Afternoon. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has stressed the importance of treating “journalists with respect”, as accusations that Peter Costello assaulted a News Corp reporter dominated politics today.
Chalmers said it was ultimately up to the journalist, Liam Mendes, to take the matter further, while fellow Labor minister Jason Clare said Canberra airport CCTV footage could shed light on the incident. Costello, the chairman of Nine Entertainment and a former Coalition treasurer, denies assaulting Mendes, saying instead that the journalist “fell over” walking backwards into an “advertising placard”.