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Key events
Amy Remeikis
Consultation to begin on measuring Australians’ quality of life
Essentially, Treasury and Chalmers are trying to measure the nation’s wellbeing by looking at the quality of life of Australians. Economic indicators are one part of that picture, but certainly not the whole picture. So Treasury asked for submissions on what it should also be examining and measuring.
More than 160 submissions were sent in and you probably won’t be surprised to learn that the most common policy areas raised were: children, inequality and poverty, health, mental health, First Nations people, and environment and climate change. “Other common themes include housing and housing affordability, intergenerational and subjective wellbeing, community wellbeing, arts and culture, digital inclusion, and volunteering.”
So far, that has created five broad themes of wellbeing – prosperity, inclusion, sustainability, cohesion and health.
Will they be the final themes? Well, that is up to you.
The submissions will be made available on the Treasury website today (Friday) and soon, the second stage of consultation will begin, with feedback sessions.
The measuring what matters statement will be released mid-year. The budget will be handed down on the traditional second Tuesday in May – which this year, is 9 May.
Amy Remeikis
The wellbeing budget is back
Good morning from Canberra.
It is budget season in the nation’s capital – the “Budget Tree” – a red maple in one of the Senate courtyards, is beginning to don its autumn dress, which is usually the indicator that the budget is just around the corner.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is in Washington for 18 meetings in 45 hours as he gets an overview of the global economic position (spoiler, it is not great) before finalising what will be Labor’s first major budget since winning government last May (the October budget was more of a mini update than anything).
But as part of doing things differently (you may or may not have read Chalmers’ Monthly essay where he spoke about “values based capitalism” and using the disruption caused by the pandemic to shake things up) the wellbeing budget is back.
The “measuring what matters statement” seeks to “assess progress on a broad range of social and environmental indicators”.
It will provide a more comprehensive picture of the experiences of Australians, including those from diverse backgrounds, and support a more informed and inclusive discussion about what needs to be done to improve outcomes.
Kerrynne Liddle wants constitutional recognition but regional voices
On the issue of the Indigenous voice to parliament, Liddle will be advocating for a no vote in the referendum. Asked why she’s made that decision, she says:
Well, I certainly didn’t make the decision last Wednesday when the party declared its position. It’s something I’ve been working through for a very long time.
… I have no doubt that Australians will vote for the recognition of Aboriginal interests and peoples in the constitution. Everywhere I’ve gone, people don’t seem to have an issue with that.
… The reason why I support our proposition, and that is the voice of local and regional people are a priority. That is where it’s really important … So [regional and remote areas] want to voice. The issue I have, it doesn’t need to be in the constitution.
… The focus now should be on a regional and local voices and the importance of getting nose up and running, working, demonstrating how they work, and then feeding into a national voice.
Kerrynne Liddle says ‘prove it’s not happening’ on child sexual abuse in Alice
Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle, the first Indigenous senator from South Australia, and a name being touted as a contender for shadow minister for Indigenous Australians after Julian Leeser’s resignation.
Liddle is speaking to ABC Radio this morning about the debate that has emerged as opposition leader Peter Dutton has claimed sexual abuse is occurring around Alice Springs but isn’t being addressed.
The minister and assistant minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney and Malarndirri McCarthy, have both accused Dutton of using Alice Springs as a “political football” and making irresponsible accusations.
Liddle avoids giving her own opinion of whether her party’s leader is politicising the issue, but says she believes:
I think we have to be really careful about politicising this issue, because matters related to any form of assault are sensitive, but important to understand and respond to.
… I think what’s really important though, is it can’t ignore the issue of sexual abuse, but you must also tackle those issues, alongside other issues which include [service] delivery and decision dysfunction.
Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas:
Do you encourage your leader to temper his language given we haven’t yet seen evidence to say that there is a widespread phenomenon of this?
Liddle:
I say prove it’s not happening. And then we can have a conversation about the kind of language that we can actually use for this.
… You’ve got you’ve got the statistics, which everyone accepts are underreported and underrepresented. You’ve got to have relationships with communities to enable people to start talking about these safe spaces for young people to raise this issue of need to support people to have housing so that young people and older people are not at risk of this.
Treasurer optimistic about Australia’s economic future
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is in Washington for talks with G20 finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund.
Speaking to ABC Radio from the US, Chalmers says despite expectations that the economy will slow, he wants Australia to “grow out of this downturn” by investing in Australian industries.
It’s possible to be optimistic about Australia’s economic future, and to be realistic about a global slowdown.
Chalmers also said he wants to ensure other countries’ regulatory systems, especially banking, are up to scratch.
The difference between this downturn and 2008’s GFC, Chalmers says, is that the pace of problems emerging can be much quicker because of digitisation.
Tamsin Rose
Chris Minns to reinstate NSW cabinet office
The New South Wales cabinet office will be reinstated by premier, Chris Minns, as part of major changes to the bureaucracy he says will be able to better deal with challenges facing the state.
The existing department of premier and cabinet (DPC) will be dissolved on 1 July and replaced by the cabinet office and a new premier’s department.
Minns said:
We have a strong team of ministers and I want them supported by excellent public service advice and high-quality cabinet decision-making processes.
The cabinet office will be made up of experts in legal, policy and governance, and support my ministers and I to meet community expectations and deliver for the people of NSW.
The premier’s department will still lead the public service and both agencies will report to the premier.
The DPC secretary, Michael Coutts-Trotter, has been appointed as acting Treasury secretary and will be replaced by Peter Duncan who will lead the establishment of the new offices.
The new government has also sacked a number of high profile heads of department including Treasury secretary Paul Grimes, education secretary Georgina Harrisson and transport secretary Rob Sharp.
Their roles will be temporarily filled before being advertised publicly through a “merit based” system.
Further changes are being considered.
The premier will speak to the media this morning.
Port Hedland and Bidyadanga appear to escape worst of Cyclone Ilsa
The regional centre of Port Hedland, west of the storm’s centre, was warned to shelter indoors under a red alert until the threat passed.
The mayor, Peter Carter, said the town of about 16,000 was still locked down but that he believed the community has been spared the worst.
Carter said he has been unable to assess the damage, but the winds sounded “like a freight train” as the cyclone passed during the night. He told ABC News:
We’re still on red alert at the moment so we can’t go outside and assess the damage but it was very eerie and a very, very unusual sound, that wind.
I think that we were very, very lucky. At the last point, the cyclone moved further north from us.
So I think that we were spared in our community what could have been really bad.
Supt Peter Sutton, from WA’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services, also said Port Hedland and Bidyadanga appear to have escaped the “brunt of the cyclone” at this stage.
Overnight we have received no calls for assistance. It appears the larger populated areas have escaped the damage.
Once we can get crews opt the ground and helicopters into the air when it is safe, we will move along the coast to check roads and other critical infrastructure to see the brunt of the impact.
– with AAP
Tributes paid to Kate Jenkins on last day as sex discrimination commissioner
The Albanese government is paying tribute to Kate Jenkins as an “extraordinary” sex discrimination commissioner on her final day in the role.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said Jenkins’ seven years in the role has left a legacy of making Australia a fairer place, especially for women in the workplace.
Kate Jenkins’ landmark Respect@Work inquiry exploded the myth that sexual harassment was an inevitability women had to accept at work by outlining reforms to make workplaces safer for everyone.
In 2022, the Albanese government legislated these Respect@Work laws creating a statutory duty for employers to provide workplaces free from sexual harassment.
Sexual harassment is not inevitable – it is preventable. Without the hard work of Kate Jenkins and the victim survivors who told her of their experiences, these laws would not exist.
When widespread reports of sexual assault, harassment and bullying were exposed in the nation’s parliament, it was Kate Jenkins’ Set the Standard review that once again laid down the path to a better, safer, and more respectful workplace.
Kate Jenkins has been an extraordinary sex discrimination commissioner who has worked tirelessly to combat discrimination and there is no doubt her work has significantly advanced gender equality in Australia. She ends her term with the sincere thanks of the Albanese Labor government for improving the lives of Australian women.
Dreyfus also noted Jenkins’ work into sexual harassment in Australian universities and Australian gymnastics, as well as cultural reform within defence, police and border force.
Good morning! Natasha May on deck with you.
Pardoo Roadhouse owners shelter from cyclone in container
Despite being stuck inside a sea container after being smashed by the core of a huge storm, the owners of the Pardoo Roadhouse are still on Facebook. That’s the modern age for you.
About 4.30am AEST they sent a message thanking people for the comments, messages and emails of support, and reporting “great damage” to their roadhouse and tavern.
Then about an hour ago, they responded to a well-wisher who said “hopefully you can rebuild and be better than ever [love heart emoji]”.
“That is our plan,” the tavern messaged back.
Cyclone Ilsa to move close to Telfer
The ABC reports that Isla will pass close to Telfer, where there are a lot of mining operations – they have shut down operations and evacuated most staff back down to Perth.
And there’s an update from Pardoo Roadhouse, which took the brunt of the storm as it crossed the coast. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services duty assistant commissioner, Jon Broomehill, told the ABC the owners were sheltering onsite in a sea container.
He warned them, and others taking refuge from the tempest, not to come out into the open until they were given an all-clear message by authorities.
Cyclone Ilsa 150km inland
The latest “track map” of severe Tropical Cyclone Ilsa from the BoM was issued at 4am. It shows the eye of the storm – downgraded to category 3 – about 150km inland from where it crossed the coast over Pardoo Roadhouse, heading east-south-east.
At that time it was recording sustained winds near the centre of 155km/h, with wind gusts up to 220km/h.
The BoM warned of a “very destructive wind impact” that was occurring near the system centre, over the inland areas between De Grey and Pardoo Roadhouse, and to the east of Marble Bar.
It brings gale-force winds across a path that’s about 300km wide.
Isla was expected to weaken to category 2 by 10am, then category 1 by 10pm tonight. It will then weaken below tropical cyclone strength overnight Friday as it moves into the south of the NT.
Welcome
Good morning, and welcome to our live blog which will bring you the breaking news of the day. Our morning blogger, Natasha May, will be along shortly: in the meantime, here is what’s going on.
In WA’s north-west, Severe Tropical Cyclone Ilsa has crossed the coast about 120km north-east of Port Hedland as a category 5 system – it later downgraded to category 4 as it moved inland, but is expected to pose danger for most of the day.
On its way, it set a new (preliminary) record for wind speed in Australia, with a sustained 10 minutes of 218 km/h at Bedout Island. The previous record, from Cyclone George in 2007 at the same location, was 194km/h.
The Pardoo Roadhouse, close to the centre of the storm, has reported “great damage” during a “stressful and challenging time”.
Our blog will follow news as it develops from the path of the storm.
In other Australian news, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has been accused of misrepresenting locals’ views on the Indigenous voice by claiming that discussions with residents of Leonora had led to his decision to oppose it.
A high court decision could have just made invalid tens of thousands of visa decisions by the previous government, as the court found that the then immigration minister had left decisions to their department that should have been made in person.
And the Reserve Bank has been accused of “dereliction of duty” for not properly considering the contribution that corporate profits have made to inflation, focusing too much on wages.
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