Dismay at ‘no’ vote as Government considers next steps

Cabinet to consider interim listening mechanism after resounding no vote
Federal cabinet is meeting to discuss the Albanese government’s next steps to address Indigenous disadvantage, with senior government figures favouring an interim listening mechanism to provide advice directly to the prime minister. After the resounding defeat of the voice to parliament on Saturday night, Guardian Australia understands the government will consider on Monday options including appointing a new short-term policy advisory group reporting to the prime minister.

UN expert condemns anti-protest laws
Australia's crackdown on the right to protest could smother the momentum needed to tackle the climate crisis, a United Nations investigator warns. Marcos Orellana is an independent expert appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. He recently toured Australia at the invitation of the federal government.

Tasmanian forest protester vows to continue fight for planet after prison release
Tasmanian forest protester Colette Harmsen has been released from prison after serving a three-month sentence for environmental activism. Harmsen is the first person to have served time in Tasmania for environmental activism in a decade and the first woman in the state to be incarcerated for such crimes.

Great gliders, fears for multiple species ahead of bushfire season
It’s estimated up to three billion animals were killed or displaced during the 2019 Black Summer bushfires. Now, ecologists fear for the survival of endangered species ahead of what’s predicted to be the most severe bushfire season since.

NSW government axes dozens of environmental roles in ‘backward step’
The New South Wales government has quietly cut dozens of environmental roles, including Indigenous officers, and delayed a plan to reward farmers to protect nature – moves described by critics as “hypocritical” and a “significant backward step”.

The human factor: why Australia’s net zero transition risks failing unless it is fair
The notion of a “just transition” emerged from the US labour movement in the 1980s as a means to shield workers from the impact of new pollution regulations that potentially threatened their jobs. Today, it has gained prominence as a fundamental principle for achieving climate goals.

The missing link in Australia’s climate change adaptation strategy: Social infrastructure
Planning for social infrastructure – community centres, showgrounds, universities, schools and libraries – is often left to local councils, but needs to be elevated to state and national policy levels, directly connected to disaster preparedness. 

Greens introduce Water Trigger Bill
Today Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young will introduce her Expanding the Water Trigger Bill 2023 to the Senate, closing the loophole which gives gas corporations a free pass on fracking projects like the Beetaloo Basin. 

IMF should give poor countries $300bn a year to fight climate crisis, says Joseph Stiglitz
Poor countries should be provided with $300bn (£246bn) a year from the International Monetary Fund to finance their fight against the climate crisis, the Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has said.

Fear of reprisals prevent people calling out employers on climate, says charity
Concerns about being fired or victimised at work are preventing people from calling out their employers on the climate crisis and the wider environment, according to a charity. A survey commissioned by Protect, a charity that defends whistleblowers, found fear of reprisals and uncertainty about how to provide proof were the main barriers to reporting on poor and misleading behaviour about the environment.