Dutton accuses Burke of seeking ‘political opportunity’ out of caravan hoax
Peter Dutton continued his defence, saying Tony Burke should be “condemned” for finding “political opportunity” in an issue of national security:
We requested a briefing on the 22 January. We requested everything about a week later. At no time during those briefings or my discussions with the director general of Asio, including on 18 February, was there any mention of a hoax. The thought that we didn’t request a briefing is a complete and utter nonsense and there is a home own goal here by Tony Burke. I think the prime minister needs to answer questions about when he was advised of this being a hoax and the premier of NSW.
I know that NSW police advised at one point that the caravan and the explosives that were found in the caravan had the potential to make a 40 metre blast … So I think Tony Burke is trying to find political opportunity out of a national security issue and should stand condemned.
Key events
Sarah Basford Canales
Linda Reynolds urges Nato to make decision on sending troops to Ukraine
The former defence minister, Linda Reynolds, has urged Nato countries, including Italy, Germany and France, to make a decision on whether to base troops in Ukraine ahead of a key meeting in Paris.
It comes as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said he will consider any proposals to send Australian peacekeepers to the war-torn region as part of a “coalition of the willing” designed by European leaders.
Australia will be represented by Air Vice-Marshal Di Turton at a meeting of defence force chiefs in Paris in the coming hours. A defence spokesperson said:
Australia continues to stand with Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s unprovoked illegal and immoral aggression.
The Russian ambassador to Australia, Alexey Pavlovsky, warned Australia not to send any troops to Ukraine, flagging it would “entail grave consequences”. He said in a statement first provided to the Sydney Morning Herald:
Once again, western boots on the ground are unacceptable for Russia, and we will not remain passive observers.
Reynolds, who co-chairs the Parliamentary Friends of Ukraine, said the war in Ukraine in “closer to home than ever” and she remained committed to supporting the country’s efforts to defend its democracy.
Asked whether she supported a proposal to send Australian troops to ensure peace in Ukraine, the retiring Western Australian senator said:
Nato nations must step up their efforts and lead the charge in defending their Ukrainian neighbours. With Italy, Germany and France making no decision yet to base troops in Ukraine, these countries must first commit to defending Ukraine.
A defence spokesperson said:
Australia continues to stand with Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s unprovoked, illegal and immoral aggression.
MP Patrick Gorman says Turnbull’s Trump comments were ‘immature’
Western Australian MP and assistant minister to the prime minister, Patrick Gorman, has suggested Malcolm Turnbull’s comments on the United States and Trump over the last couple of days were “immature” and that the former Liberal prime minister was just “looking for some headlines”.
Here’s some of the background to the back-and-forth:
Speaking to journalists in WA today, Gorman said the former PM’s comments were immaterial to Australia’s current trade negotiations with the US:
Malcolm Turnbull can choose to do as he wishes. I don’t think that when it comes to former prime ministers putting themselves into the media like that, I don’t think it makes a huge difference. I think the United States system recognises that they’re dealing with the Albanese Labor government.
Malcolm Turnbull can go and do the commentary from the sidelines that he chooses. We’re focused on Australian jobs and Australian industry and getting the best deal for Australia.
When it comes to negotiating with the US government, we’ll do that in a mature, respectful way. If others are choosing to do it in an immature way, that’s something for them to justify. If Peter Dutton thinks that this is helpful, he can let his former colleague keep jumping into the media. If Peter Dutton thinks it’s unhelpful, maybe he could pick up the phone to Malcolm Turnbull and have a word.
Asked if Turnbull was right, and that Australia should stand up for itself more against Trump, Gorman said:
Oh, I wouldn’t use language like that. When it comes to an elected official of any of our trading or security partners, least of which the United States, I don’t think that’s appropriate or helpful language. What we do is stand up for Australian jobs. We stand up for Australian industry. We stand up for Australia’s national interest. That’s what we do. Malcolm Turnbull, I think, is just looking for some headlines.
Benita Kolovos
Victoria’s community housing chief applauds government’s public housing plan
The Victorian government’s housing announcement we mentioned earlier comes as the government awaits an outcome in class action court proceedings against the redevelopment of the towers.
The class action was brought on by Inner Melbourne Community Legal on behalf of about 1,000 residents of the three towers, with the firm alleging the government failed to properly consider the human rights of residents when it decided to redevelop the towers.
IMCL described the announcement as “disrespectful” to residents:
It is extremely disappointing to hear that there is no commitment to build publicly owned and managed housing in place of the towers. This means our clients can’t return to their estates as public housing residents, as many of them wanted to do.
Meanwhile, Community Housing Industry Association Victoria chief executive Sarah Toohey applauded the plan. She said in a statement:
During the worst housing crisis in living memory, every dollar the government invests to turn it around must maximise the number of homes created. When the government teams up with not-for-profit community housing providers, taxpayers get more bang for their buck. Not-for-profit community housing organisations consistently build quality affordable homes at lower costs than government projects can achieve. More community housing partnerships mean more Victorians housed with the same public investment.
She said under the government’s plan for North Melbourne, there would be a doubling of the number of “social homes”.
BoM forecasts showers to ease in Queensland and NSW, but risk of thunderstorms
A look at tomorrow’s weather: the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting showers to continue to ease across south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales, but there is the risk of thunderstorms across inland areas and flooding is continuing across some rivers.
Showers and storms will be more widespread across southern inland and central parts of Queensland with the possibility of severe thunderstorms, heavy rainfall as well as damaging winds. Brisbane can expect a top of 28C and a shower or two, but it will be hot across the west.
In NSW, showers for much of the east and the northeast of the state and possible severe thunderstorms in the far west. It will be very warm across western NSW at 27C and a possible shower in Sydney.
Victoria will be hot and unsettled with showers developing in the morning about central districts, but they’ll become more widespread into the afternoon with possible damaging winds and heavy rainfall, including in some suburbs around Melbourne. It will be 33C in the state capital and hot across the state’s west.
In Tasmania, showers and thunderstorms will develop in the west and extend across the rest of the state into the afternoon, but temperatures reaching the low to mid 20s.
South Australia will have a mostly sunny day with light winds, and temperatures at about 31C in Adelaide, but in the north they’ll reach up into the low 40s.
It will also be quite unsettled across Western Australia, with a cold front pushing through with showers and storms across inland parts of the state. Hot conditions continue in Central Australia and in the tropical north, the usual wet season showers and thunderstorms.
You can watch the full forecast here:
Josh Butler
Dutton on divestment confusion: ‘We will divest if that is what’s required’
Let’s return briefly to Peter Dutton’s press conference, where another of the Coalition’s policy offerings got even more confusing and unclear.
While most of that media appearance was focused on the Dural caravan explosives, a question toward the end – on the Coalition’s policy of forced divestiture – again seemed to expose real divisions inside the Liberal party on exactly how that would work.
To recap: last week we saw Peter Dutton and his shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, at complete odds over whether the Coalition’s proposed divestiture powers would extend to the insurance industry. Three weeks ago, Dutton said they would; this week Taylor claimed “we’ve been clear” that they would not. We unpacked that all here:
Now, since we published that piece on Saturday, deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley and shadow finance minister Jane Hume made it crystal clear that it would NOT extend to insurance. Don’t take our word for it, here is what Ley said yesterday:
We do not propose divestiture with respect to insurance companies, and we’ve made that clear.
Confused? Understandable. Clear? As mud. So it was over to Dutton, at his press conference, where he was asked about the seeming total contradictions in him saying the powers would extend to insurance while other senior members of his team said they wouldn’t.
Dutton’s response:
Our policy, and I will state it very clearly, is if the advice to our government is that there is a concentration of power or market share vested in the big insurance companies in this country, and that concentration of market share has led to businesses and families not being able to get insurance cover, or indeed has led to people paying astronomical prices for their premiums, and therefore market failure, my government will act and we will divest if that is what’s required to get competition into the marketplace.
Long answer, but that boils down to “we will divest if that is what is required”.
He was further asked, in a cheeky question: “Will you let Angus Taylor and Sussan Ley know?”
Dutton doubled down further, indeed claiming: “I have looked at what they have said and I think there is a consistency there as well.”
Make up your own mind about that.
Benita Kolovos
Greens accuse Victorian Labor of ‘washing their hands of public housing’
Further to the previous post, the ground lease model has been used by the Victorian government in the past and has been criticised by those who want social housing to remain state owned and operated.
Following Shing’s announcement on Tuesday, the Victorian Greens issued a statement in which they said community housing was more expensive than public housing, with residents in the former not provided with the same rights.
Their statement read:
Public housing tenants have rent capped at 25% of household income and rights to a lifelong lease, whereas community housing tenants have to renew every three years, and can pay upward of 30% of their income. “Affordable” housing has no strict definition and has been found to be leased at higher than market rent even in some government managed properties.
The Greens accused the government of a “total retreat from public housing”. Their housing spokesperson, Gabrielle de Vietri, said in a statement:
This announcement confirms our fears that Labor is washing their hands of public housing in Victoria. Labor is hand-balling people’s lives and the housing crisis to a private consortium.
We’re in a housing crisis where we should be building more public housing on public land, but instead Labor’s handing over our public land and demolishing the public housing we already have.
Benita Kolovos
Victoria to lease public housing sites to private consortium
The Victorian government has announced it will lease the sites of public housing towers in Flemington and North Melbourne to a private consortium that will handle the redevelopment and management for the next four decades.
The housing minister, Harriet Shing, on Tuesday announced the government will be using its “ground lease model” to redevelop three towers in the precinct, which are among the first of the state’s 44 highrises slated for demolition.
Under the model, the government leases the land to a private consortium to build, operate and maintain housing for 40 years, after which it is returned to public ownership.
Shing’s media release read:
This means that the land remains owned by the government.
She said the Flemington development will be managed by a private consortium, dubbed “Building Communities”, while the government was calling for expressions of interest for the North Melbourne development.
She said the plan will deliver 400 “social homes” and up to 300 affordable homes – which are leased to low- to middle-income earners at below median market rent – in Flemington.
Shing said:
We are continuing our work in partnership with not-for-profit housing providers to build hundreds of social and affordable homes in the communities where people want to live. Increasing the volume of new social housing on these sites by 39% will give more Victorians the modern, energy efficient, accessible, safe and secure homes they deserve.
Amanda Meade
Broadcaster’s lawyer concerned about ‘anti-Jones crusade’
Alan Jones’s lawyer has told the court in his committal hearing today he is concerned about an “anti-Jones crusade” while arguing that Sydney Morning Herald journalist Kate McClymont should not have a dual role as a reporter of his client’s case and as a witness.
Jones has been charged with 35 historical sexual assault offences allegedly committed in various places in New South Wales, including Newtown, the Sydney CBD, Fitzroy Falls, Alexandria and Tamworth. He has denied all the allegations and indicated he will plead not guilty to all charges.
Jones was excused from Tuesday’s committal hearing, but his lawyer Bryan Wrench told the court that he had now received the brief of evidence and was aware that “the journalist who broke this story” had given a witness statement.
Read the full story here:
Ron Brierley faces charges of possessing child abuse material
A high-profile former corporate raider has been allegedly caught with child abuse material three years after he was let out of prison on a successful appeal.
One-time corporate high flyer and multimillionaire Ron Brierley, 87, was granted bail on Tuesday on three charges of possessing the illegal material.
He was released on the condition that he wouldn’t have access to any internet-connected devices without approved supervision. His case returns to Sydney’s Waverley local court later in March.
Brierley was jailed in October 2021 after he pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing child abuse material found on devices in his luggage at Sydney airport and at his Point Piper home.
He was released on appeal in February 2022 when a court ruled his conditions of custody, together with his physical and mental ill health, were significantly worse than contemplated when he was sentenced.
The court revised his 14-month sentence to 10 months, with a non-parole period of four months.
Brierley once chaired one of Australia’s most valuable public companies, was a board member of the Sydney Cricket Ground trust and was knighted in 1988 in his native New Zealand.
He gave up his knighthood when the New Zealand government moved to strip it away following the laying of the previous child abuse material charges.
– Australian Associated Press
Here’s a little recap on what the Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, said was the “best briefing we’ve had as a state for a little while”.
‘Tunagate’ exchange in full
Earlier, we brought you the news that the NSW arts minister, John Graham, had been forced to defend the Powerhouse “sashimi performance” – a chef making sashimi from a large yellowfin tuna on site at a $30,000 party at the museum – in state budget estimates. Here’s that exchange in full:
Dutton’s claim about Palestinians not being checked debunked
Returning to some of those comments Peter Dutton made earlier: he attacked Tony Burke for allowing Palestinians into the country who are escaping Gaza in fear for their lives, repeating some version of the following claim at least three times:
[Burke] is the home affairs minister that allowed 3,000 people in from Gaza without security checks and our country is less safe as a result of that.
This claim shouldn’t go unchallenged as it’s simply not true. Mike Burgess, the director general of security agency Asio, himself debunked it last August when the Coalition first made those claims. Burgess said:
The critical point is: there are security checks. There are criteria by which people are referred to my service for review and when they are, we deal with that effectively.
Guardian reporter Kate Lyons also spoke to Rasha Abbas, director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action, at the time, who said:
Everyone who exits Gaza is checked by Israel. Your name has to appear on an approved list by Israel for you to exit … Then they have to be approved by Egypt, and Egypt is known to have high security, and then they have to go through the checks in Australia. They actually have been checked by three countries. This whole concept of them being unchecked is so false. Israel would not let anyone who is remotely connected with Hamas exit Gaza.
There’s more here, if you’d like a refresher:
Rafqa Touma
Thank you for joining me on the blog today. Handing over now to Stephanie Convery, who will keep you updated with the afternoon’s breaking news.
Dutton accuses Albanese of not being able to negotiate with Trump
Dutton was asked about Malcolm Turnbull’s recent criticisms, saying leaders should “not give in to bullies” after he was lashed by Donald Trump in a late-night social media post.
The opposition leader used it as an opportunity to instead criticise Albanese:
In relation to the tariffs, it is important for the prime minister to pick the phone up and speak to the president. It is important for Jim Chalmers to pick the phone up and speak to his counterpart.
This is an incredibly important issue for our country [and] a priority for me is to make sure that we protect Australian jobs and Australian industry. We need a steel manufacturing and aluminium manufacturing industry in this country. We cannot build these buildings, the windows and the doors and much of what we see in the built environment in this country relies on steel and aluminium, and we don’t need a 25% tariff being applied, but it is up to the prime minister.
Malcolm Turnbull was able to negotiate with President Trump during the first presidency to see Australia avoid the application of those tariffs. Mr Albanese has not been able to do that.
Dutton accuses Burke of seeking ‘political opportunity’ out of caravan hoax
Peter Dutton continued his defence, saying Tony Burke should be “condemned” for finding “political opportunity” in an issue of national security:
We requested a briefing on the 22 January. We requested everything about a week later. At no time during those briefings or my discussions with the director general of Asio, including on 18 February, was there any mention of a hoax. The thought that we didn’t request a briefing is a complete and utter nonsense and there is a home own goal here by Tony Burke. I think the prime minister needs to answer questions about when he was advised of this being a hoax and the premier of NSW.
I know that NSW police advised at one point that the caravan and the explosives that were found in the caravan had the potential to make a 40 metre blast … So I think Tony Burke is trying to find political opportunity out of a national security issue and should stand condemned.
Dutton: Burke ‘parading’ in front of Labor colleagues by criticising him
Peter Dutton has dismissed comments made by Tony Burke earlier today saying the opposition leader played into the hands of organised crime by not getting briefed by police before making multiple public statements about a sequence of apparently antisemitic attacks.
Dutton responded by insinuating Burke is “parading” in front of Labor colleagues in case the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, no longer leads the party.
What is obvious is that the home affairs minister has been caught out lying today.
I think what is happening today is this beauty parade between Jim Chalmers and Tony Burke because they anticipate Anthony Albanese will not be the leader of the Labor party for much longer at all and I think what they are both doing at this moment is trying to parade in front of their colleagues and, frankly, I think it is an appalling show by Tony Burke.
He went on to attack Burke for allowing 3,000 Palestinians from Gaza into Australia.
Dutton urges people to holiday on the Gold Coast
The opposition leader and a Queensland MP, Peter Dutton, has urged travellers to consider the Gold Coast as a holiday destination, citing the impact of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred on businesses and their employers.
Dutton is addressing the media live:
One of the most important messages out of today is, if you think about booking a holiday for Easter, then look to one of these regions, including the Gold Coast, that’s been affected by the cyclone and make sure you book the holiday today. If you can get on to one of the websites, for Virgin or Qantas or whoever it might be, there will be packages available.
One of the concerns I think at the moment here is to move into the next phase in people either cancel their accommodation or decide to go somewhere else. And for this community, particularly with the number of small businesses impacted, and right across south-east Queensland it’s the case as well, that will be devastating for them. Devastating for the employees in those businesses. For a tourism city like the Gold Coast it’s important people hear the message that the Gold Coast is really open for business again.
Consumer confidence surges on back of interest rate cut
The Reserve Bank’s first rate cut since 2020 has delivered a welcome boost to the economic outlook, but Australian consumers are still more pessimistic than optimistic.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer confidence survey posted a strong 4% gain in March, up to a three-year high of 95.9.
Slowing inflation and good news on interest rates drove the bounce in sentiment following a slowdown in recovery over the Christmas-New Year period, Westpac’s head of Australian macro-forecasting, Matthew Hassan, said.
“The RBA’s decision to cut interest rates in February and a further easing in cost-of-living pressures have provided a clear lift,” Hassan said.
The survey detail shows a broad-based improvement with a notable rise in confidence around the labour market outlook.
Mortgage holders recorded the largest jump in confidence, while the outlook also improved for people planning to buy a home.
Expectations of the time it takes to buy a dwelling eased, although expectations that house prices would rise also grew.
It came as the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed the value of Australian homes rose to a fresh record high, although the rate of growth was slowing.
The value of Australia’s 11.3 million residential dwellings rose 0.2% to $11 trillion in the December quarter, despite a short slowdown in the housing market.
“The relatively flat growth for the December quarter was the result of net additions to stock offsetting a slight fall in property prices,” the ABS head of finance statistics, Mish Tan, said.
“Annually, growth slowed to 4.4 % from 8.1% in December quarter 2023.”
Another 4% improvement in April would bring the Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index back to 100, which would denote an equal amount of optimists as pessimists.
But concerns still persist, most notably in the form of unsettling news from overseas.
“While it is not the most pressing concern, the US tariff war and deteriorating relations with some of its allies is clearly unsettling,” Hassan said.
– Australian Associated Press
‘I would be dead’: woman makes fateful call amid storm
When power was finally restored to her storm-hit home, Renata Brunton opted not to return straight away. The decision may have saved her life.
Soon afterwards a giant tree landed on her bedroom, destroying her family’s Gold Coast home in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
“I am just glad I wasn’t there because I would be dead right now,” Brunton told AAP.
She had earlier been at the Tugun residence as wild weather hit the area, causing widespread blackouts and damage.
Her husband had taken her two sons, aged seven and 10, to another location, which still had power.
She later joined them, then got a call from a neighbour telling her electricity had been restored.
“I actually thought about going back home but the weather wasn’t too good,” Brunton said.
About 20 minutes later she got another call from the neighbour, with devastating news.
“I was told about the tree and I got upset straight away but thought we might be able to fix the roof,” Brunton said.
But the next day we went to the house and the tree had hit the bedroom and the whole roof came down.
The whole thing was gone. Rain was already leaking all through the house – the whole structure was affected.
Brunton was thankful she was not around when the tree struck but did not have time to count her blessings. She is more concerned about finding somewhere for her family to live.
“We lost our home. We don’t have anywhere to go. I don’t have family here, I am from Brazil,” Brunton said.
We had lived there for 11 years. I never thought I would have to go through something like this. It’s devastating.
The family are sweating on body corporate insurance but in the meantime are relying on the kindness of others.
A GoFundMe account has been set up by a friend, raising more than $9,000 by Tuesday afternoon.
– Australian Associated Press
