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Our colleague on the UK sports desk, Ed Aarons, has been finding out whether a British city could step in and host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after Victoria’s shock withdrawal. Here’s what he has written:
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Organisers have said they would welcome any offer from the United Kingdom to step in as hosts of the 2026 Commonwealth Games after the withdrawal of the Australian state of Victoria on Tuesday left the event’s future in serious doubt.
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The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) said it was given only eight hours’ notice before the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, announced the state would no longer host the 2026 Games due to spiralling costs. The CGF described the decision as “hugely disappointing” but remains determined to find an alternative despite an immediate lack of obvious candidates.
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The 2022 Games moved to Birmingham, the original 2026 hosts, when Durban in South Africa was stripped of its hosting rights in 2017 and another venue in the UK could be the only feasible replacement given the short timeframe.
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Victoria’s decision leaves not only the 2026 Games but the entire future of the event in jeopardy, with it struggling to find its place in a crowded sporting calendar and with lingering questions about its foundation in Britain’s colonial past.
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The CGF’s chief executive, Katie Sadleir, said: “The UK are fantastic hosts and we would be very open to having a conversation with them about it, if that’s something they would be interested in doing.”
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However, the UK prime minister’s spokesperson insisted that it hoped a “viable solution” can be found for the Games to be held in Australia.
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You can read Ed’s full report here:
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Jim Chalmers has become the first Australian treasurer in four years to meet his Chinese counterpart, marking a historic moment for both nations, Australian Associated Press reports.
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Chalmers seized the opportunity to meet Liu Kun in India on the sidelines of a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors.
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It marked the first meeting between an Australian treasurer and a Chinese finance minister since June 2019.
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The treasurer, who described the conversation as friendly and free-flowing, said the pair discussed the stabilising Chinese-Australian diplomatic relationship.
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Chalmers raised China’s trade restrictions with Kun and said the Australian government would like the issue resolved before prime minister Anthony Albanese visits Beijing.
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China placed trade sanctions on $20bn worth of Australian products at the height of a diplomatic spat in 2020, although it has since wound back restrictions on timber and coal imports.
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Chalmers told ABC 7.30:
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The Albanese government has made it very clear that whilst we don’t need to pretend away the differences we have with China and with our ministerial counterparts we are much more likely to stabilise this key relationship with engagement and dialogue.
\n
We’ve been very clear publicly and privately … that we consider it to be in the interests of both countries for those trade restrictions to be lifted. We’d like to see some progress there in advance of a prime ministerial visit.
\n
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Chalmers said Kun agreed to speak to his ministerial colleagues about the restrictions.
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Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be bringing you the top overnight stories before my colleague Rafqa Touma picks up.
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Jim Chalmers has become the first Australian treasurer in four years to meet his Chinese counterpart when he talked to Liu Kun on the sidelines of a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in India last night. Chalmers raised China’s trade restrictions with Kun and said Australia would like the issue resolved before prime minister Anthony Albanese visits Beijing. It came as Henry Kissinger, the veteran US diplomat who helped open up China to western contact in the 1970s, paid a surprise visit to Beijing. More coming up soon.
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The fallout continues from the Victorian government’s decision to pull out of hosting the Commonwealth Games. The Victorian taxpayer may be on the hook for the cost of the cancellation, reportedly to the tune of millions of dollars. The sporting world is dismayed about it all. Our sports writer Kieran Pender asks whether this is the death knell of games that some say just “aren’t what they used to be”. British cities are meanwhile being encouraged to think about bids with Birmingham considered a runner even though it hosted the 2022 Games, though Downing Street still hopes Australia can somehow host in 2026.
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We’re continuing our reporting on the “gutting of Gonski” with a piece showing that the landmark report’s promise to deliver more cash for each Indigenous child appears to be failing. Figures show that funding to public schools have fallen 7.75% in real terms in the Northern Territory, with a large fall in Western Australia as well. The public middle school in Alice Springs receives $31,834 for every student in government funding, compared with $26,848 at the nearby private school, which also gets $9,382 for every student from parent contributions and fees.
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British cities encouraged to bid for Commonwealth Games
Ed Aarons
Our colleague on the UK sports desk, Ed Aarons, has been finding out whether a British city could step in and host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after Victoria’s shock withdrawal. Here’s what he has written:
Organisers have said they would welcome any offer from the United Kingdom to step in as hosts of the 2026 Commonwealth Games after the withdrawal of the Australian state of Victoria on Tuesday left the event’s future in serious doubt.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) said it was given only eight hours’ notice before the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, announced the state would no longer host the 2026 Games due to spiralling costs. The CGF described the decision as “hugely disappointing” but remains determined to find an alternative despite an immediate lack of obvious candidates.
The 2022 Games moved to Birmingham, the original 2026 hosts, when Durban in South Africa was stripped of its hosting rights in 2017 and another venue in the UK could be the only feasible replacement given the short timeframe.
Victoria’s decision leaves not only the 2026 Games but the entire future of the event in jeopardy, with it struggling to find its place in a crowded sporting calendar and with lingering questions about its foundation in Britain’s colonial past.
The CGF’s chief executive, Katie Sadleir, said: “The UK are fantastic hosts and we would be very open to having a conversation with them about it, if that’s something they would be interested in doing.”
However, the UK prime minister’s spokesperson insisted that it hoped a “viable solution” can be found for the Games to be held in Australia.
You can read Ed’s full report here:
The ability for courts to hold trials in secret to deal with national security matters will be scrutinised at a two-day hearing in Canberra, reports Australian Associated Press.
Grant Donaldson, Australia’s independent national security legislation monitor, will hear from government officials, intelligence bosses, prosecutors and human rights advocates.
There will also be a session with the legal team for Bernard Collaery, whose prosecution over allegedly leaking classified information about an alleged Australian spying operation in East Timor was dropped in 2022.
The basis of secret trials lies in the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004, known as the NSI Act, which Mr Donaldson is reviewing.
The Human Rights Law Centre says while secret trials have a long history in authoritarian states, they have no place in democracies like Australia.
The attorney-general Mark Dreyfus says completely secret trials are inconsistent with the rule of law and court cases should be as open as possible while ensuring the protection of national security information.
More from Chalmers at the G20:
Going forward, the treasurer wants the Australia-China relationship managed in a pragmatic way.
Recognising that we have differences … but overwhelmingly this is a trading relationship and an economic relationship that serves both countries very well.
So the overwhelming tenor of the conversation was a friendly, constructive conversation between two countries who are very important to each other.
Chalmers also raised his “deep concern” about two Australians detained in China, writer Yang Hengjun and journalist Cheng Lei.
The pair also discussed grim global and domestic economic forecasts as the world grapples with the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chalmers said:
There’s no use pretending otherwise.
If the Chinese indicators are weak, if they’re softer than we anticipate, then obviously that has implications and consequences for us and so we’re monitoring that very closely.
Jim Chalmers meets China counterpart at G20 in India
Jim Chalmers has become the first Australian treasurer in four years to meet his Chinese counterpart, marking a historic moment for both nations, Australian Associated Press reports.
Chalmers seized the opportunity to meet Liu Kun in India on the sidelines of a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors.
It marked the first meeting between an Australian treasurer and a Chinese finance minister since June 2019.
The treasurer, who described the conversation as friendly and free-flowing, said the pair discussed the stabilising Chinese-Australian diplomatic relationship.
Chalmers raised China’s trade restrictions with Kun and said the Australian government would like the issue resolved before prime minister Anthony Albanese visits Beijing.
China placed trade sanctions on $20bn worth of Australian products at the height of a diplomatic spat in 2020, although it has since wound back restrictions on timber and coal imports.
Chalmers told ABC 7.30:
The Albanese government has made it very clear that whilst we don’t need to pretend away the differences we have with China and with our ministerial counterparts we are much more likely to stabilise this key relationship with engagement and dialogue.
We’ve been very clear publicly and privately … that we consider it to be in the interests of both countries for those trade restrictions to be lifted. We’d like to see some progress there in advance of a prime ministerial visit.
Chalmers said Kun agreed to speak to his ministerial colleagues about the restrictions.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be bringing you the top overnight stories before my colleague Rafqa Touma picks up.
Jim Chalmers has become the first Australian treasurer in four years to meet his Chinese counterpart when he talked to Liu Kun on the sidelines of a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in India last night. Chalmers raised China’s trade restrictions with Kun and said Australia would like the issue resolved before prime minister Anthony Albanese visits Beijing. It came as Henry Kissinger, the veteran US diplomat who helped open up China to western contact in the 1970s, paid a surprise visit to Beijing. More coming up soon.
The fallout continues from the Victorian government’s decision to pull out of hosting the Commonwealth Games. The Victorian taxpayer may be on the hook for the cost of the cancellation, reportedly to the tune of millions of dollars. The sporting world is dismayed about it all. Our sports writer Kieran Pender asks whether this is the death knell of games that some say just “aren’t what they used to be”. British cities are meanwhile being encouraged to think about bids with Birmingham considered a runner even though it hosted the 2022 Games, though Downing Street still hopes Australia can somehow host in 2026.
We’re continuing our reporting on the “gutting of Gonski” with a piece showing that the landmark report’s promise to deliver more cash for each Indigenous child appears to be failing. Figures show that funding to public schools have fallen 7.75% in real terms in the Northern Territory, with a large fall in Western Australia as well. The public middle school in Alice Springs receives $31,834 for every student in government funding, compared with $26,848 at the nearby private school, which also gets $9,382 for every student from parent contributions and fees.
