Jannah Theme License is not validated, Go to the theme options page to validate the license, You need a single license for each domain name.
United Kingdom

Australia news live: flood warnings in Victoria and NSW; Daniel Andrews responds to MP’s call to turn him into ‘red mist’ | Australia news

Key events

Filters BETA

Governments meeting at Cop27 agree to creation of loss and damage fund

A loss and damage fund will be created after the Cop27 meeting in Cairo has run into overtime over negotiations about whether to compensate developing countries for harms caused by climate change.

President of Cop27, Sameh Shoukry confirmed the fund would be created just prior to the plenary restarting.

Here is the language of the document – it’s in UN climate speak but it is significant:

The Conference of the Parties and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement,

Recalling the Convention and the Paris Agreement…

Decide to establish new funding arrangements for assisting developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, in responding to loss and damage, including with a focus on addressing loss and damage by providing and assisting in mobilizing new and additional resources, and that these new arrangements complement and include sources, funds, processes and initiatives under and outside the Convention and the Paris Agreement;

Also decide, in the context of establishing the new funding arrangements referred to in paragraph 2 above, to establish a fund for responding to loss and damage whose mandate includes a focus on addressing loss and damage.

The document, agreed by almost 200 countries, also establishes a committee to come up with rules to make the fund happen. That committee will report back at next year’s Cop.

For more follow the Guardian’s live coverage of the Cop27 meeting:

Cost of living bites as nearly one in two Australians dread Christmas

Just 51% of people say they are looking forward to Christmas this year, according to a new survey by online payments giant PayPal.

Amid cost-of-living pressures, around 60% of Australians plan to spend less than $500 on Christmas presents this year and one in six hope to spend under $200.

One way Aussies are planning to cut costs is by shopping the end of year sales like Black Friday and Cyber Monday which this year fall on 25 and 28 November.

Some say they will even wait until Boxing Day to buy gifts, to take full advantage of potential savings.

For more on how people are dealing with the rising cost of living, read how five Australians are responding going into Christmas.

– with AAP

Analysts read RBA tea leaves for hints of future rate rises

All eyes will be on the Reserve Bank of Australia this week to see how it’s factoring in recent strong wages and jobs data, ahead of its next interest rate meeting in December.

At its board meeting earlier this month, the central bank floated the near term possibility of keeping the cash rate steady at 2.85% up to Christmas to allow monetary policy tightenings to date to flow through the economy.

But since then, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has published robust wages and employment figures that suggest the economy is still roaring along and further rate rises may be needed to temper demand.

RBA governor Philip Lowe is due to speak at a Committee for the Economic Development of Australia dinner in Melbourne on Tuesday and his speech will be scanned for any changes in the central bank’s messaging.

But AMP Capital economist Shane Oliver said a pause was unlikely given the solid 3.1% rise in wages in the year ended September and a surprisingly low jobless rate of 3.4% for October.

“A pause is unlikely in December though and we continue to expect another 0.25% rate hike but a pause is likely from early next year where we expect the cash rate to peak at 3.1%,” he said.

The RBA board does not meet in January but will gather on the first Tuesday in February.

– from AAP

Investigator arrives at WA’s Burrup to examine industry’s impact on rock art

Traditional owners on the Burrup peninsula in Western Australia have welcomed the arrival of a government-appointed investigator responsible for examining the impact of nearby industrial operations on rock art.

Alison Stone was appointed as part of an assessment secured by the Save Our Songlines campaign to examine the cumulative effect of all industry on the Burrup peninsula.

Stone has until November 30 to take submissions from traditional custodians as part of the assessment process and her findings will be considered by the minister when deciding to impose permanent protections through legislation.

It is the first time the impact of climate change is to be considered as part of the process.

Raelene Cooper, Mardudhunera woman and former chair of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation who is part of the Save Our Songlines campaign, said in statement:

We welcome the arrival on the Burrup of the Section 10 Reporter Alison Stone to allow all traditional custodians to have their say on the full cultural heritage assessment of all industry on the Burrup Hub.

The extension of the submissions process by the federal government will allow our whole community to engage fully in this critical process and enable detailed scientific submissions from experts.

The latest research provides timely evidence of the significant damage being done to our sacred Murujuga rock art by emissions from these plants. It clearly demonstrates the need to make permanent protections to limit the long term impact of emissions in addition to preventing the immediate removal of rock art to facilitate these projects.

The Burrup is home to a significant industrial operations, including Woodside Energy’s Pluto Train 2 plant being built as part of its $16bn development of the Scarborough gas field.

A note about Twitter embeds

We’ve also been getting a few comments about the continued use of Twitter embeds in the blog and I just wanted to address this briefly: despite all the chaos that has unfolded with Twitter in the last two weeks, the platform remains a key line of communication for many emergency services and government agencies.

The ability to quickly share and embed Tweets into the blog allows us to rapidly communicate information to those who may need to it, wherever they are – especially when it is weather or flood-related. Sometimes this information is complex and the Tweets contain links to the most accurate and up-to-date statements.

Right now we will to continue sharing critical information as needed, whether it’s a major government announcement, or information about flood warnings, weather forecasts and other material that may help people make decisions about their safety.

Twitter lifts Donald Trump ban, but will he return?

His Twitter account may be unlocked but former US president Donald Trump has been coy about whether he will make a return to the platform.

During an appearance by video link at the Republican Jewish Coalition annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas on Saturday, Trump told his audience that Twitter had “a lot of problems” and encouraged them to stick to his own social media platform, Truth Social.

I hear we’re getting a big vote to also go back on Twitter. I don’t see any reason for it, and a lot of problems at Twitter. You see what’s going on, they may make it, it may not make it, but the problems are incredible, the engagements are negative. And you have a lot of bots and a lot of fake accounts. Truth Social has taken the place for a lot of people and I don’t see them going back onto Twitter.

The last post on Trump’s twitter account is dated 9 January 2021 and reads: “To all those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th”. It has not been updated since.

Elon Musk made the decision to reinstate the former president to the platform after an online Twitter poll.

He posted the results of the poll, showing a narrow win for allowing Trump back to Twitter with 51.8% voting yes and 48.2% voting no. “The people have spoken,” Musk tweeted.

Ironically, it is not clear how many of those votes were legitimate as Musk acknowledged during the poll that vote numbers were being influenced by automated bot accounts.

“Bot & troll armies might be running out of steam soon. Some interesting lessons to clean up future polls,” Musk said.

For all the details, read the full story:

NSW Labor pledges to ban phones in high schools if elected

Mobile phones will be banned in NSW high schools if the Labor party wins next year’s state election.

Parents have been calling for the change but the NSW government has not been listening, opposition leader Chris Minns said in a statement on Sunday:

As a parent of three children myself, I share the concerns of parents worried about the impact of phones and devices on our kids and their learning.

NSW Labor will restrict phone use in schools to help cut distraction, deal with cyber-bullying and help improve student outcomes.

Phones are already banned in NSW primary schools but there are no mandatory restrictions in place for high school settings.

Under Labor’s proposal, all NSW public school students will have their phones turned off during school hours and kept out of sight until the end of the day.

There will be exemptions for students with special circumstances, like those needing to monitor health conditions.

South Australia, the Northern Territory, Victoria and Western Australia have already implemented a mobile phone ban in schools.

NSW residents will go to the polls on 25 March.

– via AAP

Victorian premier responds to MP’s call for him to be turned into ‘red mist’

Benita Kolovos

Daniel Andrews says Victoria is “better than violent extremism” after upper house MP, Catherine Cumming, told a crowd of protesters that he should be turned into “red mist”.

Cumming is being investigated by police for inciteful behaviour after she was filmed giving a speech outside Flinders Street Station on Saturday afternoon.

She told the crowd:

I joined the Angry Victorian Party for one reason – to make Daniel Andrews turn into red mist.

In the army, we would call it pink mist, but I want him into red mist. Give anyone here in the army a job to blow someone up, and they will.

“Pink mist” is a military term used to describe the blood that comes out of a sniper’s target when they are hit.

Speaking in Narre Warren South on Sunday, Andrews said Cumming’s speech was a “matter for police”:

I will just say this. I think we’re better than this. Our multicultural, multi-faith state, a thoughtful, inclusive, compassionate state. We are much better than this. We’re much better than violent extremism. We ought to leave that to the United States.

This is not America, and I for one will do nothing to contribute to the Americanisation of our politics. We’re putting a positive and optimistic plan to the Victorian community, and then it will be their choice.

I’ll leave it to others to defend their actions, their statements, their preference deals that stand – indeed the conduct of their candidates. That’s a matter for them.

Andrews was referring to the Liberal party’s decision to preference fringe parties above Labor in every seat.

He announced that if re-elected, Labor will spend $584m to establish 50 new low-cost child care centres across the state by 2028. It will also spend $159m to attract and retain early childhood educators.

Catherine Cumming at the ‘The Worldwide Rally for Freedom’ protest against mandatory vaccinations and lockdown measures in November 2021.
Catherine Cumming at the ‘The Worldwide Rally for Freedom’ protest against mandatory vaccinations and lockdown measures in November 2021. Photograph: James Ross/EPA

Aaand he’s back. Donald Trump’s Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, has been reinstated.

Benita Kolovos

Benita Kolovos

Victorian opposition leader defends candidate who railed against Indigenous recognition and abortion

Victorian opposition leader, Matthew Guy, has defended a Liberal party candidate who railed against Indigenous recognition, climate change, abortion and described a senior MP as a “prick”.

Speaking in Bentleigh on Sunday, Guy said Timothy Dragan – the Liberal candidate for Narre Warre North – had apologised for comments reported by the Age on Sunday, including that Australia should not recognise First Nations people because “we won this land fair and square”.

Asked if he was confident having Dragan on his team, Guy replied:

He’s apologised for silly comments. He’s not alone in this world for making silly comments and he’s apologised for the ones he made … Some of those were disrespectful. I know they were disrespectful. I saw what was printed. He apologised for those as he should. But the first thing you’d ask of someone who makes any disrespectful comment is for an apology. And he gave that and I think that’s fair and reasonable.

Victorian Opposition leader Matthew Guy in Melbourne on Saturday
Victorian Opposition leader Matthew Guy in Melbourne on Saturday Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP



https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2022/nov/20/australia-news-live-anthony-albanese-canberra-cop-climate-nsw-floods-weather-lachlan-river Australia news live: flood warnings in Victoria and NSW; Daniel Andrews responds to MP’s call to turn him into ‘red mist’ | Australia news

Back to top button