The Australian government has been considering whether to vote yes or to abstain on the draft resolution, which would see the UN general assembly request the 15-member security council to ‘favourably’ reconsider Palestine’s application Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters
The Australian government has been considering whether to vote yes or to abstain on the draft resolution, which would see the UN general assembly request the 15-member security council to ‘favourably’ reconsider Palestine’s application Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters
UN Palestine motion watered down to gain more support
Daniel Hurst
A resolution to be put to the UN general assembly tonight regarding the status of Palestine has been watered down in order to maximise the chances of it gaining broader support.
The Australian government has been considering whether to vote yes or to abstain on the draft resolution, which would see the UN general assembly request the 15-member security council to “favourably” reconsider Palestine’s application. Last month the US used its veto power to block a similar proposal.
In addition to the symbolic move of requesting a rethink by the security council, the UN general assembly was to consider granting Palestine rights and privileges “to ensure its full and effective participation … on equal footing with member states”, according to draft version of the resolution circulating among diplomats last week.
Some western sources had raised concerns that this could potentially be inconsistent with the UN charter, because those rights would apparently to take effect regardless of whether the security council revisits the membership issue.
The UN general assembly is set to vote tonight on the status of Palestine. Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters
A source with knowledge of the negotiations said the most recent version circulated by the United Arab Emirates was significantly watered down from earlier drafts and demonstrated “major concessions” by the Palestinians and the Arab Group.
It is understood the resolution in the general assembly may no longer try to grant membership to Palestine, but instead would make it clear that it would be for the security council to recommend membership. The updated resolution expresses the aspiration for Palestine to attain membership.
In the meantime, the resolution would extend Palestinians’ existing rights of participation as an observer at the UN, such as the right to submit proposals, the right of reply regarding the positions of a group, and the right to raise procedural motions.
The draft acknowledges Israel’s right to peaceful existence, by stating “unwavering support for the two-State solution of Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognised borders”, as was also in previous drafts.
It is understood that Australia continues to consult on the matter, but the changes are expected to see some countries that were going to vote no shift to an abstain position, and some countries that were likely to abstain shift to yes.
The Australian Unemployed Workers Union’s everyone left behind committee (ELBC) has released a new report, demanding the federal government raise the rate of all income support payments above the Henderson poverty line in next week’s budget.
This comes in the wake of leading economists, prominent female leaders, and the government’s own economic inclusion advisory committee recommending an increase to jobseeker and related payments.
This week, Australia’s sex discrimination commissioner also told the ABC that increasing jobseeker “will stop homicides” by supporting women to leave violent partners.
Members of the ELBC agreed it was a life-saver when the government doubled the rate of jobseeker during the early Covid lockdowns. A committee member, who was not named, said:
When the rate was raised temporarily in the first year of the pandemic, my depression went into remission for the first (and only) time.
I was able to eat better. I bought a new fridge and a new mattress for my bed. And I saved a little for a rainy day.
Man in custody after allegedly stabbing ex-girlfriend outside Sydney gym
A man is in custody for allegedly stabbing his ex-girlfriend in the neck, back and ear outside a Sydney gym on Wednesday.
Anthony Monteleone appeared in Manly local court on Friday on charges of wounding with intent to murder and breaching an apprehended violence order.
Monteleone appeared via a video link from Surry Hills police station wearing what appeared to be a hospital gown.
He handed himself in to police on Thursday, nearly 24 hours after investigators say he lay in wait for a 39-year-old woman outside Crunch Fitness in Alexandria before attacking her with a kitchen knife.
She was treated by paramedics for multiple stab wounds before being taken to hospital in a stable condition.
Monteleone only spoke to confirm he could hear as his lawyer told the court there would be no application for bail.
Magistrate Robyn Denes formally refused bail and the 45-year-old will remain in custody until the matter returns to court in July.
UN Palestine motion watered down to gain more support
Daniel Hurst
A resolution to be put to the UN general assembly tonight regarding the status of Palestine has been watered down in order to maximise the chances of it gaining broader support.
The Australian government has been considering whether to vote yes or to abstain on the draft resolution, which would see the UN general assembly request the 15-member security council to “favourably” reconsider Palestine’s application. Last month the US used its veto power to block a similar proposal.
In addition to the symbolic move of requesting a rethink by the security council, the UN general assembly was to consider granting Palestine rights and privileges “to ensure its full and effective participation … on equal footing with member states”, according to draft version of the resolution circulating among diplomats last week.
Some western sources had raised concerns that this could potentially be inconsistent with the UN charter, because those rights would apparently to take effect regardless of whether the security council revisits the membership issue.
The UN general assembly is set to vote tonight on the status of Palestine. Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters
A source with knowledge of the negotiations said the most recent version circulated by the United Arab Emirates was significantly watered down from earlier drafts and demonstrated “major concessions” by the Palestinians and the Arab Group.
It is understood the resolution in the general assembly may no longer try to grant membership to Palestine, but instead would make it clear that it would be for the security council to recommend membership. The updated resolution expresses the aspiration for Palestine to attain membership.
In the meantime, the resolution would extend Palestinians’ existing rights of participation as an observer at the UN, such as the right to submit proposals, the right of reply regarding the positions of a group, and the right to raise procedural motions.
The draft acknowledges Israel’s right to peaceful existence, by stating “unwavering support for the two-State solution of Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognised borders”, as was also in previous drafts.
It is understood that Australia continues to consult on the matter, but the changes are expected to see some countries that were going to vote no shift to an abstain position, and some countries that were likely to abstain shift to yes.
Lack of Medicare gynaecological support a ‘huge structural failing’, health minister says
The health minister, Mark Butler, says the lack of Medicare support for women’s gynaecological conditions has been a “huge structural failing” which his government is attempting to correct “bit by bit.”
Butler visited the Thrive Family Clinic, Adelaide’s only endometriosis clinic and one of the 22 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics the government has opened up, as he announced today the doubling of the rebate for a long consult with a gynaecologist starting from July 2025.
Butler:
There has been a huge structural failing in our health system to support the many hundreds of thousands of women dealing with complex gynaecological conditions like undiagnosed endometriosis, pelvic pain and PCOS.
... There is no single decision that government can take to correct this historical inequity, frankly, this historical discrimination. Bit by bit as a government, under the leadership of Ged Kearney, particularly, as the assistant minister for health, here with responsibility for women’s health, we’ve been trying to make things better.
Mark Butler. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Dr Alecia Macrow, a GP and the director of the clinic, said the investment in specialists being able to stop and listen to patients properly was important:
Decreasing the out-of-pocket cost to these women, and having them know that they feel safe enough to come and be heard, not just five minutes of their story but more of their story, is going to encourage women to come forward, because I think there’s a lot of women who are just suffering quietly because they’ve given up or they’re exhausted or they’re burnt out from the way that their journey is looking at the moment.
Life360 eyes satellites for location tracking boost
An ASX-listed tech company has unveiled a partnership that would potentially let its customers find their lost keys and track their teenagers and pets via orbiting satellites.
Life360 announced on Friday it is partnering with Hubble Network, a satellite company founded by its co-founder and former chief technology officer, Alex Haro.
“He’s proven this tech, as sci-fi as it sounds,” Life360 chief executive Chris Hulls said.
Hubble right now only has two satellites, “but they’re there, circling around in space,” Hulls said.
According to a video presentation from Hubble, the company has patented a “phased-array” technology which would allow more than a hundred tiny antennae floating in orbit to combine into a virtual “magnifying glass for radio waves.”
The network is designed to work with off-the-shelf 3.5mm Bluetooth chips via a simple firmware update, according to Hubble, a startup that raised A$30m last year.
Hull said:
The plan for us in the short-term: we just give them access to our network, let them use our Tile devices. They can be to market very quickly with an enterprise tracking business; we’re gonna get a rev share there.
And then, as their satellite constellation comes on, we’re going to put the technology into our Tiles.
That’s going to give us a big leapfrog, in terms of how our devices can be really better than anything on the market.
Life360’s cross-platform Tile Bluetooth trackers compete with Apple’s AirTag and Samsung’s SmartTag, helping customers locate lost keys, wallets and similar items.
Life360 intends to make a small investment in Hubble Network as part of the partnership, which will primarily target enterprise applications such as tracking pallets on ships.
Senate crossbenchers are demanding the government tighten the tax take on gas profits ahead of next week’s budget, threatening to stall its proposed changes to the petroleum resource rent tax.
The government’s proposal was also slammed by Coalition senators demanding gas industry carve-outs for environmental regulations, putting the government in a bind after committing to a gas strategy into 2050.
Greens senator Nick McKim said:
Labor faces a clear choice: work with the Greens to make the gas cartel pay more tax, or work with Peter Dutton to gut environmental regulations for gas corporations.
Independent senator David Pocock called on the government to lift the PRRT rate, while the Greens want to replace the government’s tax deductions model with alternatives that they say could raise billions more in revenue. Pocock said:
The government cannot cry poor in next week’s federal budget while simultaneously foregoing a legitimate opportunity to raise fair revenue.
Pocock and Greens senators called for PRRT deductions to be capped to 80% or lower rather than the government’s proposed 90%, recommitting to the compromise offer they proposed from August last year.
In their dissenting reports to a Senate committee inquiry on the government’s jumbo bill on PRRT changes and PwC scandal response, Liberal and Greens senators and Pocock all said the PRRT should be split and treated separately.
The non-government senators’ united condemnation will force Labor to work with either the crossbench or the Coalition, which is demanding reduced regulation and faster approval of new gas projects, to pass its changes.
Virgin agrees to government request to ramp up Vanuatu flights
Elias Visontay
Virgin Australia has agreed to an Australian government request to ramp up the number of flights it operates to Vanuatu following the grounding of the pacific island country’s national carrier, Air Vanuatu, this week.
The Vanuatu government announced that after temporarily grounding all international operations of Air Vanuatu on Thursday, it had placed the airline it wholly owns into voluntary liquidation, with hopes it would emerge from the process and continue flying.
However, accounting firm Ernst & Young, the appointed liquidators, have said all future flights have been cancelled as it conducts maintenance and safety checks on aircraft, stranding travellers who relied on the carrier for connectivity between Australia and the Pacific nation.
Virgin Australia is the only other airline aside from Air Vanuatu that operates scheduled passenger flights between Australia and Port Vila, with thrice-weekly flights from Brisbane.
On Friday, a Virgin Australia spokesperson said the Australian government had requested it lift capacity in response to Air Vanuatu’s grounding. It will now fly five times a week between Brisbane and Port Vila throughout May and June.
Virgin Australia has also applied for permission, and expects to receive swift approval, to fly more seats between the two nations, with plans to quickly launch a further seven weekly flights between east coast Australian cities such as Sydney and Melbourne – previously served by Air Vanuatu – and Port Vila.
Three more people have been charged, with two appearing in court today, after last month’s Wakeley public order incident.
A search warrant was executed at a Greenacre home on Tuesday 30 April 2024, with clothing and a mobile phone seized after Strike Force Dribs investigations.
A 24-year-old man was arrested at the home and charged with hindering a police officer in the execution of duty and failing to comply with direction under Part 14, according to a NSW police media release.
The man was granted conditional bail to appear at Bankstown local court on Thursday 6 June 2024.
Another search warrant was executed at a home on Amazon Place, where clothing and a mobile phone were seized.
A 31-year-old man was arrested at Kearns about 7.20am today, and was charged with “riot” and “unlawful assembly”.
A 28-year-old woman was also arrested today after she attended Fairfield police station just before 8.30am.
She was charged with public disorder – more than three people threatening violence causing fear, unlawful assembly and hindering police in the execution of duty.
They were both refused bail to appear today, with the man to appear in Campbelltown local court and the woman in Fairfield local court.
Seven people have now been charged, and investigations under Strike Force Dribs continue.
Byron shire, a popular tourist region in northern NSW, had the most people sleeping rough of any local government area in the state, AAP reports.
It and several other coastal areas, such as Sydney’s northern beaches, have become home to large camps of homeless people sleeping in tents amid a dire shortage of affordable accommodation.
The homelessness minister, Rose Jackson, said the regional figures were unprecedented but not unexpected.
We don’t just need data to tell us this – our regional communities are feeling this every day.
NSW minister for housing and homelessness Rose Jackson Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP
Jackson said the government was looking at every option to tackle the housing crisis, including through a review of short-term accommodation rules and a possible levy.
Tighter restrictions have been introduced in Byron Shire, where a 60-day annual cap on non-hosted short-term rentals applies.
Homelessness NSW is also calling for a $1bn annual spend to build 5000 social houses a year, along with $30m across three years for extra temporary accommodation.
The state opposition accused Jackson of “turning her back on homelessness providers”.
“As the housing and economic crisis continues to escalate, there is a real risk more people will experience homelessness for the first time,” Liberal MP Natasha Maclaren-Jones said.
The NSW Labor government must act now and provide additional funding to support our already stretched homelessness services.
Street-sleeping numbers soar as housing crisis worsens
A “heartbreaking” housing crisis is pushing an increasing number of people on to the streets as advocates renew calls for a levy on short-term rentals to fund crucial services, AAP reports.
The annual street count, released on Friday, revealed a 25% spike in the tally of people sleeping rough in NSW.
Officials found 2,037 people sleeping on the streets during the February headcount, up from 1,623 a year earlier.
Of the people found in the latest street count, 64% were staying in vehicles, 18% in open spaces and 10% were in makeshift dwellings.
Some of the largest increases were in coastal areas, including a near-80% rise in rough sleepers in the Coffs Harbour council region.
The Homelessness NSW chief executive, Dom Rowe, called for the state government to introduce a levy of at least 7.5% on short-term rental accommodation, similar to a measure Victoria introduced in late 2023.
These figures are heartbreaking, they represent those who cannot keep up with exorbitant rental increases in the private market as well as women and children escaping domestic violence.
NSW must be at least as ambitious as Victoria … the money raised through this levy must go to underfunded frontline services forced to turn away one in two people seeking help.
Brendon Gale named as chief of Tasmanian AFL franchise
Outgoing Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale has been appointed the inaugural chief executive of the Tasmanian AFL franchise.
Richmond announced Gale would be departing the Tigers at the end of 2024 on Friday, and within minutes the 55-year-old had been announced as the Devils’ new boss.
Gale was born in Burnie and has been linked with the AFL’s 19th team, but his departure from Richmond marks the end of a long association with the club.
He played 244 games over 12 years between 1990 and 2001, before taking over as CEO in late 2009. The Tigers won AFL premierships in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
Gale said “it is time for me to embark on a new challenge, and for the club to write the next chapter”.
Chair of the Tasmania Football Club, Grant O’Brien, said not only had the club recruited a proven AFL CEO, “we have also tempted home a proud son of Tasmania”.
The Albanese government has told administrators determining the future of budget airline Bonza it is unlikely to provide financial support to help save the carrier, but the Queensland government is considering stepping in with cash if a new owner is found.
Queensland is ‘considering its positions’ on Bonza, administrator Richard Albarran says. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
During a first meeting of creditors on Friday – in which almost 60,000 out-of-pocket customers were eligible to attend alongside the airline’s trade creditors and 323 stood-down employees – administrators from the firm Hall Chadwick controlling the grounded Bonza since its planes were abruptly repossessed at the end of April said “we’re moving heaven and earth” to secure a future for the airline.
Asked about support from governments, administrator Richard Albarran said discussions were occurring with the federal government on a daily basis. Albarran said:
The federal government have indicated at this point in time, this doesn’t mean it won’t change, but the federal government has indicated it’s unlikely to be forthcoming in relation to any financial incentives.
However he said in Queensland – home to Bonza’s bases on the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast and many of its regional routes – the state government was “considering its position”.
(An administrator) is speaking to them two to three times a day at the moment so hopefully there will be some assistance … in order for that assistance, they want to know what’s the strategy for Bonza, who’s the purchaser, so there’s a few things that need to be dealt with, with them and a potential purchaser.
The transport minister, Catherine King, has been contacted for comment.
