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The Guardian - AU
National
Achol Arok and Krishani Dhanji

Bullock warns more hikes possible after RBA holds cash rate at 4.35% – as it happened

Anthony Albanese Monique Ryan Australia Angus Taylor Sanae Takaichi the Reserve Bank
Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock
Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

What we learned today, Tuesday 11 August

It’s been a jam-packed day as parliament returned for its first sitting fortnight after the winter break.

Before we wrap up our live coverage for the day, let’s take a look at the top headlines:

Thanks for joining us, see you tomorrow!

Updated

Parliamentary committee backs White Australia’s listing as a prohibited hate group

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has backed the federal government’s decision to list White Australia as a prohibited hate group in May.

The committee was established to conduct an independent review of the listing and has found that White Australia met the criteria for the designation under the new laws passed earlier this year.

The committee found White Australia “has engaged in conduct constituting hate crimes and that the listing is necessary to protect Australians from harm”.

The PJCIS chair, Senator Raff Ciccone, said:

For too long, organisations like White Australia have been able to spread hate and create a pathway for others to engage in violence.

Australia will not tolerate groups that promote hatred, normalise extremist rhetoric and put the safety of Australians at risk.

Updated

Georgie Purcell likely to lose her seat in Victoria’s voting changes

The Animal Justice party MP Georgie Purcell will also likely lose her seat in changes to Victoria’s group voting tickets.

She says parties that used GVTs were “simply operating under the system that was granted to us to get elected”.

She says it’s been particularly “galling” to hear allegations during the debate that the crossbench MPs elected under GVTs had done “deals” with the government. Purcell says:

I mean, I’m standing here today at the end of the term with duck shooting, jumps racing, greyhound racing still [legal] here in Victoria. It’s because we have chosen to be collaborative and proactive members of parliament and take our jobs representing our communities really, really seriously. So some of the commentary that has come up in this debate has been pretty disappointing. To be completely honest, we are all still your colleagues. We all still have to spend time together until the end of this term.

She also criticised the government for ramming the legislation through both houses of parliament just weeks before the election. She said the Animal Justice party had asked the government for eight years to pair the abolition of group voting ticket with other changes in the upper house, such as scrapping the eight regions and moving to a single statewide electorate. But this would require a referendum.

Updated

Border force raids more than 100 service stations in crackdown on illegal tobacco and vapes

More than 100 Metro Petroleum service stations have been raided as part of a major investigation into the distribution of illegal tobacco and vapes.

About 250 law enforcement and regulatory officers from 15 agencies targeted the stations across Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

In a statement, the Australian Border Force said:

Operation SHORTHAND was established following an intelligence referral into the NDG [National Disruption Group] by the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, identifying alleged links between the service stations, suspected criminal activity and the alleged sale of illicit tobacco and vapes.

The operation remains active, with the NDG and partner agencies continuing to assess materials and information gathered during enforcement activities.

Further details, including official outcomes from the operation, will be announced in due course.

Metro has been contacted for comment. The owners are not accused of any wrongdoing.

Updated

Group voting tickets debate in Victoria continues

Several crossbench MPs are expected to lose their seats as a result of the changes. They include the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP, Jeff Bourman, who said the reforms are only happening now because the major parties expect to lose seats at the November state election. Or as he put it:

No one really cared because it worked for them. Now, it doesn’t work for them. Now we have basically something I feel has been put up by a bunch of bedwetters that sleep with the lights on at night. I think this is really, really what’s going on. There was panic stations. Chicken Little, the sky’s falling in. Well, you reap what you sow, fellas and ladies. Come the next election, I feel that election is going to be studied for decades because of the disaster for the major parties.

Bourman said he expected One Nation would be “the largest party” in the upper house, thanks in part to this change and for MPs to “enjoy what’s left” of the chamber.

The preference whisperer Glenn Druery has also made a similar argument against GVTs, claiming One Nation could win between 13 and 16 upper house seats as a result.

Updated

Group voting ticket debate under way in Victoria’s upper house

As we mentioned earlier, the Victorian parliament’s upper house is now debating a bill that will scrap group voting tickets (GVTs) – a system of voting ripe for preference harvesting.

Under GVTs, voters can only choose one party above the line on the ballot paper, with their preferences then allocated by the party if it’s knocked out during counting. It has allowed backroom deals between parties to flourish, enabling some candidates to get elected with only a minuscule number of primary votes.

The electoral amendment (miscellaneous matters) bill 2026, if passed, will replace GVTs with a new above-the-line voting system that requires voters to number at least five groups in order of preference. Those preferences will then flow to candidates in the order they appear below the line for each party or group.

The Labor MP Ryan Batchelor says the reform is “long overdue” and will bring the state in line with every other similar jurisdiction:

It will place decisions about voter preferences in the hands of voters, and there can be nothing that is more fundamentally democratic than that. This is a reform that has been recommended by the Electoral Matters Committee, a joint committee of this parliament, on several occasions, including most recently in two reports in the last couple of years.

The Coalition will support the bill, with the Liberal MP David Davis saying Labor has been “very tardy” in bringing on the reform. He claimed that when the Liberals were last in government in 2014 they approached the then opposition leader Daniel Andrews to reform the system but he refused:

There was a discussion there, and we would have supported it at that point in time. But let’s also be clear: there is every reason to be supportive of this [now] because there have been some terrible, undemocratic outcomes that have been engineered through the group voting ticket.

Updated

Following on our earlier post, the Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson, has criticised the government’s reforms to “close every loophole” used by high-profile accused and convicted criminals to hide their identities in court.

She says when she first became leader in late 2025, her first priority was to introduce a standalone coercive control offence:

Victoria could have already had standalone coercive control, if Labor had supported our legislation. Instead, Labor played politics with women’s safety, only to introduce its own laws five minutes to midnight. Coercive control is an insidious form of abuse and can affect anyone, but we know women are overwhelmingly the victims of intimate partner violence. Protecting women and victim-survivors from abuse should never be political. We will always stand on the side of victim-survivors.

Here’s what we wrote at the time:

Updated

Allow voluntary assisted dying debate, crossbenchers urge Labor

Members of the crossbench are pleading with Labor to take action on allowing voluntary assisted dying consultatons via telehealth, with the advocate and former TV favourite Andrew Denton saying people in the last stages of their life should have more options.

The independent MP Kate Chaney tried to bring on a debate on the issue in the lower house today, but the Labor government waved off the attempt. The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said she would try to bring on debate about a similar bill in the Senate.

The debate is about whether to allow VAD via telehealth, which is now banned. Advocates say this means people with terminal illnesses have to appear in-person at a doctor, which presents particular problems for people in rural or remote areas. Denton, the former TV interviewer, told a press conference today about the case of a man in Melbourne with advanced motor neurone disease, whose condition made it that he soiled himself as his wife drove him to visit his doctor for a euthanasia assessment.

Labor’s national conference resolved that the government should change the law, but so far no debate has been allowed.

Chaney said it would be a “simple fix”, with all states and territories allowing VAD except the Northern Territory, which will legalise the practice this month. She said no safeguards would need to be altered to allow VAD consultations via telehealth. She was supported by fellow independent Monique Ryan, who said “every day that we fail to pass this legislation is a day that Australians continue to suffer unnecessarily, and the people who care for them are unable to provide them with the support that they need and they deserve”.

Denton called on parliament to resolve the issue as soon as possible. He said:

A government and a parliament’s first responsibility is to protect its citizens. Right now, this government and this parliament are failing to do that.

Updated

Long-called-for reforms introduced to Victorian parliament

At the Victorian parliament today, much attention focused on the Labor government’s election commitment to “close every loophole” used by high-profile accused and convicted criminals to hide their identities in court. But the government also introduced a bill to parliament that includes other reforms long called for by victim-survivors of sexual violence.

The attorney general, Sonya Kilkenny, outlined several of the reforms when she first read the bill into the house a few hours ago. They include:

  • Criminalising coercive control as a standalone offence.

  • Abolishing good character as a mitigating factor in sentencing.

  • Making it unlawful to discriminate against someone because they have experienced or are experiencing family violence.

  • Expanding the jurisdiction of a criminal court to extend or vary a family violence intervention order so victims do not have to keep telling their story and reliving their trauma.

  • Requiring the court to consider the views and safety of a victim-survivor when extending a family violence intervention order.

  • Expanding the personal safety intervention order framework to recognise grooming as a prohibited behaviour.

  • Expanding relief and exemptions under Victoria’s fines system for victim-survivors to stop the financial impact of perpetrators using the system to abuse their partner.

The Animal Justice party MP Georgie Purcell says she first urged the government to introduce the family violence protection in March. She says the reform will save lives:

Until now, a loophole in our anti-discrimination laws has resulted in Victorian women being legally sacked by their employer for disclosing their experiences of family violence. This change isn’t just symbolic – and it won’t just ensure protection from discrimination in workplaces. It will extend to all areas of a victim-survivor’s life – including housing, healthcare and banking. This is a meaningful reform that will save lives by helping victims safely leave abusive relationships without losing income or becoming homeless.

Updated

Greens accuse Carroll of ‘crumbling to big business’ on work from home

The Victorian Greens have accused the new premier, Ben Carroll, of “crumbling to big business” after he announced this morning the government would delay debate on work from home laws and push back its commencement until 1 July 2027.

The Greens say the delay will particularly hurt women, carers and disabled people who stand to benefit most from flexible work, as they will now have to wait another 10 months for rights they fought for and were promised.

The party’s state leader, Ellen Sandell, says:

The new premier has barely moved into his new office and he’s already crumbling to big business and their tantrums. Workers were weeks away from finally getting these hard-earned rights. Then the corporate lobby came knocking and the new Labor premier rolled over. Women, carers and disabled people might now be forced back into commuting full-time for at least another 10 months because the new premier has decided keeping big business happy matters more than making working people’s lives easier.

More here:

Updated

‘No excuses’ on Murphy report recommendations, Anglican archbishop says

Sydney’s Anglican archbishop, Kanishka Raffel, has urged federal parliament to implement the full recommendations of the Murphy review on online gambling advertising.

Amid negotiations between Labor and the Coalition this week, Raffel said the late Labor MP Peta Murphy was right to recommend a full, phased-in ban on gambling advertising and inducements from betting companies.

The Murphy recommendations give a sensible and balance blueprint for gambling regulation.

They protect our children and families.

They must be implemented in full – there are no excuses for not doing so.

Anglican Churches from around Australia have been meeting in Melbourne and without dissent, we have agreed that the Murphy report should be adopted in full for “the welfare and public health of our nation’s young people and other vulnerable persons”.

Updated

RBA warns further rises possible in fight against inflation

The Reserve Bank of Australia governor, Michele Bullock, has warned further interest rate rises remain possible as the bank continues to monitor inflationary pressures.

Speaking in Sydney after the RBA’s decision to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.35%, Bullock said the board had not considered a cut at its meeting.

The board did not discuss an interest rate cut at this meeting. It only discussed a raise/stay.

The main game here for us is excess capacity, tight labour market, particularly in some areas like construction, the Middle East conflict, the AI boom; these are all the things that are front of mind in terms of risks to the inflation outlook.

Bullock acknowledged that “this is a difficult period for some households” but said the board was “not ruling out” further increases.

The board will be closely watching for evidence of upside risks to inflation materialising. High inflation hurts all Australians, especially the most vulnerable, and that’s why inflation, bringing inflation down, is our priority.

The board isn’t ruling out there may be a need for further interest rate rises if we look like we’re off a path that takes us with inflation remaining above the target for much longer in the forecasts.

We’re saying we want to get a bit more information to confirm whether or not we still seem to be on that path.

Updated

Thank you all for following along on the blog with me today, I’ll leave you with the brilliant Achol Arok.

Stay tuned for the Reserve Bank governor shortly, and I’ll see you back here bright and early tomorrow!

Tl;dr here’s what happened in question time

  • The opposition pushed Labor on the cost of living, and tried to get the prime minister to apologise over melon-gate.

  • On the former, the opposition targeted Labor over the so-called “widow tax” and claimed the negative gearing and capital gains tax changes had “tanked” the housing market.

  • On the latter, Anthony Albanese twice refused to apologise to prime minister Sanae Takaichi.

  • The shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, was kicked out.

  • Albanese completely avoided a question by the Greens on whether the government would implement a gas export tax – refusing to even say the words gas or tax in his answer.

Updated

After a final dixer to Amanda Rishworth, the PM calls time on QT for today.

Should coal and gas companies be forced to put money aside to fund cleanups?

When will the government force coal and gas companies to put money aside to fully fund the cleanup of their projects, asks the independent MP Allegra Spender.

She says that renters have to pay a bond and a cleanup fee before moving into a home, but fossil fuel companies aren’t expected to do the same, which can leave the commonwealth footing a cleanup bill – citing a recent case where a gas producer went into administration.

The resources minister, Madeleine King, says that in the case Spender has raised, there will be no taxpayer money going to any cleanup.

I want to make it really clear again that taxpayers will not be left to foot the bill if companies do not do the right thing in respect of this particular project. I want to make clear insolvency does not excuse title holders from decommissioning responsibilities, and the government is considering all enforcement options to hold responsible title holders and related parties accountable.

Updated

Kevin Hogan comes with a multiple choice question

The Nationals frontbencher Kevin Hogan comes to QT with a multiple choice question today – how fun. He asks whether rents have reportedly increased by 10% since the 2026 budget because of:

A. Record high immigration outpacing new home builds.

B. Labor’s toxic taxes on housing.

C. The 15 interest rate rises under Labor.

Or D. All of the above.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, takes the question and says the housing market has been influenced by a number of factors, and that the market was already cooling before the budget was handed down.

Chalmers basically says that the issues are not the sole fault of the budget, and that the volatility in the housing market and immigration numbers were there before May.

We have had for some time now upward pressure on rents, partly because of a decade of neglect, we haven’t had enough homes in our community, Mr Speaker, and we are taking the necessary steps to build more homes.

When it comes to migration, I understand that those opposite want to go about this in the most divisive way that they can, but they need to recognise that net overseas migration has come down 45% since its peak.

Updated

Albanese avoids question on gas export tax

Back to the crossbench, the Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown asks the PM if he’ll listen to the public “instead of the gas lobby and implement a minimum 25% tax on gas exports?” She also notes that at the most recent Labor national conference, ordinary party members and MPs pushed to hold a vote for a gas export tax.

Anthony Albanese doesn’t say the words gas or tax (let alone together) in his answer.

Instead he takes aim at the Greens, saying he’s somewhat surprised at getting a question from the party that hold “secret conferences”.

What we do, in stark contrast, is have a conference that is broadcast live on national TV for all to see. We have the election of 400 delegates and 400 proxy delegates who represent workers, who represent local branch members, who represent regions right around Australia.

Updated

PM probed on skyrocketing mortgages; Tim Wilson gets yeeted

Angus Taylor stays on the economy, and asks the prime minister to confirm the average new mortgage holder is paying $29,000 a year more in interest alone since Labor came into power – after 15 interest rate rises.

Anthony Albanese says he understands households are doing it tough, and then rolls through a list of cost-of-living measures the government has undertaken.

Every day we look at doing something about it – not just identifying grievance, but producing solutions, not protesting.

Albanese isn’t answering the actual question, so Dan Tehan gets up to make a point of order.

Milton Dick agrees with Tehan and tells Albanese to stay focused, and the PM continues:

Someone in this place said on the 10th November 2020, nobody wins from low interest rates … Going back, in case you think that was an accident, in 2018, we need to create the policy settings to progressively increase interest rates. Money is too cheap, and it’s time we did something about it around the policy framework. The question for this leader of the opposition: Why did he make this man the shadow treasurer?

Tim Wilson, not too happy about being quoted here, yells out to the PM in response, which gets him kicked out by Dick for the rest of QT.

Updated

Chalmers takes aim at opposition ‘stunt’ on ‘widow tax’

Angus Taylor is back at the dispatch box and reverts to questions on the so-called “widow tax”, asking why the treasurer is “targeting women going through divorce or the death of a partner to raise revenue”.

Jim Chalmers takes aim at what he calls a “stunt” that the opposition pulled in the parliament today, when it tried to suspend standing orders to bring forward legislative changes to remove the widow tax.

They said there wasn’t enough consultation, and now they’re saying there’s too much consultation, and that exposes the absurdity of the stunt that they tried to put on earlier on in the parliament today. Is it any wonder that they’re doing worse under this leader of the opposition than they were doing under Sussan Ley?

Updated

RBA holds cash rate at 4.35%

The Reserve Bank has held the cash rate at 4.35% in a widely expected decision despite persistent worries about elevated inflation.

The announcement comes amid a steep decline in property prices in Sydney and Melbourne after three rate hikes earlier this year and major reforms to investor taxes.

Economists and financial markets were unanimous in predicting no change following the latest two-day RBA board meeting, but a fourth hike this year remains on the table as the central bank attempts to complete a long glide-path back to its 2.5% inflation target without triggering a big rise in unemployment.

Michele Bullock, the governor, will hold her regular press conference at 3.30pm, Sydney time.

Updated

Albanese says he has a very good relationship with Japanese PM

The Liberal MP Mary Aldred is back at the microphone and comes in with a shorter and sharper question for the prime minister, asking directly: “Will the prime minister apologise to the prime minister of Japan for his disrespectful behaviour?”

Anthony Albanese once again says he has a very good relationship with the Japanese PM (and doesn’t apologise):

We have met on the sidelines of various forums, as well as I welcomed the prime minister of Japan here. During that visit, it was a very successful visit, and the relationship has meant that with purchases such as the Mogami frigates in defence, for example.

The manager of opposition business, Dan Tehan, stands up to make a point of order on relevance, but Albanese sits down and indicates that he’s finished his answer (cue big groans from the Coalition).

Updated

Steggall asks about Resilient Building Council rating scheme

Over to the crossbench, Zali Steggall asks the government why it allowed the Resilient Building Council rating scheme, which helped households mitigate their disaster risk and lower their insurance costs, lapse on 30 June, and whether it will be restored.

Insurance premiums have risen 51% in just five years, and now one in five households is underinsured or uninsured.

The assistant treasurer, Daniel Mulino, says the $200m disaster ready fund is helping with some mitigation works around the country, and at the moment the government is strengthening the insurance code of practice.

That code of practice will be approved by Asic and will be contractually enforceable. And we are currently engaged with both consumer groups, but also the insurance industry, to make sure that there are a range of protections in that code of practice for consumers

Updated

PM defends Japan relationship after Coalition question over 'classless' melon comment

Melon-gate is officially entering the Hansard, with the Liberal MP Mary Aldred asking the prime minister if he’ll apologise for his comments about the gift of two crown melon’s given to him by Sanae Takaichi, made on the Bush Deep podcast. Aldred calls them “foul-mouthed, classless comments about women”.

It’s the first time Anthony Albanese has directly responded to the comments, and says “I reject the assertion of the question”.

Australia and Japan have never been closer … and my government has taken our special strategic partnership to new heights.

Prime Minister Takaichi is a friend of Australia and a friend of mine. Together, we’re focused on working together after three bilateral meetings to shape a free and open Indo-Pacific that is peaceful, stable, and prosperous, as demonstrated by the outcomes in the visit.

He notably doesn’t apologise.

Updated

Question time begins

Angus Taylor starts, accusing Labor’s “toxic taxes” of tanking the housing market, with the ANZ bank reporting Sydney house prices could fall by almost 15%, “the worst crash in more than four decades”. He asks if the government will admit that the negative gearing and capital gains tax changes have made households worse off.

Anthony Albanese takes the question and says that even Scott Pape – of the Barefoot Investor fame – acknowledges that the housing market has been pretty cooked:

The Barefoot Investor, someone who’s well known, not always part of a cheer squad for the government, wrote in the Herald Sun: Average house prices have increased by more than 400% since 2000, partly on the back of taxpayer-funded landlord welfare.

Albanese continues, saying that the great Australian dream was becoming a “nightmare”, and had to be fixed.

I don’t want to be a prime minister who leads a country that sees growing inequality, that sees the opportunity for people to get into their first home as being defined on whether mum or dad can help them.

Updated

Liberal calls for independent review of gambling laws

Simon Kennedy, the Liberal MP helping drive tougher action on online gambling advertising, has praised growing momentum to toughen the government’s legislation this week.

Speaking in the House of Representatives just before question time, Kennedy said an independent review of the rules must take place after the next election, to help make any newly introduced protections even stronger.

Kennedy praised Coalition colleagues pushing for progress this week, including the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, and shadow minister for communications, Sarah Henderson.

He said there were “two glaring gaps” in the existing laws: inducements to keep punters gambling longer and unlimited advertising online.

A deal between the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and Taylor is expected within days.

Kennedy said:

There should be an independent review of wherever we land after the next election, so we can do more.

Updated

Greens say gambling reforms are ‘bad law’

The government is still seeking to stitch up a deal to pass its gambling laws, but it seems less likely than ever that it will be with the Greens.

Sarah Hanson-Young says she is still in discussions with Labor on the changes, but will keep pushing “to fix this bad law”.

I do fear that Angus Taylor just isn’t up to the job of delivering stronger laws. I fear that Angus Taylor is too weak, and you know, the proof will be in the pudding.

We reported earlier that Taylor had met Anthony Albanese today, who had yesterday pledged some movement on inducements and targeted advertising.

But we still don’t know exactly what the government is proposing, or willing to move on. We know there were split opinions in the Liberal party room earlier, with a handful of people speaking both for and against taking more action.

Hanson-Young says:

I know there are good people on the Liberal side, and there are good people across the whole of the parliament, who know that we need to do better.

Australians have had enough. They’re fed up with it.

Updated

Meta exhibited ‘gross negligence’ in failure to retain data in Forrest scams case

A US court has sanctioned tech giant Meta for failing to retain key data related to scam ads bearing the likeness of the Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest, as part of his long-running case against the company over 28,000 investment scam ads.

As part of the discovery process in the case, Forrest’s legal team sought data on how the scam ads bearing his likeness were optimised by the platform, such as by image cropping, or video splicing.

The US district court, in the northern district of California, found Meta did not begin preserving this dataset until 2025, more than two years after the dataset was created, meaning only 14% of the dataset remains.

The court found Meta had exhibited “gross negligence with the respect to the duty of preservation”.

When the case goes to trial, the jury will be instructed that it may infer from the loss of information that it was unfavourable to Meta. Forrest was also warded fees and costs.

Forrest welcomed the ruling in a statement:

Meta’s behaviour goes to the heart of exactly why I brought this case forward. A company that has built a colossal revenue stream off scams, while ordinary people are robbed and exploited, must not be allowed to outrun responsibility or the full weight of the law.

The court has rightly ruled Meta cannot benefit from evidence that is missing because of its own conduct. That is fundamental to justice, and it brings us closer to a golden day when Big Tech is finally held to account.

Meta was approached for comment.

Updated

Trade minister tells US counterpart to back down on latest tariffs

Don Farrell has lobbied his US counterpart, Jamieson Greer, this morning, telling him to remove the latest round of tariffs enforced by Donald Trump.

The recent tariffs targets dozens of countries that the US says have failed to enforce bans on goods produced by forced labour.

It was the first meeting of the two trade ministers since the controversial announcement was made in June.

Farrell said in a statement:

These tariffs go against the United States’ commitments under our free trade agreement and should be removed. I have repeatedly expressed our disappointment.

This morning we had a constructive meeting. We had a detailed conversation about how we might progress the removal of these tariffs.

The trade minister says he’ll keep pushing for the tariffs to be removed and will meet with Greer at the G20 summit next month.

Updated

‘Preference whisperer’ Glenn Druery criticises end of ‘wonderfully democratic’ group voting tickets in Victoria

The man known as the “preference whisperer” has blasted Victoria’s new laws that are getting rid of group voting tickets in the upper house – which have led to some candidates with just a few hundred votes to be elected.

For a rundown on the changes have a read here.

Glenn Druery has taken to social media saying that group voting tickets were a “wonderfully democratic idea”.

Druery was behind former Australian Motoring Enthusiast party’s Ricky Muir winning a Victorian Senate seat with less than 1% of the primary vote back in 2013. Muir was handed the state’s sixth upper house seat thanks to a complex system of preference flows.

He said:

Since the late 1990s, I’ve been bringing minor parties and independents together and working out how to get ordinary people through a political gate that was never really designed to let them in … I’ve been called a disruptor plenty of times over the years. Fair enough. Sometimes democracy needs disrupting. Labor didn’t like it. The Liberals didn’t like it. The Nationals didn’t like it. The Greens certainly didn’t like it.

But psephologist Kevin Bonham is somewhat scathing of Druery’s complaint, and says the current system is not, in fact, democratic:

Random people getting elected to Parliament without real voter support because of the gaming of a system flaw is not a “wonderfully democratic idea”.

Updated

Pocock, Liberals and Nationals team up to pressure Labor on ‘widows’ tax’

Crossbencher David Pocock, the Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, and the deputy Liberal leader, Jane Hume, have teamed up to press Labor on the so-called widows’ tax, introduced by the government in the budget bills.

The non-government parties tried to suspend normal standing orders in the House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday, in a bid to put pressure on Labor over a small number of property transactions where joint owners, who were supposed to be exempt from the changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax introduced in the budget, now face being slugged.

In the event of one partner dying or the couple divorcing, the transaction would now attract the higher tax rates because the transfer would be classified as an ownership change. Labor has pledged to fix the problem but they’re not moving fast enough for the opposition and the crossbench.

Treasury has told the banks the government is preparing to fix the issue later this year, allowing the banks to give grace to anyone affected by the laws.

But Canavan, Pocock and Hume say the government should vote for the bill being put forward today, and speed things up.

“We’ve already reports that people have been harmed by the fact that these tax changes throw their lives into uncertainty,” Canavan said.

If they could rush some of the most complex tax legislation through in just a few weeks, surely they can fix this problem in just a few hours.

Updated

Fair Work Ombudsman to investigate hospitality gig-work app after Guardian investigation

The Fair Work Ombudsman has announced it will investigate an increasingly popular Australian gig-work app for the hospitality industry after concerns were raised about workers missing out on entitlements.

Guardian Australia revealed on Sunday that questions had been raised about Supp, which describes itself as a “jobs marketplace” for ad-hoc hospitality work, and its classification of baristas, servers, bartenders and other hospitality workers as “independent contractors”, similar to delivery riders.

Concerns were raised that workers may be missing out on entitlements such as superannuation by being classified as independent contractors through the app rather than casual employees. Four workers who spoke to Guardian Australia said they had never received superannuation or other entitlements for the shifts they performed through the app.

Supp has rejected any suggestion that it has misrepresented the working relationship facilitated through the app, saying:

Supp engages constructively with regulators and supports clear, workable standards for independent work on digital platforms.

The Ombudsman declined to comment on Supp last week when approached by the Guardian. But this morning, a spokesperson said in a statement:

The Fair Work Ombudsman will make inquiries into Supp. We are unable to comment on those further.

We encourage any workers with concerns to contact us directly for assistance. Employers and workers can contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or visit www.fairwork.gov.au. An interpreter service is available on 13 14 50. The FWO also has an online anonymous report tool, including options to report in languages other than English.

Employees can also seek information from their employer or their union, if they are a union member.

For matters relating to the non-payment of superannuation you may wish to contact the Australian Tax Office, the agency primarily responsible for superannuation.

Updated

Alan Jones trial continues

Stepping away from federal politics for a moment …

The Alan Jones trial is continuing today in Sydney’s Downing Centre local court. The former broadcaster has pleaded not guilty to 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching.

The older brother of one of Jones’s alleged victims, complainant J, is giving evidence.
The witness, whose name has been suppressed, told the court he met Jones on multiple occasions in the early 2000s with his brother and he didn’t see the broadcaster acting inappropriately towards his younger brother.

He said Jones was generous and offered to help him buy his fiancee an engagement ring, and later gave him a Villeroy & Boch dinner set as a wedding gift.

J’s older brother was taken through a statement he gave to police in 2024 after his brother met him at a McDonald’s and told him he had been touched by Jones.

The witness told the court that complainant J said:

This is the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to tell you. You’ve probably seen the news about the defendant. I’m one of the people who has come forward.

The trial before judge Glenn Walsh continues.

Updated

Two more KPMG bosses resign ahead of leak scandal grilling

Two more KPMG bosses have stepped down ahead of a parliamentary grilling over the firm’s audit leaks scandal, which has now prompted nine high-profile resignations.

General counsel Louise Capon and human resources boss Dorothy Hisgrove have left the firm, Guardian Australia has confirmed.

Both women had a role in the firm’s handling of the whistleblower who raised the alarm over colleagues leaking confidential client information. Neither have been accused of wrongdoing.

KPMG declined to comment on the resignations, which were first reported by the Australian Financial Review on Tuesday.

KPMG’s chair, CEO, head of audit and an independent director have all resigned. Three partners involved in the leak of Lendlease information have quit, one of whom was sacked from the firm as well. Numerous staff members have been penalised for their roles in the leaks.

The firm’s new chair and CEO, along with many of the departed bosses, are expected to face a parliamentary committee investigating the leaks on Friday

Cash and Hanson move to suspend standing orders in the Senate

The bells have barely stopped ringing in parliament because in the Senate, Michaelia Cash, and Pauline Hanson have separately tried to move to suspend standing orders!

Cash, the leader of the opposition in the Senate, was up first – with a very similar motion to Angus Taylor’s in the house condemning the government over the “widow tax”.

Her motion, which was voted down by Labor and the Greens, states that the government “rammed its toxic tax changes through the parliament despite warnings that they could punish Australians whose property ownership changes because of death, divorce or family law settlements”.

After that’s shut down, the One Nation leader is now trying to move her motion condemning the government for “allowing people linked to terrorist organisations to enter Australia” and notes that she will introduce her private member’s bill tomorrow.

Hanson tells the chamber:

Labor has stood by, while two Isis-linked women on serious charges were released into the community on bail … Labor can redeem itself by allowing this debate and supporting One Nation’s legislation.

Greens senator David Shoebridge gets a go at the mic while the proposed suspension is being debated, and has a massive crack at Hanson:

You have no interest in justice. You want to blow your dog whistle. You want to pretend that you’re doing this. The Greens want a pathway to justice, and do you know how you do that? You back in international tribunals, you back in the international criminal court. All the things that One Nation comes in here day after day after day in opposing.

Updated

Government welcomes new aged care snapshot

The aged care minister, Sam Rae, says the latest data for wait times in the sector are positive, with thousands more people getting access to essential care.

Improvements in the latest data come after the new Support at Home system began operating on 1 November last year.

Median wait times for assessments are less than 1 month and wait times for in-hospital assessments are less than 1 day.

As of 30 June, funding for urgent priority cases are being secured within a month. In high priority cases, funding is delivered within 1 month, down from 1.5 to 2.5 months.

Medium priority cases have funding delivered within 5 to 6 months and standard priority cases are 7 to 8 months.

While demand for aged care continues to grow, what matters to older people is how quickly they can access care - we’re making significant progress in driving these times down, and we’ll continue to invest so every older Australian can access the care they need sooner.

While we know there’s much more to do, these numbers are encouraging signs our methodical work to secure more care for more older Australians than ever is making a material impact.

Updated

Chaney moves to suspend standing orders to debate her legislation to change voluntary assisted dying access

The standing orders are facing yet another suspension in just 30 minutes of sitting!

This one we knew was coming – Kate Chaney has moved to allow her bill to be debated to expand access to voluntary assisted dying (VAD) via telehealth.

It’s an issue that was adopted in Labor’s national conference platform last month – but Chaney’s bill won’t be progressed.

Chaney tells the House:

I do not move a motion like this lightly. Suspending standing orders is an extraordinary step, and I recognise the house doesn’t take it lightly either.

But I’m asking for one hour of debate, and a vote, on a bill that’s been sitting on the notice paper for three months, that was first introduced to this Parliament more than two years ago, and it fixes a single, narrow, well understood problem. I’m asking for that hour, because every week this parliament delays is a week in which dying Australians and their families continue to suffer for no reason connected to their own choices, their own illness or their own state’s laws, but because of an accident of commonwealth drafting two decades ago.

Voluntary assisted dying is lawful in every state and the ACT, and its expected to be made lawful in the NT soon.

Chaney says that a commonwealth provision in the criminal code, more than a decade before any jurisdiction legalised VAD, made it an offence punishable by fines of more than $300,000 for a doctor to discuss lawful voluntary assisted dying care with a patient over the phone, by email, or by video call.

The practical effect of this provision is this. No part of the VAD process can occur by telehealth, not one consultation.

While Labor members will now get a conscience vote on VAD following the party’s national conference, there will be a binding vote against bringing Chaney’s bill forward because that will be procedural vote. The health minister, Mark Butler, told the Labor caucus yesterday that the government will decide when and how to bring on those changes to voluntary assisted dying access.

House prices to fall at least 12% in Sydney and Melbourne, ANZ forecasts

ANZ has predicted Sydney and Melbourne house prices will fall more than 12% as the housing market slowdown intensifies.

The big bank’s economists released updated forecasts today, saying the market had softened more than they were expecting just two months ago. Prices have fallen in Australia’s five big capital cities and ANZ believes the drop has only started.

Across 2026 and 2027, ANZ now expects Sydney prices will fall 14.5% and Melbourne 12.8% from their respective peaks at the start of this year.

It expects Adelaide house prices to fall 9.8% from their peak, with a 7.9% fall in Brisbane and a 5.2% fall in Perth.

ANZ said prices should stabilise and start to increase again in late 2027 if the Reserve Bank cuts interest rates. Capital city house prices would then rise more than 4% in 2028, ANZ economist’s wrote.

Taylor moves to suspend standing orders to bring on widow tax debate

The House has kicked off with a bit of a bang today, with the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, moving to suspend standing orders to bring on debate to fix the widow tax.

Two things here:

One, suspending standing orders essentially means that the regular proceedings of parliament would be halted to immediately bring on the issue that the member is calling for (in this case the legislation to fix the widow tax).

And two, for those who aren’t as familiar with the widow tax, the government’s budget legislation (which passed last sitting) means that a person loses their grandfathered exemptions to negative gearing and capital gains tax in the event of a divorce or death, and the property was transferred to one of the partners. The transfer is treated like a reset and they would no longer be able to negatively gear their property as they did when they co-owned it with their partner.

Taylor tells the House:

Deputy speaker, the cruellest tax of them all, a wicked tax on widows and divorcees. What type of government thinks that it’s acceptable to whack attacks on Australians who are grieving at the loss of a spouse or a partner? What type of government sees dollar signs when looking at someone who’s gone through a traumatic breakup?

When the treasurer appeared on the ABC’s Insiders program and was asked about his widow’s tax, he said he would fix it, he said it. Well, more than 40 days have passed since the treasurer made that promise … And where’s the legislation? It’s nowhere to be seen. Instead, the government is doing a two-week consultation period before it brings forward any legislation.

Taylor says this means the legislation to fix the issue won’t come to the parliament until September or October and he wants to see it now.

But, because the government has the majority in the lower house, it gets shut down.

Updated

Gambling negotiations ongoing, no breakthrough yet

A Labor-Coalition deal on gambling may still be a little way off, despite Anthony Albanese’s proclamations yesterday and the feeling that an agreement was imminent.

But Guardian Australia understands some small tweaks to the timing of TV advertising, specifically to lessen the impact on children, could be among the things being considered.

Albanese and Angus Taylor are meeting now, with discussions also ongoing between the communications minister, Anika Wells, and her counterparts, Sarah Hanson-Young and Sarah Henderson. The Greens are still talking with the government, which signals a deal with the Coalition is not yet done, but Labor sources say they are still confident Taylor is coming onboard.

It is understood the Greens haven’t yet seen any potential amendments to the gambling bill, after Albanese yesterday said changes to inducements and targeted advertising were in the works. But it’s understood that small tweaks to the rules around TV ads are being considered.

Labor’s proposed changes would see gambling ads restricted to three per hour on broadcast TV between 6am and 8.30pm. But further tweaks to that may be part of the discussions. Other reforms potentially in the frame could be around the discrepancy in ad rules on broadcast TV versus streaming services.

The Greens have further concerns that not enough is being done to restrict online advertising, particularly on social media and platforms such as Google Ads, as well as on streaming services.

The Senate inquiry into the gambling reforms will report back on Friday, so the bill won’t be in the Senate this week. But the government is expected to make amendments to the bill in the lower house, with that bill scheduled for debate tomorrow.

Updated

Coalition party room probes gambling reforms

Liberal and Nationals MPs have had their weekly catchup at Parliament House, with the meeting including interesting discussions about the government’s plans to limit online gambling advertising.

We’re told nine MPs raised gambling in the closed-door meeting, with five backbenchers urging the Coalition to go further and strengthen Labor’s plans. Another four MPs warned about the need to get the balance right and not go too far in limiting advertising.

The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, told the meeting he would continue to discuss the matter with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese. A deal between Labor and the Coalition is expected within days. Separately, the shadow communications minister, Sarah Henderson, is speaking with the minister, Anika Wells, about a possible agreement.

Whatever deal is struck will be subject to the usual Coalition process, which would involve approval from the party room. That could happen in next week’s party room meeting.

Moves to ban inducements or to move to an opt-in system for gambling advertising were discussed in the meeting but the talks were not at that level of detail.

The meeting heard concerns about “perceived behaviour of gambling preying on the vulnerable”.

The matter remains “a moving feast” according to Liberal MPs.

Updated

Victorian chamber of commerce welcomes Carroll’s delay to work from home laws

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has welcomed premier Ben Carroll’s decision to delay the start of the government’s Australian-first legislation giving workers the right to work from home two days a week until after the state election.

Carroll also said debate on the bill – which was expected to pass the upper house later this week – would be delayed.

The Victorian chamber’s chief executive, Sally Curtain, reiterated the organisation’s call for the government to abandon the bill entirely, saying it hoped to persuade Carroll “to abandon this destructive course”. Curtain said:

The Victorian chamber maintains that the bill must be scrapped as it is completely unnecessary, costly and burdensome for Victorian businesses.

As it stands, this legislation remains a profound risk to our state’s economy.

Updated

Albanese and Lâm announce strengthening of Australia-Vietnam partnership

Anthony Albanese says Australia and Vietnam are close friends and trusted strategic partners as he and Tô Lâm announce a stronger economic partnership.

The pair are addressing the media, and Albanese says they have agreed to “stronger cooperation across defence, maritime and border security, the digital economy, agriculture, energy, minerals, science and innovation”.

As part of the talks, Vietnam has also agreed to open market access to Australian kangaroo and deer meat.

Of course, the PM also mentions the importance of the relationship in the face of global instability.

We also spoke about the strategic challenges which face our region. Australia and Vietnam both want an Indo-Pacific that is peaceful, stable and prosperous … And I look forward to working closely with Vietnam at this year’s Asean meetings and the east Asia summit, and then afterwards at the Apec summit.

Lâm says he and Albanese have held “open and candid and substantive bilateral talks”, and welcomes the outcomes.

He adds that the two countries will “seek new breakthroughs” in economic trade and investment and “enhance corporation in AI, semiconductor, digital technology, cybersecurity, green technology and emerging technology”.

We also agree to bolster cooperation in defence and security on the basis of international law and respect for each other’s independent sovereignty and legitimate interest.

We agree to seek new breakthroughs in economic trade and investment corporation in line with our [comprehensive strategic partnership], advanced inclusive, substantive and effective collaboration to address disruptions to supply chains, and we remain determined to further increase our two-way trade and investment turnover.

Updated

Albanese and Lâm take veiled swipe at Trump and China in joint statement

Anthony Albanese and Tô Lâm have released a joint statement following their meeting – ahead of some public remarks.

The pair have agreed to deeper cooperation under the comprehensive strategic partnership established last year.

The statement talks about the importance of economic resilience “foundational to national security and prosperity”.

Within the statement, the pair say:

Both sides expressed their concern over policies and practices that disrupt global supply chains or unnecessarily restrict trade. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to promoting a fair, transparent, open and rules-based multilateral trading system.

This, while not naming names, seems to heavily hint at Donald Trump’s trade tariffs and China.

Updated

Housing slowdown caused by interest rates not tax reforms, says Westpac

Slumping home loans are a consequence of the Reserve Bank’s interest rate rises this year, as much or more than the investment tax changes in the federal budget, according to Westpac.

Yesterday the bank reported owner-occupier loans were down 18%, comparing the first three months of 2026 to the period 15 May to 31 July, after three rate hikes. Investor loans had fallen 26%, reflecting the budget’s tax reforms.

The bank’s chief financial officer, Nathan Goonan, told analysts on a call:

The rate impact is probably equal or potentially a bigger impact than anything that happened in the budget.

Goonan also reported applications for refinancing had been more resilient than for new home loans.

Credit bureau Equifax reported overall mortgage demand was down 16.4% in July, compared to the same month last year. First home buyer demand has fallen further, at 19.1%.

The slump in home lending and house prices has caught the RBA by surprise and is one reason it is unlikely to hike rates again today, as you can read here:

Updated

Bird flu ‘not in our agriculture system’ at this time: Collins

Julie Collins tells the press conference that at this stage, there is no evidence bird flu has infiltrated the poultry and agriculture sector.

She says the government has learned a lot of lessons from previous incursions of bird flu, which Australia was able to eradicate.

Collins says the government has secured $2m worth of vaccinations which translates to about 1,500 vials.

We continue to work really closely particularly with the chicken meat and egg industry in relation to keeping it out of our system … overseas we have seen it spread over into agriculture, so we’re doing everything we can to keep it out of our agriculture system, and at this time it’s not in our agriculture system.

The chief veterinary officer, Beth Cookson, says vaccines will help but there will be variations in the level of immunity that the vaccines can bring to the bird populations.

That’s why it is a complementary tool and enhanced biosecurity will always be the first line of defence … no influenza vaccine is 100% protective.

Updated

‘We are going to see more mass mortalities of birds’: Watt

The environment minister, Murray Watt, says the government has been doing targeted trials of vaccines, which will now be broadened out to protect native species and birds in captivity.

Watt says that part of the government’s $113m bird flu preparedness plan has involved sealing off enclosures in zoos to stop wild birds coming in, and increasing captive breeding populations in zoos, “to make sure we do have viable populations of our most endangered species”.

Where it is possible to vaccinate wild birds we will do so, but the priority is to vaccinate birds that are in captivity and in zoos and other institutions we have been taking steps to ensure we do have populations of our most vulnerable bird species and they are going to be the priority when it comes to vaccination.

Julie Collins says state, territory and federal governments have all been testing to see which species respond effectively to the vaccine.

Asked which species will be vaccinated first and where, Collins says that’ll be up to the states and territories to announce.

Updated

First vaccines for bird flu to begin rolling out in ‘coming days and weeks’

The agriculture minister, Julie Collins, says priority species of birds in captivity will be the first to be vaccinated, with the rollout to begin soon.

Speaking at a press conference in parliament, Collins says the government can’t stop the spread in wild birds, but can protect some native species.

I can announce that the first vaccines are expected to roll out in coming days and weeks based on an agreed national approach to the targeted vaccination of priority native bird species.

This approach will mean that the states and territories are able to commence vaccination activities, initially focusing on priority species in captivity identified by those states and territories.

We’ve been very clear that we cannot stop the H5 bird flu from spreading amongst wild birds … Australians should expect to see more spread and larger numbers, particularly of dead birds and mass mortalities around the country from the H5 bird flu. We have been very clear that this will continue to spread across the country.

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It’s census day!

For all you stats nerds out there, today is the day … well it’s at least the day all the data gets input before all the results come back later.

If you – like myself – are doing it tonight, here’s your best guide on what to expect.

Send us your politics questions!

Do you have a question you’d like to ask Guardian Australia’s political team this week?

Well do I have news for you …

I’ll be recording an ‘Ask me anything’ episode of the Australian Politics podcast with my fabulous colleagues Tom McIlroy, Josh Butler and Sarah Basford Canales.

We’d love you to send through questions for us, so hit us up at australianpolitics@theguardian.com.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Updated

In pics: Vietnam president meets with Albanese and governor general

Vietnam’s general secretary and president, Tô Lâm, has just arrived at parliament ahead of a meeting with Anthony Albanese.

It is Lam’s first state visit to Australia since becoming Vietnam’s Communist party chief in late 2024.

A little earlier he met Sam Mostyn at Government House.

Updated

Victoria commits to amending suppression orders

The Victorian government has committed to removing “loopholes” in the state’s laws on suppression orders if elected in November and will introduce legislation to parliament today to ban character references altogether.

The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, has announced a raft of reforms he said is informed by the voices of victims.

Speaking alongside attorney general Sonya Kilkenny on Tuesday morning, he said:

First and foremost, we are going to stop suppression orders being used to protect convicted rapists. Suppression orders were designed to protect victim survivors, not convicted rapists. We’re also going to take good character references off the table. If you commit a heinous crime, the fact of being a volunteer for part of your life should not form part of any judgment. If you commit the crime, you need to do the time.

The bill before parliament today amends the state’s Equal Opportunity Act to make “subjection to family violence” a protected attribute, which will make it unlawful to discriminate against someone because they have or are experiencing family violence. It criminalises coercive control as a standalone offence, strengthens family violence intervention orders and expands personal safety intervention orders to recognise grooming.

But the bill does not deal with suppression orders. Kilkenny said the government is committed to scrapping the for convicted rapists if elected while an advisory group was also reviewing other “loopholes”.

That review is underway right now, and as we’ve announced today a re-elected Carroll Labor government will ensure that we make amendments to our Open Courts Act so that we are closing every loophole used by high-profile accused and convicted persons on the use of suppression orders.

Asked what the review was exploring, she said:

Interim suppression orders, the length of those suppression orders, the reasons for those suppression orders … if there are loopholes, we are going to close them, and that they can’t be abused and exploited.

Entertainment manager, Ralph Carr, and Tom Silvagni, the son of AFL footballer Stephen Silvagni, both successfully applied for court suppression orders while facing trial on separate rape charges, with their identities only publicly released once they were convicted.

In the case of Carr, his identity was suppressed for almost three years.

Work from home laws won’t come into effect in Victoria until after election

The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, has announced the government’s nation-first bill to legislate a right to work from home two days a week won’t take effect until after the election.

Carroll also said debate on the bill – which was expected to pass parliament’s upper house later this week – has been delayed.

He said he made the decision as part of his commitment to “reset the relationship” with the business community:

I’ve spoken with Sally Curtin this morning and Tim Piper, and I told them that work from home will not proceed on 1 September. It will proceed on 1 July 2027.

I want to be very clear. I support work from home. I support flexible work. It is good for working families. Equally, though, we need to make sure that … Everyone knows it’s a partnership between working families and the business community and the government.

Updated

‘This government has been beaten by high interest and inflation’: Taylor

Angus Taylor is giving his party room a bit of a gee up for the first sitting day back after the winter break.

He’s let the cameras in for his opening speech (the same as what Anthony Albanese did ahead of his caucus meeting yesterday) – before the party gets into the nitty gritty. We can expect gambling to be a key talking point of the meeting.

There are plenty of shouts of “hear hear” from the MPs in the background.

Taylor says:

This government told Australians that it had beaten high inflation and high interest rates and this government has been beaten by high inflation and high interest rates.

Now, over the course of the break, we launched our plan. Our plan to fix the economy and to protect our way of life.

As I said, we will lax labor’s toxic taxes, their taxes on savings, on investment, on housing, on small businesses, on widows.

That last point is reference to the so-called “widow tax”. Under the tax reforms announced in the May budget, a widow or divorcee would lose grandfathered exemptions to negative gearing and capital gains tax in the event the property was transferred from both to one of the partners and the tax settings reset.

Independent senator David Pocock raised the issue before the tax legislation was passed, which then Labor said it would fix in subsequent bills.

Albanese to meet with Vietnam’s president at Parliament House

The president and general secretary of Vietnam, Tô Lâm, is in Canberra today, currently meeting with the governor general, Sam Mostyn.

Lâm arrived in Sydney yesterday, in time for the government to announce that VietJet would start flying into the new western Sydney airport.

The president will then head over to Parliament House to meet with Anthony Albanese and the pair will later provide joint statements to the media.

We can probably expect China and Donald Trump to be on the agenda for the talks.

Updated

Malinauskas didn’t consult with federal counterparts on AI royal commission

Yesterday’s announcement that South Australia would hold a royal commission into artificial intelligence would have taken some by surprise yesterday – including the federal government.

The SA premier, Peter Malinauskas, has done his own media rounds this morning plugging the announcement, but says he didn’t give the commonwealth a heads up.

He told RN Breakfast the idea for a royal commission was cemented after he went to the United States:

Within 72 hours of being on the ground and talking to people who are themselves developing the technology and using the technology, and them talking about the profound implications of what AI will do to our modern economy, I was absolutely convinced this is something we should do ...

This is something that we’re pursuing as a state government because of course within our federation sub-national governments or states are responsible for a whole range of areas of service delivery that are quite separate to considerations of the federal government.

Earlier, independent MP Kate Chaney told RN Breakfast it was good the premier was “realising the magnitude of this issue” but said a royal commission wasn’t the right mechanism.

It’s very slow, takes too long. I wrote a letter to the Coalition and some others a few weeks ago pushing for or seeking support for a joint standing committee on AI because I do think we need parliamentary oversight … But Peter Malinauskas has at least recognised the urgency of this issue.

Updated

Coalition to work with Hanson on migration bill

Speaking of One Nation’s immigration bill, Ted O’Brien tells News24 that he’s open to working with “anybody who is going to make Australia safer.”

He says the Coalition are working on their own immigration bill, and that the opposition “won’t be political” in dealing with the issue.

We are open to working with anybody who is going to make Australia safer. I don’t particularly care where they come from.

We’re yet to see all the detail, right? So if, at the end of the day, ours is a better bill, of course, we’ll be pursuing ours over it but I think the right thing to do by Australia is not to be overly political on these issues. If somebody wants to genuinely bring forward a bill, absolutely, let’s engage in good faith, have a look at it.

In two separate cases in June 2022 and in November 2023, the high court struck down Coalition-era laws that gave the home affairs minister power to strip dual nationals of Australian citizenship for engaging in suspected terrorist activities.

The shadow home affairs minister, Jonno Duniam, also told News24 this morning that the Coalition would work with One Nation on the bill:

We’ll work with them on that legislation, it is important we get it right. We’d love to see it go off to a Senate committee to make sure that people who know a little more than we in the Senate know, legal experts to make sure it is robust.

We want to shut the door on terrorists, we’ve been trying for years to do this.

Updated

PM ‘still under the thumb of the gambling companies’: Greens senator

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says she’s sceptical of negotiations between the opposition and government over gambling reforms, worried they won’t go far enough.

She stops by the cameras stationed outside the Senate entrance:

We haven’t seen any details from the government, as to how far they’re willing to go, I am sceptical that the prime minister is still under the thumb of the gambling companies.

She also responds to the bill Pauline Hanson wants to introduce a bill to strengthen powers to cancel or refuse passports and toughen bail laws for terrorism charges. It’s legally tricky territory with the high court previously ruling that a minister could not strip the citizenship of a dual national.

Hanson-Young says:

Pauline Hanson is a one trick pony. She preys on people’s fears and on their grievances … If Pauline Hanson really wants to help people in Australia, become with [the] cost of living crisis, she would focus on that rather than on where people have come from.

Updated

Albanese congratulates new ACTU secretary

Anthony Albanese has congratulated Melissa Donnelly, who will replace Sally McManus as secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

In a statement on Monday night, the prime minister said McManus leaves the job with “the gratitude and well-wishes of the entire Australian labour movement.”

Melissa will assume the Secretary role at the end of August after seven successful years leading and growing the Community and Public Sector Union … It is a tremendous honour to lead the Australian union movement on behalf of all working people, and one I know Mel will succeed in.

McManus and the ACTU president, Michele O’Neil, both announced they’d step down after eight years in the job, but the later will finish up a little later this year.

Updated

Melon gaffe a ‘national embarrassment’ even if Japanese government unconcerned, Ted O’Brien says

Ted O’Brien says that just because the Japanese government has downplayed melon-gate, doesn’t mean Anthony Albanese’s gaffe isn’t a “national embarrassment”.

We’ve seen reports Japan sent a memo to the government last month suggesting they did not believe the prime minister’s comments about the pair of crown melons he received as a gift were made with “ill intention”.

O’Brien tells RN Breakfast that the fact that he’s speaking about the issue on national radio shows how bad the issue is, even if the Japanese government isn’t fazed.

He also confirms that he held a meeting with the Japanese ambassador to Australia to “express my deep regret about the prime minister’s remarks”.

This is one of our most important partnerships. This is a national embarrassment. Now, we can say, ‘yes, but, you know, some people think it isn’t.’ Well, here we are on national radio talking about it. The Australian prime minister has been inappropriate …

I’m the shadow minister for foreign affairs. I don’t have the authority to apologise on behalf of the government or the prime minister. If I did have that authority, I would have done so.

Updated

Opposition working ‘constructively’ with government on gambling

Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor are still ironing out amendments to the government’s gambling legislation, which we know will involve some changes to inducements – but not much else.

The shadow foreign affairs spokesperson, Ted O’Brien, can’t say whether Coalition party room meeting will today land on a position.

He tells RN Breakfast he personally believes in the “importance of personal choice” but also that footy time should be “family time” and not gambling time.

People who want to have a punt should be allowed to have a punt. But we should also recognise it comes with harmful effects that need to be addressed … we’ve got to protect children from being exposed unnecessarily to gambling ads when really they should be spending time with family. I also believe in the importance of law and order, which is why we need to ensure that we push back against any predatory illegal behaviour of inducements and whatnot.

Yesterday Taylor also singled out acting on “predatory” inducements – which suggests we might not see a total ban on gambling inducements.

Updated

What happened to Tony Burke’s migration speech?

We’re all still pretty baffled in Canberra over what happened to Tony Burke’s National Press Club address.

The home affairs minister had been scheduled to address the press club and announce significant immigration reforms – but the speech was postponed at the 11th hour.

We’re told no one even asked about it at yesterday’s Labor caucus meeting.

Katy Gallagher is asked on RN Breakfast whether the new migration measures were finalised when cabinet also met yesterday, but she doesn’t say.

This is a big piece of work. Obviously we’ve been making a number of reductions. We’ve seen net overseas migration come down about 45% from its peak. There’s some additional work that Minister Burke is undertaking and when that work is complete he will announce what those measures are.

Updated

‘It’s not where everyone wants to be’, says Gallagher on gambling reforms

The finance minister says the government is negotiating with the Coalition on gambling inducements as it tries to find a pathway for its reforms through the Senate.

The prime minister in his televised address to caucus yesterday hinted some further action on tackling inducements, while the opposition says it wants to see “predatory inducements” for problem gamblers banned. It suggests we might see a partial ban on inducements, but not a full block.

Katy Gallagher has moved her way down the press gallery corridor and landed in the ABC’s RN Breakfast studio – she doesn’t have any further details on how negotiations are tracking.

She points to Labor’s national conference last month which agreed to explore how to better prevent online gaming and social media platforms from offering “embedded inducements” within video games and social media accounts.

She also defends the government’s response to gambling as a whole, after it took almost three years for the prime minister to respond to the landmark ‘you win some, you lose more’ parliamentary report.

I accept it’s not where everyone wants to be, but it’s a very, very strong response to a problem that exists in our community.

‘He did not mean it’ Gallagher dragged into melon-gate

Katy Gallagher has also been asked to weigh in on the PM’s melon comments – you can see a hint of exasperation in her face as she’s asked about it on Channel 9.

I’m sure you don’t need a recap at this point, but just in case you missed it – Anthony Albanese told the Bush Deep podcast last month the Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, had given him a gift of two Japanese melons, and appeared to make hand gestures in front of his chest.

Gallagher says Albanese “did not mean it in the way that it’s been reported”.

I accept that he did not intend those comments to be made the way that some media are reporting them. It’s an important relationship, he has a good relationship with the Japanese.

Earlier this morning Michaelia Cash called the comments an embarrassment and a “diplomatic incident”.

To give you a bit of context on how Japan has taken the comments, News.com.au reported the Japanese government said there had been “sensationalised reporting” over the incident in a memo sent last month, and that they did not believe there was “ill intention” in Albanese’s comments. They said there would be no action taken over the matter.

Updated

Government sticks to Treasury advice on cooling housing market

The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, has been tapped on the shoulder to do the media rounds this morning ahead of the RBA’s rates decision.

She’s asked repeatedly on channel nine whether the government takes some responsibility for the decline in the housing market, but says the advise from the Treasury department in the budget showed house prices would continue to grow but slow by 2%.

Yesterday big four bank Westpac said mortgage applications were down 20% between mid-May and the end of July, the period right after the federal budget was handed down.

Gallagher says there’s a range of factors influencing the housing market, not just the government’s changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount:

There are other factors that influence the housing market, including the interest rate increases that we have seen over the last few months … the Treasury advice to us was that house prices would continue to grow slightly slower. Our focus on the housing market is making those tax changes so that first home buyers can get into the housing market, but also focusing on supply to make sure we’re building enough houses for people to buy.

Independent MP accuses Labor of ‘listening to the money and the power’ on gambling ad policy

Kate Chaney, who was on the inquiry with the late Labor MP Peta Murphy that handed down the landmark ‘you win some, you lose more’ report on gambling harm, says so far it seems the talks between the Coalition and Labor on a gambling reform package are “disappointing”.

Speaking to the ABC’s RN Breakfast a little earlier, the independent MP says the government has listened to the gambling lobby instead of the evidence.

Part of the government’s proposed reforms limit online gambling ads on television to three per hour between 6am and 8.30pm.

But Chaney says the last time ads were partially banned, the ads didn’t slow down – they just moved to different time slots.

In 2017, when the last round of partial restrictions came in, the money just moved around. And for example, gambling ads after 8.30 more than doubled, increased 131%. And I suspect that that’s what we’re going to see here too: is the money moving around.

I think it is about the government listening to the money and the power, not the people. The gambling companies make big political donations. They are present lobbyists in this building. We’re hearing their talking points coming out of the prime minister’s mouth. And the media companies and the sports codes make a lot of money out of gambling too. Unfortunately, Australians pay the cost for that. And the average Australian household loses more in gambling than they pay for in electricity. So this is our blind spot.

Updated

Monique Ryan weighs in on melon-gate

Independent MP Monique Ryan says Anthony Albanese’s now infamous interview with the Bush Deep podcast was “pretty cringe” and has joined critics who say the PM should apologise over his comments about the Japanese’s prime minister’s gift of melons.

Albanese told the podcast Sanae Takaichi had given him a gift of two Japanese melons, and appeared to make hand gestures in front of his chest.

Ryan told the Today Show this morning that “we can probably expect a bit better” from the PM.

I think that that whole interview was pretty cringe. Let’s face it, the prime minister didn’t really cover himself with glory with that. And it’s disturbing to hear that the Japanese government has expressed some concerns about it.

We’re talking about a really special gift that the Japanese state has given to the country. And if I was the PM, I’d pick up the phone to the Japanese prime minister and apologise to her on this one.

Cabinet ministers have defended the PM and called it an issue “people are trying to blow up”, while Angus Taylor yesterday said Albanese should pick up the phone to Takaichi and apologise.

Joining the panel with Ryan, shadow cabinet minister Michaelia Cash called it a “diplomatic incident”.

When the prime minister’s crude and dirty podcast banter is formally raised by the Japanese government. Anthony Albanese just has embarrassed himself. He’s embarrassed Australia. This is now a diplomatic incident because of the appalling behaviour of the prime minister.

Updated

RBA predicted to hold cash rate

The Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate decision is due at 2.30pm today, and the unanimous prediction is that they will hold the cash rate at 4.35% for a second meeting in a row.

Inflation is still running too hot at 3.8% in the year to June – miles above the RBA’s official 2.5% target.

But recent data shows inflation is not as high as had been expected, while unemployment is a touch higher – two signals for the RBA to sit on its hands for now.

While financial markets see virtually no chance of a hike today, they still see a nearly 50% chance of a move higher this year.

A number of economists see a November hike as the most likely next move; others reckon the next move will be down (although not until the second half of 2027).

That means all the attention will be on the statement the RBA board issues at the time of the decision, and whether the decision to hold rates is unanimous.

RBA watchers will also be listening for what message Michele Bullock, the governor, sends at her 3.30pm press conference.

Today the bank will also release its latest set of economic forecasts in the quarterly statement on monetary policy.

Experts reckon it will still show inflation heading back to target in the next 12 months, but any slippage would be a red flag that the bank might need to hike again.

The bank’s rate-setting board meets every six weeks.

Updated

Good morning

Krishani Dhanji here with you, and we’re so back for another sitting fortnight after a winter break.

It’s negotiation city this week in Canberra with the government hunting for deals on its overhaul to the national disability insurance scheme, gambling reforms and news bargaining incentive. The Coalition is in the hot seat for all three of those with Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor meeting yesterday and will continue to talk over the next couple of days.

Today the Reserve Bank will also make their latest interest rates decision which we’ll all be watching with eagle eyes.

Time to stretch these (slightly) rusty fingers and let’s get cracking!

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