labor MP Julian Hill, found it was almost beyond belief that some Health Department officials involved in managing the health program received awards despite the damning findings of the auditor-general.
It found that the advice to the health department from both the finance department and the Australian Government Solicitor that in many cases, the health department had no legal ability to financially support certain projects, was clear.
Labor MP Julian Hill, who chairs the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“Frankly, the committee wishes that breaking finance law was indeed innovative and a new situation, but unfortunately the evidence in this and numerous other inquiries makes clear that it most certainly is not,” it found.
“What appears truly innovative in this instance, however, was that a corporate award was given for performance within a program where the law was deliberately broken.
“In retrospect, the provision of any award for administering a scheme where ultimately public money was paid without any legal authority, in defiance of legal advice, seems to be not just wrong, but a form of trolling that perverts the proper purpose of internal agency awards – to recognise good practice and desired behaviours within an organisation’s culture.”
The committee recommended Department of Health secretary Blair Comley, who took over the department last year, should review the appropriateness of the awards and whether they should be revoked.
It also found that department officials were “not acting with probity and ethically” in administering the CHHP. The committee raised concerns that departments defended their actions where they had breached Commonwealth regulations and laws by saying they had no malicious intent.
“It was concerning to hear during the inquiry that even when officials were found acting contrary to finance law, multiple witnesses and entities referred to a ‘lack of malintent’, to having ‘acted in good faith’, and ‘delivering on decisions of government’,” it found.
“The committee’s firm conclusion is that any claim or view that it is somehow acceptable for an officer to breach finance law and fail to act with probity, but still be acting in good faith and for a proper purpose, is clearly and unambiguously wrong.”
The mining giant ignoring the climate wars
By Simon Johanson
In business news, mining giant BHP is sticking to its multibillion-dollar decarbonisation plans despite Opposition Leader Peter Dutton signalling he would scrap Australia’s 2030 climate target and push to replace fossil fuels with nuclear power.
Dutton has spurred Australia’s climate wars ahead of the next federal election due by May next year, saying he would scrap the 2030 emissions target at the risk of undermining the legally binding Paris Agreement on climate change and build seven nuclear reactors around the country to power the energy grid.
Iron ore at BHP’s Jimblebar facility in the Pilbara.
Political uncertainty is not slowing BHP, which told an investor briefing on Wednesday it was on track to cut operating emissions by nearly one-third over the decade to 2030.
The globe’s biggest resource company is reducing emissions by buying more renewable energy to power its operations, slowly electrifying its diesel-guzzling mining vehicle fleet, and finding ways to cut fugitive methane emissions from its coal mines.
PM says Payman will not attend Labor caucus after Palestine vote
By Lachlan Abbott and James Massola
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has barred Labor senator Fatima Payman from next week’s caucus meeting for crossing the floor to recognise Palestinian statehood.
In question time, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton asked the prime minister whether he would suspend Payman after she supported a Greens motion yesterday.
Albanese responded by noting Coalition members occasionally voted with the government, reiterating his disapproval of the “river to the sea” Palestine chant he previously rebuked Fatima for using, expressing his support for a two-state solution, denouncing Hamas terror attacks on October 7, and condemning the deaths of innocent Palestinians and Israelis.
The prime minster also said he couldn’t understand why the Coalition and the Greens rejected Labor’s amendment to the Senate motion yesterday that added a call for a two-state solution to the Palestine motion.
He concluded his remarks by saying: “I met with Senator Payman earlier today. She will not be attending the Labor caucus for the rest of this session.”
Although other Labor MPs have been expelled previously for not toeing the party line, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles confirmed earlier today that Payman would not be.
Victorian nurses approve new pay deal
By Henrietta Cook
In state news, Victorian nurses and midwives have overwhelmingly approved a 28.4 per cent pay rise over four years, ending eight months of tense negotiations between their union and the Labor state government.
The deal comes a month after nurses dramatically rejected an in-principle agreement stitched up between the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the Allan government.
The new agreement, which follows 51 days of industrial action, includes allowances for a change of ward, improved allowances for being on-call and revamped night shift penalties.
A sea of nurses and midwives decked out in red T-shirts applauded Victorian secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick as she took the microphone on a stage at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre this afternoon. “We don’t have to wait any more, we have certainty,” Fitzpatrick told the jubilant crowd.
The union stalwart was left reeling in May when members rejected the pay deal she presented to them, saying they wanted more certainty around wage increases, which would be affected by a pending Fair Work Commission decision on aged care nurse pay rises.
Plibersek defends green light for new $1b gas project
By Lachlan Abbott
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has defended the government’s approval of a new $1 billion gas project in Queensland, lashing the Greens for “misinformation” for claiming koala habitat will be damaged because of it.
Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown, the member for Ryan in Queensland, asked if the prime minister would reverse the approval amid the increasing threat of climate change.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek in parliament last month.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
As mentioned in this blog yesterday, the federal government has approved Senex Energy’s Atlas project, which is owned by Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting and South Korean steel giant Posco. The approvals process for Atlas stage three was drawn out over nearly two years.
“Our government’s priority is to get more renewables approved and more renewables into our energy system,” Plibersek responded in question time today.
“The project that was approved yesterday [was] a largely domestic gas project that will support the manufacture of glass, bricks, cement [and] food packaging. And as for the misinformation about koala habitat, the member for Ryan is absolutely wrong. In fact, one of the conditions of approval for this project is that koala breeding and foraging habitat must be protected.”
Plibersek said all energy projects were assessed against the Labor government’s safeguard mechanism, passed last year.
“We can’t get to net-zero [emissions] overnight, but we are making extremely strong progress,” Plibersek said today, before attacking the opposition.
“The previous environment minister is interjecting about koala habitat – that is pretty rich coming from a government that hid the State of the Environment report because it said that the environment in Australia was bad and getting worse under the leadership of those opposite.”
Greens MP says PM should apologise for remark about Dutton’s pronouns
By Lachlan Abbott
Greens MP Stephen Bates has taken exception to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s gibe towards Opposition Leader Peter Dutton in question time, saying he should apologise for what he called a joke “at the expense of the LGBTIQA+ community”.
Bates, the MP for Brisbane, posted a partial transcript of Albanese’s comments earlier in question time on social media platform X.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in question time today.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
As mentioned earlier in this blog, the LNP member for Moncrieff, Angie Bell, was ridiculed by some Labor MPs after raising a point of order, asking the prime minister to call Opposition Leader Peter Dutton by his correct title when responding to a question.
“The prime minister has repeatedly called the opposition leader ‘he’,” Bell said.
Albanese responded: “Anything is possible, Mr Speaker, anything is possible on that side. I didn’t know he was a ‘they’, but anything is possible.”
Shortly before 3pm, Bates posted a transcript of this on X, with the caption: “No, Albo, we aren’t going to make jokes at the expense of the LGBTIQA+ community. The PM should be better than this and should apologise.”
PM ‘pleased’ Assange will soon be home
By Lachlan Abbott
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told parliament he is pleased Julian Assange will soon arrive in Australia, after being asked about the WikiLeaks founder’s return in question time.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier today.Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, a leading Assange supporter, rose in the House of Representatives to ask whether Albanese welcomed Assange’s return. Here’s part of Albanese’s response, edited for length and clarity.
Regardless of your views about his activities, and they will be varied, Mr Assange’s case has dragged on for too long. I have said repeatedly that there was nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration. I am pleased that he is on his way home to Australia to reunite with his family here.
Over the two years since we took office my government has engaged and advocated, including at leader level, to resolve this.
We have used all appropriate channels. This outcome has been the product of careful, patient and determined work. Work I am very proud of.
The Australian government continues to provide consular assistance to Mr Assange as he returns home. As we do to Australians – for Australians right around the world.
I can confirm that US Ambassador Kevin Rudd and UK High Commissioner Stephen Smith are travelling to Australia with Mr Assange. I thank them for their work, and others at the respective embassy and high commission, for helping us reach this conclusion.
This work has been complex and it has been considered. This is what is standing up for Australians around the world looks like. It means getting the job done, getting results and getting outcome, having the determination to stay the course.
And I am very pleased that on this occasion, this has been a successful outcome that I believe overwhelmingly Australians did want to see. As I said, they will have different views about … the activities of Mr Assange, but they will be pleased that this saga has been brought to an end and he will be able to reunite with his family.
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