Severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of NSW, Queensland and Victoria
There are currently three severe weather warnings in place for NSW, Queensland and Victoria. The Bureau of Meteorology has alerted:
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Severe thunderstorms are likely to cause heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding over the next several hours in parts of the NSW south coast, southern tablelands and Snowy Mountains regions.
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In Queensland, scattered thunderstorms are set to develop along the seat, with severe thunderstorms expected over the south-east into the afternoon and evening. This is likely to produce large hailstones, damaging winds and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding.
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And in Victoria, severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy rainfall and could lead to flash flooding around Buchan, Gelantipy and Bonang.
Meanwhile, the NSW SES has issued a “monitor conditions” alert for Parkes and Peak Hill amid the forecast heavy rain, damaging winds and large hailstones.
Key events
Australian Fashion Week will not proceed in 2025
The Australian Fashion Council (AFC) has responded to news that Australian Fashion Week (AFW) will not proceed in 2025.
IMG made the announcement after owning and operating AFW since 2005. The AFC said the event provided “a critical platform for Australian designers to showcase their talent and innovation, and [positioned] Australia as a key player on the global fashion stage.”
Its chair Marianne Perkovic and CEO Jaana Quaintance-James issued a joint statement on the decision, and said:
Turning to the future, we know we need a platform to profile and celebrate Australian fashion. This moment signals an opportunity for the industry to reimagine and reshape how Australian fashion is represented, and provides us all with an opportunity to explore new ways in which to showcase emerging and established Australian talent.
The AFC, as the peak body for fashion and textiles in Australia, will lead this conversation. We will work with members, government and other stakeholders to consider the future platform needed to position and elevate Australian fashion internationally.
Master Builders welcomes new national productivity fund to boost productivity
Master Builders Australia says it strongly supports the announcement by treasurer Jim Chalmers today of a new national productivity fund to boost competition and productivity across the economy.
Paul Karp had all the details on this earlier in the blog, here.
In a statement, Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said the advocacy group had consistently called for incentives to support reform and lift productivity in the building and construction industry – with labour productivity down 18% over the last decade.
Productivity is more than a buzzword. When productivity is down, prices go up and our ability to build the homes and surrounding infrastructure communities need is slowed down.
We thank the treasurer for putting productivity back on the national agenda and listening to our concerns around barriers to building.
Master Builders analysis of build times found that 15 years ago, it took on average 9 months to build a stand-a-alone house from approval to completion, while today it now takes 12.7 months – an increase of over 40%.
Severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of NSW, Queensland and Victoria
There are currently three severe weather warnings in place for NSW, Queensland and Victoria. The Bureau of Meteorology has alerted:
-
Severe thunderstorms are likely to cause heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding over the next several hours in parts of the NSW south coast, southern tablelands and Snowy Mountains regions.
-
In Queensland, scattered thunderstorms are set to develop along the seat, with severe thunderstorms expected over the south-east into the afternoon and evening. This is likely to produce large hailstones, damaging winds and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding.
-
And in Victoria, severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy rainfall and could lead to flash flooding around Buchan, Gelantipy and Bonang.
Meanwhile, the NSW SES has issued a “monitor conditions” alert for Parkes and Peak Hill amid the forecast heavy rain, damaging winds and large hailstones.
Brumbies cull wins approval in NSW, but rift remains
A multi-party report backing the counting and shooting of feral horses in national parks should put to bed “ridiculous anti-science questioning” from critics, environmental advocates say.
As AAP reports, the NSW parliamentary inquiry report has found the state was using global best-practice methods to count brumbies and there was no clear evidence of any animal-welfare breaches under current culling methods.
At least 5,800 – or an estimated one in three – brumbies have been killed in NSW since aerial shooting resumed in November 2023. Ecologists estimate about that number will need to be culled annually to reach a 3000-horse cap by 2027 due to high birthrates.
The inquiry broadly dismissed concerns about distance sampling being used to measure the population annually, although it welcomed the trial of new methods in the most recent count.
The Invasive Species Council advocacy director, Jack Gough, said strong cross-party support from Liberals to the Greens and independents for effective brumby control reflected public backing for native wildlife to be protected from feral horses:
This report should once and for all end the ridiculous anti-science questioning of the feral horse count figures by a small minority that do not want to see a single feral horse removed from the national park.
Committee chair and Animal Justice MP Emma Hurst hit out at the Labor, Liberal and Shooters-backed report, saying the findings and recommendations did not reflect her views. Along with Nationals MLC Wes Fang, Hurst backed a finding that aerial shooting of brumbies could not be ethically justified.
Labor to make student debt key election issue with announcement in coming weeks
Caitlin Cassidy
The federal government will make an announcement on university funding in the coming weeks, the education minister has flagged, cementing student debt as a key election issue.
Speaking to a TEQSA conference in Melbourne on Wednesday, Jason Clare reiterated that, if Labor won next year’s election, the first piece of legislation it would introduce would be to cut student debts by 20%. But he said there was “more to do” to make the system fairer.
When Hecs was first created students paid an average of about 24% of the cost of degree. This increased to about 36% in the late 1990s. And now, because of the changes the previous government made, it’s about 45%.
Cutting student debt by 20% fixes that for a generation of Australians. But there is more to do. That includes changing the way we fund universities.
Part of that is uncapping the number of places at university for students from disadvantaged backgrounds … part of that is a new needs-based funding system … and part of that is a new Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) … to drive reform over the long term. And I hope to provide you with more detail on all of that before the end of the year.
Clare has previously stated ATEC would be tasked with scrapping the Coalition’s Job Ready Graduates Scheme, which has driven arts degrees above $50,000.
Birmingham says Israeli settlements in Gaza ‘should not be undertaken’
Simon Birmingham was asked about comments from members of the Netanyahu government, advocating the establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza.
He responded that “Australian governments, Coalition and Labor, have long been clear that settlement activity that is counter-productive to achieving longstanding settlement of issues should not be undertaken”.
That position has not changed and shouldn’t change.
He also said the Coalition has “no plans” to change Australian laws in regard to supplying weapons or ammunition to Israel. But if the Israeli government was to ask for help? He responded:
The structure is indeed as to how those defence export laws operate and, you know, that is the consistency that we would apply.
And with that, Birmingham’s appearance at the National Press Club has wrapped up.
Birmingham says decision on further tax cuts yet to be made
Simon Birmingham was asked about comments from Peter Dutton on the radio this morning that the Coalition was rethinking stage-three tax cuts and getting inflation under control was more important. What is the Coalition’s stance?
He criticised the Albanese government for breaking an election promise and added:
We accepted at the time we were not going to stand in the way of Australians receiving those funds. Spend the money, they have, and I think what Peter was rightly alluding to this morning is, as it comes into the next campaign, we will have to have a look, carefully, at the state of the books as we make those final budget decisions, and where we can go in terms of further tax cuts will be one of those big key points in terms of those final budget decisions.
Birmingham says there could be ‘glimmers of lessons’ in Trump’s approach to government
Asked if he is underestimating how difficult and challenging the next four years under Trump may be, Simon Birmingham said he is optimistic about working with the administration and hopes to make success of it.
And yes, there are disrupters like president [Donald] Trump who is clearly bringing in to disrupt things like government efficiency in the US government through the role that he has given to Elon Musk.
I wouldn’t mind having a bit of disruption of efficiency in the Australian government at times either. I’m not saying it will be the right pathway, but who knows? Maybe there will be glimmers of lessons that could be learned along the way.
Birmingham says Coalition ‘clear in principles’ on Israel-Gaza war despite civilian death toll
Our own Sarah Basford Canales has asked Simon Birmingham a series of questions on the Coalition’s response to the conflict in Gaza:
Is there a red line for the opposition in terms of that death toll continuing to rise by the thousands in the coming months and potentially years? Does the opposition still think this is the best way to peace and a two-state solution in the situation? And what would a Dutton government do differently if it were to be elected next election?
Birmingham answered the last question first and said the Coalition’s view is that any prospect of a two-state solution should be “fully negotiated, and negotiated by settling questions of borders, of security guarantees and rights of return, but also that we should be engaging in what other regional processes and pathways might be possible”.
He said the Coalition is “resolute in terms of our position around Israel’s right to self-defence”.
We equally want to see the tragic loss of life come to an end and for a breakthrough point. But you can see by statements out of Qatar just in the last week the frustration that exists in relation to Hamas’ unwillingness to release hostages, to lay down arms and to stop using Palestinian civilians as human shields in this conflict.
Is the civilian death toll a consideration that might affect the Coalition’s resoluteness on that position? Birmingham replied:
The civilian death toll is something that pains absolutely all of us and, of course, it is a tragedy in any and all conflict and a very significant tragedy in this one, but we’re clear in terms of the principles we stand by and the outcomes we ultimately seek.
Birmingham says Coalition aiming to deter invasion of Taiwan and be ‘principled and predictable with China’
One reporter asked if the Coalition is elected at the next election and faces a “horror scenario” of an invasion of Taiwan, would it move to defend Taiwan if attacked by China?
Simon Birmingham responded that “you’re taking us forward quite a few steps in that regard”, but added:
Principled and predictable is the framework that I’ve outlined for how our engagement with China should be and should operate … [and] part of that is that we would not wish to see any unilateral change to Taiwan and its circumstances and not wish to see an invasion of the sort that you’ve characterised. And clearly it … should be entirely predictable to Beijing that Australia would condemn such action, oppose such action and, indeed, do everything we can to deter such action from occurring in the first place.
Birmingham said that if an invasion occurred “what the nature of conflict is, what role the US or others undertake, are all unknowns before we get to the question of how Australia would respond”.
Our prime job is to deter it in the first place and to work with our partners to try to deter that from happening in the first place.
Birmingham says he has tried to keep an open mind over whether Kevin Rudd stays as ambassador
Q: If the president-elect in the last year has referred to our ambassador in the US as “not the brightest bulb”, is it really tenable for that person to be at the forefront of our engagement in Washington?
Simon Birmingham responded:
The president-elect has just named a secretary of state who had some pretty sharp things to say about him, but who ultimately campaigned alongside him. He’s been elected alongside a vice-president who had very sharp and pointed things to say about him, but who he chose to make his running mate. So I think we’ve got to be conscious of keeping an open mind, which is what we have tried to do in relation to the question around Kevin.
Birmingham says Coalition does not want to politicise Kevin Rudd’s role
Simon Birmingham was asked to respond to the tweet from senior Trump adviser Dan Scavino overnight, suggesting time was running out for Kevin Rudd’s tenure as ambassador.
You can read more on this earlier in the blog, here.
Birmingham was asked for the Coalition’s position on Rudd’s tenure, and whether he should stand aside amid his now-deleted commentary on Trump?
He responded that “what we have here is a need for Australia not to be debating the who, but the what, and the outcomes and the effectiveness of getting those outcomes”.
Peter Dutton and I have been very clear that we have wanted to see Kevin Rudd succeed all along. We have acknowledged and praised some of his successes, acknowledged his work in getting the export trade restrictions eased between Australia and the US and big Aukus breakthroughs that have been really important in that regard. And we want to see that success continue and that’s what matters in Australia’s national interest.
Now, ambassador Rudd and the prime minister are the ones who are in the box seat to best make the assessment in coming weeks or months about how effectively he is going to be able to continue to have the influence and get the outcomes that Australia needs.
Birmingham said the Coalition was not seeking to politicise the role. In terms of the tweet from Scavino specifically, he said:
A significant member of the incoming president’s campaign team posted that. What we are to make of the image, well, I think I’ll leave it for others to comment on the image. I’ve spoken to the substance.
Birmingham says climate ambition must not end in broken promises
On the climate, Simon Birmingham sought to reinforce that the upcoming election would be about how Australia gets to net zero – not if.
That that is a really important message to drive home to those Pacific nations, that the construct of debate in this country is focused on actually achieving that … That’s how we need to really make sure we take a careful and thoughtful approach to framing that election contest.
Speaking about Paris agreements, Birmingham said “being upfront about what is achievable in the time horizons that are there” is important.
It is no more helpful – in fact, arguably it’s more counter-productive – to be in a situation where targets are made but not realised and you’ve broken your promise to nations, than it is to have been realistic in the first place.
And of course we want to stretch to maximum ambition, and I’ve been clear about my desire to see maximum ambition at all times, but it’s not going to go down well if maximum ambition simply translates into broken promises.
Birmingham says Australia still ‘a few steps away’ from being interlocutor between US and China
Back at the National Press Club, Simon Birmingham has been taking questions from reporters.
He was asked about comments from the prime minister today that Australia is a trusted middle power that could help manage the strategic competition between the US and China. Does he agree with this, or is it a naive view and great powers will just do what great powers do?
Birmingham replied that “Australia should always seek to play as constructive a role as we possibly can”:
But I think at this point of change and contest we also need to be realistic about the challenges that we face.
He said when it comes to the Trump administration in the US there are immediate priorities to address, including Aukus and tariffs.
Beyond those bilateral points of engagement, there will be ways in which we want to seek to encourage the US as to how they engage in our region. Active engagement remains critical and important across particularly the Asean nations, and no doubt there will be times for discussion about the nature of their engagement with China and the implications of that with other nations and on the global economy.
But are we going to step up and be able to fulfil some situation that is foreseeable as a significant interlocutor between the two? I think we’re a few steps away from that at this point in time.
Tasmanian independent labels funding for Maugean skate as ‘self-serving handout’
Breaking away from the National Press Club: independent MP Andrew Wilkie has labelled government funding aimed at saving the endangered Maugean skate as an “expensive and self-serving handout”.
Yesterday, Anthony Albanese announced a $28m boost for new measures in Macquarie harbour, including scaling up oxygenation to offset the effects of human activities on the Maugean skate.
During his second press conference of the day, protesters were heard chanting various slogans including what sounded like “save the Maugean skate”.
In a post to X today, Wilkie – the federal member for Clark in Tasmania – said:
$28m to Macquarie harbour is just an expensive and self-serving handout to try and win Braddon, while at the same time kowtowing to Labor’s mates in the salmon industry. Again, the loser is the imperilled Maugean skate.
Simon Birmingham argued that the United Nations is “failing to meet its charter to maintain international peace and security”.
With the UN paralysed, effective peace-keeping initiatives no longer enjoy international momentum. To avoid a repeat of the world wars of last century, deterrence and diplomacy must be more effective today than appeasement was then.
