Tasmanian premier decries Dutton’s Port Arthur protest comparison
Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff has criticised opposition leader Peter Dutton’s comments comparing a pro-Palestine protest to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, AAP reports.
Rockliff, a Liberal premier, said such a comparison should not have been made to the massacre. He told ABC Radio:
It is never appropriate to compare the Port Arthur tragedy with anything, in any circumstance. This is still raw for many Tasmanians and will be forever raw with those who are directly affected.
It’s up to Mr Dutton in terms of clarifying what he has said.
My view is we need to be very careful and never compare the Port Arthur tragedy to anything but the absolutely tragedy that it was.
Key events
Rafqa Touma
Thanks to Emily Wind for the day’s blog coverage. Let’s get the rest of the afternoon’s news rolling.
Emily Wind
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today. The lovely Rafqa Touma will be here to guide you through the rest of our rolling coverage. Take care, and enjoy your weekend.
Advocacy groups call for ‘programs and funding’ in response to heat map
Advocacy groups have welcomed the release of a heat map from the federal government (see earlier post) but are urging them to address the root cause of extreme heat – climate change.
Emma Bacon, the executive director of Sweltering Cities, said certain communities are feeling the impacts of extreme heat more than others. She pointed to Western Sydney, facing “climate, health, housing and cost of living crises all at once”.
In my experience, the people living in hot homes and hot suburbs across the country know that heatwaves are dangerous and that members of their community are at risk. People aren’t underprepared for extreme heat through lack of knowledge, they’re being prevented from following health advice because they’re anxious about electricity bills so don’t turn on air con, or they’re renters and can’t make simple upgrades to their homes to be more energy efficient.
The map demonstrates that some of the most dangerous areas are home to millions of people. We need to stop burning fossil fuels that contribute to rising temperatures and will make this crisis unmanageable for the public and the government. We cannot properly adapt to run-away global warming.
Bacon hopes the heat map will be a “wake up call” for the government, and said she is “eagerly awaiting” an announcement of how federal, state and territory governments will respond to the map “with programs and funding to help our communities be safe”.
Ballarat community unites against violence on women
Women in a Victorian community rocked by three recent killings are demanding an end to male violence, AAP reports, as a rally is to take place in Ballarat today.
The Ballarat region’s Samantha Murphy, Rebecca Young and Hannah McGuire have allegedly died at the hands of men since the beginning of February.
A rally will begin at Ballarat train station today before gathering at nearby Camp Street, where family members of the victims, community leaders and family violence specialists will address the gathering.
Organiser Sissy Austin, who was herself savagely attacked while on a run in 2023, said the issue was a national crisis:
Us Ballarat women, we’re coming together to stand in solidarity, to feel less alone and to show the country we’re united. We’re here to fight for our rights to live safely in our community for generations to come.
The Ballarat community aren’t going to succumb to the violence that has been perpetrated in our town.
Austin said the three killings in a little over two months had stunned the community and “women are living on eggshells”.
Australia Post changes ‘big hit’ to regional and remote areas, CDU professor says
Regional and remote communities will be hit harder by Australia Post’s move to deliver letters every second day, rather than every day, an academic says.
Prof Steven Greenland from Charles Darwin University says while the impact may not be significant for major cities, services in regional and remote areas “could be significantly impacted”.
Many of these do not have daily letter deliveries and collections already, and the collective impact of the cuts will create even greater delays, and especially during the high demand periods like Christmas.
Greenland said consumers and businesses need to be better prepared for the change and factor in greater lead times. He suggested people look at alternative online channels, but noted some consumers “including the elderly may find it harder to switch”.
As we reported earlier, the regulation change is effective from Monday, but the actual changes to deliveries will be progressively rolled out until the end of 2025.
Posties will still come past homes every day as part of the changes. Australia Post said in a statement:
The new standards will not change the minimum number of post offices that Australia Post must maintain nationally and in rural, regional and remote areas, or the services available at Australia Post retail outlets.
Ben Doherty
Continued from last post:
Save the Children cited an example from more than a decade ago, when famine was declared in the Horn of Africa in 2011. Australia donated $112m to Somalia and neighbouring countries, making it the third-largest donor in the world in absolute terms.
Despite the intervention, more than a quarter of a million people died in Somalia, about half of them children under five. And the Australian government later acknowledged it had acted too slowly.
Save the Children Australia chief executive Mat Tinkler said:
Australia’s response to the famine in Somalia in 2011 serves as an important reminder that when there is political will, this country can step up and save lives. Unfortunately, it also serves as a reminder that once a famine is declared, many children will already be dead.
In Gaza today, there are children already dying due to a lack of food or surviving only by eating animal feed and leaves while just a few kilometres away on the other side of the border, there are hundreds of trucks full of food, unable to deliver life-saving aid due to restrictions imposed by the government of Israel.
The Australian government has not only a moral imperative to act but is also bound by its obligations under international humanitarian law, and the International Court of Justice ruling, to ensure that Palestinians are protected.
The Australian government has committed more than $52m in humanitarian assistance for civilians affected by the conflict in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, with a particular focus on providing essential supplies and support services in Gaza.
Save the Children Australia urging further aid for Gaza amid rising starvation
Ben Doherty
Save the Children Australia has called on the Australian Government to urgently address rising starvation and malnutrition in Gaza, and avert a catastrophic famine in the occupied territory.
As we flagged earlier, the child welfare NGO argues Australia should increase its humanitarian support to Gaza and apply greater pressure on the government of Israel to allow sufficient aid to reach those in need.
The agency said:
Israel’s systematic deprivation of aid to Gaza has led to one of the worst hunger crises in the world today, with recent IPC figures warning of imminent famine which may have already unfolded. Unless there is an immediate surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, many more children could starve to death than have been killed by Israel’s relentless bombardment over the past six months.
More to come in a second post.
Albanese to walk Kokoda Track ahead of Anzac Day
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will walk the Kokoda Track ahead of Anzac Day commemorations during a visit to Papua New Guinea, AAP reports.
Albanese will walk the track alongside the Papua New Guinea prime minister, James Marape, before taking part in a dawn service.
The trip, more than 80 years after troops fought along the rugged track to defend against a Japanese invasion, comes as Australia seeks closer ties with its closest neighbour.
Albanese is set to be the first sitting prime minister to walk the famous track.
Kevin Rudd walked the Kokoda Track in 2006 while he was opposition leader as part of an appearance on Seven’s Sunrise program, while former prime minister Scott Morrison also hiked the track in 2009 during his time as a backbench MP.
The visit to Papua New Guinea comes after Albanese became the first Australian leader to address that country’s parliament. Marape also gave a speech to federal parliament in February.
Queensland opens first publicly funded endometriosis clinic
Queensland opened its first publicly funded endometriosis clinic today, and the premier, Steven Miles, has hit back at an unhappy constituent.
Miles said the first endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic was part of the state’s $1bn women and girls’ health strategy, aimed at improving women’s healthcare.
When an anonymous constituent replied on X, stating “men pay taxes [and] deserve the same benefits and services as women”, Miles responded with this zinger:
Absolutely. Let us know when you get endometriosis and we’ll book your appointment.
The Bureau of Meteorology has shared a national weather forecast for the weekend ahead:
Two thirds of Tafe teachers considering leaving sector, survey reveals
Caitlin Cassidy
Two thirds of Tafe teachers are considering leaving the sector due to the ongoing impact of nearly a decade of Coalition cuts to public vocational education and pressure from the fee-free Tafe program, a new survey has revealed.
The survey, commissioned by the Australian Education Union (AEU), found full-time workers were clocking an average of around 43 hours per week – 19% higher than contracts and equating to almost a full day of unpaid labor.
Less than one third (32%) of workers said their workload was “manageable most of the time”, and two thirds were considering walking out of the profession altogether.
The AEU is calling on the federal government to match its investment in Tafe students with the Tafe workforce. Its federal president, Correna Haythorpe, welcomed the large investment in Tafe made by the federal government but said “significant concerns” remained among teachers about workload, job security, and the level of support required by students.
Australia’s Tafe workers demonstrate extraordinary dedication and skill, but they are being pushed beyond their limits. After more than a decade of funding cuts by the previous Coalition government, Tafe teachers are carrying the burden.
Holocaust already part of national history curriculum, Labor MP says in response to Dutton
Labor MP Tanya Plibersek has responded to calls from opposition leader Peter Dutton for teaching of the Holocaust to be mandated, stating that it is already part of the national history curriculum.
In a speech earlier this week, Dutton argued children were being taught “what to think, not how to think” and were “force-fed” what he described as “anti-Israel hate”. He said:
We also need to ensure our students have a better grasp of the horrors of the Holocaust as well as the age-old, enduring and shape-shifting nature of antisemitism.
Responding to this on X, Plibersek said teaching of the Holocaust was already mandatory in New South Wales and Victoria:
Peter Dutton says he would deal with antisemitism by mandating teaching of the holocaust. I agree it’s vital that the Holocaust is taught. It already is mandatory in NSW and Victoria, and part of the national history curriculum.
Peter Dutton says he would deal with antisemitism by mandating teaching of the holocaust. I agree it’s vital that the Holocaust is taught. It already is mandatory in NSW and Victoria, and part of the National History Curriculum.
— Tanya Plibersek (@tanya_plibersek) April 12, 2024
Footy great charged with historic child sex offences
Australian rules football great Carl Ditterich has been charged with historic child sex offences, AAP reports.
The former ruckman, who played 285 games for St Kilda and Melbourne from 1963 to 1980, has been charged with three counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency.
The Bayside sexual offences and child abuse investigation team laid the charges against the 78-year-old Moama man following an investigation into alleged historic child sex offences.
The alleged incidents relate to one victim and took place at Heatherton, in Melbourne’s south-east, in 1985, police said in a statement.
The matter was heard in Melbourne magistrates court today and is due back in court in late June.
Ditterich was renowned one of the most reported players in AFL/VFL history and was suspended for 30 matches across his career. He unsuccessfully stood as an independent candidate for the Victorian state seat of Swan Hill in 1999.
