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Key Posts
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has apologised for remarks he made about “dicks” and phone radiation during “light-hearted banter” with Energy Minister Chris Bowen, which was captured by a hot mic during climate talks in Turkey last week. Asked whether he regretted the comments, which were picked up by cameras, Albanese said: “Of course I regret that”.
- Australia will ramp up its investment in drones and other defence measures in a pact with the Philippines to protect important trade routes and increase maritime surveillance as Beijing extends its reach over the South China Sea. The agreement comes as the PM visits Manila to co-chair the sixth annual ASEAN-Australia Summit.
- And the Coalition says the outlook for the housing market is so dire the government should immediately repeal its property tax reforms. Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson said it was becoming clear Labor’s budget underestimated the effect of reforms on market sentiment.
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Convicted rapist Russell Brand has been moved to a lower-security prison that offers a variety of activities to inmates including choir, yoga and indoor bowls, UK media are reporting.
The disgraced celebrity had been held in the category B HM Prison Wandsworth in South London but was last Friday moved to the category C Littlehey prison in Cambridgeshire, which reportedly holds 1200 inmates, most of whom are sex offenders.
Citing prison insiders, the London Telegraph said the move may have been prompted by concerns for Brand’s safety but that such a transfer was not unusual.
But senior Conservative MP Helen Whatley told GB News the Labour government would be probed about the decision.
Resources Minister Madeleine King cannot say why Australia has decided now is the right time to sign a joint statement with Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom urging Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, considering the situation on the ground for displaced Palestinians has been dire for a number of years.
“Working together with countries with shared views on humanitarian needs is really important and the government talks with many countries … This particular group has been working on this kind of statement for a little while, to make sure that, you know, people that are affected by war in the Middle East can receive the assistance they need,” King told Radio National.
Pressed to clarify what had prompted the government to take action now, King said “it does take time”.
“It takes time for nations to be able to work together to get the right outcome that is enduring in terms of opening these crossings and my understanding that time is now here and that is why we’ve been able to sign that agreement.”
More than 90 per cent of Gaza’s population has been displaced and more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the Netanyahu government declared war on Hamas after its attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 which killed 1200 people.
Independent senator David Pocock says that there is still “a long way to go” in the sandpaper saga tearing through Australian cricket after former Australian fast bowler Chadd Sayers backed Usman Khawaja’s claims the whole team knew about a ball-tampering plot in 2018.
“The Australian cricket team hold a very special place in Australian culture. They’re a team that we celebrate. I think Australians just deserve to know the truth,” the former rugby union player told the Today show.
But Pocock said he was not sure what a new investigation would achieve so long after the scandal.
“After so long has passed … I think we’re just hoping that we can finally move on.”
Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume says the Coalition’s priority for new gas reservation laws is to ensure Australia can still attract fresh investments now and into the future.
She says the Coalition will not back any measures that have a “chilling effect on new investment”.
“ would be incredibly damaging to our energy market and also make Australians, whether it be businesses or households, pay the price in the future,” she told News24 this morning.
The Senate will vote this week on Labor’s gas reservation policy.
Australia, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom have released a joint statement urging the government of Israel to allow “immediate, rapid and unimpeded” aid into Gaza.
The region has been battered by heavy rains that have flooded tens of thousands of tents housing displaced Palestinians.
Meanwhile, tents and other vital supplies are being held at the border and prevented from entering Gaza.
The World Health Organisation warned over the weekend that conditions on the ground were worsening. Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told reporters respiratory illnesses were surging in Gaza, and acute respiratory infections were 33,000 cases higher than at the same time last year.
“We, the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom, are clear that as winter takes hold in Gaza, the humanitarian situation on the ground is dire,” the joint statement said.
So we today urge the Government of Israel to stop the delays now and allow immediate, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Gaza. The crossings must be opened, and the tents allowed in. Dual-use items necessary for humanitarian operations and early recovery must be granted entry before it is too late.
And all parties must implement the Comprehensive Plan for Gaza, respecting the ceasefire and their obligations under international humanitarian law, and allowing aid to reach the people who need it.
London: The British government will discuss plans for a “staggered” age of consent that would stop men of a certain age from having sex with much younger women after the conviction of celebrity Russell Brand for rape.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham and colleagues will consider changing consent laws that allow sex with girls aged over 16, a cabinet minister confirmed, after a judge sentenced Brand to a decade in prison for rape and sexual assault.
The move also follows allegations against Little Britain comedian and children’s book author David Walliams, who is accused of preying on teenagers and young women. He denies the claims and is facing a police investigation.
The cabinet discussion heightens the national debate over predatory conduct after one of Brand’s accusers called for the law to be changed to make it a criminal offence for a man over 30 to have sex with a girl under the age of 18.
Work and Pensions Minister Pat McFadden confirmed that the issue would be discussed in cabinet given the concerns about the treatment of women.
A broad alliance of business chiefs and unions has mounted a last-minute push for the Coalition to pass Labor’s domestic gas-reservation laws, warning that scuttling or delaying the scheme will put hundreds of thousands of industrial jobs at risk and inflate household energy bills.
The Senate is due to vote this week on legislation to compel liquefied natural gas shippers to hold back up to 20 per cent of their annual export volumes for the local market from 2028. The Albanese government argues this will head off domestic shortfalls and curb the costs of heating, electricity and manufacturing.
However, the bill faces defeat without major amendments. The Coalition has signalled it would not vote for it in its current form, while the Greens have rejected the legislation, demanding a 25 per cent tax on gas exports instead.
In a major intervention, organisations representing heavy manufacturers, petrochemical firms, aluminium smelters and factory workers have signed a joint letter urging senators to back the bill before federal parliament rises for the year.
Read the full story here.
Hello and welcome back to our live coverage of national and world news this Monday, November 16. Here’s what is making news today.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has apologised for remarks he made about “dicks” and phone radiation during “light-hearted banter” with Energy Minister Chris Bowen, which was captured by a hot mic during climate talks in Turkey last week. Asked whether he regretted the comments, which were picked up by cameras, Albanese said: “Of course I regret that”.
- Australia will ramp up its investment in drones and other defence measures in a pact with the Philippines to protect important trade routes and increase maritime surveillance as Beijing extends its reach over the South China Sea. The agreement comes as the PM visits Manila to co-chair the sixth annual ASEAN-Australia Summit.
- And the Coalition says the outlook for the housing market is so dire the government should immediately repeal its property tax reforms. Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson said it was becoming clear Labor’s budget underestimated the effect of reforms on market sentiment.
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