Is Australia's multicultural project in trouble?
And as NAIDOC week celebrates its 50th anniversary, the Minister for Aboriginal Australians has indicated a willingness to consider truth-telling at a federal level, but is Anthony Albanese on board?
Patricia Karvelas and Jacob Greber break it all down on Politics Now.
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News.com.au
8 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Unsatisfactory': Fury amid revelations working with children check reforms could take up to a year
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has revealed it could take up to 12 months to ensure convicted criminals applying for working with children checks (WWCC) cannot evade notice by applying interstate. Ms Rowland said reform was possible 'within certainly the next 12 months' so long as she secured support from state and territory counterparts at a meeting of the country's attorneys-general today. 'We envisage that the most immediate and urgent outcome is to achieve that 'banned in one, banned in all' aspect in the near term,' Ms Rowland told ABC Radio National on Friday morning. 'In the longer term, there needs to be a bar raised right across the states and territories to strengthen those criteria for working with children risk and exclusions. 'In terms of timing, these are matters that will be discussed today, so I don't want to pre-empt those outcomes … (but) in terms of the most immediate one to achieve — 'banned in one, banned in all' — I would like to think that this is something that is certainly capable of being done within certainly the next 12 months, if we can have a better sense of that following today's meeting, then that will be a good thing.' The Albanese government has proposed banning nationally anyone barred from working with children in one jurisdiction. Opposition leader Sussan Ley said a 12 month wait for reform of the WWCC system was unacceptable and 'completely unsatisfactory'. She claimed the government's response to reports of alleged child abuse lacked urgency, despite Anthony Albanese calling them a 'wake up call' for governments nationwide. 'The PM has talked a big game on fixing these issues but twelve months to deliver this isn't good enough,' Ms Ley said. 'We've done our bit in the federal parliament to work with the government to pass new laws but it is now up to the Prime Minister to lead and finish the job. 'The States and territories need to get their act together and accelerate this critically important piece of work to protect our kids.' Ms Ley said there needed to be 'stronger leadership' on the issue, and that the states and territories must be forced to act faster. 'Given the crisis we are seeing in our childcare centres, twelve months for the first set of changes is completely unsatisfactory,' she said. Multiple states and territories are grappling with the fallout from multiple high-profile cases of alleged abuse at childcare centres, namely in NSW and Victoria. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan last month announced measures for all childcare centres in the state to be required to ban personal mobile devices from September 26, and launched an 'urgent review into child safety' the findings of which are due on Friday. Further north, a NSW parliamentary inquiry into the childcare sector in NSW was told by a senior cop managing the child abuse squad that offenders 'shop around' for centres to offend at and urged for a database to be establish for police to be able to access.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
New warning for Aussies travelling to New Caledonia
The Australian government has updated its advice for travel to New Caledonia. It has warned Aussies to 'exercise a high degree of caution' following continued civil unrest. 'There's still a high police and security presence in country,' the government's travel advisory service, Smartraveller said on Wednesday. 'Isolated security incidents may occur across the territory. Monitor local media and follow the advice of local authorities.' It also explained authorities may impose restrictions, including curfews, at short notice. 'Security incidents, including arson, continue across the country. Political demonstrations and protests may turn violent at short notice.' The warning comes more than a year after a wave of violent unrest swept across the French overseas territory. In May 2024, rioting and looting erupted in New Caledonia over an electoral reform plan that Indigenous Kanak people feared would leave them in a permanent minority, putting independence hopes definitively out of reach. The unrest left nine dead and damage estimated at more than 1.5 billion euros (AU$2.46 billion). More recently, the separatists of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) announced on Wednesday they have rejected a recent agreement they signed with French officials on a new status for the territory. Signed on July 12 under the guidance of the French Overseas Minister, Manuel Valls, the Bougival text outlines the transfer of limited sovereign powers including currency, justice and policing to a New Caledonian state. While it provides for a separate state for New Caledonia (within the French state), nationality, and local officials given more powers, things like security, defence and justice would continue to be controlled by officials in Paris. The absence of a new independence referendum – a core demand for many Kanaky activists – has proven to be a deal-breaker, according to local reports. Mr Valls announced that he will travel to New Caledonia next week for consultations.
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
'Disappointment': US diplomat responds to Australia's Palestinian statehood decision
The United States ambassador to Israel has hit out at Australia's decision to recognise a Palestinian state, saying the US is "disappointed" by the decision. Mike Huckabee, who was appointed to the ambassadorial role by US President Donald Trump in April, said the US was taken aback by the federal government's announcement on Monday. "There is an enormous level of disappointment and some disgust," he told ABC's 7.30 program on Thursday night. Huckabee criticised the timing of the statehood announcement. "What Australia and the other countries may have done inadvertently is to push Israel towards doing exactly what they're afraid of," he said. "The result of this has been to completely halt any type of thoughtful negotiations going forward," Huckabee said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday Australia will formally recognise Palestine at a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York in September. Australia's decision comes after other Western allies — the United Kingdom, France and Canada — unveiled plans to recognise statehood at the summit, with certain conditions. The goal is to end the cycle of violence in Gaza that escalated when the designated terrorist group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 in 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage, according to Israeli tallies. 'We're convinced this is the right decision' Federal minister Mark Butler sought to downplay the ambassador's comments. "At the end of the day, this is the ambassador to Israel — his job is to manage the relationship between America and Israel," he told Seven's Sunrise program on Friday. "We are convinced this is the right decision at the right time to help build momentum to break this cycle of violence." While Huckabee said the US got "no heads up" about Australia's decision, Foreign Minister Penny Wong did inform US secretary of state Marco Rubio ahead of it being made public. Butler denied the US was not informed. "There is a readout from the state department about that conversation," Butler said. "It wasn't one taken lightly. It was one taken after weeks and weeks of consideration." Liberal senator Jane Hume said Americans on both sides of politics had been shocked by the decision on statehood. "This decision by the Labor government has bewildered the Americans, that [the government] essentially departed from years of a strong alliance between Israel and America and Australia to make this decision unilaterally," she told Seven's Sunrise. "This is going to set back the peace process by weeks, potentially months, maybe even years." Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza has killed almost 62,000 Palestinians, including 18,000 children, according to local health authorities. The UN projects 2.1 million people in Gaza are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, while 470,000 are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity. Hamas has still not released all of the Israeli hostages. Albanese has said Australia's recognition is tied to a commitment that Hamas play no role in a future Palestinian state. Almost 150 out of the 193 UN member states have already recognised the Palestinian state, including European Union countries Spain and Ireland. The Coalition has pledged to reverse Australia's position if it wins the next election.
