Commonwealth needs to lead reforms of sexual assault law, Gallagher says
Circling back to Katy Gallagher’s interview on ABC Radio this morning. Gallagher is also the minister for women as well as being responsible for finance.
RN host Patricia Karvelas asked Gallagher about the fact that majority of sexual assault claims don’t result in a charge following the announcement last week that the ACT prosecutor dropped charges against Bruce Lehrmann, who has denied all allegations put by Brittany Higgins.
Gallagher said she “certainly won’t be commenting on any individual matter” but that the system does need reform:
We do have a duty to look at our systems and processes I think, to make sure we are doing whatever we can to ensure that women and it is predominantly women, feel comfortable and supported to report any act of violence against them. I don’t think we are there yet.
I think as we learn more and more about women’s experience with the justice system, particularly as it relates to matters of violence and sexual violence.
I do believe we have a responsibility to look at reform where we can.
Gallagher said reform is on the agenda for the women’s ministers meeting with many states and territories looking to reform their laws. However she says it’s vital that the federal government provide leadership:
I fundamentally believe as a commonwealth government we need to be providing leadership in this space.
Gallagher highlighted that many of the policies the government has already worked on implementing including the national plan to end domestic violence were “building blocks … changing a culture where violence against women is so prevalent and at unacceptable levels in our community”.
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Uber admits misleading or deceiving customers in two instances
The first related to Uber Taxi, a service offered only in Sydney where customers could arrange a rideshare service with registered taxi providers.
Uber admitted that between June 2018 and August 2020 it represented to customers that rides would fall within a displayed fare range, when the actual cost was lower than the lowest estimate.
The judge found:
It is important to estimate that Uber overestimated the fare at the time of booking and the consumer ultimately paid a lower fare.
The fare estimate was an overestimate approximately 89% of the time.
He reduced a proposed $6m penalty for that contravention to $3m.
Between December 2017 and September 2021 the company also mislead customers who opted to cancel trips during a period of free cancellation by telling them that they may be charged a small cancellation fee, when no fee was ever charged.
Customers using Uber X, Uber Comfort and Uber Premier received the cancellation fee notice nearly 7.4m times over that period, while Uber Pool customers received it nearly 75,000 times.
In each case, only about 0.4% of customers chose not to go ahead with cancellation.
Justice O’Byran agreed the $18m penalty proposed for that contravention was within the range available to him.
In addition Uber will pay $200,000 toward the ACCC’s cost of prosecuting the case, and must publish corrections and implement a compliance program in respect of the Australian Consumer Law.
The company has 30 days to pay the penalties.
– from AAP
Uber fined for overestimating fare prices
Rideshare company Uber will pay a $21m fine after admitting it overestimated fees for services and advertised a possible cancellation fee that it never charged.
The fine is $5m less than the one proposed by Uber and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which took the rideshare company to the federal court over misleading and deceptive practices.
The suggested $26m penalty “greatly exceeds any amount I consider to be appropriate”, justice Michael O’Bryan said in handing down his thoughts on the case today.
Longstanding tradition is that the penalty is agreed by the parties and approved by judges, provided they’re satisfied it’s appropriate.
But he said the evidence he had been given to back up the proposed fines was grossly inadequate.
It left the court in the position of speculating whether any harm was suffered [by consumers] and if so, whether it was significant or trivial.
– from AAP
Caravan park evacuated as more flooding expected in South Australia
An evacuation order has been issued in South Australia for residents of a caravan park at Renmark as flood waters continue to flow down the Murray River.
A possible levee failure has prompted the order from the SA State Emergency Service leading to the relocation of six people from the Riverbend Caravan Park, which is now closed.
The SA SES chief officer, Chris Beattie, said engineers assessed the private levee built at the park today and identified “a number of significant defects which puts the levee at risk of failure”.
If the levee fails, there is a risk of flooding which may impact anyone in the park behind the levee.
– from AAP
Thanks Natasha! Hi everyone, I’ll be with you for the rest of the morning on the blog.
Earlier today Natasha brought you the latest on the talks in Washington DC, where the defence minister, Richard Marles, and the minister for foreign affairs, Penny Wong, gave a joint press conference with their US counterparts.
Wong has just shared a photo of that meeting with the secretary of state, Antony Blinken.
The US is Australia’s vital security ally and closest global partner.
Terrific to meet with @SecBlinken ahead of AUSMIN.
Together we are committed to strengthening coordination to deliver for the Indo-Pacific region. pic.twitter.com/xsFRPvbjCD
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) December 6, 2022
Natasha May
Thanks for your attention this morning. The lovely Emily Wind is now taking the helm of the blog.
Trees koalas feed on missing from NSW’s protected list, former MP says
Catherine Cusack, a former Liberal MP who has twice crossed the floor to stand up for koalas, has turned koala advocate since leaving politics.
Cusack has taken to social media this morning to say there are koala feed trees in the Hunter and Northern Rivers regions which are missing from the New South Wales environment department’s shortlist of trees to be protected in the region.
This will be putting koalas, which were officially listed as endangered at the start of this year, at risk if local government is overruled by the state.
The NSW Environment Dept has listed Koala feed trees for Hunter/Northern Rivers. Many are missing from the short list of trees actually protected by NSW Planning’s Koala SEPP for these regions pic.twitter.com/qOD7XMAziG
— Catherine Cusack (@katieqs) December 6, 2022
This was Clarence Valley Council’s late submission to Parliamentary Inquiry into Koala Habitat. It begs Koala Plan accreditation, tree species list update, funding for mapping and access to biodiversity funding for koalas/emus. Nationals MP for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis opposes. pic.twitter.com/Maju8l9ucV
— Catherine Cusack (@katieqs) December 6, 2022
Note Clarence Valley Koala Plan of management was rejected by the NSW Government because the tree species used by their koalas are not listed in the NSW Planning SEPP.
— Catherine Cusack (@katieqs) December 6, 2022
Commonwealth needs to lead reforms of sexual assault law, Gallagher says
Circling back to Katy Gallagher’s interview on ABC Radio this morning. Gallagher is also the minister for women as well as being responsible for finance.
RN host Patricia Karvelas asked Gallagher about the fact that majority of sexual assault claims don’t result in a charge following the announcement last week that the ACT prosecutor dropped charges against Bruce Lehrmann, who has denied all allegations put by Brittany Higgins.
Gallagher said she “certainly won’t be commenting on any individual matter” but that the system does need reform:
We do have a duty to look at our systems and processes I think, to make sure we are doing whatever we can to ensure that women and it is predominantly women, feel comfortable and supported to report any act of violence against them. I don’t think we are there yet.
I think as we learn more and more about women’s experience with the justice system, particularly as it relates to matters of violence and sexual violence.
I do believe we have a responsibility to look at reform where we can.
Gallagher said reform is on the agenda for the women’s ministers meeting with many states and territories looking to reform their laws. However she says it’s vital that the federal government provide leadership:
I fundamentally believe as a commonwealth government we need to be providing leadership in this space.
Gallagher highlighted that many of the policies the government has already worked on implementing including the national plan to end domestic violence were “building blocks … changing a culture where violence against women is so prevalent and at unacceptable levels in our community”.
Melbourne plans for more statues of women
Only nine out of 580 statues in the city of Melbourne are of women, prompting a council decision to put up more that depict women to restore gender balance in public art.
The deputy lord mayor, Nicholas Reece, moved a motion at Tuesday night’s council meeting for at least three new statues of significant Victorian women to be built in the Melbourne CBD.
Reece told the council:
It’s a gender gap that’s beyond absurd. It’s actually a moral hazard for Melbourne.
We hope to send a signal to the next generation that all genders and cultures have a place in our society and are capable of greatness.
The motion was carried, with the lord mayor, Sally Capp, saying it was important to have stories of important women shared publicly. Capp said:
Growing up, I absolutely accepted that whoever I saw literally on a pedestal around our city, all of those men, I automatically assumed that they deserved respect and admiration for their contribution.
The same opportunity and privilege is not given to the same extent to women who have made contributions and been leaders in our city.
Capp said she was confident there were plenty of women who could be immortalised in statues, which would bridge the significant gap.
– from AAP
Global methane levels continue to rise
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has just released the figure of global methane levels for August 2022, which shows levels continue to increase.
Methane Update:
The August, 2022 methane number was just released, at 1908.62 ppb. This makes the 30th straight month that the annualized amount of new methane entering the atmosphere has increased (or methane sinks have decreased).
The orange line is the COP-26 Glasgow Pledge. pic.twitter.com/DesboPLspp
— Prof. Eliot Jacobson (@EliotJacobson) December 6, 2022
Peter Hannam
Twiggy Forrest in multibillion-dollar renewables bid, AFR says
Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, one of Australia’s richest people, is set to expand his business empire further into clean technology today, with a $4bn-plus takeover of the owner of CWP Renewables, the AFR is reporting.
Forrest, who made most of his fortune digging up iron in the Pilbara, is likely to sign the deal this morning. (We’re trying to confirm.)
The Perth-based businessman (and holder of a doctorate in marine biology) has been an outspoken advocate of hydrogen as the fuel source to decarbonise the planet. It’s not good making it from fossil fuels so renewables are the way to go, and Forrest has just launched his biggest move in this space by the looks of it.
More to come.
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