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Victorian opposition leader supports Nazi salute ban
By Lachlan Abbott
Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto says he supports a ban on the Nazi salute in the state after he moved to expel a Liberal MP from the party room after she attended a rally alongside neo-Nazis in Melbourne on the weekend.
On Saturday, anti-trans rights campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull organised to speak to supporters at Victorian Parliament and a group which attended in support performed Nazi salutes on Parliament’s steps.
Victorian upper house MP Moira Deeming, known for her anti-trans views, also attended the rally.
Pesutto told Melbourne radio station 3AW he supported a Nazi salute ban after the Victorian government said it would move change anti-vilification laws.
Here’s his full exchange with host Neil Mitchell:
Mitchell: The Nazi salute ban. Are you open to it?
Pesutto: I’m certainly open to it. I do understand the free speech arguments which are compelling, which I normally advocate myself, but I also have always understood that they need to be reasonable limitations on free speech and anything, whether it’s a salute, or a symbol that has the potential to incite violence and injury. I think they’re engaged in a serious question. I’m very open to it. And we work constructively with the government. I think most sensible, decent people are on the same page here.
Neil: That’s interesting, you’re open to it. Do you want it or not?
Pesutto: I do. I’m very conscious that they’ll need to be a discussion, carefully drafting processes to get that balance right. But I do think the potential that we saw - I really talked about it at the top - about, you know what those salutes mean, and what they have the potential to incite is a very serious thing and I believe it’s justified as a limitation of free speech.
Victoria moves to ban Nazi salute
By Caroline Schelle
Victoria will move to ban the Nazi salute after the rally on Saturday, with the state’s Liberal leader planning to expel an MP who attended.
The state’s Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said this morning the behaviour over the weekend was “disgraceful and cowardly”.
She said the symbol was being used to incite hatred, and the Victorian government would expand their legislation to include banning the salute along with other Nazi symbols.
“While we wish making these laws wasn’t necessary and it will take some work, we want to be clear — we will always challenge antisemitism, hatred and racism from taking root in Victoria,” Symes said.
Last year, Victoria became the first Australian jurisdiction to ban the public display of the Nazi swastika.
It comes as Liberal leader John Pesutto said he would push to expel MP Moira Deeming from the party after she attended the rally organised by a British anti-trans rights campaigner.
He told ABC Radio this morning the behaviour was “unacceptable”.
“It’s about Moira’s connections to people who have long history of associations with Nazis, white supremacists and people with such sympathies, and it’s just not acceptable given the values that I bring, and the values of the Liberal Party.”
“It’s more than just turning up to a rally,” he said.
Politicians respond to neo-Nazi rally in Victoria
By Caroline Schelle
Federal politicians including Women’s Minister Katy Gallagher and former Nationals’ leader Barnaby Joyce have responded to news of neo-Nazis on the steps of Victoria’s parliament.
The rally on Saturday was organised by a British anti-trans rights campaigner and people from a neo-Nazi group attended.
Women’s Minister Katy Gallagher said on RN Breakfast this morning it was hard to believe the scenes over the weekend happened in Australia.
“It’s hard to believe that the scenes were coming from Australia, was my first thought when I saw some of them,” she said.
“[It was] very distressing. I think that we’ve got to a point where this is happening on our streets and on the steps of our parliament ... I know the Victorian government will have a look at whether there are any other laws that need amending to deal with some of this,” she said.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek was also asked whether something needed to be done federally to address the symbols and salutes carried out at the rally.
“Josh Burns, my colleague from Melbourne has already suggested this and of course it’s something we would need to discuss,” she said.
When asked if she would support, Plibersek said it was a “disgusting thing” to see in modern Australia.
“I support anything we can do to make people feel safer in Australia to protect them from this sort of harassment and intimidation.”
Former Nationals’ leader Barnaby Joyce said it was “disgusting” that people were using the symbol, and it was offensive to the millions who had died.
“It’s a thing that needs to be done, but it’s going to be really difficult ... and the police also then have to go into these areas, some of them are incredibly hostile, and try to grab these people,” he said on Sunrise.
Low-income workers should get pay rises, Gallagher says
By Caroline Schelle
Australians on low-incomes should get sustainable and affordable pay rises, the finance minister says.
Katy Gallagher was asked this morning about submissions unions were set to make to the Fair Work Commission to increase the minimum wage to match inflation.
“I think we made the argument, particularly low paid workers ... we wouldn’t want to see them go backwards, but we left it to the commission,” she said on RN Breakfast.
“We want to make sure that ... they are getting sustainable and affordable pay rises, and you’ll see our submission provided through that wage case.”
The government made clear it wanted to see wages moving, the minister added.
Here’s what else she said:
We have been particularly concerned about the lowest paid and of course with the cost of living pressures ... That has an impact on their living standards.
So you will see a submission from us, that goes through the detail about you know, what we see as the government is important and then the Fair Work Commission makes the decision but we didn’t put a figure on it last year.
I don’t expect we will put a figure on it this year.”
Gallagher says opposition to referendum machinery bill ‘extraordinary’
By Caroline Schelle
It was “pretty extraordinary” for the opposition to stand in the way of the referendum machinery bill ahead of the Voice vote, the finance minister said.
Finance and Women’s Minister Katy Gallagher said on ABC’s RN Breakfast this morning the government was still working with the opposition and cross bench to get the legislation through.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has spoken about the Voice referendum machinery bill. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“I think it’s pretty extraordinary that they would stand in the way of a machinery bill. This is actually just the bill that sets up the arrangements for the referendum, not the actual questionnaire,” Gallagher said.
She said there were a lot of amendments put forward on the machinery bill, from a range of parties.
“It’s going to take a lot of time this week, but that is obviously a major priority focus for us,” Gallagher said.
“We have to work through that and with the aim that we will pass this legislation and set up the arrangement for the referendum later in the year.”
Negotiations with Greens on safeguard mechanism continue: Gallagher
By Caroline Schelle
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher says negotiations with the Greens are ongoing about the safeguard mechanism on emissions, but hasn’t detailed what the government was prepared to give to get their support.
Speaking on RN Breakfast this morning, the minister was asked about the negotiations about the safeguard mechanism, which will set up a legally binding target to cut Australia’s emissions by 43 per cent by 2030.
“I think what we’re saying is, this is the policy that we want to implement in, there’s discussions that are ongoing,” Gallagher said of the Greens negotiations.
“We’ve been clear that we want this legislation through, it’s critical to meeting our 43 per cent reductions target. It’s the policy that exists now about making that more effective and the Greens obviously want, you know, some other additional commitments,” she said.
But the minister wouldn’t go into detail about specific parts of the negotiations, instead saying they would continue into this week and possibly next week.
“This is one of the realities when the opposition become so obstructionist that they deal themselves out of any negotiations,” Gallagher said.
Chalmers hits back at ‘hypocritical’ Coalition over super tax reforms
By Shane Wright
The Albanese government has ramped up the defence of its planned overhaul of superannuation tax concessions, accusing the Coalition of hypocrisy over its own reforms to the sector that will leave 30 per cent of people worse off in three decades’ time.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said new Treasury modelling revealed the previous government’s failure to index the threshold of its own superannuation tax changes, passed in 2016, would affect triple the number of Australians as the changes it is proposing.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says new projections show the Coalition’s own superannuation changes will affect 30 per cent of people.Credit:Rhett Wyman
Labor plans to increase the tax on the earnings of super balances of more than $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent from mid-2025, affecting about 80,000 or 0.5 per cent of account holders. In its first full year of operation, the change is forecast to raise $2.3 billion.
Productivity Commission chair supports safeguard mechanism
By Caroline Schelle
The safeguard mechanism is central to Australia’s ability to reduce emissions, according to the chair of the Productivity Commission.
Michael Brennan said on RN Breakfast this morning that decarbonising the economy is a productivity issue, and said it was a “policy challenge” for Australia.
“It perhaps seems quirky to some, I think it is squarely a productivity issue and belongs in a five-year lead productivity review, and that’s why we’ve put a little bit of emphasis on the issue of climate policy,” Brennan said.
The Productivity Commission chair said the proposed safeguard mechanism, which will set up a legally binding target to cut Australia’s emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, was central to the ability to reduce emissions at a reasonably low cost.
“That safeguard mechanism is essentially the best policy instrument available to drive reduced emissions,” Brennan said.
“We have a view that the safeguard mechanism could evolve over time in various ways to capture some more facilities, perhaps to capture absolute emissions rather than emissions intensity, and to allow for greater trading of sub baseline credits.”
Australia looking likely to import gas to fix looming shortfalls
By Mike Foley and Nick Toscano
Australia could be just years away from importing gas, despite the nation’s vast production of the fuel, amid new warnings of looming energy shortages. An east coast shipping terminal developer has reported growing demand from customers seeking liquefied gas cargoes from 2026.
Mining billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s privately owned Squadron Energy is building what could become Australia’s first terminal capable of receiving shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Queensland or overseas, and turn it back into vapour to supply homes and businesses.
The tight east coast gas market has triggered proposals to import LNG.Credit:
The proposed Port Kembla Energy Terminal, near Wollongong, has emerged as one of the most viable near-term solutions to boost gas supplies into NSW and Victoria, where the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) is projecting an energy shortage when gas demand outstrips supply by 2027.
Gas shortfall warning heats safeguard mechanism debate
By Mike Foley
The energy market operator’s urgent warning of a gas shortage has heated up a political brawl between the Greens and the federal government as time runs down for Energy Minister Chris Bowen to reform the safeguard mechanism to deliver on Australia’s legally binding climate target.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) last week released a forecast that the east coast would run short of gas by 2027 unless new supply projects opened up, or exports from Queensland’s LNG export terminals are turned back for the local market.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
AEMO said Victoria, the state with the highest household gas demand and rapidly dwindling supply from its Bass Strait fields, could suffer a gas shortage as soon as this winter in the event of extreme weather conditions.
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