Australia news live: Greens’ stance on Labor’s climate safeguard ‘an offer not an ultimatum’; NSW Liberals deny disarray ahead of election | Australia news

Darwin marks anniversary of second world war bombing

People in Darwin are gathering to remember the first time Australian soil came under attack during the second world war.

On 19 February 1942, 242 Japanese aircraft attacked the city.

Nearly 250 people were killed and between 300 and 400 people were injured.

Northern Territory chief minister Natasha Fyles said commemorating the day offered a chance to pass the story “onto the next generation” and keep its memory “alive”.

The anniversary is a day to reflect on our past and pay tribute to those servicemen and women and civilians who lost their lives while courageously defending our country.

Bombs flattened much of the city, including its bustling Chinatown and Darwin Post Office.

The postmaster, his family and six telegraphists were amongst those killed, affecting communication about the event to the rest of Australia.

In Darwin Harbour, bombs sunk both the Neptuna and the USS Peary, adding more than 100 deaths to the toll.

Aircraft continued to raid the city for the next 18 months, in the hopes of stopping allied forces from using the city’s port for operations to Timor and Indonesia.

As part of Sunday’s commemorations, two F-34A Lightning II aircraft will fly over Darwin Esplanade.

The HMAS Maryborough will also accompany soldiers and the Royal Australian Artillery in a re-enactment.

– AAP

Nurses, paramedics and teachers missing $10k worse off under wage cap: unions

Nurses, paramedics and teachers in NSW could miss out on more than $10,000 over the next three years as the result of the state’s three per cent wages cap.

A report commissioned by Unions NSW and authored by Griffith University Prof David Peetz says the public sector pay cap will leave a nurse worse off by $10,136, a paramedic by $10,281 and a teacher by $12,806, when adjusted for inflation between now and 2026.

The three female-dominated professions have suffered sizeable shortages leading to overstretched working conditions prompting major strikes in recent years, according to the 62-page report.

An easing of public sector wage restraint could not be the only solution to shortages of essential workers. There is no single solution.

But it is difficult to see shortages being overcome in the absence of appropriate changes to wages policy.

Based on an analysis of online job advertisements, NSW essential worker vacancies were 98 per cent higher in 2022 compared to 2018.

For other non-essential workers, the increase was 26 per cent.

The report warns shortages are already being acutely felt on the state’s mid-north coast and far west as well as the Murray-Riverina, Coffs Harbour-Grafton, Hunter and Richmond-Tweed regions.

Speaking at the launch of a campaign on Sunday to scrap the wages cap, unions NSW secretary Mark Morey blamed the Coalition government for the regression in public sector wages.

After 12 years of undermining wages and conditions for nurses, paramedics, teachers and other essential workers the effects are devastating.

That’s why essential services are in crisis. Hospitals are understaffed, we’re waiting longer for ambulances and classrooms are crammed without enough teachers. NSW deserves better.

Premier Dominic Perrottet has repeatedly defended the three per cent wage cap saying it is “fair and reasonable”.

He says it is necessary to keep inflation in check and the state’s coffers balanced for future investments in major infrastructure projects.

– AAP

Perrottet insists NSW Liberals not in chaos

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet and his deputy Liberal leader Matt Kean have denied their party is in disarray weeks out from the election despite the party being forced to cut one MP from its ticket and a senior member quitting his ministry.

The Liberal party on Saturday effectively disendorsed upper house MP Peter Poulos after it was revealed he emailed explicit images of a female rival five years ago.

Perrottet called for his party to act following the scandal after previously appearing to defend Poulos.

The party’s state director suspended Poulos for six months, excluding him from the Liberals’ upper house ticket for the March poll.

While Mr Poulos has apologised for his actions to the person concerned and to the community, his conduct fell short of the standard of behaviour expected of members of our party.

The explicit images, from a 1980s Penthouse shoot, were shared in the context of a preselection battle at the time.

Asked on Saturday if the Liberal party was in disarray six weeks out from the state election, both Perrottet and treasurer Matt Kean insisted the party remained focused on delivering for families.

On Friday, the government was caught up in a second scandal when Damien Tudehope resigned as finance minister after declaring he owned shares in toll road owner Transurban.

The company operates most of Sydney’s toll roads and the city’s tolling regime is one of several key election flashpoints.

The premier accepted Tudehope’s resignation, adding the minister had been cleared of wrongdoing by lawyers from the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Labor experienced its own election stumble during the week, when star election candidate Terry Campese withdrew from the race for the seat of Monaro after a series of reports about his behaviour.

– AAP

Risk of heavy rainfall and flash flooding in northern Australia

Isolated thunderstorms are possible for north-east New South Wales on Sunday, with severe storms possible in Queensland Gulf Country, over into the Northern Territory.

Sydney storm captured on social media

A sail going rogue at Barangaroo, a panoramic view of the storm rolling in and lightning dancing across the skyline, here are some of the photos from last night’s storm in Sydney captured by social media users.

New NSW state-funded power company to boost renewable energy uptake

NSW Labor says a new $1bn publicly-owned corporation will “keep the lights on” as the state makes its transition to being powered by renewable energy.

The party says it will create an Energy Security Corporation to work with private-sector parties keen to invest in renewable energy assets if it can form government after the NSW election.

Managing the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy would be a major challenge for NSW over the coming decade, Labor leader Chris Minns said on Sunday.

We want the state to be able to invest in solutions that ensure reliability in the system and keeps the lights on and creates new jobs for the state.

This is not a band-aid solution. Whilst it will take time for the benefits to be realised, this is a serious, long-term step towards fixing the mess left by the Liberal-National government.

The body’s role will be to partner with the energy industry on renewable projects, including solutions for energy storage to aid grid stability. These projects could include pumped hydro or community batteries.

The corporation will be funded with $1bn from the Restart NSW fund, a multibillion-dollar pool created by the government’s privatisation of public assets.

The Coalition government has already allocated $380m over the next four years to boost investment in large-scale renewables as part of its Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.

Its plan is aimed at providing 12 gigawatts of renewable energy and two gigawatts of storage by 2030, and the government expects it to encourage $32bn in private investment over the next decade.

If re-elected, the government has also pledged to create a $1.5bn Clean Energy Superpower Fund to fast-track energy projects, including energy grid security projects and community battery projects.

– AAP

Strong winds batter Sydney

More than 60,000 homes and businesses in Sydney were left without power on Sunday morning after a storm tore across Sydney.

Drivers have been urged to use caution at traffic lights which may be out on Sunday morning. Part of a major tunnel connecting Sydney’s northern and western suburbs was closed for four hours due to a power failure and fallen trees on tracks caused some trains to stop running.

Service was restored by 10.30pm Sydney time on Saturday night and though the Bureau of Meteorology said the immediate threat had passed at 9.05pm last night, wind gusts up to 93km/h was recorded near Sydney airport.

Almost 20,000 properties across the state remained without power just after midnight with multiple incidents across the metropolitan area.

Brittany Higgins responds to new Linda Reynolds interview claims

‘The onus is on Labor’ to explain why it needs more coal and gas: Bandt

There’s some discussion about possible alternatives – one suggestion is to pause new developments on gas and coal developments while reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 have been hammered out.

Bandt says this proposal is “one worth having a look at”.

We are up for good-faith discussions and proposals like that are coming from people like the Climate Council, from The Australia Institute. I’ve seen the Australia Conservation Foundation out saying there are serious problems with the government’s proposal.

Closing out the crisis, Bandt says the ball is Labor’s court saying: “The onus is on Labor to explain why it needs more coal and gas in a climate crisis.”

You can’t put the fire out while pouring petrol on it.

Strong climate action is popular among Australian public: Bandt

Bandt is asked about the cost of cancelling oil, gas and coal developments and he points to the $77bn in income generated by the major oil and gas producers last year which, he says they “paid no tax on it” while he says the climate crisis is costing farmers $30,000 a year at the moment.

He also says strong action on climate will be popular.

I don’t think the penny has quite dropped with the government how much things are have moved on. 66% of people between 18 and 34 back our position – don’t want new coal and gas mines opened. 57% of the general population. Things have moved on.

I know Labor talks a lot about history, but the students who are marching in the streets at the moment, behind banners saying, “No new coal and gas” were in primary school in 2009. They do not want it, no one can understand why we are coming up to the year anniversary of the floods in Lismore, people cannot understand why Labor says they want to open up new projects.

Speers asks Bandt point blank about the political consequences of this staring competition: if the Greens can’t get something out of this fight, what’s the point?

Bandt responds obliquely:

Why does Labor want to go to the wall to open new coal and gas projects? These are huge climate bombs. They’ve got a very – I think it is an untenable task…

‘Someone has to go first’: Bandt on banning new coal and gas

Speers pressures Bandt on whether any other country in the world has introduced a ban on new coal and gas projects. Bandt points to the IPCC26 and the International Energy Agency reports that have said, to summarise, the world cannot hope to constrain climate change if it continues to develop new oil, gas and coal developments.

Ultimately Bandt gives the answer:

Someone has to do it. Someone has to go first. Our Pacific Island neighbours are pleading with us to stop opening new coal and gas projects. There will have to come a time, David, in human history, if we are to tackle the climate crisis where we say, ‘We’re not going to open anymore.’

Bandt says that his party’s position applies to new coal and gas projects and not existing ones.

Bandt on whether Greens would vote against safeguard mechanism

Bandt is now asked about the safeguard mechanism and calls from the Greens for the government to stop opening new coal and gas projects. He is asked whether his party would “seriously vote against it”.

Bandt then goes into laying out his party’s reasoning: “Coal and gas are the main cause of the climate crisis, any effective climate policy should bring down pollution from coal and gas. Labor’s policy doesn’t do that. In fact it gets worse.”

He says that “Labor’s own documents” show pollution form gas will keep going up even if the changes to the safeguard mechanism passes without a promise to stop new developments.

Because that 200m tonnes they are talking about, (a) it could all just be on paper, because coal and gas pollution keeps going up, as they buy tree-plants credits on the other side of the country and that’s why it makes it worse. (b) unlimited new coal and gas mines being allowed into the system.

Those coal and gas mines that are on the books at the moment are so big it will wipe out any gains that are made from there. They talk about maybe 200m tonnes. That might all be on paper. Maybe 200m tonnes. Open up the Northern Territory gas fields which Labor is talking about at the moment and you are talking about 34b tonnes of pollution, new pollution going into the atmosphere.

That’s our concern, and that’s why we’ve said to come to your question, we’ve put an offer, not an ultimatum, it is an offer that says, ‘We will put aside our very real concerns with the ponzi scheme elements of this plan where everything gets offset.’

We will put aside the fact that we think you’ve got a low target that will mean the end of the Great Barrier Reef and that you are re-heating Tony Abbott’s safeguard mechanism. We will vote for it in full if you do one thing: stop making the problem worse.

Should government override the RBA and set policy directly?

Bandt is asked whether he supports the government overriding the Reserve Bank to set policy directly. Bandt says the “government does have the ultimate power to do this” but stops short of saying it should happen – just that the government “should look at it” saying, “the government has to look at the power it has got and look at the right time to step in because it’s hurting people and it’s pushing us closer to recession”.

There is a lot of hand wringing from the government, a lot of hand wringing about this, but not pulling any of the levers that they can and they are letting the big corporations continue to drive up inflation through corporate profiteering and not doing what they should.

Government needs to increase corporate taxes to alleviate cost-of-living pressures: Bandt

Greens leader Adam Bandt has told ABC Insiders host David Speers its “corporate profiteering that is going a large way to driving inflation” and that the government needs to act.

That is something the government can do something about. The government can also step in and relieve some of the cost-of-living pressure on people by doing things like a national plan to freeze rents, looking at getting dental into Medicare to relieve some of the cost-of-living pressures on people. The government has a lot of levers at its disposal. It is not pulling them at the moment and it needs to revisit the stage-three tax cuts.

Bandt says the stage-three tax cuts are a “big black hole in the budget, pulling everything into its gravitational spin”.

Speers asks Bandt point blank: do you want to cap rents and increase corporate taxes?

Bandt:

Yes, look at the big banks, these big gas corporations that are driving up energy prices, freeze electricity bills. We’ve just given the government the power to do that at the end of last year and we can fund it by making these big corporations pay their fair share of tax. That will not only help with inflation, but help everyday people deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

ABC Insiders will also be hearing from Adam Bandt this morning – the Greens leader has been busy having appeared on Sky News earlier.

We will bring you the latest as it comes.

No ultimatum on fossil fuel ban: Bandt

Daniel Hurst

Good morning