Australia news live: Coalition’s nuclear plan is ‘today’s version of a lump of coal in parliament’, Smart Energy Council CEO says | Australia news

NSW teachers accept pay offer

New South Wales teachers have voted to endorse a three-year pay offer from the New South Wales government.

It deliver pay increases of 3% annually for the next three years.

More to come.

Six added to list of endangered species in Australia

The fluffy heath mouse is among the Australian animals added to the international red list of threatened species, with conservationists warning of an escalating global extinction crisis, AAP has reported.

There are 742 endangered Australian plants and animals on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species, which grew by six species in the past year.

Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Jess Abrahams said disappearing wildlife was a dire warning for the planet:

Wildlife populations across Australia and across the planet are in decline, and we will lose many species if urgent action isn’t taken to stop rampant deforestation, invasive species and climate change.

The species now at risk of extinction include the heath mouse, found in south-west Victoria, southern South Australia and southern Western Australia.

Man arrested over fatal stabbing in Geelong

A 26-year-old man has been arrested following the alleged fatal stabbing of another man in Geelong yesterday.

The 20-year-old victim was allegedly stabbed during an altercation on Little Malop Street about 5.30am.

He was taken to hospital where he later died.

Two other men, aged 23 and 26, presented at a hospital with non life-threatening injuries yesterday morning.

Police said they will be interviewing them “at a later date”.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing.

Petra Stock

Greenwashing case against Santos gets under way

A world-first greenwashing case that seeks to hold oil and gas company Santos accountable for its net zero commitments commenced in the federal court today.

The case, brought by the shareholder group the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), was the first to challenge the veracity of a company’s net zero emissions plan.

ACCR alleged Santos made representations related to its net zero target and roadmap, which constituted misleading or deceptive conduct in breach of corporate and consumer laws.

Proceedings began with Noel Hutley, SC establishing key parameters in the case, including the meaning of net zero.

In opening remarks, Hutley quoted extensively from Santos’ public climate reports and company documents, drawing attention to the company’s reliance on blue hydrogen, carbon capture and storage and nature based offsets to achieve net zero, and its failure to disclose anticipated growth in emissions from oil and gas exploration.

Opening statements will continue into Tuesday, with the case due to conclude on Friday 15 November.

Graham Readfearn

Coalition nuclear plan a ‘smokescreen’ for fossil fuels, renewables advocate tells inquiry

More from the inquiry running in parliament today about nuclear energy generation in Australia, where renewables industry advocate John Grimes launched a bitter attack on the Coalition’s plans.

Grimes, the chief executive of the Smart Energy Council, told the inquiry the Coalition’s plan was “all about attacking renewables and boosting fossil fuels”.

Recalling Scott Morrison’s 2017 stunt where he brought a lump of coal into parliament, Grimes said:

This nuclear proposal is today’s version of a lump of coal in parliament.

The motivation [of the Coalition’s plan] is to attack renewables and hold them back. Nothing has changed. This is a smokescreen.

In a less measured and more graphic analogy, Grimes said the Coalition’s energy policy was “a bit like a dog, circling around and around finally coming back to eat its own vomit, only this time it’s nuclear flavoured”.

We have seen this vomit before. It’s all about smashing renewables and delivering for fossil fuels.

Mostafa Rachwani

And with that, I leave the blog in the hands of Cait Kelly. Thanks for reading.

Greens vow to fight nuclear power ‘tooth and nail’

Greens leader Adam Bandt has vowed to fight “tooth and nail” against nuclear power, after telling reporters the Queensland election result was “one step closer” to a change in energy policy:

Australia is now one step closer to having nuclear power. Peter Dutton has made it clear that [he will] now use this result to push Australia a step closer to having nuclear power.

The Greens will fight Peter [Dutton’s] nuclear push tooth and nail.

Crisafulli flags changes to ‘machinery of government’ in first press conference as Queensland premier

Andrew Messenger

David Crisafulli and Jarrod Bleijie have held their first press conference after being sworn in as Queensland premier and deputy premier.

The duo said their focus in the next days is changes to the “machinery of government”, referring to the structure and leadership of departments.

What we don’t want to see is the constant changes to government departments that we have seen in recent years. That doesn’t give the stability for the public service. It also creates a situation where there’s no single point of accountability into the long term.

The duo were sworn in as an “interim” cabinet at Government House this morning.

But they intend to announce and then swear in their full cabinet by the end of the week.

Before the election, they had promised to appoint all members of the shadow cabinet in the portfolios they held in opposition.

Crisafulli appeared to be edging away from meeting that pledge on Monday.

The people who you have seen and who have done a really good job will be the people who you see and will be rewarded.

And just one other thing to clear it up, that senior leadership team that’s done the job and worked really hard will continue to be that senior leadership team, Jarrod [Bleijie], David [Janetzski], Ros [Bates] and Dale [Last]. You know, they come to it with different perspectives, but they’ve done a really good job, and they’ll remain that senior leadership team. And I don’t think there’ll be too many surprises when the cabinet is announced.

Albanese government ‘not serious’ about airline competition, Spender says

Teal MP Allegra Spender has accused the government of not being “serious” about airline competition.

Taking to X to share her view on allegations in a new book that the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, requested flight upgrades from Qantas.

Spender said the government’s actions meant “higher prices for Australians”.

She also alleged Albanese has a “cosy relationship” with former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce:

The Albanese govt hasn’t been serious about airline competition. Qatar Air and foot dragging on Sydney landing slots mean higher prices for Australians. His flight upgrades and cosy relations with Alan Joyce create a perception of conflict (whether they influence him or not).

Natasha May

TGA issues fine to unauthorised vape retailer

The medicines regulator has fined a retailer in the central Queensland city of Bundaberg $18,780 after more than 350 vapes were located at their store.

The vapes were seized on 1 August 2024 when officers from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) executed a warrant, as part of a joint enforcement operation with Queensland Health.

The infringement notice comes as both the TGA and state health bodies are ensuring compliance with the government’s vaping reforms passed in July which prohibit retailers, including tobacconists and convenience stores, from selling any type of vape. Only pharmacies are allowed to supply vapes in Australia.

The TGA said since the reforms were passed, enforcement officers have been visiting retail stores across various states and territories to educate and issue warnings about unlawful advertising, supply and commercial possession of vaping goods, with informational materials being disseminated widely.

After the health minister, Mark Butler, last week said the government would start prosecuting vape vendors, the head of the TGA has echoed the need to take action for the good of public health. The head of the TGA and chief medical officer, Prof Anthony Lawler, said:

The unlawful possession and sale of vaping products endangers public health and undermines our efforts to regulate vaping goods in accordance with the legislation that passed on 1 July 2024.

The TGA continues to work with state and territory partners to remove illicit vaping goods from the market and will take action against those entities found to not be complying, including retailers.

David Crisafulli sworn in as Queensland premier

Andrew Messenger

David Crisafulli has been sworn in as Queensland’s 41st premier.

He is just the second from the Liberal National party.

Crisafulli and his deputy Jarrod Bleijie were sworn in at a ceremony at Government House on Monday. Governor Jeannette Young also swore them in as an interim cabinet of two.

He defeated Labor premier Steven Miles at the weekend’s election.

Crisafulli is expected to do a brief press conference in a few moments.

NSW government offer $1m reward in effort to solve 2015 murder of Prabha Arun Kumar

A $1m reward has been offered for information that helps solve the near-decade-old murder of an Indian mother as authorities desperately seek answers to crack the case open.

Prabha Arun Kumar was found dead on a footpath in Parramatta Park, in Sydney’s west, on 7 March 7 2015.

The 41-year-old was on the phone to her husband Arun in India when she was stabbed in the neck, with Mr Kumar reportedly hearing his wife confronted by her attacker.

The NSW government and police announced the reward on Monday for anyone who could provide information that led to the arrest and conviction of the killer.

Mr Kumar, who lived in Bangalore with the couple’s daughter, flew into Australia when he learned of his wife’s death.

She was only weeks away from moving back to India because she missed her family.

“My wife was the most caring and beautiful soul,” Mr Kumar said at the time.

Ms Kumar, who lived about 300m from where she was killed, moved to Australia in 2012 for a project with tech firm Mindtree.

Police said they had pursued multiple lines of inquiry and made several public appeals for information but the case remains unsolved.

Investigators previously dismissed the prospect of the attack being racially motivated.

Via AAP.

Benita Kolovos

Victorian premier dodges question on implications of Queensland election result

The Victorian Labor premier, Jacinta Allan, has congratulated Queensland’s incoming premier, David Crisafulli. Speaking in Footscray on Monday, she also acknowledged the “strong work of Steven Miles and the Labor team up there as well”.

Asked what the result means for the Victorian government, given the parallels with Queensland, she brushed off the question:

When it comes to the priorities of Queensland, I’ll let the Queensland premier talk to them. My priorities are building homes for Victorians.

Miles, similarly to Allan, took over the premiership after Annastacia Palaszczuk resigned. The third term Labor government was voted out, in part due to a successful law and order campaign by Crisafulli’s Liberals.

Allan said the Victorian government has “already taken very strong action in strengthening the youth justice regime”. She went on:

We’ve strengthened bail. We put youth justice legislation through the Victorian parliament recently that has passed … opposed along the way by the Liberal party. They opposed the strengthening of bail that was contained in that youth justice package … We’re giving Victoria police the additional resources they need to deal with this group of repeat serious youth offenders.

Next up, Dutton is asked about the incoming Queensland premier’s rejection of nuclear energy.

Earlier this morning, David Crisafulli said it was still a “no” to any nuclear proposal, and Dutton said he “respected” that.

I respect that is David’s position. It has been long-standing and I knew before the election and I know it now. Same as Chris Minns. I think you can have a conversation with sensible premiers and I put them in that category. Peter is the champion of the nuclear submarine in south Australia. It is safe or labour would not have signed up to it and I think the question is we have to say and ask is why is Anthony Albanese staying in the way of a bipartisan view on nuclear energy?

It would make us internationally competitive. So let’s have a mature conversation. The issue people raise all the time, is that all of that can be resolved if Anthony Albanese stands up in a bipartisan way is to present a position on nuclear and that would give certainty around investment and the future supply of energy at a cheaper price in our country but at the moment he’s playing this childlike game and unfortunately we will see increases in electricity prices under Labor hapless promises.

Dutton defends his own flight upgrades, which he says are about ‘passenger load’

Dutton outlines the number of flights he takes a year and how often he recalls getting an upgrade:

Generally, you arrive at the airport and there is an upgrade of the seat available and that is generally as I understand it how it happens. But I have been in parliament since 2001 and as you say there are 15 upgrades since then.

I probably do 190 flight this year. I prefer to be doing none at all actually, but I am here in Melbourne today very happily and I am off to Perth shortly and we go from one side of the country to another.

I average 180, 190 flights per year. None of it happens as a result of me calling my best friend Alan Joyce at Qantas.

Asked how and when upgrades are offered, Dutton said it was about “passenger load”.