Dutton says he has ‘never known’ Peter Costello to be aggressive
Peter Dutton has also responded to accusations that Peter Costello assaulted a journalist from The Australian newspaper as he refused to answer questions about the embattled media company. Costello has denied the allegations. You can read the full story below:
Dutton said he hopes the journalist is okay. He also said Costello had been a friend of his for over 20 years:
So I guess I’m not the person to be asking for comment in relation to it. I’ve never known Peter to be aggressive or anything of that nature. I haven’t seen the other angles of the footage, etc, I know that some people have and they are out there, so I will leave that to those you comment on but as I say, I know Peter very well and aggression is not part of his nature.
Dutton said he had never knocked over a journalist accidentally, but jokingly noted their “enthusiasm”, saying:
They are multi-skilled, generally, journalists. Some of them with good skills and some with bad skills, depending on which organisation you are coming from – but we can go into that at another time … Sometimes when they are walking backwards, some have the ability to stay upright and others don’t. On this circumstance … it is hard to make a judgement when you haven’t seen all of the footage.
Key events
Jack Snape
Women’s State of Origin clash sets new television ratings record
The broadcast of last night’s second Women’s State of Origin clash has set a new television ratings record for a women’s rugby league match.
Channel Nine’s average audience for the contest – won in the dying stages by Queensland 11-10 to keep the three-game series alive – was 1.068 million, surpassing the previous record of 941,000 set by the first game of the series.
More than 2.2 million Australians tuned in at some point during the broadcast, according to ratings provider VirtualOz, another record high for a women’s rugby league match.
By comparison, Monday’s broadcast of the Matildas’ friendly against China reached 2.6 million Australians and recorded an average audience of 1.095 million.
Thursday’s Origin match also set a crowd record for the series, as 25,782 fans in Newcastle braved the rain to experience the historic occasion.
An attendance of around 25,000 and another strong television audience are expected for the series decider in Townsville on 27 June.
Number of elderly waiting months for home help doubles
Elderly Australians in need of home care support face wait times up to nine months, AAP reports, with the number of those in need doubling to 70,000 in just one year.
The government is facing increasing pressure to reduce the delays with the number of those in limbo growing to 68,109 by 31 May this year, from 28,665 in June last year.
The senate budget estimates hearing yesterday also revealed that those who are already receiving the support are waiting for extra help as their circumstances change. The department of health and aged care’s Russell Herald said:
We have seen a deterioration of access, particularly in the last six months.
The home care package provides support for Australians with showering, cleaning, cooking and other basic needs with those receiving the assistance trying to delay or avoid moving into full-time age care.
Levels of entitlement range from $10,000 to $59,000 per year, with each recipient assessed on daily fees they can contribute to the care.
As of 31 May, 117 people were waiting for level one assistance, 17,611 for level two, 36,524 for level three and 13,857 for level four, officials at senate estimates revealed.
Those currently waiting for level-three assistance face wait times of 9 to 12 months, while those seeking a level-four package face a wait of 6 to 9 months.
Sarah Basford Canales
The documents could reveal what former prime minister Scott Morrison – who was then responsible for the social services portfolio – and other senior ministers, including Christian Porter, Alan Tudge and Marise Payne, knew about the scheme during initial plans.
Sarah Basford Canales
Continuing from our last post, the federal court ruling stated:
The tribunal was only able to determine that information in these draft documents was deliberated on by the Cabinet by considering other documents and “joining the dots” … that was a mistaken approach.
The court ruled the matter be sent back to the AAT for “rehearing and determination according to law.
Isabelle Reinecke, the executive director at Grata Fund – which is financially supporting Warren’s case – said the news was a win for robodebt victims and transparency more broadly.
After yesterday’s news that the National Anti-Corruption Commission won’t investigate six people referred by the robodebt royal commission, this full federal court decision is a win for the victims of the robodebt scheme, and for greater integrity in government.
Today’s decision closes another loophole in the FOI system that has been manipulated by governments to avoid transparency, in line with commissioner Catherine Holmes’ recommendation to stop the misuse of cabinet confidentiality exemptions. Greater transparency means better policy making, and will help to ensure scandals like robodebt will never be able to flourish and cause so much harm again.
Federal court rules against decision blocking access to robodebt documents
Sarah Basford Canales
A federal court has ruled against a decision blocking access to early robodebt documents drafted under the former Coalition government, as part of one man’s long-running fight to shed light on the scheme’s origins.
This morning, justices Geoffrey Kennett, Anna Katzmann and Shaun McElwaine ruled a December 2022 decision made by the administrative appeals tribunal to keep robodebt documents, including draft costings and new policy proposals, should be set aside due to procedural unfairness and incorrectly applying cabinet confidentiality exemptions.
The man seeking the key robodebt documents, IT expert Justin Warren, first made the freedom of information request to the then Department of Human Services, now named Services Australia, in January 2017. The department identified 13 documents, totalling 287 pages, but refused him access on the basis they were cabinet documents and related to the agency’s investigation methods.
The decision sparked a years-long battle between Warren and the agency, which is now in its seventh year.
The federal court’s ruling this morning stated Warren had been “deprived” of procedural fairness after Services Australia altered its case and relied upon “confidential evidence that [Warren] was not privy to”.
It also ruled the AAT’s decision to agree the documents were cabinet-in-confidence was “mistaken in its construction and application”.
More to come.
Bird flu detected at fifth Victorian poultry farm
Calla Wahlquist
Bird flu – the same high pathogenicity strain that has been kicking around for weeks – has been detected at a fifth poultry farm in Victoria.
The H7N3 strain, first detected at a Meredith egg farm on 22 May, has been detected at another property within 5km of the original infection site.
Agriculture Victoria confirmed the detection today. It’s the third to be found this week within the 5km restricted zone established after the first infection at Meredith 16 days ago.
Victoria’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Graeme Cooke, said the spread to nearby properties was not unexpected.
It’s why our reasonable and risk-based Restricted and Control Areas are in place and shows that Agriculture Victoria’s comprehensive and ongoing surveillance activities are working well to date.
Cooke added it was “a difficult time for our farmers and we’re making sure mental health support is available and eligible producers can access compensation”.
There is a restricted area in place over the Meredith and Lethbridge properties where H7N3 has been detected, and around the Terang farm where another strain, high pathogenicity H7N9, was detected.
Agriculture Victoria said all the poultry at the property with the newly detected infection will be “safely disposed of under veterinary supervision”.
More than half a million chickens have already been euthanised and disposed of since the outbreak was first detected.
Take a look at the three winners here:
Laura Jones ‘can’t describe the mixture of feelings’ on winning Archibald prize
Jones says she never expected to win the prize, and “can’t describe the mixture of feelings” she had after receiving the call that she won this morning.
I can’t believe my portrait of Tim Winton would join such illustrious company.
As a little girl in Kurrajong, I dreamed about being an artist. I’ve been lucky enough to make that dream come true.
Jones says she’s only the 12th woman to win the Archibald prize, adding she hopes her success inspires more young girls to pursue the career.
On to Winton, she pays homage to his environmental work and says he rang her this morning to congratulate her, adding it looked like he “felt he had the weight of the world on his shoulders”.
I hope my painting reminds everyone of what an incredible and inspiring human being he is.
Laura Jones wins Archibald prize for portrait of Tim Winton
And we are on to the Archibald winner, the $100,000 national portrait prize.
Some 1,005 entries were submitted this year, with 57 finalists.
The unanimously decided winner is Laura Jones for her portrait of Tim Winton.
Djakaŋu Yunupiŋu wins Wynne prize
Next up is the $50,000 Wynne prize, which is awarded to the best landscape painting of Australian scenery or figurative sculpture. This year 738 entries were submitted, with 41 finalists – including 21 Aboriginal works.
This is the first time in the history of the prize that there were more works hung by Aboriginal artists than non-Indigenous.
The winner is Djakaŋu Yunupiŋu, for their piece Nyalala gurmilili.
Naomi Kantjuriny wins Sulman prize
First to be announced is the Sulman prize, a $40,000 prize given to the best subject painting, genre painting or mural project.
The winner is Naomi Kantjuriny, for her piece, Minyma mamu tjuta.
Kantjuriny is a respected community Elder and leading presence at Tjala Arts in Amata on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, South Australia, where she has worked since 2001.
In her statement, partially delivered in traditional language, she says she is “so happy” to have won the prize.
This is a story we sing and dance to … it teaches a lesson to the grandkids. Sometimes they are funny and joyful stories that make us laugh … our culture is in everything and will be celebrated at Tjala Arts forever but today is a happy day.
And, drumroll please, David Gonski, president of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, is about to announce the prize winners.
This is his last year as president and last time announcing the winners.
I don’t know whether the applause you gave was that I’m going, but I appreciate it enormously.
I just want to congratulate everyone who has entered these competitions in my 19 years as judge.
