That’s it for today, thanks for reading
Here are the main stories on Thursday, 28 May:
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The Australian government said on Thursday it had launched legal action against the multinational manufacturer 3M over Pfas chemical contamination at defence bases, seeking damages of more than $2bn – the largest legal claim ever brought by the federal government;
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The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, introduced into parliament the bill that will change the CGT discount, negative gearing and establish the working Australian tax offset and instant tax deduction;
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The Treasury secretary, Jenny Wilkinson, has defended the government’s capital gains tax reforms, saying the old system was inefficient and there was “no clear evidence” it was better for the economy;
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Angus Taylor called Anthony Albanese an “arrogant prick” while the prime minister was answering a question on capital gains tax from the opposition;
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Albanese said the Taylor comment showed the Coalition was “desperate”, and not engaged in serious policy development;
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Melbourne woman Rayann El Houli, who returned from Syria with her family in September, is the latest person charged by the AFP with criminal offences linked to the Islamic State group;
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A group of Australian residents and one New Zealander have had their quarantine period extended after being caught up in a deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship;
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Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal is no longer working for the ABC after an investigation into the former bikie’s involvement in a podcast sponsored by an online casino;
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In other ABC news, a news executive from Reuters, Simon Robinson, is appointed as news director of the broadcaster, replacing Justin Stevens, who resigned on Wednesday. ABC managing director Hugh Marks strongly suggested this appointment could lead to a period of upheaval; and
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Santos chief executive, Kevin Gallagher, has told an investor briefing the company will not be “exerting any effort” on its Narrabri gas project while it awaits outstanding approvals, prompting fresh questions about the future of the controversial development.
We will see you here again for more news on Friday.
Updated
Second member of NSW government suspended from parliament in unprecedented move
The deputy leader of the Minns government in the upper house, John Graham, has been suspended from parliament just days after the suspension of the leader of the government, Penny Sharpe, in an unprecedented move to exclude two government members concurrently.
Following a censure motion brought by Greens member Dr Amanda Cohn, the opposition and crossbench have voted to suspend Graham for the day after the government’s refusal to release a report into controversial hate speech protections, the Sackar review, which has been gathering dust after it was handed to the government in November. He is likely to be suspended for longer next week if the government does not produce the report.
The government has maintained the report is “cabinet in confidence” and will be released when it has made a policy decision on its contents. The opposition and crossbench have argued that the use of “cabinet in confidence” is inappropriate and the report should be released with the government currently considering changes to hate speech laws.
It comes two days after Sharpe was suspended following the government’s refusal to release documents relating to a historic sexual assault allegation involving the former NSW Labor general secretary Jamie Clements – who has denied the allegation and was never charged – including a police statement made by the premier, Chris Minns. Sharpe was suspended for 14 days, her fourth suspension this year, bringing the total to 24 days, after tabling crown solicitor advice that the document did not need to be released.
More than 20 government bills are currently stalled in the chamber amid the dispute over the release of documents, and after a court case in favour of the premier’s chief of staff, James Cullen, which removed the power for the upper house to compel witnesses to appear before parliamentary inquiries.
Updated
Childcare sex abuse allegations to be heard in Victorian county court
Former childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown has indicated he will plead not guilty to abusing young children in his care and creating child abuse material, AAP reports.
Brown, 27, entered the pleas in the Melbourne magistrates court on Thursday afternoon while appearing on a video link from prison.
The more than 150 charges relate to allegations of abusing children, bestiality, producing child abuse material, and contaminating food with intent to cause public alarm and anxiety.
Brown’s defence barrister, Rishi Nathwani KC, told the court his client accepted a significant amount of the offending but there were still issues over which charges should proceed.
Nathwani said discussions with prosecutors had been exhausted and the parties needed the assistance of the higher court.
“He will enter ‘not guilty’ pleas, which are really holding pleas in the circumstances,” the barrister said.
When magistrate Donna Bakos asked Brown how he intended to plead to each of the charges, he responded twice, “not guilty, your honour”.
She ordered Brown to face the Victorian county court for a directions hearing in June.
He was remanded in custody after not making an application for bail.
Updated
Quarantine extended for hantavirus passengers in WA, all testing negative
A group of Australian residents and one New Zealander have had their quarantine period extended after being caught up in a deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, AAP reports.
The health minister, Mark Butler, announced the extension on Thursday. The six people have been in isolation at the national resilience facility in Western Australia since mid-May after three fellow passengers died of the virus.
The group will remain there for the full 42-day quarantine period, as recommended by Australian health officials and the World Health Organization.
“The passengers have been informed about the advice and the decision of government,” Butler told reporters in Canberra.
“I’m happy to say they remain well, they’ve only been tested again in the last 24 or 36 hours or so, and all six have again tested negative.”
Updated
Albanese says Taylor exchange shows Coalition is ‘desperate’
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has just been asked about his exchange with Angus Taylor during question time earlier. He did not comment on what was said, but we reported earlier that Taylor called him an “arrogant prick”.
Albanese told the ABC:
I just think that people swearing across the chamber isn’t appropriate. It was withdrawn, the matter’s closed as far as I’m concerned.
But he added:
This says something about the frustration [within] the Coalition … a lot of the language they are using is very desperate, they are not engaged in serious policy development.
They are trying to mirror One Nation, they are interested in fighting One Nation. I am interested in fighting for our nation.
Updated
AFP charges Darwin teenager with violent extremist material offences
A Darwin teenager allegedly possessed and transmitted “violent extremist material promoting nationalist ideology”, the Australian federal police said in a statement.
The youth, 16, is expected to appear in the youth justice court in Darwin on Thursday, a day after he was charged.
He was charged with four counts of possessing violent extremist material obtained using a carriage service and one count each of using a carriage service for violent extremist material and using a carriage service to cause offence.
He was also charged with one count of possessing a prohibited weapon after police alleged the weapon had been found in his home.
In a statement, the AFP said its national security investigations team started investigating him in December 2025, after a report was made to the national security hotline about an online user allegedly accessing and disseminating violent extremist material on social media.
His home was searched in January this year, the AFP said, with several electronic devices allegedly containing suspicious material seized. The statement said:
Following forensic examination of the electronic devices, investigators allegedly identified violent extremist material including videos, photographs and messages on the teenager’s mobile phone and social media accounts.
As a result, the AFP executed a search warrant at a Darwin home again yesterday (27 May 2026) and arrested the teenager.
Updated
Taylor calls Albanese an ‘arrogant prick’ in question time
Jumping back to QT, Angus Taylor called Anthony Albanese an “arrogant prick” while the prime minister was answering a question on capital gains tax from the opposition.
Taylor’s office confirmed that he made the comment across the dispatch box during question time.
The leader of the house, Tony Burke, heard the remark and stood up to ask Taylor to withdraw it, which he did. One other Labor frontbencher told Guardian Australia they also heard the remark.
Updated
No trace found of missing SA boy Gus Lamont in latest search
A fresh search for missing four-year-old Gus Lamont on a remote South Australian cattle station has failed to uncover any trace of the little boy, AAP reports.
Major crime detectives and specialist officers have spent the past three days combing Oak Park Station in the state’s outback, returning to the property in the hope downpours exposed new evidence.
Officers from Taskforce Horizon began the latest search on Monday, targeting numerous locations across the vast station, including areas where rain and erosion could have shifted soil or cleared vegetation.
“Unfortunately, we have not uncovered any further evidence that helps us locate Gus,” Det Supt Darren Fielke said on Thursday.
“Taskforce Horizon members on the property, together with STAR Group officers – up to 17 people over the past three days – have searched all of these areas in an effort to uncover new evidence or information that might help us locate Gus.
“They have walked and searched more than 30 kilometres of waterways.”
Updated
Thank you all for following along on the blog this sitting week!
I’ll leave you with the great Nino Bucci for the rest of the afternoon’s news. Take care.
Tax reforms leave 90% of Australians under 30 better off, Treasury says
The Treasury chief has released new modelling to show 90% of young Australians will be better off under the Albanese government’s new tax settings.
Jenny Wilkinson, the Treasury secretary, said the combined effect of the automatic $1,000 tax deduction, $250 “working Australians tax offset” (Wato) and the CGT and negative gearing reforms would generally benefit young people. She said:
For young people, in particular, our assessment is that around 90% of Australians would have been better off by age 30 had the proposed changes been in place from 2000, with the benefits of the Wato and instant deduction outweighing the impact of the savings tax changes.
The modelling, not mentioned in the budget papers, considered all Australians in terms of their total income over their lifetime. The 10% of Australians who earned the most over their lifetime would, by the time they turned 30, be worse off under the new reforms than the old system, the modelling shows.
Critics of the government’s tax reforms have said some younger people with significant share market investments will not benefit from the changes. Wilkinson acknowledged this was the case but did not say it was a problem:
This reflects the unavoidable trade-offs involved in system-wide reform … Some young people who achieve high returns on their investments may pay more tax, but they will still benefit from high after-tax returns.
Nationally aggregated tax data indicates just one in 10 Australians aged under the age of 35 own shares. While a widely circulated figure from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission suggests the figure is close to one in five, that estimate is based on a YouGov online survey of 1,127 Australians aged 18 to 28.
Updated
Tl;dr here’s what happened in question time
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There were a few moments of drama and chaos in question time, but like some of the stunts, it felt like a bit of a fizzer by the end.
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The opposition had pieces of paper spelling out “Labor lies” but were warned by the speaker not to hold them up. Because they just sat on the backbenchers’ desks, it also meant photographers couldn’t snap a pic – taking photos of anything sitting on a desk isn’t allowed under parliamentary rules.
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Angus Taylor tried to suspend standing orders but the attempt sank like a lead balloon.
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Several MPs on both sides were booted out of the chamber early on – there were four sent out in total.
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The Coalition held its line of questioning on CGT changes, while the government tried to take some more personal jabs at the opposition.
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Independent Monique Ryan asked the government about changing the indexation date for Hecs debts, while the Greens tested the PM on whether he would allow a conscience vote on a gas export tax.
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Treasury chief says CGT reform criticism has ‘no clear evidence’
The Treasury secretary, Jenny Wilkinson, has defended the government’s capital gains tax reforms, saying the old system was inefficient and there was “no clear evidence” it was better for the economy.
Wilkinson has just spoken at the Australian Business Economists lunch in Sydney. She said Treasury had found, under the old system with no minimum tax rate for capital gains, investors were “systematically” waiting for their income to fall before selling their assets.
Investing based on tax bills instead of asset fundamentals could be bad for efficiency, Wilkinson said:
[This] may be impeding assets moving to higher valued uses.
The new system puts in a minimum tax rate and only gives capital gains an inflation-based tax discount.
While growing numbers of business leaders claim entrepreneurs need carve-outs from the new taxes, Wilkinson showed no sympathy, saying:
OECD research suggests there is not clear evidence to support favourable treatment of capital gains to promote investment, beyond compensating for inflation … Applying the new arrangements to income across all assets is important from a tax-design perspective to avoid introducing a significant new distortion into the tax system.
She praised previous tax reform under the Hawke and Howard governments, in an oblique reference to the debate now raging over the Albanese government’s efforts.
Both packages substantially improved the sustainability of the tax base. Both led to claims about significant adverse impacts that did not ultimately eventuate. Both were vigorously contested.
Updated
Date set for Neale Daniher state funeral
A date has been set for the state funeral of AFL great and motor neurone disease campaigner, Neale Daniher.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, has confirmed the service will be held at 1pm on Wednesday 10 June at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This will be just two days after the AFL’s Big Freeze, an annual fundraising and awareness campaign spearheaded by Daniher that has raised more than $100m for research projects.
Daniher, a former AFL footballer and coach, died on Monday, 13 years after being diagnosed with MND.
After his diagnosis, he became a prominent campaigner for medical research into the disease and co-founded the charity FightMND. Last year he was named Australian of the Year for his advocacy work.
Allan said:
Neale championed resilience and determination in every aspect of his life – as a football player, coach and tireless advocate for MND research. Neale has left an incredible legacy and he will be remembered for his generosity, humility and courage.
The Daniher family said:
Neale was deeply grateful for the extraordinary support and kindness he received from the Australian community throughout his life. That generosity lifted him, sustained him, and meant more to him than words could express. As a family, we warmly welcome all those whose lives he touched to join us in celebrating his life and honouring his remarkable legacy.
At the request of the Daniher family and in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to FightMND. Further details on the service, including how to register to attend, will soon be available at vic.gov.au/Neale-Daniher
Updated
Twelve NZYQ-affected people banished to Nauru from Australia, department reveals
Australia has sent 12 NZYQ-affected people to Nauru on 30-year visas more than a year after it first announced the controversial multibillion-dollar deal.
In Senate estimates today, the home affairs department said there were now 12 individuals in the tiny Pacific nation. Guardian Australia understands three of the individuals arrived this week.
The department’s immigration head, Clare Sharp, said there were an additional 36 individuals granted a Nauruan visa and returned to onshore immigration detention centres awaiting their deportation.
Sharpe said there were some pending visa applications Nauru has not responded to yet.
She said:
What Nauru is doing, in some instances, or in practical instances, is upgrading its service offering, particularly its healthcare … and its ability to manage this cohort. So, for some of the more challenging members of the cohort, Nauru aren’t saying no, but they’re saying: not yet.
Updated
Question time ends
The PM gets the final dixer and then calls time for the final QT of the week.
Greens challenge Labor to allow a conscience vote on a gas export tax
“Will the government allow a conscience vote on a 25% tax on gas exports?” asks Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown.
Spoiler alert, we don’t get a yes or no answer.
Anthony Albanese says that the government is focused on fuel supply, and says:
It is quite remarkable that today we have more petrol than we had on 28 February, we have more diesel than we had on 28 February and, indeed, we have more jet fuel then we had on 28 February as well.
Watson-Brown gets up to make a point of order on relevance, saying that the question was about tax, not supply.
Milton Dick says that the question was about gas exports, so the PM is being relevant (make of that what you will).
Albanese says that Australia’s exports have helped ensure the supply of fuel during the crisis in the Middle East.
With respect, most people who have looked at this issue for more than a nanosecond recognise that the connection between Australia being a secure supplier of energy in our region is one of the things that has led to us being a secure receiver of energy in our region as well.
Updated
Julie Collins defends CGT changes and impact on farmers
Liberal MP Rick Wilson takes another crack at the agriculture minister, Julie Collins, asking if farmers will be worse off under capital gains tax changes.
She says that the opposition seem “determined to continue the scare campaign”.
She says that most farms will receive concessions.
Obviously there are generous capital gains tax concessions for small businesses. According to the latest ABS data, it indicates nine out of 10 businesses across agriculture, forestry and fisheries will get that concession.
Updated
University reform ‘unfinished business’ but no promises on moving Hecs indexation date
Total Hecs debt will increase by $1bn next week, says independent MP Monique Ryan, and the increase will happen before compulsory payments are even counted. She asks Jason Clare if the government will move the timing of the indexation so that the compulsory payments are taken off the debt before the indexation.
The education minister says that the government has reduced Hecs payments by 20% already.
Ryan gets up to make a point of order, saying it was a “simple question” about the date of indexation.
Clare says that the government has already made changes to indexation (which was that instead of it being tied to the inflation rate, it would be tied to either inflation or the wage price index – whichever is lower).
He doesn’t give any indication that the indexation date might change, but does say (as he has previously) that there’s plenty more work to do in the space.
I recognise in that area, and so much more, there is a lot of unfinished business.
Updated
Collins warns Nats not to push scare campaigns
Nationals MP Sam Birrell is up next and asks the agriculture minister, Julie Collins, to confirm that no farming families will be left worse off under changes to the capital gains tax.
Collins gets up and says, “I thought we dealt with this yesterday.”
More scare campaigns from those opposite, let’s be honest.
Yesterday I quoted the National Farmers’ Federation who are pleased the government listened to them.
You coming in here talking about things like this is really not very helpful.
Updated
Barnaby Joyce asks for ‘spitball’ figure for capacity investment scheme cost
Back to the crossbench, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce asks the government to provide a “spitball” figure on the cost of the capacity investment scheme.
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, says that the budget spend can’t be revealed due to “commercial in confidence” reasons.
Bowen says that the auction last week under the scheme will unlock $17bn in private investment, and then quotes Joyce to himself.
The member for New England will understand this.
In office he said, ‘I don’t believe there is a reason that everyone in the public needs to know commercial in confidence agreements’ in relation to government policy, Mr Speaker.
Updated
Liberal stunt to suspend standing orders turns into a fizzer
In a rather dramatic turn of events, as the chamber started losing some of its energy, Angus Taylor moves to suspend standing orders, to move the following motion:
That this House condemns the Albanese Labor government for:
1. Arrogantly misleading Australians about the government’s plans for toxic taxes;
2. Not having the courage to take their toxic taxes to the Australian people at an election;
3. Taxing Australians more than any other Australian government in history;
4. Betraying the hardest working Australians who are willing to take risks and who have made the biggest sacrifices; and
5. Hurting Australians without any understanding of who will be punished and to what extent Australians will also be worse off.
Taylor sits down, which Tony Burke pounces on, saying that the person moving the motion makes their speech before sitting down, and by sitting down he forfeits the rest of the speech.
Burke then says that under current standing orders put in place by Labor, any suspension moved during QT gets postponed until later. So Milton Dick tells everyone to move on.
The attempt sinks like a lead balloon.
Updated
Darren Chester booted, PM jokes the Libs are fighting over his spot
Nationals MP Kevin Hogan continues the line of questioning on CGT, and asks the PM to confirm that capital gains will now be taxed at a minimum 30%, “which would hit those on the lowest incomes the hardest”.
Once again, before the PM even gets up, Milton Dick tells a slightly rowdy House to “just cool it”.
Anthony Albanese defends the changes, and says that people can still get negative gearing and the CGT discount if they invest in new housing.
What these measures … we introduced today do, quite the opposite of what the member for Page has suggested, is to enhance opportunity and aspiration rather than entrench privilege.
The opposition tries to make a point of order on relevance but gets shut down. As the PM gets up to speak again, Darren Chester, the leader of the Nats in the House gets the boot (that’s number four, for everyone playing at home).
Albanese tries to get in a final quip before sitting down.
They have lost the Leader of the Nationals in the House of Representatives and now they are fighting over who will take that spot.
This is what one of the parties of government in Australia, the Coalition, have been reduced to.
It gets a little laugh from Tim Wilson (Chester sits between him and Andrew Hastie) but Taylor looks frustrated.
Updated
Coalition has ‘moved even further right than John Howard’, says PM
It’s time for Tim Wilson to have a crack now. He asks Anthony Albanese if the government’s CGT legislation will allow businesses to average profits over five years, as were the rules in 1999 before the 50% discount was legislated.
Albanese says that the rule was changed in 1999 because the averaging created “considerable inequity” according to the Ralph review.
They said, which is why it was changed: ‘Australia’s averaging provisions are used by a section of the asset holding community to reduce Capital Gains Tax to zero or near to zero while others who are not in a position to engineer the same benefit carry the burden of taxation close to their full marginal rate. This results in considerable inequity’. John Howard got rid of it.
For added effect, Albanese decides to twist the knife and get a little more personal:
It’s not the only way in which the current Coalition have moved even further right than John Howard, because he didn’t give One Nation preferences, either.
Updated
Government not settling women returning from Syrian camp: Burke
The independent MP for western Sydney, Dai Le, asks the government if any of the women who have returned from the Syrian camp will be settled in her electorate, and if the government has consulted community leaders.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, says that the government has had no involvement in settling any of the women or children from the cohort.
The government is not involved in settling people at all.
In terms of the consultation with the community, I can give examples of consultation that has been very powerful that has happened in the lead-up to when it was first reported these individuals might seek to return.
Updated
Speaker warns opposition not to do stunt, while two MPs are booted
Before Angus Taylor gets up again, Milton Dick issues a stern warning to the MPs with the letters.
I understand the members for Bowman, MacPherson, Grey and Groome have signs they’re prepared to hold up, [spelling] ‘LIES’, they’re not permitted under standing orders … I will not have signs held up like that for the dignity of this House.
Bob Katter, a Queensland MP, is wearing a NSW blues scarf (that’s a State of Origin reference, my friends), and Dick tells him that he’s on “thin ice too”. He soon leaves the House of his own accord.
The antics are far more interesting than the questions and answers so far.
Taylor then asks when the government will scrap its taxes, when Roger Cook, Chris Minns and some Labor MPs want it gone.
Before Anthony Albanese can get up, Labor MP Ged Kearney is booted from the chamber for interrupting.
Albanese calls the question a “fantasy”.
You know what the people on this side have to say in the Labor caucus? What they say to me is how proud they are that we are fighting for values that matter.
At the end of the answer, Nationals MP Jamie Chaffey gets yeeted.
Two opposition questions and three MPs booted, it’s carnage!
Updated
Question time under way
Angus Taylor starts on the CGT changes again, and asks why the government won’t take the contentious reforms to an election.
He accuses the government of “lying” at the last election – which Milton Dick is not happy with.
The speaker says:
I don’t want to allow any ambiguity around permitting accusations of lying in whatever carefully crafted form to continue … This language is unparliamentary and has been ruled by successive speakers including when directed at governments or political parties.
Before the PM can even begin, the Liberal MP Phil Thompson gets booted from the chamber for talking (I think he’s almost spent more time out of QT than in it at this point).
There’s already some drama afoot – we’ve just seen the opposition backbenchers reveal pieces of paper on their desks with big letters on them spelling out “Labor lies”. If they hold the letters up they potentially face punishment from the speaker. Safe to say the photographers are all over it – and we’ll get you some pics too.
When the PM eventually begins his answer, the chamber gets pretty rowdy:
The leader of the opposition was triggered when I was talking about reducing income taxes.
They went to an election saying they would increase taxation for 14 million Australians and managed at the same time to have bigger deficits, quite an achievement from the former shadow treasurer – so how did they respond? They made him the leader.
Updated
Nauru’s multimillion-dollar trust for taking NZYQ cohort overseen by president’s son, home affairs department says
Nauru’s finance secretary, Damon Adeang, who is also the son of the Pacific nation’s president and finance minister, David Adeang, is one-half of the committee tasked with overseeing a sovereign trust Australia has so far paid $388m to, Senate estimates has revealed.
At a hearing this afternoon, home affairs department officials revealed the two-person committee, which includes the department’s first assistant secretary, Ben Biddington, had approved a payment of $31.5m from the trust to the Nauruan government. Nauruan government documents show about $22.7m of it went to the finance department, with $1.9m going to the president’s office.
Australia entered into a deal with Nauru last year worth an expected $2.5bn over three decades to send unlawful non-citizens to the tiny Pacific island on long-term visas. Some of the funds will go to Nauru to offer support services for those sent to Nauru, with the rest of the funds provided to a long-term national trust fund.
The Greens senator David Shoebridge asked whether the committee abides by conflict of interest provisions.
Biddington responded:
It’s caught within the provisions that the committee has implemented, and so, as a matter of practice, for any committee meeting, both committee members would make a conflict of interest declaration as part of that meeting.
The committee suspended for a lunch break but Shoebridge said he would return to the issue.
Updated
3M responds to government’s $2bn legal case
US manufacturing giant 3M has responded to the federal government’s legal case about the use of Pfas forever chemicals in Australia.
The company said it was aware of statements from the attorney general, Michelle Rowland, announcing a claim of more than $2bn. A spokesperson said:
3M has never manufactured Pfas in Australia and ceased sales of the products at issue in Australia around two decades ago.
Despite this, the Department of Defence continued to use Pfas-containing fire-fighting foams for nearly two decades longer, as noted in a recent legislative committee report.
We will defend ourselves against these claims through the legal process.
Updated
Nats challenge Labor to call an early election
The Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, has demanded Labor call an early election to seek a mandate on its proposed tax changes. That might be good for a quick headline today, but such a ploy could see Canavan preside over the virtual extinction of his party, with polling suggesting the Nationals would be almost entirely wiped out and the Coalition replaced by One Nation as the official opposition, if an election was held today.
Canavan and the Nationals are unhappy at the capital gains tax and negative gearing changes, which the Labor government didn’t forecast (and even publicly rejected) during the 2025 election campaign. Canavan has challenged the government “to call an election, after the Labor party introduced tax changes today that they did not have the guts to take to the Australian people,” his office said in a statement.
The Australian people should have a choice about whether they sign up to the Labor Party’s plan to the biggest tax grab in history, or the Coalition’s plan, to lower taxes and lower the cost of living, while scrapping net zero and securing our borders.
Canavan claimed: “People should not be taxed before they have a say in what those taxes are.”
An early election is all well and good, but as you might recall, current polling for the Coalition is not very good. In the latest Essential poll, we had Labor at a 29% primary, One Nation at 28% and the Liberals on 23%.
A recent poll by Redbridge Group and Accent Research found the Coalition could have its 43 lower house seats reduced to 12 if a poll was held today, while the Nationals could be entirely wiped off the map in the lower house.
The federal parliament’s website suggests that, technically, a House of Representatives election could be called at any time by the government of the day (a House and Senate simultaneous election looks impossible until 2028, due to various laws governing elections). Government sources we spoke to about Canavan’s request were amused, considering the polling predicament faced by the Coalition.
Updated
Reported diphtheria cases now at 254
Butler also provides an update on the number of diphtheria cases, and says the outbreak is “many times bigger” than previous outbreaks.
He says there are 254 cases as at 26 May with 60% of those in the Northern Territory.
Butler says more than 90% of the cases are Indigenous Australians in the NT and WA, which is of particular concern.
He also confirms that one death has been confirmed as a result of diphtheria. He says there is no evidence of a second death linked to diphtheria.
This is a very serious outbreak of deep concern to our government and to a number of other jurisdictional governments. It’s many times bigger than any previous outbreak we’ve seen for many years. The biggest probably since the 1950s.
The diphtheria [outbreak] reminds us to maintain an immunisation effort. Diseases we thought were confined to the dust bin of history are showing a resurgence.
Butler says that there are deeper issues driving the outbreak, “many of them about social determinants, overcrowding, sanitation conditions in housing”.
Updated
Hantavirus passengers in quarantine for 42 days
The health minister, Mark Butler, says the six passengers who were repatriated from the hantavirus ship, including four Australians, will be in quarantine in Western Australia for 42 days, based on health advice from the World Health Organization.
Providing an update on the situation in parliament, Butler says the WHO believes the incubation period for hantavirus is 42 days, meaning the group will remain in quarantine for another three weeks.
Butler says that of the 13 people who have been diagnosed with hantavirus, three have died, indicating “how serious this virus can be”.
Twenty-three countries have taken passengers back from that cruise ship, have put in place a range of different quarantine arrangements, some of them tightly managed, like ours, some of them more home-based quarantine.
On the weekend, a crew member from the cruise ship in the Netherlands tested positive, and only in the last day or so, a passenger from the cruise ship in Spain has also tested positive, confirming the risk of transmission of disembarkation has not passed.
Updated
Sister of Melbourne woman charged over alleged IS links still under investigation, counter-terror police say
The sister of a Melbourne woman charged with remaining in a declared conflict zone and joining Islamic State remains under investigation, counter-terror police say.
Rayann El Houli, 34, was charged on Thursday with the offences, which carry maximum penalties of 10 years in prison.
She is expected to face the Melbourne magistrates court later on Thursday.
El Houli returned from Syria with her sister, 36, in September last year, along with four children.
Police alleged that she travelled to Syria between 2013 and 2014 with others, including a man, to join Islamic State. The man is believed to be incarcerated in a Middle East prison, the joint counter-terrorism team (JCTT) said in a statement.
Victoria JCTT investigations into both women remain ongoing, police said in a statement, adding that they seized a suspected stolen motor vehicle, electronic devices, documents and photographs after houses in Broadmeadows and Fitzroy North were searched on Thursday.
The charges come only days after a separate cohort of Australians returned to the country.
AFP deputy commissioner Hilda Sirec said the JCTT was continuing to investigate all women who recently returned to Australia from Syria. She said:
These operations are complex, but JCTT investigators are extremely experienced and dedicated to keeping the community safe.
It is important to note that a period of time without charges being laid is not an indicator that investigations have ceased.
Updated
O’Neil skirts question on stamp duty, but jokes she’d love the commonwealth to control the states
Back at the National Press Club, Clare O’Neil is asked whether the government should intervene to abolish stamp duty.
Stamp duty is unpopular but a gigantic revenue raiser for the states. O’Neil has previously called it a “bad tax” but doesn’t want to bite this time, saying “this is completely in the purview of our state and territory governments”.
She then jokes:
I would love to live in a world where the commonwealth controls the states completely.
She gets a few shocked laughs out of that one.
The federal government is probably less enamoured with a couple of particular states and their premiers who have criticised parts of the budget, and proposed changes to CGT.
Updated
NSW police minister acknowledges taskforce scaled back before Bondi attack
The NSW police minister, Yasmin Catley, has acknowledged that a NSW police taskforce launched in October 2023 amid heightened tensions following the conflict in the Middle East, had been scaled back before the Bondi attack.
The royal commission into antisemitism heard evidence from NSW police assistant commissioner Peter McKenna on Tuesday that Operation Shelter, which provided officers to the Chanukah by the Sea event in 2023, but not in 2025 when the attack took place, “had scaled down to being, at that particular time, protest-focused only”.
In question time yesterday, Catley said that Operation Shelter had “never ceased”. Today, in response to a question from the Liberal leader, Kellie Sloane, asking her to clarify her comments, Catley read from part of McKenna’s evidence which said NSW police “had moved to a model predominantly relating to protest activity and didn’t have a proactive arm as such”.
Yesterday, NSW police deputy commissioner David Hudson told the royal commission the taskforce existed “in name only” at the time of the 15 December attack.
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Government committed to building 1.2m houses to 2029
The government is falling behind its target to build 1.2m new homes over five years to 2029, but Clare O’Neil says Labor is still committed to the goal.
Jumping back to the National Press Club where the housing minister is speaking, O’Neil says that the government could have taken the “politically conservative” approach and set the target lower.
We don’t want to see just incremental improvements on housing, we really want to drive a different system for our country.
This target has already created massive policy change for the country, we’re starting the see the benefits of that.
I’m committed to these targets and I’m doing everything I can … to meet them.
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SBS defends not adopting antisemitism definition used by royal commission
The new managing director of SBS, Jane Palfreyman, has defended the multicultural broadcaster’s editorial approach to covering the Israel-Gaza war.
SBS joined the ABC in choosing not to adopt the definition of antisemitism used by the royal commission on social cohesion.
The royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion announced in February that the inquiry would apply the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
SBS has not adopted the IHRA definition and its internal style guide says that antisemitism is prejudice or discrimination against Jewish people.
“SBS is an independent public broadcaster with a charter focused on strengthening social cohesion, supported by robust editorial standards which are set out in the SBS code of practice,” the broadcaster said earlier this month.
Palfreyman told Senate estimates SBS neither adopts nor rejects definitions from third parties.
Where definitions are relevant to a story, we report them, attribute them and explain their context. That applies to terms including Palestine and antisemitism. Where there are different views, we explain these perspectives so our audiences have the information they need to make up their own mind.
This impartiality and independence is what our audiences expect of us.
This approach is consistent with trusted media organisations in Australia and around the world.
SBS will continue its appearance at estimates after the lunch break.
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NT conservation group launches legal action against environment minister over land clearing decision
The Environment Centre NT has launched a legal challenge against the environment minister, Murray Watt, over a decision to approve a massive land clearing application without an assessment under federal nature laws.
Clearing of an area 10 times the size of the Sydney CBD for agricultural development at Claravale farm and station near Katherine was approved by a delegate for the minister in February.
The ECNT is seeking a judicial review of the decision in the federal court. The group alleges the referral should have been rejected because the clearing is part of a larger project that could clear as much as 6,000 hectares of savanna woodland.
The group also alleges the minister failed to apply the precautionary principle when making the decision due to the project’s potential effects on threatened species such as the freshwater sawfish and ghost bat.
A judicial review can only consider whether an error of law was made in reaching the decision. Environment Centre NT’s executive director, Kirsty Howey, said:
We believe Australia’s environment minister failed to do his job when he greenlit a massive deforestation proposal on land that’s home to threatened species like Gouldian finches, red goshawks, freshwater sawfish and ghost bats.
A spokesperson for Watt confirmed the government was aware proceedings had been filed but could not comment while the matter was before the court.
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‘80% of investment lending flows into existing homes’: O’Neil
The housing minister, Clare O’Neil says more than 80% of investment lending flows into existing homes, pushed by generous CGT discounts and negative gearing.
Justifying the government’s contentious tax changes to housing at the National Press Club, she says that the housing system is “broken”.
She says that it’s led to young Australians “putting off having children” because they can’t get secure housing.
They [CGT and negative gearing] unwittingly turned established, detached homes into the most lucrative, low-risk investment in Australia and investors piled into the market.
More than 80% of investment lending flows into existing homes, not the construction of new ones
So Australia created a perfect storm for housing.
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Federal police confirm another woman who arrived from Syrian camp has been charged
Federal police have charged a 34-year-old woman who returned to Australia from a Syrian camp in September 2025, for allegedly entering a declared conflict zone and joining Isis.
Deputy commissioner Hilda Sirec is providing updates at a press conference in Canberra.
She says that the woman will face charges of “entering or remaining in a declared area and being a member of a terrorist organisation.” Both offences carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Sirec says that investigations are continuing on all the women who have recently arrived from the Al-Roj camp.
It will be alleged the woman travelled to Syria between 2013 and 2014 to join Isis. The woman was detained by Kurdish forces in March 2019, and held with her other family members in an internally displaced persons camp. She returned to Australia on 26 September 2025.
I will confirm investigations are continuing in all recent adult female returnees who spent time in internally displaced persons camps in Syria.
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Housing minister announces inquiry into building ahead of ‘next wave of reforms’
Clare O’Neil, the housing minister, has announced that the Productivity Commission will conduct an inquiry into “the remaining regulatory barriers holding back housing supply”.
Speaking at the National Press Club, O’Neil said the inquiry will help the government “tackle the next wave of reforms”, focused on red tape and regulation.
Before the first-ever meeting of federal and state and territory housing and planning ministers tomorrow, O’Neil in her address said “restrictive planning” rules added about $140,000 to the cost of a new home.
We have seen significant planning reform in some states and territories. We need to see more.
Alongside planning, the other “big, immediate area” for reform was modernising the way we build homes, the minister said.
That is why we are backing prefab and modular housing through a national certification scheme, and support through the national productivity fund.
The NPF is a $900m fund aimed at rewarding states for pursuing productivity enhancing reforms.
There will be an extra $40m to a national “kit of parts” program, O’Neil said.
It means building smarter and faster, using standardised components like bathroom pods, wall panels and facades.
The PC has previously found that we are building fewer homes per hour worked by builders than we did 30 years ago.
According to estimates by the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, Labor will achieve its five-year target of building 1.2 million new homes by September 2030, or 15 months after its self-imposed deadline.
Updated
Household spending falls 1.1% in April
Household spending fell 1.1% in April, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
This follows a rise of 1.6% in March and a rise of 0.3% in February.
Tom Lay, the ABS head of business statistics, said:
The 4.7% drop in transport costs was the main driver for the 1.1% fall in household spending in April.
Annual household spending was up 4.9% compared to April 2025, slowing from the 6.2% annual rise in March.
The fall in transport spending reflected widespread impacts and responses to the conflict in the Middle East. Air transport was the largest contributor to the decline, as households scaled back travel in response to broader uncertainties and higher air fares.
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ABC is trialling the use of AI to rewrite radio bulletins for online
The ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, has confirmed the ABC is trialling the use of AI to rewrite radio reports for a digital audience.
Senator Peter Whish-Wilson asked Marks if AI would replace the jobs of junior journalists.
What consultation have you done with staff on this, particularly in northern Tasmania? They might see an AI program being rolled out and kind of wonder if this is the tip of the iceberg in relation to their jobs.
Marks said AI is already used in the ABC’s emergency broadcasting and had a wide application.
He said it could be an “amazing tool” but is not a replacement for people: “It’s a resource for people to use to do their work.
Well, I don’t think this is cutting jobs. This is us making the most of the jobs that exist, and also that journalism, in terms of our work, and trying to work with other local media players. We’ve done this now with emergency broadcasting, but this is another option for us, once the journalism is in written form.
Updated
Melbourne woman who returned from Syria in September charged by AFP over alleged Islamic State links
A Melbourne woman who returned from Syria with her family in September is the latest person charged by the AFP with criminal offences linked to the Islamic State group.
Despite the charges coming only days after a separate cohort of Australians returned to the country, Guardian Australia has confirmed the charges relate to a woman who has lived in Melbourne without incident for the past seven months.
It is understood she was arrested earlier on Thursday, with the Australian federal police expected to confirm further details of her charges by officers tasked to Operation Kurrajong in an upcoming press conference.
Last year, the woman, another woman and four children escaped the notorious al-Hawl detention camp in north-east Syria, travelling more than 500km to cross the Lebanese border, where they were able to obtain Australian documents in Beirut.
They underwent identity and security screenings in Beirut before travelling to Australia by a commercial flight last year.
Guardian Australia understands the pair also were in contact with authorities in Melbourne before their return.
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, said of the latest charges:
I’ve heard those reports. I have absolute confidence in our security and law enforcement agencies, and I’m sure that they will provide updates in due course.
• This post was amended on 28 May 2026. An earlier version said the woman had returned to Australia in October 2025. She returned to the country in September 2025.
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Former Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal no longer at ABC
The ABC says Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal is no longer working for the public broadcaster after an investigation into the former bikie’s role in a podcast sponsored by an online casino.
An ABC spokesperson did not say why Fazal had left or whether he left voluntarily. They said:
Mahmood Fazal is no longer employed at the ABC. We do not comment on individual staff matters.
Fazal last year appeared in the external podcast about underworld crime with the Melbourne producer Ryan Naumenko, who described himself as once having associated with the mafia. The Walkley award-winning journalist, whose last Four Corners episode in August was about the sovereign citizen movement, got initial approval to take part in the podcast but it was withdrawn after the first episode contained gambling ads. An ABC spokesperson said in October:
Mahmood’s immediate manager endorsed him taking part in a podcast interview, based on the information provided to him.
The broadcaster’s managing director, Hugh Marks, told the National Press Club in November the ABC was being careful after the federal court found it had unlawfully terminated Antoinette Lattouf’s employment. Marks said at the time:
When something goes wrong, follow the process. Make sure we do all the things that are necessary to have a rigorous and thoughtful investigation of whatever occurs. So we’re going through that process … I can’t give you a date as to when it will finish, but it’s important that we follow the process and we do it in a respectful, measured, considered way.
Fazal has been contacted for comment. In a statement on his behalf to the ABC’s Media Watch in October, the lawyer Rebekah Giles said:
Mr Fazal agreed to be interviewed by Mr Naumenko believing he had his manager’s approval to do so.
Fazal had been on leave during the investigation. He is a former reporter for Vice and a former sergeant-at-arms of the outlaw bikie gang the Mongols, which he has written about for the ABC. He joined the national broadcaster as a reporter in 2021.
Updated
Rowland won’t confirm reports of charges against another women returning from Syria
The attorney general is asked about reports this morning that the AFP have charged a woman who arrived from a Syrian detention camp.
She says she has “heard those reports” but will not confirm:
I have absolute confidence in our security and law enforcement agencies, and I’m sure that they will provide updates in due course.
Asked later what she would say to Australians concerned about their security after the return of the cohort, Rowland says Australia’s security agencies are “the best in the world” and reiterates that the government did not provide any assistance to the women or children.
She says broadly:
There are consequences for people’s actions and that is the case, as we have seen, where there are a number of Australian citizens who have been charged with very serious offences.
Updated
$2bn claim to cover past and future remediation of Pfas
The government says it has already spent $1.3bn in remediation and will continue to incur costs to deal with the impacts of forever chemicals in Pfas.
The assistant defence minister, Peter Khalil, says defence has done “significant work” in remediating Pfas including removing 200,000 tonnes of contaminated soil and removing Pfas from water sources.
We’ve provided alternative water sources for communities been affected. So, there’s been a significant investment and a lot of work done.
And we’re seeking recovery of those costs and for future costs that we expect will future costs that we expect will future costs that we expect will arise in the ongoing work that needs to be done to deal with Pfas contamination.
Asked whether the government’s claim will go to any alleged health consequences from Pfas, Khalil says:
This is not a case about personal injury or health or health claims. It is solely focused on the environmental, economic and cultural impacts and the costs that we’ve incurred in dealing with those impacts.
Updated
Government launches ‘largest ever’ $2bn legal action against 3M over Pfas contamination
The government is seeking $2bn in damages from 3M to recover costs relating to Pfas “forever chemicals” in firefighting foam at 28 defence bases across Australia.
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, says this is the largest legal claim ever brought by the government.
She says that 3M withheld information and misrepresented the effects of 3M’s aqueous film-forming foam.
At a press conference, Rowland claimed:
This misconduct has contributed to substantial costs for Defence and the Australian taxpayer, including over $1bn to date to investigate, remediate and mitigate Pfas contamination at Defence estate sites.
Make no mistake – this legal action against 3M is significant.
This is a government that is prepared to take on one of the biggest multinational corporations in the world for the betterment of Australian citizens.
Rowland says 3M withheld its own environmental laboratory testing, which showed “there was significant adverse environmental effects associated with the use of 3M firefighting foam” and represented that the foam could be safely disposed of, was biodegradable and not toxic.
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Labor’s CGT changes to face Senate inquiry
Labor’s changes to the capital gains tax discount will face scrutiny from a Senate inquiry, which will report back by 22 June.
The Coalition said it would push for an inquiry but turns out the bill will be automatically referred to the Senate economics legislation committee because it has provisions that are due to commence on 1 July this year.
The Greens’ economics spokesperson, Nick McKim, says the minor party will use the inquiry to examine “why Labor decided to leave in place the vast majority of tax handouts for the ultra wealthy”.
This bill is a missed opportunity to finally put people ahead of profits and make the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share. Labor’s extremely generous grandparenting provisions have left so much money on the table.
Updated
Kirribilli House or The Lodge, Taylor asked
It’s the question that created headlines and headache for former Liberal leader Peter Dutton, who said that he would live in Sydney’s Kirribilli House if he became prime minister, when asked during a commercial radio interview. He faced accusations of “measuring the curtains” by Labor at the time.
Today, Taylor was tested with the very same question, and perhaps knowing the pain it caused his predecessor didn’t want to bite.
He called it a “bizarre” question.
I love living where I do now. Seriously, this is sort of a bizarre question, I have to say. At this point, right now, my focus is on axing Labor’s toxic taxes.
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‘A great man, a great friend’: Taylor backs Abbott as Liberal president
Angus Taylor says he welcomes former prime minister Tony Abbott to take on the role of federal Liberal president. Abbott is the only nominee for the role, which will be voted on at the party conference this weekend.
At the doorstop earlier, Taylor said Abbott was a deeply committed Australian and Liberal.
He ignored a question asking what he would say to colleagues who think that they’re about to have a co-opposition leader. Taylor said:
I welcome him to the role, because he’s been one of our most successful opposition leaders in history, and he’s going to work with me and rebuild the party.
Tony and I have known each other a long while. We continue to stay in touch … He is a great man, a great friend, a great colleague and a great Australian.
Updated
Hugh Marks repeatedly asked if Simon Robinson is the new director of ABC news
The ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, has been asked twice to confirm a report in Guardian Australia that Simon Robinson has been appointed news director of the ABC.
Marks said the ABC did not leak the story to Guardian Australia and that it was a result of “good journalism”.
I assume that speculation has led to someone trying to get the jump on the announcement. So, [it was] good journalism.
Earlier senator Mehreen Faruqi asked Marks if the news report was true but he declined to confirm or deny.
[Is] Simon Robinson from Reuters being appointed as the news director of the ABC?
Marks declined to confirm the reports.
When an appointment is ready to be made, we will make that appointment, and I expect to make one in the near future.
Faruqi said the news is out now “so you could just tell us now”.
Marks responded:
I’m not prone to making announcements in Senate estimates proceedings. I prefer to make announcements in the appropriate way.
Marks was then asked by Senator Sarah Henderson if the story in Guardian Australia was accurate and he said he won’t confirm or deny.
Henderson asked if the ABC had “briefed out” the appointment of Robinson.
Marks said he did not authorise any leak to Guardian Australia but there was widespread speculation about the Stevens replacement as soon as it was announced yesterday.
Henderson repeatedly asked if the ABC had leaked the story, claiming it was obvious.
Did you ask anyone, or authorise for anyone to brief this story out? Do you know whether anyone within the organisation briefed this out?
Marks said he did not authorise it and an announcement would be made on Friday.
Updated
Cocaine, ketamine use increasing, ABF says
The Australian Border Force is detecting more drugs – including a large growth in cocaine and ketamine – illegal tobacco and child abuse material, its commissioner has told Senate estimates.
The ABF’s Gavan Reynolds told a hearing this morning that they’d detected an “upward trend in the consumption of illegal drugs”, including seizing 14 tonnes of illicit drugs in the last year.
He said that included 20 tonnes of cocaine seized offshore, potentially on its way to Australia, while cocaine seized at the Australian border was up 23% on the previous year. ABF also seized more than 1,900kg of ketamine, up from about 500kg the previous year.
Reynolds also spoke of an “alarming increase in child abuse material” being found at the border.
He said ABF officers had found 122 individuals with child abuse material across 226 devices – up form 102 people last year. Those detections had led to 54 arrests and 30 instances of a child at risk being identified and removed from harm due to material found at border.
An illicit tobacco operation had seized nearly 1,000 tonnes of tobacco, and 4 million vapes.
Updated
Taylor says he’ll ‘talk with anyone’ to block CGT changes
The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, says he’ll talk to anyone to block the government’s changes to the CGT discount and negative gearing – including the Greens.
Taylor was holding a doorstop – once again outside Parliament House – and said he hadn’t yet seen the legislation. He’ll be able to now that it’s been introduced in the House.
We’ll talk with anyone. We’re talking with anyone who’s prepared, and I call on all my parliamentary colleagues right now, talking to them, come and work with us to fight these toxic taxes.
It’s aspiration and ambition that fuels our communities, our economy, the taxes that get paid that pay for our schools and our roads and hospitals, and Labor has declared war on these people.
The Greens also said they hadn’t seen the legislation earlier this morning and haven’t yet decided whether they will support the bill or push for amendments.
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Hugh Marks says Kim Williams comment was not ideal
The ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, has distanced himself from comments made by the ABC chair, Kim Williams, who called Benjamin Netanyahu an “aberrant creature”.
A Senate estimates hearing heard that Williams told the Age what he thought of the Israeli prime minister.
I think he is an aberrant creature … I think he’s frankly an aberrant creature in the history of Israel.
Marks told Senate estimates the comment was “less than desired or ideal” and did not represent the ABC position.
I think when those comments were made, senator, I think the ABC was very clear that they represented comments by Mr Williams and not are reflective of the ABC.
I think Mr Williams regrets making them, whether he said it in the article at the time, it’s not an indicator to our staff in any way to change their behaviour in compliance of the codes and standards that we abide to in the work that we do.
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‘This bill presents a choice’: Chalmers
Ending his address to the House, Jim Chalmers throws down the gauntlet to the opposition, challenging them to pass the reforms (they have already said that they won’t).
Chalmers says the bill “presents a choice” on cutting taxes and helping first home buyers.
We can easily guess the government will use the Coalition’s opposition to the bill to accuse them of voting for higher taxes.
Chalmers says:
This bill presents a choice. A choice between cutting income taxes for Australian workers, or keeping them higher. Standing with first home buyers, or locking more Australians out of the market.
This is about making a difference, not just marking time. It’s about taking the hard road of reform, not the path of least resistance. It’s about making the right decisions, even when they are politically contentious.
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‘One part helps fund the other’ Chalmers defends grouping budget bill
Jim Chalmers says that the four elements of the bill – CGT, negative gearing, the tax cut, and instant tax deduction – have been grouped together because “one part helps fund the other”.
He also leaves the door open to changes – with further legislation to iron out all the details of the tax reforms.
Speaking in the House, Chalmers says that governments for too long have “turned a blind eye to a broken status quo”.
We are presenting these elements in one Bill not just because they are related, but because one part helps fund the other.
This is the first tranche of legislation to implement the very significant tax reform package announced in the Budget. There will be further legislation on specific implementation details and other parts of our tax reform package.
He adds – as his other colleagues have done in the media this morning – that legislating reforms in tranches is “standard approach”.
Hugh Marks signals big change is coming to the ABC
The ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, has strongly suggested the ABC is about to head into a period of upheaval on the back of the appointment of a new news director.
Justin Stevens resigned yesterday as ABC director of news after four years in the role, citing personal and professional reasons.
Asked at Senate estimates about the departure of Stevens, Marks indicated it was time for a new approach.
He said the future is rapidly changing and the traditional ways of working at the ABC had to change.
It is an opportunity for us to move forward and look at a refreshed and rejuvenated output as we work out what you know the future of the ABC is.
Marks took credit for being quick to accept an error had been made in ABC news and moving fast to correct it.
I think, in my tenure, I would suggest that we have got a lot better at that when it comes to the allegation of bias in the organisation.
We don’t accept the notion that there is systemic bias within the ABC. In fact, the evidence of complaint processes and the like would suggest that’s not proven.
Updated
Chalmers introduces CGT and tax offset bill
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is introducing his bill that will change the CGT discount, negative gearing and establish the working Australian tax offset and instant tax deduction.
Despite widespread criticism over a lack of carveouts for key industries – like the startup sector – Chalmers is introducing the broad bill first while the government continues to consult.
This bill delivers on three objectives. It cuts taxes for every Australian worker – again, and again. It makes it easier for people to buy their first home. And it better aligns the tax treatment of labour income and asset income.
The opposition has promised to vote against the bill – which we know the government will use to say that the Coalition votes against tax cuts – and has promised to repeal the changes if elected.
Updated
Sarah Henderson claims ABC news director ‘encouraged to resign’
ABC managing director Hugh Marks has not pushed back on a suggestion by senator Sarah Henderson that news director Justin Stevens was “encouraged to resign”.
Stevens resigned yesterday as ABC director of news after four years in the role, citing personal and professional reasons.
“It does very much look like he was pushed,” Henderson said to Marks at Senate estimates:
He was encouraged to resign. He was on the chopping block, I think it’s well known within and outside the ABC, and so I would ask you, what is going to change after the Justin Stevens era?
Henderson claimed “there were too many instances where Mr Stevens made the wrong judgment”.
Marks did not defend Stevens. He said the future is rapidly changing.
We need to say what has served us in the past may not serve us well in the future, and this applies to all of our divisions.
Updated
Finetuning will appear in subsequent tax bills, Plibersek says
The government will soon introduce its (somewhat controversial) bill that will include changes to the capital gains tax discount, negative gearing, the tax offset and instant tax deductions for workers.
It’s had to defend the approach of introducing the broad bill now while promising to “finetune” the details later, which it says is normal, and was done for example when the Howard government introduced the GST.
Cabinet minister Tanya Plibersek tells Sky News:
Where there is finetuning to be done, as the treasurer said from the beginning … they’ll appear in subsequent tax bills.
She’s asked why the government is tying all four pieces of reform together – two parts that increase taxes, and two parts that lower taxes for workers.
She says that the opposition should support both the spending and revenue raising measures:
To pay for tax cuts, you have to make changes in other parts of the tax system. You can’t go into parliament and say yes we support all the spending measures but we don’t support any of the things that raise revenue over time. Our tax package is broadly revenue neutral.
Updated
Complaints against ATO rise 127%
Complaints against the Australian Taxation Office have surged 127% over the past year, according to a new ombudsman’s report, amid the agency adopting tougher debt collection practices.
The report found that complaints about hardship have increased substantially over the past 12 months and that the ATO had in some cases failed to consider individual circumstances, leading to unfair outcomes.
The tax ombudsman, Ruth Owen, said the “dramatic rise” in complaints was caused by the ATO’s increased focus on debt collection as well as improving awareness and willingness by the community to lodge complaints.
In 31% of complaints about penalties and interest, we helped to achieve tax debt reductions or removal of interest for our customers.
Debt issues are the most common reason people lodge a complaint, according to the report. In 67% of cases, the ATO’s actions were found to be reasonable.
The report comes during a period of heightened scrutiny on the ATO after it fined a 97-year-old Brisbane woman $1,650 because she had not “prioritised her tax obligations” even after the agency was advised her husband, who managed their financial affairs, had recently died.
The ATO reversed its penalty after the issue was made public.
The ATO has said it is improving how it supports taxpayers by ensuring its approach reflects the expectations of the community.
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Inflation problem persists, Jane Hume says
Jane Hume says “homegrown inflation” is still persistent in the economy, despite slightly better than expected number released by the bureau of statistics on Wednesday.
Inflation eased slightly in yesterday’s numbers, slowing to 4.2% in the year to April from 4.6% – in part due to the fuel excise being halved temporarily.
The deputy Liberal leader told the Today show this morning that it was still a problem before war broke out in the Middle East.
The fuel excise cuts were really important to make sure that we keep the economy ticking over but, let’s face it, Australia’s inflation problem persists. It’s a homegrown inflation problem and it’s been around for way too long now. Still, underlying inflation, which is the one that the RBA looks at, is very high. It’s well beyond the target ban and has been for the last eight months. So that’s well before the crisis that we’ve seen in the Middle East.
Hume also promised that the opposition would repeal the changes to CGT and negative gearing – which will be introduced to the House this morning – if it wins government.
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Labor pushed on truth commission for First Nations people
Malarndirri McCarthy says the Uluru statement from the heart is “important” to the government but won’t give any indication of when it will act on truth-telling.
The statement, which was committed to in full by the government, includes “the voice, treaty and truth”. The government failed to gain national consensus when it put a referendum to the public to establish a voice to parliament.
Yesterday, the former Victorian Yoorrook justice commissioner, Travis Lovett, arrived at parliament after a 500km, 38-day walk from Victoria, urging the prime minister for a truth-telling commission.
The minister for Indigenous Australians tells ABC News Breakfast:
We said that with the Uluru statement from the heart there were three principles: the voice, treaty and truth. And I know that that has been important for us. It was disappointing with the outcome of the voice. But we moved on from that.
And clearly there are many other issues that are going on with the states. Victoria, in particular, has had a treaty process, a Yoorrook commission, which Travis Lovett was a commissioner on that commission.
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WhatsApp could face inclusion in under-16s social media ban
WhatsApp and other apps that were excluded from the under-16s social media ban may be later included in the ban if they add more social features, the eSafety commissioner has said.
Meta’s messaging app was excluded from the ban last year, but Greens senator David Shoebridge noted in Senate estimates: “Every time I open WhatsApp, I’ve got some new option...where there’s now channels, there’s communities, there’s my status feed.”
The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said those that were told they weren’t covered by the ban may not be excluded forever:
We’ve told WhatsApp, we’ve told Roblox that the the more social features that bring you closer to the definition, you might have been assessed at this time as a messaging app or an online gaming, but the more social you become, the more likely you are to [meet the definition].
Inman Grant said if eSafety gets wind of excluded platforms introducing more social features, then it will work through a process of reassessing them.
Suppressing housing investment ‘quite insane’, Bragg says
The shadow housing minister, Andrew Bragg, says the government’s changes to negative gearing and CGT will reduce housing supply.
Speaking to the ABC’s RN Breakfast, he says that supressing one form of investment is “quite insane”.
The budget states that housing will continue to be built but the impacts of CGT and negative gearing could cut 35,000 new homes from the countries pipeline over the next decade.
Bragg says:
I think the idea that more taxes on housing, which would reduce housing supply by 35,000 dwellings, is a crazy policy.
It doesn’t make any sense that you want to suppress housing supply. So they’ve brought in 1.6 million people since they’ve been in office, and they’ve only built 600,000 houses. So we need to build more houses. And the idea that you want to suppress one form of investment is also quite insane.
Investors who buy new properties would still get access to negative gearing and more generous capital gains tax discount incentives.
Updated
Rishworth rebuffs criticism from Labor premiers
The employment minister, Amanda Rishworth, says criticism by two Labor premiers on the capital gains tax changes is a matter for them but reminds them that the federal government is providing all the states with $25bn for their hospitals.
The WA premier, Roger Cook, was the second to criticise the budget and warn that the CGT changes could impact investment in the mining sector (that WA heavily relies on for revenue).
Last week, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, said that the government should have handed back bigger tax cuts to income earners.
Rishworth spoke to the ABC’s RN Breakfast and brushed off the feedback.
That’s entirely a matter for those premiers. What I would say is we work very closely with state and territories. For example, in this budget, and if we like to talk about the contribution we’re making to state and territories in this budget, there’s $25bn for state hospitals, the largest hospital deals.
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Clare defends multi-stage CGT reforms
What do we know so far on the CGT reforms?
Labor will be introducing a bill in parliament this morning that will cover the broad capital gains tax changes (likely with no carve-outs), as well as the negative gearing changes, and the working Australian tax offset.
As the government keeps consulting on the reforms, it will then decide whether to make any carve-outs with additional legislation. Some of the loudest voices are calling for exemptions for the startup and venture capital sector.
Labor’s education minister, Jason Clare, defended the multistage approach, telling Sunrise:
The first bill gets introduced today but there’ll be a series of bills to implement these reforms, as there always is with big tax reform.
Asked if the government could increase the threshold so businesses with a turnover of $10m, rather than $2m, would qualify for an exemption, Clare said:
That’s what those conversations are about right now.
The bill today is about cutting income tax and about making it easier to buy a house, and it sets the foundations for these tax changes, but the second bill that we introduced will have all of that detail.
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Jewish witnesses who have given evidence to the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion have faced a barrage of online abuse and harassment in the aftermath, including being called “demonic”, “subhuman”, and told to burn in hell.
Royal commissioner Virginia Bell raised concerns earlier this week, saying at least one instance of online harassment had been reported to the Australian Federal Police.
“We have received reports from a number of witnesses concerning a dramatic increase in online hate messages after they have given evidence,” Bell said, describing it as an “undiluted level of hatred and bigotry directed towards members of the Jewish community”.
New analysis by the Dor Foundation has catalogued more than 1000 posts and comments containing antisemitic, abusive, or threatening material directed at royal commission witnesses, including children.
The analysis details posts that used dehumanising slurs and antisemitic tropes such as “cockroach”, “parasite”, “rat”, “vermin”, “evil dog” or “pig”. Other posts called for witnesses to be “executed” or to “burn in hell”.
The report by the Dor Foundation – established by former treasurer Josh Frydenberg – said the targeting of witnesses demonstrated a “sustained effort to punish participation in the royal commission”.
The report said:
The cumulative effect of this material… is a chilling message to any member of the Jewish community considering giving evidence that public participation carries a personal cost, and may result in severe and prolonged online targeting.
Dor Foundation chief executive Tahli Blicblau said the witnesses “have been subject to exactly the same hatred they turned up to speak about” at the royal commission.
The abuse is egregious, it is harsh, it calls for violence, it dehumanises people, and it takes the debate far beyond what we would expect to see in terms of acceptable public discourse and debate.
‘Outrageous approach to legislating’ tax changes: Paterson
Speaking of criticisms, the shadow defence minister, James Paterson, has fired shots at the government’s approach to legislating the CGT changes (which the opposition will vote against), calling it “outrageous”.
Labor will introduce its first bill to legislate the CGT and negative gearing changes as well as the working Australians tax offset (a classic wedge to force the opposition to vote against the tax cuts).
Paterson tells Sky News that the process is “completely backwards”.
The government’s got this completely backwards, even they admit their own legislation is so flawed that they will have to fix it in the future, but they’re saying, ‘Just trust us, we’ll rush it through now, and then we’ll negotiate with you afterwards to repair the mistakes we’ve made.’ Well, that’s an outrageous approach to legislating.
Labor has argued that it’s totally normal to pass broad legislation first and then legislate the other details later.
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Cook warns CGT carve-out shouldn’t disincentivise mining investment
The WA premier, Roger Cook, has warned the government that its changes to the capital gains tax discount should not disincentivise investment in the mining sector.
On Wednesday, the Labor premier said that investors – locally and abroad – had already raised concerns about the changes, and told him “that could potentially put a disincentive in place for foreign investors”.
Cook said:
It’s important that as the government continues to consult and refine the tax laws, which back up their announcements in relation to the budget, that they talk to industry about … the potential impacts of those announcements and ensure that the laws ultimately don’t produce outcomes that they didn’t intend.
We want to make sure that it [the tax changes] doesn’t disincentivise both international investment in our major projects but also exploration.
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Mulino defends CGT changes
Daniel Mulino moves across to ABC News Breakfast, where he’s being forced to defend against criticisms including from WA Labor premier Roger Cook about the impact the tax changes could have on the mining sector.
Mulino says that the government has acknowledged that consultation is needed and is being done, particularly for sectors such as venture capital where there is a “very low cost base”.
On the criticism from Cook, the minister says, “we will look at those issues raised and engage with him, I’m sure, on at a good faith basis”.
The government has received representations on the range of fronts. Those are the VC issues I identified, there’s been a number of issues in relation to small business. I myself have been in discussions in relation to that. But I know of course the treasurer is leading that and Treasury, the department, is also engaged with those.
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Government considers automatic reimbursement for scams under $3,000
Scams come in all shapes and sizes (and none of them are nice), and the government is considering creating rules that would force banks, telcos and digital platforms to automatically reimburse victims of smaller scams of up to $3,000.
Labor is considering a range of options as part of a scam protection framework.
The financial services minister, Daniel Mulino, is out and about this morning spruiking the idea.
He tells the ABC’s AM program it would mean that banks and telcos would focus their dispute resolution processes on bigger scams.
For smaller losses, $3,000 and under, what we’re proposing is that there should be automatic payment to consumers where they can verify that there has been a scam.
Scams that get into the six figures: some investment scams, some romance scams. And that’s where dispute resolution processes would come into play.
Host Melissa Clark asks why the automatic payment threshold isn’t higher – she says other countries like the UK have theirs set closer to £48,000. Mulino says the government doesn’t want to incentivise bigger scams.
What we want to do is to make sure that we don’t have the wrong incentives for perpetrators to see Australia as a soft target. But the balance is that with very small claims we don’t want to have processes that are completely disproportionate to the value of the sum in dispute.
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McKenzie denies misuse of taxpayer funds to attend son’s wedding
Bridget McKenzie has denied taxpayer funds were used for her to attend her son’s wedding or his engagement party, in revelations reported by Nine Newspapers earlier this week.
The Victorian senator billed taxpayers for flights to Tasmania where both events were held in 2022 and 2023.
Politicians can only claim travel costs where the “dominant purpose” of the trip is parliamentary business.
McKenzie told the Today show this morning:
Taxpayer funds should never be used for private business, nor were they in this case.
When we’re undertaking whether it be community engagement, media engagement, stakeholder meetings, you know, assisting colleagues, there are arrangements in place to assist us to do that work that is right and appropriate, and it is not right and appropriate to bill the taxpayer, as you say, for personal activities. And I did not do that.
So when I was on personal business, I absolutely paid my own way.
Asked if she stands by her decision, McKenzie said:
Yep.
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eSafety chief still investigating breaches of under-16s ban
The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, says her office has yet to finalise investigations into five platforms over compliance with the under-16s social media ban, stating that she doesn’t have a “fine-issuing button”.
In March, Inman Grant announced five of the 10 platforms – Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook – were under investigation for non-compliance with the ban with two-thirds of under-16s remaining on the platforms.
Inman Grant told Senate estimates on Wednesday evening that she had yet to conclude the investigation on whether the platforms had taken “reasonable steps” to prevent under-16s from accessing the platform:
I know there is strong interest in why fines have not yet been issued. Unfortunately, we do not have a fine-issuing button. Rather, systemic non-compliance needs to be proven in court with solid evidence and complex legal proceedings.
She said some platforms had improved in the intervening period, including by requiring accounts to go under further age checks and introducing new age verifications when people try to change their data of birth.
She said some platforms that allowed under-16s multiple attempts to pass facial age assurance reversed this practice, and parents have been able to report their teens’ accounts more easily to the platforms.
Inman Grant said one platform was allowing users to try, on average, 24 times each day to pass facial age assurance.
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Nacc needs a ‘significant reset’ after Brereton, Haines says
Helen Haines – a key advocate for the anti-corruption commission – says that the body has been “overshadowed” by controversy and needs a reset after the inaugural commissioner, Paul Brereton, standing down.
She says that the commission should restore trust by delivering outcomes from investigations, more timely outcomes, and better public understanding of how the process works.
She tells the ABC’s RN Breakfast the process has so far been “a little secretive”.
Haines says:
We need to have a significant reset now.
Unfortunately for Mr Brereton, the issues regarding his perceived conflicts of interest with defence overshadowed all those other principles. There’s no question that, when Mr Breton was appointed to the Nacc, he was a person of great reputation and merit. And I think it is really unfortunate that what followed did follow and the Nacc has, of course, been completely overshadowed by those events.
Haines adds that the Nacc has held no public hearings – unlike its NSW state counterpart, Icac, which has held many.
An anti-corruption commission is not about a popcorn moment for the public … We want to see justice done when there has been corruption. And I think the public hearing is part of that, that people can see the process taking place. I’ve never called for routine public hearings but I do think we need to see some public hearings at the right time.
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6,600 Iranians with visitor visas prevented from travelling to Australia
More than 6,600 Iranians with visitor visas were prevented from travelling to Australia after the Albanese government announced a six-month travel ban amid the overseas conflict, home affairs officials say.
At a Senate estimates hearing last night, the department confirmed 6,634 Iranian nationals with valid visas were unable to travel after the decision by the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, in March. Officials said the department had received 752 appeals for an exemption and had granted 480 travel exemptions and denied 164 others.
“Their visa is frozen and, if it has an expiry date that is after the September date when the arrival control determination lifts, then the visa will come into effect again,” Clare Sharp, the department’s immigration head, said.
Expressions of interest for a new temporary humanitarian pathway available for Iranian nationals onshore opened on Friday, granting them a three-year stay while the US-Israeli war against Iran continues. The department said there are 2,833 Iranian nationals in the country with visitor visas. So far, no one has applied.
Greens senator David Shoebridge asked whether the temporary visa could be made permanent in a similar way to those offered to Ukrainians and Palestinians in recent years.
Sharp said: “As [those] conflicts progressed, and [we’ve] gotten a better handle on [whether] is this a short term crisis with people able to return, or is this a long-term protracted conflict, we will look at what options need to be put in place there.”
Read more:
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Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
It’s the last sitting day of the week and the drama might just be dialled up to 11 today with the government to introduce its bill that will include changes to capital gains tax and its $250 working Australians offset – despite all the controversy and commentary surrounding it.
Yesterday the treasurer gave us a hint that the broad legislation would go through first and all the finer details would be introduced later.
There have been more headlines out of Senate estimates overnight, with new details on how many Iranians with visitor visas have been barred from travelling to Australia under the government’s temporary travel ban, and eSafety is still investigating breaches of the under-16s social media ban. More on those in a moment.
Grab your coffee, I’ve got mine – let’s get cracking!
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Reserve Bank board member says rate settings not a choice between prioritising inflation or jobs
Carolyn Hewson, an independent member of the Reserve Bank’s rate-setting board, said the global oil shock has made it more “complex” to manage monetary policy but that it was wrong to frame the central bank’s deliberations as a “stark choice” between “prioritising inflation or prioritising jobs”.
The RBA has hiked interest rates three times this year as it attempts to juggle a (hopefully) temporary stagflationary shock from surging fuel prices that is pushing unemployment and inflation higher.
Hewson’s address at Adelaide University last night gave little extra insight into what the RBA will do next on rates.
But it was notable as the first of its kind since the central bank committed to having each of its independent board members deliver at least one speech a year.
“Supply constraints push inflation higher at the same time as they weaken economic activity and employment,” Hewson said, in a nod to the impact from the closure of the strait of Hormuz.
It is often said that central banks face a stark choice in such moments between prioritising inflation or prioritising jobs.
But “that framing misses the point”, she said.
It is not a question of which objective matters more; instead, it is about understanding that they are generally complementary over the longer term.
Seen this way, the RBA’s dual mandate is an expression of economics in service of the broader public interest.
Something to keep in mind the next time the RBA pushes up your mortgage costs. For the record, that could happen as soon as August.
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Labor flags changes to mutual obligations
Amanada Rishworth also flagged changes to so-called mutual obligations, which require jobseeker recipients to prove that they have applied for a certain number of jobs in order to continue to receive welfare payments.
But she said the contentious system would remain, despite criticism from some welfare advocates.
She told 7.30:
Mutual obligations have been a feature in the system for a long time. [They] play a really important role.
It is part of the social contract that, if you’re receiving income support … and you’re able to work, you do take steps to find a job.
What I think is being commented on, where I do agree, is that there’s no point in having pointless, meaningless mutual obligations.
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Rishworth defends jobseeker work program
The employment minister, Amanda Rishworth, has said she is concerned there is “varying quality” among the providers meant to help welfare recipients find work but defended keeping private companies in the system.
Rishworth was interviewed on the ABC’s 7.30 program last night, after announcing at the National Press Club in Canberra that Labor would amend the unemployment system for jobseeker recipients.
The exact details of the new system were not announced yesterday but it is set to be separated into three streams depending on a jobseeker’s skill level and work readiness.
Asked by 7.30 if she accepted some of the responsibility for the “failures in the current system” were due to for-profit job providers who “ignore the more difficult cases”, Rishworth said:
I would say that I am concerned that there is varying quality in the system. So I am focused on how we lift quality.
Stream one really is about the public service delivery. Stream two is more like the services we understand today.
Stream three, I imagine, will be different types of providers – they will have deep connection with community and be able to do this specialised, intensive work.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.
The social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, was on 7.30 last night defending her decision not to get rid of the controversial for-profit aspects of the jobseeker program. More coming up.
The eSafety commissioner told Senate estimates last night that she is yet to finalise the investigations into five social media platforms for failing to comply with the under-16s social media ban, stating that she doesn’t have a “fine-issuing button” to deal with the problem. More to follow.
