I, for one, plan to head home and catch up on Doctor Who on free-to-air TV while I still can. (In case you missed it, the ABC announced today that it would no longer be the home of the iconic sci-fi show because of a deal between the BBC and Disney+).

Doctor Who has been a fixture on ABC TV for decades.

It’s been a busy day with top-notch coverage of the federal budget from our political and economics team, but we’ve had time to look at a few other stories as well.

Here are the main headlines of the day:

There was a lot of discussion about inflation hitting its highest point in 32 years, and the revelation in last night’s budget that households are facing a 56 per cent spike in power bills.
Private health insurer Medibank Private revealed that hackers had accessed the private data of every single customer, meaning the data breach now affected 4 million Australians. Shares in the company tumbled 18 per cent on the ASX.
Ahead of COP27 in Egypt, national climate and environment editor Nick O’Malley reports efforts to tackle climate change since last year’s COP26 climate talks are reducing emissions, but not fast enough.
The jury in the Bruce Lehrmann rape trial will continue deliberating on Thursday.
The WA Police Commissioner said the death of Noongar teenager Cassius Turvey could be “a case of mistaken identity”.
Left-wing Democrats in the United States withdrew a letter to the White House calling for peace negotiations with Russia over Ukraine.

6.50pm on Oct 26, 2022

Left-wing Democrats retract letter to Biden asking for Ukraine peace talks

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Given the federal budget was delivered last night, we’ve been focused on Australian political and economic news for most of the day. Before I sign out for the day, I want to turn briefly to international news.

We’ve heard a lot of people refer to the war in Ukraine today, but mainly in the context of why power bills are surging in Australia.

But what’s been happening with the war itself?

Earlier this week, left-wing Democrats in the United States sent a letter to US President Joe Biden earlier in the week calling for peace talks with Russia over the war in Ukraine.

The letter from the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and signed by 30 House liberals, sparked furious pushback from other Democrats and Ukrainian officials who said was unrealistic to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It came as Republicans were threatening to cut aid to Ukraine if they retake Congress in the midterm elections in November.

Military analysts say Russia is unlikely to make serious political gains on the battlefield while Ukraine continues to receive sufficient ammunition from the US, NATO and other allies. As a result, Russia’s focus was deterring further military aid by fracturing political support in the West.

Critics of the letter said it was likely to reinforce Moscow’s opinion that it had the right strategy and would be counterproductive because Russia was more likely to negotiate if it believed the US was committed for the long haul.

In case you missed it, they have now retracted the letter. They said the letter was drafted in June and was “released by staff without vetting”.

The new British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the day he took office, and reiterated British support for Ukraine.

For those following the war, it is worth reading this opinion piece by Mick Ryan, a retired major-general in the Australian Defence Force.

He explains how the coming European winter could affect military strategy, and how Ukraine could use the cold to its advantage.

Several of Ukraine’s allies are including cold-weather gear in their latest round of military donations. Reports suggest Russian conscripts could be rather less prepared for the cold.

Russian social networks show videos of conscripted men complaining of cramped, filthy accommodations, toilets overflowing with trash and a lack of food and medicine. Some showed men displaying rusty weapons.

In one video, a group of draftees milled in a field, claiming they had been left there with no food or shelter. Other clips depicted men forced to sleep on bare benches or tightly packed on the floor.

With AP

6.15pm on Oct 26, 2022

More on reducing methane emissions

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Of course, carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas. Earlier in the week, we discussed the Albanese government’s pledge to reduce methane emissions by at least 30 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030, which the opposition has opposed.

The next round of United Nations climate talks, COP27 in Egypt, are less than two weeks away, and Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen is slated to attend.

In Monday’s blog, we quoted Professor Chris Greening at Monash University saying methane emissions accounted for 40 per cent of global warming, but was an easier problem to fix than carbon dioxide.

Cattle at a feedlot in South Australia eating a seaweed feed supplement to reduce the amount of methane produced in their burps and farts.

Some blog readers commented to ask whether Greening’s suggestion of adding seaweed to livestock feed would really help given most cows and sheep in Australia eat grass. (Though feedlots are becoming more common).

I put your questions to Greening and he responded:

The most promising inhibitor, 3-nitrooxypropanol, has indeed primarily been tested in a feedlot context and likely a different formulation approach (eg. spray-on) would be required for grass-fed cattle.
I haven’t seen any reports on this, but imagine its manufacturer DSM is aware of this and developing strategies.
Apologies I can’t give a more definitive answer.

6.13pm on Oct 26, 2022

Protesters target Whitehaven Coal AGM

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

While we are thinking about power bills and the Albanese government’s plan to boost supply of renewable energy, I want to note that Whitehaven Coal had its annual general meeting in Sydney earlier today.

At the AGM, the mining stock gained shareholder approval to buy back up to 240 million fully
paid ordinary shares over the next 12 months.

Given Whitehaven Coal is in the business of fossil fuels, the company often attracts protests and today was no exception.

A modest crowd gathered outside the Mint on Macquarie Street, where the AGM was in progress, waving signs that called the company “environmental vandals” and “climate killers”.

The protesters called out the company’s plans to double coal production by 2030 and the National Australia Bank as financier.

Shareholders are likely to shrug this off. From a purely financial perspective, Whitehaven Coal has been a good investment this year because of the soaring price of coal.

The share price on the Australian Securities Exchange closed at $9.52 today, more than treble their value at the start of the year.

The company did not directly respond to the protest but chairman Mark Vaile said in his speech to the AGM:

Decarbonisation is necessary, but it must take place in a responsible and coordinated way, and we continue to maintain that this is a journey that will take decades, not years.

Australia’s peak scientific organisation, CSIRO, says burning fossil fuels to produce electricity contributes about of a third of Australia’s carbon emissions, while stationary energy including fuel use for mining accounts for a further fifth.

Here’s CSIRO’s full list of what makes up Australia’s carbon emissions:

energy (burning fossil fuels to produce electricity) contributed 33.6 per cent of the total emissions
stationary energy (including manufacturing, mining, residential and commercial fuel use) 20.4 per cent
transport 17.6 per cent
agriculture 14.6 per cent
fugitive emissions 10.0 per cent
industrial processes 6.2 per cent
waste 2.7 per cent.

5.47pm on Oct 26, 2022

‘The dragon we need to slay’: What’s driving inflation

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Circling back to the cost of living, our graphics team has produced this handy guide to what’s driving inflation.

As reported by our economics correspondents, Shane Wright and Rachel Clun, prices are growing at their fastest pace in 32 years.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers told the National Press Club today: “Inflation is public enemy number one. Inflation is the dragon we need to slay.”

The graphic, produced by Matt Absalom-Wong, shows the rising cost of common household expenses, based on the Consumer Price Index from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

5.40pm on Oct 26, 2022

Gittins and Hartcher answer your questions about the budget

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

We’ve got your evening commute covered, with this Please Explain podcast.

The podcast features Ross Gittins and Peter Hartcher answering your questions about federal budget.

If you’re looking for a text-based summary, the related story covers what they had to say about power bills and stage three tax cuts.

5.28pm on Oct 26, 2022

How much will your power bills rise?

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

There has been a lot of talk about power bills in the wash up from the federal budget.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said today that boosting the supply of renewable energy was the best way to get energy bills down over time.

“It remains the case that renewable energy is cheaper energy as well as cleaner energy,” he said.

In the meantime though, households are facing a 56 per cent spike in power bills, according to last night’s budget papers.

Richard Lama has made handy calculator that lets you work out what that will mean for your household. There’s also a story about it here.

5.12pm on Oct 26, 2022

Jury in Lehrmann trial to continue deliberating

By Angus Thompson

The jury in the Bruce Lehrmann rape trial will continue deliberating on Thursday.

The eight women and four men have so far been deliberating for five days.

Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting his former colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in the early hours of March 23, 2019. He denies ever having sex with her.

Bruce Lehrmann departs the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday.Rhett Wyman

ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucy McCallum urged the jury members to keep deliberating on Tuesday after they told her they were unable to reach a verdict.

“Hit the gym, walk the dog,” McCallum told them on Tuesday. “Do whatever you need to do to have a bit of respite from this arduous task.”

Just before sending them home on Wednesday, McCallum said, “no one could suggest you’re not working extremely hard.“

She offered support for all jurors during their deliberations. “You’re all equals in the jury room and that offer is all available to individual members of the jury as well as the jury as a whole,” she said.

4.49pm on Oct 26, 2022

Grief for Indigenous teen, as police say alleged killing could be case of ‘mistaken identity’

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Staying on Indigenous issues, I want to talk about the tragic death of Cassius Turvey, a 15-year-old Noongar boy from Perth.

Friends and family are planning a candlelight vigil for Turvey at Perth’s Midland Oval on October 31 at 5.30pm to coincide with Halloween, one of his favourite events. There are national rallies planned for November 2.

Cassius Turvey, before and after the alleged attack.

Turvey was walking along a suburban Perth street at 4.30pm on a Thursday afternoon with a group of friends on October 13, when it is alleged that a group of males jumped out of a black ute and chased them with weapons.

The year 9 student who ran a part-time lawn mowing business was still wearing his school uniform. Friends who were with him at the time said the strangers accused them of smashing one of their car windows a day earlier.

Turvey and another boy who was on crutches were beaten with metal poles. Turvey sustained serious head injuries and died 10 days later in hospital.

Jack Brearley, 21, was charged with Turvey’s murder on Monday and has been remanded in custody.

Meanwhile, Western Australia’s top cop has urged the community not to jump to conclusions, after a WA newspaper reported the attack was racially motivated.

As Heather McNeill reports, WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch went on Radio 6PR this morning to say police were investigating whether it was a vigilante attack gone horribly wrong.

It may be a case of mistaken identity, it may be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I wouldn’t want anyone in the community to jump to any conclusions at this time other than that we have charged a person.
We’re not operating on any principles of racism or motivation at this point, other than to say we believe there was a damage incident that occurred, and that’s resulted in the murder of a very young boy.
I do understand the high public interest, this is a devastating outcome to have a young boy killed on the streets in Western Australia, it’s absolutely horrific.

After the killing, Blanch discouraged the community from taking the law into their own hands, saying that acting as a vigilante can lead to tragic outcomes.

Greens Senator Dorinda Cox, a Yamatji Noongar woman, was among those to pay tribute to the teen.

She wrote on Twitter:

#justiceforcassius
My heart breaks for Cassius Turvey’s family, friends and community.
He was only 15 years old when he was senselessly killed.
He was a young leader who will be remembered as a “vibrant, caring, jokester with a beautiful smile” who loved school and his family.

His grieving mother, Mechelle Turvey, described her son as a vibrant, caring and funny boy with a beautiful smile, and said she was appalled at the violence in the community.

A GoFundMe page set up to help Turvey’s family, titled #justiceforcassius has raised more than $178,000.

4.20pm on Oct 26, 2022

‘Investment in real power’: Thorpe welcomes funding to advance Indigenous treaty

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Circling back to the Indigenous spending in the federal budget, Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe has declared it a “win” that the Albanese government committed funding to advance treaty making and truth telling as well as its flagship policy of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Back in July Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans for a referendum to enshrine a First Nations Voice in the Australian Constitution.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart agreed by the 2017 First Nations National Constitution Convention, calls for Voice, Treaty, Truth, in that order.

The statement calls for the Indigenous Voice to be enshrined in the constitution - which would require a referendum - and the establishment of a commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about Australia’s Indigenous history.

Thorpe, the Greens spokesperson on Indigenous issues, has previously criticised the plans for Voice, calling it a “wasted exercise”, and argued treaty should be the priority. She has since ruled out campaigning for a “no” vote in the Voice referendum.

We noted in the blog this morning that the budget includes $50.2 million for the Australian Electoral Commission to prepare for the referendum.

As the full story by Lisa Visentin outlines, it also contains $5.8 million to establish the Makarrata Commission to oversee processes for agreement-making and truth-telling. (“Makarrata means “the coming together after a struggle”).

Earlier today Thorpe posted on Twitter that this was an investment in “real power” for Indigenous people, and proved Australia could make progress on all three fronts at the same time.

View post on X

Separately, readers of the blog will know the Senate referred Thorpe yesterday to the privileges committee over her undisclosed relationship with a bikie boss. She resigned as deputy leader in the Senate last week.

There is other Indigenous spending in the budget on health, education, housing and other initiatives. The Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has outlined it on Twitter.

View post on X

As it happened: Inflation highest since 1990; Treasurer flags childcare, parental leave subsidies in $7.5 billion cost of living relief package

Key Posts

The headlines today

Left-wing Democrats retract letter to Biden asking for Ukraine peace talks

More on reducing methane emissions

Protesters target Whitehaven Coal AGM

‘The dragon we need to slay’: What’s driving inflation

Gittins and Hartcher answer your questions about the budget

How much will your power bills rise?

Jury in Lehrmann trial to continue deliberating

Grief for Indigenous teen, as police say alleged killing could be case of ‘mistaken identity’

‘Investment in real power’: Thorpe welcomes funding to advance Indigenous treaty

Our Sites

Classifieds

The Sydney Morning Herald

Products & Services