Good morning and happy Sunday.
It’s Caitlin Cassidy here to guide you through today’s news.
The Coalition has accused the prime minister of having “shut down debate” at Labor’s national conference on issues such as Aukus and Israel and Palestine because he wants to avoid exposing the “deep divisions” within the party. It comes as Ed Husic’s push for Labor to recognise claims of genocide against Israel failed, prompting the backbencher to criticise the party’s culture under Anthony Albanese.
South Australia has two more suspected cases of deadly H5 bird flu, marking a possible escalation in the disease’s presence in the state. Seventeen cases of H5N1 have now been confirmed nationally, with only one so far in a local bird.
And the energy minister, Chris Bowen, has assured Australians that fuel supply remains “solid and secure” as the drawn-out Middle East conflict pushes global crude back above $US100 a barrel.
If you’d like to get in touch, I’m on caitlin.cassidy@theguardian.com.
Let’s get into it!
PM says Labor’s platform on Israel and Palestine has ‘got the balance right’
Still on Labor’s national conference, Anthony Albanese was pointed to his former minister, Ed Husic, whose push for Labor to recognise claims of a genocide against Israel failed amid resistance from factional powerbrokers.
On Saturday, the former industry minister said he doesn’t “give a shit” if senior colleagues freeze him out for constantly breaking ranks, and vowed to keep speaking about contentious issues.
Asked if the PM wanted to avoid debate over the floor of the conference on whether Israel had committed genocide, Albanese said there had been “contributions”, including from Josh Burns.
We want to see a two-state solution … And we want to see that issue advanced … The party platform has got the balance right. And what we need to do to is make sure that we as a a country – this is a conflict that is far away from us – but that everything that we do is balanced … We want to see that coming together and Australia play a role in promoting harmony rather than conflict. And that is role I want our government to continue to play.
Asked if Husic was “helping or hurting” the Labor party, Albanese said he had a right, as did every delegate, to attend and use their voice.
That’s fine by me … I’ve no problem with any delegate to the conference having their say and making their contribution … David, this is the most transparent political conference in Australia by far … We’re a transparent party. It’s broadcast live.
PM says Australia could ‘lead the world’ in AI safety
The PM was also asked a bit of a philosophical question about artificial intelligence, and whether he was worried about it reaching the point where it’s making autonomous decisions and “doing its own thing”.
Anthony Albanese replied: “Of course”.
This is one of the reasons why we need to have Australian standards for AI and to shape change. AI is here. It’s having an impact on the way that we work, on the way that the media functions, as well. And we need to make sure that humans are in control of it.
Albanese said Australia could “lead the world” with its national standards on AI, including for national security issues.
These are complex issues. One the reasons why I will take the issues to National Cabinet next month in August. We’ll develop legislation that I’ll introduce at the beginning of next year.
Anthony Albanese says he’s opposed to allowing euthanasia patients to use telehealth
One debate that took place on the floor of the conference was on whether telehealth consultations should be able to be used for voluntary assisted dying. It was taken as a conscience vote.
Advocates have been pushing the federal government to address structural barriers to accessing the end-of-life care, including telehealth barriers.
Anthony Albanese said he was a supporter of voluntary euthanasia but opposed to allowing patients to use telehealth to access it.
It is important that people have the right to die in dignity, with dignity. But it’s also important that protections placed around it. Now if someone has a heart attack or an acute health condition, they need a doctor. They can’t do that over telehealth. And I think someone ending their life is just as important. And I think that it should be-face recognition and-face engagement … My concern is that it it the potential for misuse but also the potential that it has to undermine the system in itself
Asked if the matter would come to parliament, Albanese said “that’s for government o determine”.
It’s up to the cabinet to decide our cabinet decisions after and in consultation with the caucus. We’re a very orderly government, David. That’s one of the things that has put us in good stead over the last four years.
‘We’re cohesive’: PM says after muted ALP national conference
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, spoke with David Speers on Insiders as Labor’s 50th national conference in Adelaide was wrapping up.
Speers pointed to the fact a young Albanese once came to these conferences “with an aim to change minds”, while this year’s conference had little feisty debates.
Albanese said there had been “really constructive engagement and deliberations done in full public view”. Asked if he’d personally changed his mind on anything, he said:
Well, our government does listen to people but [there was a] broad consensus about the direction in which we’re taking government … A government that doesn’t sit idle. We don’t just occupy the space. And there’s recognition of that from delegates that we are a united party We’re cohesive.
Investigation under way after two people shot by police in Queensland
An investigation is under way after two people were shot by police in Cairns overnight.
Queensland Police said officers were initially called to a street in Mount Sheridan, a suburb of Cairns in far-north Queensland, around 5.10pm on Saturday following reports of an attempted armed robbery, with a man fleeing the area on foot.
Upon arrival, police found a 28-year-old man at the roundabout of Hardy Road, Foster Road and Lizard Street.
Officers attempted to engage with the man, before he was shot on Foster Road. During the altercation, a civilian woman also sustained a gunshot wound. Officers immediately provided first aid to both the man and woman, before both were transported to Cairns Base hospital for treatment. No police officers were injured during the incident. A crime scene has been declared, and there is no ongoing risk to public safety.
The shooting is under investigation by the Ethical Standards Command, with oversight from the Crime and Corruption Commission.
Pat Conroy heading to US to witness Aukus progress and ‘strengthen co-operation’ with the administration
The minister for defence, Pat Conroy, is off to the United States this week to see progress of the Aukus submarines deal and “strengthen co-operation” with the administration. Last month, Richard Marles said that Australia would no longer receive two Virginia-class submarines already in service and one new vessel. Instead, Australia would take three secondhand boats.
In a statement, Conroy said he’d be visiting Washington, Charleston and Tucson for meetings and engagements, including senior officials from the US administration and members of congress. Donald Trump is probably a little too busy with the continued war in the Middle East to step away.
Conroy said:
This trip is about building opportunities for Australian industry and jobs, building supply chain resilience and seeing progress on our investment in AUKUS. AUKUS will be the greatest industrial endeavour ever undertaken in Australia, and we are focused on delivering this.
I will visit the HII Shipyard in Charleston, South Carolina to see first-hand how our investment in AUKUS is contributing to submarine production and gain insights to support the Australian construction of our future fleet of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines. In Charleston, I will also visit Royal Australian Navy students based at the AUKUS Nuclear Power Training Unit.
The Albanese Government is committed to building greater self-reliance within the Alliance so that Australia can be resilient in an increasingly complex strategic environment.
You can read an exclusive we had on Aukus yesterday here:
Tom McIlroy
We need more skilled migrants: Malinauskas
South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas has made the case for a better and bigger skilled migration intake in the wake of Labor’s national conference, telling Sky News this morning cuts to the program could hurt the economy.
Federal Labor, like the Coalition and One Nation, is cutting overseas migration levels. Malinauskas says a pragmatic and controlled approach is needed, warning populist politics could get in the way:
I think skilled migration is something that … if the country’s going to curtail, we’ve got to think through very carefully.
Curtailing skilled migration brings with its own consequences. We need more people coming here with the capacity to build homes. We need more people coming here with the capacity to work in the health sector and aged care.
If we turn that tap off, there’ll be a price to be paid. And that’s why I don’t support the idea of an emotive debate around migration. I’d rather a more pragmatic one and a controlled one, and that’s where I think the rise of populism may yet have some profound consequences for the country.
One Nation’s rise in new heartland a warning to majors
The rise of One Nation has seen heightened activity among local representatives of all political persuasions fighting for the limelight in the populist party’s new regional heartland, AAP reports.
David Farley’s historic win for One Nation at the Farrer by-election in early-May sent shock waves through federal politics, especially the major parties. Observers now see One Nation’s management of the electorate – and the way the major parties respond – as a model on how the next federal election could be fought, amid a surge of support for the Pauline Hanson-led populists in national polls.
Farley’s presence in Farrer’s major centres of Albury and Griffith, and his visits to the regional communities of the once safe Liberal electorate, have been noticed by politicians at a local level, according to Albury City mayor Kevin Mack. He says the increased scrutiny on the region has lit a fire under some local councillors:
I’m seeing politicians going to the opening of envelopes. They seem to be going to things I’m not going to, which I didn’t know existed. They seem to be creating their own opportunities.
The shift in approach from established politicians from major parties was a natural result when threatened by a rise from smaller ones, according to Australian National University political scientist Jill Sheppard.
The great virtue of Australian politics is that we have stability, but the price of stability is the parties tend to get a bit lazy. For a normal voter who is just hoping life can feel a little bit better, that’s not always very satisfying. … I suspect that there will be some kind of ripple effect from Albury.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Coalition says PM wanted to ‘shut down debate’ at LNP national conference
The Coalition says Anthony Albanese was desperate to shut down debate on contentious issues such as Aukus and Israel and Palestine at Labor’s national conference because he wanted to avoid exposing the “deep divisions” with the party.
The party’s three-day conference ended on Saturday without any major fights after Ed Husic’s push to adopt a harder line on Israel collapsed amid resistance from factional powerbrokers.
A proposed amendment from the party’s anti-war movement to abandon the Aukus pact also failed to reach the conference floor.
The shadow defence minister, James Paterson, said it was “telling” that neither issue was debated at Labor’s peak policy-making forum.
He said:
I think it is very telling that rather than have the debate and win the debate, the prime minister and his government would prefer to shut down the debate. I think that shows what he knows. He knows that deep down there is deep divisions within the Labor Party on core national security interest issues, on core foreign policy issues, and on core defence policy issues.
The prime minister is worried that he would be embarrassed on the floor of the conference if Aukus was allowed to be debated, or if Israel-Palestine was allowed to be debated, or indeed the US alliance was allowed to be debated. I think he shut that down because he was afraid about where it would go.
Senior Labor sources denied actively attempting to block Husic’s resolution, arguing the former minister simply didn’t have any support. The Maritime Union of Australia initially agreed to second Husic’s motion before withdrawing support on Saturday morning, causing it to lapse.
Some delegates who were sympathetic to Husic were reluctant to back the resolution because they didn’t want to potentially overshadow a display of unity arranged for the debate, when MPs Josh Burns, who is Jewish, and Basem Abdo, the son of Palestinian refugees, united in support of the government’s official position.
Labor’s pro-Palestine wing did secure a win on Saturday with the party committing to strong controls and transparency around weapons export permits.
Adeshola Ore
Chris Bowen says Australia’s fuel supply ‘solid and secure’
The federal energy minister, Chris Bowen, has sought to assure Australians that fuel supply remains “solid and secure” as the drawn out Middle East conflict pushes global crude back above $US100 a barrel.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Bowen said there was uncertainty about the situation in the Middle East:
But one thing Australians can be certain about is that our fuel supply continues to be solid and secure.
Bowen said as of Saturday, Australia had 42 days’ worth of petrol, 38 days’ worth of diesel and 32 days’ worth of jet fuel. There are 51 ships on route to Australia, with 3.1bn litres of fuel due to arrive in the next four weeks, he said. He said Australia’s fuel stock was 15% more than when the US and Israel first bombed Iran in February.
Australia’s scaled-back extension of the fuel excise reduction is due to end on 2 August. Economists have warned that the end of the excise and higher global prices mean Australians face the prospect of petrol prices above $2 a litre over the coming weeks.
Lisa Cox
Two more local birds with suspected deadly bird flu in South Australia
South Australia has two more suspected cases of deadly H5 bird flu in local terns, marking a possible escalation in the disease’s presence in the state.
On Saturday, the South Australian government said samples would be sent to CSIRO to verify whether the birds had the deadly H5N1 strain. Results are expected in the coming days.
The two birds are greater crested terns, which members of the public found and reported. One was found dead near the Surf Life Saving Club at Semaphore in Adelaide and the other was found unwell at Robe and has since died.
To date 17 cases of H5N1 have been confirmed nationally, with only one so far in a local bird – also a greater crested tern found at Robe Marina earlier this month.
Federal agriculture minister Julie Collins said terns were known to mix with petrels and other migratory subantarctic species that had been found with bird flu.
Collins said there was still no evidence of widespread local transmission of the disease:
We have no evidence of any transmission in Australia in terms of the H5 bird flu at this point in time. We have no mass mortalities being recorded. We have no bird flu in our culture or agriculture systems, and the risk to human health remains low.
Tom McIlroy
Economic hits driving voters to One Nation: Labor boss
Labor’s national secretary, Paul Erickson, says repeated economic hits are pushing voters to consider right wing parties like Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, warning major parties need to address these anxieties.
Erickson is the campaign strategist behind Labor’s wins in 2022 and 2025 and is preparing to fight a reelection campaign for Anthony Albanese in about 18 months time. He told Sky:
When we think about the last decade, one thing that has stood out is that every time workers and businesses felt like through the crisis, the latest crisis, and every time they’re picking themselves up off the floor, another big event comes along, another crisis.
Whether it is war in Europe, war in the Middle East, a global inflation surge, all the way back to the pandemic, and that constant sense of every time you’re picking yourself up off the floor, another knock comes along, I think has led to a sense for people in the community of pessimism that, as progressives and as a centre-left party, we need to tackle and take on.
But I think is at the core of this rise of the populist right all over the world.
Good morning and happy Sunday.
It’s Caitlin Cassidy here to guide you through today’s news.
The Coalition has accused the prime minister of having “shut down debate” at Labor’s national conference on issues such as Aukus and Israel and Palestine because he wants to avoid exposing the “deep divisions” within the party. It comes as Ed Husic’s push for Labor to recognise claims of genocide against Israel failed, prompting the backbencher to criticise the party’s culture under Anthony Albanese.
South Australia has two more suspected cases of deadly H5 bird flu, marking a possible escalation in the disease’s presence in the state. Seventeen cases of H5N1 have now been confirmed nationally, with only one so far in a local bird.
And the energy minister, Chris Bowen, has assured Australians that fuel supply remains “solid and secure” as the drawn-out Middle East conflict pushes global crude back above $US100 a barrel.
If you’d like to get in touch, I’m on caitlin.cassidy@theguardian.com.
Let’s get into it!
