This document is part of an archive of postings by John Ray on Australian Politics, a blog hosted by Blogspot who are in turn owned by Google. The index to the archive is available here or here. Indexes to my other blogs can be located here or here. Archives do accompany my original postings but, given the animus towards conservative writing on Google and other internet institutions, their permanence is uncertain. These alternative archives help ensure a more permanent record of what I have written
This is a backup copy of the original blog. Backups from previous months accessible here
29 May, 2023
A twist in the free speech legal fight between X and Australia's eSafety bureaucracy
The eSafety vs X case just got messier
The eSafety Commissioner's fight against X over videos of the Wakeley stabbing just got messier, with two new groups granted leave to join the case.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) have pulled off a rare legal manoeuvre, winning the right to participate in Federal Court proceedings they caught wind of over in the United States.
Court allows terrorist attack vision to stay on X
The Federal Court has chosen not to extend a temporary order for social media company X, formerly Twitter, to hide videos of a Sydney terrorist stabbing globally.
It’s another knock to eSafety, which has been trying to force Elon Musk's company to remove or hide about 65 instances of footage showing a stabbing attack on Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel since April.
To recap briefly, X initially agreed to geoblock the posts, but refused the regulator's subsequent legal notice, which would have meant global removal.
At that point, all hell promptly broke loose.
Amid an intercontinental slanging match between Anthony Albanese and Elon Musk, the Federal Court granted a temporary injunction, which X ignored, ordering the social media platform to hide the material.
The stalemate lasted more than two weeks until Justice Kennett rejected eSafety’s bid to renew the injunction, after hearing arguments that the Commissioner had overreached.
It was enough of a commotion to attract two American interlopers, the EFF and FIRE, who jointly applied to "intervene" in the matter on behalf of internet users outside Australia.
Their bid has mostly escaped public notice so far, but this week Justice Kennett decided the parties had a right to be heard, despite arguments to the contrary from eSafety.
"It's not automatic and it's quite rare in the Australian context for intervention to be granted," said Kevin Lynch, a partner at Johnson Winter Slattery, the firm representing the two groups.
"Our clients won't be arguing for one side or the other," said Lynch, adding that they're only there to bring an "international perspective".
That perspective happens to overlap significantly with the case being made by X, centring on free speech and the appropriate limits of the Commissioner's powers.
"If an Australian court makes a global takedown order, it might signal to other countries that they can impose similar orders under their own laws," Lynch said.
In other words: if it can happen in Australia, there's nothing to stop it from happening in China, Russia, Myanmar or Iran.
EFF and FIRE now have a seat at the table, in recognition of the fact that this fight "has a major impact upon their interests as freedom of speech advocates", Lynch said.
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The hopeless mission of the Australian Energy Market Operator
This year 2024 Daniel Westerman will become a well-known if not much-loved public figure.
In his role as the energy czar – the CEO of the Australian Energy Market Operator – his mission is to mastermind the great transformation of our energy system to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy to your home, business, and in due course, your car.
In fact, the decision to pursue that transformation is the greatest policy blunder in our history, wartime included. To anticipate the punchline of this bad joke: ‘It’s the wind supply, stupid!’ That is explained below.
Westerman’s predecessor laid the foundations for this ‘Great Reset’ of the energy market with a cultural revolution in AEMO, stacking the organisation with green activists and model builders to generate the Integrated System Plan for the transformation. This received high praise from the Net Zero industry and scathing criticism in a forensic review by a team of scientists and engineers associated with the Energy Realists in the parallel universe of energy policy.
The interaction between the two worlds is much like the dispute between two fishwives observed by Boswell and Johnson (literary lions of the time) shouting at each other from their front windows across a narrow street. Johnson remarked, ‘They will never agree. They are arguing from different premises.’
Perhaps a shared perception of impending disaster can provide a common premise for a constructive exchange between the two worlds. The possibility is there since the latest update of the AEMO Electricity Statement of Opportunities in late February flags an impending shortage of supply after Liddell power station closes in April to be followed by the biggest unit in NSW, Eraring, two years later. In less diplomatic language, get ready for blackouts! This is old news for energy realists, still, with the threat officially acknowledged, the time has come for an urgent review of the transition plan.
The role of Daniel Westerman will be crucial in that process. What manner of man is he? Does he have the qualifications and experience to lead a gruelling and divisive campaign to keep the lights on? Can he keep his head while all about him are losing theirs and blaming it on him?
He was born in Australia, graduated in Mechanical Engineering, and gained MBAs in Melbourne and London. He did some time consulting on energy at McKinsey before he moved to England in 2014 and rose to be the Chief Transformation Officer and President of Renewable Energy at London-based National Grid. He also ran the England and Wales electricity system as part of National Grid’s dual responsibility as electricity market operator. The UK was on a ‘rapid energy transformation pathway’ based on large-scale wind and solar, especially wind.
In 2021, he was appointed as the CEO of AEMO, arousing great expectations. The Financial Review reported that the AEMO chairman and the board members were very pleased with Mr Westerman’s experience. The voice of the Energy Network of Australia was effusive: ‘The northern hemisphere’s loss is Australia’s gain as we chart the path towards a clean, reliable and affordable energy future.’
Sarah McNamara of the Australian Energy Council opined that his knowledge of markets in the UK will be invaluable as we navigate the challenges, ‘Protecting the future security of the National Electricity Market and balancing the energy needs of today with the necessary changes for the future.’
What happened in Britain under his leadership to arouse so much hope for our future? Warning: We are now entering the parallel universe where the former Prime Minister of Britain, Theresa May, proudly legislated for Net Zero with practically unanimous support in the House.
Consequently, Britain went into free fall on the energy front, well over a year before the war in Ukraine started. Power prices went through the roof and energy-intensive industries are closing down or heading for the Exit door. Subscribe to Net Zero Watch from the Global Warming Policy Foundation to get a gruesome week by week account of the deindustrialisation of Western Europe, especially Britain, and Germany.
Can we expect to do better? The answer at present appears to be, ‘No!’ At the release of the Electricity Statement of Opportunities, Mr Westerman quickly resiled from the full implications of the report and reverted to the official script, calling for ‘urgent and ongoing investment in renewable energy, long-duration storage, and transmission to reliably meet demand’. This reflects the government commitment to more wind and solar, more ‘big batteries’, completing Snowy2.0, re-wiring the nation, and getting rid of coal.
What don’t they get about the Iron Triangle of Energy Supply? That is the nexus of wind droughts and lack of storage that guarantees blackouts on windless nights unless there is 100 per cent of conventional power available? Surely they appreciate the need for continuous input to the grid…
As for wind droughts, AEMO has all the information they need to document the phenomenon because they have continuous records of the output from all the registered windmills attached the grid. In 2012, Paul Miskelly documented wind droughts across SE Australia when highpressure systems linger, sometimes for days.
Anton Lang drew on the AEMO data to keep tabs on the wind supply and the performance of the other generators, which he documented in thousands of blog posts on his site from 2018 to the present.
It seems that nobody with influence in energy planning and policy took any notice of these public records which clearly signal that the green energy transition is impossible with existing technology. This means that the Net Zero policy is the greatest blunder in our history, wartime included.
Wind literacy is the key to public appreciation of the Iron Triangle. Regular weather bulletins could easily include the amount of wind power in the energy mix at the time. The figures at night and at breakfast and dinnertime, when there is little or no solar power, should be a wakeup call. Similarly, glancing at the NemWatch widget at those times signals how much we depend on coal and gas for hot meals and air conditioning.
The reporters and commentators in the mainstream media have scandalously kept people ignorant of the basic facts pertaining to the Iron Triangle, facts that are required to enable informed public debate. If the news doesn’t travel fast enough to stimulate timely remedial action, be prepared to move to Tasmania or hoard wood and animal dung for the time when household generators are banned or our diesel stocks run out.
https://stophumansacrifice.substack.com/p/rafe-champion-power-policy-in-parallel
*********************************************Australians Abandon Physical Cash and the Freedom It Protects
The end of cash has been heralded for years—mostly by government officials eager to end the expense of minting coins and printing banknotes while pushing transactions to digital forms that can be tracked and taxed. The transformation has met varying degrees of acceptance or resistance from people around the globe. But Australians appear to be eagerly advancing down the road towards a cash-free world.
Disappearing Banknotes and Coins
"Cash was once a staple in the economy, but it's fast becoming a relic of the past," according to an April report on Australia's financial evolution from SBSNews. "Just a decade ago, more than half of transactions were cash. Now it's just one in seven, and it's happened at an alarming rate."
Various forms of digital payments now account for the lion's share of transactions, with a growing number of merchants now refusing coins and banknotes, and ATMs disappearing around the country. That means cash is increasingly difficult to find and use even for those who prefer physical money.
The transformation was turbocharged by COVID-19, as people moved away from any sort of contact. But usage of cash was already plunging, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia, from almost 70 percent of transactions in 2007 to less than 30 percent in 2019. "Cash payments accounted for 13 per cent of the number and 8 per cent of the value of all consumer payments in 2022," the bank finds.
While Australian consumers and central bank bureaucrats embrace the shift, there are serious downsides to an all-digital economy.
"Digital payments have shortfalls, including their reliance on the internet—which can prove problematic in times of crisis," cautions SBSNews. The report described the plight of people cut off from processing services by wildfires that severed communications; those with cash could still buy necessities.
Digital transactions also require people to have accounts in their names, which is a challenge for young people and immigrants. And budgeting can be easier with paper and coins than with abstract numbers.
Unmentioned in the piece are any concerns about lost independence when all transactions can be monitored and, potentially, blocked. But that's a major concern elsewhere.
'Printed Freedom'
"Printed freedom" is how German economist Lars Feld described physical money in 2015 while responding to a push in his country to abolish physical cash. He defended banknotes and coins on the grounds that people "should be entitled to an escape from all-out state control," as Hardy Graupner of German broadcaster Deutsche Welle put it.
Such concerns came to a head in 2022 when the Canadian government cut off Freedom Convoy protesters' access to their own bank accounts and blocked digital donations to their cause.
"It's a Western version of China's social credit system that does not altogether prohibit political dissent but makes it so costly that it becomes impractical to the ordinary citizen," commented David Sacks, former COO of PayPal. He had already warned that electronic payment processors were working with governments to deny access to the financial system on ideological grounds.
Canada's crackdown was dramatic, but it didn't stand in isolation.
Digital Transactions and Targeted Industries
In 2022, American Banker reported that "a new code identifying credit card sales of guns and ammunition has been approved by the International Standards Organization, creating a potential path for card networks to help law enforcement agencies identify suspicious sales of guns and ammunition."
Amidst concerns that banks would help government officials track gun owners, and several states banning the gun-specific merchant codes, the financial industry "paused" implementation.
The merchant code controversy was reminiscent of earlier government efforts, under programs including Operation Choke Point, to cut off businesses disliked by politicians from financial services.
"Operation Choke Point was created by the Justice Department to 'choke out' companies the Administration considers a 'high risk' or otherwise objectionable, despite the fact that they are legal businesses," summarized a 2014 House Oversight Committee report. "The sheer breadth of industries affected – including firearms and ammunition sales, adult entertainment, check cashing, and payday lending – has generated significant concern with the objectives and scope of Operation Choke Point."
Notably, physical money offers a workaround for businesses that government officials don't like. To this day, marijuana is a largely cash industry for businesses legal at the state level but still illegal under federal law—a serious concern for heavily regulated financial institutions. For pot growers and vendors, cash may not always be ideal (it's a target for thieves), but it offers the freedom to operate.
Use It or Lose It
That was the sort of concern that pushed Germany's Lars Feld to describe physical money as "printed freedom." It also inspired Swiss activists last year to urge their countrymen to vote "yes to a free and independent Swiss currency in the form of coins and banknotes." Swiss officials rejected the initiative as insufficiently specific, but they also promised to incorporate protections for cash into the constitution.
Many Australians appear to feel otherwise, and they're not alone. With demand plunging for cash, Denmark stopped printing and minting kroner in 2016 (private companies will be commissioned to produce more as needed).
"One of the reasons why it is no longer profitable to produce coins and banknotes in Denmark is that the Danes increasingly pay with either credit card or mobile phone," BT reported at the time.
There is no denying that digital transactions are easy—sometimes too easy—requiring only a card or app, and not sufficient paper in your wallet. But despite the still largely unrealized promise of Bitcoin and other cyber currencies, most digital transactions leave records and require processing by third parties. Those intermediaries, under political pressure, can turn our own funds into tools of control. The more accustomed we become to digital payments, the more likely physical money and the freedom it offers will slip away.
"If you don't use it, you're going to lose it," Steve Worthington of Swinburne University's School of Business, Law, and Entrepreneurship told SBS News. "The less and less we're able to access and use cash, the more likely it is that we will lose access to it the same way we have with paper cheques."
It's something to think about the next time you head for the store to make a purchase.
https://reason.com/2024/05/27/australians-abandon-physical-cash-and-the-freedom-it-protects/
********************************************Changing native vegetation laws to allow burning on private land is good fire management
Bushfires cause catastrophic biodiversity loss across Australia. In the Black Summer of 2019–20 alone, 103,400 square kilometres of habitat went up in flames.
The irony is, laws to protect native vegetation did nothing to prevent this destruction. This is because, in most states, these laws make it hard for private landholders to burn on their own land, meaning more fuel is left to feed bushfires.
We have a chance to change that now in South Australia, where the Native Vegetation Act is under review.
With greater knowledge and understanding of the role of fire in the Australian landscape, we can take better care of native vegetation on private land as well as public parks. There’s a strong case to be made for private landholders to conduct their own cool burns, for dual purposes of reducing fuel load and restoring ecosystems.
Fire can be good for biodiversity
A wide range of species will benefit from good fire management, which creates a patchwork of different ages of vegetation.
Some plant and animal species are found only in long-unburnt vegetation. Others need recently burnt areas. Many shrubs only occur in areas burnt in the past 15–20 years.
Fire is also needed to maintain food supplies for many threatened animals. For example, the glossy black-cockatoo feeds almost exclusively on the seeds of drooping sheoak trees. But seeds become scarce in long-unburnt vegetation.
Breaking up the landscape should also mean fewer animals will be caught in each fire, because they have places to which they can escape.
Managing fire at landscape scale
Proactive burning can reduce wildfire risk under most conditions, when managed at the whole-of-landscape scale. This requires everyone to manage fire on their own land in a coordinated way. Such an approach emulates Indigenous land management and was partially adopted by land managers in southern Australia until the 1970s.
Private landholders are no longer allowed to contribute to these efforts, perhaps because the community distrusts both farmers and fire. However, without landholder involvement, fire management capacity is severely limited.
For instance, National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia’s Burning on Private Land program has managed only 28 hectares of fuel reduction burns on Kangaroo Island since Black Summer. Given forest fuel loads can reach dangerous levels six years after bushfire, the next big one may not be far away.
Climate change means catastrophic bushfires will happen more frequently. Addressing this escalating risk requires allowing landholders to manage fire hazards on their own land.
The devastating Black Summer wildfires
The Black Summer fires killed an estimated three billion animals and drove at least 20 threatened species closer to extinction.
Human lives were lost, livestock perished. More than half of Kangaroo Island burned, including areas that had not seen fire since the 1930s. Along with 96% of Flinders Chase National Park, about 40,000 hectares of native vegetation burned on privately owned land.
While nothing could prevent the spread of fires under catastrophic weather conditions, many of Black Summer’s fires started earlier. They may have been better controlled, or stopped altogether before conditions got out of hand, if the vegetation was not so thick and connected. The very small amount of fuel reduction being undertaken on private land is inadequate.
Burning does not equal land clearing
In 1985, SA introduced the first laws in Australia to protect native vegetation. These effectively stopped the widespread clearance of native vegetation in the state.
However, they have done little to maintain or restore its ecological condition. Since the laws were passed, we have learned more about the effects of fire in Australian landscapes. We now know proactive use of fire can make vegetation more complex and biodiverse. So, fire needs to be actively managed, not excluded.
While well-intended, the existing legislation discourages burning by private landholders, making it almost impossible for them to take responsibility for reducing fuel loads on their own land. This is because South Australia’s Native Vegetation Act defines all burning as clearance.
What do other states do?
Both New South Wales and Western Australia also classify burning as clearing. In Victoria, approval for burning on private land is managed at the local government level and appears to have no provision for ecological burning.
Elsewhere, burning is only considered to be clearance when it is intentionally used for the purpose of destroying native vegetation, as in Tasmania, Queensland and the Northern Territory, or remnant trees, in the case of the Australian Capital Territory.
All states and territories allow exemptions for the purpose of bushfire prevention or fire fighting. None has incorporated fire management for ecological purposes into their native vegetation legislation.
So far, proposed changes to the SA Native Vegetation Act have missed an opportunity to reduce wildfire risk across the state.
This could be fixed by simply changing the definition of clearance to exclude fire used for ecological purposes. This is effectively the case in Queensland, where fire is only considered to be clearing when it is specifically used to destroy native vegetation.
SA’s Native Vegetation Council would then need to provide guidance on how landholders should burn to both reduce fuel loads and benefit biodiversity. This should extend the current advice to provide the type of detailed ecological and operational information that is provided in Queensland.
Changing South Australia’s Native Vegetation Act to facilitate fire management by landholders is one step we can take to minimise the risk of catastrophic wildfires. The next steps are trusting landholders to take this responsibility seriously and help them do so. This would bring South Australia back to the forefront of native vegetation management in Australia.
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28 May, 2023
Rising number of men ignore domestic violence orders/b>
I am not going to be popular for saying this but we need to recognize what lies behind attacks by men on ex-partners, murder-suicides in particular. It the man's sense of loss. Usually the pair have had a relationship that the man is pleased and proud about, accompanied by a probably realistic feeling that if he loses that relationship he will never be able to get another such relationship. So when a woman takes that away, he is hugely angered by the loss. And anger does often motivate violent and revengeful behaviour.
So that does point the way towards a possible solution to the problem. In brief, the man's needs should be recognized and all possible steps taken to minimize his sense of loss. I am not going to say exactly what steps should be taken as that will vary with the individual circumstances but one simple thing that could work well in some cases would be for an ADVO to trigger a visit by a social worker to talk to the man in a supportive way. That should be automatic and urgent immediately an ADVO is granted. Ever since Freud, psychiatrists have recognized the curative power of talk and that may be all that is needed to save the woman's life in some cases
I hasten to add that what I have just said does not in any way reflect my own experience. My four marriages all ended amicably and even now at age 80, I still have an attractive girlfriend
Domestic violence offenders are increasingly disregarding ADVOs at alarming rates in NSW, new analysis shows. The first three months of the order are the most dangerous period for victims.
The Herald’s analysis of ADVOs over a five-year period has found a rise in the number of offenders breaching ADVOs even amid a police crackdown, while punishments are becoming less severe.
The number of orders breached was up 35 per cent from 17,057 to 22,969 in the five years to 2023.
The proportion of offenders being sent to jail for breaching an ADVO, when that was their principal charge, also showed a decline, according to NSW Criminal Courts Statistics from July 2018 to June 2023.
Over the same period, fine penalties increased as a proportion of court outcomes from 12 per cent to 21 per cent from 523 to 1412.
However, this data fails to capture every ADVO breach in NSW, as it counts only those defendants who have been found guilty of and sentenced for breaching an ADVO if that is their main offence.
The danger period for victims, the analysis found, was the three months after an ADVO was issued. The rate of ADVO breaches or domestic violence reoffending was highest in these three months.
Last year, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research found that extending the length of an ADVO from 12 to 24 months was linked to a decrease in the probability of further DV offending. However, longer ADVOs were associated with significantly higher breach rates.
Experts say the increase in breaches is concerning and that it could be reflecting a combination of more actual breaches, a rise in breach reporting, as well as a targeted police crackdown on domestic violence, including the formation of a squad targeting the worst offenders.
Domestic Violence NSW senior policy officer Dr Bridget Mottram said the perpetrators of violence were often at their most angry and vengeful in the immediate aftermath of an ADVO being taken out. She said the rise in reporting of breaches to police and more proactive policing also would have resulted in the number of offences increasing.
“It’s also an element of boundary testing – the perpetrator seeing what they can get away with, which a breach charge reasserts the boundaries for,” she said.
“It’s significant to note, as well, that the NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team have found that most women who are murdered by a previous partner had ended their relationship within three months of the homicide. This is an exceptionally dangerous time and where it’s imperative that we have systems in place to keep victim-survivors safe.”
Man raped ex-wife as children slept next door
In another disturbing example of an ADVO failing to protect a woman, one offender broke into his ex-wife’s home several months after being handed the order and raped her for hours as their children slept in the next bedroom. Sentencing documents released by the NSW Supreme Court detail how the offender, who had recently separated from his wife, had been barred from going near the victim or finding out where she lived.
His breaches started with texts asking if he could visit her house to pick up a scooter for their child. On another date, he asked to collect a beach towel. The mother declined both requests.
On October 25, 2021, he asked the young child where his mother lived, and after hours of drinking, he broke into the house and walked into his ex-wife’s bedroom.
The sentencing remarks read: “She came face to face with the offender, who grabbed her by the throat and said, ‘hello [woman’s name]’.
“It caused the victim pain. The offender pushed the victim towards the bedroom, leading her by holding her throat, and said, ‘guess I’m really going through with this after all … My heart is racing’.”
He was sentenced last month to a maximum of 12 years in jail.
Women’s Legal Service NSW principal solicitor Philippa Davis said police and courts must take all breaches seriously.
“If victim-survivors are not believed, or they are told it is just a ‘minor’ or ‘technical breach’, the seriousness of the ADVO is downplayed, and this can lead to perpetrators continuing to disregard the ADVO,” Davis said.
While Davis was pleased to see an increase in the number of ADVO applications being made by police, she said the legal service consistently heard from clients who felt police failed to respond appropriately to their reports of violence.
“[This data] doesn’t tell the whole story because it doesn’t capture those circumstances where police don’t take action,” she said.
Davis said a combination of factors might cause repeat offending within the first few months of an order being issued.
“For some, it could be a lack of understanding as to the particular orders and the restrictions placed on what they can do and where they can go,” she said.
“For others, though, it will be a blatant disregard for the AVO as they continue to assert power and control over a victim-survivor and ensure she continues to fear for her safety and that of her children.”
The Herald recently joined police on a four-day domestic violence blitz as they arrested 226 people for serious offences.
At the time, Superintendent Danielle Emerton, commander of the domestic and family violence registry, said police treated all ADVO breaches seriously.
She said her team used criminal profiling to detect “dangerous offenders” who posed an elevated threat of causing serious harm to victims and they performed regular compliance checks on offenders serving out ADVOs.
The Herald also recently revealed Lismore man James Harrison had been served an ADVO to protect his ex-partner, doctor Sophie Roome, three months before he allegedly killed himself and their two-year-old son.
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Deck was stacked as CSIRO estimated the cost of nuclear power
The cost of nuclear energy is twice the cost of renewables, so sayeth the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. But why is the CSIRO in the non-scientific game of providing assumption-driven estimates of the cost of generating electricity in different ways?
On the face of it, it looks like a bit of buck-passing by the Australian Energy Market Operator, which enlisted the assistance of the CSIRO some years ago. This is a task for engineers, economists and accountants – not scientists.
Modelling is not science, and estimating costs is also not science. By rights, the CSIRO should have declined the request. Its reputation has been markedly sullied.
Let’s consider the latest version of the CSIRO’s GenCost report. As with all modelling, it’s a case of garbage in, garbage out. The assumptions in it range from the plausible to the absolutely ridiculous.
The most glaring errors in the report are the assumptions about the upfront costs of nuclear plants, their rates of utilisation and their lifespans. The assumption on the capacity of wind power is also laughable and the assumed lifespans of both wind and solar are too long.
It looks suspiciously like a tail-wagging-the-dog exercise: how to ensure that nuclear power looks extraordinarily expensive compared with the preferred renewable energy option of the federal and state governments.
The fact that Australia is the only country of the largest 20 economies in the world not to have nuclear power didn’t seem to awaken the curiosity of the CSIRO team. Should we be assuming that all their governments are simply stupid by having such an expensive form of generation?
And how could it be the case that a very large number of countries are now aggressively investing in more zero-emissions nuclear plants?
Indeed, our main ally, the US, has a target of tripling the amount of nuclear power by 2050.
The international figures are clear: countries with high wind and solar shares in their generation of electricity actually have relatively high electricity prices. They include Germany, Britain, Spain, Denmark and Italy, as well as the states of California and South Australia. By contrast, those countries with very low renewable shares have the cheapest electricity: Russia, United Arab Emirates, Korea and India.
It is worth pausing here to briefly outline the methodology of the GenCost report. It uses levelised cost of electricity, or LCOE, as the key metric – a measure that includes both the cost of installation as well as the expected lifetime of the asset. The cost of the fuel is added, which is zero for wind and solar but material for other means of generation.
The capacity factors of different means of generation are then taken into account. They should vary between 25 and 33 per cent for wind and solar but the GenCost report has onshore wind at 48 per cent and offshore wind at 52 per cent, which are both clearly errors. The capacity factor for nuclear should be in the 90s but in one scenario, the CSIRO puts the figure at 53 per cent, another clanger.
But the key is this: the LCOE is the wrong measure to use. What is required is a system-wide LCOE because of the inherent intermittency of wind and solar and the inviolable objective of 24/7 power. When the wind blows and the sun shines, the cost of generating electricity by these means is very low. But because the wind doesn’t blow all the time and the sun sets, expensive back-up (or firming) is required.
This back-up must be added to the cost of both wind and solar. And account must be taken of both extended wind droughts and cloudy periods – short-duration batteries will simply be inadequate. In practical terms, the option of long-duration, affordable batteries simply doesn’t exist and affordable pumped hydro is not possible in this country.
Last year’s GenCost report was a major hit job on the highly prospective Small Nuclear Reactors which are still being developed, although Canada is further down this path than other countries.
By choosing just one pilot scheme in Utah that was subsequently abandoned, the report was based on the worst-case scenario. It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that this was quite deliberate. This time, the decision was made to include tried and tested large-scale nuclear plants in its comparison of generating costs. The upfront costs of building nuclear plants are very substantial and they can also take some years to complete. There are also quite a few examples of cost blowouts and delays – in Finland and the UK, for example.
The GenCost report uses the relatively successful example of Korea’s nuclear program to estimate the expected capital cost of a large-scale plant. The figure is put at $8700 per kilowatt, which sounds reasonable enough. But the figure is then arbitrarily doubled because it would be the “first-of-a-kind” in Australia. It is simply asserted that “FOAK premiums of up to 100 per cannot be ruled out”.
This is absurd. After all, Australia would be importing the expertise from experienced players were nuclear plants to be built here. And as the nuclear energy industry enjoys a significant renaissance around the world, the number of companies and the depth of talent involved are increasing markedly. By the time Australia is in a position to consent to nuclear plants, it is inconceivable that the FOAK would be double. This assumption makes a substantial difference to the final results.
Stung by the criticism that previous GenCost reports failed to take into account the cost of transmission needed to get renewable energy to the grid, this latest version makes some effort to do so. But instead of focusing on the entire cost of transmission, which feeds into retail prices, only the cost of additional transmission is included in the analysis. Again this is a bias in favour of renewable energy.
Of course, one of the advantages of nuclear plants is that they can be located where existing transmission lines exist; the cost of foregone investment in transmission by rights should be included as reducing the cost of nuclear.
They can also last more than 80 years, even though the GenCost report bizarrely gives them a lifespan of 30 years. Solar and wind are assumed to last 25 years, which is far too long.
Of course, no serious investors would take much notice of the GenCost report or any of the other selective pieces of analysis put out by various government departments. Their analysis would be based on carefully derived figures subject to sensitivity analysis. The key now is for both the federal and state government bans on nuclear power to be lifted so the potential investors can sharpen their pencils and get to work.
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Islamist ‘invasion’ is already happening by stealth
There are similarities between the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Intifada protesters shouting “from the river to the sea” in response to the war between Israel and Hamas. For a start, the original Taliban knew almost nothing about their own country or history except that which they were fed by manipulative, charismatic cult-like leaders.
While Australia sent more than 30,000 soldiers to Afghanistan during the 20-year War on Terror, with 41 killed, hundreds wounded, and countless with invisible scars, little did we know, the Taliban were building a base right here in our own country.
The literal translation of Taliban is “student”. During their origin in Afghanistan these students were obsessed with cleansing their society through brutal enforcement of sharia law. Its leadership also provided a sanctuary to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, who planned the September 11 attacks from his Kandahar compound.
In Australia today, we are witnessing the emergence of a new form of Taliban on our streets, at political conferences, universities and at places where Jews may gather. While their claims appear to be about the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza, this is a moral cover. Their real aim is to extend the Islamist global insurgency’s power and influence. Their narrative is based on conspiracy, humiliation, justice, oppression, survival and duty. All cosy intellectual affiliates of the modern left-wing, victim-based movements overrunning Western institutions.
Of course, most of these spoilt, lost little souls in Australia are far from being anything like the warriors of Afghanistan: they wouldn’t last five minutes in a Ghazni village. Their privileged cries would be met with stones of justice.
Anyone who participated in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force there will tell you the Taliban maintained and extended control of towns and villages by co-opting or killing the three nodes of leadership – political, security and religious. This is the classic insurgency framework. In a northern Cote D’Ivoire town bordering Mali, I created a community web of protection around these nodes of leadership as they were threatened by al-Qaeda affiliates in their attempt to assume a new region of control. The immediate reaction to this anecdote might be that we are in Australia; not Afghanistan or some far flung African borderland. But it doesn’t matter – the application of this insurgency framework is the same. And not only Australia. Look at this year’s local government elections in the United Kingdom where Islamist candidates shouting “Allahu Akbar” won several seats.
In Australia we have growing numbers of Islamist sympathisers and Jihadist supporters changing the minds of Federal and State politicians, universities and senior leaders across civil society, business and the media. Our foreign policy is changing because of this influence.
What we missed in the War on Terror, but what the Taliban, al-Qaeda and Hamas understand, is the most transformative components of conflict are moral and mental. Being a member of the Taliban is a state-of-mind. The weak can be lured by fantasies. This is the jihad we are witnessing in Australia and other Western countries October 7. Governments assumed our national security and our freedoms could be protected by a strong defence force, borders, and police. As if like a gas, without front or back this movement bypassed all of that. It didn’t even need to sneak in.
One of the least known, yet most strategically influential al Qaeda figures was Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, also known as Abu Musab al Suri, arrested during a 2005 counter terrorism raid in Pakistan. No other individual did more to transform al-Qaeda’s strategy into a globalised umbrella. Now jihad is becoming mainstreamed into many aspects of Western society, involving not just physical acts of terrorism, but also the kind of struggle we see around Western cities.
Abu Musab al Suri recognised there would need to be a great mobilisation to achieve mass participation in a jihadist movement. He saw the Palestinian Intifada as the “prototype” but on a broader basis reaching the home of the American invaders and their infidel allies from every race and place.
The phenomenon has been successful because it is coinciding with the denigration of everything that made the West great since the Enlightenment. This includes the slow removal of borders through the creation of anti-sovereignty constructs such as the “Global South” and mass migration. These debase the value of our citizenship. Even Afghans know not to, as they say, let snakes live in your sleeve.
Our own democracy is being cultivated, coerced, and co-opted to support one of the most anti-democratic, anti-Western, anti-Christian movements in the world. We have every right to question this Intifada movement in Australia. Because none of this came via Chinese, or Russian or Iranian cruise missiles, battleships, or drones. It is by our own ruling class of elites who are even making us question freedom of speech. Some people realise videos of priests being stabbed in our suburbs awakens the busy mums and dads and grandparents to the fact that something is not quite right.
The gut-wrenching irony of it all is we sent some of our best this country produces to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. We convinced ourselves the fight was over there. If only we knew a sanctuary for Islamist extremism was being built right here. A sanctuary to undermine all that is good, and decent and generous about Australia.
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Fears key trades overlooked for new skilled visa
Quite insane. Probably the result of union pressure
The building industry has raised concern it will be worse off than initially thought under Labor’s shake-up of skilled migration, amid fears that key trades such as plumbers and plasterers will not even make the second tier visa stream.
Master Builders Association chief executive Denita Wawn has urged the government to ensure all trades are included under the new core skill visa stream, after a draft list of confirmed eligible occupations overlooked bricklayers, cabinet-makers, stonemasons, painters and roof tilers.
Instead the trades were included on a list of professions under “consultation” to decide if it will be included in the new visa category, which was announced under Labor’s review of the migration system.
Tradies were also carved out of the highest paid visa stream for workers earning more than $135,000, following pressure from the union movement.
Ms Wawn said without an adequate workforce of skilled tradespeople the government would not reach its goal to build 1.2 million homes in five years.
“It seems inconsistent with all the data that departments and government agencies are putting out that we’ve got such a massive shortage of tradies,” she said.
“The government funded Build Skills Australia recently said we need 90,000 trainees in 90 days to be able to build the 1.2 million homes.
“And yet, we’re still on a consultation list for many of the trades for immigration when we know immigration is so incredibly vital.
“It’s definitely perplexing as to the process.”
Australian Hotels Association chief executive Stephen Ferguson has urged the government to include chefs and cooks on the list of occupations eligible for the visa, after the occupations were also included on the list for consultation.
“At present, there is still no certainty that chefs and cooks will be included in the final migration eligibility list,” he said.
“With over 12,000 chef and cook vacancies, it would be a massive loss to the hospitality industry if they were not included in the final list.”
The warnings come amid mounting concern the Coalition’s plan to cut net migration to 160,000 next year, will lead to cuts in the number of overseas skilled workers arriving in the country. Labor has also predicted net migration will fall to 260,000 next financial year.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar warned that dramatically tightening migration could damage the economy, urging both sides of politics to “avoid a boom bust cycle”.
“We need a reasonably stable, sustainable level of migration coming in,” he said.
“We don’t want to bust now. We’ve had a boom in the last 12 months, as we’ve swung out of Covid and the pandemic impact as the borders reopened, they’ve got to get back to a sustainable level.
“There’s got to be some changes to the migration program to get it to that level.”
He cautioned against slashing international student intakes as a measure that would harm the nation’s “largest non-commodity export industry”.
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27 May, 2023
ABC star Laura Tingle sparks outrage after labelling Australia racist
Typical Leftist hatred of her own country. I see falsification of her assertion in front of me most days. In the cafe where I eat several times a week it is common for me to see Asian women on the arms of Caucasian men and EVERY day my pink skin is greatly atypical of my fellow diners. The patrons are clearly greatly varied in origins -- a real United Nations -- and I have NEVER seen an aggressive incident there. Asians, Indians and Middle Easterners are all frequent diners there and nobody bothers anyone else or shows any attitude to anyone else
A high-profile ABC presenter has come under fire for labelling Australia 'racist' and been accused of bias after pinning the blame on the Opposition.
The national broadcaster's chief political correspondent Laura Tingle made the comment during a discussion panel for the Sydney Writers' Festival on Sunday.
'We are a racist country, let's face it. We always have been and it's very depressing,' she told her audience at Carriageworks.
Tingle repeatedly accused Liberal leader Peter Dutton of fanning the flames after he called for a reduction in immigration to ease the strain on the housing market.
Her comment has sparked criticism with Tingle accused of breaking her responsibility of remaining impartial as a political reporter.
Tingle was appointed to the ABC board as the staff-elected director in 2023 and is obliged to 'act in good faith at all times and in the best interests of the ABC'.
In March, ABC chair Kim Williams shared a blunt message saying staff should leave if they broke the national broadcaster's code to be balanced.
Tingle said she couldn't remember the last time a major party leader was seen 'to be saying … everything that is going wrong in this country is because of migrants'.
'[I] had this sudden flash of people turning up to try and rent a property or at an auction and they look a bit different - whatever you define different as - (and) that basically he (Dutton) has given them licence to be abused, and in any circumstance where people feel like they're missing out,' she said.
Tingle accused Mr Dutton of 'dog whistling' and said his call to cut immigration didn't make 'rational sense'.
Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price told 2GB Ben Fordham Live on Monday that Tingle's comments 'create division'.
'I'm really disappointed in this continued narrative that is being pushed within our country that does not provide any sense of pride for our children,' she said.
'It absolutely creates division and we had enough of it during the referendum.
'Leading journalists, well supposedly leading journalists, like Laura Tingle should know better than to use that sort of rhetoric.'
Senator Price also accused Tingle of political bias, despite her duty to be impartial as a political reporter.
'She says "we're a racist country, let's face it, we've always been, it's very depressing",' she said.
'That is not a reflection of the country, that is her opinion.
'Laura has demonstrated her bias and I think Kim Williams (chairperson of the ABC) needs to explain why having someone so blatantly partisan sitting in the top political commentator position is acceptable.'
Fordham went on to read a list of comments sent in by listeners who unanimously disagreed with Tingle.
'I live in a block of units with neighbors of Indian Filipino, Chinese and African backgrounds, not an issue, just sensational people. Laura is wrong,' one of the comments read.
Another added: 'Laura tingle's warped and miserable view of this country ignores the fact that people come here in drones because it's the opposite of the picture painted by her'.
Environment and Water minister Tanya Plibersek told Channel Seven's Sunrise program she did not believe Australia was racist.
'I think it's a fantastic multicultural country but we have to protect against incidents of racism which occur in our community as they do in every community,' she said.
'My parents came to Australia after the Second World War from Europe and I am so grateful every day that Australia took them in and that we were born here and able to grow up in this fantastic country.
'Of course, there are Australians who have experienced racism. Of course that is absolutely true.'
Tingle also attacked shadow treasurer Angus Taylor's address to the National Press Club on Wednesday, which she moderated.
'I said to him (Taylor), "so you are saying we're relying on migration for growth … what does that imply about growth if you are going to cut migration?",' she said.
'He (Taylor) said something about Labor and the unions buying up all the houses, which I really didn't follow.'
Tingle also appeared at the Melbourne Writers Festival this month during which she accused Australian journalists of asking 'questions that are simply unanswerable, in the name of political or media sport'.
She appeared less critical of Labor: 'It's not just about whether they got rid of Scott Morrison, they are actually trying to govern, they are trying to run a government, they are actually trying to do policy.
'Whether you think the policy is s**t or not, that's another issue.
'We are not running the sort of stupid ideas that we are seeing out of the Coalition now from the platform of government.
'All of this absolute crap that used to run from government on a day-to-day basis, don't underestimate the value of not having to put up with that.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13462219/Laura-Tingle-Australia-racist-ABC.html
*************************************************Our F35s have STILL not been fixed
After 18 years of fixes they may never be. Trying to make them do everything has led to a complexity that may be too great for it ever to work properly. The F-35 first flew long ago in 2006 and entered service with the U.S. Marine Corps F-35B in July 2015, followed by the U.S. Air Force F-35A in August 2016. It has flown successfully with the Israeli airforce but Israel faces very little air opposition
The very idea of a "stealth" aircraft is idiotic. Nothing could hide the huge heat output of a modern jet engine. It may not be detected on the way to its target but as soon as it turns around to go home it will be detectable and able to be shot down by even simple missiles. It is as much a single-use device as a ballistic missile -- only slower. It could be used safely to fire missiles from a long standoff but even B52s can do that
The perilous state of Australia’s air defence was dramatically revealed earlier this month in a series of US government submissions.
And what makes the crisis more serious is that the deficiencies that impact Australia are duplicated in the US, plus with European and other allies.
Thanks to Australia’s premier defence research organisation Air Power Australia and US reports over many years, I have been highlighting to my readers the deep technical problems confronting Australia’s $20bn, plus investment in the Joint Strike Fighter F-35.
Air Power predicted these problems would arise because the planes developer Lockheed Martin supplied planes to Australia and other US allies before the serious shortcomings had been overcome.
Rather than believe the experts, the various Australian parliamentary defence committees believed Australia’s defence officials who were concealing the shortcomings (last year those and other past defence officials were discredited by Defence Minister Richard Marles).
Australia’s current defence officials must be staggered at the mess that is unfolding in the US as gradually the truth comes out.
Accordingly, “cap in hand”, defence officials will need to confess to Treasurer Jim Chalmers that he needs to allow for huge outlays to rectify the serious technical problems in the aircraft that have been supplied to Australia by the US.
The official cost of our JSF-F35 aircraft is about $19bn (the real cost is around $27bn) and it may now need to be doubled. But even if and when that cash is sent to the US, in any conflict situation the plane will still be no match for Chinese aircraft, so represents a serious risk to crew and ships that require protection.
A new book “Trillion Dollar Trainwreck” has been published which details the incredible mismanagement by US and world defence officials plus the high marketing pressure applied by the plane’s developer, Lockheed Martin. Despite the past warnings, last month’s revelations take the crisis to a new level.
The shortcomings of the JSF -F35 can be broadly classified into two areas.
The first is the software that controls the intricate operation of the aircraft. These base problems have existed for many years and, as I understand it, they started as base computer hardware deficiencies.
Instead of being rectified at the source which would have required admitting a huge error, Lockheed and its contractors tried to rectify the deficiencies with different software, which is always a hazardous path.
Not surprisingly, the so-called “Tech Refresh 3” software changes are constantly being delayed.
Lockheed wants another year or so, but given the inaccuracy of previous estimates and the complexity of the task it represents a guess.
But then comes the fundamental deficiencies in the plane itself. This rectification program is called “F35 block 4 upgrade” and covers 80 “improvements”.
This is not an easy process because, according to Airpower Australia, the JSF -F35 does not have an ideal shape for the tasks that were required of it in the original planning.
US defence officials admit that this correction program will take until the 2030s to be to completed, but it can’t start properly until “Tech Refresh 3” is completed, whenever that might be
In the “F-35 block 4 upgrade” more than 80 improvements will require test and evaluation, not including power and thermal testing of the JSF F-135 engine.
Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt told the US Congress in budget testimony that “Block 4” is being reimagined and some elements of it planned to be fielded this decade will be will slip into the 2030s.
Six aircraft have been set aside to be devoted to the testing, but Lockheed and its contactors have been allocated another nine aircraft to try and speed up the process, particularly as the original six are ageing because of the delays.
The view of Lockheed Martin has been that the problems could be overcome, and so over the last ten years the aircraft and its problems have been sold around the world.
But the delays in fixing the problems are causing buyer resistance, particularly from the US itself.
Official reports reveal that at least 70 aircraft (about the size of Australia’s fleet) have been built but remain on the tarmac and not delivered. The actual number maybe around 100.
The multi-billion dollar outlays in these stocked aircraft is going to strain the Lockheed balance sheet, so a bizarre plan is being devised so that the JSF-F35 community will pay money for these deficient aircraft which will be called “combat training capable”.
The overall problem is so serious, but many in the JSF-F35 Community will take these aircraft, which delays admitting error and takes the burden off the Lockheed Martin balance sheet.
But it is only papers over the problem and the truth must come out.
Thankfully, Australia has stopped buying the aircraft, so we will not have to send cash to the US for so-called “combat training capable” aircraft.
But we have 72 aircraft that require both the “Tech Refresh 3” and the “Block 4” upgrade. Because Lockheed Martin will take well into the next decade to complete these programs (if the task can be done) no one knows what that it will cost, but it is not unreasonable to expect that our official outlay of $19bn will double And it could be a lot more. We should never have accepted the aircraft until the deficiencies were overcome.
To the great credit of Israel, they would not take the JSF F-35 aircraft unless their technology experts could revamp the whole aircraft.
I would ask readers to forgive me for making fun of a serious subject, but perhaps the US needs to send a note to the Chinese asking them not invade Taiwan until Lockheed fixes JSF-F35 deficiencies. In our comedy exchange, the Chinese might reply that delaying doesn’t help because even when all the deficiencies are fixed, the plane is no match for the top Chinese aircraft.
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Australian government lets criminals, abusers make themselves at home
Leftist madness
Earlier this month, a Sudanese migrant who self-identifies as Aboriginal received the good news that he would be allowed to stay with his newly adopted tribe.
His protection visa had been revoked because of a string of convictions for violent, drug-related offences, including family violence. Yet RCWV, as he is known in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s records, is among scores of serious criminals who avoided deportation thanks to Direction 99 – an extraordinary edict issued by Immigration Minister Andrew Giles in January last year.
Direction 99 allowed RCWV to appeal on the grounds that he became part of the Australian community in the 15 years he has spent here. Never mind that eight of those years were spent on a violent drug- and alcohol-fuelled crime binge or that a year and 12 days were spent in prison. The Tribunal took Giles’s edict at its word and decided RCWV should stay.
His long record of knife crime, car theft and serious driving offences could have proved fatal. In 2014, he caused an accident that resulted in the victim having life-threatening injuries and being admitted to intensive care. He was also found guilty of breaching apprehending violence orders, stalking and a violent attack on his partner, an Aboriginal woman identified as A.
Yet under Direction 99, RCWV convinced the Tribunal his 10-year relationship with that same partner and the three children he has fathered in this country were grounds on which he could stay.“ I self-identify as an Aboriginal person and consider Australia to be my country,” he wrote in a submission to the Tribunal. “I have been accepted by the Indigenous people of this country through its customs and tradition in a smoking ceremony.
“I also learnt a lot about Aboriginal culture, was taught how to paint Aboriginal art and have also played digeridoo (sic) in the past.”
The applicant, who was born in Khartoum and spent the first 20 years of his life in Africa, accepted he could not claim biological descent. However, the Tribunal found that an Indigenous partner, Indigenous children, and the honour of being recognised at a smoking ceremony were “indicative of his having solid ties to Australia”.
As Paul Garvey revealed in his story in The Weekend Australian, Direction 99 was a decisive or contributing factor in almost all of the Tribunal’s decisions to revoke the cancellation of criminals’ visas in recent months. Of the 40 decisions Garvey reviewed, 28 applicants managed to get their cancelled visas returned. Of those, 27 cited the “strength, nature and duration of ties to Australia” as a factor in that outcome.
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Furious anger from Leftist journalist
Anger is what the Left do. It is not a good base for rational thinking
The Guardian Australia’s political reporter Amy Remeikis was getting extremely worked up at the Sydney Writers Festival on Sunday over various policies, telling the audience members she will come bashing on their front doors if they don’t hold the nation’s politicians to account at the next election.
“If you do not hold your politicians to account at the next election, I swear to God this will not be the only rant you hear from me,” she warned the crowd, who applauded wildly at the idea of a home visit from the journo.
“I will come to everyone single one of your houses and yell out over your kitchen tables, because for God’s sake, this is the only thing the matters.”
Er, what? Remeikis is entitled to her own opinion, of course, and she has plenty of space to air her views on the Guardian’s website each week.
But she is also in the privileged position of being a senior political journalist at a supposedly professional, mainstream media organisation.
How is it OK for her to don her activist hat at a writers festival? Does hysterically lecturing a bunch of (mostly) oldies about political dos and don’ts add anything to the public discourse?
Imagine for a moment if a political journalist from News Corp or Nine pulled a similar stunt. The public outrage machine would explode.
We put questions to the Guardian Australia’s editor-in-chief Lenore Taylor about Remeikis’s fiery diatribe, but we didn’t hear back.
Remeikis appeared on the festival’s panel on Sunday alongside former Labor hack and ABC presenter Barrie Cassidy, the national broadcaster’s Laura Tingle and Bridget Brennan, and Sydney Morning Herald columnist Niki Savva.
The Guardianista also issued a stern warning that climate disasters are headed our way, and declared the “heating of the planet” is to blame for the recent Singapore Airlines incident that left one person dead and at least 70 people injured after the plane hit severe turbulence.
“I can guarantee you there is going to be another huge natural disaster in the next year or so, everything is pointing towards it, we are going to get them more and more frequently,” Remeikis stated as fact.
“I know people laugh about this but turbulence is going to increase because of climate change, it’s already happening, the Singapore Airlines flight where that poor person died … that is another part of climate change because we are literally heating the planet.”
Remeikis didn’t cite her source, but hey, the internet is full of surprises!
Remeikis labelled Peter Dutton’s nuclear policy as a “dead cat to try and delay energy transition”, and she wants it gone. Now. And she said Anthony Albanese needs to ditch gas ASAP.
“It’s so disappointing that you still have the government going ‘yeah, we’re also going to do gas to 2050’ because we don’t need to,” she told the adoring crowd.
“We are going to be having the most horrendous conversations in five years time about how we live in this country, how we try and save the islands around us that are already going under water, how we actually plan a future for our frickin’ children. I mean do you think about the world they are inheriting?”
The hour-long panel was filled with plenty of anti-Dutton and anti-Coalition content, with Savva also taking a swipe at the Opposition Leader for “vent(ing) about the number of migrants that are coming into Australia”.
“To my mind it’s a tool that he uses to say, ‘if you can’t buy a house it’s because there’s too many migrants’, ‘if you can’t get in to see your GP it’s because there’s too many migrants’.”
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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
https://immigwatch.blogspot.com (IMMIGRATION WATCH)
https://awesternheart.blogspot.com (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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26 May, 2023
Why UK nurse Kelly Wainwright took an Aussie health job in Mount Isa 'nobody wanted' but was forced to flee the country within months
There are large groups of Aborigines in and around Mt Isa and their young people have learned that they are largely immune from prosecution for violent acts. Official racism has a lot to answer for
A British nurse who got a job in an Australian country town thought she would be living her dream, but it very soon turned into a nightmare.
Kelly Wainwright had always dreamed of working in Australia, but at the age of 43 her visa options were limited - until she took a role 'nobody else wanted' in the Queensland town of Mount Isa.
Within months, she was back on a plane to the UK, fleeing Australia not because of 'the weather or the creepy crawlies' she thought might be hard to cope with, but because violent crime made her feel unsafe in her own home.
Before she arrived in the outback town, Ms Wainwright was not aware of its high levels of crime and violence.
When she arrived, she thought it 'just looked like any dusty old cowboy town in the middle of the outback', but she soon found out the looks were deceiving.
Ms Wainwright took a manager's role in the sexual health unit of Mt Isa Hospital, a position that had been vacant for almost two years before she arrived.
She told 9News that not 'for one second' did she think 'the volatility of the area' would soon see her flee the town and the country.
Six weeks after she arrived, Ms Wainwright's government-provided home was broken into.
Not long after that, her home was targeted by teenagers, who allegedly brutally assaulted a 14-year-old relative staying with her.
Footage of the alleged attack showed a vicious brawl with kicking, punching and slapping between at least three teenage girls at the house.
Ms Wainwright reported the attack to police but said she was told: 'You live in Mt Isa, I suggest you go and learn how to fight.'
Her employers were so concerned for her safety they asked senior health officials to move her and her teenage cousin to a safer home.
But the request was denied, she said.
Emails obtained by Nine revealed the nurse's manager writing: 'I have fears for Kelly and her family's immediate emotional wellbeing as a result of informing them that their request to move was not supported.'
Ms Wainwright soon found she could not cope with the situation any longer, but as her visa was specifically tied to the Mt Isa Hospital job, she decided her only option was to go home to the UK.
She left in such a hurry that she just packed her bags and got out of there.
'I just gave all (my possessions) away and off we went with just our suitcases,' she said.
Not being supported in 'the way that we should've been' was 'really disheartening', she said.
North West Hospital and Health Service would not comment on individual matters but said it provides 'safe' accommodation that 'meets the needs of our employees'.
In a recent crackdown on youth violence in Mt Isa, more than 30 young people were arrested between April 26 and May 3, resulting in 84 charges.
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Sydney pro-Palestinian students suspended after classes ‘significantly disrupted’
Two Sydney University students have been suspended after classes were “significantly disrupted” by protesters last week, as the encampment on the institution’s quad lawns enters its fifth week.
In a letter of support, the Sydney University Student Representative Council (SRC) said the university was attempting to silence protesters by handing the two students immediate one-month suspensions.
The SRC said the suspensions were a result of the students making announcements at the start of classes about the university’s ties with Israel and encouraging students to be involved in the campaign for Palestine.
“Such announcements before classes begin do not seriously disrupt teaching activities and usually finish before staff are ready to begin class,” the letter read. “They are a routine part of campus life and have been given around many political issues in the past.”
In a letter to staff and students last week, the university said some individuals had gone beyond the bounds of acceptable political announcements before classes began.
This included deliberately covering their faces to conceal their identity, not allowing classes to commence at the scheduled time, and acting in a way that was considered intimidating.
It said it was also aware of counter-protesters allegedly engaging in intimidatory behaviour towards the encampment overnight and was co-operating with police in their investigations of this behaviour.
A university spokeswoman on Thursday confirmed that two students had been temporarily suspended pending disciplinary proceedings, after two incidents of classes being significantly disrupted last week.
One affected subject has had its in-person lectures for the remainder of the semester cancelled.
“We continue to be very clear about our expectations of behaviour on our campus, writing to students and staff again last week about acceptable and unacceptable conduct,” the university spokeswoman said.
The students are demanding the university disclose and end all ties with weapons manufacturers and Israeli universities over the war in Gaza. Members of the local branch of the National Tertiary Education Union earlier this month voted overwhelmingly to support an institutional boycott of Israel in alignment with the student encampment demands.
Protesters at the university’s encampment have vowed to continue until their demands are met. Vice Chancellor Mark Scott has said he would meet protesters this week, but an agreement is yet to be reached.
‘Too little, too late’
It comes as University of Melbourne protesters agreed to end their encampment after the institution agreed to provide more transparency around its research partnerships.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said the suspensions were welcome but were “far too little and come far too late”.
“The constant noise from their shouted slogans and incessant beating of drums has disturbed and disrupted classes and created a pervasive atmosphere of fear and anxiety among students and staff,” he said.
“Today, a number of buildings went into lockdown. Under state legislation, the university senate has the management and control of all university property, including crown land, but the university has been too timid to use its powers to order external demonstrators to leave its grounds.
“This has emboldened the protesters and made the situation progressively worse.”
A few dozen students and external protesters have been camping out each night, with the university moving to cancel some ID cards that have been shared with non-student campers to give them access to facilities, including bathrooms, overnight.
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ACT govt to explore dropping character references for child sex offenders
Good character is unimportant in a Leftist scale of values
There will be a roundtable on Friday with key justice stakeholders to discuss alternative options to references.
The possible change has been prompted by Your Reference Ain't Relevant campaign, which has been seeking to drop good character references for those convicted of child sexual abuse across the country.
Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury committed to the roundtable in his response to a petition led by the campaign's founder Harrison James.
The roundtable's purpose will be "to identify changes that could be implemented which align with the objectives of sentencing, and address the legitimate concerns raised by those with lived experience".
Alternate options could include revised language or "reviewing court processes to mitigate the risks of re-traumatisation for victim-survivors".
A character reference can be taken into account by a magistrate when determining a sentence for a person convicted of a crime.
The option for a good character reference is not available to some convicted child sex offenders such as teachers and religious leaders but can be used by others, including relatives and family friends.
Mr James will take part in the roundtable. He said the aim of the campaign was to shift focus to the seriousness of the offence rather than the perpetrators apparent good reputation.
"This roundtable signifies a crucial milestone in our campaign's trajectory, and I sincerely hope the legal community, the government and survivors can all come together in solidarity and commit to legislative reform," he said.
"It's time to forge a path forward that ensures no other survivor of child sexual abuse suffers the trauma of having their experiences dismissed and invalidated by irrelevant character references."
Mr Rattenbury's responded to Mr James petition earlier this month.
"I recognise the significant impact that the presentation of 'good character' references during sentencing of child sexual abuse offenders has on victim-survivors," he wrote in the response.
"I agree it is timely to consider what reform could look like in the ACT to make the sentencing process more trauma-informed."
The ACT Bar Association has spoken out against the proposal, saying "evidence of prior pro-social conduct of an offender is relevant to the sentencing exercise".
"Sentencing is a nuanced, multi-factorial exercise. One of the factors to which ACT courts are obliged to have regard, and properly so, is the 'character, antecedents, age and physical or mental condition of the offender', the association said in a statement.
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Broke Aboriginal footy legend who once earned almost $300,000 a season opens up about having to explain to his kids why he doesn't own a house or car after stellar 11-year career
Aborigines are notoriously poor at handling money. It is because of that that goverments have made many attempts to regulate how they spend welfare payments
Footy great Byron Pickett has opened up about his heartbreaking financial troubles since retiring, and having to explain to his children why he doesn't own a car or a house.
The dual premiership star who played for North Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Melbourne was a human-highlight reel in his prime, with his bone-rattling bumps and huge kicks giving opponents nightmares.
While playing for Port, he was getting paid almost $284,000 a season before tax, but nowadays Pickett has nothing to show for his 11-year career.
The 46-year-old West Australian still rents, doesn't own a car and had to explain to his kids where all the money went.
'The kids asked me over the years: "Where's the money? What happened? What did you do?",' Pickett told The Advertiser.
'Dad, you played AFL for 11 years but we don't even have a car, we don't have a house. Where's all the money gone?
'I didn't have an answer for them.'
The footy champ claims his former agent Kym Richardson stole more than $250,000 in cash from him - and Pickett is now taking legal action against the AFL Players' Association, claiming that its duty of care to him was breached.
Pickett alleges Richardson withdrew $253,920 without his permission from a bank account opened in trust for him in December 2001.
'Kym had sole control over the ATM card, chequebook and internet banking for the Pickett account,' a statement of claim lodged with the South Australian Supreme Court alleges.
The footballer is accusing his former agent of profiting from real estate deals that he didn't understand.
Pickett intends to 'get back what I deserve' and will continue the legal action.
'I'm not actually doing it for myself,' he said. 'I'm doing it for my kids, for my family.'
Richardson has said the allegations against him are 'absolutely false'.
'I respected Byron and looked after him tremendously, even saving or resurrecting his AFL playing career on a number of occasions,' he said.
'To the best of my knowledge as a considerable time period has elapsed, Byron looked after his own finances from his first year in 1997 through to 2001. The trust was only opened in 2001.'
The big-game player starred in 204 AFL games, and was a huge part of flag-winning seasons for the Kangaroos in 1999 and Port in 2004.
He won the Norm Smith Medal as best on ground in the Power's 2004 grand final victory over Brisbane and is a proud member of the Indigenous Team of the Century.
Pickett retired after playing the 2007 season with the Demons, ending his career with 204 games and 177 goals to his name.
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23 May, 2024
Green/Left surrenders: Eraring, Australia's largest coal-fired powerplant to remain open in order to prevent shortages and blackouts
That wonderful coal! Very hard to replace
The life of Australia's largest coal-fired power station will be extended for at least two years in order to prevent power shortages and blackouts in NSW.
Origin Energy has been in talks with the NSW government about extending the life of the Eraring power station after a review warned the scheduled August 2025 retirement could result in electricity shortfalls and price hikes, leaving a 25 per cent gap in NSW's power requirements.
In a statement on Thursday, the state government described the agreement as 'temporary and targeted' in order to guarantee a minimum supply of electricity until the new expected closure date.
'A temporary extension of Eraring will provide time to deliver the renewable energy, storage and network infrastructure projects required to replace the power station,' it said.
The NSW government and Origin have agreed to an underwriting arrangement under which the state will not make any up-front payments to the energy company to operate Eraring.
Instead, Origin will need to decide by March 31 in 2025 and 2026 whether it wishes to opt in to the underwriting arrangement for the following financial year and share up to $40million per year of any profits it earns from the facility.
If the power station operates at a loss, Origin will be able to claim no more than 80 per cent of the sum from the state government.
Those claims will be capped at $225million each year, if the company does opt in.
Environmental groups and progressive think-tanks have long railed against Eraring receiving any lifeline.
'To keep Eraring open beyond its closure date will make the national job of decarbonising our energy grid all that much harder,' Australian Conservation Foundation climate policy adviser Annika Reynolds said.
Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen in March said delaying Eraring's retirement would not imperil Australia's 2030 emissions reduction target.
Eraring was privatised under the former coalition government in a 2013 deal that resulted in Origin being paid $75 million to take over the ageing asset.
NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe emphasised today's decision was a 'temporary and targeted agreement' to ensure reliability, however she said the state was still prioritising a transition to green energy.
'NSW is stepping up the transition to cheap, clean, reliable renewable energy. But to keep the lights on and prices down, we need to make sure new renewable infrastructure and storage capacity is online before coal-fired generators reach the end of their life,' she said.
'This temporary and targeted agreement will provide financial support only if it's needed, and only for as long as needed, during an orderly exit of coal-fired power.
'This is a proactive and sensible step to ensure a plan is in place, if needed, to avoid electricity outages and rising power prices.'
The government has stressed Thursday's announcement would protect NSW taxpayers.
'This agreement gets the balance right. It means the clean energy transition can continue without exposing families and businesses to extreme bill shocks during a severe cost-of-living crisis,' said NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey.
'Taxpayers are well-protected. We won't be handing over a $3 billion cheque to Origin as some said we would. Instead, this agreement incentivises Origin to only use the underwrite if there is a sudden change in market conditions.
'Had Eraring remained in public ownership, an agreement like this would not have been necessary.'
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Age restrictions on social media are bound to fail
The rush by political leaders to rescue teenage Australians from the evils of social media is a simplistic solution to a problem too complicated to be resolved by good intentions.
While it goes without saying that not all social media is evil, there are sites best left to adults: Research from the eSafety commissioner found 75 per cent of Australian children aged 16 to 18 had viewed porn online. Nearly 40 per cent had first accessed it before they were 13 years old, and just under 10 per cent saw it before they were 10.
So governments across Australia are gearing up to explore banning social media for some young people to protect them from harmful content and the negative impacts of excessive time online. As a start, both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton are on the same page on the issue, after the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, recommended an age verification trial 14 months ago.
Albanese said at the weekend every Australian parent was concerned about the impact of social media. “I think it’s the number-one topic on the sidelines of football, netball and school sports that’ll be conducted on any weekend in any part of Australia,” he said.
Albanese has announced a $6.5 million age assurance trial aimed at preventing children from accessing pornography and harmful content as part of its broader response to gendered violence. It will assess the effectiveness of the technologies designed to verify the ages of social media users.
Further, NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia are united in a push for age minimums on tech platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. In fact, NSW Premier Chris Minns plans a social media summit later this year to discuss protecting children from online harm while SA Premier Peter Malinauskas had engaged former High Court chief justice Robert French to explore how his state could ban children under 14 from making social media accounts. The proposal would force 14- and 15-year-olds to gain parental consent.
But going down that road is a fraught undertaking. Not only do the proposals raise questions about privacy, but many will be concerned at what sort of penalty is appropriate and enforceable for a teenager or provider breaking such rules? Besides, surrendering personal information and documents is also open to such abuses as identity theft.
And as Elon Musk’s recent High Court victory over Canberra’s demand to remove offensive material from X following last month’s stabbing at Christ The Good Shepherd Church shows, social media owners do not take direction from foreign governments easily.
As it stands in Australia, platforms already require users to be 13 to create an account, but sign-up systems can often be circumvented. Some overseas jurisdictions, including the EU and some US states, have attempted age verification reforms to control access to some websites; the UK is currently trialling a scheme that only applies to adult sites, not social media. It requires sites to check with banks, mobile providers or credit card companies or requires users to provide ID or upload a photo for facial age estimation.
The pile-on in Australia over protecting under-16s from some social media has exposed the yawning gulf between politicians wanting to ban access to social media and explaining how their proposals will work. There is definitely a national discussion to be had on the impact of social media, but using the age of 16 as a blunt weapon is both blundering and simplistic and sets up reforms for a fail.
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Australia’s SUV obsession could wipe out emissions gains from EV sales and efficiency standards
Australia’s love for SUVs and utes could wipe out the emissions reductions from fuel efficiency standards and the uptake of electric vehicles, a new government report has warned.
On Wednesday the infrastructure department released a roadmap on achieving net zero emissions in the transport sector, warning that without further action it “is projected to be Australia’s highest emitting sector by 2030”.
The roadmap asks for feedback on a range of possible solutions that are not yet government policy, such as targets or incentives for “active” transport options – such as cycling or walking – and public transport and greater support for e-bikes and scooters.
It described the fact “Australians increasingly prefer heavy passenger vehicles like SUVs [sports utility vehicles] and utes” as a “potential challenge to decarbonising light vehicles”. The report noted that “sales of bigger and heavier cars such as SUVs are the fastest growing vehicle segment”.
SUVs accounted for more than 50% of new vehicles sold in Australia in 2022, a share that has almost doubled over the past decade “despite higher registration fees for heavier vehicles”, the roadmap said.
“These trends have the potential to offset any reduction in emissions we may see from fuel efficiency improvements and the increased adoption of electric vehicles.
“These vehicles consume more energy and fuel per kilometre than smaller vehicles, resulting in higher emissions and effectively cancelling out the savings made by higher EV sales.”
The roadmap said the new vehicle efficiency standard – which passed the Senate earlier in May – “will encourage manufacturers to supply the next generation of electric SUVs and utes for the Australian market”.
In March the Albanese government watered down the laws aimed at disincentivising the use of high-polluting cars and hastening the importation of cleaner vehicles amid pressure from the auto industry.
Under the changes, a raft of Australia’s most popular SUVs – including the Toyota LandCruiser, Ford Everest, Isuzu MU-X, Nissan Patrol and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport – were reclassified from passenger vehicles to the light commercial category.
The government’s preferred model, unveiled in February, was expected to cut 369m tonnes of CO2 by 2050, while the watered-down standard will cut 321m tonnes by 2050.
The roadmap said that in 2023 transport emissions increased by 8.7%, due to increased travel after Covid-19 travel restrictions were lifted. Since 2005, transport emissions have increased by 19%.
Transport accounts for 21% of Australia’s emissions, of which the biggest share is road transport (83%). Emissions from light vehicles are the single biggest source of emissions in the sector at about 60% of Australia’s transport emissions.
The roadmap confirms the government is “working with states and territories on long?term options for zero emission vehicle road user charging” but contains no timeframe for the reform, which is considered to be on the back burner.
In a statement the transport minister, Catherine King, and the energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the roadmap was “intended to identify tangible and achievable changes that can help navigate the path to a cleaner future in a way that is economically responsible, creates jobs and eases cost of living”. Consultation closes on 26 July.
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More Than 3,600 Children ‘Targeted’ With COVID-19 Fines in NSW
Legal advocacy groups are calling for reform of the New South Wales (NSW) fines system after 3,628 children received COVID-19 fines during the pandemic in the Australian state.
A 2024 report looking into children and COVID-19 fines in NSW found that the “penalty notice regime” implemented in NSW was “unsuitable” for achieving public health outcomes for children.
However, NSW Police have defended their response amid the rapidly evolving public health orders at the time, which required compliance and enforcement to limit movement regardless of people’s age.
The report, authored by academics at the University of NSW, University of Wollongong, and University of Technology Sydney, noted more than half of the fines issued to children were fixed at $1,000 (US$665).
The Redfern Legal Centre, Public Interest Advocacy Centre, and Aboriginal Legal Service commissioned the research, which considered statistical data and interview responses from lawyers and youth workers.
Meanwhile, some of the fines were as high as $5,000, despite the authors noting the maximum fine a child can get when found guilty of an offence in the NSW Children’s Court is $1,100.
“Children were liable to the same penalty notice fine as adults for almost all PHO offences, with the exception of two general age-based offences that concerned the failure to wear a face covering,” the report said.
The report noted the public health orders were changed and repealed frantically during the pandemic, with 266 public health orders put out between March 15, 2020, and Jan. 31, 2022.
In addition, a new public health order was brought in or modified every one and a half days during the Delta wave of COVID-19.
“The frequent changes made it especially hard for children to understand the rules, and contributed to errors in police decisions that a person had breached a PHO,” the report said.
One interviewee who spoke to the report authors said there were kids working off COVID fines who “probably shouldn’t have been issued with one in the first place.”
Analysis by the authors found that children in socioeconomically disadvantaged suburbs were “over policed” during the pandemic.
Authors said more than half of the top 30 suburbs where children received the largest number of penalty notices between March 2020 and June 2022 were in the bottom 25 percent of the social economic index.
Discussing the findings, Redfern Legal Centre chief executive officer Camilla Pandolfini said children cannot pay heavy fines and the deterrent effect is low.
“Fines are oppressive, discriminatory, and ineffective when used against children. We call for changes to policy, practice, and procedure to ensure that fines do not compound existing disadvantage and criminalise children,” she said.
Police Note Serious Nature of COVID-19 Led to Rapid Orders
A spokesperson for NSW Police explained public health order compliance was required for the safety of the community. Police could respond to breaches of the orders no matter what the age.
“The virulent nature and serious illness from the Delta variant of COVID-19 resulted in rapidly evolving Public Health Orders, including Local Government Areas of Concern being nominated by NSW Health,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times.
“A compliance and enforcement response was required to limit movement and ensure compliance with Public Health Orders in these areas to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and protect the community.
“Outside of these identified areas of concern, police still had the ability to respond to breaches of relevant Public Health Orders by issuing infringement notices—regardless of the age of the person involved.”
Meanwhile, report author Julia Quilter called for police to “stop issuing fines to kids” and engage in diversionary and creative problem-solving policing.
“Policing kids by issuing heavy fines during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted, in extreme form, the problems with our fines system more generally. Kids have no or little capacity to pay fines and saddling them with crippling debts only sets them up for future failure,” she said.
“This is especially troubling given that fines are disproportionately issued by police to vulnerable kids already experiencing socio-economic and other forms of disadvantage.”
The CEO of Aboriginal Legal Service Karly Warner called for a reform of the “archaic” and “unjust” fines system.
“Aboriginal communities set the gold standard for caring for one another during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet our children paid a higher price because of the government’s punitive approach to enforcing public health orders,” she stated.
Public Interest Advocacy Centre CEO Jonathon Hunyor added, “Creating massive debts for children and families simply amplifies disadvantage and builds distrust in the system.”
Police Faced Challenges During the COVID-19 Response: Inquiry
Meanwhile, the Police Federation of Australia (PFA), which represents 65,000 police officers, including more than 17,000 in NSW, have raised a number of issues in response to the federal government’s COVID-19 Response Inquiry.
In its submission (pdf), PFA noted access to appropriate personal protective equipment for a police “became an issue of concern” during COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns.
“Whilst it is accepted that in normal circumstances it would be the responsibility of the employer, in our case, the respective police forces, to provide such equipment, no provision appears to have been made for a national response to such a crisis,” the association noted.
In addition, the submission noted the pandemic impacted police resources and community attitudes towards police in a range of high profile incidents.
Meanwhile, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) noted extra law enforcement duties during COVID-19 took its toll on frontline police (pdf).
“The burden of the extra workload over the COVID-19 period was felt by the AFP, in particular the frontline officers, who were required to enforce mandated COVID-19 restrictions,” the AFP said.
“On an individual level, policing during the pandemic increased the risk of members contracting the COVID-19 virus through interactions with the public, as well as spreading the virus to family and friends.”
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22 May, 2024
Unemployment rising as small businesses struggle under increased costs
More than 900,000 Australians are relying on jobless welfare support payments, as new research reveals one in three small businesses is reporting severe financial hardship and struggling to pay their power bills.
Amid new Reserve Bank warnings of a 14th rate hike and concerns over inflation and labour market outlooks, Department of Social Services data shows the number of JobSeeker and Youth Allowance (Other) recipients has spiked by almost 75,000 since hitting post-pandemic lows in September.
For the first time in 12-months, JobSeeker and Youth Allowance recipients at the end of April soared above 900,000 as the unemployment rate rose to 4.1 per cent last month. The largest trend increases are among younger Australians and those on JobSeeker for less than a year.
With Telstra on Tuesday announcing it would cut up to 2800 jobs, more mining companies mothballing operations and employers reducing hours, the upwards trajectory of Australians relying on welfare support is expected to surge across the year.
RBA board minutes released on Tuesday revealed the central bank had considered the case for a 14th rate hike before ultimately deciding to keep the cash rate on hold at 4.35 per cent.
At its May 7 meeting, held before last week’s budget, board members agreed it was “difficult either to rule in or rule out future changes in the cash rate target” and cautioned that returning inflation to the RBA’s 2-3 per cent target band was “unlikely to be smooth”.
“A higher cash rate might also be required, even with ongoing weakness in aggregate demand, if other factors slowed the pace of disinflation,” the minutes said.
They acknowledged that RBA forecasts released on May 1, which were more pessimistic than Treasury’s assumption that inflation could return to target band by December, did not factor in upcoming federal and state budget measures.
Amid Treasury forecasts that the labour market will continue weakening due to high interest rates and sticky inflation, a new survey to be released in Port Adelaide on Wednesday warns that small businesses are under more financial and energy hardship strain than during the pandemic.
Research commissioned by Energy Consumers Australia and the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, involving interviews with more than 400 small business operators, reveals smaller employers are being hammered by high energy bills.
Jim Chalmers’ $3.5bn energy bill relief budget package included a $325 rebate for about one million eligible small businesses whose power consumption does not exceed caps that vary across states and territories.
After criticising the budget for failing to provide more support for 2.5 million small-to-medium businesses, COSBOA chief executive Luke Achterstraat said: “Small business is getting smashed by rising energy costs, with financial strain higher now than during the Covid shutdowns.
“Cost-of-living pressures and other compounding factors like high interest rates are causing huge financial stress to the small business sector. The time for action to help small business is now.”
Mr Achterstraat said that if small businesses – the largest private employers in Australia sustaining roles for 5 million people – were fragile then the job market was “inevitably fragile too”.
The new analysis – focused on small business transition to net zero emissions – found more than one in three small to medium enterprises (SME) had experienced energy hardship in the past 12 months (34 per cent), which was more than under the impact of post-Covid lockdowns.
“SMEs operating within a shopping centre or embedded network are most at risk (62 per cent experiencing energy hardship),” the analysis said.
“Overall 51 per cent of SMEs report a negative financial impact over the last 12 months. Rising energy costs is the number one factor which has impacted businesses’ financial situation in the last 12 months (55 per cent impacted by rising energy costs). One in five SMEs (32 per cent) report difficulty paying their energy bills on time and in full over the last 12 months.”
As the Albanese government scrambles to fast-track Australia’s trajectory to net zero emissions by 2050, the report says most SMEs have not yet taken any steps towards the energy transition.
“This is higher for micro SMEs with one to four employees (66 per cent),” it says. “The steps most reported to be doing is installing solar panels (21 per cent) and implementing energy-efficiency practices (21 per cent). There is limited knowledge about what’s required for businesses to transition to renewable energy, with 36 per cent reporting low knowledge and 52 per cent medium level of knowledge. Only 12 per cent report having high knowledge. There is high interest in resources, advice and support that would help SMEs in the energy transition.”
Mr Achterstraat said small business was the backbone of the economy, “so it’s vital they are given support to deal with energy hardship and the challenges associated with energy transition”.
“With ASIC reporting in February the worst insolvency figures in a decade, many small businesses are enduring a perfect storm of costs and complexity,” he said. “Energy costs are undermining productivity and growth.”
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Super pain as ALP faces another franking credits disaster
When the government announced it would impose a 30 per cent tax on superannuation members with balances of more than $3m, it looked like a tax that could be sold to voters on the basis of fairness.
But the unfairness in the detail is now exploding, and increasingly it has the appearance of a re-run of the 2019 election franking credits disaster.
In the lead up to the 2019 election, the ALP was ahead in the opinion polls, but it announced what seemed a simple franking credit tax, but the unfairness in the detail created a total nightmare.
I dubbed it “the retirement and pensioner tax” and the mess was a big part of Scott Morrison’s “miracle victory” in the 2019 election.
The House of Representatives this month is expected to pass what we might call the “no profits tax” bill, but last week the government lost the parliamentary debate, and you could see worried looks among ALP ranks.
Because the industry superannuation funds, have ancient bookkeeping systems, they could not determine members who had balances over $3m in all their funds and could not provide the taxation information for a simple tax. Self-managed funds can provide that information.
To enable industry funds to comply, the government proposed tax on unrealised capital gains, which has sent chilling blows to wide sections of the community and is now starting to raise alarm bells among those not immediately affected but set to be smashed later.
Below are seven groups that will be hit from July 2025 or have every reason to expect future blows:
* Some 17,000 small farmers have their farms in the family superannuation fund and if the value of their farm rises many will have to pay tax on that increased value by selling other assets or borrowing. States with many small farms, like Tasmania, will be the hardest hit. The ALP should not expect to win more seats in Tasmania, and may lose a couple.
* Small businesses, including farmers, have $88bn in direct investment commercial real estate. Usually it is the real estate used by their business. Like the farmers, if the value of their property rises, the family must find the cash to pay the tax on the unrealised gain. Selling the property is not an option unless they want to go out of business. The unindexed tax is a sword at the neck of large areas of small business.
* Three years ago, there were 80,000 Australians with superannuation balances above $3m. That figure has now risen to around 100,000 – an annual growth rate of about 6 or 7 per cent. About 60,000 are in self-managed funds, with the balance scattered between industry and public servant funds. Over a decade, that number will explode.
* Retired public servants in defined benefit funds suddenly have a new tax using a calculation definition that is designed to be impossible to understand. They are extremely angry and that anger is spreading through the corridors of power in Canberra.
One of the independents who will decide whether the legislation is passed is ACT independent David Pocock, who must decide whether to listen to retired public servants.
Meanwhile, there are some seven members of the cabinet who have large superannuation defined benefit entitlements because they have been in parliament for a long time.
Unlike other Australians who must pay tax on unrealised gains, the cabinet ministers carefully framed legislation so they would not pay tax until they retired, and their gains were realised – the reverse of other Australians.
One rule for government politicians on defined benefits and another for everybody else, although Peter Dutton also benefits from the politician protection clauses.
* As I pointed out last month, venture capital and small enterprises need start up funds which carry high risk and are not liquid. Many self-managed funds allocate a portion of their capital to this market, enabling many successful enterprises to be developed. Under the proposed rules, any rise in the value of these high risk businesses will be taxed, which makes investing in such ventures via superannuation totally uneconomic. The government is bragging about fostering made in Australia but is confining that to government and big company backed projects. This is bad policy.
* Because the $3m superannuation trigger point is not indexed, among those girding for future blows are the 225,000 Australians with superannuation balances above $1m. The combination of no indexation and market growth will see most hit $3mn within the next 10 years or so. Those families set to be impacted are now becoming very twitchy. In the parliamentary debate, the Teals appeared set to move an amendment to index $3m. They don’t have the numbers.
* Superannuation is just the first step in the looming dangers for Australians once the principle of taxing unindexed unrealised capital gains is firmly established.
Treasury will be pressing to use the precedent to tax unrealised capital gains on investment houses over a certain unindexed value. From there it’s a small step to the family home.
Taxing unrealised gains has never been part of the tax system of any major developed country. Others know exactly what will happen if they took such a silly step.
In the lower house, the government has the numbers to defeat both the Teals motion to end indexation and the Coalition policy of abandoning the whole tax. In the Senate, the Greens will support the bill if the $3m limit reduced to $2mn and the deferred borrowing rights in superannuation funds is abolished
To pass the bill in the Senate, the government needs the support of the Greens plus two of the independents. It is highly likely that will get that support, but there can be no certainty.
Dutton might have his fingers crossed because if the bill goes through, the chances of a “Dutton miracle victory” are greatly enhanced.
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Labor party Immigration Minister Andrew Giles was central in ordering the release of an immigration detainee and domestic violence perpetrator who then went on to allegedly murder a man on Mother’s Day.
Sudan-born Emmanuel Saki, 29, has been charged with murder over the stabbing death of 22-year-old Bosco Minyurano on May 12. The incident took place just weeks after he was freed from immigration detention after the Administrative Appeals Tribunal overturned a 2019 decision to strip him of his visa.
The reasons handed down by AAT deputy president Stephen Boyle to explain his decision found that “considerable” weight needed to be given to the fact that Saki had been living in Australia during and since his formative years. Saki had arrived in Australia in 2006, when he was 12 years old.
The provision requiring decision-makers to show a higher level of tolerance for criminal conduct by non-citizens who have lived in Australia from a very young age was introduced under Mr Giles’ Direction 99, which came into effect on 23 January last year.
The provisions offering greater protection for criminal non-citizens who had resided in Australia since their childhoods were introduced shortly before a visit to Australia by New Zealand’s then-prime minister Chris Hipkins in early February 2023.
His predecessor Jacinda Ardern had long been critical of Australia’s preparedness to deport back to New Zealand offenders who had spent the bulk of their lives in Australia, and the new provision was seen among those in the immigration space as a measure designed to address those concerns.
In his decision revoking the cancellation of Saki’s visa, Mr Boyle said the strength, nature and duration of the man’s ties to Australia was a key consideration that helped outweigh arguments in favour of the cancellation.
“The Minister accepted … that considerable weight should be given to the fact that the Applicant has been ordinarily resident in Australia during and since his formative years and accepted that this primary consideration weighs in the Applicant’s favour,” Mr Boyle wrote.
“I agree that that is the case.”
That decision came despite a “trend of increasing seriousness” in Saki’s “clearly frequent” offending leading up to his detention. Saki, Mr Boyle noted, had committed over 40 offences as an adult and one as a 17-year-old between 2012 and 2018.
The worst of those included a series of violent acts committed against his partner and the mother of his youngest child in the ACT in August 2018 that saw him convicted of choke person render insensible, choke suffocate, strangle another, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault.
The sentencing magistrate in that matter found that Saki had held his partner by the neck and applied force to her neck on a number of occasions, with the offending occurring in front of their infant daughter. Saki’s conduct described his “indifference” to the potential consequences of his actions.
That offending came less than a year after Saki was convicted of reckless threat to kill and common assault over an unprovoked incident in which he approached two men, pulled a knife and told them he was going to kill them. He had also been convicted of using a motor vehicle to cause impact with another person.
The latest saga involving serious offending by a recently released immigration detainee has raised questions around both Mr Giles’ Direction 99 and his decision not to use his ministerial powers to overturn the AAT’s decision.
Those ministerial powers are understood to have been used dozens of times under the previous government to reverse similar decisions.
Mr Giles was approached for comment.
Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan said Mr Giles needed to explain his decisions around Direction 99 and their implications in the Saki matter.
“Andrew Giles has some very serious questions to answer as a result of the alleged murder,” he said.
“Should he have made a decision to personally revoke the visa of this individual on character grounds?
“If he made the decision not to, why? Was it influenced by the change he made to migration law by issuing ministerial direction 99?
“And will he now rescind ministerial direction 99?”
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Justice is now in full retreat in the Left-run ACT
“Only in the ACT” is becoming an unfortunate phenomenon in this country. Weird things happen in the Labor-Greens run territory. Only in the ACT would a corruption commission investigate not the chief prosecutor whose misconduct has now been confirmed by two judges in separate forums but the man who uncovered the wrongdoing.
Only in the ACT would one encounter more institutional silence over yet another major debacle. This week’s news that the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions stuffed up another major criminal case – this time involving convicted child sex offender Stephen Mitchell – should be the last straw for those concerned with the administration of the justice system in the ACT.
As The Australian reported on Tuesday, two of the most senior prosecutors within the DPP office have admitted to a terrible stuff-up over a plea deal put to Mitchell’s victims and the sex offender’s ultimate sentencing.
Prosecutors told three child victims that Mitchell faced a maximum prison sentence of 25 years, and that if they accepted the plea deal then he would spend a very long time in prison for the crimes he committed against them as children. In fact, the victims should have been told that Mitchell faced a seven-year maximum sentence – the law at the time of offending.
Had two of these women – Sophie Vivian and Odette Visser – known the truth, they would not have walked away from insisting Mitchell be prosecuted for the most serious charges of sexual penetration.
As Vivian told The Australian: “There was a lot of pressure placed on us by the prosecutors to accept those plea deals. The way it was sold to us was, this is really great, it’s a really serious charge … don’t worry, it’s a really big sentence, he’s f..ked – those were the words we were given.”
While the ODPP was busy dealing with rape allegations by Brittany Higgins against Bruce Lehrmann, prosecutors failed to properly prosecute the man facing charges of multiple sex crimes against several children.
Senior prosecutors in the ODPP have blamed overworked staff, a lack of training and a drafting issue. Another case of “only in the ACT”.
Prosecutors knew about the correct application of the sentencing laws in May 2022. They negotiated the plea deal with Mitchell in November 2002. This six-month period between May and November 2022 fell squarely within the chaos of the Lehrmann trial. As Visser told The Australian, “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what they were more distracted with. And six child victims were put on the backburner again.”
Vivian is equally forthright: “The problem was an utterly dysfunctional office led by a distracted – and now disgraced – director.”
As one senior criminal prosecutor told The Australian, “these women have been let down on a number of levels by the office of the DPP but also by the criminal justice system more broadly.”
Both acting director Anthony Williamson and new director Victoria Engel admitted the shocking mistakes made by ACT prosecutors. But Vivian and Visser want Engel to find out what went wrong by asking those in charge at the time. That includes former DPP Shane Drumgold.
This scandalous child sex crime screw-up warrants a full inquiry. Not an internal review. The spectre hanging over the ODPP has not budged an inch since Drumgold’s resignation following the public board of inquiry report.
Given the seriousness of Drumgold’s misconduct, ACT citizens – and everyone forced to endure this spectacle – deserve to know whether one prosecutor went rogue, undermining the fair trial of Lehrmann. Or is it bigger?
In other words, is there a deeper cultural problem with the prosecuting arm of the ACT criminal justice system? If so, what are they? Incompetence? An overzealousness to pursue cases that should not reach a courtroom that in turn distracts from serious cases?
Drumgold’s disastrous time at the ODPP has left too many unanswered questions. Was the chief prosecutor driven by politics when he made unhinged claims against former defence minister Linda Reynolds? Did the interests of child sex victims run second to an internal political agenda? Is the ODPP expected to mirror the politics of the ACT Labor-Green government, making the prosecutorial arm of the criminal justice system a primarily political body rather than a key legal institution? Why was Williamson, acting director after Drumgold resigned, hauled into Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury’s office to explain why he was discontinuing meritless cases?
The background to these unanswered questions includes judges in NSW hearing applications by acquitted defendants to be reimbursed for their legal costs.
Several of them have expressed concerns that prosecutors are wrecking the lives of innocent people by prosecuting cases that should never reach court. In another case of only in the ACT, there is no costs jurisdiction for judges in similar cases to expose what’s happening in the territory.
In any case, ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, the Attorney-General and ACT Integrity Commissioner Michael Adams need not strain their necks to look over the border. They need only look under their noses. Senior prosecutors say there is a pipeline of highly suspect cases in the ODPP, taking resources from matters that should be investigated, prosecuted and tried. It takes years for a sex case to reach court – and meanwhile lives are wrecked.
One prosecutor told The Australian last week that prosecutors inevitably – consciously or subconsciously – try to synch themself with the attitude and the disposition of the director of the day.
That means if “the director of the day has an appetite to weed out matters that are not supported by evidence, then prosecutors will feel empowered to say to the director (who has power to discontinue cases) that in the interests of justice the case should be dropped. But if they think that the director is a run-them-at-all-costs type of director, they’ll be too scared to do that. They’ll decide that they’re just not going to raise it with the director.”
Now another shocking debacle sits right under the noses of those in power, this time involving a man guilty of multiple child sex crimes who may walk out of prison years earlier because of mistakes first made by the ODPP. The botched plea deal happened at the same time as the Lehrmann prosecution. Why did Drumgold take carriage of the prosecution of Lehrmann but not a multiple child sex offender? In what circumstances should a director run a case given that it necessarily means their focus on other cases may be compromised?
What more does it take for the ACT government – even a Labor-Greens one – to take these fundamental issues about the proper administration of justice seriously?
The ACT Integrity Commission doesn’t have to sit around waiting for a referral. It has proactive powers to initiate an investigation. The definition of corruption and systemic corruption in the ACT Integrity Commission Act is wide enough to cover not only the misconduct of Drumgold as confirmed now by two inquiries but also the possibility that Drumgold presided over systemic corruption.
Other questions need to be asked about the response of the ACT government to the failures exposed by the Sofronoff inquiry and the review by Justice Stephen Kaye. For example, section 62 of the act requires mandatory notification by public service heads of matters reasonably suspected to involve serious corrupt conduct or systemic corrupt conduct. Has any such notification been made? If not, why not? Failure to notify under section 62 is an offence under section 65.
So where is the ACT Integrity Commission? Oh, that’s right. It is busy going after the bloke who exposed Drumgold’s misbehaviour. Only in the ACT.
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21 May, 2024
Labor's 'surplus' Budget is just smoke and mirrors - and Aussies should be worried...
PETER VAN ONSELEN is nearly right below. The debt is a problem. But, insofar as it is domestic debt, inflation will wipe it out. The real problem is the inflation, which in effect steals peoples' savings
This year's Budget highlighted just how fiscally doomed we are as a nation, even if the government attempted to hide the fact in plain sight.
And they've used a mix of deception and trickery when doing so.
Before we even got to Budget day itself, 'the surplus' was strategically leaked to the media: coming in at $9.3billion, it surprised most observers on the upside. A product of favourable terms of trade.
Sounds good, right? Wrong.
It wasn't the surplus for the coming financial year, the year all the new spending and tax cuts are slated to start. It was a surplus in the financial year that ends in just six weeks: the 2023/24 financial year.
That's come and gone. The next four financial years are all in deficit, and big time. The first is a deficit of nearly $30billion, the next year it rises to nearly $50billion. Remember, that national debt is more than one trillion dollars already.
Even just paying off the interest bill on that quantum of debt is hard. The fact we are continuing to just rack up more and more debt - with no plan to do anything about it - should be disturbing to all Australians.
And let's be clear, both sides of politics are to blame for this mess.
Budgets are supposed to be about the coming financial year, not the last. The substance of Treasurer Jim Chalmers speech focused on new spending and tax cuts that happen next financial year, spruiking income tax cuts as the 'foundation stone' of the Budget.
But by linking in an old surplus, Chalmers tried to create the false impression that all the new spending and tax cuts was happening within a fiscally prudent envelope, because he was handing down a surplus.
Only he wasn't.
It was tricky indeed for the government to try to focus backwards on the surplus in the financial year that is about to end but forwards on new spending and tax cuts in the next one.
That's called having your cake and eating it.
Making the situation even worse, via some tricky accounting there is a further $80billion of spending that isn't even counted in the wall-to-wall Budget deficits in the years to come.
And these politicians have the temerity to lecture business leaders when they think they are being less than forthcoming when quizzed for the cameras at show trials such as parliamentary committees.
What a bunch of hypocrites we have serving us in Canberra.
Unless the major political parties find a way to work together to repair the Budget's financial underpinnings, future generations are going to be unfairly gifted massive debt with difficult-to-manage annual interest payments.
A situation made worse by baked-in recurrent spending that Australians are growing used to and will find hard to live without when the day of reckoning comes and the financial tap gets turned off, as it inevitably has to.
We are living beyond our means, it's that simple. Families can't do it for long when doing their own budgeting, and neither can countries.
The only way to fix the situation is going to be via tax hikes, cuts to spending, or both. And reforms to the way we tax, and the way state and federal governments work together, also need to happen.
Most concerning, no one seems to be much bothered by government debt anymore, meaning that racking it up doesn't damage governments politically the way it used to.
We must force a change of approach, so that whoever is in power becomes more fiscally prudent.
Because both sides of politics have let spending get out of control for so long that complaints from opposition become akin to white noise.
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Teen had been previously convicted of 84 offences but had not spent a day in custody until he killed someone
The grieving husband of a mum-of-two stabbed to death during a home invasion has recalled the haunting moment his life changed forever.
Emma Lovell, 41, and her husband Lee spent Boxing Day 2022 baking treats and playing games with their young daughters Scarlett and Kassie before the North Lakes couple enjoyed a few cocktails and went to bed early.
Several hours later, she was fatally stabbed in the heart after two teens, then both 17, broke into her home north of Brisbane at about 11.30pm.
Her partner of 22 years was also stabbed in front of their horrified daughters.
The teen, now 19, who killed Ms Lovell had been previously convicted of 84 offences but had not spent a day in custody until that night.
Mr Lovell has opened up about being attacked in his own home - and how he didn't realise his wife was gravely injured until his daughter saw she was bleeding.
'By the time I looked back at Emma, she was, like, just, like, passed out on the floor,' he told A Current Affair on Monday night.
'And when Kassie came back, she was like, 'Mum's bleeding', I'm like, 'what do you mean?'
'She's bleeding and looked at her left side and I know it was just, like, soaked with blood, you know, and then that, like, panic sets in.'
As he was rushed to hospital, other paramedics performed open heart surgery on his wife on their front lawn.
'To be at the hospital and be told that she hadn't survived was a major shock,' he recalled.
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Homeschooling rises across Canberra post-pandemic
Since COVID lockdowns kept students out of schools, there's been a big rise in the number who now find home the best place to study.
There's been a 50 per cent increase in the numbers not going to school for their learning.
Official figures for the "home-educated" count 465 people of school age in the category in the ACT, compared with 305 just before the virus struck, and compared with only 166 just 10 years ago.
"School is an obsolete model," Ilaria Catizone says in a break between teaching a handful of homeschooled children who've come together to learn a bit of Italian.
She concedes formal schools work for some young people but not for all. The ones who don't quite fit the mould are often the ones opting out, perhaps because of bullying. Some parents told The Canberra Times they were unhappy with "woke" education, particularly on sexual matters.
Ilaria Catizone has been been schooling Audrey, 7, and Elody, 13, for the last three years. At the communal session, Elody also helps teach the younger children Italian through a game of bingo where numbers are called in Italian and pasta rings go on the numbered squares.
These kids are meeting in a community hall for their lesson, so homeschooling doesn't always happen at home. Sometimes, it's collective in that a group get together and learn.
The parents' motives vary.
Rebecca Bonazza said her daughter Skyler, 10, was bullied in her public school in Canberra.
"Bullying was rife. When she concentrates, she hums, and a lot of kids picked on her," the mother said.
"Kids just seem to be more nasty these days, and because she's a bit different she rarely wanted to go to school."
Her mother was also unhappy about the amount of mention of sex, both in class and outside - "woke", as she put it. "A lot of things they are told are a bit much," she said.
She felt homeschooling meant "super-young children" could be protected from "things on the internet".
"You can't protect your children from that but at home you can," she said.
So the mother has bought the daughter a pile of books about a string of subjects, including science and maths.
"We learn about the world, about money. And I plan to take her out into the world, to teach her things, to galleries. We have a lot of discussions. We go to the library. We go to book stores. She has a lot of books," Ms Bonazza said.
Skyler is not yet in her teens and her mother said she may go to college in years 11 and 12 to get formal qualifications.
But for now, home (and a community hall) is the place of learning.
It should be said the number of homeschoolers remains small compared with the number of on-campus schoolers, even though the percentage rise is big.
The latest official figures for the ACT have 465 children in homeschooling compared with 82,280 students across primary schools (47,174), high schools (23,926) and colleges (11,180).
But the rise upwards since COVID is unmistakable (as is the fall for public schools: 50,556 in 2023 compared with 51,153 ACT pupils in 2021).
One of the organisations promoting homeschooling is holding an information session at Downer Community Hall between 4pm and 6pm on Monday.
The organiser, Ms Catizone, said she would try to answer common questions like, "What about socialisation?", "Will my children learn enough?" and "What about university?".
She said kids had opportunities to socialise despite not going to school, with a public school's wide mix of types and backgrounds.
Her daughters' education is "interest-led". Her eldest daughter was curious and learns, even about formal subjects like mathematics.
"She learns a lot of maths through shopping or cooking or helping us do our tax returns. She's renovated her room, and that involved a lot of maths like measuring," Ms Catizone said.
"If she wants to go to university, she will do more formal maths."
Ms Catizone is a vegetarian and, at home, there is an interest in "ethical behaviour" which prompted her daughter to research vegetarianism, both in terms of food but also fashion.
The teenager is interested in make-up, and that provides two fields of learning. "She's done research on ethical make-up", and the daughter has researched "make-up through the ages".
"It's very important for them to do their own research," the mother said.
She rejects the idea schooling children at home gives parents an opportunity to indoctrinate children in the parents' values.
In response to the idea, she says religious schools do the same.
Ms Catizone is a convert to homeschooling but she also concedes it doesn't suit everyone. It is obviously only for those with some money and time.
There is a class aspect.
Parents who both work fixed and long hours to just about pay the bills may not be convinced about homeschooling. For them, public schools are the only option.
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Overseas student numbers add up to new election battlefront
Are the government and opposition on a unity ticket when it comes to migration? They share the aims of reducing the migrant intake as well as cutting back on the number of international students. Both sides have even put some figures on their ambitions.
The context of this seeming agreement is the massive surge in migrant numbers over the past two years, ever since the pandemic restrictions were lifted. The most recent figure for net overseas migration – the difference between long-term arrivals and long-term departures – was 549,000 in the year ending in the September quarter last year. This is a historic high.
The largest single group in the NOM by far is international students (50 per cent), followed by permanent migrants (25 per cent). Only 5 per cent of the NOM is temporary skilled workers. To reduce the NOM, it is absolutely essential to reduce the number of new international students.
It is clear the net migrant inflow has had a number of negative effects and is unsustainable. The fact the vast majority of these newly arriving migrants are destined for Sydney or Melbourne is also an important consideration.
Education Minister Jason Clare has come under fire over claims he made on the weekend that pro-Palestine chants such as ‘from the river to the sea’ could mean different things to different people. The Daily Telegraph’s Tim Blair slammed the Education Minister after he implied that the anti-Israel slogan More
With blockages to any rapid increase in the supply of new housing, it has been apparent for some time that migration of the scale we have seen has placed additional pressure on housing, particularly for rent. This in turn has been associated with extraordinarily low vacancy rates as well as soaring rents. (The figure of only 4 per cent of properties being rented to international students is highly misleading: it’s the change that matters, not the average figure.)
At the same time, migrants have taken jobs across a variety of fields, including in areas of significant workforce shortage. International students work predominantly in hospitality and retailing, but also fill jobs in aged care and childcare. Interestingly, very few migrants, including recently arrived ones, work in construction. According to the Grattan Institute, a mere 0.5 per cent of all construction workers are on temporary skill visas.
Multiple surveys indicate a very strong preference among voters for the migrant intake to be significantly reduced. Both the Coalition, in the past, and Labor, until recently, have been wont to ignore public opinion on this point, preferring to accede to the demands of educational institutions, businesses and property developers for large migrant numbers.
Weirdly, most state governments have also supported large migrant intakes – there are specific state visas – notwithstanding the fact that many of the costs of recently arrived migrants are borne by them. The Treasury continues to push for high immigration on the basis of assumption-driven estimates of the net fiscal benefits of permanent skilled migrants, who actually make up a relatively small proportion of the NOM.
So what are the positions of the two parties? The Labor government is now planning for the NOM to come in at 395,000 this financial year, an increase of 20,000 from its most recent estimate. Recall here that Treasury had estimated the figure at only 315,000 in last year’s budget. Next financial year, Labor is planning for the NOM to be only 260,000, then 255,000 in the subsequent financial year. These figures are still well in excess of the long-run average for the NOM.
The government is also attempting to reduce the number of international students, which is currently at an all-time high. Various measures have been put in place, such as insisting on higher levels of competence in English. Visa rejection rates for applicants from certain countries have risen. The overall rate of acceptance for students from China, however, remains close to 100 per cent.
Education Minister Jason Clare has released a new policy on controlling numbers of international students, backed up by legislation. It talks about “sustainable growth”, which on the face of it, doesn’t look like a decline. Certain “dodgy” colleges are being targeted, which rather begs the question of why enrolments were ever allowed in these colleges.
With some 1400 institutions enrolling international students, the proposal is for the minister to negotiate soft caps on international student enrolments with each one, with account being taken of efforts by them to build additional accommodation for international and domestic students.
If that sounds like a bureaucratic lake of treacle, you wouldn’t be wrong. In particular, the leaders of the Group of Eight are sighing with relief, content in the belief they will not have to reduce their lucrative intake of international students. The numbers at some universities are just astonishing. Sydney University has more than 35,000 international students, mainly from China, and they account for close to 50 per cent of all enrolments. Last year, Sydney University recorded a surplus – we can call this a profit – of around $1.4bn, on which no tax is paid.
As I have explained before, the idea that international education is an export industry is stretching a point. But whereas other exporting companies, particularly our mining companies, pay tax on their profits, the universities do not. In many ways, international education looks more like a racket than a normal industry, benefiting the institutions and the highly paid staff but creating few spillover benefits for the wider community.
There is also the very important issue of the diminution in the quality of the offerings for domestic students. They are commonly forced to undertake group assignments with international students with very poor language skills. They end up doing all the work, but the final mark is shared by the whole group. Last time I looked, degrees are awarded to individuals, not groups. There is also the issue of cheating, which is not well-controlled.
The Coalition’s policy as laid down in its budget-in-reply speech is in two main parts. First, the permanent migrant intake will be reduced from 185,000 to 140,000, with slight increases in subsequent years. Secondly, there will be a concerted effort to reduce the level of international student enrolments at the big universities in Melbourne and Sydney, in particular. It remains to be seen if an elected Coalition government would actually stand firm in this quest to reduce international student numbers. But on the face of it, this aspect of its policy looks much more determined than Labor’s.
It boils down to a case of compare and contrast. Labor claims to have the issue of migrant numbers, under control betting that larger numbers of departures will assist in getting the net numbers down. But the policy looks weak and impractical. The Treasurer will also be keen to avoid the possibility of a recorded recession in the event of a rapid decline in migrant numbers.
The Coalition’s plan to reduce the permanent migrant program by 25 per cent looks much more aggressive. Clamping down on the number of international students will require courage and determination against a likely avalanche of self-interested resistance. It remains to be seen whether it can be achieved.
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20 May, 2024
Inside the fight to free Kathlees Folbigg
I was one of those who from an early stage saw the conviction of Kathleen Folbigg as a gross miscarriage of justice.
The law failed her so often that it is the justice system that has ultimately been convicted as not fit for purpose. It has not only been Kathleen Folbigg that has been failed in this case. It is the whole commmuity that as been failed. For an innocent person to have been REPEATEDLY been found guilty is deeply destructive to any faith in the system.
And, as in the Bruce Lehrmann case, it is a rogue official who ignored informed advice on the matter to set in train a huge and regrettable series of events. At least Shane Drumgold has suffered heavy consequences for his actions as a prosecutor in the Lehrman case. But I suppose there is no hope that the official in this case will suffer in any way.
As Lenin once asked: "What Is To Be Done?". I am afraid I have no good answers to that, any more than Lenin did. All I know is that if anybody close to me got into trouble with the law, I would use all my resources to get them from the outset the best possible legal representation. That initial conviction is the dangerous one
When Kathleen Folbigg had her long-standing convictions for the deaths of her four infant children quashed last year, Rhanee Rego was right by her side. The young lawyer had started working on her case while still at uni – and never stopped.
In June 2017, at the age of 24, when most young people are drinking too much, dating the wrong people and otherwise avoiding adulthood, Rhanee Rego, a fourth-year law student at the University of Newcastle, took up a part-time placement with a barrister named Robert Cavanagh. Tall and lanky, with the lugubrious manner of a country undertaker, Cavanagh is well known for campaigning against wrongful convictions. One of the cases he was looking into at the time was that of a convicted child killer named Kathleen Folbigg.
Folbigg, who was also from Newcastle, had been found guilty, in 2003, of murdering three of her young children and the manslaughter of a fourth, and sentenced to 40 years in prison (later reduced to 30). She had become known as the country’s worst female serial killer and was widely reviled. She had been bashed in jail and placed, for her own safety, in solitary confinement. There seemed little doubt about her guilt. Her former husband, Craig, had given evidence against her, as had her foster sister. But Cavanagh believed Folbigg was innocent and set Rego to work reviewing the case.
“I had no idea what I was signing up for,” says Rego, who I met in Newcastle recently. “I knew almost nothing of Folbigg’s case growing up. I was just 11 when she was convicted.”
By the time Rego became involved, Folbigg had already been the subject of a trial, two appeals and a petition for review, initiated by Cavanagh and fellow barristers Isabel Reed and Nicolas Moir, not to mention investigations by journalists and justice advocates. But Rego came to the case with voracious intent. For the next two months, whenever she had time, she would drive from Swansea, just south of Newcastle, where she was living with her grandmother, to Cavanagh’s chambers in the city, and read everything about the case that she could get her hands on – the trial transcripts, witness statements, police and expert reports, formal submissions and Folbigg’s diaries. “The diaries were possibly the hardest part,” Rego says. “Kathleen’s handwriting is terrible.”
Cavanagh believed Folbigg was innocent, but Rego was determined to come to her own conclusion. “I didn’t want to help a woman who’d potentially killed four of her kids, especially pro bono,” she explains. But as she made her way through the material, she became increasingly alarmed. “There was simply no direct evidence anywhere to say Folbigg was guilty,” she says. “The case was entirely circumstantial. It was like clouds. You could see them, their shape and formation, but when you went to grab them, there was nothing there.”
When she mentioned her concerns to friends, they warned her against getting too involved; Folbigg was a figure of hate. But as a novice lawyer, it seemed clear to Rego that Folbigg’s convictions had been a mistake, and that, once the facts were re-examined, she would be released. “Surely the judges wanted to correct this?” she thought. “Surely politicians were worried they had put an innocent woman in prison?”
But that’s not the way it worked out. Folbigg would remain in jail for another six years. Rego, meanwhile, still wet behind the ears, would become her most unlikely advocate, a key player in reversing the worst miscarriage of justice in recent times. Now she’s working to secure what is expected to be one of the biggest compensation payouts in Australian legal history.
Much more below:
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If you see this looking at you, be very afraid
Jok Gar, 21, was sentenced last December to two years in prison with a non-parole period of 16 months for the unprovoked attack, in which he and another man savagely beat a man in Melbourne and stole his phone.
A knife was used in the September 6, 2022 attack, with the victim's face slashed and his earlobe partially severed.
Gar and his co-accused Tyler De Silva left the man unconscious and bleeding, with police discovering them in the toilets of Southern Cross train station at 4.30am.
De Silva was handed a lighter sentence of six months due to having an intellectual disability - he has an IQ of 48 - childhood epilepsy and 'severe neglect issues' in his upbringing, the Geelong Advertiser reported.
Gar's appeal cited the 'manifest' differences in the two sentences, but Supreme Court justices Karin Emerton and David Beach said Gar's initial sentence had been 'lenient'.
The judges said the attack was 'both dangerous and callous', and that 'it was not the applicant's only act of random violence against a stranger on the streets of Melbourne'.
They also said there was 'no reason to believe that (Gar's) prospects of rehabilitation are other than very poor'.
A decision on the case had been reserved following a hearing on April 16, but in the meantime Gar was told his refugee visa, which he received in 2009, had been cancelled.
His lawyers said the visa cancellation and the risk of deportation after he has served his time behind bars, were grounds for another appeal.
But the judges disagreed, saying Gar still can apply for the visa cancellation to be reversed.
'We see no good reason to reduce (Gar's sentence) on the ground that the visa cancellation will make the applicant's imprisonment more burdensome,' justices Emerton and Beach wrote.
The judges also cited Gar's history of violent crime.
In January 2023, he pleaded guilty to the aggravated assault of a woman in Geelong West, and four months later in May he was convicted of attacking a stranger 'without provocation' in Melbourne's CBD in the early hours of New Year's Day, 2022.
That assault caused fractures to the victim's skull and facial bones.
Gar went into prison as a medium security prisoner but has been reclassified as maximum security due to his behaviour in jail, which has involved assaults, fights, verbally abuse and spitting on guards.
He also 'stomped on another prisoner' and poured milk and urine under another inmate's cell door.
Gar was born in Egypt to Sudanese parents and arrived in Australia when he was six.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13429297/Refugee-severed-ear-Australia-visa-cancelled.html
**********************************************Court upholds coal mine approvals. Defies Global warming argument
The Federal Court has upheld Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek's refusal to assess the climate impacts of coal mine expansions at Narrabri and Mount Pleasant near Muswellbrook.
The Environment Council of Central Queensland took Ms Plibersek and Narrabri Coal Operations (a subsidiary of Whitehaven Coal) and MACH Energy to court for failing to protect the environment from climate harm resulting from new coal and gas projects.
It had argued the minister's refusal to act on the climate risks of the mining expansions was irrational, illogical and unlawful.
The mining companies joined Ms Plibersek in court to defend the case.
The court found on Thursday that, under existing environment laws, the minister was not legally required to assess risk to the environment from the climate harm of the coal mine expansions.
"We are devastated and heartbroken by today's decision," Ashleigh Wyles from the Environment Council of Central Queensland said.
"We're afraid this decision will open the floodgates for the Minister to approve dozens of new goal and gas projects currently on her desk.
"Instead of standing up to fossil fuel companies, our Environment Minister is standing with them in court, defending her refusal to act on the climate harm of new coal and gas mines."
The minister employed the "market substitution" argument or "drug-dealers defence" to defend her decisions.
But the ECoCeQ argued this was dangerous logic because it was out of step with the law, with science and with public expectations.
"Our client is dismayed that under law as it currently stands, it is somehow not the role of the Environment Minister to protect our environment from the climate harm of new coal and gas mines," Environment Justice Australia co-chief executive Elizabeth McKinnon said.
"This judgement today does not change the science. What it does show is that Australia's environment laws are utterly broken.
"Our laws are failing to keep up with the climate crisis. They are failing to protect the iconic places, plants and animals of this country from the devastation of climate change."
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Is this the joke of the year>
Much hilarity in Pyongyang, one imagines
Australia has imposed targeted sanctions against entities linked to unlawful weapons trade between North Korea and Russia.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong announced sanctions against six bodies linked to North Korean arms exports to Russia, calling the ongoing transfer of weapons a “flagrant violation” of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
“Australia condemns, in the strongest possible terms, North Korea’s illegal export and Russia’s procurement and use of North Korean ballistic missiles in support of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine,” Senator Wong said in a statement.
“The use of North Korean ballistic missiles by Russia increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, supports Russia’s illegal and immoral war of aggression and undermines the global non-proliferation regime.”
Senator Wong said Australia would continue to work with Western allies to hold Russia and North Korea to account and address the security threat posed by North Korea.
On Thursday, the US announced sanctions on two Russian individuals and three Russian companies for facilitating arms transfers with Pyongyang.
US Treasury officials said in a statement that both countries had strengthened their military co-operation over the past year, with North Korea providing ballistic missiles and munitions to Russia in return for weapons and economic aid.
Senator Wong said deepening ties between the two countries had serious security implications for South Korea, Europe, and the Indo-Pacific region.
“Together with our partners, we call on North Korea to engage in constructive dialogue and move toward permanent peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” she said.
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/australia-s-big-move-on-north-korea/ar-BB1mxGuB
************************************19 May, 2024
Why population growth isn't to blame for rising property prices
This is a classic case of ignoring the old maxim that correlation is not causation. Omitted are any figures on the building activity in the areas where prices grew less.
The slower price growth in some places was almost certainly due to more building activity there -- which increased the supply and hence lowered the prices in those places. Controlling for building activity would undoubtedly see a STRONG correlation between population growth rates and property prices
Note for instance that the big price leaps have been in Sydney, where it is very difficut to build new housing due to land shortages etc
Housing is shaping up to be a major election battleground as the federal opposition vows to dramatically cut Australia's migration intake if it forms government, in a move it says will free up tens of thousands of homes.
But new analysis suggests population growth is not to blame for the worsening affordability crisis.
Rather, a 'perfect storm' of factors ranging from labour and material shortages to higher interest rates and increased investor selling has resulted in a housing supply shortage that will take years to fix.
"People think population growth is the most dominant factor influencing property market performance but it's actually a very small one," said Propertyology's head of research Simon Pressley.
Using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Propertyology has ranked the population growth of 120 cities and municipalities with more than 20,000 residents over the 20 years to June 2023.
"When we lined up the population growth rates against real estate capital growth rates, this 20-year period is another major parcel of proof that there is no direct correlation between these two metrics," he said.
Take Sydney, for instance. Its property owners may have enjoyed significant capital gains over the last two decades, but they can't thank population growth. The Harbour City ranked just 43rd in a list of Australia's fastest-growing locales.
The top 10 growth spots were in the regions, eight in Western Australia and Victoria.
Top of the list was the WA coastal city of Mandurah, an hour south of Perth, which saw its population swell by 91%.
"For 14 years of that period it was Australia's fastest growing population yet the median house price was unchanged," Mr Pressley said.
Similarly, Victoria's Surf Coast saw 85% population growth, WA's Busselton 81%, Queensland's Sunshine Coast 70%, and Mount Barker in South Australia 68%. Yet all displayed "underwhelming" property price growth during the period, Mr Pressley added.
In contrast, Noosa and Byron Bay saw phenomenal property price growth yet were "well below average" in terms of population growth.
The total national population increased from 19.7 million to 26.6 million over the two decades, a growth rate of 35%.
Of the state capitals, Perth (53%) and Brisbane (52%) had the highest population growth rates, while Adelaide (23%) saw the lowest.
PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan said it's easy to make the link between population growth and property growth, but noted the popularity of a place bears little to its population metrics.
"Where we build homes is where population growth is going to be highest so it's a chicken and egg scenario. It's the abstract concept of demand that pushes prices up, and population growth is only one part of that demand.
"And demand has waxed and waned across different parts of the country at different times."
Where have property prices grown the most?
Since PropTrack started tracking its Home Price Index in 2010, the 10 areas to log the steepest price hikes were all in Greater Sydney.
The Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury region saw property price growth of 177%, the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven 171%, Blacktown 160%, the Central Coast 158%, Sydney's outer west 150%, while the Illawarra, Sydney's Northern Beaches and Sydney's southwest all recorded growth of 148%.
"Sydney has the perennial appeal of being the biggest, most cosmopolitan part of Australia where wages are markedly higher than elsewhere and that has an impact on prices," Mr Ryan said.
"People want to live where things are affordable, but also where they have the most opportunities."
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/why-population-growth-isnt-to-blame-for-rising-property-prices/
*******************************************************Would YOU like to see the picture below as a portrait of you?
Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, has demanded the National Gallery of Australia remove a portrait of her from an exhibition by Archibald Prize-winning Indigenous artist Vincent Namatjira.
The billionaire mining mogul directly approached NGA director Nick Mitzevich and NGA chair Ryan Stokes in April to press for its removal.
There have since been more than a dozen complaints to the gallery from associates of her company, Hancock Prospecting, which have accused the NGA of “doing the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party” by displaying her image in an unflattering way.
Rinehart recently praised the Chinese government for “doing a better job than our government”, and it is unclear what the “bidding” referred to.
Complaints have also come from athletes she sponsors, according to sources who are familiar with the correspondence but who asked not to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the issue.
Ben Quilty, a friend of Namatjira who collaborated on an artwork for the show, said Namatjira was one of the most important artists of our times.
“If Olympic swimmers think they have so much say over the National Gallery, maybe Vincent and I should spend more time in the swimming pool,” Quilty said.
The portrait is one of 21 painted by the Western Aranda artist of notable Australian figures including Ned Kelly, Lionel Rose and his friend, Adam Goodes.
It features in the first major survey at the NGA of Namatjira’s work, titled Vincent Namatjira: Australia in colour, which opened on March 2. Namatjira, a celebrated portraitist and a satirical chronicler of Australian identity, could not be reached for comment.
The gallery bills the show as one that takes a “wry look at the politics of history, power and leadership from a contemporary Aboriginal perspective”.
Rinehart’s request is understood to have been rejected by the gallery on the basis the cultural institution’s artistic vision should not be swayed by individual public opinion.
In response to a series of questions about Rinehart’s complaint, Mitzevich issued a carefully worded statement from the gallery.
“The National Gallery welcomes the public having a dialogue on our collection and displays,” the gallery said.
“Since 1973, when the National Gallery acquired Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles, there has been a dynamic discussion on the artistic merits of works in the national collection, and/or on display at the gallery. We present works of art to the Australian public to inspire people to explore, experience and learn about art.”
The dispute follows a series of controversies for Rinehart. In March last year, she withdrew her $15 million sponsorship of Netball Australia after Indigenous player Donnell Wallam asked for her uniform not to include the Hancock Prospecting logo.
Wallam was protesting against comments made by Rinehart’s father and Hancock Prospecting founder, Lang Hancock, in 1984 that Indigenous Australians should be sterilised and “breed themselves out”.
Rinehart has refused to condemn her father’s comments and cancelled her funding for Netball Australia after players refused to wear her company’s logo.
In June, Rinehart claimed the West Australian government’s changes to Indigenous heritage laws, after Rio Tinto’s destruction of the ancient site at Juukan Gorge in 2020, would force home owners to get heritage approval to build granny flats in their backyards.
The 70-year-old has drawn praise from some Indigenous leaders for millions of dollars in funding given via the Roy Hill Community Foundation which provides scholarships, training, work experience and internships through the Madalah organisation.
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Far-Leftist university lecturer sacked over Nazi swastika incident loses bid to get reinstated
He got off the Hilton bombing by the skin of his teeth. At his appeal, a very skeptical judge (Gleeson) just did not believe some of the evidence
The University of Sydney has won its appeal against a court ruling that found a controversial lecturer was unlawfully sacked after he showed students a slide show that superimposed a Nazi swastika on the Israeli flag.
In October 2022, Federal Court Justice Thomas Thawley ruled Dr Tim Anderson was exercising his academic freedom. He accepted the lecturer’s argument the swastika graphic was created to encourage critical analysis.
The judge said that while he considered Anderson’s comments would be offensive to many people, he did not consider the context in which the swastika was used involved “harassment, vilification or intimidation”.
But on Friday, the Federal Court overturned the decision in a two to one majority, finding Anderson’s comments did not comply with the “highest ethical, professional and legal standards” required to be protected under the intellectual freedoms enshrined in the university’s enterprise agreement.
The political economy lecturer, who was supported by the National Tertiary Education Union through the case, was sacked from the university in February 2019, a few months after he had superimposed a swastika over an Israeli flag.
Friday’s judgment said that in July 2018, Anderson posted to his Facebook account a photograph taken at a lunch in Beijing where one of the people wears a shirt with antisemitic slogans in Arabic which translate into English to: “Death to Israel”, “Curse the Jews” and “Victory to all Islam”.
The university directed him to remove the photograph, which he did not do.
In October 2018, the university moved to sack Anderson after he showed a PowerPoint presentation in a lecture about civilian deaths in Gaza that featured the Nazi swastika imposed over the flag of Israel.
It came after two other warnings in 2017 and 2018 over statements made about a News Corp journalist and his labelling of US senator John McCain as a “key al-Qaeda supporter”.
Anderson had previously told the court, in an affidavit: “While some may feel offended by Nazi-Zionist analogies, I say the inclusion of the analogy in that graphic was appropriate. The purpose of the slide was to encourage critical analysis ... No student raised any issue with the slide during the seminar.”
In his reasons, Judge Nye Perram said he accepted it may “in an appropriate case” be consistent with the standards in the university’s enterprise agreement for an academic to use a Nazi swastika.
“It was for Dr Anderson to engage in the forensic gymnastics of explaining how his at least incendiary conduct could be characterised as being consistent with the highest ethical, professional and legal standards. This he did not do,” he said.
The university submitted Anderson’s comments were “variously intemperate ad hominem attacks” and were not in pursuit of academic excellence.
Last year, the court dismissed Anderson’s claims for damages but found Anderson should be reinstated to his position, pending the outcome of the university’s appeal.
Friday’s ruling, which overturns that order, comes amid ongoing discussions about freedom of speech and antisemitism on campus. Vice chancellor Mark Scott has written to the attorney-general to seek legal advice from federal authorities on how to respond to protesters who call for an “intifada” against Israel.
“We’re pleased with this outcome, as we were confident of our actions,” a University of Sydney spokeswoman said.
“We strongly defend freedom of speech and the ability of our staff to express their expert opinion as outlined in our Charter of Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom. The principle and practice of intellectual freedom must be upheld in accordance with the highest ethical, professional and legal standards.”
The swastika incident followed years of controversial statements and activities by Anderson, including several trips to North Korea and Syria and expressions of solidarity with their dictatorial regimes.
Anderson was also convicted in 1990 over the 1978 Hilton hotel bombing in Sydney. He was acquitted the following year.
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Huge complexities and costs behind the CO2 allergy
The global warming hoax has much to answer for
This week’s news that energy networks plan to charge households to export excess solar energy to the grid in the middle of the day will affect the two men in very different ways.
In a dynamic mirrored by the nation at large, Horsley is likely to benefit from the new order, while Seton is likely to lose out. Meanwhile, the distributors and the likes of St Vincent de Paul Society say the move protects renters and low-income households without solar.
Sydneysider Nic Seton has solar panels on his roof and is worried about Ausgrid’s new network charge.
Sydneysider Nic Seton has solar panels on his roof and is worried about Ausgrid’s new network charge.CREDIT:LOUIE DOUVIS
It was enabled by a national rule change in August 2021. Australian Energy Market Commission chair Anna Collyer, whose organisation made the decision, says it allows distributors to recoup the cost of paying for upgrades to the grid to remove bottlenecks and allow more solar to be exported.
“A ‘do nothing’ approach would have led to a worse outcome for all,” Collyer says. “There would have been increasing instances where customers are limited in their level of exports or not allowed to export at all.”
Australia leads the world in rooftop solar: the Clean Energy Council estimates it represents 11.2 per cent of the national energy supply.
It’s a great success story that opens up myriad opportunities for the transition to a decarbonised economy, but experts say it also brings challenges with managing grid stability and who should pay for that.
At the heart of the problem is a demand curve that looks like a duck, even if it doesn’t walk and quack like one. Figures from the Australian Energy Market Operator show energy demand starts off neutral in the early morning, plummets during the middle of the day when consumers are either not at home or using their own solar, and then peaks in the evening when people get home and turn on their devices and lights.
Grattan’s director of the energy program, Tony Wood, says: “The dramatic growth in solar PV is breaking the electricity duck’s back. Flattening the load is likely to restore it to good health.”
This is at the heart of the changes announced this week by the three NSW energy distributors – Ausgrid, Essential Energy and Endeavour Energy. The NSW pricing structure was approved by the Australian Energy Regulator last month, and all three companies said it was done after extensive consultation with customers.
Rob Amphlett Lewis, group executive distributed services at Sydney’s main distributor Ausgrid, says: “We want to move as much of our energy [usage] into the middle of the day when we’ve got all of this generation happening, and that effectively squashes the duck.”
The solar duck is a national problem, and NSW is merely at the vanguard of a shift that is likely to come to other states as well. SA Power Networks was one of the proponents of the national rule change in 2021 necessary to bring in the charges and will be able to introduce them in the next AER pricing review in 2025, along with Queensland. Victoria’s next AER cycle is in 2026.
The effect is that the distribution networks, which own the poles and wires but are separate entities from the electricity retailers, will allow a threshold of free exports during the day and charge a penalty beyond that while also providing a reward for energy exports in the evening. The distributors, which have geographic monopolies, have different pricing structures, and the retailers can choose how to package it to customers.
Solar households will still enjoy reduced bills from using their own energy and will still be paid feed-in tariffs from retailers based on wholesale electricity prices. The overall cost is expected to be low for the average customer.
Seton has a modest 4.5-kilowatt battery on the roof of his townhouse in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Newtown, where he lives with his partner and two children. About six years ago, the family paid about $6000 after rebates and has enjoyed large savings on their electricity bills.
He has no control over the fact that the solar panels only work when the sun is shining, cannot justify the cost of a home battery at upwards of $9000, and has already tried to shift his energy usage to the middle of the day as much as possible.
Meanwhile, at the seven-person Horsley household in leafy Wahroonga on the north shore, there is a possibility the family can make money from the situation.
Peter Horsley has spent tens of thousands of dollars on 17 kilowatts of solar panels and three batteries, not including the cost of two electric cars.
He can charge his batteries during the day from the solar panels and then sell electricity back at higher prices in the evening. With his set-up (Tesla battery and an app from his retailer Amber Electric), Horsley has set this up as a default and can also manually override it when needed, for example, if there is a blackout.
He can even charge his batteries from the grid rather than his solar panels. “The prices can go negative during the day as well, so there have even been cases where we’ve been paid to fill up our batteries and take energy off the grid,” Horsley says.
He has already participated in an Ausgrid trial for two-way pricing, which offered generous evening feed-in tariffs but is not sure what the net effect will be in the future. Despite this, he is confident he won’t be worse off and adds that he does not support the changes, mainly because he believes in solar as a climate change solution and is worried it will slow uptake.
Energy distributors, backed by advocates such as the St Vincent de Paul Society, the Australian Council of Social Service and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, say that it is about equity: the networks need to find the money to upgrade the grid to absorb the new solar energy being generated, and they don’t want the poorer non-solar households to bear the entire cost.
Seton, who runs Parents for Climate, says it’s pitting homes without solar and their interests against homes with solar. The better way to address equity is to help low-income households and renters get solar and to help solar households buy batteries.
He is frustrated there is a mandatory levy, however small, on solar households who have tried to contribute to the renewable energy transition.
“At the end of the day for some people, it’s still one more brick in the wall in that cost-of-living crisis,” Seton says.
Campaign groups such as Solar Citizens have described the new charge as a “sun tax” and warned it could put people off buying solar panels, while Rewiring Australia says it’s about the large-scale incumbents “defending their turf” against households getting in on the game.
There are also market analysts, such as Tristan Edis, a green energy and carbon markets economist with Green Energy Markets, who say it is the wrong approach.
Edis says bluntly that “the rule change was bullshit” and the regulators were “snowed” by the energy distributors. “They’ve just given them the keys to a new revenue stream through this rule change, even though there’s not proper evidence here.”
He points to UNSW research from 2020 that suggests so-called solar traffic jams are largely the result of distributors failing to manage voltage, a problem that occurs during the evening peak as well as by day.
Distributors do not effectively measure voltage spikes from solar households anywhere except Victoria, Edis says, so they had not proven the case that solar households were causing the problem.
In Victoria, the government had regulated the distributors to lower voltage, and this had occurred despite high solar penetration. As a result, he predicts that Victorian distributors will not need to introduce two-way pricing in their next AER round in 2026.
But Amphlett Lewis says the UNSW research shows the various ways to manage voltage, and the extensive consultation that Ausgrid and the other distributors carried out, determined that two-way pricing was the best model.
Rewiring Australia chief executive Saul Griffith says there is a bigger picture being lost. “A lot of people are not at home during the day when their house is generating the most electricity,” Griffith says. “In the best of all worlds, the excess electricity they’re making will charge the electric vehicles that are going to be prolific in this country … and the biggest battery in Australia will be our cars.”
The networks are keen on the vehicle-to-grid charging that Griffith is advocating. Essential Energy chief operating officer Luke Jenner says the network “is optimistic about the opportunities electric vehicle charging and vehicle-to-grid charging can offer consumers” and, while it already offers two-way charging for electric vehicles, it is currently testing and developing infrastructure to develop it further.
Home batteries cost from $9000 to $15,000 and the federal budget did not provide any funding to help households buy batteries. Some schemes exist in Victoria and Queensland, while the NSW government will have more to say on this in its consumer energy strategy due in the coming months.
Community batteries are another solution, often touted by the networks themselves, as they can build and own them, often with government subsidies. Ausgrid has five across Sydney and the Central Coast, Endeavour Energy has partnered with Origin Energy for community batteries in western Sydney and Shell Cove in the Illawarra, and Essential Energy says it owns and is developing several energy storage solutions.
Ausgrid’s Amphlett Lewis says both household and community batteries have their place, but “shared batteries will have a big role to play because they’re more cost-effective than behind-the-meter batteries”.
Tristan Edis disputes this, though, saying it’s better to support individual households in getting their own batteries because distributors have a profit motive and a monopoly business structure. That means they are wasteful and do not act in the best interests of consumers, while the locations of community batteries are often chosen “based on where politicians want to cut a ribbon.”
St Vincent de Paul Society’s executive manager of policy and research, Gavin Dufty, says batteries are expensive, but he advocates helping households to shift their usage of appliances, such as increased use of timers so loads of dishes and laundry can be done during the day even if no one is home.
He supports the policy: “It’s putting in the right foundations if we’re going to electrify everything and get to net zero, which we want.“
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Major win for Aussie workers who refuse to get the Covid vaccine as 'unreasonable' mandate is scrapped
Mandates requiring health workers in NSW to receive two doses of a Covid vaccine will be scrapped this week.
In March, NSW Health said it was reviewing the rule and it has now been revealed that it will be removed for existing personnel and for new recruits from Thursday.
The rule was put in place in August 2021 and about six months later NSW Health said that 995 staff members had either resigned or been sacked over the policy.
Former paramedic and campaigner against the mandate John Larter received a letter from lawyers for NSW Health who had written to his legal team informing him of the change.
'This symbolises NSW Health have acknowledged they can no longer continue to maintain their position due to overwhelming evidence that mandatory vaccination was a misuse of power,' Mr Larter told 2GB's Ben Fordham Live.
'It was completely disproportionate and unreasonable to sack frontline workers which negatively impacted health workers, patient care and outcomes,' he said.
'Lets hope all of those sacked workers are reinstated and compensated.'
Queensland and Western Australia removed their Covid vaccine requirements for health workers in 2023.
Mr Larter had previously launched legal action against the mandates and taken NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard to the Supreme Court in 2021.
The devout Catholic argued the laws were invalid and that they stopped residents from conscientously objecting to the vaccine based on religious grounds.
Mr Larter said he didn't receive the AstraZeneca vaccine because he believed it was sourced from the cells of aborted fetuses.
He lost his court battle after Justice Christine Adamson dismissed his case.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said NSW Health will continue to strongly recommend all its workers stay up to date with their vaccinations, in line with advice for the broader community.
'While the latest evidence shows most people have now developed protection from serious disease due to vaccination and/or previous infection, Covid remains a serious public health issue,' Dr Chant said.
'Covid vaccination continues to provide strong protection against severe illness, particularly for people at higher risk of serious illness and death from Covid, including older adults and those with underlying health conditions.'
The latest advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) recommends a Covid vaccination every six months for all adults aged 75 years and over.
A Covid vaccination every 12 months for adults aged 65 – 74 years is also reccommended, and adults aged 18 – 64 with severe immunocompromise should consider a vaccination every six months.
A yearly Covid vaccination should be considered for all other adults aged 18 – 64 years, and those aged 5 -18 years with severe immunocompromise.
Covid vaccines prevented almost 18,000 deaths among people over 50 in NSW as the Omicron strain hit, a study has found.
A Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Monash University joint research team looked at Australia's vaccination campaign to get an insight into what would have happened had NSW's rollout been different.
The team used computer simulations to find how vaccinations and boosters impacted the Omicron wave between August 2021 and July 2022.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13419117/Covid-mandate-NSW-health-scrapped.html
************************************16 May, 2024
Fears ‘TeacherQuitTok’ social media trend ‘warping perception’ of profession for young teachers
This is a classic case of blame the messenger. If they want to stop teachers talking about quitting, they have to deal with the problems behind the dissatisfaction. And Leftst limits on what teachers can do to maintain order in the classroom are the biggest problem. There should be high-discipline schools for unruly pupils
Australian teachers are being inundated with videos of burnt-out peers breaking down as hashtags like ‘TeacherQuitTok’ go viral on social media, prompting fears the negative reinforcement could be pushing young educators out the door.
There have been nearly 17,000 contributions to the ‘TeacherQuitTok’ tag on TikTok, racking up four million views on the single most watched video, while similar tags like ‘TeacherBurnout’ have 12,000 posts under them.
In clips with thousands of likes, young Australian ex-teachers cited the “never-ending” juggle of different needs among their 30-student classrooms, including pupils with behavioural issues, and “lack of respect” from higher-ups and the general public as reasons to quit.
“Being a teacher is really emotionally draining,” a former Brisbane teacher said.
“You’re constantly juggling and being responsible for all these different personalities and different situations, and it’s relentless, it’s never-ending.”
“The access to you 24/7 (from parents) … sometimes it’s a lot,” another added.
Other popular videos under hashtags like ‘TeacherBurnout’ and ‘HowToQuitTeaching’ are even more extreme, with teachers in the US and UK filming themselves having emotional breakdowns in the break rooms and crying in their classrooms.
University of Newcastle Associate Professor Rachel Buchanan has been researching the rise of ‘QuitTok’, which predates the more recent, niche version of the trend for teachers, and is concerned about the impact of such videos flooding educators’ social media feeds.
Although social media allows educators who are feeling “powerless and unheard” to have a voice, Professor Buchanan said, the echo-chamber effect can also “normalise quitting”, especially for young teachers lacking support and mentorship.
“On TikTok it feels inescapable that everyone’s quitting, and everyone’s burnt out … and it can warp your perception of what’s really happening,” she said.
“#TeacherQuitTok also reinforces and validates the decision to leave the profession – hearing others’ stories and joining in feels like participation in a movement or a moment.”
Sydney-based after-school care manager Teneal Broccardo knows first-hand how damaging the exposure to the constant negativity can be, citing the viral content with making her reconsider training to be a primary school teacher.
“There’s this massive trend about how stressful is, and when I was studying I found it really disheartening,” she said.
“I saw all these people working themselves to the ground and I thought, do I want to do this to myself too?”
Already having experience working with children and with classroom management alleviated her fears, the 29-year-old said, but for others she imagined “it could be the last straw”.
“TikTok is very influential. If you’re seeing more positive things instead, like teachers decorating the classroom or explaining different techniques they use, you are going to be more motivated.”
A 2022 Monash University study found only three in every 10 teachers surveyed on staying in the profession for the long-term, and their concerns are regularly reflected in ‘TeacherQuitTok’ content, lead author Dr Fiona Longmuir said.
“It’s the conditions that are making it challenging (to stay) more so than what they’re seeing on social media,” she said.
“There’s a big public discourse saying that teaching is tough, but that’s because it is tough.
“We don’t have a teacher shortage in Australia, but we do have a shortage of teachers who want to work in our classrooms.”
NSW Education Minister Prue Car said a pay rise, more permanent contracts and ban on mobile phones are among the ways the state is trying to “turn the tide on the teacher shortage”.
“Teachers do an incredibly important job in our community and they should be proud of their work. They deserve to be respected and valued,” she said.
“We are starting to see positive signs in terms of teacher vacancies, but we know there is more to do and we continue to look at ways to reduce workload and restore morale.”
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Victoria stil refusing to develop much needed gas
Energy minister Chris Bowen deserves high praise for telling Australia the politically incorrect truth – that we need gas to support our accelerated roll out of renewables.
It could not have been easy for Bowen to tell the truth because it contradicted his previous statements and the “we need gas” truth does not accord with the view of many in the cabinet and the ALP supporter base.
As my regular readers know, over the years Bowen and I have often had different views. In Australia, it is rare for a minister to reverse previous statements.
Accordingly, Bowen rises dramatically in my estimation, and the nation could do with more federal and state ministers with that sort of courage.
Australia’s new gas policy means both the government and opposition have similar gas policies, and that suddenly puts Victoria in a position where it is holding the east coast of Australia to ransom by stopping development of its immense low cost onshore no fracking gas reserves.
Fascinatingly, the last time Victoria held the nation to ransom over gas was in the 1960s, soon after gas was discovered in Bass Strait. The then Premier, the late Henry Bolte, wanted to keep the gas for Victorians and to use cheap, reliable energy to boost industry in the state.
It worked and Victoria got a great boost, but eventually the gas was shared with NSW and other states, and we have an east coast pipeline grid.
It is time for Canberra to get much tougher with the delinquent Victorian state, which keeps crying poor when it in fact is not using its enormous riches.
If Victorians wants higher unreliable energy prices, I guess that’s their business, but there is no reason why the existing pipelines should not be used to send Victorian gas to NSW and Queensland who understand the value of gas to lower emissions while keeping reliable energy prices low.
Victoria can encourage its industry and people to follow its energy and go north.
Meanwhile, Victoria can still benefit from is the remarkable attributes of its gas, which is dissolved in deep water. In Queensland, the water that is produced with gas is not suitable to grow crops but the water that contains Victoria’s gas needs very little if any treatment to be used to grow carbon absorbing plants and to revolutionise parts of Victoria’s agriculture, including making it drought proof.
Bowen’s current energy policy still insists that nuclear is too expensive. It is certainly a lot more expensive than a Latrobe Valley gas fired power from the incredibly low-cost Victorian gas. But BHP has shown that Canadian nuclear power is much cheaper than current Australian power costs. .
By using Victoria’s low carbon gas not only can we remove coal from the power equation but suddenly by not rushing nuclear we can watch a nuclear revolution taking place that is led by China.
The world’s second-largest economy now operates nuclear submarines using molten salt cooled thorium, and the same fuel is being used in container ships and also new power stations. It looks to be the future if nuclear, so it makes sense to wait.
My regular readers know the detail of Victorian gas and the fact that former Premier Daniel Andrews gave a carefully selected committee $42m with the instruction to look for gas on shore in Victoria, but that instruction carried a strict caveat – they were forbidden to look where one of the world’s leading gas reserve estimators, MHA Petroleum Consultants, (now part of the giant Sproule group) had calculated Victoria gas reserves totalled 4.996 trillion cubic feet of gas.
That’s some 60 per cent of the last 50 years of Bass Strait production. Better still there was a “high” estimate of reserves at 12.6234 TCF which would make the Victorian reserves second only to the North West Shelf. Lakes Oil also has onshore gas, and its reserves were also in forbidden territory.
The Andrews Committee pocketed the money and dutifully reported Victoria has no on shore gas. Publication of the MHA calculated reserves was removed from government web sites.
The gas was first discovered when Victorian brown coal fields were being mapped in the decades leading up to the 1950s. Decades later, with Bass Strait running down, Exxon in Houston began researching this very deep gas that is dissolved in water and sent the data to MHA.
The first proposal to develop the gas included Esso and BlueScope in the consortium and was put to the then Coalition Premier Denis Napthine in 2014. Napthine incorrectly thought it involved fracking and would hurt farmers, so rejected it prior to the election he lost.
That first proposal emphasised that further wells (about six) must be drilled to make sure that production and permeability will duplicate the first test wells. But Exxon were so confident that they planned to spend $200m (in 2014) on the project, arranged for BlueScope and other major gas users to pencil intent contracts and signed six agreements with local landholders who would benefit from the development.
In the decade that followed Andrews and his energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio, must have known that fracking was not required and because the gas was on the national pipeline and next to the Exxon treatment plant the costs were very low. As a result, they had to be able to deny its existence to keep green seats.
To get Victoria to comply with national policy may require punishment. And also required, is a local media that is not engulfed by Victorian government propaganda.
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PM says Labor senator Fatima Payman’s use of Israel ‘genocide’, ‘river to the sea’ was inappropriate
Another Muslim bigot
Anthony Albanese says it’s “not appropriate” a WA Labor senator used a controversial chant when she broke ranks with the government’s position on Palestine, as the Coalition heaps on pressure on him to “take action” against her.
Fatima Payman on Wednesday accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and questioned how many more deaths would be needed before the Prime Minister declared “enough”.
In a significant split from the Labor Party’s position, the Muslim senator called for sanctions and divestment from Israel, and declared “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – a phrase Mr Albanese has previously condemned as a violent opposition to a two-state solution.
She said the phrase was a call for “freedom from the occupation, freedom from the violence, and freedom from the inequality”.
Senator Payman criticised Mr Albanese and her Labor colleagues for failing to condemn Israel and “stand up for what is right”, accusing her government’s leaders of making “performative gestures” while defending the “oppressor’s right to oppress”.
Mr Albanese on Thursday morning was asked if he had spoken to Senator Payman since she made the comments, to which he gave an emphatic “no”.
He said he did speak to her regularly, as he does all his Labor Party colleagues, and their last conversation was “very pleasant”.
But he said her use of the politically charged phrase was “not appropriate” and did not reflect the Labor Party’s position.
“What is appropriate is a two-state solution, where both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live in security and peace and prosperity,” he told ABC Radio.
“It is not in the interests of either Israelis or Palestinians to advocate there just be one state. That is a forerunner of enormous conflict and grief.”
Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the Prime Minister “has to take action”, noting Senator Payman had “laid down the gauntlet” to Mr Albanese.
“She’s used a phrase the Prime Minister himself has agreed is a violent statement. She’d endorsed the phrase, and in the Prime Minister’s own analysis, people who make this statement are in opposition to a two-state solution,” Senator Paterson told Sky.
“She’s not just undermined decades of bipartisan foreign policy, she’s undermined decades of Labor Party policy.
“The Prime Minister has said this phrase has no place in Australia. Surely he cannot (have) a member of his caucus saying this.”
Senator Payman gave a statement to a small selection of media on Wednesday on Nakba day – the anniversary of Israel’s 1948 establishment – where she acknowledged there was “disillusionment” in the community with the political parties.
“Today, more than ever, is the time to speak the truth – the whole truth – with courage and clarity,” she told SBS News and Capital Brief.
“My conscience has been uneasy for far too long. And I must call this out for what it is. This is a genocide and we need to stop pretending otherwise.”
Mr Albanese said the scenes coming out of Gaza were “very traumatic”, but said Jewish Australians were also experiencing “a lot of trauma” due to rising anti-Semitism.
“People who happen to be Jewish are being held responsible here for the actions of the Netanyahu government. I don’t believe that is appropriate,” he said.
Senator Paterson said Senator Payman’s call for Australia to end trade with Israel especially at a time of rising anti-Semitism would “further undermine and test social cohesion”.
Former Labor minister and ALP Friends of Israel co-convener Mike Kelly labelled Senator Payman’s comments “disappointing” and “completely wrong”, while opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the slogan had “no place” being uttered by members of the government.
Jewish leaders have repeatedly sounded the alarm about the “river to the sea” chant, which they argue calls for the destruction of Israel.
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Albanese government shows its true character in budget blowout
Federal budgets are more than numbers; they reveal the character of a government and this week’s effort confirms that Anthony Albanese is running the most green-left government we’ve ever had, with more handouts, more debt and more picking winners.
On top of epic incompetence in immigration and border protection, workplace changes to buy off the unions, the failed attempt to entrench racial difference in our Constitution via the voice proposal and the broken promises on tax and superannuation, now gone is any pretence at budget responsibility.
With the terms of trade at a once-in-a-century high and unemployment at a once-in-a-half-century low, the budget should be in massive surplus.
Instead there’s a wafer-thin $9bn surplus, largely on the back of fossil fuel exports that the government wants to stop, to be followed by a long run of deficits of between 1 per cent and 2 per cent of GDP based on extra baked-in spending of $315bn largely on the so-called care economy.
Plus there’s $80bn in off-budget spending (for student loans, low-income housing and more green projects such as another $7bn for Snowy Hydro).
But even with so much spending off-budget, net debt is still expected to grow by another $200bn across the next five years.
All the old budget rules – such as keeping tax under a certain percentage of GDP, capping growth in spending and insisting that new spending is offset by savings – that helped Peter Costello deliver 10 straight surpluses and Paul Keating to deliver four have been scrapped in favour of creative accounting that dresses up spending as investment.
This budget conclusively proves that Labor monumentally fails to grasp that government can’t spend a dollar that it doesn’t get from taxpayers, either in taxes now or in taxes tomorrow to pay for today’s debt. As always, Labor thinks government is much smarter at spending taxpayers’ money than we are ourselves.
All the average Australian will gain from this budget that’s new is the non-means-tested $300 electricity bill handout that won’t nearly compensate for the climate-policy-driven leap in costs; and for low-income renters, some extra help that won’t nearly compensate for the immigration and interest-rate-driven rise in housing costs.
And even these are essentially the government putting in one pocket money that it has taken out of the other. What this budget will mean for all of us is a long-term weaker economy with bigger government, lower productivity and more green protectionism.
The only real surprise in the budget was the brazenness with which Jim Chalmers abandoned any fidelity to the fiscally responsible pro-market legacy of Keating and Bob Hawke, to trumpet the virtues of green interventionism.
The relentless boosterism of the federal Treasurer sits uneasily with the fact Australians, struggling with mortgage repayments that have doubled, don’t feel Labor has helped them and they are starting to notice that GDP per person has fallen for four straight quarters – meaning that whatever the headline numbers say, ordinary families are already in deep recession.
Very few economists accept the government’s spin that its energy and housing handouts will reduce inflation. Even if the handouts temporarily mask some policy-driven cost increases, struggling families are much more likely to spend on other necessities than to keep the money in their pockets. Hence the overall inflationary pressures that so worry the Reserve Bank and have led to the sustained rise in interest rates, which might even increase again.
The budget has only intensified the paradox of the Reserve Bank tapping the economic brakes while the government presses the accelerator; so, with some economists now tipping more interest rate rises, it seems undeniable that the biggest impact of the budget will be to keep interest rates higher for longer, with even the government’s own budget papers forecasting no drop in the cash rate before the middle of next year.
What was needed in this budget was a short-term focus on beating inflation, a medium-term focus on controlling government spending and a longer-term focus on making our economy more productive. In failing on all three counts, the government has let our country down badly.
As well as permanently higher wages for aged-care and childcare workers (as if the government should be meeting the wage costs of mostly private sector workers), there has been no serious attempt to rein in skyrocketing National Disability Insurance Scheme costs other than by funding the states to stop cost-shifting on to the commonwealth. And it’s far from clear that the government is serious about big cuts to immigration.
Quite apart from the fact it needs continued high immigration to pump up the overall economic growth numbers and avoid a technical recession, and even on its own figures still expects to keep immigration at double the average of the Howard years, there’s as yet no specificity about how it will cap overseas student numbers or require educational institutions to house the students they import.
But this has become a characteristic of this government: to declare an objective without any detail about its implementation and then to act as though wishing it has made it happen.
Given the woke obsessions of our universities, is the government’s announced objective to graduate eight out of 10 Australians by 2050 likely to make us more productive, as opposed to more likely to vote green left?
Then there’s some $23bn in various Future Made in Australia programs designed to make us a renewable energy superpower because, the Treasurer insists, the “world is committed to net zero”. Even though China and India are not – or at least not nearly as quickly or as convulsively as we are.
It doesn’t matter how often the government asserts it, the notion that Australia has a comparative advantage here, as if other countries don’t have wind and sunlight, hardly stands scrutiny.
There may be a case for some assistance to the strategic minerals that more battery making will require, especially given China’s attempt to corner this market, but it’s hard to credit that we should invest massively in “green hydrogen” that’s completely unproven at scale or that we can out-subsidise the US or the EU. Given that the big players in these industries include billionaires such as Andrew Forrest, why is the government relieving them of the need to commit more of their own money? Why is Labor bankrolling billionaires but making ordinary families scrimp and save?
It’s now a decade since the last budget that attempted any serious economic reform, when the Coalition tried to roll back entitlements and cut government spending. Instead, what we have now is a budget where government spending, as a share of the economy, is forecast to rise to its highest levels, outside the pandemic, in almost 40 years.
With no obvious cuts to anything and an abundance of giveaways, this one has the feel of a pre-election budget. Perhaps backed with more wall-to-wall government advertising, it might be enough to anaesthetise voters. But if the government does run to a premature election before the end of the year, it will expose its fear that the overall economy is going to get worse.
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15 May, 2024
Budget controversies
The big heartburn from the recent Australian Federal budget seems to be the $300 electricity subsidy. It was criticised because it goes to everyone and it was called inflationary.
It was alleged that restricting it to lower income people would have reduced its inflationary impact as well as being fairer. As a cost-push influence that is very doubtful. An extra $75 in their pockets for four consecutive quarters would hardly be noticed by middle to high income earners so would have litte impact on their spending.
And its inflationary impact can really only be judged by how it was financed. But amid a big overall increase in spending that is impossible to dissect. Would inflation have been less if the subsidy had been less? It is impossible to know with any certainty. Paradoxically, the government hope that it will REDUCE inflation. That more spending will reduce inflation is absurd.
But the big folly in the budget is all the money given to push our indusrries into processing our exports of minerals rather than simply digging them up and putting them straight onto a ship to go overseas.
That is hopeless. China and other Asian countries have much lower costs than us in both labour and energy so will always out-compete us on any processing we do. Only continuing subsidies could make processing competitive here: Just a continuing bleed of money into a hopeless cause
Australians are getting a $300 sweetener in the form of a rebate for energy bills in this year’s federal budget to help deal with cost of living pressures.
But economists are concerned that the short-term gain will mean longer-term pain — if the savings are spent by households, that could further fuel inflation and potentially cause the Reserve Bank to further increase interest rates.
Tuesday's budget includes a range of cost of living measures including tax cuts, energy bill relief, housing and rental assistance, among other policies.
From 1 July, more than ten million households will receive rebates of $300 on their energy bills, while around one million small businesses will receive $325.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers described this third budget as a "responsible" one that would help people under pressure today while "investing" in the future.
"I want Australians to know that despite everything coming at us, we are among the best placed economies to manage these uncertainties and maximise our opportunities."
"Treasury is now forecasting inflation could return to target earlier, perhaps even by the end of this year," he told federal parliament.
But Deloitte Access Economics partner Stephen Smith said the increased spending in the budget may stoke inflation, making the job of the central bank more difficult.
He described this as a "big spending budget" that had the potential to fuel inflation.
"Saving more on energy is good for Australians, but those savings are likely to be spent elsewhere in the economy. It's not necessarily a budget that will reduce inflation," he told SBS News.
Chalmers told SBS News the combination of the government's "responsible economic management" and the way cost of living measures were designed in the budget would put downward pressure on inflation.
"We’ve designed it in a way to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem," he said.
"The clear advice that we received, is that a combination of our cost of living policies, particularly our energy relief and rent assistance will put downward pressure on inflation without adding to inflationary pressures elsewhere in the economy.
Rating agency S&P said the budget could be "mildly inflationary".
"Today's budget slightly loosens the purse strings," the rating agency said in a statement.
"There will be a range of views about that but we are pretty confident we got it right."
The federal Opposition said Labor had added $315 billion of new spending, at a time when restraint was needed.
"The government is no closer to dealing with its homegrown inflation crisis – which means more pressure on cost of living and interest rates higher for longer," shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said.
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Will the budget reduce housing costs?
The ONLY way to reduce housing costs is to increase the supply of houses and I can see little if anything of that below. To achieve anything there need to be more tradesmen and more vacant land available. I can see nothing to bring that about below
Residential and commercial property developers have been buoyed by the expansionary budget, but have called for more to be done to make housing more affordable.
Housing developers stand to benefit from a combination of tax cuts and infrastructure packages put in place to stimulate building but major hurdles remain for the industry and the budget could feed into higher rates.
The Urban Development Institute of Australia backed the government’s commitment to address housing supply through the targeted strategies in the budget, UDIA national president Col Dutton said.
Measures include bolstering funding for infrastructure projects, with about $1bn going to getting homes built sooner, with funding for states included to provide roads, services and parks.
There is also a new national agreement on social housing and homelessness for states and territories to deliver crisis support and social housing, and $90.6m going into training more tradies and construction workers through fee-free TAFE places.
The budget also allocates $1.9bn over five years to increase maximum rates of Commonwealth Rent Assistance by a further 10 per cent.
But, Mr Dutton said for the government to reach its ambitious National Housing Accord target of building 1.2 million new homes over five years, 97 per cent must be delivered by private developers.
“Market-wide solutions will be necessary to tackle a range of fundamental problems, particularly at a time when completions are in free-fall. These include chronic lack of development-ready land, significant shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry, accelerated cost of construction materials and inhibited project finance, all of which are holding back projects,” Mr Dutton said.
Property Council of Australia chief executive Mike Zorbas supported the budget’s focus on housing. But, he warned further investment in creating new stock was essential to hitting “ambitious” housing targets.
“The government’s continued focus on housing is welcome. This budget contains solid investment in housing — particularly for the most vulnerable — and the better planning of our cities,” Mr Zorbas said.
“To hit 1.2 million homes by 2029, we need to improve investment settings, incentivise housing approvals, further boost … housing options including retirement living, purpose-built student accommodation and build-to-rent housing and bring more tradies in from overseas to complement domestic capacity,” he said.
The industry body boss said the government missed the opportunity to adjust the eligibility threshold for rent assistance to include those living in retirement villages.
The Real Estate Institute of Australia said the budget was a missed opportunity for the federal government to address stamp duty given the affordability struggle.
“These are homes built now that aren’t reliant on pressures within the building and construction sector,” president Leanne Pilkington said.
“Stamp duty reform would — at a minimum — bring around 4 per cent of existing homes to market, around 430,000 homes.”
Macquarie analysts said there were $6.2bn of new initiatives to continue addressing housing pressures, including meeting the housing target.
They noted the build-to-rent industry would be supported by lower foreign investment fees and said retail landlords would benefit from the stage three tax cuts and cost-of-living measures.
“We believe the housing package, and measures to increase construction workers should help reduce development time-frames over the medium term, which should be a tailwind to residential developers,” they said, noting more spending power from tax cuts should help malls.
Senior economist at research house PropTrack, Paul Ryan, called for the national housing accord to be broadened, saying it was the perfect forum to co-ordinate a switch from stamp duty to land tax, which had the potential to unlock the spare housing capacity in existing homes.
“Removing stamp duty would be transformative in improving productivity across the economy by opening up the ability for people to move where opportunities arise,” he said.
“Given the time it takes to approve and build new housing, there is no time to waste in tweaking these policies to unlock housing supply if it is to have an impact on housing costs over the coming years.”
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Get ready for an early election after Labor’s budget splurge
It’s now the day after the budget, and the dust has settled. The smarter operators in the ALP government will already realise the safest course to adopt will be to call an early election in late 2024 or early 2025.
The 2024 budget is a magnificent pre-election budget, but it contains a series of high-risk assumptions which could very easily unravel if Anthony Albanese waits until May 2025.
The 2024-2025 budget is a high-spending exercise which appears to have been against the view of treasury, and the inflationary impacts of this spending will gather momentum in 2025 and by next May they will be very apparent. The extra money in the system will create a buoyancy at the end of this year and early next year.
The inflationary side effects will come later and will also be masked by the subsidies. It's crazy to hold an election when the subsidies are about to end.
It's unlikely the Reserve Bank will reduce interest rates on the basis of the temporary power and other subsidies. If there is a late-2024 rate cut then it's a perfect election time and, if there is not, then the prospect is still there.
At present, the opinion polls have the two parties very close, and Australians don’t like early elections.
But, this budget looks like it has been prepared by a cabinet which understands what could happen in 2025, and so presents a smorgasbord of benefits extending to most people in the community.
This is the sort of thing you do when you are planning an election. It is not the sort of thing politicians usually do if they are going to wait 12 months before calling a poll.
Among the specific May 2025 dangers for the government are:
* The 3.25 per cent wage rise assumption is one of the key pillars in the reduction of inflation forecast, which the government is using to fan the idea of interest rate cuts. If Fair Work accepts the government’s recommendation and in a few weeks awards a 4 per cent wage rise starting July 1 there is little chance the government’s low 3.25 per cent wage index rise will be achieved. But, the inflationary impact of those higher wages will not be felt until 2025.
* The government is pulling down inflation with subsidies across the board. If the government waits until May these subsidies will be on their way out and inflation will be set to return and will become very apparent to the electorate.
* Major deficits are forecast for subsequent financial years, so unless there is a big iron ore price rise there will not be the ability to hand goodies out in preparation for a May 2025 election. The goodies have been handed out a year early, which underlines the need for an early election.
* The huge looming rise in commercial construction costs will seep into home construction costs next year.
* The ‘Made in Australia’ campaign and the backing of critical minerals and green hydrogen are high-risk commercial strategies. If the government waits until May, then the risks involved in these strategies will become much more apparent as other countries are heading in similar directions.
* The US is full of uncertainty, particularly in 2025 when there is a risk Donald Trump will become president, which could create considerable problems for an ALP government. Neither Trump nor Joe Biden carries US certainty and are part of the US risk profile of waiting until May.
* At this stage, the horrors of the industrial relations bill are not fully understood, and in particular those working as casuals don’t understand their current 25 per cent cash premium could end. The full implications of a union representative being in every enterprise creates a nightmare for family businesses. The restrictions to the gig economy will harm a great many people.
The industrial relations legislation is not due to be operational until August 26, and it would be very easy using regulations, lack of action and other means to make sure there are no fundamental changes for anyone in 2024.
But, in 2025 the horrors will become much more apparent, so it is not a good time to have an election.
To defend themselves, the Coalition will of course point out all the above points.
One of the greatest weaknesses in the ALP’s position is homeownership is being taken away from a generation of people to be replaced by rentals.
The Coalition is uniquely placed to make it possible for those in their twenties and thirties to buy dwellings, and would need to be a cornerstone of their policies.
The fact Chris Bowen has now embraced gas as an important part of the renewables aims, plus the power subsidies, curbs a Coalition energy attack, but overall government energy policy will still leave openings for the Coalition.
And, there is, of course, the migration mess and the rise in boat arrivals as a result of the mistakes in handling detainees.
But, a 2024 election win is a much easier task than winning an election in 2025, when Tuesday’s budget will start to unravel.
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Drumgold's woes are not over
Five Australian Federal Police officers are suing the ACT government for almost $1.5 million over allegations by former chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold that they “acted disgracefully” in seeking to pressure him not to prosecute the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins.
Lawyers for the five officers have sued both the government and Mr Drumgold personally over his allegations against them, which included that they had sought to mislead him as to the strength of the case against Bruce Lehrmann and bullied Ms Higgins.
They also say Mr Drumgold wrongly accused them of “consistently and inappropriately” interfering with his conduct of the prosecution, extending over one and half years.
The allegations were made in a letter Mr Drumgold sent to ACT police chief Neil Gaughan on November 1, 2022, expressing concern over “some quite clear investigator interference in the criminal justice process”.
The letter sparked the Sofronoff inquiry into police and prosecution conduct in the Lehrmann case, which largely exonerated police and found that Mr Drumgold’s assertions were baseless.
Each of the five applicants – Detective Inspector Marcus Boorman, Commander Michael Chew, Detective Superintendent Scott Moller, Detective Senior Constable Trent Madders and Senior Constable Emma Frizzell – was identified by name in the letter.
In a statement of claim released by the Federal Court on Wednesday, the officers say Mr Drumgold knew or ought to have known that the imputations in the letter were false and unsupported by evidence.
The officers are suing for a total of $1.415 million in damages and economic loss, with Mr Boorman’s claim the highest, at $250,000 for general damages, $85,000 for aggravated damages and $80,000 for economic loss.
One of the AFP officers previously told The Australian the letter had “destroyed careers and destroyed people’s lives”.
“When you’re in a profession where integrity is pivotal, if you lose your integrity, if it’s suggested that you are corrupt or you’ve trying to pervert the course of justice or influence something, it just goes against the grain,” the officer said.
The officers are also suing over Mr Drumgold’s release of the unredacted letter to a journalist from the Guardian, purportedly under FOI legislation but which in truth, they allege, he had no right to hand over.
The letter, containing the DPP’s suspicions of impropriety against the named police officers and Senator Reynolds, was released without any consultations or redactions. The FOI application was determined and executed within four hours of being considered for the first time.
The claim alleges that unauthorised act by Mr Drumgold amounted to misfeasance in public office because it was “done maliciously by Mr Drumgold, in that he knew he had no valid power to release the letter and … harm to the Applicants was reasonably foreseeable.”
The allegations by Mr Drumgold “went to the heart of each applicant’s role and standing as a police officer” and led to the establishment of the Sofronoff inquiry, which in turn exposed them to further reputational harm.
Earlier this year the ACT government apologised to former Liberal minister Linda Reynolds and paid $90,000 in damages and legal costs over accusations by Mr Drumgold in the same letter that the senator had engaged in “disturbing conduct” that included political interference in the police investigation.
The Sofronoff inquiry found that suspicions Mr Drumgold formed during his early interactions with the investigators “predisposed him to see non-existent malignancy in benign interactions between the police and the defence at the trial”.
Mr Drumgold complained police were speaking with the defence at the trial during adjournments. However, it was not surprising police felt deep antipathy towards the DPP since the feeling was mutual, the Sofronoff inquiry found.
“Mr Drumgold did not seem to appreciate that mutual trust is a two-way street. It was he who, at the first opportunity, formed the baseless opinion that the investigators were improperly trying to thwart a prosecution.
“This inquiry has thoroughly examined the allegations in Mr Drumgold’s letter. Each allegation has been exposed to be baseless.”
Late in giving his evidence, Mr Drumgold “finally resiled from his scandalous allegations,” inquiry chair Walter Sofronoff noted. Mr Sofronoff said that “any official writing a letter of that kind would also know that copies of the letter would have to pass through many hands and that there was a real risk that it would be made public”.
“In fact, it was with the help of Mr Drumgold himself that the letter defaming others made its way into a newspaper.”
Mr Sofronoff found no police acted improperly: “The evidence before me showed that the investigators consistently acted in good faith and conducted a thorough investigation … Nobody suggested to me that the investigation was flawed in any way.”
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14 May, 2024
Judge knocks out arrogant Australian bureaucrat
She thought she could dictate to the world. Out with Inman!
Australia’s eSafety commissioner’s attempt to force Elon Musk’s X to entirely remove a stabbing video from its platform worldwide was not reasonable, the Federal Court has ruled.
On Monday, a temporary order by Julie Inman Grant to block Australians from viewing footage of the alleged terrorist stabbing attack of Sydney bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was refused in a win for tech giant X.
Ms Inman Grant ordered X (formerly Twitter) to remove access to the video for Australian users last month, slapping the footage with a Class 1 classification, reserved for high-impact violent or child sex abuse material.
While X complied with a take-down notice, “geo-blocking” the content, Australian users with VPNs could still watch the attack on the platform and the tech company has refused to totally remove the footage from its platform.
Federal Court judge Geoffrey Kennett released his reasons for refusing the temporary order on Tuesday, finding X Corp succeeded in its argument that removing the footage for all users globally was not a “reasonable” step it should take in order to comply with the eSafety take down notice.
“The argument that making the 65 URLs inaccessible to all users of X Corp’s platform everywhere in the world is not a step that it is ‘reasonable’ to require X Corp to perform in order to ensure that the URLs are inaccessible to Australian users (and therefore is not a step required by the removal notice) is powerful,” justice Kennett said.
“If given the reach contended for by the Commissioner, the removal notice would govern (and subject to punitive consequences under Australian law) the activities of a foreign corporation in the United States (where X Corp’s corporate decision-making occurs) and every country where its servers are located,” he said.
“The Commissioner, exercising her power under s 109, would be deciding what users of social media services throughout the world were allowed to see on those services.”
As well, if the edict — that X should take down the content globally — was ordered, it’s likely that it would not be taken seriously.
“The potential consequences for orderly and amicable relations between nations, if a notice with the breadth contended for were enforced, are obvious,” justice Kennett said. “Most likely, the notice would be ignored or disparaged in other countries.
“The result is that … the “reasonable steps” required by a removal notice issued under s 109 do not include the steps which the Commissioner seeks to compel X Corp to take in the present case.
“For these reasons I have come to the view, based on the arguments advanced at this interlocutory stage, that the Commissioner will not succeed in establishing that compliance with the removal notice entails blocking access to the 65 URLs by all users of X Corp.”
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‘We Ceased Being a Democracy’: Former PM Calls for COVID-19 Royal Commission
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has raised fears Australia could be placed under lockdown again if a full Royal Commission investigation into the pandemic response is not held.
Mr. Abbott, who served in the top job from 2013 to 2015, said Australia stopped being a democracy for a couple of years during the pandemic.
The former Liberal Party leader spoke to his former Chief of Staff Peta Credlin following the release of a submission from the former Liberal Health Minister Greg Hunt to the current government’s COVID-19 inquiry.
Then presiding federal health minister during the pandemic questioned the measures implemented by state and territory leaders at the time, who rolled out vaccine mandates, lockdowns, and domestic border closures
Mr. Abbott told Sky News Australia said the cure was worse than the disease.
“The policy to deal with COVID turned out to be far worse than the disease itself. And when you go back and look at this honestly and dispassionately, you'd have to say that the first mistake that governments made was throwing out the carefully prepared pandemic plans that we all had in panic in early March 2020 because of the dire photos coming out of overwhelmed Italian hospitals,” Mr. Abbott said.
“But I think that had a lot more to do with the Italian hospital system than it did with the severity of the disease itself.”
Mr. Abbott also echoed calls from several Australian senators for a Royal Commission, raising fears the country could experience lockdowns again.
“My fear is that without a fair dinkum Royal Commission-type inquiry into the whole response to COVID, next time a pandemic happens, and it will, we will take the over-the-top response to this one as the model for all future actions.” Mr. Abbott said.
“But the last thing we'd want to be is locked up for several years, again, in response to a disease that turned out to be relatively mild.”
While he supported the medical advice, Mr. Abbott felt this should not come at the expense of Australia’s democracy.
“I’m confident that inside the Coalition a lot of these issues would have been more debated than they seemed on the surface, but there’s no doubt for a period of time we ceased being a democracy and became a kind of a ‘doc-docracy,’” he said, in reference to the influence of doctors and medical experts on public policy.
“Now I am all in favour of taking expert advice seriously, but in the end, we’ve got to remain and open, transparent accountable democracy, and I am afraid we weren’t for a couple of years during the pandemic.”
Liberal National Party Senator Matt Canavan and One Nation Senators Malcolm Roberts and Pauline Hanson have pushed strongly for a COVID-19 Royal Commission, following news that the AstraZeneca vaccine was being withdrawn globally.
Despite calls for a Royal Commission, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese instead opted for a COVID-19 Response Inquiry to examine federal actions during the pandemic.
More than 2,000 submissions have been received so far, chaired by Robyn Kruk, as well as panel members Professor Catherine Bennett, and Dr. Angela Jackson.
Victoria’s Pandemic Restrictions Against Medical Advice: Hunt
Former Health Minister Hunt revealed in his submission that the then-Victorian government’s decision to restrict movement to five kilometre (3.1 miles) radius from home, and implement curfews went against medical advice.
Former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews introduced these measures during the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns in metropolitan Melbourne.
However, Mr. Hunt said the curfews and restrictions were not subject to federal advice, or to the best of his knowledge, medical advice.
“National Cabinet developed a series of step-up and step-down distancing measures as part of the COVID Roadmap. This included nationally agreed restrictions on gatherings following medical advice,” Mr. Hunt said (pdf).
“Subsequent unilateral decisions of some states outside of the National Cabinet framework, such as Victoria’s curfews or five kilometre movement restrictions were not the subject of Commonwealth advice, and nor to the best of my knowledge has the medical advice for such restrictions been either released or affirmed at state level.”
In the future, Mr. Hunt recommended states commit “not to take unilateral decisions” against National Cabinet decisions unless there is published and signed medical advice to the contrary at the deputy chief health officer level or above.
He also suggested that a Memorandum of Understanding should be signed between the Commonwealth and states that commits to the continuous use of the National Cabinet for future pandemic management.
World’s Longest Locked Down City
During the pandemic, Melbourne became one of the world’s longest locked-down cities.
“The strengthened settings will see a curfew imposed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. every night. There will be increased police presence across metropolitan Melbourne to ensure public health measures are enforced,” the former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said in August 2021.
“Exercise and shopping are still limited to five kilometres from your home. If there’s no shops in your five kilometre radius, you can travel to the ones closest to you. You are also able to travel more than five kilometres to get a vaccine if you need to.”
Mr. Andrews said at the time that the restrictions were hard work for every Victorian, but the rules were in place for a reason.
“Everyone wants this pandemic to be over, but the rules are in place for a reason—we know they work and if we follow them together, we’ll be able to lift them sooner,” he said at the time.
Economically the city and state continues to recover from the impact of lockdowns with 7,606 businesses de-registering from the state in 2022-23.
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Aussie farmers fear an industry could be wiped out by the stroke of a pen from the Albanese government
Farmers fear their livelihoods will be destroyed forever after the Anthony Albanese government announced live sheep exports will be phased out.
The federal government announcement on Saturday sent shockwaves across the sheep farming industry, which will be forced to abandon the $143million-a-year practice by May 2028.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the new legislation, which was one of Labor's election promises, would be enacted before voters return to the polls next year.
Despite committing to a $107m transition package, farmers and industry leaders have branded the decision as a 'punch in the guts'.
Many have hundreds of sheep they will have to 'destroy' because they have 'nowhere for them to go'.
Western Australian livestock farmer David Slade described the the shutdown of the industry as unjustified. 'It's destroyed the industry on a whim,' Western Australian livestock farmer David Slade told news.com.au. 'Everybody's really livid.'
The policy change came after several instances of video footage showing sheep that had died or were in distress due to overcrowding and excessive heat on board the ships.
But farmers and industry leaders claim that new standards mean the practice is now much safer for livestock and the ban is unwarranted. 'Our welfare standards are absolutely top notch,' Mr Slade said.
'It wasn't good before, there's no doubt about that. We own that. We've made sure that that doesn't happen again.'
Mr Slade branded a $64.6million package offered to help affected farmers to diversify into new areas as an insult.
Fellow West Australian farmer Ellen Walker branded the decision as a 'punch in the guts' following a dry summer and weak prices.
'I currently have over 200 sheep that I am going to have to destroy because there is nowhere for them to go,' she said.
NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said the federal government failed to take into account the ripple effects of removing a 'key component' of the sheep industry.
'This industry is a fundamental market tool that enables farmers to manage livestock and uphold high standards of animal welfare through trying seasons, market failure and more,' Mr Martin said in a statement.
'And so without it, many farmers will have some major problems on their hands.'
He added that a reduction in sheep farming would also effect a demand on fodder and grain used to feed livestock.
Mr Martin said the transition package 'lightly touches' on supporting oversupply and processing but doesn't support the knock-on effect to the broader farming industry.
'There is insufficient detail about how broader agriculture and processing industries will be supported, and so we have serious questions as to what this will do to help the situation at all,' he said.
'Time and time again, this federal government has failed Australia's food and fibre producers – and now they are switching off markets for farmers, and food for hungry people.
'What's next, and can we continue to feed and clothe the nation if the decision-making keeps deteriorating?'
Mr Watt announced the legislation from Western Australia, where most live exports begin their journey to other nations.
'There are a number of other states in Australia that used to do live exports of sheep,' Senator Watt said. 'They got out of it – they moved into more onshore processing.'
The live export industry has seen yearly decreases since its peak in the early 2000s having supplied a large amount of sheep to the Middle East.
RSPCA Australia boss Richard Mussell firmly backed the government's decision.
'A swift and orderly phase-out of live sheep export, with appropriate measures to safeguard animal welfare in the meantime, is the right decision for Australian sheep and Australian farmers,' he said.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13409191/Live-sheep-exports-wiped-albo.html
**********************************************Deakin University orders pro-Palestinian campers off campus
Former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has called on all universities to “clear the camps of hate’’ from their campuses and praised Deakin University for ordering that the encampment protest on its campus be dismantled.
The university’s deputy vice-chancellor Kerrie Parker has warned the protesters that freedom of speech “does not extend to the establishment of unauthorised camps.’’
She sought the “immediate dismantling and removal of the current encampment at Morgans Walk’’ at the Burwood campus in Melbourne.
But defiant protesters insisted they “will not be complying’’ and are organising a rally on Wednesday to “defend and support the encampment’’.
A video filmed on Monday night shows protest organiser Jasmine Duff telling a group of protesters to rally to “defend’’ the camp on Wednesday.
In her email, Professor Parker said the university was committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom.
“Your ability to undertake protest, political discourse and debate on Deakin campuses is not being infringed or curtailed,’’ she wrote.
“However, the right to freedom of speech does not extend to the establishment of unauthorised camps which pose hygiene and safety risks and restrict the access, availability and use of Deakin premises and facilities for the benefit of the Deakin community of users.’’
Mr Frydenberg praised the university’s decision and called on others to follow its lead.
“Our universities must be safe spaces for learning and education, not indoctrination,’’ Mr Frydenberg told The Australian.
“All our universities should follow Deakin’s lead, bringing an end to these encampments and taking a strong and principled stand against the anti-Semitism, violence and hate we have seen across Australia in recent months.
“This is a time for our university leaders to stand up and be counted.”
Mr Frydenberg, a prominent member of the Jewish community, last week accused university leaders of being derelict in their duties in refusing to clear away the protest encampments. He was speaking ahead of the release this month on Sky News of his documentary Never Again: the Fight Against Anti-Semitism.
************************************
13 May, 2024
One University leader stands tall against anti-Semitism
Western Sydney University chancellor Jennifer Westacott has broken with fellow chancellors and explicitly condemned anti-Semitism during Gaza protests on Australian campuses.
Ms Westacott, a former Business Council of Australia chief executive, writes in The Weekend Australian that it is time for “collective leadership” to call out “growing division and anti-Semitism”.
Her plea comes after weeks of pro-Palestinian campus protests during which students have chanted “intifada” and “From the river to the sea” anti-Israel slogans, accusations have been made that radical and anti-Semitic outsiders have infiltrated campuses, an anti-Israel terrorist-linked group’s flag has been flown, and Nazi-style gestures have been made at student meetings.
Going further than any university leader has since the anti-Israel campus protests began, Ms Westacott said universities were champions of free speech and places of intellectual challenge “but they must never be places of fear”. “The hate speech and anti-Semitism occurring on our campuses is a direct assault on Australia’s multiculturalism and its principles,” she said.
Ms Westacott said she was speaking both as Western Sydney University chancellor – a role that makes her head of its governing body, similar to a company board chair – and in her personal capacity.
The university administrator and business leader says her own experiences suffering discrimination, and the way war and genocide have affected members of her family, fuelled her opposition to the anti-Semitism crisis in higher education.
“I’m doing so as part of a family that includes two people, a mother and her son, who are from an Islamic background, who are stateless because they faced genocide in Afghanistan, who were forced to flee, and now live as asylum-seekers,” she writes.
“They are our family, and my partner, Tess, and I love them. And I am doing so as someone who has endured sexism and homophobia. I do not believe we can pick and choose our moral positions.”
Ms Westacott’s condemnation of anti-Semitism comes after the University Chancellors Council decided at its plenary meeting last Thursday week not to explicitly call out anti-Semitic elements among campus protests, a resolution that went against the wishes of some chancellors. After the May 2, meeting the council issued a statement that condemned hate speech but stepped around the issue of anti-Semitism.
“Hate speech or conduct directed at any person or group of persons because of their nationality, religion or identity is completely unacceptable,” it said.
Another university chancellor told The Weekend Australian the council statement should have been stronger and explicitly condemned anti-Semitism, but this view was not accepted at the meeting.
In her article, Ms Westacott said the Australian values of tolerance, respect and fairness “made us the most successful multicultural country in the world”.
“I believe we cannot be silent when members of the Jewish community are targeted for the actions of a government more than 14,000 kilometres away,” she writes, saying Jews in Australia cannot be considered responsible for the Israeli government’s invasion of Gaza following the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year.
“It would be like persecuting the Russian diaspora for the actions of Vladimir Putin,” Ms Westacott writes.
“Nor can we allow any form of discrimination or intimidation against Palestinians because of the actions of Hamas.”
*****************************************************
Leftists want to force their faith on Christians
A religious civil war is raging but only one side understands that it is a battle over theology.
At stake is whether the ascendant state morality will drive deeper into the ancient institutions of faith and force believers to submit to its temporal commandments.
Nationally, the Australian Law Reform Commission’s final report on religious exemptions from anti-discrimination law is just another sortie in a long campaign over what the state will allow you to believe and how far it is prepared to go to force apostates to heel.
Queensland’s proposed anti-discrimination bill also seeks to narrow the rights of the faithful. Alex Deagon, from Queensland University of Technology, argues it will “significantly undermine the ability of religious organisations to employ persons in accordance with their faith”.
The ALRC admits one of its recommendations may limit “the freedom to manifest religion or belief in community with others, and the associated parental liberty to ensure the religious and moral education of one’s children in conformity with one’s own convictions”. This, it says, is balanced by the overall effect, which “would be to maximise the realisation of human rights”.
The ALRC wants section 38 of the Sex Discrimination Act, which allows religious schools to hire those whose lives and ideas accord “with the doctrines, tenets, beliefs or teachings of a particular religion or creed”, to be abolished.
When you lose the freedom to manifest your faith, abide by your beliefs and the liberty to ensure your children are educated in your creed, what is left? The commission is erasing the right of a religious school to organise around its own ethos.
This is an extreme form of laicism, driven by a fierce “progressive” crusade against Christianity. In a multifaith society that means all believers are on this battlefield, as the institutions of government are mobilised against them. Like many things dubbed progressive, it is the latest incarnation of the despotic tendencies of the Bureautoracy (n): the ubiquitous, unelected technocratic blob bent on imposing its notion of utopia on the mob. Its relentlessly mutating dogma has spread like Paterson’s curse through all the institutions.
In a profound irony we are witnessing the final metamorphosis of Christianity as zealots torch the last idol: belief in a power that transcends the state.
The child has turned on a parent it does not recognise because the source code of this secular faith is the notion of universal human rights. That idea was born with the belief that each individual is valued by God, an avowedly Christian concept and part of a set of revolutionary beliefs that the early faithful simply called “The Way”.
Warnings religion’s role in Australia is ‘under attack’
Universal equality is captured in Paul’s letter to the Galatians: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Another epoch-changing idea rings from the first sentences of John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the word (logos). And the word was with God. And the word was God.”
The New Testament was written in Greek and logos means both word and reason. So, in the Christian tradition, God is reason itself. Christianity is the singular encounter between Greek philosophy and Jewish mysticism, the marriage of reason and faith. The theology that evolved was a thoroughly different way of thinking. Let’s call it wisdom.
This wisdom elevated the poor, the meek, the righteous, the merciful and peacemakers. Faith in God demands you “treat others as you would like them to treat you”, and not to act with reason is contrary to the nature of God.
Christianity is born in the East, informed by the West and takes on its historically decisive character in Europe. Europe is defined by its faith and its faith is defined by reason. Faith and reason set Europe on the road to liberal democracy.
Through all its failures, and its many crimes, reason pushes the West forward and demands that it learn and evolve. And the excesses of both church and state always had to contend with its Christian conscience.
The savage colonisation of the Americas was fiercely denounced by Dominican friar Bartolome de Las Casas, the evil of slavery collapsed when it confronted the faith of William Wilberforce. Despite often spectacularly failing to abide by its ideals, Christianity demanded the West slowly bend towards realising the radical demand of the central tenet of its faith. The new commandment to “love one another” excludes no one.
As historian Tom Holland demonstrates in his epic work Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, “To live in a Western country is to live in a society that is utterly saturated by Christian concepts and assumptions.”
It is, of course, a heritage that the zealots of the New Way deny. To them their belief system is self-evident because it just is. It is neutral. It is agnostic. That is a delusion. The New Way exhibits some of the best and all the worst features of a proselytising religion. It looks to uplift, to guide, to build a better, more just world. It is also deeply intolerant of dissent and has established the institutions of inquisition to police heresy, in state and federal human rights commissions.
It’s hard to criticise anti-discrimination laws but the growth of objective penalties for subjective crimes should trouble those who care about liberal democracy. Such penalties are how American journalist Robert Wargas defines totalitarianism.
What standards will be applied? The notion of transgender identity, for example, is a rapidly moving target. Even the Australian Human Rights Commission’s website admits the “terminology is strongly contested”.
So, this latest assault by the state on the faithful is a battle of competing theologies, as the disciples of Caesar seek to mount his image in every temple. And the insurgents know nothing of faith because, as anyone who has any dealings with religious schools knows, most have no desire to discriminate and are far more tolerant of difference than “progressives”.
What religious institutions don’t want is to be forced to submit to state diktats that deliberately undermine the ethos of their institution. Here let’s recall that the Labor Party pledge demands its members not be a part of any other organisation that is inimical to its ideals. Why shouldn’t religious schools enjoy the same right?
The arc of history has bent out of shape. Those who claim the heritage of reason have discounted the role of faith in their enlightenment. They discriminate and call it equality. They unreasonably seek to force the faithful to heel.
This is not wise.
**************************************************
Waleed Aly of The Project warns rent freeze favoured by the Greens poses a 'massive risk' to housing supply
High-profile host of The Project Waleed Aly has pushed back on the Greens proposed rental freeze - which if implemented could have already saved Aussie renters thousands of dollars.
In a spirited segment on The Project on Thursday, Aly debated founder of the popular rental property review website S*** Rentals Jordan van den Berg, also known online as 'Purple Pingers'.
Mr van den Berg told The Project he is in favour of the rent freeze, revealing the positive impact it would make on renters' lives.
'It's pretty simple, give renters a bit of breathing room and let them spend money on something that isn't an ever-increasing human right.
'I know people who are choosing between medicine and their rent. You should never have to choose between those two fundamental things to be alive, or like putting food on the table for your family and that kind of stuff,' he said.
Aly agreed that no should ever have to make the choice between medicine and their rent, but it was then he challenged the proposed rental freeze.
He said evidence from around the world on the concept of a rent freeze isn't that encouraging.
'In the US, the result was a whole lot of houses were just left to become uninhabitable as landlords then made insurance claims on damage,' he said.
Aly said there was an increase in black market rent bidding, where the official rent is one thing and rent bidding occurs in the background
He said issues with freezing rent weren't just limited to the US.
'In the UK they found social segregation, so it just meant landlords gave all the properties to professional families without kids and actually it was the most disadvantaged who missed out.
'In Berlin there was a huge fall in the rental supply. These are really serious side effects. Isn’t it a massive risk to just take something on like this?'
Mr van den Berg disagreed, saying Aly was not comparing like-to-like.
'In Australia we have this culture of investing in housing, we’re not comparing the same government subsidies, the same demographic breakdown, the same capital gains tax discounts, the same negative gearing concessions to investing.
'So in America where those things don’t exist, putting a rent freeze in place we’re not having like-for-like outcomes,' he said.
Aly was adamant a rent freeze could even potentially make the problem worse.
Mr van den Berg refuted that a rent freeze would stop people from becoming landlords.
'At the end of the day, even if you can charge a little bit less for rent you’re going to get a capital gain when you sell the house, that’s just how it’s going to work.
'But also we need to consider this isn’t the only answer to the housing crisis, this is a little Band-Aid we can put on a gaping flesh wound, that we need to do with long-term policy solutions,' he said.
Mr van den Berg expressed the urgency of implementing a rent freeze. 'Renters need some immediate assistance right now, then let’s also work on the bigger picture.'
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Graphic footage of the alleged stabbing attack on a bishop will be unlocked at 5pm today after judge hands temporary victory to Elon Musk
Elon Musk has had a victory in an Australian court with a judge shooting down the eSafety Commissioner's request to temporarily ban graphic videos of an alleged violent church attack.
The Albanese government and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant are locked in a bitter standoff with Musk after he failed to comply with an order to remove from his X app violent video of an attack on a bishop during his church service on April 15.
During an interlocutory hearing on Friday, Justice Geoffrey Kennett issued a three day extension to an injunction which ordered Musk's social media platform X temporarily remove the footage while the matter played out in court.
On Monday morning, he refused the eSafety Commission's application to extend the injunction. The current injunction will lapse at 5pm Monday.
A case management hearing is scheduled to take place on Wednesday ahead of proceedings to determine the validity of Ms Inman Grant's order.
She wants to see the offending footage wiped from X servers, arguing that simply geoblocking the content to hide it from an Australian audience does not go far enough to protect the community.
The court heard on Friday Musk's initial attempts to block Australians from viewing the content were easily thwarted by technology up to 25 per cent of all Aussies use: a VPN.
Bret Walker SC, acting for X, told the court the Australian government's request to remove the footage from the app across the globe was an example of overreach 'literally larger than anything else could be'.
'It is at odds with what one would expect or hope for from one national regime,' he said.
Meanwhile lawyers acting for the eSafety Commissioner argued that X's move to geoblock disturbing video of the violent crimes - meaning they would be unavailable to Australian users - was unsatisfactory.
While Meta moved swifty to remove the content entirely from its services, Musk's X instead simply geoblocked the content from Aussies - 65 posts in total.
But lawyer Tim Begbie KC told the court that staff at the eSafety Commissioner's office 'were able to use standard VPNs to access videos banned from Australia'.
They did so on multiple occasions 'from an adult's account, a child's account and not logged in at all'.
A VPN can mask a user's IP address and re-route a connection so that it appears as though it's coming from anywhere else in the world.
Mr Begbie said this proved that the measures X took to protect Australians from violent content did not go far enough.
'To say that the geoblocking system has holes in it... is a profound understatement,' he said.
'The fact that those really not very sophisticated ways of accessing it could immediately be done is something your honour would be troubled about.'
The eSafety Commission won a temporary injunction in April from the Federal Court to have the footage removed globally while the matter played out in court.
Mr Walker, for X, argued the only way to block users in Australia from viewing the content via a VPN would be to effectively remove the footage globally.
'The idea that it's better for the whole world not to see this obviously newsworthy matter... that nobody can see it pending determination following a hearing which has not yet been fixed... that notion is a startling one,' Mr Walker said.
'That is a really remarkable proposition. This is very concerning that this country would take the approach of: "If this is the only way to control what is available to users in Australia then, yes, we say it is a reasonable step... to deny to everybody on Earth".
X faces daily fines of $785,000 for noncompliance, but Musk has vowed to challenge the ruling on two fronts.
Lawyers for X argue the content depicted in these videos should not be banned under Australian law, and that, regardless, the eSafety commissioner should not have the jurisdiction to order footage be removed globally.
'We believe that no government should possess such authority,' the company said.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13410517/Elon-Musk-victory-eSafety-violent-X-content.html
************************************12 May, 2024
NSW schools: More Leftist censorship
The battle to gain a place at one of the state’s prized selective schools has for years been hard fought by parents and students who see it as a golden ticket to top HSC results and entry to a prestigious university course.
But education analysts say recent changes to stop publishing cut-off scores have backfired and are now breeding the “worst of behaviour” by tutoring companies who are preying on the information vacuum to spruik their services.
A record 18,544 students competed on Thursday for about 4200 spots in the NSW public system’s high-achieving selective high schools for next year’s entry. Despite population increases, the number of places in selective schools has not grown.
Australian Tutoring Association president Mohan Dhall said entry requirements for a test to gain entry to a NSW public school should be clear and transparent to parents and students. He said the secrecy meant tutoring companies were filling the subsequent information vacuum with their own league tables and exploiting parent anxiety to spruik their services.
“If you’re not disclosing scores, you don’t know what you’re reaching for. The children have to try harder because of the uncertainty. They’re breeding the worst of behaviour,” Dhall said.
“It is a public test in a public system and there should be public disclosure of test scores and accountability around it. The citizens of NSW should be able to make informed decisions, and you can’t do that in the absence of information.”
A department spokesman said the decision to stop publishing minimum entrances scores for schools came after wellbeing and privacy concerns were raised by students and parents. Under the changes, parents were also not told specific marks but rather broad “performance bands” – a general ballpark of how their child performed in the test. It coincided with the introduction of the equity model, which reserved 20 per cent of selective school seats for students from disadvantaged groups.
In response to the move, tutoring companies simply triangulated performance bands and offers made to individual students to create their own league tables, albeit without precise scores.
Despite previously publishing annual lists of minimum scores required for entry to each school on its website, the NSW Department of Education refused to release the scores following a freedom of information request made by the Herald, saying the cut-off scores requested did not exist.
Carlingford West Public father Rav Singh, whose 11-year-old son Veyaan sat the test, said he wanted clear information about which schools were the hardest to get into. Parents must preference three schools, and he will put Veyaan down for Baulkham Hills High, Normanhurst Boys and Sydney Boys High School.
“It is a better idea to publish the marks so you know where your kid stands,” he said.
The Ponds School parent Irum Shaheen said she did not want to put undue pressure on her son, Adilimran, 10, to get into selective school, but said test scores would give her a clear indication of what was achievable.
“To be very honest, I think it should be published so that it really gives us an idea of what is going on,” she said.
James Ruse Agricultural High School has historically been the most difficult school to gain entry to, but that may change this year after it lost its position at the top of HSC league tables to North Sydney Boys.
Revealed: Sydney’s most overcrowded primary and high schools
The former principal of North Sydney Boys, Robyn Hughes, predicted the test performance required to gain entry to her former school would increase this year after it successfully dethroned Ruse ending its 27-year-reign as the state’s top school.
“North Sydney Boys cut-offs will probably go up, reflecting the demand from parents. They will be seriously thinking about North Sydney Boys in contrast to James Ruse,” she said.
She said the move to no longer releasing cut-off scores might go some way to reduce the competition among parents – who would also utilise the scores to gain entry to private school.
As principal, she was aware that some parents showed their child’s selective school placement offer and performance scores to private schools in a bid to gain a scholarship.
“Parents know the offer can be a passport to getting into private schools,” she said.
A Department of Education spokesman said factors that contribute to an offer being made, including the number and performance of the children who apply, change each year.
“There are no minimum entry scores or “cut-off” scores for selective high schools,” he said.
“Parents should be cautious of relying on information from coaching colleges as it is often inaccurate and not representative of the full range of students who apply for placement in selective high schools across the state.”
****************************************************
Three years on from Covid lockdown protests Judge Liz Gaynor of the County Court slams police for responding with 'unjustified violence'
In a shock decision, a judge has ruled that Victoria Police used 'unlawful' and 'unjustified violence' on anti-lockdown protesters during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Judge Liz Gaynor of the County Court ruled the police were the 'aggressors' at a protest in Melbourne on May 29, 2021 which left a man with a dislocated arm.
Victoria had some of the world's strictest lockdown conditions at the time, including that people could only move within a 5kilometre area of their home for shopping or exercise, and the banning of public and private gatherings.
The May 29 gathering at Flagstaff Gardens saw police officers vastly outnumbering the 150 protesters who turned up, more than a dozen of whom were arrested for offences such as assault and breaching the chief health officer's directions.
Jason Reeves, Nicholas Patterson and Adam Roob were each thrown to the ground and arrested at the protest after being asked to leave, the Herald Sun reported.
Judge Gaynor said the men's arrests were unlawful and that they had done nothing to warrant the violent response captured on the police's body-worn cameras.
Mr Reeves was punched in the face by police and thrown to the ground, which the judge said was an 'immediate and violent' response.
Mr Patterson and Mr Roob said they tried to defend Mr Reeves and in doing so were pepper sprayed and thrown to the ground, with Mr Paterson's arm dislocated in the scuffle.
Mr Roob and Mr Patterson were in court for charges such as common law assault and assaulting an emergency worker on duty.
But the judge ruled that the police evidence was inadmissible because 'by their unlawful violence police instigated the response by the accused which underlies the charges they now face'.
Judge Gaynor said the police had several options to deal with the pair, such as issuing infringement notices or telling them they breaching restrictions and were to be placed under arrest.
'However, the police chose not to respond that way. I am satisfied that in arresting Mr Reeves, police used unnecessary and unwarranted force and violence.'
She said video of the group in the 30 minutes before the arrest did not indicate they would be violent and that she was 'satisfied that (police) were the aggressors in the situation and that they employed unjustified violence on Mr Reeves'.
The judge said the police did not speak to him and tell him he was under arrest or why he was arrested, but instead 'confronted, pushed, and attacked him before bringing him to the ground'.
She also found that Mr Paterson and Mr Roob 'were met with physical intervention'.
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Tesla driver's warning after run-in with a kangaroo activated a safety feature and left him with a significant expense
A run-in with a kangaroo on the road left a Tesla driver with a repair bill in the hundreds because of a little known safety feature.
Adam Goff reported his troubles to fellow Tesla drivers in a dedicated Facebook group after hitting a 'roo on a rural NSW road around 6am on Tuesday.
Mr Goff slammed the brakes and his dashcam caught the kangaroo colliding with his car so softly that the animal did not even fall over.
Despite both the 'roo and the car escaping without a scratch, Mr Goff soon found himself $500 out-of-pocket to get his Tesla Model 3 serviced after its 'active hood' feature was set off.
The active hood pops the rear part of the Tesla's bonnet after detecting a crash in order to reduce damage to the car itself as well as any persons or animals that are hit.
'Had a run in with a roo, only tapped him by the time I jumped on the brakes so no damage to the car,' he wrote.
'The active hood has deployed though, how much is it to get reset and is there anyway I can push it back so it's less embarrassing to drive around with.'
After parking the car, Mr Goff tried to jig the bonnet back into place but those in the comments said it needed a service.
'The process of the hood deploying is destructive. It needs the explosive struts replaced. Probably best go through insurance. It’s not as simple as it just simply being pushed down,' one man wrote.
When the explosive struts are activated an error message remains on the dashboard until the car is serviced and the bonnet restored.
Another commenter advised Mr Goff to immediately book a service for the car as the owner's manual stated that it was the correct course of action.
'It says immediately take the car to the service centre, so do that - you can point them to the website as justification,' they wrote.
When Mr Goff confirmed the quote from the service centre was $500 to put the bonnet back into place, some people observed he either 'got off lucky' or that there was more expense to come.
'Happened to me about a month ago... initial quote they gave was $500. After a technician had a look at the service centre, I received a call saying it was going to be $2,000,' one Tesla owner commented.
Many commenters observed that Teslas are not well equipped to deal with kangaroos because of their overly sensitive safety features.
Another complaint was that the car's motion sensor cannot detect them on the road.
The multi-camera 'Tesla Vision' system can detect pedestrians, cyclists and dogs, and then display them on the dashboard for the driver to see and avoid.
Kangaroos, however, appear to be phantoms to the system as one driver proved when they took a photo of one sitting right in front of their car undetected.
'Just a heads up to Tesla owners who are driving cross country... Tesla Vision does not recognise our national fauna such as our iconic kangaroo,' he said.
'Please take the usual precautions to slow down and keep an eye out, especially during sundown and sunrise.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13402387/Tesla-active-hood-safety-feature-kangaroos.html
*****************************************AstraZeneca Covid vaccine withdrawn over side effects but ‘fear more deadly’
A leading infectious diseases physician says overblown fears about the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine probably caused more deaths than the vaccine’s rare adverse side effects.
The response comes as the vaccine was withdrawn globally after the manufacturer admitted it can cause rare blood clots.
The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical producer withdrew the vaccine globally on Tuesday.
It comes after Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Authority discontinued use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in April last year.
On April 30 this year, AstraZeneca conceded the vaccine, sold under the name Vaxzevria, can cause fatal blood clots.
The admission came through court documents in a British class action lawsuit that sought £100m ($190m) for almost 50 victims of AstraZeneca vaccine side effects.
The application to withdraw the vaccine was made on March 5 and came into effect on May 7.
“I can see why it’s recalled because it does have probably a death rate of about 1 in 100,000 people from this clotting disorder,” the ANU’s Professor Peter Collignon said.
“But having said that, there are deaths associated with every drug and every vaccine we have – even aspirin, if you take it regularly, about 1 in 100,000 people per year die from that.
“One of the things that this side effect induced back in 2021, in my view, was the fear and the publicity about the adverse effect caused more deaths than the actual vaccine did. If you were an 80-year-old and got Covid, you had a 1 in 10 chance of dying. Yet, if you had this vaccine, you had a 1 in 100,000 chance of dying from the effect of a complication. Yet, there were a lot of people, because we had zero Covid at the time, who said, ‘oh no, I’ll wait because the Pfizer vaccine’s better’.”
The TGA provisionally approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for use for people aged 18 and over as a primary course from February 15, 2021 and as a booster from February 8, 2022. In the same period, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were recommended over the AstraZeneca vaccine.
In June 2021, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation recommended that Australians over the age of 60 avoid taking Vaxzevria.
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How did our anti-racist left become so openly anti-Jew?
I have never before felt shame in my country. Frustration, irritation and incomprehension, occasionally, but never shame.
Now I am ashamed of our opportunist anti-Semitism, cynically tolerating Hamas murders by weaponising the appalling plight of ordinary Palestinians in Gaza. I am ashamed of fellow citizens, openly or snidely anti-Jew; of universities too frightened to let Jews speak; and Pontius Pilate governments, washing their hands of dead Jews out of political convenience or fear.
What really bemuses me is that modern anti-Semitism in Australia comes from the left when it traditionally has been a product of the populist right. After all, Adolf Hitler was no social liberal.
But our own Jew-baiters now cluster visibly on the left. Bits of the Labor Party, various trade unions and innumerable faux-Trotskyist committees peddle propaganda, supposedly just anti-Israel but founded in a deeper racial and religious loathing. Most visibly the correct thought that offspring of privilege demonstrate enjoyably on university campuses, routinely eliding the old convenient distinction between Israel and Jewry.
This progressive anti-Semitism is easy to observe but much harder to explain. Why are people who endlessly propound human rights, revile racism and foster gender diversity so negatively obsessed – at best – with one of the smallest, historically most persecuted minorities in the world?
Part of understanding is to accept that, while Australia and its British tradition have inflicted less persecution on Jews than almost any other Western society, our record is not perfect. Way back, the Plantagenet kings milked, murdered and banished Jews. The Victorians who produced our liberal Constitution also manufactured that Semitic monster Fagin.
But in the new colonies of Australia anti-Semitism was beside the point. The troops were much more worried about Indigenous guerrillas, convicts and the feckless Irish. They may not positively have liked Jews but had little interest or energy to persecute them.
Famously, by the 1930s Australia had enjoyed a Jewish army commander in John Monash, a Jewish chief justice of the High Court in Isaac Isaacs, and a Jewish governor-general, also the irrepressible Isaacs. What was left was a limited, legacy anti-Semitism. Some people thought the Jews were too clever, too grasping, too sharp. But as the nation developed, it became reprehensible to talk like this. Good, ordinary people were not even passive anti-Semites.
A critical factor here was the Holocaust. The two Great Generations saw its consequences live on horrific newsreels. They were revolted beyond revulsion. They passed their horror to their children, and they to theirs. Anti-Semitism was a brand name for mass murder. But, incredibly, even the Holocaust has faded. A 66-year-old Australian (like me) was born only a decade and a bit after Auschwitz, and was minutely instructed in its meaning. Younger millennials were born 50 years after the Holocaust. It is remote history, not part of ethical family upbringing.
The consequence is that younger people do not understand the Jews as a nation reared in utter horror. They are just another minority, to be liked or deprecated as circumstances demand. Which contributes to our current confronting circumstances.
A pro-Israel protest at Sydney University to address the safety of Jewish students. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Swift
A pro-Israel protest at Sydney University to address the safety of Jewish students. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Swift
First, anti-Semitism is entrenched in the left as an instinctive, sometimes unwitting default position. Second, with the horrific chaos in Gaza, anti-Semitism suddenly is chic. People now routinely utter race libels that until recently would have had them ejected from any decent cocktail party. Correspondingly, anyone contradicting them will be abused or frozen into silence. Third, and chillingly, anti-Semitism is strongest among those who are young, trendy and left.
The same university students who ostentatiously agonise over climate change and social housing protest about the Jews. They do this through a self-confirming lens on the horrors of Gaza. If questioned, they smile pityingly, wave their banners and move on to the couscous. As the mayor of Gomorrah doubtless remarked on that fatal night, what on earth is going on? When did being left mean being an anti-Semite?
One obvious point is that if the state of Israel is conflated with the Jews, both are natural targets of the left as proxies for the US. Rent-a-Trots wanting to condemn the evils of modern liberal capitalism can take Israel and its difficulties as a bitter case in point.
Interestingly, the old nostrum that “I’m not anti-Semitic, just anti-Israel” seems to be waning. In the current Gazan atmosphere of fear and loathing, the claim is not only implausible but unnecessary. Casual anti-Semitism is the new black.
The other odd thing about targeting Israel as the servant of the Great Satan is that other running dogs receive far less attention. Washington has numerous client states around the world. What, other than the obvious, automatically selects Israel?
For many years Israel could counter this type of argument with an entirely different narrative. What we saw was a band of plucky Jews in army uniforms, repeatedly invaded by bully larger nations, yet invariably victorious in improbable circumstances. But as Israel has succeeded, not only militarily but economically, its status as a David against Goliath has dissipated. As demonstrated in Gaza, right or wrong, Israel is a superpower in the Middle East. Yes, it is beset by intractable enemies such as Iran, and yes, groups such as Hamas are vicious murderers who hold the whole Palestinian people as hostages. But Israel as the underdog is a slogan that no longer flies.
The reality of Israel’s success is that it has augmented the armoury of the left. If Israel is no longer the 97-pound weakling, it can be portrayed as a bully. The international terms for a nation-state bully are invader, oppressor and aggressor.
Jews must wonder at these terms, all of which are highly personal. Not only states but people can be aggressors and oppressors. If Israel has these qualities, it follows that its people have the same, and most of those people are Jews.
Everyone loves to hate a stereotype. In the Middle Ages, Jews were thieves, cheaters, carriers of disease and killers of Christian babies. Today they are rightist brutes, genocidal murderers and ethnic cleansers. The current language of the left is a recognisable translation of medieval charge sheets. Where are the Protocols of the Elders of Zion when you need them?
Funnily enough, the idea of Israel as rogue state primarily composed of recently arrived Jews feeds directly into the grand obsession of the Australian crazy left. This is the devalidation of the Australian nation-state.
You know the trope. The first Europeans in Australia were mere invaders who warped into settlers. They had no right to inhabit the continent. Crucially, their collective posterity was no better, as they were tainted settlers by blood. The result was a perpetual settler state.
It follows that nothing done by our own settler state – such as making a constitution, let alone uncongenial laws – can be valid. Where this deconstruction of Australia leads is hard to guess but it certainly means that European Australians collectively are perpetually nasty, brutal, exploitative invaders. We are racially invalid occupants of the continent. Sound familiar?
Israel is constantly derided as a settler state. The Jews who came to their historic homeland during the past two centuries are dismissed as invaders. As articulated by Hamas, Israel should be destroyed and “the Jews”, not the Israelis, driven into the sea. This narrative is deeply attractive to the loopier Australian left because it validates their own national narrative.
This type of analysis is greatly assisted by the collapse of substantive education in our schools and our universities. Into the 1970s, kids would come out of school with at least a smattering of history and geography. They would know which river and which sea, and the reality of a historic Israel. Today, most students have never heard of King David, let alone Philistines or Moabites. They could not point out Jerusalem on a map. In this puddle of ignorance, prejudice and shallow leftism can wallow together.
In Mosman and Paddington, we can discuss the Jews and Israel quite free of content. It helps that the Carlton set’s dislike of the Jewish state is exactly the type of cause that delights the cultural left. They have no actual skin in the game. There is lots of flag-waving, lots of chanting. Naturally, there is no risk you will ever have to do anything.
But there are satisfyingly identifiable enemies. As Jewish students and speakers are harassed at universities, and Jewish schools have armed guards at their gates, the argument that this is all anti-Israel but not anti-Semitic is as implausible as the Loch Ness monster.
All of these intellectual failures are standard components of the leftist rejection of Jews, Jewishness and a Jewish state. But there are at least three concepts grounding the structure of Australian progressive anti-Semitism that are rarely identified. The first has been mentioned: the direct identification of European Australians and European Australia with Jews living in Israel and a Jewish state.
This is not playing for peanuts. In Australia, there are people who routinely deny our nation and nationality. Lidia Thorpe is merely a technicolour example. But these sorts of views are expressed routinely in most universities and sympathetic parts of the media.
This type of rhetoric has the potential to undermine national confidence when we need to confront a new and dangerous world. When we hear there is no valid state of Israel, that Jews in Israel are merely settlers, and Jews generally are problematic, we should understand that the bell tolls for us, too.
The second confronting reality is that there are some fundamental characteristics of Jews and Jewishness that are abhorrent to the left – including the Australian left – and will never be accepted by “progressives”. The point of being a progressive is a desire for constant, sweeping change. Everything is wrong and I know how to fix it. From climate change to home ownership, our country is detestable, but I am here to help you.
Psychologically and practically, however, Judaism is adamantly opposed to a culture of constant goyim transformation. Despite the best efforts of Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Richard the Lionheart, Jews have remained Jews. If the laws of the Medes altereth not, the law of Moses is unkillable. This is an enormous ideological difficulty for progressives. The concept of values and teachings that are immutable is an assault on their existence. Jews are a problem for progressives in much the same way as the Catholic Church: each exists outside time and temporary relevance. Little wonder that when the Australian Catholic Church was deservedly flattened by its child abuse scandal, ordinary Catholics who patently had no role in the horror were astonished by the personal vilification they received. Now, with Israel in Gaza, our local Jews can receive just punishment.
The third crucial element in the disdain of the Australian left for all things Jewish has been the development of a soft anti-Semitism. Particularly mastered around the conflict in Gaza, this is the practice of constantly professing sympathy for Jews, in the Middle East or domestically, but consistently refusing to recognise their rights, interests, realities and sensibilities.
This technique is important for governments as it allows them to avoid charges of anti-Semitism while holding and occasionally expressing views fundamentally hostile to Jews. It is particularly important in practical politics, where some electorates are dominated by large numbers of people hostile to Israel, and realistically to Jews. But you cannot simply come out and yell “Three cheers for Hamas!” The Albanese government, occasional wriggling aside, has been a master of this sort of calculated nuance. Nervously condemning the Hamas murders, it seems almost relieved whenever some semi-plausible account of Israeli atrocities emerges.
With the horrifying deaths through an Israeli drone strike on aid workers delivering desperately needed food in Gaza, genuine horror seemed faintly tinged with relief that Israel finally had attracted a degree of opprobrium. That Foreign Minister Penny Wong almost simultaneously was ventilating the possibility of a two-state solution, without current practicality or principle, was entirely fitting. It certainly was a thoughtful Easter gift for Hamas.
Perhaps it is unfair to call these behaviours even soft anti-Semitism. Probably we need a new term, such as “Asemitism”. This describes a dead-eyed refusal even to see Jews in any dire situation such as Gaza. Just as agnostics and atheists disbelieve in God, Asemites cannot accommodate the actual possibility of a Jew. If I were an Australian Jew, I would be musing along this same dirty track.
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9 May, 2024
Where are the university vice chancellors?
"Vice Chancellor" is the Australian term for a university CEO. They appear to have no principles other than their own survival in their jobs. They are utter cowards. JANET ALBRECHTSEN below outlines what men of principle would be saying
Australian vice-chancellors have been speaking in platitudes, desperate not to upset anyone. Here is a speech they should give.
We, vice-chancellors who are now trying to manage the pro-Palestinian protests on our university campuses, had this coming. For many years, when it mattered, we squibbed the importance of free speech.
Now, when students side with Hamas, when little children are encouraged and orchestrated to shout “intifada” and “From the river to sea”– both phrases used by terrorists to signal the destruction of the state of Israel – when Jewish students no longer feel safe on campus, we talk a lot about free speech. The chickens are coming home to roost. Chickens is the operative word.
We haven’t taken free speech seriously in the past. We’ve shut down events for apparently controversial speakers for “safety” reasons. Peter Ridd, a celebrated marine biologist, was famously sacked for breaching a code of conduct after he publicly challenged the work of colleagues. Free speech, academic freedom? They didn’t get a look-in then.
Even Malcolm Turnbull couldn’t get through a speech at a university without it being shut down by shouty protesters. We ramble under our breath about free speech when it suits, instead of giving this foundational principle of democracy the full-throttled defence it deserves.
Students who want to be educated, not to mention parents who pay for their kids to get educated at our universities, and taxpayers who fund us, expect us to take free speech seriously always – not just now when we university leaders find ourselves in a bind.
As a vice-chancellor at an Australian university, I am inspired to speak out after reading the weekend address by University of Florida president Ben Sasse. I make no apologies for quoting from his address. When a university leader stands out, it emboldens others to do the same. We need now to speak up for the sake of students who come to university to learn, not to use campus lawns as a platform for performance art.
The more violent American experience is not yet here. Before things get worse, I want our students to understand a few salient points about university life.
But first, I say to other university vice-chancellors, the reason Australians can and do lump Australia’s biggest universities together is that together we have turned our great sandstone universities into homogenous, anti-intellectual blobs. When things have gone wrong, and they have, it’s treated, rightly, as failure across the board.
The University of Sydney is no different to the University of Melbourne. The Australian National University is indistinguishable from the University of NSW. The University of Western Australia is a carbon copy of the University of Adelaide. No university leader of the so-called Group of Eight has had the courage to speak up about the ignorance that has flourished on our campuses, right under our noses.
We won’t fall into the trap of using slogans for either side. We won’t tar all student protesters with the same brush by describing these as encampments of hatred.
To be sure, there is extremism and hatred, in pockets, but the deeper problem is the ignorance that we, as CEOs charged with running these once great institutions, have allowed to flourish.
We have stood silent for years while our lecture rooms became breeding grounds for teaching kids – and they are just kids, with minds not yet fully formed – that the whole world must be divided into two camps: Oppressors and The Oppressed. I have used capital letters deliberately.These categories are now fully formed political projects. No nuance is welcome when considering who are the oppressed and who are oppressors. Whether you call this postmodernism, critical race theory, Marxist class struggle or some variant, our universities have become infested, and infected, by academics and students who view the world through prisms of power relationships.
For some the world is a giant mass of racist power structures. Others say the world can be understood only as organised male oppression. Others point to colonialism as the root of all evil.
There is much overlap. And adherents of this share the common belief that shutting down their opponents is an end that justifies more or less any means. They also believe that once you have identified your oppressed group of choice, you can ignore logic and reason in pursuit of their liberation.
You want evidence? Pro-Palestinian protesters on campus have every right to protest against a brutal war in Gaza. But if facts matter, they should also be the biggest critics of Hamas. This terrorist organisation understood, indeed intended, that invading Israel, killing innocent civilians, raping women at a music festival and beheading babies, would lead to a war in Gaza where innocent Palestinians would die, as innocent civilians have done in every war. Hamas uses its own people as human shields. Hamas steals foreign aid intended for Palestinians to enrich its leaders. Hamas keeps its people in a state of poverty as part of its project to call for the destruction of Israel. If students can’t identify Hamas as terrorists, then something has gone terribly wrong with their education – under our watch.
And ask yourself how those who believe in the equality of women, or the rights of LGBTQ people, can demonstrate in support of Hamas? Living in a tent on the university lawn may address the rental crisis temporarily, but what will it do for the poor Palestinians, let alone the Israelis who live with terrorists on their doorstep?
Instead, too many of our students have been trained in ignorance. Those copying Gaza Solidarity encampments on US campuses should be reading what we are reading: students are being manipulated by extremists who are sharing instruction manuals encouraging militancy and violence. At New York universities last week, almost half of those arrested by the NYPD were not university students.
I want our students to think for themselves, to test what they have heard, what they have read, what they think they believe, to read widely and to listen to people they think they disagree with. If academics at our university don’t encourage students to do that, these teachers need to find another job.
Living in a democracy means rights come with responsibilities. The American student, draped in a keffiyeh for cameras, who demanded food and water for protesters who had taken over a building at Columbia University clearly has not studied history. If you are going to be a revolutionary, remember to pack your lunch. We will not facilitate criminal behaviour by sending in Uber Eats.
Members of the Australian Palestinian community shout slogans at the Palestinian Protest Campsite at University of Sydney.
Members of the Australian Palestinian community shout slogans at the Palestinian Protest Campsite at University of Sydney.
While curing the disease of illiberalism infecting our universities will take time, we will start by treating the symptoms. We have spent too much time worrying about gendered language and other slight offences, and lost sight of what really matters.
As Sasse said, “We’re a university, not a daycare. We don’t coddle emotions, we wrestle with ideas.” As adults, you shouldn’t need written codes of conduct to govern your behaviour on campus. You must now weigh the costs of your decisions and own the consequences. We will defend your rights to free speech and free assembly – but if you cross the line, damage property, hijack buildings or take part in any other prohibited activities, you will be suspended. Those who incite violence will be reported to the police, immediately. We will not tolerate mob rule.
We say this to be clear with you. We mean it. We will hold you responsible for your actions.
We shouldn’t need a written code to explain that a university is committed to free speech and to academic freedom. Yet we do because that’s how far we have lost our way. Students of all backgrounds, cultures and religions should expect to hear things at university that may make them uncomfortable. We must equip students for the real world, where slogans and tent protests won’t get you very far. We need to teach students how to listen, reason, challenge and persuade. These skills will enrich them and the society they step into with their degrees and doctorates. Otherwise, what is the purpose of university?
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Jason Clare's river to the sea comments 'dangerous'
Opposition leader Peter Dutton says Jason Clare needs to apologise immediately for his refusal to condemn the pro-Palestine protest slogan "from the river to the sea" likening it to rhetoric used by Hitler during the course of the Holocaust.
He said the comments by the education minister were "completely unacceptable", "ill-informed" and "dangerous", and should not be tolerated by the Prime Minister.
"River to the sea means one thing – that is the annihilation of the Jewish people, of 8 million people, driving them into the sea is about how they can be exterminated," Mr Dutton said at a press conference on Wednesday.
"Now this is the sort of rhetoric or language we heard from Adolf Hitler and the extermination of 6 million Jews when they lost their lives during the course of the Holocaust and somehow the education minister in Australia is trying to justify or explain away these words being used and try to conjure up some different context where that form of words is acceptable.
"It's not acceptable. And it's not acceptable on university campuses to see people of Jewish faith being discriminated against and the level of anti-Semitism we're seeing. We wouldn't tolerate it against any other segment of our society. Not against people of any religious faith, not of people of any different heritage, not Indigenous Australians, not of anybody."
He said the Prime Minister needs to "haul him into line" and make sure he apologises and ensures it will never happen again, calling it "unconscionable".
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A "fossil fuel" comes in from the cold
New gas projects will gain stronger federal support in a Labor pledge to deliver affordable gas to customers for decades to come, as it warns of shortages within four years unless the nation boosts supply.
The federal government will back the case for new gas fields and import terminals to secure the supplies despite calls to phase out the use of fossil fuels, setting up a clash with the Greens and environmental groups over the new plan.
The future gas strategy, to be released by Resources Minister Madeleine King on Thursday, says the new supplies are fundamental to the economic transition to net zero emissions and the industries in the government’s “made in Australia” agenda for next week’s federal budget.
An official report to support the strategy says Australia could fill the future shortfalls by opening new gas fields such as Scarborough, being developed by Woodside off the Western Australian coast, and Narrabri, being developed by Santos in northern NSW.
“Ensuring Australia continues to have adequate access to reasonably priced gas will be key to delivering an 82 per cent renewable energy grid by 2030, and to achieve our commitment to net zero emissions by 2050,” King said.
While Labor often rubbished the Coalition’s support for fossil fuels with its talk of a “gas-fired recovery” three years ago, the new plan names gas supply as crucial to the nation’s economic fortunes.
“New sources of gas supply are needed to meet demand during the economy-wide transition,” the strategy says.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison outlined a “gas-fired recovery” policy during the pandemic with a vow to open up new gas fields, including the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory, but no new gas field has been developed in recent years.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese questioned the Coalition claims when he was opposition leader but broadly endorsed the use of gas, saying in November 2020: “The truth is that gas will play a role and should play a role in terms of firming up renewables and in other areas.”
Energy Minister Chris Bowen dismissed the Coalition gas plan as a “fraud” at the time.
Australia relies on gas for 27 per cent of its existing energy needs, as well as 14 per cent of its export income, but some Labor supporters as well as the Greens want the fossil fuel to be phased out by 2030.
The strategy mirrors the gas industry’s calls for new projects and endorses warnings from the energy market operator that new supplies are needed to avert supply shortfalls.
The government documents say NSW and Victoria will face shortages by 2028, along with other east coast states, while the shortage on the west coast will begin from 2030.
While the new plan does not force any change on state governments, it clashes with Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio because of her criticism of east coast gas producers, whom she has argued continue to export large volumes to international buyers.
“Gas companies in Queensland are putting their export profits ahead of domestic supplies. That has been the case now for a number of years,” D’Ambrosio said.
Victoria lifted its moratorium on conventional gas projects in 2021 but at the same time banned the practice of onshore fracking for gas.
The federal plan matches calls from NSW Premier Chris Minns and others in the Labor government for more domestic gas supplies, such as from the Narrabri field being developed by Santos.
The Future Gas Strategy will contain analysis of the future gas supply balance, which it is understood will reflect the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) current forecasts.
ExxonMobil and Woodside’s 50-year-old Gippsland Basin gas fields in Bass Strait have historically provided up to two-thirds of southern states’ gas demand, but are rapidly drying up. AEMO forecasts gas production in NSW and Victoria will drop from 363 petajoules in 2023 to 236 petajoules in 2028.
AEMO said in March that the entire east coast gas market would be in annual deficit by 2028 unless new supplies are tapped, forecasting an annual shortfall of around 50 petajoules until 2032. The supply gap is expected to increase to between 100 petajoules and 200 petajoules from 2033.
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Tax on unrealised capital gains on unindexed super balances over $3m will have a big impact
ROBERT GOTTLIEBSEN
A week or two after the upcoming 2024 Budget, the Albanese government will provide the details of a tax far more damaging to the nation than anything likely to be announced in the Budget.
The tax on unrealised capital gains on unindexed superannuation balances over $3m starts on July 1, 2025. It is going to have implications far beyond anything envisaged when it was announced.
Ironically it was introduced because of a “mistake”, and correcting the mistake will make it theoretically possible for the Coalition to reverse the tax before implementation, should they win the next election by a clear margin.
Without indexation, this is a tax which will really hit middle Australia – especially those already struggling to enter the housing market
But, today I will focus on just one of the unintended consequences of the tax, plus detail the “mistake”.
The Albanese government is pressing to follow the US and have more goods made in Australia. As the US has shown, a healthy venture capital market is essential for any country seeking to make innovative products on home soil.
Indeed, the government is linking with two US venture capital funds in its Australian quantum computing venture.
Australia’s venture capital market is nowhere near as strong as the US, but it is able to fund a large number of enterprises.
After July 1 2025 it will be virtually shut down because a major source of local funds — large self-managed funds — will withdraw.
(I have already documented how a threatened re-classification of wholesaling investor criteria, not just super funds, threatened about 60 per cent of ASX stocks plus Australian venture capital.)
To his great credit, Assistant Treasurer Stephan Jones responded to the threat and directed the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations & Financial Services to conduct an inquiry and examine the issue more closely.
Thanks to Jones, at this stage, the government is not planning any changes to the wholesale investing category, so venture capital funding is intact on this front.
The current participants in the venture capital market raise high risk money from a variety of sources, but one of the largest is big self-managed superannuation funds.
But, if the government is returned at the 2025 election, the proposed taxing of unrealised capital gains on superannuation balances above $3m will begin on July 1 2025
That tax is clearly unfair and goes against all principles of Australian and global taxation. But, when applied to unlisted venture capital investments it is a disaster.
Many large self-managed superannuation funds run a low risk base portfolio but attach a limited number of high risk investments, which add extra interest for people in or close to retirement.
In a venture capital investment the initial subscribers (who take the most risk) might take up units at, say, 10 cents per share. Then, if the venture is looking good the next issue may be at 20 cents — lifting the valuation.
This would automatically cause a tax to be levied on an illiquid security with no open market. Worse still, if a venture continues to progress it might make a limited issue to a US company at 50 cents per share, meaning the value of the base investment is again increased and tax is payable. But, there is not necessarily a market for those units at 50 cents, so cash has to be raised by selling other securities.
And there is always the possibility of a reverse causing the stock to be eventually worthless.
This is high risk, high reward country. No one in their right mind will invest at high risk where your arbitrary paper profits are taxed along the way.
If you invest in venture capital, you will need to have a cash pool alongside you — which is crazy.
The withdrawal of large self-managed superannuation funds from the market will destroy a huge slab of venture capital support in Australia. Those who need VC support must instead go to the US.
I emphasise the issue of taxing superannuation funds’ realised income on superannuation investments above $3m at 30 per cent is quite separate. Providing the $3m is indexed I think it’s fair.
The taxing of unrealized capital gains is separate and came about by accident.
Originally, the government sought to tax funds in superannuation above $3m at 30 per cent instead of 15 per cent and it was supported by industry and many retail superannuation funds.
In a self managed fund it is an easy calculation. But, after the decision was made, the big industry funds suddenly realised they did not have accounting systems which would enable them to make the calculations.
Using their current antiquated accounting systems, the only figures reliably available to make a 30 per cent tax calculation was the market value of a person’s superannuation holdings compared to the previous year. Naturally, this figure included unrealised gains which suddenly became taxed.
I have no idea what a Coalition government will do if it is ever returned. But, before the election they will need to consider forcing both industry and retail funds to get their accounting systems up to 21st century standards in the interests of the nation.
We are talking about Australia in 2025, where we can use artificial intelligence and conceivably even quantum computing to work out how to calculate unrealised capital gains and make sure they are not taxed.
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8 May, 2024
Could age verification for porn actually work?
I think the answer is a clear No. Censorship of various sorts is already widely practiced by the Left and people have got used to evading it -- by VPNs and other means. And if a kid is not up to evading it themselves a smarter classmate will be able -- and will enjoy the prestige of sharing that wisdom and its product
In a way, it's weird that it's taken this long for age verification to catch fire in Australian politics.
Stopping literal children from accessing porn online, something they're not actually allowed to do anyway, seems like a slam dunk for any politician within cooee of Australia's mythic political centre — somewhere above sausage sizzles and below kissing babies.
The fact that it did take until May (May!) in 2024 is incontrovertible proof that it's not as easy as it sounds.
Still, here we are, standing on the brink of a pilot for age verification technology, which will receive $6.5 million in next week's federal budget.
Coalition push to trial social media block for children
The federal opposition urges the government to trial age verification schemes that would lock children out of social media platforms, as X's feud with Australia escalates.
It's a very similar proposal to the one contained in a November 2023 private members bill from the Coalition's communications spokesman, David Coleman, who has now been restricted to complaining about a "baffling" delay.
So far, the main difference seems to be that the Coalition was offering a fraction more money — $200,000 — but there's otherwise not much observable daylight between them.
On their similarities, both proposals can be traced back to the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, who recommended a pilot like this back in March 2023 as part of her roadmap towards mandating age verification for online porn.
It took the government five months to respond with a longer version of the answer: "not yet".
At the time, Labor was citing the commission's advice that the technology was "immature", saying "the roadmap makes clear that a decision to mandate age assurance is not ready to be taken".
Tech years are a bit like dog years though, and a lot can happen in 11 months. So in February 2024, when the eSafety Commissioner was asked at Senate Estimates whether there were any technological barriers to the pilot going ahead, she replied: "No. None whatsoever."
"The age assurance industry is maturing … I think the time is right now that we all move forward," she said.
So how could a porn website reliably check a person's age?
In its roadmap, the eSafety Commissioner recommended a "double-blind tokenised approach".
As the name suggests, the system would involve anonymised digital tokens, issued by a third-party provider accredited to securely receive and verify personal data.
The token could then be presented as proof of age without a person ever having to hand over personal information to the porn site.
It sounds simple enough, but tech barriers are only the beginning.
The commissioner's roadmap also stated that "at this stage, there is likely no existing regulator or accreditation body that has the … capability to provide all the necessary functions".
Tokens aren't the only way, but at first glance, many of the methods currently on offer seem somewhat riskier for users.
After years of struggling to establish a scheme, the UK passed an "age assurance" law last year, and has made several suggestions to companies:
Allowing banks, mobile providers or credit card providers to confirm a user is over 18
Asking users to upload a photo to the site that is then matched with photo ID, and
Using of facial recognition tech that's trained to assess age.
France and Germany are also making their own attempts.
But a senior public servant in the Department of Communications, Bridget Gannon, told Senate Estimates in February that international experiences "don't provide us with a clear way forward".
Put another way, no one has figured this out yet.
Seven US states have passed similar laws and in the places where they've kicked in, it looks like a whole lot of people are using Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, to dodge them.
"Accessing porn has declined to such an extent that it doesn't look like people have stopped looking at pornography; it looks like they are bypassing the technology," Ms Gannon said — and she didn't just mean children.
In case you haven't done the maths on this yet, age verification laws would also affect the millions of Australian adults who legally access porn online.
Under an Australian scheme, every one of them would be asked to participate, and it doesn't take an expert to point out the gargantuan data honeypot that might be created in the process.
As Ms Gannon told Senate Estimates, any scheme will need to "consider Australians' willingness to participate".
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Sydney’s Cumberland Council courts Anti-Discrimination Act over same-sex book ban
But because Muslims want it, it will probably stay. Muslims matter a lot more than Christians
Western Sydney’s Cumberland City Council is at risk of breaking the Anti-Discrimination Act after voting to ban same-sex parenting books in its libraries.
The ban will affect eight libraries across the LGA and was put forward by city councillor and former Cumberland City mayor Steve Christou.
He alleged that parents were “distraught” upon seeing the book Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig in libraries.
Mr Christou spoke to Channel 9 on Wednesday, arguing that the parenting books were “sexualised” and that the ban was an effort to “let kids be kids”.
“You have to understand that at Cumberland City Council, about 60 per cent of the community was born overseas and they have deep conservative values, family values and religious values, it doesn’t matter whether they’re Christian, Catholic, Orthodox, Islamic or Hindu,” Mr Christou said.
“We’ve had consistent complaints on these kinds of books and similar issues infiltrating our libraries from local residents.
“Our community doesn’t want any form of sexualised books or our kids being opened up to any form of sexualisation in the libraries.
“Let kids be kids, they are innocent, let them enjoy reading a book.”
The NSW government has warned that this vote may be in breach of the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act, with a potential funding pull at the relevant libraries threatened.
Auburn MP Lynda Voltz has reportedly passed on the matter to NSW Arts Minister John Graham for review.
“If the government wants to take away funding from one of the most socially disadvantaged communities in NSW because their democratically elected council stood up for the values which they believe represents their local community, well shame on them,” Mr Christou said.
‘I would urge them not to do that.”
In January, Mr Christou said he would ban Welcome to Country ceremonies in Western Sydney. A month later he called for a ban on drag story time sessions in the council area.
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Farmers look to head off biosecurity levy
Another tax!
Farmers have launched a last ditch attack on the Albanese government’s looming biosecurity levy, arguing it is in “contempt” of the agriculture industry.
The levy, which would raise $50m a year from producers, is due to be voted on in the senate next week and is supposed to be implemented from July 1.
But a senate committee conducting an inquiry into the tax on farmers was last week told the department was well behind on the implementation of collecting the levies.
The National Farmers’ Federation has launched an eleventh hour “day of action” from the Beef2024 industry event in Rockhampton, where Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has been speaking to farmers.
“On behalf of our members, nearly all of Australia’s 85,000 producers and the thousands of individuals and businesses in the supply chain, we are telling this government to scrap the tax,” NFF president David Jochinke said.
“We are less than two months away from this proposed levy being implemented, yet we still have no idea how the levy will be collected and managed. What a shambles.”
Farmers have argued against the policy, which will see the levy applied to each industry sector based on its gross value product over three years, saying it would force them to pay for biosecurity measures to protect them from products imported by their competitors.
The Nationals have also launched a new petition calling for the levy to be scrapped.
“The Nationals proudly stand with the National Farmers’ Federation today and support our farmers on their day of action to scrap the tax,” party leader David Littleproud said.
“Labor has continued to ignore our pleas to stop this senseless new tax. We still don’t know how the tax will be collected or managed. But we do know the tax will go towards consolidated revenue.”
The senate inquiry into the levy is due to report back to the government on Friday
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Greens want a big new bureaucracy to supervise our supermarkets
Guess who would wear the costs of it
Woolworths boss Brad Banducci won’t be pursued by the Greens-led Senate supermarket inquiry for contempt, and jail time of up to six months, after his fiery appearance last month but the inquiry has hit out at the powerful supermarket chains with recommendations to curtail their power, heighten regulatory oversight and possibly break them up.
In a lengthy 195-page report released on Tuesday, which carried 14 key recommendations aimed at lifting competition, limiting the power of Woolworths and Coles and beefing up regulation, the inquiry heavily criticised Mr Banducci for his performance, castigated Bunnings for not sending its CEO and ‘named and shamed’ multinational supermarket suppliers who declined to turn up at all.
The highly-anticipated report comes after the Albanese government earlier this year gave approval for the Greens-led inquiry to go ahead, handing Greens Senator Nick McKim a powerful pulpit as inquiry chairman to level accusations of price gouging and profiteering at Woolworths and Coles, and in one combative hearing threaten Mr Banducci with contempt charges and jail time.
The 14 key recommendations include recommending the federal government pursue a range of new rules and legislation to combat the power of the supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles, including divestiture powers, establishing a prices commission and making the food and grocery code of conduct compulsory.
Divestiture powers could allow a court to break up a large corporation, such as the biggest supermarket chains, if they were seen to be misusing their market power. The bosses of Woolworths and Coles warned in their public hearings that divestiture could cause unintended consequences such as job losses and a fall in business investment, while other witnesses before the inquiry argued in favour of these powers being introduced.
The committee also recommended that, as a matter of priority, the government establish a Commission on Prices and Competition to examine prices and price setting practices of industries across the economy, and review government and other restrictions on effective competition which are leading to high prices.
This commission would have the authority to, among other things, monitor and investigate supermarket prices and price setting practices, conduct market studies to review restrictions on competition in the supermarket sector, require supermarkets to publish historical pricing data that is transparent and accessible to both suppliers and consumers and access any data and information required to undertake its work, including supermarket pricing, mark-ups and profits data and price setting policies.
It has also called on the Competition and Consumer Act to be amended to prohibit the “charging of excess prices, otherwise known as price gouging”, merger laws to be strengthened, and the ACCC be given greater funding.
It has also recommended the current voluntary food and grocery code of conduct that covers the relationship between suppliers and Woolworths, Coles, Metcash and Aldi, be made mandatory.
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7 May, 2024
Anti-Semitic mobs thrive on old campus hatreds
There is much truth in what Greg Sheridan says below. Where he goes wrong is his attribution of problems to "our society". It is nothing of the sort. "Society" is not uniform or homogeneous. The Left is seriously sick with hatred of everything normal but that does not mean everybody else is.
The Left will eventually mismanage its way out of power, perhaps at the hands of Donald Trump, and the pendulum will swing back, erasing the worst atrocities of Leftism
From Marx onward, the Left have always hated success in others and Israel is a shining example of success -- so hatred of it has long been festering on the left waiting only for even a slight excuse to burst into the open.
The absurdity that the Islamic extremists of Gaza represent "Palestine" has become excuse enough for Leftist hate to burst out. Most Palestinians live at peace with Israel -- in Jordan, in the West Bank and in Israel itself
The widespread intellectual and moral corruption of our universities is one of the most alarming signs of deep sickness in our society.
The universities contribute institutionally to the current madness in several ways. Their leaders are institutionally cowardly. These institutions will throw you on to the street for contesting elements of climate change alarmism, send you on a re-education course if you use the wrong pronoun for someone, get you into mighty trouble if you express the view that a racially segregated study space is not the best way to fight racism.
They will offer students trigger warnings lest they be upset by the prose of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird or even Jane Austen.
But shouting demonstrators harassing Jewish students; screaming for intifada that has meant murderous campaigns against Jewish people, not only in Israel; declaring that Israel is a terror state; calling for Palestine to be free “from the river to the sea”, which can only mean the destruction of the Jewish state; even staff and students supporting Hamas itself, an outfit proscribed as a terrorist organisation under Australian law – that’s all fine because these lions of campus administration have suddenly discovered that, when faced with a violent enemy, they believe in free speech after all.
The great anti-communist academic Frank Knopfelmacher, a collection of whose writings has just been published, once told me the collective noun for vice-chancellors was “a lack of principles”.
In the US, college administrators have been shamed into requesting police action to end pro-Palestinian encampments with their blatantly anti-Semitic overtones. This may have something to do with how badly these demonstrations are affecting Joe Biden politically and contributing to the possibility of Donald Trump winning the presidency in November. Biden changes his positions entirely according to political convenience. He and Kamala Harris gave a degree of support to the defund the police movement and demonstrations in 2020. They were able to portray much of the civic violence of that period as chaos caused by Trump.
But, combined with his failure on illegal immigration, Biden will suffer tremendously if this campus disorder continues. Middle America hates it. At the same time the hard left, and especially the profoundly ill-educated young people who wouldn’t know which river and which sea they were chanting about but love the idea and romance of faux social revolution, can’t bear Biden’s qualified support for Israel nor his qualified support for law and order.
On this occasion Biden could lose support on both his left and right.
But universities have contributed to this crisis in a much more direct and profound way. And that is through allowing, over decades now, many of their humanities courses to be invaded by critical theory, neo-Marxism and toxic identity politics.
For a long time, Western universities, including Australian universities, have been teaching that our societies are essentially and uniquely evil, that we are colonial, racist, sexist etc.
I was an undergraduate at Sydney University in the mid-1970s and came to the considered conclusion that the courses I was taking were junk. In a human geography class a lecturer informed us that the shining example of “praxis” was China’s Chairman Mao. Even then I knew that Mao Zedong was directly responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of innocent Chinese. How could he be lauded by this lecturer?
In economics, I got to choose between political economy and mainstream economics. Political economy was dominated by pretty crude Marxism. I took classes there because they required no work. As long as in essays you proclaimed how unjust society was, you’d get at least a credit. It was easy but a complete waste of time. Mainstream economics had taken refuge from Marxism in almost pure mathematics. That’s not as objectionable as Marxism but it doesn’t describe reality very well either.
The only possible use of such a university education was to get a credential. Educationally, intellectually, morally, it was utterly worthless.
Many, perhaps most, university humanities and social sciences subjects have been captured by critical theory. Critical theory reduces everything to a shoddy analysis of power structures. It has destroyed much of the joy of studying literature. A friend, a little younger than me, told me he switched from literature, his first love, to philosophy. In literature it didn’t matter whether he was studying Austen or a restaurant menu, it was the same old fifth-rate power analysis, analysis of the allegedly hidden power structure behind the text.
Universities in many cases have thus abandoned the substance and truth of the subjects they allegedly teach. Critical theory is frequently festooned with Marxoid scripturalism and endless self-referential footnoting. But it’s not a complicated intellectual discipline. Really it’s a simplistic conspiracy theory that absolves universities from the hard but rewarding work of exploring human culture in all its richness.
Instead, like all conspiracy theories, it reduces human experience to a simple formula that assigns heroes and villains, in this case on an identity politics basis.
Our moral outrage students and academics are aquiver with hatred of the world’s only Jewish state. Their universities take money from Arab states that outlaw gay relationships, host Confucius Institutes financed by a government that tolerates no dissent at all. But in critical theory, Chinese and Arabs aren’t villains.
Critical theory, this monstrous engine of hatred, is profoundly anti-intellectual, which is perhaps why it thrives at contemporary Western universities, including ours.
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Art gallery heads to Supreme Court in fight to keep Ladies Lounge for women
Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art has lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court of Tasmania in its fight to keep its women-only Ladies Lounge open.
Last month, Mona was ordered to close the lounge after a man launched an anti-discrimination case against the museum, as he objected to being refused admission to the space.
The NSW man, Jason Lau, won his case in the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and Mona was given 28 days to stop refusing entry to men. That deadline ended today (Tuesday) and the Ladies Lounge will be closed until further notice.
But the lounge’s creator, artist Kirsha Kaechele, who is married to Mona founder David Walsh, is not giving up on the lounge’s right to exist and lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court of Tasmania on Tuesday. Her motives go beyond the lounge itself – she wants to challenge the law’s very relationship to and understanding of the arts.
“I think it’s worth exercising the argument, not only for Ladies Lounge, but for the good of art, and the law,” Kaechele said.
“We need to challenge the law to consider a broader reading of its definitions as they apply to art and the impact it has on the world, as well as the right for conceptual art to make some people (men) uncomfortable.
“Ladies love the lounge – a space away from men – and given what we have been through for the last several millennia, we need it! We deserve both equal rights and reparations, in the form of unequal rights, or chivalry – for at least 300 years.”
Secluded behind green silk curtains, and featuring art by Sidney Nolan and Pablo Picasso, the opulent Ladies Lounge has welcomed about 425,000 visitors since it opened on Boxing Day in 2020.
The hearing at Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal last month was a highly theatrical event with Kaechele arriving with some 20 supporters, uniformly dressed in officious navy suits, hair pulled back, and donning red lipstick, a la 1988 Robert Palmer music video Simply Irresistible.
Inside the hearing room, the group performed a silent choreography and read feminist texts – behaviour that the tribunal member overseeing the case, Richard Grueber, later described as bordering on contempt.
In defending its case at tribunal, Mona’s counsel Catherine Scott argued that the Ladies Lounge provided equal opportunity to a group of people – women – who had been historically discriminated against and excluded from many spaces.
Scott relied on the exception provided by Section 26 of the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Act 1998, which states: “A person may discriminate against another person in any program, plan or arrangement designed to promote equal opportunity for a group of people who are disadvantaged or have a special need because of a prescribed attribute.”
But the argument did not fly with Grueber, who ruled that while the Ladies Lounge “may have a valid or ethical or pedagogical purpose … it cannot reasonably be intended to promote equal opportunity”.
Mona’s appeal will be lodged on the grounds that the tribunal took too narrow a view of women’s historical and ongoing societal disadvantage and did not recognise how the experience of the Ladies Lounge could promote equal opportunity.
In typically mischievous fashion, Kaechele added: “I am grateful to have received so many wonderful ideas for the future of the Ladies Lounge, and possibilities for its reformation. This encouragement has reassured me that I am indeed appealing.”
A sign saying “closed for reform” now sits at the reception desk of the lounge.
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Tasmanian Catholics rebel against religious freedom changes
Religious freedom versus enforced equality for sexual minorities is now an old debate, unlikely to end soon. It is Christianity against the Leftist religion
Asking Catholic schools to let into their midst something that is an "abomination" to God (Leviticus 18:22) is asking a lot
Catholic Education Tasmania has written to Anthony Albanese urging him not to “enact laws that will divide us over religion” in the latest sign faith-based educators are uniting against new protections for religious institutions on grounds they will do more harm than good.
In a letter sent on Monday to the Prime Minister, the executive director of Catholic Education Tasmania, Gerard Gaskin, and the leaders of 24 Tasmanian Catholic schools, expressed concern that contentious changes being proposed by Labor would undermine the religious ethos of faith-based schools.
“Your proposed legislation will severely impact the Catholic school’s ability to remain Catholic,” the letter said. “Schools would not be able to hire for mission, nor require staff to uphold Catholic belief and practice.”
“Please do not enact laws that will divide us over religion. Even today, religion matters to many Australians. Every fair-minded Australian values free speech. We are not asking for favour or preference.
“We ask only for the rights and freedoms that every Australian values: freedoms that have been honoured by governments since the founding of our nation.”
The letter said that Catholic schools in Tasmania had been “contributing to the common good of society since the 1820s” by educating hundreds of thousands of students across a diversity of backgrounds including migrants, refugees, Indigenous Australians and those with disabilities or special needs.
“A very large number of Australian parents choose religious schools which conform with their faith, or whose broad ethos they support. One in five Australian students attends a Catholic school,” the letter said.
The Australian has previously revealed that Mr Albanese’s draft legislation has proposed removing section 38 from the Sex Discrimination Act in a move that has ignited a fierce fight from religious schools and the Coalition.
The exemptions at section 38 of the SDA allow faith-based educators to insist on staff and students adhering to the doctrines, tenets, beliefs and teachings of the religious school. They also allow schools to preference teachers when hiring on the basis of faith.
While Labor’s changes would remove these exemptions, the government has produced a separate draft Religious Discrimination Act which would seek to replicate these protections and preserve the ability of schools to hire on the basis of faith.
However, the changes have been kept top secret. Labor has not publicly released its draft legislation and has only shared its changes with Peter Dutton and opposition legal affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash. Faith-based groups consulted on the shake-up were encouraged to keep the details confidential.
In their letter to the Prime Minister, the Tasmanian Catholic schools said that freedom of religion was the “fundamental bedrock of any democratic, pluralist society” and was enshrined in section 116 of the Australian constitution.
The letter also said Australia was a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which states that parents have the right to “to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in accordance with their own convictions”.
Signatories to the letter urged the government to “enact a Religious Freedom Law as soon as possible to codify and preserve these rights and freedoms.”
Mr Albanese has previously said that he only wanted to pass the changes to religious freedoms if they won support from the Coalition. But he later said the government was open to dealing with the Greens if the minor party was willing to support the rights people to practice their faith.
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A government in bed with the unions is going to hurt a lot of people
Before the calendar year is over Michele Bullock and her Reserve Bank board will need to incorporate into their decision making the lower productivity and higher costs that have been inflicted on the Australian business community by Albanese/Burke industrial relations legislation.
And when they do, we will see central bank strategies and government actions (as opposed to words) heading in totally different directions. These are dangerous times for any nation.
As was envisaged by the Prime Minister and his Employment minister, the first stage of the plan – the expected big rises in construction costs – is already starting to erupt in commercial, high rise towers and infrastructure.
The next stage is to explode home building costs.
From there we go to the sensitive areas of the public service with the big trigger date, August 26 when the 700-plus page government industrial relations blue print comes into full operation.
Let me show you the Albanese/Burke systems in action.
Commercial builders, recognising that the unions are totally supported by the government, are handing out 20 per cent-plus wage rises, over three years sometimes, accompanied by lower productivity.
The Master Builders Association estimates that overall building costs have risen over 40 per cent since pre-Covid years. But in the commercial and CFMEU-dominated areas of the industry the rises have been even greater.
The CFMEU are now working to migrate the much higher commercial building costs into the housing industry.
In the past, cottages and residential accommodation up to three storeys have been insulated from the higher commercial building costs by a network of small contractors who didn’t actually want to work under CFMEU rules.
But, the under the Albanese/Burke rules the combination of much greater union power via the appointment of CFMEU-trained union delegates to all contractors; the “same work same pay” rules; industry awards, and the uncertain status of independent contractors is enabling the unions to put pressure on housing contractors.
And in what is perhaps a surprise twist, the enormous failure rate among home builders has forced many workers into infrastructure and commercial areas.
They are now being paid far greater sums of money. To attract those people back to residential construction will require commercial rates of pay and high-cost work practices. The CFMEU is urging many small contractors to do a deal and “play the game”.
The home builders who survived the crunch can see much higher costs coming so are very wary of making fixed priced tenders for fear of being caught in another wave of bankruptcies.
Banks will rarely lend on flexible price contracts especially as they can also see construction costs rises exceeding 20 per cent in the next couple of years. The lending rules are imposing a credit squeeze on individuals trying to own their own home.
The sensitive government employees like ambulance and train drivers, childcare workers and medical people can see the enormous rises in the construction sector and have their hands up for similar pay rises. That will quickly spread to other sectors.
So long as the debt rating agencies continue to use Enron-style, dubious credit rating criteria the states, particularly Victoria, will hand out the money.
In due course, there will be a national wage increase where Fair Work will be under great pressure to keep up the momentum.
The view of the government and the unions is that these wage rises will not affect the rate of inflation.
As I pointed out last week, there are cost pressures already building up that have not been passed on. Significant wage rises will therefore boost inflation.
That makes it very difficult for interest rates to be reduced and there remains the possibility that they will be increased.
To some extent interest rates are a side issue. What we are looking at is a fundamental change in our society where the higher paid workers will be in the construction sector and, at least in some areas, government employment.
Young people who have large HECS debts – thankfully reduced by the current government but still high – are shaking their heads at their stupidity.
While they incurred HECS debts, their mates were paid during their apprenticeship and are now enjoying far higher levels of remuneration than many who paid big money for university degrees.
When you add in the fact that universities have become hot beds of racial hatred, life on building sites and even government bodies looks a lot more attractive.
Of course, the great danger for tradies is that eventually the rating agencies will do their job and curb the rampant state borrowing. Infrastructure will be slowed, and we are seeing a whiff of that in Queensland’s reduction in its Olympic plans and the Victorian budget.
If continued, these developments will slow down the rate of building and make nonsense of the crazy targets governments have set themselves to overcome the housing shortage.
The renters are the victims.
In classic economic terms that slowdown causes a surplus of labour which stops the big pay rises. But that is not the way it may happen because the industrial relations laws lock in the power of unions to prevent classic economic theory unfolding. That’s a recipe for stagnant inflation or stagflation.
We are going to need very innovative policies from the Coalition which would almost certainly be opposed by the ALP plus the Greens, and in some cases the Teals.
The irony is that the younger generation, who are the main sufferers from the strategies to lift construction costs and keep interest rates high, are the biggest supporters of the parties that embrace these strategies.
Democracy is not supposed to work that way.
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6 May, 2024
The causes and cures of lethal male domestic violence
Ms Van Badham below recognizes that lethal male domestic violence has increased in recent years but has only vague generalizations and a call for more talking about it to offer as a solution.
She ignores the fact that the broadly feminist value-set that she promotes has never been more widespread and accepted than it is now . To put it crudely, more feminism has been accompanied by more domestic violence. That is the correlation that is being ignored. Correlation is not always causation but correlation is always a feature of causation, as David Hume long ago pointed out.
So it should be a working hypothesis that the increased dominance of feminist values is at least partly to blame for the increase in DV.
And why that night be so is not hard to see. Waleed Aly rightly sees that the major influence on DV is a feeling among men that they are being shamed: "the desire to hurt women actually comes from attackers feeling shamed and humiliated"
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13377481/waleed-aly-domestic-violence-crisis-Australia.html
Aly is talking about men being shamed and humiliated by their women partners but being shamed by their culture is an obvious extension of that. Being shamed and humiliated in general is likely to be resented.And there is a huge theme in public discussions to the effect that men and masculinity is "toxic". How are men expected to feel about such a drumbeat of abuse aimed at them? That part of the response might be rage is pretty obvious and that an outlet for that rage might be one of the supposedly superior beings in their presence is hardly surprising
So the supposed remedy for DV -- more feminist values -- might in fact be part of its cause. That possibilty will not be confronted any time soon -- sadly for endangered women. But a broad recognition that extreme feminism is "toxic" would help
In the wake of more, more, more reports of lethal male violence against women in Australia – and the protests demanding actions that have followed them – Michael Salter’s analysis of the problem is refreshingly clear. “Education and public awareness are important but they are not, in themselves, a cure,” the academic wrote last week. “We need a strategic, coordinated, practical approach that integrates many different responses and listens closely to frontline workers and community members.”
Australia’s public conversation about male violence has never been so loud. We’ve arrived at a moment when the community is screaming for action. Even Sky News reports that Australians “want immediate change to combat the domestic violence crisis”.
It’s a long way from 1953’s reader suggestions published in the Adelaide papers: “I’ve found if I take a strap to my wife occasionally, she’s all the better for it. She admits I’ve been a good husband to her.” Back then, papers framed “Can wife beating ever be justified?” as an open question.
That these attitudes remain in the memory of living generations, is, of course, one of the reasons that perpetrators still exist. Research 10 years ago explained that male sex offenders are “more likely to commit sexual violence in communities where sexual violence goes unpunished” and the influence of sexist traditions informs a male rapist’s worldview. Yet decades of public grief, horror and condemnation – as well as feminist activism delivering legal and institutional reform – have upended this traditional majority sanction of male violence and transformed public values. The 30% rise in the rate of Australian women murdered by intimate partners in the last year after three decades of a downwards trend comes, therefore, as a shock.
A bleak national realisation is dawning: while politics does flow downstream from culture, politics still has to solve the problem that culture identifies. Government works most efficiently when reform can be broad-based and structural – and Salter’s point is that the problem is messy and difficult, with unstable patterns, individual cases and no universal solutions. Ending violence against women requires not just sentiment but government, and other institutions, as well every kind of community – from cultural groups to sporting teams to the family – addressing different, variable and changing circumstances and responsibilities.
This week the Albanese government summoned the national cabinet to announce a $925m investment in counter-violence strategies. These include support payments for women fleeing violent relationships, increased funding for services to help those women and resources for action against deepfake pornography and other kinds of online abuse. The prime minister is not making the impossible promise that the policy suite is an immediate end to violence, but “a further step forward”.
The package is couched in terms of pilots and trials and monitoring because what will and won’t work is up against a community of perpetrators relentless in their cruel creativity. The challenges are complex when everything from urban planning to superannuation to care relationship settings can pose risks to women’s safety. I have survived a violent relationship, harassment, stalking and a hospitalisation from sexual assault … yet even I was stunned at the revelation of men using smart fridges to threaten women. Effective responses meet conflicts and contradictions. Note, for example, demands from anti-violence campaigners to revoke reforms to bail laws in Victoria … that were introduced to redress harms imposed by them on Indigenous communities, young people and people with disabilities.
The frustration of handing the policy response over to politicians is, perhaps, that it feels like an admission of powerlessness. But while government pilots start and public resources shift, there remain open fronts for cultural action that we may finally be ready to face.
Incest and other family violence survivors will remind you that the family home remains the most dangerous place for women and children, while 51% of children from abusive homes are abused as adults. In a world that still insists to women and girls that romantic partnership and family should dominate their aspirations and trajectories, the narrative we can, should, must lead is for genuinely empowering alternatives; economic interdependence, sisterhood, friendship, community – especially in the context of a resurgent western far right so active in promoting tradwives and reproductive unfreedom.
Not as culture war for culture war’s sake – but for survival.
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Yarra Valley Grammar School students suspended over disturbing list rating female classmates
This is hysteria over nothing. We all evalute other people's appearance all the time. Why not discuss it? The behaviour described is not uncommon. It is simply adolescents enlisting their friends in at attempt to get an understanding of females, a common puzzle for males of all ages. And the sense of humour in it has been missed. There is nothing abnormal or dangerous about it.
Four boys from a Melbourne private school have been suspended after a list was posted to social media rating their female classmates.
The shocking list was posted by Year 11 students from Yarra Valley Grammar School in Ringwood onto the platform Discord and was discovered by the school last Wednesday.
It featured photos of female students and ranked them from best to worst as 'wifeys', 'cuties', 'mid', 'object', 'get out' and 'unrapeable'.
The students were suspended on Friday pending further investigation, Nine reports.
Yarra Valley Grammar principal Dr Mark Merry spoke to Nine on Sunday and described the post as 'disgraceful'.
'Respect for each other is in the DNA of this school, and so this was a shock not only to us … but it was a shock to the year level and the boys in the year level that see this as way, way out of line,' he said.
He said he was offended by the final category, and has since reported the matter to police to ensure the list wasn't linked to any criminal offence.
'As a father, I find it absolutely outrageous, disgraceful, offensive. As a principal, I need to make some decisions [about] what we do about all of this,' he said.
'My first impulse and concern is about the wellbeing of the girls concerned. I want to make sure they feel assured and supported by the school.'
'We are going to be consulting the police because the language used could be an inferred threat.'
'I don't think it was, but we need to get further advice on that…I'm hoping it was an appalling lapse in judgment.'
It costs around $30,000 a year to send a student to the elite Ringwood private school, and Dr Merry said the school prides itself on teaching 'respectful relationships'.
'We are well aware of the broader issues in relation to respecting women…we need to really do our best to ensure that young men understand their responsibilities and their boundaries of how they should behave,' he said.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13385557/Yarra-Valley-Grammar-School-ranking-list.html
***************************************************Labor’s spending urge is a splurge that must end
Canberra, we have a big problem: spending. Your spending, not ours, although it is our money at stake, with not much change out of $700bn this financial year.
Amid a cost-of-living crunch for families, the Albanese government continues to splurge at twice the rate of households.
According to the mid-year budget update, over this financial year and next, Labor’s spending will grow, after inflation, by a cumulative 4.9 per cent, compared with around 2.5 per cent for private consumption.
Workers’ incomes have been squeezed by elevated mortgage interest costs, higher taxes and an inflation rate of 6.5 per cent, based on the ABS measure of living costs for “employee households”.
Canberra, by contrast, has been rolling in revenue post-pandemic because of those temporary high prices for iron ore, coal and gas and that stellar employment growth, pumped up by record migration.
So instead of seeing this bonanza in company and personal income tax as the gift from the fiscal gods that it is, Labor has been increasing its spending – not only adding juice short-term to an economy struggling with inflation but baking in forever commitments in health, aged care, disability services, defence and a larger public service.
As well, there is a range of off-budget grants, soft loans and co-investments that will fund Labor’s green new deal of local manufacturing and renewable energy projects.
Mainstream economists and global agencies have been politely but emphatically telling Jim Chalmers that these public boondoggles and his relatively slack budgeting are not helping the Reserve Bank as it tries to bring inflation back to target with the very blunt interest-rate tool it deploys.
In fact, the loosening of the purse strings by the Treasurer and his provincial counterparts and high immigration have been behind much of the homegrown inflation that governor Michele Bullock is trying to tame.
It’s true Labor is kicking back some of the extra revenue that’s come from bracket creep (when wage inflation smashes into non-indexed tax thresholds, and a worker’s average tax rate rises), with more than $20bn flowing next financial year in the revamped stage three tax cuts.
Again, it’s nice, but it won’t help the RBA’s mission.
Naturally, Chalmers is trying to control the narrative ahead of his annual fiscal extravaganza on Tuesday week, skiting about his prudence in banking almost all of the revenue upgrades this financial year.
What about the remaining three years of the forwards?
And the larger deficits that will follow?
Take away the cyclical and one-off effects from spending and taxing and the federal budget is in structural deficit, for years and years.
Fixing this dire problem will require proper fiscal rules, discipline and serious adults to level with Australians about the difficult decisions that must be taken for governments live within their means.
The Treasurer and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher insist their approach is as tight as a drum and that they’re working overtime to get value for taxpayers by cutting out wasteful spending.
Really? So how can Labor possibly justify an advertising campaign for the coming tax cuts that will likely cost $25m when you consider the $18m in contracted media placement and another third or so more in add-on creative charges.
Is there a single taxpayer among the 13.6 million receiving a tax cut from July 1 who thinks it’s a good idea to spend more of their hard-earned on a political vanity fest ahead of the next election?
And with a straight face, Labor calls this “leaning in” and “quality spending”.
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Hundreds of patients died after catching COVID in Victorian hospitals, new data shows
When Dean's* father was rushed to hospital with a bad case of gastro in February, he assumed he'd be back on his feet in a few days.
Instead, he caught COVID, probably in the emergency department at the Monash Medical Centre, a major hospital in Melbourne's south-east. His 79-year-old dad became so unwell, so quickly, that Dean — who visited him in the infectious diseases ward wearing an N95 mask — was terrified he wouldn't survive.
"He was as sick as I'd ever seen him," said Dean, who was shocked that his father's COVID infection seemed to trigger symptoms of Huntington's Disease, a neurodegenerative condition he'd been diagnosed with many years earlier. "I'd say it was very touch-and-go. I've seen people with cancer a few days before they've died, and there was a look in his eye and he was completely emaciated. He couldn't speak, couldn't communicate — he was just croaking."
Dean was also shocked that most of the hospital staff were wearing surgical masks, some on their chin. It bothered him, he said, because surgical masks are much less effective at preventing COVID transmission than N95 respirators. "No one seemed to give a hoot about protecting themselves or the patients," he said. "From what I know about COVID, I believe all the staff in an infectious diseases ward should be wearing respirators … the fact that it is not standard is just bamboozling."
But perhaps he shouldn't have been so surprised. For months doctors and public health experts have been warning that too many patients are catching COVID in Australian hospitals with sometimes devastating consequences — though timely statistics are difficult to access because health departments do not publish them.
Now, new data shows thousands of patients caught COVID in Victorian public hospitals in the past two years — and hundreds died — fuelling concerns that hospitals are not taking strong enough precautions against airborne viruses, and calls for stronger leadership from the Department of Health.
Almost one in 10 patients who caught COVID in hospital died
Documents obtained by ABC News under Freedom of Information laws reveal at least 6,212 patients caught COVID in hospital in 24 months — 3,890 in 2022 and 2,322 in 2023. Of those, 586 died — almost six per week, on average — with men dying at a higher rate than women (11 per cent vs 8 per cent).
Though hospital-acquired infections and deaths declined in 2023 — in line with COVID mortality trends in the broader community — the proportion of patients who died after catching the virus in hospital hardly budged, dropping from about 10 per cent in 2022 to about 9 per cent in 2023.
It comes following the release of new research that shows screening hospital patients for COVID and staff wearing N95 masks can substantially reduce infections and deaths, saving the health system potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in the long term. Experts say the findings should spark a paradigm shift in the way hospitals approach COVID infection prevention — that's if the latest indicators of illness and death don't.
Too many patients are catching COVID in hospitals, doctors say
Hospitals have become a strange new battleground in the fight against COVID, with doctors and public health experts concerned that too many patients are catching the virus — and an alarming number are dying — as a result of inadequate infection control.
"The numbers indicate that there is a big problem here — these infections and deaths are potentially preventable," said Associate Professor Suman Majumdar, chief health officer for COVID and health emergencies at the Burnet Institute. "We're talking about a specific setting where people are sicker, more vulnerable and more at risk. We need to drastically reduce the risk of people catching COVID in hospital when they don't come in with it. I think we can all agree we can do better — that should be the starting point."
Alarmingly, the proportion of hospitalised COVID patients who caught the virus in public hospitals was much higher last year than in 2022 — up from 13 per cent to 20 per cent, on average — coinciding with a reduction in COVID screening and healthcare worker mask use across the state. Most Victorian hospitals began scaling back infection prevention measures in late 2022, when pandemic public health orders were revoked.
Now, because hospitals determine their own COVID policies, there is wide variation in how they approach the issue. For instance, in the past fortnight several health services — including St Vincent's in Melbourne and Barwon Health — announced they were no longer requiring staff to wear masks in clinical areas because community transmission had fallen (the latest available data shows it's increasing). Others dropped masking and scaled back testing months ago, while some still insist on routine testing and surgical mask use in particular wards.
With golden staph, 'we aim for zero'
"There's no consistency between health services," said Stéphane Bouchoucha, president of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control and associate professor in nursing at Deakin University. "And there doesn't seem to be leadership from the Department of Health, saying, 'We want to reduce COVID infections in healthcare, therefore … we need to do universal testing, we need to mandate N95 masks for healthcare workers'."
As for the number of people catching COVID in hospital, Dr Bouchoucha said: "I think any hospital acquired infection is concerning". There isn't an "acceptable" number of golden staph or tuberculosis infections — "we aim for zero", he said. "So why don't we do that with COVID?"
He's not the only one asking that question. Staphylococcus aureus or golden staph bloodstream infections can be life-threatening, which is why hospitals track and report them and aim to prevent them using hand hygiene strategies — it's part of hospital accreditation standards and there are targets in every state. But there are no targets or reporting requirements for COVID, Dr Majumdar said.
As a point of comparison, he said, there are about 600 staph aureus bacteraemia infections in Victoria each year, with a similar death rate to COVID hospital-acquired infections. "So why aren't we applying the same mindset and measures for airborne infections such as COVID and influenza?"
At the hospital level, there are several possible answers. Many health services, under huge financial pressure, have rolled back COVID mitigations to try and save money — sometimes against the advice of their own infection prevention leads. Many hospital executives also subscribe to the myth that COVID is "just a cold" and does not warrant taking serious action against, while others have acted on complaints that staff are "sick of wearing" masks.
"Many people are telling me they're tired of wearing masks and some patients are saying they're tired of seeing their carers in masks, as well," Professor Rhonda Stuart, director of public health and infection prevention at Monash Health, told staff at an employee forum in February.
Professor Stuart pointed to a UK study that found removing a surgical mask wearing policy in some hospital wards did not significantly affect the rate of nosocomial COVID infections, or those caught in hospital. "I think we're starting to see that possibly happening across Monash at the moment," she said — "that maybe masks aren't making the difference in hospital-acquired infections".
Testing and N95s save lives and money
But the findings of a new preprint study pose a serious challenge to that claim. For the study, researchers from the Burnet Institute and the Victorian Department of Health, which funded it, used a mathematical model to simulate outbreaks in a hospital with various combinations of interventions in place: different kinds of masks worn or admission testing performed.
They also calculated the statewide financial costs of each intervention — N95 vs surgical masks, PCR vs rapid antigen testing (RAT), and patient bed costs and staff absenteeism — as well as the health outcomes for infected patients.
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The results were striking: compared to staff wearing surgical masks and not screening patients on admission, the combination of wearing N95 masks and testing patients using RATs was the cheapest, saving an estimated $78.4 million and preventing 1,543 deaths statewide per year. Staff wearing N95s and screening patients with PCR tests was the most effective option, saving $62.6 million and preventing 1,684 deaths per year.
In other words, testing and wearing N95s to detect and prevent COVID can save lives and money because it reduces the costs of keeping patients in hospital for longer and replacing furloughed staff.
"I think it provides a very persuasive rationale that doing small things to reduce infections can add up to big positive impacts and cost benefits," said Dr Majumdar, a co-author of the study. "It then becomes an issue of how practical it is for hospitals to implement these interventions and change behaviours. We know improving ventilation, testing and wearing masks has been effective during the pandemic, so I don't think there's an argument to say it's not feasible or not worth figuring out how to do."
The Victorian Department of Health did not respond directly to questions about whether it would be acting on the study's findings, or if it was comfortable with current rates of illness and death in hospitals. "Since the pandemic began we have assisted health services to respond to increased impacts of COVID-19 — a roadmap to guide hospital responses was introduced and has remained in place since June 2022," a Department spokesperson said. "Modelling is one of many tools used when developing and evaluating healthcare policy."
Managing 'masking fatigue'
But hospitals don't always follow that "roadmap". Associate Professor Caroline Marshall, head of the Royal Melbourne Hospital's Infection Prevention and Surveillance Service, said her hospital uses a "hierarchy of controls" to prevent COVID transmission — strategies honed in the grim early years of the pandemic when patients and staff were infected in dizzying numbers.
Today, every patient is screened for COVID on admission with a PCR test — which few hospitals still do. COVID patients are generally cared for in single-bed negative pressure rooms by staff in N95 masks. Air purifiers are stationed around the hospital, an old building with not-so-great ventilation.
"To me … any sort of nosocomial infection is a disaster," Dr Marshall said. "So we do our utmost and we're not always successful, but we do as much as we reasonably can [to prevent them] based on the evidence we have and the factors we have to take into account."
One of those factors is the impact of masking on healthcare workers, who Dr Marshall said are "sick of wearing" N95 respirators because they're uncomfortable. At the moment Royal Melbourne Hospital staff must wear surgical masks in clinical areas unless they're caring for COVID, transplant or haematology patients, when N95s are required.
The decision to use surgical masks is influenced by a few things, Dr Marshall said, including the prevalence of COVID in the community, the severity of circulating variants, population levels of immunity and a new tolerance for risk among staff. "If a staff member wants to wear one for whatever reason, they can," she said. "But I think the reality is, at a practical level, you cannot continue to get staff to wear N95 masks forever."
Other infection prevention control experts disagree. For Dr Bouchoucha, masking fatigue is a challenge to be "managed", not succumbed to — including because addressing healthcare workers' concerns about respirator use improves compliance and patient safety. "It's definitely something to take into account," he said. "But we can mitigate it."
Catching COVID made Ruby sick and derailed her care
Many patients feel similarly. When Ruby* caught COVID in hospital earlier this year, she was fully prepared to feel terrible for a few days — but she didn't expect it to completely derail the care she was there to receive.
Ruby was admitted to Upton House, the adult psychiatric unit at Box Hill Hospital, in late January after experiencing family violence and a decline in her mental health. When she tested positive to COVID a few days later, she wasn't surprised: other patients with COVID were allowed to roam freely through the ward without masks, she said, and staff were either in surgical masks — many "below their nose" — or no masks at all.
"It made me really sick," said Ruby, who suffered mostly from gastrointestinal symptoms, brain fog and low mood. "I was pissed off that I'd caught COVID but I didn't realise it would affect my care as much as it did, and I was really shocked at the drop-off in psychiatric support as soon as I had it."
The exterior sign of the Box Hill Hospital, underneath which a bush of white flowers blooms next to a concrete staircase.
Ruby wasn't surprised when she tested positive to COVID during her admission at Box Hill Hospital.(ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
A doctor who prescribed Ruby antivirals dramatically reduced her dose of psychiatric medication without consulting her, she said, which triggered unpleasant side effects. Having COVID also meant her psychiatrist visited her less frequently than he was supposed to, she said, and if she went to the nursing station to ask for paracetamol, she was instructed just to go back to her room. "I also wasn't allowed to go to the kitchen for meals and my food was generally brought to me an hour late, cold, without cutlery," she said. "So most of the time I didn't eat."
Ruby was relieved to be discharged even though she was "in limbo" psychiatrically — feeling much worse than when she arrived — and still testing positive to COVID. "I can't imagine how hard it is to work in a psychiatric unit," she said, adding that the nursing staff were clearly very busy. "But there was a total lack of empathy and then as soon as I had a medical problem [COVID], absolutely no attention or compassion. Something as simple as not being able to get any Panadol was almost traumatic — even though I was in there for more severe trauma issues."
Long COVID will take your health, your wealth — then it will come for your marriage
Long COVID is not just destroying people's health. Behind closed doors, in homes across Australia and abroad, it is irreversibly changing relationships — sometimes for the better, too often for worse.
A spokesperson for Eastern Health told ABC News they were unable to comment on Ruby's case but said if a COVID outbreak occurs, "additional measures are put in place including requirements to wear N95 masks, reduced movement and access to certain wards and clinical areas, increased hand hygiene, taking breaks outside and meeting virtually where possible."
Monash Health also would not address specific questions about Dean's father's admission. "Monash Health provides N95 and surgical masks as part of its infection prevention precautions to protect its patients, visitors and staff," a spokesperson said. "Monash Health cares for COVID-positive patients … in single rooms with negative pressure or negative flow, in addition to requiring staff and visitors to wear appropriate PPE including N95 masks."
At least that's not what Dean observed. He's still upset that the hospital didn't alert him when his father tested positive to COVID, and that his dad blamed himself for catching it in the emergency department in the first place.
"In the whole time of his admission I only saw one staff member … wearing a respirator — I felt overdressed," Dean said. "I'm just horrified that vulnerable people go into a place where they expect to be safe and cared for but are given something that, in this case, potentially nearly kills them and there's no apology — not even acknowledgement."
ABC News requested interviews with infection prevention and control experts at Western Health, Barwon Health and Alfred Health — all declined.
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5 May, 2024
The one group of Australians cruising through the cost of living crisis - and how they are driving up inflation for the rest of us
The idea that the elderly are financially privileged is nuts. They are often in worse health so usually have big health-related costs that more than cancel out savings in other areas.
Baby boomers appear to be cruising through the cost of living crisis - and risk pushing up interest rates as they continue to spend.
The older generation that lived through 18 per cent interest rates in 1989 are now the ones suffering the least from the Reserve Bank's 13 interest rate rises in 18 months.
The most aggressive rate hikes in a generation are disproportionately hurting the young and sparing the old, with the cash rate now at a 12-year high of 4.35 per cent.
Grattan Institute economist Brendan Coates said baby boomers, who are more likely to own their own home, were the ones adding to inflation with their spending.
'The fact that we've got so many cashed-up, older Australians at the moment that aren't really being affected by higher interest rates, means it's taking bigger interest rate hikes to get inflation under control,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'That is true. They're not being squeezed at both ends.'
New Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Wednesday showed employee living costs surged by 6.5 per cent in the year to March, as they battled surging mortgage costs. But those on the age pension saw their living costs rise by just 3.3 per cent, compared with 3.4 per cent of self-funded retirees
But those on the age pension saw their living costs rise by just 3.3 per cent, compared with 3.4 per cent of self-funded retirees.
Both measures for retirees, who are more likely to have already paid off their house, were below the 3.6 per cent headline inflation rate.
'Older Australians, they've typically paid off their home and therefore the increase in living costs is much smaller because they're not being hit by higher interest rates,' Mr Coates said.
Baby boomers made up 21.5 per cent of Australia's population in the last Census in 2021, outnumbering Generation X on 19.3 per cent, Generation Z on 18.2 per cent but tying with Millennials on 21.5 per cent.
Having paid off their home this group, born between 1946 and 1964, are the ones who benefit when the RBA cash rate increases, especially if they have their savings in a term deposit account.
'It is fair to say many older people win when interest rates rise and younger people tend to lose,' Mr Coates said.
'Those that are less affected by mortgage costs, like the baby boomers, are the ones continuing to spend in the economy.'
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The spare-bedroom solution to the housing crisis
Good idea
Homeowners should be allowed to rent out their spare rooms or granny flats without facing a tax penalty, independent MP Allegra Spender says, as a new report shows Australia’s housing crisis will worsen in coming years.
Spender said there was a short-term opportunity here for the government to help ease the rental crisis.
“[It’s] actually pretty simple, and it’s something that we should at least consider or look at [in the] short term,” she said. “How do we unlock those spare bedrooms?”
Spender said there were plenty of older people with spare bedrooms or a granny flat, but renting them out would mean losing the capital gains tax discount on the rented portion of their home, which could have huge financial implications for people approaching retirement.
“The potential impact on you financially is enormous,” she said.
Spender wants the government to remove that capital gains tax implication, at least in the short term, so people could rent out their spare rooms without facing a tax penalty to help free up more housing solutions for renters. It’s a solution that would also not cost the federal government much money.
“I’m in a community of 45 per cent renters. It’s a really hard moment out there for that community,” she said.
“If we can bring some more supply on … even just for the next two, three years, while we’re trying to sort out the supply, I think that could make a real difference.”
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Waleed Aly's bold claim about male violence against women that he's been waiting to say for more than a DECADE
Waleed Aly has questioned the widespread belief held by politicians and activists that male violence against women stems from disrespect - instead suggesting the desire to hurt women actually comes from attackers feeling shamed and humiliated.
The Project host addressed the domestic violence crisis in Australia in an op-ed following shocking statistics that show a woman is being killed every four days.
Aly, who is also a lecturer in politics at Monash University, said he'd put off writing the piece for nearly a decade.
He referenced words from former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who in 2015 said: 'Disrespecting women does not always result in violence against women. But all violence against women begins with disrespecting women.'
Aly said that he always thought Mr Turnbull's comment was incorrect, but had never said anything publicly - until now.
'I couldn't repress a simple thought when I heard Turnbull's comment: I just don't think that's correct,' Aly wrote for The Sydney Morning Herald.
'That's because my academic work was studying the roots of violence, where research overwhelmingly identifies factors like humiliation, shame and guilt as motivating drivers, not a lack of respect.'
Aly said research showed perpetrators of violent crimes had often felt they had been disrespected themselves.
He referenced American prison psychiatrist James Gilligan who said he was yet to see a violent act that 'was not provoked by the experience of feeling shamed or humiliated, disrespected and ridiculed'.
Mr Gilligan claimed the most dangerous men 'are those who are afraid they are wimps'.
The issue of domestic violence in Australia has been thrust into the spotlight in recent weeks after 28 women were allegedly killed this year alone.
Men are being urged to start having conversations with each other about domestic violence, and in Aly's words 'for the "good" men to set the "bad" men straight'.
'This delivers a conventional wisdom that this is ultimately a men's problem, and one that every one of us has to own and solve,' he said.
He said it 'makes little sense' to treat every man as violent, when a minority is to blame.
Aly added that associating all men with violence could lead them to 'retreat and defend an identity they feel is unfairly maligned'.
But he said there was still hope for Australia's domestic violence problem.
He said tackling the minority responsible for violence by addressing their risk factors, as opposed to looking at all men in general, was the way forward.
'It accepts the enormity of the task, but doesn’t drown in it. It makes the invincible intelligible. It is fierce, but restrained. In sum, it deserves the next decade of respect,' he said.
Aly also noted that tasking 'all men' with solving the domestic violence epidemic was no different to 'being told it was up to Muslims to own the problem of terrorism' - an attitude that 'didn't work' and only resulted in Muslims feeling 'alienated'.
His comments come a day after the funeral of Molly Ticehurst, 28, who was allegedly killed by her ex-boyfriend Daniel Billings.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13377481/waleed-aly-domestic-violence-crisis-Australia.html
**********************************************Game meat company to begin hunting deer in SA forests amid criticism of aerial culling
Sounds overdueto me
A game meat company will begin hunting deer in South Australian forests this month, which the owner says is more environmentally friendly and less cruel than the state government's preferred culling method.
Macro Meats Australia's contract with forestry companies to work towards eradicating deer in their plantations is also a rebuke to recreational hunters, who would prefer for some deer to remain so they can continue their enjoying sport.
The company is based in Adelaide and mostly focuses on exporting kangaroo meat.
Managing director Ray Borda has been critical of the state government's aerial deer culling program, which involves the use of shotguns to kill deer from helicopters and leaves the carcasses to rot on the ground.
Forestry companies want the deer eradicated because of the damage they to do trees.
Mr Borda said professionals shooting deer for meat was the best solution, because the meat could be sold for a profit rather than attracting scavengers or emitting methane when it rotted.
"Environmentally, and even animal welfare-wise, the professional industry is always looked upon as the best and cheapest way to handle these overabundant animals," Mr Borda said.
The hunters employed by Macro Meats will be in the South East next week to plan for the cull.
Professional deer hunters aim to shoot deer in the head to prevent damaging the meat in the animal's body.
Mr Borda, who is also the chair of the Australia Wild Game Industry Council, says this is better than aerial culling, when most deer die after being shot in the heart or lungs.
"The poor old deer — it's not their fault that there's too many of them," he said.
"So what we try to do is, we try to do it humanely, and then we're creating jobs."
Limestone Coast Landscape Board general manager Steve Bourne said aerial culling was an "effective and efficient means of removing large numbers of feral deer from the landscape in a humane way".
"Meat harvesting is a tool we have used — 2,100 feral deer have been processed for human consumption in the last three years," he said.
"In closed canopy pine forests, ground shooting can be a more effective means of removing feral deer."
The RSPCA has raised concerns that shooters targeting feral deer from helicopters using shotguns may not be able to tell whether the animals they shoot are dead or not.
But a Flinders University study found all the deer that researchers cut open after an aerial cull had been fatally shot in the lungs or heart.
A CSIRO study found aerial culling was extremely effective at controlling deer populations compared with ground shooting, with up to 94 animals killed per hour during aerial culling.
The SA government plans to eradicate all feral deer in the state by 2032, mostly through aerial culling, but also shooting on the ground.
It estimates there are about 40,000 feral deer in South Australia, mostly in the state's south-east, but also on the Fleurieu Peninsula and in the Adelaide Hills.
Deer compete with native wildlife and livestock for grass.
They damage trees and contribute to erosion and road crashes.
The government estimated farm productivity losses of $36 million last year, which would rise to $242m by 2031 if the deer population was not controlled.
Amateur hunters, many of whom travel to SA from Victoria, say they contribute to SA's economy.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-01/macro-meats-to-begin-hunting-deer-in-forests/103786220
************************************2 May, 2024
Dr Jim’s economic elixir has left us with a hangover
Typical Leftist folly
The story, possibly apocryphal, goes that protectionism ended for the Australian economy when Paul Keating went out to buy an Italian knit cardigan and discovered it cost more than a Holden Commodore. The tariff wall had to come down and the nation joined other free traders such as the US, the EU, China and Russia.
If you believe that, I’ve got a poorly made pair of underpants to sell you at a wildly inflated price.
Last year alone, the International Monetary Fund detailed more than 1500 cases of what it euphemistically calls “subsidy variation” with the overwhelming majority of tariff hikes coming from the three largest economies.
Philosophically, the effect of trade subsidies and tariffs is to make imported goods more expensive, sometimes pricing them out of the market (think China’s punitive tariff hike on Australian wines at more than 200 per cent).
This leaves domestic production of similar or identical goods less efficient and less reliable in the absence of real competition. The benefit of a free trade environment means consumers pay less for goods of better quality. The only real benefit of tariffs is governments that impose them get to pocket the cash.
Thus the Hawke-Keating reforms gave us $20 thongs that don’t blow out whenever one breaks into a trot, and we will be forever grateful to them. In truth, these were bold and courageous reforms carried on later by the Howard government that necessarily meant Australians in manufacturing industries, especially in textiles, clothing and rubber footwear and later in automotive engineering, would lose their jobs.
There was pain and plenty of it, and pain often leads to cricket bat-toting voters unhappy with the current arrangements.
Risk taking has its limits, amid questions Jim Chalmers has got the trowel and muck out to start rebuilding the tariff wall that the Hawke-Keating governments dismantled.On Wednesday, in a speech at the Lowy Institute, the Treasurer released a new set of rules for foreign investment.
I never trust a man who refers to himself as Dr unless he can legally prescribe OxyContin. That aside, Dr Jim says it is time for the Albanese government to get the form guide out, pick a few potential winners and throw a bit of the taxpayers’ hard-earned cash around to supercharge private investment in critical infrastructure, minerals and decarbonised energy sources, while warding off present and future investments from overseas companies that put national security at risk.
The main problem is that while government has vast capital resources at its disposal, it is not very good at picking winners. Or it sometimes picks winners and then discards them when budgetary forces pull the rug out from under the winners’ feet.
It’s not so long ago that the Rudd government, promoting its green credentials, created a subsidy via rebate for homeowners to install photovoltaic cells on their roofs. The solar business boomed briefly until Rudd’s treasurer, Wayne Swan, announced the rebate that had been available to all was to be scrapped for households with an income exceeding $100,000. The net saving was a relatively piddling $50m while handing over more than $500m to the coal industry for research into the fantasy of carbon sequestration. The manufacture of photovoltaic cells in Australia collapsed almost overnight, most of it shifting to China.
Having devastated the industry then, Labor now is setting itself up as its saviour, promising $1bn in subsidies and grants to domestic production of solar panels, including in the NSW Hunter Valley where there is a lot of coal. It was an early contribution into what the government calls, no doubt with a nod to the next election, the Future Made in Australia agenda. It may as well have been called The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same.
Casting a doomsayer’s eye over the current economic environment, a large increase in public investment, with government spending already in the stratosphere, could contribute significantly to inflationary pressures and thus require intervention by the Reserve Bank, with further increases in home lending rates adding to cost-of-living pressures that will have voters reaching for the cricket bats again.
Dr Jim says other countries are doing more or less what he plans – Japan, South Korea and the US, home of the mothership of all public investment programs, Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, with a total fiscal cost estimated at $1.2 trillion, more than $500m of which is being spent to incentivise investment in renewable energy.
The Treasurer’s argument goes that if we don’t do the same relative to our economy, Australia’s economic future will sit at the bottom of the food chain. Chalmers’ sales pitch will have some force in the electorate. Recent Newspoll results reveal that Australians broadly support the notion of the nation building things. I’d argue this is a lovely sentiment but without any basis in reality.
The economic rise of China with its large, well-educated, trainable labour force as a manufacturing hub of the world is changing. One of the many economic indicators that should send a shiver up the collective spine of the Chinese Communist Party is that minimum hourly rates for labour in China stand above those in Mexico, which also has a well-educated, trainable labour force. Private investment without exception is going to shift to where the lowest unit labour cost exists.
The answer for Australian manufacturing in a tariff-free environment is to make niche, high-end, value-added goods that people need and where high labour costs can be absorbed. Throwing money at our manufacturing industries cannot change that equation. We simply cannot build photovoltaic cells at anywhere near the same unit cost as one can be made in China now and in Mexico in five years.
There may be a flicker of sentiment for the good old days when Australia made its own things (badly), but with Chalmers and Labor putting public funds in the wrong baskets it could cost the nation a hell of a lot more than an Italian knit cardigan.
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Federal Court grants ‘urgent injunction’ order stopping CFMEU blockades at Cross River Rail sites
Union thuggery costs us all in the end -- by pushing up costs
The Federal Court has granted an “urgent injunction” order stopping the CFMEU from blocking access to Cross River Rail sites.
Non-aligned workers had reported two days of blockades on project sites across the city, meaning they could not work despite not being covered by the CFMEU’s protected industrial action.
The Federal Court injunction was brought by CPB Contractors - the major contractor on the $6.2bn project - and granted late Wednesday.
A CPB Contractors spokeswoman confirmed it had sought an “urgent injunction” in response to the union’s “intimidation tactics towards people working on the Cross River Rail project”.
Union members had walked off Cross River Rail worksites for a second day on Wednesday and blocked non-union workers from accessing the site - causing tensions to erupt in a fight at the Dutton Part site.
A Queensland Police spokesman confirmed they were investigating reports of a physical altercation between two groups off Cope St at Annerley at 6:50am.
A CFMEU spokesman accused CPB Contractors of sending labour hire workers to the site to bait protestors.
“The CFMEU backs Cross River Rail workers taking protected industrial action and is keen for CPB to return to the bargaining table,” he said.
In parliament the state government was grilled over its position on the CFMEU’s conduct and new revelations Mr Miles met with CFMEU boss Michael Ravbar in March.
The meeting marked a departure from his predecessor’s ban on the union following its invasion of the Transport and Main Roads office in August 2022.
Mr Miles defended the meeting and, in the wake of the brawl vision, did not rule out future meetings.
“I don’t always agree with everything they say or do but I am always happy to meet with them,” Mr Miles said.
The Premier was asked in parliament what he would do to allow Cross River Rail workers to access the worksite without being assaulted by the CFMEU.
“Bullying and violence and intimidation should never be tolerated in any workplace, whether it is union related or not,” he said.
A spokeswoman for CPB Contractors slammed the conduct of some CFMEU members.
“We stand firm against any unlawful tactics used to intimidate workers and delivery partners supporting this essential infrastructure project for Queensland communities,” she said,
“CPB Contractors applied to the Federal Court for an urgent injunction against the CFMEU in response to intimidation tactics towards people working on the Cross River Rail project.
“CPB Contractors will not tolerate acts of intimidation towards its people or any workers on our construction sites.”
CFMEU protestors were again present outside CRR sites in Brisbane on Thursday morning, however its blockade had softened.
As of 8am, about 40 union members had settled in front of the site as more non-aligned workers entered.
As members arrived they brought camp chairs, CFMEU flags and signs while others dropped of supplies for a BBQ.
Other nonalinged workers - who it was understood can still not do their jobs due to the impacts of the strike - were sitting across the road.
Members were engaging with some non-aligned workers as they entered but talks were peaceful.
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Nation’s foreign policy is being driven by minority influence
In a new and disturbing first, immigrant communities are now driving Australia’s foreign policy in ways that are at odds with the national interest.
The Albanese government’s changing policy towards the Middle East is the result of pressure from Muslim activists. There are now three websites, which this paper reports are “circulating among political and community circles”, seeking to mobilise the country’s almost one million Muslims to use their local voting power to force the government to change Australia’s long-held and previously bipartisan support for Israel as the only liberal, pluralist democracy in the Middle East.
This was most memorably expressed in Bob Hawke’s immortal statement that if the bell tolls for Israel, it tolls for all mankind.
Labor frontbenchers, such as Tony Burke and Jason Clare (whose electorates are more than 30 per cent Muslim), failed to condemn unequivocally the October 7 atrocities, have supported local councils flying the Palestinian flag and have told local Muslims that they’re advocating for them in cabinet. The Albanese government only briefly suspended aid to the UN agency active in Gaza, despite clear evidence that much of it has been channelled to Hamas and that staff were involved in the October 7 killings.
Anthony Albanese was very slow to make a solidarity call to his Israeli counterpart after October 7, despite the terrorist murder of an elderly Australian, but was almost immediately in critical contact when an Israeli drone strike mistakenly killed an Australian aid worker.
Worst of all, our Foreign Minister has called for the recognition of Palestine even though this would reward the apocalyptic death cult that has been running Gaza.
This is not the first time that foreign fights have seeped into Australian politics and it’s not the first time that religious activists have influenced our public life. But it is the first time in our history that religious pressure has been put on our leaders to take a position that’s at odds with our national interests and our national values. And this eruption of ethnic politics into what’s best for Australia should be a reminder that migration doesn’t just build the country; it can change it, too, sometimes in unwelcome directions.
It’s hardly surprising that cultural roots should play a part in people’s contemporary attitudes. Think Irish Australians and the 1916 conscription debates and the involvement of the Catholic hierarchy in the anti-communist campaigns in the union movement of the 1940s, later playing out in the ALP split in 1955. What’s new now, though, is this unabashed appeal to a transcendent religious loyalty, with partisans in a foreign quarrel trying to drive a change to our national policy.
Exhibit one is the Muslim Votes Matter website: “The Muslim community,” it declares, “is the largest and among the fastest growing minority groups in Australia. Our collective voting bloc is the most valuable, yet under-utilised asset we have.” Muslim Votes Matter aims to unlock “this highly influential tool”, as the website call it, in the “over 20 (federal parliamentary) seats where the Muslim community collectively has the potential deciding vote”. That may not sound like much, says the website, but “in the last 25 years no federal government has been elected by a margin of more than 15 seats”.
It specifies 32 federal seats (all bar two currently Labor held) where Muslim votes “have the potential to move the needle” and for each one shows the Muslim vote against the seat’s margin.
Unsurprisingly, the MVM website claims discrimination against Australian Muslims, complaining that “Islamophobes” have protested against the opening of mosques and declaring that Australian Muslims “have had enough” and “will no longer tolerate bias and veiled racism”.
Harnessing religious solidarity with Marxist militant minority tactics, and cleverly pitched to culturally adrift adolescents and young adults, the aim is to have the 4 per cent of voters who are Muslim change the national position, not just on Palestine but “on a broad range of issues … which resonate most with the Australian Muslim community”.
The most critical, of course, is “Australia’s foreign policy response to the growing atrocities in Gaza”. “A more engaged Muslim voter base,” says the website, “benefits all Australians, and in particular those from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds.” Even though the website also claims to be politically independent and “solely dedicated to serving the best interests of the Muslim community in Australia”.
Then there’s My Vote Matters, a website run by the Islamic Council of Victoria that says it has “run four successful campaigns”. It says 70 per cent of Muslims are “extremely” or “very concerned” about right-wing extremism and 82 per cent of Muslims think their political representatives “don’t care” about Islamophobia. Its 2022 Victorian election scorecard heavily preferred the Greens and Labor over the Coalition.
As well there’s The Muslim Vote, urging Muslims to vote in accordance with MPs’ position on the “genocide” in Palestine. Those stated to have shown “support for Palestine” include Labor’s Ed Husic, Graham Perrett, Tony Zappia, Julian Hill, Maria Vamvakinou and Anne Aly. The “our campaign is backed by” section of the website merely says “coming soon”, although it also says “our supporting organisations enjoy the support of hundreds of thousands of Muslims”.
Muslim leaders and community organisations are not the only recent immigrant groups seeking to change Australian government policy and, sometimes, foster grievances against broader Australian society. A decade or so back, the local Indian community felt not enough was being done to protect Indian students against attacks by gangs. There are various “united front” groups active inside the Australian Chinese community in support of Beijing that were thought to have used their influence strongly against the Morrison government, particularly in online Chinese language spaces.
What’s striking, though, in this push by Muslim leaders to change Australia’s policy on the Middle East is that there’s no attempt to appeal to Australia’s long-term national interest. It’s taken for granted that what matters most is local Muslims’ solidarity with their fellow Muslims abroad.
Australia’s Muslim leaders (and also much of their communities), it seems, aren’t thinking as Australians who happen to be Muslims but as Muslims who happen to reside in Australia. If they were thinking as Australians, there would be at least as much emphasis on the return of the hostages as on an immediate ceasefire. Perhaps this is to be expected given Islam’s lack of any notion of the separation of church and state and its “death to the infidels” instinct that many local leaders seem to be playing up rather than down.
Most troubling has been the pressure put on politicians and law enforcement to change the language on Islamist terrorism: first to drop any mention of “Islamist” and call it “religiously motivated extremist violence”, and now, as advocated by an alliance of peak Islamic groups, to drop any mention of religion at all and refer to it as ”politically motivated extremist violence”.
Even when the teenagers arrested in connection with the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel quote the Koran and have images idolising Osama bin Laden. Coupled with the hate speech spewing from influential mosques and websites, we can’t pretend away the links between radical Islamist theology and terrorism.
Right now, at 765,900 last year, immigration is far too high. It is depressing wages, boosting housing costs and clogging infrastructure. And without a much greater stress on the importance of migrants joining Team Australia, we’re at risk of importing all the troubles of the wider world, of which the Gaza conflict is just the most obvious immediate example.
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Jewish students rally at University of Melbourne
Hundreds of pro-Israel supporters, many draped in Israeli and Australian flags, have gathered at The University of Melbourne.
The group is calling on educational institutions to make its campuses a safe place to be for Jewish students.
Zionist Federation of Australia chief executive officer Alon Cassuto opened the rally.
“We know that students don’t feel safe to be who they are and celebrate who they are,” he told the crowd.
“And since October 7 … anti-Semitism around the world has been on the rise.
“We’re here to say that the past seven months are not something we’re prepared to tolerate any longer. Our campuses have to be free of hate.”
The Australasian Union of Jewish Students president Noah Loven said he would not give the pro-Palestinian encampment any oxygen.
“We don’t want to lean into what they want. So we’re here to stand proud as your students and to stand together for peace,” Mr Loven said.
“In response to the troubling trend that has taken root in our academic institutions across Australia and New Zealand … Jewish students, my peers, have increasingly become targets of fear intimidation, and harassment.”
Protesters were holding signs that read “keep hate off campus” and “stand together against anti-semitism”.
Groups of police officers were stationed around the parameter of the event.
Jewish students say they are in fear of being intimidated and harassed on campus.
The Australasian Union of Jewish Students has voiced concerns and decided to take action after hearing reports of Jewish students avoiding their universities
The union is calling for a roundtable with Education Minister Jason Clare, state education ministers and vice chancellors, and are also demanding that universities implement policies that prohibit hate speech on campus.
It also demands that universities require students to show their student identification “to ensure that external extremist actors do not hijack our campuses”.
The union’s Victorian branch president Holly Feldman said she had friends at Columbia University in the US who have been harassed for being involved in Jewish life.
“The situation continues to escalate and Jewish students are distressed,” Ms Feldman said.
“It’s simply not safe for many Jewish students on campus at the moment, and it’s unacceptable that many feel they cannot attend their lectures and classes in person without fear of intimidation, harassment and violence,” Mr Loven said.
“This is not an issue of free speech – it is of vilification and the endorsement of terror.
“Some of these extreme groups are crossing the line.”
The protest, to take place on Thursday afternoon, is in response to student activists camping out at Australian campuses, including at the University of Melbourne.
Thursday will mark the eighth day members of Uni Melb for Palestine have camped out on the campus’ south lawn.
Students at the University of Sydney, University of Queensland and Australian National University are also holding their own camps.
Australian Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni has shown his support for the Melbourne outfit by attending and giving a speech, and in Sydney, Greens Deputy Leader Mehreen Faruqi also addressed students camped out.
The new wave of protests take inspiration from university encampments across the United States, which on Wednesday saw a heavy police presence descend on Columbia University to forcibly clear protesters out.
Uni Melb for Palestine issued a warning to students ahead of the Jewish student-led protest to “not engage with agitators or Zionists at all” and to “not divulge information/details of comrades to cops or security”.
The group are hosting a “teach in” event which will include speeches from Melbourne Law School senior research fellow Dr Jordana Silverstein and a Jewish anti-Zionist student who will discuss “Palestinian liberation from an anti-Zionist Jewish perspective”.
Zionist Federation of Australia chief executive officer Alon Cassuto said he was concerned about the welfare of Jewish students on campus and voiced his support for the demonstration.
“We warned universities last year about the manifestations of antisemitism on campuses, but the situation has gotten worse since that time,” Mr Cassuto said.
“There has been a collective absence of leadership, with appalling and intimidatory behaviour being ignored in the hope that it will go away. Instead, in the face of inaction, it’s gotten worse.”
He claimed that Jewish students are scared to complain “for fear their marks will be affected” which has resulted them to stay away from campus.
“Societal cohesion requires community and political leaders to publicly and strongly call out and push back on those seeking to undermine that cohesion,” the ZFA leader said.
“Anti-Semitism under the guise of political discourse is still antisemitism. We must be vigilant and clear in our opposition to any form of hate on our campuses.”
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1 May, 2024
Indigenous ‘carve out’: Is this a return to the ‘reading wars’?
Aboriginal children can undoubtdly reach higher standards than they do but to do that, they need good teachers not second-rate ones. Guess which they are going to get
Two cheers for recent moves to ensure trainee teachers are better equipped to teach English and literacy. Not three. Not yet anyway.
As this newspaper reported last week, all non-Indigenous trainee teachers must pass a test known as LANTITE (Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education students) during the first year of their degree. Why this hasn’t been the case forever beggars belief. And we wonder why NAPLAN scores are on the slide.
Isn’t it bleedingly obvious that basic literacy and numeracy must start on day one – for teachers and students alike?
The new standards released by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership require trainee teachers to be taught to use explicit instruction – a practical step-by-step teaching method that has been championed for years by many people who have looked closely at what works and what doesn’t.
Noel Pearson has been a terrific supporter of explicit instruction as the obvious way to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged kids with evidence-based education. In a speech to the Centre for Independent Studies in 2021, Pearson was characteristically blunt: “I want to start with one brief thing about evidence: we need no more evidence about what works.
“The evidence has been well known about what works for children’s reading, numeracy and learning generally. It is just that there has been a concerted effort to impede the known and very effective means by which children could learn in Australian schools – and it is the disadvantaged that have suffered the most.”
The evidence, said Pearson, was that direct instruction worked best for children.
The interminable delay in arriving at this point, where teachers receive early training in direct instruction, reveals how education has become a battleground where activists play and students suffer.
Many years ago, when writing about the evidence behind phonics – the explicit instruction method for teaching kids to read – I was horrified to discover that many on the loud left regarded it as some kind of political project of the right to hijack education. No kidding. The so-called “reading wars” were a shocking indictment of the education class.
Will the caveat to these new reforms prove to be yet another indictment of the education elites?
The new rules that require more rigorous literacy and numeracy training do not apply to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainee teachers. The carve-out is aimed at addressing the teacher shortages, dismal school attendance rates and educational gaps in many remote Indigenous communities.
The new standards say: “In the case of First Nations language speakers, recognition of First Nations language proficiency by the relevant cultural authority is an acceptable alternative standard.
“(University) providers must have an established process to confirm recognition of First Nations language proficiency.’’
The shortage of teachers in regional and remote parts of Australia, especially in remote Indigenous communities, is a diabolic problem for the students most in need of education to improve their life chances. There is no quick fix.
Different rules – for a time – for Indigenous trainee teachers may be needed. But if this carve-out from more effective teaching standards leads to a permanent two-tiered teaching profession, Indigenous teachers and students will suffer the most. Unless closely monitored, these lower standards for Indigenous trainee teachers risk reinforcing the curse of low expectations for these teachers and their students alike.
Apart from what this caveat means for Indigenous students, one wonders what it means for Indigenous teachers. Does it mean that newly trained Indigenous teachers who have reached the same standards as their non-Indigenous peers can teach only in Indigenous schools?
The ultimate aim should be for Indigenous teachers to be as equipped as other teachers so they can move between schools, experience different forms of education – public and private, regional and city, Indigenous and non-Indigenous.
How often we see well-meaning affirmative action policies, which might make sense as special measures for a limited time, becoming permanent. Through complacency or cowardice, positive discrimination often continues long after it has become counter-productive.
Like the reading activists who were blind to the clear evidence of explicit instruction, those who favour two-tiered teaching standards now may be too invested to ever see the light that comes from evidence-based pedagogy.
As the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination recognises, there may be rare circumstances where measures of positive discrimination may be necessary, but these must not be continued “after the objectives for which they were taken have been achieved” lest they become a new and permanent form of discrimination.
The education gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students remains one of this country’s biggest public policy failures. Just as we don’t need more evidence about what works in schools – because we know – we don’t need more reports tracking the numbers of Indigenous educational disadvantage.
We know that Indigenous students in remote schools start well behind students in mainstream schools and rarely catch up.
We know the reasons Indigenous kids fall behind, and stay behind: dismal rates of school attendance and differences in teacher and teaching quality. We don’t need new reports, either, about the link between poverty, violence, poor health, family dysfunction and educational disadvantage. We need solutions.
Last Friday the Northern Territory’s new Opposition Leader, Lia Finocchiaro, promised to tackle the former. She committed to using income management tools, ignored by the Territory Labor government, to ensure that parents send their children to school.
“We want greater accountability and responsibility of parents in getting their kids to school because we know a lot of these kids engaging in the justice system aren’t being supported to access an education,” Finocchiaro said.
“Nothing is off the table. We have to be getting kids to school, we have to be protecting young people who are being neglected and on a pathway to crime, and we have to be giving these kids an opportunity to change their lives before it’s too late.”
On education, Pearson deserves the last word.
“Aboriginal children are no different from other human children,” he said.
“They have the same capacity and they have the same learning mechanism … there’s nothing sui generis about Indigenous children. They’re human. If they’re taught with effective pedagogy, they will learn.”
We should remain vigilant about the ultimate aim of these new literacy and numeracy reforms: to ensure they are nationwide and colourblind, so every student prospers from well-trained teachers. The education gap won’t be filled by entrenching a second-class approach to literacy and numeracy for Indigenous children.
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Enabling greenwashing: ‘Climate Active Carbon Neutral’ stamp under fire for lacking ACCC certification
A Senate inquiry has taken aim at the government’s Climate Active Carbon Neutral labelling program, slamming the initiative for promoting greenwashing, while the regulator said it could not give it a stamp of approval for the program because its rules were not clear.
The Climate Active label is being used by about 700 companies, products, buildings and events that pay an annual licence fee to call themselves carbon neutral with the government’s backing. It is administered by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
On Monday, the ACCC said the trademark certification process for the scheme had been suspended after several attempts at clarifying its rules.
“The ACCC has not made a final determination on the CTM,” ACCC mergers and digital division manager Tom Leuner told the inquiry, referring to the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Certification Trade Mark.
“We didn’t have clarity on the rules because they cross-referenced others. There was a bit of back and forth and they resubmitted the rules several times over a long period. Eventually they advised us that they were seeking to redo the rules and then review the whole scheme.
“They asked us to pause the assessment,“ he said, adding there was “nothing” currently stopping businesses from using the label.
“They don’t have exclusive IP use, but they can just keep using it in the meantime,” Mr Leuner said.
Documents on the Climate Active website say the stamp “confirms that a carbon neutral claim has met a robust standard and is a legitimate and visible stamp of approval”.
When asked by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young whether the statement was misleading, Mr Leuner sidestepped the question saying the regulator’s functions were in relation to consumer-facing claims by businesses.
“A government department’s claims, I’m not sure how that would interact with our, sort of, legislative functions,” he said.
Polly Hemming, a director at The Australia Institute, said the scheme facilitated greenwashing by allowing products or companies to be certified as carbon neutral through purchasing offsets, rather than cutting emissions.
“Climate Active needs to be referred to the Auditor General. There are so many administrative failures,” said Ms Hemming, who worked as a communications manager for Climate Active in 2019 and 2020.
“Not checking the offsets, EY being paid $1m by the department to carry out due diligence on the members while having those members as clients, while also assessing the veracity of the international offsets. There is so much that is wrong with that scheme.”
Ms Hemming argued the government’s scheme was encouraging greenwashing and misleading consumers into thinking businesses or products with the stamp were actively taking climate-positive actions, when that was not necessarily the case.
“It’s cheaper to pay a certification fee to Climate Active and to buy some offsets from a wind farm than it is to implement the technology that you need or go 100 per cent renewable, or change your business practice or change your business model. Effectively, it’s a really unfair situation for businesses who are trying to do the right thing.”
“If the government wants to keep a voluntary carbon offset scheme, then the most Climate Active can be described as, as it used to be, the National Carbon Offset Standard.
“All the department is saying is, these businesses have provided us with a list of their emissions for part of their businesses, and they’ve bought some offsets, and they may or may not be reducing their emissions across their value chain,” she said.
Last year, the Albanese government announced a review of the certification, originally introduced in 2017 and rebranded in 2019, with proposed updates including removing the term “carbon neutral” and implementing stricter reporting requirements.
Once that policy review is completed, the department would likely seek to re-engage with the ACCC, DCCEEW deputy secretary Jo Evans told the inquiry.
She added, however, there was nothing “unusual or improper” in continuing to use it as is.
“We take very seriously the use of our Climate Acive logo and we make sure that it is used in circumstances that comply with it,” Ms Evans said.
The department said members of the program had achieved “better emissions reductions than others” and that it was not aware of any company that had misused the trademark.
After the review is complete, all 700 businesses certified will be forced to go through a re-assessment process, Ms Evans said.
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Sydney University pro-Palestine camp shows topsy-turvy world of warriors for radical chic
Like children with matches in a summer bushland tinderbox, the pro-Palestinian protesters at our universities seem to have no idea about the lethal forces that are their playthings. Islamist extremism, anti-Semitism, Arab grievance, Jewish defiance, great power politics and social cohesion in Western liberal democracies like our own are all in the mix.
These are tensions not easily grasped or resolved by undergraduates looking for the revolutionary cause of their era. When they bandy around terms like “Israeli genocide” and “apartheid state” or talk about a colonial power usurping the rights of an Indigenous people you know that facts, history and context have no place in their considerations.
Politicians of the left in the US, Britain and here do little to chastise or correct them because they are in the ugly electoral game of courting the ever-growing Muslim vote, holding off ever more radical leftist rivals, and appealing to the young and impressionable. National values and interests play second fiddle to the spineless mathematics of political power.
At Columbia University in New York City, which has led the way in what has become a global campus campaign, Jewish students this month were advised to stay away from classes, and now the whole university has switched to a remote learning model. Even one pro-Palestinian protester, Linnia Norton, seemed shocked at the hatred they had unleashed, telling a reporter; “There were people outside of campus one time with signs that said, ‘Death to all Jews’ – that is awful and nobody should be having to experience that on their campus.”
The Students for Palestine protesters at the University of Sydney are unashamedly derivative, posting on Instagram that they have been “greatly inspired” by the movement at Columbia. They have chanted “Intifada, intifada”, cheering on Palestinian armed uprisings that have visited terrorism on Israel repeatedly since the 1980s, taking thousands of innocent lives.
Whatever your view of Palestinian aspirations and the Israeli government, no rational approach to this issue should ignore the human reality. It seems incomprehensible that these privileged students could see the Hamas atrocities of October 7 last year and the horrible war they were designed to trigger and use those events not to condemn and campaign against Hamas but to advocate the terror group’s agenda.
On Anzac Day, after bathing in the warm and reassuring camaraderie of the dawn service at Bondi, I went to the Sydney University students’ “occupation” site to see for myself. From a distance, the whole thing looked like topsy-turvy world to me. These are students who promote and enjoy sexual liberation, gender equality, embracing of gays, bisexuals and transgender people, imbibing of alcohol, and no doubt free expression, democracy and individual rights; how could they offer comfort to the Islamist extremist terror group Hamas, which would readily throw them off a rooftop on any of those counts?
And yes, like topsy-turvy world, this mob inverts logic and consistency. This is a movement that deliberately targeted Anzac Day for “glorification of war” while it refuses to condemn Hamas for instigating and continuing a war with unspeakable barbarity against civilians. The protesters do not even denounce Hamas for the way it deliberately triggered war: slaughtering 1200 people, including babies, women, teenagers and the elderly, while taking nearly 250 hostages for raping, torture and murder, with about 130 unaccounted for more than six months on.
As I walked into Sydney’s tent city I saw a sign scrawled on the walkway declaring this was the “Gaza camp”. There were Palestinian flags, tents emblazoned with “From the river to the sea” (the obliteration of Israel as a slogan), a stand for Socialist Alternative with a copy of Introducing Marxism on display, and a lot of young people milling about in Palestinian keffiyeh – clearly this lot had skipped the unit on cultural appropriation.
Unusually for people running a demonstration, they were very shy. I asked two women why they had “from the river to the sea” on their tents and they denied knowledge or responsibility for the tent daubing – I am certain if I had stuck around they would have denied it three times before the cock crowed.
Another group of students told me they would speak with the ABC or SBS but not with The Australian, and when I asked them why I saw no posters or banners calling for the release of hostages they broke eye contact and scattered without response.
When the protesters gathered for an open-air meeting, in keeping with their “people’s movement” schtick, they said they could not speak freely while I was watching and asked me to leave. Before leaving I posed the hostage question again – they offered no answer.
Why are the hostages conscientiously unremembered as a political inconvenience? Like the eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, these protesters want to wipe away October 7.
It troubles me that young students can turn their backs on a family such as the Bibas family. I witnessed videoed brutality and terror from October 7 that I would dearly love to unsee, but a video of the Bibas family, without overt violence, haunts me like no other, and should haunt the free world.
On the morning of October 7 last year at kibbutz Nir Oz, Shiri Bibas, 32, is seen holding her two beautiful red-haired boys, Kfir, 9 months, and Ariel, 4. (We’ve since learned Shiri’s husband Yarden had been dragged off bleeding from the head and is believed to be dead; Shiri’s parents later were found murdered). In the video Shiri appears to be uninjured but is surrounded by Hamas terrorists telling her what to do and where to go, and she is confused and terrified, clutching her boys. Her blameless terror and fear for her boys are a violation of humanity.
This mother and her boys remain unaccounted for, with some reports suggesting they were alive early this year, and Hamas claiming they were killed later by Israeli attacks. So cowardly and depraved is this abomination that the best we can hold any slim hope for is that this woman and her two boys somehow have endured almost seven months of horror.
The only person at the university who would engage in a meaningful discussion with me was Josh Lees. He is not a Sydney University student but clearly had a leadership role at the camp.
Lees is an organiser of the Palestinian Action Group and a writer for Red Flag, the newspaper and website of Socialist Alternative which claims to be the nation’s “largest Marxist revolutionary group”. So much for student autonomy.
“What’s your view of Hamas?” I asked Lees. “It’s not about Hamas, we’re opposing the genocide in Gaza,” he diverted.
And so it went, repeatedly, with this professional activist refusing to condemn Hamas or its bloodcurdling terrorism. After five unsuccessful attempts for a view on Hamas I switched to asking about his view of what Hamas did on October 7. “My view is that nothing that happened on October 7 can possibly justify a genocide that’s been taking place,” he said.
I persisted, suggesting the point was not what the events did or did not justify but more simply, did he have a view about 1200 people massacred and up to 250 taken hostage. “You wanna ask me about something that happened six-and-a-half months ago?” he deflected.
“One human being to another,” I implored. “Do you have no view about what happened on October 7?” Silence. “You can’t find it in your heart to condemn the atrocity that occurred on October 7?” Nothing.
Eventually he muttered in rhetorical tone, “Israel can defend itself, but the Palestinians can’t?!” This was a sickening characterisation of the October 7 bloodlust as self-defence.
The conversation was abhorrent and pointless. Pushed on hostages Lees claimed Israel had 10,000 hostages – facts do not matter on this campus.
These protests at some of our most prestigious universities are deeply disturbing and metastasising across our public debate. Sydney University trumpets three values of “trust, accountability and excellence” and it champions diversity, yet it tolerates a protest demonising Jews and Israel, and encouraging armed uprising by Islamist terrorists against a liberal democracy.
This, while the Islamist extremist threat re-emerges on our shores, pointed among the young. And the type of Islamist society promoted by Hamas and like-minded groups is the most brutally intolerant version known to humankind – anathema to the claimed values of any university or Western democracy.
Columbia University proclaims its mission cannot succeed without “thoughtful, rigorous debate” that is “free of bigotry, intimidation and harassment”. But right now Jewish students and staff are being physically intimidated and blocked from attending classes, so that most are too fearful to attend.
The Sydney students chant “Intifada” and “Revolution” on social media and claim Israel is “murdering tens of thousands of people”.
The university says it wants all its students to be able to express their views and it has beefed up security as a precaution – vice-chancellor Mark Scott seems to have switched from the staff-run collective model at the ABC to a student-run collective on campus.
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NSW and Origin in talks to extend Eraring power station for up to four years
Coal, wonderful coal
Australia’s biggest coal power station may stay open for four more years, with the NSW government working on the safety net solution to head off the threat of blackouts hitting the state’s electricity users.
The NSW state Labor government and Origin have been locked in talks over the future of the Eraring coal power station for months after an independent expert urged an extension. While The Australian understands an agreement remains unconfirmed – an extension guaranteeing an extension of two years, with an option for Origin to extend the lifespan by a further two years.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Penny Sharpe did not comment on the timescale of the extension, but confirmed no deal had yet been reached.
“The NSW Government is engaging with Origin on its plans for Eraring Power Station and will not comment while the process is ongoing,” said Ms Sharpe.
An Origin spokeswoman declined to comment on details of the negotiations, but pointed to comments in the company’s quarterly report published on Tuesday.
“We remain in discussion with the NSW government on the closure date for the Eraring Power Station,” the company said.
While sources stressed a deal could yet collapse, there has been widespread acceptance that a deal would be done – though talks have dragged on for months – amid dire warnings should Eraring shutter as scheduled from 2025.
The Australian Energy Markets Operator last year warned NSW risked unreliable electricity supplies from 2025. Market executives have also warned allowing the state’s largest source of electricity – typically producing about a quarter of NSW’s electricity would stoke prices for households and businesses, already buckling under high interest rates and soaring inflation.
But opponents to extending Eraring said NSW could have adequately replaced the lost generation, and the closure would have been a signal for would-be renewable energy developers to rapidly accelerate work.
Environmental voters are unlikely to welcome taxpayers underwriting Eraring, though the full details of a risk sharing mechanism may not be revealed.
Such a deal has been used by Victoria in the past, as the state Labor government struck deals with AGL Energy and EnergyAustralia to keep the state’s two largest coal power stations open.
EnergyAustralia’s Yallourn will close in 2028, while AGL’s Loy Yang A will shutter in 2035 – giving the state enough time to bring online sufficient quantities of renewable energy. The terms of both deals remain a closely guarded secret, but they are a guiding principle for any extension of Eraring.
Eraring has in recent years been losing money. A rapid rise in rooftop solar has seen wholesale prices plunge to zero or below during sunny days, which explains why Origin in 2022 announced the retirement of the coal-fired power station in August 2025 – some seven years earlier than initially expected.
But Eraring’s fortunes changed in 2023 when the coal cap allowed Origin to recoup costs above $120 a tonne for coal, which returned the generator to profitability.
The scheme will end in June, and Origin is facing higher costs for coal that will dent the financial returns of Eraring without an unexpected move in Australia’s wholesale electricity market.
Should it return to a loss-making entity, a risk-sharing agreement with the NSW government would likely see the taxpayer compensate Origin beyond 2025.
Such a scheme would be politically sensitive to the Labor government, which has won favour with large swathes of the electorate with its commitment to renewable energy.
Moving to curtail political hostility, the Labor government is talking tough – insisting it will not be held hostage.
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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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