8.57pm EST
20:57
After a complaint from MP Tim Wilson’s campaign, Bayside City Council has now reversed its position on election signs – ruling that signs erected before 3 June need a permit.
The council said:
Bayside City Council has received advice from the Australian Electoral Commission regarding the timing of the forthcoming federal election.
The AEC has advised that there is a possibility of separate elections for the two houses of the Australian Parliament, with the latest possible date for a Senate election being 21 May 2022 and the latest possible date for a House of Representatives election being 3 September 2022.
Clause 52.05-10 of the Victorian Planning Provisions states a sign must not be displayed longer than 14 days after the event is held or 3 months, whichever is sooner.
Based on this above, any sign associated with a House of Representative candidate would be unlawfully erected if:
- no election has been called; or
- the sign is erected prior to 3 June 2022.
Council has advised all currently known federal election candidates for the seat of Goldstein of the AEC advice.
Updated
at 9.04pm EST
8.48pm EST
20:48
Cast your minds all the way back to last Sunday 20 February, when tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes teamed up (well, 20/80) with Canada’s Brookfield on an unsolicited bid for AGL Energy. (Thankfully, the “Brookes Brothers” hasn’t caught on.)
They pitched $7.50 a share, or less than 5% above AGL’s previous closing price of $7.16, valuing the company at about $8bn (once you toss in $2.85bn for debt).
Anyway, AGL’s share price duly soared more than 10% to close at $7.92 on Monday, as greedy investors poured in, betting the suitors would need to pay more to seal the deal.
Well, that optimism has tended to dim with each passing day, with AGL’s share today dropping below the $7.50 bid price.
It was recently at $7.47, down 17 cents or 1.8% on the day, after dipping as low as $7.42. (Not a great outcome in an overall market that’s up about 0.3% for the day, but not a bad result given events in Europe.)
The latter day slide doesn’t mean there won’t be a higher bid yet, but perhaps we won’t see a bidding war for AGL.
Updated
at 8.52pm EST
8.09pm EST
20:09
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has called for an immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine, announcing a travel ban for Russian officials, and adding that she is considering expelling the Russian ambassador.
New Zealand calls on Russia to do what is right and immediately cease military operations in Ukraine, and permanently withdraw to avoid a catastrophic and pointless loss of innocent life.
New Zealand does not have a legal framework for creating autonomous sanctions independent of the United Nations security council, on which Russia sits. But Ardern said New Zealand had taken a number of steps, including a travel ban on Russian government officials associated with invasion, a ban on any exports that could be used by the Russian military for military or non-military purposes, and suspension of military bilateral consultations.
Ardern said New Zealand had not ruled out passing legislation to create an autonomous sanctions regime, but that it would have to be examined through a wider lens than the current conflict. She said she was also considering expelling the Russian ambassador. “It’s one of the things that countries are able to do and will consider, but not a decision you take lightly given the wider ramifications for citizens in-country,” she said.
A reminder that you can follow the Ukraine live blog below for more updates on the unfolding situation there:
