Australia news live: Queensland and Victoria premiers reject Peter Dutton’s nuclear power policy | Australia news

Queensland to increase cost relief on essential goods in remote areas

The cost of living is rising nationwide – but nobody is doing it harder than remote communities.

In Queensland communities in the Cape York, Torres Strait and Gulf regions the price of a two-litre bottle of milk can reach as high as $5.40.

Detergent is about 12% higher than in Cairns, the nearest big city.

That’s largely because of freight costs, given the long distances and lack of economies of scale.

The state government already pays about 5.2% of the cost of essential goods for remote communities.

Queensland premier Steven Miles announced on Wednesday that the subsidy would increase to 20% – one-fifth of the cost of milk, bread, fruit and vegetables and detergent. It doesn’t cover alcohol, tobacco, soft drinks, confectionery, hardware, clothing, fuel, furniture or whitegoods.

He said the cost of detergent would decline from about $3.46 to $2.77, and milk would decline to about $4.32.

Miles said Queensland had some of the most remote communities in the world, so government needed to do what it could to help out.

“These communities shouldn’t be disadvantaged just because of their location,” he said.

The scheme covers about 32 retailers across the north of the state. The discount is applied at checkout.

The discount will come into effect later this year.

NSW premier says ban won’t permit nuclear reactor

I just wanted to turn back to Chris Minns, who reiterated his objections to the Coalition’s nuclear plan at a press conference earlier today.

The NSW premier said he didn’t believe it was possible to build a nuclear reactor in the Hunter Valley under the current legislation:

We’ve got our ban in place.

If there’s a constitutional way for a hypothetical Dutton government to move through the state planning powers, I’m not aware of it, but that’s probably a question for him to answer.

Minns also flagged that a switch to nuclear energy would disrupt years of investment in renewable energy infrastructure:

We’ve got $30-odd billion of private capital invested in renewable energy, encouraged by both sides of state politics and both sides of federal politics over the past 10 years.

If all of a sudden you were to introduce nuclear power, that investment is at real risk, and I think that’s a sovereign risk for energy and particularly the narrow path we have to walk to revolutionise our energy sources in this state.

Frydenberg says attack on Labor MP’s office ‘despicable and dangerous’

Former Liberal MP Josh Frydenberg has sent support to Labor MP Josh Burns, whose office was targeted in a vandalism attack this morning.

“The attack on Josh Burns’ office was despicable and dangerous and one that requires more than words of condemnation,” Frydenberg, the former treasurer, said on X just now.

What we need is more action from our political leaders and law enforcement to protect the community. Our leaders must step up and wrest control back from the mob.

Frydenberg has largely refrained from commenting on public events since he lost his seat of Kooyong at the 2022 election, but has recently spoken out more strongly about antisemitism in Australia. He helmed a Sky News documentary on antisemitism last month.

Nationals MP decries references to The Simpsons in nuclear debate

Darren Chester has welcomed the Coalition’s nuclear power policy, saying he has always had an “open mind when it comes to public debate regarding nuclear energy.”

The Nationals MP says Australians want a “calm and rational conversation” on nuclear energy, before going on to decry Labor politicians referencing The Simpsons.

He also says Australians wants a “facts campaign”, ignoring the lack of detail in the Coalitions plans.

Chester says:

It’s time for a calm and rational conversation with the Australian people based on facts, technology and environmental science, not fear campaigns and political science.

The same people who recklessly blame each severe weather event on climate change and warn of more unreliable weather in the future, now want to sign our children up to a 100% weather-dependent energy system.

No doubt they will run a scare campaign when what Australians really want is a facts campaign.

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Frankly, it is juvenile and demeaning to listen to some federal Labor MPs continually joking about the The Simpsons cartoon in parliamentary debates, as if it’s an intelligent reference point for a mature conversation on an issue of inter-generational significance.

With the initial flurry of the announcement past, I will hand you back to Mostafa’s brilliant hands. Mos will keep you updated on all the news over the next few hours.

Thanks for joining me through all of that – it is a lot to get through and we will be working to bring you as much information – and facts – about the policy, the gaps and what you’re not being told, very soon. See you back on the blog next week for the last parliament sitting ahead of the winter break, and until then – take care of you.

Minerals Council backs Coalition nuclear policy

The Minerals Council of Australia IS in favour of the Coalition’s policy, though.

Chief executive officer Tania Constable said it “provides a crucial pathway for Australia’s industries to reduce emissions cost-effectively while maintaining access to reliable baseload power”.

Building a diverse energy mix that meets both environmental and economic goals is essential for keeping vital industries competitive amidst significant cost pressures and ambitious emissions targets.

High future demand for reliable and clean energy means that all energy types, including nuclear power, will be indispensable in meeting Australia’s future energy needs.

A technology-neutral approach to energy solutions is necessary to tackle the substantial challenge of decarbonising the economy while maintaining its competitiveness and productivity.

What Pesutto did and didn’t say

Back to Victoria for a moment where John Pesutto’s presser has just wrapped up. In summary, the Victorian Liberal leader:

• Won’t say if he’ll stand in the way in of Dutton’s plan if he is elected premier in 2026.

• Won’t say if he’ll campaign against it at the federal election, which is due before May 2025.

• Won’t say if he’ll lift the Victorian moratorium of nuclear energy.

But he says his state party has “no plans” for nuclear power and his position on the federal opposition’s plans “will be clearer” before 2026 state election.

Back to the nuclear announcement for a moment and the Smart Energy Council has been in touch with one of the site owners from the list identified by Peter Dutton as proposed nuclear power sits.

The Port Augusta site in South Australia was one of those identified, but the owners have told the Smart Energy Council that they have never had a call from someone in the Liberal party about making it a nuclear site. And they have no plans to sell, or house a nuclear reactor in any case, as they are building a critical-minerals green iron export facility, with plans to use green hydrogen.

Rex Patrick says whistleblower protection laws ‘broken’

Rex Patrick, a former senator and founder of the Whistleblower Justice Fund, said the court’s decision on Richard Boyle’s case (see earlier post) showed “how broken the commonwealth’s whistleblower protection laws are” and called on the federal government to drop the charges.

He said:

We’ve got a situation where someone is being prosecuted under laws the Albanese government knows are broken.

This is having an awful effect on Richard Boyle and his family and it has a chilling effect on all whistleblowers, all potential whistleblowers around the country.

Patrick said Boyle had been courageous throughout but it was obviously taking a toll on him. “There’s no good that will come from this prosecution,” he said.

Patrick said the case was now set to go to the district court but Boyle could decide to challenge it in the high court before the trial, or after it.

Kieran Pender, a senior lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said:

The long-running prosecution of tax office whistleblower Richard Boyle has demonstrated significant issues and uncertainties in Australian whistleblower protection legislation.

Following this decision, it is now incumbent on the Albanese government to proceed with comprehensive law reform and the establishment of a whistleblower protection authority.

Whistleblowers make Australia a better place – they should be protected, not punished.

Richard Boyle’s appeal against a decision that denied him whistleblower protection has been dismissed.

South Australia’s supreme court dismissed the appeal this morning, leaving Boyle facing a potential trial.

Boyle revealed in 2017 that the Australian Taxation Office was aggressively pursuing debts, traumatising debtors in the process. He raised his concerns internally first but went to the media when that failed to yield results.

He is facing 24 charges over how he allegedly gathered evidence for his claims, including using a mobile phone to record conversations and take pictures of taxpayer information.

In 2023 he tried to use whistleblower laws (the Public Interest Disclosure Act) to protect himself but that attempt failed, leaving him facing a criminal trial and potential prison term if found guilty. He then appealed to the supreme court.

The judgement is yet to be published.

Boyle’s advocates have called on the federal government to drop the charges, and warned of a chilling effect on other would-be whistleblowers.