Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
Protests in support of Palestine and Gaza are expected across the country on Sunday as part of a national day of action to protest Israel’s attacks on the beleaguered enclave. The protests will include a march across the Victoria Bridge in Brisbane after a court order found a proposal to cross Story Bridge was unsafe.
The Albanese government has pledged to “cut red tape” and fast-track environmental approvals for new homes to speed up construction by freezing building regulations until 2029. The government says it will help speed up the process of building 26,000 new homes under environmental laws.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started …
Key events
Slava Ukraini! PM shows support to Ukraine on independent day
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has used the return of smuggled artefacts and the anniversary of Ukraine’s Independent to reiterate Australia’s support for the country in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion.
In a statement posted to social media on Sunday, the prime minister expressed admiration for its people’s “extraordinary courage” and said the country stood by all those in Australia with Ukrainian heritage.
All Australians share the hope and expectation of the Ukrainian people that victory and justice will prevail
May the spirit of Independence Day sustain our belief in a future of just and enduring peace.
Slava Ukraini!
Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991.
– AAP
Australia returns smuggled Ukrainian artefacts
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has praised the courage of Ukraine’s people on the 34th anniversary of its independence, as archaeological items are returned.
Australia has returned two illegally exported archaeological objects to Ukraine as it renews support for the war-torn nation amid peace talks.
Arts minister Tony Burke formally handed back the items to Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko at a concert in Sydney to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day.
The items are an iron arrowhead dating from the 12th or 13th century and a pendant from the third millennium BCE that was likely a traditional adornment in the ancient Yamnaya culture.
They were illegally trafficked to Australia in late 2023 and intercepted and seized upon arrival in Sydney.
Burke said:
Returning these items reflects Australia’s ongoing commitment to combating illicit trafficking of cultural heritage in all countries, particularly those suffering the hardships of war.
These objects are part of the history and heritage of the people of Ukraine, which must be preserved for future generations.
– AAP
Far right UK politician Nigel Farage is copying Australia’s refugee policy ahead of the next election with calls for “mass deportations” of migrants.
In an interview with The Times of London reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, Farage said that asylum seekers intercepted while crossing the English Channel would be forced to return home. Those who refused would be redirected to Ascension Island “as a backstop” he said.
Ascension Island currently hosts British and American airforce bases near the equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. He did not say how many people it would have to accomodate as part of the program.
Farage, a lead campaigner in the successful push for Britain to leave the European Union has previously spoken to former prime minister Tony Abbott and appears to be taking a leaf out of the Coalition’s book.
You will not be staying in this country if you pay a trafficker to cross the English Channel.
Farage told The Times that “we can’t be responsible for everything that happens in the whole of the world” and, in response to a question about whether those who are returned are killed or torture, said “I can’t be responsible for despotic regimes all over the world. But I can be responsible for the safety of women and girls on our streets”
Reform currently only has three MPs in the House of Commons but is considered an insurgent threat to a struggling Labor Party and a broken Conservative Party. Former Conservative leader Rishi Sunak previously proposed redirecting asylum seekers to Rwanda – another policy that echoed the Australian immigration system.
Nationals leader says Coalition will take market-based nuclear power policy to election
David Littleproud continues to insist the Coalition is not setting itself up for another election defeat by maintaining its support for nuclear power.
Speaking to 2GB on Sunday, Littleproud said the Coalition would take a different approach than it did at the last election by lifting the moratorium on nuclear power generation in Australia and “let the market do it”.
This in contrast to the Coalition’s approach at the last election, which was to create a state-owned company to drive the development of nuclear power – a common approach to nuclear energy development owing to the massive financial risks and long-term time horizons involved.
Littleproud claimed that renewable energy was driving bills up, and that it was not the “cheapest form of energy’.
I just say to your city viewers, regional Australia is bearing the brunt of this. I’m seeing towns and I’m actually seeing families being torn up by these renewable projects that are tearing up their productivity, your food security and actually the native environment. And it’s all without premise.
Earlier this week, the party passed non-binding motion calling on the Coalition leadership to abandon support for policies to reach net zero by 2050.
AI ‘will change everything’ says Chalmers
Chalmers says the government is all-in on the artificial intelligence boom saying the technology will “change everything” and that it is the government’s role to manage the introduction of the technology to “maximise the benefits and minimise the risks”.
Artificial intelligence was absolutely central to our discussions because it will be absolutely gamechanging in our economy and our society into the future.
On the NDIS and hospital funding, Chalmers says “four years ago, spending on the NDIS was absolutely out of control.” Where it was once growing at 22%, the government is working to get this rate down to 8%.
Getting it to 8% will be a good effort but not good enough, as minister Mark Butler has pointed out, so we will continue to work with the states on providing the support that people need and deserve, particularly in this instance, when it comes to Thriving Kids.
One of the questions the government is working through, he says, is whether the government will link hospital funding to their coordination with the NDIS.
Well, that’s the ongoing discussions that we’ve been having, whether it’s treasurers, health ministers, NDIS ministers, leaders, have been having this discussion since the deal was struck.
What’s the best way to implement. Two deals, not one. They are closely related. There are billions and billions of dollars tied up in them and so we’ve been trying to progress both of those deals at once for good reason because there are swings and roundabouts for both of us.
And that’s a wrap.
Treasurer says government working on road user charge for EV drivers
Chalmers says the government is now working through ways to ensure that the introduction of any road user charges does not “double tax” motorists who already pay fuel excise by driving international combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
We’re not trying to work out ways to double tax internal combustion engines. We are trying to make sure that people who drive EVs, increasing numbers of people who drive electric vehicles are making a contribution to the upkeep of the roads that they use.
It is fundamentally about making the system a bit fairer. We will take the time to get it right. The states are putting together an options paper for us to consider at our meeting before long, actually, 5th September, and so we will go through that.
Chalmers says the “main point” of the recent roundtable was whether the scheme would begin with heavy electric vehicles like electric trucks, and what “sequence” will follow thereafter.
Australia’s transport emissions have been persistently high with the latest data suggesting they have risen. Electric vehicles, as clean cars, are a key part to responding to climate change.
Roundtable was ‘about informing tax policies for the next three budgets’
Asked how ambitious the government will be on tax reform, Chalmers reiterates the government is committed to implementing what it took to the election and that it has time to consider its options.
The roundtable was never about finalising tax policies, it was about informing tax policies for the next three budgets and beyond and that is the approach I take to it.
At the end of the day, as I’ve said, in lots of different ways over the course of the last week or so, fundamentally this is a decision for cabinet ministers to take in the usual way, and on the usual timing
For what it’s worth, what the government is saying here is important as these decisions shape how much money there will be for social security, new hospitals, aged care and childcare – the last of which was a signature policy for the government at the election with a promise to provide free childcare.
‘GST and desserts have a long and chequered history,’ says Chalmers
The government is not at the point where it is considering how to simplify the tax system but is open to looking at potential proposals.
The treasurer was asked about complexity in the GST system – specifically how the system treats like products differently. For example, Tiramisu is GST-free, cheesecake is not. Yoghurt is GST-free, but frozen yoghurt is not.
Chalmers acknowledged this was a contentious area.
The question around GST and desserts have a long and chequered history in the politics of our country.
More seriously, the government was open to conversations about how to simplify but hadn’t yet “got into that detail” but flagged there was “a role for technology” for making things easier for small business, a “real time tax” initiative.
If we can make it easier for small businesses in particular to do the right thing in the tax system, that is good for everyone, so I’ve got a really open mind to try to progress that agenda.
Treasurer says ‘no plans’ to change tax-free treatment of super for retirees
Retirees still deserve “concessional treatment” on the superannuation despite pressure on the government to shake up the tax system to for the benefit of future generations, federal treasurer Jim Chalmers says.
Speaking to ABC Insiders host David Speers on Sunday, Chalmers is responding to questions about what the government plans to do after the recent roundtable, saying the feedback from business will inform what the government does going forward.
He is asked whether the tax-free treatment of superannuation for retirees is “still justified”, and repeatedly says the government has no plans to change this.
Chalmers says the government’s guiding principle is a defense of the fair go for future generations.
We need to ensure collectively as Australians that the fair go is the defining part of our future and not just the defining part of our past. That is the principle at stake here.
But he also says that despite pressure on the government to shake up Australia’s tax system, the government is focused on delivering the proposals it took to the last election.
‘Dam has burst’: Palestine support swells before march
Australians in more than 40 cities are set to march for Palestine, in what organisers say would be one of the largest mobilisations in Australian history.
Hundreds of thousands of Australians are expected to march in a nationwide groundswell of support for the Palestinian cause, days after famine was declared in Gaza for the first time.
Marchers, backed by more than 250 community organisations, unions and prominent public figures will turn up at rallies in more than 40 cities on Sunday to demand sanctions and an end to Australia’s arms trade with Israel.
Palestine Action Group’s Sydney spokesman Josh Lees said organisers are anticipating up to half a million people to turn out, up from the estimated 300,000 that attended the Sydney Harbor Bridge march in early August, which they say was a reflection of the huge outpouring of support for Palestinians.
That bridge march has generated so much momentum around the country.
The dam has burst in terms of support for Palestine and opposition to this genocide.
The action comes days after the United Nations confirmed famine in parts of the Gaza Strip for the first time, as Israel prepares for a military takeover of the entire city.
Speakers slated to address crowds include high-profile activist Grace Tame and journalist Antoinette Lattouf.
Israel has rejected its actions in Gaza amount to genocide, a claim that has also been brought against it before the International Court of Justice, and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the famine declaration an “outright lie”.
– AAP
Albanese government cuts red tape in bid to boost home building
The Albanese government has promised to cut red tape and fast-track environmental approvals for new homes in an effort to address Australia’s housing crisis.
On Saturday, the government announced plans to pause further residential changes to the National Construction Code and to streamline the assessment of more than 26,000 homes under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
The announcement follows the economic reform roundtable this week, at which housing was a focus. According to the government, there was broad consensus that “commonsense changes could reduce the regulatory burden for builders and boost housing supply”.
“For too many builders in Australia, it takes longer to get approval for a home than it does to build one,” the government said in a statement.
The government said it would work with states and territories to pause further changes to the National Construction Code. It would then consult on ways to streamline the code, including the use of artificial intelligence to help tradies, small business and households in using the three-volume, 2000-page code.
For more on this story, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s Petra Stock:
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers will speak to ABC Insiders host David Speers this morning.
Federal minister for housing Clare O’Neil spoke to Sky News this morning to spruik the government’s proposal to fast track housing approvals and Shadow Treasurer Ted O’Brien.
We will bring you the latest as it develops.
Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
Protests in support of Palestine and Gaza are expected across the country on Sunday as part of a national day of action to protest Israel’s attacks on the beleaguered enclave. The protests will include a march across the Victoria Bridge in Brisbane after a court order found a proposal to cross Story Bridge was unsafe.
The Albanese government has pledged to “cut red tape” and fast-track environmental approvals for new homes to speed up construction by freezing building regulations until 2029. The government says it will help speed up the process of building 26,000 new homes under environmental laws.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started …
