Tony Rundle, the premier of Tasmania from March 1996 to September 1998, has died aged 86.
A Liberal, Rundle was sworn in as the premier of the state six weeks before the Port Arthur massacre.
Jeremy Rockliff, Tasmania’s current premier, described Rundle as “a kind, intelligent man, and one that I was truly fortunate to count as a mentor”, adding:
As premier, he remodelled Tafe Tasmania and established Service Tasmania, negotiated Australia’s first regional forest agreement, got BassLink underway and delivered the state’s apology to our Aboriginal community.
I well recall Tony being a tower of strength and compassion as he led Tasmanians through the shock, grief and trauma of the tragedy at Port Arthur. In unity with prime minister John Howard, he drove critical gun law reform that all Australians benefit from today.
Ben Britton has been dumped as a Liberal candidate for the New South Wales seat of Whitlam after it was revealed he had expressed a string of controversial views on fringe podcasts before his preselection.
Britton was taken off the Liberal party’s website, and sources have told Guardian Australia he was no longer being endorsed, with the party quickly replacing him with Nathaniel Smith.
Read the full story here:
Tony Rundle, the premier of Tasmania from March 1996 to September 1998, has died aged 86.
A Liberal, Rundle was sworn in as the premier of the state six weeks before the Port Arthur massacre.
Jeremy Rockliff, Tasmania’s current premier, described Rundle as “a kind, intelligent man, and one that I was truly fortunate to count as a mentor”, adding:
As premier, he remodelled Tafe Tasmania and established Service Tasmania, negotiated Australia’s first regional forest agreement, got BassLink underway and delivered the state’s apology to our Aboriginal community.
I well recall Tony being a tower of strength and compassion as he led Tasmanians through the shock, grief and trauma of the tragedy at Port Arthur. In unity with prime minister John Howard, he drove critical gun law reform that all Australians benefit from today.
I’m handing over to my colleague Donna Lu, who will take you through the rest of the day. Thanks for reading.
Australia is pushing for a “full and thorough” investigation into into the deaths of 15 humanitarian aid workers after a new video emerged of the shooting in Gaza.
The mobile phone footage of the last moments of some of the 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers killed by Israeli forces in an incident in Gaza last month appears to contradict the version of events put forward by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
The almost seven-minute video, which the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on Saturday was recovered from the phone of Rifat Radwan, one of the men killed, appears to have been filmed from inside a moving vehicle. It shows a red fire engine and clearly marked ambulances driving at night, using headlights and flashing emergency lights.
The vehicle stops beside another that has driven off the road. Two men get out to examine the stopped vehicle, and then gunfire erupts before the screen goes black.
The Israeli military has said its soldiers “did not randomly attack” any ambulances, insisting that troops opened fire on vehicles that had no prior clearance to enter the area and were driving with their lights off.
The IDF said on Saturday that the incident was still under investigation and that “all claims, including the documentation circulated about the incident, will be thoroughly and deeply examined to understand the sequence of events and the handling of the situation”.
Foreign affairs minister Penny Wong said those responsible for the attack must be held to account. She said:
The deaths of humanitarian workers in Gaza are unacceptable. Aid workers must be protected and Australia repeats its call on all parties to abide by international humanitarian law
It is appropriate that there is a thorough and independent investigation. Those responsible must be held accountable … Australia calls on all parties to return to the ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza.
Israel says it has announced an investigation into the incident to be undertaken by the Israeli military.
Labor is facing a backlash in some traditionally safe electorates, such as Watson in western Sydney, where Muslim voters are threatening to abandon the party over a perceived failure to call out Israeli war crimes.
Mariam Tomahy, a member of Teachers and School Staff for Palestine, said Senator Wong’s calls for an investigation were too little too late, given the earlier silence from the government about the killing, which happened in March.
“It’s a very slow response and we expect a lot more from our government,” Tomahy told AAP. “We consider these kinds of statements as lip service, to be honest.”
The pro-Palestine group is holding a rally at Bankstown, in the seat of Watson, on Sunday afternoon to call out a rise in Islamophobia since the start of the war in Gaza.
Tomahy sensed a real backlash coming for sitting Labor frontbencher Tony Burke, saying: “We’re seeing an unprecedented reaction from western Sydneysiders.”
– AAP contributed to this report
Some quite moving comments from the vice-chancellor of Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Prof Pascale Quester, on the Coalition’s announcement today that it would place a cap on international students, which would see the number of international students fall by 80,000.
Quester, who was herself an international student, said she knew firsthand the “vibrancy international students bring to our cities”.
We must stop the attacks on international students. They are not some mythical group of people. They are individuals with dreams, ambitions, and, for some of them, the perfectly legitimate desire to contribute to our national project. These students come to Australia, receive an excellent education and, when they opt in to stay, they go on to build careers, lives and communities here.
Quester also said the continued attacks on international students from both sides of politics “damages Australia’s long-term economic and technological future”.
It is depriving our country of its best chance to access the talent we so desperately need to pivot from an economy that just digs things out of the ground to one that is tech-savvy, entrepreneurial and part of the knowledge economy.
The cold hard truth is we do not have enough Australian high school students interested in pursuing Stem at university. Forget about brain drain – our nation is at serious risk of a brain drought. International students, who we know are increasingly wanting to study Stem subjects, are critical to our future as a knowledge economy.
A slightly odd personal story from Peter Dutton to end his campaign event in Tasmania and segue into another spending announcement for the southern state, as the opposition leader tells of how he bought his father a ride in a Porsche around a racetrack for Father’s Day that nearly killed him, as he announces $18m to upgrade a local racetrack.
There are some things that you’ll remember during these election campaigns, and some of it’s just a whirlwind – you’re going from one place to the next – but I do remember most of a fast lap that I had not too far from here … around the track at at Symmons Plains raceway.
The fast lap Dutton did reminded him of the Father’s Day racetrack gift he bought Dutton Snr a few years ago.
Now, I thought it was a great thing, a good thing to do as a son, and I remember it was about three or four laps, and about halfway through the second or third lap the guy decided to put his foot down and really give Dad the ultimate experience. But instead, what happened is that the car – and I can watch this in my mind as I speak to you in slow motion – started to do 360s and the car started to spin off the track into the sand.
Now, the story ended well, so I’ve got a good story to tell, ultimately, but I did have this passing thought that out of an active sort of good son interest in thinking about my dad that I’d killed my dad on Father’s Day … I did have flashbacks back to that moment when I was out on the track only a week or so ago …”
And then he segues neatly into a spending announcement:
We’ve committed $18 million to upgrade that racetrack, and I think that’s going to be a phenomenal investment in Tasmania.
What a whirlwind.
Dutton says Plibersek could close down Tasmanian forestry industry ‘overnight’
More from Peter Dutton’s rally in Tasmania, where he is warning a crowd about the state’s forestry industry that “Tanya Plibersek, equally, along with Bob Brown and others, could close it down overnight.”
The contest in Tasmania will be a close one. The seat of Lyons – and Dutton spends a while in his speech proffering fierce warnings to offer about Rebecca White, who is running as the Labor candidate in that seat – is held by Labor by a margin of just 0.9%. The Labor MP Brian Mitchell is set to retire. So, the contest is on.
Dutton has a raft of Tasmania-focused announcements today, including that the Coalition will invest $40m to establish a new timber manufacturing expansion program, $65m to support Tasmanian industry regarding freight equalisation, and $80m to upgrade a 40km stretch of the Bass Highway work that he says will get under way “very quickly” if the Coalition is elected.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton is also at a campaign rally, in the battleground state of Tasmania.
A key issue in the state has been the future of the salmon industry at Macquarie Harbour and its impact on the Maugean skate, an endangered fish.
During budget week, Labor passed legislation to secure the industry – with support from the Coalition – but Dutton’s claiming Labor will “destroy” the salmon industry.
You know the story all too well, Labor was on a pathway to destroy the Tasmanian salmon industry, exactly what they want to do to forestry in this great state as well … we stopped Labor’s plan to stop salmon farming here in Tasmania.
Albanese says battery policy helps make voting choice ‘crystal clear’
On the battery policy – which Labor says will benefit Queenslanders more than any other state – Albanese said it helped makes the choice between the two parties “crystal clear”.
Our plan for cheaper home batteries will start on the 1st of July this year. It makes the choice crystal clear: wait until sometime in the 2040s for expensive nuclear energy under the Liberal party, or save money this year and every year afterwards with solar power under Labor.
The $2.3bn plan will slash the cost of household batteries by 30%, as part of a dual cost-of-living and climate action pitch to voters.
Foreign affairs minister Penny Wong told Insiders this morning it would help about 1m households to 2030.
Anthony Albanese has formally launched the battery policy at his first election rally, in Queensland.
The PM was met with a rapturous welcome, addressing adorning crowds of Labor supporters – and plugging his government’s tax cuts and investment in Medicare.
He also attacked comments from the opposition leader – who hails from Queensland – that he’d like to live at Kirribilli House in Sydney over the Lodge in the nation’s capital.
Albanese celebrated what’s been a strong first week of the campaign for Labor.
[We’re] building on the strong foundations we have laid over the last three years, focusing on the policies that will make people better off over the next three years.
And while we have been running on our positive plan, the LNP have been running for cover. Running away from questions about their promise to cut wages and increase taxes, and try and run and hide from the cuts they will make to education and health to pay for their $600 billion nuclear reactors.
Labor’s home battery plan welcomed as ‘significant’ help for lowering bills
The Clean Energy Council (CEC) has welcome the government’s rooftop solar battery announcement today that would see users save 30% on a household battery, calling it a “significant and welcome cost-of-living measure” for the 4 million Australians with rooftop solar.
The CEC said the average upfront cost of purchasing a battery was around $14,000, which had been a barrier to entry for many homeowners, with less than 5% of households with rooftop solar investing in battery storage, according to CEC data.
“It’s been the missing piece of the energy transition puzzle when it comes to further reducing energy bills for Aussie households,” said the CEC’s general manager, Con Hristodoulidis. He added:
The government’s proposed discount of $4,000 on a medium-sized (11.5 kWh) battery will see homeowners save around $1,100 per year on their bills…
The more batteries we have in the system, the more power we can store and use for those peak times when energy is more expensive, and taking pressure off the distribution network leads to lower power bills for everyone. Our analysis shows this network saving can be as high as $190m for all energy users.
A national battery scheme will ensure more households will be empowered to turbocharge their energy independence and save on their bills. It’s good news for everybody’s wallets, and the long-term future of Australia’s modern energy system – built on the cheapest form of renewable energy backed by storage.
The Australian Council of Social Service (Acoss) welcomed the announcement, saying it would “support a faster transition to clean energy and help lower power bills for all” but also called on the government to investment in thermal efficiency, electric appliances and solar for those struggling the most.
“Supporting ongoing investment in renewable energy and energy storage, like home batteries, is critical to addressing the climate crisis and lowering power bills, rather than polluting and expensive gas and nuclear,” said the acting CEO of Acoss, Edwina MacDonald.
However, if parties are serious about providing targeted energy bill relief to people with the least, there must also be further investment in measures like thermal efficiency, electric appliances and solar for low-income housing and renters.
The reality is the home battery subsidy will be taken up by people who own a home and already have solar and lower energy bills. It’s the people on the lowest incomes and renters that continue to miss out.
The Greens have issued an excoriating statement blasting Peter Dutton’s announcement today that the Coalition would cut the intake of foreign students by 80,000, in a plan aimed at reducing demand for housing.
Under the plan there, at most 115,000 overseas students would be allowed to commence study in Australia at publicly funded universities each year, and a further 125,000 in the vocational education and training (VET), private university and non-university higher education sectors.
The Coalition said this would result in a reduction of more than 80,000 in annual new overseas student commencements compared with 2023 levels and was done in a bid to reduce pressure on housing.
But the Greens have labelled the move “blatantly racist” and “a cynical attempt to scapegoat migrants and international students for a housing crisis they didn’t cause”.
Senator Mehreen Faruqi, deputy leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson for higher education, said:
Dutton’s plan to slash student numbers and triple visa fees is a cynical ploy to stoke fear and division in the lead-up to an election. It’s a smokescreen to cover up the Coalition’s own failures and inaction.
Labor must take responsibility for starting this round of punching down on international students with the caps they pushed for last year. We knew this was going to turn ugly and harm so many people of colour living in this country.
The facts are clear, we’ve seen the evidence: international students are not the cause of skyrocketing rents or unaffordable housing. That responsibility lies squarely with successive governments who have refused to build enough public housing and prioritised lining the pockets of wealthy property investors.