Watt says Thorpe protest ‘failed miserably’Asked if there should be consequences for Lidia Thorpe over her protest, Murray Watt said:
Unfortunately what we saw from Lidia Thorpe today is what we see pretty much every week in the Senate. Her and Pauline Hanson … not a week goes by without the two of them at each other’s throats, disrupting the Senate and to try and grandstand – and for what?
He said he was “in the room when [Thorpe’s protest at the king] happened and was not aware until this very moment [the return of Indigenous artefacts] is the issue she was raising today. I don’t think it worked. I don’t think it got the message through to anyone in the room.”At that point, an audience member shouted:
We’re talking about it now, dick.
Watt responded:
If the idea was to raise the issue with the people who were in the room, I think it failed miserably.
ShareUpdated at 22.21 CESTKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureO’Neil speaks to opposition’s focus on greenfield housing sitesThe housing minister, Clare O’Neil, is now speaking with ABC RN about the opposition’s housing policy. Asked if there was a divide between the government and opposition over the focus on greenfield sites, O’Neil said “we need to do both”.
Because what we want is, No 1, more housing, because more housing means more affordable housing for all Australians. But No 2, more housing choices – and we’re going to have different people that want to do and live in different parts of our country.
We need to assist with greenfield development, as our government is doing. We also need state governments to step up a bit on planning reform that will enable us to do infill in existing suburbs …
[Young people] would be very happy to live in apartments where they’ve got access to great resources, great transport networks and the life that comes from living in the inner city. And we need to give people options, that’s that’s the answer here.
The housing minister Clare O’Neil. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAPShareUpdated at 22.50 CESTDutton says ‘other elements’ of housing policy to be unveiled before electionOn Saturday, the Coalition unveiled a new housing policy aimed at alleviating the housing crisis – committing $5bn to develop greenfield sites across the country.The plan promises half a million extra homes over four years. Currently, Australia builds about 160,000 a year, so this means a 74% boost on current numbers. But how realistic is the plan?Dutton told ABC RN it was “very realistic” and said a number of housing bodies had endorsed the policy.
Every economist will tell us that we need to get more supply into the housing market, given the demands that are there, given the population growth, and I believe it’s entirely possible … There are other elements of the policy that we intend to announce between now and election day.
He was asked about how this policy aligns with the Coalition’s plan to cut migration – Dutton said “we need to prioritise the people who are coming in to go into the trade” and added:
We’ve also been clear about making sure that we can access the workforce that’s readily available here in Australia now, and that is people who have retired early who want to come back into the workforce, but are prevented from doing so because of the run between the welfare system and the tax system.
ShareUpdated at 22.41 CESTOpposition leader says Thorpe’s words to king ‘didn’t advance anyone’s cause’The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has been speaking with ABC RN about a range of issues – including Lidia Thorpe’s actions at King Charles’ parliamentary reception yesterday.Dutton argued that “sometimes people make it all about themselves, and I think that’s what yesterday was.” He said it “didn’t advance anyone’s cause” and “add[s] to the self promotion … that she seeks.”
The vast majority of people have been very welcoming the king’s visit, and I think it’s been an opportunity to underscore the stability in our democracy, our rule of law, separation of powers, all of those institutions that we inherited from our British heritage.
That’s part of the success story of our country, and it’s a good reminder during his visit [that] if we change it, I think we want to be very careful about the system we’re changing to and whether or not we would be a safer, more secure, community and environment for decades to come or not.
We’ll bring you more from Dutton’s interview in a moment.King Charles speaks with Peter Dutton at Government House yesterday. Photograph: Toby Melville/ReutersShareUpdated at 22.30 CESTFirst Aboriginal woman in parliament ‘deeply disappointed’ by Lidia Thorpe’s ‘outburst’Nova Peris, a former senator and the first Aboriginal woman in the parliament, says she is “deeply disappointed” by Lidia Thorpe’s actions during King Charles’ parliamentary reception yesterday.In a post to X, Peris said that the “outburst” was “both embarrassing and disrespectful to our nation and the Royal Family”, and “disrupted what should have been a respectful event”.
In 2022, Senator Thorpe herself affirmed allegiance to the Crown during her swearing-in ceremony … If Senator Thorpe was not on board with this, she should not have accepted her position and made her affirmation in the first place.
(When Thorpe was sworn in, she was told to repeat the oath of allegiance after she initially described the Queen as a coloniser.)Nova Peris in 2019. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The GuardianPeris said she has supported the principle Australia should become a republic for two decades, but argued “such decisions are for the Australian people to make through democratic means—not through rude interruptions or public outbursts”.
Australia is moving forward in its journey of reconciliation. As a nation, we are continually recognising the deep injustices faced by Aboriginal people. However, as hard as that journey is, it requires respectful dialogue, mutual understanding, and a shared commitment to healing—not divisive actions that draw attention away from the progress we are making as a country.
ShareUpdated at 22.27 CESTThorpe says requests to meet with king were ‘ignored’Late last night, Lidia Thorpe said that her requests to meet with King Charles and discuss her concerns were “ignored”.In a post to X, she replied to a British news agency and wrote:
I actually put in several requests for a meeting to discuss these issues. Those requests were ignored.
It’s not the first time Thorpe has tried to meet with the king. After quitting the Greens party to become an independent in 2023, she told the ABC she would be “on the first plane” if she were to be invited to meet the king. She said at the time:
I really want to meet with the king. Why not? I am a senator. Surely, I can do that.
ShareGood morningEmily WindEmily Wind here, signing on for blogging duties. Many thanks for Martin Farrer for getting the blog rolling this morning.As always, you can get in touch with any tips, feedback or questions via X, @emilywindwrites, or you can send me an email: [email protected]’s get started.ShareBHP facing $70bn lawsuit in LondonAs I mentioned at the start, BHP is facing a massive $70bn lawsuit in the high court in London over its handling of the 2015 dam disaster at Mariana.Nineteen people were killed when a tailings dam collapsed, destroying bridges, roads, houses, factories and other commercial premises.Read the full story here:ShareUpdated at 22.27 CESTMultiple attacks on gay men spark fears over online homophobic rhetoricMore than a dozen attacks on gay men across Australia since July has sparked concern among the LGBTQ+ community.In some cases – but not all – police have alleged homophobic comments were made and several of the assaults were filmed.In today’s Full Story, reporter Josh Taylor speaks to Tamsin Rose about concerns some people online are promoting “methods of attack” and how men are being targeted after agreeing to meetings via apps such as Grindr.ShareUpdated at 22.18 CESTCould independents challenge Labor’s Western Sydney stronghold?After more teal success against the Liberals in northern Sydney, Labor’s strongholds in western Sydney could be targeted by independents fired up by the war in Gaza, and the cost-of-living and housing crises.Ahmed Ouf, a pharmacist who emigrated here from Egypt, believes the time has come when “someone with dark skin, an immigrant, someone from a minority” can challenge for the seat held by education minister, Jason Clare:
Labor’s time in western Sydney has run out.
Check out the full story by Mostafa Rachwani:ShareUpdated at 22.19 CESTWatt says Thorpe protest ‘failed miserably’Asked if there should be consequences for Lidia Thorpe over her protest, Murray Watt said:
Unfortunately what we saw from Lidia Thorpe today is what we see pretty much every week in the Senate. Her and Pauline Hanson … not a week goes by without the two of them at each other’s throats, disrupting the Senate and to try and grandstand – and for what?
He said he was “in the room when [Thorpe’s protest at the king] happened and was not aware until this very moment [the return of Indigenous artefacts] is the issue she was raising today. I don’t think it worked. I don’t think it got the message through to anyone in the room.”At that point, an audience member shouted:
We’re talking about it now, dick.
Watt responded:
If the idea was to raise the issue with the people who were in the room, I think it failed miserably.
ShareUpdated at 22.21 CESTEmployment minister supportive of returning Indigenous remains from UK but says Thorpe’s protest not ‘particularly effective’The ABC’s Q+A program broadcast from Queensland last night, but the election was not the top story.It kicked off with a question from Daniel, a Gureng Gureng man of the Bundaberg region, who echoed Lidia Thorpe’s protest in parliament during the royal visit, with a question about the return of the remains of elders and Indigenous artefacts from the UK.Murray Watt, the minister for employment, said Thorpe’s outburst during the royal tour during which she told the king to “give us what you stole from us, our bones, our skull, our babies, our people” was not “a particularly effective way of getting her point across”, and said he was supportive of First Nations groups that wanted to regain ancestors’ remains.“Any right-thinking person would acknowledge that’s the right thing to be done,” he said. He added his son had just done a school project on it and he was “happy to take it up within government”.ShareUpdated at 22.20 CESTWelcomeMartin FarrerGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before Emily Wind takes the controls.A Ngunnawal elder has rebuked Lidia Thorpe over her confrontation with King Charles, saying the Victorian senator doesn’t speak for her people and that her comments were “disrespectful”. But other First Nations activists are continuing protests against the visit, including trying to a issue the king with a court summons for genocide.The subject came up on the ABC’s Q+A program, with the employment minister, Murray Watt, saying it wasn’t a “particularly effective way of getting her point across” and he was “in the room when it happened and was not aware until this very moment this is the issue she was raising today” – at which point an audience member had a heckle of their own to deliver. More on that in a few minutes.We’ll be following the progress of the royal couple today as they continue their visit with a series of engagements in Sydney.Our latest Guardian Essential poll examines the king’s popularity and finds that he has a stronger approval among Australians for the way he is doing his job than either the prime minister or the man who wants to be PM. Taken just ahead of the monarch’s arrival in Australia, the poll of 1,140 voters found that 50% approved of the job Charles is doing as Australia’s head of state, with 26% disapproving and 24% unsure. More coming up.One of Australia’s biggest companies, BHP, has been accused of “cynically and doggedly trying to avoid” responsibility for Brazil’s worst environmental disaster in a lawsuit involving 620,000 claimants. The huge case concerning the 2015 Mariana disaster – the largest group lawsuit in English legal history – began at the high court in London overnight. More coming up.Share