Latest news with #LaborMPs
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Fears for Barrier Reef after coral wipeout, rare view of Gaza ‘apocalypse', Epstein's celebrity letter trove revealed
Morning everyone. Last year's devastating bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef has led to the biggest annual drop in live coral for decades, scientists warn today. Plus: a 13-year-old girl has been charged with murdering another girl on the same exchange visit from China, the Gaza 'apocalypse' seen from the sky, and this month's best Australian books. Smart skinks | Australian skinks have evolved the means to resist snake venom by shutting down their muscles, suggests new research which could help find new treatments for snakebites. Coral blow | The Great Barrier Reef has suffered its biggest annual drop in live coral in two out of three areas monitored by scientists since 1986, a new report has revealed. Student stabbing | A 14-year-old girl on an exchange visit from China has been killed and her fellow exchange student has been charged with murder after a stabbing at their host family's home in the Hunter Valley. Graduates 'failed' | Labor MPs are increasing pressure on the government to speed up reform of the controversial Morrison-era job-ready graduates scheme that has 'failed' students. Meanwhile, the legality of the system designed to penalise jobseekers has been thrown into doubt after the commonwealth ombudsman found a government department's automatic system unlawfully cancelled payments. Invasive innovation | A study has shown that two invasive weed species could be used as ingredients for clean, renewable fuel. Gaza 'apocalypse' | Our reporter and photographer joined a Jordanian airdrop over Gaza to witness the devastation wreaked on the territory which resembles 'the aftermath of an apocalypse'. An Israeli security cabinet meeting, which had been expected to be held overnight to debate Benjamin Netanyahu's call for the 'full occupation' of Gaza, has been postponed amid mounting tensions over whether the plan is feasible. Mea culpa | An admission by Spanish conservative MP Noelia Núñez that she had never completed her double degree in law and public administration has sparked a wave of similar confessions from politicians. Epstein trove | The Jeffrey Epstein scandal has broadened after the New York Times published a trove of previously unseen letters to the disgraced late financier from numerous powerful figures such as Woody Allen and former Israeli leader Ehud Barak. The House of Representatives oversight committee has subpoenaed Bill and Hillary Clinton as well as several former attorneys general and directors of the FBI demanding 'testimony related to horrific crimes' perpetrated by Epstein. Genie's out | As Google outlined its latest step towards artificial general intelligence with a new model, ChatGPT said it would not tell people looking for advice online to break up with their partner. In Sweden, the prime minister has admitted that he regularly consults AI tools for a second opinion, prompting voters to say 'we didn't vote for AI'. Norway search | Rescuers in Norway have resumed the search for an award-winning former Guardian journalist, Alec Luhn, who has gone missing in bad weather during a solo hike in the remote Folgefonna national park. The Descendants episode 2: the search for Tom Wills In the final part of our Descendants investigation, we look at the 1861 Cullin-la-ringo massacre of white settlers in which Australian rules football pioneer Tom Wills escaped death. In today's podcast, Indigenous affairs reporter Ella Archibald-Binge and Lorena Allam from UTS's Jumbunna Institute discuss suggestions that Wills may also have been involved in a revenge attack on Indigenous people, and how families on both sides of the conflict are reckoning with the truth of their ancestors' colonial past. Sorry your browser does not support audio - but you can download here and listen $ In its latest report into how to improve the economy, the Productivity Commission says it is examining whether technology firms should be exempted from copyright rules so companies can freely mine text and data to train artificial intelligence models. Our writers have picked out the best Australian books published this month, including the second part of David Day's biography of Bob Hawke chronicling his years as prime minister, a biography of Bryce Courtenay by his son, Adam, and campfire recipes by Outback Tom and Steve Forrest. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Rugby union | After beating the Lions on Saturday, Australia are fit and full of fire ahead of matches against South Africa. Golf | Sports organisations in the US are hoping for exemptions from new UK travel rules for American citizens after Harris English's caddie was denied a visa for the Open because of a criminal conviction. Football | Manchester United could thwart Newcastle's £70m effort to sign the RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko after making a rival bid amid their belief the player would prefer a move to Old Trafford. A controversial $39m office development next to St Mary's Cathedral has been approved, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Tasmania's premier is being 'pig-headed' by announcing he will visit the governor to seek another term, the Labor leader tells the Mercury. Another state premier, David Crisafulli of Queensland, is under fire from the Courier Mail for spending $50,000 in a single day on taxpayer-funded private jet travel. Energy | Draft findings of the national electricity market review released at 7am. Education | Queensland teachers to strike over pay and conditions. Business | News Corp full-year earnings released at 8am. Enjoying the Morning Mail? Then you'll love our Afternoon Update newsletter. Sign up here to finish your day with a three-minute snapshot of the day's main news, and complete your daily news roundup. And follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland. And finally, here are the Guardian's crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword
The Guardian
01-08-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Five Labor MPs defy NSW premier and vow to attend pro-Palestine march across Sydney Harbour Bridge
Several New South Wales Labor MPs have defied their premier, Chris Minns, by vowing to march across Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of Gaza this weekend as police attempt to challenge the protest in court. Labor's Stephen Lawrence, Anthony D'Adam, Linda Voltz, Cameron Murphy and Sarah Kaine were among 15 NSW politicians who signed an open letter on Thursday evening calling on the government to facilitate 'a safe and orderly event' on Sunday. Police were due to oppose the protest in the NSW supreme court on Friday afternoon. If successful, that move would strip protesters of certain legal protections and leave them vulnerable to arrest if they decided to proceed with a so-called 'unauthorised' march. Lawrence said the state's 'slow and steady demonisation of protest' risked repeating the events which led to Sydney's first Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras march in 1978 being met with police violence. In a statement posted on Facebook on Friday morning, Lawrence criticised 'the passage of laws that allow police to be used to end protests the government doesn't like'. 'We have seen in these respects one long, unprincipled capitulation to reactionary politics and it is dangerous,' the Labor MLC said. 'I am a member of the Labor party, not the Liberal party. Our party is founded on protest and collective action. Attending is my way of sending a message that, in my view, we need to change course.' Lawrence said while the circumstances of the protest were 'not ideal', the event had become 'absolutely inevitable' which he said was 'largely because of the way it has been mishandled'. He said he wanted to attend Sunday's march to express his 'utter revulsion' at Israel's actions – which he said other countries, including Australia, had provided cover for. The other NSW parliamentarians who signed the letter calling on the government to allow the march over the harbour bridge were independents Alex Greenwich and Jacqui Scruby and the Greens' Jenny Leong, Tamara Smith, Kobi Shetty, Sue Higginson, Cate Faehrmann, Abigail Boyd and Amanda Cohn. Libertarian John Ruddick was also on the list. Greenwich, the state MP for Sydney, said he shared the 'widespread community horror' over what was happening in Gaza and said marching across the bridge would send a powerful message of solidarity. 'Having successfully lobbied the previous Coalition government to allow a march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of LGBTQ equality during Sydney WorldPride, I know it can be done,' he said in a statement. On Tuesday afternoon, the deputy police commissioner Peter McKenna announced the force had rejected an application from the protest organisers proposing a route across the Harbour Bridge to the US consulate, citing safety risks as the reason. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion He said at the time, police were open to negotiating alternative routes. However, the protest organisers, the Sydney-based Palestine Action Group, said in a statement that the protest 'must go ahead' and vowed to fight in court for their right to stage a protected protest. The premier on Friday morning said he expected 'everybody in NSW to respect the outcome of the court's decision'. 'I acknowledge there's a lot of people in Sydney, in NSW, that want to be part of a protest,' Minns told reporters. 'They're very concerned about what's happening in Gaza to Palestinians and they want to be heard.' Minns said people who were planning to participate in the protest would still have 'every opportunity to be heard' even with an alternative route. Earlier in the week, he suggested a march over the bridge would cause the city to 'descend into chaos'. Sydney's weekly pro-Palestine rallies have typically involved marches through the CBD. A march across the Harbour Bridge could still go ahead on Sunday if even the court sides with police but protesters could face being arrested under anti-protest laws if they obstructed traffic, for example.
ABC News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Political leaders jostle for positions
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed new and old Labor MPs to the party room in Parliament House this morning. But amid the levity, private political chat groups will be running hot over the weekend, with jockeying for senior positions across all four parties, ahead of party room meetings next week. For some, it's a chance to change policy tack or depart from old alliances. For some it's a chance to reward factional supporters. But even for the victors of last weekend's election, Labor, tough decisions might come with bitter consequences.
