Written by 
Constitutional lawyer weighs in on ‘heir’ vs ‘hair’ oath
Constitutional lawyer Anne Twomey just spoke with ABC News Breakfast about the questions raised by Lidia Thorpe’s admission she had pledged allegiance to the sovereign’s “hairs” and not “heirs”, after her protest at the king’s parliamentary reception.
Twomey said this matter would be sorted out by the House, not litigated in the high court, but that there is no “provision saying you’re disqualified if you renounce your oath”.
If she made an oath to a foreign power, that would be a different matter, but as far as I know, she hasn’t.
Twomey suggested the verbal pronunciation of “hairs” was redundant because the oath of allegiance is set out in writing with “heirs” spelled correctly, and Thorpe “signed it and it was witnessed”.
She has actually made that oath in writing, and even to the extent that she might have mispronounced the word ‘heirs’ … is not itself legally invalidating. She also referred to the Queen’s successors … King Charles is the Queen’s successor, therefore she has made an oath to him both orally and in writing.
The lawyer said if the oath was accepted as valid at the time “that might be the end of it”, but there is “no legal precedent about that”.
It seems unlikely that everyone is required to keep on supporting that oath throughout their term of office. The provision itself is really just directed at before you take your seat.
Key events
Victoria’s building watchdog abolished after failing buyers
Victoria’s building watchdog will be replaced after it failed to stop shoddy builders, AAP reports.
A report into the Victorian Building Authority, commissioned by its chief executive Anna Cronin, has laid bare a series of weak responses to homeowner complaints. Seven complex cases dating back to 2014 were independently examined by building industry regulation expert Bronwyn Weir.
In one example, a family was slapped with a bill for an extra $2m two years after signing a contract. The contract was terminated after they paid the additional money and they had to pay an extra $2.6m to fix defects and finish construction. Another family is yet to move into their home five years after complaining to the regulator.
The report makes 20 recommendations, including giving a new watchdog powers to force builders to rectify work after homeowners move in. The state’s planning minister Sonya Kilkenny said Victoria’s new building regulator, the Building and Plumbing Commission, won’t be hamstrung by the same restriction.
Cronin also apologised to those who had been let down by the regulator’s failings, stating “we can and will do better.” Kilkenny would not be drawn on whether affected customers should be offered compensation.
Catie McLeod
NSW government announces support package for far west residents
The New South Wales government has announced a $4m support package for residents in the state’s far west who have been affected by ongoing power outages.
Broken Hill and other outback communities including Wilcannia have struggled with intermittent electricity supply since severe weather damaged seven transmission towers on the power line into the area a week ago.
As the premier, Chris Minns, prepares to address the media in Broken Hill, the government has released the details of the support on offer for the more than 12,000 properties that have been affected. In a statement, the government has said:
-
Payments of $200 will be made available to each of the residential electricity account holders impacted by the outage. These grants will be available via Service NSW.
-
Payments of $400 will be made available to impacted small-to-medium businesses. These grants will also be available via Service NSW.
-
While these grants are being established, the NSW government will continue to support people’s immediate needs with pantry staples, fresh produce, food hampers and mobile cold rooms being made available in partnership with Foodbank NSW/ACT at key locations in the Far West to support communities where impacts have been greatest.
The government says energy infrastructure operator Transgrid will contribute $1.5m of the $4m package. You can read more of our coverage here:
Cait Kelly
NAB says there is opportunity to ‘revisit’ 3% buffer for first home buyers
Back at the financial regulatory framework and home ownership hearing in Canberra, Andy Kerr from the National Australia Bank is next up.
Kerr, the home ownership executive, started with citing last year’s intergenerational report which found that just 35% of 25 to 29-year-olds owned a home in the 2020s compared to 55% in the 1980s.
We know that saving for a deposit is also a significant hurdle for Australians getting into the property market and 12% of all new home [loans] are for first-home buyers, which has been stable for a number of years.
He said they “wouldn’t see changes in a buffer at a silver bullet” but it would create a modest increase in forts home-owners. Unlike Westpac, he says first-home buyers do not present more risk. Reducing the buffer is “one lever” that could be pulled to make it easier, but supply was the biggest issue.
We think there is an opportunity to revisit the 3% buffer for first-home buyers. We think it would be a modest change. So we wouldn’t be recommending a significant change, but a modest change would provide first-home buyers with additional borrowing power.
Concerns raised over number of children released from detention without social security payments reinstated
Economic Justice Australia (EJA) says it is concerned by the number of children being released from detention without social security payments reinstated, “exacerbating existing poverty” and the risk of recidivism.
EJA said it interviewed more than 100 service providers who frequently reported people being released from prison or detention without access to their social security entitlements, and no prospect of immediate payment.
They said this was particularly concerning given that the lowered age of criminal responsibility “has become a political issue in both the Northern Territory and Queensland, which will only lead to higher numbers of young people being incarcerated”.
Its chief executive, Kate Allingham, said their research had found “a lack of any standardised process for notifying Services Australia of when a person is released from prison”.
Even in cases where the system ‘works’, systemic delays in having payments reinstated see already vulnerable people leaving detention without any means of financial support.
If young people are offending as a result of poverty, and they are spat back out into the world without even the meagre support afforded by social security, then the choices presented to them as a means of survival are extremely limited. This is a problem with the system, not with the children.
10,000 retailers expected to sign up for NSW tobacco licensing scheme
Tamsin Rose
About 10,000 retailers are expected to sign up for the New South Wales government’s new tobacco licensing scheme as the state attempts to crack down on the illegal sale of cigarettes.
The state government has announced the new scheme, as well as a doubling of enforcement officers and new penalties for people caught doing the wrong thing.
The NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, said she understood why people were turning to cheaper tobacco products to save money but urged them to instead try to give up the harmful products.
We are here to help you. The best thing you can do for your health is to quit smoking.
As it stands, about 19,000 businesses are registered to sell tobacco across the state, but the guidelines do not require a fee or for the registration to be frequently updated. Under the changes, the government expects that number to almost halve, with businesses required to pay about $1,100 each year, and licenses can be revoked or refused.
The health minister, Ryan Park, said he hoped the state could avoid the illegal tobacco-related crime that Victoria has experienced recently by taking proactive measures to shut down illegal trade.
We don’t want to see that criminal element come into NSW. We are not saying for one moment that this will stop every single form of criminal activity related to illegal tobacco or cigarette smoking but [this is] the most significant reform in relation to the selling of tobacco and tobacco products, certainly in recent decades.
Cait Kelly
Westpac says housing policy only focused on demand ‘likely to bid up prices further’
Westpac is now up in the financial regulatory framework and home ownership hearing in Canberra. Martin Green, the national general manager of property finance, said they have seen more defaults from first home buyers:
If I start with risk weights, we do hold higher risk weights and capital for first time [and] younger borrowers. They do present as risky loans. We do see higher default rates and higher hardship rates off the back, which ultimately results in high risk.
He said $10bn of new lending was given to first-time buyers through FY23 and that’s sitting at $15bn FY24 worth of new lending because of government schemes.
Green was asked how much this scheme may have helped increase house prices, and responded:
I do think it has potentially played through into high prices, and I guess that brings us back to our initial position that any policy focusing on the demand side is only likely to bid up prices further and result in us being in the exact same position we are today, with borrowers who are locked out at the market with higher asset prices.
Dog breeders to be registered in NSW to curb puppy farms
Dog breeders will need to register and be limited in the number of puppies they can produce in a bid to improve animal welfare in New South Wales.
As AAP reports, the state agriculture minister, Tara Moriarty, will introduce laws to parliament today to curb the prevalence of large-scale puppy farms.
Female dogs will only be allowed to have five natural litters, or three caesarean litters before being retired. Breeders will be allowed a maximum of 20 fertile bitches on any premises, with a minimum of one staffer to care for every 20 dogs.
Moriarty said with half of all households having a dog at home, “there is significant community concern about the welfare of these dogs and puppies, and about the practice of puppy farms”.
The Animal Welfare NSW chief executive, Stephen Albin, said the changes wouldn’t come into effect until the end of 2025, giving breeders time to adapt and apply for registration to run a commercial breeding operation:
We have seen a huge spike in breeding since Covid-19, with a big increase in dogs coming into the shelter, blowing out our waiting lists and making it extremely challenging to find new, loving homes for dogs who are often just puppies.
MEAA urges government to require digital platforms to pay levy to fund journalism
The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance is urging the government to require digital platforms to pay a levy to fund public interest journalism.
The union welcomed the second interim report of the joint select committee on social media and Australian society, and “its focus on the relationship between digital platforms and news media.”
The report recognised that the growth of platforms such as Meta and Google had undermined the sustainability of traditional news outlets, the union said, adding that Meta’s decision to walk away from the news media bargaining code “has exposed its limitations.”
The federal president of MEAA media, Karen Percy, said this should not “let the digital platforms off the hook”, with the committee’s proposal for a digital platform levy “a strong alternative model for these global companies to fund Australian journalism.”
If the news media bargaining code cannot effectively redirect some of this revenue back to media outlets, then the government needs to explore alternatives, such as a digital platform levy. This is a relatively straight-forward way of redistributing the wealth of digital platforms towards ethical public interest journalism.
Cait Kelly
Continuing from our earlier post, Chris Taylor also said the Banking Association is not suggesting a reduction in the 3% buffer.
What we’re suggesting is it’s worth having a conversation about whether greater flexibility is needed to ensure people can safely access credit.
Taylor was also asked what effect he thinks investor demand is having on house price growth in Australia, and responded:
The same dynamics that apply for first home buyers also apply in the case of investors who purchase homes to make them for rent, and the market needs to have availability of rental properties, and supply is the overarching approach that should be focused on.
Cait Kelly
Banks agree addressing supply is key for increasing affordability for first-home buyers
Circling back to the financial regulatory framework and home ownership hearing in Canberra: the Banking Association chief of policy, Chris Taylor, has told the hearing Australia needs to build more homes.
We’re seeing that play through not only for home ownership, and for owner occupiers, but also in the availability of rental properties. The national vacancy rate for rentals is 1.2% – a balanced market rate would be around 3%.
We do think that supply is the most appropriate way, because of this imbalance, and that’s where the most fruitful measures will come from – from ensuring affordable homes are being developed in the places where people want to live and that they can ultimately afford to purchase them.
Banks are united in the view that this is a supply-side problem and that the solution for increasing affordability for first home buyers will be addressed by supply-side measures.
Rory Amon has case adjourned for six weeks
Jordyn Beazley
The former NSW Liberal MP Rory Amon – who has been charged with 10 child sexual offences against a teenage boy – has had his case adjourned for six weeks.
Amon was not present in court when his case was briefly heard in Sydney’s Downing Centre earlier today, with the magistrate agreeing to adjourn the matter to 12 December for the certification of the charges against Amon.
Amon, 35, was the member for Pittwater in Sydney’s northern beaches when he was arrested, and later granted bail, in August. He was also the shadow assistant minister for transport and roads, infrastructure and youth.
Amon was charged with five counts of sexual intercourse with a person aged over 10 and under 14, two counts of attempted sexual intercourse with a child over 10 and under 14, two counts of indecent assault on a person under 16, and committing an act of indecency with a person under 16.
Amon said in a statement shortly after his arrest that he denied all the charges and resigned from state parliament and from the Liberal party. He said in August:
The nature of the charges against me are such that I will be unable to continue to fully represent my community in parliament. As a result, I have tendered my resignation as the member for Pittwater effective immediately.
Leading senior constable charged after internal investigation
A leading senior constable with Victoria’s specialist response division has been charged after an internal investigation, police have said in a statement.
The 33-year-old male officer has been charged with two counts of using a carriage service to offend, and one charge of unauthorised disclosure of police information.
The incidents are alleged to have occurred while the officer was off-duty, police said. He has been charged on summons to appear at a magistrates’ court at a later date.