Australia news live: PM takes aim at Ley over climate target comment; NSW Greens push for laws to keep cats inside | Australia news
PM calls Coalition’s refusal to set emissions targets ‘extraordinary’
Albanese also had harsh words for opposition leader Sussan Ley and her refusal to set the Coalition’s own targets.
Albanese said:
Today we’ve had the extraordinary comment by the leader of the Liberal party who said ‘we don’t believe in setting targets at all’ … The modern Liberal party is focused on their own jobs and fighting each other …
The Liberal party is too busy fighting each other, too busy looking over their shoulders, too busy arguing with each other over the interests of Australians.
Key events
Federal government should end logging, fast-track energy infrastructure, Spender says
Spender says the federal government should prioritise ending native forest logging and speeding up the process for approvals of renewable energy infrastructure. She told the ABC:
We are a massive country … We have an opportunity to put in a lot of renewable energy resources. At the moment it is just too slow and that makes it too expensive and makes a more expensive than it should be.
If we are going to do this, I don’t think it’s about our commitment to the environment. What it is about is … speeding up the processes … particularly [between] federal government and state governments.
Independent Allegra Spender says ‘we really have to aim for the top end’ of emissions target
Allegra Spender, the independent MP for Wentworth, says the upper limit on the range set for emissions reduction by 2035 should be what the federal government aims for. She told the ABC:
I take the Climate Change Authority advice very seriously. I recognised … 62-70% is an appropriate range.
As that is the final report … we should aim for the top end of that range.
Aim for the 70%. If we can get beyond that, great.
Having this broad range could mean we don’t have the right incentives left so we really have to aim for the top end.
Kean dodges question on opposition’s refusal to back emissions target
Kean ducks a question from the ABC on whether he would like to see the opposition sign up to the emissions target, which it has refused to do.
I would like to see all Australians sign up to delivering an economy that is stronger and more prosperous for future generations, while at the same time delivering a planet that is cleaner, better and safer for … Australians.
That’s exactly what underpins the Climate Change Authority’s advice to the government, and I’m thrilled they accepted it, and I encourage other political actors and people across the community of goodwill to look at the work done, to again get on board with that agenda of building a stronger economy and a safe and clean environment for everyone.
Matt Kean says authority aims to ‘surprise on the upside’ of ‘conservative’ emissions target range
Kean also says the emissions target is “a conservative approach, which means Australia should be able to deliver on what we promised”.
When asked how the gap would be bridged from the 2035 target to zero emissions by 2050, and how confident he was that technology could or would exist to do that, the Climate Change Authority chair responded:
The majority of emissions reduction between now and 2035 will come out of the electricity and energy transition. The good news is about that is it will also have the added benefit of being able to lower cost for households and businesses and still create economic growth for our country.
Yes, we looked at every sector of the economy and every technology available opportunities for abatement where we didn’t believe things would be available by 2035, we thought it would be too hard to deliver that out of the model. It is quite a conservative approach, with the aim of being in a position to surprise on the upside.
Climate Change Authority chair says 2035 emissions target range ‘in the national interest’
The Climate Change Authority chair, Matt Kean, says the range put forward for the 2035 emissions target was “in the national interest”. He told the ABC:
It was designed to ensure that what we put forward was in the national interest and clearly that needed to balance the science with [what] was achievable, and we had modelling from the CSIRO who worked with Australia’s best scientists, and we built a ground up model to see how far and fast we could go by 2035.
The range reflects a number of uncertainties and there will be challenges along this journey. We have built in flexibility to ensure we can deal with whatever is thrown at us.
Australian universities acting within culture of ‘consequence-free rotten failure’, Labor senator says
Caitlin Cassidy
Labor senator Tony Sheldon says today’s interim report on university governance exposes the “widespread failures in transparency, accountability, and integrity across Australia’s public universities”.
Sheldon, the senate inquiry’s inaugural chair, took particular aim at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), which yesterday revealed a plan to slash about 30% of its subjects and more than 130 staff as part of a restructure.
Sheldon, who has been a strong critic of the sector during his time as chair of the education and employment committee, said UTS had become “the embodiment of everything wrong with university governance”.
They spent exorbitant sums on outside accountants to justify job cuts and course closures, splashed out on lavish international trips in the middle of a cost-cutting crisis, and pushed through restructures so extreme that a safety regulator had to intervene.
If our universities are to regain the trust of their communities, they must embrace transparency and accountability.
The vice-chancellor of UTS, Prof Andrew Parfitt, said UTS was focused on achieving a “sustainable future” and its commitment to public education and focus on the student experience were “paramount”.
Sheldon said the inquiry “exposed a culture of consequence-free rotten failure at the top of our universities”.
There’s no other sector in the country where failure is rewarded so handsomely and with so little scrutiny. We need universities run with integrity, not secrecy, and this report is a warning shot to those who think the rules don’t apply to them. The recommendations send a clear message: public money comes with public accountability.
SA cabinet has more women than men for first time in state history
Two political veterans have been handed key roles on the South Australian government’s frontbench, after the state’s deputy premier and treasurer announced they were stepping down, AAP reports.
Tom Koutsantonis has been appointed treasurer, and the state’s Attorney-General, Kyam Maher, is the deputy premier after the party’s caucus elected him as deputy Labor leader.
They were sworn in at a ceremony at the state’s Government House on Friday, along with two other ministers who have been elevated to cabinet roles.
They replace Susan Close and Stephen Mullighan as deputy premier and treasurer, respectively, after the premier, Peter Malinauskas, announced on Thursday that the pair had indicated they would retire at the March 2026 state election.
The Adelaide MP, Lucy Hood, replaces Dr Close as the environment minister, while the King MP, Rhiannon Pearce, has taken over the emergency services, correctional services, and recreation, sport and racing portfolios.
Malinauskas posted on X:
For the first time in history, we have more women than men in Cabinet.
My team reflects the rich diversity in our society.
And I’m proud to lead a disciplined and united team.
A team that’s determined to get things done for South Australians.
Greens to introduce cat containment laws in NSW parliament
The Greens will introduce cat containment laws in NSW parliament that would give councils the discretion to regulate and enforce measures in priority areas and hold people responsible for keeping their cats safely at home.
The party announced that the proposed law would be introduced after Western Australia said it would make a similar move this week, amending the state’s Cat Act to allow local councils to make and enforce laws around containment.
Sue Higginson, the Greens’ spokesperson for the environment, said in a statement the primary driver for the new laws was about “protecting our precious and threatened native species”, but also about owners “taking care of the animals that they have a responsibility to care for”.
The failure of the NSW Government to act on cat containment is a tragedy for the environment, and is now a national embarrassment. We are now the only state that hasn’t addressed the extinction of native animals as a result of wandering pet cats …
This approach recognises that native animals and the cats that prey on them should be kept safe from one another, as well as giving enforcement powers to Councils that can be scaled up and down as necessary to prevent cats from wandering into neighbours’ yards, nature reserves or anywhere else where there is a problem.
David Pocock on the 2035 climate target and political will – Australian Politics podcast
In a defining week for climate action, the Albanese government has unveiled a commitment to cut emissions between 62% and 70% of 2005 levels by 2035. But vocal climate advocate Senator David Pocock says a minimum of 75% is needed to “do our bit”.
Political editor Tom McIlroy speaks to the ACT independent about his pessimism over political leadership on climate ambition – despite the government’s own warnings against a lack of action.
Humpback whale and calf caught in shark net off Noosa – video
A humpback whale and calf were filmed caught in a shark net at the entrance to Noosa national park.
The pair were freed on Wednesday evening. Five whales have been caught in shark nets this week.
Nick Visser
That’s all from me. Nino Bucci will be your blog guide for the rest of Friday. Enjoy your afternoon!
Caitlin Cassidy
Overhauling university governance ‘absolutely urgent’, Greens say
The Greens deputy leader and higher education spokesperson, Mehreen Faruqi, said the interim report “makes the need for an overhaul of hefty VC and executive salaries and cleaning up university governance bodies crystal clear”.
The senator was a member of the inquiry into university governance and made further recommendations, including immediately repealing the former Coalition government’s job-ready graduates scheme.
Faruqi said it was “imperative” the government listened to the inquiry’s “damning evidence” and took staff and student recommendations seriously:
The depth and breadth of anxiety, stress, trauma and fear that staff are subjected to, and the lack of accountability and transparency that VCs and executives get away with without any repercussions or recourse cannot be tolerated any longer.
Overhauling university governance is absolutely urgent. Staff and students deserve to be key decision-makers at their universities, not overpaid executives, corporate appointees or private consultants that walk away with millions of dollars.
Caitlin Cassidy
‘Out of step with community expectations’: senate committee targets vice-chancellors’ pay averaged at double the PM’s
Amid increased scrutiny on the high salaries of vice-chancellors, the senate committee recommended the federal government work with the Remuneration Tribunal and states and territories to devise a framework of classification structures and remuneration ranges to determine senior executives’ pay.
University councils would retain responsibility for setting the vice-chancellors’ and senior executives’ pay within the range.
The average vice-chancellor pay is almost twice that of the prime minister, while a number of vice-chancellors with salaries of more than $1m a year also hold external paid positions.
The committee said it accepted the importance of universities remaining “competitive” for global talent, but continued:
The overwhelming volume of evidence received was strongly of the view that universities paying over 300 executives across the country more than the premier or chief ministers of their state was excessive, and out of step with community expectations of public institutions and international comparisons.
The report was released ahead of an education ministers’ meeting in October, where higher education reform will be on the agenda. The final report is due to be handed down in December.
