Australia news live: Chalmers says Coalition and its ‘sycophants and suckups’ wrong about need for budget cuts | Australian Greens

The leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud, has flagged costings on the Coalition’s nuclear power policy are “imminent” and will be announced “very soon”, while falling short of nailing down a date.

Speaking on Sky News today, Littleproud was asked if there would be a “sneak peek” on the costings of the plan for seven nuclear power plants. A report released in September and dismissed by the opposition estimated the plan would add $665 a year to average power bill.

Littleproud:

We will be announcing this very soon, it’s imminent in terms of the costings. But what we wanted to do is … gain social licence in the communities in which we determine where these nuclear power plants will go.

And that’s what we’ve gained, and we’ve been able to go into those communities, educate them and let them understand about the opportunities and the transition that nearly 80% of them that work in a coal fired power station can transition across into a nuclear power plant.

The costings will be out very soon as well as our total grid showing and demonstrating that we’re not going down an all-renewables approach … I think that if we’re given a mandate after the next federal election, there will be a very powerful mandate for everyone to work collectively to get on with the job and get started immediately.

Liberal senator Simon Birmingham joins ANZ South Australia

The Liberal senator, Simon Birmingham, has been appointed the head of Asia Pacific engagement and chair of ANZ South Australia after his resignation from parliament last week.

In a statement released today, ANZ said Birmingham would be working closely with the chief executive officer, Shayne Elliott, to “expand and strengthen” ANZ’s trade relationships and capital flows across the region.

Elliot:

Birmingham has had a distinguished career as a senator for South Australia and Australian cabinet minister … his significant experience and knowledge of trade, investment and the economies and governments of the Asia Pacific will help ANZ and our customers to create opportunities across the region.

Birmingham’s knowledge of and commitment to his home state will allow us to deepen our support for our South Australian customers and the state’s economy. His understanding of many of the state’s key industries – such as agriculture, tourism, defence, and education – will help drive opportunities for our South Australian customers, including those exporting to the world.

Birmingham said ANZ had “long played a strong role” in promoting trade and capital flows through the Asia Pacific.

I look forward to working closely with ANZ’s customers and the bank’s leadership, both at home and across the Asia Pacific region.

Birmingham will join ANZ in February next year.

Caitlin Cassidy

International report shows growing inequality in Australian education system

An international report about the performance of year 4 and 8 students across mathematics and science points to growing inequalities in our education system, the Australian Education Union (Aeu) says.

The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss) results, released yesterday, were Australia’s best for year 4 students, while stagnating for year 8 students and showing an increase in very low performers.

It also highlighted large performance gaps between socioeconomically disadvantaged students, regional students, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their peers.

Aeu federal president, Correna Haythorpe, said with public schools teaching 80% of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the results underlined the urgent need for full funding of the system.

The results from Timss 2023 should signal a wake-up call for the Albanese government about the urgent need to fully fund our public schools. While we are pleased to see some improvements in year 4, the stagnation in year 8, particularly among our most disadvantaged students, is deeply concerning.

Without increased investment in our public schools, the gap between students from low and high SES backgrounds, as well as between Aboriginal students and Torres Strait Islander students and non-Indigenous students, will only continue to grow.

The education minister remains in a standoff with New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria over who will front an ongoing 5% gap in public school funding. Jason Clare has proposed the Commonwealth increase its share from 20% to 22.5%, while the states and the Aeu pushing the federal government to lift its funding to 25%.

Karen Middleton

Chalmers rejects criticism of government’s economic management by opposition and its ‘sycophants and suck-ups’

The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has again defended the Albanese Labor government’s handling of the economy.

Speaking to journalists at the opening of a mental health centre in his outer Brisbane seat of Rankin, Chalmers rejected Peter Dutton’s allegation that “wasteful spending” by the government had driven the economy almost to a standstill.

Chalmers dismissed the criticism from the opposition and people he described as its “sycophants and suck-ups” in the wake of yesterday’s national accounts figures.

He suggested the Coalition favoured “radical austerity” which would send Australia into recession, saying:

We get a lot of free advice from our political opponents and from their sycophants and suck ups that we should have some kind of slash and burn budget with radical austerity. That’s a recipe for recession.

Chalmers would not commit about making more spending cuts in the upcoming mid-year budget update or the full budget scheduled for March next year.

But he said:

In the best case, every budget contains some reprioritising of spending, trying to make the most of that spending, and trying to make sure that it’s directed to the most productive purposes.

Chalmers also rejected calls from eight teal crossbenchers to change the definition of a small business from one employing up to 15 staff to one employing up to 25.

He said the Fair Work Ombudsman was reviewing the definition of a small business and was due to report by mid next year, so the government would await those recommendations before considering any changes.

Chalmers returned fire on Dutton’s attack, calling the Coalition’s as-yet-uncosted plans to build nuclear reactors as “nuclear madness” and “economic insanity”.

Victorian deputy premier says $92m funding will ensure free swimming lessons for next few years

Just going back to the Victorian deputy premier Ben Carroll’s press conference from earlier, where he announced more government funding for swimming lessons.

Carrol said Swimming in Schools program has been going since 2017:

We’ve had a partnership going with Life Saving Victoria since about 2017 where we actually embedded it in the curriculum for our primary school students.

When we made it embedded in the curriculum, we invested at about $131m to be exact, and then just shy of $75m in the last budget. But [today’s announcement of $92m] ensures that we’re embedding long-term funding over the next four years to continue the swimming lessons for free for our primary school students.

The latest funding is from the 2024/25 budget, handed down in May. But Carroll says today’s announcement is timely:

Sadly, drownings are up, and this is a timely reminder, as we enter into summer, the importance of water safety, particularly for children. You know, 20 seconds is all it takes for a child to drown.

So to everyone, whether it’s at the beach this summer, whether it’s at the family swimming pool or gathering – people sometimes start consuming alcohol around pools and water – it’s so important to have water safety front of mind as we head into summer.

Minns says fact ATC must vote on racecourse sale means it was not pushed through without process

But Minns has said the Rosehill racecourse can’t be sold unless the members of the Australian Turf Club vote in favour of it, even if the government wants the sale to go through.

At the same press conference, he said:

Anyone that suggests that this has been run and done, rubber-stamped, pushed through by the NSW government without any consideration or due process – I mean you would have to willfully ignore the fact that the 20,000 members of the ATC have to vote on it.

Minns insists racecourse should be sold to power new housing ‘gamechanger’

Minns has insisted he wants to forge ahead with the proposal to sell the Rosehill racecourse and turn it into housing.

At his press conference this morning, Minns said:

We think this would be a gamechanger for Sydney. I’m not walking away from this proposal.

Yes, there are many hurdles for it to jump through but it is too crucial when it comes to new housing for young people in this expensive city to walk away from today.

In December, the New South Wales government announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Australian Turf Club (ATC) after being approached about turning the Rosehill Gardens racecourse into up to 25,000 homes and a school, with an accompanying metro station.

The plan was for the ATC retain ownership of the site until it was developed and a horse facility would be built at Horsley Park for the up to 400 animals that would need to be relocated, as well as developing Warwick Farm racecourse into a “new world-class track”.

The ATC reportedly proposed to sell the racecourse for up to $5bn.

The land is only thought to be worth up to $2bn at present, but Guardian Australia understands the ATC believes it will be worth up to $23bn once a metro station is built on it.

The proposal – which was controversial among some members of the horse racing community – has been scrutinised by a parliamentary committee which is due to hand down its report tomorrow.

This morning, Minns told reporters:

I would say if anyone has a proposal to build new housing for Sydney and NSW and they want to approach the NSW government, please do so.

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has made an impassioned defence of his conduct as he faces a referral to the state’s corruption watchdog over his involvement in the government’s plan to sell a racecourse in western Sydney.

A parliamentary inquiry into the government’s proposal to sell the Rosehill racecourse in Sydney’s west and turn it into tens of thousands of homes will deliver its report on Friday.

It has been reported in the media that the inquiry’s report will recommend that Minns be referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac).

The decision reportedly concerns Minns’ relationship with Steve McMahon, the head of government relations at the Australian Turf Club, which owns the Rosehill site.

The premier responded to those reports last night with a statement in which he said it was “disgraceful to politicise the Icac with unsubstantiated rumours”.

Minns doubled down at a press conference earlier this morning, where he was asked by journalists about those reports and whether he should face a potential referral to the corruption watchdog.

The premier said:

You have all been witnesses to the parliamentary inquiry. If there was a shred of information that had been collected by that inquiry, it would have been discovered before today.

The reason it hasn’t been and the reason this committee, in a politicised way, have reverted to the Icac, is precisely because they don’t have those facts, all that evidence.

Victorian government announces $92m for more school swimming lessons

Benita Kolovos

The Victorian deputy premier and education minister, Ben Carroll, is holding a press conference in Melbourne to announce $92m in funding for more school swimming lessons after an increase in drownings last summer.

He says the funding would allow for an extra 900,000 lessons in four years as part of the Swimming in Schools program, which helps students develop lifelong skills in swimming and water safety to reduce their risk of drowning and injury.

The government says it funds the lessons at every state and Catholic primary school as well as students of all ages in government specialist schools and English language schools, due to higher risks these students can face around water.

Carroll’s announcement coincided with Water Safety Week and came a day after Life Saving Victoria reported a “substantial increase” in young people drowning over the past year.

Their 2023-24 report found the largest increase in drownings across Victoria in the past year was recorded among 15 to 24-year-olds with 10 deaths, which is double the average drowning rate for the past decade.

On top of this, 25 to 44-year-olds recorded 17 deaths, the highest number of any age group and the highest tally for this group in 20 years.

Multicultural communities across Victoria also had the highest number of drownings since records began, with 21 deaths.

Nearly $900,000 worth of cryptocurrency seized, fifth man charged in relation to alleged dark net drug vendor

New South Wales police say they have seized nearly $900,000 worth of cryptocurrency and charged a fifth man as part of an investigation into alleged dark net vendors.

Police will allege in court the man, 34, laundered nearly $1.25m on behalf of what they allege was one of the largest drug vendors on the dark net.

Detectives from the cybercrime squad have been investigating an alleged criminal group using the dark net, a part of the internet that cannot be accessed through conventional search engines.

Police have alleged the group sold more than $80m worth of prohibited drugs in the past six years.

Earlier this year, police charged four other men in relation to the group, who remain before the courts.

The fifth man was arrested early yesterday morning after police said they used a warrant to search a property in Canley Heights in western Sydney.

Police said they seized $894,697 worth of cryptocurrencies, $7,000 in cash, a luxury watch worth $65,000, seven mobile phones, three computers and “cryptocurrency related paraphernalia”.

The man was arrested and taken to Fairfield police station, police said.

He was charged with knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime, dishonestly obtaining financial advantage etc by deception and two counts of dealing with property proceeds of crime worth more than $100,000.

He was refused bail and appeared before Fairfield local court yesterday.

Investigations under Strike Force Carieville continue.

Natasha May

NSW health minister says ‘we don’t need judging and moralising’ in opening address to anti-drugs summit

Before Howard’s speech, the NSW health minister, Ryan Park, delivered the opening address, acknowledging Howard’s “enormous piece of work that has helped inform this summit, and I know will help chart our drug and alcohol policy going forward”.

Park told the summit that as a parent when it comes to drugs “you see an issue at every corner” but that the young people who spoke at the summit yesterday “don’t always see that through a frame of problem and problematic behavior.”

He thanked them for challenging him:

I wanted my own views to be challenged.

Park acknowledged experts’ calls for the need for compassion. Park said: “we don’t need judging and moralising, what we need is support.”

While the dial has moved on stigma around mental health challenges, he said “if we’re all honest with one another, we haven’t done the same in relation to drug use”.

Natasha May

Former special commissioner urges NSW government to take drug decriminalisation policy to next election

A former special commissioner has told the New South Wales government’s drug summit he is galled “we are being asked to revisit the same issues yet again when the work has already been done”.

Prof Dan Howard, the commissioner of the 2020 special commission of inquiry into the drug “ice”, told the audience this week’s summit could be a pivotal moment in drug and alcohol policy history. However, he acknowledged:

It galls me that we are being asked to revisit the same issues yet again when the work has already been done.

Howard acknowledged people with lived experience have continued to tell their stories at his special commission as well as at the week-long forum in 1999 that was the impetus for Australia’s first supervised injecting room and which this summit was modelled on.

How many times must we listen to what these courageous people are telling us before we act? To fail them is an abuse of their courage and trust.

His speech was met with multiple instances of the audience breaking out in applause.

Howard highlighted the support of the peak evidence based bodies of physicians, the law council and researcher for action to decriminalise drug use and encourage a health based approach.

He ended it by urging the government that after the co-chairs of the summit release their report, “bite the bullet” and go the next election with a policy of decriminalisation.

“You have a mandate now.”

Ariel Bogle

Peter Dutton calls for offshore wind project in NSW to be scrapped

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, appeared in Port Stephens, NSW this morning calling for a local offshore wind project not to proceed.

The Hunter coastline was declared a potential area for offshore wind by the government in mid-2023. After public consultation, the zone was reduced in size and one company, Novocastrian Wind Pty Ltd, was offered a preliminarily feasibility licence to develop the project.

If elected, Dutton said his government will rescind the Port Stephens offshore wind zone and talked up his party’s nuclear power policy.

“It’s in this community’s best interest that this project does not proceed,” Dutton claimed.

He said he had spoken to locals who raised issues with the consultation process and possible environmental impact. Asked if he would cancel other offshore projects, Dutton said:

What’s important to do in relation to offshore wind is to look at each of the projects.

We’ll look at the individual community and what the net impact, whether it’s positive or negative, into our energy system.

What the Coalition is about is delivering lower-cost electricity and gas to consumers and small businesses.

Dutton appeared alongside the shadow climate change and energy minister, Ted O’Brien, and Laurence Antcliff, the Liberal party candidate for Paterson, which includes part of Port Stephens. The seat is held by Labor MP Meryl Swanson.