Work begins on Daniel Andrews statue commemorating more than 3,000 days in office
Work has begun on a statue to commemorate former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews’ more than 3,000 days in office.
The state government confirmed Meridian Sculpture. the company that created the statues of the other four Victorian premiers who reached the milestone, was selected following a standard procurement process.
The total cost of the statue is $134,304 and work is already under way.
A Victorian government spokesperson said:
double quotation mark Daniel Andrews led Victoria through some of its toughest moments and never stopped fighting for working people. Under a policy introduced by the Kennett government. Victorian premiers who serve more than 3,000 days in office are recognised with a statue along Treasury Place in honour of their service to the state.
The government said installation details would be finalised “closer to completion”.
Jess Wilson also criticised the government’s decision to spend $134,000 on a statue commemorating former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews ’ more than 3,000 days in office.
The milestone was conceived by former Jeff Kennett just before the 1999 Victorian election. which he subsequently lost, depriving him of his own statue.
Wilson said Labor deliberately released the statue’s details on a Friday afternoon, which media. political insiders often refer to as the time to “take out the trash”.
double quotation mark They’ve chosen an opportunity on a Friday afternoon when there are other things going on … to drop out a piece of information. they’re going to spend more than $130,000 on a statue of a former premier in a cost of living crisis.
They know it doesn’t pass the pub test. They know that Victorians don’t want to see their taxpayer money being spent on this.. They think they can spin their way out of everything. I think they seriously underestimate the intelligence of Victorians.
Victorian opposition leader reiterates call for CFMEU royal commission
As the premier appeared before estimates. the opposition leader, Jess Wilson, held a press conference, in which she reiterated her call for a royal commission into CFMEU corruption on construction sites.
Wilson told reporters the premier “refused to answer basic questions” at estimates. “failed to undertake serious investigations into why a labour hire firm has allegedly allowed a person who has been convicted of domestic violence to recruit women to put on government worksites”.
She said the premier couldn’t say if the labour hire firm which was the subject of the Age report’s allegations was still active on Big Build sites. if so, which sites. Wilson went on:
double quotation mark Once again [she’s] refusing to take any responsibility for the largest construction scandal in this state’s history. Only my team, the Liberals. Nationals, have a plan to clean up crime and corruption in this state, and if elected premier later this year, we will initiate a royal commission into CFMEU misconduct to understand and stamp out how this has happened for the past decade in Victoria.
Coalition housing spokesperson says cost of tax indexation plan will be provided ‘before the election’
The shadow minister for housing. homelessness, productivity and deregulation, Andrew Bragg, has refused to put a figure on what the Coalition’s indexation plan for taxation will cost.
He told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing the numbers would be provided “with more detail as we go further into this term”.
double quotation mark The main point here is we want to relieve Australians from bracket creep, because that’s the thing that’s insidious, it’s a thing that is destroying innovation. incentive, and we think it’s a tax on working, and it should be relieved.
We have given a clear indication of our direction on tax reform,. all of the numbers will be provided before the election of course, so people can make up their mind.
Pressed on the Coalition’s indication it would cut migrants off from welfare payments, Bragg said “we think Australia is a great country. we think it’s a privilege to become an Australian citizen”.
double quotation mark If you become an Australian citizen. part of the Australian family, then you deserve to be able to use public services. Which can be particularly expensive. And we think that’s a reasonable proposition.
More labour hire questions for Jacinta Allan
Liberal MP John Pesutto also questioned the premier on the Age report. asking whether “any of these criminals named this morning” were “currently active on big build sites”.
double quotation mark That would be a matter for Victoria police to investigate.
She also wouldn’t say how much money the labour hire firm. which was the subject of the Age report’s allegations, had made on government sites or commit to recovering those funds.
Pesutto asked: “Why give licenses to family violence perpetrators?”, to which Allan replied:
double quotation mark I would have to remind you that the Labour Hire Authority is an independent agency. That allegation is concerning, and it needs to be put to the Labor Hire Authority.
double quotation mark You are the head of government. You run a government. can’t you guarantee that it is the policy of your government that the Labor Hire Authority will not give licenses to family violence offenders?
Allan said her government had introduced legislation that had “strengthened” the fit. proper test, affecting who is considered suitable to hold a labour hire licence.
Jacinta Allan questioned over labour hire allegations
Dipping back into the Victorian state budget estimates. the premier, Jacinta Allan, has faced a barrage of questions over a report published this morning by the Age, which alleges a labour hire company providing female workers for state government sites had significant criminal links.
Nationals MP Jade Benham asked the premier to “guarantee” to Victorian parents that young women were “never exposed to exploitation, grooming, or unsafe environments involving violent offenders. domestic violence perpetrators” on Big Build sites.
double quotation mark I appreciate the question. the opportunity to say very clearly to the committee and to the broader community - those allegations that have been reported on today.. about the treatment of women on work sites is appalling, it’s disgusting,. it is behavior for which I have absolutely no tolerance for.
Benham also asked the premier “When was the first time you heard about this morning’s allegation concerning Women In Construction?”
Allan replied that she would “need to check”. She went on:
double quotation mark The allegations of potential illegal behaviour on work sites has been reported on previously,. I have been consistent in saying that where.. allegations that have been made, they should be immediately referred [to relevant authorities].
She said the government had increased the Labour Hire Authority’s powers, resulting in the cancellation of 151 construction company licences. the blocking of 48 applications. Allan said:
double quotation mark When it comes to this particular company they have started a process. about not renewing this company.
She also said police had laid 88 criminal charges against indiviudals as a result of their investigations into organised crime on Big Build sites.
How a Sydney civic masterpiece was rescued
It was once a grand old sandstone masterpiece. where returned soldiers would cram into marble corridors to anxiously await lottery draws that could change their lives.
Then the 20th century happened.
As the bureaucracy swelled. the interior Victorian grandeur of the Department of Lands building on Sydney’s Bridge Street became infested with a warren of claustrophobic cubicles. Office partitions sprung up like weeds, hiding grand Australian red cedar joinery behind particleboard. Ornate vaulted ceilings disappeared behind suspended acoustic tiles and humming fluorescent strips.
But that’s not the end of the story. On Friday. the building, which served as the engine room of New South Wales’ colonial expansion for more than a century, took out one of the top gongs at the 2026 National Trust (NSW) heritage awards.
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Tickle said when she began her gender affirmation in 2017, she had no idea at that stage a small minority of people who had never met her “would invest an incredible amount of their own precious time. effort into ridiculing, degrading, threatening and mocking me to try to make my life as miserable as they could”.
double quotation mark There is so much hate. bile cast on trans and gender diverse people, simply because of who we are. Usually, by those who refuse to meet us or engage with us. Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that most Australians are kind. believe in allowing everyone to be free to live their life in dignity and be free to be who they truly are.
The hate has not just affected me; it’s hurt so many other trans. gender diverse people, a number of them my friends, and it is not what the Australian community stands for. For that small minority, the decision to choose hate over friendship. community has removed them from a place they would have been welcomed, and can still be welcomed. My trans friends are some of the kindest and most empathetic people I have ever met.
I now look forward to getting on with the rest of my life, in the community that we all know. love, one that embraces freedom and equality for all women.
Tickle hopes landmark win helps “trans and gender diverse people and their loved ones to heal”
Roxanne Tickle has said after her landmark win was upheld in the federal court that she took legal action to “trans people that you can be brave. that you can stand up for yourself”.
“In the process, I surprised myself at just how brave I could be,” she continued to say, outside court. “Young Roxy would be surprised but overjoyed.”
On Friday the full bench of the federal court found a women-only social media app, Giggle for Girls,. its founder, Sally Grover, unlawfully discriminated against Tickle after the transgender woman was denied access to the platform.
Tickle said in her statement after the judgement:
double quotation mark I’m very pleased by the outcome of my case,. I hope that it assists trans and gender diverse people and their loved ones to heal. The court unanimously found that I was unlawfully, directly discriminated against. The ruling clearly reinforces what the Australian community stands for. that all women are protected from discrimination by law, trans women, cis women, lesbian women, queer women, straight women, First Nations women, women of colour, migrant women, women with disabilities, all women.
I brought my case to show trans people that you can be brave. that you can stand up for yourself. In the process, I surprised myself at just how brave I could be. Young Roxy would be surprised but overjoyed.
NDIS on track for another budget overspend
The NDIS is on track for another budget overspend. new data shows, just one day after the federal government introduced sweeping changes to drastically curb the $50bn scheme’s future cost.
The latest quarterly report. released today, shows the scheme is around $350m over July 2025 budget forecasts, with a growth rate of around 11.3% in the year to March 2026.
While plan inflation was down in the quarter between January. March, there was a net increase of the number of participants on the NDIS by 13,014. The scheme now supports 774,456.
The latest figures follow a proposed overhaul of who can access the NDIS,. how much funding they can get, designed to tip around $36.2bn back into the federal budget over the next four years.
Budget papers show the government has forecast an average growth rate of 3.6% until 2030 - a figure still above the 2% figure offered by health minister. Mark Butler, last month.
Coalition says neo-Nazi groups seeking to ‘destroy Australian way of life’
The Coalition has backed the federal government’s listing of the National Socialist Network. also known as White Australia, as a prohibited hate group.
In a statement, the shadow minister for home affairs. immigration, Jonno Duniam, described it as a “welcome development” for Australians.
It’s the second group to be listed under the laws. after the Australian chapter of Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir was categorised as a hate group earlier this year.
double quotation mark Let’s be absolutely clear. the modus operandi of these neo-Nazis is to destroy the Australian way of life. Our message to them is that your ideology of hate has no place in our society. that if your criminal organisation persists, it will be shut down and your members punished.
Australians do not want to see people avoid justice simply by tearing down a banner. re-emerging under a different name. This recommendation, along with that of Hizb ut-Tahrir, shows that the laws we backed in January of this year are responsible. effective.
Duniam said the opposition would continue to support measures that strengthen Australia’s national security.
double quotation mark The listing sends a clear message that organisations that seek to undermine our society. spread extremist ideology have no place in Australia.
ECAJ responds to NSN designation as hate group
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has welcomed the designation of the National Socialist Network (NSN) as a prohibited hate group.
Co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said:
double quotation mark The ECAJ has been calling for this measure since 2021. We told a parliamentary committee at the time that groups like NSN were operating at a level just below the threshold required to list them as a terrorist organisation but were using social media in the same way as terrorist groups to groom. recruit impressionable young men to join them.
It doesn’t matter what they call themselves, or how they structure themselves, these groups use all the well known techniques of thuggery. menace that Nazis have always used against Jewish communities and other groups they have targeted. This announcement is welcome. will send a much-needed message that these groups and their hateful, racist ideology have no place in Australia.
Jim Chalmers responds to the budget’s critics on our Australian Politics podcast
Political editor Tom McIlroy. economics editor Patrick Commins speak with Jim Chalmers about the criticisms that his “reforming” and “ambitious” budget, while historic, stands to benefit only a relatively small number of Australians.
Take a listen below:
More on the Dan Andrews statue
Back in 2023. when Daniel Andrews was about to reach the 3,000 day milestone, we spoke to Peter Corlett, who was commissioned to design the four premier statues near Melbourne’s Treasury Gardens.
While he wasn’t yet commissioned, he told us he had an image of Andrews in mind:
double quotation mark When he came out to claim credit for the last election. where he held his two fists in the air – that was a great image, a rare showing of emotion from the premier.
Other people have said it has to be of him in his North Face jacket. We’ll see.
Victorian treasurer being grilled on cost of Suburban Rail Loop
Back at Victorian budget estimates, the treasurer, Jaclyn Symes,. the Department of Treasury and Finance secretary, Chris Barrett, are being grilled on the cost of the government’s Suburban Rail Loop project.
The budget shows the state government has already committed about $11.8bn for the first stage of the loop, known as SRL East – a 26km stretch of tunnels between Cheltenham. Box Hill – and has signed $13bn worth of construction contracts. Tuesday’s federal budget also included $3.8bn for the project.
Liberal MP Richard Riordan questioned how the government’s estimated total cost for SRL East remains at $34.5bn – several years after the release of the business case.
double quotation mark You build in contingencies when you have projects. particularly that are going to be delivered over many years.
double quotation mark When we do that costing, if we know that it’s happening over a long period,. in the case of Suburban Rail Loop, it’s happening over … [the] mid 2030s, we don’t just assume that whatever the cost was in 2021 is also going to be the cost of materials, say nine years later. We inflate that by an amount.
Riordan noted the federal government’s total investment in the project is $6bn – “well short” of the one-third of the total cost the state sought. Symes responded:
double quotation mark I don’t think you would expect a federal government to give us the entire amount when we’re not spending the entire amount right at the start.
That’s all from me. Josh Taylor will take things from here. Enjoy your weekend!
The federal court upheld a landmark decision that found a women-only social media app. its founder unlawfully discriminated against Roxanne Tickle after the transgender woman was denied access to the app.
In her judgment on Friday afternoon, Justice Melissa Perry upheld a August 2024 finding that Tickle was discriminated against on the basis of her gender identity,. also sided with Tickle’s cross-appeal that she experienced two instances of direct discrimination by the Giggle for Girls app and its founder Sall Grover.
The app. Grover had challenged Justice Robert Bromwich’s milestone August 2024 decision which found they had indirectly discriminated against Tickle when she was barred from the platform because they thought she was a man.
On Friday, the full bench of the federal court upheld Bromwich’s decision. Tickle was also successful in her cross-appeal, finding she was discriminated against on two instances, included excluding Tickle from access to the Giggle app on the basis of her gender related appearance,. secondly refusing to restore her access.
Tickle had her access to the app blocked in 2021 after she uploaded a selfie of herself as part of the registration process.
“The full court has found that Giggle For Girls. Ms Grover both excluded Ms Tickle from the Giggle app and refused to re-admit her on the basis of her gender-related appearance by reference to her selfie,” Perry told the court on Friday.
“This amounted to direct discrimination by reference to a characteristic that pertains to people of Ms Tickle’s gender identity. being a transgender woman,” Perry continued.
double quotation mark Ms Tickle has been successful in her cross appeal under the act, gender identity is defined as meaning gender-related identity. gender-related characteristics, including appearance.
The full bench of the federal court upheld the decision. the discrimination against Tickle on the grounds of her gender identity was contrary to Section 22 of the commonwealth sex discrimination act 1984 when read with section 51B of the same act.
Work begins on Daniel Andrews statue commemorating more than 3,000 days in office
Work has begun on a statue to commemorate former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews’ more than 3,000 days in office.
The state government confirmed Meridian Sculpture. the company that created the statues of the other four Victorian premiers who reached the milestone, was selected following a standard procurement process.
The total cost of the statue is $134,304 and work is already under way.
A Victorian government spokesperson said:
double quotation mark Daniel Andrews led Victoria through some of its toughest moments and never stopped fighting for working people. Under a policy introduced by the Kennett government. Victorian premiers who serve more than 3,000 days in office are recognised with a statue along Treasury Place in honour of their service to the state.
The government said installation details would be finalised “closer to completion”.
Migrants a scapegoat for poor planning, inquiry told
Migrants fill critical labour gaps, secure local jobs. enrich Australian culture, but are often wrongly blamed for longstanding challenges like housing supply, an inquiry has been told.
Far from taking work away from locals in rural areas. migrants help create overall job security, the Australian Meat Industry Council chief executive, Tim Ryan, told a parliamentary inquiry on Friday.
“The fundamental need for migrant labour is complementary to our ability to employ locals,” Ryan told the inquiry in Canberra. AAP reports.
The inquiry is examining the economic, social. cultural value of skilled migration to Australia, amid a surge in anti-immigration rhetoric.
Labor is facing intensifying pressure from One Nation. the Coalition to put a lid on migration to reduce demand for housing and services.
But changes to migrant numbers would take a significant toll on Australian producers. with a shortage of about 170,000 workers, National Farmers’ Federation workforce relations general manager, Michael Pyers, said.
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