Bill Shorten backs permit system for Victorian protestors
The NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, has suggested Victoria should consider a permit system for protests.
In NSW people who wish to stage a protest must lodge paperwork known as “form 1” or a “notice of intention to hold a public assembly” with the police commissioner in advance of the demonstration for it to be considered lawful. Victoria does not have this same rule.
But on Sunrise, Shorten said “perhaps it is time for Victoria to consider a permit system.”
How the permit system works is it doesn’t stop people protesting, but the purpose of it is looked at, the circumstance, [how] it’s done …
The police in NSW use this power sparingly. I don’t necessarily think it should apply to industrial relations, but for some of these protests we have seen week in, week out, I do think that having a permit system would at least straighten it up.
The great cities of the world have it. American cities, London. They still have protests. Perhaps it is time to reconsider. I have read what the secretary of the police association said in Victoria, he thought that there was probably some merit in considering this idea. I think there probably is.
Shorten said it was “tasteless” for pro-Palestine protesters to demonstrate on the eve, and day of, 7 October.
Key events
Ambassador to Lebanon shares photos of assisted departure flight
Australia’s ambassador to Lebanon, Andrew Barnes, has shared some photos from one of the assisted departure flights out of Lebanon. He wrote in a post to X:
It was wonderful to be able to give a young [Australian] her first passport (& a koala!) at Beirut airport so she could depart on one of our assisted departure flights.
A big thanks to all the [Lebanese] staff at the airport for assisting us in getting nearly 900 [Australians] back home. More to come!
It was wonderful to be able to give a young 🇦🇺 her first passport (& a koala!) at Beirut airport so she could depart on one of our assisted departure flights ✈️. A big thanks to all the 🇱🇧 staff at the airport for assisting us in getting nearly 900🇦🇺 back home. More to come! pic.twitter.com/ikg04EEJky
— Andrew Barnes 🇦🇺🇱🇧 (@SafirAustralia) October 6, 2024
Independent politicians reflect on October 7 attacks
Independent politicians have also been sharing statements to mark 7 October.
Mackellar MP Sophie Scamps said her thoughts were with all those impacted, acknowledging “the anguish of those whose loved ones remain as hostages.”
Sending love, healing and hope for a better future for all.
Curtin MP Kate Chaney said that one year on, “it seems like a peaceful solution is further away than ever”:
Today, I am thinking of the victims of the terrorist attack in Israel and the hostages who are still not home. I am thinking of the many Palestinians who have been injured, killed or displaced following the attack. I am thinking of those now impacted as the conflict broadens.
The independent senator for the ACT, David Pocock, said he continues to join with the government in calling for the immediate release of all remaining hostages – and that “this is a day to commemorate those lives”:
Without diminishing their grief, I also recognise the pain, suffering and mourning of Palestinians. In the year since Hamas’ terrorist attack, the IDF has killed over 40,000 people in Gaza, including women, children, aid workers and journalists. Their attacks have caused one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes of our generation and it must end.
Dutton releases statement to mark 7 October
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has released a statement to mark one year since the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel.
He said the last 12 months constitute “one of the most difficult periods for Jewish Australians in our nation’s history” and today is about respecting the memories of the 1,200 killed, and praying for the hostages.
Israel has every right to defend its territory and its people from existential threats. The Coalition stands with our ally Israel – rather than treating her like an adversary.
We support Australians of Jewish faith – because you are cherished Australian citizens. That same spirit will see the Jewish people today – in Israel, in Australia, and around the world – prevail over present ordeals. The enemies of Israel and the peddlars of Jewish hate will never win.
Katy Perry reportedly paid $1.4m AUD for AFL grand final performance
3AW Radio’s “rumour file” segment has heard that US pop star Katy Perry was paid $1.4m AUD for her AFL grand final performance – rather than the widely reported $5m figure.
As Katie Cunningham reports, Perry fought to get her new album on the setlist for the performance. Woman’s World, her first single in three years, failed to make any significant impact on the charts and was widely derided as a years-too-late attempt at cashing in on girlboss feminism (the Guardian review gave it one star).
The new album that followed, 143, earned the dubious distinction of becoming the worst-rated album on review aggregator Metacritic for almost 15 years.
Of the nine tracks Perry performed during her pre-game show at Melbourne’s MCG, just two came from the new album – and neither was Woman’s World.
Perry is due to tour Australia next year, and has so far sold out three concerts in Adelaide. She is visiting the city four times, compared with two concerts each for Sydney, Brisbane and Perth and three for Melbourne.
More than 900 Australians have left Lebanon on assisted flights
904 Australians and their immediate family members have now left Lebanon on assisted-departure flights – in addition to those who left on partner and commercial flights.
407 Australians left on 5 October, and 448 on 6 October.
Two more flights are scheduled to leave Beirut today, and further flights are planned – pending demand, operational capacity and the security situation.
Australians and their families are also staying in temporary accomodation in Larnaca, Cyprus and are set to return to Australia on connecting flights. The first was due to land in Sydney this morning, with 349 on board.
3,756 Australians and their immediate family are registered to depart Lebanon.
Mark Dreyfus on the 7 October anniversary
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has penned an article for Guardian Australia to mark the 7 October anniversary.
Responding to commentary that he has been silent on the war, he wrote:
Why so silent, Mark? This, I have been asked a lot. I have thought about it a lot too. I have said little in public about the Hamas-Israel war because I am not the foreign affairs minister. I am Australia’s first law officer. A minister, not a commentator. Just because I’m not talking doesn’t mean I don’t understand.
You can read the piece in its entirety below:
Julian Leeser claims antisemitism going ‘unanswered’ on university campuses
Julian Leeser argued that there hasn’t been enough action on addressing antisemitism in Australia. He told ABC RN that “too many people in positions of leadership [have] turned a blind eye to it”, and said that “politicians have been equivocal” in certain instances.
I think the worst place this is occurring is on university campuses, where we’re supposed to be training the next generation of leaders … but instead, they’re being confronted by antisemitism that too often has been unanswered and condoned, rather than enormously condemned as it should be.
Josh Burns said that Jewish students “are either hiding their identity or not going to university at all, which is a completely unacceptable situation”:
So how we manage that is something that’s that’s a real constant challenge, and we have to do more to tackle it. And I think you’ll see more from government on that.
Burns said another area that needs addressing is the online space, where he argued “so much of the hate and so much of the discrimination and vilification is occurring”:
I look forward to working with Julian and the Coalition and any other member of parliament who wants to try and ensure that there is more respect and [being] online is a safer place for all people …
Julian Leeser and Josh Burns discuss 7 October anniversary
Liberal MP Julian Leeser and Labor MP Josh Burns, both members of the Jewish community, spoke with ABC RN just earlier to reflect on the one year anniversary of October 7.
Burns said that “grief is not a competition” but today, the Jewish community “needs a bit of space … to reflect and to mourn”. He said:
I recognise that if [you have family] in Gaza or in Lebanon, these times have been extremely difficult for you, and to look at footage of your family … having to flee their homes, I mean, it’s just devastating. And I don’t have any anything other than sympathy and compassion for other people.
And I think it’s really important that people hold space for each other to feel the devastation of this conflict. And today, the Jewish community needs a bit of space. It needs time to reflect and to mourn and to mark the loss of life of family, of friends, of innocent people. And I don’t think grief is a competition. I think it’s something where, as Australians, we have to hold space for each other and we have to seek empathy for each other.
Because if we don’t do that for each other, and if we don’t hold compassion and space for one another, how on earth can we expect people in the region to, [and] how on earth can we expect that there’ll be a more peaceful future? We have to have a shared humanity here, and as Australians, we have to be able to move through this together.
Bill Shorten backs permit system for Victorian protestors
The NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, has suggested Victoria should consider a permit system for protests.
In NSW people who wish to stage a protest must lodge paperwork known as “form 1” or a “notice of intention to hold a public assembly” with the police commissioner in advance of the demonstration for it to be considered lawful. Victoria does not have this same rule.
But on Sunrise, Shorten said “perhaps it is time for Victoria to consider a permit system.”
How the permit system works is it doesn’t stop people protesting, but the purpose of it is looked at, the circumstance, [how] it’s done …
The police in NSW use this power sparingly. I don’t necessarily think it should apply to industrial relations, but for some of these protests we have seen week in, week out, I do think that having a permit system would at least straighten it up.
The great cities of the world have it. American cities, London. They still have protests. Perhaps it is time to reconsider. I have read what the secretary of the police association said in Victoria, he thought that there was probably some merit in considering this idea. I think there probably is.
Shorten said it was “tasteless” for pro-Palestine protesters to demonstrate on the eve, and day of, 7 October.
Mona’s Ladies Lounge seemingly denies reports the installation will close next month
The ABC has reported that the Mona’s Ladies’ Lounge is set to close next month. However, the museum’s curator, Kirsha Kaechele, has seemingly denied this in a post to social media.
The ABC reported Kaechele as saying the lounge had “run its course” with a “big celebration” sometime in November, after which the space will close:
So there’ll be a big celebration, I’ll open it for a period of time, and then really we’ll just go all out – and then close the artwork.
However, in a post to Instagram, Kaechele said: “Don’t believe everything you hear.”
I said something on the radio and somehow ended up with a headline: ‘Mona Ladies Lounge to Close’ (eye-roll) Who knows what I actually said (well, they do, they recorded it) – bad idea, being recorded at 7:30am on your birthday …
The Ladies Lounge is closed to men. Forever. It may change locations, you know, go on tour, we all love an adventure. And I love Paris. Maybe the Ladies Lounge should visit the Pompidou! Do you hear that Laurent?
Last month, the Ladies Lounge won an appeal in the state’s supreme court to continue barring men from entering the installation. You can read the full story on this from Kelly Burke below:
More details on vigils and rallies to mark 7 October anniversary
AAP has more details on the vigils and solemn ceremonies set to be held across Australia today, marking one year since the Hamas attacks in Israel.
Candlelight vigils will be held across many Australian cities today, after members of the Jewish community joined the Israeli ambassador, Amir Maimon, at a commemoration in Sydney yesterday evening.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will attend an event in Melbourne today.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, and the health minister, Mark Butler, will attend a community vigil in Sydney.
Pro-Palestinian rallies will also take place on the anniversary, with as many as 2,000 people expected at a resilience rally at Lakemba mosque in Sydney’s south, which has not been authorised by NSW police. And as we flagged just a moment ago, a pro-Palestine vigil is also expected to take place in Sydney’s Town Hall.
Police say they will ‘negotiate heavily’ with organisers of vigil planned for Sydney
A pro-Palestine vigil is expected to take place tonight in Sydney, from 6pm at Town Hall in the CBD.
At a press conference yesterday afternoon, the assistant commissioner, Peter McKenna, said there was no form 1 in place but police would “still be negotiating heavily with the organisers”.
As Catie McLeod reported last week, in NSW people who wish to stage a protest must lodge paperwork known as “form 1” or a “notice of intention to hold a public assembly” with the police commissioner in advance of the demonstration for it to be considered lawful. McKenna told reporters on Sunday:
If you come along and do the right thing – don’t commit offences, don’t obstruct people, don’t obstruct roadways … then there’ll be no need for us to intercede.
If, however, people commit offences – criminal offences, or antisocial behaviour, or do anything that we think puts anyone in harm’s way – we won’t hesitate to take action if they do.
Asked what the police response would be if those at the vigil decide to march, McKenna said it would depend on whether they obstruct people or traffic.
People are allowed to walk around the CBD, people are allowed to hold public assemblies. They’ve got a democratic right to protest in Australia.
Prime minister releases statement on 7 October anniversary
Anthony Albanese has released a statement on the one-year anniversary of the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel, where 1,450 people were killed or kidnapped.
The prime minister said 7 October is a day that “carries terrible pain”, marking the largest loss of Jewish life on any single day since the Holocaust.
Albanese said it was also a day to think of the hostages “whose lives remain suspended in the fear and isolation of captivity”:
For their loved ones, this past year must have felt like an eternity – the agony of waiting and not knowing, or of having the terrible truth confirmed.
Albanese said that since 7 October, Jewish Australians have “felt the cold shadows of antisemitism reaching into the present day” and “as a nation we say never again”.
We unequivocally condemn all prejudice and hatred. There is no place in Australia for discrimination against people of any faith … We recognise the distress the conflict has caused here in Australia … The number of civilians who have lost their lives is a devastating tragedy.
Today, we reflect on the truth of our shared humanity, of the hope that peace is possible, and the belief that it belongs to all people.
Welcome
Emily Wind
Good morning, and welcome to the Australia news live blog this Monday morning. My name is Emily Wind, and I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage for most of the day.
Today marks one year since the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel, where 1,450 people were killed or kidnapped. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has released a statement condemning “all prejudice and hatred” – and acknowledging the terrible pain that the anniversary brings.
A number of vigils are planned for today to mark the anniversary, as well as one year since Israel’s ongoing retaliation in Gaza that has resulted in at least 41,000 people – mostly civilians and many children – being killed. NSW police assistant commissioner Peter McKenna said there was no form 1 in place for a pro-Palestine vigil in Sydney but police would “still be negotiating heavily with the organisers”. We’ll bring you more in a moment.
The ABC yesterday reported that the Mona’s Ladies Lounge, infamously known for barring men from entry, is closing next month. But curator Kirsha Kaechele seemingly denied this in a post to Instagram, writing: “Don’t believe everything you hear.”
It’s also a public holiday in NSW, the ACT and South Australia today.
We’ll bring you more on these stories in a moment. As always, you can read out with any tips, feedback and thoughts via X, @emilywindwrites, or you can send me an email: [email protected].
Let’s get started.
