Former One Nation candidate backed by conspiracy theorists set to be Townsville mayor
Eden Gillespie
Townsville mayor Jenny Hill has conceded defeat to former One Nation candidate, Troy Thompson.
Speaking to the Townsville Bulletin, Hill said despite the vote count still ongoing, she wanted to provide “some certainty for the city” as there was “no likelihood” of “bridging” the “gap” between herself and Thompson.
Hill had been mayor for 12 years and a councillor for 23 years. As of Wednesday morning, Thompson secured 46.77% of the vote and Hill trailed behind on 43.53%.
Guardian Australia reported this week that Thompson’s campaign was backed by the conspiracy theory group, My Place Townsville (MPT). Members of the group claimed to have volunteered for his campaign, staffing polling booths and scrutinising the final vote count.
The campaign was Thompson’s second in the past four years, after being named One Nation’s candidate for the marginal state seat of Thuringowa in 2020.
Two months out from the 2020 election, Thompson claimed he had withdrawn from the race for “personal reasons”. A letter from One Nation to Thompson, tabled in Queensland parliament last week, said he was disendorsed by the party over failing to disclose his legal name and directorship in a company that went insolvent.
Key events
On independent senator Lidia Thorpe’s push to have the government finally implement the recommendations from reviews into Indigenous deaths in custody and forced family separations, June Oscar says:
Like many in this room, and those listening in, we have asked what has happened to a response to the implementation of the 339 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody report. We still remain convinced that many of those recommendations haven’t been implemented. So I think Senator Thorpe has touched on a very, very important issue for many families across this country, and I pay my respects to those people who have lost people in custody. It’s a matter for the Australian Human Rights Commission and the incoming Social Justice Commissioner to consider whether or not this important piece of work is carried by the Australian Human Rights Commissioner and the Social Justice Commissioner. That will be a matter for their decision.
Thorpe is in the room for this speech.
On the calls for federal intervention into Alice Springs, June Oscar says:
We will continue to see that disquiet and those types of behaviours in public. If we continue to exclude people and not really see and hear and learn from what are the measure that is we, collectively, can be developing and designing that works for these communities. It can’t happen, with someone else’s ideas that sit in Canberra or Perth or Darwin.
It has to be the people from the places where these matters are real issues.
Now, I understand there is a senior Aboriginal leadership group in the Northern Territory, in Alice Springs, made up of key organisations.
I don’t think it can be expected any longer that someone else from outside of Alice Springs comes in to address what is happening there.
It needs to – anyone coming in from outside, and everyone has a right to feel safe here, and so, people coming in to contribute to supporting this community should heed the leadership of the people that live in that community.
They are the ones that are responsibler responding daily to these matters – not someone in Canberra. And so, I think what would be effective is – you know, the stakeholders and the mayor, working with the organisations in Alice Springs and the leadership in the Northern Territory, and there are some amazing leaders in the Northern Territory.
The outgoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar AO is giving the address at the National Press Club today.
She is asked a question by the winner of the Caroline Jones Young Women in Media award winner, Charmayne Allison:
The Northern Territory receives proportionally the largest share of federal funding of any state and territory, but we’re seeing very little change on the ground in Central Australian Indigenous community, which are some of the most disadvantaged in the country, especially when it comes to gender justice. Where do you think we’re going wrong?
Oscar:
Wow, that’s a really important question. But I think a question relevant to this country and not just limited to the Northern Territory. I spoke about the stakeholders that are needing to know each other, see each other and have dialogue with each other. I think it’s fair to say that for far too long, many of those stakeholders haven’t been included in the conversations to make those brave and courageous decisions truthfully.
I understand from my connections in the Northern Territory that there are incredible and amazing Aboriginal leaders in community organisations that have been waiting for a very long time to have the opportunity, to have the dialogue, to recreate and mend and heal the social fabric of the Northern Territory, no matter where you live. But we have to have community leaders and community members involved in those conversations.
For those who missed it, here is Greens senator David Shoebridge in full flight against the government’s deportation legislation a little earlier in the Senate:
There has been a bit of a flurry of response to some of the strange Canberra laws in my inbox (and yes, I agree with you!) but it might also be worth pointing out that up until 2021, it was illegal to carry more than 50kg of potatoes in WA. That used to be a national law, but was gradually repealed by the states. WA was the last to repeal the 1946 law in 2021.
(First time potato hoarders could receive a $2,000 fine, while repeat offenders faced a $5,000 fine. But more alarmingly, police could search someone’s car if they suspected they had more than 50kg of potatoes on them.)
And to let that one reader know – Victoria repealed it’s anti witchcraft/fortune telling law in 2005.
Just in case you haven’t refreshed the blog – on that post on Babet’s motion – it was independent senator David Pocock who co-sponsored the excess deaths motion with Babet and Jacqui Lambie, not Greens senator Barbara Pocock.
The Greens voted agains the motion, but with Pocock, Lidia Thorpe, One Nation and the coalition, the motion passed by one – 30 to 31.
Inquiry into why more Australians are dying than usual secured by UAP senator
In some other news from this day that is just chock full of it, UAP senator Ralph Babet has managed to set up an inquiry into why more Australians are dying than usual.
It’s a strange coming together of the Senate for this one – Babet, known for his support of far-right causes and Donald Trump devotion, had progressive independent senator David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie as co-sponsors of his inquiry motion.
The government did not support the motion but the Coalition and One Nation and Lidia Thorpe did, so it got across the line by one.
Babet said in a statement:
For the past few years Australians have been dying in excess numbers without adequate explanation.
Excess mortality is not just a transitory phenomenon. In 2022 we experienced our highest excess death rate since World War Two. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) provisional mortality statistics released last month confirm that to November 2023 there were 15,114 or 10% more deaths than the baseline average.
It is the fifth time Babet has moved a motion on excess deaths, but that turned out to be the magic number.
The community affairs committee will report back by 31 August.
*An original version of this post named Greens senator Barbara Pocock as the co-sponsor – it was Senator David Pocock who co-sponsored the motion.
Daniel Hurst
Foreign influence transparency scheme should be amended for more attorney general powers
One more update on the damning report on Australia’s foreign influence transparency scheme:
Malcolm Turnbull, the prime minister who introduced the scheme, told a parliamentary committee hearing last year:
It is noteworthy that … according to the transparency register there is apparently no organisation in Australia that has any association with the united front work department of the Communist party of China. I would love to think that was true, but regrettably I can say absolutely that it is not true. If in fact it were true, there would be terrible repercussions in Beijing for those responsible for the united front work department.
The parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security’s report, tabled in parliament today, said the law should be amended to give the attorney general’s department new enforcement options essentially allowing people to be named on the public influence register against their will:
The Committee therefore recommends that the FITS Act be amended to include two new enforcement options in Part 5 of the Act, which would allow the Secretary of the Department to register a person where they are liable to register but have failed to do so; and to place information on the register about any person who the Secretary considers should be registered but has not registered voluntarily, or has otherwise not complied with the Act.
In implementing these options for enforcement of the Act, the Committee strongly urges the Secretary and the administrators of the Scheme to prioritise analysis and monitoring of United Front Work Department activities, in cooperation with National Intelligence Community agencies as appropriate, in order to identify and proactively ensure the registration of UFWD activities and proxies that should be falling within the Scheme
Former One Nation candidate backed by conspiracy theorists set to be Townsville mayor
Eden Gillespie
Townsville mayor Jenny Hill has conceded defeat to former One Nation candidate, Troy Thompson.
Speaking to the Townsville Bulletin, Hill said despite the vote count still ongoing, she wanted to provide “some certainty for the city” as there was “no likelihood” of “bridging” the “gap” between herself and Thompson.
Hill had been mayor for 12 years and a councillor for 23 years. As of Wednesday morning, Thompson secured 46.77% of the vote and Hill trailed behind on 43.53%.
Guardian Australia reported this week that Thompson’s campaign was backed by the conspiracy theory group, My Place Townsville (MPT). Members of the group claimed to have volunteered for his campaign, staffing polling booths and scrutinising the final vote count.
The campaign was Thompson’s second in the past four years, after being named One Nation’s candidate for the marginal state seat of Thuringowa in 2020.
Two months out from the 2020 election, Thompson claimed he had withdrawn from the race for “personal reasons”. A letter from One Nation to Thompson, tabled in Queensland parliament last week, said he was disendorsed by the party over failing to disclose his legal name and directorship in a company that went insolvent.
Daniel Hurst
Investigative journalism has done more for foreign influence than government scheme, intelligence committee finds
The intelligence committee’s report – tabled in parliament today – said the foreign influence transparency scheme had “failed to achieve its intended purpose with little of consequence apparent” and “more transparency on foreign influence has been achieved through investigative journalism and parliamentary inquiries than the FITS”.
The committee said the law as it currently stood was “largely ineffective, with such meagre results that it would be difficult to justify the ongoing compliance burden and resources without major reform”.
The committee said that in drawing up reforms, the government should consider “the successful aspects of comparable schemes from other countries that appear more effective in bringing foreign influence to light (including the US and comparable countries) while being mindful of minimising regulatory burden and focusing on the conduct of most concern”.
The bipartisan committee put has put forward 14 recommendations, including to expand the definition of a foreign government-related entity to “recognise a relationship of control through chains of holding and subsidiary companies … no matter how many subsidiaries are involved”.
It said the definition should also reflect “the multiple ways that political party control or influence can be exercised over an entity” by covering entities that are “required by law to assist or facilitate the activities of the branch of the foreign political organisation”.
After the infamous past exchanges between former prime minister Kevin Rudd and the attorney general’s Department over whether he needed to register public interviews with state-owned or funded broadcasters, the committee suggested a carve out for high-profile interviews:
Amending the requirement to register communications activity is sensible as the majority of arguably unnecessary registrations for these cohorts have been in relation to communications activity undertaken where the foreign influence potential is low, or the involvement of the foreign principal has been apparent (such as a former politician appearing on the BBC).
Andrew Giles and Clare O’Neil have announced a press conference for 12.30, Paul Karp tells me.
You’ll get the reaction to the delay of the deportation bill there, as well as (maybe) what the government plans on doing in the mean time.
Canberra moves to amend National Capital Plan to ease restrictions on new dwellings and heights
Canberra is a bit of a complicated place – we are talking about the city here, not the parliament – and it makes things like planning a little more difficult than it should be.
Not only does the ACT government own all the land (if you purchase a freestanding home in the ACT, it is leasehold, not freehold) but there is also the added complication of the National Capital Plan which sets out what can happen in areas of Canberra, given the capital’s “national significance”.
So there are no billboards in Canberra. Since the 1970s, building heights were restricted so they couldn’t exceed the war memorial or parliament house (I think there have been some changes there but you’re not getting a sky scraper in Canberra).
For areas within the parliamentary triangle, things get even more complicated. So there has been a lot of back and forth over what to do with the old Australian Forestry school site in the ritzy suburb of Yarralumla (home to a lot of the embassies and also the best kebabs in town).
Kristy McBain thinks she has found the right balance in amending the National Capital Plan to allow for future development in the site to be mixed use, allowing for residential, aged care, social housing, commercial accommodation, community facilities and ancillary commercial uses.
Up to 300 dwellings will be permitted on the site, including buildings of up to three storeys – with 60% of the site to be retained as open space, and 45% of that set aside for deep root planting.
Heritage buildings and structures, including the Australian Forestry school, the former Museum, store, tennis courts, and Forestry House will be retained and adaptively reused.
The majority of the new buildings must be located within the footprints of existing or recently demolished buildings, and the environmental performance of new buildings will be critical, requiring high levels of solar access and natural cross ventilation.
New buildings will also need to sit in the landscape according to its topography within the tree line.
Things like parking and the like will have to be worked out with the ACT government and no doubt there will still be some hiccups along the way, but it looks like something is moving forward in the territory. Huzzah.
Daniel Hurst
Inquiry into Australia’s foreign influence transparency scheme finds ‘significant flaws’
Australian’s foreign influence transparency scheme has “significant flaws” and needs a major overhaul because “mere tinkering will not be sufficient”, an inquiry has found.
The scheme – which requires certain activities to be listed on a public register – was set up in 2018 as part of a broader effort by the then Turnbull government to crack down on espionage, foreign interference and undisclosed foreign influence.
It aimed to “provide the public with visibility of the nature, level and extent of foreign influence on Australia’s government and politics”. As of last month, there were 127 registrants on the public register, with 560 entries for activities undertaken on behalf of a foreign principal, and no criminal prosecutions have been launched for breaches.
In a report tabled in parliament today, the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security (PJCIS) said:
The Committee notes with concern the very low number of registrations and minimal compliance and enforcement activity that has occurred in the six years since the establishment of the Scheme and the significant flaws in its design and implementation.
Enforcement activity has focused almost exclusively on China with little success, while neglecting any material focus on other countries of significant concern (where there are no or very limited registrations). These include authoritarian nations like Russia and Iran which engage in malevolent foreign influence, as well as nations with which Australia has friendly and positive relations, such as India, which engage in foreign influence operations that should be transparently declared.
More details to come.
Jacqui Lambie Network senator backs Greens supermarket divestiture bill
In the midst of *everything* this morning (it has been pretty much non-stop since 7am) Jacqui Lambie Network senator Tammy Tyrrell said she would support the Greens supermarket divestiture bill.
The legislation allows the ACCC to apply for a court-ordered divestiture bill, if there is a provable abuse of market power. Think of it as the big stick the Coalition used to want to apply to energy companies, but for the major supermarkets.
Tyrrell says she is in favour of the move:
We’ve all heard the catchphrase ‘down down, prices are down.’ But the only thing going down is trust in the major supermarkets. It’s time for change.
The United States, United Kingdom and European countries all have divestiture powers and the sky hasn’t fallen in. This is a sensible bill and I applaud the Greens for putting it forward.
Tyrrell is one of the members of the inquiry looking into the impact of the supermarket duopoly and said she looks forward to when the supermarkets have to front up to answer questions.
The Nationals have their own ideas of what needs to happen, and so will be putting forward a seperate bill. Bob Katter is also pushing for change, so we are approaching a situation where there is no one bill with support from the majority, but a majority of non-government MPs supporting some sort of action.
