Tasmanians to the polls on July 19
Governor Barbara Baker has announced Saturday July 19 for the election.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
40 minutes ago
- ABC News
Federal funding to assist SA to deal with algal bloom but no national disaster declaration
The federal government has pledged $14 million to assist South Australia as it continues to deal with a toxic algal bloom outbreak, but has stopped short of declaring it a national disaster. In a press conference in Adelaide, Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt described the bloom as "a serious environmental event". SA Premier Peter Malinauskas welcomed the funding pledge and said the state government would be meeting on Tuesday to make deliberations about additional funding support. The bloom has been ravaging marine life throughout the state since March, disrupting fishing, aquaculture and tourism industries and threatening fragile coastal ecosystems. It has also seen dead marine life, including dead sharks and stingrays, wash up on metropolitan beaches. Mr Watt briefed the federal cabinet this morning on the algal bloom before flying to Adelaide to inspect its impact on metropolitan beaches. "The federal cabinet was unified in recognising that this is a very serious event facing South Australia and that we need to step up federal government support for South Australia as they lead the response effort here," he said. Mr Watt said the $14 million funding package came in response to a request lodged by the South Australian government on Sunday. "There will need to be some further discussions between ourselves and the South Australian government about exactly the details of how that funding is used," he said. "But it's intended to deal with a number of short-term requirements and some of the longer-term needs that South Australia is going to face as it recovers from this event." Mr Watt said he expected the funding to go towards activities like cleaning up beaches, assisting affected businesses, boosting "community awareness" and investing in scientific research. "The reality is we are in uncharted waters here," he said. "This is an unprecedented event and one of the difficulties has been understanding exactly what its impacts are and what sort of response is required." The funding package comes amid mounting criticism of the federal government's response to the crisis, with the Greens suggesting a federal response would have come quicker if the bloom occurred in Sydney. Earlier today, SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said he had "rather assertively" urged the federal government to treat the algal bloom as a natural disaster and provide financial assistance.
ABC News
40 minutes ago
- ABC News
Former Australian National University chancellor slams 'gobsmacking' proposed university cuts
Former Australian National University chancellor, Gareth Evans, has criticised proposed cuts to the university, saying cost-saving plans have "ignored or gravely under-valued the significance of ANU's very distinctive national mission", while describing plans to abolish the National Dictionary Centre as "gobsmacking". In a letter addressed to current Chancellor Julie Bishop, Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell, and Federal Education Minister Jason Clare, Mr Evans expressed concerns with the university's recently released College of the Arts and Social Sciences organisational change proposal. Mr Evans said the changes had ignored the maintenance of the National Institutes Grant, which the ANU receives from the federal government for research "supporting the development of Australia's national unity and identity". He said that during his time as ANU chancellor from 2010 to 2019 he could not have been more conscious of how important the grant had been to the ANU's viability. The ANU faces a $250 million budget shortfall and has announced plans to cut around 100 jobs in recent months. Mr Evans said he found it "gobsmacking" the ANU was looking to abolish the National Dictionary Centre (ANDC) and downsize the National Centre for Biography (NCB). The NCB maintains the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB), a huge database of Australian stories and the evolution of Australian English, started in 1957. Mr Evans said to drastically diminish the role of the ADB "makes no sense at all". Mr Evans condemned the abolition of freestanding centres such as the Humanities Research Centre (HRC) and the Centre for European Studies (ANUCES). He said the HRC had been "hugely respected both nationally and internationally for the last 50 years", and the ANUCES was "making a significant contribution to the government's trade and security policymaking with the EU". The former chancellor also raised concerns with a move to remove the Crawford School of Public Policy from the College of Asia and the Pacific. An ANU spokesperson said the university "welcomes a diversity of views and encourage constructive feedback including ideas to help meet the University's financial sustainability".
News.com.au
40 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Labor will keep Mark Latham's portrait in the Parliament House party room with one major change
Labor will keep the portrait of disgraced former leader Mark Latham in their Parliament House party room. However, it will have a an additional plaque which notes Mr Latham was 'banned of life' in 2017 and failed to 'meet the standards we expect and demand'. The decision was reached following public condemnation of the portrait from high-profile ministers including Sydney MP Tanya Plibersek, after it was revealed Mr Latham was subjected to a AVO application from his ex-partner Nathalie Matthews. Mr Latham, who is now serving in the NSW upper house, has denied the claims and no police action has been taken. While the portrait will remain in the caucus room, it will now be accompanied by a sign which reads: 'In 2017 Mark Latham was expelled from the Australian Labor Party and banned for life his actions do not accord with Labor values and fail to meet the standards we expect and demand'. The decision was made after multiple Labor members raised the issue of Mr Latham's photo, with the Labor caucus adopting a 'unanimous consensus position,' on the wording of the plaque. Since leaving federal politics after losing the 2004 election to John Howard, Mr Latham became the NSW One Nation leader before explosively resigning from the party in March 2023. He is set to remain in the NSW parliament as an independent upper house councillor until his term expires in 2031.
