Governor general worried about ‘fragility’ of Australian democracy
Josh Butler
The governor general, Sam Mostyn, is worried about the “fragility” of Australia’s democracy, voicing concern about a “collision of apathy and disinformation” in Australian society.
Mostyn spoke earlier at old Parliament House on the 50th anniversary of Gough Whitlam’s dismissal by then governor general John Kerr. In a speech, she reflected on watching the dismissal on television at the time in 1975:
I hope young Australians across the country feel the same curiosity about our system … but as you all know, I hold that hope against a tide of mounting evidence, now 50 years on from those events, Australians’ general interest in and understanding of our democratic institutions is much weaker than we need it to be.
That we need to pay close attention to the potential fragility of our system today.
Pointing to recent findings from the McKinnon Index, which showed Australian trust in democracy – particularly going people and in rural areas – was falling, Mostyn said Australia needed “an energetic, collaborative effort” to reverse, particularly in civics education for students.
Mostyn also went on to claim some recent headlines about her had “drawn a long bow”, in media interviews ahead of the dismissal anniversary. She said she would not judge her predecessor John Kerr as a person, but spoke more broadly about transparency.
I could not imagine a situation in modern Australia where a prime minister would be surprised or blindsided by a governor general in the circumstance that occurred in 1975. Importantly, nor am I taking a more expansive approach to my role or redefining any of the core principles of responsible and representative government.
Key events
Penry Buckley
NSW shop landlords could be jailed for allowing tenants to sell illicit tobacco and vapes under new laws
Landlords who knowingly allow their tenants to sell illicit tobacco and illegal vapes could be fined up to $165,000, sentenced to up to a year in prison or both, under legislation planned by the New South Wales government.
The changes, expected to be introduced to state parliament this week, would create an offence for commercial landlords who do not notify authorities or take steps to evict a tenant running illicit tobacco and vaping businesses from their premises.
They follow the first stores being shut down in Sydney last week under state laws cracking down on a spiralling black market for cigarettes and vapes, amid a $3.3bn hole in the federal government’s finances from the declining legal tobacco excise.
The NSW health minister, Ryan Park, said the proposed penalties were the result of a consultation with landlords, retailers and health advocates, and struck “a fair and reasonable balance”.
Read more here:
Flight crews were unaware Melbourne runway was shortened in 2023 near-miss, report says
Stephanie Convery
Two passenger planes only narrowly avoided colliding with construction vehicles and workers during take-off at Melbourne airport in 2023 because the flight crews were unaware the runway had been shortened by nearly 1,600 metres, an Australian safety investigation has found.
On Tuesday, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau released its final report into the two incidents, which took place in September 2023 while a Melbourne airport runway was temporarily shortened for resurfacing works.
In the first incident on 7 September that year, a Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330-300 with 247 people on board overran the runway while taking off for a flight to Kuala Lumpur, passing less than 7 metres above workers and construction vehicles. Eleven days later, a Bamboo Airways Boeing 787-9 also lifted off beyond the temporary end of the runway, narrowly missing workers by 4.5 metres.
No physical injuries were recorded and the planes continued with their planned flights.
ATSB’s investigation found that flight crew expectations, workload and time pressure meant that critical information relating to the runway length was received but not absorbed or factored into their take-off calculations.
The ATSB’s chief commissioner, Angus Mitchell, said the incidents were very serious and “it was by luck in this case that we didn’t have an impact”:
Thankfully, no workers were physically injured as the jet blasts impacted the works area, but this was a terrifying event for those on the ground …
The risk controls in place at the time to prevent occurrences such as this were procedural in nature. Whilst it is a fundamental part of responsibility to review and correctly understand all relevant information when preparing for a flight, these and previous incidents show that this process is susceptible to human error, considering the potentially catastrophic consequences of a loaded and fully fuelled aircraft impacting a work site on takeoff.
The incidents have prompted changes to domestic and international practices on notifying flight crews about critical information to reduce the capacity for human error in take-off procedures.
Catie McLeod
Coles ‘comforted by the science’ in continuing to sell Tasmanian-farmed salmon
In response to local teenager and Coles shareholder, who asked if Coles wanted to be associated with the potential extinction of the endangered, endemic Maugean skate, Peter Allen said:
As a parent, I do care for the future generation.
I think as far as where Coles is concerned … no, we don’t want to be associated with the extinction of the Maugean skate.
Allen said the company had “substantially reduced” the amount of salmon they had taken out of Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour since 2019.
He said the company was “comforted by the science” but was open to making further changes in the future.
Catie McLeod
Coles rejects shareholders’ request to stop selling Tasmanian salmon
Coles’ board has rejected a request from shareholders to stop selling Tasmanian-farmed Atlantic salmon due to concerns about its negative effects on the environment.
At the company’s annual general meeting in Melbourne, its chair, Peter Allen, has been facing questions from shareholders, including Tasmanian locals who have spoken passionately about the natural environment.
At the start of the meeting earlier this morning, Allen foreshadowed the line of questioning by saying the supermarket had already “taken a heightened approach to our due diligence practices in relation to salmon farming”.
He said:
We will continue to review our due diligence processes as they relate to seafood sourcing, together with any scientific updates in relation to Macquarie Harbour specifically, and will consider our position in light of any developments.
We believe our current and planned actions remain the most responsible and effective path to sustainable seafood sourcing and disclosure.
Governor general worried about ‘fragility’ of Australian democracy
Josh Butler
The governor general, Sam Mostyn, is worried about the “fragility” of Australia’s democracy, voicing concern about a “collision of apathy and disinformation” in Australian society.
Mostyn spoke earlier at old Parliament House on the 50th anniversary of Gough Whitlam’s dismissal by then governor general John Kerr. In a speech, she reflected on watching the dismissal on television at the time in 1975:
I hope young Australians across the country feel the same curiosity about our system … but as you all know, I hold that hope against a tide of mounting evidence, now 50 years on from those events, Australians’ general interest in and understanding of our democratic institutions is much weaker than we need it to be.
That we need to pay close attention to the potential fragility of our system today.
Pointing to recent findings from the McKinnon Index, which showed Australian trust in democracy – particularly going people and in rural areas – was falling, Mostyn said Australia needed “an energetic, collaborative effort” to reverse, particularly in civics education for students.
Mostyn also went on to claim some recent headlines about her had “drawn a long bow”, in media interviews ahead of the dismissal anniversary. She said she would not judge her predecessor John Kerr as a person, but spoke more broadly about transparency.
I could not imagine a situation in modern Australia where a prime minister would be surprised or blindsided by a governor general in the circumstance that occurred in 1975. Importantly, nor am I taking a more expansive approach to my role or redefining any of the core principles of responsible and representative government.
Wiggles admit likely consumer law breach after omitted headband safety warning
Jessica O’Bryan
In a court-enforceable undertaking signed by Anthony Field, the blue Wiggle himself, the Wiggles have admitted their Emma Bow headbands likely breached consumer law.
Between June 2022 to March 2024, the Wiggles allegedly sold more than 3,100 headbands to consumers without providing mandatory safety warnings for the four button batteries in each headband. The headbands were recalled in August 2024.
Button batteries pose a “significant risk to vulnerable young children”, according to the ACCC, due to their small and shiny appearance. The deaths of three Australian children have been linked to the batteries in incidents unrelated to the headbands.
The ACCC requires all products containing button batteries to have safety information and warnings.
In an ACCC media release this morning, the organisation’s deputy chair, Catriona Lowe, outlined the dangers of button batteries, saying: “If swallowed, a button battery can become stuck in a child’s throat and result in catastrophic injuries, and even death, in as little as two hours.”
The Wiggles have also committed to dedicating an episode of their podcast “Wiggle Talk” on button battery safety.
Jonathan Barrett
CBA quarterly profit lifts to $2.6bn
Commonwealth Bank has reported a jump in its quarterly cash profit to $2.6bn amid robust growth in its home loan and deposit books.
The result, up 2% from a year ago, was helped by higher mortgage volumes across the industry, backed by the Reserve Bank’s three interest rate cuts this year.
Australian house prices have been rising at their fastest rate in about four years amid fierce competition from buyers, which has benefited lenders through increased loan activity and mortgage sizes.
CBA is Australia’s biggest bank and boasts the country’s largest mortgage loan book.
Its quarterly results to 30 September show that loan arrears are stable, with those falling more than 90 days behind on their credit card and home loan repayments largely unchanged from the last quarter.
Personal loan arrears have dropped.
Sarah Basford Canales
Tim Wilson says it’s important Australia ‘set sovereign targets like net zero’
Tim Wilson has said Australia should set its own emissions reduction target without being tied to rules governed by the Paris agreement, which the Turnbull government ratified in late 2016.
The Goldstein MP, who is the only Liberal member in an urban seat after the 2025 May election, told Sky News this morning it was important that Australia “set sovereign targets like net zero that we control, we define, and then we go on and develop a plan on how to implement them on liberal principles”.
Wilson continued:
I find the idea that we would outsource to a globalist standard like the average of OECD emissions, frankly, bizarre, and I don’t really see that that’s a tolerable policy.
Liberals will meet in Canberra tomorrow to settle the opposition’s energy and emission reduction policy.
Read more about the state of play from my colleague, Dan Jervis-Bardy, below:
‘Free speech is not about the right to vilify’, prime minister says
Tom McIlroy
Albanese said states and territories were right to introduce new penalties to limit masked protests.
Because what that enables is to encourage activity where people aren’t being identified. If people are engaged in legitimate political activity, they shouldn’t be frightened of being identified.
Free speech is not about the right to vilify and to engage in antisemitic behaviour and to encourage hatred and division and violence, which is where this all leads.
He said neo-Nazi activity had no place in modern Australia.
Albanese backs new laws that could limit use of masks and balaclavas at protests
Tom McIlroy
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, endorsed new laws limiting the use of masks and balaclavas at protests, part of law enforcement efforts to crack down on neo-Nazi activities around the country.
A group of about 60 far-right extremists gathered outside the New South Wales parliament at the weekend, the latest in a string of protests by men wearing black clothing and spreading antisemitic hate.
Speaking on ABC radio in Melbourne, Albanese said efforts by NSW and other states to limit masks in public settings were appropriate:
Hate has no place in our society, and the sort of vilification that we’ve seen, the fact that Nazis in New South Wales notified the police and were essentially given permission to conduct such hateful activity is completely unacceptable.
The New South Wales premier has made that clear.
No smoking gun link between 5% deposit scheme and spike in home prices, experts say
Property prices grew at the fastest rate in more than two years following the federal government’s expanded deposit guarantee scheme kicking in, but there is not enough evidence of a direct link between the two, housing experts told AAP.
Home values grew 1.1% in October, which coincided with places for the 5% deposit scheme being uncapped and property eligibility expanded, housing data group Cotality found.
Economists had predicted the scheme would boost demand and further drive up already growing prices, and the federal opposition was quick to pounce on the figures.
But Cotality’s head of research, Eliza Owen, said while the deposit scheme was one of many factors influencing strong growth, especially in the lower to middle end of the market, it was difficult to establish a causal relationship.
Supporting the case the scheme had an impact is evidence that it drove demand in homes under eligibility price caps, Owen said. They increased by 1.2%, compared with 1% for dwellings above – a difference of 22 basis points.
Caitlin Cassidy
NSW police commissioner says he would have sought legal advice if he had been briefed before neo-Nazi protest
Mal Lanyon says he was “disappointed” he wasn’t briefed on Saturday’s neo-Nazi rally outside the state’s parliament, given the “high-profile” nature of the group and if he had been, he would have sought legal advice on objecting to the demonstration.
About 60 men clad in black called for the abolition of a supposed Jewish lobby at the protest, with speakers repeating antisemitic tropes.
The decision by NSW police to not oppose the protest was condemned as “unfathomable” on Sunday by one Jewish group.
Speaking on ABC’s 7.30 on Monday evening, Lanyon again blamed a “communication error” for allowing a form one application for the protest to be approved without his consultation and said he wanted to “make sure that I’m certainly over those matters of significance”.
He said there was “nothing there” in the application that indicated there was a risk to public safety if the protest went ahead, but if he had been briefed, he would have asked to see if there were sufficient grounds to object to it in the supreme court:
I understand the deep distress of the Jewish community. I truly do. And obviously we work very closely with senior leaders within the Jewish community … I find the actions of this group absolutely reprehensible, but obviously we have to work within legislation as police.
Lanyon said police continued to investigate whether hate speech had been used at the rally, including in consultation with legal experts.
Angus Taylor says leadership challenge against Ley ‘not something I’m focused on’
Angus Taylor, the shadow defence minister, said he is not “focused” on a leadership challenge against Sussan Ley amid grumblings over her hold on the Coalition.
Taylor spoke to Channel Nine’s Today this morning, where he was asked about rumours he was mulling challenging Ley for the top spot. He said:
Well, that’s just not right. I’m focused on making sure we’ve got the policies we need coming together to hold this government to account and to be contestable at the next election.
Taylor was asked to “categorically” rule out a challenge to Ley, but he demurred, saying: “It’s not something we’re planning.”
It’s not something I’m focused on. I’m focused on what I just described. I’m focused on making sure Australians have what they need to have an affordable life, a better standard of living.
Amanda Rishworth, the minister for employment, was sitting alongside Taylor at the time. She was asked if his response was “convincing”.
“Well, no,” she replied.
