Australia news live: Allan admits ‘more to do' after byelection collapse in Labor vote; lightning strike kills woman in NSW town

The Guardian

09-02-2025

Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Benita Kolovos
First questions of the bat are about the Werribee byelection – where Labor's once-comfortable margin has gone from 10.9% at the 2022 state election to a razor-thin 0.6%. Asked whether she is the right person to lead the Labor party after the result, Allan says:
We know byelections are tough for governments. We know that's particularly so for governments when we're in the midst of a global cost-of-living crisis. My focus is on supporting those working people and families who need the government working for them. And working people and families across the state – across the world – are looking to their governments to listen to them and do more to support them, and that's exactly what I will do. I know that there is more to do, to build on the work we've already been doing to support working people and families, but we've heard very clearly that people are looking to governments to do more, and we are listening to that, and we will.
Asked what she means by doing more, she says:
In a global cost-of-living crisis, we know working people and families are hurting. I also know, and I know this from talking to people in my own community and also in communities right across the state, that quite rightly, they're wanting their voice to be heard. And byelections are an opportunity for people to make sure their voice is being heard. It's so important that the listening that we have already been undertaking, the listening we do every single day, is that we take that into action, meaningful support for working people and families.
Allan begins spruiking the government's $400 vouchers for schoolchildren and her 'fair fuel plan'. A reporter points out Labor campaigned on the vouchers but still saw the party's primary vote go back a whopping 17%.
She replies:
We know that there is more to do, and I will always listen to working people and families across the state, but also, importantly, I will fight hard and work hard for them every single day. Share Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Benita Kolovos
Allan:
What's clear to me, is that communities are looking for their governments and their members of parliament to be focused on them, understanding, in a cost of living crisis, a global cost of living crisis, that they need. It's also clear in Werribee that they looked at the Liberal party and didn't like their division, didn't like their program of cuts and didn't like their program of hurting vulnerable people in our community. It's clear the Victorians know that they can't trust the Liberal party, that what I'm focused on will be supporting those working people and families who need a Labor government that is focused on them, working hard for them and fighting for them. Share Benita Kolovos
A reporter notes despite the huge swing away from Labor, it didn't reflect in a huge bump in first preference voters to the Liberals. Asked what she makes of that, the premier said 'Victorians can't trust them'.
They're divided. They have a program of, what will they cut next, and what vulnerable members in our community will they hurt next? And it is absolutely clear that the Victorian community do not trust the Liberal party, because they are divided and all they want to do is hurt communities. Share Benita Kolovos
Asked whether she will reconsider going ahead with the Suburban Rail Loop project, which is set to benefit the eastern suburbs well before it makes its way to Werribee. Allan says:
The Suburban Rail Loop is part of our program of transport projects that is supporting working people by supporting jobs. Maybe some of us have been around a little longer but we all remember a time when a Liberal government, aided and abetted by a federal Liberal government, didn't invest in infrastructure projects in Victoria. That hurts working people because they don't have a pipeline of jobs, good secure jobs. It's also working people who need those transport connections so they can get to work, they can make their medical appointments, they can go to university or TAFE and pursue the career they want. That is why transport connections are just so important. They provide an equality of opportunity for working people. It is why in that pipeline we have the Metro Tunnel, the West Gate Tunnel, the Suburban Rail Loop, the North East Link, removing level crossings. This is all about making sure that we are supporting the transport connections our community needs. Share Benita Kolovos
Places like Werribee 'looking for governments to do more', Allan concedes
Has the Victorian Labor government lost sight of the voters it's meant to represent? Allan makes somewhat of a concession:
Places like Werribee, some of the fastest growing places in the country, are looking to governments to do more. Now we have made meaningful investments in more schools, seven more schools, in road investments in the local community, but it is absolutely clear that there is more to do.
That's a responsibility I take very, very seriously, to work hard every day, because I've never lost sight of what it means to have the privilege of being in government and to be in a Labor government to make a difference for working people. For people who need a Labor government, fighting for them against the big multinationals – like we saw recently – multinational companies who wanted to take penalty rights away from retail workers. Working people need Labor governments to fight for them, and that is what I will continue to do. Share Benita Kolovos
Premier says federal Labor will hear 'message' of Werribee byelection
Does she think the result will translate in the upcoming federal election? Allan replies:
We know that the global cost-of-living crisis, governments around the world are being sent a message. Governments around the country are being sent a message. People want their governments and their members of parliament focused on them, and they're looking for support from their governments. Now, federal Labor, they've rolled out a range of important initiatives that focus on working people and their families. I think we all know that there is more to do. Share Benita Kolovos
Asked whether Labor handed Prahran to the Liberals by not running a candidate in the seat, Allan repeats the same line:
Again, I'm focused on working hard for all Victorians, and we know that the cost of living crisis is hurting families right across the state, which is why the school saving bonus, the fair fuel plan is so important. And where there is more to do, we will do it. Share Benita Kolovos
First questions of the bat are about the Werribee byelection – where Labor's once-comfortable margin has gone from 10.9% at the 2022 state election to a razor-thin 0.6%. Asked whether she is the right person to lead the Labor party after the result, Allan says:
We know byelections are tough for governments. We know that's particularly so for governments when we're in the midst of a global cost-of-living crisis. My focus is on supporting those working people and families who need the government working for them. And working people and families across the state – across the world – are looking to their governments to listen to them and do more to support them, and that's exactly what I will do. I know that there is more to do, to build on the work we've already been doing to support working people and families, but we've heard very clearly that people are looking to governments to do more, and we are listening to that, and we will.
Asked what she means by doing more, she says:
In a global cost-of-living crisis, we know working people and families are hurting. I also know, and I know this from talking to people in my own community and also in communities right across the state, that quite rightly, they're wanting their voice to be heard. And byelections are an opportunity for people to make sure their voice is being heard. It's so important that the listening that we have already been undertaking, the listening we do every single day, is that we take that into action, meaningful support for working people and families.
Allan begins spruiking the government's $400 vouchers for schoolchildren and her 'fair fuel plan'. A reporter points out Labor campaigned on the vouchers but still saw the party's primary vote go back a whopping 17%.
She replies:
We know that there is more to do, and I will always listen to working people and families across the state, but also, importantly, I will fight hard and work hard for them every single day. Share Benita Kolovos
Jacinta Allan speaking in Melbourne
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has just held a press conference in North Melbourne as the byelection in Werribee remains too close to call.
She's at Arden station, on the yet-to-open Metro Tunnel train line, which she says will 'transform the way people move around our city and state'.
She goes on:
This is a project that's opening later this year, a full year ahead of schedule. But of course, this was a project that the Victorian Liberal party described as would be 'disastrous' for our city. It's a project that Peter Dutton's Liberal party ripped billions of dollars from. When they had the opportunity to make a choice, to invest in infrastructure in Victoria or not, they took billions of dollars out of this project. Our Labor government, we were determined to get on and deliver the Metro Tunnel, and that's exactly what's happening. Share Kate Lyons
Queensland premier says flood recovery will focus on making state more 'resilient'
David Crisafulli, premier of Queensland, has vowed the state will rebuild to be 'more resilient', in an update on the Queensland floods.
'My team remains focused on the recovery, and we will be there and will be there for the long haul,' he said, adding that government ministers were on the ground in flood-affected areas and he would be returning to the area soon.
'I want Queenslanders to know the things that we have said will be delivered, will be delivered to every resident,' said Crisafulli.
To every resident of north and far north Queensland, we want to say we acknowledge how tough things have been. Lives have been lost, livelihoods have been destroyed. People have seen water in places they never thought possible.
Crisafulli warned of highway closures across the state, including on the Bruce Highway. The road out of Townsville, both to the north and south, is closed to all forms of traffic, though controlled and limited access south of Townsville to larger vehicles is beginning to be arranged. David Crisafulli. Photograph: Scott Radford-Chisholm/EPA
Crisafulli praised the efforts of defence force and volunteers from the SES, saying: 'It's been a long time in this country since we've seen the mobilisation of the defence force the way that they have done.'
'To be able to thank 100 SES volunteers from almost every state and territory who have come and helped Queenslanders in their hour of need was one of the most fulfilling and humbling experiences of my life,' he said. 'It's been amazing, and to see the way that the emergency services personnel have rallied, I think give Queenslanders hope about the way this recovery can unfold.'
Crisafulli said it was crucial that in the recovery phase recovery from the floods was a crucial time, making sure that infrastructure was built back in a more resilient way.
Some good has to come through this heartache … and that some good has to be in the form of: can we replace the infrastructure when it needs to be replaced, to a more resilient standard, and build in a greater ability to deal with what Mother Nature has to throw north and far north Queensland. Share Natasha May
One in 10 federal electorates have no bulk-billing GPs for standard consultations, survey finds
An adult without concessions would not be able to find a bulk-billing GP in 10% of electorates, according to a new report.
The online healthcare directory Cleanbill on Sunday released an electorate breakdown of its third annual Blue Report, based on a survey of 6,925 general practices carried out in October 2024.
The Blue Report, published in January, found that for new adult patients without a concession card, four out of five GPs will charge a gap fee.
Cleanbill collects its information, according to its founder, James Gillespie, by compiling a list of GP clinics nationally, which they call to ensure they are operating, ask if they bulk bill adult patients and, if not, what out-of-pocket fees they charge.
Data managers then check that information against what is stated on clinics' websites and repeat calls until they can ensure consistent information.
Across the 151 commonwealth electoral divisions, Cleanbill was unable to find any available bulk-billing clinics for adult patients in 15 electorates, compared with four in its first report in 2023.
Those 15 electorates were Bass (Tasmania), Boothby (South Australia), Braddon (Tasmania), Brisbane (Queensland), Clark (Tasmania), Fairfax (Queensland), Franklin (Tasmania), Jagajaga (Victoria), Kingston (SA), Lyne (New South Wales), Lyons (Tasmania), Mayo (SA), Newcastle (NSW), Shortland (NSW) and Swan (Western Australia).
Read the full story here: Share
Victoria byelections: Liberals projected to win Prahran off Greens, Labor holds narrow lead in Werribee
The Liberal party expects to win the Prahran byelection, taking the Victorian state seat off the Greens for the first time since 2010. It comes as Victorian Labor struggles to retain its previously safe seat of Werribee in the other weekend byelection.
As of 10am this morning, Labor have 50.6% of the Werribee vote, leading by 441 votes. The Liberal party are polling 53.0% of the postal votes counted so far, leading that count by 199.
'If the Liberal percentage continued at this rate with outstanding postal votes, it would narrow Labor's lead but would not be enough to overturn it,' the ABC's election analyst, Antony Green, said on Sunday.
A maximum of about 3,000 postal votes can still make it into the count, which will resume tomorrow.
Read more on the Victoria byelections from Benita Kolovos here: Share
Climate simmers in background of hip-pocket election
The climate crisis may be struggling for airtime as voters suffer acute hip-pocket pain, but support for action isn't waning.
Tax, geopolitics and other issues dominated the first week of parliament for 2025, potentially the second-last before the upcoming federal election were the prime minister to call it early. Yet pressure to keep the ball rolling on climate and net zero policy was not entirely absent.
A politics-proof net zero pathway and national carbon market strategy featured on the Business Council of Australia's pre-election wishlist unveiled on Tuesday.
Zoe Daniel, who became the MP for Goldstein in 2022 amid the 'teal' wave in which independents secured formerly blue-ribbon city Liberal seats campaigning on climate and integrity issues, used a national address to link global warming to financial strain.
'If you think climate policy is a 'woke' issue, wait until you see the spike in your insurance premiums after the LA fires,' she said during her pre-election pitch at the National Press Club on Wednesday. Zoe Daniel addresses the National Press Club. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
Polling shows a tight race between Anthony Albanese's Labor government and the Coalition led by Peter Dutton, with neither likely to win an outright majority and the door open to minority leadership with crossbench support.
Redbridge's director of strategy and analytics, Kos Samaras, expected to see a few more contests over climate issues involving independents, including in the regions, in part reflecting an ongoing shift away from the major party duopoly.
The electorates of Wannon in Victoria and Forrest in Western Australia were flagged as seats where independents campaigning on climate issues could help garner support.
– Australian Associated Press Share
Call to end 'tech bro' era to bolster national security
The cyber security industry has been told to change its 'bro culture' to attract the next line of digital defenders.
Speaking at an elite cyber security summit at Parliament House, Australia's National Cyber Security Coordinator Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness issued a clarion call for more women to become the nation's digital defenders.
The three-star general, one of only three women to hold that rank in Australia, says she has navigated a significant gender gap for most of her career.
'There is nothing particularly masculine about cyber security,' she said.
One of the biggest misconceptions about cyber security is that that it's all about coding or sitting in isolation behind a computer screen.
It's a field that requires teamwork, innovation and creativity, it requires risk analysis, it requires leadership.
On current estimates, the cyber workforce is short by 30,000 employees and women make up 17 per cent of the sector.
'That's not just an imbalance, it's a security risk,' special envoy for cyber security and digital resilience Andrew Charlton told the Australian Information Security Association event.
The digital world is tied to every aspect of national security and economic prosperity for Australia and its immediate region, the nation's ambassador for cyber affairs and critical technology Brendan Dowling said.
The 'bro culture' of a male-dominated sector where others are made to feel uncomfortable must change, he said.
'Unless you have the diversity and imagination to recognise how bad actors misuse technology, then we actually let all of ourselves down.'
- Australian Associated Press Share
A woman has died after a lightning strike yesterday south-west of Sydney.
Emergency services were called to a home in Cawdor, near Camden, about 5.30pm after reports of two women in their 40s hit by fragments of a tree after a lightning strike.
One woman was treated at the scene but could not be revived. The second woman remains in a serious but stable condition at Liverpool hospital.
A report will be prepared for the coroner. Share
'One of the big changes we have made is greater access to medical terminations'
Katy Gallagher said a response to Senate reports into reproductive choice, perimenopause and menopause was coming this week. She told ABC Insiders:
Part of our finalising our response have been linked obviously with us making some decisions about the investments we want to put in women's health. On the issue of termination of pregnancy, I mean, one of the big changes we have made is greater access to medical terminations and we have seen improvements and increases in access, so better access to medical terminations.
We have also done that as I referred to earlier that big $1.7bn investment into public hospitals. They're run by the states and territories. So, you know, that really is a decision for them about access to surgical terminations in those facilities. Share