Key events
New safe spaces announced for women and children escaping violence
The Albanese government has announcing funding for 720 new safe spaces over the next three years, providing emergency accommodation for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence.
This will bring the total number of emergency accommodation places delivered under the safe spaces program across the nation to about 1,500, once the projects are completed.
The program provides a capital investment to fund the building, renovation or purchase of emergency accommodation. About 4,200 women and children are supported each year by the current sites.
A statement said the projects will have a focus on improving access for First Nations women and children, women and children from Cald backgrounds and women and children with disability.
The minister for social services, Amanda Rishworth, said:
Family and domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness and housing uncertainty for women and children across Australia, and we know there is an increased demand for emergency accommodation.
Projects will be funding in each state and territory, and are expected to be complete and delivering services by June 2027.
Burney on Alice Springs curfew: ‘No 1 priority should be safety of people in central Australia’
Yesterday a snap three-day curfew was announced for Alice Springs after a series of alleged violent assaults.
The curfew will cover parts of the CBD from 10pm to 6am, with police commissioner Michael Murphy stating a series of crimes at the weekend had contributed to the decision:
Overnight minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney released a statement on the curfew and acknowledged communities in the red centre had been “doing it tough”:
The temporary curfew is an operational decision for the NT Police – and the number one priority should be the safety of people in Central Australia.
As the Police Commissioner has rightly said, policing alone won’t solve some of the social issues facing Central Australia. That’s why investments in youth services, domestic violence services, schools and remote housing are so important.
The challenges confronting communities in Central Australia have developed over decades and solutions will take time. But with governments and the community working together, I am confident we will make progress.
Good morning
Emily Wind
And happy Tuesday – thanks to Martin for kicking things off. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll be with you on the blog today.
As always, you can reach out with any questions, thoughts or feedback via X, @emilywindwrites, or you can send me an email: [email protected].
Let’s go.
Australian using record amount of illicit drugs
Elias Visontay
Australians are consuming record numbers of illicit drugs, with cocaine use becoming more popular across the country in recent months and methamphetamine use increasing in cities, as cannabis remains by far the most consumed substance nationwide.
On Tuesday, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission released its latest wastewater drug monitoring program data covering December 2023 to February 2024, which revealed several key differences between drug use habits in capital cities and regional areas.
Cannabis consumption remained Australia’s most popular illicit drug “by a large margin”, according to the report, though use in regional areas is “substantially higher” on average than in capital cities. While remaining the most consumed of the substances, its use dropped off slightly in the most recent data in both capital cities and regional areas.
Cocaine consumption has been increasing across both regional areas and capital cities, and has increased in most jurisdictions since record lows in August 2022. National average cocaine consumption in December 2023 was at the highest level since reporting began in August 2016.
Methamphetamine use also rose steadily. This per capita popularity was seen particularly in regional areas, with the December 2023 data suggesting regional use reached its highest since August 2022 while capital city use was at its highest since August 2016.
MDMA consumption has also been increasing, according to the data, with the December 2023 data suggesting national average consumption across capital cities and regional sites were at their highest level since August 2020.
While cannabis was the most popular substance nationwide, the data suggested differing tastes between cities. In Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra, methamphetamine was the second most popular illicit substance, followed by cocaine. In Melbourne and Perth, methamphetamine was the second most popular substance, followed by heroin.
Money launderers using casinos and property, Mark Dreyfus says
Josh Butler
The attorney general has warned that serious criminals are using casinos, real estate and luxury goods to launder their money, with the government to release new risk assessments to target such businesses.
Mark Dreyfus will appear at the National Press Club on Tuesday to discuss terrorism financing and money laundering, alongside CEO of financial crime agency Austrac, Brendan Thomas.
According to advance notes of his speech, the attorney general says the government has “no tolerance for corruption or illicit financing of any kind”, warning of coming improvements to financial crime systems.
Dreyfus is expected to say:
We want to modernise the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act to ensure it keeps pace with the increasingly digital, instant nature of our global financial system – closing those gaps that we know increasingly sophisticated, professional criminal organisations can exploit.
Money laundering is not a victimless crime. We have to act. We cannot afford any further delay.
Dreyfus will warn that drug trafficking, terrorism and child exploitation are being financed by such money laundering, and specifically pointed to several business types.
Dreyfus will say:
The money laundering National Risk Assessment shows that criminals continue to exploit established and legal channels – such as cash, luxury goods, real estate, domestic banks, casinos and remitters to launder funds in Australia.
As I am sure Brendan will indicate, the insights and risk assessments provided by Austrac – such as those being released today – should be heeded by industry and used to inform their identification and management of money laundering and terrorism financing risks. Importantly, they also send a clear signal about high risk industries and those threats and vulnerabilities to which we must pay attention.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live blog of all the day’s news. I’m Martin Farrer and here are some of the top overnight lines before my colleague Emily Wind takes up the reins.
Fatima Payman’s resignation from Labor last week over disagreement about policy on Palestinian statehood has awoken a possibility that the party could face a serious challenge in inner-city seats from independents backed by Muslim groups and voters. We examine who the groups might be, which MPs they might target, and what it means for Australia if the politics of religious issues become more central.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, will tell the National Press Club today that the nation has to act to stop drug traffickers and terrorists exploiting real estate, banks, casinos and other legal channels to launder money and profit from their crimes. Dreyfus will pledge to modernise money laundering and counter-terrorism legislation in order to crack down on a current system that is “allowing criminals to profit from their offending”.
The latest survey of wastewater reveals that Australians are consuming more illicit drugs than ever before. Cannabis remains the most popular drug – especially in regional areas – whereas cocaine use has risen after falling during the pandemic years. Its use is more common in cities, according to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s wastewater data covering December 2023 to February this year.