Australia information stay: value to taxpayers of Assange’s freedom flight revealed; pressing well being warning for offshore detainees

Extra on the power and local weather ministers conferences in Melbourne

Persevering with from our final publish: Shane Rattenbury needs to incorporate scope 2 & 3 emissions are factored into Beetaloo’s evaluation, not simply the scope 1 emissions end result from truly extracting the gasoline. He’s eager on getting an replace from each the federal and NT governments.

You can’t say you’re going to satisfy your shopper and emission discount targets, however on the similar time be opening up an enormous array of recent fossil gasoline initiatives that may produce vital quantities of emissions.The 2 merely are inconsistent.

Additionally prone to be mentioned is NSW’s work on a framework for the orderly exit of coal-fired energy crops. One query is whether or not the work will make a distinction to make sure there’s larger certainty of when an enormous plant may exit to restrict the chance for corporations to sport the market (or use modifications to extract funding from governments to remain open). Observers surprise if the work will go far sufficient.

Lastly there could also be passing reference to nuclear power (as in, “we don’t want it or need it”), hydrogen methods (will Fortescue‘s cutbacks make a difference), whether the federal government needs to chip in money to to support off-shore wind developments rather than just issue feasibility licences.

And that’s only a subset of what may very well be a busy day of discussions.

Power and local weather ministers collect to debate broad coverage combine

Peter Hannam

Federal, state and territory power and local weather ministers have gathered for a day of conferences in Melbourne in the present day, one thing they do (places range) each 4 months or so.

With the power transition struggling a bit, and the local weather dangers mounting as greenhouse gasoline emissions rise, these conferences have an extended record of “high-level” topics that sometimes get ticked off in order that recent challenges may be examined.

Client power sources, such because the potential for electrical autos to be a supply of stability for the grid – and never simply an additional heavy load – might be among the many high points mentioned by Chris Bowen, the federal power and local weather minister.

There’s just one Liberal authorities represented, Tasmania’s, and it’s sure Nick Duigan – that state’s power minister – might be discussing the necessity for progress on a second transmission hyperlink to the mainland, the Marinus hyperlink. (The drought and a scarcity of wind ensuing within the island drawing plenty of energy recently from Victoria may additionally function.)

The one Greens minister, the ACT’s Shane Rattenbury, might be elevating the not-very-small matter of how scope 2 and three emissions from gasoline extraction within the Beetaloo Basin within the Northern Territory might be dealt with. That’s the emissions brought on by the processing, transport and combustion of fossil gasoline.

Rattenbury notes that Beetaloo is projected to provide 34m tonnes a yr of CO2-equivalent air pollution, or about 10% of the nation’s emissions by 2030 (assuming our emissions drop quite a bit from the present annual stage of about 460 mtCO2-e by then).

The Albanese authorities received Greens help for its revised safeguard mechanism laws within the Senate that’s aimed toward lowering industrial emissions by pledging to contemplate Beetaloo’s impacts. That job, although, was to be dealt with by the power and local weather ministers – which is why it has made it to Friday’s agenda. Extra to come back.

Firefighters on strategy to battle blazes in Canada

This morning, 31 members of the NSW Rural Hearth Service are heading to Canada to assist battle lots of of wildfires which are persevering with to burn.

The personnel will be part of a 116-strong Australian-New Zealand contingent going to Canada to help with battling greater than 650 fires which have burnt virtually 1.5m hectares of land.

Price of flying Julian Assange to Australia revealed

Karen Middleton

Flying Julian Assange again to Australia on a personal constitution value taxpayers $781,480.30, plus an additional $47,000 in industrial journey for the 2 ambassadors who accompanied him, based on paperwork supplied to the Senate.

International affairs minister Penny Wong has confirmed {that a} non-public organisation, Wau Holland Basis, might be invoiced for the constitution flight portion of the invoice. The non-profit basis based mostly in German is an advocate for freedom of knowledge.

The paperwork reveal that the Division of International Affairs and Commerce had an additional $55,402.51 in related prices.

In addition they verify additional particulars of the plea deal reported beforehand by Guardian Australia, together with that having Australia’s ambassador to the UK, Stephen Smith, accompany Assange on the flight from London to Saipan within the Northern Mariana Islands was a situation of Assange’s bail from the London court docket and that the ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, met them in Saipan to make sure nothing went improper on the last court docket stage.

Wong wrote in a letter to the Senate in response to an order for the manufacturing of paperwork initiated by Liberal senator Dave Sharma:

A situation of Mr Assange’s bail was that he could be accompanied by Excessive Commissioner Smith to a United States jurisdiction, whereas Ambassador Rudd has performed a central position in bringing the 2 sides collectively and travelled to Saipan to make sure preparations with the Division of Justice proceeded as agreed.

The Australian Authorities facilitated all preparations for the flight following an settlement for the prices to be reimbursed by the [WHF]. [Dfat] expects cost to be made by the tip of August 2024, which is consistent with the phrases of the cost schedule.

While in Australia, Excessive Commissioner Smith and Ambassador Rudd undertook conferences about AUKUS and different preparations as effectively. Ambassador Rudd additionally undertook conferences with Governor Palacios of america Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands throughout his time in Saipan.

Opposition chief Peter Dutton has flagged he’ll reintroduce laws for the constructing building watchdog – the Australian Constructing and Development Fee, or the ABCC – in August.

Chatting with the At the moment present earlier, he mentioned:

We’ll reintroduce that laws for the constructing building watchdog after we return to parliament in August. We hope the federal government can help it as a result of they abolished it on the request of the CFMEU.

The Howard-era ABCC was abolished in 2023, and had enforced office relations compliance within the constructing and building sector. Its powers have been transferred to the truthful work ombudsman.

The Coalition has repeatedly referred to as for the return of the ABCC however this can be the primary time a date has been set for reintroducing laws. Yesterday shadow treasurer Angus Taylor advised ABC RN that the ABCC “needs to be brought back” and mentioned on the time:

We’d like a troublesome cop on the beat that’s impartial, that is ready to take motion, and most significantly, that builders and contractors can go to [with the] secure data that there’s not going to be intimidation consequently.

Extra on the Asylum Seeker Useful resource Centre’s report

Prof Suresh Sundram, the top of psychiatry at Monash College’s college of medical sciences, mentioned he was “very concerned” in regards to the well being of the PNG cohort as a result of “many of these people … are now too medically unwell to be able to actively participate in decision making about their futures”.

He claimed there was “no monitoring of their health status” and that as a result of PNG is a lower-middle revenue nation, there have been “constrained health resources to manage highly complex patients”:

The charges of psychological and bodily sickness in individuals who have been held offshore are greater than noticed in comparable onshore populations and markedly greater than mainstream populations. This consists of extraordinarily excessive charges of psychological problems comparable to main melancholy and post-traumatic stress dysfunction.

Thanush Selvarasa, a refugee beforehand held in Manus Island, described his expertise needing to entry medical care:

After I was within the Manus Island centre, we didn’t have a medical facility, that is why I wanted to get to Australia. However now, if individuals want a medical facility, they will’t get to Australia underneath the Medevac legislation … I understand how unhealthy it was in PNG. I used to be one among them. It’s actually arduous to stay there.

The Asylum Seeker Useful resource Centre has launched a well being report trying on the 47 refugees held in Papua New Guinea and 96 on Nauru, demonstrating an “urgent need to medically evacuate those remaining.”

The report discovered the next outcomes:

• 20% of refugees in PNG are so unwell their lives are at imminent threat.

• 100% of the refugees in PNG, and 65% of individuals held in Nauru endure bodily well being situations.

• 88% of the refugees in PNG, and 22% of individuals held in Nauru endure extreme psychological well being situations.

• 100% of individuals in PNG reported problem accessing medical care, together with being declined care, and being requested to pay for care once they haven’t any monetary help.

• 60% of individuals in Nauru reported considerations with the restricted healthcare accessible in Nauru.

• 100% of individuals detained in Nauru and in PNG have reported experiences of trauma (together with persecution, the journey to hunt asylum by sea, household separation, medical trauma, experiences of violence in detention).

• 40% of the refugees in PNG endure power suicidal ideation and a historical past of suicide makes an attempt.

• 10% of individuals held in Nauru expertise suicidal ideation.

The ASRC says it has submitted greater than 400 threat notifications relating to individuals held on offshore detention over the previous 11 years and regardless of this “overwhelming evidence”, “successive governments have continued to prop up the brutal offshore regime at a cost of over $12bn since July 2012”.

A well being disaster is now mounting in PNG and Nauru underneath the watch of the Albanese authorities and consultants are clear Labor should act now to evacuate all individuals held offshore to make sure their security whereas safety claims are processed and resettlement is prioritised.

Lifeline: 13 11 14

Welcome

Emily Wind

And comfortable Friday. I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be with you on the Australia information stay weblog for many of in the present day.

Making information in a single day, the Asylum Seeker Useful resource Centre has launched a brand new report detailing the well being standing of 47 refugees in Papua New Guinea and 96 individuals now held on Nauru, which it says demonstrates “further evidence the Australian government’s offshore detention policy has been 11 years of costly cruelty”, placing individuals’s “lives and health at risk”.

The report discovered that 100% of individuals detained in Nauru and PNG have reported experiences of trauma, whereas 100% of refugees in PNG and 65% in Nauru endure bodily well being situations. Twenty per cent of refugees on PNG are so unwell their lives are at imminent threat, the report discovered. Behrouz Boochani, creator and former refugee held on Manus Island, mentioned:

Australia can’t get away from what it has completed to them and clearly is liable for this tragedy. These individuals are our mates, and we all know how a lot they’ve suffered. The one factor I can say is that it’s sufficient – they need to be evacuated now to obtain medical therapy and help to start out a brand new life.

We’ll carry you extra on this quickly.

In the meantime, power and local weather ministers are assembly in Melbourne in the present day, AAP studies, with cussed cost-of-living pressures and power reliability considerations behind a push for customers to get extra out of their rooftop photo voltaic, electrical autos and home equipment. Peter Hannam will carry us extra on this later this morning.

As all the time, you will get in contact with any ideas, ideas and questions by way of X, @emilywindwrites, or you possibly can ship me an electronic mail: emily.wind@theguardian.com.