Australia news live updates: solicitor general’s advice on Morrison’s secret ministries to be handed down

Fallout of Morrison saga on other colleagues is unfair, Bridget Archer says

Bridget Archer has welcomed the idea of an independent review into Scott Morrison’s conduct, saying he should consider his position.

Asked by ABC Radio whether the governor general and the public service should be included in this, Archer said:

I don’t necessarily see any reason why not, if it is a broad examination of this issue.

Asked whether she believes Morrison should resign, she says she is reluctant to call on other MPs to resign:

I would ask him to reflect on that, on his role going forward.

It’s forcing other colleagues to defend themselves and their own records, and I think that’s unfair.

Updated at 18.25 EDT

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Largest opioid shipment on record seized by federal police

The Australian Federal Police has seized the largest shipment ever detected in Australia of the deadly opioid fentanyl.

The shipment contained more than five million potentially lethal doses of the drug, but was stopped by a joint operation with the Australian Border Force (ABF).

The AFP said a statement:

More than 11kg of pure powdered fentanyl and 30kg of methamphetamine were hidden inside in an industrial wooden lathe sent from Canada that arrived at the Port of Melbourne in December, 2021.

The AFP, ABF and the Department of Home Affairs have established a joint operation to identify those responsible for importing the fentanyl – due to the seriousness this criminality poses to the Australian community.

A representative of the Australian Federal Police has just given a press conference in Melbourne about the largest opioid seizure on record.

Updated at 19.27 EDT

Industrial action delays Sydney trains

There are cancellations and delays on Sydney’s west and southwest train lines as the rail union takes action, a day before their further industrial campaign resumes, AAP reports.

The Rail Tram and Bus Union is undertaking rolling stoppages throughout August and additional action was imposed on Monday after workers refused to operate 37 trains, saying they did not meet minimum maintenance standards.

The action is affecting trains on the T1, T2, and T 8 lines.

Sydney Trains CEO Matt Longland says the action has put pressure on services and commuters should expect delays. He told Sydney radio 2GB today:

That is creating gaps and will continue to create gaps across the day, mainly in the west and southwest.

RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens said trains that did not meet minimum maintenance standards could be affected by a range of issues “from safety all the way through to cleanliness”.

The rail union and management will meet again today to try and resolve the long-running dispute over a new industrial agreement and the union’s safety concerns with the mothballed Korean-built intercity trains.

Trains services will be stopped on Tuesday between 10am and 4pm on the Blue Mountains and Newcastle lines, affecting stops from Newcastle to Lithgow.

On Thursday, Sydney’s City Circle line will be impacted with workers refusing to run trains from 10am to 4pm.

Victoria records six Covid deaths and 414 people in hospital.

There were 2,600 new cases in the last reporting period, and 28 people are in intensive care.

NSW records four Covid deaths and 1,962 people in hospital

There were 5,013 new cases in the last reporting period, and 50 people are in intensive care.

Updated at 19.09 EDT

ACTU calls for national renewables strategy

You’ll be hearing a lot about next week’s jobs and skills summit and there are a lot of submissions to get through, but it’s good to have a look to see where the stakeholders are taking this opportunity for roundtable discussions.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions wants the government to “quickly establish” a national energy transition authority, making the point that climate and mining jobs are linked.

It has released its report, Secure Jobs for a Safer Climate, laying out how 12 coal-fired power stations have closed so far in the last 10 years, with no plan for transitioning the communities that relied on those assets.

ACTU president Michelle O’Neil said there was a better way, with the renewable sector capable of creating “395,000 secure and well-paid jobs and $89bn in revenue by 2040 in export industries alone”.

To realise this, the report recommends that the Albanese government:

Establish an independent and properly resourced national energy transition authority to manage an orderly and fair transition process for affected workers – including supports for redeployment, skills and training, and secure jobs opportunities.

Develop a national renewables strategy, ensuring Australia becomes a renewable energy superpower with local industries, supply chains and good unionised jobs.

Build a national disaster response capability that seeks to mitigate, prepare for, respond, and recover from extreme weather events.

Take a leading role in developing climate mitigation and adaption policies and programs.

Ensure that industries and households have access to reliable and affordable energy.

Reach a net-zero emissions public service by 2030, with full engagement of workers.

O’Neil said it was about not having to choose between climate action and jobs:

Through support for skills and training, redeployment, and secure jobs in new industries we can ensure no worker or region is left behind.

Climate change is already with us, with workers across all industries suffering the health impacts of extreme heat and climate-related disasters, while dealing with the rising cost of living due to crop and land degradation – there needs to be a mitigation and adaptation plan from the government.

Updated at 19.00 EDT

$11bn facelift for Sydney’s Central station, with more affordable housing on offer

An ambitious $11bn revamp of Sydney’s Central station precinct has been unveiled, with plans for high-rise towers, a public square and parklands, AAP reports.

The redevelopment at the southern end of Sydney’s CBD will be built over 20 years and cover a 24-hectare site to include office space and housing, as well as new city connections.

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet revealed the plans today, saying they would utilise unused space over the rail corridor to deliver a vibrant destination and provide much-needed space for the expansion of the city centre:

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine this iconic part of our CBD and transform it into a world-class precinct of shops, restaurants, office spaces, parkland and additional housing.

Infrastructure minister Rob Stokes said:

The masterplan celebrates the heritage of the precinct while also offering a grand new public square, three new parks, new community and social services hubs as well as at least 30% of affordable and diverse housing.

Updated at 18.48 EDT

Stronger crypto regulation coming

Crypto will face more regulation in Australia, with the Albanese government set to open consultation on how to better help Australia’s regulatory framework deal with the crypto asset sector.

The Australian Taxation Office estimates that more than 1 million taxpayers have interacted with the crypto asset ecosystem since 2018.

Stephen Jones and Andrew Leigh are going to lead the charge, with the first step in the reform agenda to be prioritising “token mapping” work in 2022.

(I am no expert but essentially that means mapping back the token to the digital wallet it belongs to.)

Jones and Leigh say no one else in the world has done it yet, so it should be quite the ride. The pair say in a joint statement:

With the increasingly widespread proliferation of crypto assets – to the extent that crypto advertisements can be seen plastered all over big sporting events – we need to make sure customers engaging with crypto are adequately informed and protected.

The previous government dabbled in crypto asset regulation but prematurely jumped straight to options without first understanding what was being regulated. The Albanese Government is taking a more serious approach to work out what is in the ecosystem and what risks need to be looked at first.

A public consultation paper on token mapping will be released soon.

Updated at 18.41 EDT

Husic defends parliamentarians deciding on grants

On ABC Radio this morning both minister for industry Ed Husic and Liberal MP Bridget Archer were asked about the Grattan Institute’s report about pork barrelling.

Husic was wary of taking ministerial discretion away on grants and leaving it up to the bureaucrats:”

I think parliamentarians are elected to represent both community and national interest. I don’t think we should all be tarred with a Coalition brush.

Parliamentarians, they are up for the judgment of people every three years or so. And if they’ve done the wrong thing that should be done that way.

I do get concerned if you just spin it all off to departmental people. With the greatest respect, the accountability is much sharper when you come to an election.

Archer, who followed Husic on ABC RN, hits back at the suggestion that all parties shouldn’t be “tarred with a Coalition brush”:

I don’t think it is a Coalition issue, I think it’s an issue broadly and has been for quite some time … I think there needs to be a level of confidence and accountability in the decision making.

Updated at 18.38 EDT

Departments – not politicians – should decide government grant recipients, Grattan Institute recommends

The Grattan Institute has a very timely report out today with a plan to end pork barrelling, which calls for departments rather than ministers to make the call on who receives grants.

As the authors of the report write in the Conversation:

Ministers should be able to establish grant programs and define the selection criteria, but they should not be involved in choosing grant recipients.

Shortlisting and selecting grant recipients is an administrative function for the relevant department or agency. Ministers should have bigger fish to fry.

Danielle Grattan, an author of the report and chief executive at Grattan, was asked about whether a federal Icac would produce the same outcome, but she said it would be more effective to tackle the problem “upstream”.

Updated at 18.26 EDT

‘They are talking about it’: Archer on Morrison saga

Bridget Archer also rejected the argument that has been coming from certain members of the Coalition – including Barnaby Joyce on ABC Insiders yesterday – that nobody was talking about the Morrison saga:

Updated at 18.27 EDT

Fallout of Morrison saga on other colleagues is unfair, Bridget Archer says

Bridget Archer has welcomed the idea of an independent review into Scott Morrison’s conduct, saying he should consider his position.

Asked by ABC Radio whether the governor general and the public service should be included in this, Archer said:

I don’t necessarily see any reason why not, if it is a broad examination of this issue.

Asked whether she believes Morrison should resign, she says she is reluctant to call on other MPs to resign:

I would ask him to reflect on that, on his role going forward.

It’s forcing other colleagues to defend themselves and their own records, and I think that’s unfair.

Updated at 18.25 EDT

Governor general disrespected by being put on the spot, industry minister says

Ed Husic has said he feels for the governor general “being put in that position”, and he believes he was “disrespected by putting him in this spot”.

The talk then turns to republicanism and whether an Australian republic could have avoided the Morrison saga, as assistant minister for the republic Matt Thistlethwaite says. Husic is asked if he agrees.

Husic says he supports the idea of a republic but that “in this case it’s about us and the Coalition respecting the way things should work”.

Updated at 18.24 EDT

Government reviewing modern manufacturing initiatives approved by Morrison

Ed Husic is asked when did the review begin of the grants for the modern manufacturing initiative under Morrison’s control as industry minister (17 projects were approved before the federal election):

I took that step to look at those grants … when I’d learnt a number of things as an incoming minister.

Asked if all 17 projects Morrison gave the OK as industry minister would go ahead, Husic responds:

We’re going through the review and we’ll make a decision … it is a very big call to take money off the table for industries and businesses that have factored that in.

I’m going through it and consulting with the department and considering the advice I’m being given.

My intent is to do it before the budget.

Updated at 18.02 EDT

Coalition prioritised political interest, Husic says

Ed Husic says he does not accept “whatsoever” the explanation that the former prime minister needed to give final approval because the projects covered several ministerial portfolios:

Instead of prioritising the national interest the Coaltion prioritised the political interest and they announced the bulk of these right before the election.

Updated at 17.55 EDT

Industry minister responds to Morrison’s decision on modern manufacturing initiative

Ed Husic, the minister for industry and science, is speaking to ABC Radio.

This follows the revelation that former prime minister Scott Morrison, under the industry portfolio, took control of the modern manufacturing initiative and approved 17 projects before the federal election, with more than half in Coalition seats.

Asked whether Morrison’s actions in approving $828m in grants in March, with just three of the projects in a safe Labor seat, constituted pork barrelling, Husic responded:

I was concerned last year when I saw Morrison had made himself the decision maker, wrote to him and his people didn’t think there was any issue.

If you’re still trying to get across which ministries Morrison assumed, this article will help you:

Updated at 17.47 EDT

Queenslanders call for raise in age of criminal responsibility

More than 25,000 Queenslanders have signed a petition calling for the state government to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14. The petition contains 26,853 signatures and has been backed by a coalition of legal and community services.

It comes after Labor voted with One Nation, Katter’s Australian party and the LNP to defeat a Greens’ bill to raise the age of criminal responsibility in parliament last week.

Queensland attorney general Shannon Fentiman opposed the bill and said raising the age would be “irresponsible” ahead of a national approach that would promote “consistency” and “fairness”.

Across Australia, children as young as 10 can be held in watchhouses and hauled before courts to face criminal charges.

The chief executive of Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service, Shane Duffy, said the government needed to examine root causes of behaviour rather than locking children up:

We need more services, not sentences. How would you personally feel about your 10-year-old being locked up?

PeakCare Queensland’s executive director Lindsay Wegener was a former director of Queensland youth detention centres. She said the laws were “dangerous and cruel”, putting children on a lifetime trajectory of crime.

The chief executive of the Youth Advocacy Centre, Katie Acheson, said raising the age would bring Queensland into line with international human rights guidelines.

Fentiman will meet with the coalition today to receive the petition.

Queensland is the fourth state government to be presented with a petition, as part of the national Raise the Age campaign.

Updated at 17.44 EDT

Australians more afraid of Chinese attack than Taiwanese

The Australia Institute’s International and Security Affairs program has polling out showing that more Australians are afraid China will attack Australia than Taiwanese believe China will attack Taiwan.

Two surveys were carried out this month, one in Taiwan (of 1,002 people) and one in Australia (of 1,003 people).

The poll shows Australians are more skittish than Taiwanese people about the prospect of an attack by China – nearly one in 10 Australians believe an invasion will come “soon”, compared with one in 20 Taiwanese. Australians are also more pessimistic about an invasion of Taiwan compared with those who live there – one in four respondents believed China would move on Taiwan “soon”. Both groups were on the same page though when it came to the US and China working out any grievances peacefully.

Allan Behm, the director of the Australia Institute’s international and security affairs program and a former senior foreign affairs, attorney general’s and defence official said the more “the anti-China lobby beats the drums of war, the more afraid of China Australians become”.

The rhetoric on China and the “fearmongering” was impacting public opinion. He said:

It is astonishing that Australians are more afraid of an attack from China than the Taiwanese are.

The results show popular opinion is detached from geopolitical and geostrategic reality. The results support the case for a reset in the Australia-China relationship and the manner in which we hold this important national conversation. Such a reset should be based on facts and the national interest rather than the fear peddling we saw in the recent Australian federal election by some for domestic, partisan interests.

Updated at 17.41 EDT

Good morning!

Solicitor general Stephen Donaghue is set to hand down the much-anticipated legal advice regarding former prime minister Scott Morrison’s secret ministerial appointments.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese will receive the advice about whether Morrison breached any rules after he secretly appointed himself to five portfolios.

But before Albanese receives this advice he is also flagging a separate investigation into Morrison’s actions, telling Sky News yesterday that there was “a need for proper scrutiny of what occurred”.

Liberal MP Bridget Archer has also told the ABC she believes there is need for further investigation or an inquiry.

In employment news, the government has released a list of the top 10 in-demand professions over the next five years in the lead-up to the jobs and skills summit next week.

The list is based on the skills priority list, data on job vacancies and projected growth in employment, and the roles include nurses, construction managers and chefs.

Let’s get going.

Updated at 17.36 EDT