Category Archives: Australian politics

Labor puts childcare centres on notice after abuse scandal with ‘one strike’ threat to funding

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Legislation will give education department powers to cancel the childcare subsidy if standards fall – and publicise its decision

The prime minister says federal funding and potential cancellation of payments will be used as a threat to “drive the change” for safety in childcare centres, as governments scramble to respond to shocking allegations of abuse in early education centres.

More safety training for childcare workers, CCTV in centres and changes to working with children checks are on the agenda for federal and state authorities. Under new federal legislation revealed on Wednesday, childcare centres could lose federal funding from just one safety breach “strike”.

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Australian Greens leader says she has not read reasons for party’s expelling of co-founder

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Larissa Waters dismisses responsibility for party’s decision to expel Drew Hutton

Greens leader Larissa Waters says she has not read documentation outlining why the party’s co-founder, Drew Hutton, was expelled because she has been busy preparing for parliament.

The decision to terminate Hutton’s life membership of the Greens was upheld by delegates of the state branches on Sunday, over what the party considers his pursuit of debate harmful to trans people but that he has framed as an issue of free speech.

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Labor MP Ali France thanks late son for his belief in her in first speech to parliament after unseating Peter Dutton

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Melbourne member Sarah Witty, who defeated former Greens leader Adam Bandt, also credits profound impact of family life on her politics

The newly minted Labor MP Ali France, who unexpectedly unseated former opposition leader Peter Dutton in the May election, has detailed her “epic journey” to Canberra in a poignant first speech.

France who battled Dutton over seven years for the seat of Dickson, north of Brisbane, was the first of Labor’s fresh faces to introduce themselves to the 48th parliament on Tuesday.

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Small band of independents offer Liberals and Labor a path to power in Tasmania

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Jeremy Rockliff has begun courting crossbench support, while Dean Winter is open to governing with five-seat Greens plus independents

The independents who hold Tasmania’s political future in their hands have indicated they could support a premier from either major party.

The incumbent Liberals claimed 14 seats at Saturday’s snap election, ahead of Labor on nine.

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‘Significant gap’ between Australian companies’ climate commitments and how they actually invest, analysts find

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Experts say the level of ambition in Labor’s upcoming 2035 emissions target will influence the capital decisions of many companies

Investment analysts have uncovered what they say is a “significant gap” between the climate commitments of major Australian companies and how they actually spend their money.

A report from climate consultancy group Pollination included analysis of the public climate disclosures of 12 major Australian companies, looking especially at their decisions on how and where to spend capital.

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Liberal and Labor leaders court crossbench after snap Tasmanian election delivers another hung parliament

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Parties likely to have same number of seats as last parliament, but premier Jeremy Rockliff declares victory after Liberals secure 3% swing from Labor

Tasmania’s premier and opposition leader have both reached out to independent MPs in the hope of forming government, after Labor lost ground in the early election it brought on.

Saturday’s snap poll, 16 months after the last election, returned another hung parliament with the Liberals so far securing 14 seats and Labor nine, as counting continued.

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Minority government the new normal in Tasmania as voters turn away from major parties

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State’s unusual electoral system makes winning a majority difficult at the best of times. Now, facing another hung parliament, Labor is in a sticky situation

Tasmania has just had its second state election in 16 months, the shortest gap between state polls in Australia since Queensland in 1957.

For some voters it was their fifth trip to the ballot box in less than two years.

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Jeremy Rockliff says he expects crossbenchers will allow Liberals to form government – as it happened

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Controversial MP Mark Latham says he has “broken no law” as he publicly responds to a former partner’s allegations of domestic violence.

The former federal Labor leader and NSW One Nation leader has described recent reports involving former partner Nathalie Matthews as “false, reckless and irresponsible”.

I have broken no law. The police did not involve themselves in the AVO matter.

I have breached no standing orders of the Legislative Council. The NSW parliament has stringent processes about inappropriate behaviour, and in my six years there, I’ve never been notified of a complaint against me.

The Marine Rescue Batemans Bay and Bermagui crews said sea conditions were favourable last night, but it was quite dark with little assistance from the moon, and they had to navigate around numerous whales.

They are searching an area offshore from just north of Narooma to south of Bermagui under the direction of Marine Area Command and will continue to do so until otherwise instructed.

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Federal opposition flags more ‘sensitive’ approach to foreign students at Australian universities

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New Coalition education spokesperson Jonathon Duniam says Peter Dutton policy to slash international enrolments not ‘as constructive as it could have been’

The Coalition has walked away from its call for Australia to slash 80,000 international students from higher education institutions, with the opposition’s education spokesperson promising a more “sensitive” approach after the party’s crushing election defeat in May.

During the federal election campaign, the then-opposition leader, Peter Dutton, claimed that cutting foreign student numbers would free up more housing and rental opportunities. Dutton said students were “taking up accommodation that should be occupied by Australian citizens”.

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Labor moves to bolster penalty rates and overtime pay protections for millions of workers

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Legislation will prevent award wage penalty rates from being cut in exchange for higher rates of base pay if it will leave workers worse off

Workers who rely on award wages would have their rights to penalty rates and overtime pay protected under one of the first pieces of legislation to be introduced to the new federal parliament.

The changes to the Fair Work Act would effectively ensure workers paid under awards cannot have their penalty rates reduced in return for a higher rate of base pay if it leaves workers worse off.

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Scott Morrison to testify before US House panel on China

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Former Australian prime minister to appear at hearing about countering China’s ‘economic coercion against democracies’, select committee says

The former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison will testify at a US House panel hearing next week about countering China’s “economic coercion against democracies,” the committee said on Friday.

Rahm Emanuel, the former US ambassador to Japan, will also testify before the House select committee on China.

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Push to end antisemitism is welcome but envoy’s plan raises concerns, Australia’s race commissioner warns

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Giridharan Sivaraman says he hopes to meet Jillian Segal to discuss her proposals and their implications for fundamental rights and freedoms

Australia’s race discrimination commissioner has warned there is limited detail in how Jillian Segal’s plan to combat antisemitism would be implemented, and said he would work with her to ensure it does not restrict fundamental rights and freedoms.

Giridharan Sivaraman has responded to the antisemitism envoy’s 20-page plan, released last Thursday, which made a range of recommendations, including withholding government funding from universities that “facilitate, enable or fail to act against antisemitism” and monitoring media organisations “to avoid accepting false or distorted narratives”.

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Social services department warned Tanya Plibersek she faces uphill battle amid ‘political polarisation’

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Brief obtained under freedom of information laws shows new minister told of ‘increased risk of entrenched disadvantage’ in Australia

Tanya Plibersek has an uphill battle to justify and prioritise Australia’s multibillion-dollar social services system, her department has warned, against a backdrop of “rising geopolitical tensions and political polarisation”.

The Department of Social Services, which is responsible for a quarter of federal government spending, delivered the warning to the new social services minister about the flow-on effects of global uncertainty in a brief dated 13 May and obtained by Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws.

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Pentagon wants to make Aukus work but some stakeholders have ‘serious concerns’, senior US defence official says

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Defence official says major increase in Australian defence spending is ‘quite warranted’

Some US military stakeholders have “very serious concerns” about the Aukus arrangement but the Pentagon wants “to make this thing work”, a senior American defence official says. While they say a review of the nuclear submarine pact is being undertaken in good faith, it will not be completed within 30 days, as initially anticipated.

Still, Washington is sticking to its request for Australia to give “a clear sense” of how it would respond militarily, including with the Aukus submarines, to future conflicts. While Anthony Albanese declares the Australian government wants to see “peace in and security in our region”, the senior official says the US wants Australia to step up more.

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Antisemitism envoy denies involvement in major donation by husband’s company to rightwing group Advance

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Records show company co-directed by Jillian Segal’s husband donated $50,000 in 2024 to lobby group which campaigned against Albanese and pro-Palestine protests

Australia’s antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, says she had no involvement in a major donation from her husband’s company to the controversial conservative campaign group Advance, which has strongly railed against overseas immigration, pro-Palestine protests and the Labor government.

Guardian Australia first reported in February that Henroth Investments Pty Ltd had donated $50,000 to Advance in 2023-24, according to Australian Electoral Commission annual donation disclosure figures. One of that company’s directors, according to corporate records, is John Roth – Segal’s husband.

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‘Gross over-reach’: Labor group urges Albanese to reject key parts of antisemitism envoy plan

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Exclusive: Labor Friends of Palestine concerned by Jillian Segal’s recommendation government adopt IHRA’s contested definition of antisemitism

A “groundswell” of Labor rank-and-file members are urging the government to reject key recommendations from the federal antisemitism envoy, according to an internal lobby group, urging a focus on anti-racism education rather than more contentious ideas such as stripping funding from universities and arts bodies.

Labor Friends of Palestine, an internal campaign group of members and politicians, said it was concerned about anti-Jewish hatred, but would be troubled about wider adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s contested definition of antisemitism, as recommended by Jillian Segal in a wide-ranging plan last week.

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Australia news live: PM says his government ‘support the status quo’ for Taiwan – as it happened

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‘A balanced region where no one is dominated and no one dominates’

China needs to be “more transparent” about military and nuclear buildups in the region, Conroy says, and this has been a message communicated “publicly and privately” with China.

That is our position. Sovereignty will always be prioritised and that will continue to be our position.

I’m not going to foreshadow everything that the prime minister will or won’t say but the conversation with his counterparts will cover economic security and human rights issues. We’ve been clear about that, but we are being very clear that we want a balanced region where no one is dominated and no one dominates.

In my portfolio of the Pacific, we’re seeing China seeking to secure a military base in the region and we’re working hard to be the primary security partner of choice for the region because we don’t think that’s a particularly optimal thing for Australia.

This is about Australia having good international relationships with everyone in the world. The Australian people expect us to invest strongly in our diplomatic capability as well as our military capability. China is our largest trading partner. Twenty-five per cent of our exports go to China.

We’ve worked hard to stabilise the relationship and unblock $20bn worth of trade. That’s hundreds of thousands of jobs that we’ve helped protect so Prime Minister Albanese’s trip is about promoting jobs, promoting trade but also managing differences.

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Australia rebuffs calls to commit to joining hypothetical US-China conflict

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Anthony Albanese says he doesn’t support unilateral action in Taiwan amid reports Washington seeking guarantees about how Canberra would respond in event of Indo-Pacific conflict

Australia will refuse any US request to join a “hypothetical” conflict with China over Taiwan and won’t make any advance commitment, the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, has said, amid reports Washington is seeking such promises in discussions over the Aukus submarines.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, also pushed back on such a request, alluding to America’s own position of so-called “strategic ambiguity” on whether the US would militarily respond in a conflict over Taiwan. He said Australia wanted to see “peace and security” in the region.

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Drew Hutton helped found the Australian Greens. So why has the troubled party booted him from its ranks?

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The former life member says his support of those voicing ‘trans-critical’ views is a matter of free speech – but others say it’s a question of what values the party supports

Drew Hutton had assumed he would live out his life a card-carrying Green. The 78-year-old retiree turned up to local branch meetings, staked party corflutes into the lawn of his home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and handed out how-to-vote cards long after stepping down from active duty in the party.

Given Hutton had been awarded life membership and his friend – and the Green’s first national leader – Bob Brown had lauded him a “towering figure in Australian environmental and social politics” who, “more than anybody” (including Brown himself) was “responsible for the formation of the Australian Greens”, it must have seemed a safe bet.

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Barnaby Joyce vows to wind back ‘lunatic crusade’ of net zero with private member’s bill

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Coalition’s decades-long brawl over climate change and energy policy laid bare as former deputy prime minister sends out clarion call on Facebook

Barnaby Joyce has vowed to wind back the “lunatic crusade” of net zero by 2050 in a private member’s bill once parliament resumes later this month.

The former deputy prime minister and Nationals backbencher’s clarion call on Friday afternoon laid bare the Coalition’s decades-long brawl over climate change and energy policy.

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