Greens refer Labor public housing tower redevelopment to Ombudsman
The Victorian Greens have referred the state Labor government’s plan to demolish. redevelop the state’s 44 high-rise public housing towers to the state ombudsman and will use parliament today to try to expedite an investigation.
The party’s housing spokesperson, Gabrielle de Vietri, confirmed she wrote to the ombudsman seeking an investigation into several issues including the condition of towers awaiting demolition, the treatment of residents, the impact of relocations on their wellbeing, the adequacy of alternative housing offered. whether the relocation practices are compatible with residents’ human rights.
She has also asked the ombudsman to specifically examine the impact on older Victorians living in public housing towers earmarked for demolition.
The Greens will also move a motion in the upper house on Wednesday. which if passed, will require the ombudsman to report back within six months.
It follows the government’s release of its response to a parliamentary inquiry into the redevelopment. in which it supported only four of the 21 recommendations.
double quotation mark The inquiry heard evidence of residents being pressured to relocate, deceived about their rights. fearful of losing their homes and communities. Those allegations are serious,. Labor’s response shows they haven’t taken them seriously … They don’t care what the experts say or what people think. We’ve had to send in the Ombudsman to hold Labor to account before they do irreparable damage.
The Greens will also use their time in the upper house on Wednesday to introduce their better rights in police custody bill. which creates a mechanism to safely reduce prison overcrowding when correctional facilities reach dangerous capacity levels.
Butler says it’s time to ‘get on’ with changes to the NDIS
Health minister Mark Butler said it’s time to “get on with the work” of changing the NDIS. saying he believes the proposed legislation is ready to be debated next week.
Butler spoke to RN this morning ahead of the release of a Senate committee report into the proposed changes. with the health minister set on passing the legislative changes during the next sitting period. That report is due to be released on Friday, just days before parliament returns on Monday.
Butler said he believes the “broad direction” of the NDIS changes are “absolutely the right” move, reflecting years of work. He went on:
double quotation mark I’m absolutely convinced the plan I announced eight weeks or so ago is the right plan for the NDIS. But there will also be some things that we are looking at, as I said from the debate in the house of representatives, some of the crossbenchers’ proposed amendments just to improve things like transparency. some other things like that. …
This work has been going on for three years to get the NDIS back on track. It is time for us all to get on with the work of implementing it.
Good morning, it’s Nick Visser here again to take you through the morning’s news. Let’s get to it.
Allan said that ignoring such messaging normalised hostility, adding that she wanted her son. daughter to grow up in a world where public service did not subject women to gendered degradation. When grilled by Sarah Ferguson over the criminal infiltration of the Construction Forestry. Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) into Victoria’s infrastructure projects, a portfolio Allan managed directly prior to becoming premier, she disputed the figure reported by Rotting from the Top that estimated systemic corruption and inflated procurement costs had cost Victorian taxpayers $15bn.
But she did not clarify whether she or her department had requested an official calculation of the true taxpayer cost, instead saying that 88 criminal charges had been laid by Victoria police. about 150 construction industry licenses had been cancelled by the Labor Hire.
Jacinta Allan pressed on collapse in Labor’s support
In a bruising interview on ABC’s 7.30 last night, Victorian premier Jacinta Allan grappled to answer questions about the collapse in Labor’s support. allegations of escalating multi-billion-dollar union corruption, just five months out from the state election. A new poll released last week showed Labor trailing in third place on primary votes at just 21%, behind the Coalition. a surging One Nation. With her personal net approval rating sitting at an all time low. Allan upped the government’s ante on working from home, saying it was a human right.
She said a state consultation survey of 37,000 people found that “thousands. thousands” had said their work-from-home requests had been denied by their bosses. The premier also addressed the appearance of mobile billboards driving through Melbourne depicting her in AI-generated images wearing a black witch’s hat alongside the slogan “Ditch the Witch” – a revival of the phrase used against former prime minister Julia Gillard. The $105,000 campaign was funded by a group of local business owners. including Franco Puleo, the owner of the Gotham City brothel in South Melbourne. Allan linked the extreme political rhetoric to the physical safety of female politicians. “There is absolutely no place for gendered attacks on any woman in any workplace. You have to take a stand. You have to call this out.”
Pauline Hanson will address the National Press Club in Canberra for the first time in her three decades in politics today.
Monash University’s head of politics Zareh Ghazarian said Hanson’s address should give an overview of what her party would be like, in addition to its broad policies. aspirations.
“One Nation is at a transition point from being a minor anti-establishment party to potentially being on the cusp of a major political breakthrough,” he told AAP.
“There’s a lot riding on this speech. It’s going to be closely watched by media, but a lot of other Australians as well as the political parties.
“Hanson has to perform well to convince those on the fence, that her party. leadership is something to get behind.”
Consistent polling has shown One Nation has become Australia’s most popular political party,. has a substantial lead over the Coalition on primary voting indication.
Polls show Hanson is also now the preferred prime minister.
US military stockpile to be kept in Melbourne then moved to rural Victoria, report says
The Australian stockpile. expected to reach full capacity by 2028, will be kept in Melbourne before being moved to US warehouses to be constructed next year at an Australian military base at Bandiana in rural Victoria, tender documents show, according to AFP.
“Marine Corps activities in Australia support integrated global sustainment by maintaining ready-for-issue equipment. supplies for operations and exercises across the Indo-Pacific,” a US Marine Corps spokesperson told AFP.
The spokesperson declined to comment on contract details or force planning assumptions. said Marines equipment is kept at “high readiness”.
Contracting arrangements and the operation of the facility would be made in close coordination with Australia’s Department of Defence.
“These activities improve responsiveness, strengthen interoperability with allies. partners, and support a range of missions across the Indo-Pacific,” the spokesperson said, using an alternative description for the Asia-Pacific region.
US army trucks were left at the Bandiana base in 2023 after an Australian war game involving US troops held every two years. The marines stockpile at Bandiana, approved last July, is separate.
“Marine Corps. Army equipment programmes are designed to support their respective service requirements and are managed under separate authorities and processes,” the marines spokesperson said.
The US military is planning a permanent war-ready weapons stockpile for its Marine Corps in Victoria beyond the range of most Chinese missiles. tender documents show according to Agence France-Presse.
The development of the stockpile. a first for the Marine Corps in Australia, comes as the United States is keen to leverage the continent’s strategic location in the South Pacific to counter China’s rapid military build-up, analysts said.
The US Marine Corps began global prepositioning of military supplies during the Cold War – using floating stores on ships. caves in Norway where weapons, ammunition and vehicles to sustain thousands of troops are kept.
The first land stockpile in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to open this year in the Philippines. close to potential flashpoints in the South China Sea.
Documents published by the US Navy this month show advanced planning for an even larger Australian stockpile, with US$30m allocated to build warehouses. offices in Victoria for “critical forward provisioning”.
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.
The US military is planning a permanent war-ready weapons stockpile for its Marine Corps in Victoria beyond the range of most Chinese missiles. tender documents show according to reports this morning.
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan was given a tough grilling on ABC’s 7.30 last night when she struggled to answer questions about the collapse in Labor’s support. allegations of union corruption. More coming up.
And One Nation founder Pauline Hanson will address the National Press Club in Canberra today for the first time in her three decades in politics. as her party hits record poll highs.
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