What we learned, Wednesday 9 September
That’s a wrap on our live coverage of a jam-packing sitting day in parliament.
Before we go, let’s recap some of the top headlines:
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Anthony Albanese has defended a $6m grant handed to a golf club in his electorate, and said he makes “no apology” for it.
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The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has announced that Australia will work with international partners to “deter illegal settlements and settler violence” but won’t follow the UK in implementing a trade ban with goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
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Victorians could pay almost $100 a year more for electricity under a state Coalition policy to halt two key transmission projects, according to new analysis that suggests it would result in a near 40% increase in wholesale prices by 2031.
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Northern Territory police are investigating the death in custody of a 35-year-old man at the Alice Springs correctional centre on Tuesday afternoon.
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The White House has issued a warning to Australia as the government forces social media and US based tech companies to clean up their platforms and remove harmful content.
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Blanche d’Alpuget, the writer and widow of former prime minister Bob Hawke, has died at the age of 82.
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Tanya Plibersek says there is a “long road ahead” to end violence against women and children, following the release of a damning report that found reports of sexual violence were at their highest level ever in 2024, and dropped less than 1% nationally last year.
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Andrew Hastie has called Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce “lying cowards”, after he claimed a One Nation cartoon referred to him as a traitor for providing evidence in court against Ben Roberts-Smith in his failed defamation case against Nine newspapers.
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A Victorian man faces multiple charges after evading police for days after allegedly attacking his family with an axe.
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And finally, here’s a TL;DR on what happened in question time today.
Thanks for sticking around, we’ll see you tomorrow!
Updated
Tanya Plibersek reveals she was assaulted while walking home at night in Canberra
Labor MP Tanya Plibersek has opened up about her own experience of gendered violence, revealing she was assaulted while walking home at night in Canberra.
The revelation follows criticism of Nationals leader Matt Canavan, who said boys are “sick and tired of the feminisation” of Australia’s curriculum through state-funded Respectful Relationships programs.
Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Plibersek said the effects of the lack of education are wide-reaching.
I’m a cabinet minister, I’m in a pretty powerful position. When I walk to my car at night in a dark car park, I still get my keys out in case someone attacks me. I’ve been assaulted walking home in Canberra at night.
I think what some men don’t understand is … They say ‘not all men’, and I agree, I have wonderful men in my life, but as a woman, you don’t know which man it is, and when you’re walking alone at night on the street, you don’t know whether someone’s safe to be around or not.
I think it would be terrific if Matt Canavan spoke to some of the women in his life about what that feels like.
Updated
Tanya Plibersek denies any improper Labor conduct over $6m golf club grant in Albanese’s electorate
The federal social services minister, Tanya Plibersek, has denied accusations that the prime minister has engaged in any improper behaviour after being pressed to explain the $6m grant given to a golf club in his electorate, a club of which he is a member.
Anthony Albanese said that he was only told that “apparently” he received honorary membership in 2012, and that he does not play golf.
Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Plibersek said there were due processes in place.
There is $1.7bn in those two programs alone, the regional and suburban program. They’re competitive programs, any member of parliament can support organisations in the electorate to apply for that $1.7bn across two programs.
We should have high expectations of how public money is spent, I agree with that, but you’ve got a clear election commitment, you’ve got an established process, you’ve got other pools of funding available that are competitive grants that other members of parliament can help their local communities apply for.
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Three-day manhunt ends as man charged over family axe attack
A man faces multiple charges after evading police for days after allegedly attacking his family with an axe, AAP reports.
Peter O’Ryan was at his family’s home in Tyers, in Victoria’s east, on Saturday when an argument broke out just after midday, police allege. He then allegedly attacked his brother with an axe before turning on his elderly parents.
O’Ryan’s father, 77, and brother, 47, were airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries and are now in a stable condition.
O’Ryan was arrested on Tuesday night after police were called about a man suspiciously loitering around Tyers-Walhalla Road, near where the attack happened in the small Gippsland town of Tyers.
O’Ryan was charged with three counts of intentionally causing serious injury, police said.
The 48-year-old refused to leave the cells when his case was called in La Trobe Valley magistrates court on Wednesday.
In his absence, the magistrate remanded O’Ryan in custody and noted management issues including paranoid schizophrenia, panic and anxiety disorder, and depression.
The maximum penalty for the charges is 20 years in prison.
Updated
P-plater fined more than $1,000 for buttering bagel while driving
Queensland police have fined a man $1,104 and revoked three demerit points after allegedly catching him driving with his knees while buttering a bagel.
The 29-year-old Glenvale man was pulled over by police in Sydney’s Newtown about 3.50pm on Monday after officers saw him committing the act while driving along Tor Street. Police said the vehicle was also found to be unregistered.
The driver has been issued a traffic infringement notice for driving without due care and attention and driving an unregistered vehicle, police said.
Darling Downs district officer Acting Supt Kelly Hanlen warned drivers that “if you’re driving, keep your attention on the road”. She said:
Taking your hands and focus away from the task of driving, even for something as seemingly harmless like preparing food, can have serious consequences.
I want to remind motorists there is no meal, message or other distraction worth risking your safety or the safety of other road users.
Updated
Australian woman linked to Islamic State denied bail
The Australian wife of an Islamic State fighter, who claims childbirth snapped her out of supporting the terrorist group, has been denied bail by a judge concerned she maintains extremist views, AAP reports.
After spending years in a Syrian refugee camp, Zeinab Ahmad was charged with slavery offences and taken into custody upon her return to Australia with other family members of former Islamic State fighters in May
She applied for release in the Victorian supreme court, arguing she did not pose a risk to the safety of others.
But the young mother, 31, could not convince Justice James Elliott she had demonstrated exceptional circumstances and had abandoned extremist beliefs.
[Her] extreme ideology in the past coupled with extreme brutality [of IS] means any related conduct, including indirectly influencing others is potentially catastrophic.
I accept the risk is low, however it is real.
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Thank you all so much for following along on the blog today!
I’ll leave you in the very capable hands of Achol Arok and see you here bright and early tomorrow.
TL,DR: Here’s what happened in question time
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The Coalition had a broad base of questions today, including taxes on trusts, the $6m grant to the Marrickville golf club, the cheaper home battery scheme and tobacco excise.
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Anthony Albanese defended the grant – which was invite only – and said he didn’t know he was an honorary member.
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Independent Monique Ryan tried her luck to get a more fruitful answer out of the PM on merit-based and transparent grants but her chamber buddy Sophie Scamps ended up getting kicked out for shouting at the PM during his answer.
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Chris Bowen was asked about reports of a cheaper home battery scheme being rorted and some households getting unsafe installations but he dismissed the claims.
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Scamps and two Labor MPs were kicked out in the first 25 or so minutes of question time, but everyone seemed to settle just a little after that.
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Joyce denies calling Hastie a traitor
Barnaby Joyce says he has never called Andrew Hastie a traitor and never said “a bad word about him”.
Hastie, a Liberal MP and SAS veteran, accused Joyce and Pauline Hanson of being “lying cowards” on News24 earlier today after both had previously denied making the insult.
Hanson posted a One Nation cartoon video on social media which called Hastie a “traitor” multiple times.
Hanson told The Nightly newspaper that she didn’t call Hastie a traitor but would call him a “wanker”.
Joyce told Guardian Australia he was not aware of the One Nation video.
I have never called Mr Hastie a traitor nor ventured anywhere close to any such narrative about him. In fact I have never said a bad word about him. This morning in a press conference at Canberra I spoke in support of Mr Hastie and his family. When asked, I noted the fact that Ms Hanson stated she had never called Mr Hastie a traitor. This is now apparent as a fact. There has come to my attention now a satirical cartoon that made the claim. I had not seen it nor was aware of it.
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Question time ends
After a final dixer to Mark Butler, the PM stands up to call time on QT.
Nationals MP Michael McCormack walks up to the dispatch box to try his luck with an extra question before QT ends.
Anthony Albanese says that he’d give the opposition an extra question if it is about the golf club funding and then jokes:
Tell my electorate what a good local member they have, Mr Speaker.
The opposition aren’t impressed and protest, but then QT ends.
Updated
Attorney general says automated decision making will have ‘robust safeguards’
Back to the crossbench, Kate Chaney asks the attorney general when the government will legislate a framework for automated decision making that includes safeguards, human oversight and transparency. She says it’s been three years since the robodebt royal commission which recommended legislated guardrails around automation in government.
Michelle Rowland says the government is working on a whole-of-government framework for automated decision-making.
The framework will include robust safeguards that ensure transparency, human oversight and review rights. The design and operation of these safeguards has been and will continue to be informed by extensive consultations.
I can assure the member it is working at pace. The Albanese government’s approach is focused on delivery in the future, enabling Australians to adopt new technologies responsibly, deliver high quality services more efficiently and prevent the systemic failures identified in the robodebt royal commission.
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Coalition ‘led by the nose’ by One Nation on tobacco excise: Butler
Liberal MP Mary Aldred is up next and asks the prime minister if he’ll cut the tobacco excise – yes or no – pointing out that he’s refused to rule out doing so when recently asked.
The health minister, Mark Butler, takes the question instead (which attracts jeers from the opposition).
Butler claims under the previous government the excise was raised 215%, but no money was spent on law enforcement or public health campaigns.
He uses similar lines to Anthony Albanese this morning that enforcement and border control are the focus, and then decides to take a stab at the Coalition.
Of course we are open to other sensible ideas about how we can fight organised crime while not prejudicing our most important public health campaign. But this is the problem I have with the announcements that One Nation first made and then, sure enough led by the nose, the Coalition followed.
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Labor considering calls for nationally consistent definition of affordable housing
Will the government back a nationally consistent definition of affordable housing, so it can be delivered and made available to nurses, teachers and other key workers asks independent MP, Nicolette Boele. She says more than 12,000 Australians have signed a petition calling for a national approach.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers (answering questions for Clare O’Neil today, who’s away) acknowledges that the states and territories do all have different definitions.
Chalmers says the government is aware and looking at the issue.
The Housing Australia Future Fund requires rents for affordable tenancies to be set at a 25% discount to market rents. That’s how the Haff goes about this but it’s different across different states and programs … [O’Neil] has asked Treasury to do work on affordable housing definitions including looking at the different definitions and frameworks that currently operate across Australia and to see what our options are for more consistency. We do think that’s an important objective.
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‘I don’t play golf’: Albanese dismisses questions about honorary membership
And we’re back to the $6m Marrickville golf club grant with deputy Nationals leader, Darren Chester, asking if the prime minister should update his register of interests with the honorary membership because a full membership costs $1,100 a year.
Anthony Albanese repeats that he was just told that “apparently” he received the honorary membership in 2012 unbeknownst to him.
He then jokes that he doesn’t play golf, and he’ll leave the sport to the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles. This is kind of funny because Marles has previously faced some sticky questions about whether he ever used taxpayer-funded VIP RAAF flights to travel to golf courses.
Albanese says he doesn’t even go to the golf course, except walking his dog through it and once attending a dog’s birthday there.
The fact is that in 2012, they said ‘You’re an honorary member’. I don’t have a card, I never got anything, I don’t use the facilities, I don’t do anything whatsoever for it.
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Systematic fraud claims in home battery scheme ‘a lie’, says Bowen
Nationals MP Alison Penfold takes the baton from Tehan and asks Chris Bowen more explicitly the date he was “first made aware of allegations impacting the government’s cheaper home batteries program?
Bowen says there is a committee that regularly provides feedback on the scheme, which includes the Clean Energy Regulator.
He says the number of complaints as a proportion of installations for cheaper home batteries have halved since the program.
The opposition quickly moves in to make a point of order because they want Bowen to provide a date on when he knew about the allegations of rorts and safety issues. Speaker Milton Dick agrees and says the question was very specific.
Bowen says allegations of systemic issues are false:
I started receiving updates on the … program on 1 July 2025 and have received them regularly. Those updates have shown they the manager of Opposition’s claims of systemic fraud are not true, are a lie.
Bowen rejects opposition claims of rorting in cheaper home battery scheme
Dan Tehan is next and changes tack, he asks if the energy minister, Chris Bowen can “guarantee that all batteries installed under the government’s cheaper home batteries program have been installed safety and in compliance with technical requirements?”
He’s referring to reports in the ABC that a taxpayer funded program to encourage households to install solar batteries is being rorted. The ABC reports its received tip offs that some providers are accused of mocking up installs, using unlicensed tradies for cash jobs and leaving customers with unsafe systems.
Bowen defends the cheaper home battery scheme and says it’s one of the “world’s most rigorous schemes for compliance”.
The member refers to complaints about cheaper home batteries. I can confirm that this scheme has received 315 complaints in relation to the small scale renewable energy scheme which covers solar panel installations, battery installations and hot water installations. That is 0.04% of installations in the last 12 months.
The opposition tries to make a point of order on relevance but don’t get very far. Bowen continues:
I think every Australian of reasonableness and good faith knows that every electrical instrument and application comes with risk. A television has risks an oven has risk … That’s why you have strict regulation and enforcement and compliance.
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Independent Sophie Scamps kicked out as grants questions continue
Independent MP Monique Ryan has continued the line of questioning on the $6m grant a golf club in the prime minister’s electorate received under an “invite-only” grants program that favoured Labor seats.
Ryan asks if the PM agrees that government spending should be based on merit rather than “on retaining and winning marginal seats?”
Anthony Albanese says independent Sophie Scamps sitting next to her has received critical infrastructure upgrades in her electorate and that he gets lobbied by crossbenchers at election and byelection time to fund projects.
Scamps is angry, to say the least, and starts interjecting – she’s quickly kicked out by the speaker.
Albanese says:
Those three projects are in my electorate, certainly, I am proud to say, were all worthwhile. All of them providing community benefit, or benefit for people who are most in need.
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Two Labor MPs booted as Coalition dials up pressure on Albanese over golf club grant
The Coalition has dialled up the pressure with frontbencher Tony Pasin asking the prime minister to explain the $6m grant given to a golf club in his electorate, a club which he’s an honorary member of.
Before the PM can begin answering, Labor MP Ash Ambihaipahar is kicked out of the chamber for interjecting too much.
Anthony Albanese gets to a shouting volume pretty quickly, saying (as he did this morning) that it was one of three grants to his electorate and that the money was to stop sewage running from the course into the local Cooks River.
He also claims he didn’t know that he’d received the honorary membership.
I’m asked about honorary membership. In 2012, I’d been advised that I got honorary membership, someone made a decision. I don’t have a card. I don’t go to the club.
Frontbencher Aaron Violi then tries to table documents in the house “clearly showing the prime minister’s longstanding relationship with the Marrickville golf club including being a location where he injured himself and developed a black eye and broken rib” but the government blocks the attempt.
As that happens, Labor MP Alison Byrnes is also ejected from the chamber!
Updated
It’s question time
Angus Taylor starts at the dispatch box today, and asks the prime minister if he’ll “overrule his treasurer for the fourth time and scrap his cruel tax on babies”.
He’s referring to reporting in The Australian that says trusts can be exempt from the 30% tax on trusts if they fix their distributions to beneficiaries, instead of leaving them discretionary, but adding a newborn child into the trust after the cutoff date of July 2029 will revoke that exemption.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, takes the question and makes a snide remark that the Coalition takes all its questions from The Australian newspaper’s front page.
They write their questions for them every day and they’ve done it once again. I’m not taking lectures on taxes from a party who’s been sprung this week with a plan to increase income taxes on millions of Australian workers …
The changes in the budget don’t limit the way that trusts have the flexibility to add beneficiaries in the future. The option that we have put forward in the draft legislation is about providing another way for existing trusts to set out fixed interest without requiring a restructure – something they called for – but it is entirely optional for trusts to make use of this.
Kevin Rudd’s in the house today, sitting in for QT. He’ll be addressing the National Press Club tomorrow.
Updated
‘I don’t trust big tech, but I trust the Labor party a lot less’: Canavan
The Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, says the government should go back to the drawing board and start again on the digital duty of care bill because there isn’t “trust” in the process.
Canavan has been a vocal critic of the laws, but we understand there is an array of opinions across the party over the issue – some who are more keen to see the reforms than the Nationals leader.
One of his chief concerns is the power the communications minister will have to broaden the scope of harms that platforms have to protect adults and children from.
Speaking to reporters a little earlier, Canavan said:
I think the government needs to start again here with this because trust is very important on these issues. I don’t trust big tech, but I trust the Labor party a lot less.
Giving them these type of powers just is a non-starter, should be a completer non-starter for the Australian people, who I think like living in a democracy and like being able to speak freely, especially about their own government.
Anika Wells said earlier today that the bill won’t impact political communication or misinformation, and that those who want to read fake moon landing conspiracy theories will still be able to.
Updated
Hanson denies calling Hastie a ‘traitor’
Adding some context here to Andrew Hastie calling Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce “lying cowards” a little earlier.
Hastie said yesterday Hanson and One Nation had called him a traitor after he provided evidence in court against Ben Roberts-Smith.
But Hanson told The Nightly newspaper yesterday:
I’ve never called him a traitor … I will call him a wanker.
Hastie told News24 that Hanson had posted a One Nation cartoon on her X account that called him a traitor eight times.
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Victorian premier announces plan to respond to homelessness
The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, is speaking at an event at state parliament this afternoon, announcing a $24.8m six-point plan to respond to rough sleeping.
He says the plan’s centrepiece is a rollout of an online triage system that recognises homeless people by name, helps direct resources by need and helps to collate better data and insights of how many people are sleep rough each night and where they are in the state. Carroll told the event:
One of the things I’m most proud of in this plan is the very first establishing a by-names list. We must remember these people aren’t numbers. Every one of them has a name. Every one of them has a backstory, and that is the key to ending homelessness. Making sure we know these people, who they are, what’s led them to where they are, and how we help give them the pathway forward.
The plan also includes an expansion of assertive outreach workers to every area of the state, and new supported housing on the Mornington Peninsula – using money the state collects from the levy it introduced on Airbnb properties in the region. We’ve previously reported the region has largest number of homeless people in greater Melbourne.
About 140 people experiencing homelessness are known to services in the region, but experts say the real number is closer to 300.
The minister for homelessness, Nick Staikos, says:
One of the first visits I made as minister for housing was the Mornington Peninsula. It has the largest number of rough sleepers outside of Melbourne CBD, and it has a very, very high number of women sleeping rough. It is also a place with a lot of properties listed on short stay platforms, and so we will fund supported housing on the Mornington Peninsula out of the short stay levy.
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Hastie accuses Hanson and Joyce of being 'lying cowards' over One Nation 'traitor' cartoon
Liberal frontbencher and SAS veteran Andrew Hastie has called Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce “lying cowards”, after he claimed a One Nation cartoon referred to him as a traitor for providing evidence in court against Ben Roberts-Smith in his failed defamation case against Nine newspapers.
In the cartoon, posted to Hanson’s X account, the Hastie character refers to himself as a “stupid traitor” after referencing his evidence for Roberts-Smith. Other characters in the animated video refer to him as a traitor also.
It’s a further escalation after Hastie in a letter to supporters, promised a costly fight against One Nation yesterday.
I deployed twice on combat operations to Afghanistan. I left my wife at home, knowing that I might not return. And then to be called a traitor by One Nation … well, they’ve picked a fight with the wrong veteran.
Speaking to News24 today, Hastie said the cartoon, which Hanson posted on her X account, used the term “traitor” many times.
I would say that Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce are lying cowards, and I’ll say it again, so there’s no ambiguity. They are lying cowards … when you start calling me a traitor to my own country, then we have a big, big problem.
Are they saying the same thing of the other 20 SAS combat veterans who gave evidence under oath in the federal court? Are they also traitors to their country?
And so I’m calling on Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce to own this cartoon. And if they own it, step out into the house or outside the house, I don’t really care, use parliamentary privilege or don’t, and explain why I and other veterans, and indeed serving members of the ADF, who think war crimes are wrong, are traitors to their country.
In response, Hanson claimed to The Nightly newspaper:
I’ve never called him a traitor … I will call him a wanker.
Updated
Domestic violence report should ‘shame governments into action’, says Steggall
The independent MP Zali Steggall says the latest report by the domestic, family and sexual violence commissioner shows “an abject failure to keep women and children safe”.
Steggall says data is unavailable for around 68% of the measures in the national plan’s outcomes framework, meaning, “we can’t manage what we don’t measure - and we can’t hold governments fully accountable when the data is missing”.
Steggall calls for increased powers for the commission to monitor government performance and compel information, launch an urgent national education plan, establish a national domestic violence offender register and establish a royal commission.
Shockingly, around 80% of police call-outs are related to domestic and family violence … Women and children don’t need more condolences and promises. They need action, accountability and a genuine national commitment to ending this crisis.
Updated
‘Pork barrelling by design’: crossbenchers push for grants process overhaul
Crossbench MPs are calling for an overhaul to strengthen the commonwealth grants system after it was revealed the government used most of a $560m invite-only fund to support infrastructure projects in safe, marginal or target Labor seats.
The MPs want mandatory and enforceable standards for grants administration, transparency over funding decisions and a non-government chaired parliamentary committee to ensure compliance of grants under commonwealth rules.
Helen Haines, who was a key campaigner for the national anti-corruption commission, claimed in a statement:
Sports rorts was pork barrelling by deception, this is pork barrelling by design … My private member’s legislation would serve as a safeguard and won’t stop governments investing in local infrastructure. It would make sure funding is allocated fairly, transparently and in the public interest.
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‘We owe them action’: Plibersek on the latest domestic, family and sexual violence report
Tanya Plibersek says there is a “long road ahead” to end violence against women and children, following the release of a damning report.
Reports of sexual violence were at their highest level ever in 2024, and dropped less than 1% nationally last year, according to the latest Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission annual report. Reports of sexual violence have increased by 64% over the last fifteen years.
The government is currently developing the second national plan to end violence against women and children, but the report shows the first phase has barely made a dent.
Plibersek, the social services minister, is making a statement to the House of Representatives on the yearly report, and it’s sober listening:
The dozens of women and children killed this year; rising rates of sexual violence among young people; and the online harm that’s rapidly spilling into the real world are painful reminders of the long road ahead …
So, to Australians listening across the country today, my message is clear: you have more power than you think. Please use it. Take a disclosure seriously. Show your children that love never requires control. Model respect at every opportunity. Teach the boys in your life the value of empathy and that women and girls’ boundaries aren’t obstacles to overcome.
These feel like small acts. But taken together, they can make a radical difference. We have changed this country before. Now is the time to move together to change it again. We owe the women and children who have had their lives stolen by this violence more than our horror. We owe them action.
Updated
High court trial for neo-Nazi group White Australia continues
It’s day two at the high court for a neo-Nazi group’s challenge against laws banning them from starting a political party before the next federal election.
Yesterday we heard from the lawyers for the White Australia Party (WAP), formerly known as the National Socialist Network, who argued their listing as a prohibited hate group should be ruled invalid.
This morning, the commonwealth’s lawyer, Brendan Lim, is up.
Lim told the high court bench the group only changed its organisation to a political party in an attempt to protect themselves from the anti-hate group laws brought in following the Bondi terror attack.
The group’s lawyer, Peter King, told the court yesterday that they might be “awful but lawful” and should not be excluded from free political communication. Lim responded this morning to that claim:
[White Australia is] more than awful, more than invective - it is violent.
Updated
ANZ chief economist says house price fall ‘had to happen’
ANZ’s chief economist has said a decline in Australia’s booming house prices “had to happen” and this year’s downturn is still tiny in context.
Richard Yetsenga yesterday told the Australian Financial Review’s property summit he expected prices to fall further in the wake of what he called “the most consequential property tax changes since 1999”. Prices are down 3.6% nationwide since March, according to Cotality.
Yetsenga said:
Property prices in Australia have risen 6.5% a year for the last 30 years. We’re down about half of one year’s gains. … and up 1,000% in the last 30 years. I mean, the change we’ve seen is marginal in the context of the increase that we’ve had. And I’m not saying it’s not disruptive and it’s not painful … but I think also a little bit of context is important.
Yetsenga also rejected suggestions falling prices would lead to recession, noting that less than 1% of mortgage holders are behind on repayments. He said:
There are some broader forces going on here. We are probably going through quite a substantial change in the housing market, and one that probably needed to happen, and we’ve done it before.
Updated
PM pays tribute to Blanche d’Alpuget: ‘Australia has lost a true one-off’:
In a statement the prime mnister, Anthony Albanese, has remembered Blanche d’Alpuget:
With the passing of Blanche d’Alpuget overnight, Australia has lost a true one-off.
As a writer, she was at home in fiction as she was in non-fiction, working in each realm with a keen eye for every telling detail that opened up the humanity of her subject to her readers.
Blanche’s novels were compelling works of verve and originality, and her biographies comprehensive and definitive – most famously those she wrote of Bob Hawke, who became her great love and ultimately her husband.
Our hearts right now [are] with her family and all who loved her.
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Blanche d’Alpuget, widow to Bob Hawke, dies aged 82
Blanche d’Alpuget, the writer and widow of former prime minister Bob Hawke, has died at the age of 82.
D’Alpuget was an acclaimed writer, whose work includes the highly regarded biography of Hawke which won the New South Wales Premier’s Award.
She was born in Sydney, lived in England, France, Indonesia and Malaysia and is survived by her son Louis Pratt from her first marriage and three Hawke step-children.
The ABC reports D’Alpuget asked her family to share her final message.
Our highest calling and greatest achievement is love, the rule of life. Love one another.
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Digital duty of care won’t stop ‘your right to be wrong on the internet’: Wells
Anika Wells says Australians who believe the moon landing is fake will still get to read all about it and it won’t be banned under the digital duty of care bill.
The Coalition accused Labor of using the bill to censor free speech and stop criticism of the government.
Wells says that’s not true, and that political misinformation also won’t be banned from platforms.
They [platforms] need to identify risks on their platforms, and then need to mitigate against those risks on their platforms. This is not about the content. Your right to be wrong on the internet, remains preserved in the digital duty of care.
If you want to believe that the moon landing was fake, i is in no way impacted by the digital duty of care. It’s about basic safety standards online.
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Wells downplays US warning over digital duty of care bill
The communications minister, Anika Wells, has downplayed a statement from the White House warning countries not to engage in fines or “extortion on America’s leading technology sector” and says the statement was “broad”.
She tells News24 no US representative has been directly in touch with her to issue the same warning.
The White House has issued a statement, a broad statement about their position [and] the digital duty of care that we announced the exposure draft of yesterday, is a piece of work that has been long standing.
In this particular piece of work, I wouldn’t say that I have had that piece of feedback communicated to me … like the prime minister said, we’re a sovereign nation. We have the right to defend Australian parents and kids and we’ll do that.
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Politicians quizzed by reporters over historical drug use after Warren Pickering admission
Politicians of all stripes are being asked by reporters this morning whether they have ever taken illegal drugs, following an extraordinary press conference by One Nation Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, yesterday, in which he admitted to using ecstasy, methamphetamines and marijuana.
The Victorian treasurer, Colin Brooks, said:
So to be honest with you, maybe when I was in the early 20s, I might have smoked marijuana once. That’s probably the extent of it.
The state’s health minister, Ingrid Stitt, said she “dabbled in a bit of marijuana” in her early 20s:
Decades and decades ago. Obviously, as the health and mental health minister, it’s important that we take a health-led response to anyone in the community who’s seeking support for drug use. That’s been my focus, and I’m not going to comment on any other individual circumstances. That’s a matter for them.
One Nation’s only currently sitting MP, Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell, said her drug of choice was “sugar”.
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Diesel prices highest since April with Canberra at $2.70 a litre
Retail diesel prices in Australia’s capital cities are at their highest since April, with Canberra surpassing $2.70 per litre.
With no sign of an end to Donald Trump’s war in Iran, oil prices have trended up since early August and Brent crude oil is now hovering under prices of US$100 per barrel.
The local Singapore benchmark, Tapis crude, soared to about US$120 per barrel yesterday, after hovering around US$100 per barrel for most of August, according to Argus Media.
Vivek Dhar, a Commonwealth Bank analyst, said the Singapore gas/oil price - Australia’s diesel import benchmark - had hit its highest since 1 May and Asian diesel markets were getting tighter.
With rising import costs for Australian retailers, all the big cities are facing higher pump prices. Canberra is faring the worst but every capital is averaging diesel prices of more than $2.50 per litre, except for Perth at $2.49, according to MotorMouth.
Petrol prices are also on the rise, with unleaded at $2.18 in Canberra - the city’s highest in nearly five months - and $2.16 a litre in Perth. All the capitals are recording average unleaded prices of at least $2.05 per litre.
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Victorian treasurer highlights report that pokes holes in Coalition fiscal plan
The Victorian treasurer, Colin Brooks, has this morning seized upon an Australia Institute discussion paperwhich challenges the Coalition’s plan to return the state to a cash surplus by 2032.
The paper said the centrepiece of the Coalition’s plan – to save $22bn via a hiring freeze across all back-office public service roles – would require the cutting of 31,700 jobs and could push unemployment toward 5.4%.
“That would gut the public service. To claim this could be achieved with a few back office jobs is nonsense,” co-CEO Richard Denniss said.
The paper also said the goal of returning the budget to cash surplus by 2032 would require cuts of government spending of at least $8bn each year, denying Victorians access to essential services and infrastructure.
Brooks told reporters at parliament:
The Liberals have said that their cuts won’t impact frontline services. This report clearly shows that that’s not the case. These cuts will have a direct impact on hospitals and schools and police and child protection and all of the services that Victorians rely on.
The report also shows that these cuts are likely to push up unemployment to 5.4%. So Jess Wilson needs to explain clearly to the Victorian public, which she had not done yet, exactly who she intends to sack.
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Victorian roads deteriorating and funding insufficient, auditor general report finds
An auditor general report which was tabled in Victorian parliament this morning has found the condition of the state’s roads is deteriorating and its funding is insufficient.
It referred to a 2024 survey of the state-run roads by the department of transport, which showed almost half (48%) were in “poor or very poor condition,” compared to 39% in 2021.
The report said while the government has allocated almost $1bn annually in recent budgets for road maintenance, the department sfound it would cost more than $3bn each year to maintain road conditions at existing levels while replacing age-expired assets. The report reads:
The department has advised the government that funding is insufficient to maintain or improve the condition of state roads. This has meant it focuses more on reactive and safety-critical repairs rather than preventative works.
Roads are also deteriorating faster than the pace of repairs - with the auditor general finding the gap between the number of defects recorded and the number of defects repaired more than doubled between January 2025 and June 2026.
The report comes after the new premier, Ben Carroll, announced he would increasing the road maintenance budget by $352m to fix 500,000 potholes by the end of January.
The condition of the state’s roads has emerged as a significant issue in the leadup to the election, particularly for regional Victorians.
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White House fires warnings shots over digital duty of care bill
The White House has issued a warning to Australia as the government forces social media and US based tech giants to clean up their platforms and remove harmful content.
Yesterday the government released its draft bill that will require platforms to protect kids from harmful content around eating disorders, misogyny, pornography, glorifying crime, abuse and cyberbullying. Adults and children will need to be protected from illegal material.
In a statement provided to Guardian Australia, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said:
President Trump has unequivocally warned trading partners against imposing digital services taxes, fines, and other forms of extortion on America’s leading technology sector.
The Administration remains committed to raising these issues with our trading partners.
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New Zealand ‘deeply concerned’ by expansion of settler violence in West Bank
New Zealand’s foreign affairs minister, Winston Peters, said he was “deeply concerned” by the deteriorating situation in the West Bank and the escalation in Israel’s actions jeopardised the prospect of “durable peace”. He said in a statement:
New Zealand strongly condemns violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians and calls for accountability for those responsible.
Peters said New Zealand was joining international partners calling on Israel’s government to end the expansion of settlements, prevent and address settler violence and refrain from further actions that undermine peace.
However, he stopped short of joining the UK in placing a ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying traditionally, New Zealand does not pursue trade measures to address foreign policy issues.
To do so would be complex and require a full policy process. We are not in a position to do that ahead of the election.
Peters added that New Zealand had already placed travel bans on 38 Israeli settlers, including two ministers.
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Australia to impose new ‘targeted measures’ to stop Israeli settler violence
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has announced that Australia will work with international partners to “deter illegal settlements and settler violence” but won’t follow the UK in implementing a trade ban with goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
In a speech to the Senate chamber yesterday, Wong said the government had concerns with a blanket ban, and that it could lead to unintended consequences for Australian businesses, for Palestinians and for Israelis.
Wong also accused the Netanyahu government of “extinguishing the possibility of a two-state solution” by allowing the rapid expansion of settlements in the West Bank. She told the Senate yesterday:
I can announce Australia is pursuing further targeted measures in coordination with international partners to deter illegal settlements and settler violence. Australia is not, at this time, pursuing a blanket-style import ban. We have concerns about the implementation of a blanket ban and unintended consequences for Australian businesses, for Palestinians and for Israelis, and we will continue to work with partners to protect the prospects of a two-state solution.
Australia continues to call on Israel to take urgent steps to address the situation on the ground, including to stop settlers from destroying properties, displacing families and beating, torturing, sexually assaulting and killing Palestinians.
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Death in custody at Alice Springs correctional centre
Northern Territory police are investigating the death in custody of a 35-year-old man at the Alice Springs correctional centre on Tuesday afternoon.
Police said the man died shortly after collapsing around 5.40pm. Staff commenced CPR before St John’s paramedics took over.
The man was taken to Alice Springs hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
Police said initial investigations indicate the man died as a result of a medical episode.
The man’s death is being treated as a death in custody. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
• Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
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Bridget McKenzie weighs in on golf course grant in PM's electorate
The shadow transport minister, Bridget McKenzie – who was at the centre of the Morrison government’s sports rorts saga and was forced to resign from her position – has also weighed in on Labor’s invite-only grants program.
It’s been revealed that program handed $6m to a golf club the PM’s electorate that he was an honorary member of. This morning Anthony Albanese said he made “no apology” for that funding, which he argued was used to stop sewage from the club entering the local river.
Speaking to RN Breakfast earlier this morning, McKenzie said she was “very surprised” by the story.
I resigned my ministerial portfolio because of a perceived conflict of interest. I had an honorary membership that I didn’t know I had from a gun club that I decided under the guidelines to award funding to so women and disabled members could actually go to the toilet on site, a $36,000 grant.
So I have been very surprised by the story today of the ABCs that the prime mnister has held an honorary membership to a golf club in his electorate that received a $6m grant in a grant program that was closed, non-competitive, and where only one golf club out of the 1600 golf clubs across the country was invited to participate.
For a recap of the sports rorts saga, see here.
Host Sally Sara pushes back on McKenzie’s claim that she made the “choice” to resign after sports rorts, but the Nationals senator says:
I handed him my resignation, upheld my own personal integrity, but also importantly, the integrity of the system. I’m concerned I’m going to be the last minister in this Westminster system to actually take personal responsibility.
Guardian Australia revealed in 2024 after the Morrison era that McKenzie’s office had actually proposed tripling funding for the “sports rorts” program to deliver “priorities for target and marginal” seats after consultation with MPs and senators.
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Criticism of One Nation candidate over illegal drug is ‘demeaning’ , says Joyce
Barnaby Joyce has again defended the Victorian One Nation leader, Warren Pickering, after Pickering yesterday admitted to using ecstasy, methamphetamines and marijuana, losing his licence multiple times for drink driving and hurting people he loved.
Joyce says he has no qualms about One Nation’s vetting process, noting Pickering had spent time in the Australian Defence Force.
Speaking to News24, Joyce can’t say whether One Nation knew about the issues.
I think it’s a little bit demeaning for even us to sort of have some sort of salacious analysis of what was happening to an individual two decades ago. Look, as any organisation grows, the speed One Nation’s growing and the membership grows, of course the requirements grow as well, but I’m satisfied in how we are going, we’re getting a lot more proficient at it.
And if people are saying, I’m not satisfied with Mr Pickering, you’d say, hang on, the Australian Defence Force was. They took him on board, and they most definitely have a vetting process, because I’ve been there myself.
I don’t know [if One Nation knew], you’d have to ask the people beforehand. For me, he was subsequently in the Australian Defence Force, they have a vetting process.
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Anthony Albanese wins charity tennis match against a critic – 6-0 6-0 6-0
You might remember earlier this year, Joseph Daoud, a Sydney mortgage broker, won a charity auction at the midwinter ball to play a tennis match at the prime minister’s lodge with Anthony Albanese himself.
Well yesterday that game finally happened – and it was doughnuts for Daoud.
Daoud has spent big bucks putting up billboards and posters around the country critical of Labor’s changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, and while in the capital yesterday, paid for some skywriting that spelled out “stop the tax”.
Albanese tells ABC News Breakfast “it was what it was”.
But for me, the main point is that it was raising funds for charity. I think it would have been good if the gentleman had have put some of the money he’s put into billboards and sky writing and all of that, given additional money to St Vincent’s, to Red Kite, a charity that provide support for the families of children who have cancer and for a good cause.
Daoud on Sunrise accused the PM of manufacturing the score and taking a 15 minute “tinkle” during the match. Asked about that on the Seven program, Albanese shrugged it off.
We played a match. It was for charity. Importantly, the score was six love, six love, six love. Was played in played in good spirits.
Albanese admitted that he had used the word “tinkle” but that it was “about two minutes”. I hated writing that.
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Albanese makes ‘no apology’ for $6m grant to Marrickville golf club
Anthony Albanese has defended a grant handed to a golf club in his electorate, and said he makes “no apology” for it.
The grant was part of an infrastructure program that disbursed most of its money to safe, marginal or target Labor seats.
Over on ABC News Breakfast, Albanese says there were three grants in that program handed to his seat, and the funding for the golf club was to stop sewage from the course going into the local river during rain events.
He then attacks the ABC.
The ABC were told information they chose not to publish appropriately … because it is on a flood area by the Cooks River, when it rains and there’s flooding, raw sewerage goes into the Cooks River. That’s what it’s for – for fixing that.
I make no apologies for my electorate being serviced by me as a good local member, these three grants, they’re all appropriate.
Albanese also confirms he was made an honorary member of the club some 15 years ago, but doesn’t say whether he should have declared it.
I don’t have a card. I don’t go in there. I haven’t been in there for years. I used to walk my dog along the path.
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Labor ‘not waving the white flag’ on illicit tobacco, but Albanese won’t completely rule out excise cut
Anthony Albanese says the government’s priority is still to crack down on criminals, over reducing the tobacco excise to curb the exploding black market.
But asked several times whether he’ll guarantee that the government won’t cut the excise, Albanese won’t actually confirm.
Albanese: What we want to do is to make sure that we continue to put that downward pressure on smoking rates and making vapes available everywhere isn’t going to help.
Host: You’re ruling that out?
Albanese: What we’re saying is the big thing that we have to do is to crack down on crime …
Host: Are you saying you guarantee there will be no cut to the tobacco excise under a Labor government?
Albanese: No, what I’m guaranteeing is we’ll take on the criminals. That’s what we’re doing … We’re not about to wave the white flag.
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Albanese dismisses concerns over powers in digital duty of care bill
Anthony Albanese says the Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, is being “disingenuous” over his criticisms that the communications minister, Anika Wells, will have too much power under the new digital duty of care legislation.
Speaking to the Today Show, the prime minister says the changes will be disallowable, meaning the Senate would have the power to vote against and reject rule changes.
Yesterday Wells outlined six areas that platforms would have to protect children from and ensure adults aren’t shown illegal content.
Albanese says:
The eSafety commissioner will of course provide the advice, but Matt Canavan actually knows that he’s being disingenuous because all of these things will be disallowable. That is, will be up to the whole parliament, like the other previous laws have been.
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Migration fuelling almost half of regional growth
Migration makes up almost half of regional Australia’s population growth, a report has revealed, as healthcare services warn of major workforce shortages if the intake is cut, AAP reports.
Research from the Regional Australia Institute shows migrants made up 46.2% of growth in 2025, with the largest cohort arriving in areas outside capital cities aged between 25 and 44.
The institute is calling for increased regional migration pathways to be placed at the centre of the nation’s population planning to address skills shortages, and support new economic activity.
Regional Australia had just over 17% of overseas migrants in the 2024/25 financial year, well below its 36% share of the national population.
Under current policy settings, 28% of Australia’s population growth is projected to go to the regions, according to the institute.
But it argues its modelling shows that figure could reach as high as 72% under a “nation-building approach” that prioritises the regions as a primary destination for population growth.
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Grants program for target seats an idea ‘as old as ancient Greece’, says Clare
Jason Clare has denied accusations of pork-barrelling against the government over an “invite-only” community infrastructure grants scheme that handed the majority of its money to safe, marginal or key Labor seats.
Clare says it’s “democracy” that election promises – like funding for a new park or sports oval – are kept by a government.
He says:
That’s democracy … if you’re in an election campaign and you make a promise as the local member, people expect that you’ll deliver on it. And that’s what this fund does.
Clare is asked point blank whether this is the way Labor wins elections, through these sweeteners for voters. He says this isn’t a new tactic.
I don’t think that that is new. This is probably as old as ancient Greece. Good politicians know that you don’t necessarily win elections by having a chat on the telly. You do it by having a chat on the front door of people’s homes and meeting people where they are.
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Kids need a ‘digital detox’ says education minister
The education minister, Jason Clare, says the results of a global study released overnight shows Australian students who are online more do worse in class, and need a digital detox.
The 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results found year nines were going backwards in reading and maths, despite maintaining above-average OECD results, and that public school students are more than two years behind their independent counterparts.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, Clare says:
The experts call this cognitive stunting, that technology can be used as a crutch in the classroom. Or it also can be a distraction.
We’ve taken mobile phones, personal phones out of schools. But you go into the average classroom today and you’ll see tablets and laptops on every desk in every classroom … And the evidence is telling us that we probably need a good digital detox in our schools.
It doesn’t mean that there’s no place for technology. Our kids need to learn digital skills, and that includes AI. They need to know how to use it and how not to use it. But if it’s everywhere, then it’s having negative impacts on our kids.
Clare says the UK, which improved its scores since the last test three years ago, implemented phonics and other key changes to their curriculum 10 to 15 years ago which Australia is doing now. He says the next meeting of state and territory education minister will consider reforms to the maths curriculum.
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Labor’s digital duty of care bill risks ‘malicious compliance’, Greens say
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the government’s digital duty of care legislation is too vague on whether it allows users to opt-in or opt-out of algorithms, and says that risks manipulation or malicious compliance by the platforms.
Speaking to RN Breakfast this morning, Hanson-Young says the fines of up to $100m also won’t be enough to deter big tech.
It’s neither opt-in nor opt-out. And what I’m concerned about is how the tech platforms will manipulate that. Unless the rules are tight, unless there’s no gaps, big tech is going to spend a lot of money fighting these laws in the first place and finding every which way to get around them. Malicious compliance at best.
I think the fines element is one of those areas that I think is just not good enough … you need to hit them really where it hurts, and that’s their revenue. So it should be a percentage of global revenue.
Asked about the Coalition’s claims that the laws amount to censorship of free speech, Hanson-Young says Angus Taylor is “wrong”.
I don’t know whether this is deliberate misinformation by the opposition leader or he just doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He hasn’t really spent much time engaging on these issues. Either way, it’s wrong.
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Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you as we tick over the halfway mark of the sitting week!
There’s plenty to get to this morning so let’s get stuck in.
RBA governor: inflation is still the major problem Australia's economy
The Reserve Bank’s deputy governor has acknowledged Australians are “furious” about inflation while warning it is the “one big problem” the country’s economy is facing.
The RBA board is due to meet at the end of the month, as fears grow that it will hit mortgage holders with a fourth rate hike this year after inflation eased in July but less than expected.
Speaking to the ABC’s 7.30 on Tuesday evening, Andrew Hauser, the RBA’s deputy governor, said while the economy was doing “quite well” on low unemployment and real household incomes, inflation remained “too high”:
People want inflation down. People are furious about inflation and I understand why. It’s unfair... It hits people on low incomes. It damages price signals. It makes the job of companies difficult.
What they want us to do is our job and bring inflation down.
Hauser pointed to the ongoing Middle East conflict, the “unexpected global boom” driven by AI and the weakness of supply potential in Australia’s economy as risk factors for driving inflation.
While Hauser said a rate hike was not inevitable, he said the RBA was focused on bringing inflation down.
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Victorians could pay almost $100 a year more for electricity
Victorians could pay almost $100 a year more for electricity under a state Coalition policy to halt two key transmission projects, according to new analysis that suggests it would result in a near 40% increase in wholesale prices by 2031.
Analysis by consultancy Nexa Advisory, commissioned by non-profit group Environment Victoria, has found postponing the Western Renewables Link and the VNI West would delay other renewable energy projects. Such a move could force the state to rely on using more gas.
As a result, the average wholesale electricity price could rise from $52.9 to $85.20 per megawatt hour – an increase of 37% – between 2027 and 2031. This would flow through to households, adding $472 to the power bills of a typical household – and up to $4,719 for a small business and $11,797 for a large business - over the five-year period.
By 2050, delaying the projects could add $33bn to wholesale electricity costs and produce an additional 8.6m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions – akin to about a quarter of the state’s current annual electricity emissions.
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Chalmers: One Nation would 'diminish or destroy' super
Jim Chalmers says the Coalition and One Nation would “diminish or destroy” a compulsory super regime that this month’s intergenerational report will confirm is key to long term budget sustainability in a rapidly ageing society.
In remarks to the Super Members Council later this morning, the treasurer will condemn as “crazy” the right wing parties’ plans to give workers early access to their super savings, which he said would leave Australians poorer in retirement and weigh on the nations’ finances.
New Treasury projections show the number of retirement-age Australians will nearly double to around 9 million by 2066.
But the intergenerational report, to be released on 21 September, will show the share of older people on the aged pension is expected to fall from 66% to 52% in 40 years’ time.
As a result, spending on age and service pensions is projected to fall from 2.3% of GDP last year, to 1.8% in 2066, the IGR will show.
This is much lower than other nations, which are struggling to meet their pension obligations: aged pension costs in the UK will account for nearly 10% of GDP by 2060, 8% in Canada, 7% in New Zealand, and 6% in the US.
“Super takes serious pressure off social security outlays, and makes the budget much more sustainable as a consequence,” Chalmers will say.
We cannot let One Nation, the Liberals and Nationals diminish or destroy one of the best things Australians and Australia have going for us now and in the decades to come.
They would put at risk the fiscal sustainability, higher living standards and stronger economy that the IGR shows will be supported by a strong and maturing super system.
Welcome to Guardian Australia’s live news coverage for Wednesday.
Our terrific liveblogger Krishani Dhanji will be with you shortly.
Let’s begin.
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