Clare says Dutton using flag comments to distract from losing two big policies
Jason Clare was also asked about opposition leader Peter Dutton’s comments regarding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags and said this was merely “a distraction”. The education minister said:
In the last two weeks he’s lost two senior members of this team – the leader of the Liberals in the Senate, and the leader of opposition business in the House.
He’s also lost two of his big policies. You know, he promised tax cuts and now he’s broken that promise. He promised to cut migration, now he’s broken this promise. He’s breaking promises before he’s even elected. This is like buying a second-hand car and it breaks down before it even leaves the lot. What this shows is that Peter Dutton is not ready to govern.
Key events
Rafqa Touma
Dave Sharma says government ‘demonising Israel’ is ‘not helping’ antisemitism
NSW Liberal senator and former Australian ambassador to Israel, Dave Sharma, says the Albanese government seeking to “continually demonise Israel” is “not helping” antisemitism.
Visiting the site of anti-Israel vandalism and a torched car in Woollahra this morning, he said:
I’m shocked to see, in the space of three weeks, I think it’s been two quite menacing attacks directed at the Jewish community.
It’s designed to menace and intimidate and threaten them. Jewish Australians quite rightly feel besieged and threatened right now, and honestly, they feel that the government and their political leaders are letting them down.
Sharma said “the frequency and severity” with which the Albanese government “name checks Israel” is “only stirring up community sentiment about a conflict which, I understand is divisive”.
I think there’s a lot of racial and religious hate directed at the Jewish community, and anti semitism is the name that’s given to it, and it’s not helped, frankly, by a government that seeks to continually demonise Israel.
Emergency services responded to reports of a vehicle on fire in Magney Street at about 1am this morning, NSW police said in a statement. The car, and another vehicle, two buildings and a footpath had been graffitied. Some graffiti was explicitly anti-Israel.
Police said the car set on fire was likely stolen, driven to Woollahra by the perpetrators who likely then torched it to destroy the evidence.
Man shot by police in NSW
A man has been shot by police in the NSW northern rivers.
Officers were called to a park in South Grafton about 6.30am this morning responding to reports of a concern for welfare. NSW police allege the man approached officers and threatened them with a knife before he was shot by police.
The officers rendered first aid until paramedics arrived. The man was airlifted to Gold Coast university hospital in a stable but serious condition. The police officers were not physically injured.
A critical incident team will investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting. The investigation will also be subject to an independent review.
Just following on from our last post: the Queensland government’s adult crime, adult time laws are due to be debated in parliament this afternoon and are expected to pass this week.
Debate began overnight, which Andrew Messenger wrote about earlier in the blog.
National children’s commissioner says adult crime, adult time laws ‘international embarrassment’
The national children’s commissioner has labelled the Queensland government’s “adult crime, adult time” laws as an “international embarrassment”, calling on all governments across the federation to stand up for the rights of children.
Anne Hollonds said the bill had attracted widespread condemnation “for its ‘flagrant disregard’ of the human rights of children and international law”.
The fact that its provisions are targeting our most at-risk children makes this retreat from human rights even more shocking. This is an international embarrassment for the Australian government as it signals to the world Australia’s failure to uphold the basic human rights of children in the most vulnerable of circumstances.
Hollonds noted that the wellbeing of Australia’s children is not a priority for national cabinet, and said:
The measures in this bill are not based on the evidence of what is required to prevent crime by children … [It] will harm children and will not make Queensland safer. The Queensland government is ignoring evidence which shows that the younger a child comes into contact with the justice system, the more likely it is that they will continue to commit more serious crimes.
At this critical time, all governments across our federation need to stand up for the human rights of Australia’s children, including the Australian government.
NSW homelessness ‘remains entrenched and unresolved’
A total of 67,900 people have sought help from homelessness services in the past year, according to new data.
The data, released by the Australia Institute of Health and Welfare, found the number of people seeking help between July 2023 and June 2024 remained almost the same as the 68,400 the previous year.
The Homelessness NSW chief executive, Dominique Rowe, said this showed NSW’s homelessness crisis “remains entrenched and unresolved – and we must do more to fix it”.
This is a wake-up call. Homelessness is not improving. The system’s ongoing failure to provide adequate housing is leaving too many people out in the cold.
The primary reasons people sought help were housing crises (41%), financial difficulties (39%) and family or domestic violence (36%), while 53% of clients were already homeless when they reached out for support – a rise from 50% the previous year. Of these, 8% were sleeping rough, up from 7.8% last year.
Indigenous Australians remain disproportionately affected, accounting for 33% of all clients in NSW, compared to a national average of 29%.
A total of 76% of people seeking long-term housing support were unable to access it, while 49% seeking short-term and emergency accommodation could not be assisted.
Greens senator David Shoebridge has issued a statement on X about the anti-Israel graffiti in Woollahra overnight:
This is an appalling attack and is the second time we have seen it in this part of Sydney. These attacks have absolutely no place in our society.
Ladies Lounge to reopen at Mona after court win
Artist Kirsha Kaechele says the Ladies Lounge installation at Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art will reopen for a month of celebration.
Mona won an appeal in the state’s supreme court in a bid to continue barring men from entering the installation, after a tribunal decision previously found the museum had engaged in gender discrimination.
A statement confirmed that the space would open from 19 December until 13 January at Mona – with entry for ladies, and exclusion for men, included as part of the museum entry ticket.
Kaechele said in a statement: “Welcome back, ladies.”
Through the court case, the Ladies Lounge has transcended the art museum and come to life. People from all over the world have been invited to contemplate the experiences of women throughout history and today. It is time to celebrate in the place where it all began – with the dedicated adoration of our butlers and copious amounts of champagne to toast this incredible chapter!
The physical expression of the Ladies Lounge at Mona is coming to an end, but the Ladies Lounge is a living artwork. It could appear anywhere at any time, especially in centres of male power.
Man arrested after woman’s body found in south-west Sydney
A man has been arrested after the body of a woman was located in Sydney’s south-west.
Police were called to a home in Belmore about 7.50am this morning following a concern for welfare. Officers located the body of a woman, who has not been formally identified but is believed to be in her 30s.
A crime scene was established and an investigation into the incident commenced.
Following inquiries, officers attended a Denham Court residence and arrested a 35-year-old man. He was taken to Campbeltown police station, where he is assisting police with inquiries, a statement from NSW police said.
The investigation is ongoing.
Benita Kolovos
‘Deep reflection’ required from PM and government – Ryvchin
Alex Ryvchin accused the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, of “presiding over the most steep increase in anti semitism in Australian history”.
Ryvchin, the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told the media:
There’s a lot of anger in the Jewish community at the moment, particularly after what happened here a few days ago, there’s a sense that we as a society, and particularly the federal government, have allowed this to occur.
The government has presided over the most steep increase in antisemitism in Australian history and the greatest increase in one year anywhere in the civilised world. And the fact that this has been allowed to happen, the fact that we’ve seen that we’ve seen this progression from mobs in the streets and burning flags, burning cars, burning synagogues, this is something that requires deep reflection on the part of the prime minister and the government.
Benita Kolovos
Asked if he had spoken to anyone within the eastern Sydney Jewish community, Alex Ryvchin said his family lived in the area and was frightened.
This is my own community and speaking to my wife this morning, she was very anxious. She was frightened. You know, seeing extra security guards at our youngest daughter’s preschool, upgraded security measures are in place at all facilities in the eastern suburbs.
And the fact that this is necessary in Sydney, Australia in our time, that the response has to be over and over again increased security measures, higher walls, higher fences, more guards, it’s an indictment on our society. This should not be allowed to happen.
‘Stand with us against this hatred’, Jewish leader says
Benita Kolovos
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive, Alex Ryvchin, has also been holding a press conference – outside the Adass Israel synagogue in Ripponlea, Melbourne, which was firebombed last Friday.
Responding to anti-Israel graffiti in Woollahra in Sydney overnight, he said:
The Jewish community has again this morning, woken up to devastation. We’ve seen more burning cars, more broken glass, and more scenes designed to terrorise and intimidate and threaten our community. After the attack on this synagogue a few days ago, my organisation appealed to the prime minister with urgent requests to address this antisemitism crisis.
Ryvchin said he was now appealing directly to Australians:
These sorts of crimes are intended to rip our society apart. They are intended to drive a wedge between Jewish Australians and our fellow Australians. Don’t let them do it. I ask that you please stand with us in solidarity. Stand with us against this hatred. We are one people, one country and we cannot allow this terror to prevail.
Chris Minns said he spoke with Israel’s ambassador to Australia about the graffiti this morning and “made it very clear to him that we regarded this as a disgusting display of antisemitism”.
… and that the vast, vast majority of people that live in NSW are horrified by it and recognise Israel as an ally and a friend of Australia. Now, I want to make that clear and unambiguous, said that to him directly this morning, and I hope to have further conversations with him later today.
