Clare O’Neil says Operation Sovereign Borders funded better ‘than it has ever been’
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, is speaking to ABC RN about the more than 40 people who arrived in Western Australia last week by boat and have since been transferred to Nauru.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has been arguing that Labor has stripped funding from Operation Sovereign Borders, and this is why the boats weren’t detected.
O’Neil rejected this notion and argued funding had increased by $470m under the Labor government.
We have invested an additional almost half a billion dollars in this operation compared to what the previous government was looking to spend … this particular operation is better funded today than it has ever been in the past. That is a matter of fact and should not be the subject of any further conjecture by politicians or journalists around this country.
She wouldn’t go into specifics of the border operations, saying “I’m not going to telegraph to people smugglers the specifics of how we police our borders”.
But, she said Operation Sovereign Borders was “very well-funded”, run by one of the most senior naval officers in the country and was an operation Australians “should be proud of”.
It is very effective at policing our borders. We will continue to adjust our approach, of course, because the people smugglers continue to adjust their approach. But we do not need politicians running around the country, as Peter Dutton has done, telling outright lies.
Key events
There is a police operation underway on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which has caused significant delays for commuters.
According to Live Traffic, the delays began shortly after 6am. One of the five southbound lanes are closed, and emergency services and Transport for NSW are attending.
Motorists travelling southbound on the Cahill Expressway are using the bus lane on approach to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Motorists can consider using the Sydney Harbour Tunnel as an alternative route.
NSW Police said as of 8am the operation was ongoing.
Clare O’Neil is continuing to speak about Australia’s border policies. While we’re on the topic, here is a fantastic factcheck from Paul Karp around this issue:
O’Neil defends offshore processing
Q: Human Right Watch has previously labelled Australia’s offshore processing inhumane. How long will these men be held on Nauru?
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil:
This is something that Nauruan government will be now in charge of. And I would just say to those who are disputing the ethics of this approach – it was not a very good humanitarian outcome when we had boatloads of people coming to Australia and many people very tragically dying because they failed and drowned in their journey.
That is not in my view, under any definition, a humanitarian approach. We have a better system of managing this now. What we do is run a very generous, proper processed refugee program onshore that every Australian is entitled to (be proud of).
Pressed on the question again, O’Neil would not say how long the men are expected to be held on Nauru and said it was a matter for the Nauruan government.
Clare O’Neil says Operation Sovereign Borders funded better ‘than it has ever been’
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, is speaking to ABC RN about the more than 40 people who arrived in Western Australia last week by boat and have since been transferred to Nauru.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has been arguing that Labor has stripped funding from Operation Sovereign Borders, and this is why the boats weren’t detected.
O’Neil rejected this notion and argued funding had increased by $470m under the Labor government.
We have invested an additional almost half a billion dollars in this operation compared to what the previous government was looking to spend … this particular operation is better funded today than it has ever been in the past. That is a matter of fact and should not be the subject of any further conjecture by politicians or journalists around this country.
She wouldn’t go into specifics of the border operations, saying “I’m not going to telegraph to people smugglers the specifics of how we police our borders”.
But, she said Operation Sovereign Borders was “very well-funded”, run by one of the most senior naval officers in the country and was an operation Australians “should be proud of”.
It is very effective at policing our borders. We will continue to adjust our approach, of course, because the people smugglers continue to adjust their approach. But we do not need politicians running around the country, as Peter Dutton has done, telling outright lies.
Ex-cyclone Lincoln could gather strength and redevelop
A massive storm that lashed the Top End with heavy rain could gather strength and redevelop into a tropical cyclone, AAP reports.
The weather system, which was formerly Tropical Cyclone Lincoln, crossed into Western Australia near Halls Creek late yesterday and was tracking toward the coast.
It is expected to move west north-west through the Kimberley, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and flash flooding, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.
The weather system is likely to cross the coast by midweek and could gather strength and redevelop into a tropical cyclone as it tracks south.
The bureau said it was possible the weather system could cross the coast near Exmouth at the weekend as a severe tropical cyclone.
The system has bucketed heavy rain in the Northern Territory in recent days, with 24-hour totals of more than 100mm recorded in some areas.
A severe weather warning was in place from Lajamanu to Halls Creek, with six-hourly rainfall totals up to 100mm and flash flooding possible.
Steggall says random alcohol testing would change Parliament House behaviour
Independent MP Zali Steggall is advocating for random testing for alcohol in Parliament House.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, she pointed to the Kate Jenkins report delivered in November 2021, identifying alcohol as a contributor to a heightened risk of sexual harassment in the workplace.
We’ve seen all the leaders of major parties say they take on board and accept in the recommendations … but it appears very little has changed on the ground. We still have unlimited and unmonitored alcohol consumption in Parliament House and in the workplace.
That’s why I put to the prime minister random testing could be introduced. Because we know from – even from driving, it’s a deterrent. As soon as you have a risk of getting caught, it changes behaviour.
Feedback from the public has shown “overwhelming” support for random testing, she said.
People have had enough of politicians thinking there’s different standards that apply to them in Parliament House than what applies in other workplaces.
Zali Steggall calls for answers as asbestos crisis spreads
Zali Steggall, Independent MP for Warringah, spoke to ABC News Breakfast earlier this morning about Sydney’s growing asbestos crisis.
A school in her electorate, in Allambie, was found to have asbestos in the mulch. Steggall said the situation is “really concerning”.
It’s really concerning to find that schools, especially where kids are playing down there in the dirt and the ground, (are) finding of asbestos in the mulch.
There hasn’t been a lot of information yet in relation to what is being done, or the source of it. We know the school was temporarily closed, it’s back open, those areas are cordoned off.
A lot of parents are really asking a lot of questions of how many more schools and how broad is the problem.
Steggall said the crisis appeared to be localised to start but has spread to “so many more sites” and she doesn’t believe there has been a “very good explanation officially yet” as to how asbestos found its way into the mulch in the first place:
I think we need to see from the authorities, though, really proactive and actively engaging in identifying all the possible locations where this mulch has been delivered and laid out. Asbestos is not something you can be trivial about, especially around young kids.
The hot weather looks to be continuing across Western Australia today.
According to Weatherzone, its forecast to reach a max of 38C today in Perth.
Twenty-eight schools across the state have been closed today due to an increased risk of bushfire and seven parks across the state have been closed due to an “extreme weather and bushfire risk”.
You can view the full list of closures via EmergencyWA.
Much of the south-west is under a total fire ban today. Eastern Perth suburbs have an extreme fire danger rating, as does much of the south-west of the state.
Sydney’s mulch scandal spreads to Canberra
Sydney’s asbestos-mulch scandal has spread to Canberra with the potentially contaminated product sold over nine months in the capital, AAP reports.
An ACT landscaping business will continue contacting customers this week after the product sold as “cottage mulch” was confirmed to have originated at Sydney’s Greenlife Resource Recovery.
More than 40 sites in NSW that used Greenlife’s product, including schools and supermarkets, have had bonded asbestos uncovered in their mulch.
Some 24 companies and 27 addresses in and around Canberra bought the product from ACT landscaping supply company Stonehenge Beltana between March and November 2023.
The ACT Environment Protection Authority said it had acted to prevent further sale:
Others will be contacted in the coming days as they are identified. The ACT EPA … will also seek to contact known customers.
No positive results have been reported in the ACT. Agency chief Tony Chappel has cautioned against prematurely attributing blame.
Greenlife is challenging a prevention order in court and said its mulch is independently tested by approved laboratories and the company was confident it left its facility free of contamination.
Emily Wind
Good morning, and happy Tuesday! Many thanks to Martin for kicking things off. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll bring you our live coverage today.
As always, if you see something that needs attention on the blog you can get in touch via X/Twitter @emilywindwrites or send me an email: [email protected].
Let’s get started.
Australians concerned about availability of vapes – survey
Australians are concerned about the widespread availability of illegal vapes and many support a ban, according to interviews with more than 130 people aged 14-39 split into 16 focus groups.
Most of those questioned – predominantly those who had never vaped – supported a ban on all all e-cigarettes, while all of the groups suggested plain packaging, health warnings, flavour restrictions and increased vape-free areas as a way to restrict use.
The researchers found less than half of all groups were aware of the prescription model for obtaining nicotine vaping products.
From 1 January 2024, the importation of all disposable vapes was banned, with very limited exceptions. Further importation reforms will be implemented from March. GPs and nurse practitioners are the only legal vape prescribers and pharmacists will become the only authorised importers and providers of vape products.
A senior author on the study, Assoc Prof Michelle Jongenelis from the University of Melbourne, said:
But I think until the stores actually get shut down, people will still think that there is no regulation because they can still get vapes from anywhere.
Read our full story here:
Swift boost to the economy
If there was any doubt about the economic impact of the Taylor Swift Eras tour in Australia then figures from NAB this morning put them to bed, Australian Associated Press reports.
“We know many Australians have pulled back on discretionary spending but this is the perfect example of Aussies saving their hard-earned cash for the things that matter to them,” NAB executive Julie Rynski said.
Some estimates of Swift’s impact on the local economy have ranged north of $1bn, while others have reckoned less than a 10th of that number.
But NAB’s merchant data shows the Eras tour has left behind a tangible economic boost, Rynski said.
For businesses near the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where Swift performed, accommodation spending more than tripled, up 238%, while restaurants doubled their take.
Bars and pubs could also brag about raking in dollars, with their take up 146%.
Overall, an estimated $86m was spent on accommodation, hospitality and tourism, according to NAB.
The Eras tour is moving to Sydney, where Swift will play four shows at Accor Stadium starting on Friday.
And you can also read today how our writer Bridget Robertson tried desperately to get tickets for the show but failed – and yet has no regrets.
Labor blames Coalition for naval shipbuilding shortfall
Elias Visontay
The Albanese government is blaming the former government for a $20bn black hole in Australia’s naval shipbuilding program, as a review finds Coalition announcements to fund new frigates were unfunded.
Labor, pointing to the findings of an independent analysis of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, claims the former Coalition government’s $45bn commitment to build nine new Hunter-class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy will actually cost $65bn.
It notes the $20bn funding gap is on top of $42bn in announcements without funding allocated that were identified in the defence strategic review released last year.
Today, the government will release the review into the surface combatant fleet, as well as its response to the findings, which will include a commitment to increase the overall size of the fleet and hasten the delivery timeframes.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, in a foreword outlining the government’s response to the review, noted the new review found “the current and planned surface combatant fleet is not appropriate for the levels of risk we now face and that cost pressures already existed in the program”.
Of the government’s commitment to expand the overall size of the fleet, Marles said:
This will see navy equipped with a major surface combatant fleet twice as large as planned when we came to government – and with more of these new surface combatants in the water and operational sooner.
Guardian Australia hasn’t seen the review in full – this post is based off a taste of the findings the government prepared for the media in advance. We’ll bring you more on this throughout the day as the story develops.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling news blog. My name is Martin Farrer and I’ll be sharing our top stories with you before my colleague Emily Wind takes over.
The Australian Tax Office has been widely panned for pursuing historic debts in a scheme nicknamed “robotax”. But in an exclusive report this morning, we reveal how, far from provoking a rethink, officials are expanding the scope of the plan. The scheme resurrects decades-old debts worth more than $15bn, despite rising numbers of complaints, transparency concerns and at least one systems error resulting in miscalculations.
The Royal Australian Navy’s fleet of warships will be boosted to more than 20 under a major defence shake-up to be unveiled today. The defence minister, Richard Marles, will announce the government’s plan to expand the current fleet of 11 combat ships to project its firepower deeper into the Pacific. But the exact number of vessels has not been confirmed and he is expected to blame the Coalition for a $20bn black hole in the program. More coming up.
Workers can expect their wages to rise faster than inflation this year as demand for labour is expected to remain strong, according to a survey of human resources professionals. Workers could see wages excluding bonuses increase 3.7% in the 12 months to January 2025, the Australian Human Resources Institute’s March outlook report finds today.
Last week we heard from a business expert that if Taylor Swift were an economy “she’d be bigger than 50 countries”. Some justification for that claim comes this morning with a report from NAB claiming that the superstar’s concerts in Melbourne accounted for a $174m boost in spending in the city. More follows.