Chris Bowen says 57 ships carrying fuel en route to Australia
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, says 57 ships carrying various types of fuel – crude oil, jet fuel, diesel and petrol – are on their way to Australia, “about standard” for this time of year.
Bowen held a press conference a moment ago, saying 4.1bn litres of fuel were locked in and contracted to head to Australia over the next four weeks.
Bowen said:
We have on hand 38 days’ worth of petrol, which is a very good outcome for Australia. As you will have noticed these figures haven’t moved around all that much over the last month or so.
That’s a good thing.
Key events
Convicted rapist who fled detention back behind bars
A gang rapist who spent five days on the run after fleeing detention will stay in prison after being caught, AAP reports.
Michael Angok did not apply for bail in Blacktown Local Court on Monday after he was caught in western Sydney while on the run from immigration detention.
He was being transported from Villawood Immigration Detention Centre for medical treatment, before he escaped from Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital on Wednesday morning.
After some of his personal items were found on the road nearby, police eventually tracked down Angok and arrested him on Sunday.
He was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in a gang rape at a park in the western Sydney suburb of Doonside in 2014.
The 30-year-old had served his sentence for the offence and was being held in custody as an immigration detainee awaiting deportation.
Uber fuel surcharge won’t apply to EVs
Just a quick update to our report earlier from Luca Ittimani on a new Uber surcharge. Uber said today it would add a surcharge of 5 cents per kilometre to all trips from 15 April to 8 June.
The transportation giant just confirmed those increased fares will not apply to electric vehicles.
Uber said:
The surcharge will not apply to battery electric vehicles (EVs), just for all trips in petrol, diesel, and hybrid vehicles.
Benita Kolovos
Jacinta Allan thanks outgoing ministers
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan thanked each resigning minister for their contributions.
She singled out Danny Pearson’s major reforms of Workcover, the ban on engineered stone and his “relentless” pursuit of datacentres.
She thanked Mary-Anne Thomas for taking on the health portfolio during the Covid-19 pandemic and for her role in establishing urgent care clinics, the virtual emergency department, the ability for pharmacists to prescribe medication and public fertility care, reforms Allan said she “will always be incredibly grateful for”.
Allan also said Gayle Tierney “achieved so much fighting for working people” in her 36 years in politics, including almost a decade as a minister.
Allan confirmed the Labor caucus would meet on Tuesday to make new cabinet appointments, with portfolio arrangements to be confirmed “very soon”.
She said:
Good governments are only as good as their people, and as this group of experienced people moves on, they will be replaced by new ministers with new ideas and new solutions. My Labor team has a unity of purpose that is guided by our values. We can renew and refresh because of this.
The trio also released their own statements. Tierney said the decision was “not easy” but “after nearly 20 years in parliament, for me, it is simply time to pass the baton”.
Pearson said he was leaving politics with an “immense sense of gratitude.”
Thomas said:
I have worked all my life for a better, fairer and more equal world, and my approach has always been to leave nothing in the tank. I realise that I can’t make that same commitment for another four years.
Three Victorian ministers won’t contest their seats next election
Benita Kolovos
Three Victorian government ministers have announced they will not contest their seats at the November state election.
The health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, finance minister, Danny Pearson, and the minister for skills, Tafe and water, Gayle Tierney, all issued statements confirming their decision, with plans to step down from their ministerial responsibilities immediately.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, will hold a press conference shortly. Labor sources have told Guardian Australia the caucus will meet on Tuesday morning to elevate four MPs to cabinet.
The fourth vacancy was left by Natalie Hutchins, who announced her retirement and stepped down from cabinet in December. Her responsibilities were distributed among existing ministers at the time.
Eureka MP Michaela Settle, Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke, Mordialloc MP Tim Richardson, Box Hill MP Paul Hamer and Kororoit MP Luba Grigorovitch are all being floated by sources for a promotion.
Economic inequality is straining Australian democracy, report finds
Australia’s trust in democracy is under strain, with calls for parliamentarians to better represent the public and build confidence in a system people don’t think is working for them, AAP reports.
While discontent with democracy is relatively low in Australia, it remains under pressure amid a global slide away from liberal democracy, according to the Grattan Institute.
Allow Instagram content?
This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.
Strain is being driven by economic inequality and unfairness, as well as a declining sense of belonging, the institute found in its Future-Proofing Australia’s Democracy report, released on Monday.
About one in 10 Australians also agreed it was sometimes justified to use extreme measures such as violence to advance a cause they cared about, the report noted.
The institute recommended a more representative federal parliament to boost trust and improve long-term decision-making, increased engagement with civil society to make people feel they have a voice, and investment in news media to ensure trusted information.
Chris Bowen says 57 ships carrying fuel en route to Australia
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, says 57 ships carrying various types of fuel – crude oil, jet fuel, diesel and petrol – are on their way to Australia, “about standard” for this time of year.
Bowen held a press conference a moment ago, saying 4.1bn litres of fuel were locked in and contracted to head to Australia over the next four weeks.
Bowen said:
We have on hand 38 days’ worth of petrol, which is a very good outcome for Australia. As you will have noticed these figures haven’t moved around all that much over the last month or so.
That’s a good thing.
Luca Ittimani
Economic stress scares off Australian homebuyers and auction clearances fall
Homeowners are turning away from auctions to sell early, privately or not at all as economic stress scares off buyers and sales rates slide.
Fuel prices have pushed up costs everywhere and left the Reserve Bank warning it could hike mortgage rates further, even if that could increase unemployment and risk recession.
Consumer confidence has also fallen to a record low in ANZ’s survey, and open home attendance has followed suit. The number of people bidding at the average auction in Sydney or Melbourne was one-third lower in the final week of March than it was a year before, Ray White reported.
Falling buyer interest has started to drag down house prices in the two capitals, while encouraging homeowners and investors to sell up as soon as they can.
At the same time, the cities have seen solid numbers of homes listed for sale. Finalised sales have slumped from the nearly 30,000 recorded in both cities in the December quarter to less than 20,000 in each in the March quarter.
Read more here:
Albanese is asked if government is considering tax on LNG exports
Rounding out the end of the press conference, Anthony Albanese is asked whether the government is considering a 25% tax on LNG exports in the budget. Albanese bats it away, saying the budget is next month.
Asked what his reaction is to WA considering its own strategic reserve, and whether the national stockpile needs to increase, Albanese said he has had “very constructive discussions” with WA premier Roger Cook, and will continue to do so.
We’ll work bilaterally, but also we’ll work through the national cabinet.
One of the things that people want to see is for there to be national coordination and one direction going forward – and that is one of the lessons of Covid.
Albanese questioned on response to people killed in Lebanon
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese was asked:
What’s your message to tens of thousands of Australians of Lebanese background who are grieving this war – many who’ve lost family members and their family homes.
And what’s your response to their criticism that the government’s lacked a meaningful response to the humanitarian toll?
Albanese said any loss of innocent life it to be regretted, and the ceasefire should apply to Lebanon:
And I feel for grieving families who’ve lost innocent relatives and friends, wherever that occurs.
When we say we want to see a ceasefire and an end to conflict, there are two areas.
One is – we see the loss of innocent life and we’re very conscious of the humanitarian impact … Secondly, as well, is the global economic impact, which also has real consequences for humanitarian concerns.
The conflict is having a greater impact in developing countries that require fuel for just the absolute essentials of life, is having an enormous impact – which is why we’ve called for, consistently, de-escalation and a solution going forward.
PM won’t say whether there will be NDIS changes in the budget
Asked whether the war was affecting the federal budget – to be held in May – and whether there were changes planned to the NDIS in the budget, the PM admitted the uncertainty is having an impact on the budget, but doesn’t address the NDIS specifically.
Well, the budget is now less than a month away, I think, in terms of dates and we’ll work through the government’s budget processes.
We’ll continue today, they’ll continue next week.
Obviously, the uncertainty that’s there – this is having a massive global impact.
This is the biggest spike in fuel prices that the world has ever seen.
This obviously has implications.
And the government is dealing with that.
And one of the things that it will mean is that the budget is likely to be settled later than usual.
PM again defends $20m fuel ad campaign
Asked about the $20m fuel ad campaign and whether it is a good use of taxpayer money, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said it was important to inform the public of the government response, and given the information flowing around had led to increases in demand for fuel in some markets of up to 1,000%.
He said:
That explosion in demand that occurred, we have all seen footage as I’m sure your network has shown of people driving up to a station, filling up jerry cans in packed utes or vans, and as well filling up water tanks full of diesel and then that being kept in a similar way to which during the Covid pandemic, some people filled their garages with toilet paper, that’s one thing.
Filling your garage with fuel is both unwise, not helpful for the national interest but also dangerous.
He said the government response is a sensible thing at a time when other countries have been forced to have public holidays every week to deal with demand.
That is what is happening.
What we are doing is informing the public and that is a sensible thing to do.
Incoming ADF chief says navy is ‘ready as it has ever been’
In responding to a question on whether Australian ships would be able to defend themselves if Australia got involved in the US blockade, incoming head of the defence force, Mark Hammond, said there are 10 surface combatants right now, with eight at sea today.
The navy is ready as it ever has been.
They are fitted with one of the most advanced radars in the world – CAR radar and some of the most advanced missile and point defence systems in the world.
He said they are “absolutely” capable of performing, but the question of Australia’s contribution is one for the government, and no such requests have been made yet.
Albanese asked about Trump’s Hormuz blockade plans
Turning to questions, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is asked about US president, Donald Trump’s, announcement that he would seek to blockade the strait of Hormuz after negotiations with Iran failed. Albanese stuck with his usual response on this matter:
Well, we want to see the strait of Hormuz opened and with freedom of navigation taking place, so obviously, the lack of a resolution in the negotiations that took place on the weekend were disappointing.
We want to see de-escalation and we want to see those negotiations resumed.
Coyle appointment ‘deeply historic, Marles says
The defence minister, Richard Marles, notes the “deeply historic” appointment of Susan Coyle to be chief of army, noting it is the first time a woman has held the position.
Her achievement means that she will be the first woman to command a service in Australian history.
It is a deeply historic moment – one that should be noted.
Susan said to me – you cannot be what you cannot see.
Susan’s achievement will be deeply significant to women who are serving in the Australian Defence Force today and women who are thinking about serving in the Australian Defence Force in the future.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said:
Lt Gen Coyle will be the first woman in our nation’s history to command the Australian Army.
On Mark Hammond’s appointment to the chief of the defence force, Marles says Hammond is the first person who began life as enlisted personnel to become the chief of the defence force.
He has literally gone from scrubbing decks to – in July becoming the chief of the defence force.
