NSW government asks commuters to avoid trains
The New South Wales government is urging commuters to delay non-urgent travel today, amid industrial action.
As we reported just earlier, trains will run 23km/h slower than usual in areas where the speed limit is over 80km/h, amid industrial action from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union.
A NSW government spokesperson said it was looking at all its options, “including urgent legal action”.
After extensive negotiations over the last few days the unions at the last hour asked for a $4,500 bonus payment for every rail worker. This was never part of our offer, nor was it in the union’s counter offer.
We have a fair and reasonable pay offer on the table. We can’t say yes to rail unions and no to nurses. We have made that clear.
As a result the union has instructed drivers not to show up to work today. We are looking at all our options including urgent legal action.
Key events
Stephanie Convery
More from Dr Gabor Maté’s speech
Continuing from our last post: Dr Gabor Maté said the “vast majority of people who are opposed to Israeli policy and the Israeli occupation, and the deprivation [of Palestinians], are not antisemites.”
They’re just human beings whose hearts are broken, and were Israel to behave differently they would have no anti-Jewish sentiment whatsoever.
Maté is in Australia to tour his latest book, The Myth of Normal. Guardian Australia was invited to Thursday’s sold-out event by the Jewish Council of Australia.
Stephanie Convery
Holocaust survivor and author Dr Gabor Maté addresses Wheeler Centre in Melbourne
Hundreds of members of Melbourne’s Jewish community gathered at the Wheeler Centre last night for a frank and bracing discussion about trauma, liberation, justice and Israel’s war on Gaza with renowned Jewish trauma specialist, Holocaust survivor and author Dr Gabor Maté.
In conversation with human rights lawyer and former South African anti-apartheid activist Emeritus Professor Andrea Durbach, Maté described his experience as a child who survived the Nazi encroachment on Budapest, his youth in the Zionist movement, and his repudiation of it in the wake of the Vietnam war.
I began to question, why is the same press that is so enthusiastically and relentlessly lying about Vietnam, so supportive of us Jews? The same dishonest, malevolent Western press? And then I began to do some research … Right from the beginning of Zionism, there’d been Jews, even Zionists, who opposed the Zionist project, because they knew where it was going.
Israel’s war on Gaza and the conflation of Zionism and Israel’s actions with Jewish identity by Jewish organisations around the world was contributing to the rise in antisemitism, and the logic of Israel’s actions was reinforced by the colonial countries in which many Jewish people live, Maté said.
Racism in general is rising in the world, and so is antisemitism, but I don’t see it as distinct from other forms of racism. Number one, we have to ask, why is racism rising, and what are the forces driving that? … When Israel declares itself to be – which it has – the state of the Jews… and it acts in the name of the Jews, for the benefit of the Jews – that’s what we’re telling the world – then what are people supposed to think of the Jews when the Jews massacre Palestinian children?
So who’s creating it? Who’s creating this identification of mass murder with Jewishness? … The same Jewish organisations that complain about antisemitism are feeding it with identification of these unspeakable acts and this oppression and this terrible occupation with the Jews – “the Jews” in quotation marks.
Call to bring back inheritance tax to tackle wealth gap
Inheritance taxes were abolished in Australia in the late ‘90s – but Anglicare Australia argues in a report today that the government should seriously look into reinstating it, AAP reports. Its executive director, Kasy Chambers, said:
Australia is becoming more unfair and more unequal. Our research shows that we are one of the only countries in the OECD that doesn’t tax big inheritances. This has turbocharged inequality, concentrating wealth among a smaller and smaller group of people.
Anglicare is calling for a tax on high-value inheritances above $2m, not including the family home, which would avoid placing additional burden on low- and middle-class households.
In recent years, Australia’s taxation burden has increasingly fallen on working Australians through personal income tax while taxes on wealth – such as capital gains and land taxes – contribute a relatively small proportion, in part due to generous concessions.
That wealth can be passed on virtually tax-free, entrenching generational equality and making it harder for people without privileged upbringings to achieve financial security.
At the last two federal elections, Labor was assailed by scare campaigns claiming they would institute “death taxes” if elected, despite having no plans to resurrect an inheritance tax. Australia Institute chief economist Greg Jericho said such proposals are easy to malign, despite the fact they would benefit most of the population, because average Australians are sold an aspirational dream.
Clare says claims from China that Australia violated its sovereignty in South China Sea are ‘wrong’
The education minister, Jason Clare, has also weighed in on those reports of an interaction between Australia and China in the South China Sea.
On Sunrise, he was asked about China’s response to the fighter jet incident – that Australia had violated Chinese sovereignty – and said this was wrong:
It is international airspace. I know this is contested but that is international airspace. The actions of that Chinese pilot were wrong.
He said the government made an official complaint to the Chinese authorities about this because “when you fire off flares 30m from an Australian aircraft, it is very dangerous [and] people could have got hurt”.
Military warships will always come into contact with each other but they need to do that in a safe way. Just as this is international air spare, Chinese frigates off the coast of Australia are in international waters. They are legally allowed to be there.
We also are legally allowed to monitor them and shadow them but to do it in a safe and professional way. That is the way that this should have occurred with this aircraft.
Dutton says tariffs would damage US-Australia relationship if they stay in place
The US president, Donald Trump, has this week said there would be “no exemptions” to his 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports – despite efforts from the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to gain an exemption for Australia.
Peter Dutton was asked about accusations from the Trump administration that Australian exporters had exploited the tariff exemptions it was granted in 2018 – did Australia break its promise to Trump?
The opposition leader said the “short answer is no” and that he doesn’t support the tariffs “at all”.
I think they damage the relationship if they stay in place now. As the president’s demonstrated, he’s a deal-maker and I think the prime minister, frankly, should have been preparing the ground long before this decision was made.
Dutton criticised Albanese for not going to visit the president after his inauguration and argued there had been “limited engagement even by the ambassador or the foreign minister with her counterparts or his counterparts”.
I just think the prime minister has dropped the ball here. He’s just not up to the task of negotiating these big deals. And there is a deal, I’m sure, to be done with the United States, and there is a lot Australia has to offer. But it’s wrong that these tariffs are in place.
Dutton calls for more details on interaction between Australia and China in South China Sea
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has also weighed in on that interaction between Australian and Chinese aircraft in the South China Sea on Tuesday.
Speaking on the Today show, he said this was “obviously very concerning and it’s incredibly unsafe”.
He took aim at the prime minister and deputy PM for not saying anything about this in parliament yesterday and waiting until parliament had concluded.
And then Richard Marles did a press conference to provide details. So we haven’t had a briefing on it as yet, but on what the deputy prime minister says it is deeply concerning because it puts that safety at risk, the safety of our personnel. And that is not something that Australia can tolerate.
[It] needs to be transparent in terms of what’s happened, and I just don’t think we’ve seen all of the detail yet from Richard Marles.
Wayne Swan on interaction between Australian and Chinese aircraft in South China Sea
Yesterday, the Department of Defence released information about an “unsafe and unprofessional interaction” between Australian and Chinese aircraft in the South China Sea on Tuesday, where flares were allegedly released near the Australian plane.
Asked about the reports on the Today show earlier, the national president of the Labor party, Wayne Swan, said this was “happening with increasing frequency across the region.”
It doesn’t happen by accident, but it is happening right across the region. It’s happening in Vietnam, it’s happening in the Philippines … and therefore we have to be as prepared as we possibly can, and we have to be as professional as we possibly can while making our long-term defence arrangements, putting those in place with all of our allies.
Good morning
Emily Wind
Emily Wind here, signing on for blogging duties. I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage for most of today.
As always, you can reach out with any tips, questions or feedback via email: emily.wind@theguardian.com. Let’s go.
Emergency warning over Tasmania bushfire
Communities are bracing as an out-of-control bushfire bears down on Tasmania’s west coast, with more than 20 blazes raging as weather conditions rapidly change, AAP reports.
Residents and visitors to Corinna were issued with an emergency warning last night and told to take shelter. The blazes put people and homes at high risk, authorities warned.
Corinna and surrounds is currently at high risk. The fire is travelling towards Corinna. Burning embers may threaten your home before the main fire arrives. Smoke and ash may make it difficult to see and breathe.
Schools were closed and evacuation centres established. Residents were urged to avoid using hoses and sprinklers unless an ember attack directly threatened their property.
Scott Vinen from the Tasmanian fire service said embers had begun to descend on the town, which prompted an emergency warning.
We have had embers in and around Zeehan with smoke. We do have some firefighting resources in the area who will be patrolling and looking out for any ember attacks.
Watch and act alerts were in place for Sandy Cape, Pieman Heads, Conical Rocks, Savage River and Granville Harbour. In all, there were 25 bushfire warnings issued across Tasmania.
Caitlin Cassidy
Five new university hubs for Western Sydney, Brisbane and Logan
Western Sydney, Brisbane and Logan will be home to five new university study hubs to bring the outer suburbs closer to higher education.
Labor will announce the locations of the study hubs today, which were a key recommendation of the Universities Accord to encourage university attainment among under-represented outer suburban Australians.
They will be located in Fairfield, Mt Druitt and Liverpool in western Sydney, Inala in Brisbane and Beenleigh in Logan.
They add to 10 existing suburban university study hubs, with all 15 expected to be open by late 2025, offering campus-style facilities for students undertaking a degree. Some 56 regional study hubs are operating across the country.
The minister for education, Jason Clare, said almost half of people in their 20s and 30s had a university degree, but not in outer suburbs or regional Australia.
I know growing up in western Sydney I saw a lot of golden arches and KFC and Westfield but not a lot of university crests. A lot of my friends felt like university was somewhere else for someone else. I want this to change, and that means bringing university closer to where people live.
‘Super black’ sky warning for WA
A “super black” sky has provided a chilling reminder of the potential danger ahead as a destructive cyclone zeros in on Australia, according to Australian Associated Press.
Tropical Cyclone Zelia is set to hit Western Australia’s Pilbara coast today, becoming a category five system with forecast wind gusts of more than 300km/h.
Shops, schools, roads and ports in WA’s north-west have closed in preparation for the “dangerous” system, with people told to take shelter.
Carrie McDowell called the “super black” sky over her Karratha community ominous as locals were warned to expect dangerous winds and more heavy rain.
The 22,000-strong town of Karratha sits in the region bracing for impact when Cyclone Zelia is forecast to cross the coast between Dampier and De Grey, including Port Hedland, late today. McDowell told AAP:
We’ve not had a category five while we lived here. We had a category three in 2020 and that was really scary. I’m a bit worried about flooding.
Karratha and Port Hedland are both at risk of a direct hit, the Bureau of Meteorology warned. The bureau’s James Ashley said:
This is a very dangerous system that will cause significant impacts.
Read our story here:
NSW government asks commuters to avoid trains
The New South Wales government is urging commuters to delay non-urgent travel today, amid industrial action.
As we reported just earlier, trains will run 23km/h slower than usual in areas where the speed limit is over 80km/h, amid industrial action from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union.
A NSW government spokesperson said it was looking at all its options, “including urgent legal action”.
After extensive negotiations over the last few days the unions at the last hour asked for a $4,500 bonus payment for every rail worker. This was never part of our offer, nor was it in the union’s counter offer.
We have a fair and reasonable pay offer on the table. We can’t say yes to rail unions and no to nurses. We have made that clear.
As a result the union has instructed drivers not to show up to work today. We are looking at all our options including urgent legal action.
BoM shares long-range forecast
Caitlin Cassidy
Warmer than average days and nights are on the cards across large parts of the country in the coming months as Australia enters autumn, the Bureau of Meteorology has revealed.
Its long-range forecast for March to May, released on Thursday evening, predicts warmer than average days are “likely to very likely” across most of the nation, with an increased change of unusually high daytime temperatures across the southern two-thirds of the country, particularly Tasmania.
Warmer than average nights are also “very likely”, alongside unusually high overnight temperatures.
The forecast also predicts above average rainfall across much of northern Australia and parts of the eastern coastline for autumn. Australia’s south is expected to fall within the typical rainfall range.
It has been a sweltering start to the year, off the back of a sweltering 2024. January this year was Australia’s second-warmest on record, with above average weather across most of the country. Ocean temperatures are forecast to remain warmer than average in March to May.
Australia’s land surface has warmed by 1.5C since 1910, according to the BoM, with the climate crisis making heatwaves longer and more intense, and increasing the number of extremely hot days.
Sydney commuters set for fresh delays
Sydney commuters will be hit by fresh delays on the train network this morning as rail workers go ahead with their threat to run trains below the speed limits.
Trains will run 23km/h slower than usual in areas where the speed limit is over 80km/h, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union said last night in a planned protected industrial action.
The union blamed Transport for NSW for backing out of an agreement to head off the dispute, while it also said the state government had confirmed its plans to lock out workers from 12am this morning.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW secretary, Toby Warnes, said while the extent of the delays was unclear, commuters should plan for delays, and direct their anger at the NSW government for the uncertainty.
Commuters across the state should prepare for delays as a result of the NSW government’s decision to lock out its rail workers from Friday morning.
We asked the government to rescind its lockout notices to ensure services ran smoothly on Friday but unfortunately they refused. We hope that the NSW government doesn’t choose to blow this up and cause serious delays, but the reality is we can’t predict the impact.
It’s bitterly disappointing that we haven’t been able to reach a sensible agreement over the past 48 hours. We were incredibly close in negotiations but it seems there are people within Transport for NSW who are still intent on blowing this dispute up.
Sydney Trains apologised for the expected delays and said talks on a new enterprise agreement were continuing before the next Fair Work Commission hearing on Monday.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories and then it’ll be Emily Wind to pick up the reins.
The two main parties have been accused of a “bidding war” in their response to anti-Israeli comments by two nurses in Sydney. But we report today on the constitutional law expert who believes there could be a ceiling to Peter Dutton’s possible preferred policy of rethinking citizenship rules. Helen Irving thinks that the Coalition leader’s suggestion of stripping citizenship from people who fall foul of Australian norms could require a referendum.
Khaled Sabsabi, the western Sydney artist who fled Lebanon’s civil war as a child, has been dropped from representing Australia at the 61st Venice Biennale amid criticism of his appointment. Creative Australia, which only announced its pick five days ago, released a statement last night saying Sabsabi had been removed because of the need to avoid “divisive debate”. The artist has portrayed the late Hezbollah leader in his art and his selection prompted questions in the federal Senate. We’ll have all the reaction as it happens today.
Sydney commuters will be hit by fresh delays on the train network this morning as rail workers go ahead with their threat to run trains below the speed limits. Trains will run 23kmh slower than usual in areas where the speed limit is over 80kmh, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union said last night in a planned protected industrial action. More coming up.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia is set to make landfall on the north coast of Western Australia today. The storm has rapidly intensified since developing over the Indian Ocean and is forecast to be at its most dangerous and powerful when it hits land. Schools, ports and roads have been closed amid fears that the category five system could bring ferocious wind gusts up to 320km/h. More coming up.