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Key events
Assange decision welcomed by Australian journalists’ union
A High Court decision in Britain to allow Julian Assange to appeal his extradition to the United States is a “small win” for the WikiLeaks founder but he should be freed now, the union for Australia’s journalists says.
As AAP reports, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance remains concerned there is no certainty an appeal will be successful, which would mean Assange could still be tried for espionage in the US.
MEAA media federal president Karen Percy said the High Court was correct in not accepting “assurances” by the US about how Assange would be treated in the US legal system.
Tonight’s decision by the High Court is a small win for Julian Assange and for the cause of media freedom worldwide.
But MEAA urged US president Joe Biden to intervene to end the prosecution of Assange to avoid dragging the case out even longer, Percy said.
MEAA welcomes the decision of the High Court, but we remain concerned that there is no guarantee of success.
Percy said the ongoing prosecution was curtailing free speech, criminalising journalism and sending a clear message to future whistleblowers and publishers that they too will be punished:
We call on the Australian government to keep up the pressure on the US to drop the charges so Julian Assange can be reunited with his family.
Workers should be front and centre of AI regulations: ACTU
Unions will be calling for a worker-centred approach to the use and regulation of AI at a senate hearing today.
The ACTU, the SDA, the Transport Workers’ Union and the National Tertiary Education Union will today give evidence to senators on the breadth of the impact of AI on workers.
ACTU assistant secretary Joseph Mitchell said AI is “present in nearly every industry and we need to tackle this problem head-on”.
We risk a future where the rights fought for over generations by working people are undermined by the adoption of new technologies.
The risks are clear: workers are being subjected to unreasonable unblinking surveillance, being hired and fired by algorithm, having their creative output stolen by companies, and being discriminated against by bosses’ bots.
We need to ensure that these risks are eliminated while encouraging the development of technology that uplifts working people and any productivity benefits from its adoption be shared with working people that enable it.
At yesterday’s hearing, the Australian Electoral Commission said Australia would not be “immune” to AI-generated misinformation at the next election. You can watch a bit of the hearing below:
Majority of Australians want more forward-thinking politics: ANU report
A new report from the Australian National University shows that 81% of Australians agree politicians generally think too short-term when making decisions.
The EveryGen report found three-quarters of those surveyed think visions for the next 10 to 20 years are given too little emphasis in the political debate.
The survey also found 97% of respondents believe present policies must account for the interests of future generations, and 79% want to see the establishment of a commissioner for future generations. Co-author Dr Elise Stephenson said:
One of the most striking results is the high levels of support across all Australians for political parties that demonstrate a vision for more long-term policymaking.
This should give political parties of all stripes the confidence that long-term, intergenerational policymaking is a no-brainer and a ‘win-win’ for governments and the public alike.
The survey was conducted in February and draws on responses from 1,000 voting-age Australians. The results show healthcare, improved wellbeing for children and youth and more jobs are among the top priorities for those surveyed in the coming decades.
Co-author Taylor Hawkins, the managing director of Foundations for Tomorrow, said there is an “undeniable demand for leaders to take bold and courageous action to redefine our political approach”. The full report is available online.
Sharlotte Thou
3,628 children given Covid fines during pandemic in NSW
Legal advocacy bodies are calling for an overhaul of the New South Wales fines system as a recent report reveals that 3,628 children received Covid fines over the course of the pandemic.
The report, commissioned by the Redfern Legal Centre, Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the Aboriginal Legal Service found the fines were disproportionately issued to children in marginalised groups, compounding disadvantage. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children with cognitive impairments and children experiencing socioeconomic challenges, homelessness or unsafe home environments were found to have been excessively fined.
More than half of the fines issued were for $1000, with some fines reaching $5000, in substantial excess of the maximum $1100 fine that can be given in the NSW children’s court. The researchers found that police relied heavily on punitive measures including fines and court attendance notices, rather than diversionary options.
Camilla Pandolfini, CEO of Redfern Legal Centre says fines have a low deterrent effect and are “oppressive, discriminatory and ineffective” when used against children.
We call for changes to policy, practice and procedure to ensure that fines do not compound existing disadvantage and criminalise children.
The report highlighted that rapid legislative changes, especially during the Delta wave of the pandemic, made it difficult for children to understand and comply with the law and led to errors in police enforcement.
Report author Dr Julia Quilter, a professor at the University of Wollongong, says the fining of children in the pandemic highlighted overarching problems with Australia’s fines system.
Kids have no or little capacity to pay fines and saddling them with crippling debts only sets them up for future failure. This is especially troubling given that fines are disproportionately issued by police to vulnerable kids already experiencing socioeconomic and other forms of disadvantage.
Australian comprehensive cancer network launches
Natasha May
A new network will link cancer services across Australia, the government will announce in Sydney today.
The Australian comprehensive cancer network (ACCN) aims to address disparities in cancer outcomes, which particularly affect those in rural and remote regions, as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Comprehensive cancer centres will connect various cancer control services nationwide, collaborating with other cancer care centres, academic institutions, Aboriginal community-controlled health services, regional hospitals and allied health services, among others.
The ACCN is a major action of the 10-year Australian cancer plan, launched in 2023 to improve cancer outcomes for all Australians. Participation in the network is voluntary but all services and professionals involved in cancer care are encouraged to join.
Good morning
Emily Wind
And happy Tuesday – welcome back to the Australia news live blog. Thanks to Martin for kicking things off for us. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll be here to take you through our rolling coverage today.
If you see something that needs attention, you can get in touch via X, @emilywindwrites, or send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.
Let’s get started.
Caitlin Cassidy
Jason Clare pushes states on school funding
The federal education minister will use a higher education address to place the pressure on states to lift their contribution to school funding, as negotiations continue to get the government sector to 100% of the Gonski funding level by the end of the decade.
Speaking at the Australian Student Equity Symposium at Western Sydney University’s Bankstown campus on Tuesday, Jason Clare will point to deals inked with WA and the NT:
I am still negotiating with the other states. All up, I have put $16bn of additional investment for public schools on the table … the biggest investment from the commonwealth in public schools that has ever been delivered. We can do this. We can turn this around. But the states will need to chip in too.
He will also point to Labor’s initial response to the Universities Accord, a “national project” for higher education reform in the coming decades.
Funding it and implementing it is going to take more than just one budget. We are going to have to do this in stages. But we have bitten off a big chunk – 29 of the 47 recommendations, in full or in part.
That is why we are also establishing an Australian Tertiary Education Commission. To stay the course, to drive reform, to help us reach that nation-changing target – no matter who the minister for education is.
How a debt collection firm dodged its own blacklisting
In June 2022 Victoria’s consumer watchdog penned a strongly worded letter to one of Australia’s biggest private debt collection firms, Panthera Finance.
The company had been blacklisted two years earlier for prior unlawful conduct. The federal court found it had unduly harassed three consumers for money they did not owe.
In no uncertain terms, the regulator told the company it was prohibited from operating in Victoria and any continued debt collection activity had to “immediately cease”.
Within weeks, Panthera struck deals with both Origin and Optus, buying up old, uncollected debt from the energy and telco giants, and claims it has not broken any rules because the debt collection is being done by a sister company.
Guardian Australia reveals how the company dodged its own blacklisting.
Read the full story here:
You can also read about why we’re investigating the sector.
Stella Assange urges Joe Biden to ‘do the right thing’ and drop prosecution
Julian Assange has been granted leave to appeal against his extradition to the US after judges ruled that “assurances” given by the US over his legal rights and the prospect of a death penalty were not satisfactory.
There were gasps of relief from his wife and supporters in court. Outside the court, Stella Assange again called on the US president, Joe Biden, to “do the right thing” and drop the prosecution.
WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson called the ruling a “glimmer of hope” for Assange.
The Guardian has editorialised on the result, saying the decision was a “victory for good sense” and that a political resolution is by far the most desirable outcome.
The president of Brazil, Lula da Silva, wrote on social media that he hoped the persecution of Assange ends and he “returns to the freedom he deserves”.
Independent Australian MP Andrew Wilkie said the decision to allow the appeal was a “pivotal moment for the future of media freedom” and it was time to “let Julian return home”.
And Duncan Campbell writes an opinion piece saying the whole prosecution and extradition attempt is a folly, and bail for Assange should now be a priority so he can be with his wife and two children.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight news before my colleague Emily Wind logs on.
The Julian Assange saga has entered a new phase after judges in London granted him leave to appeal extradition to the US over the WikiLeaks revelations. Assange’s wife Stella called on the US to abandon its “shameful” case against him founder after the high court in London gave him legal lifeline by granting the right to challenge the basis of the extradition in court. The judges rejected assurances from the US justice department about how it would conduct his trial if he was extradited on charges of leaking military secrets – such as whether he can plead free speech under the first amendment of the US constitution. More on the reaction to the decision coming up.
More than half of us have recently found ourselves in financial stress, and when everyday Australians go to the wall there is one industry that gets more business: the debt collectors. Today, Guardian Australia puts the sector under the spotlight with a new investigation revealing some shocking findings.
Disposable income shot up for the richest 10% of households after the pandemic, while the rest of the country found their financial situation going backwards, new analysis by the Productivity Commission shows today.
Cost of living will be a big talking point when the RBA releases the minutes from its last meeting later, potentially shedding light on the next direction for interest rates. More coming on these stories throughout the day.