AM
South Korean political standoff continues
ABC listen, podcasts, radio, news, music and more. Good morning. Welcome to AM. It's Monday 6th of January. I'm David Lipson coming to you from Gadigal Land in Sydney. The Prime Minister is kicking off his 2025 re-election pitch today with a campaign blitz through Queensland, the Northern Territory and WA. Anthony Albanese will start the tour with a major infrastructure announcement, promising $7 billion of federal funding for the Bruce Highway in Queensland. I spoke to the Infrastructure Minister a short time ago. Catherine King, thanks for your time. $7.2 billion is a big slab of federal funding for Queensland. Why is it necessary for 80% of the funding for this Queensland road to come from the Commonwealth? Well, the Bruce Highway is basically the artery of Queensland. Everybody drives on it. It's the major freight, the British. And in terms of it's where it's at at the moment, it's much of the road is still a one or two star. That's the rating system that's used to really grade whether a road is safe or not. And we've seen a significant increase in the number of accidents and particularly fatal accidents along this road. So we've taken the decision that we will fund this additional $7.2 billion based on representations of the Queensland government, the fact that it is the major artery and the only really major artery in Queensland, the volume of freight and the volume of traffic and the crash accidents that we're seeing on this road. It's a significant commitment. It is the single biggest commitment that anyone has made to fixing this road and getting it up to three star rating. Are you able to quantify what this money will do in terms of lives that could be saved or productivity improvements? Well, both two things. In terms of lives that are saved, all of the estimates, when you lift a road from one star to three star, you basically increase its safety rating by 50%. So we would certainly hope to see a significant reduction in fatal accidents and serious injuries along this road once it is lifted to a three star. In fact, the significant gains you get is when you lift a one star road to three star, you get more marginal gains when you're going from a three star to a four star road. So that really big significant gain is made when you're going from a one to a three star. Now, cynics would point out that there's quite a few key seats along this stretch of road. How are you choosing the priority sections of road that will be upgraded first in the context, of course, of an election that must happen before May this year? Well, we won't choose the priority sections that will be done by the Queensland government because they, at the end of the day, will need to deliver this funding. They are responsible for designing, doing all the service movement, contracting, tendering out of this road. So they won't make those decisions. We are making the money available to the corridor, but it is fair to say where the safety concerns are, are from gimpy onwards. There's significant money already on the table for projects along the Bruce Highway. We've already put around $10 billion into this road. A lot of that has gone down south. This really will be up in that northern corridor, particularly in that area down from Mackay, where we have seen significant accidents and where that one star rating is. Now, more broadly on infrastructure, we reported last year that the New South Wales and Victoria were resisting your offer of a 50/50 funding split for regional infrastructure, Road and Rail. The federal government previously funded 80% of projects. Can you give us an update? Are those states or any others still holding out? Well, at the end of the day, it's what the Commonwealth is prepared to offer and other states accept that or not. So that's a decision for them. I understand there's not a single state in the country that wants to say they want more money from the Commonwealth. But really the history of this and the history of road funding is the Commonwealth used to only fund regional roads and those national highways. We didn't, we were not involved in funding public transport projects, rail projects, for example, all suburban railroad projects at all. We only had our focus largely on those big national highways. Increasingly, the Commonwealth has stepped into the shoes or stepped into the space of the state government. So we are funding significant money, billions of dollars in public transport, metro net over in the West, for example, those projects and suburban roads. So we are now saying to the states, well, we are now contributing to where you would 100% pay funding. You now also need to contribute significantly on those regional roads. We accept in the case of the Bruce Highway that this is a different proposition. It's a, you know, 1700 kilometres of road. It's been very difficult to get this safety improvements done without federal assistance. But what we want to see is the states stepping in far more when it comes to regional roads and we're stepping in far more when it comes into the public transport system and suburban roads. Are we now in a pre-election campaign? I think it's pretty fair to say there will be an election sometime early this year. And of course voters will have a choice, a choice between a government that wants to build Australia's future and is saying that with this significant investment we're making in Queensland today, a government that wants to build a stronger Medicare universal child here in the dignified aged care system. I think it's fair to say there will be an election sometime this year and we are well and truly ready to take on pay that up. You said early this year. What do you mean by early? Well, that is entirely a matter for the Prime Minister. Sorry, if you knew David, I'm sure you'd be telling your listeners if I knew I probably wouldn't be. Catherine King, thanks so much for your time. So good to be with you, David. And Catherine King is the infrastructure minister. Well, the ABC's chief digital political reporter, Jacob Greiber, is travelling with the Prime Minister this week on this unofficial pre-election campaign. Jacob, we heard the announcement from the Minister there, $7.2 billion for Queensland's Bruce Highway. What are the politics behind this announcement at this time? So it's a very significant announcement from a sort of local Queensland point of view. Think about the Bruce Highway. It travels through a very large number of important seats that the government needs to win or retain. That road is notoriously dangerous. It has a much higher accident rate than similar roads in Victoria in New South. Wales, so it needs money spent on it. This will be something that a lot of communities all the way up that coast will be wanting. And think also, too, there's obviously a lot of visitors at this time of year, and so they are travelling that road and will get the benefit of it. Now, the Prime Minister is going to be helping with the announcement of this this morning. And you'll be accompanying Anthony Albanese on a tour across the top end. He'll have other journalists on board the Vip jet with him. It feels a lot like an election campaign. What's your read of the purpose of this trip and the states that the PM is going to first? It really does have all of that vibe to it. It's obviously not at the scale of an election campaign, but he's kicking off the year with a pretty strong declarative statement about his intent. As you say, he's starting in Queensland. We'll be hitting the Sunshine Coast, Rockhampton, and then Cairns and Mount Isa are a little bit later in the week, and then it's my understanding we'll be travelling west through the Kimberley and down to Perth. Now, if you think about it, that northern arc of Australia is hugely important in political terms. Queensland, the Labor Party, would love to start winning a lot more seats. It does seem like the Coalition and the LNP in particular has sort of reached a high watermark, particularly when you think about what happened in the recent state election. Labor is hoping that the tide will have turned, but it is tough going for the government. And then WA, if you recall, it was those three seats that came in very late, four Labor that gave Anthony Albanese his majority. So he will be determined to hang on to those seats. So realistically, how early could the Prime Minister call the election? And why would he want to go soon rather than closer to May? Look, I think this is a really crucial question, David. He could do it as early as the second half of this month, which would be, I think, quite a shock to a lot of people. That would mean an election date at the end of February. That would be quite possible, as in from a technical point of view. Whether he would want to do that, well, that would be really ultimately a question of whether he thinks he could win an election on a late February date. He'd be taking a bet with that. The polls are not necessarily in his favor for, say, another majority. It's going to be a tough fight. And he would have to be pretty certain that going early wouldn't have downsides for him. And of course, the first thing the opposition would do is say, well, you've broken your promise to go full-term. And that's something that the Prime Minister has been pretty consistent about all along, that he does want to go full-termy. He does see these terms already as being too short. And so that would go against his long-term narrative, if he did go in February. That's our chief digital political reporter, Jacob Grieber. Well, large parts of Australia swelted through heatwave conditions over the weekend, with some areas recording highs in the 40s. There is relief on the way today for some areas, but if you're in Sydney, the Mercury could hit the low 40s in the western suburbs. And wildlife organizations are encouraging people to look out for distressed animals, but may be struggling in the heat. Saramonda reports. Finally, there's some relief for firefighters in Victoria. A bushfire in the Gampians in the state's west has now burned through more than 76,000 hectares, as temperatures went past 40 degrees on Saturday. Varian Bradbury is a senior meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology. The call change has wept across Victoria in the overnight period from Sunday night into Monday. Temperatures across most parts of Victoria are expected to reach about the mid-20s today. Marian Bradbury says parts of southwest Victoria may only reach the high teens. So this is really good news for our fire-affected areas that we've got a cooler day on the way, as well as the rain that is moving across the stage. So we are expecting to see showers and possible storms continuing, generally low rainfall totals, but we could see some moderate rainfall totals about the rangers as this wet weather moves through on Monday. Unfortunately for those in New South Wales, inland Queensland, the NT and Northern Central WA, it'll still be hot throughout Monday, with a cooler change for most of those areas not expected until later on Monday and into Tuesday. The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a top temperature of 37 degrees for the western Sydney suburb of Parramatta, at a top of 38 for Dubbo. The continuing hot weather has prompted medical professionals to warn the public of the effects of extreme heat on the body. Dr Kim Liu is a GP and the New South Wales Director of Doctors for the Environment. Working western Sydney, most of the population is at risk because there are people living in energy poverty and also food insecurity. So if you look at heatwaves, it's going to impact the most vulnerable people in our community and heatwaves do increase in equity in terms of how people can protect themselves. The hot weather can also affect animals, including our native birds and wildlife, although Australia's native birds are generally well adapted to hot conditions. Once it gets above 40 degrees, they struggle to regulate their body heat. Sean Dooley is from BirdLife Australia and says, unlike mammals, birds can't sweat. So they're not able to dissipate their body heat through perspiration and they need other methods to try and lose some of that internal heat before they become too hot. Darcy Carruthers is a nature campaigner with the Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service and says no matter where someone lives, they can help local wildlife. Around 46% of Australia's threatened animals actually occur in our major cities and even just a simple act of putting out water on your balcony in the middle of the city, that could be the difference between life and death. If you do come across a wild animal in distress, contact your state or territory's local wildlife service. Sarah Monda there. The standoff over attempts to arrest the impeached South Korean president has intensified. An effort by Yun Song-Yol's legal team to challenge his arrest warrant has been thrown out of court. Under investigation for insurrection over his martial law declaration last month, the former president remains holed up with the warrant set to expire at midnight tonight. East Asia correspondent Kathleen Coldabort has more from Seoul. There are times you could be forgiven for feeling more like you're at a music festival than a political protest here in Seoul. All around people are dancing and cheering, stalls have been set up handing out free fishbowl super boiling water for noodles and protesters on both sides are eager to share hand warmers and snacks. Kim Song-e braved below zero temperatures all night on Friday and came out again despite the snow. Of course it's harsh weather, but it's more shameful to stay at home than to come out here and be frozen. I think the officers should arrest the president as soon as possible and investigate him to stabilize the country and the economy. The time pressure is really on now with a warrant to arrest Mr Yun expiring at midnight. Yun Song-yo's security service and military guard successfully blocked anti-corruption investigators from arresting him on Friday. The president's chief of security, Pak-chong-jun, stands by their actions. The presidential security service didn't intend to impede the investigation agencies. While the impeachment motion has been passed by the National Assembly, Yun Song-yo is still the elected president and by law he's still being protected by the security service. This all started just over a month ago when the president stunned the country by declaring martial law. He lifted it only six hours later after a parliamentary vote to block it, but the damage was done and it's set off weeks of political turmoil and public protests. Die-hard supporters have been camped out all weekend along the road leading up to the presidential residence compound, hoping to protect Mr Yun from another arrest attempt. After the martial law declaration, like other South Korean citizens, I was very shocked and surprised, but after that, what I'm witnessing, the opposition party doing, is total nonsense, so I came here to protect the freedom of my country. The president's legal team had applied for the warrant to be thrown out, but that's now been dismissed by a South Korean court. If investigators try to arrest President Yun again today, it will coincide with a visit from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who's making a final trip to South Korea and Japan before Donald Trump is inaugurated in less than two weeks. If they don't arrest him today, the anti-corruption agency says it will apply for an extension or a fresh arrest warrant for the president. This is Kathleen Coldlewood and Seoul reporting for AM. Well, now to the cricket, an Australia regaining the border Gavaskar trophy for the first time in a decade after beating India by six wickets at the Sydney cricket ground. Yesterday's electric finale concludes a memorable series, which saw record crowds soak in every moment of the action. Commentators now believe the competition between Australia and India is hotter than ever, and could even give England and Australia's a run for its money. Lexi Junewick with this report. In front of a pink cloud crowd at the Sydney cricket ground, Australia sealed the deal on a thrilling end to the India Test series, after chasing down 162 runs. Great test match, but a convincing margin in the end for the oldies, winning by those six wickets. Strava said 34-knot out and Beauwebs to 39-knot out on the back of his first innings, 57. The six-wicked victory on day three of the fifth test sees Australia hoist the border Gavaskar trophy for the first time in a decade. Australia captain Pat Cummins labelling the triumph a team effort. Takes more than just 11 players. It's probably 30 or 40 by the time you're out in families and staff and all that kind of stuff. And yeah, just so proud of everyone. It's been great fun. Jeff Lemmon is a freelance cricket commentator and writer and says Sunday's big finish could have gone either way. And Travis had and Beauwebs to end it up looking relatively relaxed by the time they knocked off the runs. But when Australia were four down and were still about 60 to go, there was the feeling that anything could happen on this pitch. It was a pretty erratic surface and had India not lost their best bowler with injury, then things could have been very different. The result brings to an end a memorable test, much of which played out before record crowds. Indian cricket veteran Virat Coley has been responsible for some head turning on field antics. There was the batting great's controversial shoulder bump of teen Aussie debutante Sam Constis and what appeared to be taunting of Australia's Steve Smith over the infamous sandpapergate scandal, where Smith and two others were banned over ball tampering in a test match against South Africa in 2018. Jeff Lemmon says the result has cemented the rivalry between Australia and India, as arguably fiercer than England and Australia's. I think the quality of the contest against India is currently stronger. And the, you know, the crowd interests the audience for that contest is bigger. So yeah, you've got a longer and more historic rivalry between England and Australia. But on the other factors, the Indian rivalries possibly going past it. He believes England will have been watching this test series closely. Generally speaking, English cricket is thinking more about Australia and cricket than the other way around. They've been fixated on this upcoming ashes tour for the last three years really since since the last time they came over here and had things go badly off the rails. So the entire Ben Stokes era has been focused on trying to win in Australia. That's the thing that seems to matter to them more than anything else, more than trying to make World Test Championship finals. Next summer, Australia will host England for the ashes. That report from Lexi Junewick. That's AM for today. Thanks for your company. I'm David Lipson.
The standoff over attempts to arrest the impeached South Korean President has intensified. An effort by Yoon Suk Yeol legal team to challenge the warrant for his arrest has been thrown out of court.