What we learned, Wednesday 1 July
There you have it, folks. Jim Chalmers came out of the gate hot appearing to turn the world upside down by opting for a traditional tie instead of a bow tie, but after that, it was bow ties all the way.
In quite a shift from previous years, Georgie Purcell of the Animal Justice party was the only MP to make a political statement at tonight’s Midwinter Ball, with her gown calling for dog racing to be defunded.
There were sequins. There was fur (whether fake or real). There were pantsuits. That’s Canberra, baby. With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening, but until tomorrow, here were today’s major developments:
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The KPMG scandal has engulfed the Westpac board, with one of the big bank’s directors, Peter Nash, resigning effective today.
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Last month was the fifth-hottest June on record for Australia and the second hottest for New South Wales, according to data released by the Bureau of Meteorology.
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The NSW Liberal leader, Kellie Sloane, said “serious allegations” of corruption should be thoroughly investigated after the state’s watchdog announced it would hold public hearings into allegations against figures associated with her party.
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And Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the government’s gambling reforms don’t go nearly far enough, and confirmed her party has been talking with the Coalition to potentially team up to force stronger action from Labor.
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Back in black
Consider this an appreciation post for Dorinda Cox’s bag. What a beautiful bag, and who said bags couldn’t be whimsical and fun? She is pictured here with fellow Labor senator, Jana Stewart.
While we’re on the topic of black gowns, here’s the emergency management minister, Kristy McBain. She’s all smiles and on the move with her husband, Brad.
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Earlier, we brought you a slightly chaotic, in motion picture of Jane Hume, but this group shot featuring the deputy leader really allows her outfit to shine. I think I will actually give her second best of the night.
She’s pictured here with the shadow health minister, Anne Ruston, and Liberal MP Angie Bell. I love to see the embrace not just of sequins, but of fur. There’s no such thing as too much, in my book.
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And best-dressed goes to …
OK, Anne Aly! I’ve been biding my time to crown tonight’s best-dressed woman, and I think I’ve found it.
I love this look – it’s different, it’s refreshing, it’s elevated. The necklace perfectly matches the bracelet, and the pop of blue colour is tying everything together.
Her dress perfectly matches her shoes. And the straps to her dress aren’t just straps to her dress, they’re telling a story. These are the little details that make a look stand out – details I have picked up as an avid watcher of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
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The shadow minister for communications, Sarah Henderson, has opted for a classic look tonight, and you really can’t go wrong with the classics. Her floor-length velvet gown is matched by silver shoes, bag, earrings and brooch. That’s what I call colour coordination.
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Isn’t it nice to see politicians bringing their children along to the Midwinter Ball, presumably as some sort of rare and unique punishment.
Here we have the minister for finance, Katy Gallagher, with her daughter Evie, who is wearing a gorgeous ruffled pastel pink dress. Pink may be the colour of the evening. Gallagher is keeping it cool in all black.
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Stepping out
More group photos!
The former “teal” independents and current members of the newly launched Community Strong Australia party, Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender, have been papped alongside current independents Kate Chaney, Monique Ryan, Sophie Scamps and Nicolette Boele.
Steggall is serving “Gladiator” in a satiny dark red gown, while Scamps is making a real statement in a dark orange (One Nation defection coming?). I’m sure they’ll all have much to talk about this evening.
And here we have Labor senators Sue Lines, Jenny McAllister, Jana Stewart, Ellie Whiteaker, Nita Green, Dorinda Cox and Charlotte Walker embracing their moment on the staircase.
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PM gets the blues
Drumroll, please.
The prime minister has arrived, and knock me over with a feather, he’s wearing a blue jacket. I’ve already given out best dressed, though, and I won’t be reneging it. Anthony Albanese’s wife, Jodie Haydon, is looking very lovely in a floor-length flowery number. I’m very much enjoying the pastel splashes of colour.
Just like the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, the PM is also team bow tie all the way. If I see another man in a tie this evening, I’ll be shocked.
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All together now
We’ve got our first group shot of the evening, and it looks exactly like every terrible family photo I’ve been in at Christmas. Almost nobody is looking at the camera (Anne Aly appears to be mid-conversation with someone in the background), and if they are, they look slightly frightening.
But it’s the female members of the Labor caucus, and we love representation.
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Best-dressed in burgundy
The night may be young but I am already giving best on ground among the men to Tanya Plibersek’s husband, Michael Coutts-Trotter, for defying expectations and wearing a variation of a jacket that isn’t just boring and black.
If my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me, he’s looking dashing in burgundy, and he’s gone for a velvet material. The social services minister has opted for a shirt and skirt combo, with some tasteful kitten heels.
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In a huge moment for aficionados of the bow tie, the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, is in town, and he’s gone bow tie all the way. That’s now six points to the bow tie and just three to the traditional tie.
His wife, Louise Clegg, is looking lovely in a sheer black top and light blue silk skirt. The gold purse really elevates the look.
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The deputy leader of the Liberals, Jane Hume, has also been shot at a less than opportune moment, but at least she looks like she’s having fun, and that’s all that matters.
She’s wearing a beautifully shaped gown with a sort of billowy part at the back. It could be dark brown, or possibly dark grey. Even a charcoal.
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The housing minister, Clare O’Neil, has been captured with her eyes closed, and haven’t we all been there?
She’s also gone for a baby pink dress, and what I would describe as a “statement” bracelet. No purse, apparently, so she’s just carrying around her phone.
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Bow ties aplenty at Parliament House
Well well well, if it isn’t the health minister, Mark Butler, and his wife Daniela Ritorto.
By my count, that’s now five bow ties appearing on the “runway” tonight versus three ties. What does that mean? Who knows.
Ritorto is in quite a lovely shade of green. I can’t tell if it’s a dress or a skirt and a top, but either way, there are multiple fabrics at play, and it’s working.
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Did someone say Pretty in Pink?
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers is in the house, and he’s gone for a tie without the bow. His wife, Laura, has opted for a pastel pink number with some sort of circular shape at the shoulder. Don’t ask me about the material, I’m not an expert.
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Statement dressing
The first political statement of the evening has arrived! And it’s from Georgie Purcell, who represents the Animal Justice party in Victoria. Unsurprisingly, it’s animal related.
Her Bec + Bridge dress from last year’s ball has been up-cycled to read “DEFUND DOG RACING” in bold gold lettering. I admit, initially I thought it read “DEFEND”, and was extremely startled.
Purcell is arm in arm with her partner, Labor MP Josh Burns. They actually “hard launched” their relationship at a previous ball in 2024.
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Attorney general Michelle Rowland a vision in a white gown
Black tie is a theme that can have many interpretations for the male species. Do you opt for the traditional tie, or shake things up with a bow tie? The attorney general’s husband, Michael Chaaya, has opted for the latter, and good on him.
Michelle Rowland is a vision in white, with a cinched silhouette drifting down to the floor. Let’s hope she’s not planning to drink red wine tonight.
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Melissa McIntosh and her sons are here
For a second, I thought the shadow communications minister, Melissa McIntosh, was being escorted by two bodyguards, but it’s actually her sons, Byron and Coby.
Phew. They’re looking dapper. Perhaps deliberately (?), one has opted for a black shirt and one has opted for white. McIntosh has gone all out in sequins and red. Why not, I say. Make a statement. Be loud, be proud.
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Seven News political editor Mark Riley has definitely been upstaged by his wife Suzanne Mostyn this evening, who is pulling off a crisp white pants suit with ease and grace (girl boss!). Her hair is also looking divine, I love to see an embrace of the greys.
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Politicians and media arrive for Canberra's Midwinter Ball
And we’re off.
The chairman of the ABC, Kim Williams, has arrived at the Midwinter Ball with the public broadcaster’s deputy chairperson, Dr Lisa Caffery, who has gone for a striking blue fur number atop her similarly coloured gown.
Williams has opted for almost floor-length tails, and what appears to be a hint of blue in the lining of his jacket. 7.5/10.
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Fashion is political?
Much like at the Met Gala, where celebrities gleefully ignore they are attending an event that inherently highlights the world’s profound wealth disparities to wear dresses reading things like “tax the rich”, the Midwinter Ball can also get political.
In 2022, then Greens leader Adam Bandt’s wife, Claudia Perkins, wore a dress covered in the phrase “COAL KILLS GAS KILLS”, while Greens senator Hanson-Young also donned a gown wearing “END GAS and COAL” as part of protests against fossil fuel companies Woodside and Shell’s sponsorship of the event.
Corporate sponsorships have since been dropped, and chances of a spicy moment may have dropped if the Greens’ leader isn’t in attendance, but this is the Midwinter Ball! Who knows what will happen. Please, someone roll in encased in a Zorb ball.
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Larissa Waters to appear at Australia Institute event clashing with Midwinter Ball
It appears that the leader of the Greens, Senator Larissa Waters, is also snubbing this year’s Midwinter Ball – or at least arriving after appetisers.
A keen-eyed reader of the blog has picked up that Waters is scheduled to appear at a Politics in the Pub event put on by the Australia Institute on Wednesday evening at 6.45 until 7.45pm – coinciding with when attendees will be arriving to parliament house.
The event is a discussion of the “case for taxing the 1%” and the “need for a fairer economy”.
Here’s Waters last year, wearing earrings in support of Palestine.
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Notable absences from this year’s event
It may come as a complete and utter shock that people lucky enough to nab an invite to the Midwinter Ball would refuse it. And yet, not every who’s who in the zoo of Canberra’s parliament house will be attending this year.
Among those declining the event are Pauline Hanson, though this isn’t a huge surprise given One Nation’s distaste for large sectors of the media.
According to Nine Newspapers, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, will also be absent, as will fellow Labor ministers Tony Burke, Catherine King, Pat Conroy and the former prime minister, Tony Abbott, despite being freshly sworn in as the Liberal party’s president.
How will I go on, knowing I won’t be able to see what variation of a black suit Burke chose to wear? Only time will tell.
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Parliament celebrates its ‘night of nights’ as politicians arrive at the Midwinter Ball
Hello, readers, it’s Caitlin Cassidy here, interrupting regular programming to guide you through the fanciest night on Canberra’s political calendar.
Once a year, the federal press gallery comes together with political leaders and corporate heavyweights for what is essentially an extremely low-budget Met Gala, complete with fundraising, black tie looks and controversy over corporate sponsorships.
They call it the Midwinter Ball – because it’s in the middle of winter, and everyone has a ball (disclaimer: this may not be true). The event is put on by the federal parliamentary press gallery in the Great Hall of Parliament House, and though whatever goes on once attenders enter the hall is shrouded in mystery, the fashion is not.
The theme this year, which isn’t really an official term but is being promoted on the Midwinter Ball’s website, is the “Canberra Bubble” – get it? I’m hoping for lots of Zorb balls and maybe a homage to the bubble skirt.
We’re keeping the blog open late this evening to serve you the best runway looks. Let’s get into it.
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Westpac director resigns as KPMG scandal widens
The KPMG scandal has engulfed the Westpac board, with one of the big bank’s directors, Peter Nash, resigning effective today.
The bank announced Nash’s resignation at 4.11pm, after markets had closed. Nash had been chair of Westpac’s board audit committee, including when KPMG was tendering for its audit in 2023 and 2024.
Nash was a former chair of KPMG, which won the lucrative contract.
Westpac’s chair, Steven Gregg, today said the tender’s structure had been “robust” and thanked Nash for his work. He said:
With recent attention on Peter’s former roles and relationships at KPMG, he has decided now is the right time to retire from the Board to limit any ongoing distraction for the Company.
Peter declared his past connections with KPMG and was not on the selection committee, however he acknowledges the perception of bias that may have been created by his relationships.
A whistleblower has alleged the tender was “structurally compromised”, with former KPMG partners holding key Westpac roles and KPMG being given inside guidance on its bid, Senator Deb O’Neill told federal parliament in March.
Westpac has previously told a parliamentary inquiry the tender was “carefully governed” to manage conflicts of interest from people who previously worked for firms pursuing the contract, such as KPMG.
Martin Sheppard, KPMG’s most recent chair, told a parliamentary inquiry in June that Nash was his friend and had stayed at his house while KPMG was bidding for the Westpac contract. He said:
I don’t believe that any probity requirements were breached in relation to that.
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Australia records fifth hottest June on record
Last month was the fifth hottest June on record for Australia and the second hottest for New South Wales, according to data released by the Bureau of Meteorology.
Average daily temperatures were 1.5C above the long-term average across the country – the hottest June since 1996, when temperatures were 2.4C above the average calculated from 1961 to 1990.
NSW had its hottest June since 1991 with daily average temperatures 2.53C above average.
Sydney broke a record for the most consecutive June days above 20C, with last month’s 15-day run eclipsing the previous record of nine days in 1919.
Several places recorded their highest June night-time temperatures, including Melbourne’s Olympic Park that recorded 16.2C on 18 June. Records for that part of Melbourne go back to 1855.
Mount Gambier airport (South Australia), Marrawah (Tasmania), Wagga Wagga (NSW) and Melbourne airport all recorded their hottest ever June nights based on records going back at least 50 years.
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International student council says prospective students should carefully consider studying in Australia after another sharp visa fee hike
The International Student Representative Council of Australia (ISRC) has issued a dire warning to prospective students after the federal government quietly hiked visa fees for the second time this year, placing Australia well in excess of its international competitors.
On Wednesday, the temporary graduate visa increased to $5,750, while the student visa application charge also increased from $2,000 to $2,500.
President of the ISRC, Weihong Liang, said the body had “serious concern” and “strong opposition” to the sudden increase, the third since 2024.
He said it wasn’t an “isolated change” but part of a broader pattern of “increasingly restrictive, unpredictable and poorly communicated policy changes”, pointing to shorter post-work study rights implemented in 2024 and a reduction of the maximum eligible age for graduates from 50 to 35. He said:
Students should not be treated as a fiscal resource, a migration control lever, or a group that can be made to carry sudden policy costs without warning or protection.
International students are increasingly being treated not as valued members of Australian campuses and communities, but as a source of government revenue.
To students around the world considering Australia, our message is clear: carefully assess the increasing policy uncertainty surrounding Australia’s international education system before choosing Australia as your study destination.
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EnergyAustralia delays free power offer under Solar Sharer scheme by three months
EnergyAustralia, one of Australia’s largest energy providers, has said it will not launch its Solar Sharer product until September, three months after the 1 July start date.
A spokesperson for the company said: “We just need a little more time to get it right” and that:
The changes required to our systems are more significant than we could complete in time and rushing it won’t serve customers well. We’re on track to launch in September and anyone interested can check our website for updates in the meantime.
Read here for more information on the new government-regulated offer:
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Queensland women’s minister supports rights of ‘biological females’ in certain spaces
Queensland’s minister for women, Fiona Simpson, says she “supports the rights of biological females to women’s and girls’ only spaces, services and sport”, in response to a federal court ruling that a women-only social media app was discriminatory.
Katters’ Australian party MP Robbie Katter submitted a question on notice in June about the case brought by transgender woman Roxanne Tickle, who sued the Giggle for Girls app and its founder, Sall Grover, after being denied access to the women-only social networking app.
The court ruled that Tickle had been discriminated against on the basis of her gender identity under the Sex Discrimination Act.
In June, Katter asked:
Will the minister advise if the government’s policy is to respond to the Giggle v Tickle decision and support a biological male entering women’s only spaces if they identify as a woman?
In a response tabled today, Simpson first said that the law is a federal one.
She continued:
In regard to Queensland, we support the rights of biological females to women’s and girls’ only spaces, services and sport for the purposes of safety and wellbeing.
The Queensland government unlawfully banned gender-affirming care in public hospitals last year, with the order overturned by the state’s supreme court. The ban has been reinstated, and is now being challenged on anti-discrimination grounds.
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NSW Icac to investigate possible ‘blackmail’ allegations against two Labor councillors
The Icac inquiry will also look at an allegation that two Labor Strathfield councillors, Sharangan Maheswaran and Karen Pensabene, engaged in conduct towards another councillor in a way “that involves the dishonest or partial exercise of their official functions and/or a breach of public trust, including conduct which could involve blackmail” and possible breaches of the Surveillance Devices Act.
Maheswaran told Guardian Australia:
I have every confidence that my actions will be regarded by the public and by any fair tribunal to be lawful and entirely in the public interest.
Pensabene has been contacted for comment.
The office of the NSW premier, Chris Minns, confirmed he will ask Labor’s head office to suspend their party membership, but Maheswaran said he had already requested his membership be suspended while Icac investigates the allegation.
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NSW Liberal leader says ‘zero tolerance for corruption’ after Icac inquiry announced
The NSW Liberal leader, Kellie Sloane, says “serious allegations” of corruption should be thoroughly investigated after the state’s watchdog announced it will hold public hearings into allegations against figures associated with her party.
As we reported earlier, the Independent Commission against Corruption (Icac) has announced it will hold a wide-ranging public inquiry from 27 July into allegations of corruption against people associated with the NSW Liberal party, including fugitive property developer Jean Nassif, and two brothers of former premier Dominic Perrottet.
In a statement today, Sloane said:
These are serious allegations and they should be thoroughly investigated by the Icac. There would be zero tolerance for corruption. Given an investigation is ongoing I won’t be providing further comment.
The NSW Liberals also put out a statement following the announcement, saying “it would not be appropriate to comment on a current active Icac inquiry” and that:
The Liberal party expects its members to meet the high standards demanded by this organisation, our membership and the public.
Nassif, and Jean-Claude and Charles Perrottet, who have previously denied any wrongdoing, have been contacted for comment.
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Two teenagers banned from Queensland city’s CBD on first day of new police powers
Two teenagers have been banned from the Maryborough CBD in Queensland, under new legislation giving police additional powers goes into effect today.
The laws allow police to order a person to move on from a designated “business and community” precinct. Advocates have warned that the laws would be most likely to affect homeless people.
A trial precinct covering the entire CBD of Maryborough – a small city north of the Sunshine Coast – went into effect today.
Speaking at a press conference in the city today, the Maryborough Patrol Group’s Insp Paul Algee said:
I can report that as of 8am this morning, two juvenile persons under the age of 17 have already been issued with move on directions by local police for a period of 24 hours.
Under the laws police can issue a 24-hour move-on direction to a person “engaging in disorderly, offensive, threatening or violent behaviour” or a longer ban of up to three months for more serious behaviour, banning them from the area.
That includes the town’s shops, the courthouse, community corrections and medical facilities. People are allowed to visit if they have a reasonable excuse, such as needing to use one of those services. The precinct also covers residential areas.
Algee said:
What that means is, if you are subject to one of those things (and your home is in the designated area), you will be required to return to your house and not leave there unless you have a reasonable excuse.
But what I would say with that is, if you don’t misbehave in the CBD, you’ve got nothing to worry about.
You can read more here:
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Hi, I’ll be with you on the blog until this evening.
Thanks for joining me on the blog today!
I’ll leave you with the great Catie McLeod for the rest of the afternoon, and see you back here bright and early tomorrow.
TLDR: here’s what happened in question time
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It was all cost of living and housing from the Coalition today, trying to corner the PM into guaranteeing that house prices wouldn’t fall further (he wouldn’t make any promises).
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Anthony Albanese labelled the Coalition and One Nation the “axis of grievances” while trying to spruik the increases to minimum wage and paid parental leave coming into effect today.
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Independent MP, Nicolette Boele asked the defence minister whether the government would sign on to the nuclear prohibition treaty – Richard Marles said the government was “observing” the progress of it.
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Labor MP Gabriel Ng was kicked out for being unruly in QT, everyone else was spared.
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For the second last sitting day of the fortnight, there could have been a little more energy in the room – it felt a little flat overall.
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Federal government accused of ‘exploitation’ after international student fees quietly hiked for the second time this year
The peak body for the university sector says the federal government is “dismantling” international education in Australia after Labor quietly hiked international student visa fees for the second time this year.
On 1 March, the federal government doubled non-refundable application fees for temporary graduate visas from $2,300 to $4,600, making Australia’s costs the most expensive in the world for graduates hoping to stay onshore after completing their studies.
On Wednesday, the fee increased again, to $5,750, while the student visa application charge also increased from $2,000 to AUD $2,500.
The chief executive of Universities Australia, Luke Sheehy, said for years, governments had encouraged universities to build the international student sector but were now “dismantling it, one decision at a time”.
Today’s fee hike doesn’t stand alone. It comes on top of higher visa refusal rates, policy uncertainty and a series of decisions that have made Australia a less attractive destination. The cumulative effect is clear. Australia is becoming a harder sell, and the sector’s slow nosedive continues.
International officer at the National Union of Students, Ariya Masud, said “with zero prior warning, the government is sending a clear message: Australia has no room for anyone except the richest students”.
This is not about education or hard work any more, this is about exploitation.
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Question time ends
With a final dixer to Chris Bowen, the PM calls time on QT.
Just one more to go this week!
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‘It’s not your sales pitch, it’s your policies’: Albanese to Liberals
Nationals member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox, is next and says that since Labor came into power in 2022, a flat white has increased by $2 (and don’t we know it), while the government’s tax cut coming into effect today delivers just 70c back a day.
So “why does Labor keep making Australians pay more”, he asks.
Anthony Albanese doesn’t talk about the price of coffee, but lists a bunch of changes to wages and paid parental leave taking effect today.
He then goes for the jugular, and the call from Melissa McIntosh for a Liberal “rebrand” – which many of her colleagues have now distanced themselves from.
Albanese says:
It’s not their brand, it’s their product. That’s the problem, Mr Speaker. It’s not your sales pitch, it’s your policies. It’s not what you call yourselves, it’s who you are. It’s the fact that you vote against any change to cost of living that will help people.
Naturally, Dan Tehan is frustrated by the answer and stands to make a point of order. Milton Dick tells the PM to be relevant to the question.
The PM quickly finishes his answer, talking up wage rises and the smallest gender pay gap on record.
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Independent MP Dai Le asks Labor to guarantee energy bills won’t go up
Everyone’s asking the government for guarantees today, with independent MP Dai Le asking the energy minister, Chris Bowen, to promise household prices won’t go up as the government’s three hours of free energy kick in, at the same time that fixed energy prices by retailers go up (something the minister has asked the watchdogs to look into).
Bowen says there’s a requirement in law for the energy companies to provide the free power in the middle of the day as an option for people in relevant jurisdictions – including Le’s seat of Fowler in western Sydney.
On rising fixed rates, under the default market offer Bowen says that system is seeing people on the Endeavour energy network receiving a 3.4% reduction this year.
He adds that people in Le’s electorate have also rapidly accessing on the government’s cheaper home battery scheme.
The member for Fowler has previously claimed that this is a policy for inner-city electorates. That is just not true, Mr Speaker, because the people of Fowler are taking up cheaper home batteries in a much faster rate than electorates that have higher wealth than the people of Fowler.
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‘This isn’t the colosseum’: speaker shuts down opposition attempt to force PM to answer question
Angus Taylor tries again, and asks even more directly if the PM can guarantee house prices won’t fall further, after getting a non-answer the last time.
Anthony Albanese says: “Our housing policies are aimed at giving young people a fair crack”, which again doesn’t quite answer the question.
The opposition gives the PM 53 seconds before intervening with a point of order.
The manager of opposition business, Dan Tehan, tries to quote a ruling by a previous speaker (Tony Smith from 2020), and says “he needs to address the question that was asked, not just deal with material that is on the policy topic.”
There’s some back and forth, and Milton Dick says that the speaker can’t direct a minister to “directly answer” a question, they just have to be directly relevant.
Tehan stands up to have another go, which gets some groans and shouts from the Labor benches, so Tehan shouts, “I don’t need the peanut gallery interrupting.”
Dick shuts Tehan down, saying “this isn’t the colosseum”, after which the PM says he’s done anyway and we all move on.
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Labor MP Gabriel Ng booted from question time
Angus Taylor is back at the despatch box, and asks the prime minister if he can “guarantee house prices won’t fall any further”, after prices fell in four capital cities this month.
Anthony Albanese says he’s “happy to announce that our tax policy is, indeed, about helping first homeowners get into their own home.”
He lists a bunch of Australians who he says have told him that they’ve been able to enter the housing market since the budget.
The opposition tries to make a point of order, arguing the list of case studies isn’t relevant to the question. Milton Dick defends the PM and says, “if he’s reading examples about the topic he was asked about and people buying houses, that is pretty relevant to the question.”
While this back and forth is happening, Dick kicks out Labor MP for Menzies, Gabriel Ng, for interrupting too much.
Albanese continues:
Why is it relevant? I tell you what’s relevant. There’s people getting into their own home …
That is what we are aiming for, making sure that young people get a fair crack, unlike those opposite, who their housing spokesperson has said, just yesterday on the ABC, they said that they basically have lost their way for two decades.
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Albanese asked about opposition’s tax policy: ‘I have been that lucky’
Hasn’t the government’s 70c a day tax cut that comes in today already been eaten up by inflation, asks Nationals MP Alison Penfold, and presses the government to back the opposition’s automatic tax bracket indexation policy.
The tax cut she’s referring to was legislation passed before the last election, which reduces the tax rate for income between $18,201 and $45,000 to 14%.
Anthony Albanese jovially says that he’s just been asked about the government’s tax cut and opposition policy. “I have been that lucky,” he laughs.
Coalition policy, for the tax cut that came in today, was to come into this parliament, if they were successful on 3 May last year, and to reverse it, and to reverse it. So their policy was zero.
Dan Tehan stands up to make a point of order. Tony Burke quickly stands up to retort: “the manager of opposition business would have had to have known when they asked about the opposition policy, the answer was going to involve opposition policy.”
Albanese ends his answer with something about “the three parties of grievance had this rightwing nirvana”, but he gets cut off by Milton Dick for going over his allocated time.
They went to an election, under this leader, who was a shadow treasurer, and called for high taxes. They were opposed to the tax cuts that came in today. And then, in the parliament, in the parliament, just a matter of weeks ago, with this year’s budget, they voted against the working Australians tax offset.
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Australia ‘observing’ UN nuclear weapon prohibition treaty despite ‘three concerns’, Marles says
Independent MP Nicolette Boele says today marks 80 years since the US began nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, and asks when the government will listen to the Pacific and sign the United Nations treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons.
The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, after a very long preamble, and with 34 seconds to go on his answer, says that the government is “observing” the treaty that Boele refers to.
He says the government is a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and that there are a few considerations on the prohibition treaty.
There are three concerns that we have in relation to it, but we continue to observe it. We obviously support the underlying desire to have a world free of nuclear weapons.
But the first goes to the question of the enforcement architecture around the band treaty. The second is its interaction with the non-proliferation treaty and wanting to make sure that it doesn’t undermine it. And the third goes to the universality of the signatories to the band treaty.
Right now, there is no nuclear weapons state which is participating in it.
He says again at the end that the government will observe the progress of the treaty.
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Coalition goes on cost of living pressures again, Albanese lists off 1 July changes
Nationals MP Kevin Hogan is up next and says the government promised families they’d be better off, but under Labor “interest rates have increased 15 times, meaning an average new mortgage holder is around $30 a year worse off”.
That might have been a slight mistake – $30 doesn’t seem quite right for the point they’re trying to make.
Anthony Albanese again lists some of the changes taking effect today – to the minimum wage, paid parental leave and tax cuts.
He whips out the axis of grievance line a third time.
Families are benefiting, young families, by changing the equation when it comes to housing, by recognising that there’s a broken system here in Australia and giving them a fair crack at getting a roof over their own head. That is what delivering real change looks like.
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Albanese attacks Coalition and One Nation ‘axis of grievance’ as question time begins
“How can Australians get ahead, when Labor keeps making them pay more?” asks the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, kicking off question time.
He says, “electricity is up 38%, gas up 37%, rent up 23%, health costs up 17%, education up 21% and childcare fees are up 27%.”
The PM, it being 1 July, begins talking about the changes to the minimum wage, paid parental leave, as well as top up tax cuts that were legislated before the last election.
Today we are delivering real change to assist Australia.
That is what makes a difference to people who are under financial pressure. And unlike the three rightwing parties with their axis of grievance, what we are doing is actually not just identifying issues, but making a difference.
Manager of opposition business, Dan Tehan, tries to make a point of order on relevance but he doesn’t get anywhere.
The PM continues and, probably happy with how it went down the first time, repeats his “axis of grievance” line.
I tell you what is also going up, the number of comments by opposition Coalition members, saying how hopeless they are. They had their housing spokesperson [Andrew Bragg] today say that “we vacated the field for 20 years and we’re now dealing with that failure”. Huge failure.
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‘The very best of us’: MPs commemorate Richard Scolyer
Before question time begin, Anthony Albanese pays tribute to cancer researcher and former Australian of the year Prof Richard Scolyer who died from brain cancer on 7 June.
Albanese says he got to count Scolyer as a friend, and for a time as a neighbour.
Scolyer’s wife and children are on the floor of the chamber for question time.
Albanese says the nation will gather later this month at the Sydney Opera House to farewell Scolyer “with all our respect, our admiration, and our gratitude.”
As Richard took his rightful place in the national spotlight, it was with his own life in the balance, as he dealt with the reality of his brain cancer. No one would have begrudged him a retreat into privacy. But that is not what Richard chose. Instead, he took us all into his confidence, he shared his triumphs and his setbacks, he shared the joy he took in every extra day, he was granted, and his profound gratitude to everyone around him.
The opposition leader, Angus Taylor also commemorates Scolyer, his life and his work in cancer research:
A gifted scientist and a generous and gracious man. He was a rarity, bright, brilliant, brave, big hearted, the very best of us.
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Big four accounting firms have ‘lost their social licence’: Greens lash KPMG and EY
Greens senator Barbara Pocock says the government needs to take action against the big four accounting firms now, after Labor announced it was considering several options to crack down on the industry.
Pocock says there needs to be stronger regulation and “serious penalties” to deter wrong doing.
She also supports capping the size of the partnerships (an option the government says is on the table).
We need to cap the big partnerships, we need to make sure they pay the same tax as big corporations, and that they have the same obligations to the whistleblowers who have brought forward the misdemeanours in these big four firms.
Pocock also took aim at consulting firm EY after it sacked two of its graduate employees for looking at Anthony Albanese’s personal banking details while on a secondment at Commonwealth Bank.
First PwC, then KPMG, now EY. The big four have lost their social licence. Australians have had enough of the repeated scandals. It’s time for Labor to regulate the big four.
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Why are the independents putting forward amendments to NDIS bill now?
What’s going on in the House of Reps?
The government has put up the NDIS reforms for debate, with the independents pushing a raft of amendments to the bill.
Why are they doing this right now, when the government negotiated an extra eight weeks of inquiry for the legislation with the Greens, you might ask.
Great question: the answer is I’m not 100% sure.
From what we understand, the bill might be voted through the house tomorrow – the final sitting day before winter break.
The final inquiry report is due to be handed down on 14 August, in the next sitting fortnight after the break.
The government said last week it would wait for that inquiry report before pushing the bill through the parliament, despite also inferring that it’s very unlikely there would be any substantial changes to the bill in that time. Meanwhile the opposition said they were willing to work with the government to pass it this week.
So far the government has rejected all of the amendments – which isn’t a huge surprise.
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Following from our last post …
The eight weeks of public hearings Icac expects to hold as part of Operation Rosny from 27 July come after long-running investigations, including into Nassif, who left Australia for Lebanon in 2022.
In June 2023 NSW police issued an arrest warrant for the developer in relation to allegations of financial wrongdoing and “large-scale fraud” at Toplace. He has previously denied any wrongdoing.
The corruption watchdog is also examining a third allegation that Strathfield Labor councillors Sharangan Maheswaran and Karen Pensabene engaged in conduct towards fellow councillor Matthew Blackmore “that involves the dishonest or partial exercise of their official functions and/or a breach of public trust, including conduct which could involve blackmail” and possible breaches of the Surveillance Devices Act.
NSW Icac to hold inquiry into Liberal corruption allegations
The New South Wales Independent Commission against Corruption (Icac) has announced it will hold a wide-ranging public inquiry into allegations of corruption against people associated with the NSW Liberal party, including fugitive property developer Jean Nassif.
In a statement today, Icac said it would hold hearings into allegations against senior Liberal party figures, including two brothers of former premier Dominic Perrottet.
They include the allegation that Liberal figures Christian Ellis, Jeremy Greenwood, Robert Assaf, and Jean-Claude Perrottet, “solicited or accepted” donations, including from prohibited donors in amounts which were undeclared or exceeded caps, to recruit or renew members to the party. Icac is investigating donations allegedly made by Catholic Schools NSW, arranged and approved by its CEO, Dallas McInerney, as well as donations made by hotelier Michael O’Hara.
The watchdog is also examining the allegation that between 2020 and 2023 Nassif and his company Toplace, prohibited from donating to the party as a property developer, made donations solicited or accepted by Ellis, Greenwood and Charles Perrottet “in exchange for the pursuit of outcomes sought by Mr Nassif”.
The alleged outcomes include damage to the political career of former minister state for transport David Elliott, the removal of the then-Building Commissioner David Chandler, and “preventing [Chandler] from exercising his official functions in respect of Mr Nassif’s developments”.
Jean-Claude and Charles Perrottet have both previously denied any wrongdoing.
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Liberal Wendy Askew retiring from the Senate
Liberal senator from Tasmania, Wendy Askew, will retire from the Senate in coming weeks, marking the end of her seven years in federal Parliament.
In a speech to the upper house a short time ago, Askew, who first announced her impending retirement last month, paid tribute to her party and to the work of the chamber.
She says committee work – of which she has done a lot of – does not always attract attention or attract the “theatre of question time” but it’s where much of “Parliament’s most serious work is done”.
I had spent many years around politics, many years working for others, many years watching this Parliament from the advisers’ boxes, the corridors, the offices, and the committee room. But to stand here as one of Tasmania senators was something altogether different. It was humbling then, its humbling now.
I say to all of you as I leave this place. You will remember the great achievements you make together, far better than simple victories you take alone. This is the Senate, you may have the votes today, but no triumph is forever. Treat each other with this in mind, and you will protect our institution, and achieve great things.
Askew is one of two Tasmanian Liberal senators who will be leaving the Parliament this year, with shadow cabinet minister Jonno Duniam also announcing he will be retiring.
Victorian Liberal executive to determine Moira Deeming’s future
The Victorian Liberal party’s state executive will meet on Friday evening to decide the future of embattled MP Moira Deeming.
On Monday, Deeming said she misunderstood the “technical meaning of the term ‘headlock’”, but would not apologise to her colleague Matthew Guy after she alleged he assaulted her. Victoria police concluded no offence occurred.
In a statement released today, the opposition leader, Jess Wilson, said the party’s state executive would meet to consider Deeming’s candidacy ahead of the state election in November. A party spokesperson confirmed the meeting would take place on Friday at 6.30pm.
Deeming is the top candidate on the Liberal party ballot for the state’s western metropolitan region.
Wilson said:
Victorians are relying on my team to change the direction of this state. I am determined to not let them down.
I will not be making further comment until the matter is resolved.
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Bragg warns up to 10,000 homes a year could be lost over ban on investment properties in self-managed super funds
Andrew Bragg, the shadow housing minister, says he has held a meeting with finance, housing and superannuation bodies, who warned up to 10,000 homes a year could be lost over the government’s banning of self-managed super funds (SMSFs) investing in property.
That ban was part of an agreement with the Greens, to get the capital gains tax and negative gearing changes over the line – and followed previous reports to the government to take that action.
Bragg spoke to the media a little earlier and said the SMSF industry as well as builders and developers came up with the estimate.
As many as 10,000 houses a year are going to be lost as a result of the government’s ban on self-managed super funds investing in property.
There are a range of industry estimates. We’ve heard from builders, developers. We’ve heard from SMSF industry people. The government say they think it’s about 4,000, but it seems that it would be at least 10,000 based on the evidence that’s been anecdotally collected from the industry today at the roundtable.
Asked about falling house prices, and whether this was a welcome change, Bragg said:
I think these are blips and bumps. Ultimately, the fundamentals are very bad. The government has brought in 2 million people since they won the election in 2022, and they’ve only built 600,000 houses. Now, we are still building not enough houses, and our population is still growing very quickly. So the fundamentals haven’t changed. So I suspect that affordability, which is the key in housing, is only going to get worse under this government’s policy suite.
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Democracy ‘under assault’ from significant third parties at 2025 federal election, parliamentary inquiry finds
New laws are needed to police behaviour at polling booths after Australia’s democracy came “under assault” at last year’s federal election – including from third parties such as Plymouth Brethren Christian Church members and rightwing lobby group Advance – the chair of a parliamentary inquiry has said.
The proposed new code of conduct for campaigners was among several recommendations in the interim report from the Labor-led committee reviewing the 2025 ballot, which was tabled on Tuesday afternoon.
The Coalition has dismissed the findings, accusing Labor of turning the election inquiry into a “hyper-partisan witch-hunt” against members of the church.
“The way that they have been treated by Labor for exercising their right to participate in our political process is a stain on our democracy,” the Liberal senator Jess Collins said.
Read the full story by Dan Jervis-Bardy here:
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‘Sportsdebt’ and ‘Debt365’: teals get creative in push for gambling action
The crossbenchers want far stronger action against online gambling advertising than what the government is proposing – with David Pocock putting forward six of his own amendments to the laws.
Pocock is pushing for all gambling ads on all platforms to be banned over three years; ban gambling inducements; ensure opt-out mechanisms for ads are easy to find; capture smart TVs in reforms; ban gambling ads during one hour before, and one hour after live sport; and set up an independent review of the reforms three years after they commence.
The teals spoke to the media earlier on the issue, and have even had some T-shirts made. They’re pretty good, if I do say so myself.
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Datacentre boom drives building approval values to record high
Building approval values hit a record high in May thanks to the datacentre boom, new data shows.
The value of all building approved hit $21.07bn in May, of which non-residential building made up $10.83bn, also a record high, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics seasonally adjusted data.
The rise was driven by a boom in large datacentre approvals located in New South Wales and Victoria, the ABS said.
In the unadjusted data, datacentres look to have accounted for more than two-fifths of all non-residential work approved. May’s non-residential building approvals were valued at $12.56bn, of which $5.65bn was for commercial buildings not elsewhere classified. The category includes datacentres and smaller projects like petrol stations and funeral homes.
Housing approvals fell in the month of May. About 17,000 new homes were approved, with a steady increase in houses but a drop in units and other approvals. More than 10,000 new houses have been approved each month since February. The total value of residential approvals was $10.24bn, seasonally adjusted.
That meant May was one of just five months in the last 15 years where the value of non-residential approvals was greater than the value of residential approvals.
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Fuel prices rise 16 cents a litre in Perth as excise cuts scale back
Petrol prices are a little higher around the country today – and a lot higher in Perth – after the fuel excise relief has begun to taper off.
The federal and state governments’ 32-cent-a-litre cut to the fuel tax has today been replaced with a 16-cent discount, to expire on 2 August. The excise was initially cut to combat price surges in the wake of the US war on Iran.
Unleaded petrol prices have risen about 4 cents a litre today in most cities, MotorMouth data shows. Stations have passed on the costs of higher excise on fuel bought from terminals, where wholesale prices rose about 10 cent a litre yesterday.
Unleaded petrol has picked up in Sydney from 152.2 cents a litre on Tuesday to 156.9 today on average across the city’s petrol stations. In Melbourne, it’s gone from 153.8 cents to 156.7; in Brisbane, 154.8 to 158.0; in Adelaide, 148.9 to 155.3, and Hobart’s 160.4 to 164.9.
In Perth, where prices spike each week on Wednesdays, unleaded soared by 16 cents immediately from 148.3 cents a litre yesterday to 164.5 today.
Diesel prices are about 5 cents a litre higher on average. Sydney’s prices are up from 173.3 cents a litre yesterday to 178.9 today; Melbourne’s are up from 173.9 to 178.4; Brisbane 176.6 to 180.5; Adelaide 173.9 to 178.2; and Hobart’s from 189.9 to 193.2. Perth’s are up from 168.8 yesterday to 177.9 today.
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Creatives lobby government to protect industry from AI models
As Australian creatives including Anna Funder, Mark Seymour, Andy Griffiths and Paul Dempsey lobby the government today to stop big tech from scraping their work to train AI models, Australia’s major music industry bodies and organisations have released an open letter urging Australia’s copyright laws to be upheld in order to protect the music industry.
The IT industry has asked the government for exemptions to copyright laws which would mean artists do not need to give consent or get paid when their works are used to train AI models.
Today’s open letter follows a dataset search tool recently created by the Atlantic which revealed a vast catalogue of work by Australian musicians - including Nick Cave, Jimmy Barnes, Kylie Minogue and Powderfinger - had already been scraped to train AI models.
The music industry coalition - which includes Aria, the Copyright Agency, AIR, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office and Apra Amcos, among others - said in the letter: “Our work is the fuel that powers the AI economy. Without it there are no large language models, no AI products of any kind. All of it has been fed into AI systems without asking us and without paying us.
We call on the Australian Government to commit to the future of creativity in this country and not to trade it away. Our stories and our creativity is how Australia knows itself, how we speak to the world, and how the world comes to know us.
The next National Cultural Policy is an opportunity to build a global creative powerhouse. That future can only be built on the foundation that gives creators the economic security to keep making work. Asking Australian creators to quietly absorb the legal liability of tech companies before they float on the stock market, it would be the permanent transfer of Australian stories to the wealthiest corporations in human history.
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Independents Haines and Ryan push for amendments to NDIS bill
Helen Haines and Monique Ryan have put forward a raft of amendments to the government’s NDIS bill, arguing that while the scheme does need reform, the current design will “risk undermining the scheme’s core purpose of providing necessary supports to people with disability”.
They have concerns around access to “activities of daily living” being cut, transparency over the allocation of funding and ensuring that people in regional areas aren’t pushed out.
Haines said her amendments will “protect funding that is already approved for “activities of daily living” from blanket funding reductions; strengthen transparency of decision making for participants by requiring written reasons when requested supports are not approved; and clarify the definition of “appropriate treatment” so that real-world barriers like regional access and affordability of treatments are accounted for.”
Ryan said:
Australians with a disability are not asking for special treatment. They’re asking that we honour the central principle of the NDIS, ‘Nothing about us, without us’. That principle has been completely disregarded in the opaque drafting and rushed presentation of this legislation.
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Senate gets a little messier, Labor loses another critical vote
There was a further bit of mess a moment ago in the Senate, because the government again lost a vote on its pharmaceutical prescription bill.
The government had already lost two votes (see below), with the Greens and Coalition teaming up to make amendments for the second reading of the bill.
Then on the bill itself, the two parties supported an amendment by Jacqui Lambie to allow eligible podiatrist prescribers to prescribe certain medications on the PBS.
It means the amended bill will go back to the house for a vote.
But Guardian Australia understands the government won’t be supporting that amended bill, which means it’ll be punted right back to the Senate, which creates a little extra drama.
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Australians to regain access to Anthropic’s latest AI models
Australian businesses and the government are set to regain access to the latest Anthropic AI models after the Donald Trump administration lifted export controls on Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5, the company has said.
In early June, the company received an export control directive from the Trump administration ordering Anthropic to suspend foreign national access to its frontier models, citing national security concerns.
Anthropic said at the time that its understanding of the government’s concerns was that there was a method of bypassing the safeguards in the AI model. Safeguards are in place to reduce the chance of the AI being misused for things like cybersecurity.
As a result, Anthropic suspended all user access to the models, not just those outside the US.
In a post on X, Anthropic said it would begin restoring access from tomorrow US-time, after the export controls were lifted.
Government loses votes in the Senate over pharmaceutical prescription bill
The Greens and Coalition have teamed up to pass amendments over the second reading of the government’s bill which would enable nurse prescribers to prescribe certain pharmaceutical benefits under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
What exactly does this mean? Great question.
When the government introduces a bill, there’s then a vote to bring on a second reading of it, which is essentially the time where debate on that legislation takes place. The third reading is the passing of the bill through which ever House it’s in.
In the Senate right now, the government is losing votes because the Greens and Coalition are teaming up to add amendments to the vote for the second reading.
This doesn’t mean that the bill won’t pass, but it delays the bill, notes the displeasure of the two other parties over certain aspects of the bill and all round puts pressure on the government.
The Greens moved an amendment that calls on the government to “as soon as practicable, allow endorsed podiatrists and podiatric surgeons to access PBS benefits when prescribing medicines”, because they are currently “the only professions in Australia who can gain endorsement to prescribe medicines but are not able to access PBS benefits for those prescriptions”.
And the Coalition amendment calls on the government to provide a comprehensive response to the 18 recommendations in the “Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce Scope of Practice review” as a matter of priority, which was handed to the government 18 months ago. That review was about removing barriers stopping health professionals in primary healthcare working to their full scope of practice.
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Author Anna Funder says her work hoovered up and ‘broken down for parts’ by big tech
A collection of writers and creatives are in Parliament House today, lobbying the government to not change copyright laws that would allow tech to use Australian creative material to build AI models with little to no compensation.
While the government had previously ruled out copyright exemptions for companies to train AI models, Guardian Australia was last month told competing cabinet submissions about the plan are in train – to establish new exemptions from copyright rules, in exchange for greater investment in Australian hosted datacentres or a possible licensing extension to cover AI model developments.
Anna Funder, an Australian author, tells a press conference that today she’s “standing here before you today really as a victim of crime”.
My books that I’ve lived off for 30 years, have all been hoovered up in many editions, in many countries, in many languages by big tech, broken down for parts and used for them to make money.
If I look back on my career, which I’m old enough to do now, I feel like I’ve been building slowly and painstakingly with a massive mortgage, a block of flats. Each book is a flat and I rent it out and the money that I get is royalties. These big tech bros have moved into my flats, kicked me out and are charging rent for my work.
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Another day, another politician with a baby photo
For loyal readers of the blog, you’ll know I’m quite the cynic when it comes to pollies taking photos with babies (and never missing an opportunity to do so).
Today the prime minister, Anthony Albanese and social services minister, Tanya Plibersek, are using their 1 July changes to wages and paid parental leave to get some babies in Parliament for a little photo op.
Job ready graduates failures ‘squarely belongs to Labor’, Faruqi says
Over in the Senate this morning, debate is under way on the Greens’ bill to scrap the controversial job ready graduates (JRG) scheme.
Everyone has agreed it’s a policy failure, and the Australian tertiary education commission has said that it will make recommendations to government to fix the system – but likely only in the second half of next year.
This bill won’t go anywhere because the government won’t support it, but it gives the Greens and opportunity once again to rail against it.
Mehreen Faruqi, the Greens’ higher education spokesperson, who introduced the bill, says:
It is really difficult to overstate just how widely JRG has been condemned as a flawed and failed policy. In the Senate inquiry into this bill recently. It was called one of the worst five policy mistakes made by the commonwealth this century.
The present reality is that JRG belongs to Labor, squarely belongs to Labor. They should have scrapped it the minute they came into government, yet they still haven’t done it.
The quiet tragedy of JRG is not just the students and graduates crushed by debt. It is the people who will never enrol at all.
Independent senator David Pocock says he doesn’t support all the reforms in the bill but agrees JRG needs urgent reform. He tells the Senate:
PBO [Parliamentary Budget Office] modelling I commissioned in 2025 found JRG has jacked up student debt by $10.26bn. New research from Universities Australia shows since 2021, the cost of maintaining a basic student standard of living has increased by 29%, well above economy wide inflation.
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Post-grad international student visa fees more than double in four months
International students wanting to study a post grad degree in Australia will now have to pay $5,750 for a visa, a rise of 25%, and the second in just four months.
At the beginning this year, the visa fee was just $2,300: by March, it had more than doubled to $4,600.
The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (Capa), the national peak body representing about 570,000 postgraduate students, warned the rises will deter the graduates Australia had already trained and weaken the skilled migration pipeline.
Capa’s national president, Jesse Gardner-Russell, said the increases, delivered without warning, “[tell] the best graduates that Australia is an unpredictable place to build a future”.
International students are not just another resource to be mined, their value extracted and then shipped offshore, like iron ore. They are a critical component of Australia’s global soft-power and part of our multicultural community.
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Sydney council drops proposal to introduce parking meters to popular beaches
Randwick council has voted to drop a controversial proposal to introduce parking metres at popular beaches such as Coogee, Clovelly and Maroubra.
While Sydney’s northern beaches in the Waverley and Mosman LGAs charge for parking with permit schemes available for locals, parking at Randwick’s beaches has remained free. The Labor-led council had proposed that parking revenue could contribute towards the $23.5m annual maintenance cost for beaches.
Last night, councillors voted 10 to five in favour of dropping the plan entirely, even after the council formulated a watered-down version of the plan to introduce charges of up to $5.70 an hour in summer – less than the $11.60 an hour charged at Bondi, and $10.00 at most of the northern beaches.
It would have reduced the number of metered spaces from 3,300 to 1,400 but campaign groups warned of “meter creep” once the principle of free parking was walked back.
The original proposal, first flagged in February, sparked fierce community opposition with more than 12,000 people providing feedback during a six-week public consultation – the largest community engagement process ever conducted by council.
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Queensland begins trialling ‘antisocial’ laws cracking down on homeless people
Queensland has started a trial of new laws giving police the power to ban people from designated precincts, which advocates are concerned could be used against the homeless.
The bans last for up to three months, and also give the police the right to demand identification from a person who has not committed an offence.
The first precinct is in Maryborough, in Brisbane’s north. The premier, David Crisafulli, has repeatedly talked about the need to evict a group of “antisocial” people from the town’s CBD. The premier said yesterday:
We are going to put all of the resources necessary to return safety to a beautiful town that’s been held in ransomed by a group of some of the worst in society.
I’ve seen the images, I’ve been there firsthand, and you can’t have a proud community like that held to ransom by group of people who are just a revolving door going round and round and round, that’s why we made the change.
Several homeless and human rights groups made submissions during the legislation’s brief parliamentary inquiry, warning that the laws would disproportionately affect homeless people and other vulnerable groups.
The Q Shelter chief executive, Fiona Caniglia, told the bill’s parliamentary committee that “homeless people sometimes have no option but to be in public space”.
Maryborough police said on Wednesday that the trial had got begun that morning. Officers will issue 24-hour move-on directions to “offenders” engaging in disorderly, offensive, threatening or violent behaviour, and repeat or serious “offenders” can also be issued banning notices of up to three months, they said.
Use of the powers does not require a person to break any law.
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NSW firearms reforms take effect
The second phase of the Minns government’s firearm reforms take effect today, including reducing firearm licence terms from five years to two.
The changes are a response to the December Bondi beach terror attack in which 15 people were killed. The reforms were passed as part of the Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025.
Today’s changes include:
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New firearm licences will now last two years, reduced from five;
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Identity verification when applying for a licence is now mandatory
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A firearm Permit to Acquire will only be issued after a person can prove they meet safety storage requirements, and only if the commissioner of police is satisfied the person has never been investigated for terrorism-related offences.
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Decision making functions will be streamlined, including via a $42.8m investments towards additional staff and system upgrades for the NSW Gun Registry.
The state police and counter-terrorism minister, Yasmin Catley, said:
First and foremost, these changes are about public safety. Owning a firearm is a privilege, not a right.
The Minns Labor government acted decisively after 15 people were killed at Bondi. We’re increasing oversight, reducing risk and will ultimately reduce the number of firearms in the community.
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Albanese backs Treasury modelling despite falling house prices
The prime minister has backed the Treasury department’s modelling that house prices will continue to grow, but 2% slower, and said it’s “great news” that first home buyers would have rocked up to auctions over the weekend and not been competing with a bunch of investors.
Just a recap: data from Cotality showed the biggest drop in prices in three years, with prices in Sydney falling 1.2% and in Melbourne 1% in the month of June.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast a little earlier, Anthony Albanese said the Treasury forecasts were still accurate.
Treasury forecasts aren’t week by week, they’re serious forecasts done based upon modelling and a range of other economic modelling, showing exactly the same thing,” he said.
As a result of these changes, there’ll be increases in the value of houses. It’ll be slightly less [than] 2%, to be precise, than it would have been otherwise.
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Greens push for digital duty of care legislation
Sarah Hanson-Young says the government should be implementing the promised digital duty of care bill now, over the social media ban for under-16s which she says was a “design failure right from the beginning”.
The Greens senator says the ban doesn’t require social media platforms to make their online spaces safer for kids and that the algorithms need to be cracked down on.
She says Josh Burns, who yesterday detailed the antisemitic abuse targeting him and his partner, is right in that social media is pushing people to hate based on race, religion and bigotry, and that should be stopped.
You know what works? You know what funnels that? What makes that happen? Is these nasty algorithms. That is what churns these social media company’s profits. It is their business model. So if you want to hit them where it hurts, if you want to make these places safer for everybody, you’ve got to tackle them.
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‘A chance for the Coalition to actually stand for something’: Greens consider teaming up to push Labor on gambling reforms
The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the government’s gambling reforms don’t go nearly far enough, and confirms her party has been talking with the Coalition to potentially team up to force stronger action from Labor.
She tells ABC RN Breakfast the government’s legislation fails to ban online gambling advertising, which is what the report led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy recommended, doesn’t deliver a national regulator, and doesn’t address gambling inducements.
They’re [the Coalition] at least saying that this doesn’t go far enough and that’s better than what Labor’s putting on the table. But this is a chance for the Coalition to actually stand for something.
The way young people are targeted through this advertising is insidious and we need to stop that. But you know what else hurts young people and children is when their mum or dad is addicted to gambling, when the whole family falls apart, when no one has any money to put food on the table or to pay for the school fees or that next school excursion. And families are being torn apart because of gambling addiction and advertising of this harmful product just needs to stop.
The Greens have said they’ll push for the legislation to be examined by a Senate inquiry – but that doesn’t necessarily stop the government being able to pass the bill before it, if it gets the support of the Coalition.
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Coalition to push to ‘get the balance right’ on gambling legislation
The Coalition is in the negotiation hot seat with the government to pass Labor’s gambling reforms, but they haven’t said they’ll give it the green light yet.
Peter Dutton, the former Liberal leader, had drawn up online gambling policy last term promising to ban sports betting advertising during the broadcasting of games – one hour before and one hour after.
It’s stronger than what the government’s proposal, which will only cap online gambling ads to three an hour on broadcast television between 6am and 8:30pm.
We know there are some in the Liberal party who want to push the government much further, including Liberal MP Simon Kennedy.
Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan, speaking to RN Breakfast this morning, says the Coalition is still in talks with the government and are keen to tighten the legislation a little.
We want to work with the government to make sure that we get this right. There is a feeling that there are some changes that need to be made to tighten it, especially when it comes around children being able to view television ad-free when it comes to gambling advertising … Sarah Henderson is right across this issue, and we’ll be working to make sure that we absolutely get the balance right.
We don’t want kids exposed to advertising when they’re going to sit down and watch Friday Night Footy match. And that’s what we’re working to make sure that we can achieve.
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Albanese says charges against EY employees who accessed PM’s bank account details ‘appropriate’
It’s not just KPMG in (boiling) hot water right now; EY is also in the spotlight, after two of its graduate employees on secondment at the Commonwealth Bank allegedly used the bank’s systems to access the personal details of Anthony Albanese. The two employees have been sacked.
Albanese tells ABC News Breakfast he won’t comment on the issue, which is now before the courts, but says it’s appropriate the issue is being taken seriously.
It’s before the courts and I’m not about to go into the detail of that. It’s appropriate that charges have been laid …accessing anyone’s privacy, any Australian’s privacy, is alarming, let alone someone from a contractor who’s not an employee of Commonwealth Bank being able to access that information.
More broadly, Albanese says the government is cracking down on the behaviour of consulting firms, who he says “need to be held to account” – pardon the pun.
We’ve cracked down on that and we’ll continue to examine these issues. Quite clearly, the behaviour of some of these big accounting firms has been completely unacceptable. In some cases, it has involved breaches of the law. And they need to be held to account.
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Mulino lists options to crackdown on audit firms after KPMG scandal
Daniel Mulino, the financial services minister, says the behaviour by the big four firms “simply isn’t good enough” as the government considers options on how to stop them from breaching trust and misusing confidential information.
As my colleague Tom McIlroy brought you earlier, the options are being considered after it was revealed KPMG staff leaked confidential Lendlease and Optus information to colleagues who were applying for lucrative audit contracts at Westpac, Dexus and Telstra. At least three partners were involved.
Mulino tells ABC RN Breakfast the government could consider capping the number of partners in firms, to make them smaller, or force the companies to separate – either just their auditing and non-auditing services, or split the company entirely so one does audit work and the other does non-audit work.
Host Mel Clarke, asks him why it’s taken so long to just get out this options paper, when parliament was rocked by the PwC scandals three years ago. He says:
Since I’ve come into this role, I’ve really tried to prioritise drawing together a lot of strands of work that were already in play. And especially now that we’ve seen what’s happened with KPMG, we’re now accelerating a lot of the government’s work.
Asked whether the government will tear up any existing contracts with KPMG, Mulino says: “I’m not aware of any specifics on that front.”
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Wilson says time and trust needed to win the public back
The Guardian Essential poll shows the Coalition is still in dire straits, with its vote being eaten up by One Nation.
There’s some interesting data in the latest poll around One Nation, and a little less appetite from the public for some of their key policies – have a read below:
But it also shows that while One Nation’s primary vote dropped from 28% to 26%, and Labor ticked up from 29% to 30%, the Coalition is still coming third with a very low primary vote of just 23%. So Sky News host Pete Stefanovic asks Tim Wilson why people still aren’t buying what the Liberal party is selling.
Wilson says it’s about time and trust.
There’s absolutely policies we need to get right, to articulate and to articulate to the Australian people. We’ve put out a series of policies already around the tax back guarantee to actually protect Australians against Jim Chalmer’s active inflation agenda.
And every time we talk to people about it, they see the benefit and the advantage of it, but this is going to take time. No one’s pretending otherwise.
The key thing we’ve got to do is solidify trust … and part of the challenge is we’ve got to be a sustainable alternative that clearly articulates a vision for the country.
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Cooling housing market a ‘crisis of confidence’, says Wilson
Tim Wilson is blaming treasurer Jim Chalmers and his budget for falling house prices, which experienced the largest decline in three years in the month of June.
The shadow treasurer says Chalmers has “crashed the confidence of the Australian economy” since his budget – of which the key changes to capital gains tax, negative gearing and working Australians tax offset passed last week.
Wilson tells Sky News that despite claims from the government that the cooling is to allow young people to catch up and get a foothold in the market, he’s not hearing evidence from the banks that this is happening.
What’s happened is crisis of confidence in the Australian economy, we’ve had record, small business instalments, is record low, small business confidence, record low, consumer confidence.
Despite all the claims that it’s about young people getting into housing, I’m told that banks are saying there’s not a lot of debt being issued to young people trying to buy home.
‘It’s all a bit befuddling’: Butler bats away leadership questions
Mark Butler, the health minister, is asked about chatter over whether he could be the next leader after Anthony Albanese.
Butler, from South Australia, is a senior member of the left faction in Labor, and a key ally of Anthony Albanese, and he’s just about to turn 56 (Albanese is 63).
He’s one of a handful of names being thrown around, including Jim Chalmers, who’s one of the more senior members of the right faction, and a Queenslander.
Butler says he has “frankly no idea” why everyone’s talking about this.
It’s all a bit befuddling.
We’re only a year into a term where our prime minister, Anthony Albanese, won a really significant victory with a really big agenda … Our job as a team that has the privilege of governing this country is to work together under a leader in Anthony Albanese that I feel privileged to support.
‘We’re very confident in Treasury’s forecasts’: Labor defends tax reforms against cooling housing market
Labor is under pressure to defend itself as new data shows house prices in Sydney and Melbourne recorded their biggest one-month decline in values in three years.
Treasury had forecast the impact of the government’s budget measures to capital gains tax and negative gearing would slow prices by 2%, but the Cotality data showed prices in Sydney falling 1.2% and in Melbourne 1% in the month of June.
Mark Butler, the health minister, is asked on ABC News Breakfast if Treasury got that forecasting wrong. He says he believes they’re “well-based”:
You’ve got to wait more than a few weeks. As I said, there’s a lot happening in the economy and the housing market – much of it as a result of global factors, as we’ve seen now for a few years. I’m very confident that Treasury’s forecasts are well-based, they’ve thought about it very carefully. The history of house prices in Australia is one of growth. And it doesn’t mean there won’t be a week here or a week there that you get particular numbers. But we’re very confident in Treasury’s forecasts.
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Good morning
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you for another busy sitting day, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
Gambling reforms will be on the government’s agenda today – but advocates are still pushing for the changes to go further to crack down on online gambling advertising.
It’s also 1 July which means all the changes coming into effect – minimum wage increase, paid parental leave increase, social services indexation (which happens automatically without the government’s input) – will be spruiked by Labor.
And tonight is Canberra’s night of nights, the Midwinter Ball, so there might be a few people getting a little distracted this afternoon as they start getting ready for the event.
Let’s get straight into it!
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Labor moves to clean up consulting industry
The federal government has released an options paper to improve the regulation of accounting, auditing and consulting firms in Australia, the latest move in the wake of the KPMG scandal, in which partners leaked client information and mishandled the whistleblower who raised the alarm.
KPMG staff leaked confidential Lendlease and Optus information to colleagues who were applying for lucrative audit contracts at Westpac, Dexus and Telstra. At least three partners were involved.
A new options paper, released by the assistant treasurer, Daniel Mulino, on Wednesday, flags possible moves to impose quality management and ethical obligations on the big firms, as well as possible operational or structural separation of different business functions.
Partnership limits could be reduced, new governance rules imposed and mandatory periodic testing for audit services, or a regular rotation of contracts introduced.
In recent years, we have seen behaviour from some large accounting, auditing and consulting firms in Australia that is not fair and honest.
This has undermined trust in the firms themselves and raised broader questions about the resilience of the frameworks meant to uphold market integrity.
It is time to return trust and integrity so that the government, taxpayers and other businesses can rely on the services of large accounting, auditing and consulting firms.
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Independent MP Boele backs childcare reforms
The independent member for Bradfield, Nicolette Boele, has backed calls for a national early childhood education and care commission to manage supply and improve safety regulation in the sector.
Addressing parliament on Tuesday evening, Boele said “supply and need just aren’t lining up, and that points to a market that needs proper stewardship”.
The proposed commission has the backing of a NSW parliamentary inquiry and childcare groups including Thrive by Five, The Parenthood, Early Childhood Australia and Minderoo.
Boele said families couldn’t keep waiting on reviews while bills amassed, and called for an updated timeline on the government’s Deloitte pricing review:
If you’re in that position, hearing that the government is waiting for Deloitte to finish a report before they can increase the childcare subsidy, doesn’t hold up. Families can’t budget around a maybe. I’ve written to the minister, and I want the government to commit to a national commission with a firm timeline – not keep it on the “considering” pile.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.
There’s plenty of news to come but we’re kicking off with Labor revealing the actions it’s considering taking to crack down on the consulting industry after the latest scandal at KPMG.
More on that in a few minutes.
