Queensland’s parliamentary inquiry into e-bikes and e-scooters has been published by parliament.
As reported by the Guardian last week, the LNP-dominated inquiry recommends requiring users to hold a class c learner licence and that their use be entirely banned for children under 16.
It also recommends limiting to speed limit to just 10km/h, down from 12.5km/h, with councils encouraged to set even lower speed limits. The government should also create an offence of riding an e-mobility device on a footpath in the vicinity of a pedestrian without due care and attention, it says.
It makes no recommendations for additional funding for safe infrastructure for e-bike users, though it suggests the state government “work with local governments to achieve greater investment” and “embed e-mobility into strategic transport infrastructure planning”.
It also recommends a crackdown on illegal e-bikes. The government should also give police the power to seize and destroy an illegal e-bike “on a first offence”, it recommends.
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What we learned: Wednesday, 4 March
That’s all for today’s live news coverage. Here’s what’s been keeping us busy:
Australian shares were sold off heavily today, erasing more than $60bn in value from the market due to fears a prolonged conflict in the Middle East will elevate energy prices, triggering an inflation breakout.
An Emirates flight from Dubai to Sydney departed the UAE, the first since Saturday when turmoil in the Middle East began.
The Coalition said Labor should have done more, and acted sooner, to help Australians stuck in the Middle East amid the growing war with Iran.
Adelaide University abruptly cancelled a high-profile public event featuring UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, prompting organisers to accuse the institution of turning Adelaide into “Moscow on the Torrens”.
The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young urged radio bosses to go further and sack Kyle Sandilands immediately rather than suspending him for two weeks for “serious misconduct”.
Australia’s peak social services body, Acoss, urged robodebt victims to come forward and claim their part of a new $475m settlement before a looming Friday deadline.
It was a rowdy, if a little repetitive, question time today. Here’s the TL;DR version.
The NSW water minister, Rose Jackson, partly blamed consumers flushing wet wipes for an enormous subterranean fatberg at a Sydney sewage treatment plant, following Guardian Australia reporting about the “poo balls” that have been washing up on Sydney beaches.
Finally, the shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, channelled piano man Billy Joel in the House of Representatives, accusing the government of fueling inflation through reckless spending … in song.
Thanks, as ever, for joining us. We’ll be back first thing tomorrow.
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Faruqi and Thorpe say racism in Senate is ‘routine’ and ‘built into the policies’ of major parties
In a media release this evening, Mehreen Faruqi ridiculed the decision not to re-establish the inquiry into whether rules can be changed to address racism and sexism in the Senate.
She said:
Labor pretends to be affronted when we call out their inaction on racism, but happily vote down a motion to improve behaviour standards and safety in the Senate …
Racism in parliament is no longer just the remit of One Nation and the fringe, it is built into the policies of both major parties, who continue to scapegoat and demonise minorities rather than actually address the problems people are facing.
The motion’s co-sponsor, Lidia Thorpe, added:
Racism in the Senate chamber is routine. Senators dogwhistle and demonise people of colour in speeches. Racist sledging and comments have been directed at senators of colour like Mehreen and I …
Around the country we are seeing racism grow and threats of violence against black and brown people escalate. This parliament needs to be setting the standard for the rest of the country on racism, and taking a clear stance against it. Today, Labor has failed that test.
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Inquiry into racism and sexism in the upper house knocked back
The major parties have knocked back a motion to hold an inquiry into reviewing how Senate rules work when it comes to racism and sexism in the upper house.
The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi and independent senator Lidia Thorpe attempted to pass a motion to create the inquiry mirroring the same language used in November 2024 when it was agreed to by Labor.
That inquiry never ended up meeting, and lapsed when the new parliament started.
The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, said:
The government agrees that the conduct and behaviour of senators in this place has deteriorated to an unacceptable level. However, we do not believe that the motion simply referring this matter to the procedure committee of the Senate is a solution to remedy that behaviour …
When a senator behaves in a disorderly way, it’s up to the chamber to manage this behaviour, and I would also encourage those who are moving this motion today to reflect honestly about their own conduct towards others in this place.
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North Sydney Olympic Pool not open until May at the earliest
Swimmers who have waited five years to dive into the $100m+ refurbished North Sydney Olympic Pool will need to wait a few months longer.
The North Sydney council says a definitive date for the pool’s opening “is undetermined as [developer] Icon is yet to make application for Practical Completion”.
The council expects the application to be made this month – and then, according to the council’s updates, “it is anticipated that it will take two-three months to commission and operationalise the facility before opening to the public”.
It has been a long time coming. The 1936 harbourside pool, which sits beside the northern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, has been closed since February 2021 for building works to bring it up to world class standards. The project was originally due to be completed by late 2022.
The redevelopment was first approved in July 2013. Beset with council infighting, claims of pork-barrelling and a lack of transparency, heritage concerns and criticism from health organisations, the project’s end date and budget have repeatedly blown out, much to the disappointment of locals.
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How does an extra week of annual leave sound?
The head of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Sally McManus, is advocating for workers across Australia to be given an extra week of leave each year, bringing it in line with the majority of Europe.
She said “a lot had changed” in the 50 years since four weeks of leave was made standard, not least the amount Australians work.
“Over those 50 years, work has intensified. People’s level of stress has increased a lot, and burnout has increased a lot, and it’s time now that we moved with the times and upgraded our rights and gave people more leave,” she told the ABC.
She said on average Australians do 3.8 weeks of unpaid work a year – and that workers should claw back one of those weeks:
We’re very hard-working in Australia and doing it for free. So to get back one of those weeks is only fair.
When workers are less stressed, when they aren’t burnt out, they’re more productive.
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ASX sheds $60bn as conflict raises inflation fears
Australian shares were sold off heavily today, erasing more than $60bn in value from the market due to fears a prolonged conflict in the Middle East will elevate energy prices, triggering an inflation breakout.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped by 1.94% to 8,901.2 points, marking one of the steepest one-day drops since Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs roiled markets last year.
All 11 sectors fell today, led by a heavy sell-down of the materials sector that includes Australia’s large resources industry.
Dealing manager Paco Chow, from trading platform Moomoo, said:
Markets are recognising the Iran conflict could be drawn out and more disruptive to the world economy than initially thought.
Increased oil costs contribute to inflation by driving up energy expenses and elevating costs across nearly all goods and services in the economy.
Rising inflation is one of three traditional triggers for a sell-down in equity markets, along with increasing unemployment and some sort of exogenous shock, such as a war or a pandemic.
The governor of the Reserve Bank, Michele Bullock, has said there is a “live” chance of a rate hike in two weeks’ time, as the central bank frets about a prolonged oil price spike.
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‘Unfair’ to expect assistant multiculturalism minister to know of Taha Association’s radical views: Husic
Ed Husic says it is “bitterly unfair” to say that Julian Hill should have known that the Taha Association in Melbourne was an organisation with radical views.
The centre’s $670,000 federal funding has been removed after its leaders mourned the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Labor MP told the ABC a short time ago that Hill, the assistant multiculturalism minister, could not have foreseen events in the Middle East:
Julian Hill has a lot of skills and is capable of a lot of things, but I don’t recall seeing him with a crystal ball … This is bitterly unfair to Julian. He was not to know what events would transpire and how people would respond.
He said Ali Khamenei might have been a spiritual leader but “was also the head of a regime that undertook terrible things that saw people killed” and the government had acted “accordingly to terminate that grant because of that”.
Speaking to the ABC just before Husic, James Paterson, the shadow defence minister, said: “I think we do have to ask some questions about the due diligence of the Albanese government” in relation the grant.
He continued:
I really think Julian Hill needs to explain why he recommended and advocated for this grant, and why he didn’t warn the government that the views of people at this community center might be incompatible with the government’s objectives for social cohesion.
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NSW water minister on Sydney fatberg: ‘goodness, please don’t flush your wipes’
The NSW water minister, Rose Jackson, has partly blamed consumers flushing wet wipes for an enormous subterranean fatberg at a Sydney sewage treatment plant, following Guardian Australia reporting about the “poo balls” that have been washing up on Sydney beaches.
At budget estimates today, Nationals MLC Sarah Mitchell asked Jackson about an article published by Guardian Australia last month, in which the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) ordered Sydney Water to remove fats from the Malabar treatment plant, the home of the fatberg, which is the source of the balls.
Jackson acknowledged there were “fatberg issues” at Malabar, suggesting it could be the size of “two double-decker buses”.
“That was the Guardian’s estimate,” says Sydney Water managing director Darren Cleary. (Factcheck: it was four Sydney buses, an estimate Cleary previously endorsed when he was interviewed on ABC TV.)
Jackson says:
So goodness, please don’t flush your wipes. Please don’t put oils and greases down the sewer. That’s part of the problem … that these systems were built when people did not have access to all of the wipes and everything else that goes down the toilet. We have a lot of particularly big industrial or commercial restaurants. People are not good at managing oils and greases. There is a fatberg there. It’s very difficult for us to access. The team is all across trying to manage that.”
Jackson says the government accepts the EPA’s finding that Malabar is the source of the poo balls, saying the “long-term solution is less wastewater going through Malabar, less pressure on that system by investing in better upstream management in south-western Sydney, and we’ve put $3bn into that”.
The $3bn is not state government funding, but the result of the independent pricing and regulatory tribunal agreeing to consumer price increases for Sydney Water, which funds infrastructure expenditure through water bills.
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Shadow defence minister accuses Labor of ‘flat-footed’ response to Middle East crisis
James Paterson says the Albanese government has been “flat-footed” in its response to the crisis in the Middle East.
The shadow defence minister told the ABC a short time ago that Australians might have left the region earlier had they been given ample warning:
I think the government’s response to this crisis has been a bit flat footed. So far, we have 115,000 Australians stranded in the Middle East, many of whom might have chosen to leave had they been more directly warned by the government last week that this was a possibility, when the foreign minister did not make a single public comment herself in the week leading up to these events.
We obviously had enough notice to know that we should withdraw family members of Dfat personnel from the region, which the government did on Friday. But on Friday, why didn’t the foreign minister make a public statement?
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Allan to table correspondence related to Australian mothers in Syrian detention
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has been compelled by state parliament to table all briefs and correspondence relating to the resettlement of the 11 Australian mothers and their 23 children from Syrian detention, a move Labor and Greens MPs decried as “divisive”.
The Liberal spokesperson for multicultural affairs, Evan Mulholland, told parliament the premier had not been forthcoming with information about how many families linked to Islamic State would return to Victoria or where they would go. He said their possible return had “sent a shiver down the spine of many Assyrian, Chaldean, Yazidi, Alawite, Shia Muslim and Druze constituents in my electorate who had their lives torn apart” by Islamic State.
The motion successfully passed the upper house but both Labor and the Greens criticised it.
Ingrid Stitt, the minister for multicultural affairs, said citizenship and travel decisions were a matter for the commonwealth government and national security matters were handled by federal agencies. She said Victoria does not issue passports or determine citizenship status.
Stitt accused the opposition of using “politics of division to inflame tensions and sow fear”:
It is measured, thoughtful leadership that keeps communities safe and united, not whipping up fear, not inflaming tensions. It is rejecting extremism, clear and simple, not fuelling it. It is calling out racism and hate, not standing by those who peddle it, whether it is One Nation or the federal Liberal party … Not once have I heard any of those opposite condemn the hateful anti-Muslim comments of Pauline Hanson or the anti-Indian comments of Jacinta Price or the anti-immigration comments of Angus Taylor. Not once have I heard a condemnation from that side of the chamber. These are not mere assertions. This shows calculation. It is a political strategy; it is divisive and it is cynical.
Greens MP Sarah Mansfield said she rejected the use of the term “Isis brides”, describing it as “dehumanising” and “dog whistling”. She said Australia had a legal obligation to repatriate, prosecute or reintegrate its citizens but these weren’t actions the Victorian government can take:
Mr Mulholland and the Liberal party know this. Instead of showing leadership by demonstrating how we can have difficult conversations about difficult issues and helping to bring the community along with us, they bring this motion in here which is nothing more than a deeply cynical move aimed at stoking fear and division.
Updated
Robodebt victims urged to come forward by Friday
Australia’s peak social services body, Acoss, has urged robodebt victims to come forward and claim their part of a new $475m settlement before a looming Friday deadline.
In 2021, the first robodebt class action against the federal government settled for $112m.
But Gordon Legal, the firm that represented robodebt victims, appealed that amount in 2024.
The federal government has since agreed to a new payment worth an additional $475m.
So far, only 140,000 of the estimated 480,000 victims have registered to receive compensation through the new settlement, with the deadline on Friday.
Charmaine Crowe, Acoss’s program director of social security, said she was deeply concerned that eligible people would miss the deadline.
Crowe said:
Registrations for the class action appeal are currently around a third of what they could be, far lower than the first robodebt class action, and we are deeply concerned that eligible people will miss the deadline.
This settlement, if approved by the federal court, would deliver long-overdue recognition that robodebt caused devastating harm to hundreds of thousands of people.
If you were affected by robodebt and you wish to participate in the class action appeal scheme, you must register with Gordon Legal by 4pm, AEDT this Friday.
Updated
Thank you, Krishani Dhanji – that was an energetic QT. Let’s get on with the remainder of the day’s news.
That’s all from me today, I’ll leave you with the lovely Daisy Dumas for the rest of the arvo.
See you all bright and early tomorrow!
Tl;dr here’s what happened in question time
The opposition was singularly focused on the economy today, with all questions asking when the prime minister would concede that the buck stops with him. By the last question, a few of us in the press gallery were mouthing the words with them, already drilled into our brains (until tomorrow, eh!).
The government accused the opposition of not actually looking at today’s national accounts numbers which show things getting slightly better for households.
Jim Chalmers also accused Tim Wilson of talking Australia down by betting against the Australian sharemarket.
The speaker, Milton Dick, had a big go at the chamber for making “snide” remarks at each other, though just one MP got kicked out today compared to yesterday’s four.
And just before question time Wilson sang his 90-second statement, which even those on his own side were a little shocked by.
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Sarah Hanson-Young calls for Kyle Sandilands to be sacked immediately
The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has urged radio bosses to go further and sack Kyle Sandilands immediately rather than suspending him for two weeks for “serious misconduct”.
The $200m Kyle and Jackie O Show has been taken off the air after Jackie “O” Henderson told the Australian Radio Network (ARN) she could no longer work with her on-air partner of 25 years.
“The KIIS breakfast show will be taken off-air effective immediately, with interim arrangements made for the show,” ARN said in a statement to the ASX on Tuesday.
Hanson-Young accused Sandilands of making millions from “misogynistic, racist, and plain vile content”.
ARN have given him 14 days to explain himself; he should’ve been given 14 seconds to be out the door.
History has shown he does not care about being sanctioned, or counselled, and will not change. He’s had more than enough chances.
On 20 February Sandilands gave Henderson a nasty dressing down and she left the show, never to return.
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Court varies anti-Herzog protester’s bail conditions
A court has varied bail conditions imposed by police on a 67-year-old protester charged after the protests against Isaac Herzog’s visit in Sydney, including one condition which prevented him from attending any protests while on bail.
Munro Rowley Saunders was charged with behaving in an offensive manner after the anti-Herzog rally on 9 February outside Sydney town hall. At least 14 people were charged after the protest, which was also marred by claims of police violence, including officers punching protesters and dragging Muslim men who were praying.
Saunders’ bail conditions, set by police, included not attending any protests and not going wthin 2km of Sydney’s town hall. Saunders’ lawyer, Majed Kheir, argued before Downing Centre local court on Wednesday that the conditions were “unreasonable”, “unnecessary” and “not proportionate”.
He also argued that the police had prevented Saunders from “exercising a quite basic democratic right” by ruling he couldn’t attend protests while on bail. Kheir said:
It’s targeted against an individual who has no criminal history … He has 67 years of good behaviour to draw from.
The police prosecutor did not oppose the variation. The court struck out the two conditions and instead implemented a condition that stated Saunders must be of good behaviour.
Kheir had also sought a variation for another client, Diala Salim, who was charged after the anti-Herzog rally with assault occasioning bodily harm. Her conditions also included that she was not go within 2km of Sydney town hall while on bail.
Kheir had argued the condition for both his clients was not necessary because a protest restriction, known as the public assembly restriction declaration, which was in force during the anti-Herzog rally had now ceased.
However, the judge did not remove the condition for Salim entirely, noting she had prior protest-related offences on her record. He varied it so that she can now enter within 2km of Sydney town hall for work-related purposes.
Kheir entered not guilty pleas for Salim and Saunders.
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Adelaide University cancels event with UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese
Adelaide University has abruptly cancelled a high-profile public event featuring UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, prompting organisers to accuse the institution of turning Adelaide into “Moscow on the Torrens”.
The event is part of Constellations: Not Writers’ Week, the popup literary festival that emerged in the wake of the cancelled Adelaide Writers Week.
It was scheduled to take place at the university’s Elder Hall tomorrow night, but organisers say the university has informed them certain booking requirements were not adhered to. The Guardian has sought comment from Adelaide University.
A new venue to accommodate 650 in-person ticket holders and 350 livestream ticket holders has been secured at Norwood Concert Hall.
Albanese is appearing via video link alongside historian Prof Henry Reynolds and academic Dr. Lana Tatour.
Louise Adler, the former director of Adelaide Writers’ Week, lashed out at the decision.
“Welcome once again to Moscow on the Torrens,” she said.
Universities, the arts, and the media were once respected as sites where controversial ideas could be tested. That is no longer a given. We are witnessing relentless campaigning by sectional groups and their influence over politicians … the public square is being seriously impoverished.
Organisers of the event claim the university has bowed to pressure from the Australian, which reported last week that Albanese’s scheduled appearance was in defiance of a recent US sanction against her issued by the US president, Donald Trump.
Updated
Question time ends
And after a final dixer to Tony Burke, question time is over for the day.
Updated
Nationals’ Michelle Landry continues Coalition questioning line on living standards
And we’re back to regularly scheduled programming, and this time Nationals MP Michelle Landry is holding the baton, putting the same question to Anthony Albanese about Australians’ living standards going backwards.
Albanese says again that the question flies in the face of the accounts data released today that shows the economy is growing.
Dan Tehan gets up on a point of order, which Albanese says is because he “hasn’t been on TV for a minute”.
The personal jabs are really up there today folks.
Milton Dick says the questions are so broad the opposition can’t compel the government to be tight with their answers. “I will keep saying it and hopefully it will get through,” he adds.
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Allegra Spender asks treasurer how budget will address AI
A bit of a flavour change here, independent MP Allegra Spender says the government is moving too slowly on artificial intelligence and asks Jim Chalmers how the government is considering the impact of AI on the economy, and how the budget will urgently address “both capturing the upside and managing the downside risks?”
Chalmers says he reckons the government isn’t moving too slowly and that some “substantial progress” has been made.
He says the government’s national AI plan has three goals: capturing the opportunities of AI “including attracting more investment”, spreading the benefits of AI and keeping Australians safe.
On the upcoming budget, he says:
We’ve made it really clear, a big focus will be this productivity challenge that the honourable member knows has been hanging around in our economy now for some decades. AI can be part of the solution to our productivity challenge if we manage it right and maximise the opportunities along the lines of the AI plan.
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PM says opposition ‘completely ignoring’ national growth figures
Angus Taylor gets another go at the dispatch box, and says Australians have “endured the longest household recession on record”, and asks the PM the same question about the buck stopping with him.
Now so far, these fairly long questions have been exploited by Labor because broad questions allow very broad answers, and there’s not a whole lot the Speaker can do about it.
Albanese again takes advantage, saying “another tight question from the opposition there, Mr Speaker!” He says the question ignores today’s national accounts data.
They come in here with Monday’s pack [of questions] that they forgot to ask, ignoring today’s figures on the national accounts that are out today, completely ignoring the growth that is there, and they come in here and just continue to just talk Australia down.
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Will the treasurer bring forward measures to stop excessive grocery pricing?
Back to the crossbench, Rebekha Sharkie asks the treasurer if he will bring forward the ban on excessive pricing of groceries that is due to come into effect on 1 July.
Jim Chalmers, without committing to accelerating the deadline, says price gouging is a “big focus” of the government, and they are working to “strengthen the arrangements as soon as we can”.
We go as quickly as we can, but also consulting where we need to, making sure that we get it right.
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‘This is beyond a joke’: Speaker gets fired up over MPs’ ‘snide remarks’
Milton Dick is not having it today.
Liberal frontbencher Angie Bell gets to the dispatch box next and asks the same question again (living standards going backwards, the buck stopping with the PM, you get the gist).
Anthony Albanese takes the call this time, and soon after the opposition jumps up to make a point of order on relevance.
But the speaker’s fuse is short, and burning quickly, as the chamber gets loud with the two major parties shouting at each other. Dick then intervened:
This is beyond a joke, the way the childish, snide remarks are being added in. It’s not dignified. So, I don’t know how else to explain it, I can only imagine what the gallery thinks.
Albanese has another go at the opposition which gets them riled up again.
They’re not interested in the economy, they’re not interested in jobs, they’re not interested in living standards. All they’re interested in is over who is next to jump into various [party] positions.
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Chalmers references Guardian report on Tim Wilson’s shares that bet against Australian market
Variation on a theme is the vibe of the questions today – Tim Wilson is back up and says Australia’s is the only advanced economy to go backwards – and asks whether the PM if he’ll accept the buck stops with him. This time Wilson actually lists the countries that have a lower inflation rate than Australia.
Jim Chalmers says that Australia’s economic growth is stronger than every other advanced economy. He says he knows that makes the shadow treasurer “unhappy”.
The living standards in today’s national accounts went up, it went up through the year.
Why does that make the shadow treasurer unhappy? Chalmers has a printout of a Guardian article by my colleague Jonathan Barrett which shows Wilson holds shares that bet against the Australian share market.
Chalmers says Wilson should stop talking the economy down:
He has invested in shares which ensure the worse the Australian market and economy performs, the more money he makes out of it, Mr Speaker.
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‘Listen up!’ Chalmers tells opposition
The deputy Nationals leader, Kevin Hogan, is next to the dispatch box and says Australia is the only advanced economy where living standards have gone backwards. The question, of course, is when the prime minister will accept that the buck stops with him.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, takes the question and again takes a jab at the opposition for taking until the third question time to ask about the economy.
Given it’s Wednesday, and that appears to be Economy Day – and they’re asking us about the economy at last, Mr Speaker – you would think that having taken three days, a three-day run-up to ask a question about the economy, that they would have some understanding of what’s happening with living standards, Mr Speaker. Now, I refer those opposite – listen up.
Oh boy. That “listen up” gets the opposition fired up, with shouts of “ooh, Jimmy!” heard from the benches.
Chalmers runs through the national accounts numbers and says living standards, including real disposable incomes per capita, rose in the quarter.
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Independent MP asks about review into government board appointments
Over to the crossbench, Sophie Scamps is asking about government board appointments. She says a review found the current appointments process “is not fit for purpose and often looks like patronage and nepotism”.
So why, she asks, did the government not accept the review’s recommendation to legislate an independent appointment process.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says the government’s response has actually gone further than the review, and makes appointments “more about merit and the national interest”.
He says that while ministers will continue to have responsibility for board appointments, all decisions will be “underpinned by mandatory transparency reporting requirements”.
We’re extending it beyond government boards to cover departmental secretaries, agency heads, statutory office holders across the commonwealth.
We think that the best model is to have ministers responsible and accountable in this way to the Australian people for the appointments that we make.
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Liberal MP Simon Kennedy ejected from chamber as question time gets under way
The economy is the theme today, and shadow treasurer Tim Wilson (fresh after his song to the House), asks the prime minister when the prime minister will “finally accept the buck stops with him” after four years of Australians “going backwards”.
Anthony Albanese thanks Wilson for not singing the question to him, and says:
They must have missed the recession that took place in countries. Just look across the ditch at New Zealand, for example, as well as the UK and other countries as well. They must have missed the fact that 1.2m jobs have been created.
He also attacks Wilson for not supporting paid parental leave – it’s an issue that’s somewhat dogged the MP since he said on a Q&A panel that it’s not “my choice that women have children”.
Albanese then runs through the government’s cost of living measures to round out his answer.
At the end, we get our first booting of question time – it’s Liberal MP Simon Kennedy for talking too much.
Updated
Tim Wilson stuns colleagues with attempted Billy Joel rendition in parliament
Moments before question time began today, the shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, channelled piano man Billy Joel in the House of Representatives , accusing the government of fueling inflation through reckless spending … in song.
Wilson stunned colleagues when he sang a satirical version of Joel’s 1989 hit We Didn’t Start the Fire. It is safe to say that Labor MPs were surprised by Wilson’s musical turn too.
The lyrics, such as they are, were:
The treasurer did start the inflation fire;
The inflation’s burning
While the treasurer’s squirming;
The treasurer did start the inflation fire;
Yes, he poured debt petrol on it
And cash to organised crime fuelled it.
Anthony Albanese called the song – delivered in a 90-second statement before question time – “a human rights issue for all those who had to listen to it”.
Liberal MPs laughed at Wilson’s singing, while Flinders MP Zoe McKenzie appeared to say “oh, God” as the rendition began.
Updated
It’s question time!
When will the buck stop with the prime minister on the economy, as Australians go backwards, asks Angus Taylor.
The PM has a field day with this question, saying it’s only taken two days for the opposition to ask a question about the economy.
Anthony Albanese says:
They’ve gone two days without a question on the economy and cost of living. We’ve had the clown who’s the shadow treasurer singing at the dispatch box…
(More on the shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, singing in a moment!)
Albanese tries to quote Jane Hume, which gets manager of opposition business Dan Tehan up, telling the speaker “it’s question time not quotation time”.
Albanese says the opposition always “try and talk Australia down”. That’s met with some loud jeers from the opposition.
Wong says legality of strikes on Iran ‘for the US and Israel to explain’
Wong is dodging questions on the legality of the strikes on Iran, again saying its up to Israel and the US to legally justify the action.
The government has said multiple times over the last 72 hours that it’s not party to the actions, and say it’s up to the two countries to justify them (even though the government has said it supports action to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons).
The press conference gets a little combative as journalists try and press Wong to say whether the strikes were legal or not.
The legal basis for this is a matter for the United States and for Israel to explain. And as the prime minister made clear … let me finish. Please let me finish … As the prime minister has said, and we’re not party to all the intelligence that is being referenced.
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Australia sends six crisis response teams to Middle East
Penny Wong has confirmed 200 Australians were on the flight from Dubai to Sydney which left this morning.
The foreign affairs minister is doing a quick press conference before question time, and announces the government is deploying six crisis response teams into the Middle East to assist with consular support.
She says she can’t reveal where in the Middle East they will be going.
Wong says the government is doing all its can to help more Australians get home.
We are conscious of how distressed many people are. I want to assure you that we will continue to do all that we can to get Australians home and to keep Australians safe.
This is additional consular support to help the people who are still there on the ground. And I thank them all for their work. I’m not in a position, obviously, you’d understand, for security reasons, to be disclosing to you where and how they are travelling. They are deploying into conflict zones, but we are deploying additional consular assistance into the region.
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ASX in worst two-day drop since Trump tariffs
The Australian share market is in the grips of its worst back-to-back plunge since Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariff announcement nearly a year ago.
The country’s 200 biggest companies have lost a combined $90bn in value as the benchmark S&P/ASX200 falls for the second day in a row, totalling a 3.2% slide since Monday.
The top 10 biggest companies have all lost 1% or more in value, with ANZ Bank and BHP both down more than 3%. Number 11, Woodside, is holding steady, as traders bet the energy giant will benefit from predicted gas price spikes.
Traders worldwide fear war in the Middle East will last longer than the US has claimed, risking an oil and gas supply crunch and global economic slowdown.
The prospect of higher inflation and interest rate hikes is rising, not just in Australia, but also the US. That’s prompted traders to buy into the US dollar and sell down gold, lowering the precious metals’ price and adding to the slide on Australia’s share market: goldminers had been among the only winners in this week’s rout, but no longer.
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Wilson laughs off criticism, says Chalmers has had ‘four years of clangers’
A bit of back and fourth between Tim Wilson and treasurer Jim Chalmers today over the fuel excise.
Wilson told Sky News this morning, “When the price of petrol goes up, Jim Chalmers collects more money”, which Chalmers called a “clanger” because the excise is levied on volume not price.
Speaking to reporters, Wilson laughs off the criticism:
We’ve had four years of clangers, inflation clangers, from Jim Chalmers. He’s clearly not across his portfolio.
He clearly has forgotten that the excise is indexed to CPI twice a year. He’s also clearly forgotten that in addition to excise there’s also GST, so petrol prices go up.”
Wilson more broadly accuses Chalmers of not doing enough to grow the economy and fix the budget and says the treasurer does “not take responsibility for his actions”.
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‘We’ve got to move on from the apology tour’: Taylor
Angus Taylor says the Liberal party needs to move on from the “apology tour”, and wants to see the federal executive of the party come up with an “action plan”, after the leaking of the Liberal election review.
Anthony Albanese tabled the review – which was meant to be kept secret – in parliament yesterday.
Speaking at a supermarket in Canberra earlier this morning, alongside deputy opposition leader Jane Hume and shadow treasurer Tim Wilson, Taylor said:
What I want from the federal executive is an action plan for how we’re going to address the issues that have been canvassed for some time since the election. We’ve got to move on from the apology tour to the action plan.
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‘I trust the decisions of our agencies’: Chalmers
Jumping back to Jim Chalmers’ press conference, he’s asked about the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, meeting with Australia’s spy boss Mike Burgess during his visit to Canberra.
Asio confirmed the secret meeting between the two.
Chalmers says he “wasn’t aware” of the meeting, and did not “pore over every detail” of the Israeli president’s schedule.
I’m sure in their characteristically diligent way our agencies would have made sure in every way that they could that that visit was appropriate, and I trust, the decisions and the judgments made by our agencies.
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Minns government introduced ‘new injustice’ instead of fixing ‘systemic failure’ in prisons, says NSW ombudsman
The Minns government has taken insufficient steps to address a systemic failure in its prisons, the ombudsman has found, in a scathing critique which accused the government of instead introducing a “new injustice” that the watchdog “explicitly” recommended against.
The New South Wales ombudsman found in a 2024 investigation that there had been a “systemic failure” by correctional facilities across the state to adhere to legislation and policies when disciplining inmates.
NSW ombudsman Paul Miller said in an update released on Monday that up until July last year the watchdog had received regular updates from the corrections department about how it was working towards the reports recommendations to address the failures, and that the watchdog was “satisfied” with the progress.
But Miller said that changed soon after, coinciding with the government introducing legislation that was “something we had explicitly recommended should not be done”. The legislation lowered the standard of proof for all correctional centre offences.
“We have not received any further official updates since that time,” Miller said.
The legislation lowered the burden of proof for inmate misconduct from beyond reasonable doubt to on the balance of probabilities, leading to the state’s prisoners now facing among the harshest penalties in the country for trivial infractions such as “looking untidy” or “eating food in a cell”.
The government introduced the legislation after pressure from the union representing prison officers, the Public Services Union. Miller said of the change:
In our view, lowering that standard for serious correctional offences introduces a new injustice.
Findings of guilt for serious offences with serious punishments on anything other than the standard of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ is, in our view, unjust and unreasonable, and inconsistent with the principles of a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.
The ombudsman pointed out that courts in both Canada and Europe had held that attempts there to make similar changes were “contrary to human rights”.
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Petrol retailers can’t take consumers for ‘mugs’: Chalmers
Chalmers has written to the ACCC – the consumer watchdog – to ensure petrol retailers don’t blow out their prices as the war in the Middle East impacts fuel supplies.
But on the question of whether the government should consider decreasing the fuel excise – a tax which gives the government 52.6 cents per litre of fuel – Chalmers says it’s not being considered, and then takes aim at the opposition.
He says that Tim Wilson – who said the excise will grow as prices rise – was wrong.
We don’t want service stations to take advantage of people. We understand that there will be movements in the market, but retailers cannot be taking people for mugs.
The excise is levied on volume, not on price and [Wilson] should know that. He’s either deliberately lying about that or he has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about.
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Impacts from Middle East war expected to be ‘substantial’, says Chalmers
Chalmers says the government is closely monitoring the economic impacts of the escalating war in the Middle East, and expects them to be “substantial”.
The situation is changing rapidly, the impacts are essentially uncertain, but we expect them to be substantial. And a big part of our work at the moment, a big part of my participation in daily meetings of the national security committee, is to monitor developments in oil markets, gas markets, also travel costs, fertiliser markets.
The treasurer repeats that the economy is in a good position to withstand some of the economic uncertainty.
Asked whether the government will perform some “invasive surgery” to get the budget in better shape in May, Chalmers says:
These things are obviously weighing very heavily on our considerations for the budget.
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‘We are really well placed, to deal with what’s coming at us’, says Chalmers
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the latest national accounts figures for the December quarter show growth has been stronger than any in major advanced economy.
Speaking to reporters at Parliament House, Chalmers says the economy is well placed as the war in the Middle East escalates.
These are really encouraging numbers because they provide a robust foundation to confront the intense global volatility, which has been dialled up in recent days by the dramatic escalation of hostilities in Iran and the Middle East more broadly. We have very substantial challenges in our economy, but these numbers show that we’ve got very substantial advantages as well. We are really well placed, to deal with what’s coming at us from around the world.
Chalmers says private demand is growing faster while a key driver of public demand in the December quarter was defence spending.
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Labor and opposition vote to establish ‘secret’ defence committee
A bill to establish a new ‘secret’ defence committee, with only Labor and Coalition members, has passed the Senate.
The new committee will consider the Aukus agreement and Australia’s involvement in military conflicts.
The Greens, who will not be allowed to join the committee, say it will be made up of “pro-Trump, pro-Aukus and pro-war” members, who won’t challenge government policy.
The Greens senator, David Shoebridge, said:
If you want a better example of why Australia’s defence and foreign policy should not be made behind closed doors between the war parties, look at Albanese backing in the US and Israeli illegal war on Iran. The decision to follow Donald Trump into the next US forever war will be decided in this committee full of only the war parties.
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Australia’s economic growth surges in late 2025
Economic growth accelerated at the end of 2025, as GDP in the December quarter rose by 0.8% and lifted the annual pace to 2.6%, from 2.1% in the year to September.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said “there was broad-based economic growth in the quarter, with rises observed in a large majority of industries”.
Amid a churning public debate about whether the government is spending too much, the ABS reported that public and private demand each added 0.3 percentage points to growth over the quarter.
The good news in this morning’s national accounts will be tempered by fears the economy is operating beyond its capacity to meet all the extra demand without adding to inflationary pressures.
The Reserve Bank judges the economy’s speed limit in this regard is only about 2% a year, and Michele Bullock, the RBA’s governor, on Tuesday warned that there was a “live” chance of an interest rate hike at the meeting later this month.
Jim Chalmers said in a statement that “these really encouraging numbers are a very robust foundation from which we confront intense global economic volatility, made worse by the dramatic escalation of hostilities in Iran and across the Middle East”.
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Labor and Liberal parties accused of creating new ‘secret defence committee’
The Greens have accused the Labor and Liberal parties of teaming up to create a new “secret defence committee” which will hold closed-door hearings on Aukus to the exclusion of the Greens and cross-benchers.
The Defence Amendment Bill establishes a new committee that gives the prime minister an effective veto over who sits on it, and will only allocate spots for the Liberal and Labor parties, the Greens have said.
Greens spokesperson for foreign affairs and defence, senator David Shoebridge, said “now more than ever we need to have critical voices in the room when looking at Australia’s defence policy”.
Committees should reflect the makeup of parliament and the community. The Liberal and Labor unity ticket is not reflective of the community, which is increasingly moving away from these two parties.
Over the next decade, three-quarters of a trillion dollars in public funds will be poured into Defence. The major parties want that to be a black box, so you cannot see where that money is going, that’s what this secret committee is all about.
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Australian people ‘don’t like any of us’, says Littleproud
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, says voters “don’t like any of us” after facing questioning over shrinking support for his party.
Appearing on Sky News earlier, Littleproud was asked about a leaked New South Wales Nationals review which found once safe seats were becoming more vulnerable, with support shrinking to male voters over 55.
He replied, “every seat’s becoming vulnerable”.
We’ve seen the conservative centre-right of politics split three or four ways, and we’re now seeing some of the left side of politics split with the Teals and the Greens and the Labor party. The reality is we have a different society than what we did 10, 20 years ago.
So they pose different challenges that we have to be alive to … I think the polls demonstrate that the Australian people don’t like any of us. There’s no one sitting there with a vast majority. So what we’ve got to do is see the opportunity and articulate our message better and sell our message better.
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Cigarettes get more expensive as tobacco excise increases
The world’s most expensive (legal) cigarettes just got a bit pricier, after Australia’s tobacco excise lifted by another 2% as part of regular six-monthly increases that track wages growth.
The excise has climbed by 60% since 2020 and now accounts for three-quarters of the roughly $40 or more legal cost of a 20-pack of smokes.
Higher prices have been an effective strategy to reduce smoking over the years, particularly among younger people.
But now there are concerns high taxes may be having a perverse effect, as more Australians are getting their hands on black market cigarettes that reportedly cost only about $10 to $15 a packet.
From a standing start five years ago, illegal ciggies now account for about half of all tobacco consumed in Australia, according to estimates by the illicit tobacco and e-cigarette commissioner (Itec).
The flight to illegal smokes has also blown a mult-billion dollar hole in the budget, as the more the government lifts the excise, the less they collect in revenue.
Economists and health experts have argued the case for at least a freeze on the tobacco excise, but the government has so far refused to countenance any change, even as they commit hundreds of millions of dollars to fight the illegal trade.
There are signs policymakers may be considering their options, however, after Treasury officials recently said they were re-examining how the demand for cigarettes changes with the movement in prices.
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‘What’s next’ for Iran conflict, asks Canavan
Speaking to Sunrise earlier this morning, Nationals senator Matt Canavan said he was concerned the US administration’s reasoning for the war in Iran is “shifting by the day”.
He adds that wars to change regimes through his lifetime haven’t worked as intended, and have significant consequences.
Unlike the rest of the Coalition, and the government, who have supported the strikes on Iran (though left questions about the legality of them to the US and Israel), Canavan says he’s against them.
I’m concerned that the Trump administration’s reasons for this conflict seem to be shifting by the day. Yesterday, the secretary of state suggested they went in because Israel was going to go first. Look, I’ve been against these attacks. I don’t see these regime change wars that we’ve gone through in my lifetime ever working out well … All we can do is hope and pray this turns out better than Iraq, than Libya, than Syria, than Afghanistan. All these conflicts have ended up making the world worse. And it’s great to see the Ayatollah no more, but I’m still asking, what’s next?
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Chalmers fact checks Wilson’s ‘clanger’ over fuel excise claim
Jim Chalmers’ office is sending a fact check around on shadow treasurer Tim Wilson’s earlier comments to Sky News, that as petrol prices increase, the government will claim more money through the fuel excise.
Chalmers calls Wilson’s comments a “clanger”.
The fuel excise isn’t a percentage tied to price, but a set amount per litre sold, and currently sits at 52.6 cents per litre. The excise is increased every six months for inflation.
This means the government would get more money through the excise if more petrol is sold, but the excise does not increase just because the price goes up.
Wilson wouldn’t say whether the excise should be cut as fuel prices go up, but that it’s something that Chalmers could consider.
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Labor should have acted sooner to help Australians stuck in Middle East, says shadow foreign minister
The Coalition says Labor should have done more, and acted sooner, to help Australians stuck in the Middle East amid the growing war with Iran.
The shadow foreign minister, Ted O’Brien, said on Wednesday the government should be looking to evacuate as many of the 115,000 Australians in the region as possible.
Labor wants stranded Australians to seek to return on commercial flights, but has contingency planning in place for government repatriation flights.
“There has been double standards by the government in how they have treated the Australian people on this and that is unacceptable,” O’Brien said.
On the 25th of February, the government decided that the risk was so high that diplomats, their dependents, should be evacuated from the region. But it took three more days and over 100 ballistic missiles before the government treated the everyday Australian public in the same way.
O’Brien said it took too long for the government to issue “do not travel” warnings for the region.
That is not acceptable. The obligation now is on the government to ensure they do everything possible to ensure that Australians are, first and foremost, safe, but secondly, there’s an option there for them to be evacuated.
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Minns admits to ‘strained’ relationship with Muslim community after Iftar dinner cancelled
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has admitted to a strained relationship with the state’s Muslim community after he cancelled the annual premier’s Iftar dinner following the ongoing fallout from protests against the visit by Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, last month.
The Daily Telegraph has reported that Minns cancelled the dinner after consultation with Muslim community leaders amid ongoing tension, including over an incident in which a group of people praying during the protest at Sydney’s Town Hall were aggressively moved on by police. The police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, has apologised in private meetings and letters with Muslim community leaders.
Minns confirmed he had cancelled the Iftar dinner on ABC Radio Sydney this morning. Asked if he too should apologise over the prayer incident, Minns said:
Look, [the relationship] is strained, I’m not going to be flippant about it, and we want to rebuild the relationship, not just with me personally or the government or the Labor party, but with the civic institutions, the important civic institutions that keep our community safe, Multicultural NSW and NSW Police … I don’t want to be in a situation where I’m antagonising the Muslim community, particularly during Ramadan.
But my view hasn’t changed. It was a difficult, impossible situation that everybody found themselves in on that night.
The mayor of Liverpool, Ned Mannoun, has told the News Corp papers Minns has a “fetish” for attacking the Muslim community, after the premier described vigils by a small number of Sydney mosques to mourn the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as “atrocious”.
Minns joined Victoria in cancelling annual Iftar dinners in 2024 in the wake of peak Muslim groups announcing boycotts due to Labor’s position on the war in Gaza.
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First flight from Dubai to Sydney departs since Iran war broke out
An Emirates flight from Dubai to Sydney has departed the UAE, the first since Saturday when turmoil in the Middle East began.
The flight, EK414, left at 2.23am local time in Dubai and is expected to arrive in Sydney in 13 hours and 30 minutes, just after 10.30pm local time.
Emirates had suspended almost all flights to and from Dubai until 11.59pm on Tuesday local time, aside from a limited number of passenger repatriation and freighter flights. Passengers with earlier bookings are being accommodated as a priority on those planes.
Customers travelling to or from Dubai have been told not to go to the airport unless they have been notified directly by the airline, or if they hold a confirmed booking for one of those repatriation flights.
All scheduled Emirates flights to and from Dubai remain suspended until 2359hrs UAE time on 4 March, due to airspace closures across the region.
— Emirates Support (@EmiratesSupport) March 3, 2026
Emirates continues to operate a limited number of passenger repatriation and freighter flights on 3 and 4 March. We are accommodating… pic.twitter.com/rNFG3mDovl
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Victoria’s WFH legislation to include dispute resolution pathway
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is holding a press conference to announce her plans to introduce legislation to enshrine the right to work from home two days a week.
Allan says the bill – amending the Equal Opportunity Act – will be introduced in July and if passed will come into effect on 1 September.
But following backlash to her announcement that small businesses won’t be exempted, Allan says there will be a delayed commencement of 1 July 2027 for workplaces with fewer than 15 employees. She says this will allow them more time to get their HR policies and procedures in place – the main criticism business groups had of the policy yesterday.
The Victorian treasurer, Jaclyn Symes, explains the legislation will include a “clear pathway” for disputes between employers and employees.
The legislative vehicle for the changes would be the Equal Opportunity Act, not dissimilar to what we did over a decade ago in terms of the right to request flexible working arrangements if you have caring responsibilities, broadening that type of request out to reasonable requests for everyone.
She says disputes will go to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commision (VEOHRC) for conciliation. If that fails, disputes will then go the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Symes says “additional funding” will be provided to VEOHRC to do this work.
Symes says she’s received legal advice that using the Equal Opportunity Act avoids the “risk” of a constitutional challenge.
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‘Embarrassing’ that Liberal election review released by Labor government, says former MP
Former Liberal MP Jenny Ware, who lost her seat of Hughes in the 2025 election, has welcomed the release of the party’s post election review, but says it’s “embarrassing” that the government had to do it.
Ware had met with the authors of the report Nick Minchin and Pru Goward last June, but said she hadn’t heard back from either of them since.
She told Guardian Australia the party owes it to its members, supporters and donors to be transparent about the shock election result.
Of course it is embarrassing that the Labor government released the report rather than the federal Liberal party taking ownership and making it publicly accessible.
Fundamentally the party owes it to its thousands of members, supporters, donors and former members to expose the reasons why we had the worst campaign in our history. We also had many candidates who put their lives on hold to run as Liberals in the election and they were hung out to dry.
Ware added that she wants to see the party better engage with women – as voters, candidates and structurally within the party.
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ASX to drop as Middle East conflict raises inflation fears
Australian shares are poised to drop sharply when the markets open this morning over fears a prolonged conflict in the Middle East will fuel inflation.
Futures pricing indicates the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 will open down more than 1.3%, taking the index to around the 8,940-point mark.
The conflict has continued to widen across the Middle East, with hundreds of people killed across the region, the vast majority in Iran. At the same time, oil prices have recorded sharp gains.
The anticipated move on the ASX would track US stocks, which recorded steep declines overnight, although Wall Street did pare some of the losses late in the trading session.
ANZ said in a research note this morning that financial markets continued to assess inflation risks from energy market disruptions.
While significant uncertainty remains over the duration of the conflict in the Middle East, financial markets are pricing in the risk of extended disruption.
Rising oil prices drive inflation by increasing the cost of energy and raising production and transportation expenses for almost all economic goods and services.
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Jim’s economy a ‘house of credit cards’, Wilson says
Folks, I think we have a new slogan, with shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, pushing this one on Sky News this morning.
We know he’s [Jim Chalmers] built an economy on a house of credit cards, and he is always looking for more money as a way to address his spending addiction and his credit card.
Wilson, talking about the fuel excise, and threats to the economy from the war in the Middle East, won’t say whether the government should consider cutting the fuel tax, as prices are tipped to rise.
He says he’ll watch the situation closely but notes that when the fuel price does increase, so does the share of excise, which goes towards the budget.
Again, he won’t say what the Liberals would do in this situation.
We’re going through our processes to address how we’re going to confront these realities, but it seems pretty clear to me that the treasurer could take that action [to cut the fuel excise] if he chose to take that action. At this point, he’s quite happy to take extra money from tax revenue from Australians because he’s got a credit card addiction that he needs to pay off.
I counted at least 12 mentions of “credit card” in the interview.
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Hastie digs in on claim international rules based order is over
Andrew Hastie says the world is in a “new stage” of history and that the rules based order, and United Nations are now “defunct” constructs.
He calls Donald Trump – as he did yesterday – an “apex opportunist”, pointing to the US’s actions in Venezuela, Nigeria and now Iran.
Hastie says his concern is that Australia needs to be more self-sufficient, and “stand up on its own two feet” militarily.
I think that that construct is defunct in a sense. We’ve got a different president who is mercantilist when it comes to his sort of economics. I think he’s an apex opportunist.
And my concern foremost by making those comments is to wake Australia up. We’ve only got 30-odd days worth of fuel. If our shipping lines are cut, then our whole economy could grind to a halt very quickly. Never mind the fact that our industrial base is also shrinking. And that makes us vulnerable to world events. So, my concern is for our country and making sure that we’re resilient and self-sufficient.
Here is a reminder of what Hastie said yesterday …
And for those (like me) who don’t know what a “mercantilist” is, a quick Google search says mercantilism is an economic theory developed between the 16th and 18th centuries that says a government should control the economy and a nation should increase its wealth by exporting more than importing.
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‘Boss move’ from PM to table Liberal review, says Hastie
Shadow minister for industry and sovereign capability, Andrew Hastie, joins RN Breakfast next, and says it was a “boss move” for Anthony Albanese to table the Liberals post election review.
The Liberal party had tried to shelve the review, but it was already leaking out to the media before landing in the prime minister’s hands.
Hastie says the party and the new leaders have already acknowledged some of the things they got wrong in the election.
[Albanese] likes theatre. He had a twinkle in his eye when he did that. Obviously, it was leaked, and there was a bit of stagecraft from him … But we’re not going to live in the past, we’re going to live in the future, and our mission is to restore Australian’s standard of living. We’re going backwards under Labor and also to protect our way of life. And that’s why we’ve been pursuing the Isis sympathiser case this week, because our way of life is being challenged.
Host, Sally Sara, asks Hastie why the party is targeting the women and children stuck in a Syrian detention camp, rather than focusing on the economy. He says the issue goes to the two core pillars of the party’s platform, to “restore our standard of living and protect our way of life,” and that just because commentators might not like the question time strategy, it “doesn’t mean it’s wrong”.
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‘Alarming parallels’ with Iraq 2003, says Wilkie
Andrew Wilkie, an independent MP and former senior intelligence analyst with the Office of National Assessments, says the US and Israel have “exaggerated” justifications for the strikes on Iran, and has accused Donald Trump of using “political tricks” to increase the Republicans’ polling ahead of the midterms.
On RN Breakfast, Wilkie says there are “alarming parallels” between the situation now and when the US invaded Iraq in 2003, which had followed the 2002 US midterm elections.
Wilkie also points out that the US talking about nuclear possibility in Iran 18 months away is “completely inconsistent” with what Trump said after the 12-day war, that they had crushed Iran’s nuclear capability.
In both cases there was a failure to secure the approval of the United Nations. In fact, this time around, the United States hasn’t even attempted to get the approval of the United Nations.
Back in 2003, that was just after the 2002 congressional midterm elections when the Republicans had really beaten the drums of war and they did well in those congressional midterms. But by that stage they were on an inevitable course to have the conflict. Same this time around. The Republicans are doing poorly at the moment, their polling is poor, president Trump’s polling is poor, so they start to beat the drums of war again. It’s a political trick as old as countries themselves.
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Farrell says $15bn of trade could be impacted by war
Labor’s trade minister, Don Farrell, says a “relatively small” amount of Australia’s exports go through the Middle East as the war escalates in the region.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, Farrell says he’s meeting with 40 of Australia’s largest trade organisations today to ensure the industry comes “out the other end of this in a solid situation.”
Farrell won’t bite on how long the conflict could possibly go on for, and says he won’t speculate.
A relatively small amount, about $15bn worth of trade goes through the Middle East. Obviously, that’s very important for those companies that are trading there.
Our trade is, in fact, increasing in the Middle East. We now have a free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates. Already, our beef trade has doubled in the six months that that trade agreement has been in operation. But of course, all of that gets affected by this uncertainty of the war in the Middle East.
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Wong avoids questions on legality of strikes on Iran
The Australian government has so far dodged any questions around the legality of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, saying it’s a matter for the two nations.
ABC AM host, Melissa Clark, tries again to push Wong on the issue, following US president Donald Trump’s statement that he thought Iran was going to attack Israel, and so the US had to strike first.
Wong won’t bite, but adds that this conflict didn’t start with those strikes by the US and Israel, and also points to the role of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps over two antisemitic attacks in Australia.
The legal basis of these strikes is ultimately a matter for the United States and Iran, sorry, and Israel, is ultimately a matter for the United States and Israel. We know Iran has failed to comply with UN security council resolutions on its nuclear program. We know what Iran has been doing over many years. I think it is important for us to remember this has not started with these strikes. This has been going on for decades, including in Australia.
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Australia faces a ‘consular crisis’ in Middle East, says Wong
Penny Wong has told ABC AM that the first flight from Dubai to Sydney could depart this morning (Australia time), but is “dependent on the circumstances”.
The foreign minister still maintains that commercial flights are the best option for Australians trying to get home.
Wong says the government is engaging with countries in the region, particularly the United Arab Emirates, where there are about 24,000 Australians. There are 115,000 Australians in the broader region.
She says the situation is “a consular crisis that dwarfs any that Australia has had to deal with in terms of numbers of people.”
Obviously, it’s very unpredictable. And I understand there is a flight scheduled from Dubai to Sydney.
We are looking at all contingencies that are possible, but I again say what I’ve said over the last two days. When you have as many Australians as we have in, particularly in the Emirates, but broadly in the region, so it’s 115,000 Australians in the broader region, 24,000 in Emirates … That volume of traffic will really need to see commercial flights resume even if only sporadically, to get people home.
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‘Give us an ad break’ campaign calls for curbs on marketing of harmful products
The government is being urged to limit the “relentless” advertising of alcohol, gambling and unhealthy food by a new national public health campaign launched today.
The “give us an ad break” campaign is calling for the federal government to introduce “a harmful products marketing act” as one of the most important steps to improve the nation’s long-term health.
Modelled on Australia’s world-leading tobacco legislation, the law would regulate advertising of gambling, alcohol and unhealthy foods across platforms, including online, and reduce children’s exposure to ads for products linked to cancer and chronic disease.
Over 130 health organisations and leaders are behind the campaign including the Alliance for Gambling Reform, the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (Fare), the Food for Health Alliance and VicHealth.
The move has strong community support, according to a nationally representative survey Fare commissioned Pureprofile to conduct in February, as four in five Australians want less advertising for gambling, alcohol and unhealthy foods.
VicHealth chief, Prof Anna Peeters, said reducing children’s exposure to harmful marketing is one of the most powerful steps the government can take to improve the nation’s long-term health.
Limiting advertising for alcohol, gambling and unhealthy food would significantly reduce the burden of cancer, liver disease, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and financial harm across the community. By reducing children’s exposure to alcohol, gambling and junk food advertising, we can prevent chronic illness before it starts and ease pressure on families and the health system.
This is a practical, evidence-based opportunity for the federal government to reshape the environments our children grow up in. If we act now, we can create a future where fewer Australians experience preventable cancer and chronic disease.
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Parliamentary watchdog ‘does not have the power to make a real difference’, Thorpe says
Lidia Thorpe says the parliamentary watchdog is powerless to make a real difference against racism and the treatment of women after it released its first public statement last week.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission named Victorian senator Ralph Babet as having made “offensive, disrespectful and harmful” remarks in a social media post published in November 2024. The watchdog said it had sanctioned him to attend one-on-one behaviour training and agree to refrain from further similar comments but Babet had failed to comply, resulting in a public statement.
Thorpe, who was censured on the same day as Babet in the Senate for earlier protesting King Charles’s visit to Canberra, said the body’s investigation was vague and showed it “still does not have the power to make a real difference”.
Under the law, the standards umpire is able to make a public statement about an investigation if a parliamentarian fails to comply with a sanction. Where a more serious breach of the code has been committed, an IPSC decision-maker can refer the incident to a parliamentary privileges committee. That committee can impose salary fines and suspend politicians.
In a statement, Thorpe said:
This outcome is confusing, and the public has no real insight into how it was decided. With the way the major parties set up the IPSC to conceal deliberations, we may never know …
In this first case that has been made public, it seems the only outcome was naming the senator involved. We have no way of knowing whether stronger sanctions were considered by the IPSC or the Privileges Committee, or even if the committee discussed the matter at all …
The public deserve to know how this decision was made, what role the IPSC played, what role politicians played, and why the outcome looks like this.
We warned that a closed-door process dominated by Labor and the Coalition would compromise transparency, accountability, and public confidence …
Everyone should be safe at work, and we need strong accountability processes around bad behaviour.
But this workplace still has deep problems, especially when it comes to racism and the treatment of women.
Much more needs to be done, and unfortunately the IPSC still does not have the power to make a real difference.
Read more:
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Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
We’ve got another very busy day today so let’s get straight into it!
NSW investment body backs renewable projects, two hotels, and gas pipeline
The NSW government has announced the first round of projects it is endorsing through its Investment Delivery Authority (IDA), including more than a dozen clean energy and battery storage projects, two hotels, and one gas pipeline.
The endorsements by the IDA, a body created at this year’s state budget, are not a direct investment, but provide companies with a “concierge service” to cut through red tape, including dedicated government support with planning approvals and infrastructure delivery.
The NSW treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, who is appearing before budget estimates today, says the IDA “is helping ensure major investment proposals that matter to our economy receive the attention they require”.
The 16 projects, worth a combined $34.4bn, include 13 renewable energy or battery storage sites, such as electricity and gas giant AGL’s Hunter energy hub, and wind and solar farms. They also include Hunter Gas Pipeline Pty Ltd, acquired by Santos in 2022, which owns an approved gas pipeline route from Wallumbilla in Queensland to Newcastle, passing close to Santos’ controversial Narrabri gas project.
The other endorsements are two hotel projects worth a combined $482m. One, the Vuez Eco Resort, describes itself on its website as a “future-focused eco-tourism destination on the shores of Lake Jindabyne, bringing together sustainable design, nature, and year-round alpine experiences”.
The other is a redevelopment of a heritage-listed warehouse near Sydney’s Central station that was gutted during an “apocalyptic” blaze in May 2023. The state government expects to announce data centre proposals to the IDA at a later date because of the scale of energy and water infrastructure required by the sector.
Updated
Victorian premier reveals start date for legal right to work from home
The right to work from home two days a week will be enshrined in Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act, the premier, Jacinta Allan, will announce today, with plans for the laws to take effect before the state election.
After announcing yesterday that the right to work from home would apply to all businesses, Allan will today confirm the government will introduce legislation to the Victorian government in July. If passed, it would take effect on 1 September.
Last year, the premier announced that her government would legislate the right to work from home two days a week for those who can “reasonably” do so. It has since become a key pillar of Labor’s re-election pitch ahead of the November poll.
At the time, she said the legal right would apply to both public and private sector workers but it was unclear how it would be enforced. This is because Victoria, like other states, transferred its industrial relations powers for private sector workers to the federal government years ago.
Allan will say today that the right to work from home will be enshrined in the Equal Opportunity Act. The act, introduced in 2010, makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person based on individual attributes such as age, race, sex and disability.
It is understood the government will seek to make it unlawful to discriminate against people who work from home two days a week. It would not apply to people whose roles prevent them from working from home.
Allan said in a statement:
Only Labor has new solutions to make life easier, safer and more affordable. That’s why we will protect work from home in law from 1 September.
Albanese talks to UAE leader about stranded Australians
Anthony Albanese spoke last night with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates.
They discussed the situation facing stranded Australians in the Middle East.
There are about 24,000 Australians in the UAE, many stranded due to flight disruptions caused by bombings by the Iranian regime, in retaliation to weekend strikes by the US and Israel.
The two leaders were able to exchange views on the current situation in the Middle East, and Albanese thanked the president for support for Australians stranded by the conflict.
The pair also discussed the importance of the resumption of commercial flights as soon as possible.
Albanese also spoke with his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon yesterday.
They exchanged views on the Middle East and discussed the consular challenges brought about by the conflict.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.
Anthony Albanese has discussed the situation facing stranded Australians in the Middle East with the president of the United Arab Emirates as many continue to seek an exit from the region engulfed in the US-Israeli war on Iran. More coming.
The government is being urged to limit the “relentless” advertising of alcohol, gambling and unhealthy food by a new national public health campaign launched today. We have more details shortly.
And the Victorian premier has announced her intention to give Victorians the legal right to two days a week of working from home by the first of September this year.
