Health News at Your Fingertips

Paul Karp

Anthony Albanese is on ABC Sydney, again on the defensive about why Labor hasn’t reversed its position and decided to tear up the stage three tax cuts.

Albanese said:

We tried to amend the legislation, we weren’t successful, by one vote. All the crossbench in the Senate voted for stage three. That was a legislated change, we had to make a decision once we weren’t successful whether to block all the tax cuts for everyone. We didn’t do that.

We said at the time it was ambitious to say you know what the economy would look like in 2024. There is also the issue of certainty that is there, these are legislated tax cuts … and we did say we wouldn’t seek to change them, at the election.

Albanese also claims the stage three tax cuts discussion “wasn’t front and centre” in the election campaign, and that Adam Bandt had a chance to advocate then. Which is odd because: (1) the Greens definitely did advocate this then; and (2) to the extent they weren’t front and centre, it was because Labor promised not to tear them up.

Albanese said Labor will examine jobseeker “each and every year”, citing the fact Labor passed the biggest increase in the pension “in history” in its last year in office (2013). “Labor will always be better on these issues,” he said, although jobseeker won’t be raised in the October “mini-budget”.

Over social media, people are reacting to Chris Dawson’s guilty verdict:

Nino is outside the courtroom still and will bring us an update soon.

Chris Dawson’s lawyer suggests client will appeal guilty verdict

Nino Bucci

Speaking outside court, Christopher Dawson’s lawyer Greg Walsh suggested his client would appeal Tuesday’s verdict.

He said:

Mr Dawson has always asserted, and he still does, his absolute innocence of the crime of which he’s been convicted. He’ll continue to assert that innocence and he’ll certainly appeal.

Family and friends of Lynette Dawson, along with supporters of Dawson, including his lawyer and twin brother Paul Dawson, have left court following this afternoon’s verdict.

Walsh, who left the court at the same time as Lynette Dawson’s family were speaking on the steps of the court, said his client was in shock and upset.

He said he did not believe Dawson had said anything to him in court immediately after the verdict was handed down.

Walsh said that when Justice Ian Harrison mentioned relatively early in his verdict that he was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that Lynette Dawson had died on 8 January 1982 – as the prosecution had alleged – he felt that conviction was “on the cards”.

Walsh said Dawson did not discuss with him whether he felt he had a fair trial. But the lawyer wanted to make clear it was concerning that Harrison had not addressed questions about a missing police homicide-squad file into Lynette Dawson’s disappearance, which may have assisted his client. This could have included information about financial transactions.

He said:

The whole file is gone. How can Mr Dawson rely upon that evidence if it just disappears?

Walsh said it was clear serious miscarriages of justice had occurred in the past, such as in the Chamberlain case, and Dawson maintained his innocence.

He said Dawson’s daughters would “stay strong”, but also wanted to make clear that the “disappearance” of Lynette was a “very sad fact” and it was “in some respects an important day” for her family.

Dawson would find custody difficult, Walsh said, as he had been diagnosed with dementia that may be linked to his history playing rugby league. He said:

Jail will be much harder for him, he’s got real cognitive problems, and he’s got problems with his hips and his knees etc.

Dawson is expected to apply for bail on Thursday.

From Reuters:

The Solomon Islands government has told the US it will place a moratorium on navy vessels entering its ports, the US embassy in Canberra said on Tuesday.

The notice follows an incident last Tuesday when a US Coast Guard vessel, the Oliver Henry, was unable to enter Solomon Islands for a routine port call because the government did not respond to a request for it to refuel and provision.

The Solomon Islands has had a tense relationship with the US and its allies since striking a security pact with China earlier this year.

“On Aug. 29, the United States received formal notification from the government of Solomon Islands regarding a moratorium on all naval visits, pending updates in protocol procedures,” the embassy said in today’s statement.

A spokesman for Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare earlier denied the reports of a moratorium, and told Reuters that Sogavare would make a speech on Tuesday afternoon.

Sogavare would make a speech to welcome a US navy hospital ship, Mercy, which arrived in Honiara on Monday for a two-week mission, he said.

The embassy said Mercy had arrived before the moratorium.

Peter Hannam

With the earnings season all but over, we’ve had one of the last major companies reporting, Woodside Energy.

Needless to say, the company reported a big jump in earnings. Soaring energy prices have propelled profits skyward for most energy companies, with Woodside’s five-fold rise just the latest.

After similar results for Santos, Whitehaven Coal and other fossil-fuel exporters, calls for a windfall tax have been renewed, as we report here:

Woodside’s share price was up about 1.7% in late trade, or about triple the increase in the wider ASX 200 benchmark index.

The Albanese government has so far not given any hint that it is planning another effort to rake back some of those bumper earnings. NSW, too, shows no interest in following Queensland’s example in changing its royalties regimes.

See our report from June:

Instead, any effort in this space is likely to focus on questions around multinational tax. Are companies paying all that they should be (rather than, say, using so-called transfer pricing to book profits in low-taxing states such as Singapore)?

The longer energy prices stay high, though, demands for some redistribution effort won’t go away.

From AAP:

Laws to put in place a national corruption watchdog will be brought to federal parliament in two weeks.

It is understood the Labor caucus will be asked to approve the bill on September 13 before it is introduced to the lower house.

The Morrison government had flagged the formation of a Commonwealth Integrity Commission, but did not bring its bill to parliament.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), as Labor’s model will be known, will have a broad jurisdiction to investigate commonwealth ministers, public servants, statutory office holders, government agencies, parliamentarians, and the personal staff of politicians.

From AAP:

Australia’s medical regulators have given a green light for a COVID vaccine that will target the Omicron variant.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration granted provisional approval to Moderna’s bivalent COVID vaccine, the first of its type in Australia.

The bivalent vaccine will be able to trigger an immune response against the original COVID variant and the Omicron strain.

The vaccine has been approved for use as a booster among those over 18 and can be given at least three months after the initial two doses or previous booster.

Final approval for the new vaccine will still need to be granted by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.

From AAP:

Australia’s leading scientific organisation has called for a boost to virus research and vaccine manufacturing capabilities in a bid to future-proof the country from pandemics.

In a new report, the CSIRO outlined 20 recommendations to strengthen Australia’s pandemic preparedness, following on from the experiences of COVID-19.

Among the recommendations were to improve research into five virus families that have the greatest potential to become future pandemics.

Scientists also identified a need to diversify the types of vaccines made in Australia to be better prepared.

“The absence of manufacturing capabilities across diverse vaccine technologies reduces Australia’s capability to produce vaccines onshore for an emergent viral threat,” the report said.

“Australian companies face barriers, such as high input costs and small population for clinical trial enrolments.”

Graham Readfearn

All the signs are pointing to another wet summer, with the Bureau of Meteorology’s latest update suggesting a good chance of a return of the La Niña that has helped drench the east of the continent for the last two years.

Back in June, scientists warned a rare “triple-dip La Niña“ could be on the cards. Earlier this month, the bureau issued a “La Niña alert” saying the chance of the system returning was on the up.

Today, the bureau said the chance had risen further, with four of seven climate models showing the La Niña conditions could return by early-to-mid spring. The other three models suggest a neutral but cooler than average outlook.

In a La Niña, trade winds strengthen and push warmer surface water closer to Australia, promoting clouds and rain.

In Australia, the bureau says La Niña events increase the chance of above-average rainfall for northern and eastern Australia during spring and summer.

La Niña has opposite impacts elsewhere, with the system blamed for worsening drought in North America and East Africa.

Nino Bucci – who has done a great job bringing us the news straight from the courtroom today – snapped this picture of the media pack outside the court just after the verdict had been read out:

On social media, people are reacting to the Christopher Dawson verdict – who just moments ago was found guilty of murdering his former wife Lynette Dawson.

A lot of people are saying justice has finally been served:

Nino Bucci

Christopher Dawson has been taken into custody. His lawyer, Greg Walsh, told Harrison his client would likely apply for bail before his sentencing hearing.

A date has not been set for that hearing.

Gasps were heard from inside court room 13a, where the hearing was being held, after the verdict. The larger Banco court next door, where the hearing was being streamed, erupted into applause.

An enormous media throng is now waiting on the steps outside court for those involved in the case to speak.

Nino Bucci

Justice Ian Harrison has said he is “satisfied” that Christopher Dawson resolved to kill his wife when his girlfriend went camping without him.

Harrison said he also agreed that Dawson decided to kill his wife Lynette Dawson in 1982.

He said earlier in his reasons that he accepted Lynette Dawson was dead, and that she did not leave her home voluntarily.

Christopher Dawson found guilty of murdering his former wife

Nino Bucci

Christopher Dawson has been found guilty of murdering his former wife four decades ago on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Dawson, 73, had been accused of killing Lynette Dawson in 1982. Her body has never been found and Dawson has always maintained he was not involved in her disappearance.

On Tuesday, New South Wales supreme court Justice Ian Harrison found Dawson guilty, a verdict that brings to a close a case that had exploded into the public spotlight after it featured in a hit true-crime podcast.

Harrison had presided over the matter after Dawson successfully applied for a judge-only trial.

The main reason for Dawson’s application was the publicity generated in the case by the Australian newspaper’s Teacher’s Pet podcast. It was published in 2018, at the same time as NSW police were again investigating Lynette Dawson’s disappearance.

Paul Karp

Employer groups release joint statement of ambition ahead of jobs summit

The three big employer groups – the Business Chamber of Australia, Australian Industry Group and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry – have released a joint statement of ambition for the jobs and skills summit.

It’s … a little light-on. The main agreement is to “build support for the interrelated objectives of strong employment growth, higher incomes growth, improved productivity and enhanced social inclusion” – hardly likely to be controversial.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has helped give the Albanese government the cover it needs to enact changes by striking deals with the Council of Small Business Organisations on multi-employer bargaining, and the BCA on full employment.

This employer agreement, by contrast, is a series of things to consider rather than particular changes. They want:

• Greater skills investment.

• Improvements in workforce participation and inclusion, particularly of women and people over 60.

• To deal with future challenges and opportunities including decarbonisation, the ageing of the population, digitalisation and the scope to improve our approach to health and other caring services.

In the statement, Innes Willox, Ai Group chief executive, said:

The summit is an important step in potentially building a more productive, prosperous and fairer Australia. Agreement at the summit that renewed skilled migration and a wholehearted effort to build our skills base are needed can be key building blocks for our economic well-being. Likewise, there is a lot of common ground in recognising that to build collaboration our workplace relations system needs to be simplified rather than upended. There is obviously much detailed work to be done after the summit in the writing of a White Paper to guide the progress of key policy agreements.

Andrew McKellar, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive, said:

The realignment of the global economy presents significant challenges to simply maintain, let alone improve on, economic growth and the broader wellbeing needed to secure national prosperity. The Jobs and Skills Summit offers a critical opportunity to revitalise productivity, grow pay packets and maintain our strong standards of living.

Jennifer Westacott, Business Council chief executive, said:

The Summit is a chance to find common ground and agree on the key resets needed to position Australia for the future, but we can’t solve every problem overnight so the process that comes after will be crucial. This is an opportunity to move Australia to the frontier by driving stronger economic performance, making ourselves more competitive and productive, and attracting the investment needed to diversify our industrial base, do new things and create new opportunities.

Paul Karp

Anti-corruption commission bill to be introduced to parliament in mid-September

Guardian Australia understands the Albanese government will introduce the national anti-corruption commission bill in the second week of the coming sitting fortnight, commencing 12 September. This suggests it will go to caucus on 13 September, and be introduced on Wednesday 14 September or Thursday 15 September.

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has been consulting the crossbench and integrity stakeholders, and although they’ve been briefed on its content, they will see the full bill when introduced to parliament.

The independent MP Helen Haines said she has been “very clear” she wishes to be a part of the joint select committee which will consider the bill.

Haines has written to Dreyfus asking for:

• An oversight committee that “can’t be stacked”, ie will have independent or crossbench members;

• Independent oversight of the body’s funding, as a “longevity safety measure”

• Whistleblower protections; and

• Broaden the definition of “corruption” to allow investigation of the actions of third parties other than ones the government has contracted with

The Greens have pushed for similar changes and Senator David Pocock has expressed support for Haines’ bill which has these features.

Albanese government ‘can easily afford’ to lift jobseeker rate to Henderson poverty line, says antipoverty advocate

Antipoverty Centre spokesperson Jay Coonan, who is a jobseeker recipient, has responded to social services minister Amanda Rishworth’s comment that there would be no “room in the budget” to lift the rate of jobseeker payments.

Coonan said:

This is embarrassing. The government is expecting us to believe there is some magic figure that is a ceiling on their spending. Lifting the jobseeker payment to the Henderson poverty line is a drop in the ocean in a federal budget.

If they needed to go into debt to ensure we have enough to live, they should. But they don’t. They can easily afford this. It’s far cheaper than proceeding with their absurd tax cuts.

Starving people who rely on the so-called safety net is nothing more than a cruel political choice.

The Labor party aren’t for all Australians. They are cowards who are happy to leave millions of us on welfare behind for the sake of political expediency. There is no excuse.

Good afternoon everyone – before we get started, a big thank you to Mostafa. This is Cait Kelly and I will be with you for the rest of the day.

Justice Ian Harrison is still continuing his verdict in Christopher Dawson’s trial for murder – and I will bring you more from Nino Bucci soon.

First up though, I have this important story from the AAP:

A recent spike in Indigenous youths being denied bail in NSW has undone five years of efforts to reduce First Nations’ representation in youth detention.

The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in NSW youth detention centres had decreased from 52% in 2017 to 40% in 2021.

Now half the people detained in NSW youth detention centres are Indigenous.

It had been rising since April when bail refusals also began increasing, a senior official told a parliamentary budget estimates hearing on Tuesday.

“It’s clear Aboriginal people have been disproportionately impacted by the bail refusals,” said Paul O’Reilly, the state’s most senior official for youth justice.

“It is shameful to have that level of overrepresentation in custody.”

Indigenous people make up 3.4% of the NSW population and 6% of those are under 25.

Since June, about 480 children have been refused bail by police and then released by a magistrate.

And with that, I will hand the blog over to the wonderful Cait Kelly. Thanks for reading.