Jacqui Lambie says Tasmanians are ‘ready for a change’ ahead of weekend’s election
Moving now to the Tasmanian election, and senator Jacqui Lambie was on ABC News Breakfast earlier, sharing how she feels as voters head to the polls tomorrow:
She doesn’t want to feel “too confident” and get all her candidates hopes up, but said there is a level of confidence and she hopes Tasmanians “are ready for a change”.
I’ve given them choice out there. Now it is up to the voter.
Lambie’s party, who is running candidates in four electorates, could be kingmakers on Sunday if the Liberals return with a minority government. Host Michael Rowland asked Lambie for her thoughts on a comment made by premier Jeremy Rockliff, that “a minority government full of cross benchers would make the Star Wars bar scene look boring”.
Her response: “Rockliff has had ten years.”
That is rubbish. We have seen it works very well up there on the federal scale. You can see the senators up there like myself and Senator Tyrrell holding them accountable, making sure they have been called out when they need to be. Holding them on integrity [and] their values and I think that is where we need to be.
As for whether Lambie would be prepared to deal with the Liberal party, in terms of a minority government? She said this would be up to the candidates.
Until that make-up is done, my people will continue to work right up until late this afternoon and we will see what happens in two or three weeks.
Key events
Accused killer Beau Lamarre removed from the New South Wales police force
Off-duty police officer Beau Lamarre, accused of murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, has officially been removed from the NSW Police Force.
In a statement, NSW Police said an off-duty officer charged with two counts of murder in Sydney’s eastern suburbs had been removed from the force today.
A statement reads:
Under section 181D of the Police Act 1990, the Commissioner has the ability to remove officers if she has lost confidence in their suitability to continue as a police officer.
Solar farm in NSW central west to power 200,000 homes
A solar farm in the New South Wales central west is expected to power 200,000 homes in the state, AAP reports.
Environment and water minister Tanya Plibersek has announced the federal government had approved the Sandy Creek Solar Farm, which was set to be built about 25km south-west of Dunedoo.
The project would include an 840MW solar farm and battery energy storage system, and represented another big step in the government’s plan to make Australia a renewable energy “superpower”, Plibersek said.
I’ve now ticked off 45 renewable energy projects with another 128 in the approvals pipeline. This is an exciting time. As well as lower emissions, it means cheaper, cleaner power for all Australians.
The solar farm in the NSW central west was expected to save up to about 1,400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, Plibersek said. That equated to taking 440,000 cars off Australia’s roads for a year.
The Sandy Creek project would create up to 600 jobs during construction and 10 ongoing jobs once it was built, according to Plibersek.
US ambassador to Australia welcomes ‘new era for Aukus’ in Adelaide address
The US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, also addressed the media from Adelaide just earlier. She said:
It is an honour to represent the United States here with the senior leaders of our two closest allies, the United Kingdom and Australia, and to be here with all the people in the shipyard who are going to be part of this incredible work force of the future.
It has been an historic year. We were in San Diego just last March and now we are here to announce the beginning of this new era for Aukus, building submarines here in Australia.
There is so much to come but this has been a really historic year and contributions to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific will start now, and build.
Aukus deal signals ‘completely new approach to global security’, UK defence secretary says
UK defence secretary Grant Shapps spoke to the media from Adelaide just a little while ago. He said this is an “auspicious moment in time” when the world is going through a “dangerous” and “trickier” period.
I described it previously as going from a post-war to a pre-war era. But not because we want to be at war, in fact we want exactly the opposite. And that is why Aukus is so important.
Shapps said the SSN Aukus submarine is “not something you would normally see done between three different … partners” and this signals a “completely new approach” to global security.
This announcement today is extremely important and it’s going to mean … there are jobs provided both here but also home in the United Kingdom.
Australia, UK and US release trilateral statement on Aukus deal
A trilateral statement on Aukus was released just earlier from Australia, the UK and US, outlining the latest developments. Daniel Hurst had all the details about this earlier:
The statement from deputy PM Richard Marles, UK defence secretary Grant Shapps and US defense secretary Lloyd Austin essentially says that all is on track. It reads:
Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States remain fully committed to this shared endeavour.
These steps to grow Australia’s submarine construction and maintenance capability are critical to the Aukus partnership, expanding trilateral industrial capacity and building the collective resilience of Aukus partners to produce and sustain conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines for decades to come.
‘We can have both’: premier Rockliff argues case for new stadium amid cost-of-living concerns
Just earlier, Jacqui Lambie made the case for why Tasmania shouldn’t have a new, proper AFL stadium.
Here is premier Jeremy Rockliff’s opposing case, arguing for the stadium:
Tasmania is a fantastic place to live, work, raise a family and invest. I have to say the Tassie Devils up and running, 125,000 or more foundation memberships, it’s a fantastic opportunity.
Yes, we need to invest in our health system and support Tasmanian’s with the cost of living, health and housing, but we can have both. There’s been generations of Tasmanians that have fought for their own Tassie team. In the future we’ll have generations of Tasmanians playing for their own Tassie team in the AFL. That’s really exciting. We’ve fought hard for it. Yes, it’s been difficult, but we’ll get there.
Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff appeals to voters ahead of weekend election
Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff was also up on ABC News Breakfast, and was asked why voters should stick with their government after they’ve held power for ten years:
He argued the Liberal party is the “only party that can win majority” in the state, and said he wants to restore “certainty and stability” for the future.
Tasmanians voted for majority government in 2021 and we’re just within a whisker of majority government tomorrow, and will work very hard over the course of the next 24 hours to achieve that because Tasmania does better under majority government.
Host Michael Rowland questioned whether Rockliff can say its been a stable government, after two former Liberal MPs left – prompting the early election.
Rockliff said they have “got on with the job”.
I’m proud of the fact we have record low unemployment, more people in work than ever before. That’s what it’s all about … Tasmania is the best place to live, work and to raise a family.
‘Not sure how new stadium will have a positive effect’ on Tasmanians’ lives, Lambie says
Host Michael Rowland:
We have two great Tassie AFL teams to be rolled out in four years time. Why shouldn’t this state have a proper AFL stadium?
Jacqui Lambie:
I don’t know but maybe he can tell me why, when it comes to emergency housing that my office can no longer get [housing for people] that come into my office on their hands and knees begging for a roof over their head, but he is more interested in putting a roof over a stadium.
… When I wiped the housing debt and we got them an extra 1200 houses, why has our housing crisis down here [gotten] worse?
We have got [hospital] ramping out there that is so bad, kids not attending school – It is about priorities and it’s about priorities with peoples’ lives, and I am not sure how a new stadium will have a positive effect on lives here in Tasmania.
Jacqui Lambie says Tasmanians are ‘ready for a change’ ahead of weekend’s election
Moving now to the Tasmanian election, and senator Jacqui Lambie was on ABC News Breakfast earlier, sharing how she feels as voters head to the polls tomorrow:
She doesn’t want to feel “too confident” and get all her candidates hopes up, but said there is a level of confidence and she hopes Tasmanians “are ready for a change”.
I’ve given them choice out there. Now it is up to the voter.
Lambie’s party, who is running candidates in four electorates, could be kingmakers on Sunday if the Liberals return with a minority government. Host Michael Rowland asked Lambie for her thoughts on a comment made by premier Jeremy Rockliff, that “a minority government full of cross benchers would make the Star Wars bar scene look boring”.
Her response: “Rockliff has had ten years.”
That is rubbish. We have seen it works very well up there on the federal scale. You can see the senators up there like myself and Senator Tyrrell holding them accountable, making sure they have been called out when they need to be. Holding them on integrity [and] their values and I think that is where we need to be.
As for whether Lambie would be prepared to deal with the Liberal party, in terms of a minority government? She said this would be up to the candidates.
Until that make-up is done, my people will continue to work right up until late this afternoon and we will see what happens in two or three weeks.
Australia has ‘contributed to international pressure’ calling for ceasefire in Gaza: Anne Aly
Aly acknowledged there is a “level of disappointment” in the Labor government from Muslim leaders. She said Australia can make the most difference when it comes to aid, and calling for a ceasefire, “which we have”.
But essentially, the pathway to a ceasefire is going to be through the negotiations that are currently being undertaken by Egypt and Qatar. Those negotiations require both Israel and Hamas to come to the table and accept conditions that are what the other party is asking for in order to achieve that ceasefire. That is the absolute fact.
I note that today, the US government is also stepping up their calls for an immediate ceasefire. And increasingly, countries around the world are also stepping up their calls for a ceasefire. Australia has played a role in contributing to the international pressure and the international voice in calling for a ceasefire.
Ally says she’s well educated on Palestine having been born there and campaigning since the 1980s
Anne Aly was asked about criticism from the protestors at the weekend, who were demanding she call what is happening in Gaza a genocide.
Responding to this, Aly argued that social media can become an “echo chamber” and that she has educated herself on the issue:
Often when people say ‘you haven’t said anything, and you haven’t done anything, and you don’t know anything …’, when I present them with the fact that yes, I have spoken out and actually in terms of educating myself I actually was born in the region, I lived in Egypt in the 1980s and was campaigning for Palestine back from in the 1980s. I visited Palestine and as part of our counterterrorism and International Security, have actually written book chapters and articles on you know, the history of Gaza and Palestine and Israel.
So I think I’m pretty educated on the subject. I don’t know, maybe there’s more that I could do. But you know, I think that there is this kind of misinformation and disinformation out there and when people are presented with the facts, many of them do take a step back, go, oh, I didn’t know that.
Anne Aly responds to clash with pro-Palestine protesters at the weekend
Minister for youth, Anne Aly, has responded to a clash between herself and pro-Palestine protesters at the weekend, during a meet and greet she held with constituents in Perth.
Aly said she “fully support[s] the right to peaceful protest” but believes the way these protesters put forward their argument was “quite aggressive”.
The MP said feelings of distress are “incredibly valid” given what is happening in Gaza, but said she has not seen this level of tension in her political career before.
Her message to protesters was that “there are people on your side” and the best way to discuss these matters “is for us to elevate each other’s voices, not to try and drown each other out”.
ABC RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas asked if this was having a chilling effect on politicians and their ability to do their work, and Aly said it was.
I want to be able to speak up … and I want to be able to have those conversations in a manner that engages people, and that answers the questions that they have about the situation and that allows us to move forward and progress make progress towards peace.
Optus outage review report goes to federal government
The federal government has received a report on last year’s Optus network outage that left millions of Australians without phone and internet services, AAP reports.
But the findings haven’t been publicly released, beyond the government saying it makes recommendations “aimed at ensuring the telco industry learns from this outage”.
Communications minister Michelle Rowland has said in a statement:
We will consider the recommendations from the review, and publicly release both the final report and the government’s response in due course.
The Optus outage in November left more than 10 million customers without phone and internet access for up to 14 hours and sparked hundred of complaints to the industry watchdog.
The broader review, led by former deputy chair of ACMA, Richard Bean, examined emergency call arrangements, customer communications and complaints handling following the outage. The communications department said:
While the technical cause of the outage was not within scope of the review, the government understands that the disruption to some Triple Zero calls was predominantly caused by a failure of Optus 3G towers to wilt.
Wilting is an industry practice where signals from mobile towers are powered down during disruptions to allow Triple Zero to be carried by another network. Rowland said:
We want industry and government to learn the lessons from this event, and take steps to prevent this type of disruption occurring again.
Tamsin Rose
Penny Sharpe thanks campaigners and politicians who advocated for conversion therapy to be outlawed
Circling back to news that New South Wales has outlawed conversion therapy, after a marathon overnight debate in the state parliament:
State environment minister and leader of the government in the upper house, Penny Sharpe, thanked campaigners and politicians who helped along the way to outlawing conversion practices.
Speaking in the chamber after the bill was passed, she said:
What NSW has done today is to say to LGBTQ community that you are fine just the way you are and that we will look after you and then we will protect you.
We also have said that harmful practices have no place in NSW. I want to, on behalf of the government, thank all of those people who have got us here today … NSW is better today as a result of the passing of this legislation.
Kevin Rudd can advocate for Australia ‘irrespective’ of US president, Richard Marles says
Marles was also asked about comments Donald Trump made earlier in the week about US ambassador Kevin Rudd.
(You can read all about this below, in case you missed it):
Marles said Rudd is “doing a great job representing Australia in the US … across the political spectrum”.
I think Kevin is well received across the political spectrum and he’s doing a great job in representing Australia’s interests. I’m not about to go into the specifics of communications I’ve had with Kevin, [I’m expressing] my support for Kevin right now.
Q: If Trump is elected, can Rudd repair that relationship?
Marles:
I think Kevin is doing a great job on behalf of Australia and I think he will be able to do that job, irrespective of who is governing America this time next year.
Really how I see it is that the alliance has endured over decades across governments of both persuasions in the US and both persuasions here in Australia. It exists right through the administration of Donald Trump previously … I think Kevin has role in being able to advocate for Australia in the context of that can absolutely be maintained, irrespective of who wins the election in November.
Julian Assange’s case ‘needs to be resolved’, Marles says
Richard Marles has been speaking to ABC RN about the latest Aukus developments, but has also been asked whether Julian Assange will form part of the talks with the UK.
Marles said he wasn’t “in a position to comment about all of that”, but said:
What I would say is that as an Australian citizen abroad, we have engaged in advocacy for Julian Assange. Whatever one thinks about what Julian Assange has done over the years, this needs to be resolved, his case needs to be brought to resolution and that is the advocacy that we’ve been engaging in, both in the UK [and the US] and we do that with with great respect for the independence of their judicial systems.
Gay conversion practices outlawed in New South Wales
Tamsin Rose
Gay conversion practices have been outlawed in New South Wales after a marathon overnight debate in the state parliament.
The Minns government law will ban conversion practices such as religious “straight camps” that attempt to change someone’s sexual orientation.
The ban was one of Labor’s election promises and was welcomed by equality groups.
The upper house debated the issue overnight before the legislation passed unamended after around 6.30am. Sydney MP Alex Greenwich said:
The sun rises today on a state that is safer for LGBTQ people. LGBTQ people are loved and beautiful, and futile attempts to change or suppress who we are will now be illegal in NSW.
Greens upper house MP Cate Faehrmann said:
The archaic and cruel practice of conversion therapy will now be banned in NSW. It was worth one hell of a late night to be one step closer to full equality.
Government to consider calls to legislate Law Reform Commission report, Marles says
Moving to another issue, Richard Marles was asked for the government’s position on a report put forward by the Law Reform Commission (we had all the details around this earlier in the blog).
Marles said the government had received the report and will “take our time to consider that”, and said consensus on the issue would be needed across the parliament:
The important point here is, we want to see the reforms in relation to dealing with issues of religious discrimination but it is really important that we are walking forward with consensus. The attorney-general has been doing a great job in speaking with people and stakeholders across community, including religious schools. They will continue to do that in respect of this report but we need to try and build consensus in this country around moving down the path we eventually do and that involves also building consensus across the parliament.
