Andrews pledges to supercharge renewables as Victoria upgrades emissions reduction target
Adeshola Ore
The Andrews government has pledged to revitalise Victoria’s State Electricity Commission (SEC) under public ownership to build renewable energy projects.
Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, described the commitment as the “most significant” energy announcement in the state over the past 30 years.
The government, if re-elected next month, will make a $1bn investment towards delivering 4.5 gigawatts of renewable power – the equivalent capacity of the state’s largest power station Loy Yang A, which will close by 2035.
The premier announced a new target to reduce emissions by 75% to 80% by 2035.
Andrews said Victoria needed a “plan to keep the lights on”, pointing to the closure of privatised coal-fired power plants.
Andrews said the increased power supply would create downward pressure on household energy bills. He said:
This is good news when it comes to emissions and our total energy mix.
The government has estimated its energy plan will create 60,000 jobs by 2035.
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Latest gender pay gap stats released
Tory Shepherd
Western Australia’s gender pay gap is the highest in the nation at 26.8% – and goes up to 32.1% once total remuneration is included.
Tasmania’s is the lowest, at 11.3%, and lower still for total remuneration, when it drops to 10.4%.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency has released the latest report in its gender equity insights series today.
The research, done with the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, calculated how much the gap could be driven down by with shifts in gender balance in all industries.
For example, if the gender balance in all industries was shifted to 40:40:20 (40% men, 40% women, 20% any gender, in WA the gap would halve.
Report author and BCEC director, professor Alan Duncan, said:
To achieve a 40:40:20 gender concentration for industries in Australia, gender balance needs to be addressed in both directions. This means increasing the share of women working in male-dominated occupations and industries and growing the share of men in female-dominated professions.
We need to see an increase in the share of women in leadership positions from CEO through to executive manager, in roles in the professional, scientific, technical and trades sectors, and a rise in the share of men working in health, community and social services.
We also need to reflect on whether the salaries paid to health care, social assistance and community sector workers adequately reflect the true value of their contribution to society.
Peter Hannam
More jobs likely added in September, as ABS data looms
We’ll shortly get the September labour market figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Last time we looked, the jobless rate was 3.5% for August. Economists generally expect more jobs were added last month but the unemployment rate will hinge a lot on how many people were “participating”, that is looking for work.
ANZ, for instance, expects the jobless rate will drop to 3.3%, a fresh near-50 year low. CBA, though, predicts it will linger at 3.5%.
Stay tuned as it’ll land shortly.
In the meanwhile, here’s what investors are thinking about interest rates:
Newborn stars visible in James Webb telescope image of the Pillars of Creation
Three spires of cosmic dust and gas stretching roughly four to five light years in the Eagle Nebula are known as the Pillars of Creation.
They were previously captured by the Hubble telescope, but a new image has emerged from Nasa’s James Webb telescope, which has taken over as the largest optical telescope in space.
The Pillars of Creation are part of an active star-forming region and the new image has revealed many never before seen .
Highway to Kerang in Victoria closed as water rises
The northern Victorian town of Kerang has been cut off, with a major highway closed due to risk of flooding, AAP reports.
Patchell Bridge on the Murray Valley Highway, about 280km north of Melbourne, closed on Wednesday night with Kerang residents warned it was too late to leave.
Evacuation warnings are also in place for Echuca and the smaller towns of Barmah, Lower Moira and Bunbartha, with swollen rivers threatening to burst their banks.
Residents from Loddon Weir to Kerang told to move to higher ground
‘Great decision’: Perrottet backs Queensland limiting UN access to detention facilities
My colleague Tamsin Rose this morning reported that New South Wales has blocked UN officials from entering a detention facility as part of their visit under Australia’s commitment to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (Opcat).
Queensland Health will also prevent the officials from visiting mental health wards where people ordered to undergo treatment or charged with crimes are held, the state health service confirmed to Guardian Australia.
The NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, had this to say on Queensland restricting the UN’s access:
Adeshola Ore
Victoria’s new emissions reduction targets are world-leading, energy minister says
Victoria’s energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio says the state’s new emissions reduction targets are world-leading. She said:
We are the second jurisdiction in the world to set the 75-80% reductions target by 2035.
Andrews pledges to supercharge renewables as Victoria upgrades emissions reduction target
Adeshola Ore
The Andrews government has pledged to revitalise Victoria’s State Electricity Commission (SEC) under public ownership to build renewable energy projects.
Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, described the commitment as the “most significant” energy announcement in the state over the past 30 years.
The government, if re-elected next month, will make a $1bn investment towards delivering 4.5 gigawatts of renewable power – the equivalent capacity of the state’s largest power station Loy Yang A, which will close by 2035.
The premier announced a new target to reduce emissions by 75% to 80% by 2035.
Andrews said Victoria needed a “plan to keep the lights on”, pointing to the closure of privatised coal-fired power plants.
Andrews said the increased power supply would create downward pressure on household energy bills. He said:
This is good news when it comes to emissions and our total energy mix.
The government has estimated its energy plan will create 60,000 jobs by 2035.
Inundation at Moama on NSW-Victoria border
Seven News reporter Blake Johnson has shared some vision of the flooding occurring in the southern Riverina border town of Moama.
The Murray River is at 94.42 metres and could peak at 95 metres on Friday or Saturday, when more rain is expected.
Already around 300 people in and near Moama have been told to evacuate, with flood heights predicted to surpass the area’s second-worst on record in 1993.
Dominic Perrottet speaking alongside Paul Keating in Sydney
The NSW premier Dominic Perrottet is speaking alongside the former prime minister Paul Keating at the waterside CBD precinct of Barangaroo.
Guardian Australia’s NSW state reporter Tamsin Rose is there.
Young women lead Victorian vaping jump
The number of Victorians who vape has almost doubled since 2018 and young women are leading the take-up, AAP reports.
A Cancer Council Victoria survey estimated more than 308,000 Victorians vaped in 2022, compared to just under 155,000 in 2018-2019.
Almost one in six women aged 18-24 has taken up the habit, up from just under 3%.
It also found 54% of users were aged 18-30 and almost one in four adult vapers have never smoked traditional cigarettes.
It is illegal to sell e-cigarette products containing nicotine but almost three quarters of users said they purchased the products from bricks and mortar stores.
Cancer Council Victoria chief executive Todd Harper called on all parties to commit to a retail licensing scheme which would help identify and deter businesses who break the law ahead of the November state election.
Helicopters delivering supplies to flooded communities in NSW
Victoria to boost renewable energy targets
Benita Kolovos
The Victorian government will shortly announce a plan for 95% of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2035.
Guardian Australia understands the premier, Daniel Andrews, and environment minister, Lily D’Amboriso, will outline the new target as well as boosting its 2030 target from 50% renewable energy to 65% at a press conference at 10am.
It will also announce its emissions reduction target of 75-80% by 2035 and for 4.5 gigawatts of renewable energy storage capacity to be publicly owned.
It follows targets set to reduce emissions by 28-33% by 2025 and 45-50% by 2030. The opposition has pledged it will legislate the targets if elected in November.
Our state reporter, Adeshola Ore, will be heading to the press conference and will provide some more information as we get it.
500 ADF personnel to assist flood recovery in Victoria and NSW
The government has approved up to 500 Australian defence force personnel to assist with the flood recovery in Victoria and New South Wales.
The decision comes after a request from Emergency Management Victoria to provide up to 400 personnel to assist emergency authorities with tasks including:
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Filling and distributing sandbags
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Transport support to isolated families and emergency services
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Diversion of water from a small dam and construction of three levees
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Door knocking to support flood-affected residents
ADF personnel have been already been assisting communities in flood-affected areas in regional Victoria, including supporting evacuation and resupply efforts with two CH-47 Chinook helicopters.
About 100 ADF members are assisting communities in NSW, where there is also a helicopter available for night search and rescue, primarily in the west of the state.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said:
We’ve already seen our ADF members hard at work filling sandbags in Shepparton, building levee banks in Echuca and helping out in Wagga Wagga. Now they will also be supporting more people as we move to the clean-up phase of this disaster.
The emergency management minister, Murray Watt, said:
Having the ADF step up and help is be greatly appreciated in flood-affected areas. This is a short and sharp operation to complement the great work of the state emergency agencies and will assist our hardest hit communities.
Adeshola Ore
Victoria’s mental health units need urgent upgrades: peak psychiatry body
Victoria’s peak psychiatry body has called on the Andrews government to urgently upgrade the state’s mental health units, warning poorly designed facilities could risk patient safety.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’s Victorian branch said Victoria’s mental health infrastructure needed to be fit-for-purpose to ensure patient safety.
The branch’s president Astha Tomar said Victoria’s mental health units needed to be reviewed and refurbished, with input from psychiatrists in the design process.
Tomar said:
In Victoria we’re seeing poorly designed facilities coupled with a stretched workforce. It’s a combination that simply can’t deliver the best quality support Victorians deserve.
We need to ensure our facilities are designed to deliver the best possible outcomes for everyone, but at the moment that’s not always the case.
The body said Victoria’s mental health units had not been built with a focus on physical and psychological safety of patients and staff.