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Earlier today, we told you that energy giant Santos has launched an extraordinary attack against Labor’s temporary cap on the price of gas – labelling it a “Soviet-style” policy.
Federal Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen is currently holding a press conference in Sydney and was asked to respond to those remarks.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
The first word out of his mouth? “Laughable.”
He then went on to say the following:
That sort of shrill response is just laughable. Governments around the world, whether they are right-wing governments, left-wing governments, governments around the developed world are acting and responding.
I understand chief executives’ desire to maximise their profits. That is their job. We have a different job. Our job is to act in the national interest. To protect Australian industries, to protect Australians. [Santos CEO Kevin] Gallagher has a different job. This is job to maximise profits. It is our job to maximise national interest.
That sort of shrill commentary is water off a duck’s back. We will get on with the job.
Returning to federal politics, and shadow immigration minister Dan Tehan has criticised Labor’s move to relax the rules governing Australian citizenship ceremonies.
He has accused the Albanese government of giving in to pressure from local councils.
Shadow immigration minister Dan Tehan. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Here’s what he told us:
Make no mistake, this is Labor laying the groundwork to abolish January 26 as Australia Day despite Anthony Albanese promising during the election campaign that Labor had no plans to change the date of our national day.
It is a great shame that the Albanese government won’t stand up for Australia Day. We can celebrate the best of us on January 26, and honour the truly incredible richness of our history that spans 65,000 years.
The couple at the centre of the Wieambilla shooting posted videos online in the weeks leading up to, and the night of, the fatal confrontation with police on their regional Queensland property, in which they claimed to have killed “devils” and “demons”.
A since-deleted YouTube account and alternative video hosting site feature details from the lives of Stacey and Gareth Train – along with his brother Nathaniel, who does not feature but is spoken about – weeks before Monday’s events.
Stacey and Gareth Train appear in a video believed to have been filmed after two police officers and a neighbour were shot at Wieambilla.Credit:Youtube/@mrsyugigirawil
One of the accounts features the name Daniel, Gareth’s middle name. The pair refer to themselves as Daniel and Jane in the videos. Jane was Stacey’s middle name.
All three were shot and killed by police after what has been described as an “ambush” killing of two of the four officers sent to the property – constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow – about 4.30pm in response to a NSW police missing person report for Nathaniel.
Neighbour Alan Dare was also shot dead after going to investigate the hours-long siege.
More on the deleted YouTube video here.
In case you missed it, search giant Google has blocked ads from the country’s largest abortion provider, MSI Australia, for the last two weeks, claiming the ads violate policies based on Australian law.
But a version of the ads are likely to be allowed to go live after questions from this masthead, pressure from MSI and a review by Google.
A Google spokesman said the search giant had reviewed the ads and was in discussions with MSI about revisions to get them back online.Credit:AP
Australia has medical advertising laws that prohibit the promotion of prescription medicines, such as abortion-inducing pills, but allows medical services such as abortion clinics to promote themselves.
Read the full story here.
The mayor of Merri-bek City Council in Melbourne’s inner north has welcomed the federal government’s shift on citizenship ceremonies.
Angelica Panopoulos, a member of the Greens, said her council would hold its next citizenship ceremony on January 24.
Merri-bek council takes in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick. Credit:Vince Caligiuri
“We are grateful that the federal government will allow us, and all councils, to listen to our communities and make decisions that are right for us when scheduling citizenship ceremonies in January,” she said.
“We look forward to holding many ceremonies in 2023 where we will celebrate Australian citizenship and what it means to be Australian.
“We will always listen to traditional owners and our First Nations community about matters that are important to them. January 26 is a painful day for many in our community, and isn’t the right date to celebrate.”
More on this issue here.
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has unveiled a $120 million package for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
The money will be funnelled towards 52 new infrastructure projects – including new clinics, renovations and improved staff housing.
Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Here’s what Burney told us in a statement:
This significant investment demonstrates the Albanese government’s commitment to Closing the Gap.
With projects in almost every part of the country, this funding will help improve access to critical health services for First Nations peoples.
It’s a vote of confidence in the community-controlled sector and in shared decision-making, ensuring our funding decisions are informed and supported by the community.
With so many new projects, we will see considerable progress towards better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Last month, the annual Closing the Gap report showed that Australia is making progress on targets such as healthy birth weights and the number of children enrolled in preschool.
However, the country has gone backwards on incarceration, school-readiness, suicide and child-removal.
Victoria’s weekly coronavirus figures have also been published.
The state recorded 24,652 cases of COVID-19 in the seven days ending Thursday, December 15. Eighty-four deaths were reported during this period.
Today’s cases are down from last week’s 27,790. There is also a slight drop in the number of average ICU presentations (26 this week compared to 28 the week before).
Meanwhile, NSW’s latest coronavirus numbers have been published.
The state reported 40,695 official cases of COVID-19 in the seven days to 4pm yesterday. There were also 74 COVID-related deaths during the most recent reporting period.
This week’s cases are up slightly from last week’s 40,194. But there has been a week-on-week decrease in the number of people with COVID in intensive care: 37 this week compared to 40 the week before.
The former Coalition government’s ban on holding citizenship ceremonies on days other than Australia Day has been overturned.
Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Minister Andrew Giles has just cleared the way for councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on the three days before or after the national holiday – from 23 to 29 January.
Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles.Credit:Rhett Wyman
This follows moves by Greens-led Merri-bek Council in Melbourne’s inner north to vote to ban citizenship ceremonies on January 26 and instead treat the date as a day of mourning.
In 2017, Melbourne’s Darebin and Yarra councils had their ability to conduct citizenship ceremonies revoked by the then-Liberal federal government after they voted to stop holding them on Australia Day.
Then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said the two councils were “out of step with Australian values” and the purpose of his ban was to “safeguard the integrity of citizenship ceremonies”.
Two years later, in 2019, the Morrison government amended the Citizenship Ceremonies Code to force all councils to conduct citizenship ceremonies on January 26.
Bill Shorten has also told Channel Nine that the government will consider all recommendations to come out of the inquiries into Monday’s deadly shootout west of Brisbane.
As my colleague Matt Dennien has written, one possible reform is a national firearm registry.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will raise the long-running issue at national cabinet when the body meets again next year.
“It shouldn’t take a crisis … to move the policy needle along the dial,” Shorten said.
“But there’s going to be an inquiry, an investigation. The prime minister said let’s get the results of that and the recommendations.
“We just wish we could bring these policemen back and Alan Dare, the neighbour.”
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