Julian Assange 'may not survive' trial and extradition, David Shoebridge says
David Shoebridge says Julian Assange ‘may not survive’ trial and extradition – as it happened
What we learned: Thursday 21 MarchAnd that’s where we’ll leave you this evening. Here’s a wrap of what we learned today:
 
  The defence minister, Richard Marles, and his UK counterpart, Grant Shapps, have signed a new defence and security cooperation agreement that “includes a status of forces agreement, making it easier for the respective forces to operate together in each other’s countries”
 
  The Australian Law Reform Commission has recommended amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act and Fair Work Act to protect students and staff at schools from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
 
  The deputy leader of the Greens, Mehreen Faruqi, has pressed the Albanese government to “replace the superficial Harmony Week with a meaningful week of antiracism” and to establish “a standalone antiracism portfolio in cabinet”.
 
  The former prime minister Paul Keating has said his meeting today with the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, was “a very pleasant and engaging event which, in the main, was a big picture discussion about the geostrategic balances and influences in the world”.
 
  The federal health minister, Mark Butler, has introduced a bill that would outlaw the sale, supply, commercial possession, advertising and manufacture of vapes in Australia.
 
  The Albanese government announced that from Saturday it will implement several key recommendations of the migration review, released in December.
 
  Almost 550,000 migrants pushed Australia’s population growth rate to a record high in the year to September 2023, threatening government efforts to ease migration levels.
 
  PwC’s global chairman, Bob Moritz, has refused to comply with a request from the Australian parliament to share a copy of an investigation used to contain the tax leaks scandal to Australia.
 
  Greens MP Jenny Leong was kicked out of question time in the lower house of New South Wales parliament today, after she interrupted to demand that two people be let into the public gallery in the interests of democracy.
 
  The Queensland LNP leader, David Crisafulli, has ruled out building any new stadium for the Brisbane Olympics at the Gabba, in Victoria Park, or anywhere else.
 
  Plagued by teacher shortages and staff burnout, Victorian public school principals are ratcheting up a campaign for more federal funding.
Key events21 Mar 2024What we learned: Thursday 21 March21 Mar 2024Julian Assange ‘may not survive’ trial and extradition, David Shoebridge says21 Mar 2024Queensland opposition rules out new Olympic stadium if elected21 Mar 2024Labor seeking ‘enduring solution’ on religious discrimination after ALRC report handed down: Dreyfus21 Mar 2024Victorian public schools up ante on funding deal with feds21 Mar 2024Greens deputy leader calls for 'superficial' Harmony Week to be replaced with 'a meaningful week of antiracism'21 Mar 2024Question time begins21 Mar 2024Paul Keating hails ‘big picture discussion’ with Chinese foreign minister21 Mar 2024Australia’s population hit 26.8 million last year after record increase in net migration21 Mar 2024Greens MP Jenny Leong asked to leave NSW question time20 Mar 2024Richard Marles and Grant Shapps hold press conference20 Mar 2024Australia and UK sign new defence and security cooperation agreement20 Mar 2024Question for Trump on Rudd reportedly written by Sky News Australia CEO20 Mar 2024Brandis says Rudd must have bipartisan support as ambassador despite Trump’s ‘wild’ comments20 Mar 2024Labor to implement migration review recommendations20 Mar 2024Good morning20 Mar 2024Wang Yi to meet Paul Keating and business leaders in Sydney20 Mar 2024Acoss releases pre-budget call for welfare rates to rise20 Mar 2024Security talks with UK ministers20 Mar 2024WelcomeShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureVictoria to crack down on dodgy landlords with giant finesRule-breaking landlords and real estate agents in Victoria will be targeted and hit with hefty fines if they break the state’s rental standards laws, AAP reports.A new taskforce will crack down on the likes of false advertising, renting out properties that do not meet minimum standards and not lodging bonds.Victoria’s consumer affairs minister, Gabrielle Williams, said the taskforce would start responding to complaints this year and be staffed by 14 intelligence analysts, inspectors, investigators and lawyers.She said some landlords had continued to behave badly despite the state government implementing more than 130 rental reforms in 2021.Williams said:
 Most rental providers and estate agents do the right thing – today’s announcement is about sending a clear message to those trying to get away with rental offences.
Two leading LGBTQ+ groups have called on the federal government to adopt the recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission’s anti-discrimination inquiry “as soon as possible”.The report, handed down today, recommended amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act and Fair Work Act to protect students and staff at schools from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.Equality Australia’s legal director, Ghassan Kassisieh, said:
 This is the blueprint for reform and we call on the federal government to adopt the recommendations in full, and pass legislation as soon as possible.
 Labor committed to these reforms before coming to power but discrimination against LGBTQ+ students and staff is happening in religious schools across the country because of gaps in Australian laws that makes it lawful.
In a separate statement, Alastair Lawrie, director of policy and advocacy at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said the report lays out a clear pathway for the government to keep its promise to protect LGBTQ+ students and teachers.But the organisation criticised the narrow terms of reference for the inquiry, which did not extend to exploring the same protections for LGBTQ+ people working in other industries. Lawrie said:
 We’re disappointed that the narrow terms of reference given to the ALRC mean the report does not recommend immediate removal of general religious exceptions which allow discrimination in other taxpayer funded services operated by faith bodies across healthcare, disability and elsewhere.
 ​Gay nurses, lesbian doctors, bisexual aged care workers, trans NDIS service providers, and LGBTQ people accessing a wide range of publicly funded community services deserve the same rights, and same protections, as queer students and teachers.
Henry BelotGreens accuse PwC International of delivering a “slap in the face to the Australian people”Greens senator Barbara Pocock, who is also a member of the Senate inquiry into the consultancy industry, has accused PwC International of delivering a “slap in the face to the Australian people”.PwC’s global chairman, Bob Moritz, has refused to comply with a request from the Australian parliament to share a copy of an investigation the firm relied on to contain the tax leaks scandal to Australia.
  The international firm has cited legal professional privilege over a report by law firm Linklaters, but provided more information about the scope of the investigation and the conduct of those it mentions.The report cleared six international partners who received confidential Australian government information about draft multinational tax laws of professional misconduct. Senators, regulators and departments want to read the full Linklaters report to independently verify that finding.Pocock said:
 His … refusal to hand over any information about the role of international partners in the scandal flies in the face of their claims to good governance. This is a slap in the face to the Australian people who have paid through the nose for PwC contracts with government agencies for decades.
Australian embassy in US focused on Aukus over Assange, Shoebridge saysSpeaking further on the plight of Julian Assange, David Shoebridge gave credit to Kevin Rudd for getting his team at Australia’s embassy in the US to be a “clear advocate” for the WikiLeaks founder.But he said the Australian embassy has been “overrun by Aukus”:
 The US administration said it had been repeatedly raised would them. So … I give credit for that work. I think in many ways, though, the embassy has been overrun by Aukus in the last few months, the mess that Aukus is in.
 That’s what I’m hearing from Assange supporters and others there over this year. Assange hasn’t been so much the focus – more Aukus.
Shoebridge also expressed concern at the Aukus deal enmeshing Australia closer to the US at a time when the nation may elect Donald Trump later this year as their new president.
 That is a very dangerous and uncertain path for Australia to go down. You would surely think we need a plan B in the case of Donald Trump being elected. And that’s not just who our ambassador will be – that’s whether or not we should continue with things like a $360bn-odd Aukus submarine deal.
Julian Assange ‘may not survive’ trial and extradition, David Shoebridge saysJulian Assange may not survive his trial and extradition to the US if the segment of the US Department of Justice that wish to take Assange case “as far as they possibly can” succeeds, the Greens’ spokesperson for justice, David Shoebridge, has said.Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing a short moment ago, Shoebridge said of the WikiLeaks founder:
 The extradition itself could effectively be a death sentence against Julian Assange. That’s what some of the medical opinions show.
 I think what we desperately need is we need an outcome where Julian and his family can come back to Australia and be free. And have that happen as a degree of urgency. It’s a matter for Julian and US officials as to whether or not a deal is struck.
 But the ideal outcome would be the dropping of the charges and his return to Australia as a free person so he could be with his wife and family.
On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported reported that the US justice department was looking at ways to cut short Assange’s long London court battle against extradition to the US to face espionage charges for the publication 14 years ago of thousands of classified US documents related to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.The report said a plan under consideration would be to drop the current 18 charges under the Espionage Act if Assange pleaded guilty to mishandling classified documents – a misdemeanour offence. Assange would be able to enter the plea remotely from London and would likely be free soon after the deal was agreed to, as he has already spent five years in custody in the UK.But Assange’s lawyers say they have been “given no indication” Washington intends to change its approach.Shoebridge said he thinks the Biden administration was “testing the waters” by dropping the story in the Journal:
 Does the Biden administration really want to be jailing one of the world’s most prominent whistleblowers in the lead-up to an election? I think that context shows why this story was dropped with one of the most prominent US papers, which is often the space where the administration goes to drop these stories. It’s really a testing of the waters – as much with the Assange team as I think with the national security community in the United States.
More on the plea deal reportedly being considered by the US here:Henry BelotLabor criticises PwC International’s investigation into tax scandal as ‘deeply disappointing’Labor senator Deborah O’Neill, who is a member of the Senate inquiry into the consultancy industry, says PwC International’s refusal to comply with its requests is “unsurprising” but “deeply disappointing”.
 PwC’s global chairman, Bob Moritz, has refused to comply with a request from the Australian parliament to share a copy of an investigation the firm relied upon to contain the tax leaks scandal to Australia.
 The international firm has cited legal professional privilege over a report by law firm Linklaters, but provided more information about the scope of the investigation and the conduct of those it mentions.The report cleared six international partners who received confidential Australian government information about draft multinational tax laws of professional misconduct. Senators, regulators and departments want to read the full Linklaters report to independently verify that finding. 
 Here’s part of a statement from O’Neill:
 Mr Moritz seems to misunderstand the request and the opportunity here. He can show that PwC is dealing with the legacy of its behaviour in Australia, but that will require a commitment to transparency and openness.
 If the involvement by international partners in this scandal is minimal, then there would seem to be little justification for hiding behind legal privilege.
 Australian partners of the firm have already paid a substantial penalty for their involvement in this issue. I see no reason why their international peers should be spared that scrutiny, just because we are told by PwC that there is ‘nothing to see’ here.
More on this story here:Evacuations in Borroloola and NT Gulf Country taking place following severe weather warnings210 people have been evacuated from the Northern Territory’s Gulf Country and more will follow this afternoon as severe weather warnings continue in the wake of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Megan.The acting police commissioner, Matt Hollamby, said so far evacuations have only taken place in Borroloola, but emergency plans to evacuate other communities are in place if required. He said:
 There is a degree of uncertainty and apprehension about their residence in Borroloola. We’d just ask that you respect their dignity whilst they are being evacuated to Darwin.
 Borroloola is the only community that is being evacuated at this point in time. There are emergency plans to evacuate other communities, only if it’s necessary. And as a part of that planning, we have asked the military for aerial support in those activities, should they be required.
Adeshola OreWamba Wemba people secure first reserved seat on Victorian First Peoples’ Assembly without government recognitionVictoria’s Wamba Wemba people have become the first Indigenous group to secure a reserved seat on the state’s First Peoples’ Assembly without formal government recognition.The assembly – the state’s democratically elected Indigenous body – on Thursday voted to create a new reserved seat for the traditional owners from the state’s north-west. The body is meeting today to discuss priorities ahead of beginning statewide treaty negotiations with the Allan government in the coming months.Assembly co-chair Reuben Berg, a Gunditjmara man, says it is important the treaty process is not confined by government systems:
 The Assembly created the additional pathway to recognition so mob can decide who is who and how we organise ourselves. It’s fantastic to see it working and we’re really thrilled to be celebrating Wamba Wemba’s inclusion in the Assembly with a new reserved seat.
The assembly is made up of a mix of reserved and democratically elected seats but has previously faced some criticism by some in the Indigenous community for not including allocated seats for every traditional owner group.Queensland opposition rules out new Olympic stadium if electedThe Queensland LNP leader, David Crisafulli, has ruled out building any new stadium for the Brisbane Olympics at the Gabba, in Victoria Park, or anywhere else.That leaves just two options to host athletics. Plan A: upgrading the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, which was used for the 1982 Commonwealth Games, and later by the Brisbane Broncos until the early 2000s. That’s the Labor government’s plan, and it has been heavily criticised by the LNP opposition because it’s nowhere near public transport.Or plan B: they could hold it on the Gold Coast at Carrara Stadium. It hosted the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and the athletics.Just one problem: it’s on the Gold Coast, which is an odd place to hold the Brisbane Olympics. (It was also scheduled to host cricket).They might also hold it at the Gabba, but the ground has been criticised by all parties as unsuitable without major upgrades.The idea of a multibillion-dollar new stadium at Victoria Park was recommended by an independent review led by former Brisbane lord mayor and long-time Olympics booster Graham Quirk on Monday. It is now dead.The opposition leader told media he would set up an independent infrastructure authority immediately if elected at the state poll in October, and the body would come out with an answer by February 2025.Crisafulli said this afternoon:
 For 1000 days the Labor government has torched the Games. I’m asking Queenslanders for 100 days to fix this mess, for 100 days to get what should have been right a long time ago.
David Crisafulli said he would set up an independent infrastructure authority if elected in October. Photograph: Darren England/AAPLabor seeking ‘enduring solution’ on religious discrimination after ALRC report handed down: DreyfusImmediately after question time, Mark Dreyfus tabled to the parliament the Australian Law Reform Commission’s report on religious educational institutions and anti-discrimination report.We covered the conclusions and recommendations of the report – which is not a report from government but will be considered by it – in the blog a little earlier.Dreyfus began by stating no Australians should be discriminated against on the basis of their belief or who they are.He continued:
 The government will seek to enhance protections in anti-discrimination law in a way that brings Australians together.
   Just as commonwealth law already prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender, sexuality, disability and age, no one should be discriminated against because of their faith.
   Equally, no students or member of staff should be discriminated against because of who they are. At the same time, religious schools must continue to be able to build and maintain communities of faith.
   The government recognises and respects the right of parents to send their kids to a religious school because of the beliefs and values they teach their children.
   Over many months, we have been talking to a range of religious institutions, community organisations, unions and legal experts. We thank them for their engagement, and we thank the Australian Law Reform Commission for its work.
   The government is seeking an enduring solution that strengthens protections for all of us – students, teachers, people of faith. And that’s why bipartisan support for solutions is essential.
Victorian public schools up ante on funding deal with fedsPlagued by teacher shortages and staff burnout, Victorian public school principals are ratcheting up a campaign for more federal funding, AAP reports.Victoria’s education minister, Ben Carroll, the treasurer, Tim Pallas, and other Labor MPs were meeting with more than 50 public school principals at state parliament on Thursday.The group is demanding their schools be funded to 100% of the schooling resource standard (SRS), set out by the landmark 2011 Gonski review. The federal government is negotiating new school funding agreements with states and territories.Under Gonski 2.0 reforms, states are required to fund public schools at 75% of the SRS and the commonwealth chips in 20%, leaving a 5% gap.The Australian Education Union’s Victorian branch president, Meredith Peace, said Victorian government schools were funded to 90.4% of the SRS, the lowest in the country.The principal of Kennington primary, Travis Eddy, said his school of 620 students and more than 100 staff had missed out on more than $1.6m a year over the past decade because of the shortfall.His staff are leaving the profession due to workload-related burnout, he said, and it is proving extremely difficult to find replacements.Eddy said:
 Our recruitment numbers have gone from, five years ago, pre-Covid, 100 applicants for teaching jobs to two.
Jordyn BeazleyGood afternoon, everyone. I’ll now be with you until this evening.Parliament will shortly adjourn until Monday (short sitting week next week with just the three days, so regional and rural members can make it back to their electorates for Good Friday sittings) so I will hand you over to Jordyn Beazley for the remainder of the afternoon.Make sure you check back for more political news – but we’ll be back with Politics Live on Monday. You’ll still have a blog for company tomorrow though – the general news blog, Australia Live, will be with you from just after 7am.Until Monday – take care of you. AxALRC report recommends reform of Sex Discrimination Act and Fair Work ActIn line with that conclusion, the ALRC makes two major recommendations:
 
  Reform the Sex Discrimination Act to “narrow the circumstances in which it would be lawful to discriminate against students or staff at religious educational institutions on SDA grounds”, and
 
  Reform the Fair Work Act to “narrow the circumstances in which it would be lawful to treat staff (particularly existing employees) at religious educational institutions differently on the ground of religion”; secondly, “to ensure that differential treatment on the basis of religion does not allow for discrimination on SDA grounds”; and lastly “to allow religious educational institutions to give preference to persons of the same religion in selecting employees, in order to build and maintain a community of faith”.
Government’s religious discrimination policy commitments comply with international obligations, ALRC report findsWhat has the ALRC concluded?Here is their summary of the conclusions:
 The ALRC has concluded that the Australian Government’s policy commitments can be implemented in a manner that is consistent with Australia’s international legal obligations, through amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act, the Fair Work Act, and the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) (‘Australian Human Rights Commission Act ’), as specified in the recommendations made by the ALRC.
 The recommended reforms would maximise the realisation of human rights overall and, where the reforms may restrict the realisation of some rights to some extent, the reforms would do so in a way that is justifiable under international law. Furthermore, broadly stated, the reforms would result in greater consistency between Commonwealth law and state and territory laws, as well as the law in comparable overseas jurisdictions.
ALRC religious discrimination report deliveredThe Australian Law Reform Commission’s report into religious discrimination has landed.You can read the whole report here.