NITV News: 1 August, 2025
And tributes flow for veteran Indigenous rights campaigner Paul Coe.
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News.com.au
28 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Lunatic policy of Net Zero': Barnaby Joyce puts UN on blast in New England snow rant
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has used a snow event in his electorate of New England to push his campaign against Australia's 'lunatic policy of net zero'. Mr Joyce, on Saturday, published a video on social media as thick snow fell on the town of Bendemeer. 'A day like today, I don't know which one is more ridiculous: [UN Secretary-General] Antonio Guterres talking about global boiling, or [Tim Flannery] – the river's in flood – saying, it's not gonna rain anymore,' he said in a video on his Facebook page. 'What's sad about this really is there's people in this little village I'm in, Bendemeer, who can't afford to keep warm because we've got this lunatic policy of net zero where apparently we're going to make it snow even more.' 'We're not doing anything, all we're doing is being completely cruel and hurting people.' Mr Joyce introduced a private member's bill in parliament's opening days hoping to repeal Australia's net zero commitment. Australia's current pledge is to cut emissions by 43 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030. The Climate Change Authority (CCA) is reportedly weighing up whether to recommend a more aggressive target of 65 to 75 per cent by 2035. Mr Joyce's chief gripe with the policy in recent weeks lies with what he sees as an unfair burden on regional Australia. His 'Repeal Net Zero' bill, backed by several Coalition rebels, proposes scrapping Australia's carbon-neutral target by 2050, a goal in line with most other developed nations. 'There's absolutely no reason that Mascot Airport can't work 24/7,' he previously told reporters. 'But we understand that people don't want planes flying over themselves in the middle of the night … but we don't want transmission lines over our head either. We don't want wind towers either, so there's got to be a form of quid pro quo.' His argument suggests city-dwellers are demanding action on climate change without shouldering its costs, leaving regional communities to deal with some sort of flow-on infrastructure burden. 'You don't feel virtuous if you're hurting people,' Mr Joyce said. While the bill is unlikely to pass without support from Liberal moderates, Mr Joyce's position is influential within the Nationals and perhaps reflects a growing pushback on climate policy from prominent sections of the Coalition. Joining him outside Parliament House were fellow Nationals MP Michael McCormack and Liberal MP Garth Hamilton, the only member of the senior Coalition partner to back the bill publicly. Mr Joyce's foray on the Bendemeer snow is in stark contrast to warnings by the UN's top climate executive, who said fruit and vegetables may become a 'once-a-year treat' if the country fails to drastically lift its clean energy ambitions. UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said Australia faced a future of 'mega-droughts', plummeting living standards and eye-watering economic losses if it does not go much further on emissions cuts. 'Mega-droughts [will make] fresh fruit and veg a once-a-year treat. In total, the country could face a $6.8 trillion GDP loss by 2050,' Mr Stiell said during an address hosted by the Smart Energy Council, per The Australian. Mr Stiell, who met with Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen in Canberra this week, said setting an ambitious target wasn't just about the environment, but rather economic survival. 'Australia has a strong economy and among the highest living standards in the world. If you want to keep them, doubling down on clean energy is an economic no-brainer,' he warned. 'Living standards could drop by over $7000 per person per year. And rising seas, resource pressures, and extreme weather would destabilise Australia's neighbourhood – from Pacific Island nations to Southeast Asia – threatening your security.' New England residents are warned this weekend of some of the biggest snowfalls across the region in 20 years. Emergency services say unusual snow levels were reported at Armidale and Guyra, where falls of up to 50cm were forecast. The SES said on Saturday snowfall in the Northern Tablelands had never been seen at these depths before, which left up to 200 vehicles stuck in heavy snowfall. Snow in Bendemeer, located at around 800m elevation, is extremely rare and is usually very light when it does occur.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters expected for 'historic' march across Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge will be closed for hours on Sunday for a pro-Palestinian march which organisers have described as "historic", after they won a legal battle against police over the plans. Authorities have warned of disruptions in the CBD from as early as 11:30am, when the bridge closure will begin. There could also be delays on arterial roads into the city and impacts on public transport. The outcome of the police-initiated court case means that participants will be afforded a level of protection against some acts that could otherwise constitute criminal offences. But senior police leaders have said hundreds of officers will be around to facilitate a safe protest, warning that they won't hesitate to act if there's any antisocial behaviour or risks to public safety. Justice Belinda Rigg, NSW Supreme Court judge, refused an application by NSW Police for court prohibition orders, which means the event is an authorised public assembly. The key piece of legislation here is the Summary Offences Act. Saturday's judgement said a section of that act provides that an attendee of an authorised assembly "will not, by reason of that participation, be guilty of any offence relating to participating in an unlawful assembly, or the obstruction of any person, vehicle or vessel in a public place". It means participants will have a kind of immunity from being charged with potential offences like obstructing roads or traffic during the event. But there are other sources of police powers within the law. Justice Rigg said: "The police have other extensive powers to direct people, if necessary, for public safety, or in connection with possible criminal offending that are not affected by whether the assembly is authorised or not." Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna was asked to clarify what powers police would have for the march. "They're not exempt from malicious damage, they're not exempt from assaults, they're not exempt from hate speeches, hate crime, that sort of thing," he said. "So, we will be closely monitoring to make sure this goes as well as possible, as safe as possible. But we call upon all the people coming … to listen to us, to act peacefully and respectfully." The Palestine Action Group has regularly held marches in the CBD for nearly two years. Part of the evidence that helped decide the case was that the group had experienced marshals and a commitment to "prosocial" protests. One of their organisers, Josh Lees, has said they will again have marshals and medics on Sunday, and that "everyone can feel very confident to come out … in huge numbers". One word keeps coming up on this: significant. While the march has been scheduled for 1pm, the bridge shutdown will begin about 11:30am, according to Craig Moran from Transport for NSW. It may not reopen until 4pm or later. The Harbour Tunnel will remain open, but will likely be busy. Mr Moran said there will be flow-on consequences for arterial roads into the CBD and for the public transport system. Buses may terminate at places they normally wouldn't, and the rail system will be "very busy", he said, although trains will still run across the bridge. People have been urged to avoid non-essential travel on public transport where possible. Organisers of the march had planned to start the event around Lang Park in the CBD. But plans changed on Saturday afternoon because police expressed concerns about that location. Part of the fluidity here — and also part of how police tried to argue for a prohibition order — means uncertainty about the number of attendees. According to Acting Deputy Commissioner McKenna, "the whole gambit of police" will be in attendance and they'll be "right along the route" of the march. That includes the public order and riot squad, mounted police, traffic and highway patrol and general duties officers. He said their aim will be to make sure the event is as safe and peaceful as possible. He reiterated that "[if] anyone thinks they're going to come along and hijack this protest or do the wrong thing, police will take swift action".
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Why Hannah Ferguson and Maria Ressa are sounding the alarm about social media disinformation
When Hannah Ferguson started Cheek Media five years ago, she wanted to create space for young Australians to engage with the deeply fun and the deeply serious. Like many gen zs, she felt let down by legacy media, and believed there was a better way to connect young people with politics and news. Fast forward to the present, Hannah Ferguson's biting political commentary and social media prowess have helped her amass a following of more 290,000 across her Cheek Media and personal Instagram accounts. Before Australia's 2025 federal election, more than 4 million people viewed Ms Ferguson's content, with thousands watching a "get ready with me" reel before her interview with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. "[Social media has] been an incredible tool for change and starting social impact conversations around politics, education and media literacy," she tells ABC TV's Compass. While Ms Ferguson is proud of organically building an online community — and one that cares deeply about social, political and feminist issues — she says that being a social media commentator has come at a cost. "Trying to lead hopeful conversations [has] come with threats to my life, threats to my safety, threats to my family," she says. She is also wary of the broader implications of social media. "The algorithms push inflammatory material, and we are so used to that," she says. Despite her online success, Ms Ferguson says there have been times when she's looked in the mirror and asked: "Is this doing more harm than good?" "The way that information is spreading right now is so volatile and so inflammatory and divided that we do not have a sense of a shared truth," she says. Ms Ferguson points to how social media has helped fuel political instability in places such as the United States. "Our system of compulsory preferential voting is inherently different to the United States, but to say [Trump-style politics] couldn't happen here is naïve," she says. "We need to be aware about what we're consuming and how that can look in Australia." Like Ms Ferguson, Philippines-based investigative journalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa is alarmed by the pollution of our information ecosystem. She's reported from war zones, written about terrorism and online radicalisation, and risked her life fighting for press freedom. For her, social media poses an existential threat because of the way it proliferates lies. Ms Ressa's fears are not unfounded. A MIT study from 2018 found that lies travelled six times faster than the facts on Twitter. That was before Elon Musk took over the platform and fired moderators tracking hate and other harmful content. As the co-founder of the Philippines' first digital news outlet, Rappler, Ms Ressa knows the real-world consequences of disinformation. Back in 2016, she and her team witnessed how social media was weaponised after the election of "strongman" president Rodrigo Duterte. Rappler uncovered an online network of bots, fake accounts and influencers that supported Duterte and his anti-drug campaign that killed thousands of Filipinos. When Ms Ressa published the story, both she and Rappler were viciously attacked online. She says a smear campaign was launched against the news group, and she was bombarded with an average of 90 hate messages per hour. This spilled into the real-world, when Ms Ressa was arrested for various charges, including tax evasion and cyber libel. She faced cumulative jail sentences of up to 100 years, with Amnesty International calling it "brazenly politically motivated". While Ms Ressa has been acquitted of most charges, her speaking out still comes with risk. And yet, she remains a vocal critic of big tech and its sustained role in the undermining of modern democracies. Experts and whistleblowers from social media companies have raised similar concerns. Online algorithms can manipulate our emotions, stoke division, and set the stage for violence and political unrest. Last year, riots erupted across England after social media posts falsely accused a Muslim asylum seeker of stabbing three young girls in Southport. It exemplified how platforms can amplify hate and fracture social cohesion. These problems are surfacing on Australian shores, too. National technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre and ABC NEWS Verify discovered that a Pro-Russian news website attempted to "poison" AI chatbots with propaganda in this lead up to the 2025 federal election. An audit found that 16.66 per cent of the chatbots' answers amplified the false narrative they were fed. This included disinformation related to Australian politics. For instance, when asked about an "Australian Muslim Party" — which does not exist — two AI models returned answers suggesting it did. The Australian government attempted to address this issue through the Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation Bill 2024, but it failed to pass through Parliament. Criticism of the bill came from all sides. It ranged from fears over the suppression of free speech to concerns about poor implementation and government overreach. But there is some social media legislation coming into effect. From December, Australians under the age of 16 will be banned from accessing social media, now including YouTube. Maria Ressa supports regulation, but says more can be done. She wants to see the design of social media platforms overhauled, and new restrictions on the collection of users' data. Working alongside her Nobel Peace Prize counterpart Dmitry Muratov, she has devised an ambitious 10-point plan to tackle this. She also believes journalists, institutions and governments need to work together to protect the integrity of facts and the future of democracy. "Without facts, you can't have truth, without truth, you can't have trust," she warns. "Without these three things, you can't have a shared reality. Watch All Eyes On Big Tech on Compass tonight at 6:30pm on ABC TV and iview.
