Legal challenge against Woodside extension expected
The federal government is expected to face a legal challenge on the approval of Woodside Energy's North West Shelf gas plant extension.
Environmental and Indigenous activists say the gas plant threatens the erosion of rock art in the area.
Labor has agreed to give "Save Our Songlines" founder Raelene Cooper at least three days' notice before formal approval of the project.
The commitment will give the traditional custodians an opportunity to file an injunction against the decision.
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Herald Sun
33 minutes ago
- Herald Sun
Opposition Leader Brad Battin committed to winning state election
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News. It's been a tumultuous first six months for Opposition Leader Brad Battin. Once asked what knocks a government off course former UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan famously said: 'Events, dear boy, events'. From his controversial cruise holiday, to his deputy being embroiled in a parliamentary allowances scandal, internal turmoil inside his party room, factional warfare and the never-ending saga that is the ongoing feud between John Pesutto and Moira Deeming, events have made the first six months of Battin's leadership a rough ride. Despite best efforts and intentions the party has slipped backwards in the polls, only narrowly, for the first time in more than 12 months and in recent weeks serious questions about whether he will lead the party to next year's November election have been raised among MPs and party members. There's no plan to topple him, numbers aren't being counted, and talk of change right now is only hypothetical. But Battin accepts the talk is happening and says while frustrating, it makes no difference to how he tackles his job. Battin has the will, the belief, and the want to succeed in spades, and believes his Opposition has become increasingly effective, even if admitting his focus couldn't have been wholly on the task of forming government over the past six months. Most of that was because of inherited, rather than created, problems. Less than 24 hours after he helped orchestrate a deal to save the political career of John Pesutto – via a $1.55m Liberal Party loan that will allow him to pay the $2.3m he owes Moira Deeming and avoid bankruptcy – Battin told the Sunday Herald Sun he can finally focus on winning government. 'It's now time to start talking about our vision and what we want to see for Victoria,' he said. 'We know that Victoria has struggled for far too long under this Labor government. 'We want to return Victoria to what it should be, which is to have fairness, opportunity and safety for everyone. 'And I think it's really important that we start to get back to the things that are important to people at home.' Battin knows his party has for too long failed to resonate with Victorians as its MPs waged war on each other instead of on the Labor government. But he feels there's been a shift under his watch, and points to a series of policy backflips by Jacinta Allan to prove his point. 'A good opposition obviously makes a more accountable government and we can already see we're having an impact,' he said. 'They're reversing some of their bail laws because they know we're holding them to account. 'We are being more effective, and I think the team knows that. 'So now we just got to get it so the only thing we're talking about is going to the next election.' The Coalition need to win 16 seats, and lose none, to form government at the 2026 election which will take massive swings against Labor across the state. A perceived policy vacuum remains a major stumbling block in achieving that plan. For years the Liberals have defined themselves by what they oppose rather than what they stand for. Battin talks in broad statements about his vision for Victoria, but little by way of detailed policy has been put forward, to the frustration of some of his party room. Battin is also facing a generational problem. Young voters have all but turned away from the Liberals because they see a party fixated on culture wars and nostalgia, not cost of living or climate. Battin knows the Liberals won't win again until they reconnect with voters under 40, and his challenge his dragging some of his party room with him. He sees housing and cost of living as election winning issues, followed by crime. 'We want to unlock the opportunity for home ownership. We know we're going to grow the economy, whether that's via cutting taxes or in creating opportunities for investment,' he said. 'We want to reduce the cost of living … and make sure we can get gas back into the market. 'Education is a big issue, and the health system, we're seeing it daily, people are genuinely dying now because of the state of the health system.' To keep on message and sell his Opposition as a viable alternative government Battin knows he needs to unite his team – a problem which has plagued many of his predecessors. He plans to do it by meeting with each and every MP in his stable and talking to them about their goals for government. 'I will speak to every single member and as when you first came into parliament, what did you say in your maiden speech, what were you going to deliver and can you do it from opposition? 'If the answer is no, then it's time to focus on getting into government. 'I believe that once we've had the conversations with people and they can get the realignment, I think people want to win. 'People in our party are sick of not just being in opposition, but sick of the worst government in Australia's history. 'You've got to find the common goal. It's like any football club, any sports team, any business.' That goal, forming government, has been seemingly too lofty an ambition to unite the team for much of the past decade, but Battin has faith he can turn that around. Even if he is facing accusations of picking sides in the feud between Pesutto and Deeming – a claim he vehemently rejects. The perception has put him off-side with a number of colleagues who he will need to placate if he stands any chance of party unity moving forward. Asked if he wants to see Mrs Deeming preselected to run in 2026 – a move which would all but secure her a second term in parliament – Battin says only that he wants to take his current team to the next election. It is a tacit endorsement. 'I know the reasons I got into politics, I know the things I want to deliver, and I can't do them from opposition,' he says. 'Sometimes it just takes that reminder again to say, we've only got 16 months. It is time now to start focusing on those outcomes, and to get those outcomes you need to win an election.'
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Joe Spagnolo: Roger Cook moves on from Mark McGowan's Labor
It appears Roger Cook is going all out to ensure the public is aware there is a new sheriff in town, and that Mark McGowan is well and truly part of Labor history. The current Labor government, in terms of office and administrative personnel, has little resemblance to the one McGowan presided over. Cook has, for example, replaced his entire media team and appointed a new chief of staff since the March election. And there was further evidence of transformational Labor in Thursday's State Budget. Labor has finally stopped banging on about McGowan's Metronet, although project chief Rita Saffioti still resides over the remaining elements of the rail project — now eight years old — as Transport Minister and Treasurer. Instead Cook, keen to leave his own legacy, is embarking on what he and Saffioti call a 'poles, pipes, ports and wires' era, which will see billions spent on new infrastructure, enabling WA to hopefully begin a new era of diversification, and safeguarding itself against its reliance on iron ore exports and China's economy. If McGowan's catchcry was Metronet, Cook's and Saffioti's is diversification. From here on, Labor will begin its Budget sell to the public, and in doing so begin the sell of a re-elected Labor Government keen on reinventing itself and positioning itself for a fourth term of government by winning the 2029 State election. But reinvention comes with political risk. And we've seen that in this Budget, with Cook and Saffioti rolling the dice and deciding to shelve Labor's annual power bill credits — which, incidentally, McGowan commenced in 2020. Remember as a kid you would sit around a Christmas tree eagerly awaiting your presents? You either loved the gifts or were disappointed once you unwrapped the offerings. CCIWA chief economist Aaron Morey loved what was under Saffioti's 'Christmas tree', citing Taylor Swift as he applauded big spends in ports, energy and water. 'A bit like Taylor Swift, the Government is shifting to a new era of infrastructure spend. We're moving from the Roads Era to the Industrial Era,' Morey said. But welfare groups are not singing Swifty songs today. In addition to power and water hikes of 2.5 per cent, car licence charges have gone up 3.9 per cent and driver's licence fees have gone up 2.9 per cent. These are not huge increases by any means. But the optics of these increases aren't great for a government that on Thursday announced a forecast $2.5 billion surplus for this financial year and a forecast $10 billion in surpluses through to 2028-29. 'We were disappointed not to see a total freeze on increases in fees and charges, particularly utilities, electricity and water, but also on transport licenses,' Anglicare WA Acting CEO & Director of Services Philippa Boldy said on Friday. 'By increasing fees and charges, people are getting further behind instead of getting an opportunity to move forward. If we take more money out of the pockets of people that are already struggling for the essentials they need to live, we're not being fair with WA's growth and the economic strength.' Sure: the Government has softened the blow by announcing other initiatives such as the capping of public transport fares to one zone, saving some families and estimated $625 a year. But getting rid of a measure that shaves about $400 a year from household power bills in the midst of an ongoing cost-of-living crisis is a big call. What Cook is banking on is that West Australians will accept that investing in the future of WA will reap big benefits for the adults of tomorrow and generations to come. This is a Budget for the future. And in that sense Cook and Saffioti need to be applauded for recognising the fact that the rivers of gold — courtesy of iron ore exports to China — may well dry up into the future. But more needs to be done to help WA's vulnerable who right now aren't singing Swifty tunes, but belting out 'Under Pressure' along with Davie Bowie and Freddie Mercury.
The Advertiser
10 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Grandfather pens letter to PM after death in custody
The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in custody has drafted an open letter to the prime minister calling on Canberra to step in and address "madness" in the Northern Territory's justice system. The senior Warlpiri leader and kin of Kumanjayi White, who died after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs in May, said justice in the Territory was "in crisis". "Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Yuendumu man, wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns - this madness must stop." The letter addressed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed ahead of protests in Sydney and Alice Springs on Saturday to demand justice for Mr White. The senior Indigenous leader renewed his call for an independent investigation into the death of his grandson. The family has also been calling for the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation takes place. Federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, backs an independent inquiry but despite broad support, the NT government has rejected the proposal, saying NT Police are best-placed to investigate the death. Police allege Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. In his letter, Mr Hargraves demanded immediate action from the Commonwealth, including withholding funding to the NT government until it agreed to an independent probe. "You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he said. "Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government." Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin on Friday, Senator McCarthy said deaths in custody had to end and the federal government was deeply concerned about the issue. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest. Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022. Protesters in Sydney gathered to respond to a policing conference involving the former police officer but the first responders event has since been cancelled, according to the rally organisers. The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in custody has drafted an open letter to the prime minister calling on Canberra to step in and address "madness" in the Northern Territory's justice system. The senior Warlpiri leader and kin of Kumanjayi White, who died after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs in May, said justice in the Territory was "in crisis". "Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Yuendumu man, wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns - this madness must stop." The letter addressed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed ahead of protests in Sydney and Alice Springs on Saturday to demand justice for Mr White. The senior Indigenous leader renewed his call for an independent investigation into the death of his grandson. The family has also been calling for the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation takes place. Federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, backs an independent inquiry but despite broad support, the NT government has rejected the proposal, saying NT Police are best-placed to investigate the death. Police allege Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. In his letter, Mr Hargraves demanded immediate action from the Commonwealth, including withholding funding to the NT government until it agreed to an independent probe. "You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he said. "Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government." Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin on Friday, Senator McCarthy said deaths in custody had to end and the federal government was deeply concerned about the issue. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest. Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022. Protesters in Sydney gathered to respond to a policing conference involving the former police officer but the first responders event has since been cancelled, according to the rally organisers. The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in custody has drafted an open letter to the prime minister calling on Canberra to step in and address "madness" in the Northern Territory's justice system. The senior Warlpiri leader and kin of Kumanjayi White, who died after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs in May, said justice in the Territory was "in crisis". "Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Yuendumu man, wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns - this madness must stop." The letter addressed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed ahead of protests in Sydney and Alice Springs on Saturday to demand justice for Mr White. The senior Indigenous leader renewed his call for an independent investigation into the death of his grandson. The family has also been calling for the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation takes place. Federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, backs an independent inquiry but despite broad support, the NT government has rejected the proposal, saying NT Police are best-placed to investigate the death. Police allege Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. In his letter, Mr Hargraves demanded immediate action from the Commonwealth, including withholding funding to the NT government until it agreed to an independent probe. "You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he said. "Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government." Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin on Friday, Senator McCarthy said deaths in custody had to end and the federal government was deeply concerned about the issue. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest. Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022. Protesters in Sydney gathered to respond to a policing conference involving the former police officer but the first responders event has since been cancelled, according to the rally organisers. The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in custody has drafted an open letter to the prime minister calling on Canberra to step in and address "madness" in the Northern Territory's justice system. The senior Warlpiri leader and kin of Kumanjayi White, who died after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs in May, said justice in the Territory was "in crisis". "Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Yuendumu man, wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns - this madness must stop." The letter addressed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed ahead of protests in Sydney and Alice Springs on Saturday to demand justice for Mr White. The senior Indigenous leader renewed his call for an independent investigation into the death of his grandson. The family has also been calling for the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation takes place. Federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, backs an independent inquiry but despite broad support, the NT government has rejected the proposal, saying NT Police are best-placed to investigate the death. Police allege Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. In his letter, Mr Hargraves demanded immediate action from the Commonwealth, including withholding funding to the NT government until it agreed to an independent probe. "You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he said. "Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government." Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin on Friday, Senator McCarthy said deaths in custody had to end and the federal government was deeply concerned about the issue. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest. Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022. Protesters in Sydney gathered to respond to a policing conference involving the former police officer but the first responders event has since been cancelled, according to the rally organisers.
