Anthony Albanese outside Marrickville town hall on Saturday after casting his vote in the Indigenous voice referendum. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Anthony Albanese outside Marrickville town hall on Saturday after casting his vote in the Indigenous voice referendum. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
The prime minister, AnthonyAlbanese, labelled the no campaign’s argument that the Indigenous voice to parliament will sow racial division as “the great lie”.
The Australian Palestine Advocacy Network says it’s “disappointed” in AnthonyAlbanese’s response this morning to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine.
The prime minister on ABC’s Insiders described the surprise attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas as “abhorrent”, adding Israel had the right to defend against it.
This is an abhorrent attack on Israel. This is indiscriminate. Civilians being targeted, killed and murdered, and as well, many of them being taken as hostages ... Israel has a right to defend itself, which is what it is doing.
But the network’s president NasserMashni told ABC on Sunday Albanese failed to acknowledge the thousands of Palestinians affected by Israel’s ongoing occupation of the Gaza strip.
Mashni said:
I’d like our government to speak out about our rights. There are many Australian Palestinians, and many Australians, an overwhelming majority of Australians in fact, according to our polling, on the side of justice for the Palestinians.
Mashni said his group condemned all violence but added “the world is waking up to the fact that Israel is committing a crime of apartheid”.
It’s past time for the world to wake up and help the Palestinians achieve their just rights to self determination to live peacefully and freely on the lands.
Australian police say no cause for concern for Jews in Australia
Authorities say they are monitoring events overseas and in the community to guard against attacks against places significant to the Jewish community, but report that so far there is no cause for concern.
Internationally, law enforcement agencies have stepped up monitoring or the security presence at significant Jewish sites or monuments out of concern about attacks from a range of groups.
Guardian Australia contacted police in every state and territory, but only received responses from New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania by deadline.
Victorian police said it “was aware of incidents developing in Australia overnight but there have been no reports of incidents or threats in Victoria”.
We are mindful of the potential for escalating tension including at places of worship and local police have been briefed to respond according.
New South Wales said they were continuing to monitor the situation and “work with members of the Jewish community to ensure everyone can live their daily lives without the fear of discrimination or violence.”
South Australian and Tasmanian police said they were not aware of any immediate security threats to residents within their states, and would advise if that changes.
Queensland police were contacted but were not able to respond by deadline.
Police agencies advised that any unusual or suspicious activity should be reported to the National Security Hotline 1800 1234 00 or the Police Assistance Line 131 444. For assistance in a life threatening or time critical emergency call Triple Zero (000).
New Zealand Māori party points to Kiwi system for indigenous representation
The co-leader of New Zealand’s Māori party RawiriWaititi says he would vote yes in Australia’s voice referendum, but the campaign shows why indigenous rights should not go to a poll in either country.
Waititi is a self-described unapologetic radical but confessed pragmatic support for the referendum.
The voice is a good starting point but it still doesn’t go far enough.
I would absolutely vote yes and continue to push for greater representation and a greater voice for our brothers and sisters in Australia. I’m here 100% to support them.
The voice referendum and the New Zealand election are both being held on 14 October.
In New Zealand, Waititi’s party are expected to increase their vote from their result in 2020, of 1.17%.
That result is well below the 5% threshold normally required to enter parliament, but the Māori party enjoys representation in Wellington due to a feature of Kiwi democracy: dedicated electorates for Māori.
New Zealanders with Māori ancestry can opt to sit on either the general or Māori electoral roll, which determines whether they vote for one of 65 general or seven Māori electorate MPs.
Waititi said the dedicated electorates were a stronger way to achieve an indigenous voice than Australia’s proposed advisory body.
Australia could do better.
New Zealand is an example of how you can get true representation. (First Nations people) shouldn’t be just there as an advisory body.
They should be part of the economic discussions for the country, the environmental discussions, the health, education, housing, wellbeing (discussions).
Look over the ditch and see, it’s still not ideal in terms of the representation that was promised in the Treaty of Waitangi but it is an example of how there could be a greater voice.”
- AAP
Māori party co-leader Rawiri Waititi outside New Zealand's parliament in Wellington. Photograph: Nick Perry/AP
Uniform power of attorney laws to protect the elderly
Plans to harmonise Australia’s laws on enduring powers of attorney are being considered in a bid to crack down on the financial abuse of the elderly.
A consultation paper was released earlier in October on how state and territory laws could be changed to improve power of attorney laws and make them consistent across the country.
Enduring power of attorneys are legal measures that allow for someone to appoint another person to manage financial and legal decisions on their behalf.
While power of attorneys are made for the benefit of the elderly, they can also pave the way for financial abuse in unscrupulous hands if someone’s money is used or legal documents signed without their knowledge or consent.
“While enduring powers of attorney are intended to provide a protective benefit to principals, if misused or misapplied, they may facilitate abuse by the very person appointed by the older person to protect them,” the consultation paper said.
Advice stemming from the consultation paper will be provided to attorneys-general in 2024 for consideration.
The consultation paper is open for submissions until 29 November.
A spokesperson for the embassy said “Israel will act in any way necessary to protect its citizens, and will not shy from a broad operation in Gaza, in order to end the aggression”.
It comes as Israeli prime minister, BenjaminNetanyahu, urged Palestinian civilians in Gaza to “leave now” because its military will “turn all Hamas hiding places into rubble”.
It’s believed more than 500 have already died in the latest conflict, sparked by a surprise attack on Sunday in southern Israel orchestrated by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Of that tally, nearly half are believed to be Palestinians, who have been killed by retaliatory air strikes on buildings from Israel.
The embassy spokesperson said:
The residents of the Gaza Strip are not enemies of Israel, but the terrorist organisations that operate knowingly and deliberately from within densely populated areas and adjacent to humanitarian buildings and institutions make cynical use of them.
Israel does and will continue to do everything in its capacity to prevent harm to civilians, that are being constantly used by the Hamas as human shields.
A rocket launched toward Israel from Gaza. Photograph: Fatima Shbair/AP
The family of an experienced pilot and his grandchildren who were killed in a light plane crash near Canberra have asked for privacy as they grieve their loss.
PeterNally and the three school-aged children died when the five-seater Cirrus they were travelling in crashed then caught alight in a paddock at Gundaroo, north of Queanbeyan, on Friday afternoon.
Local media reports said Nally was a veteran pilot and his grandchildren were aged 11, nine and six.
Their family said on Sunday there were “no words” to describe their grief.
As we are still coming to terms with our loss, we ask that the media respect our privacy while we grieve and process this tragedy,” they said in a statement shared by NSW Police.
We are appreciative of the overwhelming support we continue to receive from our extended family and friends as well as the local community.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating the cause of the crash.
‘Fires everywhere’: the Australian firefighters on the frontline of the new global Flame Age
AshMorrow spied flames and smoke higher and wider than the eye could see. It was June 2023. The 25-year-old Australian with the volunteer Rural Fire Service (RFS) in New South Wales was putting out wildfires in the northern Canadian province of Alberta, not too far from the Arctic Circle.
RFS volunteer Ash Morrow at home in Sydney. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian
It was a baptism of fire, literally.
Morrow is sitting in a room at the RFS headquarters in the Sydney suburb of Homebush. Stubble covers his cheeks. The knockabout police officer from a farm near Orange is wearing a hi-vis yellow RFS uniform; the arrow on the fire chart behind him is pointed to the dark red segment marked CATASTROPHE.
Morrow was one of 627 firefighters from Australia who flew overseas to help the Canadians tame the biggest wildfires in their recorded history. By September, 6,396 infernos had burned through 17.5m hectares (43.43m acres) of woodland. Morrow was on his second Canadian deployment.
Canada was basically a massive tinderbox. Usually, one province at a time will get smashed. This time, the whole country was stretched thin. There were fires everywhere.
For more on this story, read the full feature from LechBlaine.
Over-65s will soon be able to get free protection against shingles as part of a multimillion-dollar vaccination program, AAP reports.
More than five million people will be eligible for a vaccination against the virus from 1 November as part of the National Immunisation Program.
The federal government will spend more than $826m to provide the protection for those most at risk from severe diseases.
The free vaccines will be offered to those aged over 65 and Indigenous Australians over 50, along with immunocompromised people 18 and older.
The health minister, MarkButler, said the shots would provide 10 years of protections from shingles.
Without vaccination, almost one in three Australians will get shingles in their lifetime.
Older Australians will now have free access to the best protection against shingles through one of the most comprehensive and widely available vaccination programs in the world.
The Shingrix vaccine, which normally costs $560 per immunisation, will replace Zostavax vaccine on the immunisation program, following advice from the leading advisory body on vaccines.
Shingles is caused by a reactivation of the same virus which causes chickenpox.
It’s estimated one in five people with shingles develop nerve pain from the virus that can last for months or as long as several years.
The federal government has launched an advertising blitz today to entice more Australians to take up fee-free Tafe places.
Nursing, trades jobs, and software engineers are among the Top 20 in-demand jobs with fee-free study pathways available.
More than 215,000 Australians enrolled to study within the first six-months of the program with the government agreeing to fund an extra 300,000 spots from January next year.
The skills and training minister, Brendan O’Connor, said the places will match workers up with in-demand jobs.
The fee-free spots would also target groups who have historically been locked out of the labour market, such as First Nations, people with disability and unpaid careers.
Acknowledging the gender imbalance in workplaces, behavioural barriers and improving workforce diversity in certain occupations will also reduce the likelihood of skills shortages and open up the potential for improved wages and working conditions.
Fish farmer accused of declaring war against environmentalists
A Tasmanian environmental group has accused the owner of a commercial salmon farming operation of “an open declaration of war against community and environmental groups”.
Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke Aquaculture which owns Tasmania’s largest industrial salmon producer, Tassal, reportedly told a conference of wild fisheries in Canada that environment groups were the industry’s “common enemy”.
The sooner we can coalesce into a major, stronger force to take them on, the better in my mind.
The comments have resonated in Tasmania where community campaigns against an expansion of salmon farming over environmental concerns are ongoing.
PeterGeorge from Neighbours of Fish Farming described the comments as “unhinged” and “hypocrisy”.
This is an extraordinary accusation to make in the face of authoritative Australian science that clearly proves the salmon industry is primarily responsible for the damage to Macquarie Harbour and its marine life.
Mr Cooke needs to look closer to home to realise why the industry is under attack globally for is destructive practices.
Auction activity has risen slightly this weekend with 2,436 auctions held over Saturday and Sunday.
This is more than twice the 1,198 auctions held last week and above the 1,815 auctions that occurred at the same time last year.
A house auction in Glen Iris, Melbourne. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP
Based on results collected so far, CoreLogic’s summary found that the preliminary clearance rate was 71% across the country, which is higher than the 64.4% preliminary rate recorded last week and the 64.4% actual rate on final numbers.
Across the capital cities:
Sydney: 918 auctions with a clearance rate of 69.7%
Melbourne: 1,138 auctions with a clearance rate of 72.7%
Brisbane: 134 auctions with a clearance rate of 72.3%
Adelaide: 78 auctions with a clearance rate of 80.8%
Canberra: 69 auctions with a clearance rate of 56.5%
