Australia news as it happened: Polling shows Labor vote drops to new low; Coalition rift emerges over Dutton's nuclear plans
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4 of 4 8.45am on Apr 22, 2024 The behaviour of social media giant X was "very arrogant" after its boss Elon Musk decided to challenge an order calling for it to remove content relating to the Sydney church attack, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten says. On Saturday, the platform said in a statement the posts the eSafety commissioner wanted removed didn't violate its rules on violent speech. Instead, X argued the order was not within the scope of Australian law and it "complied with the directive pending a legal challenge". National Disability Insurance Scheme Minister Bill Shorten.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen "I don't know about a boycott, but they're very arrogant," Shorten told ABC Radio National. "There's almost an attitude they're above the laws of a nation." He said it was "entirely unexceptional" that Australia would want to take down some of the most violent and shocking footage relating to the alleged terror attack. Shorten said no one gets to vote for X, but they do vote for governments. " I do think what the eSafety commission has done [is] exactly right. It is about protecting citizens." 8.28am on Apr 22, 2024 Staying with NDIS Minister Bill Shorten, who said he was concerned about struggling Australians after polling conducted by this masthead showed 55 per cent of voters say they would struggle to pay for a major expense because their finances are stretched so thin. But he said his concerns were with Australians who were struggling - rather than the government's polling. NDIS Minister Bill Shorten.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen "I'm not worried about the government's electoral fortunes," he said on RN Breakfast. Shorten said there was no doubt the Reserve Bank increases put a lot of pressure on people, but they were independent of the government. He said he believed tax changes that would take place from July 1 would help more Australians deal with these pressures. "When you look at the tax cuts, which will come in on July 1, that was the biggest thing we could do [to help with the cost of living]," he said. 8.08am on Apr 22, 2024 NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has defended the scheme from critics, but said not enough was done to ensure the quality of service providers when it was first set up. Former Productivity Commission boss Gary Banks wrote in an article for the Australian Financial Review that the body got it wrong when it recommended the creation of the NDIS created. But Shorten said he disagreed and didn't believe the NDIS should be wrapped up. "I don't think the benefits of the scheme are underestimated, I think the scheme is changing hundreds of thousands of lives" he told ABC RN Breakfast this morning. However, Shorten said there was an "overarching faith" that it should be left to the market to fix, and there wasn't enough "market stewardship". If you're going to give resources for disability, you've got to make sure there are rules around how it's used and the nature of services that are provided. There wasn't enough work done about making sure we had enough workforce, making sure that we had service providers who were doing what they're saying what they're doing, or even qualified to do what they're doing." Shorten said the government and Coalition should work together to fix the scheme, rather than end it. 7.49am on Apr 22, 2024 Turning to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said he doesn't see how divestiture would work in Australia when he was questioned about the supermarket inquiry this morning. Speaking on ABC Tropical North, before heading to Papua New Guinea, Albanese was asked about prices Australians were paying for their groceries. He said mandating a supermarket code of conduct was one step forward to provide transparency to shoppers and farmers. "Transparency is really important. I think a mandating of the code of conduct is something that the government is looking towards," Albanese said. But he didn't agree with calls for divestiture powers, which would force supermarkets to sell stores if they get too big. "It has surprised me that the [Nationals] have proposed such a measure," Albanese said. The prime minister said it could potentially work in urban areas, but not necessarily in regional areas with limited options. "The cost of moving things around as a scale is big enough to ensure that that will occur there'll be competition but in the regions, I can't see how divestiture would work in practice." 7.24am on Apr 22, 2024 Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has been questioned about the drop in support for Labor, with exclusive polling showing voters have cut Labor's primary vote from 32 to 30 per cent over the past month. The poll carried out for this masthead, also showed 55 per cent of voters would struggle to pay for a major expense because their finances are stretched so thin. Plibersek acknowledged on Seven's Sunrise that people were doing it tough. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen "But people have also got to remember that under the previous government, Barnaby [Joyce's] mob said that they want to keep wages lower," she told the program. "They said low wages are a deliberate design feature of our economic architecture. We are turning that around with higher wages, with people earning more and keeping more of what they earn, and other cost-of-living measures to help out people." But former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, who was also on the program, said people were fed up with Labor. "There are people who just say, 'I am over it, I don't want to listen to him any more', because while you bang on about intermittent power and solar factories and ... climate change and you lost people when you started talking about the Voice and the social change of Australia, people say, 'You are not focused on me'," he said. 7.11am on Apr 22, 2024 Australians have cut their support for the federal government as they feel the financial damage from rising prices and higher interest rates, lifting the Coalition on a wave of discontent over grocery costs and energy bills. An exclusive survey shows 55 per cent of voters say they would struggle to pay for a major expense because their finances are stretched so thin, which sharpens the political row over the best way to help in the May 14 federal budget. Voters have cut Labor's primary vote from 32 to 30 per cent over the past month, below the level of the party's historically low vote at the 2022 election. Support for the Coalition increased from 35 to 36 per cent over the same period. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has kept his personal lead over Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, ahead by 41 to 32 per cent respectively as preferred prime minister. The Resolve Political Monitor, conducted for this masthead by Resolve Strategic, confirms the pressure on households in a series of results on the gloomier outlook for the nation, heightened concern about grocery costs and support for action in the budget. Catch up on the full story here. 6.53am on Apr 22, 2024 The Liberals and the Nationals are at odds over the selection of six sites for proposed nuclear facilities, delaying the release of the Coalition's signature energy blueprint. Nationals MPs told this masthead that leader David Littleproud said at the most recent party room meeting he would not allow the Liberals to dictate the placement of facilities, several of which are likely to be in electorates held by the regional party. Nationals leader David Littleproud and Liberal leader Peter Dutton are working on the Coalition's energy policy.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen While refusing to comment directly on party room discussions, Littleproud emphasised the need for caution, striking a different tone to last year when he welcomed a plant in his seat. "The last thing we want to do is make announcements before we have done the legwork," he said, adding he remained open to a site in his electorate. Here's the full story. 6.43am on Apr 22, 2024 Israeli leaders harshly criticised an expected decision by the US to impose sanctions on a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Israeli military. The decision, expected as soon as Monday (US time), would mark the first time the US has ever imposed sanctions on a unit inside the Israeli military and further strains relations between the two allies, which have grown increasingly tense during Israel's war in Gaza. Israeli security officers scuffle with a Palestinian man at a checkpoint near the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem last month.Credit: Getty While US officials declined to identify the sanctioned unit, Israeli leaders and local media identified it as Netzah Yehuda — an infantry battalion founded roughly a quarter of a century ago to incorporate ultra-Orthodox men into the military. Many religious men receive exemptions from what is supposed to be compulsory service. Israeli leaders condemned the decision as unfair, especially at a time when Israel is at war, and vowed to oppose it. "If anyone thinks they can impose sanctions on a unit in the IDF, I will fight it with all my might," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Continue reading about the move here, from AP. 6.35am on Apr 22, 2024 4 of 4 LoadingKey posts
Shorten says Elon Musk's X acting like it's 'above the laws of a nation'
'Not worried about electoral fortunes', Shorten says of polling
NDIS wasn't set up with enough done to ensure service provider quality: Shorten
PM can't see how divestiture powers would work in regions
Plibersek defends Labor after polling results
Labor vote falls to new low
By David Crowe
Rift emerges over Peter Dutton's nuclear plans
By Paul Sakkal
US expected to sanction Israeli military unit
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