Chalmers defends GST deal with WA
Jim Chalmers is being asked by David Speers about the GST deal with Western Australia outlined in the budget, which is going to cost nearly $53bn over the next 10 years, especially given Western Australian is the wealthiest state in the country.
Chalmers defends the decision, calling it “responsible because we made the commitment and we want to make sure that Western Australia, which is such a driver, such an important contributor to our national prosperity, gets their fair share of the GST”.
Speers is pushing Chalmers whether spending to top up WA’s GST allocation is more important than spending on support for victim-survivors of domestic violence and an increase in JobSeeker.
Chalmers does not respond on domestic violence – advocates for which were critical of the budget for the minimal increased expenditure in the sector – or JobSeeker, which did not see an increase, and pivots to some other areas.
Well, first of all, it doesn’t come at the expense of helping people with the cost of living. It doesn’t come at the expense of strengthening Medicare and all of other things we’re doing, investing in housing. But it’s a deal that was struck and a deal we’re committed to.
Key events
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking now in Gosford following revelations today that six members of a Sydney-based army unit tested positive to illicit drugs days before special forces soldier Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon was killed in a parachute training tragedy.
Albanese attended his memorial service in Cessnock and says he knew him personally because of his friendship with his family.
He was much loved by his co members and by his local community. It was quite a sendoff for Jack and that community will be having another tough day today on top of the very difficult period that they have gone through.
He says the ADF have been transparent regarding investigations into his death.
The ADF quite clearly, the fact that you’re asking me questions about it is a clear indication that the ADF are being transparent in how they’re dealing with these issues.
The ADF have clearly undertaken appropriate investigations … it’s important that they be allowed to conduct these processes through to conclusion.
The Jewish Council of Australia has denounced a Christian fundamentalist rally, Never Again is Now, to take place in Melbourne today.
The rally is projected as a stand against antisemitism and solidarity with the Jewish community and Israel.
In a statement, the council said it was concerned the rally aimed to e”xploit Jewish fear about antisemitism and Holocaust memory for a pro-Israel Christian Zionist agenda”.
The lineup of speakers is a motley crew including Liberal party politicians, Iranian monarchists and representatives from organisations such as the Australian Christian Lobby, which has been listed as a far-right extremist group for its anti-LGBTIQA+ policies. Some of the central organisers are openly hostile to Islam. ‘Never Again is Now’ rallies in other Australian cities have platformed speakers with long histories of bigotry and racism against Muslim people and LGBTIQA+ people.
Sarah Schwartz, executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, said right-wing Jewish leaders were “sorely mistaken” if they thought they could fight antisemitism through “anti-Palestinian racism”.
We need to fight antisemitism as part of the fight against all forms of racism and bigotry, by acting in solidarity with others facing racism. It does not assist the fight against antisemitism to treat it in a silo from other forms of racism and to conflate antisemitism with support for Palestinian human rights.
Pressure grows on La Trobe Uni to dismantle pro-Palestine camp
Meanwhile, pressure is growing on students to dismantle their pro-Palestine encampments after La Trobe followed the Deakin, ANU, the University of Melbourne, the University of Queensland and Monash University in taking a firmer stance to end the protests.
A spokesperson for La Trobe’s Bundoora campus said it issued a directive to organisers on Friday to disband their ongoing encampment within 48 hours on the basis of “safety, wellbeing and amenity” of campus users.
Although the protests at La Trobe have been relatively peaceful and no classes have been interrupted to date, the university has considered the risks associated with the continued encampment activity and has taken this decision in the interests of the safety, wellbeing and amenity of all campus users and visitors.
La Trobe will continue to accommodate the right of students and staff to protest peacefully and respectfully without an encampment. In keeping with our core values, we are committed to ensuring that our students can safely learn, engage and participate fully in university life.
Students for Palestine condemned the directive, calling it an “attack on free speech” to peacefully protest against the genocide in Palestine. On Saturday, called a protest alongside the La Trobe branch of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU).
Students in the encampment are demanding the university disclose and cut ties with weapons companies and Tel Aviv University, as well as an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.
Adeshola Ore
Allan ‘disgusted’ by protesters at Labor conference
The Victorian Labor conference has kicked off for a second day, after pro-Palestine protesters stormed the event on Saturday and forced the Moonee Valley racecourse into lockdown.
On Saturday morning, ahead of speeches by the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, a group of pro-Palestine activists entered the racecourse building and began chanting outside the conference room. Allan said she was “disgusted” by the behaviour of protesters.
Victoria police have confirmed there were no arrests on Saturday and say the group left without incident:
Police have a visible presence at a planned protest in Moonee Ponds on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May.
Our priority is the safety of the community and officers will ensure there are no breaches of the peace.
Conference attenders, including unionists and rank-and-file members, on Sunday will debate motions on a range of topics, including the Melbourne airport rail project.
Crowdfunding campaign launched for Namatjira portraits
Australian presenter and comedian Dan Ilic has launched a crowdfunding campaign to have Vincent Namatjira’s latest exhibition, Australia In Colour, projected on to a billboard in Times Square.
The exhibition is now on show at the National Gallery in Canberra, and has drawn international press for magnate Gina Rinehart’s request that her portrait be removed.
Ilic:
This is an invitation to help get as many people to know about Australia In Colour as possible by putting the highlight of the show on a huge billboard in Times Square the week of the 27th May. We need to raise about $30,000 by Thursday. Any excess money raised will be donated to a charity of the artist’s choice.
Ilic previously raised $65,000 for a crowdfunding campaign to pay for satirical billboards mocking Australia’s inaction on climate change in Glasgow for Cop26.
Over 150 new homes fast-tracked in Melbourne
In Victoria, the federal government has fast-tracked the approval of about 150 new homes off Chapel Street in Prahran.
The new housing includes 101 social and affordable homes and 54 market homes, given the green light as part of the state government’s Ground Lease Model.
Under the model, public land is leased for a fixed term to a project group that develop, finance and build new housing before handing the assets back to the government once the term has finished.
The minister for planning, Sonya Kilkenny:
Every Victorian deserves to have a roof over their head and that’s why we’re pulling every lever we can to enable 800,000 homes to be built over the next decade.
Man dies after ebike collision
Away from politics for a moment, Victoria police have announced that a man has died in hospital after a motorised scooter collision in St Albans on Thursday.
A 45-year-old man was riding the scooter along Arthur Street when it appears he collided with a vehicle about 4.40pm on 16 May, police say.
Emily Wind has a feature story today about fears around ebikes and safety, which is worth a read.
Chalmers defends GST deal with WA
Jim Chalmers is being asked by David Speers about the GST deal with Western Australia outlined in the budget, which is going to cost nearly $53bn over the next 10 years, especially given Western Australian is the wealthiest state in the country.
Chalmers defends the decision, calling it “responsible because we made the commitment and we want to make sure that Western Australia, which is such a driver, such an important contributor to our national prosperity, gets their fair share of the GST”.
Speers is pushing Chalmers whether spending to top up WA’s GST allocation is more important than spending on support for victim-survivors of domestic violence and an increase in JobSeeker.
Chalmers does not respond on domestic violence – advocates for which were critical of the budget for the minimal increased expenditure in the sector – or JobSeeker, which did not see an increase, and pivots to some other areas.
Well, first of all, it doesn’t come at the expense of helping people with the cost of living. It doesn’t come at the expense of strengthening Medicare and all of other things we’re doing, investing in housing. But it’s a deal that was struck and a deal we’re committed to.
‘Big Liberal deficits into Labor surpluses’: Chalmers on budget
Labor have been trying to reshape the narrative about the party’s handling of the economy, often a stick they are beaten with by the opposition, and clearly front of mind in this budget.
“We have been turning big Liberal deficits into Labor surpluses,” Chalmers has told Insiders, which is a line that I have no doubt will be reappearing in next year’s election campaign.
Even the deficit next year is $19bn smaller than what we inherited. We’ve been banking most of the upward revisions to revenue. We saved $150bn worth of debt this year. We’re saving $80bn in debt interest costs. Real spending growth is a fraction of what we’ve seen in the last 30 years. And all of this means that we’re getting the Budget in much better nick so we can fund cost-of-living relief and invest in the future.
Chalmers criticises Dutton’s ‘dark’ budget reply
Chalmers calls Dutton’s budget reply and criticisms that immigration leads to pressure on housing “dark” and “divisive, intentionally so”. Chalmers says Dutton’s reply is based on “numbers that he has plucked out of the air”.
If you think about the relationship between migration and housing, for example, of the less than 5,000 homes purchased by foreigners in the most recent data, around 1,300 of them were established homes, and so this will make nowhere near the difference that he is claiming that it will.
Chalmers says that Dutton’s commitment to cut immigration would also have an impact on the economy and skills base of the country.
We need a sensible migration program to find the nurses, and the builders, and other people that we need to ensure that our economy can continue to grow into the future.
Jim Chalmers is up on Insiders, he’s on his country-wide campaign to sell this budget, likely the last before the next election.
In particular he’ll be facing questions about housing and immigration, after Peter Dutton’s criticisms of the budget that higher levels of immigration will lead to pressure on housing, something that is obviously of deep concern to the community at the moment.
Australians in New Caledonia rationing food amid riots
Reuters is reporting that Australians stranded in New Caledonia have been forced to ration food as they wait to leave amid riots that have now killed six people.
Joanne Elias, from Sydney, has been stuck in a Noumea resort with her family since the violence broke out earlier this week.
“The kids are definitely hungry because we don’t really have much option of what we can feed them,” she told Reuters.
Penny Wong has issued a statement warning Australians not to travel to the Pacific territory.
Australians should reconsider their need to travel to Nouméa and exercise a high degree of caution in New Caledonia.
We are working with authorities in France and New Caledonia, and like-minded partners including New Zealand, to assess options for Australians to safely depart.
Julien Mazzoni in Nouméa has written about the reason for the riots, the response from France and the impact on the community for the Guardian. His story is well-worth a read:
On Friday, local authorities said the situation was ‘calmer’, after hundreds more French marines began arriving.
However, despite appeals for calm from political groups – in particular, the pro-independence parties most angered by the planned voting change – unrest has continued to be reported.
‘We don’t want to let our people disappear, we’ll fight until Kanaky is free,’ say two rioters, who did not want to be named. They stood near a roundabout in the New Caledonia capital, Noumea, as a vehicle burned.
Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou defends Fatima Payman
Sarah Basford Canales
Federal Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou has defended her Senate colleague Fatima Payman after last week’s criticism about comments Payman made against Israel.
Payman, a first-term Western Australia senator, broke ranks with her party’s position last Wednesday by directly accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and by using the politically charged phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
The opposition backlash was swift with Liberal Senate leader, Simon Birmingham, introducing the following day a motion to condemn the comments. Labor voted with the Coalition to pass it. Later in question time, Liberal senator Hollie Hughes also shouted Payman “supported” terrorists before withdrawing the comment shortly after.
Vamvakinou, the member for Calwell and a longtime advocate for the Palestinian cause, said Payman had a “right to express the way she’s feeling”.
She comes at it from a very emotional and personal perspective … she’s doing what I guess any member of parliament would probably do on a number of issues.
The comments follow those from science minister, Ed Husic, on Friday when he said it took “guts” to say what Payman said, despite not agreeing with the use of the phrase.
Vamvakinou, who is also a co-chair for the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine group, said she agreed Payman was courageous.
I don’t think politicians should be afraid to speak, it does take courage and she has been courageous … especially in this climate and at this time.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of the day’s news.
To kick things off this morning, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will be appearing on Insiders to discuss the budget and reactions to it. On Friday, Chalmers criticised the opposition leader, Peter Dutton’s budget reply speech as “unhinged” and lacking in economic credibility.
The Victorian Labor conference will continue today after dramatic scenes yesterday, when a group of pro-Palestinian protesters entered the Moonee Valley Racecourse building and began chanting outside the conference room filled with MPs, unionist and other rank-and-file members.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, accused the protesters of bringing “violence, homophobia and antisemitism to the front door of state conference”.
And some disturbing news from AAP, which reports an increase in scammers hacking the cybersecurity systems of conveyancing professionals and tricking potential homebuyers into transferring them settlement money.
AAP reports that the scams have led property buyers to be swindled out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
