Australia politics live: attorney general releases integrity commission details, says police working with FBI over Optus hack

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Government releases statement on latest Optus hack developments

Clare O’Neil, the minister for cyber security, has released a statement after reports the Optus data breach information was being released as part of a ransom demand:

I am incredibly concerned this morning about reports that personal information from the Optus data breach, including Medicare numbers, are now being offered for free and for ransom.

Medicare numbers were never advised to form part of compromised information from the breach.

Consumers have a right to know exactly what individual personal information has been compromised in Optus’ communications to them. Reports today make this a priority.

I want to re-assure Australians that the full weight of cyber security capabilities across government, including the Australian Signals Directorate, the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Australian Federal Police are working round the clock to respond to this breach.

Updated at 20.56 EDT

Star Sydney’s licenceholder accepts regulator’s finding of unsuitability but pleads for continued operation under supervision

AAP has an update on the Star Entertainment Group response to the regulator’s findings it was unsuitable to hold a casino licence in NSW:

In a pitch to regulators, Star Entertainment Group says it accepts the findings of an inquiry which found it unsuitable to hold a casino licence in NSW and will do whatever is necessary to reform.

The gaming company on Tuesday pleaded to be allowed to continue to operate its Sydney casino under strict supervision.

“The Star Sydney accepts the findings of the Bell report, including the finding of unsuitability,” the company said in a statement.

It acknowledged “the gravity of the conduct which is raised in the Bell report”.

The company says it has taken “significant and urgent remedial steps, including increased risk, compliance, and security staff, approval of upgrades to surveillance technology as well as permanently exiting junkets and closing the Marquee nightclub”.

The company pledged to take “additional necessary and appropriate action” so the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) “can be satisfied the Star Sydney has taken sufficient steps, and has bound itself to take further steps, so that it may continue to hold its licence”.

The Star Entertainment Group (TSEG) says it has developed “a comprehensive remediation plan for a multi-year transformation of the governance, accountability and capabilities, culture and risk, and compliance management practices of the organisation”.

We intend to do whatever is necessary, in consultation with NICC, to restore The Star Sydney to suitability.

We submit that the appropriate action NICC should take is to allow TSEG to continue to operate the licence, under strict supervision and being held accountable to the milestones on the remediation plan.

Achieving the stipulated milestones “should give NICC confidence that TSEG has restored suitability”.

The response comes a day after the Star’s acting chief executive, Geoff Hogg, resigned.

Updated at 20.54 EDT

Parenthood advocacy group welcomes childcare reform bill

Advocacy group the Parenthood has welcomed the government introducing its early childcare legislation, but also want to make sure the focus is on ensuring the sector can attract and retain the staff necessary to make it work. And that means addressing the pay and conditions of early childcare educators.

The group’s executive director, Georgie Dent:

At the jobs summit there was consensus among leaders from business, unions, community and government that early education and care is critical to achieving full employment, unlocking the full potential of women’s workforce participation, addressing the educational decline and investing in the future capacity.

To realise the potential increased productivity and benefits for children from the Cheaper Childcare package, we will need the equivalent of 9,650 additional full time educators by next year to absorb the additional demand.

Right now, rather than expanding this critical workforce is contracting. In July there were more than 6,600 staff vacancies in early learning services nationally.

Without early educators, there is no early education. This workforce contracting is a problem for every employer in the country because if a parent cannot access suitable, quality care, they cannot access work.

Updated at 20.55 EDT

AFP launches investigation into Optus data breach

For those who missed it yesterday, the Australian Federal Police have launched an investigation into the Optus data breach:

Operation Hurricane has been launched to identify the criminals behind the alleged breach and to help shield Australians from identity fraud.

The AFP is aware of reports of the sale of stolen data and investigations are continuing.

To protect the integrity of the criminal investigation, the AFP will not divulge what information it has obtained in the first few days of Operation Hurricane.

However, the public can be assured that since a report from Optus on 23 September, 2022, the AFP has diverted significant resources to the investigation.

The newly established AFP-led JPC3, which is a joint partnership between law enforcement, the private sector and industry to combat the growing threat of cybercrime, is providing further capability in the investigation.

The AFP is also working closely with Optus, the Australian Signals Directorate and overseas law enforcement.

The assistant commissioner of cyber command, Justine Gough, said while the investigation was going to be extremely complex and very lengthy it was important to note that the AFP specialised in investigations of this type.

“This is an ongoing investigation but it is important the community knows the AFP and our partners are doing everything within scope to identify the offenders responsible, and to also ensure we can protect individuals who are now potentially vulnerable to identity theft,” Gough said.

Updated at 20.37 EDT

Good advice in general re clicking links from hackers:

Updated at 20.36 EDT

Victorian Labor pledges to legislate major renewable energy storage targets

The Andrews government has committed to reaching Australia’s biggest renewable energy storage targets in a bid to accelerate the transition away from coal.

The pledge was announced on Tuesday morning alongside a $157m package to support renewable energy generation and storage projects.

Andrews said the state would legislate the storage targets that were predicted to create 12,700 jobs and $1.7bn in investment from 2032 to 2035:

Victoria will see by 2030 some 2.3GW of storage by 2030 and 6.3GW of storage by 2035 . That’s about enough power for half of Victorian households when it gets to that full 6.3GW.

In March, Andrews announced Australia’s first offshore wind targets. Under the plan, offshore wind farms could generate enough to power 1.5m Victorian homes by 2032.

Updated at 20.33 EDT

The party room meetings are starting to come to a close – we will bring you those updates very soon

Australian consumer confidence rises to highest level since May

Australian consumers, it seems, are an optimistic bunch. Perhaps the football finals and the unusual suspended animation after Queen Elizabeth II’s death played a role, but so far shopping sentiment is holding up quite well despite the gathering gloom overseas.

The latest weekly survey by ANZ and Roy Morgan has consumer confidence rising again to the best reading since late May (although it’s a low level by historical measures).

“The increase in headline confidence was mainly driven by improved sentiment around Australia’s economic conditions,” Catherine Birch, a senior ANZ economist, said. “Continued strength despite 225 basis points of rate hikes over the past five months may be quelling fears of a sharp downturn.”

Another outcome that will please the Reserve Bank is the drop in inflation expectations. Recall that the RBA rate hikes are as much about stamping out expected inflation as they are for actual price rises.

Businesses, for instance, won’t put up prices as much if they think future costs aren’t going to rise – or that they may be caught out pushing through higher prices that aren’t justified or matched by competitors. Unions, too, won’t be as worried about further erosion of real wages.

Motorists, though, might have cause to be a bit dismayed by what’s going on at the service stations around the country. Weekly data from the Australian Institute of Petroleum shows the gap between retail and wholesale petrol prices has lately widened to more than at any time in the past couple of years.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and the ACCC have warned they will be scrutinising how much fuel prices go up when the “excise holiday” ends late on Wednesday night, potentially adding as much as 24 cents a litre to the cost of filling up. Perhaps that scrutiny needs to be backdated a week or so.

Either way, it’s a fair bet that this time next week both consumer sentiment and inflation expectations will be heading in different directions than the current survey. Let’s see.

Updated at 20.27 EDT

Positive news as some stranded pilot whales successfully re-released into ocean

For those wanting an update on the pilot whale stranding:

A mission to rescue scores of pilot whales found still alive on a beach after a mass stranding on Tasmania’s west coast has ended, with satellite trackers showing two rescued whales well south of the state.

State government personnel and volunteers from the local salmon farming industry lifted 44 live pilot whales off Ocean Beach, near Strahan, and towed them one-by-one to deeper waters.

Some 230 pilot whales – which are actually large oceanic dolphins – were reported on the beach last Wednesday.

Almost 200 dead whales which died before rescuers were able to assist were tied together and on Sunday pulled out into the deep ocean, where authorities said they were expected to drift south in the Southern Ocean. Only two carcasses remain on the beach.

Preliminary data from satellite tackers on two of the rescued live whales showed they were now well south of Tasmania. Incident controller Nic Deka said:

This is positive news as this indicates that many of the rescued whales have been successfully released back into the Southern Ocean.

Deka thanked colleagues from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, as well as salmon industry staff, volunteers and the Strahan community and local council for their help. Access roads have re-opened.

Authorities said carcasses could wash up in the coming weeks and surveillance flights would be monitoring nearby beaches. Any sightings in the region should be reported to a whale hotline on Whale Hotline at 0427 WHALES.

The stranding came two years to the day after the biggest recorded mass whale or dolphin stranding in Australia at the same location. Some 470 pilot whales were found in Macquarie Harbour and on Ocean Beach.

Updated at 20.17 EDT

Things that make you go hmmmmm