Rex gets government lifeline for regional flights
Embattled regional airline Rex has been thrown an operations lifeline, AAP reports, after it went into voluntary administration in July and its management was handed to administrators EY Australia.
Transport minister Catherine King and workplace minister Murray Watt have today announced the government would provide up to $80m and grant early access to entitlements for Rex’s former employees.
Rex’s administrators plan to apply to the federal court to extend the voluntary administration to 30 June 2025. If the application is granted the government will continue to guarantee ticket sales made throughout the administration period to that date.
The ministers said the guarantee has been effective so far, “and has yet to be used with flight bookings holding up well.”
More than 600 workers were made redundant as it was revealed Rex was struggling under the weight of $500m of debt. In August, the federal government stepped in to guarantee bookings on regional flights, but resisted calls for a bailout.
The administration process for Rex was progressing, the government said as it noted the recent sale of its Pel Air Aviation business to Helicorp Pty Ltd, which is part of Toll Aviation. The sale proceeds will be used to repay secured creditors.
Key events
NSW government to introduce legislation implementing fine for obstructing railway
The NSW government has announced stronger sanctions for obstructing railways as part of illegal protests.
A statement from premier Chris Minns and attorney general Michael Daley said new legislation would be introduced this week to implement a maximum fine of $22,000 for “obstructing a railway”.
The current offence provision under the Crimes Act does not specifying a fine. A fine would now be in place for those found guilty of obstructing a railway – or damaging or disrupting major facilities – or up to two years’ imprisonment, or both.
The statement said this would align with changes to laws in 2022 making it an offence to block or obstruct major roads, bridges and tunnels and major facilities like ports and railway stations. The statement continues:
Many of the recent protesters causing mayhem in the Hunter Valley were charged with obstructing a railway. This provision also covers people found to have assisted those who directly commit the offence.
By strengthening the penalty, this aims to deter extremely dangerous conduct that puts train driver, rail worker and passenger safety at risk. Blocking railway tracks disrupts commuters and commerce and diverts the precious resources of NSW Police.
The change would apply to every railway line in the state as well as light rails, the statement said.
Coalition ‘not contemplating’ walking away from net zero by 2050
Jon Duniam said the Coalition remains committed to its net zero commitment by 2050.
We’ve said we remain committed there, and we are going to continue to do things that are in our interests, not necessarily follow suit with the United States. There are some things they do which makes sense, there are others which are suited to them and not to Australia.
Several National backbenchers have suggested Coalition support for net zero by 2050 should be reconsidered, and senator Matt Canavan has said Australia should withdraw from the Paris Agreement. But Duniam said the Coalition’s key policies were not being reconsidered:
We are currently committed to, and as far as I’m aware, remain committed to net zero by 2050 – that’s not the policy in question.
What we need to do is, while we seek to do what we can to achieve those goals, which – including this government, doesn’t seem to be occurring too positively – is ensure that Australians don’t pay inordinate amounts of the things they need to do every day – electricity, getting about in their vehicles, so making sure that the goods so bad at the supermarket are not at increased cost.
So there are a range of things we need to do there, but walking away from net zero as a standalone policy is not something that we are contemplating.
Coalition environment spokesperson touts cheap energy when asked about Trump’s climate policies
The coalition’s environment spokesperson, Jon Duniam, was also up on ABC RN this morning to discuss net zero policy. Host Steve Cannane asked him:
Donald Trump has signalled he’s looking to repeal Biden’s signature climate law, pull out of the Paris Agreement, get rid of many of the Biden administration’s regulations intended to cut carbon emissions, and essentially, drill baby drill. Will the Trump presidency be good for the world’s environment?
Duniam responded by talking about the benefits of cheap energy:
Having cheap energy so that countries can come out of developing status into developed is as important as protecting the environment. I don’t think necessarily the two are mutually exclusive.
I think that there are a great many innovators in the US who continue to innovate, despite the change of government, change of policy direction, and have improved technologies that improve outcomes for the environment. I don’t think necessarily Donald Trump being elected to the White House means we are going to see a downward trajectory in environmental outcomes.
Carr urges Albanese government to recognise Palestinian statehood by next federal election
Moving to the Middle East and what a second Trump presidency means for this, Bob Carr said he doesn’t see Trump retreating from the alliance between Israel and the US.
I think the wily fox Netanyahu is going to win this one. [He] will be able to continue this ruinous war and inhumane war in Gaza without the threats coming from an American president that he will be penalised with a loss of military supplies.
Carr has previously said he wants the Albanese government to recognise Palestinian statehood before the next federal election. Asked about this, he told ABC RN it’s “the right thing to do”:
It sends a message to the Palestinians that there can be hope if they adhere to a peaceful path to negotiated statehood and avoid the temptation, in desperation and despair, to support the murderers of Hamas … It also sends a message to Israel that what you are doing in Gaza – in destroying 80% of the housing of the people, in allowing terrible atrocities … in denying medicines to the hospitals and clean drinking water to a population being forced to evacuate towns over and over again to avoid bombing – what you’re doing there is intolerable [and you will] lose the support of a country like Australia as a result of pursuing such policies.
Carr argued the Albanese government could end up in a minority government if it doesn’t recognise Palestinian statehood:
Then, it’ll be taunted with only moving because it came under cross bench pressure, or if worse – Labor went into opposition – it can have no reputable dialogue with Arab background Australians and others who, for different reasons, support recognition of Palestine, given that we didn’t move when we had the power to move on this.
Carr says ‘militarisation’ of northern Australia has happened with ‘scandalous lack of consultation’
Bob Carr was also asked about the statement from the former PM Paul Keating, suggesting the Albanese government is out of touch with the Australian public on foreign policy matters.
Carr said in his view, the “militarisation” of northern Australia has “taken place with a scandalous lack of consultation with the Australian people”.
It’s quite striking given the weight of anti Chinese commentary that’s dominated the Australian media in the last eight years, but you’ve got 57% of the population – according to the Resolve Political Monitor poll – … who agreeing with the proposition that Australia should avoid taking sides in a US-China conflict. Only 16% are taking a contrary view …
Australian diplomacy should be quietly working, not only with America and with China, but with partners in Asia, Japan and India, towards the notion of a detente between America and China. If you’re able to build areas of cooperation and reduce areas of adversarial conflict between the Soviet Union under Leonard Brezhnev and the United States under Richard Nixon and later under Ronald Reagan, it’s not this bigger task to aspire to increasing areas of cooperation and diminishing areas of conflict between China and the US, and that ought to be a goal of Australian diplomacy.
Bob Carr weighs in on future of Aukus deal: ‘You get taken for granted’
The former NSW premier and Labor foreign minister Bob Carr is speaking with ABC RN about Aukus – and said he is not confident the deal is safe under a Trump presidency.
In fact, skepticism about it is is more widespread than is being admitted publicly in Canberra security circles and elsewhere.
Carr said that America is “engaged in a competition over boat numbers with China” and that its shipyards are “terribly constrained and are performing badly.”
We’ve reach a point – and it could be under Trump, it could be under the president who follows Trump – where a secretary of defence will say to the president, we simply cannot achieve [our] targets … and we can’t peel off from our order of battle attack class submarines that are needed in the competition with China to give to Australia. It’s almost inevitable that that is going to happen, and we will be offered a new view of Aukus, which means American attack class subs being stationed on a virtually permanent basis in Australia ports …
One of the prizes you pay for being such a compliant, non-argumentative ally is that you get taken for granted, and will be taken for granted on this when we are presented [with it] in a few years time … with a reinterpretation or re-weaving of the Aukus narrative.
Widespread thunderstorms expected every day this week
Meteorologists are forecasting that thunderstorms will develop over large swathes of the country every day this week, and likely into next.
Ben Domensino from Weatherzone has outlined the forecast as follows:
Early in the week, showers and thunderstorms will target central, eastern, southern and southeastern Australia on Monday and Tuesday. Severe thunderstorms are likely in parts of NSW and [Queensland] on both days and are also possible in other states.
Storms will become more focussed on a broad arc stretching across Australia’s eastern and northern states and down into the WA interior through the middle of the week. Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra will all be at risk of severe thunderstorm activity on Wednesday.
Showers and thunderstorms will continue then over Australia’s east and north on Thursday and Friday, while also extending towards the south of WA due to the passage of a cold front. This frontal system, combined with deepening low pressure troughs over Australia, will lead to further widespread thunderstorm activity over Australia from this weekend into early next week.
We’ll bring you more weather updates throughout the day as we learn more.
Large fire at auto repair shop in Sydney’s south-west
More than 100 firefighters worked to contain a large fire in a south-west Sydney auto repair shop overnight.
It took crews around two hours to contain the “intense fire” which started around 6pm, Fire and Rescue NSW said, in an industrial area at Stubbs Street in Auburn.
The roof of the building had started to collapse but firefighters protected neighbouring properties, including an adjoining timber warehouse and petrol station.
Last night it was unsafe for firefighters to enter the collapsed building to fully extinguish it. A number of people were evacuated from surrounding businesses and residents were urged to stay inside, with a large amount of smoke.
Two people in the auto repair shop were taken to hospital with smoke inhalation and burns. Operations were expected to continue throughout the night.
Parramatta Road was closed in both directions between Rawson Street and St Hilliers Road, but was reopened early this morning.
There has been a fire on Stubbs St, Auburn near the intersection of Parramatta Rd. The fire is contained but is expected to smoulder overnight. Because there may be smoke in the area, residents and businesses in the vicinity are advised to keep doors, windows, and vents closed. pic.twitter.com/J8cGMgqbHh
— Fire and Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) November 11, 2024
Rex gets government lifeline for regional flights
Embattled regional airline Rex has been thrown an operations lifeline, AAP reports, after it went into voluntary administration in July and its management was handed to administrators EY Australia.
Transport minister Catherine King and workplace minister Murray Watt have today announced the government would provide up to $80m and grant early access to entitlements for Rex’s former employees.
Rex’s administrators plan to apply to the federal court to extend the voluntary administration to 30 June 2025. If the application is granted the government will continue to guarantee ticket sales made throughout the administration period to that date.
The ministers said the guarantee has been effective so far, “and has yet to be used with flight bookings holding up well.”
More than 600 workers were made redundant as it was revealed Rex was struggling under the weight of $500m of debt. In August, the federal government stepped in to guarantee bookings on regional flights, but resisted calls for a bailout.
The administration process for Rex was progressing, the government said as it noted the recent sale of its Pel Air Aviation business to Helicorp Pty Ltd, which is part of Toll Aviation. The sale proceeds will be used to repay secured creditors.
Victorian Greens pushes to enshrine abortion services in state’s constitution
Benita Kolovos
The Victorian Greens will use the second last week of parliament for the year to push to enshrine abortion services into the state’s constitution.
While both major parties have no plans to change abortion laws in the state, the Greens say the issue is becoming increasingly politicised and access much be safe guarded.
The party’s health spokesperson, Dr Sarah Mansfield, says access was already a postcode lottery in Victoria and the state “can’t afford to be sent backwards”.
Around the world, and here in Australia, we are seeing many in power increasingly emboldened to attack reproductive rights for political purposes. Reproductive rights have been hard-won, but it’s clear the fight isn’t over. Governments shouldn’t be able to restrict access to fundamental health care based on political agendas.
The change requires a supermajority of 60% of votes in the parliament to pass.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has vowed to protect abortion rights in the state despite “frightening” debate in South Australia and Queensland.
Good morning
Emily Wind
Emily Wind here, signing on for blogging duties. Thanks to Martin for kicking things off for us. I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage for most of today.
As always, you can reach out with any tips, feedback or questions via X, @emilywindwrites, or sending me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com. Let’s go.
Australian author shortlisted for Booker prize
Charlotte Wood, who has been shortlisted for the Booker prize, “is a writer of the most intense attention”, according to the British screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s review of her shortlisted book, Stone Yard Devotional.
The book’s protagonist is a woman retreating from the world to a convent in New South Wales and is the story, Cottrell-Boyce writes, “of a small group of people in a tiny town, but its resonance is global. This is a powerful, generous book”.
She is an 11-2 outsider to win the £50,000 ($100,000) prize, with the American Percival Everett and Briton Samantha Harvey the bookies’ favourites. You can read our full story here:
And then there is Cottrell-Boyce’s review:
Sarah Basford Canales
Jim Chalmers also pointed to the importance of economic ties when building stronger diplomatic relations with Pacific partners. The treasurer said recent work in his portfolio had led to restoring Australia as the Pacific nations’ partner of choice.
Chalmers confirmed he was in the final stages of negotiations with ANZ to ensure it continued its presence in the Pacific
The major Australian bank’s nine existing operations, which include services in Vanuatu and Fiji, will continue operating, he said.
The deal we’re working on is another big part of our efforts to keep communities and economies connected, and finance flowing in our neighbourhood.
Chalmers: ‘Nobody wins from a trade war, but we have more at stake than most’
Sarah Basford Canales
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has warned that decoupling from major trading partners, such as China, presents a great risk to Australia’s economy, but “derisking” key supply chains could leave the country in a better position than most of the world.
In a speech delivered at an Australian Institute of International Affairs forum in Canberra last night, Chalmers said derisking trade relations was sometimes necessary in the face of unreliable supply chains and other forms of economic or geopolitical tension. Chalmers said:
Most countries are doing this in one way or another and we are no exception … Because of our combination of industrial, geographical, geological, meteorological, and geopolitical advantages, we stand to be among the biggest beneficiaries of de-risking.
Chalmers conceded Australia was “more exposed than others” in the “global fragmentation” of trade, noting recent IMF’s findings that trade ties have deepened between geopolitically aligned countries, while declining between those who are not.
But he said Australia’s energy, technology and critical minerals would be key in building regional and global supply chains. Developing new industries in green metals and green hydrogen would also contribute to global demand.
Nobody wins from a trade war, but we have more at stake than most.
In the wake of Donald Trump’s win in the US election, the world’s economies are watching closely. During his campaign, the US president-elect said he would place baseline tariffs of 10% on all imported goods, with up to 60% and 100% for China and Mexico respectively. The ripples of such a policy shift on tariffs could lead to lower growth and higher inflation in a number of countries who trade with the US.
The treasurer warned Australia would not be immune from the flow-on effects of escalating trade tensions but insisted the Albanese government was “well-placed and well-prepared”.
Qantas faces inquiry over use of airport slots
Qantas officials will be grilled on allegations the carrier has been misusing slots at Australia’s busiest airport, AAP reports.
A Senate inquiry is examining proposed laws on flights at Sydney airport, which result in penalties for airlines which deliberately cancel services to maintain valuable slots at terminals.
Markus Svensson, chief executive of Qantas’s domestic operations, will appear before the inquiry on Tuesday, along with officials from regional airline FlyPelican.
Slots at Sydney airport are limited to 80 take-offs and landings per hour. But the Australian Airports Association, which is also appearing at the inquiry today, said large cancellation numbers represented a concern. The association said in its submission to the inquiry:
These higher cancellation rates suggest that … unnecessary flights are scheduled and cancelled for strategic slot-retention purposes. [This] has become a barrier to competition, allowing a duopoly that stifles the entry of new carriers and ultimately limits consumer choice.
Under the proposed laws, the federal transport department would have powers to force airlines to provide information on alleged misuse.
Qantas Group and Virgin have consistently denied they misuse slots. In its submission, Qantas said there was a common interest to ensure capacity at Sydney airport was used effectively:
We look forward to working with the government to understand how the bill, regulations, slot management scheme and any associated guidance material will work in practice.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before I hand the news baton to Emily Wind.
Amid the swirl of concern about Donald Trump pressing reset on global economic norms, Jim Chalmers has warned that de-coupling from major trading partners presents a great risk to Australia’s economy. “Nobody wins from a trade war, but we have more at stake than most,” the treasurer said in a speech last night. Full details coming up.
Three in five Australian renters expect to never own their own home, research from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute has found, describing it as a significant shift that requires rethinking of tax and housing systems. Meanwhile the principal of a branch of one of Australia’s largest real estate companies has admitted using Chat GPT to generate property listings after a rental home was advertised as being close to two “excellent” schools that didn’t exist.
Charlotte Wood, the Australian author of Stone Yard Devotional, has been shortlisted for the Booker prize but is an outside bet against favourites Percival Everett and Samantha Harvey. Full details coming up.
And Qantas is up before a Senate inquiry today, ahead of proposed laws that look to make sure precious flight slots at Australia’s busiest airport are not being misused to suppress competition. More on that too, soon.
