Key events
James Paterson says Hastie move to backbench part of Liberals’ ‘debate and contest about ideas’
The sooner the Liberal party can sort out its differences the better but it may take a while after Andrew Hastie’s departure to the back bench, according to one of the rogue MP’s closest colleagues.
Senator James Paterson says the opposition needs to resolve big questions about its policy positions as quickly as possible.
But we do have to make sure we go through our processes. We have to make sure we have those debates.
One of the reflections we’ve all had about the last parliamentary term is that there wasn’t enough debate and contest about ideas, that we need to robustly contest policy before we settle on it.
Hastie defended his decision on Saturday to quit shadow cabinet but ruled out challenging Sussan Ley for the party’s top job.
The former SAS soldier says he wants the freedom to be more outspoken on immigration by sitting on the back bench.
With the Liberals’ cabinet bound by solidarity when it comes to policy, members can’t cross the floor to vote against an established position.
On the back bench, I’ll continue to advocate for things I believe in.
His decision follows the recent demotion of another hardline campaigner on immigration, senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.
She was removed from the shadow ministry in September after refusing to apologise for comments disparaging of Indian Australians.
– AAP
Melbourne’s Town Hall underground train station complete
Benita Kolovos
Town Hall station – first new train station in Melbourne’s CBD in more than 40 years – is complete.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, and transport infrastructure minister, Gabrielle Williams, will today visit Town Hall station to announce that construction on the fourth of five Metro Tunnel stations is complete, paving the way for the long-awaited tunnel to open by the end of the year. Anzac, Arden and Parkville were handed over to Metro Trains in April.
Located below Swanston Street, the station also has an entrance at Federation Square and new pedestrian underpass that will allow underground transfers between Town Hall and Flinders Street without the need to tap on or off.
Town Hall – along with State Library – were the most complex of the five stations, as the tunnel had to travel underneath the existing City Loop. The total space excavated for Town Hall station, including the platform and concourse levels, was 260m long and as deep as a five-storey building, up to 33m under Swanston Street. The station itself sits 27m below street level.
The $13.48bn Metro Tunnel will connect the Sunbury line in the west to the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines in the south-east via five new underground city stations, forming a single 97km train line.
It will deliver more frequent services from Sunbury to Cranbourne and Pakenham and free up City Loop capacity, returning Frankston trains to the loop.
Now in its third term, Labor is pinning its hopes on the tunnel delivering political capital before the November 2026 state election.
In a statement, Allan said:
We invested in public transport – and just look at the results. The Metro Tunnel will cut congestion and get you to work, uni and home sooner – and it opens this year.
Williams said:
With Town Hall Station now complete, we’re another step closer to opening the Metro Tunnel later this year – completely transforming the way Melbourne moves.
It is too early in negotiations over new environmental laws to rule anything out, Waters says, but the Greens want to see “environmental laws that work, that actually protect the environment and act on the climate crisis”.
Asked about the safeguard mechanism, Waters says the government is “talking about go zones” but “should be talking about no-go zones”.
What I’m very interested to know that the minister hasn’t answered yet is: is the Bowen basin going to be a go zone, where there are 22 coal projects awaiting approval? Is the government going to continue to green-light coal and gas, fossil fuel projects by big companies that make big donations to their re-election coffers but pay very little tax, in some cases none at all. That’s what I’m concerned about and the fact that the minister has not clarified that yet is not a good sign.
Greens leader urges government to end native forest logging
Asked whether windfarm projects should take priority over local environmental concerns, Waters says:
We are going to need to balance the need for large-scale and small-scale renewable energy against the needs of biodiversity and I don’t think it’s beyond our ability, David, to find the right location for those projects. We’d like to see government be the ones investing in those projects and I just don’t think it’s impossible to site them in the right place. That is very doable.
Waters is also asked about perceptions the Greens have been “too obstructionist” on negotiating environmental regulations and whether she is “willing to stand in the way of environmental law changes this time?”
Waters:
To pick you up on that, the prime minister killed that arrangement that we were about to ink for stronger environmental protections. So I’m afraid it was the prime minister blocking positive reform in that regard.
Asked how cooperative the Greens will be in this parliament:
We’re happy to have talks with the minister and those talks have begun but, unfortunately, the minister seems to be sending signals that he’d rather do a deal with the Coalition for environmental laws that don’t protect the planet.
Asked about whether there are any red lines for the party, Waters says that “one of the best outcomes” would be for the government to commit to end native forest logging.
Those laws were written last century and don’t even require the minister of the day to think about climate, let alone block on the basis of climate. That will continue to be a core demand of ours. You can’t have environmental laws that don’t protect the environment or think about the climate impacts of what we do.
Labor’s 2035 emissions target ‘delivered for coal and gas companies’, Waters says
Asked about the government’s 62% to 70% emissions reduction targets, Larissa Waters says the government’s has “low balled” with its current targets in light of advice from climate science.
I’m concerned that this 62% target just delivered for the coal and gas companies that have so much power and influence on this government and on the last and people are right to be concerned that their future is imperilled just because this government won’t stand up to the Woodsides or the Chevrons or the Glencores of the world.
Waters is asked about whether the Greens support statements from the Climate Change Authority that windfarm construction will quadruple to meet more ambitious climate targets.
I support quadrupling renewable energy. I have an open mind as to what particular technology will be the most efficient.
Waters is challenged over this point, with Speers attempting to probe the tensions between constructing renewable energy projects in areas that might be biodiversity hotspots or protected forests.
Waters is asked about specific windfarm locations, including one in northern Tasmania, but says she is not familiar with the specifics of the project.
This is why we need environmental laws that actually work.
Australia should be doing more to assist Gaza flotilla activists detained by Israel, Waters says
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, should be doing more to assist six Australians who took part in a flotilla that was intercepted by the Israeli military as it was attempting to break a naval blockade on Gaza to bring aid to the besieged strip, Larissa Waters says.
In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) said they were providing consular assistance to five Australians detained in Israel and were seeking confirmation of the detention of another Australian.
The Greens leader says Wong should call on the Israeli ambassador to ensure the safety and security of the six Australians who took part, and go so far as to expel the ambassador if action is not taken.
On the recent attack on a synagogue in Manchester, Waters says the Greens condemns the violence.
My heart goes out to the families of those people. No violence anywhere is acceptable.
Waters goes on to say that Australia should take further action against Israel, including ending the export of weapons and parts, as part of efforts to achieve a ceasefire and an end to the blockade.
Asked about where she stands on the government’s antisemitism envoy in light of the Manchester attack, Waters said many of the recommendations are “quite bizarre”.
What we need to see is an antiracist approach to antisemitism, to Islamophobia, to all of it. None of it is acceptable. But I think the reason why tensions are so inflamed is that we’ve seen a genocide for two years that our government has refused to condemn and, in fact, has been fuelling by sending those weapons – yes, I do keep mentioning them, because Australians are horrified that our government is entering fresh contracts over the last two years, to both sell weapons and buy weapons from that regime and likewise to fail to properly sanction that regime.
Palestinians must be in charge of future Gaza governance under Trump peace plan, Greens leader says
Palestinians must be involved in any ceasefire deal in Gaza for a “lasting and just peace”, the Greens say.
The Greens leader, Larissa Waters, is speaking to ABC Insiders host David Speers where she was asked whether she supports the latest effort by US president Donald Trump to negotiate a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
I think Palestinian people deserve to determine their own fate and their own future government and we want to see the genocide end as I’ve said, but it’s very important that Palestinians are in charge of the decision, not so much Donald Trump, the man who has renamed his defence ministry to a war ministry.
It’s just all so very bizarre that putting that man in charge of anything would lead to peace, but we remain hopeful for a self-determined just and lasting peace that ends that genocide.
Asked whether the Greens would support the creation of a transitional authority, potentially headed by Tony Blair, Waters says “it’s not up to us”.
It’s up to Palestinians to decide what future governance they want but right now they want a ceasefire and they want to stop being killed and massacred while they’re trying to access aid.
Greens leader Larissa Waters will speak to ABC Insiders host David Speers on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile Assistant minister for trade Tim Ayres and Shadow Communications Ministers Melissa McIntosh have spoken to Sky news this morning.
We will bring you the latest as it develops.
Hecs debt cuts to come into effect from mid-November
Tom McIlroy
Higher education debt relief will start flowing from next month, the Albanese government has confirmed.
In November and December, Australians with student debt will begin to see their balances reduced as the ATO implements the new 20% student debt cut.
Labor says the ATO will begin applying the cut from mid-November and anticipates that half of people with a student debt will see the 20% cut by the end of November.
Almost everyone else will see the cut applied to their balance by mid-December.
The cut will be backdated to balances on 1 June before indexation happened.
Graduates will be notified by text message or email when the cut happens and will be able to check their accounts to see their new lower balance.
The education minister, Jason Clare, says someone with the average debt of $27,600, this will see $5,520 wiped from their outstanding loans.
We promised we would cut your student debt by 20% and we are delivering.
This is a big deal for 3 million Australians.
This cut is already locked in to people’s balances at 1 June but soon they will be able to see it and feel it.
Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
The Albanese government has set a date for when it will slash Hecs debts for 3 million Australians. From mid-November the Australian Tax Office will begin processing the cuts that lower student debt by a fifth with half of those eligible to receive confirmation by the end of November, and the rest by mid-December.
Two women found by hikers in an alpine hut near Falls Creek froze to death when the region experienced blizzard-like conditions earlier in the week, police have confirmed. Police are working to identify the women in their 20s and 30s after retrieving their bodies from Mount Bogong on Saturday morning.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started …
