Australia news LIVE: Organised crime strips more than $1b from NDIS; experts call on Plibersek to tighten marine protections

Some of Australia’s most prominent marine scientists have rejected Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s assertion that Australia has already met its goal of protecting 30 per cent of its oceans, saying industrial fishing and oil and gas extraction are allowed in marine parks that should be set aside for conservation.

At a recent Press Club speech to launch the State of the Environment report, Plibersek pledged Australia would protect 30 per cent of its land and waters by 2030 and said this goal had already been exceeded in the marine realm.

But in a letter sent to Plibersek, a group of 23 marine scientists denies this is the case: “This is not the reality using any definition of a protected area other than that of the prior government’s.”

More on this issue here.

Australia’s most senior criminal intelligence official says organised criminals involved in drug trafficking, violence and money laundering are exploiting systemic weaknesses in the National Disability Insurance Scheme to rort it on an unprecedented scale.

In an extraordinary intervention into the national debate, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission chief Michael Phelan has called for a new multi-agency taskforce to tackle the problem, which diverts critical funds away from some of the nation’s most vulnerable people.

Phelan cites intelligence that reveals disabled Australians have been extorted, threatened with violence or even involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric ward by crime syndicates seeking to steal their NDIS entitlements.

“It just sickens you,” he told this masthead. “This is not a victimless crime. You’ve got to wonder how far down the scumbag scale you get before you start ripping off our most vulnerable people.”

Read the full story here.

Good morning and thanks for your company.

It’s Monday, August 15. I’m Broede Carmody and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage for the first half of the day.

Here’s what you need to know before we get started.

• Australia’s most senior criminal intelligence official says organised criminals are exploiting the National Disability Insurance Scheme at an unprecedented scale. Read Nick McKenzie and Amelia Ballinger’s exclusive report here. NDIS Minister Bill Shorten will front the ABC’s RN Breakfast later this morning.
• Miki Perkins writes that some of Australia’s most prominent marine scientists have rejected Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s assertion that Australia has already met its goal of protection 30 per cent of its oceans.
• In case you missed it over the weekend, Labor says it plans to bring in tens of thousands of skilled migrants to fill chronic labour shortages. The Albanese government is eyeing tradies, IT specialists and aged care workers.
• And in international news, a delegation of five American politicians is visiting Taiwan after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-governed island. China sent missiles, warships and warplanes into the Taiwan Strait following Pelosi’s trip.