Australia news live: ‘systemic issues’ in Nacc’s handling of corruption complaint, inspector finds in first annual report

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The high court has today heard the case of two non-citizens who are seeking to show that detention while the government considers protection visa applications is unlawful.

In Thursday’s hearing, David Hooke SC, argued that this was a “very narrow” extension of the court’s NZYQ decision that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful where removal is not possible, which would only benefit people who have already had protection findings in their favour.

Non-citizens awaiting a decision have a “right to liberty” because they will need to be let out whichever way the decision goes, if they are granted a visa or if it is refused (because the NZYQ decision then kicks in and says their detention is unlawful).

Hooke was peppered with questions about what the basis was for extending this only to people with protection findings. He replied that in their case it is “inevitable” that they will need to be let out because removal isn’t possible.

The solicitor general, Stephen Donaghue, submitted that the period where a non-citizen is seeking admission to Australia is distinct from the removal period. The high court’s NZYQ decision applied to removal, but has no application to people seeking admission - because their application has not been “finally determined” and the Migration Act creates no power to remove them yet.

Donaghue argued detention had legitimate non-punitive purposes, including preventing non-citizens from absconding (as one of the applicants did) so that they can answer questions about their identity, possible criminal record and other matters.

Donaghue said that the applicants’ case “sounded a lot like” it brought the entire mandatory detention regime into question and that when challenged Hooke could provide no “workable, stable criteria” for why people with protection findings should be let out but not other non-citizens who bring a habeas application.

In reply, Hooke said that a non-citizen who brought an application as soon as they were detained, before the government had established their identity or conducted legitimate inquiries would have a case “going nowhere”. “There are very practical solutions to all the spectres the commonwealth puts against us,” he said.

VCE exam papers reviewed to ensure questions were different from those published online, official says

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) chief executive, Kylie White, has held a press conference in Melbourne after it was revealed some students were able to access exam answers in cheat sheets ahead of time.

White said:

Examinations for the VCE this year have not been compromised. All exams have been prepared with comprehensive quality assurance. This was a production issue where sample material was inadvertently included in the published sample … The VCAA discovered this issue before the written VCE examinations commenced. We reviewed the examinations to ensure the questions were different.

White said the exams would be “similar” to the practice material because they were based on the VCE study design, which has remained the same for several years. She said:

If students have seen the sample material before sitting the examination, this will not advantage a student’s ability to respond to the questions as they were different. I acknowledge, though, that students may be feeling some concern, but I would like to say to all students that they can feel confident about completing their examinations and there will be no adverse impacts to their results.

The answers were published by VCAA online for eight exams, including three that have already been sat.

They were on the cover page of the practice exams, which to the eye looked blank. But when the pages were pasted into a Word document, it revealed a series of questions and answers.

‘Systemic issues’ in Nacc’s handling of corruption complaint, inspector finds in first report

The Anti-Corruption Commission’s Inspector – AKA the watchdog’s watchdog – has released its first annual report, revealing some of the federal integrity body’s teething issues.

Tabled on Thursday, the inspector, Gail Furness SC, revealed it had received more than 1,300 complaints in its inaugural year to the end of June with 1,164 related to the Nacc’s decision not to investigate six robodebt referrals.

The other non-robodebt complaints highlighted some of the new anti-corruption body’s growing pains.

In one example highlighted by the inspector, the Nacc declined to investigate a complaint made in January 2024 after it could not identify a corruption issue.

The inspector assessed the complaint independently and identified two corruption issues. Upon reassessment, the Nacc identified the corruption issues, “albeit on a slightly different basis”.

The inspector said there were “systemic issues arising from the inadequate and flawed handling of the referral by the commission”. It added the Nacc commissioner, Paul Brereton, did not take issue with that characterisation.

The inspector’s assessment identified the Nacc needed a more accurate case management system, a pathway for more complex referrals, that letters to complainants must be signed and for better training for the Nacc’s intake and triage officers.

Brereton agreed with the inspector’s observations. The inspector said it didn’t believe the Nacc’s handling of the complaint amounted to agency maladministration.

Almost one in 10 Victorians facing ‘severe’ food insecurity, parliamentary inquiry finds

A parliamentary inquiry has found almost one in 10 Victorians are struggling with “severe” food insecurity.

The upper house’s legal and social issues committee says the figure could even be higher, with low‑income earners, Aboriginal people and young Victorians most disadvantaged amid the cost of living crisis.

Committee chair, Liberal MP Trung Luu, said most responsibility for the crisis lies with the federal government:

This includes how corporations and competition are regulated as well as the levels of income support provided by JobSeeker and the age pension. Accordingly, the committee has recommended the Victorian government advocate for an increase in Federal income support, to try and break the link between poverty and food insecurity.

However, the state government also had the power to act. Among the committee’s 25 recommendations is a trial of a comprehensive, universal school meal program in areas of disadvantage, which would provide food throughout the day for students. It also recommended an expansion of its schools breakfast program to all schools on an opt-in basis.

NAB pushes back forecast for first RBA rate cut after jobs data

As we noted in our report on the labour market earlier today, the October figures pointed to “tight” conditions, dousing hopes of a near-term interest rate cut.

To be sure, those hopes would have been slim before the numbers landed. When they did, there was little to give cause for the Reserve Bank to start considering an interest rate cut.

Well, NAB, one of the big four banks, seems to agree. It had pencilled in the first RBA rate cut for February (i.e. the meeting after next), and now expects it won’t come until May.

“We also note that there is a real risk that policy rates stay on hold even deeper into 2025 should the labour market remain tight and services inflation remain elevated,” the bank said.

Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) members will rally at the Australian University (ANU) today in opposition to a request from management to give up their December pay rise.

ANU staff should not have to pay the price of management’s mistakes.

The university has taken a hard hit from the government’s proposed international student cap, with its yearly allocation to be slashed by 14%.

A spokesperson for ANU said it had been in an operating deficit for several years and was working to reduce total costs by $250m, adding that foregoing the pay increase would only go ahead if approved by a majority.

Forgoing the upcoming 2.5% salary increase … would save up to $15m, with every dollar saved from the bottom line helping us to retain jobs. This change proposal has not been taken lightly, but these are changes we have to make. Without structural intervention, the University will not be financially sustainable.

And with that, I leave the blog with Kate Lyons. Thanks for reading.

Labor’s proposed anti-money laundering changes will force lawyers to become ‘covert informers’, law council says

The Law Council of Australia has come out swinging against the federal government’s proposed changes to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, saying they will force lawyers to become “covert informers” and small law firms could close their doors.

A Labor-chaired committee delivered its report on Wednesday, recommending the regime be expanded to extend reporting obligations about suspicious transactions to lawyers as well as accountants and real estate agents.

However, Coalition members of the committee said they couldn’t support the bill in its current form, pointing to higher cost burdens for small businesses.

Australia remains one of the few jurisdictions in the world not to force those working in client services to report suspicions to a financial intelligence agency.

In 2015, the global financial watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force, found that Australia was at risk of being “greylisted” – a move that puts a country under increased scrutiny and monitoring – alongside countries such as Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali.

But the Law Council has warned the changes could impact those in the profession by limiting a “person’s ability to trust and confide in their lawyer”.

In a statement on Thursday, the council said:

Under this bill, lawyers will be forced to become covert informers on their clients. This undermines the vital, fundamental and long accepted right for Australians to be able to consult their lawyer in privacy. Insufficient thought has been given to the impact of the bill on the criminal justice system.

The Law Council said it believes the “costs and red tape” associated will increase fees at small law firms or cause them to close up shop. It added Australian law firms do not impose a “substantial risk”.

According to a recent impact analysis, the government’s preferred option is expected to cost businesses $13.9bn over 10 years and would simplify the laws while including the new reporting obligations.

It estimated the flow-on customer burden was around $209m over the decade.

People subject to visa cancellation in prison ‘pipelined’ to detention and deportation: HRLC

The Human Rights Law Centre is calling for the repeal of mandatory visa cancellation provisions in a new report that finds people subject to visa cancellation in prison are “pipelined” to detention and deportation.

Cancellations on “character” grounds have “increased more than tenfold” since 2014, when mandatory character-based visa cancellation powers were introduced in an amendment to the Migration Act, the report says.

Any visa held by a non-citizen could be mandatorily cancelled if the visa-holder was serving a full-time sentence of imprisonment and if they failed the ‘character test’ – most commonly on the grounds they had been sentenced to serve a prison term of 12 or more months.

Visa cancellations jumped from 76 in 2013/14 to 579 the following year, according to the report. There were more than 900 visa cancellations a year from 2015/2016 to 2020/2021. The report says:

Because Australian law requires the detention of people who do not hold a valid visa, the increase in character-based visa cancellations has led directly to a growth in the number of people held in immigration detention for this reason. People subject to character-based cancellation are often held in detention for prolonged periods, sometimes indefinitely, while they attempt to have their visa reinstated.

While Australian citizens are granted liberty after serving a sentence, people who are subject to visa cancellation are ‘pipelined’ from prison to immigration detention and deportation from Australia.

The report also finds visa-holders face discriminatory treatment in prison “with limited access to parole, rehabilitation, and education hindering their ability to have their visas reinstated”.

Answers were found on cover page of practice exams published by VCAA

The answers were published by VCAA online for some eight exams, including three that have already been sat.

They were on the cover page of the practice exams, which to the eye looked blank. But when the pages were pasted into a Word document, it revealed a series of questions and answers.

White said it was not known how this occurred but suggested it may be due to using similar formatting to the actual exams.

The sample covers normally do not have sample material, though, sample material is often used in the way we format exams. That sample material was inadvertently included and it shouldn’t have been there. As I mentioned, the sample covers are really just for familiarising students for what their exams will look like.

VCEs ‘have not been compromised’, official says after some students able to access answers ahead of time

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) chief executive, Kylie White, has held a press conference in Melbourne after it was revealed some students were able to access exam answers in cheat sheets ahead of time.

She said:

Examinations for the VCE this year have not been compromised. All exams have been prepared with comprehensive quality assurance. This was a production issue where sample material was inadvertently included in the published sample … The VCAA discovered this issue before the written VCE examinations commenced. We reviewed the examinations to ensure the questions were different.

White said the exams would be “similar” to the practice material because they were based on the VCE study design, which has remained the same for several years. She said;

If students have seen the sample material before sitting the examination, this will not advantage a student’s ability to respond to the questions as they were different. I acknowledge, though, that students may be feeling some concern, but I would like to say to all students that they can feel confident about completing their examinations and there will be no adverse impacts to their results.

Man allegedly discharges replica gun behind NSW parliament building

An investigation is under way after reports a man was seen discharging a replica firearm in the Sydney CBD.

About 1pm, officers attached to Sydney City Police Area Command responded to reports of a man discharging what is believed to be a replica firearm on Hospital Road, Sydney, near the NSW parliament.

Initial inquiries suggest the replica firearm, may be a gel blaster, which was discharged several times into the ground.

The man left the location in a vehicle, prior to police arrival.

No reports of injuries have been reported. A crime scene has been established.

The investigation is ongoing.

Police have urged anyone with information in relation to the incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Climate change minister hails instalment of solar panels on 4m Australian homes

The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, has held a media event in Sydney to mark a moment in the renewable energy transition: that solar panels have now been installed on 4m homes across Australia.

It means roughly one in three Australian homes have rooftop solar. Bowen said the average home with panels saved more than $1,500 a year on power bills.

Aussie homeowners know rooftop solar is a no-brainer when it comes to bringing down bills, which is why we have been installing about 300,000 rooftop systems a year and there is no sign of that slowing down.

We have looked at the globe-leading success of Australian household solar, and what we might learn from it, before. For example, see this piece:

Marles throws support behind Kevin Rudd amid speculation over ambassador role

The acting prime minister Richard Marles has backed Australia’s ambassador to the US, former prime minister Kevin Rudd, suggesting he will be staying in the job.

Marles said on Thursday that Rudd had been doing a great job representing Australia and its interests in the United States.

In that role, he has been working across the political spectrum, again, with Democrats, Republicans, Trump Republicans, and Kevin was really central to seeing the legislation passed through the Congress this time last year. He worked really closely with members of Congress right across the political spectrum, and I’ve got no doubt that Kevin will ably represent Australia when we see the swearing in of the next Trump administration.

Earlier, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, sharpened his rhetoric about Rudd, saying Australia needs a “functioning, stable relationship” with the US, based on “mutual respect” and that it was important Australia’s ambassador could work well with the host government.

I guess the difficulty that the prime minister’s in at the moment is that if he sacks Kevin Rudd, then what does he do with Penny Wong? And if he sacks Penny Wong, what does he do given he’s made his own disparaging remarks about president-elect Trump as well? Look, these are issues for the prime minister.

Rudd’s past personal criticisms of president-elect Donald Trump, which have prompted speculation – including from some in Trump’s inner circle – about whether he should remain as ambassador under the new US administration.

Dutton said any difficulties Albanese now faced over his “captain’s call” in appointing Rudd were “all of his own making”.

Access system fault after 3G shutdown to blame for locking firefighters out of stations

Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) has blamed a fault with an access system during the upgrade from 3G for firefighters being unable to unlock gates since the 3G network was shut down at the start of this month.

The United Firefighters Union said on Thursday firefighters were locked out of stations due to the phone system used by firefighters going offline after the 3G network shutdown.

United Firefighters Union secretary Peter Marshall said FRV had more than a year to prepare and it was “simply bewildering” there was an issue:

With the fire service spread ever thinner, firefighters and trucks are being moved between stations more often to fill larger gaps.

A spokesperson for Fire Rescue Victoria said when a property can’t be accessed through regular means, personnel know to contact their officer in charge so that access can be gained through alternative means. The spokesperson said FRV was aware of the 3G shutdown, but the issue came in the transition to 4G and 5G:

During the transition, a fault with a station access system occurred. Interim measures were quickly implemented, and all staff can now gain access to fire stations. We expect the issue to be fully resolved in the coming days.

The 3G shutdown did not remove FRV’s ability to track its vehicles.