Albanese ‘buries head in sand' as antisemitism runs rampant in Australia
'This is the violent, racist country that we are now living in, that's increasingly unsafe for Jewish Australians,' Ms Markson said.
"Albanese did not adopt a single one of those recommendations; perhaps he naively believed if he did nothing, if he buried his head in the sand, the problem would go away.'
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Sky News AU
37 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
‘At what cost?': Victorian opposition dismisses poll showing support for Suburban Rail Loop warning the project is a ‘debt bomb'
The Victorian opposition has dismissed polling showing a majority of Victorians support a major Allan government infrastructure project, describing it as a 'debt bomb'. Newspoll results released on Tuesday show a massive 78 per cent of Victorians are fairly worried or very worried about the state's skyrocketing debt levels – which are set to hit $194 billion by 2028-29. However the poll also found 59 per cent of Victorians backed the controversial multi-stage Suburban Rail Loop project, the first stage of which is set to cost more than $34 billion. Opposition Leader Brad Battin dismissed the findings on Tuesday afternoon, telling reporters the question lacked key context. 'It depends on what question you ask. If I said to people, would you like to see a rail loop that goes all the way around Melbourne, they'd say yes. But if I said to you, it's at the cost of the next generations ever getting infrastructure, they'd say no,' Mr Battin said. The comment was echoed by shadow major projects minister Evan Mulholland, who said everyone liked a train, "but they don't like a debt bomb". "A debt bomb is what the Suburban Rail Loop is,' Mr Mulholland added. 'It's Victorians, particularly in the eastern suburbs, but everywhere that will be paying for the suburban rail loop for generations.' Mr Mulholland said the Victorian Liberals and Nationals wanted more new rail, but priority should be given to electrifying rail in outer suburban growth areas. 'It's people in the growth areas, places like Donnybrook and Wallen in my electorate, and Wyndham Vale and Melton that desperately need electrified rail,' he said. 'And we know the government sitting on a secret report which shows that these communities, within five years, are going to be facing crushed conditions where V-Line trains are going to have to skip stations because the government hasn't planned the infrastructure where it is urgent. 'We want electrified rail where it's needed for all Victorians, because you've got people living in third-world conditions in our growth areas. Our fellow Victorians that are suffering, that do not have public transport access where it's needed.' Mr Battin said that in just four years Victoria would be spending $1.2 million every hour in interest on the debt. 'That's more than $10 billion each and every year,' he said. 'That's nearly twice what we spend on Victoria Police during a crime crisis. It's just under what we spend in health during a health crisis. It's more than we spend on education here in Victoria. How can the government justify putting so much money into one project?' The Allan government is yet to outline how it will fund the SRL East - the first of three stages on the project, which will see trains run between Cheltenham and Box Hill. The Victorian government has committed just $11.8 billion towards the project with the Albanese government committing just $2.2 billion, leaving an almost $20 billion black hole – with the Allan government claiming a third of the funding will come from value capture. The multi-stage orbital train line was estimated to cost $50 billion when it was proposed by then-Premier Daniel Andrews ahead of the 2018 state election. However costs have since doubled, with a 2024 report by the Parliamentary Budget Office estimating it will cost $96.4 billion to build the SRL East and SRL North sections of the project. SRL East, which is already being constructed, will see trains running from Cheltenham to Box Hill, with stops in Clayton, Monash, Glen Waverley and Burwood – thereby connecting the Frankston, Pakenham/Cranbourne, Glen Waverley and Lilydale/Belgrade train lines. SRL North will then see this extended from Box Hill to Melbourne Airport, with stops in Doncaster, Heidelberg, Bundoora, Reservoir, Fawkner, and Broadmeadows – connecting the Lilydale/Belgrade line with the Hurstbridge, Mernda, Upfield and Craigieburn lines. The line will then connect to the long-awaited Melbourne airport rail link, which will run from Sunshine to the Airport via Keilor East, with a final SRL West section connecting Werribee to Sunshine.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
We didn't get that rate relief, but Australia remains the lucky country
The reason the Reserve Bank can be a bit more indulgent on its monetary policy in future is because the inflation monster has largely been tamed, and this has been achieved without any debilitating increase in unemployment. Loading So there is another tick. And while many economies are panicking about the effects of Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs and their rising inflationary impact, evidence suggests that Australia, perversely, will be a net beneficiary of this otherwise debilitating trade policy. Of course, the uncertainty of the ad hoc and rapidly changing and unpredictable imposition of US trade levies brings with it uncertainty for all countries including Australia, and raises the risk of slower global growth. But according to a report this week from the Productivity Commission, its modelling shows that if one excludes the impact of uncertainty, 'the proposed US tariff changes could have a small, positive effect on Australia's economy. The results suggest that cheaper imports from the rest of the world, and an outflow of productive capital from the US and highly 'tariffed' economies, would slightly increase Australian production.' It was only a few months back that headlines screamed of the damage that would be wrought by tariffs on our steel and aluminium. These fears were, of course, overblown given our exports of these products account for less than a combined $1 billion a year. Rather, the Productivity Commission found that US 'Liberation Day' tariffs and tariffs on aluminium, steel and automobiles and parts could lead to an increase in Australian real GDP of 0.37 per cent. It says that the impact of Trump's tariffs would be negative on Australia if our government sought to impose retaliatory tariffs, but there is no suggestion that the Albanese government would do so. Thus, by several measures Australia is sitting in a sweet spot relative to many – if not most – other countries. Loading The largest shadow on the horizon is the potential fall in demand from China for Australian iron ore and the associated decline in its price. This would play poorly for Australia's sovereign balance sheet, putting pressure on the budget deficit. Based on an expected rate cut next month of 25 basis points to 3.6 per cent, a $600,000 mortgage would cost $100 a month less and take to $300 the monthly savings since the Reserve Bank started easing monetary policy in February. And while the US market was rattled and fell by almost 1 per cent on Monday night about the prospects of large tariffs being placed on Japan and South Korea, the extension of a deadline to August 1, 2025, suggests a better trade agreement over the next couple of weeks.
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
Leaked emails show ABC Editorial Policy boss censored 'gratuitous' images of triple murderer Erin Patterson because they might cause her 'distress'
Leaked emails have exposed how the ABC censored its journalists from publishing tax-payer funded photos of triple murderer Erin Patterson because they were unflattering and could cause her "distress". The photos showed Patterson being escorted to the Latrobe Valley court in Morwell, and were taken by new agency Agence France-Presse in May. Legal constraints had previously prevented their publication, but they became available immediately after her conviction. However, according to leaked emails revealed by The Australian, ABC News Editorial Policy Manager Mark Maley demanded the images not be published because they could upset the murderer. The ABC did not confirm how much taxpayer funds were spent on the censored photos when asked by Sky News. It is understood that the images were being sold to media organisations for between $7,000 and $10,000, depending on the bundle. In the internal emails, Mr Maley argued that using the unflattering images could upset Patterson, who was found guilty of killing her ex-husband and two relatives. The incident exposes the bureaucratic nightmare of using taxpayer funds to buy expensive photos, then not publishing them because of an editor's personal opinion. An ABC spokesperson told Sky News it was "common and expected practice to have editorial discussions" about "what is appropriate to publish". "At the ABC much care and consideration goes into such decisions to ensure our coverage is responsible, justified and meets community expectations," the spokesperson said. Mr Maley ordered the images not be used in coverage of Patterson's guilty verdict, describing them as a 'gratuitous invasion on her distress/privacy'. Despite the verdict — and the fact the photographs were taken legally in public — Mr Maley instructed senior producers not to publish the images. Rather than capitalise on the visuals, Mr Maley questioned the editorial justification for their use, despite global outlets airing them within hours. 'No one has been able to see (Patterson) for the past 10 weeks,' ABC's 7.30 programme executive producer Joel Tozer said in the internal correspondence published by The Australian. Mr Tozer argued the photos were crucial for compelling television coverage of a high-profile and visually limited court case. In response, Mr Maley insisted that using the images was unjustified because they could emotionally upset Patterson, who had been transported to prison. Ultimately, ABC Digital Chief Grant Sherlock overruled Mr Maley's ban following strong pushback from the ABC's Victorian news editor Sarah Jaensch. Mr Sherlock ruled that four pictures from the series could be used in ABC coverage, but two images remained prohibited. Ms Jaensch argued there was 'clear public interest' in showing the photos, given Patterson's conviction and the seriousness of the crimes. 'While it's far from a flattering picture, she is now a convicted triple murderer who was photographed while being conveyed to court for her murder trial,' she said in an email. 'If we are not using any vision of her distressed, we wouldn't use the vision of her crying on her doorstep, which was used many times before she was a convicted murderer. 'That was also invading her privacy but the public interest argument won over.' The ABC has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding how much it paid for the suppressed images. Patterson, 50, was convicted on Monday of murdering her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson.
