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Key events
What we learned today – Sunday, 11 June
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. Thanks so much for joining us. Here is a wrap of the day’s biggest stories:
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Authorities have praised Sydney residents for a quick evacuation as fire raged;
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Two divers reported missing in Tasmania have been found drifting 3.5km off shore;
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Linda Burney has invoked Bob Hawke in giving a speech in support of the voice to parliament while in the NT for the Barunga festival;
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Michaelia Cash has accused Labor of “weaponising” Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations;
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Aged care minister, Anika Wells, says policy in the area has been “allowed to drift” for decades;
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Wells has also thrown her support behind Katy Gallagher who has been attacked by the Coalition over claims she misled parliament;
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The country’s property market is in a lull with auction clearance rates recording their lowest result in six weeks.
Labor accused of weaponising Higgins’ rape claim
The shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash, has accused Labor of “weaponising” Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation, insisting finance minister Katy Gallagher still has questions to answer about her knowledge of the claim before it was aired publicly.
You can read more on that story here:
Three teenagers charged over man’s death in west Sydney
Two young men and a teenage girl are due in court after a 32-year-old man died after an alleged altercation in a western Sydney home.
Emergency services were called to a home in Tregear about 10.30pm on Saturday where they found the 32-year-old unresponsive in a bedroom.
He was unable to be revived by paramedics, and local police established a crime scene at the home.
The man was injured during an altercation at the home, police say.
Residents of the home, two men aged 18 and 19, and 16-year-old girl were arrested and taken to Mount Druitt police station.
The 18-year-old has been charged with murder, and the 19-year-old and 16-year-old have been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The two males are due in Parramatta bail court and the girl is due in a children’s court on Sunday.
Strike Force Armine has been formed to investigate the man’s death, with detectives assisted by detectives from the State Crime Command’s homicide squad.
The man’s cause of death will be determined through a postmortem examination.
– AAP
Jennifer Coolidge at Sydney’s Vivid festival
This piece is a lot of fun:
Jobs data expected to show cooling economy
A fresh batch of jobs data will be pored over this week for confirmation the extremely tight labour market is starting to unwind.
The latest labour force data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics comes after the jobless rate lifted to 3.7 per cent in April from 3.5 per cent against expectations it would hold firm.
About 4,300 jobs were lost from the economy over the four-week period in a sign the labour market was starting to respond to higher interest rates and global uncertainty.
But unemployment starting with a “three” is still indicative of a very tight jobs market, and there’s reason to believe it will take time for it to materially weaken.
The jobs figures will be released on Thursday.
Before then, Commonwealth Bank will release its household spending intentions indicator for the month of May on Tuesday.
NAB’s business survey for May is also due on Tuesday, as is the monthly consumer sentiment survey from Westpac and Melbourne Institute.
On Wednesday, ANZ and Roy Morgan will release their weekly consumer confidence index – delayed a day due to the King’s birthday public holiday and Monday – and the ABS will release overseas arrivals and departures data.
– AAP
The devils and the detail of the $715m AFL stadium dividing Tasmania
Hobart’s Macquarie Point has been a freight railyard, a gas works and a rubbish dump, but for years its aesthetic has been abandoned industrial. Squeezed between a port and an elevated regatta ground, it is noteworthy mainly for its location – just a 10-minute promenade along the waterfront from the restaurants and bars of Salamanca Place, the city’s centrepiece.
It is unlikely many Tasmanians gave Mac Point much thought until it was earmarked for a new purpose – hosting big league football matches.
The AFL demanded a new stadium in return for the state being granted a licence for a long-sought-after team in the national competition. Since then public discussion in Tasmania has struggled to focus on anything else.
The man responsible for the deal with the AFL, the premier, Jeremy Rockliff, started a fight that he apparently didn’t foresee and that quickly spiralled beyond his control.
For more on the story behind the controversial new stadium development, read the full feature by Guardian Australia’s Adam Morton.
Pool entry prices in Brisbane slashed ahead of summer
Swimming pool entry pries will be slashed to $2 across the Brisbane city council area to help tackle rising living costs.
The price will apply all day every day, including public holidays, without a limit on entries.
The fee slashing means an adult visiting Wynnum pool will save $4.90 per entry while a child under 15 years will save $2.80.
The council will refund pool lessees the difference between their regular entry prices, Brisbane city council said on Sunday.
– AAP
Canadian chef accused of selling ‘suicide kits’ investigated
A Canadian chef accused of selling “suicide kits” to vulnerable people online has reportedly been linked to the deaths of several Australians who took their own lives.
Kenneth Law, 57, is accused of selling “suicide kits” to at risk people online over a two year period, and is at the centre of a multi-agency probe. Investigators from Australia, Britain, the US, Italy, New Zealand and Canada joined forces to uncover his alleged crimes, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and state police know of at least 10 packages containing the lethal substance having been sent to Australians, resulting in deaths, federal government security sources told the SMH.
Law was arrested and charged with two counts of counselling or aiding suicide after two deaths in the Regional Municipality of Peel in Ontario, in central Canada, on 2 May.
Local police say their investigation has uncovered evidence of Law sending 1,200 packages to 40 different countries.
Several police forces in Canada have since announced they will review deaths in their area, the Toronto Sun reports.
The Ontario chef has been linked with up to 20 people’s deaths internationally, including 13 UK residents, and one US teenager.
The chef’s prosecution came after he told a reporter from The Times, who posed as a buyer, that “many, many, many, many” of his customers were dead.
If you are struggling and need support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
– AAP
Kathleen Folbigg’s ‘fierce women’ on the need to challenge misogyny in criminal cases
In the week since Kathleen Folbigg was pardoned and released from prison, she has been unravelling the learned behaviours from 20 years spent in prison: no longer eating dinner at 3.30pm, or having to wait for a guard before opening a door. Realising she has free choice.
But Tracy Chapman, Folbigg’s longtime friend and advocate, says they have also started turning their minds to what might be learned from Folbigg’s experience. First and foremost by proving the impetus to establish a Criminal Cases Review Commission, as exists in the UK and New Zealand, to examine miscarriages of justice.
Chapman says the reason Folbigg is no longer in prison is not because the system works but because of a groundswell of support from people who ploughed through it, many of whom were women.
For more on this story, read the full feature by Guardian Australia’s Jordyn Beazley:
Woman killed and two injured after car veers off cliff
A driver is dead and two passengers are injured after their car veered off a cliff and into a creek in eastern Victoria.
The trio were travelling along Donnellys Creek Rd in Toombon when their car left the road about 10.20am on Saturday.
Footage from Nine News showed the vehicle on its roof surrounded by water.
A man and a woman who survived the crash were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The driver died at the scene and she has not yet been formally identified.
Police are working to establish the circumstances surrounding the crash.
– AAP
Auction market quiet ahead of King’s Birthday long weekend
The Australian housing market has recorded the “quietest auction week since Easter” according to the latest CoreLogic summary of clearance rates from the capital cities.
This week saw 1,040 homes auctioned across Australian capitals, down 42.7% from the 1,815 held last week and 24.6% less than at the same time last year.
Of the 825 results collected, the clearance rate remained above 72.4% – though this was still the lowest result in six weeks.
This week’s preliminary clearance is the lowest in six weeks, suggesting the June rate hike may have tempered buyer and vendor confidence.
Sydney had the highest clearance rate of 75.9%, followed by Melbourne with 73.7%, and Adelaide with 83.7%. The next highest were Brisbane (58.8%) and Canberra (52.3%).
However, the overall number of homes going to auction were down compared to this time last year. In Sydney, 468 homes went to auction compared to 541 last year, with 315 homes in Melbourne going under the hammer compared to 450 last year.
In Brisbane, 198 homes went up for sale, lower than the 162 from the same time last year while Adelaide had just 85, down from 141. The lowest, however, was were Perth where 12 homes went up for auction (down from 19) and Canberra which counted 52 homes (down from 66).
Tasmania recorded no new auctions.
Home affairs asked Labor to extend support for asylum seekers as housing market worsens
The home affairs department asked the Albanese government to consider extending supports for asylum seekers and people on bridging visas to respond to a worsening housing market and the complex needs of more people exiting immigration detention.
That revelation is contained in freedom of information documents, which also include a direction from the immigration minister, Andrew Giles, to the department to streamline reviews to increase releases from immigration detention.
Cohorts up for review include detainees assessed as a low risk to the community, to who Australia owes a protection obligation, who are stateless, have complex health or care needs, or have been in immigration detention for five or more years.
For more on this story, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s chief political correspondent Paul Karp:
Labor rolls out new ‘microcredential courses’ as part of targeted skills push
The Labor government will provide $18.5m to support the introduction of up to 28 “microcredential courses” from 18 universities as part of a program to help address skills shortages in priority industries.
“Microcredentials” are short, focused courses in a specific area of study, designed to teach and upskill participants with targeted, job-relevant skills.
Over 90 applications were made in the first round of the “Microcredentials Pilot in Higher Education Program”. They include courses in priority areas including IT, engineering, science, health, and education.
Minister for education Jason Clare said the program “can help Australians upskill and reskill to prepare for the jobs of the future.”
This pilot means more Australians can get the skills in areas we need, such as teaching, nursing, and engineering.
The program also includes an online platform, “MicroCred Seeker”, which allows applications to search a catalogue of 425 courses from 56 registered providers.
A second round of funding is planned within the next 12 months, which will allow for more higher education providers to apply to participate in the pilot.
Divers found in Tasmania after search
Two divers who went missing in waters off Tasmania’s east coast have been found safe by a volunteer rescuer.
The 24-year-old woman and 25-year-old man from Hobart were diving near Alligator Rock on Saturday morning but failed to return by 11am as planned.
That sparked a large rescue mission across the area involving the Westpac rescue helicopter, police and recreational boats.
Tasmania police inspector Colin Riley said the pair drifted for four hours and were only able to stay underwater for five minutes due to what he described as a technical reason.
He commended the way the divers handled the ordeal before being found by a civilian vessel about 3.6km offshore.
It’s fair to say they did what they had to do to survive, they didn’t panic.
They stayed together and they kept their spirits up and they just focused on remaining above water.
– AAP
Allegations of abuse at centre accused of ‘extreme religious practices’
Health authorities in Western Australia heard allegations of abuse at the Esther Foundation in 2018 – well before the Morrison government awarded the foundation a $4m grant.
The grant to the religious rehabilitation centre, which has been accused of exorcisms and gay conversion practices, was part of the $2bn Community Health and Hospitals Program (CHHP). The national audit office this week accused the former government of deliberately breaching the CHHP guidelines, giving out grants likely to be unlawful, and falling short of “ethical requirements”.
The health minister, Mark Butler, described the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) review as “a scathing report describing the full extent of the Morrison government’s waste, rorts and captain’s picks in a billion-dollar health slush fund”.
For more on this story, read the full report by Guardian Australia senior reporter Tory Shepherd:
Wells backs Gallagher amid Coalition claims Labor senator misled parliament
Wells has backed Katy Gallagher over claims by the Coalition that she misled parliament by claiming she had no knowledge of rape allegations by Brittany Higgins.
Wells said she has been “horrified” by some of the “political conjecture” that has gone on this week calling it “totally beyond the pale”.
The political conjecture that has gone on this week about this issue I find pretty horrifying and failing to see a really awful forest for the trees.
These people who are at this point fairly craven political operators running around having never concerned themselves with answering public interest questions.
Asked about her views on the claims, Wells said that Gallagher “wasn’t answering questions as a minister” during the Senate estimates hearing in question, but was asking questions. After her “interaction” with Linda Reynolds, Wells said “they’ve taken it offline” where they had a conversation about the version of events.
Linda Reynolds accepted that at the time and two years on, I accept that now.
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