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I have spoken to Premier Daniel Andrews to congratulate him and his Labor team on their remarkable victory.
The first Andrews Government has given outstanding service to all Victorians. They have kept their promises, invested in TAFE, hospitals, schools and services. They’ve backed renewable energy and rooftop solar and they’ve begun generational infrastructure projects that will transform this state.
Premier Andrews and his team campaigned on their stability, on their proud record of economic success and social progress and with a clear pledge to finish what they have begun.
For four years, Daniel and his colleagues have worked hard to earn and keep the trust of the Victorian people and their success tonight is tribute to the faith Victorians have shown in them, once again.
Today’s result is also a fundamental rejection of the Liberals’ cuts to schools, TAFE and hospitals, and their failure to invest in renewables and take action on climate change.
All of us in the Federal Labor party wish the Andrews Government well in their second term as they continue to build a better future for all Victorians.

The Opposition is urging Mr Morrison to finally commit to a National Integrity Commission in the final sitting fortnight of the year.
There is no reason to end 2018 without a bi-partisan commitment to a national anti-corruption body.
We welcome today’s open letter to the Prime Minister from 34 former judges, calling on him to establish a National Integrity Commission.
The former judges write: “A National Integrity Commission is urgently needed to fill the gaps in our integrity system and restore trust in our democracy.”
Labor agrees.
In recent years, many Australians have lost faith in politics and our public institutions. It’s time for us to do better. It’s time for us to help restore people’s faith in politics.
At the beginning on 2018, we announced our plan to legislate for a federal anti-corruption body.
A bi-partisan process to establish a National Integrity Commission would help ensure the complex consultation and design work can be completed swiftly, and a body established as a priority.
Mr Morrison delayed the Banking Royal Commission by voting against it 26 times. He shouldn’t make the same mistake with a National Integrity Commission.
Let’s make this issue above politics. The Parliament can come together this week and start the process of establishing a National Integrity Commission.
The Labor Opposition will continue to push for a National Integrity Commission. And if Mr Morrison refuses to act, a Shorten Labor Government will make it law.

There is no evidence of adverse effects on human health from the consumption of lead in drinking water in Australia. However, lead is not considered to be beneficial or necessary for humans; therefore public health experts recommend Australians take every opportunity to limit potential exposure from all sources.
The concentration of lead set in the drinking water guidelines is very conservative so that it can be sure to protect the most vulnerable people, such as very young children and pregnant women.
There have been instances of detection of lead levels above Australia’ drinking water guidelines and, as a precautionary approach, enHealth has issued household good practice guidelines to assist Australians in minimising their exposure to lead in drinking water, particularly when drinking water from old taps.
enHealth have suggested these simple precautionary measures to ensure that lead levels in drinking water are as low as possible.
Elevated blood lead levels are rarely found to be related to lead exposure from drinking water and it is extremely unlikely that lead from drinking water, even over a lifetime, would cause clinical lead toxicity.
I welcome work being undertaken by the Australian Building Codes Board to examine the issue of the level of lead in plumbing fixtures in line with international best practice.
Further information on lead in plumbing products is available on the enHealth Statement on Lead in Plumbing Products available from the department’s web page at: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/A12B57E41EC9F326CA257BF0001F9E7D/$File/Lead-plumbing-products-Guidance-Statement-July2018.pdf.

The Coalition Government has today released the terms of reference for the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into mental health and announced the appointment of an Associate Commissioner for the inquiry.
The inquiry will consider how mental illness can affect all aspects of a person’s quality of life including physical health, social participation, education, employment and financial status.
The terms of reference will include:

• • Examining the effect of supporting mental health on economic and social participation, productivity and the Australian economy;
  • Examining how sectors beyond health, including education, employment, social services, housing and justice can contribute to improving mental health and economic participation and productivity;
  • Examining the effectiveness of current programs and initiatives across all jurisdictions to improve mental health, suicide prevention and participation, including by governments, employers and professional groups;
  • Assessing whether the current investment in mental health is delivering value for money and the best outcomes for individuals, their families, society and the economy;
  • Drawing on domestic and international policies and experience, where appropriate; and
  • Developing a framework to measure and report the outcomes of mental health policies and investment on participation, productivity and economic growth over the long term.

To assist the Commission in undertaking this inquiry, Professor Harvey Whiteford has been appointed as an Associate Commissioner.
Professor Whiteford is a member of the National Mental Health Commission’s Advisory Board, Professor of Population Mental Health at the University of Queensland, and Professor of Global Health at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington.
He brings extensive experience to the role, having worked on mental health policy with the World Health Organisation, World Bank, OECD and governments in Europe, Africa and Asia.
The two Commissioners overseeing the inquiry are Dr Stephen King and Julie Abramson.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said: “The inquiry will be able to make recommendations as to how the Government can better support Australians living with mental illness, to enable them to lead fulfilling and contributing lives.”
Minister for Health, Greg Hunt said he has consulted with state and territory health and mental health ministers as well as the National Mental Health Commission to seek their views on the scope and terms of reference of the inquiry.
“The Commission will consult with Indigenous leaders including the National Mental Health Commission’s Professor Helen Milroy and Professor Ngiare Brown on their expertise,” Minister Hunt said.
“Four million Australians deal with some form of chronic or episodic mental health condition. As well as the individuals affected and people close to them, poor mental health also affects businesses, the hospital system, emergency services and social services.”
The Commission will take submissions and will hold public consultations, including in regional areas.
All interested parties, including carers and patients, are encouraged to participate.
The inquiry will begin immediately and is due to report to Government within 18 months.
The Federal Government will spend an estimated $4.7 billion this year on mental health. Once state and territory government funding is added to this, the investment in mental health rises to around $9 billion per year – that is equivalent to $1 million per hour – every hour of every day.
The terms of reference are available on the Commission’s website.

The 70th anniversary of the raising of the Australian Army’s Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) was marked with a ceremonial parade at the Australian War Memorial today.

The revered Queen’s and recently updated Regimental Colours, featuring the 17 theatre and battle honours bestowed on the RAR, were on display with their respective Colour parties from the battalions of the regiment.

Major General Mark Kelly, AO, DSC (Retd), Colonel Commandant of the RAR said the regiment’s birthday was a time to reflect on its rich history and achievements.

“The battalions of our regiment have provided the full-time infantry combat capability for the Australian Defence Force for the last 70 years,” Major General Kelly said.

 “This parade, and the display of the Colours, helps us to reflect on the sacrifice and valour of those who came before us, including the 684 members of the regiment who died on operations.

“We remain committed to duty, ready to serve the Australian public as a key component of our modern and professional land force.

“We will continue to uphold the high standards set by infantry soldiers before us and look forward to continuing to serve our nation under the regimental motto of ‘Duty First’.”

The RAR, originally consisting of three ‘regular’ infantry battalions – the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions – was raised in 1948 for service in Japan after World War Two. There are now seven RAR battalions, based in Adelaide, Brisbane, Townsville and Darwin.

The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove, AK, MC (Retd); Chief of the Defence Force, General Angus Campbell, AO, DSC; and Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Rick Burr, AO, DSC, MVO were all officers of the regiment. Seven Victoria Cross recipients, including the four most recently serving in Afghanistan, were at one time RAR soldiers.

The RAR has deployed on many operations including the Korean War, Malayan Emergency, Vietnam War, Somalia, Rwanda, East Timor, Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme (FITS) will commence on 10 December, 2018.
The Attorney-General announced the start date today, saying FITS would enhance transparency across the Australian Government and safeguard the nation’s democracy.
“FITS will provide visibility of the forms and sources of foreign influence in Australia’s governmental and political processes,” the Attorney-General said.
“Covert foreign influence can have serious implications for political sovereignty and national policy.  This can result in the interests of foreign principals being placed over Australian national interests without appropriate transparency.
“FITS, along with the Espionage and Foreign Interference Act, both of which passed Parliament with bipartisan support in June of this year, provide key protections to our national security and democratic institutions and processes and support our sovereignty, values and national interests.
“These new national security Acts were requested by our national security agencies and reflect the fact that, as we have heard time and time again from our most senior national security leaders, we live in a time of unprecedented foreign intelligence activity against Australia with more foreign agents, from more foreign powers, using more tradecraft to engage in espionage and foreign interference than at any time since the Cold War.”
From Monday, 10 December 2018, any person who undertakes certain activities, on behalf of a foreign principal for the purpose of influencing a political or government process will be required to register under the scheme.
A register of all those covered by the scheme and details about their activities as well as the nature of their arrangements with foreign principals will be publicly available.
The Attorney-General said since the passage of the legislation the Government has been finalising two sets of rules under the Foreign Influence Transparency Act 2018, which would underpin the operation of the FITS.
The first is a set of rules specifying the disclosures that must be made when undertaking communications activity.  This could include media broadcasts, articles or messages sent via applications such as WhatsApp.
The second set of rules will set out what information about registrants will be made public. This includes:

• names the registrant and the foreign principal would be known by;
• details of the arrangements with a foreign principal;
• details of the activity being undertaken on behalf of the foreign principal; and
• the date or period in which the activity is taking place

Together, these rules will ensure the FITS provides as much transparency in the Australian democratic system as possible,” the Attorney-General said.
“This is the first scheme of its kind in Australia. As such, detailed guidance materials are being prepared to support those who will need to register.
“Foreign actors will remain free to promote their interests in Australia, provided this is done in a lawful, open and transparent way.”
The IT platform to allow participants to register is almost complete with testing to be conducted later this month, ahead of its official launch on 10 December 2018.

On 19 November 2018, Papua New Guinean national Koloney Bama, 52, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment in the Cairns Supreme Court for multiple counts of trying to smuggle drugs and the drug precursor ephedrine into Australia. He was also sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for one count of people smuggling.
On 11 November 2015, Bama tried to smuggle what he thought was 500ml ephedrine liquid, 28 grams of cocaine powder, and 10 kilograms of cannabis by dinghy from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to Bamaga—on the tip of Cape York in Queensland—via the Torres Straits.
But not long after entering Australian waters, Bama’s outboard motor started playing up and he couldn’t fix it. After numerous phone calls to his co-conspirator back in PNG—an Australian called Aniba—Bama rang 000 asking for help.
During the call, BAMA told the 000 operator that he was on a ‘drug run’ and had 12 kilograms of marijuana with him in the boat. He said he was looking for a market for his drugs and that Customs knew he was a drug runner and would know where he was.
Shortly after making the phone call, Bama was able to restart the outboard motor and returned to PNG. On the way he threw the ephedrine and cannabis overboard and buried the cocaine on an island to prevent being caught with the drugs by police.
Bama was unaware that his phone calls had been intercepted as part of a 2015 operation between the Queensland Police and the Australian Federal Police, investigating the supply of drugs in the Cape York area.
Between 1–11 March 2016, lawfully intercepted phone calls revealed that Aniba and Bama were communicating with another PNG national named ‘Joe’. Joe said he had 200kg of cannabis he wanted to exchange for firearms and cash. The plan was for Bama and Joe to smuggle the drugs from PNG to Bamaga where they would sell them, then use the cash to buy firearms. The deal never eventuated.
On 19 August 2017, Bama smuggled six Chinese nationals on a 14-foot dinghy from PNG to Saibai Island on the northern tip of Queensland, close to PNG. When Bama was arrested on 22 August, he said the Chinese had come from the Indonesian island of Merauke and that the plan had been to take them to Bamaga.
The six Chinese nationals were detained by officers from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, and Australian Defence Force, between 20–21 August.
Charges and sentence:
Bama was charged with:

• One count of attempting to import a marketable quantity of border-controlled precursor, ephedrine, contrary to section 11.1 and 307.12 Criminal Code Cth.
• One count of attempting to import a marketable quantity of border-controlled drug, cocaine, contrary to section 11.1 and 307.2 of the Criminal Code (Cth).
• One count of attempting to import a border-controlled drug, cannabis, contrary to section 11.1 and 307.3 Criminal Code Cth.
• One count of conspiring to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, cannabis, contrary to section 11.5 and 307.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth).
• One count of aggravated people smuggling (at least 5 people) contrary to section 233C of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

Bama was sentenced for the drug/precursor importation offences and the people smuggling offence to a total effective sentence of 6 years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 3.5 years.