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Sky News AU
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Victorian farmers rally against 'depsperation' of government's all renewables approach and wild $12k fines
Farmers are storming the steps of Victoria's state parliament over plans for hefty penalties to be handed down to landowners unwilling to budge in the government's 'desperation' to pursue an all-renewables approach. Proposed laws will allow the Allan government access to transmission workers onto private land in order, with those who resist facing fines of more than $12,000 fines for refusing. The Victorian government's plan will see 240 km of new transmission lines rolled out in western Victoria, slicing through 250 farms and private properties to connect new solar and wind farms to the grid. Many farmers say the project, which has been touted as being essential for energy reliability and affordability, is a direct threat to their livelihoods. Hundreds of farmers from 24 regional groups are expected at Victoria's Parliament House in Melbourne on Wedneday to rally against the state government plans. Nationals leader David Littleproud has blasted what he described as the 'human toll' of the all-renewables energy approach, and claimed there was no other country with the industrial scale the size of Australia's that was going down a similar path. 'Our farmers are the human toll of the reckless race of an all-renewables approach' Mr Littleproud told Sky News' First Edition on Wednesday. 'When people in the North Head of Sydney railed against six wind turbines, that was OK and it got taken away. "But when our farmers rail against big energy companies, multi-nationals from overseas coming in and taking over, they get slapped with $12,000 fines because of the desperation of Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen in trying to finish off this madness of an all-renewables approach. 'You're seeing it not just play out in a human toll for our famers, but you're seeing that every quarter when you get your energy bill.' The protest was also hijacked by pro-Palestine demonstrations, protesting the humanitarian situation in Gaza. One farmer was seen being confronted by a woman wearing a Keffiyeh on the steps of Parliament. Under Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan's plan, transmission project workers would be allowed access to private land without consent, with farmers facing fines of more than $12,210 if they refuse. The state government says it will benefit rural communities, but farmers argue they're losing rights to their own property. It comes as analysis Rystad Energy has revealed construction had not started on any new wind farm projects throughout the country in the first half of the 2025 calendar year. Labor government adviser Ross Garnaut has also ruled that the Albanese government's target of reaching 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030 was unachievable, The Australian has reported. 'Australia is currently on a trajectory to miss its renewable targets because of low investment and output in grid-scale solar and wind – not by a little, but by a big margin,' Mr Garnaut said.
Sky News AU
17-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
'Concern to our national sovereignty': Nationals Senate leader McKenzie urges Treasurer to clarify Chinese purchases around AUKUS ports
Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie has said the purchase of two commercial properties located within port precincts earmarked for AUKUS submarine bases by companies with connections to the Chinese Communist Party's foreign influence arm is of major concern to Australia's national sovereignty. Speaking on Sky News' First Edition, McKenzie admitted that Australia welcomes foreign investment when it's in the country's national interest and when it can help the economy, but states that national sovereignty of Australia has to come first. Catch up with all of the day's breaking news and live interviews from politicians and experts with a Streaming Subscription.
Sky News AU
15-07-2025
- Sky News AU
'Have to step back and be realistic': Banning male workers from childcare centres not the solution, parenthood advocate says after accused paedophile charged
A leading advocate for parents has moved to quell calls to ban men from the childcare industry following a horror case of alleged child sex abuse in Melbourne, saying the solution must come at a systemic level instead. A recent police investigation exposed a string of harrowing alleged abuse against multiple children, carried out by accused pedophile Joshua Brown. Brown, who has worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne since 2017, was arrested on May 12 facing more than 70 child sex offences against eight alleged victims, who were in his care at the Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook between April 2022 and January 2023. The shocking case has left parents mortified, and sparked calls for male workers to either be shunned from the industry, or to restrict their interactions with children. In one instance, Inspire Early Learning, which operates 16 childcare centres across Victoria, banned male educators from changing nappies or toileting duties in the wake of the charges against Brown. CEO of The Parenthood Georgie Dent said while she completely understands parents are fearful and more cautious after the revelations, it wouldn't be fair to punish the male workers who are safe and positive role models. "I think that for male educators who work in early learning centres this has been a really difficult period of time because there has been a reaction, a strong reaction to say we don't think you should be here," she told Peter Stefanovic on Sky News' First Edition on Tuesday. "And what is disappointing about that is we know that children really benefit from having positive role models who are both male and female and for male educators who are there for the right reasons and doing the right thing, it's really distressing for them to be tarred with that brush that 'all men who work in this industry have obviously got some perversion'. "I think we have to step back and be realistic here that the answer to these abuse allegations is to strengthen the system, not to decide to perpetrate another injustice by saying men aren't welcome in this industry," she said. When asked what solutions the childcare industry needed to be looking at, Ms Dent said improvement of quality and safety at the top level was required. She also said The Parenthood had been campaigning for an early childhood commission to oversee changes to the system and called for key changes to be brought in for the industry. "We need a strong national working with children check system, we need a national educator register again so that we're seeing when a particular educator is moving between different jurisdictions, we need a national reportable conduct scheme," she said. "At the moment there's more than five different schemes available and it is so difficult to navigate and what this crisis has shown us is that parts of the system are not talking to each other and we have to make sure that child wellbeing and child safety is the paramount priority. "If it means privacy for a particular person is curtailed so that an employer is allowed to be told if there have been red flags in this person's employment history, I think most parents would reasonably expect that any childcare provider who's employing someone is able to see if there's any problems in their employment history." Ms Dent added that if childcare centres consistently failed to meet the minimum standards, then they should stop receiving ongoing funding from taxpayers or parents. "If a service is not meeting the minimum standards, which does occur, it should not be business as usual. There needs to be an intervention. And if that requires a service to be shut, then I think that's necessary," she said.
The Verge
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
The ModRetro Chromatic Game Boy is now permanently back in stock
After selling out all of its limited stock of First Edition handhelds last year, ModRetro has announced that its Chromatic Game Boy is now permanently back in stock. The company is also introducing a new white-and-purple cloud color option, new game cartridges, and a collection of accessories that includes a rechargeable battery. The Chromatic is now once again available for purchase through ModRetro's online store in seven different colors: cloud, midnight, wave, inferno, bubblegum, volt, and leaf. Functionality is exactly the same as the First Edition versions of the Chromatic, and the handheld is still made with a durable magnesium alloy case and a pixel-perfect IPS screen that's color-matched to the original Game Boy's and Game Boy Color's displays. Pricing now starts at $199.99 and includes a modernized copy of Tetris that adds new gameplay features, but that's for a version of the Chromatic featuring a screen protected by Gorilla Glass. The original First Edition version of the Chromatic featured more durable sapphire glass, and if you want that same level of screen protection it will now cost you $299.99. The Chromatic can still be powered by three AA batteries that, based on our testing, provide around seven or eight hours of gameplay with the handheld's screen brightness reduced to 50 percent. If you don't want to provide your own rechargeable AAs, ModRetro is also introducing a $29.99 rechargeable battery pack offering up to 16 hours of gameplay. Other new accessories include a $14.99 link cable for connecting two Chromatic handhelds for multiplayer, and a $14.99 Mod Kit letting you customize your Chromatic with swappable parts. ModRetro is also expanding its games collection today with five new cartridges featuring titles like Sabrina: The Animated Series – Zapped!, Wicked Plague, and a puzzle platformer called Gravitorque where you manipulate gravity instead of jumping (you can try it in your browser here). When the Chromatic originally debuted, the handheld's creator, Palmer Luckey, told The Verge's Sean Hollister that quantities would be limited and he wasn't sure if he'd make more than what was needed to fulfill preorders. Today's announcement is welcome news both for those who missed out on getting a Chromatic during its initial run last year and those who did get one, because this will help grow the Chromatic community and potentially encourage other companies to make new games and accessories for the handheld. What hasn't changed is that the Chromatic is still tied to a controversial figure. Although the Chromatic reflects Luckey's past as a Game Boy modder before he created the Oculus Rift VR headset, he was an early Donald Trump supporter, and after selling Oculus to Facebook he was fired following controversial political donations. Luckey went on to found Anduril, a defense contractor that makes military tech, including lethal weaponized drones. The Chromatic may be one of the best ways to play classic Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, but if you feel that your enjoyment of retro gaming could be hampered by the handheld's associations, the Analogue Pocket offers comparable performance and cartridge support without any controversy.
Sky News AU
01-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
‘I'm not commenting': Anthony Albanese refuses to respond to Paul Keating's latest criticism plan to double superannuation tax
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has refused to respond to Paul Keating's latest criticism of Labor's unrealised gains tax, telling Sky News Australia he was 'not commenting' on the various things other people had said. The Albanese government is proposing to double the tax on superannuation accounts with a balance of more than $3 million. The tax would also apply to unrealised capital gains, meaning the government would be taxing perceived wealth rather than actual income. Labor has defended the scheme by pointing out the tax would only apply to a tiny number of Australian superannuation accounts, but former Labor prime minister and superannuation architect Paul Keating took a veiled swipe at the proposal on Monday. Mr Keating said 'every young person joining the workforce this year' will have accumulated 'in excess of $3 million at retirement'. When asked about whether the former Labor leader was right in his calculations, Prime Minister Albanese simply praised Mr Keating's creation of the superannuation system. 'Paul Keating is right to support superannuation, and it's a creation of the Hawke and Keating Labor governments (and) Paul Keating, of course, as treasurer, then as prime minister, championed superannuation to improve retirement incomes for Australians,' he told Sky News Australia. First Edition host Pete Stefanovic again asked Mr Albanese whether Mr Keating was right that the average worker would eventually be caught up in the tax. 'Well, these are very modest changes discussed,' Mr Albanese said. Stefanovic pressed the Prime Minister, asking, 'But is Paul Keating right? I'm on Paul keating now,' leading to a terse response. 'Well, good on you. You stay on Paul, I'll stay on superannuation,' Mr Albanese said Asked if he was avoiding it because Mr Keating was right, the Prime Minister said he was 'talking about superannuation and our superannuation guarantee being lifted to 12 per cent'. Stefanovic then asked whether Labor was at least open to indexing the threshold at which the tax would be imposed, pointing out ACTU Secretary Sally McManus had called for this on Tuesday morning. 'I'm not commenting on various things that you tell me other people have said,' Mr Albanese responded. Mr Keating is reportedly furious at the Albanese government over its proposal to tax unrealised gains, with the Australian Financial Review reporting last year that the former Labor leader had called the changes 'unconscionable'. Keating-era ACTU secretary Bill Kelty – who also played a role in the creation of the Superannuation system - has similarly hit out at the changes, describing them as 'flawed' and 'bad policy'.
