‘Not one’ MP raised concerns about Pesutto’s leadership in party room meeting
Benita Kolovos
The Liberal party room has just wrapped up with no spill motion, as we had earlier reported.
MPs have told Guardian Australia the 45-minute meeting was “friendly”, “agreeable”, “boring” and “nothing special”.
Leader in the upper house, Georgie Crozier, said only Pesutto mentioned the defamation trial “in passing”.
We’re putting it behind us.
She said “not one” MP raised concerns about Pesutto’s leadership.
Key events
Culprit flees ram raid with arm on fire
An offender has fled the scene of a botched ram raid at a cycling store with their arm on fire after the business erupted into flames, AAP reports.
Mystery culprits allegedly used a stolen car to ram the garage door of a business on Lygon Street, Brunswick, in Melbourne’s inner north about 2.55am this morning, police said.
It is believed the offenders used the black BMW X5 to ram the door two or three times, before jumping out of the vehicle and entering the store. The ramming then led to a fire inside the business.
It was reported to police that one of the offenders was spotted fleeing the scene with one of their arms on fire.
The stolen vehicle was left behind and the offenders were last seen running towards Nicholson Street.
The fire caused significant damage to the building and it remains unclear if anything was stolen from the store.
Oasis general sale to begin shortly, plus Laneway presale
The general public sale for 90s rock band Oasis’ 2025 reunion tour go on sale in just over ten minutes.
According to Ticketmaster, tickets have been priced in advance by the tour from $183.28 to $407.57. A handling fee from $9.90 per order also applies, and tickets are subject to availability.
Ticketmaster says if anyone gets a message they were unable to reserve their chosen seats, it means someone has already secured them – and they should clear their selection and try different seats.
Meanwhile, presale for the 2025 Laneway festival also opens from 10am Aedt, with the festival to be headlined by Charli xcx.
Man charged with 87 counts of theft allegedly part of syndicate
Victoria police have charged a man who was allegedly part of a retail theft syndicate.
Detectives travelled to NSW on 11 October to investigate reports of a large shop steal syndicate, allegedly responsible for thefts of grocery products last year and this year.
It’s alleged the group were conducting large-scale thefts of high-value products from supermarkets, Victoria police said, worth more than $3m.
Detectives will allege the 27-year-old Indian national was part of the syndicate of more than 100 people. He was extradited from NSW and charged with 87 counts of theft.
Australia must ‘exercise all political and diplomatic influence’ to ensure humanitarian aid to Gaza, says Save the Children
Save the Children Australia is urging the Albanese government to “exercise all political and diplomatic influence it has” to stop Israel from cutting humanitarian aid to children and families trapped in northern Gaza.
On Saturday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) renewed its evacuation orders for Palestinians still living in the decimated northern half of Gaza. The UN says an estimated 400,000 people are trapped by the latest ground fighting and artillery fire centred in Jabalia, which has now entered a second week.
Save the Children Australia CEO Mat Tinkler said:
The Australian Government must state loud and clear that using starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime and that perpetrators have to be held accountable.
As is so often the case in conflict, the people least able to evacuate will be children (particularly those who have been orphaned) the elderly, the sick and injured and people with disabilities. If aid is cut off, the denial of food, water and medicine to these people will effectively be signing their death warrants.
Save the Children says that according to the UN World Food Program, no food aid has entered northern Gaza since 1 October.
Greens senator ‘concerned’ by allegations raised on Four Corners over live music ticketing
Circling back to Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young’s interview on ABC RN earlier where she was asked about the ticketing situation for live music – and said she was worried by some of the allegations aired on Four Corners last night.
Hanson-Young said she was concerned by the notion “audience members are [allegedly] being ripped off because of price surging on tickets or hidden fees on ticket prices.”
If there is issues there, the ACCC should investigate them and make clear that any anti-competitive or unfair charges are not happening and being passed on to audience members.
The Senator said the live music industry is “copping it from all sides right now”, still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic and dealing with the cost-of-living crisis.
I do think the ACCC should have a look at this and work out if there’s unfair practices. But I also think governments need to do more to support Australian musicians and artists.
We are on the verge of losing an entire generation of artists in this country because of these issues and, you know, it’s such an important part of what makes us the great country that we are. Art helps us understand what we’re going through, where we’ve come from, where we’re going. It helps us to communicate, to connect. There’s a lot of pressures right now and music and art really helps us as a community to come together when times are tough and we need it more than ever right now.
‘Not one’ MP raised concerns about Pesutto’s leadership in party room meeting
Benita Kolovos
The Liberal party room has just wrapped up with no spill motion, as we had earlier reported.
MPs have told Guardian Australia the 45-minute meeting was “friendly”, “agreeable”, “boring” and “nothing special”.
Leader in the upper house, Georgie Crozier, said only Pesutto mentioned the defamation trial “in passing”.
We’re putting it behind us.
She said “not one” MP raised concerns about Pesutto’s leadership.
Woman charged with domestic violence murder after man allegedly found unconscious
Queensland police have charged a 32-year-old woman with murder after the sudden death of a man at Browns Plains yesterday.
Emergency services were called to the Basie Court address after the 72-year-old man was allegedly found unconscious and not breathing.
Police said the 32-year-old Browns Plains woman was taken into custody at the scene, and has since been charged with murder (domestic violence).
She is due to appear in Beenleigh magistrates court today. Investigations are ongoing, police said.
Residential vacancy rates fell slightly in September: SQM research
Residential dwelling vacancy rates fell slightly across the country to 1.2% in September, according to SQM Research.
There are currently 37,932 rental vacancies, a decrease from 39,665 in August. Perth, Canberra and Hobart – plus regional Australia – were the main drivers to the decline, according to the data.
Sydney’s rental vacancy rate remains stable at 1.6% with 11,360 vacant rentals. Melbourne’s has increased to 1.7% with 8,796 vacant dwellings.
Canberra had the highest rental vacancy rate among the states and territories at 2%. Vacancy rates in the CBDs were largely steady, with Sydney at a 5% vacancy rate and Melbourne at 5.1%.
In the month leading to 12 October, rental prices in capital cities rose by 0.5%. Sydney experienced a 0.9% increase in combined rents, where Melbourne saw a 1.1% decline.
Louis Christopher, the managing director of SQM Research, said the national rental market “remains in severe shortage and barring some exceptions, is not expected to materially soften out of the rental crisis for some years”.
First Victorian Liberal party room meeting since Pesutto-Deeming defamation trial
Benita Kolovos
Victorian Liberal MPs are filing into their party room for their first meeting since the beginning of the defamation trial brought against opposition leader, John Pesutto, by exiled MP Moira Deeming.
The trial, which has aired the party’s dirty laundry, prompted calls last week from some MPs to spill the leadership.
However, several MPs have told Guardian Australia the motion is unlikely to go ahead because the party room is unable to agree upon a candidate to replace Pesutto.
Pesutto walked into his party room with members of his leadership team, Georgie Crozier, Evan Mulholland and David Southwick, and South West Coast MP, Roma Britnell.
He told reporters: “Back to work.”
The Berwick MP, Brad Battin, who has long been touted as a possible leader, was the first to arrive and said he had no plans to move a motion. Another contender, Nepean MP Sam Groth, said: “You’re all wasting your time.”
Guy Barnett elected Tasmanian deputy premier
Guy Barnett has been elected as Tasmania’s new deputy premier.
The Tasmanian government whip, Simon Wood, said in a statement the Liberal party met this morning to elect a new deputy leader, and Barnett was elected unopposed.
This comes as the former deputy premier, Michael Ferguson, was set to face a no-confidence motion in parliament today but resigned from the cabinet over the bungled Bass Strait ferry rollout.
Barnett spent nearly a decade in the federal Senate before being elected to Tasmanian state parliament in 2014 as the member for Lyons.
Albanese buys house on NSW Central Coast for $4.3m
News.com.au is reporting that Anthony Albanese has purchased a new home for himself and fiance, Jodie Haydon, at Copacabana on the NSW Central Coast for $4.3m.
2GB’s Ben Fordham reportedly revealed the sale and says the prime minister exchanged contracts in September, with settlement expected before the end of October. Albanese had told Fordham:
I’m about to get marred to Jodie and start a new chapter of our lives. Jodie’s a ‘coastie’ and spending time with her up there is awesome. It will be nice to be closer to her parents and her family one day.
News.com.au reports that the four-bedroom, three-bathroom home was sold for $1.7m in 2017 and $4.65m in 2021 – on the market for almost a full year before Albanese bought it for more than $300,000 cheaper than what the current owners paid.
In May, Albanese defended his decision to evict the tenant from a house he owns in Sydney, saying he has been “more than fair” as a landlord but his impending marriage means he wants to sell:
Smart energy trial for parts of Illawarra
The Albanese government has announced a smart energy trial in the NSW Illawarra to help boost household electrification.
Backed by $5.4m in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena), residents in the 2515 postcode will be able to apply for subsidies for a range of devices.
A statement from energy minister, Chris Bowen, says energy-efficient electric appliances will be installed in participating homes in Austinmer, Clifton, Coledale, Scarborough, Thirroul and Wombarra, along with a smart energy management device to optimise energy use.
Arena funding will help households buy heat pump hot water and space heating systems, plus batteries and other resources.
The project aims to generate insights into consumer behaviour, attitudes and energy bill savings to inform how home electrification could be scaled across Australia.
The MP for Cunningham, Alison Byrnes, said:
I look forward to seeing this project provide valuable insights and data in how this model could be rolled out across communities, particularly our more vulnerable households in lower socioeconomic areas who would benefit greatly from reduced energy bills.
Four flood rescues amid rapid onset storm in Sydney yesterday
The NSW SES assistant commissioner, Colin Malone, says four flood rescues occurred yesterday, after people drove into floodwaters in Sydney.
He spoke with ABC News Breakfast about the storms that lashed Sydney and eastern parts of the country yesterday, and said there were 118 incidents – with 330 volunteers working into the evening.
This is normal as we head into the summer thunderstorm period. We’ve heard this morning on the news already that Sydney will have heavy rain this morning that will upset peak-hour traffic …
Our message is no one’s life is worth the risk of driving through floodwater … Turn around, rethink it and prioritise your family and your own life before entering flood water.
Labor proposing to cap residential rental increases at once per year in NSW
Tamsin Rose
Residential rental increases will be capped at once per year, under changes being introduced through the New South Wales parliament today.
The rule would cover renters under periodic and fixed-term leases, fixing a loophole in the law.
The proposal is being put forward as part of the Labor government’s rental reform package, which also includes change to make it easier to keep pets in rentals and ending no grounds evictions.
The better regulation minister, Anoulack Chanthivong, said:
Ensuring renters can only be hit with one rent increase a year will provide greater certainty and protection for renters regardless of whether their lease type changes.
Police search bushland amid investigation into Wollongong woman who went missing three decades ago
NSW police have searched bushland in the Illawarra as they investigate the suspicious disappearance of a Wollongong woman 30 years ago.
Strike Force Athena was established in 2022 to re-established the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Pauline Sowry, also known by her married name of Pauline Lawrence.
She was 49 years old when last seen by her family in the northern suburbs of Wollongong in December 1993. Her whereabouts remain unknown. A 2008 coronial inquest found she had died, most likely after an unconfirmed sighting in 1994.
Police said that following new information, a bushland search recommenced in the Illawarra escarpment at Figtree, south of Wollongong, last week.
Pauline’s son Jason Lawrence said it’s been incredibly difficult for the family not knowing what happened to their mother and sister.
We’ve been robbed of not knowing my mother, I’ve been robbed of not seeing what I’ve become over the years, how strong I’ve been, my career, my children. I’ve been robbed of a mother and robbed of a grandmother to my children. I’ve been robbed of a normal life, I don’t wish it on anybody. It would be really good to get some closure and know that she didn’t leave us and something had happened.
Cait Kelly
Will take ‘months, if not years’ for families to bounce back
Continuing from our last post, the Foodbank Australia CEO, Brianna Casey, said families were making “unimaginable choices”.
This is an alarming statistic that demonstrates just how desperate the situation has become for those who were once a lifeline suddenly finding themselves living pay to pay, watching every dollar and sadly, no longer in a position to extend help to loved ones and friends.
We know it’s going to take months, if not years, for many families to bounce back. We will continue to wrap our arms around our communities for as long as it takes, doing our bit to help nutritious, culturally appropriate food get to as many struggling households as possible.
More than half (53%) of food insecure households reported they are receiving food relief more often than a year ago. Food insecure households receiving help from friends and family has dropped significantly from 32% in 2023 to 25% in 2024.
Cait Kelly
Highest rates of food insecurity for low-income earners since onset of cost-of-living crisis, Foodbank says
Low-income households are enduring the highest rates of food insecurity since the onset of the cost-of-living crisis, according to the Foodbank Hunger Report 2024, released today.
Now in its 11th year, the report from food relief organisation Foodbank surveyed 4,260 people and highlights the growing divide between those who are able to absorb or adapt to rising costs and those being left behind.
More than 870,000 (48%) of Australia’s low-income households – earning less than $30,000 – are experiencing food insecurity. This is the highest rate since the onset of the cost-of-living crisis, up 5% on 2022.
The report offers an insight into the state of hunger across the country and reveals more than half (59%) of all food insecure households are experiencing the most severe level of hardship, regularly skipping meals or going entire days without food.
Single-parent households are the hardest hit with over two-thirds (69%) facing food insecurity and 41% of these also experiencing the severest form.