Activists lock on to coal equipment during Rising Tide protest in Newcastle
Sixteen protesters with Rising Tide have locked themselves to coal equipment in Newcastle this morning.
Rising Tide said eight people have locked on to two coal loaders and another eight on to conveyor belts on the final day of the People’s Blockade, an annual climate protest that has seen thousands gather to protest against the use of fossil fuels.
Fiona Lee, an activist who locked on to a coal conveyor, said she could “not stand by as our government continues to approve the new coal and gas projects that are making these unnatural disasters worse”, adding:
It’s time that our government starts supporting coal workers by investing in new industries for our region and making coal corporations pay their fair share.
NSW police have arrested at least 141 people during the protest this weekend. An official said there have been no additional arrests this morning so far.
John Wishart, 74. Photograph: supplied by Rising TideShare
Updated at 16.43 EST
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Krishani Dhanji
Government to issue guidance calling for AI generated content to be labelled
Businesses, creators, and AI developers will be encouraged to label AI generated or modified content under new guidance from the government.
The guidance is a part of Labor’s national AI plan which will be more broadly released this week. The government has been considering whether to follow the EU and other nations who have implemented a designated AI act.
Tim Ayres. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
The guidance will also encourage industry to use water marking to verify the authenticity of content and trace its origin and record metadata.
Minister for industry and innovation, Tim Ayres, said:
AI is here to stay. By being transparent about when and how it is used, we can ensure the community benefits from innovation without sacrificing trust.
That’s why the Albanese Government is urging businesses to adopt this guidance. It’s about building trust, protecting integrity, and giving Australia’s confidence in the content they consume.
Last week, the government announced it will establish an AI safety institute next year.
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Queensland Labor to reset all party policy after state conference vote
Queensland Labor will reset its entire policy platform following its state election defeat last year.
The party secretary, Ben Driscoll, who sponsored the motion, said Queensland Labor’s policy platform hadn’t been reviewed in full since the last time the party spent a term in opposition, under the premiership of Campbell Newman, and it had long since passed elements of the platform into law.
Queensland opposition leader Steven Miles. Photograph: Darren England/AAP
The opposition leader, Steven Miles, who was defeated last October, told media that the party had not acted on concerns about crime quickly enough while in government.
“Labor has to accept that there were mistakes made in the previous government. That’s why I’ve said we have a policy clean slate, and now we will review the entire party’s platform to ensure that it is fit for 2028,” he said.
Parties need to ensure they are constantly evolving, constantly representing what the community is asking for. And that’s why, that’s why this review and the policy claim slate is really important.
The party conference was the first since Annastacia Palaszczuk stood down as premier in 2023. It concluded on Sunday. The motion passed on the voices.
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Updated at 16.39 EST
Activists lock on to coal equipment during Rising Tide protest in Newcastle
Sixteen protesters with Rising Tide have locked themselves to coal equipment in Newcastle this morning.
Rising Tide said eight people have locked on to two coal loaders and another eight on to conveyor belts on the final day of the People’s Blockade, an annual climate protest that has seen thousands gather to protest against the use of fossil fuels.
Fiona Lee, an activist who locked on to a coal conveyor, said she could “not stand by as our government continues to approve the new coal and gas projects that are making these unnatural disasters worse”, adding:
It’s time that our government starts supporting coal workers by investing in new industries for our region and making coal corporations pay their fair share.
NSW police have arrested at least 141 people during the protest this weekend. An official said there have been no additional arrests this morning so far.
John Wishart, 74. Photograph: supplied by Rising TideShare
Updated at 16.43 EST
Minister says pay rise delivering security for workers and for kids in their care
Jess Walsh, minister for early childhood education, said the pay bump for early childhood educators is already “paying dividends”, saying it is good for workers and good for the kids in their care.
Walsh told RN Breakfast:
This is a workforce that has been underpaid and undervalued for too long. When we took office, that meant that early educators were leaving the sector in droves. We wanted to see a strong, stable workforce to deliver quality early education, and that’s why we’ve committed to this pay rise. And it is paying dividends.
It’s reducing turnover in the sector. It’s allowing educators to stay in jobs that they love. That’s good for them, but it’s also good for the children in their care because a strong, stable workforce is the foundation for quality early education.
She went on to say the government was guaranteeing that the sector was strong, adding: “Every child deserves to be safe, and parents deserve to know that their children are safe.”
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Updated at 16.10 EST
Krishani Dhanji
Final stage of early childhood educator pay rise kicks in
Early childhood educators will receive a 5% pay rise today, the last instalment of a promised 15% wage increase by Labor.
The government says the increase will mean educators will receive an extra $160 per week. That sits on top of the Fair Work Commission’s minimum wage rise which took effect earlier this year.
Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian
The government’s also released some retention data, saying the wage rises have helped increase the number of educators by 6% in the year to August, while vacancy rates are down 14% in the year to October. Not-for-profit provider Goodstart says it’s reduced its use of labour hire by 70%.
In a statement, the education minister, Jason Clare said:
Our early educators deserve to be paid fairly for that work. That’s why we’re delivering this 15 per cent pay rise, with the final 5 per cent hitting the pay packets of early educators from tomorrow.
We know the pay rise is working to bring more people into sector and help to keep the great educators we’ve already got.
It follows an announcement from Clare that mandatory safety training for educators to begin in February next year, and be undertaken through early childcare centres. The mandatory training was agreed by state, territory and federal education ministers as part of safety reform.
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Updated at 15.59 EST
Home price rises outpacing benefits of interest rate cuts
Surging home prices have wiped away the benefits of three interest rate cuts to new buyers, new data reveals.
AAP reports across Australia, home values grew by 1% in November with the median dwelling now worth $888,941, property analytics firm Cotality reported on Monday.
That follows a blistering result in October, when prices rose at 1.1% rise, and 0.8% in September. On a monthly basis, growth in Sydney slowed from 0.7% to 0.5%, while Melbourne fell from 0.9% in October to 0.3% in November.
An auctioneer holds a gavel during an auction of a property in Sydney. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
Meanwhile, the mid-sized capitals picked up. Brisbane became the second Australian city to break the $1m median home price barrier.
Already, the impact of 75 basis points of cash rate cuts since February are wearing out. Cotality research director, Tim Lawless, calculated the cuts increased the borrowing capacity of a median income household by $55,000, but home values have since risen by $60,000.
For renters, the outlook continues to be one of worsening affordability. Rents are rising across every capital city, with the national rental index 5% higher over the past 12 months – the highest annual rate of growth in a year.
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Updated at 15.57 EST
Greens call for 25% gas export tax
Krishani Dhanji
The Greens are calling for all gas exports to be taxed 25% and domestic gas supply to be prioritised as the country faces a future gas shortfall by 2028.
The minor party – who just secured a deal with the government on the EPBC nature law reforms – say they will not support any new gas fields. There is more than enough uncontracted gas being exported overseas, they say, to meet any future shortfalls.
The 25% tax would replace the petroleum resource rent tax which the Greens say has failed to collect “meaningful” revenue from gas exporters due to “massive loopholes”.
Greens senator Steph Hodgins-May says gas corporations have created a “crisis” that Australian households have had to pay for.
Government and industry lies are quickly unravelling. We don’t have a gas shortage, we have a gas export problem.
If Labor brings forward an option that incentivises new gas and hands more rewards to the corporations that have been ripping off Australians, they won’t have the support of the Greens.
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Updated at 15.51 EST
Good morning
Good morning, and happy December. Another month down, another season begins. Nick Visser here to get you started on the blog this morning – here’s what’s on deck.
The Greens are calling for all gas exports to face a 25% tax, with a new prioritisation on domestic gas supply. The party, which recently secured a deal with the Labor government on new federal nature law reforms, says it will not support any new gas fields.
Surging home prices have wiped out the benefit of three interest rate cuts to new buyers, according to recent data. Across Australia, the median dwelling is now worth nearly $889,000.
The government is encouraging businesses, creators and AI developers to label AI generated or modified content. Tim Ayres, the minister for industry and innovation, said the strategy would see the “benefits from innovation without sacrificing trust”.
Stick with us.
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