Australia news live: Shorten calls Stuart Robert’s robodebt defence ‘peak bizarre’, NAB boss backs Labor’s superannuation changes

Committee scathing on Perrottet brothers’ failure to appear before inquiry

The NSW parliament has officially entered caretaker mode ahead of the general state election on 25 March, during which government activity will slow to a minimum, AAP reports.

While routine government business will continue as usual, as a general rule, no significant new decisions, initiatives, appointments, or contractual undertakings are made during the period.

It comes after the government prematurely adjourned parliament from the start of the week, sparking questions over whether an upper house committee into alleged corruption in the Hills Shire council would continue to sit.

The committee delivered its report as one of the final acts of the 57th NSW parliament on Thursday evening, with a scathing assessment of key witnesses who avoided providing evidence.

Committee chair Sue Higginson said the deliberate failure of witnesses, including two of premier Dominic Perrottet’s brothers, to appear before the inquiry was unprecedented.

Charles and Jean-Claude Perrottet, property developer Jean Nassif, Liberal party operative Christian Ellis and his mother, Hills councillor Virginia Ellis, were all found to have deliberately avoided the inquiry.

Higginson said in the report the contempt shown for the committee’s role raised serious questions about the operation of the Liberal party in NSW.

The only way this committee could shed some light on these allegations is for those involved to come forward and give their account.

Their coordinated, deliberate and serious efforts to evade scrutiny inevitably leave the perception that there is something to hide.

The report recommended the influence of property developers on the council be probed by the state’s independent commission against corruption.

It also recommended a further inquiry be established by the next parliament with a view to the involvement of both Perrottet brothers as well as Ellis and Nassif.

“This inquiry has raised questions that are too serious to leave unanswered simply because this parliament has run its course,” Higginson said.

For this reason, the committee has recommended that a new inquiry into these matters be established in the next parliament.

Updated at 18.35 EST

Key events

Data reveals discrepancy in student-teacher ratios

Public schools teachers are under pressure, with higher student-teacher ratios than private schools across Australia, new data shows.

The data, released by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (Acara) found the full-time equivalent student-teacher ratio is 12.8 for private schools – including Catholic and independent – and 13.6 for government schools nationally.

The split is most striking in secondary schools, where the student-teacher ratio is 12.4 at public schools compared with 10.5 at independent providers.

The Greens said the results were due to decades of underfunding of public schools that has led to a widening gap between private and public schools.

Greens spokesperson for schools, senator Penny Allman-Payne:

To attract more teachers to public schools and provide a world-class education for our kids, governments must properly fund all public schools and pay all public school teachers more.

Right now, nearly every public school in the country is receiving less than 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS), which is the minimum funding level required for students to achieve the minimum standard.

“The government wants to roll out a PR campaign to raise the status of teaching, and that’s great. But if there’s anybody that can see through being given a gold star, it’s teachers – we invented it.

Education minister Jason Clare has committed to ensuring every school reaches 100% of its funding under the SRS.

Allman-Payne said funding to private schools had increased at five times the rate of funding to public schools.

Australia has one of the greatest education funding inequality gaps in the OECD. This needs to be reversed.

There’s no point in trying to cajole more teachers into the profession when public schools are underfunded, pay and conditions are going backwards and morale is low.

Updated at 18.56 EST

Rugg case against Ryan returns to federal court

Sally Rugg’s case against MP Monique Ryan and the commonwealth has returned to the federal court. Rugg is seeking an injunction to keep her job, pending a final hearing.

Rugg’s counsel, Angel Aleksov, told the court on Friday that Rugg was “pushed or jostled” into resigning on 23 December.

Aleksov said that Rugg’s letter of resignation “did not” terminate her employment, because Ryan “did not accept its immediate effect”, but purported to give it effect on 31 January.

He said:

We say that combination of those circumstances is that termination of employment didn’t occur on 23 December when the letter was furnished. It only occurred when given effect to, which we say was a constructive dismissal, on 31 January. That date was extended by undertakings to 5pm today.

So, Rugg’s counsel is arguing that she is still employed, in order to support getting an injunction to keep her in the job.

Sally Rugg is seeking an injunction to keep her job. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Updated at 18.40 EST

Government housing plan means erosion in affordable in housing, Greens say

The federal government’s housing plan will result in a half a billion dollar cut in housing funding over the next decade, analysis by the parliamentary library provided to the Greens has found.

The research showed under the Housing Australia Future Fund plan, the value of payments for social and affordable housing will be eroded by $515m by 2033.

Under the government’s plan, $10bn will be invested with the Future Fund, with returns to be invested in social and affordable housing. Spending on housing will be capped at a maximum of $500m each year, with no indexation, which means a real term cut in housing funding every year.

The Greens say the impact of this lack of indexation means that in real terms the maximum funding available will have fallen to $400 million annually by 2032, or a cumulative total of $515m lost over the next ten years.

With the Coalition opposing the legislation in the House, it’s likely that Labor will need Greens support to pass their plan through the Senate.

The Greens party room has agreed on a set of negotiations including a minimum of $5bn invested in social and affordable housing every year (indexed to inflation) and removing the $500m cap, a national plan for renters and freeze on rent increases, a doubling of rent assistance and a $1b investment in Aboriginal Housing over five years.

Max Chandler-Mather, Greens spokesperson for housing and homelessness:

Labor’s housing bill locks in half a billion dollars in real term cuts to housing funding over the next decade, does nothing for renters, and will see the shortage of social and affordable housing get worse, that’s not a housing plan, it’s a disaster.

We would never accept real cuts in funding for schools and hospitals every year, and we shouldn’t accept that for housing.

Updated at 18.35 EST

NSW government enters caretaker mode ahead of state election

Get excited, New South Wales – there’s a state election coming!

From today, the NSW government has entered the caretaker period, which basically means no major decisions, appointments or contracts will be entered into as the campaign ramps up – and no political material will be posted across the state government’s socials.

The period runs from the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly until the election result is clear and we have a winner.

Updated at 18.23 EST

Defence minister Richard Marles is at the Avalon Air Show this morning.

He says the government’s formal response to the Defence Strategic Review – set to foster the biggest defence shake-up in nearly four decades – will not be released to the public this month.

Read more on the review from Daniel Hurst:

Committee scathing on Perrottet brothers’ failure to appear before inquiry

The NSW parliament has officially entered caretaker mode ahead of the general state election on 25 March, during which government activity will slow to a minimum, AAP reports.

While routine government business will continue as usual, as a general rule, no significant new decisions, initiatives, appointments, or contractual undertakings are made during the period.

It comes after the government prematurely adjourned parliament from the start of the week, sparking questions over whether an upper house committee into alleged corruption in the Hills Shire council would continue to sit.

The committee delivered its report as one of the final acts of the 57th NSW parliament on Thursday evening, with a scathing assessment of key witnesses who avoided providing evidence.

Committee chair Sue Higginson said the deliberate failure of witnesses, including two of premier Dominic Perrottet’s brothers, to appear before the inquiry was unprecedented.

Charles and Jean-Claude Perrottet, property developer Jean Nassif, Liberal party operative Christian Ellis and his mother, Hills councillor Virginia Ellis, were all found to have deliberately avoided the inquiry.

Higginson said in the report the contempt shown for the committee’s role raised serious questions about the operation of the Liberal party in NSW.

The only way this committee could shed some light on these allegations is for those involved to come forward and give their account.

Their coordinated, deliberate and serious efforts to evade scrutiny inevitably leave the perception that there is something to hide.

The report recommended the influence of property developers on the council be probed by the state’s independent commission against corruption.

It also recommended a further inquiry be established by the next parliament with a view to the involvement of both Perrottet brothers as well as Ellis and Nassif.

“This inquiry has raised questions that are too serious to leave unanswered simply because this parliament has run its course,” Higginson said.

For this reason, the committee has recommended that a new inquiry into these matters be established in the next parliament.

Updated at 18.35 EST

NSW energy minister announces funding for hydrogen hubs

NSW’s energy minister and treasurer Matt Kean will use his final morning as caretaker rules kick in to provide as much as $64m to support two green hydrogen hubs while opening applications for $1.5bn in concessions for large-scale green hydrogen producers.

As we saw last month, there’s a hydrogen race that’s underway globally thanks to the open-ended US Inflation Reduction Act (which is mostly about decarbonisation).

Anyway, NSW’s spending will go to hubs in the Illawarra near Wollongong and Moree all the way up near the Queensland border.

Kean said that the world-class incentives were part of the NSW hydrogen strategy to expand the state’s economy by an estimated $600m each year from 2030 and attract an estimated $80bn in private investment by 2050.

Big bickies if it can be pulled off – but, as mentioned above, the challenge for Australia is to get to scale fast enough to be competitive given our relatively meagre funds and talent pool. In our favour, we have some of the best renewable energy resources in the world.

“These globally competitive incentives will attract investors and industry to establish their operations in NSW, driving decarbonisation in heavy industry and pushing down green hydrogen costs to reach our target of under $2.80 per kilo by 2030,” Kean said.

A Deloitte study released about a week ago put the competitive gap between green hydrogen (from renewables) and grey/blue hydrogen (from fossil fuels … and should really be ‘black hydrogen’) at about $5 a kg v $3 a kg. Hence there’s some challenge to get down to $2.80.

“This funding will see the first green hydrogen produced in the Illawarra, with at least four refuelling stations set to be developed in and around the Illawarra which can power up to 40 trucks and buses in the region,” Kean said, hinting at the small initial size (but you have to start somewhere).

The Moree plant would convert green hydrogen into green ammonia used to fertilise cotton and other farms across the region, which is an interesting twist.

“At the same time, green hydrogen producers across NSW are now able to access $1.5bn in concessions to reduce costs for large scale investment, including up to a 90% reduction in their electricity network charges if they connect to parts of the grid with spare network capacity,” Kean said, detailing how those concessions are supposed to work.

“These incentives will set us up for success as we compete with the high-profile US Inflation Reduction Act hydrogen incentives, because the NSW concessions can apply to projects finishing well beyond 2030, while the US program finishes in 2032,” he says. (The IRA may, of course, be extended and some commentators have noted it is so far not capped in funds.)

Still, hydrogen will need to play a role including replacing fossil fuels in the hard to electrify parts of the economy in industry and heavy transport.

Guardian Australia will have more on the state’s decarbonisation efforts soon. Stay tuned for that.

Updated at 17.52 EST

Qantas to boost workforce after posting record profit

Qantas will increase its workforce by 8,500 over the next decade, as it announces a new engineering training facility.

Hot on the heels of announcing its record $1.43bn half-year profit last week, Qantas Group has revealed plans to grow its employee numbers from 23,500 to 32,000 by 2033, with the additional roles including pilots, engineers, cabin crew and airport staff across Qantas, Jetstar, Qantas Link and Qantas Freight.

The recruitment drive comes after the airline shed just under 10,000 jobs during the pandemic and, notably, outsourced 1700 ground-handling jobs in a move that was ruled illegal – a decision Qantas is now challenging in the high court.

Staffing shortages remain chronic across global aviation, with many skilled workers who left during the pandemic opting not to return to the sector. Last year, shortages compounded issues stemming from rising absenteeism as well as the soaring appetite for travel that saw airlines struggle with on-time performances, delays, mishandled baggage and customer service backlogs.

“Aviation jobs typically require specific skills, and so underpinning the recruitment drive is a massive commitment in training that will create a long-term pipeline of talent for the Qantas Group and Australian aviation more broadly,” the Qantas statement said.

As part of its recruitment mission, Qantas will establish its own engineering academy with capacity to train up to 300 engineers a year. The airline has announced a multi-million commitment to create the academy, which is expected to open its doors to the first students in 2025, but has not yet selected a location – something that will be announced by the end of the year.

Qantas Group chief executive, Alan Joyce – who will leave the airline by the end of this year – said the recruitment drive would also account for natural attrition. “If you’ve ever wanted to work in aviation or at the national carrier, now’s a great time to join,” he said.

Minister for skills and training, Brendan O’Connor, said:

Australia needs thousands of new workers and engineers to enter the aviation industry to ensure secure jobs and a thriving sector and we welcome this investment by Qantas to help develop these future skills needs.

Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce (centre) with trainees and pilots at the opening of a new Qantas flight training centre in Brisbane last year. Photograph: AAP

Updated at 17.37 EST

NSW records 7,163 Covid cases and 29 deaths, Victoria records 3,016 cases and 23 deaths

Covid data has just dropped from NSW and Victoria, with NSW reporting 7,163 new cases, with 29 deaths over the past seven days.

It’s a bit of a jump in cases, with NSW cases climbing to their highest levels since January, although there is a drop in deaths since last week.

In Victoria, 23 people died in the past week, with 3,016 new cases reported.

Case numbers are very similar to last week, although Victoria has also reported a drop in deaths week-on-week.

Updated at 17.08 EST

Government investigates ending live sheep exports

AAP is reporting that Australia is on the way to phasing out live sheep exports by sea.

The federal government has appointed an independent panel chaired by the former CEO of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and senior public servant, Phillip Glyde, to lead a six-month consultation process to map out the steps to the shutdown.

The panel also includes Western Australian agriculture expert Sue Middleton, former federal Labor Northern Territory MP Warren Snowdon and former RSCPA CEO Heather Neil.

“Phasing out live sheep exports by sea is a complex issue that will impact farmers, businesses, our trading partners, and the communities that participate in the trade,” agriculture minister Murray Watt said on Friday.

I am also conscious that the wider Australian community is interested in the phase-out, including those that want to see animal welfare maintained and improved.

Watt said he wanted to ensure the phase-out was orderly, adding it wouldn’t take effect in this term of the Labor government.

The live sheep export trade is worth about $85 million a year.

The panel will provide its report to the government by September 30.

Updated at 17.05 EST

Shorten takes aim at those rorting NDIS

Bill Shorten is making the rounds this morning, telling people who are rorting the national disability insurance scheme to “rack off.”

The minister for the national disability insurance scheme was on 2GB earlier, where he said the “good times” for those who exploit the scheme are over, saying he was determined to clean it up:

The scheme is delivering life changing positive outcomes for a lot of power but there is a lot of … undesirable conduct happening.

We need to make sure every dollar gets through to the people for whom the scheme was designed. There’s issues with fraud and crime but also with overservicing and overcharging.

Just rack off, you’re not welcome, get off my scheme.

Updated at 16.59 EST

Five major events taking place in Sydney this weekend

Sydney is facing one its busiest weekend since the 2000 Olympics, with the New South Wales transport chief operations officer Howard Collins counting at least five major events across Saturday and Sunday.

Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, he said it would be the biggest weekend in 23 years as Harry Styles concerts coincide with the end of WorldPride in Sydney, the return of the NRL, and the Sydney Kings playing in Homebush.

He warned that motorists should be aware that some major roads, including the Harbour Bridge, will be closed:

What we are seeing now is a return to big concerts. Ed Sheeran last weekend, 85,000 and we shifted a good proportion of that and it went smoothly.

We are reminding people, get there early. Olympic Park opens the doors to your seats at 5pm. There is plenty of events going on and get there early for the Harbour Bridge closure.

Motorists, it will be shut at 4am [on Sunday] and open at 11.30. We are asking people to retime your journey if you don’t need to be in the area.

Enjoy, the weather will be great. It will be a great event. Have some patience, there will be queues but we want to get most people to and from the events safely by public transport.

Updated at 16.25 EST

NAB boss backs Labor’s super changes

NAB chief executive Ross McEwan has just wrapped up an interesting interview on RN Breakfast, in which he came out and supported the government’s proposed superannuation changes.

McEwan said “$3m is a lot of money” as he explained that he believed it was a move that “probably needed to be made”:

$3m is a lot of money to have in a super fund and I’m sure I’ll put myself out there and people will say, ‘He should never have said that’.

But I think $3m is a lot of money. And that 4% return on that. I’m pretty sure after tax somebody could live on $120,000, it’s not a bad sum of money. So I think it’s a move that probably needed to be made.

Let’s consider it won’t affect 99.5% of Australians. It will affect a small group of people who had a huge amount of money in those funds, I’m sure they’ll find other things to do with it. So that’s just a reality of where we are. We’re all going to have to play our part to get this economy back into shape, (and) get the debt down.

For some background on this story from senior business reporter, Jonathan Barrett:

Updated at 16.39 EST