Philip Ruddock ousted as Hornsby mayor
Final evening, Philip Ruddock was ousted as Hornsby mayor after councillor Warren Waddell gained a Liberal preselection 164 votes to 104, the Sydney Morning Herald experiences.
Ruddock was a cupboard minister within the Howard authorities from 1998 to 2007, and has been labelled Australia’s longest-serving politician, first elected in a 1973 by-election.
The 81-year-old has been mayor since 2017 and ran for council lower than a 12 months after quitting federal parliament.
Key occasions
Australia to hitch United States World Entry program from subsequent 12 months
Australia will be a part of the US World Entry program in 2025, creating a neater pathway for the tons of of hundreds of Australians who go to the nation annually.
Eligible Australians who join this system would profit from streamlined and expedited immigration and customs clearance channels on arrival into the US, an announcement from the overseas minister, Penny Wong, says.
This system will likely be accessible from January 2025 to a restricted variety of Australians who journey most continuously to the US, with plans to broaden this system later in 2025. Wong stated:
Becoming a member of the World Entry program is a mark of the closeness and the energy of the connection between our two international locations.
The muse of the friendship between Australia and United States is the friendship between our individuals. This program will deepen these hyperlinks and make it simpler to foster higher business ties.
Philip Ruddock ousted as Hornsby mayor
Final evening, Philip Ruddock was ousted as Hornsby mayor after councillor Warren Waddell gained a Liberal preselection 164 votes to 104, the Sydney Morning Herald experiences.
Ruddock was a cupboard minister within the Howard authorities from 1998 to 2007, and has been labelled Australia’s longest-serving politician, first elected in a 1973 by-election.
The 81-year-old has been mayor since 2017 and ran for council lower than a 12 months after quitting federal parliament.
Eraring extension advantages outweigh prices, new modelling argues
Wholesale vitality costs could possibly be decreased by billions of {dollars} beneath a controversial plan to maintain Australia’s largest coal-fired energy station working till 2027.
As AAP experiences, NSW government-commissioned modelling to be revealed immediately exhibits delaying the closure of Eraring will slash wholesale costs by as much as a 3rd within the first 12 months.
It additionally predicts negligible impacts on new renewable and storage investments on account of preserving the 40-year-old generator operating. However further carbon emissions from the ageing plant are forecast to trigger hurt valued within the excessive tons of of tens of millions of {dollars}.
Recommendation to Treasury, additionally launched immediately, confirmed the advantages of preserving Eraring open outweighed the prices by a possible issue of 4, predominantly via pushing down wholesale vitality prices.
Power consultants ICA Companions suggested the federal government ought to proceed with the deal “given it is a viable and cost-effective source of insurance against the risk of supply interruptions”.
State officers have been additionally suggested the extension wouldn’t influence the state reaching its 2030 emissions discount goal. That’s regardless of modelling predicting carbon emissions being 9m tonnes larger over two years.
The modelling got here with caveats together with that it modelled a three-year extension, reasonably than the later-approved two-year deal. Below the three-year mannequin, wholesale costs have been down $4.4bn and elevated reliability and financial savings delivered an additional $500m profit. That was weighed in opposition to prices of $1.7bn, together with $1.1bn for larger emissions.
Australian Conservation Basis has X account reinstated
On yesterday’s weblog, we introduced you information that the Australian Conservation Basis had had its X account suspended for the second time – with little rationalization.
The account was suspended for “breaking” the X guidelines, however was not informed which tweets in query did so. ACF’s engagement director, Jane Gardner, stated she believed they have been being report-bombed by pro-nuclear teams.
(“Report-bombing” is the apply of submitting giant volumes of user-based experiences to a platform saying a specific person’s content material ought to be eliminated. It’s typically weaponised to attempt to take away content material.)
Final evening, the account was reinstated by X. Whereas happy with the choice, the ACF stated there “remains no word from X about why we were suspended”.
The atmosphere and vitality minister, Chris Bowen, weighed in on the scenario final evening and stated:
That is one other outrageous instance of social media attempting to close down voices for local weather motion. I don’t agree with [the ACF] about every little thing however they’re an essential and credible voice within the local weather debate …
Universities rally in opposition to worldwide scholar caps
Universities and companies are lobbying in opposition to legal guidelines to offer the training minister the ability to cap the variety of worldwide college students, AAP experiences.
They argue it can stifle monetary viability and put hundreds of jobs in danger, however the authorities says the legal guidelines are obligatory to raised handle a migration system the place persons are utilizing scholar visas as a backdoor into Australia.
The proposed adjustments would add further repercussions for dodgy training suppliers discovered to flout visa guidelines and benefit from worldwide college students.
The legal guidelines have been rushed and “designed to deal with a political issue around migration ahead of the next federal election,” Universities Australia stated in its submission to an inquiry into the invoice.
Worldwide scholar income was essential for analysis efforts, the Enterprise Council stated because it opposed caps.
The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi referred to as the proposal “a migration policy disguised as an education policy” as the federal government labored to reform immigration ranges.
Labor is crushing universities in a bid to look powerful on borders.
The house affairs division stated there had been a progress in “non-genuine students and unscrupulous providers” utilizing the sector as a again door to enter Australia.
The schools, enterprise teams, unions, authorized consultants and the division will on Tuesday give proof to a parliamentary committee scrutinising the invoice. The committee will report by 15 August.
Good morning
Emily Wind
And glad Tuesday – Emily Wind right here, signing on for running a blog obligation. Because of Martin for kicking issues off!
As all the time, you will get in contact by way of X, @emilywindwrites, or by way of electronic mail, emily.wind@theguardian.com, with any ideas, questions or suggestions.
Let’s get began.
Mostafa Rachwani
Lastly, Mike Burgess was requested about overseas interference and espionage, the place he revealed that Asio has caught Iranians “surveilling individuals” in Australia.
Burgess stated Asio was involved that Iran was a “country who is capable of dealing with threats to their country as they see them, including through surveillance or potentially worse”.
Requested what “potentially worse” appears like, Burgess stated it included potential assassinations:
As much as and together with deadly operations, as in killing somebody.
Requested if that meant assassinations, Burgess stated “yes”.
We preserve an open investigation however, in fact, I might not disclose what we all know as a result of clearly it might cease us from doing our job properly.
Mostafa Rachwani
Extra from Mike Burgess on the ABC final evening
Burgess was requested in regards to the battle in Gaza and its affect on the choice to lift the menace stage, saying that it didn’t have a direct influence on the choice.
He stated the battle had an “indirect impact” on menace ranges, saying it had created its personal “weather system” that drives “strong emotions and strong reactions”:
We didn’t elevate the menace stage in direct response to the battle in Gaza. However in fact, it has an oblique influence.
It has pushed protests, it has pushed division, and people protests are getting very emotional and there was spontaneous violence. It turns into a little bit of its personal climate system and the flawed factor occurs and it fires up the flawed issues and is driving sturdy feelings and powerful reactions and once more, that’s our concern.
He added that politicians have an “exceptional role” in diffusing tensions, pointing to an announcement he launched in October that referred to as for political leaders to be “careful” in how they converse on the problem.
Asio chief particulars determination to extend terror menace stage
Mostafa Rachwani
Asio boss Mike Burgess was on ABC’s 7.30 Report final evening, the place he mentioned the elevated menace of terrorism, after his company raised the chance stage to possible yesterday.
Burgess stated the choice to lift the menace stage was after a collection of violent incidents in Australia mirrored “what we are seeing in society”. He stated of the eight incidents that contributed to the choice, there was an “equal mix” of spiritual motivation, nationalism, racism and in a single case a “mixed ideology that goes to the left and right”.
That is the brand new factor, individuals will go to violence with no warning and won’t be recognized to us with little or no planning within the circumstances of a few of these I’ve talked about. They’re symptomatic of what we’re seeing in society: elevated temperature, violence is extra permissible and a spread of ideologies. Minors are additionally within the combine, youth are significantly susceptible, pushed by social media.
Lower than half of the examples have been religiously motivated, he stated, including that Sunni Islamic extremism was not a lot a driver to the raised menace stage. He additionally stated neo-nazism was a “big portion of the mix” which has “long been a thing in this country”.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling information protection. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be operating via a few of our high tales and searching for what’s developing later immediately.
Our high story this morning is a brand new Guardian investigation. A 15-year-old boy was charged with homicide and spent virtually a 12 months in custody after Victoria police used a course of described by a decide as “corrupted” to collect identification proof in opposition to him. The case then collapsed throughout a pre-trial listening to by which the decide stated she was “incredulous” that the prosecution was pushing forward with it regardless of flaws within the proof used to establish the boy because the assassin.
Victoria police have denied the investigation into the alleged homicide of 17-year-old Aguer Akech was improperly carried out. Learn the complete story right here.
Shares in New York and London have fallen closely amid a world inventory market rout triggered by fears of a recession within the US, the place Wall Avenue suffered its worst day in practically two years.
It factors to extra potential losses when the ASX opens later immediately. Australia’s share market had its worst day yesterday because the onset of the pandemic as fears of a US recession prompted buyers to exit their positions, erasing greater than $100bn in worth from native shares. It’s anticipated to shed 2.6% when buying and selling opens and a few pundits suppose that makes it extra possible that the Reserve Financial institution will reduce charges when it completes its financial coverage assembly at 2.30pm. We’ll have extra on this over the morning.
Australia’s spy chief, Mike Burgess, has been explaining why the nation’s terror menace was elevated yesterday from “possible” to “probable”. Burgess was on the ABC final evening to stipulate how eight assaults or disruptions that concerned alleged terrorism had been investigated prior to now 4 months fuelled by a unstable and unpredictable mixture of points such because the battle in Gaza amplified by divisive social media. Extra developing.
