Latest news with #DavidPocock
The Age
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
One Nation wins big, Pocock no longer kingmaker: A field guide to the new Senate
One Nation has doubled its Senate representation as the upper house prepares for a reshaped crossbench when the new term of parliament begins in July. The Australian Electoral Commission announced the final Senate results from the election on Friday, as Labor locked in 28 seats and the Greens 11, meaning the government only needs the support of the left-wing minor party to pass legislation. It will be a vastly different negotiating structure for the government, after the previous parliament required Labor to win support from the Greens and at least two independents to pass legislation. The arrival of former rugby union champion and independent ACT senator David Pocock in 2022 earned him the title of 'kingmaker' as he became a moderate vote for the government to win over. Pocock told this masthead he was prepared for the Senate to be different in his second term, but believed he could still influence the direction of government legislation. Loading 'I think we've seen a lack of courage [from the government] and a lot of frustration amongst Australians … [I will] use all the tools of the Senate, you know, inquiries, speeches, bills,' he said. 'It's definitely going to be a different challenge, but I'm really excited about it.' Housing, climate change, integrity and cost of living will be a focus for Pocock. He said that despite the government not needing his vote to pass legislation, they would want his backing because of his moderate stance on policy.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
One Nation wins big, Pocock no longer kingmaker: A field guide to the new Senate
One Nation has doubled its Senate representation as the upper house prepares for a reshaped crossbench when the new term of parliament begins in July. The Australian Electoral Commission announced the final Senate results from the election on Friday, as Labor locked in 28 seats and the Greens 11, meaning the government only needs the support of the left-wing minor party to pass legislation. It will be a vastly different negotiating structure for the government, after the previous parliament required Labor to win support from the Greens and at least two independents to pass legislation. The arrival of former rugby union champion and independent ACT senator David Pocock in 2022 earned him the title of 'kingmaker' as he became a moderate vote for the government to win over. Pocock told this masthead he was prepared for the Senate to be different in his second term, but believed he could still influence the direction of government legislation. Loading 'I think we've seen a lack of courage [from the government] and a lot of frustration amongst Australians … [I will] use all the tools of the Senate, you know, inquiries, speeches, bills,' he said. 'It's definitely going to be a different challenge, but I'm really excited about it.' Housing, climate change, integrity and cost of living will be a focus for Pocock. He said that despite the government not needing his vote to pass legislation, they would want his backing because of his moderate stance on policy.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Pocock says voters have ‘buyer's remorse' after Labor approves massive gas development's 40-year extension
Crossbenchers and environmental advocates are furious at the government's decision to extend the life of one of the world's biggest liquified natural gas projects from 2030 to 2070. The environment minister, Murray Watt, gave the green light to Woodside Energy's application to extend the life of the North West Shelf project from 2030 to 2070. Independent senator for the ACT David Pocock said it was a 'devastating decision'. 'I think there'll be a lot of people with some buyer's remorse – I think people voted for Labor to actually do better on climate,' he told Guardian Australia. 'I think it really is a betrayal of Australians and the Pacific. I think it's really, really sad.' Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton's Clear Air column as an email Others on the crossbench also spoke out, blasting the decision. Independent MP Zali Steggall said it would be a 'mark on Anthony Albanese and the 48th parliament's legacy'. 'The first official action they have taken is to approve an emissions bomb till 2070, and that puts at risk our net zero commitment,' she said. Steggall also said that the election was a 'clear debate' on climate, and that the public voted for 'transition to renewable energy'. 'The reality is that the decision to expand and extend the North West Shelf to 2070 makes a mockery of the commitment to [net zero by] 2050 and makes a mockery of the commitment to preserving cultural heritage,' she said. Watt said he had been required to consider the potential impact of the plant on the national heritage values of nearby ancient rock art, and economic and social matters. Under the current legislation, climate change is not grounds to refuse or limit a development application. Watt has been charged with legislating a federal environment protection agency, after the last laws, designed under former environment minister Tanya Plibersek, were dumped near the end of the last parliamentary term. On Thursday, Anthony Albanese told ABC radio the country was halfway towards delivering achieving its target of 82% renewables by 2030, but that the grid needed to be 'backed by gas'. '[The extension] was approved by the state government. Murray Watt, as the federal minister, had to look at some of the issues which are there. He has made a preliminary determination out there for comment that is based upon very strict conditions,' he said. Watt said he had told Woodside the extension, on the Burrup Peninsula in northern Western Australia, would come with 'strict conditions' relating to local air pollution. Labor MPs, some who had previously spoken out against the government's 2050 gas strategy, were less agitated than the crossbench by the approval. One said it was 'not ideal' but noted Watt was confined to the current environmental laws. Another MP also said that the environment minister was in a 'very difficult' position in making a decision within the 'constraints of the law'. They said the decision 'solidified … the need to get action on environmental reforms'. Sign up to Clear Air Australia Adam Morton brings you incisive analysis about the politics and impact of the climate crisis after newsletter promotion A third Labor source said the timing was 'tough', following closely on an election with climate and the energy transition in focus. The CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Kelly O'Shanassy, said Watt could have used the current environmental laws – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act – to reject the extension. 'The EPBC Act is a series of processes that the minister can apply, so they can if they want to choose to assess the climate implications of a project right now – and they just choose not to,' she said. 'Global warming, which is right now causing droughts to be worse in South Australia, floods to be worse in NSW, and not so long ago, a cyclone hitting Brisbane – that is driven by coal and gas and the government seems to be ok with that.' On Wednesday, following the decision, the Greens accused Watt of having 'failed at the first hurdle'. 'Rather than protecting the environment, the minister has just approved the trashing of our environment and trashing climate action,' said the party's environmental spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young. On Thursday, mining company Fortescue Metals, owned by the billionaire Andrew Forrest, sharply criticised the approval. The company's chief executive, Dino Otranto, said the suggestion that Australia could lock in fossil fuel projects until 2070 while still claiming progress toward net zero was 'concerning'. 'If Australia is serious about tackling climate change we must move beyond net zero and commit to genuine emissions reduction,' he said. 'Extending high-emitting projects like the North West Shelf is not a credible long-term climate solution – it's a step backward. More than that, it raises serious questions about how we define climate ambition in Australia.'
The Age
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Age
The curious case of the disappearing penalty goal: Why rugby is no longer a 3-point game
Statistics show in this year's Super Rugby Pacific, on average, there has been only 2.1 penalty goal attempts per game. That's down significantly from the 2011 season, when an average of 7.6 penalty goal attempts were made in each game of Super Rugby. (Detailed stats weren't kept before that but a snapshot analysis of three rounds in Super 12's first season in 1996 shows a similar tally, with approximately 8.2 per attempts per game). Incredibly, after 13 rounds of the 2025 season, the Queensland Reds had not only not kicked a single penalty goal all season, they haven't even attempted one. The Waratahs have only taken five shots in 12 games, and most teams are on a similar wavelength. The Chiefs are the most 'prolific', with 22 shots attempted this season. That's 1.8 a game. Where once rugby league fans mocked union for all the boring shots at goal, in recent years Super Rugby has had similar penalty goal tallies as NRL games. The reason for the disappearance of the penalty goal is simple … and complex. Instead of kicking for a goal when in range (most of the opposition half), teams are now mostly opting to kick to the corner for a lineout, hunting a seven-point try instead of a likely three. That, in general, will mean setting up a rolling maul near the tryline, and in the past decade, a significant majority of the tries for many teams have come through the tactic. Hookers, not wingers, have been winning the end-of-season 'top tryscorer' awards. The rolling maul is a highly contentious part of rugby. Some argue the ploy is legalised obstruction, and it can be almost impossible to stop legally by a defending team. If illegal methods are used to stop the rolling maul, the defending team can still concede a penalty try - and then lose a player to the sin bin as well. It's a lose-lose scenario - or win-win, depending on which coaching box you sit. 'I think bonus points in club or provincial competitions are what teams are chasing. There are some teams that haven't taken a shot at penalty goal all year, so I think that's what it comes down to,' Waratahs coach Dan McKellar said. 'They'll back their A-zone attack, their maul, and look to take seven points instead of three, depending on the conditions, depending on the momentum. 'We've taken points at times this year, we've also backed our A-zone attack. The big thing is when you've got momentum in the current game, you want to maintain it and keep it, you don't want to lose it. 'So how do you keep that momentum? Is it through taking the points or is it through going to the corner and backing your A-zone game? That's up to each team.' Maul tries started becoming the weapon of choice in Super Rugby around a decade ago, when teams like the Brumbies turned to their pack to score a majority of their tries. Tail-gunners like David Pocock and Folau Faingaa often scored multiples. Others soon caught on, and the average attempts at penalty goal have declined every year since. World Rugby has attempted to address concerns about the maul during the past 10 years, ordering referees to crack down on things like lifters becoming blockers in front of the jumper; unbound ball carriers shimmying backwards; the maul breaking off into a new channel, and players joining in front of the ball carrier. They are all still refereed very inconsistently, though, meaning the maul remains the wild west of rugby. And for players and coaches, maul tries are highly bankable as an option. Super Rugby Pacific included a law trial this year forcing teams to play the ball after the maul stops once (not twice, as per the law) but the competition is also in a major a drive to eliminate dead time. So cutting penalty goal attempts isn't exactly seen as an all bad thing. But it's not just the rolling maul that makes it more profitable to chase seven points over three. If a maul is stopped, it is also now proving so tough to successfully defend your line, against a barrage of pick-and-drives and short charges, that teams inevitably infringe there, too. Long advantages are played, so if a team doesn't score, they can just re-load with another kick to the corner. 'The way the laws have panned out now, the advantage inside the 22 is given until basically you score. I look at it now … and in commentary, we talk about what are they going to do here, but you can almost guarantee they won't go for goal,' Burke, who is a Stan Sport commentator, said. Another factor in declining a penalty goal is the territory trade off. You can bank three points, but you then concede territory and receive a kick-off back near your own line. So spending as much time in the 'A-zone' - roughly speaking the opponent's quarter - and taking maximum points is now the name of the game. Game-clock pressure is the new scoreboard pressure. 'Generally speaking, across the board in the Super Rugby Pacific competition, the type of pressure that can be applied in the A-zone from 10-15 metres in, it is very hard to defend and there is possibility of yellow cards in there too,' Reds coach Les Kiss said. 'That has been a major driver in why teams are starting to do it (not kick goals) more. You just have to get more time up there, that's the challenge.' The Reds have a French data scientist, Dr Dimitri Perrin, on secondment to their staff this season, and using his expertise in the application of AI and machine learning in sport, have been studying the best approaches to scoring points and winning games. Spending more time and building pressure in the opposition's A-zone is one of the primary goals, so in that light, it's easy to see why the cost-effectiveness of taking three points and swiftly exiting is looked at in a different light. Consider this: the Reds have the competition's second-highest strike-rate when it comes to scoring tries per visit to the opposing quarter, at 39 per cent (behind the incredible 50 per cent of the Crusaders). But Queensland are only equal-seventh in terms of total visits to the opposing quarter. So the choice to kick into the quarter as much as possible - where you get seven points 40 per cent of the time - is weighed against an 80 per cent chance shot at three points, but with the surrender of territory. Players in the heat of the battle are left to make the call on-field, and decisions are often unpicked with hindsight. Kiss and the Reds have come under scrutiny for ignoring kickable points that could have made a difference in losses, and to their ladder position. 'We do look at the data, though data is a reflective thing,' Kiss said. 'In the moment the players still have to have a sense and back their feel. For example, if the game is 25 minutes old and we have had zero time in that A-zone, what's the decision?' Loading For the most part, Test rugby remains an arena that values penalty goals. Rolling the dice to chase bonus points isn't as much of a consideration. The recent Six Nations showed things are changing though, with fewer penalty goals than most years. 'When the Lions series rolls around, you'll have to take your points,' Burke said.
Sydney Morning Herald
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
The curious case of the disappearing penalty goal: Why rugby is no longer a 3-point game
Statistics show in this year's Super Rugby Pacific, on average, there has been only 2.1 penalty goal attempts per game. That's down significantly from the 2011 season, when an average of 7.6 penalty goal attempts were made in each game of Super Rugby. (Detailed stats weren't kept before that but a snapshot analysis of three rounds in Super 12's first season in 1996 shows a similar tally, with approximately 8.2 per attempts per game). Incredibly, after 13 rounds of the 2025 season, the Queensland Reds had not only not kicked a single penalty goal all season, they haven't even attempted one. The Waratahs have only taken five shots in 12 games, and most teams are on a similar wavelength. The Chiefs are the most 'prolific', with 22 shots attempted this season. That's 1.8 a game. Where once rugby league fans mocked union for all the boring shots at goal, in recent years Super Rugby has had similar penalty goal tallies as NRL games. The reason for the disappearance of the penalty goal is simple … and complex. Instead of kicking for a goal when in range (most of the opposition half), teams are now mostly opting to kick to the corner for a lineout, hunting a seven-point try instead of a likely three. That, in general, will mean setting up a rolling maul near the tryline, and in the past decade, a significant majority of the tries for many teams have come through the tactic. Hookers, not wingers, have been winning the end-of-season 'top tryscorer' awards. The rolling maul is a highly contentious part of rugby. Some argue the ploy is legalised obstruction, and it can be almost impossible to stop legally by a defending team. If illegal methods are used to stop the rolling maul, the defending team can still concede a penalty try - and then lose a player to the sin bin as well. It's a lose-lose scenario - or win-win, depending on which coaching box you sit. 'I think bonus points in club or provincial competitions are what teams are chasing. There are some teams that haven't taken a shot at penalty goal all year, so I think that's what it comes down to,' Waratahs coach Dan McKellar said. 'They'll back their A-zone attack, their maul, and look to take seven points instead of three, depending on the conditions, depending on the momentum. 'We've taken points at times this year, we've also backed our A-zone attack. The big thing is when you've got momentum in the current game, you want to maintain it and keep it, you don't want to lose it. 'So how do you keep that momentum? Is it through taking the points or is it through going to the corner and backing your A-zone game? That's up to each team.' Maul tries started becoming the weapon of choice in Super Rugby around a decade ago, when teams like the Brumbies turned to their pack to score a majority of their tries. Tail-gunners like David Pocock and Folau Faingaa often scored multiples. Others soon caught on, and the average attempts at penalty goal have declined every year since. World Rugby has attempted to address concerns about the maul during the past 10 years, ordering referees to crack down on things like lifters becoming blockers in front of the jumper; unbound ball carriers shimmying backwards; the maul breaking off into a new channel, and players joining in front of the ball carrier. They are all still refereed very inconsistently, though, meaning the maul remains the wild west of rugby. And for players and coaches, maul tries are highly bankable as an option. Super Rugby Pacific included a law trial this year forcing teams to play the ball after the maul stops once (not twice, as per the law) but the competition is also in a major a drive to eliminate dead time. So cutting penalty goal attempts isn't exactly seen as an all bad thing. But it's not just the rolling maul that makes it more profitable to chase seven points over three. If a maul is stopped, it is also now proving so tough to successfully defend your line, against a barrage of pick-and-drives and short charges, that teams inevitably infringe there, too. Long advantages are played, so if a team doesn't score, they can just re-load with another kick to the corner. 'The way the laws have panned out now, the advantage inside the 22 is given until basically you score. I look at it now … and in commentary, we talk about what are they going to do here, but you can almost guarantee they won't go for goal,' Burke, who is a Stan Sport commentator, said. Another factor in declining a penalty goal is the territory trade off. You can bank three points, but you then concede territory and receive a kick-off back near your own line. So spending as much time in the 'A-zone' - roughly speaking the opponent's quarter - and taking maximum points is now the name of the game. Game-clock pressure is the new scoreboard pressure. 'Generally speaking, across the board in the Super Rugby Pacific competition, the type of pressure that can be applied in the A-zone from 10-15 metres in, it is very hard to defend and there is possibility of yellow cards in there too,' Reds coach Les Kiss said. 'That has been a major driver in why teams are starting to do it (not kick goals) more. You just have to get more time up there, that's the challenge.' The Reds have a French data scientist, Dr Dimitri Perrin, on secondment to their staff this season, and using his expertise in the application of AI and machine learning in sport, have been studying the best approaches to scoring points and winning games. Spending more time and building pressure in the opposition's A-zone is one of the primary goals, so in that light, it's easy to see why the cost-effectiveness of taking three points and swiftly exiting is looked at in a different light. Consider this: the Reds have the competition's second-highest strike-rate when it comes to scoring tries per visit to the opposing quarter, at 39 per cent (behind the incredible 50 per cent of the Crusaders). But Queensland are only equal-seventh in terms of total visits to the opposing quarter. So the choice to kick into the quarter as much as possible - where you get seven points 40 per cent of the time - is weighed against an 80 per cent chance shot at three points, but with the surrender of territory. Players in the heat of the battle are left to make the call on-field, and decisions are often unpicked with hindsight. Kiss and the Reds have come under scrutiny for ignoring kickable points that could have made a difference in losses, and to their ladder position. 'We do look at the data, though data is a reflective thing,' Kiss said. 'In the moment the players still have to have a sense and back their feel. For example, if the game is 25 minutes old and we have had zero time in that A-zone, what's the decision?' Loading For the most part, Test rugby remains an arena that values penalty goals. Rolling the dice to chase bonus points isn't as much of a consideration. The recent Six Nations showed things are changing though, with fewer penalty goals than most years. 'When the Lions series rolls around, you'll have to take your points,' Burke said.
