Key events
Barnaby Joyce is continuing to criticise the prime minister, Anthony Albanese’s, decision to march in Sydney’s Mardi Gras, compared to the time he spent in Alice Springs.
He told ABC Radio this morning:
I just think he went to Alice Springs for four hours. And I think that deserves a little bit more time than four hours. He spent more time at the tennis. He probably spent more time at the Woodford Folk Festival. And this was another issue where he believes it’s a great thing to go and he’s the first Prime Minister’s to March and good luck to him.
But how does that make the people of Tennant Creek and Alice Springs feel, who are dealing with the law and order issues? How are you going to make them feel when they get nearly for our time?
… they are annoyed that someone spends more time at the tennis than concerned with what’s happening in their lives.
RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas:
Okay, the tennis is different though to the Mardi Gras parade, which is about –
Joyce:
What do you mean, what’s the difference?
Karvelas:
Well, you you answer that question.
Joyce:
No, no, no, no.
Karvelas:
They are vastly different. One is about a group that has that has suffered their rights being abused over years and the other is a tennis match. They are different.
Joyce:
Okay, well then the people in Alice Springs, a lot of people there who believe that their rights are being abused.
Karvelas:
No one’s questioning that. The question is why are you comparing the two?
Joyce:
Because really the attention that has been given to Alice Springs is not permanent.
Joyce went on to tell Karvelas he did support the prime minister going to the event and marching on its own, saying “he can knock himself out.”
Collingwood forward suspended after drug scandal
Young Collingwood forward Jack Ginnivan has been suspended after footage emerged of him allegedly using a banned substance in a Torquay hotel. He’ll be banned from the first two rounds of the 2023 season.
Ginnivan said this morning arriving at Olympic Park:
Everyone knows I’m pretty sorry and remorseful for the actions I did. And ready to get to work today and earn the trust back of the group.
Collingwood captain Darcy Moore had this response when asked by the media if there was a wider issue of drugs at the club:
Absolutely I believe there’s no issue. We have over 90 male and female athletes at this club, the large majority of whom take their jobs really seriously and make great decisions. But having said that we don’t operate in a vacuum. We are human beings and people make errors of judgment. That’s something that Jack’s done in this instance.
Robodebt royal commission begins last round of hearings
The final round of hearings of the robodebt royal commission is set to get under way, probing what ministers’ offices knew about the legality of the scheme.
The first day of three weeks worth of hearings begins on Monday in Brisbane, with the former chiefs of staff to two ministers to appear.
Megan Lees, former chief of staff to then human services minister Marise Payne, and Charles Wann, chief of staff to Scott Morrison when he was social services minister, will give evidence.
They will appear alongside two lead plaintiffs in the robodebt class action lawsuit and others affected by the debt collection scheme.
The fourth block of hearings will also examine an inquiry by the commonwealth ombudsman into the scheme, proposals to expand robodebt, the impact it had on victims and how it was wound up.
Three expert reports will also be introduced including a review of the data matching processes and changes that could be made within the federal public service following evidence presented to the royal commission.
Commissioner Catherine Holmes last week wrote to the government requesting a two-month extension of the inquiry.
Her final report will now be handed down by the end of June, rather than April.
– AAP
Caitlin Cassidy
Universities around Australia gear up for O week
Every bright-eyed student’s rite of passage is back, with campuses across the country to hold orientation week celebrations for the first time since the return of international students.
Big headliners are planned for this year, including Tones and I – set to perform at Monash University’s Block Party.
The University of Wollongong is publicising its week of celebrations under the banner Let’s Go Party (Responsibly) It features a drag show, comedy night and range of local acts.
Prof Theo Farrell, UOW’s deputy vice-chancellor, said he couldn’t wait for campus to “come alive”.
Sydney University’s O week coincides with WorldPride and will feature an afternoon of Drag Bingo at the campus library, while UNSW is opting for night markets and a party night at the Roundhouse.
The University of Melbourne is expecting 50,000 students to join in on festivities, including international students, who make up 40% of the total student population.
It’s celebrating with more than 230 events including music performances, a sporting carnival and picnics and campus tours.
Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp said the city was “overjoyed” to welcome back international students to the city:
We’ve already seen the popular student suburb of Carlton hiving with pedestrian activity over the last few weeks. In early February, foot traffic there has gone over 23% of benchmark levels.
Before the pandemic, international students boosted Victoria’s economy by $13bn every year. Our hospitality and retail traders have been waiting for this day for more than two years.
Semester one officially begins today.
Two bushwalkers missing in Blue Mountains
A search has resumed for two men who went missing while bushwalking in the NSW Blue Mountains.
The 69- and 81-year-old bushwalkers left from Dunphy’s campground in the Megalong Valley on Wednesday, telling a friend they would be back on Friday.
Police say the alarm was raised on Sunday when the 69-year-old man failed to keep an appointment and a search got under way.
The 81-year-old man’s car was found in the car park of Dunphy’s campground.
Both men are described as experienced bushwalkers and police believe the trail they intended to take was within their capabilities.
A command post has been established at Dunphy’s campground with local police, the rescue squad and SES involved in the search.
– AAP
Government vows to act on criminalising wage theft by end of year
Caitlin Cassidy
The federal government has vowed to act on criminalising wage theft by the end of the year after the release of a report that found university staff had been underpaid more than $80m since 2020.
In a statement, education minister Jason Clare said he was “committed” to introducing the legislation by the end of 2023, a key promise made by the Labor party during the federal election campaign.
Greens education spokesperson Mehreen Faruqi said the numbers released in the National Tertiary Education Union report were “shocking, but not surprising” and the link between wage theft and casualisation in the sector was “undeniable”.
This week, the Department of Education confirmed the issues of casualisation in the workforce were being looked at as part of the universities accord – the first broad review of the system since 2008 – which is due to report back by the end of the year.
Faruqi:
Not everyone who is underpaid at our universities is a casual, but if you’re a casual you are at much higher risk of having your wages stolen. The brutal reality is that the corporate university of today can only function on the back of the unpaid labour of thousands of casual staff. That must change.
The government should require universities to set publicly available targets for increasing permanent employment, and link this to funding. There should be clearer reporting requirements with respect to employment statistics and improved rights of entry for trade unions.
The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency has spoken to 22 universities about issues related to staff underpayments since August 2022, alongside the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Employers will be required to provide evidence they’re ensuring compliance with their obligations. The agency noted most of the universities had begun reviews of their payroll and other systems.
Good morning
The government says it will act against wage theft by the end of the year following the release of a report that found university staff had been underpaid more than $80m since 2020.
It was a key promise made by the Labor party during the federal election campaign and education minister Jason Clare says he is “committed” to introducing the legislation.
The final round of the robodebt royal commission hearings kicks off today in Brisbane, with the former chiefs of staff to two ministers to appear in the three-week block of hearings.
Megan Lees, the former chief of staff to then human services minister Marise Payne, and Charles Wann, chief of staff to Scott Morrison when he was social services minister, will give evidence.
The national Week of Action on the referendum continues after the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, opened the week hosting a barbecue in his home electorate in Sydney’s inner west on Saturday.
Hundreds of people attended leafy Petersham Park over the weekend to hear Albanese, the minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, and one of the key architects of the Uluru statement from the heart, Pat Anderson, speak about the upcoming voice to parliament referendum.
Burney told the crowd she hoped they would vote “a big fat yes” to the voice in the referendum, expected to be held between October and December.
In other news, the construction worker’s union (CMFEU) wants to see a ban on engineered stone to stop rising cases of silicosis, a potentially deadly disease resulting from particles of the stone entering the lungs.
After the revelation that one in five Queensland stonemasons have been diagnosed with silicosis the union says this “must be a wake-up call resulting in urgent action.”
The industry must consider substituting engineered stone with safer alternatives. In the interim, there should be a ban on cutting of engineered stone on site and a ban on dry cutting of stone, as is presently the case in Victoria.
Let’s get into it.
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