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Gallagher says Senate chamber will discuss response to Thorpe protest on Monday
Katy Gallagher was also asked about calls for Lidia Thorpe to be censured over her protest against King Charles and whether she agreed with this.
Gallagher said there would be “discussions across the chamber about any response to that behaviour on Monday”.
We need to work out a way to ensure that the institution of the Senate, and the important role it plays in democracy is upheld and respected. And I think that’s at times challenged with some behaviour, in particular from Senator Thorpe, but she also does like attention that comes from these public displays.
And so we have to think through and manage that, and we’ll work with people across the chamber about what the appropriate response is.
Is “penalties for disorderly behaviour” something that should be explored, as Simon Birmingham has called for? Gallagher said there are standing orders in place and that she hasn’t spoken with Birmingham yet. She echoed earlier comments shared by Penny Wong and said:
I think for Senator Thorpe, many in the chamber understand the point she’s trying to make but disagree with the way she chooses to make them. It’s really a matter for her now as well to reflect on her role as a senator, and how she wishes to play that role in what’s an important institution, including for the causes that she seeks to represent.
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Four teens charged after five-year-old struck with rock through train window
Detectives with the Cairns child protection unit in Queensland have charged four teenagers after a five-year-old boy was struck with a rock, which was allegedly thrown through a train window.
The incident occurred on 19 October near the James and Law Street intersection. The child was initially taken to hospital with serious injuries, but has since been discharged.
Two 14-year-old boys were arrested on Monday, and another two 14-year-old boys were arrested yesterday. All four have been charged with one count of endangering the safety of a person in a vehicle, with intent.
The Cairns North boy was remanded in custody to reappear in Cairns children’s court on 5 November. The Mooroobool boy is expected to reappear on 28 November.
The other Cairns North boy and Earlville boy were remanded in custody to appear in the court today. Investigations are ongoing, police said.
Caitlin Cassidy
ACU staff and students welcome refund offer following Joe de Bruyn speech
Australian Catholic University staff and students have welcomed the university’s decision to refund graduation fees following an anti-reproductive rights and same sex marriage speech, while maintaining the university’s positive duty of care should have protected staff and students from “harm and discrimination”.
Yesterday, the university announced attendees of the graduation ceremony where Joe de Bruyn sparked a walkout would be compensated, while also revealing it had urged the former union chief to reconsider his remarks before he delivered them.
The coalition of student bodies and LGBTQ+ staff backed the move, but continued to maintain de Bruyn’s honorary doctorate, awarded at the ceremony, should be reversed.
The Ally Network does not believe that Joe de Bruyn’s history in politics, the union movement or education merits honour. His speech confirms that de Bruyn remains a wholly inappropriate candidate for an honorary doctorate.
ACU, as a public and Catholic university, is well placed to navigate the tensions between freedom of expression and protecting the rights of staff and students in a university environment free from discrimination. In deciding to platform de Bruyn at Monday’s graduation, ACU’s senior management and governance bodies demonstrated more concern for Catholic politics than with student and staff safety.
Constitutional lawyer weighs in on ‘heir’ vs ‘hair’ oath
Constitutional lawyer Anne Twomey just spoke with ABC News Breakfast about the questions raised by Lidia Thorpe’s admission she had pledged allegiance to the sovereign’s “hairs” and not “heirs”, after her protest at the king’s parliamentary reception.
Twomey said this matter would be sorted out by the House, not litigated in the high court, but that there is no “provision saying you’re disqualified if you renounce your oath”.
If she made an oath to a foreign power, that would be a different matter, but as far as I know, she hasn’t.
Twomey suggested the verbal pronunciation of “hairs” was redundant because the oath of allegiance is set out in writing with “heirs” spelled correctly, and Thorpe “signed it and it was witnessed”.
She has actually made that oath in writing, and even to the extent that she might have mispronounced the word ‘heirs’ … is not itself legally invalidating. She also referred to the Queen’s successors … King Charles is the Queen’s successor, therefore she has made an oath to him both orally and in writing.
The lawyer said if the oath was accepted as valid at the time “that might be the end of it”, but there is “no legal precedent about that”.
It seems unlikely that everyone is required to keep on supporting that oath throughout their term of office. The provision itself is really just directed at before you take your seat.
Man extradited from Queensland and charged with murder
NSW police have extradited and charged a man for the alleged murder of Jamie Goodworth earlier this year.
On 24 February, 32-year-old Goodworth presented to Liverpool hospital with gunshot wounds but was unable to be revived, and died a short time later.
Strike Force Heye was formed to investigate the incident and on Tuesday, search warrants were executed in Bonnyrigg and Leppington in NSW, and Surfers Paradise and Hawthorne in Queensland.
Police allegedly located and seized electronics, cash, and various documentation relevant to the investigation during the searches. At the Surfers Paradise address, police arrested a 24-year-old man.
He appeared at Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday where detectives were granted his extradition. He was escorted to Sydney and taken to Mascot Police Station, where he was charged with murder.
He was refused bail to appear in Downing Centre local court today. Police will allege in court that Goodworth was shot while attempting an aggravated break and enter.
NZ man facing court for allegedly assaulting crew member on flight from Perth
A New Zealand man is set to appear before court in Australia today after allegedly assaulting a crew member on board an international flight.
The Australian Federal Police were notified of an allegedly intoxicated and disruptive passenger on a flight from Perth to Auckland, New Zealand yesterday morning.
Flight crew alleged the man, 23, refused to comply with requests and allegedly assaulted a crew member, causing slight injury.
The flight was diverted to Melbourne to enable AFP officers to remove the passenger, who was restrained in the back of the aircraft, a statement said.
He was charged with one count of assaulting a crew member, with the offence carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. AFP detective superintendent Stephen Cook said the incident caused the flight to be delayed.
Any violence or anti-social behaviour in a confined space in the air would be distressing for other passengers and crew. At the very least, in this alleged incident it disrupted everyone’s travel plans.
Assistant treasurer says laws on scam obligations being introduced in coming weeks
The assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, has spoken with ABC News Breakfast about the growing rate of scams.
He said that people are finding it difficult to get their money back because “at the moment there is no clear obligations on either the banks, the telecommunications companies, or the social media platforms”.
We are planning to introduce laws over the next few weeks which will make clear [their] obligations … and have a single front door for redress.
Jones said there is a “lot of shame and emotional distress” with having been scammed, and he wants to normalise this and show that millions have been affected.
It is an international problem, it is not just an individual problem.
Jones said that significant penalties up to $40m would be introduced into law for those failing to meet the new obligations.
I don’t want us to have to levy the penalties. I want the businesses to lift their standards up so Australians aren’t being bombarded by the scams, aren’t being exposed to the dangers and harms of scams. It is always better to have prevention rather than compensation.
He also commented on a bulk email extortion scam going around at the moment (see more details on yesterday’s blog), and said: “Don’t fall for it. Delete the email and provide the information to scam watch.”
NSW government land audit unveils more sites for housing
Fourteen sites have been announced for housing in New South Wales following a deep-dive of unused government land, AAP reports.
One proposal would redevelop land on the site of the heritage-listed Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot in Newcastle into 208 homes. Another 90 homes could be built on a site used by workers to build the Sydney Metro Victoria Cross station, the state government says.
In Sydney’s north-west, two sites will be given to social housing agency Homes NSW to build about 85 social, affordable and market homes. Other identified sites – mostly vacant lots – are spread over Sydney, the Central Coast and central west.
Twenty-eight sites, capable of providing more than 3,000 homes, had been announced under the land audit, the NSW lands minister, Steve Kamper, said. It’s previously turned up inner-city sites unused for decades.
The final approach to delivering housing on the latest group of sites would be confirmed after further due diligence and planning and regulatory approvals, the government said.
The land audit, which began in April 2023, has been criticised by the opposition for so far failing to build a single home.
The sites included in the new land are:
Broadmeadow – 208 dwellings estimated
Orange – 15
Morisset – 11
Rouse Hill (three sites) – 10 + 691 + 176
North Sydney – 90
Box Hill – 71
Edmondson Park – 47
Chippendale – 21
Fairfield – 24
Riverstone – 11
Stanmore – 5
Earlwood – 3
Man arrested following fatal stabbing of man believed to be known to him
A man has been arrested following a fatal stabbing in Sydney.
Emergency services were called to a home in Wentworthville about 6.30am to reports a man had been stabbed. Officers found a 64-year-old man had been stabbed in the neck.
Paramedics attended, however the man – who is yet to be formally identified – died at the scene.
A 60-year-old woman was also at the property and was not injured in the incident. A 34-year-old man was arrested a short time later and taken to Granville police station.
All three people are believed to be known to each other, police said.
A report will be prepared for the coroner. Police have established a crime scene and investigations are ongoing.
Thorpe says she will spend next three years ‘getting unfinished business done’
Lidia Thorpe was asked why she chose to swear allegiance when being sworn in as a senator? She responded that it “absolutely” took a bit of her soul.
I had to go through a process with my family prior to doing that, because swearing allegiance to someone else from another country whose ancestors have done a lot of damage to my ancestors, I think is completely inappropriate.
Thorpe said she did it “because my people need a loud and proud Blak voice out there”.
I have a Senate seat for the next three-and-a-half years and I’ll be using that to get justice for my people. I’m constantly on about the 600 deaths in custody. No one’s ever, ever been held responsible for that.
Asked about calls for her to leave the senate, Thorpe said that “I’m an independent [and] no one can kick me out of there”.
I’m there to do fulfil my job. I represent the Blak Sovereign Movement, which is about questioning the sovereignty of the crown, and I’m calling for a treaty.
This government has walked back a treaty. I know the opposition is not interested in treaty. So where else do you go? You go to the king of England … There’s unfinished business. I’ll spend the next three years getting that unfinished business done.
‘Now it’s up to the King of England to respond’, Thorpe says of protest
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe spoke with Nine’s Today show earlier this morning, where host Karl Stefanovic said “it’s fair to say you might very well be the most loathed woman in parliament … at the moment”.
“It’s just another day in the colony,” Thorpe responded, and spoke about her protest against King Charles:
I’m used to that treatment … I am the black sheep of the family, if you like. But I wanted to send a message to the king. I got that message across, the whole world is talking about it, and my people are happy because my people have been protesting for decades and decades … The message has been sent, delivered. Now it’s up to the king of England to respond.
Thorpe said a treaty is needed “so that we can come together as a nation”, and that Australia needs to “grow up as a nation and get rid of [King Charles] and have our own head of state.”
Asked about the backlash to her protest, Thorpe said she has “the support from many, many thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across this country”.
I’ve had just overwhelming love and respect and, you know, people are saying that it’s put a fire back in their belly and they want to know what’s next.
Man in custody after body found in Melbourne apartment
A man is in custody after a man’s body was found in a Melbourne apartment complex, AAP reports.
Emergency services arrived at the building in Bellfield, in the city’s north-east, shortly before 11.30am yesterday.
The man, who police are yet to identify, was declared dead at the scene, with investigators looking into the circumstances of the death. Homicide detectives were questioning a 54-year-old man arrested nearby.
A neighbour told television news crews she heard cries and screams from the apartment about 11.30pm on Tuesday:
It was shrills over a period of maybe 10 minutes. There was a police car outside last night, that I saw, so I thought it had been dealt with, but then this morning we heard more sobbing.
To me it sounded like the same voice that I heard crying last night and screaming last night to what I heard this morning.
Officers taped off a toilet block near the scene. They urged any witnesses or anyone with information or CCTV footage to contact Crime Stoppers.
First Nations, environment and civil society groups pen letter opposing fracking in Northern Territory
Traditional owners, doctors and scientists have penned an open letter calling on energy infrastructure company APA to end its plans to build a pipeline enabling gas fracking in the Northern Territory.
The letter has been signed by more than 20 First Nations, environment and civil society organisations and will be delivered to the APA chief executive, Adam Watson, at the company’s AGM in Sydney, a statement said.
Signatories include Healthy Futures, Lock the Gate, Move Beyond Coal, Parents for Climate, Solar Citizens, Doctors for the Environment Australia, the Wilderness Society and more.
Rachel Deans, an oil and gas campaigner with Market Forces, said the proposed pipelines would “unlock emissions from the Beetaloo Basin that are unsafe and incompatible with APA’s own climate goals”.
Samuel Janama Sandy, the chair of Nurrdalinji Aboriginal Corporation which represents native title holders from the Beetaloo Basin region, and has co-signed the letter said:
We don’t want APA laying out pipelines. If they do, they’re helping gas companies frack and destroy our land and water … Gas pipelines are a ticking timebomb. We’re worried about a big explosion and fires spreading. We’ve seen that in Queensland already. Our country is highly flammable, with grasses, trees and strong winds that fan fires.
Gallagher says Senate chamber will discuss response to Thorpe protest on Monday
Katy Gallagher was also asked about calls for Lidia Thorpe to be censured over her protest against King Charles and whether she agreed with this.
Gallagher said there would be “discussions across the chamber about any response to that behaviour on Monday”.
We need to work out a way to ensure that the institution of the Senate, and the important role it plays in democracy is upheld and respected. And I think that’s at times challenged with some behaviour, in particular from Senator Thorpe, but she also does like attention that comes from these public displays.
And so we have to think through and manage that, and we’ll work with people across the chamber about what the appropriate response is.
Is “penalties for disorderly behaviour” something that should be explored, as Simon Birmingham has called for? Gallagher said there are standing orders in place and that she hasn’t spoken with Birmingham yet. She echoed earlier comments shared by Penny Wong and said:
I think for Senator Thorpe, many in the chamber understand the point she’s trying to make but disagree with the way she chooses to make them. It’s really a matter for her now as well to reflect on her role as a senator, and how she wishes to play that role in what’s an important institution, including for the causes that she seeks to represent.
Gallagher says she is 'over abortion being played as a political football'
The minister for women, Katy Gallagher, has been speaking to ABC RN about comments from the shadow cabinet yesterday that it doesn’t want abortion back on the national agenda – following calls from Jacinta Price.
Is Gallagher satisfied the issue is now settled? Gallagher responded that “time will tell”.
I’m part of a group of loads of women around Australia who have campaigned for decades for safe and legal access to abortion services for women in Australia, and it’s really only relatively recently, when you think about it, that those rights have been achieved.
The minister said she “always gets worried” when this debate is raised, because “hard fought for gains can often be wound back very quickly”.
I think we have to remain vigilant, and I think from the opposition’s point of view – and certainly I do welcome the [response] from Senator [Jane] Hume and Sussan Ley … but as we see in so many things, when the s raise an issue … they have a very significant say in that Coalition.
I’m kind of over abortion being played as a political football. It’s been happening for too long, and we should just get on and accept that it’s an access to health issue for most women.
