Pomp, ceremony and political division
It's the strongest language yet from the Government, but the Opposition has been quick to condemn the move — with frontbenchers labelling it "alarming" and "disappointing" — while the Greens have suggested the statement doesn't go far enough. So, is this a sign of some of the friction to come in this 48th parliament?
Patricia Karvelas and Claudia Long break it all down on Politics Now.
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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne breaks silence on video of Muslims at St Patrick's Cathedral
The Archbishop of Melbourne has broken his silence after a video showing thousands of Muslims gathered outside the city's largest church went viral around the world. exclusively reported last weekend that footage filmed on July 7 outside St Patrick's Cathedral showing the annual Ashura Muslim procession had drawn a huge response globally. Videos of the event had been viewed millions of times and attracted the attention of anti-Islam personalities with huge followings around the world, many of whom suggested it showed something sinister taking place. Some prominent Australian ex-politicians also joined the pile-on, including former Victorian Liberal politician Bernie Finn who wrote: 'Pretty damn odd, thousands of Muslims surrounded St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne.' But as this author pointed out, the footage was selective and misleading and characterised a peaceful event — a significant day in Islam, particularly for Shia Muslims — as something dangerous. On Tuesday afternoon, after being approached by Archbishop Peter Comensoli issued a statement calling for calm and clarifying that the event has the support of the church. 'On 7 July, members of the Shia Muslim faith community in Melbourne engaged in a religious procession through the streets of Melbourne,' he said. 'This was a peaceful event that has occurred annually for over a decade. This procession has been misrepresented in some quarters as an attack on Christians and, specifically, on St Patrick's Cathedral. This is simply not the case. 'Like all Victorians, the Islamic community is entitled to exercise freedom of religion. As Catholics, we expect nothing less.' understands that the Catholic Archdiocese has been in contact with leaders within the Shia community to discuss the misrepresentation of the procession on social media and to assure them that they had no problem with the procession. But concerningly, the Archbishop said he has been made aware of 'a rally being organised for this weekend which appears to be a protest against the procession'. 'Such a rally does nothing for peace and harmony, nor for promoting religious freedom,' he said. 'I strongly urge people not to attend the rally and hope the organisers have the wisdom to call it off. Instead, I urge Catholics and all people of good will to take up the call of Pope Leo to pray for peace in our world, for an end to war and suffering. 'As Catholics, we place our trust in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. May He reign in all our hearts.' has seen the protest promotional material. It reads: 'Our monuments and heritage deserve respect. It is unacceptable for Australia's Christian monuments to face hostility and disrespect.' But as was pointed out several days ago, there was no disrespect — the Ashura procession has been taking place along the same route since 2009. Social media videos of the event suggested that Muslims stopped outside the church to chant in an act of deliberate provocation. watched a video of the entire 1hr 42min procession. It showed the group stopping at 30 second intervals. Videos showing the Shia gathering appearing to chant directly at the church appeared to be misleading. They showed the backs of hundreds of Muslims who had lined the side of Albert Street. The procession was passing between them and the Cathedral, moving along the street when footage was shot from a low angle. The Ashura Committee which organised the event told the group took longer passing the Cathedral because it had to account for traffic, including trams passing in front of the iconic bluestone church. 'We're accommodating Yarra Trams and the size of the procession itself. It's not just that it has to stop, it's just the length of it stops,' a spokesperson said. Management at the Hossaini Society of Victoria, a non-profit Islamic Community Organisation based in Melbourne, gave a similar account of the 'brief stop' outside the church. 'The brief stop near St. Patrick's Cathedral was simply a point where participants paused to allow others to catch up and for traffic management purposes,' a spokesperson said. 'There was no religious or political intention behind stopping at that particular location.' A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed to they were aware of the event and respect the rights of individuals 'to practice their faith peacefully'. 'Police were aware the annual Ashura Procession took place in Melbourne on 7 July. There were approximately 5000 people in attendance and the crowd was well behaved. 'There were no incidents during the event that were reported to police. Victoria Police respect the right for individuals to practice their faith peacefully.' A police source told police believe the group paused at Albert Street near the Cathedral to allow the tail end of the group in the march to catch up. The story initially gained traction when right-wing internet personalities took exception to the footage. British anti-Islam campaigner Tommy Robinson, who has a legion of fans including 1.3 million followers on X, shared a video with the words: 'Insane scenes as hundreds of Muslims circle Melbourne cathedral.' It was viewed almost two million times and followed by thousands of hateful comments. Failed Liberal candidate for Sydney's Northern Beaches, Katherine Deves, whose views on the trans community were met with backlash across both sides of politics in 2022, wrote of the scenes: 'A horde of Muslim men surround Melbourne's St Patrick's Catholic cathedral in a display of dominance & intimidation.' Ashura marks the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, who stood against injustice and oppression 1400 years ago and died for what he believed in — which happened to be a peaceful and spiritual version of Islam. Ashura falls on the 10th day of the Islamic calendar month and processions take place in major cities all over the world — including New York, London and Melbourne. A map shared by organisers of the Melbourne procession shows the route each year travels from Treasury Gardens along Landsdowne Street, turns left on Albert Street, goes past St Patrick's Cathedral to Parliament House on Spring Street and finishes back in Treasury Gardens.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Delayed decision on Macquarie Point stadium reopens door for planning commission process
A revival of the planning process under which the Macquarie Point stadium was previously being assessed could be on the cards, as the state's planning commission prepares to hand down its final report on the contentious project. Hobart's proposed AFL stadium was initially being assessed by the Tasmanian Planning Commission under the Project of State Significance (PoSS) process, which would have required both houses of Tasmania's parliament to give it the green light. But the Liberal government, wary of delays, drafted special enabling legislation earlier this year in a bid to circumvent that process and hasten the stadium's approval. Now, in a turn of events, the fast-track legislation could take a back seat to the original, slower PoSS process. The timing of last week's snap state election meant a vote this month on the stadium by the upper and lower houses will not happen. Independent MLC Bec Thomas said the delayed vote was a blessing in disguise. "I think and I hope the PoSS process will be able to be finalised before the government even has the opportunity to be tabling enabling legislation," Ms Thomas said. "Regardless of whichever path, whoever forms government, my hope is we will have the information gathered through the PoSS process [available to us]. The planning commission is due to hand down its final report on September 17, potentially in the same week the new parliament would sit for the first time, and likely before a new government has the chance to re-table any special enabling legislation. That report will contain a potential recommendation or non-recommendation that the project proceed, and its contents will highly likely influence all parliamentarians voting on the project. The timing of the report and the resumption of parliament may see the Liberals, who could be returned to govern in minority, forced to re-embrace the planning process they had attempted to reject only weeks ago. During the election campaign, about 30 stakeholders were allowed to present evidence to the planning commission panel assessing the stadium. The fortnight-long commission hearings allowed the Macquarie Point Development Corporation (MPDC) and other stadium stakeholders, and a group opposing the stadium, to state their case directly to the planning commission panel. Those hearings also allowed several outstanding issues with the project to be remedied, with some stakeholders believing the two-week process strengthened the case for the build. On Friday, the Macquarie Point team submitted 38 pages of "proposed conditions" that the project would be subject to if granted planning approval. Those conditions were devised in response to issues raised by the planning commission in a blistering draft report issued in March, and to evidence presented at the recent hearings. They are similar to the ones attached to the government's special legislation, but are considered more stringent. Importantly, it also lists the Hobart City Council, Environmental Protection Agency, TasWater, and the director of Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service as "relevant regulators" rather than a government minister, which was a key criticism of the special legislation. Labor has said it will continue to back the stadium and the special legislation, rather than entertain a pivot back to the PoSS process. There is a chance the party could still govern — with the support of the Greens and independent MPs — despite winning just 10 of 35 seats at Saturday's election. "We're not planning on making any changes to the current process" a spokesperson told the ABC. In any event, it is unlikely that the special legislation would be scrapped entirely. A possible scenario is that new legislation may be tabled that combines elements of the special legislation, findings from the planning commission, and proposed conditions crafted as part of the PoSS process by the MPDC. The legislation would pass the lower house with the support of the Liberal and Labor parties, and independent MP David O'Byrne. Upper house independents will then decide the stadium's fate, now armed with the full findings of the Tasmanian Planning Commission. "For the enabling legislation, I don't see the case for that stacking up anymore," Huon MLC Dean Harris told ABC's Mornings. "To be able to have informed decisions, that [PoSS] report would be good to have."
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
New Victorian childcare worker registration scheme to begin next month but won't include fill-in workers
Fill-in childcare workers won't be included in the first stage of Victoria's new childcare worker registration scheme when it begins next month, triggering fears workers with red flags will be able to continue to move freely throughout the sector. The new scheme comes as the state opposition calls for psychometric testing to be used to screen all new childcare staff, as part of its major policy pitch to fix the beleaguered, but essential, sector. "We need to make sure that the people who are going to work with our most vulnerable are the right people to be doing so,'' Shadow Minister Jess Wilson said. She said currently, certification for childcare work can occur within a couple of months, and there has been concern about people joining the workforce for the wrong reasons. "We want a pilot model that makes sure we're getting people who really want to be working in this system and have the right psychometric testing to fit that." Among the Coalition plans are a major overhaul of the Working with Children Check (WWCC) to include online training about child sex abuse, lowering the threshold to revoke a WWCC, and slashing the validity of a check from five years to three. WWCC would also be incorporated into the police database system LEAP to help the force raise red flags. In the wake of the disturbing allegations against childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown, the Allan government promised to establish a state-based childcare worker register, acknowledging the current system is failing. Premier Jacinta Allan said the scheme would be set up by August. This week, childcare centres with government-funded kindergarten programs were told they would need to provide details of all staff by August 29, to comply with the new Early Childhood Workforce Register. But it does not capture all early childhood services, with kindergarten services not receiving state funding, and outside school hours care, family day care, and occasional care, not captured in the first round. Agency staff will also not be included initially — the government expects to add this group in October. It says the first round will capture information on more than 90 per cent of employees in long day care and kinder settings. "Information about agency staff will also be collected quarterly as part of the next stage of implementation,'' an email to childcare centres says. The register, which will be updated each quarter, requires services to record information about all employees at the service who have regular contact with children, regardless of how old the children might be. The register will collect information on role, gender, Working with Children Check status, commencement of employment and cessation of employment, and the reason for leaving the service. "Further work is underway on the approach to other regulated ECEC (early childhood education and care) services, including LDC (long day care) and kindergarten services not receiving funding, outside school hours care, family day care, as well as occasional care," the email said. A Victorian government spokesperson said this register was being created with "established systems" to take "immediate steps". "This will be established by late August. Other long-term solutions will be able to link into a national registration system, once it's established," the spokesperson said. "Victorian families must be able to trust that their children are safe in child care and we are doing everything in our power to make sure they can." Ms Wilson said the Coalition backed the establishment of a register and said it should be done by expanding the remit of the Victorian Institute of Teaching, which registers schoolteachers. "This is a model that works. It's a model that works right across the system,'' Ms Wilson said. She also said agency staff should be the first on the register. "We should be looking at where the highest risk is, and that is in centres that use agency staff, where we see the workforce moving around regularly, we need to make sure we're starting with the highest risk so that we are looking for any red flags, and are getting on top of this situation quickly." The Coalition will on Thursday release a "six-point plan" to improve the sector, including setting up an independent statutory authority that reports to parliament to oversee quality, safety, compliance and complaints in the sector. The role currently sits within the Department of Education in the Quality Assessment and Regulation Division (QARD). The plan will also grant parents a greater "right to know" about incidents occurring at centres, as well as staffing performance and standards at their child care, with Ms Wilson promising an independent star rating system for all centres. The Coalition will also move to improve training and standards and will overhaul WWCC. Much of the Working with Children Check proposals from the Coalition build on recommendations made by the ombudsman in 2022 — actions the state is still to implement. "It is absolutely a failing of this government, and we want to fix it right away,'' Ms Wilson said. Child care presents a major political opportunity for the Coalition to improve its standing with female voters and people under 40 — cohorts the Liberal Party has struggled to connect with. Gabrielle Meagher said a register could be a meaningful tool but suggested that it would need to provide real-time reporting of staff changes. She also said a national approach was needed. "Why don't the ministers around the country come together and put together a national scheme? To work, it really has to be national because people have evaded detection by working in different states,'' Professor Meagher said. But she said improvements to child care required more than just a registration scheme. Governments need to do more to address workforce shortages, poor pay, low quality training, poor management and supervision in centres, and weak oversight by regulators. The Victorian Greens spokesperson for Early Childhood, Anasina Gray-Barberio, said the register was welcomed but left "gaping holes" because thousands of centres would not be covered. "Until the register is expanded, people with red flags will still be able to move freely between untracked centres, undermining the whole point of the register."
