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”.
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.
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.
Eleven Australians have left Turkey on a Global Sumud Flotilla attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Australians departed Turkey on Thursday evening in the final phase of the mission. as part of a delegation of about 500 people on 57 vessels.
Among them are five Australians who were intercepted a fortnight ago by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) off the coast of Greece. temporarily detained. Some 22 ships were destroyed, organisers allege, and activists were held for two days before being released in Greece. Australian Dr Bianca Pullman Webb was among them. She said “the genocide hasn’t ended”:
double quotation mark Challenging the siege is the least I can do as a person of conscience. Palestinians, including my medical colleagues, deserve to live and work in safety and freedom. I’m tired of the genocide and international inaction. The community on the flotilla and what we’re doing gives me hope.
The Israeli foreign ministry and the Israeli embassy were approached for comment.
Burke says hate listing still applies if group attempts to ‘phoenix’
Burke said the listing applied despite any efforts to “phoenix”, referencing when an organisation disbands,. then tries to reform under a new name. He told reporters:
double quotation mark The way the legislation works. the phoenixing part of the question, once an organisation has been listed and they try to reform under a new name, effectively it is a simple regulation change and we don’t need to start the process again.
The minister for home affairs. Tony Burke, says the government has listed the National Socialist Network, also known as White Australia, as a prohibited hate group.
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.
Following NSN’s listing, Burke said in a press conference:
double quotation mark There is a very strict process for this to happen. This process can only occur when it is initiated by Asio an ministerial decision has to follow.
The ministerial decision has to be made with the approval of the attorney general. then there also has to be consultation with the opposition and all of these steps have been met.
The listing takes effect at midnight tonight. Burke said:
double quotation mark This means supporting. funding, training, recruiting, joining or directing this group constitutes a criminal offence with maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
The National Socialist Network claims it disbanded in January before legislation to proscribe alleged “hate groups” was introduced to federal parliament after the Bondi terror attack.
Victorian opposition uses estimates to question state’s cash deficit
As expected, the Victorian opposition is using estimates to question the cash deficit figure. The deputy chair. Liberal MP John Pesutto, quoted an auditor-general’s report stating that “a fiscal cash surplus is a sign of good financial health”. He then asked Barrett whether he agreed.
Barrett said he didn’t “entirely” as it was necessary for governments to borrow to build infrastructure.
double quotation mark If you were to hold yourself to never borrowing for infrastructure. which is what that statement effectively says, I think you would very substantially under invest in infrastructure in the state.
Barrett said all states were required to borrow to build infrastructure, given how little Commonwealth funding they received:
double quotation mark The federal government … has not historically funded urban infrastructure in a highly urbanised country like Australia the way. you might expect … And while that’s the case state governments are required to do that. If state governments are required to do that entirely on their own balance sheet. without adding any debt, you would hugely under invest.
Pesutto then asked whether Victorians should therefore expect future cash deficits, given they were a “necessary part of delivering infrastructure”. Barret replied:
double quotation mark I agree … The amount of that is obviously a policy choice for government.
Symes, though, stressed that the budget showed the government was moderating its infrastructure spend back to pre-pandemic levels.
Estimates hearings begin in Victoria
While all eyes have been on the federal government’s budget this week. the Victorian government handed down its own budget last week, which brings us to the start of estimates hearings.
Today, we’ll be hearing from the treasurer, Jacyln Symes,. the premier, Jacinta Allan, as well as the minister for equality, emergency services and creative industries, Vicki Ward, later this evening.
Symes is up first, joined by officials, including the department of treasury and finance secretary, Chris Barrett.
While the budget delivered a $727m operating surplus in 2025-26. projects surpluses averaging $1.71bn over the forward estimates, these figures exclude infrastructure and other capital spending. When factored in, Victoria is running cash deficits averaging $7.62bn over the four years.
The opposition has seized on those deficit figures. with Liberal leader Jess Wilson using her budget reply speech on Tuesday to pledge a cash surplus by 2032 if elected in November.
Queensland Labor leader says government has ‘politicised’ parliament’s ethics committee
Queensland’s Labor leader. Steven Miles, has accused the government of having “politicised” the state parliament’s ethics processes, after he was found to have mislead parliament.
In February last year. Miles wrongly claimed that the deputy premier, Jarrod Bleijie, had failed to disclose a conflict of interest relating to a rail project. He quickly apologised for what he said was an inadvertent error, but parliament’s speaker, Pat Weir, said the apology was insufficient. referred him to parliament’s ethics committee.
On Thursday, two days before a byelection, it reported back, finding him in contempt of parliament.
At a press conference on Friday, Miles accused the government of abusing “its big majority”, “playing personal attacks on the eve of a byelection”, “throwing out many of the conventions that have served our state very well for a very long time”,. wasting time on an hour-long debate on the subject on Thursday evening.
“They clearly have politicised the ethics committee process. You can see that in the report and the way they carried on yesterday,” Miles said.
On Tuesday. Weir decided not to refer the education minister, John-Paul Langbroek, to the ethics committee for a response he gave to a question on notice claiming that he had not finalised the name of a new theatre by May 2025. Guardian Australia later reported that he signed a document formally approving the name in February. Weir said the briefing note was “equivocal in its language”.
Miles was asked whether Weir had imposed a double standard.
“We see very clearly that where LNP members are misleading. they are not reprimanded in any kind of way, while the LNP uses their massive majority to pull stunts like they did yesterday,” he said.
A charter plane carrying the passengers from the MV Hondius. the cruise ship at the centre of the hantavirus outbreak, has landed in Perth.
The passengers – four Australians, one Australian permanent resident,. one New Zealander – will be transported directly to the Centre for National Resilience in Bullsbrook with no community contact, where they will quarantine for an initial three-week period.
All have tested negative for hantavirus to this point. The virus has a maximum 42-day incubation period.
A 25-year-old man has been charged over a “visible swastika tattoo” on his leg after visiting a business in Alice Springs in December 2025.
Northern Territory police yesterday arrested the man. executed a search warrant at his home, where items indicative of drug supply were seized.
The man was taken to the Alice Springs watch house. has been charged with public display of a prohibited Nazi symbol.
He has been remanded in custody to appear in Alice Springs local court today.
Labor MP says bailout of Spirit of Tasmania operator ‘shocking’
Kerry Vincent, the state minister for infrastructure. transport, said the cash injection was to cover past capital cost overruns and was not TT-Line spending additional money, AAP adds.
double quotation mark We know these decisions come at a difficult time,. it’s no secret the capital cost overruns have put a strain on TT-Line. This is about ensuring our vital infrastructure. a key tourism and freight link is supported and continuing to function as Tasmanians need and deserve.
Labor MP Dean Winter said the bailout was “shocking”:
double quotation mark The half-a-billion dollar bailout is the most shocking chapter yet of the horror novel known as the Spirits fiasco.
Tasmanians will be paying the price for the Spirits for generations to come,. every job and essential service that Eric Abetz cuts in next week’s budget is just the tip of the iceberg.
An embattled Bass Strait ferry operator, which has suffered delays. cost overruns in the delivery of two new ships, has been given a $506m government bailout, AAP reports.
The equity injection from the Tasmanian government to state-owned Spirit of Tasmania operator TT-Line will be provided over four years.
TT-Line’s delivery of two new replacement ferries, which are set to sail in October, is years behind schedule. $717m over the initial project estimate.
The saga made international headlines in 2024 after it was revealed the new ferries would have to sit idle. a new berth in northwest Tasmania wouldn’t be ready in time for the ships.
TT-Line has been forced to fork out millions to hold the ferries in berths while the new berth is being constructed. The operator was given $75m by the government in November’s interim budget. with the $506m to be included in Thursday’s 2026/27 budget.
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