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Facial recognition coming to NSW clubs
Facial recognition technology will be used to identify problem gamblers in clubs and pubs across New South Wales, but critics have labelled the move an invasion of privacy that won’t crack down on money laundering, AAP reports.
The Australian Hotels Association NSW and ClubsNSW are developing a system to be rolled out across all clubs and hotels next year.
Cameras coupled with facial recognition will be used to keep people who have self-imposed bans away from poker machines.
People in gaming areas will have their face scanned and the images will be cross-checked with people who have signed up for the self-exclusion system.
The ClubsNSW chief executive, Josh Landis, said facial recognition technology was already in place in numerous NSW clubs and had been effective in preventing self-excluded patrons from accessing gaming machines.
He said in a statement:
Close to 100 clubs are already using this technology and the feedback is that it works.
The technology will have strict privacy protections in place and no licensed venue will be able to access the facial recognition data, which will become part of the existing multi-venue self-exclusion scheme. Landis said:
Clubs have a demonstrated commitment to protecting their members and patrons from gambling harm and this technology will take the world-leading multi-venue self-exclusion program to the next level.
But NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann said the move was “a sop to the powerful gambling industry”.
She called for the introduction of effective harm-reduction measures, including mandatory cashless gambling cards which would stop money laundering.
Pokies operators are so scared of a mandatory gambling card that they’ve turned to invasive and inconsistent facial recognition technology instead.
The NSW government has lost its mind if it thinks people want pubs and clubs to have self managed facial recognition tech. This is as terrifying as it is absurd.
The Greens are also calling for a curfew on gambling machines operating between midnight and midday, $1 bet limits a spin on gambling machines and mandatory player-set time and spending limits for machines and online gambling.
Severe thunderstorm warning for southern inland Queensland
Heavy rain and storms forecast for NSW and northern Victoria
Dean Narramore, a senior forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology, has told ABC News there is not going to be a break in the wet weather anytime soon.
That low will move towards the South Australia and New South Wales border tonight. And slowly move south through western parts of NSW and Victoria as we move through Thursday and Friday.
What that means – widespread heavy rain and thunderstorms through NSW, and eventually into northern Victoria on Thursday and Friday. A bit more convective, this system, so more hit and miss storms.
We’re talking widespread 50mm to 100mm, over five days, across many of our flood-affected rivers. That means likely renewed river level rises in NSW and into northern Victoria as well.
Just as this clears away, it doesn’t really clear away, the moisture hangs on – our next system comes in Sunday and Monday with renewed bursts of rain and thunderstorms across SA, Victoria, Tasmania, and NSW.
That will continue in mid-next week. A lot of rain and storms on the way. Residents and communities in flood-affected areas need to stay up-to-date because it’s going to be a wet and stormy few days with lots of warnings likely issued.
New workplace relations legislation aiming to close gender pay gap
A new workplace relations bill will ban pay secrecy clauses and make gender equity a central objective of the Fair Work Act.
The government is set to introduce the secure jobs, better pay bill to parliament next week, which it says will deliver a fairer workplace relations system for Australian workers.
The bill is the first tranche of the Albanese Labor Government’s workplace relations reforms designed to get wages moving.
For a decade they had a government that deliberately kept their wages low and did nothing to close the loopholes that have made Australian jobs less secure. That has left people struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living has gone up.
The employment and workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, has said:
These changes will bring the laws up to date with the needs of the modern workplace.
A key objective of this bill will be to help close the gender pay gap.
Women should not be paid less than men – it’s that simple. That’s why gender pay equity will be at the centre of our workplace reforms.
Burke’s statement says the secure jobs, better pay bill will:
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Ban pay secrecy clauses so that companies cannot prohibit staff from talking about their pay if they want to. These clauses have long been used to conceal gender pay discrepancies. Banning them will improve transparency, reduce the risk of gender pay discrimination and empower women to ask their employers for pay rises.
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Make gender equity a central objective of the Fair Work Act, including the modern award system – putting the issue at the heart of pay decisions made by the Fair Work Commission.
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Establish two new Fair Work Commission expert panels, one on pay equity and one on the care and community sector. One of the main causes of the gender pay gap is low pay and conditions in the female-dominated care sector. Care work is undervalued, underpaid, and increasingly insecure.
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Make it easier for the Fair Work Commission to order pay increases for workers in low-paid, female-dominated industries by putting in place a statutory equal remuneration principle like that which exists in Queensland.
Levee built in Echuca overnight
A levee has been built on Watsons Street in Echuca overnight – between the Murray River and the town centre. Echuca Wharf is likely to exceed the major flood level (94.40 m AHD) today and peak on Friday higher than the 1993 flood level. @GuardianAus @natasha__may pic.twitter.com/7L4iWRgbtZ
— Caitlin Cassidy (@caitecassidy) October 18, 2022
As of 4pm yesterday the river was 94.30 and slowly rising.
— Caitlin Cassidy (@caitecassidy) October 18, 2022
Peter Hannam
Gas windfall ‘war profits’ surge to $40b
Australia’s liquefied natural gas exporters will snare windfall profits of as much as $40bn this year as a result of Russia’s war on Ukraine, offering the government a chance to fund key programs by taxing some of the excess earnings, the Australia Institute says.
Analysis by the thinktank found domestic gas prices doubled from $7.50/GJ in 2020-21 to $16.20/GJ in 2021-22 even though the invasion happened two-thirds of the way through the year. This year prices will average $19.90/GJ.
Almost all NSW rivers west of divide in flood, minister says
The New South Wales emergency services minister, Steph Cook, has given the following update at a press conference in Sydney:
Well, this wet weather system continues to hit our regional remote and rural communities across the state today. We are starting to see that rain fall and it will particularly impact our western and our southern communities.
It will impact communities starting from today and over the coming days. So I’m urging communities across NSW, particularly those located around Bourke, around Moama, of course, in the south where we continue to focus a lot of our efforts, to stay on high alert over the next 24 hours and beyond.
But also to communities along the Lachlan River in Forbes and Condoblin as the last peak continues to move downstream, whilst we are seeing waters recede around the Forbes area, that peak will now continue to move through the lower Lachlan area as the days unfold.
Almost every river system west of the divide is in flood to some extent at present. Some of those river systems are minor, others moderate and others major. It doesn’t take much rain to cause those rivers to rise and rise very quickly. So we can expect to see some river systems move from minor to major in a very short space of time.
Focus of BoM should be on weather, not branding: Plibersek
Josh Butler
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has shot down the Bureau of Meteorology’s request for people not to call it the BoM, saying Australians should be free to call it whatever they like.
There’s now questions being raised over how much was spent on a marketing rebrand for the bureau, with Plibersek seeking “urgent information” about the expenses.
She told Guardian Australia this morning:
The Bureau of Meteorology, the BoM – Australians will make up their own minds about what they call it.
What matters is accurate and timely weather information for communities, particularly during severe weather like we’re experiencing right now. That’s where my focus is. People are hurting.
She later tweeted: “My focus and the focus of the BoM should be on weather, not branding.”
My focus and the focus of the BOM should be on weather, not branding.
— Tanya Plibersek (@tanya_plibersek) October 18, 2022
The bureau sent a media release yesterday, asking for the organisation to be known by its full name, not its acronym or “the weather bureau”. It later emerged that there had been at least $70,000 in contracts awarded to a communications company for “branding of product naming services” and “brand implementation”.
We understand the rebrand began around 18 months ago, and may have involved more contracts.
Plibersek said:
This “rebrand” work was undertaken during the previous government. I’ve asked for urgent information about all the costs and contracts entered into under the previous government.
Adam Morton
Existing technology can double planned emissions reductions
Another report out today: Beyond Zero Emissions has set out how Australia could nearly double the planned emissions reductions by 2030 just by backing existing technology.
The climate thinktank estimated the country could make an 81% cut by 2030 compared with 2005 levels – nearly double the government’s existing 43% target – by accelerating the roll out of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, heat pumps, electrolysers and electric vehicles with chargers.
The group focused on what was physically possible, and not the cost or policies needed to get there.
It said most of the goal could be achieved by doubling the pace at which household solar panels were installed, quadrupling the rate at which wind turbines were built and connected ,and increasing the roll out of energy storage including batteries by a factor of five.
EV use would need to increase by a factor of 14 from the current low base and there would need to be a massive increase – 37 times the current rate – in the pace at which heat pumps were installed to run water heating, air conditioning and industrial heat.
The Beyond Zero Emissions chief executive, Heidi Lee, said emissions cuts on this scale were “ambitious but achievable”.
Our research shows Australians that emissions cutting technologies are here, we’re using them and there’s no reason why they can’t be scaled up.
Caitlin Cassidy
Echuca community bands together as town braces for record flooding
The close-knit border towns of Echuca and Moama are awaiting the expected flooding of 2,000 properties in coming days, with hundreds residents being urged to evacuate with more rain on the way.
The communities spent hours rushing to fortify historic buildings and homes on Tuesday, with particular concern over properties outside the town levees.
The CocknBull Boutique Hotel was one site on the frontline. Built in 1876, the beautiful old building sits on the banks of Echuca’s Campaspe River. Then named the Saleyards Hotel, it was the town’s main stock selling centre for more than 60 years prior to its life as a hotel, delicatessen and restaurant.
By Tuesday evening, the hotel was surrounded by sandbags for the second time in a week.
The beautiful CocknBull hotel has been fortified for the second time in a week ahead of expected flooding in Echuca from today. Built in 1876, it was the town’s main stock selling centre for decades prior to its life as a boutique hotel @GuardianAus #Echuca pic.twitter.com/9oQ7VIjaRr
— Caitlin Cassidy (@caitecassidy) October 18, 2022
The proprietor posted on social media:
Our beautiful building survived the Campaspe flood which peaked on Sunday and is slowly falling.
However, the rising Murray River poses the next threat pushing the Campaspe back up to dangerous levels. Emergency plans have been put in place to build a levee wall from the CocknBull to McDonalds. Thank you to all the amazing people that have helped protect our property and the community.
Flooded areas in eastern Australia may face another soaking
The BoM forecast continues to indicate rain over the next eight days will be widespread and significant across eastern Australia. Flooded areas may cop another soaking. (Source: @BOM_au) pic.twitter.com/GKgtrMc6rv
— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) October 18, 2022
Majority of businesses say net zero by 2050 not enough, survey finds
Adam Morton
Nearly three-quarters of businesses have told an industry survey the goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 does not go far enough.
More than 60% said they believe the government should go further by setting a “net negative” emissions target.
The Carbon Market Institute, an industry association representing nearly 150 businesses, ranging from climate-focused companies to fossil fuel giants, said the results of its ninth annual business survey showed there had been an awakening over the past year to the scale of what was required for Australia to play its part in combating the climate crisis.
It found 71% of 262 senior executives and board members that responded said 2050 was too late to reach net zero emissions, and 61% supported the government setting a deadline by which the country would be withdrawing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emitted.
There was less support for an ambitious 2035 target. Half (52%) supported a target of emissions being cut by more than 60% (compared with 2005 levels) by that date. Scientists and investor groups have called on the Albanese government to set a 2035 reduction target of about 75% for Australia to play its part in limiting heating to 1.5C since pre-industrial times.
The institute’s chief executive, John Connor, said it showed “things have got real” as businesses grappled with the scale of what was required to address the problem.
He said the results reflected changes in policy under the Albanese government, challenges faced by business in moving to a low-emissions world “and, of course, the first-hand impacts of climate change we have witnessed in the last 12 months”.
Change is here, and it’s real.
Other notable findings:
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87% believed the longer Australia delayed decarbonisation the more abrupt, forceful and disruptive the policy response would need to be.
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On a scale from 1 to 10, businesses gave an average score of a little more than 6 when asked to rate the integrity of Australia’s controversial carbon credit system.
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The most important things driving business change were found to be stakeholder (including consumer and investor) demand and commercial opportunities.
Amy Remeikis
‘A recipe for an eternity in opposition’: Sharma on ‘narrow’ Liberal views
After the questions about the reversal of the previous government’s recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Dave Sharma was asked his opinion on the future of his own party.
Sharma was one of the moderate Liberal MPs swept from office by an independent (Allegra Spender) and one of the group who Liberal vice president Teena McQueen was celebrating losing at the most recent Cpac conference.
Sharma, who has had plenty of time to digest McQueen’s comments, seems to barely hold back his eye-roll at McQueen’s statement and said following her recipe would end with the Liberal party spending “an eternity in opposition”:
I disagree quite fundamentally with her comments and I think if you actually want to be in a position to form government, and win the seats that are necessary to form government, it doesn’t make sense for you to be a narrow party … having only a limited electoral appeal, an narrowly ideologically position.
I think if we took the advice of some of these people that we should purify ourselves or shift further to the ideological right or abandon seats where voters are higher income and higher levels of education, it’s a recipe for an eternity in opposition.
I’m interested in being a political party that has the aspiration to form government, not to be in a permanent opposition.
And I think the advice that people like that is the recipe for just that. An eternity in opposition. I wouldn’t take it and I think she was wrong to give it.
Government’s Israel reversal a throwback to the 1950s: Sharma
This is some of the dialogue from earlier in that ABC interview with Dave Sharma where he elaborates on some of the reasons he believes the Albanese government should still recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Karvelas:
The government has simply realigned Australia’s foreign policy regarding Israel’s capital every time with a majority of the international community. Isn’t this a move that is going to be better for our diplomatic standing overall.
Sharma:
Well, to me, it seems like a throwback. I’d point out the United States and Russia which is two countries which agree on very little both agree that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
We’ve got countries in the Middle East like the United Arab Emirates establishing diplomatic relations with Israel, because they see Israel as a part of peace and stability in the region.
And I think what this does, I mean, they could disagree with our policy at the time, but by taking it back in this way, they’re taking quite an antiquated view of the conflict.
… I think all we did in 2018, when we announced this decision, was recognise that simple reality that Israel’s government has all its offices and natural institutions there, recognise the reality that every Israeli politician from both sides visits their counterpart in those places and recognise the reality that even if the capital is one day shared, or the Palestinians establish their own capital in East Jerusalem, West Jerusalem will remain part of Israel and I think it was a common sense policy at the time.
What Labor’s done is take our policy back to the 1950s.
Karvelas calls Sharma up on aligning Australia with Russia’s foreign policy given what is unfolding there. Sharma says he is “just pointing out that the idea that this is an isolated or unusual position is not the case”.
Sharma defends Morrison’s Israel move and criticises Labor’s reversal
The foreign minister Penny Wong yesterday confirmed Australia ended recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, after Guardian broke the story on Monday. At Tuesday’s press conference she said the Morrison government’s decision to move the Australian embassy from to West Jerusalem in 2018 was a play to win the electorate of Wentworth in the federal election.
Wentworth is one of the electorates with the highest proportion of Jewish people in Australia. Scott Morrison first announced a review of the issue to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in the final week of the by-election campaign that followed Malcolm Turnbull’s exit as the member for Wentworth.
Liberal candidate and former ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma lost out to independent Kerryn Phelps in October 2018. Two months later, Morrison formally recognised West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Sharma subsequently won the seat in the 2019 election contest but in the most recent federal contest lost the seat to the independent Allegra Spender, as one of the many moderate liberals to be unseated by the teals.
Sharma has appeared on ABC radio this morning where he criticised the Albanese government for making the policy decision “on the run”.
RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas took Sharma to task, saying it was rather the Liberal government who made the decision hastily before the election.
Sharma defended the former Coalition government’s actions:
Let me take you back to that time. What was announced during the by-election campaign was a review of our policy on the settings. Decisions on that policy were not taken until several months after that election. And they reflected at the time that we had a new prime minister in Scott Morrison and there’ve been significant international moves afoot in this area, including the United States, moving its own embassy to Jerusalem and shifting its recognition. Announcing our view of a policy, at the time when you build a new prime minister and international circumstances are changing, is not unusual. What is unusual is Labor doing this now when there’s seemingly no causal pretext other than the delivery on an election commitment.
Karvelas:
No doubt Labor should be asked questions and I just did that with Chris Bowen about the way it’s been handled, but your argument doesn’t stack up, given you actually did this in a very, very febrile political environment. That’s how the announcement was actually made in 2018. It wasn’t organised in a way which was at all cohesive, can’t you concede that that was equally at least a mistake?
Sharma:
I don’t concede that point. In August of 2018, Malcolm Turnbull resigned as prime minister. He resigned his seat of Wentworth. As a result a by-election was called … Scott Morrison became the prime minister. And as is normal he announced reviews into a number of policies and this being one of them.
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