Environment conservation reforms in doubt as Nationals, Greens criticise draft laws
Dan Jervis-Bardy
The Nationals deputy leader, Kevin Hogan, said the party has major “reservations” with the federal government’s new nature laws in a blow to Murray Watt’s hopes of striking a deal with the Coalition.
The Greens’ environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, has also doubled down on her criticisms of the legislation, leaving Watt without an obvious partner to get it through the Senate.
As reported on Wednesday, the Coalition, the Greens and environment and business groups have received extracts of the new Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) ahead of its introduction to federal parliament in the upcoming sitting fortnight.
The new laws don’t include a so-called “climate trigger” but will create a requirement for proponents of heavy polluting projects to disclose their emissions, and how they intend to mitigate them, as part of the assessment process.
Hogan said that measure was just “one of the issues we (the Nationals) have”.
He told Sky News:
So we think this will just make it harder for industry to employ people. We think this will make it harder for industry to produce economic income for this country, and we see that all the time So we have reservations about this.
The Nationals were vehemently opposed to the Albanese government’s first attempt to reform the EPBC Act and resistance to the second iteration would make it difficult – if not impossible – for Sussan Ley to win support for it in the shadow cabinet.
Key events
Luca Ittimani
Miner BHP praises Albanese and ‘fierce’ Trump for critical minerals deal
Bosses at mining giant BHP cheered Anthony Albanese’s meeting with “fierce” Donald Trump for the pair’s push to mine and process critical minerals.
Australia and the US this week signed a critical minerals deal designed to break China’s near complete hold over materials essential to commercial, clean energy and advanced military hardware.
Ross McEwan, BHP’s chair, told the company’s AGM it was too early to judge the meeting on its outcomes but described it as “a very good meeting to start that conversation”.
Mike Henry, the chief executive, said the meeting was “symbolically significant” in showing the US was serious about mineral supply, which he said he’d already seen for himself:
Having had the opportunity alongside my peer at Rio Tinto for a an Oval Office meeting with the president of the United States and secretary of the interior, [Doug] Burgum, I was impressed on just how fierce the focus is in the US, getting more mines and processing facilities up and going in the US.
The Australian-based multinational company (which also hosted Albanese at its 140th birthday celebrations after his meeting) produces copper, a key metal for modern manufacturing, as well as iron and coal.
Read economics editor Patrick Commins’ take on the deal here:
Luca Ittimani
BHP claims ‘good working relationship’ with China amid embargo standoff
The chair of iron ore giant BHP has downplayed concerns over a reported Chinese embargo on the company’s sales, saying the company has good relationships in China.
Ross McEwan said BHP would continue to improve its partnerships with Chinese distributors but dismissed worries about the standoff, speaking at the company’s AGM. He said:
We’ve had relationships in China now for decades and we have a pretty good working relationship. This is a commercial negotiation that’s going on every year.
The state-owned China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) in late September reportedly banned its steel manufacturers from buying iron ore from BHP, as it negotiates future contracts for purchase prices.
BHP has stayed tight-lipped as negotiations continue. Its September quarter results, released on Monday, did not mention the standoff, but flagged sales to China could slow amid as the economy weakens.
Analysts have suggested the negotiations could be a strategic bid by Beijing to reduce prices of the crucial steel-making commodity, setting a precedent for deals with other Australian exporters Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and Hancock Prospecting.
Read more here about the standoff:
Josh Taylor
AI chatbot companies asked to explain how they keep services safe
Four AI chatbot companion apps have been asked by the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, to explain how they prevent harm on their services, with fines of up to $825,000 per day able to be sought if the companies fail to respond.
The companies behind Character.AI, Nomi, Chai and Chub.ai have been asked to explain how they’re protecting children from exposure to harms including sexually explicit conversations and images, and suicidal ideation and self-harm.
Inman Grant said the chatbots can “simulate personal relationships” and act as emotional support, but there is a darker side, with many of the chatbots “capable of engaging in sexually explicit conversations with minors.”
She said:
AI companions are increasingly popular, particularly among young people. One of the most popular, Character.ai, is reported to have nearly 160,000 monthly active users in Australia as of June this year.
These companies must demonstrate how they are designing their services to prevent harm, not just respond to it. If you fail to protect children or comply with Australian law, we will act.
These notices are in addition to incoming codes that will require AI chatbot services to assure the ages of users if those apps allow for adult content.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Greens say environmental laws are meant to ‘protect nature’
Watt’s other potential partner in the Senate is the Greens.
The party came out strongly against the draft laws after a briefing on Wednesday, labelling them worse than the “status quo”.
Appearing on the same Sky News panel as Hogan, Hanson-Young repeated those criticisms:
Our environment laws are meant to protect nature and the environment and what Murray Watt has put on the table, or is about to put on the table doesn’t look like it does any of those things.
Environment conservation reforms in doubt as Nationals, Greens criticise draft laws
Dan Jervis-Bardy
The Nationals deputy leader, Kevin Hogan, said the party has major “reservations” with the federal government’s new nature laws in a blow to Murray Watt’s hopes of striking a deal with the Coalition.
The Greens’ environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, has also doubled down on her criticisms of the legislation, leaving Watt without an obvious partner to get it through the Senate.
As reported on Wednesday, the Coalition, the Greens and environment and business groups have received extracts of the new Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) ahead of its introduction to federal parliament in the upcoming sitting fortnight.
The new laws don’t include a so-called “climate trigger” but will create a requirement for proponents of heavy polluting projects to disclose their emissions, and how they intend to mitigate them, as part of the assessment process.
Hogan said that measure was just “one of the issues we (the Nationals) have”.
He told Sky News:
So we think this will just make it harder for industry to employ people. We think this will make it harder for industry to produce economic income for this country, and we see that all the time So we have reservations about this.
The Nationals were vehemently opposed to the Albanese government’s first attempt to reform the EPBC Act and resistance to the second iteration would make it difficult – if not impossible – for Sussan Ley to win support for it in the shadow cabinet.
Adam Morton
What’s in store for the overhaul of national environmental laws?
Focus in Canberra – and elsewhere – is turning to the Albanese government’s long-promised overhaul of national environment laws. Dates are not locked in, but Labor plans to introduce legislation when parliament returns next week.
The environment minister, Murray Watt, and officials have been sharing parts of the legislation with interest groups. The Australian Conservation Foundation says what it has seen is not good enough.
Its acting chief executive, Paul Sinclair, said there had been “some progress on stronger rules for nature” and the commitment to create an Environment Protection Agency (EPA) was welcome, though the design had not been revealed.
But he said Labor was “nowhere on keeping trees in the ground and making sure the bush doesn’t end up under bulldozers”.
The government at the moment is at risk of being like a doctor that wants to cure lung cancer, but they don’t want to talk about cigarettes. You can’t have a nature law that doesn’t deal with deforestation, that doesn’t talk about climate change.
He called for changes to the legislation to close loopholes allowing deforestation, set clear standards for nature protection and restoration, create an independent EPA with decision-making powers, and require consideration of “fossil fuel-driven climate impacts” when developments were assessed.
Watt yesterday again ruled out changing the laws so that developments could be refused on climate grounds.
More reaction to the proposed legislation is expected today.
Victoria police share further details on Frankston drownings
Victoria police just held a press conference to clarify some details of the men who died yesterday.
The pair were a surfer, a 36-year-old British national, and his friend, a 43-year-old man. Police described the surfer as inexperienced at the sport, saying he was in the water in a wetsuit before he became distressed.
His friend then jumped into aid him, but the pair were overcome by severe weather conditions.
Mel Nixon with Victoria police said responders were on scene within 10 to 15 minutes of a call for assistance coming in from a bystander. A police tactical operator also needed treatment after the episode after suffering a large amount of water intake during the rescue. Nixon said:
The weather conditions yesterday were obviously not appropriate to be in the water surfing, whether you’re experienced or you’re not experienced. It is a risk that you take that you put other people in danger.
They weren’t swept off the pier. They’ve actually jumped into the water to help. And, yeah, the conditions were that bad that he’s obviously succumbed to the conditions of the waves and the water.
Nixon said people should not go swimming or surfing in dangerous conditions.
You put yourself at risk, you put people that jump in to help you at risk, you put the emergency services at risk.
Two men who died off popular Melbourne pier swept into sea during wild winds
Two men who died in rough waters off a popular pier were swept into the sea during wild winds, sparking renewed calls for vigilance in extreme weather events, AAP reports.
The men, who are yet to be formally identified, were found unresponsive in the water off Frankston in Melbourne’s south-east at about 5pm on Wednesday as the state was lashed by intense wind gusts.
They were winched back to shore using a police helicopter but could not be revived, Victoria police said in a statement. Frankston city mayor, Kris Bolam, said:
This devastating event is a sharp reminder of the power of nature and the real risk posed by severe weather.
I ask everyone to stay safe, remain vigilant, and if in doubt, stay off the water and away from exposed coastal structures until conditions improve.
Some more details from the Christmas Island red crab migration
More than 60 million red crabs will participate in the migration, according to the Christmas Island national park. Roads are closed across the island and many crabs are already moving across the Red Crab Bridge, a specially designed overpass perfect for the crustaceans.
The crabs are a protected species under Australian law, and the national park had a quick reminder for anyone with some hunger pangs:
To answer your question: no, you can’t eat these crabs!
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Police searching for suspect after man stabbed on bus in Sydney’s inner west
NSW police are searching for a man after an alleged assault on a bus in the Sydney’s Marrickville in the early hours of Thursday.
Officials said emergency services were called to the suburb just before 1am, where they were told a passenger, a 51-year-old man, had allegedly been stabbed in the arm and hand by another man. He was taken to the hospital in a serious but stable condition.
The suspect reportedly exited the bus and left the scene. The two men are not thought to be known to each other.
Police have established a crime scene and opened an investigation into the matter.
Luca Ittimani
Australian house prices rising at fastest rate in nearly four years, data shows
Australian house prices are rising at their fastest rate in nearly four years, as buyers rush to auctions and owners put off selling amid expectations for a further upswing.
Capital city house values have sustained their longest continuous stretch of growth in a decade with a median increase of $35,000 in the three months to September, new data from Domain shows.
The median price rose $26,000 the previous quarter. Two in three Australians expect prices will rise further in the coming year, NAB research on Wednesday found, with analysts forecasting increases between $50,000 and $100,000.
Brisbane has overtaken Canberra as the second-most expensive house market, after Sydney, with median prices rising nearly $40,000 to hit $1.1m, over the three months to September.
Read more here:
Bridget McKenzie says critical minerals deal a win for ‘Team Australia’, if it gets up and running
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie, the showed minister for infrastructure, said the new critical minerals deal announced during the prime minister’s visit to Washington DC this week was “mission accomplished for Team Australia”.
But she said the government would need to follow-through on the plan to make it a success and counter China’s influence on the global market for the key minerals.
She told RN Breakfast:
The almost easy part is signing the deal, the tough piece is going to be getting the delivery because I think we’re notoriously slow in this country about getting projects of this scale up and going.
I think we need to break that global stranglehold that China has on the supply chain. So it’s good from that perspective, but not if we can’t get the projects up. So those environmental approvals, the skill sets we’re going to need, our transport supply chains, et cetera, are really critical for this to be a success that it promises to be.
