Australia news live: NSW music festival pill testing trial announced; new video emerges of Oscar Jenkins in Russian captivity

The Guardian

18-02-2025

Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
A music festival in Wollongong early next month will become the first in New South Wales to trial pill testing.
As we flagged just earlier, the service will be run by a government agency for the first time in Australia – at the Yours and Owls festival – led by NSW Health.
Patrons will be invited to have substances analysed to test for purity, potency and adulterants, a statement said, followed by a discussion with a qualified counsellor. NSW police will be on-site undertaking actives 'that may involve drug dog and strip search operations', a statement said.
The festival's co-founder, Ben Tillman, said he 'enthusiastically' welcomed the move from the state government.
Pill testing is something we have been fighting for, for some time now. While Yours and Owls maintains a zero-tolerance policy to illegal drugs, we are realists and see the abstinence-only approach as unhelpful.
Pill Testing is not a panacea. However, it is a proven harm minimisation strategy that has been successfully implemented in many countries overseas for the past 20 or so years.
The state minister for health, Ryan Park, said 'no level of illicit drug use is safe and pill testing services do not provide a guarantee of safety'.
However, this trial has been designed to provide people with the necessary information to make more informed decisions about drug use, with the goal of reducing drug-related harm and saving lives. Share Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Watt says banks should pass on interest rate cut 'ASAP'
The employment minister, Murray Watt, said the banks should have passed the rate cut on to customers yesterday, rather than wait until the end of February.
Speaking on Sunrise, he said the big four banks should be passing the cut on 'ASAP'.
[There should be] not one day delay in making that happen because I think Australians really deserve this rate cut.
Watt said 'I would prefer to see the banks get moving sooner than they are planning to' but this is 'the call they are making.'
The shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, was also on the program and agreed:
The Coalition have said consistently that we want to see the banks pass on any interest rate cut in full. Australians are crying out for assistance …
We also want to see what the big banks want to do with deposit rates as well because we know there are a lot of people out there now going to earn less on their savings. Share
Chalmers worries Trump tariffs could be inflationary
Giving yet another interview this morning, Jim Chalmers said he was 'certainly' concerned that Donald Trump's proposed tariffs could be inflationary.
Speaking on the Today Show, the treasurer said this was a concern for Australia:
That's the economic theory that tariffs run the risk of pushing up inflation and slowing growth. So that's the concern for Australia. We've got a very trade-exposed economy, and so we don't want to see the escalation of these trade tensions.
There is a lot of global economic uncertainty, as the Reserve Bank governor said yesterday, a view that we share. But what the governor said yesterday, a view that I share wholeheartedly, is that we're optimistic about the future of our economy, but we're alive to the risks, and some of those risks are global. Share
Julie Bishop on rate cut, Trump administration, Rudd's role as ambassador
The former foreign minister and deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop was on the Today Show earlier to weigh in on yesterday's rate cut, which she said would set the scene for the upcoming federal election.
The government will say it's evidence of their economic management and their plans working. The opposition will say that it's too little, too late. Thus, the scene is set for the next election. Julie Bishop: 'It's a whole new era in terms of US interests.' Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
On the foreign affairs portfolio, she said Australia was facing 'a very different US administration, even far more different than Trump the first time around'.
President Trump has made it quite clear that the days of the US being a global leader in open and free trade are coming to an end. It's all about the United States interests, and that he will negotiate hard in America's interests. So for Australia, even though we have a trade deficit with the United States, we're facing tariffs. But countries that have a trade surplus are really going to have a tough time. Canada and Mexico, it's a whole new era in terms of US interests.
Bishop ruled out ever going back to being an ambassador herself, and weighed in on Kevin Rudd:
As long as Kevin can continue to have … constant open access to the White House, if he can achieve that, then he'll be continuing to do a good and competent job. But time will tell. Share
Taylor says Labor expanding public service 'way too much'
Continuing to speak on ABC RN, Angus Taylor was asked to clarify the Coalition's stance on public service jobs.
Would the Coalition cut jobs to reverse the 36,000 position increase in the public service, or would there be a hiring freeze and a reduction by attrition?
The shadow treasurer declined to outline the Coalition's exact policy but said Labor had increased the public service 'way too much'.
We certainly don't want to cut back in areas that are absolutely essential for Australians, like veterans' affairs, but right now, if the government doesn't tighten its belt, then households will have to do it instead.
And so we do want to make sure we've got a productive and effective public service. And we do think that adding 36,000 public servants is the inappropriate thing to do.
Taylor said that under the Coalition, the 'numbers [would] be lower, and we'll say more about the details of that in the lead-up to the election'. Share
Shadow treasurer weighs in on rate cut and criticises public spending
Angus Taylor told Sky News yesterday's rate cut was 'welcome relief', but for some families 'too little too late'. The shadow treasurer said:
We've seen the biggest hit to Australia's standard of living in our history. It's been unprecedented, unparalleled, worse than any other of our peer countries around the world.
Taylor argued that the 'hard work has been done here by Australian families, not by the government'. He took aim at government spending and said:
And the Reserve Bank made this point in its statement, that we've seen government spending growing fast, getting to record levels. So household spending has had to do the work, and Australian families have had to take on to cut back on their spending, take on extra jobs, in some cases, extra hours to make ends meet. Angus Taylor: interest rate cut 'too little too late'. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
The shadow treasurer also spoke with ABC RN just earlier, where he was asked what spending the Coalition believes shouldn't have happened.
He gave a similar response to the above, before the host pointed out Michele Bullock's comment that public demand is not the main game. Taylor said:
In answer to your your original question, we've been very clear, we've opposed over $100 billion of spending in this term of parliament that we think is inappropriate at this time. Whatever the merit of those initiatives, they're not the right ones. None of this is cutting essential services – that's not what we're proposing – but it is saying that every dollar of taxpayers' money needs to be managed very carefully. Share
Chalmers on inflation, March budget and election date
Jim Chalmers was also on ABC News Breakfast, where he said the 'worst of the inflation challenge is behind us', with the peak being in 2022.
The Reserve Bank say they are increasingly confident that they're getting on top of this inflation challenge in our economy, and that's why we got the interest rate cut that we saw yesterday.
Asked if any more cost of living initiatives are coming, the treasurer said the government was 'still making decisions about [our] fourth budget'.
'But I think there are hints in the government's first three,' he said, pointing to previous cost of living measures.
The treasurer said he was 'certainly' preparing for a budget at the end of March.
We spent the vast chunk of Monday and Tuesday locked up in the cabinet room with my colleagues in the expenditure committee putting together a budget. We're certainly working towards that … [But] obviously there's going to be an election at some point in the next three months.
He deferred to the PM when asked about the date of the upcoming election, but said Anthony Albanese may not have decided yet:
He's weighing it up. I wouldn't have thought he would have decided for sure. And that's why we continue these budget preparations. Share
Chalmers says it's 'not unusual' for RBA to be cautious about flagging future cuts
Making the rounds on breakfast television this morning, Jim Chalmers denied that government spending has ruled out further rate cuts.
Speaking on Sky News, the treasurer said the RBA governor, Michele Bullock, had 'pointed out on other occasions that public spending is not the main game'.
If anything, the two surpluses that the government has delivered have been helping in the fight against inflation.
Responding to Bullock's commentary yesterday, the treasurer said it was 'not unusual' for governors to 'choose their words carefully [and] not make predictions about future interest rate cuts, to be cautious about that'.
I don't make predictions about future movements in rates either. But I think we should recognise that the fact that the Reserve Bank governor and the board saw it fit to cut interest rates yesterday is a reflection that we've made a lot of progress together on inflation as Australians. Share Cait Kelly
Treasurer questioned on election timing
Jim Chalmers was on 7:30 last night and was asked if Labor would call the election before the next RBA meeting on 1 April.
The treasurer said the timing of the election was a matter for the PM:
We're working towards a budget on the 25th of March. As I said before, I try not to apply a political lens to the decision that's been taken today.
My job in the government is to obsess over the numbers in the economy, not to obsess over numbers in the opinion polls or election dates and the like. Our focus was on the cost of living before this decision, it will be on the cost of living after this decision, no matter when the election is. Jim Chalmers: 'We saw inflation much higher and rising when we came to office.' Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Chalmers was also asked if he thought the single measure would be enough to offset the collapse in living standards, and said 'that remains to be seen'.
To be to be frank about it, I think we have acknowledged throughout that it's been an especially difficult period for Australians.
We saw inflation much higher and rising when we came to office, living standards and real wages were falling when we came to office, and we've been working very hard to try and turn that around. It's been a good thing that real wages are growing again.
The treasurer has been making the rounds on breakfast programs this morning – we'll bring you the key takeaways from this shortly. Share Elias Visontay
Peak body calls for better data collection of road toll
Continuing from our last post: In response to the worsening death toll, the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) – the roof body of state groups such as the NRMA and RACV – has broadened its call for better data collection to help authorities tackle the road safety crisis.
AAA managing director Michael Bradley has called for the federal government to introduce 'no-blame investigations' into road trauma – similar to what are conducted after aircraft, train and boat crashes – alongside police probes.
Rather than focusing on individual blame, these investigations look at the systemic issues that can be addressed to prevent future trauma.
He noted such investigations are used in countries such as the United States, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
You can read more on Australia's worsening road death toll here: Share Elias Visontay
Deaths on Australian roads are continuing to increase, with a sharp spike in cyclist and motorcyclist fatalities in January, as motoring groups call for 'no-blame' investigations to better respond to incidents.
There were 114 people who died on Australian roads in January, the latest monthly data from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics shows.
It takes the rolling 12-month tally for fatalities to 1,324, an increase of 6% on the same period a year earlier. Within that period, cyclist fatalities jumped 55%, up from 29 to 45 deaths in the year to the end of January, while motorcyclist deaths rose by 19% over the same period, from 244 to 290. The latest data shows a worsening trend in the safety of Australian roads. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian
Pedestrian deaths also jumped by 4% over the 12 months to the end of January, up from 165 to 171.
Driver deaths rose only slightly over the 12-month period, from 596 to 600, while passenger deaths remained the same at 204.
The latest data shows a continuation of a worsening trend in the safety of Australian roads, with 2024 being the fourth consecutive year of road death increases – the first time such a trajectory was recorded since the 1960s, before seat belts were made mandatory. Share Cait Kelly
PM responds to yesterday's rate cut
Anthony Albanese was interviewed last night on the ABC and asked about the interest rate cuts. This is what the prime minister had to say:
We now have inflation falling. It has a two in front of it, 2.4. It had a six in front of it when we were elected. Real wages are increasing. Employment is still strong. We've created 1.1 million jobs.
And now we have interest rates falling for the first time in five years. So it will be welcome news for people. We know that people have been doing it tough. And this will not ease all of that pressure, but it will be welcomed by those with a mortgage. 'We have had responsible economic management': Albanese. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
Albanese was also asked why he did not rein in some spending, which some economists say could have dropped inflation sooner. He responded:
The fact is we inherited a $78bn deficit under the Liberals, and we turned that into a $22bn surplus and then followed it up with another surplus.
We have had responsible economic management and the cost of living relief that we've put in place, whether it be the tax cuts for every taxpayer, the energy bill relief, cheaper medicines, cheaper childcare, free TAFE, they've all been designed in a way that has assisted to put that downward pressure on inflation, whilst putting more money in people's pockets. Share
A music festival in Wollongong early next month will become the first in New South Wales to trial pill testing.
As we flagged just earlier, the service will be run by a government agency for the first time in Australia – at the Yours and Owls festival – led by NSW Health.
Patrons will be invited to have substances analysed to test for purity, potency and adulterants, a statement said, followed by a discussion with a qualified counsellor. NSW police will be on-site undertaking actives 'that may involve drug dog and strip search operations', a statement said.
The festival's co-founder, Ben Tillman, said he 'enthusiastically' welcomed the move from the state government.
Pill testing is something we have been fighting for, for some time now. While Yours and Owls maintains a zero-tolerance policy to illegal drugs, we are realists and see the abstinence-only approach as unhelpful.
Pill Testing is not a panacea. However, it is a proven harm minimisation strategy that has been successfully implemented in many countries overseas for the past 20 or so years.
The state minister for health, Ryan Park, said 'no level of illicit drug use is safe and pill testing services do not provide a guarantee of safety'.
However, this trial has been designed to provide people with the necessary information to make more informed decisions about drug use, with the goal of reducing drug-related harm and saving lives. Share Emily Wind
Good morning and welcome back to the Australia news live blog. I'm Emily Wind, and I'll be taking you through our rolling coverage for most of today.
A music festival in Wollongong early next month will become the first in New South Wales to trial pill testing. The service will be run by a government agency for the first time in Australia at the Yours and Owls festival, led by NSW Health.
Patrons will be invited to have substances analysed to test for purity, potency and adulterants, a statement said, followed by a discussion with a qualified counsellor. We'll have more details on this soon.
Meanwhile, new footage has emerged overnight of Australian man Oscar Jenkins – after a separate, unverified video came to light yesterday. The video has not been verified by Guardian Australia, and is entirely in Russian.
It shows the 32-year-old seated in front of a Russian flag as a man tests his blood pressure. According to translations from the ABC, the man jokes in Russian that Jenkins' blood pressure would be 'zero' if he was dead – after reports emerged in January that he had died after his capture while serving alongside Ukraine's armed forces.
As always, you can reach out with any questions, feedback or tips via email: [e-mail]. Let's get started. Share