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Police investigating looting of flood-affected property
Andrew Crisp from Victoria police has just spoken at the press conference.
We brought you the news on the blog earlier about the Channel Nine weatherman seeing looters in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong. Crisp now provides more details about that incident.
During emergencies such as this, we see the absolute best in behaviour across all of our Victorians. Sadly, we also see the absolute worst in behaviour.
And I’ve seen this in a number of emergencies over many, many years. Victoria police at the moment are investigating a burglary at a premises in the Maribyrnong area.
The situation being where someone has left during the flood event and their home has subsequently been burgled.
There is information on the police website but I know that they’re looking for information in relation to a blue Ford Territory seen in that area. If you can support police, then please do so. If you’ve got information, call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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Indicators to measure success of domestic violence plan ‘really important’, minister says
What measures will the government use to evaluate success over the 10 year period the plan is implemented?
Rishworth:
It is really important that we do have indicators. That show – that demonstrates whether or not we’re making progress. And the plan outlines some of those potential indicators.
The plan will be backed up by an outcomes framework and work is under way to look at what other measures that best represent progress. But also what are the measures that there is actually data to back up. So these are critically important elements to make sure we’re making progress. That work will continue on what that outcome framework looks like.
But I think as Simone correctly outlined in our discussions before, we can’t just always rely on prevalence. Because we want reporting to go up. But we do want incidents going down. So making sure we’ve got the data that accurately measures the progress we want to make, whether it’s in prevention, early intervention, in response or healing or recovery.
There’s a range of indicators. We need to make sure we’ve got access to the data and that’s a continuing piece of work. But we do need to measure and demonstrate we’re making progress.
Rishworth: plan outlines clear roles and responsibilities between states, territories and federal government
Q: Will there be shared financial commitments between the federal government and the states and territories?
Rishworth:
Well, what this does is it drives investment into the areas that make a difference. The states and territories in their different ways are actually already changing laws and driving investment, but we need to make sure we’re all working together, that this investment works together.
All of the states and territories have plans that … are driving change. But making sure we are all in alignment is critically important. … it’s not just the investment, but [so] the role and responsibilities are clear. And that’s what this plan outlines.
… it’s a much more [coordinated] and focused approach. But importantly, [it] also shows that we’re coming from a shared understanding. Gender inequality is one of the main drivers … that leads to gender-based violence. It’s important, that shared understanding, shared vision, shared commitment.
Work has already started on both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander action plan and the mainstream action plan, and as a ministerial council, we’ll continue to work through that action plan.
Domestic violence funding to be driven by action plans
Amanda Rishworth is now back at the mic taking questions from reporters.
Q: Will the federal government be committing extra funding?
When it comes to the funding, the investment will be driven by the action plans. Our government has already committed not only the $1.3bn investment over the forward estimates, but also took a commitment to the election to invest and boost front-line services and we’ll be working through with my state and territory colleagues over coming months.
But this commitment, along with the commitment to the domestic, family, and sexual violence commissioner, these are all really important investments already. And the action plans will continue to drive and ensure that the investment is going in the areas that make a difference.
But I also would make the point that some of the change that needs to happen is within systems. And within broader society. That’s why I’m very pleased that the first action that the new federal government took was to introduce universal 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave. That will go through the parliament, which will support ensuring that women don’t have to choose between their job and leaving or attending to a violent relationship. So, that is really important steps we’re taking. But the action plans will drive investment over the coming years.
Victim survivors’ voices are front and centre in this plan: Fentiman
Queensland’s minister for justice, women, and the prevention of domestic and family violence, Shannon Fentiman, highlighted that coercive control will be tackled in the plan and paid tribute to Hannah Clarke.
In Queensland as a community we are beginning to understand just how dangerous coercive control and those controlling behaviours can be, tragically as a result of Hannah Clarke’s story and the tragic loss of Hannah and her three children. As a community, we need to do more, and the victim survivors, their own statement in their plan very clearly says we shouldn’t have to die before we give them attention.
This plan, Hannah’s legacy, the legacy of all of those brave victim survivors is to have a system that recognises and responds to the red flags before more blue police tape surrounds another family home.
That’s why we have put together this ambitious plan to end violence against women and children in a generation. And to those victim survivors whose voices are front and centre in this plan, we have seen you, we have heard you, and we have believed you. We have listened and now we’re taking action.
Northern Territory minister says new domestic violence plan will focus on helping First Nations women
Kate Worden, the minister for the prevention of domestic, family, and sexual violence in the Northern Territory, says the plan comes as a collaborative effort by ministers from all over Australia.
For the first time this plan says that domestic, family, and sexual violence is not a women’s issue. This has a huge sense of purpose in putting prevention and early intervention at the centre of everything that we will do as a nation.
We need to make sure that perpetrators are held to account, we need them to also recognise their behaviours and also get them to seek that assistance and support. That is [what] we’re committing to through this plan.
Worden stresses the importance for her state of the plan’s focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women:
Particularly from the Northern Territory, we’re particularly very, very glad that it has a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, because in the Northern Territory, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 18 times more likely to be the victims of domestic and sexual violence. They are also 40 times more likely to end up in hospital as a result of that violence. So we really welcome that new focus.
We look forward to the action plans that are coming as the work goes forward. This is just the beginning. We’re all heading into the right direction.
Worden thanks the women who have contributed to the plan:
Before I finish, I just want to, as a victim survivor myself, I want to thank every single woman that has been part of this plan, it is a bold and brave step they have taken to contribute to this plan, and I want to make sure that at this particular point in time, that their voices have been heard, they recognise their voices have been heard.
Responsible ministers at the state level follow Rishworth in speaking.
Natalie Ward, the NSW minister for women’s safety and the prevention of domestic and sexual violence, said:
We have brought in affirmative consent laws in New South Wales. We’ve heard loudly about what consent in education means to ending violence against women and children. We have led the way in our funding for women’s shelters, almost doubling the number of women’s shelters in New South Wales with our core and cluster program, ensuring we have legislative responses; we’re the first in the nation to have introduced a standalone offence for coercive control as a criminal offence, knowing it’s a contributor to family and domestic violence, it’s something in New South Wales we say no to.
[We are] working with our colleagues across the nation to ensure we’ve [got] this comprehensive response in this national plan we’ll all be able to implement across the nation, and working together so closely to do that.
I want to thank my predecessors in this area for the work they’ve done and the Perrottet government for ensuring we have record funding in New South Wales in this area. I’m really pleased to be part of a government that is putting this at the centre of ensuring we’re preventing family and domestic and sexual violence and working with our colleagues to put an end to this in Australia.
Government launches new national plan on family violence
The minister for social services, Amanda Rishworth, is speaking in Melbourne, launching the government’s new plan to end family violence.
Rishworth says the plan covers all of the four domains to end violence against women and children:
[It will] focus on prevention, early intervention, response, and healing and recovery. What we know is that if we don’t focus on these areas equally, then we won’t see an end to violence against women and children.
Importantly, there is some cross-cutting principles that are essential in achieving this plan. And we heard very strongly through the consultation, through the launch today, that holding those that choose to use violence against women and children to account is critically important.
It shouldn’t be left to the victims [or] survivors to explain or feel shame when it comes to violence against women and children. It is about working with men and boys. It is about working on respectful relationships. It’s about ensuring that businesses, community groups, sporting groups: everyone in the community has a role.
So this is an ambitious plan, but it’s an incredibly important plan and one that will help drive investment, drive response [and] drive system change into the future.
The PM has shared some images from his visit to the flood-affected town of Forbes in NSW today.
The people of Forbes in NSW are facing their fifth flood in 12 years.
It’s putting huge pressure on families, farmers and food production. pic.twitter.com/zBModI0BMa
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) October 17, 2022
Peter Hannam
Construction costs climb at a record pace – even before the floods
In news that won’t be welcomed in the flood-hit regions of south-east Australia, CoreLogic‘s regular construction cost index showed the cost of building new homes rose at a record pace in the year to September.
The Cordell Construction Cost Index rose 11% in the past 12 months, accelerating from a 10% rise in the year to June. On a quarterly basis, the hike in costs was 4.7% or roughly double those in the June quarter.
The scramble for construction materials is nationwide, but especially acute in Victoria, where the quarterly rise was 5.6%, and in NSW, where it was 5.8%. Both states have lately been hit by widespread flooding and the near-term outlook is for a lot more rain in eastern Australia. Rivers are certain to rise again soon.
Annually, Victoria recorded the largest growth rate of all states, with residential construction costs increasing by 12.3% over the 12 months to September 2022, CoreLogic said.
Apparently, supply chain issues related to Covid have started to ease – only to be replaced by the rising cost of raw materials, labour and fuel, according to John Bennett, a CoreLogic construction manager.
This quarter has also shown a larger increase in the cost of wall linings, including plasterboard and fibre cement, which previously had been relatively stable. It will cost more to literally get into a house too, with the price of doors showing a sharp rise in the September quarter.
Also not promising for those areas hit by floods is an increase in price of getting rid of stuff.
We’re seeing a large increase in waste disposal fees across most states, and volatility in professional fees and services, with Victoria and Queensland showing the highest cost increases.
Residents from Barnadown to Rochester warned to move to higher ground
Peter Hannam
The Australia Institute says the Chubb Review into Australia’s carbon market looks like it is favouring a “business-as-usual” outcome, rather than a more thorough assessment of the validity of carbon credits.
The independent review headed by the former chief scientist Ian Chubb is due to report to the government by the end of the year. We noted last week here that the government has released draft legislation for a new type of carbon credit for its so-called safeguard mechanism that is intended to give industry incentives to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Unhelpfully, the legislation and expected regulations will be presented to MPs to consider before the government’s response to the Chubb review is known.
That’s part of the concern raised by the Institute, which we understand has yet to be approached by the Chubb review despite having done much research on the weaknesses of the current proposals, such as here and here.
Another key worry is that the panel itself might not be sufficiently “independent’” given two of the four panelists are involved in carbon markets and so are “potentially conflicted”, the thinktank said in a submission to the review.
Steve Hatfield-Dodds, for instance, is an associate principal at Ernst & Young (EY) Port Jackson Partners, and recently coauthored a report touting carbon credits as “front and centre” and “an essential part of the business toolkit”.
“Dr Hatfield-Dodds’ report not only avoids discussion of the integrity problems inherent in all offset programs, but it actually assumes them away in its analysis,” the TAI submission states.
The submission also notes another of the four review members, Ariadne Gorring, is active in the sector as the co-CEO of Pollination Foundation, part of Pollination Group. The submission notes that Pollination advises on, and invests in, carbon credit projects and in partnership with HSBC Asset Management develops strategies that generate “returns, both financial and in the form of carbon credits”.
The Pollination Foundation itself also “incubates” a biodiversity credit business, “Marketplace for Nature”.
Beyond that, the thinktank said it also understands the review secretariat includes a government official who was instrumental in the design and administration of the “avoided deforestation” method (one that has been challenged, such as here) and an individual who is employed by the Clean Energy Regulator.
The submission said:
It seems inappropriate that the secretariat of the review would include representatives from the agencies that are subject of the review itself and who were involved in the design of the methods under consideration.
Polly Hemming, a senior TAI researcher who specialises in carbon credits, said the review “might not help reset Australia’s climate policy given the potential conflicts of the review panel members”.
Hemming said:
It’s disappointing the safeguard mechanism will be reformed without proper consideration of the integrity of the carbon offsets it will be relying upon.
We should instead be talking about the big-ticket items of decarbonisation – eliminating fossil fuel subsidies, stopping new fossil fuel projects and phasing out fossil fuel consumption.
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