Keep up to date with today’s top stories with the national news blog.
Keep up to date with today’s top stories with the national news blog.
The mayor of Whyalla says the town is over the moon, after the announcement the South Australian and federal governments will bail out the town’s troubled steelworks to the tune of $2.4 billion.
SA placed the steelworks in administration on Wednesday, the second time in ten years the business has collapsed financially.
The money from the two governments will be used to fund the mill during administration, and upgrades to make it viable long-term.
Phil Stone spoke to ABC News 24 a short time ago.
“We have a morale now in our city that I haven’t seen for so long. Obviously that is an eye-watering amount,” he said.
“I have not seen so many workers and members of the public so happy with smiles on their face. Everybody now sees the uncertainty of the past, and what the governments have introduced is the way to go.”
Asked whether he wished the SA government had appointed administrators earlier, Stone was circumspect.
“I can see why they had to keep it close to their chest: You can’t just throw out a private owner, you can’t just put a company into administration without addressing unintentional consequences,” he said.
“So I believe… they’ve come up with a way forward that has the least amount of negative impact. They are focusing on making sure jobs continue and everybody now does get paid quickly.”
The union representing Victoria’s public servants has vowed to fight the state government’s plans to cut thousands of public sector jobs.
“We’ll fight this,” the CPSU’s state government division secretary Karen Batt said on social media.
“The Victorian Public Service has already delivered over $5 billion in savings from the last three budgets and the bone is bare.”
Victoria’s shadow treasurer James Newbury said it was a “hoax review” and a diversion from cost increases in the government’s infrastructure pipeline.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called out US President Donald Trump for making inflammatory and misleading statements about Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelensky in a striking contrast to senior Albanese government ministers’ reluctance to criticise the US president directly.
The Australian-Ukrainian community has pleaded with the government to speak out more strongly in defence of Ukraine after Trump called Zelensky a “dictator without elections” and claimed the war was Ukraine’s fault despite Russia invading its smaller neighbour in 2022.
“I think President Trump has got it wrong in relation to some of the public commentary that I’ve seen him make in relation to President Zelensky and the situation in the Ukraine,” Dutton told 2GB radio on Thursday.
Describing the war in Ukraine, which is about to pass the three-year mark, as an “unprovoked” act of aggression by Russia, Dutton said that “the thought that President Zelensky or the Ukrainian people started this battle, or somehow they were responsible for the war, is just wrong”.
He said any moves to end the war need to be given “very, very careful thought … because if we make Europe less safe, or we provide some sort of support to Putin deliberately, or inadvertently that is a terrible, terrible outcome”.
Read more here. Trump’s statement below:
Trading in WiseTech Global shares were halted on Thursday before a governance update from the board, intensifying focus on the future of the company’s under-fire founder, Richard White.
The freight-software giant asked for the suspension “to enable the company to be in a position to provide an update on current board discussions relating to matters of governance”, it said on Thursday.
WiseTech’s directors said last week they were assessing two confidential complaints about White, the company’s largest shareholder and former chief executive officer.
The allegations were made by an employee and a supplier, although the nature of the accusations was not specified.
White was forced to quit the top job in October following a series of reports in this masthead about his conduct.
At the time, he was due to take a short break before starting as a WiseTech consultant with a 10-year contract focused on product and business development.
As of last week, WiseTech and White had not formally agreed on the details of this new position.
Bloomberg
Carcasses of 157 false killer whales involved in a mass stranding in Tasmania could be left on a remote beach due to the area’s ruggedness and cultural significance.
The whales were first spotted on Tuesday night stuck near Arthur River on Tasmania’s west coast – a noted hotspot for beachings.
Wildlife officers made the grim call on Wednesday afternoon to euthanise 90 stranded survivors after unsuccessful refloating efforts.
There were 38 still alive on the beach on Thursday morning, after 27 were euthanised and 25 died naturally overnight.
Brendon Clark, from the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, said the euthanasia process was expected to be completed today.
The euthanasia would follow international best practice and be carried out by skilled operators using firearms and specialised ammunition, wildlife biologist Dr Kris Carlyon said yesterday.
A decision on what to do with the carcasses will be made in coming days.
Options include taking them to a waste area or burial on site. Towing the carcasses by boat out to sea is not on the table.
“It may be a case of the carcasses remaining in situ on site for the immediate term,” Clark said.
Autopsies will be undertaken on the false killer whales, technically a species of dolphin despite their name, to try to understand why they beached.
AAP with Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Good afternoon, Alexander Darling in the Melbourne newsroom, here with you for all the afternoon’s big updates. Here’s what’s happened so far:
- The federal and South Australian governments have committed $2.4 billion to Whyalla Steelworks, in a bid to save the mill that employs 1000 people in the town of 22,000. Read more about how we got here.
- Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is walking the tightrope between supporting Ukraine and not criticising US President Donald Trump. Trump has claimed Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a ‘dictator without elections’ who had stolen from the US, and falsely claimed Ukraine started the latest flare-up in the war with Russia in 2022.
- Spending cuts have become a bit of a theme today, with billionaire businessman Clive Palmer seeking re-election on policies such as cutting governmentexpenditure on consultants.
- And the unemployment rate has risen to 4.1 per cent despite 44,000 more people finding jobs in January. This reflects a record-high participation rate (the share of working-age people looking for a job or working).
Victoria will bring its voluntary assisted dying (VAD) laws into line with other states after pleas from doctors and residents with terminal illnesses, Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas has confirmed.
Speaking at state parliament earlier this morning, Thomas said Victoria would remove the so-called “gag clause” on doctor-initiated discussions about VAD.
A ban on non-Australian citizens or those without permanent residency will also be lifted and replaced with a clause requiring three years of Australian residency.
All life-expectancy prognosis timeframes would be 12 months under the proposed changes, up from just six months for some conditions, and people with neurodegenerative diagnoses will only have to seek two assessments instead of three.
Thomas said she hoped the government’s proposal, triggered by a five-year review of the laws, would become law by the end of the year.
“It’s my firm belief that the majority of Victorians are fully in support of our voluntary assisted dying program,” she said.
“It is also clear to me that there is more to do to ensure that Victorians have equitable access.”
More than 1200 Victorians have accessed VAD since 2019.
While Victoria was the first state to pass VAD legislation, advocates have lamented the fact that other states have since passed laws with less onerous requirements.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia stands with Ukraine but would not criticise US President Donald Trump for calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator and accusing the country of starting the war.
The PM was specifically asked to respond to Trump’s comments, in which the president said Zelensky was a “dictator without elections” who had stolen from the US, while implying Ukraine had started the war that was, in fact, initiated by Russia’s invasion.
“Is that the sort of language that needs to be used in that space at this time?” a journalist asked Albanese.
“I speak for Australia’s interests and Australia stands with Ukraine in their struggle, which is a struggle not just for their own national sovereignty, but it is a struggle to stand up for the international rule of law,” he replied.
Albanese then moved to finish the press conference, but another journalist asked Albanese about the election, with the prime minister taking the opportunity to criticise Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
“Peter Dutton, one year ago, called for an election to stop tax cuts. A tax cut for you getting more money in your pocket as a result of the changes we made in legislation,” Albanese said.
“I’m focused not on election days, I’m focused on working every single day for working Australians.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government funding plan to save Whyalla Steelworks is an “extraordinary opportunity” and will create jobs, as he again opts not to rule out nationalisation of the mill.
After the South Australian government placed the steelworks into administration, Albanese said only that he supported Premier Peter Malinauskas when directly asked if government ownership of the steelworks was a possibility
“It is very clear that this is an extraordinary opportunity. You have steelworks with such a history, you have the best quality magnetite or as good as anywhere in the world, you have an extraordinary port facility and a future that the world is looking at,” Albanese said.
“What governments need to do is to look not one year ahead or five years ahead but look at where the opportunities are for Australia, how we have a future made here in Australia and it is not doing nothing on energy.”
Asked if he can guarantee there will be no job losses, Albanese said: “We are about supporting jobs here in Whyalla and we will see jobs created, not lost.”
Asked what happens if Labor does not win the next election, Albanese said he was confident.
“We will win the next election and we’re confident we’re going to do that. My government … has policies that support blue-collar workers, that support jobs and Australia’s national interests,” he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the $2.4 billion pledge to save the Whyalla steel mill was a commitment to improving the lives of working Australians.
Speaking from the South Australian town of Whyalla after Premier Peter Malinauskas announced yesterday the mill would be put into administration by the state government, Albanese said he would ensure there was certainty going forward.
Here’s what the PM had to say:
My government has committed to improving the lives of working Australians.
The announcement that we have made today and the leadership of Premier Peter Malinauskas … [will] ensure that the steelworks here are placed into administration to ensure there’s a certainty going forward to secure jobs not just for the present but importantly for its future generations.
This $2.4 billion plan consists of $500 million to deal with the administration and keep the steelworks going, keep people being paid, but importantly as well, investment in the future and we have of course a very bright future here indeed.
On top of this, of course, we will be allocating funds from our $1 billion green iron investment fund that we have created. It is important not just for South Australia but for Whyalla.”
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