Key events
Henry Belot
Total ban on gambling ads ‘the right thing to do’, Labor MPs argue
Several Labor MPs have urged the federal government to introduce a total ban on gambling ads and not to water down the recommendations of an inquiry led by their late colleague Peta Murphy.
The government has spent six months assessing the inquiry’s bipartisan recommendations – prompted by “powerful evidence of community harm – and consulting with gambling companies, broadcasters, sporting codes and tech giants.
The south-west Sydney MP Michael Freelander told Guardian Australia that legislating a “blanket ban” on gambling advertising was “the right thing to do” and he “strongly believed” there was support for that among his colleagues.
Read the full story here:
Dangerous toys removed from shelves in Christmas blitz
Christmas wands, toys with button batteries and those with small, high-powered magnets are among items removed from store shelves in a pre-Christmas crackdown.
NSW Fair Trading says investigators visited 975 retailers and one toy supplier to check on 17,019 products to ensure dangerous toys and decorations are taken off shelves before Christmas.
It said 69 products were found to be non-compliant or illegal.
These included Christmas wands, toys with coin or button batteries and toys containing small, high-powered magnets.
There were also five toys found for sale which were subject to a permanent ban. All have been removed from the shelves.
Thirty-nine traders and one supplier were selling non-compliant products, two entities were fined, six received a warning letter and four were subject to further enforcement.
“Inspectors also attended the premises of a supplier who was found to be in possession of a large quantity of banned products and these were seized,” NSW Fair Trading said.
People selling non-compliant toys risk fines up to $500,000, while corporations face penalties of up to $10m.
– Australian Associated Press
Amy Remeikis
Refugee has ankle monitor removed ahead of high court action
A refugee previously in indefinite detention has had their ankle monitor and strict curfew conditions removed ahead of a high court action.
The refugee, known as RVJB, has been issued a new visa, minus the strict conditions previously applied, by the immigration minister, Andrew Giles.
RVJB had lived in the community for a year ahead of the high court decision that ended indefinite detention, but was still covered by the government’s tough new visa rules, given his visa situation. The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre was preparing to challenge his new visa conditions in the court, on the grounds RVJB had shown rehabilitation over the past eight years, seven of which were in detention and the new measures “had a severe impact on his physical and mental health”.
RVJB has lived as a permanent resident in Australia since he was a child. While the ankle monitor and curfew have been removed, there are still 20 strict conditions attached to his visa, including stringent reporting requirements, as part of the new laws.
So far three people caught in the new visa rules passed in response to the high court decision on indefinite detention have had their ankle monitors removed. Lawyers at ASRC have vowed to continue challenging the new regime in the court.
Staff shortages balloon pay bill to $1.2bn in NSW
Overtime for NSW public sector workers has snowballed, adding millions to the state’s pay bill and increasing the risk of job-related injuries and burnout.
Widespread staff shortages in a series of key agencies has been helping to drive the rapid rise in extra hours among workers over the past three years, according to a NSW audit office report.
Between July 2020 and mid-2023, overtime expenses for staff in the bulk of the state’s public workforce blew out by 40% – compared with a rise of 16% in overall salaries and wages.
One trainee junior medical officer worked more than double their standard hours in 2022-23 for a total of 2,156 hours of overtime, the report said.
A number of other frontline workers, including correctional officers, paramedics and firefighters, did more than 1,000 hours of overtime in the 12-month period.
But the report, released on Wednesday, also highlighted high rates of overtime in other agencies, including Transport for NSW, largely due to “unplanned staff shortages”.
The reasons given for the high overtime rates for the various roles included resourcing constraints, unfilled rosters and the workload demands due to the number of government projects under way.
The combined overtime bill for 25 agencies covering the vast majority of the state’s 430,000 public sector employees was $1.2bn in 2022-23.
– Australian Associated Press
Uninsured won’t be left behind in flood clean-up
Australians priced out of insurance or underinsured will not be left behind by the federal government as the flood clean-up begins in far north Queensland.
The assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, said the government was working though options to help people who did not have insurance or were underinsured.
He told ABC RN:
We’re working through what we can do to assist those people as well to ensure that nobody’s left behind as we make the big clean-up effort.
Households and businesses were already able to access immediate disaster relief payments and this support would remain available over the medium term.
The minister said it was important that insurance was tuned to appropriately provide assistance and cover risks in a rapidly changing climate.
What we’re experiencing in Australia is part of a global phenomenon with reinsurers and global insurers starting to factor in the impact of climate change.
And the impact of those severe weather events and the risks associated with them and insurance policies.
He said the government’s role included making sure the right disaster resilience was in place, such as building the right infrastructure, carefully locating suburbs, and appropriately designed homes.
– Australian Associated Press
Sun protection pioneer to weave $10m into new clothing
Sun protection company Solbari is getting a $10m investment to expand its local and global footprint.
For almost a decade, Melbourne-based Solbari has pioneered the production of clothing, sun hats and accessories that protect the skin from the harsh Australian sun. The founder and CEO, Johanna Young, quit her job in finance to develop sun-protective garments when her husband had a skin cancer scare.
Ghazaleh Lyari, the co-head of investments at Australian Business Growth Fund, said investing in Solbari was particularly compelling because it was serving customers with health concerns.
The products are not considered as discretionary spending but rather essential items.
– Australian Associated Press
Calla Wahlquist
Is Gina Rinehart’s renewables claim right?
Wind and solar farms are popping up in renewable energy zones and designated development areas around Australia. Within those zones, it can feel as though new projects are everywhere: on your property or your neighbour’s, on the hills into town.
Fuelling this narrative is Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, who said that one-third of Australia’s “prime agricultural land” could be “taken over” by renewable energy projects, particularly solar.
That figure comes from a report released this month by the Institute of Public Affairs. The report by the rightwing thinktank, which has consistently advocated against emissions reductions policies and called for Australia to pull out of the Paris agreement, claims that one-third of Australia’s agricultural land would “have to be sacrificed” to renewable energy developments to meet Australia’s energy needs with a 50:50 mix of wind and solar by 2050.
According to the Australia Institute, the Clean Energy Council and projections by the Australian Energy Market Operator, both the IPA’s prediction on the size of the area required and the demand assumptions it is based on are incorrect.
“I can’t overstate how ridiculous the extrapolations in this report are,” says the Australia Insitute principal adviser, Mark Ogge.
Read the full analysis here:
Additional assistance money for flood-hit communities: Albanese
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has outlined the support packages for far north Queensland:
There is an initial package: $25m for primary producers and $25m for small business.
Each of the local government areas will receive additional – on top of the other grants that will be there a $1m top-up payment because of the additional costs that they are having and in addition to that, a tourism recovery $5m for advertising and to get out there and get the message around to Australia but also overseas if needs be.
Albanese flags further support package for flooded far north Queensland
The prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, is addressing ABC News Breakfast from Cairns.
He is flagging that the government will announce a “further” support package “on top of what we’re providing for individuals” after the region was devastated by rain and floods:
A package of support for primary producers, one for small businesses and not-for-profit organisations, support for each of the nine local government areas and, in addition to that, tourism recovery packages.
While in Cairns, the prime minister will meet with emergency service workers and volunteers, as well as communities in affected areas such as Holloways Beach and representatives from local government and the tourism sector.
Andrew Hastie criticises decision to reject US appeal for warships in Red Sea
Australia’s shadow defence minister, Andrew Hastie, has criticised the government’s decision to reject a US appeal for warships in the Red Sea yesterday. He told Sky News that “we absolutely have an interest in keeping the sea lanes in the Red Sea open”.
Matt Thistlethwaite, the assistant minister for defence and veterans affairs, responded on ABC RN this morning. He said there have been “numerous requests” from the US.
[The US] has made requests regarding naval operations, the US has made requests regarding staff. We’ve made a decision that the most appropriate response for Australia is to send additional personnel.
So we’ll send six personnel to Operation Prosperity Guardian and we’ll double the number of personnel to Operation Manitou in Bahrain.
WA firefighters brace for another day of intense blazes
Firefighters battling multiple blazes that have destroyed homes in Western Australia face another day of tough conditions.
Five emergency-level fires have torn through bushland, rural properties and the suburb of Parkerville in Perth’s hilly east in the past two days.
Crews have faced “intense fire behaviour” driven by strong and gusty easterly winds and low humidity.
No emergency warnings were in place in WA early on Friday following threat downgrades but the fire and emergency services commissioner, Darren Klemm, said the situation was unlikely to improve for days.
Klemm spoke to reporters from the Parkerville fire ground late on Thursday:
We haven’t got a great forecast, particularly the next three or four days.
Certainly from here through to Boxing Day we’re going to have some really challenging conditions across … the southern half of the state.
The Parkerville blaze, which started accidentally on Thursday when a tree fell on to powerlines, has destroyed two homes but authorities warn there could be more.
The alert warning for the area was at watch and act level early this morning but residents were warned there was still a possible threat to lives and homes as conditions may change.
– Australia Associated Press
NSW windfarm approved
A windfarm will be developed in south-west New South Wales – the first windfarm approved in the state in two-and-a-half years.
The 1,500MW Yanco Delta windfarm will operate in the state’s South West Renewable Energy Zone. It will be developed by Virya Energy on a 33,000-hectare site in the Murrumbidgee and Edward River local government areas.
It will power up to 700,000 homes a year, the NSW government said on Friday, and will involve the construction of 208 wind turbines with a maximum tip height of 270 metres, an 800MW battery energy storage facility and grid connection infrastructure.
The state minister for climate change and energy, Penny Sharpe, said:
It means more clean energy, more jobs and local investment and we’re another step closer to achieving our net zero targets.
Over the next decade, three of the four remaining coal-fired generators in NSW are scheduled to retire, removing around 7,400MW of dispatchable electricity generation from the system.
Renewable energy developments like this one in the South West Renewable Energy Zone are critical to our energy future, so we can ensure there is enough renewable energy to replace ageing coal-fired power stations.
Lehrmann’s lawyers to give closing arguments
Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers are expected to give their closing arguments in the defamation trial today. Guardian Australia will have a separate live blog to cover all the developments from 10am.
Defence lawyers used their closing arguments on Thursday to describe the former Liberal staffer as a “fundamentally dishonest man”, suggesting repeated mistruths about the events of March 2019 suggest he might be a “compulsive liar”.
Lisa Wilkinson’s lawyer also told the court there “can’t be any doubt in anyone’s mind that there was sex” on the night Brittany Higgins was allegedly raped.
“The only issue that would trouble your honour, having regard to the unsatisfactory state of the evidence by both persons, is the consent issue,” Wilkinson’s barrister, Sue Chrysanthou SC, said on Thursday.
Lehrmann is suing both Channel Ten and Wilkinson over a 2021 interview with Higgins broadcast on The Project that he says defamed him by accusing him of raping Higgins in the office of their then boss, the former defence industry minister Linda Reynolds.
Lehrmann has repeatedly denied the allegation and says no sex whatsoever took place.
Welcome
Welcome to Friday – the last working day before Christmas. I’m Rafqa Touma taking you through the morning’s news.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the Queensland premier, Steven Miles, will visit flood-ravaged areas of Queensland today.
Meanwhile, firefighters battling multiple blazes that have destroyed homes in Western Australia face another day of tough conditions.
Five emergency-level fires have torn through bushland, rural properties and the suburb of Parkerville in Perth’s hilly east over the past two days.
Crews have faced “intense fire behaviour” driven by strong and gusty easterly winds and low humidity.
The fire and emergency services commissioner, Darren Klemm, said the situation was unlikely to improve today.
“We haven’t got a great forecast, particularly the next three or four days,” he told reporters from the Parkerville fire ground late on Thursday.
“Certainly from here through to Boxing Day we’re going to have some really challenging conditions across … the southern half of the state.”
I’m Rafqa Touma and I will be rolling our live blog coverage through the day. If you see anything you don’t want us to miss, shoot it my way on X here: @At_Raf_