Australia news live: Katter and Spender among ‘sensible’ independents who could help Coalition to minority government, Littleproud says
Katter, Spender among the ‘sensible’ independents who could help Coalition to minority government, Littleproud says
Nationals leader David Littleproud spoke with Sky News earlier about the prospect of a minority government, and the latest polling numbers out today.
On the crossbench, he said there was “only very few that would be able to work constructively with the Coalition government.” Asked how many crossbenchers whose support they might be able to gain, he responded:
You only have to look at the voting record of most of them, they vote with the Greens and the Labor party the majority of the time.
There are some eminently sensible ones there, I mean, Bob Katter has proved it before, so too has Rebecca Sharkey and Dai Le. And I think Allegra Spender has shown, probably of all the teals, the maturity that the others haven’t, in being able to work constructively and understand that it’s not always about trying to save the planet, it’s also about trying to save Australian’s wallets [that have] been bled dry by an ideology.
Key events
Continued from previous post:
Another improvement was student-to-teacher ratios. There were 320,377 full-time equivalent teaching staff in 2024, a 2.8% rise on 2023.
Elliot said with a rise in the number of teaching staff, the average student-to-teacher ratio across Australian schools fell to a 2006 low of 12.9 students to one teacher.
Independent schools had the lowest student-to-teacher ratios with 11.7 students to one teacher. Meanwhile, government and Catholic schools had 13.1 and 13.3 students to one teacher respectively.
There were 4.1m students enrolled across 9,653 schools in 2024, a 1.1% rise on the previous year.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school student enrolments were up 3.7% on the previous year. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students now make up 6.6% of all school students.
Proportion of students finishing year 12 rises
The proportion of students staying in school until year 12 has increased for the first time since 2017, new Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures show.
The ABS figures, released on Monday morning, show the proportion of students staying at school from year 7 until year 12 rose to 79.9% in 2024, up from 79.1% the previous year.
The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students staying at school until year 12 also rose from 55.9% in 2023 to 56.7% in 2024.
Cassandra Elliott, ABS head of education statistics, said the overall growth was largely driven by students at government schools, which was up 1.3% to 74.3% in 2024.
This compared to a 0.9 percentage point rise to 88.1% for students at non-government schools.
Final submissions due in Tasmanian jumping castle tragedy
A court will hear final legal submissions in a case against the operator of a jumping castle at the centre of a tragedy that killed six primary school students.
Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt died after the incident in Tasmania in December 2021.
Three other students were injured in the accident at Hillcrest primary school in Devonport, which made global headlines.
They were enjoying end-of-year celebrations on the school’s oval when a wind gust lifted the castle and several inflatable balls into the air.
Rosemary Gamble, who was charged in November 2023, has pleaded not guilty to one count of failure to comply with health and safety duty.
Lawyers on both sides of the case will make their final submissions on Monday, following a 10-day hearing in Devonport magistrates court in November.
WA police arrest and charge sixth person in relation to alleged robberies targeting LGBTQ+ community
Western Australian detectives from Fremantle have concluded their investigation into a series of alleged robberies targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
Police allege that between 17 and 18 September last year, a group of six juvenile males used an online dating app to organise meetings with four separate victims in various locations.
On each occasion, police allege the men organised to meet with the victims with the intention of committing offences against them.
On the weekend a sixth and final man was identified, located and arrested. Police said as a result of the investigation, six people have been charged with a total of 52 offences.
An 18-year-old Yangebup male will appear before the Perth children’s court on 20 March, charged with several offences including aggravated armed robbery, deprivation of liberty and unlawful wounding.
Spender says she has worked with both major parties, including Coalition
Continuing from our last post: Allegra Spender yesterday responded to statements from Peter Dutton that Independents should back him in any minority government.
She said:
Yes, I’m sure that is what he thinks and it will depend on the numbers and the shape of the crossbench and what people are willing to negotiate and back at that time, so I think we really need to look at it at the time.
And asked about comments by Dutton that the independents will “never support a Coalition government” Spender says she has “been explicit, time and time again” that she has worked with both major parties, including the Coalition in the past.
Spender said she takes things “on the basis of the arguments and … evidence” and implied if the Coalition wants her support, they need a better climate policy:
In relation to climate, I haven’t worked with the Coalition because I don’t think they are committed to a transition in terms of the most cost-effective and frankly good for the climate transition that we have at the moment.
Katter, Spender among the ‘sensible’ independents who could help Coalition to minority government, Littleproud says
Nationals leader David Littleproud spoke with Sky News earlier about the prospect of a minority government, and the latest polling numbers out today.
On the crossbench, he said there was “only very few that would be able to work constructively with the Coalition government.” Asked how many crossbenchers whose support they might be able to gain, he responded:
You only have to look at the voting record of most of them, they vote with the Greens and the Labor party the majority of the time.
There are some eminently sensible ones there, I mean, Bob Katter has proved it before, so too has Rebecca Sharkey and Dai Le. And I think Allegra Spender has shown, probably of all the teals, the maturity that the others haven’t, in being able to work constructively and understand that it’s not always about trying to save the planet, it’s also about trying to save Australian’s wallets [that have] been bled dry by an ideology.
Jacinta Allan has been fielding questions from reporters on the Shane Patton no-confidence vote, and reiterating the same response:
I think it is very clear that both the participation rate and the outcome is unprecedented … and it simply cannot be ignored. The views of the men and women of Victoria police who are looking to have confidence in their command, who are looking to have confidence as they go out onto the streets every single day, cannot be ignored …
Police no-confidence vote ‘unprecedented’ – minister
The Victorian police minister, Anthony Carbines, has also been taking questions from reporters following Shane Patton’s resignation.
He labelled the vote of no confidence as “unprecedented” and said it was important “the government hears that message”.
It’s important that Mr Patton also had time to discuss and reflect on those matters across the weekend and advise the government that he was stepping down.
Carbines and Jacinta Allan both skirted questions on the specifics of those discussions at the weekend.
Victorian premier addressing media after Patton resignation
Jacinta Allan is addressing reporters after the state’s police commissioner, Shane Patton, stood down following a vote of no confidence.
The Victorian premier said the “overwhelming vote” from police members demonstrated two things to her:
One, it was an outcome that simply could not be ignored. And secondly, it sent a very clear message that police members were looking for a fresh start, and that response – that vote – was something that just simply couldn’t be ignored.
Allan said there were “a range of discussions that were held over the course of the weekend between senior government officials” but she wouldn’t go into specifics out of respect for Patton and the office of chief commissioner.
Price and policy changes redirect Uber’s electric drive
Ride-share giant Uber could ditch discounts given to Australian electric vehicle drivers – that cost the company more than $30m – to provide greater support for EV charging.
AAP reports the company has pledged not to back down from its goal of reaching net zero by 2040, despite challenging international economic and political conditions.
Uber electrification and sustainability head Rebecca Tinucci made the comments during a visit to Australia, following a dramatic drop in sales of new electric cars in Australia and significant transport policy changes in the US.
I’m not going to sugar-coat it: the job does get harder when you have a large government like the US not leaning in as much but we work with a lot of different governments across the globe.
Our electrification ambitions will remain and do remain but we want to be smart about understanding what are the regions where we can lean in and do more, one of which I believe is Australia.
In addition to discounted car finance options, Uber has delivered electric vehicle drivers on its platform a half-price service fee since 2022 – at a cost of “about $30m”. The discount is due to expire on 30 June and Tinucci said the company was weighing up whether to discontinue it to prioritise making it easier or cheaper for drivers to recharge EVs.
We are starting to see [total cost of ownership] in Australia get closer to parity so the question becomes where should our investment go. I think some of the other puzzle pieces might be a better place for our investment – as an example, charging.
Police union and Victorian opposition leader respond to Patton resignation
Circling back to earlier news that Victorian police commissioner Shane Patton has stepped down following a vote of no confidence:
AAP reports that police union secretary Wayne Gatt has thanked Patton for his service, after triggering the events leading his resignation. Gatt said the association would now continue fighting to address many of the issues impacting the force, its members and the community.
Victoria’s opposition leader, former police officer Brad Battin, said a change of leadership wouldn’t resolve the systemic issues plaguing law and order in the state:
The dismissal of the chief commissioner is also not going to change many of the frustrations that our officers are experiencing when the criminals they arrest are released hours later or the resources they need to do their jobs are not forthcoming.
Westpac reports rising personal loan arrears
Jonathan Barrett
More people are falling behind on their personal loan repayments, while mortgage arrears have steadied, according to Westpac’s quarterly update released today.
Personal loans, which are sometimes taken out to consolidate debt, require much higher repayment rates than a typical home loan, and are often used by people already under financial pressure.
Westpac’s figures show that personal loan delinquencies, representing those who have fallen more than 90 days behind in repayments, are near five-year highs, representing 2.83% of that part of its lending book.
The equivalent delinquency rate for mortgages dropped during the last quarter from 1.12% to 1.03%.
The banking sector has been reporting reduced rates of mortgage arrears, with some under-pressure homeowners able to direct last year’s stage-three tax cuts to staying solvent.
Property agents are also reporting increased sales activity by stressed households, which wipes those arrears from lending books.
Westpac reported a quarterly net profit, excluding large one-off expenses, of $1.9bn, up from $1.8bn a year ago.
Lindy Lee quits board after ‘fraught’ dumping of Biennale artist
The Creative Australia board meeting that led to Lebanese-Australian artist Khaled Sabsabi being dumped as the nation’s representative for the 2026 Venice Biennale was “fraught and heartbreaking”, the artist Lindy Lee has revealed.
You can read the full story from Nour Haydar, below, for the latest:
