Clare says Dutton’s push to legislate 26 January as Australia Day ‘same fake fight we have every year’
Circling back to the education minister, Jason Clare, who had been speaking on Sunrise earlier.
He was asked about Peter Dutton’s key proposal to keep Australia Day on 26 January, and if Labor would follow suit. But Clare said “the date’s not changing” and “we have the same fake fight every year”.
This is just another distraction from Dutton to conceal this stinker of a policy. There is a smelly flower in Sydney today, [but] the real stinker here is this idea that taxpayers should pay for their boss’s lunch, and [he] still won’t tell us how much it’s going to cost.
The host said that Dutton wanted to put 26 January as Australia Day into law – would Labor? Clare said it was already in employment law:
That’s what I’m saying. It is a fake fight to distract from the mess of Peter Dutton’s crazy policies.
Key events
Two teenagers allegedly shot in Collingwood overnight
Victorian police are investigating after two teenage boys were allegedly shot early this morning.
Emergency services were called to Collingwood this morning where the two boys were found with gunshot wounds, about 1am.
A 17-year-old boy was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, and a 15-year-old boy was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Police understand a large group of people were fighting on Hoddle Street prior to the shooting. Police said in a statement:
Detectives believe the incident was a targeted attack and are working to establish the exact circumstances. Police are continuing to patrol the area for public reassurance.
Ballarat Botanic Gardens Foundation ‘deeply saddened’ over vandalism
Just circling back to our earlier post, that the statues of former prime ministers Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd were vandalised at the Ballarat Botanic Gardens.
The Ballarat Botanical Gardens Foundation has issued a statement on the vandalism, in a post to social media:
Like many members of the Ballarat community, we are deeply saddened to hear of the vandalism of Prime Ministers Avenue today.
The avenue is a source of pride for the local community and has been a site of national significance since it was opened by the Governor of Victoria in 1940.
Our thoughts are with the Friends of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens and staff as we know they value appreciate and love the gardens.
This blatant violation of this vital part of their story and heritage is a severe blow to not only the community but to all who work and care for the gardens.
Total fire ban in place for parts of NSW
The NSW Rural Fire Service says a total fire ban is in place for the Northern Slopes area today, amid hot and dry conditions.
Tamworth and Inverell are both forecast to reach a top of 36C today.
A heatwave warning is currently in place for parts of the state, with temperatures creeping into the low 40s over the Northwest Slopes and Plains. The Bureau of Meteorology said:
Severe heatwave conditions over the northeast are expected to ease to low intensity for the next few days before intensifying again from later in the weekend.
Today Show presenter Alex Cullen to leave network
Amanda Meade
Today Show presenter Alex Cullen will leave the network after allegedly accepting a $50,000 cash prize in return for comments he made on air.
The news was broken by Today host Karl Stefanovic on this morning:
As most of you are well aware, our colleague Alex Cullen has not been on air with us this past week. There has been widespread reporting on the circumstances surrounding this, what I can say is that last night, Alex and Nine agreed that he would finish with the network.
Wong meets with UN secretary general overnight
Overnight the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, met with UN secretary general António Guterres. Sharing a photo to X, Wong said:
[Guterres] and I discussed today the need to maintain the protections that are inherent in the UN Charter and codified in the Geneva Conventions. I reiterated Australia’s support for UN reform, so the system better serves us all.
UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres and I discussed today the need to maintain the protections that are inherent in the UN Charter and codified in the Geneva Conventions.
I reiterated Australia’s support for UN reform, so the system better serves us all. pic.twitter.com/RPf1VRxywK
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) January 23, 2025
Statues of former prime ministers among those vandalised at Ballarat Botanic Gardens
Police are investigating after a large number of statues were vandalised at the Ballarat Botanic Gardens earlier yesterday morning.
This includes statues of former prime ministers Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd, the Courier Mail reported.
In a statement, police said 20 statues were damaged at the gardens in Lake Wendouree sometime between 2m and 5am yesterday morning.
The heads of two statues have been removed and stolen. The name plates of the remaining statues have been covered in spray paint.
Police are appealing for anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
Sydney airport statement on TWU ground worker strike action
Sticking with the ground worker strikes, and a spokesperson with Sydney airport has provided a brief statement:
We are ready to support our airline partners in mitigating the impact on their operations and encourage passengers traveling today to stay alert for messages from their airlines.
Dnata releases statement amid ground workers strike across Australian airports
Dnata, the aviation services company that hires ground workers, says it is “deeply disappointed” the Transport Workers Union has withdrawn from an in-principle agreement reached in December.
In a statement released this morning amid industrial action, a spokesperson said:
This agreement, negotiated in good faith with Michael Kaine, the national secretary of TWU and other senior union officials, was finalised a week before Christmas to prevent planned stoppages that could have disrupted travel for people heading to their loved ones.
The agreement provided a 11% pay increase over 2 years, including an immediate 8.5% pay increase for the majority of employees, alongside improvements to terms and conditions.
Dnata said it was “extremely concerning that the union is now pushing for demands that are far higher than what was previously agreed upon” – with claims for an 11% immediate increase and further 6% increase in six months “entirely out of step with our financial outlook and the economic realities we face”.
Such demands are neither realistic nor sustainable, and contradict the principles of constructive and balanced bargaining. Implementing them would threaten the sustainability of our operations and put nearly 5,000 jobs at risk.
While we remain committed to achieving a fair outcome that supports our employees, we will not jeopardise the stability of our business and operations.
TWU provides more detail on why ground workers are striking
The national secretary of the Transport Workers Union, Michael Kaine, just spoke with ABC News Breakfast about the ground workers strike today – as flagged earlier.
He said ground workers are the ones who “make sure that the belly of the plane is properly packed, weighed correctly so the pilot can sign off”, as well as dealing with baggage.
They’ve been negotiating for over a year now, and still, the company is holding out on a decent arrangement …
Kaine said the jobs used to be full-time permanent directly employed by the airlines, but “Alan Joyce changed all of that”.
He outsourced all of the work, split it up amongst multiple companies. Pitted them in competition with each other and the result is that terms and conditions now are at rock bottom … So they’re asking for better terms and conditions, better job security.
Two men charged over alleged assault of off-duty police officers in Newtown
Two men have been charged with the alleged assault of two off-duty police officers in Sydney’s inner west.
Police said the officers, both 25-year-old male constables, had been walking along Enmore Road in Newtown after attending a concert when they approached three unknown men in their 20s who were arguing. A police spokesperson alleged:
The two off-duty officers were assaulted with one of them knocked to the ground and repeatedly punched and kicked to the head.
Police said they were called to the scene at about 11pm and found a “25-year-old man unconscious on the roadway”.
An off-duty nurse performed CPR on the off-duty officer until paramedics arrived and took him to Royal Prince Alfred hospital, where he remained in a serious but stable condition.
Police arrested two men, aged 18 and 20, at a home in Mascot about 3.20pm. They were taken to Mascot police station.
The 20-year-old was charged with causing grievous bodily harm, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The 18-year-old was charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and larceny.
They were refused bail to appear at Downing Centre local court today. Police said inquiries to locate the third man are ongoing.
Brisbane Airport says it is ‘business as usual for vast majority’ amid industrial action
A very small number of flights could experience baggage delays at Brisbane Airport today amid industrial action.
As we flagged earlier, the Transport Workers Union said about 1,000 ground workers hired by aviation services company Dnata were walking off the job today.
A spokesperson from Brisbane airport said in a statement:
75,000 people will travel through Brisbane Airport today and it will be business as usual for the vast majority.
