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Josh Taylor and Emily Wind (earlier)

Another senior TV executive leaves Nine – as it happened

Nine Donald Trump NACC Kevin Rudd Paul Brereton Pete Hegseth Fu Ni Richard Marles Sydney Jo Haylen
Nine newsroom in Sydney
Nine entertainment’s Sydney news director, Simon Hobbs, will leave the business on Friday. Photograph: Edwina Pickles/NINE

What we learned: Wednesday, 13 November

We are going to wrap up the live blog here for the day.

This is what made the news:

  • Striking nurses have rejected an offer to fund their requested pay rise in return for delaying the rollout of their “big ask” for more staff, NSW’s health minister says, with emergency wait times expected to get longer.

  • Girls are now seeing porn for the first time at 13.6 years, on average – two years younger than they were in 2018.

  • The Australian federal police raided multiple locations in Melbourne’s western suburbs last night as part of an investigation into alleged fraud against the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

  • Tabcorp was fined over $260,000 for accepting bets on live tennis.

  • The Greens announced a $100m per year plan to ensure public hospitals can provide abortion services.

  • The treasurer, Jim Chalmers announced funding of $900m for states and territories through a new national productivity fund to boost competition and productivity across the economy.

  • Peter Dutton says he supports the right of women to access legal abortion but will not require the Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan and the South Australian Liberal senator Alex Antic to withdraw a sponsored bill to change abortion law.

  • Australia’s biggest lender, Commonwealth Bank, recorded a quarterly $2.5bn cash net profit backed by “strong momentum” in home lending.

  • A senior Trump adviser has posted a gif of an hourglass in response to Kevin Rudd’s congratulation message to the incoming president, but former prime minister Tony Abbott, defended Rudd.

  • The Catholic church won a landmark case limiting its liability for the abuse of children by priests not under its direct employment.

  • The wage price index for the September quarter has come in at 3.5% compared with a year earlier, the ABS reported. That figure compared with the 3.6% pace expected by economists and the 4.1% clip reported by the ABS for the June quarter.

  • Independent senator David Pocock says he will be opposing the government’s misinformation and disinformation bill “unless major changes are made to the legislation”.

  • Sydney trains will run 24 hours for the next three days amid an industrial dispute.

Nacc releases fact sheet to dispel misinformation

Earlier today, the National Anti-Corruption Commission put out its “corrections to misinformation” factsheet.

In its weekly update, the federal integrity body said a “significant amount of misinformation” circulates about the Nacc.

While it could not “correct everything”, it wanted to address some of the primary issues it had by countering it with “facts and evidence”.

Interestingly, one of the points related to a recent finding about the Nacc commissioner, Paul Brereton. The Nacc inspector, the watchdog’s watchdog, found his involvement in a decision not to start a corruption investigation into robodebt referrals resulted in the process being “affected by apprehended bias”.

Read more:

The Nacc says media references saying Brereton submitted a conflict of interest declaration because one of the persons referred to the Nacc was a ‘close personal friend’ are misinformation.

The Nacc helpfully supplied this correction:

The commissioner declared immediately and repeatedly that he had a perceived (not actual) conflict of interest, arising from a prior professional, not personal, relationship with one of the referred persons. The commissioner and that individual have never socialised other than at official functions, nor visited each other’s homes.

So, what did the inspector’s report say? In its executive summary, it referenced Brereton’s own words about “person one”. That included that Brereton said he had a “close association” with person one, that they were someone he “knows well”, and “who is well known to me”.

The language changed when the Nacc provided a submission to the inspector in August 2024. Brereton said his relationship with person one was a “prior professional association, and not a close personal relationship”.

In a report prepared by Alan Robertson SC, the former federal court judge said the change in the Nacc’s language was “gloss” and the conflict existed in “the terms it was disclosed”.

Updated

Round-the-clock Sydney train services explained

If you’re confused as to why Sydney trains is running 24 hours for the next three days, AAP reports it was one of the demands of the union.

The union wants a 32 % pay rise over four years and a 35-hour working week and has accused the government of “dragging its heels” on an improved offer.

But RTBU NSW secretary Toby Warnes said commuters should not pay the price for that and would instead benefit from the “novel” industrial action.

Our protected industrial action is always about causing a headache for the government, so they actually listen to the needs of their workforce; it’s never about disrupting the travelling public.

Our call for 24-hour transport has the benefit of being a pain for management and the government, while also resulting in improved services for commuters.

Previous industrial action was avoided when the government agreed to a union demand to have 50c fares for a weekend.

Planned industrial action on light rail services, which will see limited services run on Friday and Saturday, are still set to continue.

Updated

Pandas bid farewell to Australia

Wang Wang and Fu Ni’s love affair with Australia has ended with a final farewell to visitors at Adelaide zoo, AAP reports.

As a final treat, the pair – on loan from China since 2009 – were given a special meal on Wednesday enriched with letters, messages and drawings from more than 1000 adoring fans.

Zoo keepers provided an emotional farewell to the animals in a video on social media.

Senior primate keeper Pij Olijnik said he loved greeting the pandas each morning.

I just love rocking up to work and opening the door and having pandas there that greet you.

They verbally greet you and seem happy to see you and welcome you into that environment.

There were long-held hopes that Wang Wang, 19, and Fu Ni, 18, would breed while in Australia, as part of a global conservation program for the vulnerable species.

But despite many attempts during their brief annual mating window, several “false pregnancies”, and failed artificial insemination procedures for Fu Ni, parenthood remained out of reach for the popular pair.

Adelaide Zoo will welcome new giant pandas, male Xing Qiu (pronounced shing chee-y-ull) and female Yi Lan (ee-lun), later this year.

Both are from the Chinese city of Chengdu and are aged three, with Xing Qiu turning four just before his arrival.

Updated

The Bureau of Metereology has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of Queensland.

Updated

Richard Marles congratulates Trump’s pick for defense secretary

The defence minister and deputy prime minister has congratulated Fox News host, Pete Hegseth for being picked by Donald Trump to be defense secretary in the incoming Trump administration.

Marles told the ABC that he had not met Hegseth but extended his congratulations:

Representing the United States government as the secretary of defense is a huge responsibility. And this will be an amazing opportunity for Pete Hegseth and certainly from my point of view, I worked more closely with my American counterpart, Lloyd Austin then I would have with any other defence minister around the world.

I’m sure that will be the case when Pete Hegseth becomes the secretary of defense. It is a critically important part of the way in which our bilateral relationship exists, so much of what happens between our two companies happens through the prism of defence. I very much look forward to meeting him in building a relationship which will help us take the alliance into the future.

On the future for US ambassador Kevin Rudd, Marles said Rudd had attended the Republican National Convention earlier this year, and had been important to introducing the government to a number of figures who may play a part in a future Trump administration. He said Rudd will build the best relationship Australia can with the future Trump administration.

Updated

Sydney trains to operate 24 hours from Thursday to Saturday amid industrial dispute

The NSW transport minister, Jo Haylen, has said rail services in suburban parts of the Sydney train network will need to run for 24 hours a day during planned industrial action from Thursday to Saturday otherwise “there will be no services at all” due to some of the work bans being put in place by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union.

She said:

We want confidence and certainty for passengers and for the transport workforce, we have made very good progress across some 28 bargaining meetings, all day long, meetings now for over six months.

In fact, the bargaining room is in operation today. I feel we are close to a resolution, but we need to round this out by Christmas.

The commitment of the government Sydney trains, New South Wales trains, and I understand the unions, is to resolve this as quickly as possible, but we also want passengers to be able to get where they need to go.

Haylen said there could be major delays, but the current plan was for a normal timetable to run across Sydney on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and in the evening and in particular between midnight and 4am when there wouldn’t normally be operating trains, there will be a train every 30 minutes.

Matt Longland, chief executive of Sydney trains said track work planned over the weekend had been cancelled, and urged customers to plan ahead in order to not be too put out by delays.

The period that we’re entering into is one in which a number of new bans will take place from tomorrow … will make it increasingly difficult to operate a reliable network. Safety is always our number one priority, and none of our team will operate services where it’s not safe to do so, but we do expect that there will be some delays.

Updated

Senior TV executive leaves Nine

Another TV news executive has resigned suddenly from Nine Entertainment.

The resignation leaves the Sydney and the Brisbane TV newsrooms of Nine News without a leader.

“Nine can confirm further leadership changes were communicated to its TV News division today,” a spokesperson for Nine said.

“An internal and external recruitment process is now under way for news directors in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.”

The Perth news director position is vacant because of the internal promotion of Gareth Parker.

Brisbane news director Amanda Paterson left Nine a week ago after a 31-year career in TV news and current affairs including a stint as a reporter on A Current Affair.

On Wednesday staff were told the Sydney news director, Simon Hobbs, will leave the business on Friday.

Updated

Here’s the video of shadow foreign affairs minister, Simon Birmingham, speaking on whether US ambassador, Kevin Rudd, should stay in the job after Donald Trump’s election victory last week in the US.

Police called in over allegations of vote tampering in Victorian council elections

The Victorian Electoral Commission has referred allegations of suspected postal vote tampering in two Melbourne council elections to police.

The VEC on Wednesday afternoon said it had detected a high number of multiple returned votes in Knox city council, in Melbourne’s east, and Whittlesea city council – which was overseen by administrators between 2020 and 2024 after governance issues, in Melbourne’s north, after voting closed in the state’s council elections last month.

Both elections have been declared by the VEC and on Wednesday it requested the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Vcat) review the results in Whittlesea’s Lalor ward and Knox’s Baird ward. Peter Lockwood won Baird ward on a margin of 1.87% while Stevan Kozmevski secured a victory in Lalor on a 0.16% margin. There is no suggestions of wrongdoing by either candidate.

Updated

Asio using AI in data processing

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio) has revealed it has been using artificial intelligence to process vast amounts of counter-terrorism data since April this year.

In its 2024 annual report, released at the end of October, the spy agency said it had deployed AI “in support of a high-priority counter-terrorism investigation” to triage terabytes of data and “identify the intelligence-needle in a field of digital-haystacks.”

Asio said:

The AI capabilities efficiently prioritised security-relevant information within hours, enabling Asio officers to go straight to the most security-relevant product that would otherwise take hundreds of hours to find.

The agency said an Asio officer reviews all results, and a human is responsible and accountable for Asio’s decision-making, but the use of AI significantly reduced the time between the collection and analysis of intelligence.

Updated

Treasurer says ‘direction of travel is pretty clear’ in uptake of renewable energy

Jim Chalmers also talked about the “Great Fragmentation” that has unwound over the past fifteen years or so since the global financial crisis (followed by the Covid pandemic and global inflation spike after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine).

We couldn’t help wondering whether the incoming/returning Trump administration would create a particularly big fragmentation of global climate policy given Trump’s promise to pull the US out of the Paris Climate agreement for a second time, and his “drill, baby, drill” mantra that echoes in parts of Australia too.

Chalmers said the change of administration “does introduce another element of uncertainty in the global net zero transformation.

That said, “the weight of the world’s direction, more broadly … encourages us and convinces us that we’re on the right track”, Chalmers said.

“No one, I think, can really argue against the role that cheaper and cleaner energy will play in our own industrial and economic development, or indeed, more broadly,” he said, adding that “the direction of travel is pretty clear in the world [and] in the global economy”.

Overall, this will be the defining change and challenge in our economy over a longer time frame than governments in either country.

Physics, it should be said, also don’t pay heed to electoral cycles – even though that might get lost in the coming political campaign. Guess we’ll find out soon enough on this matter too.

Updated

‘No whiff’ of a wage-price spiral, and Australia must hold the net zero line, Chalmers says

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been giving a speech to economists in Sydney this afternoon in the wake of some generally positive wages data from the September quarter. (See earlier posts here and our article here.)

Guardian Australia managed to squeeze a couple of late questions in, including about how tough a message was it to convince Australians that a recovery in real wages would help households (when a similar message by incumbent US Democrats failed to cut through)

Chalmers, after all, had just shown this chart to the audience, and the red bits are some ways off making up for the black bits (which began prior to the Albanese government taking office in May 2022.

Chalmers said the September quarter numbers were “a great outcome”, and the four quarters in a row of gains in real terms “very, very encouraging”.

Real wages growth is one of the things I focus most on. I read a lot of stuff over a period of time that said you couldn’t have strong wages growth and have inflation moderating. We’ve shown that’s possible. We’ve shown it’s happening.

“There is not a whiff of a wage-price spiral in our economy, and that’s a good thing,” he said, adding that “we’ve got a lot of ground to make up”.

Guess we’ll learn soon enough whether the electorate thinks the current government is more likely to deliver on-going real wage growth – or the coalition.

Updated

Nurses reject pay offer

Striking nurses have rejected an offer to fund their requested pay rise in return for delaying the rollout of their “big ask” for more staff, NSW’s health minister says.

AAP reports, hundreds of surgeries are expected to be postponed as more than 50,000 nurses and midwives campaign for better pay.

The 24-hour strike across NSW public hospitals began at 7.30am on Wednesday, with nurses and midwives calling for a one-off pay bump of 15% after large wage increases for teachers, paramedics and, most recently, police officers.

The strike is estimated to force the postponement of 600 to 700 surgeries, according to NSW Health.

Emergency department wait times are also expected to blow out and people with non-life threatening conditions are urged to contact Healthdirect before arriving at hospitals.

Minimal, life-preserving staffing will be maintained in all public hospitals and health services during the 24-hour strike.

The health minister, Ryan Park, said he was disappointed the union walked away from its commitment to negotiate before the Industrial Relations Commission:

We honoured our end of the bargain … there was an expectation, though, that this industrial action was not going to take place.

The government delivered the union’s “big ask” to begin the rollout of staffing ratios despite the billion-dollar cost, but the sought pay rise was not possible to implement in a single year, Park said.

The union rejected an offer for the 15% increase to be provided over multiple years and for a slightly larger boost for early career nurses, the health minister said.

But the union said the government had not entered negotiations willing to use extra money to fund pay increases.

Updated

Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, Josh Taylor will be here to take you through the rest of our rolling coverage. Take care.

The Bureau of Meteorology has provided an updated severe thunderstorm warning for eastern NSW.

It said severe thunderstorms are likely to produce damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding over the next several hours – affecting Grafton, Batemans Bay, Tenterfield, Moree, Parkes and Maclean.

3cm large hailstones were recorded at Parkes around 1pm, it said, while 24.4mm of rain was recorded at Jerangle in the 30 minutes to 12:16pm.

Steggall says Labor and Coalition must disclose what 2035 target they will each take to next election

At Cop29, UK prime minister Keir Starmer will pledge to cut emissions by 81% compared with 1990 levels by 2035, a target in line with the recommendations of the Climate Change Committee.

Independent MP for Warringah, Zali Steggall, welcomed the move in a statement, and said:

The world is on track for 3.1 degrees of warming if nations do not increase their commitments to reduce emissions. The Albanese government and the Coalition must come clean with the Australian public and announce what 2035 target they will take to the next election. Australians deserve to know whether they are fair dinkum about acting on climate risk or pandering to the fossil fuel industry.

Updated

Australian Fashion Week future uncertain as IMG abandons event

The Australian Fashion Council (AFC) has responded to news that IMG will abandon Australian Fashion Week after nearly 20 years, leaving its future uncertain.

IMG made the announcement after owning and operating AFW since 2005. The AFC said the event provided “a critical platform for Australian designers to showcase their talent and innovation, and [positioned] Australia as a key player on the global fashion stage.”

AFC chair Marianne Perkovic and CEO Jaana Quaintance-James issued a joint statement on the decision, and said:

[AFC] has learnt today of IMG’s decision to not proceed with Australian Fashion Week (AFW) in 2025 … Turning to the future, we know we need a platform to profile and celebrate Australian fashion.

This moment signals an opportunity for the industry to reimagine and reshape how Australian fashion is represented, and provides us all with an opportunity to explore new ways in which to showcase emerging and established Australian talent.

The AFC, as the peak body for fashion and textiles in Australia, will lead this conversation. We will work with members, government and other stakeholders to consider the future platform needed to position and elevate Australian fashion internationally.

Updated

Master Builders welcomes new national productivity fund to boost productivity

Master Builders Australia says it strongly supports the announcement by treasurer Jim Chalmers today of a new national productivity fund to boost competition and productivity across the economy.

Paul Karp had all the details on this earlier in the blog, here.

In a statement, Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said the advocacy group had consistently called for incentives to support reform and lift productivity in the building and construction industry – with labour productivity down 18% over the last decade.

Productivity is more than a buzzword. When productivity is down, prices go up and our ability to build the homes and surrounding infrastructure communities need is slowed down.

We thank the treasurer for putting productivity back on the national agenda and listening to our concerns around barriers to building.

Master Builders analysis of build times found that 15 years ago, it took on average 9 months to build a stand-a-alone house from approval to completion, while today it now takes 12.7 months – an increase of over 40%.

Severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of NSW, Queensland and Victoria

There are currently three severe weather warnings in place for NSW, Queensland and Victoria. The Bureau of Meteorology has alerted:

  • Severe thunderstorms are likely to cause heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding over the next several hours in parts of the NSW south coast, southern tablelands and Snowy Mountains regions.

  • In Queensland, scattered thunderstorms are set to develop along the seat, with severe thunderstorms expected over the south-east into the afternoon and evening. This is likely to produce large hailstones, damaging winds and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding.

  • And in Victoria, severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy rainfall and could lead to flash flooding around Buchan, Gelantipy and Bonang.

Meanwhile, the NSW SES has issued a “monitor conditions” alert for Parkes and Peak Hill amid the forecast heavy rain, damaging winds and large hailstones.

Updated

Brumbies cull wins approval in NSW, but rift remains

A multi-party report backing the counting and shooting of feral horses in national parks should put to bed “ridiculous anti-science questioning” from critics, environmental advocates say.

As AAP reports, the NSW parliamentary inquiry report has found the state was using global best-practice methods to count brumbies and there was no clear evidence of any animal-welfare breaches under current culling methods.

At least 5,800 – or an estimated one in three – brumbies have been killed in NSW since aerial shooting resumed in November 2023. Ecologists estimate about that number will need to be culled annually to reach a 3000-horse cap by 2027 due to high birthrates.

The inquiry broadly dismissed concerns about distance sampling being used to measure the population annually, although it welcomed the trial of new methods in the most recent count.

The Invasive Species Council advocacy director, Jack Gough, said strong cross-party support from Liberals to the Greens and independents for effective brumby control reflected public backing for native wildlife to be protected from feral horses:

This report should once and for all end the ridiculous anti-science questioning of the feral horse count figures by a small minority that do not want to see a single feral horse removed from the national park.

Committee chair and Animal Justice MP Emma Hurst hit out at the Labor, Liberal and Shooters-backed report, saying the findings and recommendations did not reflect her views. Along with Nationals MLC Wes Fang, Hurst backed a finding that aerial shooting of brumbies could not be ethically justified.

Updated

Labor to make student debt key election issue with announcement in coming weeks

The federal government will make an announcement on university funding in the coming weeks, the education minister has flagged, cementing student debt as a key election issue.

Speaking to a TEQSA conference in Melbourne on Wednesday, Jason Clare reiterated that, if Labor won next year’s election, the first piece of legislation it would introduce would be to cut student debts by 20%. But he said there was “more to do” to make the system fairer.

When Hecs was first created students paid an average of about 24% of the cost of degree. This increased to about 36% in the late 1990s. And now, because of the changes the previous government made, it’s about 45%.

Cutting student debt by 20% fixes that for a generation of Australians. But there is more to do. That includes changing the way we fund universities.

Part of that is uncapping the number of places at university for students from disadvantaged backgrounds … part of that is a new needs-based funding system … and part of that is a new Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) … to drive reform over the long term. And I hope to provide you with more detail on all of that before the end of the year.

Clare has previously stated ATEC would be tasked with scrapping the Coalition’s Job Ready Graduates Scheme, which has driven arts degrees above $50,000.

Updated

Birmingham says Israeli settlements in Gaza ‘should not be undertaken’

Simon Birmingham was asked about comments from members of the Netanyahu government, advocating the establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza.

He responded that “Australian governments, Coalition and Labor, have long been clear that settlement activity that is counter-productive to achieving longstanding settlement of issues should not be undertaken”.

That position has not changed and shouldn’t change.

He also said the Coalition has “no plans” to change Australian laws in regard to supplying weapons or ammunition to Israel. But if the Israeli government was to ask for help? He responded:

The structure is indeed as to how those defence export laws operate and, you know, that is the consistency that we would apply.

And with that, Birmingham’s appearance at the National Press Club has wrapped up.

Updated

Birmingham says decision on further tax cuts yet to be made

Simon Birmingham was asked about comments from Peter Dutton on the radio this morning that the Coalition was rethinking stage-three tax cuts and getting inflation under control was more important. What is the Coalition’s stance?

He criticised the Albanese government for breaking an election promise and added:

We accepted at the time we were not going to stand in the way of Australians receiving those funds. Spend the money, they have, and I think what Peter was rightly alluding to this morning is, as it comes into the next campaign, we will have to have a look, carefully, at the state of the books as we make those final budget decisions, and where we can go in terms of further tax cuts will be one of those big key points in terms of those final budget decisions.

Updated

Birmingham says there could be ‘glimmers of lessons’ in Trump’s approach to government

Asked if he is underestimating how difficult and challenging the next four years under Trump may be, Simon Birmingham said he is optimistic about working with the administration and hopes to make success of it.

And yes, there are disrupters like president [Donald] Trump who is clearly bringing in to disrupt things like government efficiency in the US government through the role that he has given to Elon Musk.

I wouldn’t mind having a bit of disruption of efficiency in the Australian government at times either. I’m not saying it will be the right pathway, but who knows? Maybe there will be glimmers of lessons that could be learned along the way.

Updated

Birmingham says Coalition ‘clear in principles’ on Israel-Gaza war despite civilian death toll

Our own Sarah Basford Canales has asked Simon Birmingham a series of questions on the Coalition’s response to the conflict in Gaza:

Is there a red line for the opposition in terms of that death toll continuing to rise by the thousands in the coming months and potentially years? Does the opposition still think this is the best way to peace and a two-state solution in the situation? And what would a Dutton government do differently if it were to be elected next election?

Birmingham answered the last question first and said the Coalition’s view is that any prospect of a two-state solution should be “fully negotiated, and negotiated by settling questions of borders, of security guarantees and rights of return, but also that we should be engaging in what other regional processes and pathways might be possible”.

He said the Coalition is “resolute in terms of our position around Israel’s right to self-defence”.

We equally want to see the tragic loss of life come to an end and for a breakthrough point. But you can see by statements out of Qatar just in the last week the frustration that exists in relation to Hamas’ unwillingness to release hostages, to lay down arms and to stop using Palestinian civilians as human shields in this conflict.

Is the civilian death toll a consideration that might affect the Coalition’s resoluteness on that position? Birmingham replied:

The civilian death toll is something that pains absolutely all of us and, of course, it is a tragedy in any and all conflict and a very significant tragedy in this one, but we’re clear in terms of the principles we stand by and the outcomes we ultimately seek.

Updated

Birmingham says Coalition aiming to deter invasion of Taiwan and be ‘principled and predictable with China’

One reporter asked if the Coalition is elected at the next election and faces a “horror scenario” of an invasion of Taiwan, would it move to defend Taiwan if attacked by China?

Simon Birmingham responded that “you’re taking us forward quite a few steps in that regard”, but added:

Principled and predictable is the framework that I’ve outlined for how our engagement with China should be and should operate … [and] part of that is that we would not wish to see any unilateral change to Taiwan and its circumstances and not wish to see an invasion of the sort that you’ve characterised. And clearly it … should be entirely predictable to Beijing that Australia would condemn such action, oppose such action and, indeed, do everything we can to deter such action from occurring in the first place.

Birmingham said that if an invasion occurred “what the nature of conflict is, what role the US or others undertake, are all unknowns before we get to the question of how Australia would respond”.

Our prime job is to deter it in the first place and to work with our partners to try to deter that from happening in the first place.

Updated

Birmingham says he has tried to keep an open mind over whether Kevin Rudd stays as ambassador

Q: If the president-elect in the last year has referred to our ambassador in the US as “not the brightest bulb”, is it really tenable for that person to be at the forefront of our engagement in Washington?

Simon Birmingham responded:

The president-elect has just named a secretary of state who had some pretty sharp things to say about him, but who ultimately campaigned alongside him. He’s been elected alongside a vice-president who had very sharp and pointed things to say about him, but who he chose to make his running mate. So I think we’ve got to be conscious of keeping an open mind, which is what we have tried to do in relation to the question around Kevin.

Updated

Birmingham says Coalition does not want to politicise Kevin Rudd’s role

Simon Birmingham was asked to respond to the tweet from senior Trump adviser Dan Scavino overnight, suggesting time was running out for Kevin Rudd’s tenure as ambassador.

You can read more on this earlier in the blog, here.

Birmingham was asked for the Coalition’s position on Rudd’s tenure, and whether he should stand aside amid his now-deleted commentary on Trump?

He responded that “what we have here is a need for Australia not to be debating the who, but the what, and the outcomes and the effectiveness of getting those outcomes”.

Peter Dutton and I have been very clear that we have wanted to see Kevin Rudd succeed all along. We have acknowledged and praised some of his successes, acknowledged his work in getting the export trade restrictions eased between Australia and the US and big Aukus breakthroughs that have been really important in that regard. And we want to see that success continue and that’s what matters in Australia’s national interest.

Now, ambassador Rudd and the prime minister are the ones who are in the box seat to best make the assessment in coming weeks or months about how effectively he is going to be able to continue to have the influence and get the outcomes that Australia needs.

Birmingham said the Coalition was not seeking to politicise the role. In terms of the tweet from Scavino specifically, he said:

A significant member of the incoming president’s campaign team posted that. What we are to make of the image, well, I think I’ll leave it for others to comment on the image. I’ve spoken to the substance.

Updated

Birmingham says climate ambition must not end in broken promises

On the climate, Simon Birmingham sought to reinforce that the upcoming election would be about how Australia gets to net zero – not if.

That that is a really important message to drive home to those Pacific nations, that the construct of debate in this country is focused on actually achieving that … That’s how we need to really make sure we take a careful and thoughtful approach to framing that election contest.

Speaking about Paris agreements, Birmingham said “being upfront about what is achievable in the time horizons that are there” is important.

It is no more helpful – in fact, arguably it’s more counter-productive – to be in a situation where targets are made but not realised and you’ve broken your promise to nations, than it is to have been realistic in the first place.

And of course we want to stretch to maximum ambition, and I’ve been clear about my desire to see maximum ambition at all times, but it’s not going to go down well if maximum ambition simply translates into broken promises.

Updated

Birmingham says Australia still ‘a few steps away’ from being interlocutor between US and China

Back at the National Press Club, Simon Birmingham has been taking questions from reporters.

He was asked about comments from the prime minister today that Australia is a trusted middle power that could help manage the strategic competition between the US and China. Does he agree with this, or is it a naive view and great powers will just do what great powers do?

Birmingham replied that “Australia should always seek to play as constructive a role as we possibly can”:

But I think at this point of change and contest we also need to be realistic about the challenges that we face.

He said when it comes to the Trump administration in the US there are immediate priorities to address, including Aukus and tariffs.

Beyond those bilateral points of engagement, there will be ways in which we want to seek to encourage the US as to how they engage in our region. Active engagement remains critical and important across particularly the Asean nations, and no doubt there will be times for discussion about the nature of their engagement with China and the implications of that with other nations and on the global economy.

But are we going to step up and be able to fulfil some situation that is foreseeable as a significant interlocutor between the two? I think we’re a few steps away from that at this point in time.

Tasmanian independent labels funding for Maugean skate as ‘self-serving handout’

Breaking away from the National Press Club: independent MP Andrew Wilkie has labelled government funding aimed at saving the endangered Maugean skate as an “expensive and self-serving handout”.

Yesterday, Anthony Albanese announced a $28m boost for new measures in Macquarie harbour, including scaling up oxygenation to offset the effects of human activities on the Maugean skate.

During his second press conference of the day, protesters were heard chanting various slogans including what sounded like “save the Maugean skate”.

In a post to X today, Wilkie – the federal member for Clark in Tasmania – said:

$28m to Macquarie harbour is just an expensive and self-serving handout to try and win Braddon, while at the same time kowtowing to Labor’s mates in the salmon industry. Again, the loser is the imperilled Maugean skate.

Updated

Simon Birmingham argued that the United Nations is “failing to meet its charter to maintain international peace and security”.

With the UN paralysed, effective peace-keeping initiatives no longer enjoy international momentum. To avoid a repeat of the world wars of last century, deterrence and diplomacy must be more effective today than appeasement was then.

Birmingham says its more important than ever China act with ‘great responsibility’

On China, Simon Birmingham said Australia’s approach should be “both principled and predictable”.

Ideally, China would respect international rulings on maritime boundaries and its forces would not engage in acts of aggression or actions that risk miscalculation.

Ideally, China would use its influence and relations with countries like Russia, Iran and North Korea to stem the rise in conflict, not enable it.

Ideally, China’s systems would operate with integrity and transparency, whether in matters of cyber security, or market competitiveness.

Australia’s position on issues like these should be of no surprise.

As China continues its growth, including the rapid growth of its nuclear armed military capabilities, it becomes more important than ever that this great power act with great responsibility.

Birmingham welcomed China’s decision to restore ministerial level dialogue with Australia and said it was “counterproductive of them to have chosen to cease it in the first place.”

He said this dialogue should continue, but later noted “such ambitions for cooperation may be thwarted if the current trajectory of global conflict continues.”

Birmingham said no reason to ‘catastrophise’ over second Trump presidency

Moving to a second Donald Trump presidency, Simon Birmingham labelled him a “disrupter” who is “prone to pursuing less conventional policies and making bolder pronouncements” – but said this is not a reason to “catastrophise”.

The Turnbull and Morrison governments demonstrated how to work with a Trump administration. There are opportunities in the second Trump administration.

He said Aukus must play a key role into the future, and for the case to be made to Trump as follows:

No other US ally in this region is investing to expand their defence capability like Australia is. No other US ally is investing directly in US defence industrial capabilities like Australia is. And no other US ally is investing to build defence industrial capabilities that complement those of the US like Australia is … Prime Minister [Anthony] Albanese should be making [these] points to President Trump in person, at the earliest opportunity.

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Birmingham wants formal trilateral cooperation between India, Indonesia and Australia

Simon Birmingham says the contest for influence in the Pacific is symbolic of a greater global contest, and that the world we live in today “is profoundly different from the established order that I, or most of us, grew up with”.

He said trilateral cooperation between India, Indonesia and Australia should be sought “to secure the open maritime domain that we all rely upon, the security we desire, and the growth we all seek”.

The significant roles India, Indonesia and Australia play within our region, coupled with our different alliances and partnerships, can aid our ability to navigate and shape the contested world we face.

Such a minilateral partnership can complement our work in the Quad, and other partnerships, especially our relations across our fellow Asean nations.

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Simon Birmingham addresses National Press Club

The shadow foreign affairs minister, Simon Birmingham, is addressing the National Press Club in Canberra today, about preserving Australia’s interests in a contested world.

He has been outlining work done by previous leaders throughout the decades to secure Australia’s standing, and said that “nowhere is the creation of a partisan distinction in foreign policy … more counterproductive than the Pacific”.

Birmingham said the contest for Pacific influence and engagement was “entrenched”:

China’s model of elite capture and less regulated funding is enticing to some. In contrast, Australia’s ethical, values-based approach is better policy but harder politics.

To advance our interests, we must be at one in promoting the bipartisanship of Australia’s investment in – and respect for – Pacific Island nations, their sovereignty and their people.

He said the singular message of Australian leaders to Pacific leaders “must be one of enduring and reliable partnership, above all politics”.

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Faith leaders express concern about Queensland LNP move to abolish truth-telling inquiry

Chrisian and Muslim faith leaders in Queensland say they have “profound concerns” about the new LNP government’s call to abolish the state’s First Nations Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry.

A statement from 13 religious leaders – including from the Catholic and Anglican churches, and the Council of Imams – acknowledges that faith-based organisations “are historically complicit” in the suffering of First Nations people “including in the way that churches have collaborated with the state”.

The premier, David Crisafulli, had promised before the state election to end the inquiry. The new government has since directed it to end its hearings, including sessions planned in remote communities in the coming weeks.

The church leaders’ statement says the inquiry would be vital for listening and recording stories and “collating evidence to shine a light on our past”.

Before abolishing this independent inquiry, we believe the new state government needs to clarify to all Queenslanders what will be implemented in its place … noting the advanced age and physical frailty of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inquiry contributors. How all Queenslanders will be able to heal and move forward together – with dignity and respect – and understand our shared history in all its challenges and richness.

In the midst of the tragic impacts of displacement, dispossession, the forcible removal of children and policies of assimilation … there are also stories of appreciation, reconciliation and triumph in adversity. All these stories need to continue to be heard.

We believe Queensland remains ready to hear the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and that in the sharing of stories that a more compassionate and resilient Queensland will emerge.

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Public schools will ‘never reach’ full funding under proposed forms, senate inquiry hears

Public schools will “never reach” full funding under the federal government’s proposed reforms, a senate inquiry has heard.

Labor’s bill allows the commonwealth to provide extra funding to public schools in excess of 20%, making the figure a floor, not a ceiling. States and territories front 75%, leaving a 5% gap.

All jurisdictions except Victoria, NSW and Queensland have agreed to Labor’s proposal to bring its contribution 2.5% above the floor to 22.5%, leaving the remaining 2.5% gap to be filled by the states by 2029.

But peak bodies including Save Our Schools, the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association and the Australian Secondary Principals’ Association told the enquiry the federal government should lift its funding floor to 25% and remove “accounting tricks” in the bill.

National Convenor of Save Our Schools, Trevor Cobbold, said even with a 5% increase in funding public schools wouldn’t reach the dream of Gonski, citing a 4% loophole retained in the agreement which allows jurisdictions to claim funding on non-school expenditures like capital depreciation.

18 years after Gonski public schools still won’t be funded according to need. It’s a devastating outcome.

President of the Australian Secondary Principals’ Association, Andy Mison said the body was also concerned about the 4%, arguing schools would “never reach” 100% funding if it were retained.

I think it’s appalling. Public schools … bear the brunt of social inequities and are increasingly being asked to do more with less … the concentration of disadvantage is increasing. We urge greater ambition ... I don’t think it passes the pub test to include capital depreciation

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More on the wages figures

As always, some industries reported higher wage increases than others. Perhaps surprisingly, the highest quarterly increase was 2.5% for those in accommodation and food services – a sector that might be considered “discretionary”.

Financial and insurance services posted a 0.5% quarterly rise, or the least of all industries.

At an annual rate, those in electricity, gas and water posted the largest increase at 5%, while (sadly for some close to this blog) arts and recreation lagged other industries with a 2.9% rise.

And, as for the different regions of this great browned-off land, Queensland posted the largest quarterly wage rise at 1.6% (though it seemed to do the Labour government there no favours). The ACT, with all its public servants, managed a 1% rise – or the least among the jurisdictions.

For annual increases, Tassie was the place to be, with wages up 4%. At the other end of the country, the Northern Territory posted the smallest annual rises at 3%.

We’ll return to the workers’ tale roughly this time tomorrow, when we get October labour market numbers. CBA reckons the economy added 20,000 jobs last month, or not quite enough to stop the jobless rate ticking higher to 4.2% (from 4.1% in September).

Watch out for those numbers then on your favourite blog (yes, this one).

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Coles to launch ‘AI-powered’ trolley

Coles is launching a trial of an “AI-powered” smart trolley that will allow customers to scan and pay all from their trolley beginning in 2025.

The tech will be first trialled at Coles’ Richmond Traders store in Melbourne from January, with customers able to learn how to use the trolleys from today until the trial commences.

The trolley has sensors, an in-built scale to scan groceries including fresh produce, and a digital screen, which shows aisle locations and specials.

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Severe storms in parts of Queensland and NSW

The Bureau of Meteorology has published a severe weather update, as thunderstorms are forecast across the east today:

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More on the latest wage numbers

The Reserve Bank should be content with these wage numbers as they have come in slightly on the lower side of expectations for both the annual and quarterly figures.

Stocks have pared their losses for the day a bit (a sign that investors were a bit more hopeful of a near-term interest rate cut), while the Australian dollar is hovering a bit above 65.2 US cents.

The easing in wage price increases were also matched across both the public and private sectors. Wages for the former were up a seasonally adjusted 3.7%, the least since the September quarter of 2022.

For the private sector (which is about four in five jobs), wages were up 3.5%, or matching the increase in the September quarter of 2023.

Pocock to oppose misinformation and disinformation bill unless there are ‘major changes’

Independent senator David Pocock says he will be opposing the government’s misinformation and disinformation bill “unless major changes are made to the legislation”.

In the video posted to YouTube, Pocock said that as it stands, “I don’t believe it takes the right approach to dealing with misinformation.”

Freedom of speech and the freedom to protest are critical parts of our democracy. And in Australia, we don’t have an overarching Human Rights Act that entrenches these rights. So we need to tread very carefully whenever we make changes that may impact on them.

He said that Labor and Liberal governments have cracked down on the right to protest at a state level and while misinformation and disinformation causes harm, “people are also entitled to their opinion, whatever it may be.”

Pocock argued the issue is not so much with individuals spreading misinformation but the social media algorithms that boost this content – so “I find it very strange that the government wants to trust these giant corporations who have at best very questionable reputations with deciding what is or isn’t mis and disinformation”.

He also criticised the government for delaying changes to the Privacy Act, which he argued would go further to protecting Australians online.

The truth is really hard to define and often changes over time, so there’s a risk platforms could just end up unintentionally censoring people.

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Australian wages rose faster than inflation for fourth quarter in a row

The wage price index for the September quarter has come in at 3.5% compared with a year earlier, the ABS has just reported. That figure compared with the 3.6% pace expected by economists and the 4.1% clip reported by the ABS for the June quarter.

At that rate, wages were increasing more than the headline inflation rate as they have since the final three months of 2023. The September quarter consumer price index rose at an annual pace of 2.8%.

A similar story was true for the quarter alone, with the WPI up 0.8%, or well ahead of the 0.2% pace of CPI. Economists had tipped that to come in at 0.9% or similar to the 0.8% rate recorded by the ABS for the June quarter.

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Only 13% of health and medical research workforce in regional areas

An audit of the Australian health and medical research workforce shows only 13% of the workforce is based in regional, rural or remote areas.

The National Rural Health Alliance says this is insufficient to serve Australia’s 30% rural population, with the audit also pointing to additional barriers that exist for regional researchers.

Conducted by the Department of Health and Aged Care, the audit found the health and medical research workforce is highly mobile, moving jobs every 1.6 years – suggesting researchers may be willing to move to rural areas.

The National Rural Health Alliance chief executive, Susi Tegen, said:

The underrepresentation of rural researchers is worrying given that rural communities face distinct health challenges that require tailored and place-based solutions …

Funding for research does not adequately flow to the regions. Rural researchers become a secondary consideration for funding. They have difficulty accessing the same opportunities available to researchers in metropolitan locations.

The limited access to training, funding and collaborative networks in regional areas means that researchers may be left behind, and the needs of these communities may remain unmet.

Tegen called on the government to increase funding access, provide targeted training and development, and opportunities for collaborative networks to the regional workforce and researchers.

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Multilateral trade liberalisation ‘right strategy for geopolitical environment’: Leigh

Andrew Leigh was also asked about trade with the US – as has been discussed much this morning – following Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on imports. How can Australia stop that?

Leigh said “the periods of open markets have been the periods of greatest prosperity” in history, which was achieved “not just by doing cosy bilateral deals, but by engaging in broad multilateral reform”.

You see us supporting the entry of the UK into the Trans-Pacific Partnership, broadening out the networks through the World Trade Organisation. Multilateral trade liberalisation doesn’t just work better, it’s also the right strategy for the current geopolitical environment.

So, engaging in that with open markets is going to be what we’ll do. You’ve seen us broadening out the trading relationships through the Asia Pacific and dealing with some of the issues that we faced with around $20bn of trade blockages to China when we came to office now being dealt with steadily, methodically, by Don Farrell as trade minister.

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Andrew Leigh says he ‘absolutely’ expected domestic airfares to increase after collapse of Rex

The assistant competition minister, Andrew Leigh, was on ABC RN earlier this morning where he discussed the increase in capital city route flights.

The ACCC has found the average domestic airfare increased by 13% after the collapse of Rex flights between capital cities. Adelaide-Melbourne jumped 95% to $296, Melbourne-Gold Coast was up 70% to $432, and Canberra-Melbourne rose 54% to $298.

Leigh said he was “absolutely” expecting things to get this bad this quickly:

… when you move from a monopoly carrier on a route to three carriers on the route, then the price per kilometre is halved, goes down from 40 cents a kilometre to 19 cents a kilometre. So, it’s expected and disappointing that when you had that collapse that you immediately saw prices for flyers increase.

Asked what the government would do about the growing cost of airfares until a new airline emerges as a serious third competitor, he said it would be a “matter for the commercial market” as to who fills that gap – and “clearly the government is looking at creating settings that make it attractive for competitors”.

We’re talking now about airlines, but we’ve been talking previously about supermarkets or banks. And if you go to baby food and beer, the same challenge occurs. And that’s why the government’s focus on competition isn’t just to go sector by sector, but to revitalise national competition policy in order to see the gains right across the economy.

We had more on this from treasurer Jim Chalmers earlier in the blog, here.

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South Australian CFA testing warning systems

The South Australian Country Fire Service says it is testing its warning system today from 10.30am to 1pm:

Please disregard any warnings issued during this time.

Melbourne police address media after alleged armed stand-off

Earlier, Melbourne police spoke to the media after an alleged armed stand-off with officers in Weir Views.

Yesterday, police were monitoring a stolen vehicle when a man allegedly got out of the car and fired shots at police, who were not injured. The man then allegedly entered a house where two occupants, a man and a toddler not known to him, were inside. Police negotiated with him as the occupants left uninjured.

The man allegedly fired shots at police again, with police returning fire (which did not hit him) and deploying a police dog to assist with the arrest just after 6pm.

Speaking to the media, the officer said the man – a 26-year-old man from Snake Valley – is known to police but couldn’t provide further details. He said the occupant was in his 30s or early 40s and is the father of the one-year-old. He added it is “extremely lucky” that no police were injured:

It is lucky, and it is completely unacceptable that members were exposed to such dangers.

In terms of the negotiations police had with the man, police alleged:

We attempted for him to surrender and put the firearm down. We provided safe passage for that to occur. That did not occur prior to the incident unfolding.

It was two and a half hours from when the alleged offender entered the home to when he was arrested. He said the man was jumping on a trampoline at one point and “there was a period of time where he was behaving erratically in the back yard of the premises”.

The officer said it is expected the alleged offender will be charged today with a range of offences including aggravated carjacking, aggravated burglary and conduct endangering life and firearms offences.

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Catholic church wins case limiting liability for abuse by priests

The Catholic church has won a landmark case limiting its liability for the abuse of children by priests not under its direct employment.

Last year, the highest Victorian court delivered an unprecedented ruling that the church was vicariously responsible for the abuse of a five-year-old child, known as DP, by assistant priest Father Bryan Coffey.

The ruling was significant because Coffey, as an assistant parish priest, was not directly employed by the church.

Vicarious liability is typically used to hold employers responsible for the wrongful or negligent actions of their employees during the course of their employment, regardless of whether the employer is at fault.

The Victorian courts held that Coffey was a “servant of the church”, despite the lack of a formal employer-employee relationship, and that his church position gave him “power and intimacy” to access and abuse children.

The high court rejected that ruling on Wednesday morning, finding in the church’s favour, and declining to expand the concept of vicarious liability beyond employer-employee relationships. It said doing so would create uncertainty and indeterminacy.

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Sydney Water working to address mosquito outbreak in south-west Sydney

Sydney Water says it has a dedicated team working to address a mosquito outbreak in south-west Sydney.

The Daily Telegraph reported that the infestation has been linked to a Warwick Farm settling pond owned by Sydney Water, and neglected pools in the area. Social media users have reported an outbreak of mozzies about the south-west, and Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun has been providing daily updates to social media on the situation.

Sydney Water said in a statement that it has taken immediate action, including herbicide spraying, larvicide deployment, helicopter spraying, and aquatic vegetation removal.

Operational staff and licenced contractors have deployed boats, helicopters, excavators, and other specialised machinery to clear around half of the aquatic material contributing to mosquito breeding.

These measures are starting to reduce mosquito populations around the Liverpool Water Resource Recovery Facility. Sydney Water staff are on the ground talking directly with customers in the impacted areas.

It said the mosquito impact is “expected to improve significantly over the next two weeks”.

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Abbott defends Rudd after deleted tweets about Trump

The former prime minister Tony Abbott has defended Australia’s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd for his now-deleted tweets about Donald Trump.

Among the deleted comments, Rudd had in 2020 described Trump as “the most destructive president in history”.

On an episode of his podcast Australia’s Future with Tony Abbott, the former PM defended Rudd and said it would be “unusual for our closest ally to start being prescriptive about who can and can’t be our ambassador”.

Sure, Rudd has said some injudicious things about the incoming president, but a lot of people have. A lot of people, including a lot of people on my side of politics here in Australia, have said I think injudicious and ill-advised [things] about president Trump.

I’ve always taken the view that the American president is the leader of the free world. In effect he’s our president as well as the American president. And we should be careful, very careful, about public criticism of an American president – or indeed an American ex-president. Certainly, if we have to disagree let’s disagree on politics rather than the personalities.

Abbott also said that whatever you think of Rudd, “you couldn’t say that the guy is not hyper active”.

I am confident that Kevin has been hyper active on our behalf as he sees it in Washington. So I would be surprised if there is any pressure from the Americans to change our ambassador. I have no reason to think that Kevin is not doing a good job at present. He will do whatever he humanly can to win over senior people in the incoming administration. And he’s already done everything he humanly can to row back his previous ill-advised remarks about the incoming president.

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Wages data today likely to mark one year of pay rising faster than headline inflation

Australia’s workers should receive some good news later today with ABS data likely to show wages have risen faster than the annual headline inflation rate for four consecutive quarters.

Economists are expecting the wage price index will have risen 0.9% for the September quarter alone and 3.6% from the same quarter a year ago.

Compare that increase with the 0.2% gain in the headline consumer price index numbers for the quarter and 2.8% annual rise – as we saw a couple of weeks ago – and it would be a big surprise if wages were advancing at a faster clip.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, as it happens has a speech in Sydney starting about 90 minutes after the wage price index figures land at 11.30am.

In the US it has been difficult for the Biden administration (and losing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris) to get voter “cut-through” with real income gains. So it’ll be understandable for Chalmers to talk up any positive signs of the cost of living crunch easin, with an Australian federal election looming over the next six months.

(As we noted here recently, there are some indications of things improving.)

Anyway, stay tuned for the numbers to land here later this morning.

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Wrap of commentary on US-Australia relationship this morning

There’s been much talk this morning about the Australia-US relationship under a second Trump presidency, and the future of Kevin Rudd’s role as ambassador after his now-deleted tweets.

In case you missed it: opposition leader Peter Dutton said Rudd had “an incredible work ethic, but he’s made disparaging comments, and that’s an issue for for the government to deal with”. Dutton said:

Following [Rudd’s] term, that’s an issue for the government of the day to decide who would be in that role. I think Joe Hockey, for example, did a great job when he was ambassador.

Australia’s former ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos described Trump as a “transactional figure” and suggested he would be focused on the relationship going forward and “it would not be a good look to just suddenly yank the ambassador out.” You can read more earlier in the blog, here.

As we flagged just earlier, a senior Trump adviser has posted a gif of an hourglass in response to Rudd’s congratulation message to the incoming president.

And as AAP reports, Anthony Albanese said he remained optimistic about the trading relationship under a Trump presidency, telling ABC Radio Sydney that he and the president-elect discussed trade in their first phone call.

I pointed out the United States has a trade surplus with Australia so it’s in the United States’ interest that they trade fairly with Australia. The United States is a major investor here in Australia [and] that investment creates economic activity and creates jobs.

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‘Nurses and midwives are more than disappointed with this government’

The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association’s secretary, Shaye Candish, has spoken with ABC News Breakfast amid the strike action, which began this morning.

The union has been negotiating with the state government since April, with the government not budging on a blanket 10.5% pay rise offered over three years for all NSW public-sector workers. Candish said nurses and midwives were asking for 15% and “it comes at a time when Queensland and Victoria are paid at least 18% above nurses here in NSW”.

Nurses and midwives are more than disappointed with this government. This government committed to sit down in good faith and negotiate on pay and conditions for nurses and midwives, but has not happened … We have been bleeding nurses and midwives and that has been part of the problem.

After the strike ends tomorrow morning, Candish said she hopes “the government comes to the table and finds a way to resolve this issue and put new money on the table”.

That is ultimately where we hope this goes but should that not be the case, our members are determined to continue undertaking action. It will not stop until we are in a situation where members can actually have parity with other states.

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School anti-vaping program will teach ‘how to say no’ and to recognise addiction in friends

Continuing from our last post, Mark Butler said kids often vaped thinking it wasn’t harmful:

We know from our research is that teenagers think vaping is harmless. They think smoking’s bad, and they think vaping is a relatively harmless product. … The real facts about vaping [is there are] 200 very harmful chemicals in them.

But also it’s a pathway to smoking … that’s important.

The program goes on to teach them how to say no effectively, how to recognise addiction in friends who might be addicted to vapes and to talk to them about it. It really is an important sort of socialisation about not just how to recognise risky behaviour or risky products like vapes or alcohol or drugs for that matter, but also how to go through the process of resisting peer pressure, resisting temptation, and taking the healthy choice.

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Anti-vaping program for schools to begin in 2025

A new anti-vaping program for teenagers will be run in high schools across Australia next year.

The health minister, Mark Butler, gave more details about the program the government in launching today on ABC Brisbane Breakfast:

This is a program targeted at year seven and eight students, a really formative age as you’re starting to be exposed to some of these risky behaviours, but also take decisions about whether you go into them or whether you say no.

The program is a partnership with the University of Sydney who have been working with kids for years in areas of alcohol and illicit drug use and have now reshaped their program to around vaping.

The launch of the program nationally comes after trialling it with about 5,000 high school students over the past year Butler said was “extraordinarily positive” with very high ratings from students.

But also, importantly, teachers who’ve been crying out for some supports, given that they were saying right across the country vaping is now the number one behavioural issue in schools, not just high schools, too in primary schools as well, increasingly, which is just terrifying.

We’re rolling out the programme now to all high schools in 2025. When the new academic year begins, all high schools will be able to do that. And I know they’re really keen to do that because when we opened up the trial, we were just overwhelmed with high schools reaching out to these providers and saying, we want something, we want to be a part of the trial.

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Severe thunderstorms forecast to continue across eastern Australia

Severe thunderstorms are expected to continue throughout eastern parts of the country today.

Senior meteorologist Jonathan How from the Bureau of Meteorology said thunderstorms are forecast from northern Queensland through central parts of the state, through much of eastern and inland New South Wales, eastern Victoria and potentially parts of Tasmania.

In Queensland there is the possibility of severe thunderstorms around the southeast, including the border with NSW. How said “isolated very dangerous thunderstorms” could occur in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

In NSW, severe thunderstorms are likely across the north-east – including the Northern Rivers and north of Lismore.

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Senior Trump adviser replies to Rudd's congratulations tweet with hourglass gif

A senior Trump adviser has posted a gif of an hourglass in response to Kevin Rudd’s congratulation message to the incoming president.

In a post to X on 7 November, Rudd – Australia’s ambassador to the US – shared a statement congratulation Donald Trump on his election win. This came as he deleted comments he previously made on X about Trump, saying they did not reflect the view of the Australian government.

Dan Scavino, a senior advisor to Trump, quoted the post with this gif overnight:

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Muswellbrook mayor says region has experienced more than 50 earthquakes in three months

The mayor of Muswellbrook Shire council, Jeffrey Drayton, spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier after the town experienced a 4.1 magnitude earthquake yesterday.

As Kate Lyons reported in yesterday’s blog, the earthquake was the fourth event over magnitude four in three months in the NSW Hunter region – and was likely part of an “earthquake swarm” that has been affecting the region for several months.

Drayton said the region has experienced more than 50 earthquakes in three months:

There doesn’t appear to be as much damage as there was with the first two earthquakes, it was a little bit smaller. It was 4.1 versus 4.9 earlier on. But certainly people felt it and it probably was felt … in a much wider area this time …

The mayor also said residents are reporting to council that their insurance claims are not being accepted:

There’s been a number of stories, you know, stories like … we think the damage is from movement of the earth, but it’s more likely blasting in the mines, so there was obviously an attempt to try and push away that liability … We’ve had some examples of people in the community who are in their 70s and 80s, been paying insurance all their life and tell us they’ve never, ever made a claim.

You can only imagine that people expect the comfort of what insurance brings and certainly when they do need to claim, the insurance companies should be doing the right thing and making sure they accept these claims when they are reasonable and genuine.

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Ministers write to principals and parents associations about social media age limit

The education minister, Jason Clare, and communication minister, Michelle Rowland, have written to peak principals and parents associations to quell concerns about Labor’s proposed ban of social media to under-16s.

The move to restrict access to social media follows the decision by education ministers last year to ban access to mobile phones in public schools, in line with OECD data indicating boosted academic performance.

Clare said schools were “seeing the difference” from the phone ban.

Ask any teacher, any principal, ask most students and they will tell you this was the right decision. And that it’s making a difference. But when school finishes, students get their phone back and they’re back in that social media cesspit. That’s why setting a minimum age limit for social media is so important.

Pat Murphy, president of the Australian Government Primary Principals Association, said more than half of his body’s students in years five and six were regularly using social media sites.

Our students are facing unprecedented challenges with social media influencing their self-esteem, relationships, and concentration in the classroom. With social media’s constant comparisons and pressures, many primary school students feel overwhelmed, and they are not mature enough to deal effectively with these pressures.

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Man charged with murder of 75-year-old man

A man has been charged with murder after the body of a 75-year-old man was found at Parkes at the weekend.

The man’s body was discovered inside a home on Alluvial Street about 1.40pm last Sunday. Officers established a crime scene and following inquiries, a 28-year-old man was arrested at a home in Tullamore – about 100km north-west of Parkes – yesterday.

He was taken to Parkes Police Station where he was charged with murder. He has been refused bail to appear at Parkes Local court today.

NSW nurses begin strike action

The NSW Nurses and Midwives strike has officially begun, kicking off about 45 minutes ago. You can read more about this below:

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Sammy J leaves ABC Melbourne Breakfast

ABC Melbourne Breakfast presenter Sammy J has announced he is leaving his radio show after five years.

Hosting Melbourne Breakfast was an unexpected opportunity that became an unexpected joy. But radio demands all of you and deserves nothing less, and after five years I’m ready to trade the 4:15 am alarm for more regular hours.

Sammy farewelled listeners in his usual fashion, with a song. ABC Radio Melbourne acting manager Shelley Hadfield said Sammy had connected with the audience on 774 in a unique way:

Sammy has asked the questions we never knew we wanted answered. He’s grilled the Prime Minister and the Premier, he broke the news to Melbourne of the Queen’s death, and he interviewed musicians, magicians, meat workers and mathematicians.

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Commonwealth Bank posts $2.5bn quarterly profit

Australia’s biggest lender, Commonwealth Bank, has recorded a quarterly $2.5bn cash net profit backed by “strong momentum” in home lending.

Credit card and personal loan arrears fell slightly, despite enduring cost-of-living pressures, as consumers benefited from income tax rate changes. Home loan arrears were stable over the three-month period.

The CBA chief executive, Matt Comyn, said:

Growth in the Australian economy remains slow, as higher rates continue to weigh on consumer demand and bring inflation back to the target range. We remain optimistic on the overall outlook and the Australian economy remains fundamentally sound.

The bank recorded growth in home loans and deposits during the quarter, helping its earnings. The September quarter result was in line with last year’s corresponding period.

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Former US ambassador Sinodinos on second Trump presidency

Australia’s former ambassador to the US, Arthur Sinodinos, was on ABC RN earlier this morning to discuss the second Trump presidency.

Sinodinos said Trump “says what he means and means what he says” and policies around tariffs and immigration are core promises of his – but Trump thinks other countries pay tariffs when in fact they’re passed on to US consumers:

We’ll have a bit of a challenge to explain some of this to him but he’s determined to do this … The big focus will be on what he tries to do with China … Complicated is one way to describe it.

On the Australia-US relationship and Kevin Rudd’s deleted tweets, Sinodinos said the president was a “transactional figure” and he would be focused on the relationship going forward.

In relation to Australia I think he has a benign view of Australia … we’re a strong partner in defence, we more than pull our weight, so we’re in reasonably good shape compared to other countries … It would not be a good look to just suddenly yank the ambassador out.

He said Australia would have to tout its benefits to the US, rather than relying on them:

I think we should always talk about the value we provide [and] our value as a middle power … the important regional groupings. We have a lot of influence, we shouldn’t be afraid to use it … and we should have the ambition that goes with that.

Updated

One-third of referred telco complaints unresolved

A third of complaints made by telco consumers to the sector’s ombudsman remained unresolved at the end of the latest reporting period, AAP reports.

The figures, between July and September of 2024, found 30%, or 3,389, of complaints returned unresolved after a referral to a telco in relation to issues including poor customer service, problems with bills or equipment, and service drop outs.

This followed the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman beginning a new follow-up process with consumers to get a better picture of resolutions at the end of the referral period.

A total of 13,541 complaints about phone and internet services were lodged between July and September of 2024. This figure constitutes a 4.6% increase on complaints in the same period in 2023, or a total of 599 additional complaints.

More than half the complaints made by customers related to no or delayed action from a telco, followed by complaints about service and equipment fees and complaints about no phone or internet service.

Complaints raised in relation to failure to cancel a service, where a customer claims a telco has not terminated an agreement properly, jumped by 7% since the previous quarter.

The top five local government areas with the highest number of complaints were Brisbane (426), Gold Coast (279), Moreton Bay (251), Sunshine Coast (199) and Wyndham (198). These five areas alone contributed 10% of all the complaints received in this reporting period.

Albanese on social media ban: ‘We don’t pretend this is easy [or] you can just flick a switch’

Anthony Albanese was also asked about moves to ban under-16s from social media, and the privacy concerns around this – will everyone need to prove they are over 18? How would this policy actually be implemented and regulated?

He responded that there will be one year to develop the details, and that there would be a trial of age verification:

There’ll be detail in the legislation but we don’t pretend this is easy [or] you can just flick a switch … Parents won’t be penalised, people won’t be penalised, the onus will be on these social media companies.

Updated

‘Increasingly we’re seeing … opinion reported as fact’

Moving to the misinformation bill, Anthony Albanese said what is important is that “there is a distinction between fact and opinion”.

Increasingly we’re seeing in the media things that are opinion reported as fact and that is a concern for people. The changing media landscape where everyone can be a producer as well with their device means society has to respond to that. It’s not easy, the whole world is grappling with this.

Updated

Albanese says Australia can play a role in US and China ‘competition’

Anthony Albanese is speaking with ABC Sydney before he leaves for South America to attend APEC and the G20 leaders’ summit.

Asked if he would be meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping, Albanese said the “strategic competition” between the US and China is “something we’re dealing with” and that Australia can play a role as a middle power, because “we’re trusted and our word matters”.

The prime minister said that during his recent call with Donald Trump after his US election win, he told him it was in the US’s interest to trade with Australia and that Australia was in one of the fastest growing regions in human history.

Updated

Dutton on Rudd as US ambassador: ‘He’s got an incredible work ethic, but he’s made disparaging comments’

Peter Dutton was also asked if ambassador Kevin Rudd would remain in his role as US ambassador under a Coalition government.

This comes after Rudd deleted comments he previously made about Trump after the Republican’s election win, saying they did not reflect the view of the Australian government.

Dutton told ABC RN the Coalition has supported Rudd in his role as ambassador and “it’s important that he does work in our country’s name”:

He’s been a very effective contributor to public debate, particularly as a former prime minister is well respected, and I hope that he’s able to form a relationship with the new administration, as he’s done with with the current one.

He’s got an incredible work ethic, but he’s made disparaging comments, and that’s an issue for for the government to deal with.

Asked if the opposition would like to see Scott Morrison in the role, Dutton said Rudd has a term to finish:

Following that term, that’s an issue for the government of the day to decide who would be in that role. I think Joe Hockey, for example, did a great job when he was ambassador.

Updated

Dutton will not require Canavan and Antic to withdraw bill to change abortion law

Peter Dutton says he supports the right of women to access legal abortion but will not (NOT) require the Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan and the South Australian Liberal senator Alex Antic to withdraw a sponsored bill to change abortion law.

The opposition leader old ABC RN earlier that Canavan and Antic were entitled to sponsor the bill, which has been on the Senate notice paper for two years, and he would not be issuing instructions either for or against presenting it:

I’m not advocating that they withdraw their bill or put it forward. They as senators – as the Labor senators, the Green senators, David Pocock, the independents – have the right to put forward a private member’s bill. In most cases – 99% of the cases – the bill won’t get forward unless it’s got the support of the government. So if the government’s playing games, then that’s an issue for them, but for us, our senators have a right to put their own bills forward and it can be voted on on that basis.

Last week, Dutton used his weekly private address to coalition MPs to urge them to show more “discipline” and stop speaking publicly about the abortion issue because it was potentially politically damaging. This morning, he offered his personal view on the issue:

I support a women’s right - a woman’s right to choose. And I’ve been in very difficult circumstances, where, as a detective working in the sex offender squad, I’ve dealt with women who have been raped. I’ve dealt with women in domestic relationships who have been raped. It’s a very, very difficult situation, and ultimately, that’s a choice and a decision for that individual to make, and that’s the position I support.

Updated

Treasurer to announce $900m productivity and competition boost for states

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers will today announce funding of $900m for states and territories through a new national productivity fund to boost competition and productivity across the economy.

Launching the plan in a speech to the Australian Business Economists in Sydney, Chalmers is hoping the plan will will incentivise states to achieve productivity gains through pro-competitive policies such as streamlining commercial planning and zoning, and removing barriers to the uptake of modern construction methods.

This is noteworthy, recalling Australia’s competition policy in the late 90s under John Howard, paying states for microeconomic reform. The Albanese government already has payments to incentivise states to build houses – could this now extend to zoning too?

Chalmers will say that the government has been “revitalising national competition policy with states and territories since last December”.

In March this year, on behalf of the Council on Federal Financial Relations, I asked the Productivity Commission to model the potential impacts of a revitalised NCP.

Its final report landed this month and the benefits on offer are substantial, if not staggering. The PC found a revitalised NCP could boost GDP by up to $45bn a year and reduce prices by 1.45 percentage points. That GDP boost represents about $5,000 per household, per year.

But it reflects tough reforms and takes commitment from the Commonwealth, states and territories. On 29 November I will meet with my counterparts to kick off this work. While not every option modelled by the PC will become policy, we want to make meaningful progress where we can.

I expect we’ll start by fast-tracking the adoption of trusted international product safety standards and developing a general right to repair – both Commonwealth-led reforms.

Both involve small implementation costs but provide significant benefits: in the order of $5bn over the next 10 years for product safety; and over $400m per annum for right to repair.

Full Story podcast: the high cost of Australia’s dental care divide

In today’s Full Story podcast, we look at why dental care in Australia is largely privatised and nearly always expensive.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, almost one in five adults delay or don’t see a dentist due to cost. For those who can access the public system, staff are often overstretched and the long wait times mean crucial appointments come far too late.

Guardian Australia health reporter Natasha May speaks to Reged Ahmed about how the perfect smile is a privilege increasingly available only to the wealthy:

Greens to announce plan to ensure public hospitals can provide abortion services

The Greens will announce a $100m a year plan to ensure public hospitals across the country will be able to provide abortion services.

The party’s spokesperson for women, Larissa Waters, said access to affordable abortion services should not be a “postcode lottery” or “culture war” debate after it was raised as an issue by some in the Coalition.

The Greens expect the announcement to fund hospitals who don’t yet offer the services would cost around $307m to 2027-28 if it was adopted from July 2025.

While the minor party cannot form government in its own right, it could influence the next federal government if it were to pick up a number of seats to form a minority government with one of the major parties.

Waters said those living in rural and regional areas often had to travel far or pay for expensive private services in order to access an abortion:

Reproductive healthcare must not be a culture war or a postcode lottery. No one should fall through the cracks when it comes to accessing vital healthcare ... We’ve seen conservatives in Queensland, South Australia and the USA open the culture war again and it’s critical Labor take this opportunity to make sure every person in the country can access the reproductive healthcare they need.

The NT Country Liberal party senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price recently reopened debate at the federal level after she condemned later-term abortion, which she described as anything after the first trimester.

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, told Coalition MPs earlier this month not to fuel a federal debate on abortion laws, declaring there would be no change to the opposition’s policy if he wins government.

Updated

Good morning

Emily Wind here, signing on for blogging duties – thanks to Martin for kicking things off. I’ll be with you through most of our rolling coverage today.

See something that needs attention? You can always get in touch via X, @emilywindwrites, or you can send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.

Let’s get started.

Tabcorp fined $262,000 for accepting bets on live tennis

The gambling comapny Tabcorp has been fined more than $260,000 for accepting bets during 69 tennis matches over a six-month period.

Australian law prohibits bets being placed during live sport matches to limit gambling harm and the risk of match fixing.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority’s Carolyn Lidgerwood said she was concerned the breach – which was due to a technical error in Tabcorp’s systems – was not fixed for six months.

Tabcorp is a major wagering operator and it is concerning that it took some 6 months for the system error to be identified and fixed.

There has been significant growth in online sports betting in recent years and it’s important all online wagering services have systems in place so that illegal in-play bets are not accepted.

According to the regulator, Tabcorp voided all bets, which meant consumers did not suffer losses and the company did not profit from its error.

In 2021, Tabcorp escaped punishment for accepting in-play bets on a US college basketball game as it promised to fix an error that allowed them to be accepted.

Updated

Police raid properties in Melbourne as part of NDIS fraud investigation

Australian Federal Police raided multiple locations in Melbourne’s western suburbs last night as part of an investigation into alleged fraud against the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

The searches were led by the National Disability Insurance Agency‘s (NDIA) anti-fraud taskforce and supported by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and other agencies.

Government agencies worked to ensure the safety of NDIS participants during the operation.

The NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, told Guardian Australia the raids were “part of an investigation into alleged fraudulent activity against the NDIS”.

I established the fraud fusion taskforce (FFT) two years ago to combat any attempts by serious criminals attempting to infiltrate the NDIS and other government support systems. The FFT has wide-reaching powers, with the taskforce now comprising 21 government agencies working together and sharing information.

I have complete confidence in the FFT as they undertake this important work to tackle any serious criminal activity that comes at the expense of Australians who rely on such supports.

No arrests were made during the operation and the investigation is ongoing.

Updated

Two-year-old boy dies after falling into dam in regional NSW

A two-year-old boy has died after being pulled from a dam in regional New South Wales, police have said.

In a statement, NSW police said emergency services were called to a property on Pipers Flat Road, Portland in the state’s central west, about 3pm on Tuesday.

They were responding to reports of a concern for welfare, police said, adding that they found the child had been pulled from a dam on the property when they arrived.

Police said the boy was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to Bathurst Hospital in a critical condition, where he later died.

Police have said their inquiries into the incident continue, with a report to be prepared for the coroner.

Guardian Australia understands police are not treating the boy’s death as suspicious.

Updated

Average age of girls first viewing porn falls by two years

Girls are now seeing porn for the first time at 13.6 years, on average – two years younger than they were in 2018.

And more than 70% of young people say porn often shows aggression and violence towards women, a new report from Our Watch has found.

Patty Kinnersly, the chief executive of Our Watch, said young people are using porn to learn about sex, and that it has been normalised with greater online access. She said:

Our Watch’s concern is with the representation of certain people, particularly women, rather than porn itself.

It’s the frequent viewing of violent porn, that is sexist and derogatory, [and] associated with a greater likelihood of men and boys holding attitudes that can lead to violence against women.

Kinnersly said porn overwhelmingly shows women as submissive, and men as controlling, and that it has made the dangerous practice of choking mainstream.

Research published earlier this year found almost 60% of people under 35 had been choked at least once.

Parents might not realise the extent of porn use, and the extent to which the internet and porn is “flooded with misogyny and hate for women, for LGBTI+” and others, Kinnersly said:

The line between IRL [in real life] and online is very blurry, so we can’t just say certain types of porn are bad… we’ve actually got to take proactive actions across the rest of a young person’s life so they can critique it.

Our Watch wants to see pornography literacy integrated into nation-wide education about respectful relationships, and for parents to understand the new world their children are in.

Updated

Longer emergency wait times expected amid NSW nurses' strike, health minister says

The New South Wales health minister, Ryan Park, said last night he was preparing the state’s hospital system to cope with today’s nurses’ strike. He said the industrial action – due to start at 7.30am – would mean planned surgeries being postponed and longer wait times in emergency departments.

I want to assure the community that we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact of this on their care.

NSW Health is working hard to ensure postponed surgeries are rescheduled as quickly as reasonably possible.

I also remind the community of pathways to care for non-life-threatening conditions outside of the emergency department – by first phoning Healthdirect on 1800 022 222, where you can speak to a registered nurse about your care options – potentially avoiding an unnecessary wait in the hospital.

He added that over the course of four weeks of negotiations the state government had reached agreement on all of the nurses’ non-wage claims, and put forward options to fund and deliver a new increased wage offer.

He claimed that the Nurses & Midwives Association had previously agreed to cease industrial action contingent on the government paying nurses and midwives an interim increase while work towards a final settlement remained ongoing.

But feeling among nurses has been inflamed by news that the police force have been given a 40% pay rise.

Updated

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer bringing you some of the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Emily Wind to take over.

Nurses and midwives in New South Wales will stage a 24-hour strike from 7.30am this morning amid anger over the state government’s decision to grant NSW police a 40% pay deal. Members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association are calling on the Minns government to address the wage disparity that has left the state’s nurses and midwives the lowest paid in the country. The NSW health minister, Ryan Park, said he was “disappointed” about the strike. More coming up.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will today announce funding of $900m for states and territories through a new national productivity fund to boost competition and productivity across the economy. He hopes the plan will encourage states to achieve productivity gains through pro-competitive policies such as streamlining planning laws. More coming up.

Federal police raided a number of locations in Melbourne’s western suburbs last night as part of an investigation into alleged fraud against the National Disability Insurance Scheme. More shortly.

Updated

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