9.11pm EST
21:11
Marise Payne’s spokesperson rejects Amnesty’s ‘characterisations of Israel’
The federal government has explicitly rejected Amnesty International’s assessment that Israel is perpetrating apartheid against Palestinians.
Readers will recall that the prime minister, Scott Morrison, yesterday said “no country is perfect” in response to Amnesty’s 280-page report that concluded Israel had “perpetrated the international wrong of apartheid, as a human rights violation and a violation of public international law”.
Guardian Australia asked the foreign minister, Marise Payne, several questions including whether she agreed with the assessment that Israel is perpetrating apartheid (and if she didn’t agree, why not) and whether she would be more direct in publicly urging Israel to uphold human rights.
A spokesperson for Payne responded overnight. Here is the full statement:
We do not agree with the report’s characterisations of Israel, and we remain a firm supporter of the State of Israel.
The conflict between the Palestinians and Israel must be resolved so that peace and security can become normalised.
We are strong supporters of a two-state solution, with Israel and a future Palestinian state establishing internationally recognised borders. We have always urged all parties to refrain from actions and statements that undermine the prospects for peace.
For more, see our news report:
Updated
at 9.14pm EST
8.50pm EST
20:50
Yesterday RBA governor, Philip Lowe, was asked at his National Press Club speech whether now was a good time to switch to a fixed interest rate if you’re a borrower.
Ever cautious to avoid sending too clear a message, Lowe encouraged people to have a “buffer” to absorb any interest rate rises that might be coming as the economy gathers pace and inflation perks up further. (He has paid off his home loan, we learned).
Anyway, as if on cue, the CBA – the country’s biggest bank – raised its fixed home loan rates by as much as 0.2 percentage points.
ING, Australia’s seventh largest bank, also raised fixed and variable rates but only for new customers.
According to market tracker RateCity, the CBA’s four-year fixed rate has risen by 1.55 percentage points over the past year. Someone with a $500,000, four-year fixed loan will now be paying $411 more than someone taking out the same loan a year ago.
For such loans, the CBA now charges 3.54%, ANZ – 3.39%, with both Westpac and NAB on 3.34%.
RateCity research director, Sally Tindall, said:
While much of the heavy lifting has already been done, we expect fixed rates will keep on rising in the months to come, not just from the big four banks but across the market.
Right now, there are just 28 fixed rates [in the market] under 2% but the number is dropping rapidly. In a few months time they could be extinct.
Updated
at 8.58pm EST
8.01pm EST
20:01
Victoria’s Healthcare Association has welcomed the state’s extension of surge payments for healthcare workers in Covid settings but says the allowance should be expanded to other patient-facing roles.
Guardian Australia has confirmed the surge allowance for hospital workers, paramedics and other frontline staff will be extended until 31 March as Victoria remains under a code brown declaration. The payments equate to an additional $60 per shift for public hospital and Ambulance Victoria workers.
VHA chief executive Tom Symondson said the organisation had called for the payment to be extended beyond February to ensure healthcare workers were recognised for their “extraordinary work” as the state remained under a code brown declaration:
Many healthcare providers are struggling to retain staff, let alone recruit them, so the next critical step is to expand this payment to other healthcare workers. They need to feel valued during this public health crisis.
Updated
at 8.05pm EST
7.58pm EST
19:58
Morrison claims Coalition will prevent LGBT student discrimination
Scott Morrison was asked on Brisbane’s B105.3 radio this morning about Citipointe Christian College and the issue of LGBT students.
Morrison replied:
I don’t support that. My kids go to a Christian school, I wouldn’t want my school doing that either.
The bill we’ll be taking through the parliament will be having an amendment that will deal with that to ensure kids cannot be discriminated against on that basis. I’ve been saying that for years. That’s always been my view.
[If] you send your kids to a Christian, Muslim or Jewish school – they should be able to teach kids in that way.
This is an ambiguous statement that we’re seeking to clarify with Morrison and attorney general Michaelia Cash’s office.
If Morrison means that the religious discrimination bill will contain this amendment, then that is a shift in government policy; but if he means that there will be a separate bill that follows the religious package, then this is much less consequential than it appears.
Morrison is right that he has suggested students shouldn’t be able to be expelled for their sexuality previously, but Cash has said that a bill to do this will have to wait 12 months until after the religious bill passes.
On Radio National yesterday evening acting attorney general Amanda Stoker said:
The religious discrimination bill that’s before the parliament does not empower this conduct. That is a factor that is already law, and it is law under the Sex Discrimination Act. The next thing to say is that the Liberal-National government has committed to taking away those exceptions, and we will do it as soon as we have the Religious Discrimination Act in force. The only reason we can’t do it beforehand is that we need to be able to tailor it to whatever product ultimately emerges from the Senate. But it’s already something we believe in and have committed to.
So, it’s clear that Cash and Stoker think the fix for LGBT students is SEPARATE from the religious bills. Did Morrison misspeak or has there been a shift in policy?
Updated
at 8.02pm EST
