Man arrested at Nine’s Sydney office prior to PM’s arrival
A man has been arrested outside Nine Entertainment shortly before Anthony Albanese was due to arrive at the broadcast network’s North Sydney base.
New South Wales Police said that officers attached to North Shore Police Area Command were called to Denison Street at about 11am, responding to concerns about the behaviour of a man outside a business acting aggressively.
Police arrested a man aged in his 20s after he allegedly jumped on to a car. Checks revealed the man had also breached his bail conditions, police said.
Police said the man has been taken to Chatswood police station.
Nine Newspapers reports that the PM was due to appear on this afternoon’s Sunday Footy Show, recorded at the premises, and that his security detail was in place outside the building at the time of the incident.
A source told the SMH that they do not believe the incident was related to the PM.
Key events
Man dead after being swept off rocks at beach south of Sydney
A fisher has died and a teenager is in a stable condition after being swept from rocks south of Sydney this morning.
New South Wales Police said the pair were winched out of the water after emergency services were called to Wattamolla at about 11am. They had been rockfishing when they were swept into the water.
Officers from Sutherland Shire Police Area Command, PolAir, Marine Area Command, Surf Life Saving NSW and NSW Ambulance paramedics helped in the rescue, police said.
One man was unable to be revived and died at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified, police said. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
A 14-year-old boy was taken to the Children’s hospital at Randwick where he remains in a stable condition, police said.
The death is believed to be the sixth drowning so far this Easter long weekend, as wild surf conditions caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Tam continued to batter Australia’s east coast.
Independent candidate in safe Labor seat campaigning on Palestinian state
The independent candidate for Watson in Sydney, Dr Ziad Basyouny, is calling for the establishment of “a unified, pluralist, democratic state in historic Palestine where all live as equal citizens”, in a foreign policy move that the Muslim candidate says is a world-first.
Basyouny is taking on the very safe Labor seat on 3 May, held by the home affairs minister, Tony Burke.
In a campaign statement released today, he called for a unified, democratic Palestine, the right of return and reparations for Palestinian refugees, and “targeted sanctions against entities complicit in human rights abuses in occupied Palestine”, as well as “international engagement to address mass atrocities in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Myanmar” and investment in peacebuilding, reconciliation and refugee support.
“We will no longer accept the double standards of global politics,” Basyouny said.
Basyouny has previously said he believed Labor’s reaction to the war in Gaza was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for many in his community.
Local responses to the war are expected to impact votes well beyond Watson, with Melbourne’s Labor candidates already feeling the pressure, reports Guardian Australia’s Benita Kolovos:
Man arrested at Nine’s Sydney office prior to PM’s arrival
A man has been arrested outside Nine Entertainment shortly before Anthony Albanese was due to arrive at the broadcast network’s North Sydney base.
New South Wales Police said that officers attached to North Shore Police Area Command were called to Denison Street at about 11am, responding to concerns about the behaviour of a man outside a business acting aggressively.
Police arrested a man aged in his 20s after he allegedly jumped on to a car. Checks revealed the man had also breached his bail conditions, police said.
Police said the man has been taken to Chatswood police station.
Nine Newspapers reports that the PM was due to appear on this afternoon’s Sunday Footy Show, recorded at the premises, and that his security detail was in place outside the building at the time of the incident.
A source told the SMH that they do not believe the incident was related to the PM.
PM tells podcast he’s trying to ‘bring people together’
Anthony Albanese says that he has “consciously tried to bring people together and to reduce conflict” while Peter Dutton has tried to “undermine” and fit into a zeitgeist of strength.
Speaking on podcast The Rest is Politics, the PM said that criticisms he faced of being “weak” were in the style of his opponent. Without naming Donald Trump, he alluded to a new and alienating “machismo” in world politics:
“In part, that’s the style of Peter Dutton with his cheer squad in the media, as well, will repeat those comments in order to try to undermine and to try to fit into what Peter Dutton thought was the zeitgeist, if you like, of strength, channelling some other world leaders … bringing a machismo, essentially, to politics, and that is something that I think alienates the center,” he said.
In the conversation recorded on Saturday evening – which has received some local attention – Albanese told hosts Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart that politics in Australia was “different”.
“We have compulsory voting, and people do go and vote, and there’s record numbers on the electoral roll. You win elections from either the center left or the center right … We’ll see how it plays out over the next couple of weeks, but certainly Peter Dutton has gone out of his way to appeal to a right-wing base, and there isn’t too much that is there for the center,” Albanese said.
Economists issue letter calling for clean energy, not nuclear
An open letter from 60 Australian economists has rejected the Coalition’s nuclear energy plan, promoting instead the subsidising of household clean energy policies, including incentives for home battery storage.
The organiser of the letter, Gareth Bryant, an associate professor in political economy at the University of Sydney, says the letter is intended as an intervention in the election campaign, reports AAP.
“As economists, energy analysts and policy specialists we strongly support government investment in household clean energy and industrial electrification and not in nuclear energy,” the letter says.
It says simple household clean energy upgrades can deliver immediate cost-of-living benefits and reductions in carbon emissions, and electrification can safeguard the future of industrial jobs and the communities that rely on them.
The economists, from a range of Australian universities and other tertiary institutions, said the construction of nuclear power plants would take at least 15 years at a cost of at least $330bn:
It would result in higher household energy costs, drain investment away from renewable energy and energy-intensive manufacturing, and leave the Australian economy precariously over-dependent on increasingly automated mineral extraction.
The economists said they support a nationwide program to upgrade homes and industry with clean renewable energy.
They said the technologies to fund should include large-scale home electrification with smart appliances to provide bill savings, energy-efficiency upgrades and battery storage, which can save surplus solar for night-time use, and hot water retrofits for more efficient water heating.
Easter ‘reminds us of the values that help bind our nation together,’ says Dutton
Peter Dutton has also thanked those working over the long weekend and wished Australians a “safe, happy and holy Easter”.
In his Easter Sunday message, the leader of the opposition said the long weekend was a “time of reflection, and a time to rest, recharge, and spend time with those we love”.
Whether you’re attending a church service, hosting a family lunch, or enjoying a quiet moment with a hot cross bun and a cup of tea, Easter also reminds us of the values that help bind our nation together – service, kindness, compassion and grace.
From my family to yours, I wish you a safe, happy and holy Easter.
Victoria police investigating fatal stabbing in Melbourne
Over to Victoria, where homicide detectives are investigating a fatal stabbing in Prahran this morning.
Victoria police said emergency services were called to reports a man had been stabbed during an altercation on Chapel Street at about 1.30am.
The victim, who is yet to be formally identified, was taken to hospital where he later died, the police said.
No arrests have been made and an investigation is under way.
Anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
Albanese delivers Easter message
Anthony Albanese has delivered his Easter message, wishing Australians a “safe and joyous” weekend at a “sacred time that is central to faith”.
In a video posted to social media, the PM thanked those who are working over the holidays and wished those taking a more leisurely break: “May it be everything you want it to be.”
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Dan Jervis-Bardy
Greens taking ‘nothing for granted’ in campaign to retain seats, says Bandt
Adam Bandt was then pushed on whether he still thinks Australia – under prime minister Anthony Albanese – is complicit in a genocide in Gaza.
“I think Australia is engaging in a two-way arms trade with Israel,” he replied. (For the record: the government denies this.)
Bandt was asked again if the Greens have “dropped” the line about the government being complicit in genocide.
When you see a genocide occurring, as Amnesty International as the experts are saying, then you want the Australian government to actually do something, to speak out for peace.
Finally, Bandt was asked about the Greens’ prospects on 3 May and whether he’s confident of holding the three Brisbane seats it won in 2022 (Brisbane, Griffith and Ryan).
Having been through this myself (defending the seat of Melbourne for the first time), I know the first time around, you take nothing for granted. You have to work incredibly hard.
This time we’ve got Labor, Liberal and (rightwing campaign group) Advance and the billionaires all coming after us. We accept that.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Bandt defends Greens’ campaign stunts
Adam Bandt was asked about the Greens’ approach to the campaign generally, which has been filled with stunts – including DJ sets and regular appearances from a large red toothbrush to promote the party’s push for dental into Medicare.
Far less prevalent has been discussion of the conflict in Gaza and push for Palestinian recognition, which consumed much of the Greens’ focus last year.
Speaking with the ABC, Bandt was asked if the shift is in response to the Greens’ poor showing at last year’s Queensland state election. He replied:
No, it is not.
A lot of people at the moment are turning away from the major parties, we make no apologies for trying to get people’s attention. If that involves going to a nightclub with a big toothbrush to advance our push to get dental into Medicare, then I am happy to do it, because a lot of people do not see politicians tackling the big issues.
