November 10, 2024

Chris Minns vows to ‘govern for everybody’ after NSW election win; arrest at Sydney anti-abortion protest – as it happened

Speers #Speers

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Speers asks what will happen if the voice feels like its advice has not been sought out – will it be able to go to the high court?

Dreyfus says it is a possibility.

Again, I point to the third paragraph of these words, David, which puts beyond doubt the power of the parliament to regulate how that is to happen. And the reason why those words are there are to make sure that we’re going to have certainty, we’re going to know how this is going to operate.

Dreyfus also says he hopes the voice will “profoundly” change the way decisions are made by the government where they affect Indigenous people.

I‘m hoping that it does. I’m hoping. Because we’ve seen from experience that when members of parliament, government departments, do listen to Aboriginal communities, we get better outcomes.

… You can point to examples right across the board where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are listened to, we get better policies, we get better laws. When they’re not listened to, we end up wasting a great deal of money and we end up with failed policies, and it is all too many failed policies that we can point to over recent decades.

Updated at 18.33 EDT

Speers asks for more detail about how the voice will works and, specifically, whether government departments will have to take advice from the body.

Dreyfus says:

That’s a misunderstanding of what this constitutional provision does. What this constitutional provision does is to set up permanently an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to parliament at executive, and the power that’s given to the voice is to make representations.

Of course we’re going to need to make sure that there’s, at a mechanical level, the ability for the voice to make representations, but it’s not that – as has been suggested and as your question suggested – there will be some requirement for government departments to be going off and seeking that advice.

Updated at 18.32 EDT

Dreyfus says he has “never suggested taking out ‘executive government’”, despite reports to the contrary.

There’s been a lot of reporting on this and I don’t think it assists us. I invite all Australians to look at the wording we got to. Pouring over the entrails of who might have said what, when, won’t help us at all. We’ve got to the final wording. That’s what Australians are being asked to vote on later this year.

Dreyfus is not being drawn on the drafting process, saying it is largely irrelevant now that the final order of words has been decided.

Specifically, Dreyfus says the form of words released “confirm the primacy of the parliament to describe in legislation” the powers of the body, which “will be the next step”.

Parliament will be able to set out in detail the way in which the voice going to operate in its relations with the parliament and with the executive.

Updated at 18.28 EDT

Dreyfus says the release of solicitor general’s advice in the past was an exception rather than the rule.

This constitutional amendment process is public. It starts with the constitutional alteration bill that we’re going to introduce to the parliament next week. That will be followed at the end of what has been 10 years of discussion, that will be followed by another parliamentary committee process and then debate in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Dreyfus said the government was “very confident in the form of words that we’ve released”.

I am looking forward to the referendum succeeding when we get to this at the end of the year.

Updated at 19.05 EDT

Attorney general Mark Dreyfus says it is not the practice for governments to release solicitor general’s advice as it is “private to the government”.

His comments were made in response to calls from opposition leader Peter Dutton for the advice to be released.

Speaking to ABC David Speers, Dreyfus said the solicitor general had been “fully involved in the process” that led to the final wording of the constitutional question.

Mr Dutton wants to keep asking questions. He wants to keep doing what he’s been doing all along, which is to not offer anything constructive, not offer any suggestions. If he’s got some concerns about the words, he should put them forward.

Updated at 19.02 EDT

Attorney general Mark Dreyfus will be appearing on ABC Insiders this morning to talk about the upcoming referendum on the Indigenous voice to parliament.

We’ll bring you all the latest as it happens.

Updated at 18.18 EDT

And here are a few snaps from inside the NSW Liberal party election night event, at the Hilton Hotel.

People watch news coverage at the event. Photograph: James Gourley/AAPFormer prime minister John Howard speaks to media. Photograph: James Gourley/AAPDominic Perrottet arrives at the Hilton. Photograph: James Gourley/AAPPerrottet giving his concession speech alongside his wife, Helen Perrottet. Photograph: James Gourley/AAP

Updated at 18.12 EDT

Here’s a look at some of the images out of NSW Labor’s election night party.

Labor supporters celebrate as Chris Minns and NSW Labor wins the election. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAPPremier-elect Chris Minns arrives with his family at the NSW Labor reception. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAPPrime minister Anthony Albanese introduces Chris Minns. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Updated at 19.46 EDT

Business groups want safeguard mechanism passed to give certainty

Business groups have renewed calls for federal parliament to pass safeguard mechanism reforms, as the contentious climate policy stalls.

The government is seeking to pass the mechanism bill through parliament this week so the reforms can be in place by July.

Labor needs the support of the Greens plus two crossbenchers to get the bill through the Senate, with the Coalition opposing it.

The Greens are calling for the government to stop all new coal and gas projects in return for their support for the bill.

Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said parliament needed to come to a workable agreement on the safeguard as soon as possible to ensure its success.

The net zero emissions marathon has much further to run, but we won’t get to the finish line by staying in the changing rooms.

Hundreds of facilities need clarity as soon as possible on the new rules that will apply to them from 1 July.

– AAP

Good morning

And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.

New South Wales Labor leader Chris Minns will be the next state premier after an election night landslide. Minns began the night in a precarious position but by the time the election was called, his party had swept at least nine seats. Coalition leader Dominic Perrottet conceded by reflecting on the election campaign, praising the Labor leader for running a clean campaign, describing it as a “race to the top”.

Business groups are pushing for the safeguard mechanism reforms to be passed in the final week before the federal budget. The government is seeking to push through the reforms in order for them to take effect from July, but negotiations with the Greens to support the bill have broken down, with the crossbench calling for the government to commit to stopping new coal and gas projects. Ai Group CEO Innes Willox said “hundreds of facilities need clarity as soon as possible” on the reforms.

I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss stuff, so if you spot something happening in Australia and think it should be on the blog, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2 where my DMs are open.

With that, let’s get started …

Updated at 19.28 EDT

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