Key posts
- Technology ‘turbocharging’ extremism: home affairs minister
- Strict new rules on who can call themselves a cosmetic ‘surgeon’
- Gas price capped despite industry indignation
- This morning’s headlines at a glance
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Technology ‘turbocharging’ extremism: home affairs minister
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil says intelligence agencies are investigating the national security implications of the Queensland shootout that led to the deaths of six people, including the role online radicalisation may have played in sparking the tragedy.
O’Neil said conspiracy theories, disinformation and misinformation are being “turbocharged” by the internet, presenting a new kind of national security threat for law enforcement agencies and policymakers.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil says new policy responses may be needed to tackle online extremism.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
New policy responses, including legislation, may be needed to help prevent people with extremist views from turning to violence, O’Neil said.
While Queensland Police are still investigating the case, O’Neil said online radicalisation is likely to form part of the explanation for why police officers were fired upon when they approached a property at Wieambilla, west of Brisbane.
Online accounts sharing the name of one member of the now deceased trio inside the home, 47-year-old Gareth Train, had been active on conspiracy websites for years and suggested an interest in the topics for decades.
Read the full story here.
Strict new rules on who can call themselves a cosmetic ‘surgeon’
Doctors without suitable qualifications will be banned from calling themselves cosmetic surgeons under a series of major changes struck by state and federal health ministers.
And in a significant reversal, the ministers also agreed that a ban on the use of patient testimonials by cosmetic surgeons – which several state governments had wanted wound back – will be retained.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
The legal changes follow an investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that lifted the lid on Australia’s multibillion-dollar cosmetic surgery industry.
In September, state and federal health ministers flagged urgent action to improve the safety of the cosmetic surgery industry and make the sector safer for the public. The decision followed twin investigations by this masthead in partnership with Nine’s 60 Minutes and the ABC’s Four Corners that uncovered a litany of disturbing practices at the clinics of celebrity cosmetic surgeon Dr Daniel Lanzer.
More on this issue here.
Gas price capped despite industry indignation
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stared down fury from the gas industry over the government’s interventionist energy price relief laws, saying his bill will have no impact on investment and warning business leaders against talking down the sector.
As the contentious legislation was hurried through a one-day sitting of the parliament, energy giant Santos launched an extraordinary attack against Labor’s “Soviet-style” policy to cap the gas price.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected claims the bill would dampen investment.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Treasurer Jim Chalmers was poised to immediately issue an emergency order to impose a 12-month price cap of $12 a gigajoule on uncontracted gas on the east coast following the passage of the laws, which also created a mandatory code of conduct for gas producers and authorised $1.5 billion in power bill subsidies for concession holders and small businesses.
Responding to the uproar from the sector, Albanese said the temporary cap would “do nothing whatsoever to inhibit investment”, pointing out that 96 per cent of gas contracts in 2021 were priced at under $12 a gigajoule.
Read the full story here.
This morning’s headlines at a glance
Good morning and thanks for your company.
It’s Friday, December 16. Today is our final edition of the national news blog for the year. I’m Broede Carmody and I’ll be anchoring our coverage for the first half of the day.
Here’s what you need to know before we get started:
- Energy giant Santos has slammed Labor’s “Soviet-style” price cap after the Senate yesterday passed the government’s energy package. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is due to appear on Sydney radio this morning. Stay tuned.
- Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil says intelligence agencies are investigating the national security implications of Monday’s deadly shootout in Queensland.
- Doctors without suitable qualifications will be banned from calling themselves cosmetic surgeons. It comes after a series of reports by this masthead.
- Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is on her way to Canada for a high-level biosecurity summit. Tagging along is independent ACT senator David Pocock and Sarah Hanson-Young from the Greens.
- Today is the final day of robo-debt hearings in Brisbane. The royal commission hearings will resume next year. This week, Scott Morrison and senator Marise Payne gave evidence.
- In state news, Western Australia has reported a budget surplus of $1.8 billion. It means WA has the best budget position of any state or territory.
- In Tasmania, schools in Devonport will hold a minute’s silence today to mark the one-year anniversary of the Hillcrest jumping castle tragedy.
- Meanwhile, the Palaszczuk government says it will work to overhaul double-jeopardy laws so that those who weren’t successfully prosecuted due to bungled DNA testing can be brought to justice.
- And in international news, Fiji’s opposition leader is disputing the early tally of the country’s recent election. Counting continues amid claims of voting irregularities.
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