The state of Victoria's Voice to Parliament
Now, Victoria is set to follow South Australia's example.
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News.com.au
29 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Jonno Duniam: Childcare bill still needs ‘interrogation' despite fast-track
In an early show of bipartisan goodwill, a Labor childcare Bill is expected to pass through parliament with relative ease, but big issues within the new law are yet to be ironed out by the federal opposition, which is concerned about the children who could be left behind. The new legislation, which was tabled in parliament by federal Education Minister Jason Clare on Wednesday, was proposed in the wake of shocking news out of Victoria where a man is accused of 70 separate instances of child abuse. Joshua Brown, 26, worked at 20 childcare centres between 2017 and May 2025. Addressing parliament, Mr Clare said 'mums and dads of thousands of children' were undergoing immense levels of stress and trauma surrounding the wellbeing of their kids. 'Governments of different colours, state and federal, have taken action but not enough and not fast enough. That's the truth,' he said. 'We have to do everything we can to ensure the safety of our children when they walk – or are carried – through the doors of an early childhood education and care service at centres across the country.' Opposition education spokesman Jonno Duniam said he was 'ultimately satisfied' with the proposed Bill, which he said the opposition 'will not delay the passage of … in any way'. 'We'll get these things through parliament this fortnight, but we now need to focus on state and territory governments and what they do to protect children in health care,' he told the ABC's Sally Sara on Radio National on Thursday morning. 'We've got our party room and other arrangements to consider these laws that have only just been introduced, but soon after that I expect they'll be passed and enforced.' Despite the optimism, Mr Duniam said the opposition still had questions for the government about particular elements of the proposed laws. One issue revolves around 'childcare deserts', parts of the country – usually in regional and remote Australia – that have significantly less childcare options than our nation's urban hubs. One feature of the Bill allows the government to withdraw subsidies for centres that perform their child protection duties poorly, but families with no other options may end up bearing the brunt of the punishment. 'A question I've put to the government was 'well, what happens if the funding is withdrawn?' Either a centre is shut and no services are available or, in some cases, when under these arrangements funding would be withdrawn, (the centre) might then send a bill for 100 per cent of the cost to the parents, and that would be unacceptable,' Mr Duniam said. 'This is something that remains for interrogation.' When asked if mandatory CCTV would be discussed, Mr Duniam said he was 'kind of baffled' that it wasn't already enforced. 'It is in centres but obviously not mandatory in all jurisdictions. I think the government needs to get it right in terms of its deployment,' he said. 'There are privacy concerns. We know CCTV has been used by perpetrators of these horrendous acts, so while it is a safety measure, we need to make sure appropriate safeguards are in place.'
West Australian
39 minutes ago
- West Australian
Australia lifts biosecurity ban on US beef after decade-long review, aim to ease Trump tariffs
Australia has opened the door to more US beef imports by lifting biosecurity restrictions, as the government seeks ways to dampen the blow from Donald Trump's tariff regime. The federal government revealed the changes on Thursday while stressing that the decision follows a decade-long science-based review. 'The Albanese Labor government will never compromise on biosecurity,' Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said. 'Australia stands for open and fair trade - our cattle industry has significantly benefited from this. '(The department) is satisfied the strengthened control measures put in place by the US effectively manage biosecurity risks.' Although the US has been able to send beef to Australia since 2019, any beef raised in Canada or Mexico before being slaughtered and processed in the US was previously barred due to biosecurity concerns. One concern was that Mexico's livestock tracking system could inadvertently lead producers to import beef from parts of the continent where there were disease outbreaks. But the latest announcement will lift the ban on beef sourced from Canada or Mexico after the US introduced more robust movement controls in late 2024 and early 2025 allowing for improved identification and tracing throughout the supply chain. The change could be used as a bargaining chip as Australia continues to push for tariff exemptions from the US after the US president earlier this year demanded Canberra lift the beef import restrictions. Australia is the biggest exporter of beef to the US. According to Bendigo Bank's recent mid-year agriculture outlook, Aussie beef will continue to be on the menu in the US, where herd numbers are in decline due to drought and increased costs of agricultural inputs. Most Australian goods sent to the US currently face a 10 per cent tariff, while steel and aluminium products have been slapped with a 50 per cent tariff. Mr Trump has also threatened a tariff on pharmaceutical imports to the US, which is one of Australia's biggest exports to its ally. Although Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is yet to secure a face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump - after their first scheduled talks were scuppered by the conflict in the Middle East - Australia has largely avoided the brunt of the tariffs as most of its exports are only exposed to the baseline levy. But other aspects of the US-Australia relationship remain uncertain. The nuclear submarine deal between Australia, the US and the UK - under the AUKUS security alliance - could be in peril after the Pentagon launched a review to examine whether the agreement aligns with Mr Trump's 'US first' agenda. However, Mr Albanese has confirmed Australia made another scheduled payment as part of the deal to acquire US nuclear submarines, taking the total paid to $1.6 billion so far. 'It's about increasing ... their industrial capacity' to build the submarines, he told ABC television on Wednesday. Under the $368 billion program, Australia will buy at least three Virginia-class submarines from the US sometime in the early 2030s. A new class of nuclear submarines will be built in Adelaide to be delivered in the 2040s.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Hobart City councillor proposes moving Acknowledgement of Country from official proceedings
A Hobart City councillor is calling for Aboriginal acknowledgements at official events to take place before proceedings begin, so they are not "forced on all attendees". Councillor Louise Elliot has likened the Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country traditions to "religious rituals", which she said were being forced on people "against their will". Cr Elliot has lodged a motion calling for the practices to instead take place before meetings and events officially begin, so those who wish to take part can arrive early. "Many community members are completely fed up with being welcomed to their own country and having these beliefs forced on them that they don't subscribe to," Cr Elliot said. Aboriginal rights campaigner Nala Mansell, from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC), described Cr Elliot's reasoning as "exaggerated" and "absurd", but agreed the practice did not need to take place at each meeting. A Hobart City Council spokesperson said there was no formal policy requiring the practice at the start of council meetings or workshops. However, they said the practice had been consistently observed in Hobart since 2015 and was conducted by all Tasmanian councils and all capital city councils. "The inclusion of an Acknowledgement of Country aligns with … strategic documents and cultural protocols and comes from many years of engagement and feedback from the Palawa community," the spokesperson said. Cr Elliot said while it was not mandatory, that did not accurately reflect her experiences. "I chaired a couple of meetings and … I was told 'no, it [the acknowledgement] couldn't be removed' from the agenda," she said. "I was left in a predicament where I could either say something I did not believe in or skip over an agenda item." When faced with this, Cr Elliot said she updated the acknowledgement to recognise "each and every Australian" and, another time, skipped it entirely. She did not receive any punishment or reprimand for doing so, though she said some of her colleagues "definitely raised their eyebrows". Cr Elliot argued the concept of Country was a "spiritual belief" for the Aboriginal community, and therefore these traditions were like religious rituals. "It would be highly inappropriate for Christian rituals, whether it's Communion or the throwing of holy water, to happen in a local government setting," she said. Ms Mansell, the campaign coordinator for the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre and a Palawa woman, said this logic was simply incorrect. "It's completely absurd to suggest that acknowledging the fact of Aboriginal history in this state is similar to religious rituals," she said. "We don't just believe that we owned the land and we don't just believe that our country was invaded — they are facts." Despite this, Ms Mansell agreed with the sentiment that the practice could become "tokenistic" when repeated at every meeting. "I don't see the benefit of offering symbolic gestures at the beginning of meetings because they provide no benefit whatsoever to Aboriginal people," she said. She said politicians should instead acknowledge Aboriginal people by addressing the issues caused by the dispossession of their land. Reconciliation Australia previously described the practices as "simple but profound ceremonies" that allow Australians to express respect for traditional owners. Almost every council in the country, with some exceptions, includes the acknowledgements as part of official council proceedings. In May, a Flinders Island councillor put forward a motion to stop the practice at council events, but it failed to get a seconder. Cr Elliot's motion will be debated at the Hobart City Council meeting on Monday. Cr Elliot said the "composition of the council" meant she did not expect it to be supported.
