A consulting firm and its chief have dropped a defamation case against Nine over reportsalleging they engaged in corrupt practices with former federal MP Stuart Robert. Photograph: Luis Ascui/AAP
A consulting firm and its chief have dropped a defamation case against Nine over reportsalleging they engaged in corrupt practices with former federal MP Stuart Robert. Photograph: Luis Ascui/AAP
Thank you for joining us on the blog – here is a wrap of the day’s headlines:
The NSW government committed to an emergency $230m package to support the victim-survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence. The state’s premier, Chris Minns, said his government was “very sorry” the package was not released earlier.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said now was the time to “back police” when asked about Western Australia police stopping short of labelling an alleged attack in Perth as terrorism yesterday.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, said reports of students ranking female classmates from top to bottom – from “wifey” to “unrapeable” – was “disgraceful and utterly unacceptable”.
Dozens of people gathered in the seaside community of San Miguel in Mexico for a “paddle out” – a late afternoon vigil to honour the Australian brothersCallum and Jake Robinson and their travelling companion Jack Carter Rhoad.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said next Tuesday’s budget would bring “more spending restraint” and more savings.
Military whistleblowerDavid McBride pleaded guilty in a sentencing hearing today to stealing commonwealth information and passing that on to journalists at the ABC, who used the material as the basis for an investigative series exposing war crimes in Afghanistan, titled The Afghan Files. The commonwealth is seeking to impose a substantial jail sentence with a non-parole period against him.
The Kimberley’s peak Indigenous group apologises for underpaying staff
The Kimberley Land Council (KLC) “sincerely apologises” after an in-depth review into historical wage payments identified underpayments of “certain current and former staff”, according to a statement from the Kimberley region’s peak Indigenous body.
“Underpayments have arisen because base rates of pay for certain employees under the Kimberley Land Council enterprise agreement 2014 fell below the base rate of pay as per the underlying modern award,” the statement said.
The KLC sincerely apologises for the error.
KLC received external legal advice in 2018 “that it was acting in compliance with its obligations”, according to the statement. However, “subsequent legal advice to the contrary” prompted KLC to undertake a payroll recalculation exercise covering the period from 1 July 2016 to 22 October 2019.
KLC’s chief executive, Tyronne Garstone, said:
As an organisation with a strong commitment to our staff and community, we are deeply disappointed that this has occurred.
Our priority is to pay the identified amounts to our current and former affected staff members in a timely manner and to ensure that this does not happen again.
I offer my apologies to our staff and community.
KLC has made a voluntary disclosure of this matter to the fair work ombudsman.
The lengthy soaking of eastern New South Wales, including Sydney, may have at least another week to run as a large high-pressure system all but stalls over Tasmania, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
Sydney has already clocked up 124mm in the first six days of May, more than the long-run average of just over 117mm for the month. The city’s record of 16 consecutive days of at least 1mm of rain – set in 1943 and 2022 – could also be in play, according to Ed Medlock, a weather bureau meteorologist.
The publisher, in its defence, said it could prove Synergy and David Milo “engaged in corrupt conduct” with Stuart Robert when he sat on the Liberal frontbench.
“[Milo and Synergy] received a financial benefit from the conduct, including in the form of retainer payments and success fees from clients of [Synergy], who procured federal government contracts,” Nine’s defence said.
But whether Nine’s claims are true will no longer be tested in court after the lawsuit was discontinued by Synergy 360 and Milo on 26 April.
No judgment was entered against Nine, Nick McKenzie or David Crowe.
The articles remain online and no apology has been issued.
After a parliamentary inquiry, Robert was referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc) in September over claims Synergy 360 channelled money to a company linked to him to win government work.
Robert previously denied any impropriety, labelling the Nacc referral a “farce” and an example of political payback.
He represented the Queensland seat of Fadden before resigning from parliament in May last year.
A Nine spokesperson declined to comment on the case being dropped.
Defamation case dropped over MP corruption allegation reports
A consulting firm and its chief have dropped a defamation case against Nine over reportsalleging they engaged in corrupt practices with former federal MP Stuart Robert.
After suing over reportsalleging that he engaged in corrupt practices with ex-federal frontbencher Robert, the boss of a consulting firm has dropped his defamation lawsuit against Nine.
Robert has previously denied any impropriety.
Synergy 360 chief executive David Milo had sued in the NSW supreme court for damages over four Sydney Morning Herald articles from November 2022 and March 2023 that he said ruined his and the firm’s reputation.
“Within weeks of and in consequence upon the articles being published, (Synergy) lost a number of existing and potential clients, resulting in serious financial loss,” the lawsuit read.
The reports alleged Synergy 360 and Milo received secret advice from then-Liberal MP Robert to help six of its clients.
Nine vigorously defended the case, saying its articles were true, in the public interest and based on the honest opinions of journalists Nick McKenzie and David Crowe.
Judicial watchdog tells judge to undergo counselling
County court judge Geoffrey Chettle told the judicial commission his use of one particular pejorative word was unnecessary and apologised for using the word.
He said he did not mean any discourtesy or lack of respect, or to cause embarrassment to the alleged victim.
The commission also found that, while the judge leaving defence lawyers off emails was unintentional, a phone call between him and the trial prosecutor was “unorthodox and should have been avoided”.
Chettle was told to undergo counselling with the head of the jurisdiction on the need to exercise sensitivity, courtesy and respect in the courtroom, particularly in sex offence cases.
He will also be counselled on how to direct or supervise the work of his chambers’ staff and on the importance of judicial officers not engaging in private conversations with lawyers.
Judd separately complained to the commission about supreme court justice Lex Lasry a month before the prosecution complaint about Chettle was filed, in May 2023.
But the commission dropped its investigation into that complaint, which was about a ruling on the Eastern Freeway crash that killed four police, when Lasry resigned in February.
Judge found to have made demeaning comments about alleged rape victim
A judge made gratuitous and demeaning comments about an alleged rape victim before permanently staying the case against her two accused attackers, Victoria’s judicial watchdog has found.
The state’s top prosecutor, Kerri Judd, filed a complaint with the judicial commissioner of Victoria against county court judge Geoffrey Chettle in June last year.
It related to court proceedings against two men accused of rape and sexual assault and faced pre-trial in February 2023.
During an argument about the scope of cross-examination the alleged victim would be permitted, Chettle made comments about her, which formed part of the complaint.
He then decided to place a permanent stay on the case, which was successfully appealed against by the director of public prosecutions.
Chettle was also accused of not copying the defence into emails about the case.
Following an investigation, the commission on Monday found Chettle “infringed on the standards of conduct generally expected of judicial officers”.
It found he used language about the alleged victim, when she was not present, that was “pejorative, demeaning and incongruous”.
“The officer’s use of that language lacked the sensitivity expected of judicial officers presiding in sexual offence matters, tended to cause offence and was gratuitous,” the commission said in its finding.
The details of the judge’s comments were not written into the finding.
Crown seeks jail term for whistleblower David McBride
Sarah Basford Canales
The commonwealth is seeking to impose a substantial jail sentence with a non-parole period against army whistleblower David McBride for leaking secret Defence documents on the war in Afghanistan.
The commonwealth’s counsel, Trish McDonald, says McBride’s actions amounted to “egregious conduct” and as a lawyer he breached the trust of his client, the Australian defence force.
McBride pleaded guilty to three offences in November, including stealing military information and passing that on to journalists at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Those documents went on to form the basis of the ABC’s investigative series exposing war crimes in Afghanistan, titled The Afghan Files.
McBride’s legal team is pleading for leniency in any sentence on five bases – that he is of “exemplary character”, that his motivation for leaking was “honourable”, that he didn’t think he was committing an offence, that his decision-making was impacted by poor mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that the risk of the documents being released to others beyond the journalists was low.
David McBride. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
But McDonald says the conduct shouldn’t be downplayed, noting the theft of sensitive government documents wasn’t a “one-off”.
McDonald said 235 documents were taken in total between May 2014 and December 2015 with 207 of them classified as secret.
While McBride did not receive a financial reward, McDonald said it did “not undermine the seriousness of the offending”.
In its submission, the commonwealth said a suspended sentence or intensive corrections order – both options that would allow McBride to skip jail time but be placed on probation or under community monitoring – would not be appropriate as they did “not reflect the seriousness of the offending”.
McDonald said the commonwealth did not believe a two-year sentence would be appropriate for such “serious offending”.
McBride’s counsel, Stephen Odgers, is back up and responding to the commonwealth’s arguments.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers defended his government’s record on managing inflation in the budget, arguing its earlier cost-of-living measures had brought prices down and recommending caution when focusing solely on “the quantity or the magnitude of spending in the budget”.
“The quality of spending, the timing and sequencing of that spending matters, as well as the quantity of that spending,” he said when asked if the budget would be contractionary in the upcoming financial year - that is, taking more money out of the economy than is spent.
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said he had no doubt the government would keep spending, telling Sky News:
This is why we’re hearing economists from many quarters coming out and saying they’ve got to stop the spend-a-thon ... that will take pressure off this homegrown inflation
Higher tax revenues over the past few years because of high commodity prices and a strong economy are likely to come down over the next five-year forecasting period.
Tax revenue is expected to be $25bn higher over that time period than when Treasury last updated its forecasts in December. Labor will bank about 95% of the additional revenue, it says.
Richardson is forecasting a larger $41bn revenue upgrade.
The economist said Treasury had an incentive to be conservative “to give the treasurer of the day a series of happy ‘surprises’ on the budget front”.
Yet he agreed revenue surprises were shrinking in size, saying: “This trend is not our friend.”
‘Under the pump’: expenses relief for battling families
Australians doing it tough can expect extra cost-of-living support in the federal budget.
The well-flagged tax cut relief under the reworked stage-three package will be the primary source of cost-of-living help but Treasurer Jim Chalmers says there will be other sweet spots as well.
“We know that people are under the pump,” he told reporters on Monday, acknowledging the toll of still-high consumer prices and elevated mortgage repayments.
That’s why a central focus of this budget in eight days time will be cost-of-living help for people primarily through the tax system, but not only through the tax system, and also making sure that we’re doing what we can to put downward pressure on inflation.
Students are in line for more financial support, with $3 billion of student debt to be wiped and paid placements for those doing nursing and other relevant degrees.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers at a press conference in Canberra today. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Following stronger-than-expected March quarter inflation, economists have been warning that too much budget spending could keep pressure on consumer prices and delay interest rate cuts.
Chalmers says cost of-living relief can be designed in a way that takes pressure off inflation, like its energy bill relief last year.
Yet subsidised energy bills free up extra money in household budgets to spend elsewhere, pushing up the price of other goods and services, leading economist and budget expert Chris Richardson said.
The government should try to avoid “poking the inflationary bear” by proceeding cautiously with extra spending, he said.
ACCC chair concerned at Bonza’s potential collapse
Elias Visontay
The head of Australia’s competition watchdog has expressed concern at the potential collapse of grounded budget airline Bonza, calling for more to be done to allow new entrants to break into the country’s highly concentrated airline sector.
Bonza’s inability to secure peak landing slots at Sydney airport was a frustration that CEO Tim Jordan aired to the federal government, with access to the capacity-constrained airport governed by legislation that critics have claimed favours established players and has led to accusations that larger airlines including Qantas and Virgin deliberately cancel flights out of Sydney to retain slots and shut out competition.
On Monday the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, raised access to Sydney airport slots when asked about Bonza’s struggles. She said:
We are very keen that there is reform to the slot management system at Sydney airport as soon as possible to free up what is a key hub for all of east coast travel, and also that there is close consideration of other barriers that are preventing expansion …
We know very well we currently have a highly concentrated airline sector and we have seen the evidence that increasing competition on routes brings price down.
Bonza has gone into voluntary administration. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
Cass-Gottlieb said she hoped Bonza would survive the administration process, which it entered last Tuesday after its aircraft were abruptly repossessed, forcing it to halt operations.
“We are very concerned about the loss of a new entrant. We hope that administration may pan out to allow the continuation of [Bonza].
Reports in recent days have suggested the repossessions were due to Bonza’s US-based private equity owners, 777 Partners, and issues with its financial backers, which have resulted in court action overseas and fresh questions about its proposed takeover of English Premier League club Everton.
Industry sources have claimed Bonza’s business model was sound, and that it was close to being taken over by a local buyer before last week’s repossessions.
Thunderstorms are possible tomorrow morning along the New South Wales coast, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
⛈️Tuesday's forecast: thunderstorms are possible along the coastal fringe of the far north coast during the morning. These thunderstorms are not expected to be severe. Forecasts: https://t.co/JEWtKNZkpEpic.twitter.com/lKfL4CVUCA
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) May 6, 2024
Prime minister Anthony Albanese says the assistance on student pay and debt will help expand access to education and ensure no one is left behind.
We’re proud to be backing the hard work and aspiration of Australians looking to better themselves by studying at university.
Universities Australia executive Luke Sheehy said the payments would prevent students having to choose between study and paying bills.
These students can’t graduate without practical experience but too many are being held back by placement poverty, which can be the difference between commencing and completing a degree.
The Australian Services Union and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation welcomed paid placements for their future workforces, but the Australian Education Union (AEU) urged the government to do more.
AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe (pictured below) said changes were needed to help those already embarked on careers.
Photograph: James Ross/AAP
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said the government plan “lacks ambition” and its reliance on means testing could hurt students.
Students should be paid at least the minimum wage for their work on placement, not a lesser supplementary amount.
Asked if it was a good decision for students, opposition leader Peter Dutton claimed the government was fuelling inflation.
“Every decision they make is inflationary,” he said.
If you ask why inflation is higher here than it is in other parts of the world, it’s because of decisions the government’s made in the last two budgets.
The Australian Medical Students’ Association and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia have called on the government to include their students in the payment plan.
Education minister Jason Clare said a potential expansion to other courses was something the government would look at “down the line”.
The government on Monday also announced it would spend $50.2m on scholarships for nurses and midwives, allowing them to upskill.
