Russian dissident Masha Gessen granted last-minute visa
Mostafa Rachwani
The Russian dissident and writer Masha Gessen has been issued their visa this morning.
Gessen was on RN Breakfast this morning and confirmed that that they had acquired their visa.
That they had stated yesterday their visa had initially been “functionally declined” after the Division of Residence Affairs demanded paperwork that have been “not possible” to supply.
These calls for initially included police checks from Russia, after which police and FBI checks from america, the place Gessen has by no means been charged or convicted of something.
Gessen, an outspoken critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, is predicated within the US and was as a consequence of arrive in Australia final weekend to talk on the Competition of Harmful Concepts this coming weekend.
Gessen was charged in Russia on prices of spreading false details about the army and was sentenced in absentia to eight years in jail in July.
Key occasions
Simply earlier than heading into caucus, office minister Murray Watt held a doorstop on the CFMEU administration laws. He outlined his position shifting ahead:
The best way the laws is drafted is that it permits me, because the Minister, to find out whether or not it’s within the public curiosity to place the union’s development division into administration. After which it’s really the Honest Work Fee Basic Supervisor who would appoint the administrator underneath the laws.
Placing that every one collectively, I’d actually be hopeful that we will have this course of underway by the tip of the month. We’ve moved shortly to get this laws handed and we wish to maintain shifting shortly to get this administration course of underway.
Six surroundings NGOs have come collectively to launch a ‘statement of concern’ over the dearth of regulation for off-shore fuel and oil corporations, significantly on the subject of cleansing up the mess from the tasks.
The Maritime Union joined the Wilderness Society, the Australian Marine Conservation Society, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Mates of the Earth Melbourne, the Setting Centre Northern Territory and the Conservation Council Western Australia in launching the assertion at parliament home.
The teams say the Nationwide Offshore Petroleum Security and Environmental Administration Authority (Nopsema) just isn’t doing sufficient to handle the trade clear up.
Fern Cadman from the Wilderness society stated regulation failures to make sure off-shore oil and fuel corporations cleaned up their disused and decaying buildings was threatening the marine surroundings.
Rusty and decaying wells, pipelines and platforms can rupture, leak and decay, inflicting chemical substances together with oil, fuel condensate, heavy metals and radioactive materials to unfold into the ocean. The longer the clear up is delayed, the more serious the dangers will turn out to be.
Monetary trade criticises plan to tax unrealised superannuation beneficial properties
A coalition of economic trade our bodies and associations have come collectively to push towards the deliberate tax adjustments on unrealised superannuation beneficial properties.
Final week it was a lot of the crossbench coming collectively to announce amendments. This week, it’s 11 trade {and professional} our bodies “representing accountants, superannuation trustees, financial advisers and other groups”.
Unrealised beneficial properties are when an asset will increase in worth, however the capital stays “unrealised” – since you haven’t offered it.
Critics of the plan to tax it say it’ll impression rural, regional and farming companies, in addition to small companies, who don’t have the cashflow to deal with the adjustments.
The group have put out a press release saying:
Unrealised capital beneficial properties within the calculation of earnings is more likely to trigger liquidity stress for a lot of people and enterprise entities impacted by this tax. The College of Adelaide estimates that had this tax been launched within the 2021 and 2022 monetary years, over 13 per cent of impacted members would have skilled liquidity stress in assembly the brand new tax obligations.
Some small enterprise house owners might be pressured to promote their enterprise premises to avoid wasting their enterprise. Promoting such property is usually related to substantial transaction prices and market timing issues which can be more likely to additional exacerbate potential losses and introduce different funding dangers.
It’s get together room assembly day so the morning will most likely get somewhat calmer. Seize your fifth espresso. Contact some grass. Take into account how demure you might be. (Sure, it’s doable I’m too on-line.)
We’ll deliver you the updates as quickly because the conferences break.
Grasp Builders chief: ‘The ABCC was good, but it didn’t go far sufficient’
The CEO of Grasp Builders Australia, Denita Wawn, has been doing numerous media for the reason that deal between the federal government and the Coalition on the CFMEU administration laws was introduced.
Wawn informed Canberra radio 2CC earlier this morning speaking in regards to the want for a stronger trade watchdog:
The ABCC was good, nevertheless it didn’t go far sufficient. The ABCC solely taken care of industrial relations legal guidelines, and we’ve seen from all of the media experiences within the final month or two, that is greater than that. That is about prison behaviour. That is about anti-competitive behaviour. That is about governance problems with our sector, and as such we’ve got persistently known as for a regulator that covers all the points. The character of the trade, with its contracting and tight deadlines, signifies that it’s ripe for issues.
4 royal commissions have stated you want a particular regulator with extra enamel, so bizarrely sufficient, the federal government and the Coalition are each proper. We have to mix their pondering and make it possible for we do get the particular regulator that we actually deserve.
Peter Dutton has already launched laws to reinstate the ABCC, which the federal government doesn’t assist.
Privateness reforms could not defend staff from medical checks, thinktank says
Proposed privateness legislation reforms could not go far sufficient in defending staff from invasive medical checks, a brand new research has discovered.
The Australia Institute research, launched on Tuesday, investigated the experiences of staff from the mining sector who have been pressured to bear blood checks in the course of the recruitment course of with little rationalization.
The report’s writer discovered proposed privateness legislation reforms, together with a “fair and reasonable test”, wouldn’t be strict sufficient to curtail the observe.
The findings are available in the identical month adjustments to the Privateness Act are anticipated to be tabled in parliament, as promised by lawyer basic Mark Dreyfus.
– by way of AAP
Does the pen licence nonetheless have a spot in fashionable education?
Barely outdoors politics, however one thing that ought to unite us all – Caitlin Cassidy has seemed on the pen licence, and its place in fashionable training.
Enjoyable reality: I didn’t get my pen licence till I used to be in Yr 7. On the time it was known as ‘regrettable and consistent messy writing’ however now they name it ‘ADHD’.
Russian dissident Masha Gessen granted last-minute visa
Mostafa Rachwani
The Russian dissident and writer Masha Gessen has been issued their visa this morning.
Gessen was on RN Breakfast this morning and confirmed that that they had acquired their visa.
That they had stated yesterday their visa had initially been “functionally declined” after the Division of Residence Affairs demanded paperwork that have been “not possible” to supply.
These calls for initially included police checks from Russia, after which police and FBI checks from america, the place Gessen has by no means been charged or convicted of something.
Gessen, an outspoken critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, is predicated within the US and was as a consequence of arrive in Australia final weekend to talk on the Competition of Harmful Concepts this coming weekend.
Gessen was charged in Russia on prices of spreading false details about the army and was sentenced in absentia to eight years in jail in July.
Bandt says CFMEU laws is ‘threat to the rule of law’
Adam Bandt additionally had some feedback in regards to the CFMEU administration laws deal between the federal government and the coalition:
On CFMEU, Bandt stated:
Labor has chosen to work with the anti-union, anti-worker Liberals to hurry by means of laws that civil liberties teams are saying is a severe risk to the rule of legislation.
Below this laws, if there’s a change of presidency, Michaelia Money might sack the administrator and appoint Tony Abbott to run one of many nation’s greatest unions.
Individuals will discover themselves dealing with lifetime bans from working within the trade, however there’s no course of that’s required to undergo beforehand to show any allegations towards them, and consequently, there could possibly be quite a lot of individuals who’ve finished completely nothing incorrect who discover themselves with a black mark towards their title and unable to get their manner again into their job.
That is what occurs while you rush severe laws like this.
Bandt additionally rebuffed options the Greens had not been essential of the allegations towards some branches of the CFMEU:
There needs to be no tolerance for sexism, for violence, or for corruption. All of these issues haven’t any place in any office or in any organisation, whether or not it’s an organization or a union or a authorities.
However what Labor and the anti-worker Liberals have finished is rushed by means of laws that’s an unprecedented assault on the rule of legislation.
Bandt says Dutton has ‘made a career out of punching down’
The Greens chief, Adam Bandt, held a fast doorstop this morning (unscheduled press convention, historically held as somebody is getting into or exiting a door) the place he was requested in regards to the Coalition’s newest assault traces on Palestinian visas.
Bandt stated:
What is obvious is Peter Dutton has made a profession of punching down. [He] has made a profession out of punching down and attacking weak people who find themselves doing nothing greater than looking for security.
However Labor bears some duty right here as nicely. Labor has from day one backed the invasion of Gaza.
And nonetheless, whilst we hear horrific information that polio is now breaking out in Gaza, that there’s a human-engineered famine, that individuals can’t get sufficient to drink … Labor refuses to place any strain on the extremist Netanyahu authorities to cease the invasion.
We’re calling on the federal government not simply to permit our folks to return right here to hunt security, but in addition to place strain on the extremist Netanyahu authorities to cease the bombing and the invasion which is forcing folks to flee within the first place.
Group authorized centres name for funding to deal with ‘workforce crisis’
Group authorized centres are launching a nationwide marketing campaign this week at Parliament Home, calling on the Labor authorities to correctly fund their companies.
Group authorized companies assist about 180,000 folks a yr, usually on the worst time of their lives, however say they’re turning away twice as many individuals as they may also help.
It’s not a brand new downside – neighborhood authorized companies have been very vocal in regards to the funding cliff they face. Right here is an article from March:
The Save Group Authorized Centres Marketing campaign has three calls for:
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Speedy funding injection of $35 million to deal with the workforce disaster, as really useful by the Unbiased Assessment of the Nationwide Authorized Help Partnership
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Extra $135 million every year to sustainably handle general neighborhood demand
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Extra $95 million every year to completely meet home and household violence demand
Australian Conservation Basis drops authorized problem to Scarborough fuel undertaking
Adam Morton
An surroundings group has dropped a long-running authorized case towards Woodside Power’s proposed Scarborough fuel growth off Western Australia’s north-west coast.
The Australian Conservation Basis stated it had determined to not proceed with the two-year-old case within the federal court docket after “it became apparent that the case was unlikely to succeed”.
ACF had challenged the federal authorities’s approval of the $16.5bn undertaking, and argued there ought to have been an evaluation of the impression the event’s emissions would have on the Nice Barrier Reef.
In a press release, ACF stated “the reality is that Australia’s laws work in favour of fossil fuel interests”.
There’s nonetheless no express requirement for local weather harm to be thought-about underneath our key nationwide nature legislation, the Setting Safety and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Which means, even right now, main fossil gasoline tasks are being accredited that can lock in large volumes of carbon air pollution nicely past 2050.
Woodside welcomed ACF’s resolution. It intends to promote a lot of the fuel from Scarborough to north Asian international locations, together with Japan.
Campaigners have estimated the undertaking might result in about 1.6bn tonnes of CO2 being launched into the ambiance over its 30-year lifespan.
A gross sales assistant can ‘never’ save for a house deposit, Greens say
The Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather is preserving the strain on the federal government over housing coverage, releasing a brand new evaluation of ATO, RBA lending and CoreLogic home worth information exhibiting simply how unaffordable home possession has turn out to be.
Sarah Basford Canales has coated the evaluation, right here:
Chandler-Mather stated the Parliamentary Library evaluation exhibits nobody incomes the common wage of the highest 10 most typical professions in Australia might afford to purchase a home.
A full time baby care employee beginning to save for a home deposit now, wouldn’t attain their purpose till 2055. Assembly their mortgage repayments (on a mean mortgage) would take 92% of their wage.
Housing stress is taken into account something taking over over 30% of your earnings.
A gross sales assistant would “never” be capable of save for a house deposit, Chandler-Mather stated.
Hundreds of thousands of renters have been caught in a merciless lure, caught paying huge rents, at finest a long time away from saving for a house, the place even when they’ll get a mortgage the repayments are utterly unaffordable,” the Griffith MP stated.
How lengthy do the thousands and thousands getting screwed by Australia’s damaged housing system have to attend for this painfully unambitious authorities to develop a backbone and begin taking actual motion on the housing disaster?
