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Daniel Hurst
At a Senate estimates listening to, the Labor senator Penny Wong is asking about defence functionality – and the way it matches with the federal government’s rhetoric.
She has been concerning the Division of Defence’s media launch defending the cancellation of the $1.3bn SkyGuardian armed drones program (that program scrapping was first revealed in Senate estimates final Friday, as a part of finances offsets to fund the Redspice cyber package deal).
The discharge was hitting again at a extremely essential op-ed by the outgoing head of the Australian Strategic Coverage Institute, Peter Jennings.
Defence officers on the desk are not sure who determined to difficulty a response underneath the Division of Defence banner, fairly than the minister responding. They’ve dedicated to come back again with a solution later.
Wong asks what number of armed drones Australia at present has.
Vice Admiral David Johnston, the vice chief of the Australian defence pressure, replies:
We’ve got loads of weapons, platforms which are armed. We do not need drones which are armed.
He argues that sort of functionality “could be principally replicated by different means”, including:
And we believed it was the very best of the alternatives with the intention to discover the cash that was wanted to reinforce the cypher program.
Wong desires to know if the minister on the desk, senator Jonathon Duniam, agrees with The Australian newspaper’s Greg Sheridan’s current column that there’s a elementary mismatch between the federal government’s bulletins and its lack of precise outcomes on functionality.
Duniam says:
I respect Mr Sheridan … however I don’t settle for that he’s proper.
Duniam says he suspects the defence minister, Peter Dutton, is obtain a “fixed stream” of recommendation and knowledge.
Brad Hazzard assessments constructive for Covid
Tamsin Rose
New South Wales well being minister Brad Hazzard has examined constructive for Covid and is experiencing “minor flu like signs”.
He was an in depth contact of a colleague who examined constructive on Tuesday, prompting a collection of assessments.
He returned a unfavorable speedy take a look at and a unfavorable PCR take a look at earlier than testing constructive on a second PCR take a look at on Tuesday night time.
A press release from his workplace reads:
Minister Hazzard is now in isolation. He developed minor flu like signs in a single day and is being managed through the NSW Well being digital hospital and the Northern Sydney Public Well being Unit. Minister Hazzard is absolutely vaccinated and intends to proceed work conferences nearly, through Groups.
Perrottet labels NSW Liberal preselection an ‘abject failure’
Tamsin Rose
New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet has labelled the NSW Liberal preselection saga as a “debacle” and an “abject failure”.
Talking on Radio Nationwide on Wednesday morning, he stated he was completely satisfied it had lastly been resolved for Scott Morrison – and didn’t need a repeat come state election time:
It’s an abject failure of the division to not be able whereby there are candidates that the members of the general public right here in NSW can vote for in the event that they need to assist a Liberal candidate on the subsequent election.
The suggestions that I’ve obtained from individuals within the division is that the time it took to get candidates in place was lower than superb and they need to have moved on this lots sooner.
It’s not simply lower than superb, the entire thing has been a little bit of a debacle.
He stated there have been classes to be discovered:
Relating to the following state election, I actually wouldn’t need to be able the place I don’t have individuals representing the Liberal get together in seats.
Clearly, there’s one thing to be discovered right here.
When requested the way it had come to this, he stated he had “no concept”.
AAP is reporting that the return of ancestral stays of greater than 100 Aboriginal individuals, together with the oldest human skeleton present in Australia, to their unique resting grounds has been accepted by the federal authorities.
The stays have been faraway from Lake Mungo within the Willandra Lakes space of south-west NSW with out the approval of conventional homeowners between 1960 and 1980.
Amongst them have been stays generally known as Mungo Man and Mungo Woman.
Mungo Woman’s stays present proof of one of many world’s oldest identified cremations and Mungo Man is the oldest human skeleton to be found on the continent.
Each additionally offered data of formality burials.
NSW heritage and setting minister James Griffin stated:
Whereas the invention of Mungo Man and Mungo Woman helped scientists set up that Aboriginal individuals have been in Australia for greater than 42,000 years, it’s time to let their spirits relaxation in peace.
The invention of the stays paved the way in which for Mungo nationwide park to be declared a Unesco world heritage web site, which delayed the reburial.
Adam Morton
The Greens have launched a $6.1bn coverage aimed toward dramatically boosting the uptake of electrical autos and re-establishing automotive manufacturing in Australia.
It proposes a ban on the sale of recent petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030 – consistent with a number of different nations – and features a $10,000 rebate for the primary EV an individual buys, rising to $15,000 if the automotive was made in Australia. The rebate would decline over time and section out as soon as 2.5m vehicles had been purchased.
The get together says it might construct a $2bn publicly owned EV quick charging community and electrify the commonwealth automotive fleet by 2025. The latter dedication would assist construct a second-hand market in EVs because the fleet was frequently turned over. On manufacturing, it might present as much as $1.2bn to producers of EVs and EV parts.
It says the plan could possibly be paid for by new taxes on billionaires and company “tremendous income” and by reducing subsidies to fossil gasoline corporations. Its proposal has been costed by the parliamentary finances workplace.
The get together is releasing the coverage in South Australia, the place it hopes to select up a seat by its candidate Barbara Pocock, an economist. Greens chief Adam Bandt stated “in just a few years’ time the entire nation could possibly be driving SA-made electrical vehicles”:
The Liberals flattened SA’s automotive business however the Greens need to recharge it. In addition to making electrical vehicles right here, we’ll make them cheaper to purchase and simpler to recharge.
Highway transport makes up 15% of Australia’s emissions, so any get together with a internet zero emissions goal wants a plan to get our vehicles working on the solar and the wind.
Ben Butler
Right here’s an replace on our piece from final night time concerning the Victorian on line casino regulator, the VGCCC, launching disciplinary motion towards Crown Resorts that might end in a effective of as a lot as $100m.
Crown has put out an announcement to the inventory alternate concerning the motion, which revolves round a scheme explored on the Victorian royal fee into its Melbourne on line casino the place spending on the gaming flooring was disguised as lodge expenditure by using China UnionPay bank cards.
In its assertion, Crown stated:
Crown beforehand introduced on 7 June 2021 that its Board had obtained authorized recommendation that the China UnionPay course of (which ceased in November 2016) contravened part 68 of the On line casino Management Act 1991 (Vic) and it had notified the predecessor of the VGCCC and the Victorian Royal Fee of that matter.
Crown is responding to data requests from the VGCCC and can absolutely cooperate with the VGCCC on this and every other issues arising from the Victorian Royal Fee Report.
Crown’s precedence stays the supply of its reform and remediation program to make sure Crown delivers a protected and accountable gaming setting.
Our earlier protection is right here:
Victoria experiences 12,150 new Covid instances and three deaths
Victoria is reporting 12,150 new instances and three deaths in a single day:
NSW data 24,151 new Covid instances and 15 deaths
NSW has recorded a spike in Covid deaths in the present day, reporting 15 deaths in a single day, and 24,151 new instances:
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has been making the rounds this morning, additionally showing on the Right now present, the place he rejected options the federal government is enjoying “catch-up” on defence.
Requested if the federal government had been lagging behind with reference to defence, having been in energy for 10 years, Frydenberg cited the expertise behind the newly introduced hypersonic weapons being developed with the US and the UK:
These are the … newest and most high-tech missiles that we’re speaking about.
It’s not like they’ve been in operation for a decade or so [while we’ve been in government].
What we’ve got carried out is safe an settlement with the US and United Kingdom the place we are able to entry this expertise. What we’ve been doing ever since we got here into authorities is placing more cash into defence after the Labor get together failed to take action.
We’ve been constructing ships that at the moment are within the water. We’re making certain Australia will get entry to the newest planes that at the moment are within the air. And we’ve been repairing and sustaining our fight autos that at the moment are in service.
That is what a authorities that’s centered on nationwide safety does. And it’s a really stark distinction to our political opponents.
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