Australia news live: Perrottet labels claims he offered to create job for transport minister ‘false and offensive’ | Australia news
Perrottet denies he offered to create a job for transport minister
Michael McGowan
New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet has labelled claims he offered to create a job for his transport minister, David Elliott, as “false and offensive”.
Speaking on Sydney radio station 2GB on Monday morning, Perrottet said a report in the Sun Herald yesterday stating he spoke to Elliott about taking up a senior trade role in London was wrong.
He said:
David Elliott was never promised a job outside of politics. That is deeply offensive and wrong. People will always say from time to time, discussions will be had in relation to when someone retires what they would like to do, that is normal.
However he did confirm that he spoke to Elliott about “a number of roles which he could play within the parliament” after politics.
From time to time, members of parliament – when they’re seeking to leave politics – will talk to colleagues in relation to what they might want to do next.
At that time, minister Elliott did not want to recontest the next election, but was interested in being part of the team going forward.
Asked whether he had also discussed Elliott becoming the governor of NSW, Perrottet said:
From time to time members will always say to their colleagues what they would like to do after politics … what I don’t do as premier is say I would ever make those appointments and offer people a job.
The saga over the senior trade jobs has engulfed the NSW government since John Barilaro was appointed as the state’s New York trade commissioner in June. He has since withdrawn from the position, but is due to appear before a parliamentary inquiry probing the appointments on Monday.
Key events
Queensland plans livestock biosecurity taskforce
Queensland will set up a taskforce to help protect the state’s livestock from “unprecedented biosecurity risks” amid the threat of foot and mouth disease on Australia’s doorstep, AAP reports.
More than 450,000 cases of the disease have reportedly been recorded in Indonesia and thousands of infected cattle have been slaughtered.
A national biosecurity taskforce is being set up to ensure Australia can respond to potential future outbreaks, but Queensland will establish its own unit to defend against animal disease risks.
The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said 15 staff, including 10 officers based in regional areas, would be recruited to prepare Queensland’s livestock industry for future “unprecented biosecurity risks”.
She will brief her cabinet about the $22m plan when it meets at the Ekka, the Royal Queensland Show, today.
Our livestock industries are an essential part of the Queensland economy and represent thousands of good, secure jobs in every region of this state. Primary producers are fighting to protect every single one of those jobs and my government is behind them 100%.
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) August 7, 2022
Perrottet denies he offered to create a job for transport minister
Michael McGowan
New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet has labelled claims he offered to create a job for his transport minister, David Elliott, as “false and offensive”.
Speaking on Sydney radio station 2GB on Monday morning, Perrottet said a report in the Sun Herald yesterday stating he spoke to Elliott about taking up a senior trade role in London was wrong.
He said:
David Elliott was never promised a job outside of politics. That is deeply offensive and wrong. People will always say from time to time, discussions will be had in relation to when someone retires what they would like to do, that is normal.
However he did confirm that he spoke to Elliott about “a number of roles which he could play within the parliament” after politics.
From time to time, members of parliament – when they’re seeking to leave politics – will talk to colleagues in relation to what they might want to do next.
At that time, minister Elliott did not want to recontest the next election, but was interested in being part of the team going forward.
Asked whether he had also discussed Elliott becoming the governor of NSW, Perrottet said:
From time to time members will always say to their colleagues what they would like to do after politics … what I don’t do as premier is say I would ever make those appointments and offer people a job.
The saga over the senior trade jobs has engulfed the NSW government since John Barilaro was appointed as the state’s New York trade commissioner in June. He has since withdrawn from the position, but is due to appear before a parliamentary inquiry probing the appointments on Monday.
Man to face court over alleged murder of three people in north Queensland
Last week, a shooting left three family members dead on a remote Queensland cattle property in north Queensland near the locality of Bogie.
The 59-year-old alleged shooter, Darryl Valroy Young, is expected to appear in the Proserpine magistrates court today.
He was charged with three counts of murder and another count of attempted murder.
The sole survivor of the shooting is recovering in hospital following the incident between neighbours near Bogie, north-west of Mackay.
– with AAP
Stephanie Convery
Australian education ministers to address nationwide teacher shortages
Australia’s education ministers will attempt to address the national teacher shortage in a meeting this Friday, as universities call for longer school placements, teaching apprenticeships and collaboration between government, schools and unions in tackling the problem.
It comes amid concerns teacher shortages could worsen, with modelling suggesting demand for secondary school teachers will outstrip graduates by more than 4,000 in coming years.
The federal education minister, Jason Clare, will devote the first half of the meeting of national, state and territory education ministers to a roundtable addressing the workforce shortage.
VIP doors open at Crown Sydney casino
Gaming group Crown’s flagship skyscraper casino on Sydney Harbour will open its doors to VIP wagering after delays caused by a gaming inquiry, AAP reports.
Crown previously said in a statement:
The doors to Australia’s only VIP casino will begin opening to members and guests from 08.08.2022.
Crown had been prevented from opening the high-end casino in its $2.2bn dining and hotel tower in Barangaroo for more than a year.
The opening was hampered, then blocked, after an inquiry led by former supreme court judge Patricia Bergin found Crown was not fit to operate a casino.
The approval, finally granted earlier this year by the NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority for the members-only gaming facilities inside the upscale Barangaroo complex, is conditional for up to two years.
The conditional period, which will run for 18 to 24 months, will allow the authority to monitor changes made at Crown Sydney so they are “embedded” in the venue.
The opening marks a big step forward for the once-listed Crown, which has been taken private by US investment firm Blackstone after a successful $8.9bn takeover was ticked off in June.
National homelessness plan will tackle social housing backlog
There are currently 162,500 households on the social housing waiting list. Collins says in order to deal with the backlog, the government is working with “as many people as we can to get a plan and get us all heading in the same direction”.
That’s why we need a national plan [on housing and homelessness] … having some leadership and trying to get everyone working together means we’ll have better results and we’ll be able to get more homes in the ground faster.
By providing some leadership and getting everyone to work together on a national plan, we might be able to tackle it nationally rather than on a state by state basis.
Man charged in Perth with ‘being armed in a way that may cause fear’
A 31-year-old man has been charged over a bizarre incident in Perth yesterday.
Police received information Sunday afternoon regarding a man on King Street, Perth dressed in SWAT clothing and who was in possession of what appeared to be an assault rifle and ballistic vest.
A second call was then received that a man was inside a vehicle on King Street armed with a large firearm.
Police attended the scene under emergency conditions, but it was later established there was no real threat to the community.
The uniform the man was wearing was part of his adult entertainment work attire, according to police.
Perth police nevertheless charged the man in relation to the incident. They said in a statement:
It will be alleged the man parked his vehicle on King Street and removed a suitcase from the vehicle. It will be further alleged the man placed a gel blaster gun similar in design to an AR-15 assault rifle on the ground next to him and put on a pair of boots and a black military style mesh vest with ‘SWAT” embossed on the back.
Members of the public witnessed this at various stages and phoned police fearing the firearm was real.
The firearm was seized and subject of further examination.
Police say the man from Nollamara has been charged with “possess[ing] a prohibited weapon” and “being armed in a way that may cause fear”.
Rent assistance not being considered in budget, housing minister says
Collins is asked if the government is working on and considering lifting rent assistance. She responded that states and territories are currently sharing “the innovative things they’re doing … and how they’re managing that”.
Asked if rent assistance is being considered in the budget context, Collins responded:
We’re not at the moment, we’re talking to states and territories about what can be done in terms of rental affordability.
Ultimately it’s an issue around supply and we want to build 30,000 more social and affordable homes atop what states and territories are doing.
Labor government launches homelessness strategy
Julie Collins, the housing and homelessness minister, is on ABC radio as the Albanese government launches its homelessness strategy today.
Collins says the strategy will be “about working with local community organisations and understanding the need for social and community housing to be built right across the country.”
She says fixing homelessness is in the public interest because “everybody benefits from everybody having a safe place to call home”.
Collins served as minister for homelessness in 2013 and is asked how the situation has changed since then.
What we’re seeing, and what I’m hearing is that it’s much harder for people to be able to purchase a home and it’s much harder for people to be able to rent a home.
Good morning!
John Barilaro, the former NSW deputy premier, is set to appear today before an inquiry examining his controversial appointment to a plum New York trade job.
Barilaro is expected to respond to internal government documents uncovered by the inquiry and the testimony of those who have already appeared before the inquiry.
The committee is likely to ask about the evidence given by former adviser that Barilaro fast-tracked a cabinet submission that would have ministers appoint the trade commissioners rather than the public service.
In national news, the Albanese government will launch its homelessness strategy today, with the commonwealth to take greater responsibility for housing.
Julie Collins, the housing and homelessness minister, will make a speech to the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute later today – but you can find out what she is expected to say thanks to Paul Karp who reports on an advanced copy.
Let’s get going.
Australia news live: Perrottet labels claims he offered to create job for transport minister ‘false and offensive’ | Australia news Source link Australia news live: Perrottet labels claims he offered to create job for transport minister ‘false and offensive’ | Australia news
