Northern territory lowers age of criminal responsibility to 10
Children as young as 10 could face jail after the Northern Territory parliament last night passed a law to lower the age of criminal responsibility, Australian Associated Press reports.
After the Territory recently became the first jurisdiction in Australia to raise the age to 12, the incoming government has moved quickly to return it to 10.
The parliament passed three changes to youth justice laws last night that include lowering the age of criminal responsibility along with criminal provisions for ram raiding and boast-and-post laws.
Under the existing criminal code, a person can be charged for ram-raiding a property in the Northern Territory, however the new legislation could have children as young as 10 sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
The NT chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, said Labor had raised the age of criminal responsibility without having any programs in place to deal with the fact that 10- and 11-year-olds would no longer be held accountable for their actions.
We know reverting to a system where it is the judge’s discretion around what to do with a 10- and 11-year-old creates much better opportunities for authorities to intervene early in their lives.
Key events
‘We’ve got better ideas on housing’: Chalmers on negative gearing
Continuing to speak on negative gearing, Jim Chalmers said he had been asked about this “countless times” but “people shouldn’t anticipate that this is part of our housing policy.”
Even if it’s a good idea, ABC RN host Patricia Karvelas asked? Chalmers responded:
We’ve got better ideas on housing.
Chalmers responds to Greens calls to scrap negative gearing
Jim Chalmers was also asked about calls from the Greens to scrap negative gearing.
As we’ve already flagged, Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather commissioned Parliamentary Library analysis of NSW Treasury modelling and census data, which showed more than a quarter of a million renters could own their own homes if negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts were wound back.
Chalmers said he had seen the reports, but not the actual analysis, and if the Greens wanted to get more people into home ownership “they’d vote for our Help to Buy scheme”.
It is a fact, not an opinion, that the Greens are holding up the Help to Buy scheme in the Senate. If they were genuine about getting people on low and middle incomes into their first home … they’d vote for that in the Senate, and then we’d take them seriously …
I’ve seen advice on negative gearing over the course of the last couple of years, but if you’re anticipating … one big, new, discrete piece of work, then that’s not the right assumption.
For more on the standoff between Labor, the Greens and the Coalition over housing, you can have a read of this explainer below:
Saying working in care economy isn’t real job is ‘snobbiness’ – treasurer
Jim Chalmers also responded to comments from the opposition’s Michaelia Cash, who argued about 70% of the jobs created are government-funded rather than in the private sector.
He said those jobs weren’t all necessarily government-funded, and not all public servants, and told ABC RN:
Obviously, as the economy recovers, we want to see more jobs created in the private sector, but we need to recognise as well that care economy jobs are real jobs. You know, I completely reject this sense that it’s only a real job if it’s not in the care economy.
In the context of our aging population and all of the needs that we have, we want to see care economy workers respected. We are paying them more. We don’t want to see them respected less or paid less.
And that seems to be the approach taken by our critics, and there’s a real snobbiness at the core of that critique, which says that if you work in the care economy, that’s not a real job. It is a real job, we value it, we are paying people appropriately.
Treasurer tight-lipped on rate-cut chances after jobs data
Jim Chalmers would not comment on whether the latest job figures, announced yesterday, have dashed chances of a rate cut this year.
The treasurer said this was the “first time, and only time” 1 million jobs had been created in a single parliamentary term and “our job, and the Reserve Bank’s job, is to get on top of inflation without ignoring the risks to growth”.
In terms of the rate cut, he said that was “a matter for the independent Reserve Bank”.
They’re primarily focused on inflation, and inflation has been coming down really considerably, and that’s a very good thing. Even though people are still under pressure, inflation in the monthly figures most recently was less than half what it was in the year we came to office. That’s a good thing.
Chalmers hopes death of Hamas leader will help bring end to war
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been speaking with ABC RN.
First up, he was asked about news overnight that Hamas’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, has been killed by Israeli forces. You can read more on this below:
Chalmers said that “we don’t mourn for one second the death of a terrorist leader”, but “we do mourn his victims”.
And we do mourn the tens of thousands of innocent lives lost to this conflict, and we hope that his death helps and hastens bring an end to the war, because we want to see a ceasefire. We want to see the humanitarian aid get in, and we want to see his hostages released.
Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches reopen
Waverley council has confirmed all of its beaches have been reopened following a site inspection, after thousands of tar balls washed ashore.
The council said no remaining evidence of the debris could be found at Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches. Mysterious tar balls washing up in Sydney had forced the closure of seven beaches in total.
The mayor, Will Nemesh, said the council would continue to prioritise the safety of the community, and would continue to monitor the situation closely:
The safety of our community is always paramount. Working with government authorities, we will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep the community updated and safe.
One Direction members ‘completely devastated’ at Liam Payne’s death
The former members of One Direction – Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan – have released a statement following the death of their bandmate Liam Payne.
Payne died of multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding caused by a fall from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, the Argentinian prosecutor’s office has said.
The statement, released about 15 minutes ago, reads:
We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.
The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever.
For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.
‘Major’ power outages in western NSW could last up to three weeks
The NSW Rural Fire Service says far western parts of the state are experiencing “major” power outages following severe storms. The outages are expected to last for two to three weeks, it said.
According to Essential Energy, there has been extensive damage to transmission towers between Buronga and Broken Hill, with 1,444 customers impacted.
Customers are being supplied power via backup generator in Broken Hill. There are additional faults between Mt Gibbs and Sunset Strip.
Parts of far western NSW are experiencing major power outages following severe storms. With outages expected to last for 2-3 weeks, the #RFS has deployed resources to ensure our brigades remain operational and can continue supporting their communities. pic.twitter.com/gVYDymHzCH
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) October 17, 2024
More back-and-forth over PM’s property purchase
The deputy leader of the opposition, Sussan Ley, was up on Sunrise this morning to discuss comments from Peter Dutton, who argues the PM would not last a second term if re-elected.
Ley said Dutton was referring to “actions from the prime minister this week” – as in the purchase of a new home – and said:
[Anthony Albanese is] entitled to make whatever purchases he wants. He’s planning for that next stage of his life. I don’t think all his colleagues are happy about it.
She said it was not about the purchase itself, but the response from his Labor colleagues.
When you look at the response to that, that’s coming from his colleagues. It’s not coming from us. We’re saying who is unhappy about this? Who is talking about it? Who is revealing their thoughts? Who is worried about it? Labor party members. That demonstrates the distraction that’s at the heart of the Albanese government…
Labor PM Jason Clare, also on the program, said there was “no” truth in this argument and “the time for professional whinging from Peter Dutton and Susan is over”.
We have an election in 12 months. It’s time they came up with a plan and stop the whinging. Peter Dutton [is] crazy if he thinks this will happen … You can’t wait for someone to retire to get your go. He has to come up with policies. The only thing he has going is shutting down Woolworths and building nuclear reactors. That’s not what the Australian people want.
Growing consensus to scrap big tax handouts, Greens MP says
Max Chandler-Mather continued, and told ABC News Breakfast:
I would argue in this instance in the context of one of the worst housing crises we have seen in generations … now is precisely the time where we need more than tinkering around the edges and we need substantial change.
He argued that big tax handouts for property investors put money in their pockets while they “go to auctions and bid out first-home buyers desperately trying to buy a home, crushing their hope of ever being able to own a home and build a good life”.
He also said that backbench Labor and Liberal MPs were “starting to say they need to change, economists are saying they need to change, housing experts are saying they need to change”.
There is a building consensus we need to scrap these tax handouts. Increasingly the biggest barrier is a prime minister [who has just] gone through multiple days of scandal for buying another property and being a property investor.
So I think there’s a real moment here the government should seize to make real substantial change to the lives of hundreds of thousands of renters, and the bottom line is the Greens are ready and willing to work with Labor to do it.
Greens MP makes case for negative gearing changes
Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier about his party’s calls for negative gearing.
Chandler-Mather commissioned Parliamentary Library analysis of NSW Treasury modelling and census data which showed more than a quarter of a million renters could own their own homes if negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts were wound back.
He told ABC News Breakfast it would be “transformational for so many lives”.
It would see the biggest increase in homeowner since Menzies … The reality is we could make changes right now that change the lives of over 770,000 renters. It would be incredible.
Asked if Labor would even consider this, seeing as they have insisted there would be no changes, the Greens MP said:
We heard similar rhetoric during the stage-three tax cuts and then ultimately the prime minister said, when economic circumstances change, so should government policy.
NSW police conducting Operation ‘Royal Visit’ throughout King Charles’s visit
As we flagged just earlier, King Charles and Queen Camilla are due to arrive into Sydney tonight.
NSW police said they were conducting Operation “Royal Visit” from today until next Wednesday, and had been planning for the royal visit “over many months”.
[The NSW police force] has been working with partner agencies, including the UK royal and specialist protection team, to provide an operational response.
General and specialist police will be deployed to “manage the movement of the king and queen between engagements”, police said, and “to provide a safe environment for visiting dignitaries and the community.”
A number of traffic diversions and road closures will be implemented, and the public is being urged to familiarise themselves with the rules regarding operating drones in restricted areas.
… anyone who breaches no-fly zones will be dealt with appropriately.
Good morning
Emily Wind
And happy Friday – Emily Wind here, signing on for blogging duty. Thanks to Martin for kicking us off!
As always, you can reach out with any tips or feedback via X, @emilywindwrites, or send me an email: [email protected].
Let’s get started.
Full Story podcast: why the PM’s beach house matters in politics
And just to undermine the centrality of the housing question, it’s the subject of our Full Story podcast this week.
This week, news broke that Anthony Albanese purchased a slice of paradise set on the clifftops of the NSW Central Coast. Forking out $4.3m on a property created some bruising headlines for the prime minister, but did he actually do anything wrong?
Bridie Jabour talks to editor-in-chief Lenore Taylor, deputy editor Patrick Keneally and national news editor Jo Tovey about what the anger around the PM’s beach house says about the state of the housing crisis.
NSW parliament passes bill to strengthen LGBTQ+ rights
The New South Wales parliament voted last night to broaden rights and protections for LGBTI people.
Tamsin Rose kept tabs on the debate and here’s her full report:
Greens say negative gearing reform could help 292,000 renters become owners
Housing has been one of the big issues of the week – again – and the Greens are trying to make hay with new analysis which they say shows that more than a quarter of a million renters could own their own homes if Labor reformed tax breaks for residential property investors.
Northern territory lowers age of criminal responsibility to 10
Children as young as 10 could face jail after the Northern Territory parliament last night passed a law to lower the age of criminal responsibility, Australian Associated Press reports.
After the Territory recently became the first jurisdiction in Australia to raise the age to 12, the incoming government has moved quickly to return it to 10.
The parliament passed three changes to youth justice laws last night that include lowering the age of criminal responsibility along with criminal provisions for ram raiding and boast-and-post laws.
Under the existing criminal code, a person can be charged for ram-raiding a property in the Northern Territory, however the new legislation could have children as young as 10 sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
The NT chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, said Labor had raised the age of criminal responsibility without having any programs in place to deal with the fact that 10- and 11-year-olds would no longer be held accountable for their actions.
We know reverting to a system where it is the judge’s discretion around what to do with a 10- and 11-year-old creates much better opportunities for authorities to intervene early in their lives.
King Charles and Queen Camilla arriving into Australia tonight
The arrival of King Charles and Queen Camilla is the first tour by a reigning monarch since 2011, though Charles was here most recently in 2018 to open the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
The Sydney Opera House sails will be lit up for the couple’s arrival on Friday night before the royals are kept busy with formal dinners, wreath laying, fleet inspecting and hand-shaking during their five-day visit.
Daisy Dumas has all the details of where you might be able to catch a glimpse of them in person, barring last-minute surprises:
The king, who has reportedly paused his cancer treatment for the overseas trip, is due a rest day tomorrow, though there is speculation he will attend the horse racing at Randwick.
Hopefully he brought an umbrella, as Sydney’s weather forecast is looking dicey.
It could be a bit blowy for his late evening touchdown, with rain forecast, a strong wind warning for the Sydney coast, and even the chance of a thunderstorm.
Welcome
Martin Farrer
Good morning, happy almost-weekend, and welcome to our live news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Emily Wind will be your host.
More than a quarter of a million renters could own their own homes if Labor reformed tax breaks for residential property investors, new analysis commissioned by the Greens shows. And in the wake of Anthony Albanese’s controversial house purchase this week, the Greens’ Max Chandler-Mather said “property investor” Albanese had become the “biggest blocker” to meaningful change on solving the housing crisis.
Rights and protections for LGBTQI+ people in New South Wales have been strengthened with the passing of a bill in the state parliament late on Thursday, after the legislation was watered down to gain Labor support. The equality bill will give transgender people the ability to have their sex changed on their birth certificates without undergoing invasive surgery, bringing the state in line with others, and non-binary will become a gender option for birth certificates.
Children as young as 10 could face jail after the Northern Territory parliament last night passed a law to lower the age of criminal responsibility. After the territory recently became the first jurisdiction in Australia to raise the age to 12, the incoming government has moved quickly to return it to 10. More details coming up.
And the king and queen of Australia are due to arrive this evening for a brief tour of NSW and the ACT. More on that in a minute.
