Breakfast Wrap: The impact of SA's toxic algal bloom
Today on the Breakfast Wrap we'll hear from the state's fishing industry, as some go months without income. We'll also speak with the state government, after their federal counterparts pledged $14 million to tackle the crisis.
Then, more than 20 nations — including Australia — have issued a joint statement calling for an end to the war in Gaza and condemning the humanitarian crisis in the strip.
The former UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine shares his perspective, and we'll get the federal political response too.
Recap the morning's news, politics and global affairs with the Breakfast Wrap
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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
As Tasmania waits to find out who will form the next state government, here are the priorities of the new parliament's independents
Tasmania has elected another large crossbench that once again might equal or outnumber Labor Party members. Regardless of which major party forms government, they will need support from some or most of these politicians. The Liberal Party has the easier job when it comes to making up the numbers, but Labor has more in common with them. With negotiations underway, most of the independents are keeping tight-lipped on what they might be seeking, so what do we know about their priorities? Kristie Johnston was first elected as an independent in the 2021 election. This time around, she's had a massive swing towards her. Ms Johnston has been a fierce anti-stadium critic and has regularly raised concerns about the impact of pokies on her constituents. She even introduced a bill to the last parliament that would've forced gambling companies to repay money that had been stolen to put through poker machines. She's also used her time in parliament to raise awareness about the greyhound racing industry, and push for greater transparency and accountability around a range of issues including the budget and the stadium. Ms Johnston said the state has some very big decisions in front of it, and she wants to understand what the leaders are offering, particularly when it comes to budget repair. "What I want to see is someone after the election, after listening to what the people have said, is to come up with a clear plan," she said. "Treasury in their own PEFO report have indicated that we need to look at a number of factors to address the budget crisis. "The expenditure side, but also the revenue side, and they simply said looking at economic growth is not going to be enough to fix the issue. Speaking on election night, Ms Johnston said she wanted the major parties to do a better job at listening to and collaborating with the crossbench. "We need to see a respectful mature parliament that's respectful of everyone's voices." She has confirmed she would not want a ministry in a power-sharing government. Peter George is best known as an anti-salmon campaigner, having been the spokesperson for Neighbours of Fishfarming for years. While he leant into his anti-salmon reputation during the campaign, it certainly wasn't the only thing he spoke about. He was vocal in his opposition to the proposed Macquarie Point AFL stadium, and rolled out a variety of policies addressing concerns about health, housing and education. Like most of the independents and The Greens, Mr George wants to see a strengthened Integrity Commission with public hearings. He also wants to end native forest logging, crack down on short-stay accommodation, and address the state's soaring debt. "We have 5,000 people in this very small state … waiting to get decent roofs over their heads, we have a health system that's sort of tottering and teetering under the weight of demand, and we have an education system that's turning out functional illiteracy of somewhere close to 50 per cent. "Those are important things that we need to deal with. "I want to hear about that, and I want to see a parliament of 35 people roll up their sleeves and do some serious work across political lines." Mr George said he wants to hear what the parties' plans are for "rebuilding Tasmania's future" but so far his dealings with them have not won him over. "One area of concern is that Labor and Liberal seem to have drawn lines in the sand saying we won't talk about this, we're going to insist on that," he posted on a video on Facebook. "Well, that's not how minority government works, that's certainly not how collaboration works, so slight warning there, but we'll deal with this down the track." North West coaster Craig Garland received a massive jump in his primary vote this election. The fisherman was perhaps best known for his views on salmon farming before he was elected to parliament in 2024 — and he has certainly peppered the government with a lot of questions about the industry. But he has also spoken out on integrity and was so concerned about the budget, he was prepared to vote against it. This time around, Mr Garland wants a seat at the table. He wants to be included in budget repair and the development of policy. Speaking on election night, Mr Garland said "the focus has to flip". "The domestic violence in the North West Coast. We have four beds to deal with women fleeing domestic violence. One hundred and fifty women turned away, 147 children, and we're talking about building the biggest stadium." Mr Garland has spoken to both leaders but has yet to discuss any sort of policies or requests. "There's a lot of talk, and then in the same breath I hear, 'We're not moving on salmon, we're not moving on native forest logging,'" he said. Mr Garland is opposed to Hobart's waterfront stadium, which likely helped his vote in the seat of Braddon, and he is no fan of the proposed undersea electricity and data interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria, known as Marinus Link. A Labor Party veteran turned independent, David O'Byrne managed to make it work during the last parliament with Liberal leader Jeremy Rockliff's minority government. He was one of the few crossbenchers who did not support the no-confidence motion in the premier. Speaking after the election about his dealings with the leaders, Mr O'Byrne said he is "not a transactional politician". He does not have "a shopping list of issues" and is instead focused on who could offer the most functional parliament. "My view is we need to get on with governing, we need to find someone who can not only get the numbers on the floor of parliament for the first vote, but can sustain those numbers for a long period of time," he said. In terms of his core issues, they are unsurprisingly Labor core issues — health, housing and the cost of living. In the last parliament, he spent a lot of time questioning the government about the ongoing staffing and reliability issues facing Metro Tasmania, various women's healthcare issues, and TasNetworks' wage negotiations. His bill to amend the Family Violence Act to include the abuse of animals passed parliament last year. He also tabled a bill to introduce Industrial Manslaughter laws, but it was superseded by Labor. Mr O'Byrne is the only crossbencher who supports the stadium. The Greens are the party neither the Liberals, nor Labor, wants to deal with — but having won five seats, they may not be easily ignored. Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff has made it clear that in a balance of power situation, she would do all she could to stop the stadium from being built. "We've been really strong. We're going to fight and do everything we can to pile on the pressure to stop this stadium. "We know that's what's needed. The budget's in a desperate situation. We will not support cuts to essential services." Other things on the Greens' agenda include a strengthened Integrity Commission, something Labor has voiced support for in the past, and they want to see a Treaty with Tasmania's First Nations, another policy Labor is on board with. They are also likely to try and seek some improvement for renters while clamping down on short stay accommodation. The party also wants to keep pushing the major parties to find new revenue for the budget. They would like to see salmon farming companies pay some royalties for the use of Tasmania's waterways, and increased mining royalties to bring Tasmania into line with other jurisdictions. The Greens will not hold the balance of power if the Liberals form a minority government as there will be at least four other crossbenchers they could rely on to get votes through. Labor will likely have to deal with the Greens, if it wants to govern with just 10 of its own MPs, but it will need some form of confidence and supply guarantee from the minor party. That does not mean there will necessarily be any trade on policy or concessions from Labor, but the two parties did combine forces several times in the last parliament to pass their own legislation, including introducing Industrial Manslaughter laws and lowering the political disclosure threshold to $1,000. As counting continues in the state election, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate Carlo Di Falco does not even know if he has been elected in the seat of Lyons, but that hasn't stopped him from getting calls from the two major party leaders. He describes himself as a "former blue collar worker" and "not much of a public speaker". Mr DI Falco said that, like the name suggests, he will be fighting for the rights of rural Tasmanians. "The phone coverage of a lot of the Tasmanians that are missing out. Even where I live in Forcett, not that far from Sorell, I've got really patchy coverage where I am," he said. "We need to improve that." Mr Di Falco said there were also a lot of issues with "social cohesion". "That's why I'm pushing for more funding for Neighbourhood Houses because sometimes when people's lives go to custard, probably the best place to go is somewhere where you can talk to somebody in the community." Mr Di Falco is pro development but he is not too keen on the proposed AFL stadium on Hobart's waterfront. "I'd be taking that money and increasing Hydro storage. If you want to increase wealth, that comes off the back of cheap, reliable energy."
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
'What choice do we have?': SA Premier grapples with mounting demands for taxpayer bailouts
Who deserves a lifeline? That's the awkward question Premier Peter Malinauskas has been fielding during an eventful first week back from annual leave. In the government's view, the Whyalla steelworks and its more than 1,000 employees certainly fall into the deserving category. On Wednesday, the Premier announced the state government would stump up another $137.5 million to keep the steelworks running through its government-enforced administration process. That's on top of $192 million the government had already allocated to keep the steelworks afloat, bringing the total state contribution to $329.5 million. The Commonwealth has pledged an equal amount. Wednesday's extra funding, while lower than expected, is still a hefty chunk for a state government that's flagged it has limited capacity to fund major projects due to rising debt levels. And the steelworks are not the only ones in need of help. The Port Pirie lead smelter, which employs about 900 people on the Spencer Gulf, is losing tens of millions of dollars a month, according to owner Nyrstar Australia. The company, which also owns a zinc smelter in Hobart, is negotiating with the state and federal governments over a support package that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Then, on Thursday, it was revealed SA's largest disability employment provider, Bedford Industries, was on the brink of administration — raising fears for the future of 1,400 people with disability. In both situations, the SA Premier has indicated the state government is ready to help with public money if need be. But does this set a precedent for every business or industry that is struggling? Asked this on Wednesday, the Premier said: "Well, what choice do we have?" "I think we have to be balanced and careful in the approach that we take and deliberate in our considerations," he said. "But I don't think there's anybody seriously suggesting that we should allow Port Pirie or Whyalla or our farmers or for people operating our coastline [affected by the algal bloom] just to be left to rack and ruin — that's not my view. "Governments have always played a role. Whenever there's been a crisis or a challenge, people turn to government, and that's a responsibility you have to be willing to take on." On Friday, after the Bedford situation came to light, Mr Malinauskas said: 'It's not my DNA just to sit back and watch a group of vulnerable people potentially be left in a situation where they're more vulnerable than they are already". James Hancock, deputy director of the University of Adelaide's SA Centre for Economic Studies, said the situations with Whyalla, Port Pirie and Bedford had left the government "between a rock and a hard place". He said government intervention to save a business meant "you then potentially have a queue of other businesses approaching you for support when they're in difficulty". "The state budget can afford to do it for an extended period, but the real issue is if you're doing this for an extended period, what are you doing for other sectors that come under pressure?" he said. "If it's not just Whyalla [and] you sort of end up with five, 10 sectors that need a lot of help on an ongoing basis, then that actually starts to become a really large budget burden. "There's a tension there and there's no easy answer." South Australia is not short of examples of what happens when a long-standing industry collapses and there is no white knight to save it. The death of the car manufacturing industry left its mark on Adelaide following the closure of Mitsubishi in 2008 and Holden in 2017. Meanwhile, the end of coal mining in Leigh Creek in 2015 saw that town's population shrink from 2,000 residents to just 100. Mr Hancock said the stakes were particularly high for regional cities that were reliant on a major employer. "Holden was located in the Adelaide metropolitan area … and people that were displaced from Holden in many instances were able to get employment elsewhere," he said. "If you think about the house values of those workers, there was no sort of real impact of any significance. "If you compare that with Whyalla, and if you had a situation where half the town was out of work and having to leave a job, it becomes almost impossible for people to sell housing. "The human consequences of a Whyalla closure would really be very large." That's the case Port Pirie Mayor Leon Stephens is now making amid the troubles associated with the Nyrstar plant. Mr Stephens, who is also a Liberal Party candidate at the 2026 state election, said the closure of the Port Pirie smelter would cause economic "devastation". "My perception of what a government should be doing, it should be looking after all sectors of community," he said. "When you've got … a major employer in a city and that person is struggling and it looks like it will bring the city to its knees, I think there's definitely a catalyst [for intervention]." The Premier was asked on Wednesday where he drew the line on whether to give an industry a bailout. He said it depended on "whether or not there's a future" for the industry in question. "While it is true that there's creative disruption in the marketplace all the time and we see businesses that's better years are past, the question is what are the years in front of us," he said. "Unless you can see a future, then maybe you have to say, 'look, something hit the fence and that's life'. "But for steelmaking … we know this country needs steel, for critical minerals [like at Port Pirie], the demand is going up not down. "So, there are futures there that are worthy of contemplation."
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
NSW MP Gareth Ward likely to be removed from parliament after conviction for sex crimes
A sitting member of the NSW parliament has been convicted of serious sexual offences — so what happens next? The independent member for Kiama, Gareth Ward, was found guilty of four offences relating to the sexual abuse of two young men after a nine-week trial in the NSW District Court. Following the verdict, the NSW government swiftly called for the 44-year-old to resign from parliament — claiming his position was "no longer tenable". Even the Liberal Party — the previous party of Ward — said the politician had breached public trust and his crimes were an "abuse of power". The conviction of a sitting politician for serious crimes is a rare event. Ward was previously barred from parliament when the allegations first surfaced, but his shock re-election saw him return. Now that he has been found guilty by a jury, will he be removed from office? The NSW Constitution contains provisions for expelling sitting members convicted of an "infamous crime" — that is an offence that carries a maximum sentence of more than five years. All four of Gareth Ward's offences meet that criterion, with the most serious offence — sexual intercourse without consent — carrying a maximum prison term of 14 years. However, the politician's seat will not be vacated just yet. Ward has 28 days to lodge an appeal in the NSW District Court, and his seat in parliament will not be declared vacant until the challenge is resolved. However, these provisions do not interfere with the powers of the House to expel members. Election analyst Ben Raue is a close observer of Australian politics. He said the NSW parliament has powers to remove politicians. "I can't imagine they would have issues passing a motion of suspension, I think that would be the bare minimum to be honest," he said. Mr Raue said NSW parliament is in unchartered waters with this case. "It is very unusual," he said. After the verdict, Ward was granted bail release to return home ahead of a hearing on Wednesday where the Crown will seek to have the politician taken into custody ahead of his sentence. The verdict was handed down more than three years after Ward was first charged. The then-Liberal politician was stood down from his portfolio as the NSW Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services after it emerged that he was the subject of a police investigation. In 2022 he was suspended from parliament after he refused to resign over the allegations. "That is one of the things that is so odd about this case is normally when people are facing serious criminal charges like this, they resign from their public office," said Mr Raue. Despite the case hanging over his head and his inability to represent his community in the parliament — constituents in Kiama re-elected him in 2023, allowing him to return to parliament. "I think it is a sign of how popular he had been that he managed to get re-elected," said Mr Raue. "I think there was a recognition that the voters had their say and until he is convicted, he is a member of parliament." Mr Raue said the conviction means voters in Kiama are likely to be returning to the polls. "I think it is likely now we will see a by-election at some point — either he resigns, or he is expelled," he said.
