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Australia news live: Duniam promises ‘humdinger’ immigration policy and urges Coalition not to ‘act like a government in exile’

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Opposition will have a ‘humdinger’ immigration policy, Duniam says

Insiders host David Speers asks Duniam about the opposition’s proposal to criminalise flag burning. Duniam says it’s a “good idea” and talks about American patriotism. He says the move would help with the immigration debate:

double quotation markOne of the problems we have is ‘who are we?’, ‘who are we inviting you to be part of?’

If we stood up for who we are and were proud as a nation, we could get onboard and deal with issues that flow out of immigration.

Duniam is leaving parliament at the end of the year and says his legacy will include a “humdinger” immigration policy and his work on artificial intelligence. Asked for his advice to his party, he says they have to keep an eye on their foundational values and give people a good reason to vote for them by coming up with policies that capture the imagination:

double quotation markDon’t act like a government in exile. We are the opposition and we have a hell of a fight to get back to government.

Key events

Tom McIlroy

Tom McIlroy

Excise cut plan won’t see smoking rates rise: Taylor

The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, says the Coalition’s plan for an 80% cut to tobacco excise won’t cause an increase in smoking rates, telling News 24 the new policy idea will undermine the business model of organised crime.

Asked if cheaper cigarettes will see more people take up smoking, Taylor said “the horse has already bolted on this”:

double quotation markThe price is already around $15 or less for most smokers, and anyone can choose to buy that. You can walk into shops all over the country and and pay $10 or $15 to buy a pack of cigarettes now.

You’ve got to recognise the reality here. This is funding organised crime.

It will disrupt the business model. It will take the profits and the customers away from organised crime in this country.

Hold the tech bros accountable, Daniel says

Here is former Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel’s take on social media: she says a “digital duty of care must hold the tech bros accountable for the safety of the spaces that they have created”:

double quotation mark[Legislation] could also include misinformation and disinformation. This would risk the usual culture war debate about free speech, while we blithely accept the changes to our culture and society that are being freely imposed by Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and others.

What we should be worried about is the sovereignty of the information landscape and the fact that we’re being controlled by the systems – not the other way around.

Hefty fines for social media companies under government plan

The onus will be on social media companies to identify and mitigate risks on their platforms under the government’s proposed legislation, Insiders host David Speers says, and that legislation will be unveiled this week.

He says it will cover illegal content including illegal pornography being made available to adults, and for kids there would be “around half a dozen additional areas of psychosocial harm and that includes content around body image and bullying”.

He says:

double quotation markThe companies would face hefty fines of more than $100m if they fail to restrict this content and as for algorithms – regular pop-up messages would be required, asking if users want to stick with the algorithm or only see people they’re following and see what they’re posting. The user would have the choice.

Researchers and the eSafety commissioner would also be empowered to police the social media platforms by using what are called ‘sock puppets’ posing as children to monitor what is being fed to kids online.

You can read the background to this legislation here:

Opposition will have a ‘humdinger’ immigration policy, Duniam says

Insiders host David Speers asks Duniam about the opposition’s proposal to criminalise flag burning. Duniam says it’s a “good idea” and talks about American patriotism. He says the move would help with the immigration debate:

double quotation markOne of the problems we have is ‘who are we?’, ‘who are we inviting you to be part of?’

If we stood up for who we are and were proud as a nation, we could get onboard and deal with issues that flow out of immigration.

Duniam is leaving parliament at the end of the year and says his legacy will include a “humdinger” immigration policy and his work on artificial intelligence. Asked for his advice to his party, he says they have to keep an eye on their foundational values and give people a good reason to vote for them by coming up with policies that capture the imagination:

double quotation markDon’t act like a government in exile. We are the opposition and we have a hell of a fight to get back to government.

Duniam targets ‘frivolous’ asylum seeker claims

The opposition is “very close” to “having a full migration package”, Duniam says. He says they’re willing to work with the government and that illegal overstayers must be deported.

He says the government should look at a safe country list similar to that in the UK to “deal with some of the frivolous and unmeritorious claims for asylum that we see in Australia”.

‘There is a problem’ with boys, Duniam says

In case you missed it, earlier this week the Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, talked about an anti-boy ideology in classrooms, and said they weren’t being respected – bearing in mind this is in the context of a conversation about sexual violence.

Duniam says “we do need to look at the curriculum” and that he’s not convinced it’s an anti-boy ideology but that “when you see statistics around how boys are performing at schools and the academic outcomes that we have occurring at the moment, particularly with boys, there is a problem:

double quotation markWe spend more per student per year than we ever have before and we’ve got declining standards across the board, and the problem with the curriculum is we have left foundations behind.

Social media algorithms in the spotlight

Host David Speers asks Duniam about the government’s duty of care legislation, which would force the social media giants to stop the spread of harmful information. Duniam says he wants to see the detail, and compares it to the issues with the hate speech bill:

double quotation markBack when we did deal with the hate laws in the parliament, there was that very difficult task of balancing free speech with, of course, the need to protect the community from insidious and terrible activities that take place online.

So … we want to see the detail and make sure we get the balance right.

Continuing on from last post …

Duniam says they want smoking rates to go down, and “part of the problem is dealing with cheap smokes out there in the community”.

Killing off the illegal trade is the only way to do that, he says, but concedes it’s difficult to model the effects in an unregulated industry.

Excise cut modelling ‘saw a real change’, Duniam says

The shadow home affairs minister, Jonno Duniam, is up on Insiders this morning.

Asked for evidence for the opposition’s proposed excise cut on cigarettes, he said they modelled it with the Parliamentary Budget Office and “saw a real change in behaviour of consumers at the 80% price point”:

double quotation markOf course, it’s important to point out that it’s not just about cutting excise. If you bring down a legal product to a competitive price point, people will stay a premium for a legal product.

Shadow home affairs minister, Jonno Duniam.
Shadow home affairs minister, Jonno Duniam. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

You can read the background to the proposed cuts here:

High jumper Eleanor Patterson wins Diamond League final

Australian high jumper Eleanor Patterson has won the Diamond League final in Brussels, with her compatriot Nicola Olyslagers coming third.

Patterson’s win follows victory by Australia’s Cameron Myers in the 1500m Diamond League final on Saturday.

“I’m a little bit numb honestly,” Patterson said after clearing 2.01m. “I know it’s not easy to win a Diamond League, but to win a Diamond League final feels incredible.

“I knew I was in incredible shape, but you have to allow that to come to fruition.

“I am really, really content with how today turned out.”

Australia’s Eleanor Patterson in action during the women’s high jump final.
Australia’s Eleanor Patterson in action during the women’s high jump final. Photograph: Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters

Jessica Hull finished third in the 1500m event.

More money for the Western Freeway

The Victorian government has committed another $550m to the upgrade of the Western Freeway.

The money will go to interchange upgrades and new lanes across Melbourne’s west, and adds to a $1bn federal investment.

The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, said:

double quotation markWe have listened to the community. Better local roads in growing areas are my priority.

I want to help working people in the west spend less time on the road and more time where they need to be.

Victorian premier Ben Carroll.
Victorian premier Ben Carroll. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Fire ban as Sydney swelters

Oh, Sydney. I have only just caught up with the fact you got to 33C yesterday. But also snow in the south of the state?

A woman plays with friends at Bondi beach on Saturday as temperatures soared to 33C
A woman plays with friends at Bondi beach on Saturday as temperatures soared to 33C Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian

Meteorologist Tom Saunders temperatures this weekend could be 13C above average, and:

double quotation markTemperatures this spring will average as much as three degrees above the baseline from recent decades, potentially the hottest spring on record.

Read all about it here:

Taylor proposes laws against flag burning, and for 26 January

The News Corp papers are reporting that the opposition wants to criminalise flag burning, with up to 10 years in prison as punishment.

They also want to enshrine 26 January as Australia Day in law, which will spark a new round of that old culture wars battle.

Leader Angus Taylor said he would not “be shy in standing up for the national pride that we should all feel for our great country”:

double quotation markOur flag represents the country we love. Our war memorials honour Australians who put their lives on the line. Australia Day is our national day that unites us all.

These things belong to the Australian people and they should not be torn down, smashed, desecrated, or quietly stripped of their significance.

Opposition leader Angus Taylor.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Welcome

Good morning, all – Tory Shepherd here to kick off your Sunday. Happy Father’s Day if that is a happy time for you, and if (like me) it’s a bit of a sad one, I see you.

We’ll be keeping an eye on the ongoing tragedy in Nepal, where they’ve found more survivors but the situation is still so, so dire.

Closer to home, and every day there’s another AI story. If you’re a Victorian (and even if you’re not) you may have seen these rather alarming social media posts. Benita Kolovos and Henry Belot have had a look behind the scenes.

There’s an increasing amount of smoke (and yes, there have been fires) around the tobacco wars, and naturally the lobbyists are on the move.

Need a break from the news cycle? Sian Cain’s 10 Chaotic Questions with Luke McGregor will help you reset.

And in a bit we’ll have Insiders, and host David Speers says we’ll be hearing more about the government’s plans for the manosphere, with renewed concern about how it’s affecting boys.