Albanese's Palestine announcement ‘shameful, useless and lethally dangerous'
'Anthony Albanese today did something that is shameful, useless, and lethally dangerous, he has given Hamas terrorists a huge win,' Mr Bolt said.
'Our prime minister announced that Australia would recognise a Palestinian state, something that is cheered by the Hamas terrorist group.'
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Sydney Morning Herald
16 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Bureaucrats forced to fly economy as tribunal contradicts government
Government board members and leaders of Commonwealth agencies flying between Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne will be forced to endure economy seats despite the government insisting public servants be permitted to sit in business class. The Albanese government quietly revealed earlier this month that it had rejected a recommendation from the Finance Department that required bureaucrats to travel economy on flights of less than three hours, effectively allowing them to stay in business class. But the Remuneration Tribunal – which is an independent agency responsible for setting pay and perks rules for Commonwealth officials, including department heads, politicians and other senior bureaucrats – announced on Thursday that it was removing access to business-class travel for 'tier-two' office holders. Tier-two office holders tend to be leaders of some government corporations and agencies, or those serving on government boards and councils. This includes leaders of the High-Speed Rail Authority Board, Housing Australia, Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation, Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Australian Research Council, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority. Secretaries of major departments or high-profile roles such as the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia are classified under tier one, meaning they are still entitled to fly business class on domestic flights. Loading A national outcry over government travel perks exploded last year after commentator Joe Aston revealed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had received at least 22 free Qantas upgrades from economy class, worth tens of thousands of dollars, as had other politicians and public servants. The Department of Finance review called for public servants to be required to use economy rather than business class on flights of less than three hours, which could save up to $4 million a year on domestic flights. 'While there can be operational requirements to use business class on longer flights where government officials are expected to rest on the flight and arrive and commence work immediately, there are few operational requirements for shorter flights, especially those under three hours,' the report stated.
Sydney Morning Herald
16 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Echoes of robo-debt: Lawyer warns Labor after hundreds illegally denied payments
A major law firm is warning the Albanese government it risks court action after a damning finding that hundreds of people were illegally denied income support and dozens more had payments cancelled even after the problem was noticed. The Commonwealth Ombudsman revealed last week that 964 people had their JobSeeker payments unlawfully terminated by an automated system, and even when the problem was noticed and seemingly rectified, a further 45 people had their payments cancelled. Gordon Legal partner Andrew Grech, who led a class action for victims of the robo-debt payment scandal – in which people had their earnings incorrectly calculated, leading to erroneous debt letters being sent – said there was an eerie familiarity between the two government payment problems. Warnings of court action over welfare payments will test Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on his first-term promise to protect vulnerable people and his criticism of the former Coalition government's handling of the robo-debt crisis. The investigation found cancellations were made through a digital system called the targeted compliance framework, designed to monitor if recipients were meeting the conditions of their welfare payments. This includes the requirement to search for work or report changes in income. This was contrary to law changes in 2022 after the robo-debt crisis, requiring consideration of a jobseeker's circumstances before deciding to cancel income support. 'The ombudsman report is deeply troubling and, like the much larger robo-debt scandal, it's another example of how government creep of deployment of automation influences the lives of our most vulnerable – it plays an inappropriate role,' Grech said. 'The government should move swiftly to address what's really mass-scale unlawful termination of payments.' Secretary of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Natalie James advised the ombudsman in December 2024 that decisions to cancel income support occurred automatically, affecting 964 jobseekers from April 2022 to July 2024.
Sydney Morning Herald
16 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Don't jump the gun. Paddington's Victoria Barracks must not be converted for housing
'It's just utter stupidity, I mean it really belongs to the people … the nation as a whole.' These words were spoken in the mid-'90s by the late, great Labor politician Tom Uren, whom Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calls his 'father figure'. Back then, Defence wanted to sell its priceless historic harbour military sites, partly for new housing. Thanks to John Howard, Bob Carr, the federal parliament, and the community, all the sites were saved. They were never sold nor transferred to the NSW government. A new federal Sydney Harbour Federation Trust took over. But 30 years later, it's eerily deja vu. Defence is pondering vacating its exceedingly historic Victoria Barracks, although no decision has been made. Located in Paddington, surrounded by a high convict sandstone wall, the vast 15-hectare 1840s heritage site is so large that it has vistas inside. As big as Hyde Park, it comprises many convict-built sandstone Edwardian buildings. It is a rare intact military village. The largest building, 740 metres long, is 'reputed to be the longest stone building in the Southern Hemisphere', according to Defence. The Barracks is Commonwealth Heritage Listed, being 'the finest complex of colonial barracks … in Australia', 'survives as the only substantial barracks … from the early Victorian period', is 'valuable for future archaeological investigation', and 'is one of the most architecturally imposing 19th century military establishments in Australia'. It is in excellent condition. But because it's an active military base, few members of the public have been inside, apparently including some City of Sydney councillors. Regrettably, City of Sydney council, in a unanimous resolution late last year, and in case Defence moves out, decided that one key priority for the Barracks should be 'affordable housing' and that it needed to develop 'guiding principles'. Intriguingly, the two-page resolution contains a significant error, stating, 'about 30-50 per cent of the site is heritage-protected, but the remaining area could potentially be redeveloped'. This is erroneous – the entire site is heritage-protected. Three councillors spoke to the resolution. The first – Labor's Zann Maxwell – strongly in favour, said the site 'could unlock transformative opportunities', and would help 'to address the ongoing demand for homes'.
