Category Archives: Australian politics

Brad Battin says Liberals ousted Greens in Prahran by ‘listening to locals’ – as it happened

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Coalition backs healthcare package

Gallagher welcomed the opposition backing Labor’s package for women’s health this morning. She said on ABC Insiders:

We know Peter Dutton wanders around saying he’s going to cut a whole range of things. He’s clear he sees a lot of our investments in Medicare as wasteful spending. But these are really good investments into women’s health. And it will make a difference for millions of people across the country including women who are going through men who really have felt left behind by the health system and hopefully these new measures will address all of those issues.

It’s come down quite obviously for women across the country, the use of contraception, going through different stages of your life, including menopause, that these are areas that either haven’t been addressed for decades, or haven’t been met appropriately through the Medicare system. So, you know, we have landed the hospital deal, keep investing in the public health system, we have got a lot of initiatives about strengthening Medicare and this builds on that.

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‘It’s a lie. Pure and simple’: Kevin Rudd’s office bluntly rejects USAid claims circulating online

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As humanitarian aid organisation is gutted by Trump administration, Rudd’s office says neither he nor Asia Society received funding

Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ambassador in Washington DC, has hit back at “fake” claims an institute he once led received money from USAid, the US foreign aid agency being targeted by Donald Trump.

The office of Rudd, a former Australian prime minister and current ambassador to the US, has issued a statement seeking to dispel claims circulating online suggesting Rudd and the Asia Society – where he has held various roles since 2015 – benefitted financially from USAid.

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Trump ‘very aware, supportive’ of Aukus, says Pete Hegseth as Australia pays down $800m on submarine deal

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When asked if US will deliver nuclear submarines on time, US defense secretary says ‘we sure hope so’

The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said Donald Trump supports the Aukus nuclear submarine deal, after Australia on Friday confirmed its first $800m (US$500m) payment under the defence pact.

“The president is very aware, supportive of Aukus, recognises the importance of the defence industrial base,” Hegseth said in opening remarks at a meeting in Washington with the Australian defence minister, Richard Marles, according to a transcript.

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From caviar to the caravan, Dutton is doing everything he can to distract Albanese and voters from his detail-free plans | Josh Butler

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With at most 12 weeks until election day, Dutton and the Coalition have announced few proactive ideas

Caviar and a caravan.

Less than 100 days from an election, that’s what dominated probably the penultimate parliamentary week of this term – questions over finite numbers that both leaders know, but about which they’ve resisted answering questions.

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Australia news live: BoM warns of life-threatening flash floods in Queensland and severe storms in north-east Victoria

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Flood-hit Townsville, Cardwell and Ingham could face more dangerous flooding. Follow the latest news live

O’Neil makes housing announcements in lead-up to election

The housing minister, Clare O’Neil, is in Parramatta today and will travel to Bennelong later, announcing 28 new social and affordable homes

Funding is incredibly important here. I know all of our Australians at home who are watching are really deeply concerned about those devastating differences we see between health outcomes, even important things like infant mortality.

All of the indicators that we use to determine equality of life are very different between our First Nations communities, particularly in remote areas.

I think our prime minister has been quite sober and rational about this, but it is not a reasonable idea, and it’s not shrewd as described by Peter Dutton.

So I think the prime minister has done the right thing. And Peter Dutton is out there playing politics.

But the issue, I think, here that we’re missing is that Gaza has completely been destroyed … It’s devastating to see those kind of images. So there needs to be a rebuild. There needs to be a place that people can come back to in a safe haven for them to call home.

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Peter Dutton coy on what public servant jobs he will slash if he wins election

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Public service minister Katy Gallagher says opposition leader’s words are ‘reckless’ and would bring back ‘expensive consultants’ and robodebt

Peter Dutton has yet to reveal any detail about his plan to slash public servant jobs in Canberra under a government he leads, as Labor warns his plan will cut crucial government services and risks another robodebt.

In a rare press conference at Parliament House on Thursday, the opposition leader provided little information on his plans to get the “economy back on track” through slashing government jobs and other “wasteful spending”.

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Labor attempts to pass minimum sentences for hate speech crimes in departure from national platform

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Albanese government will reverse stance on mandatory terms to head off opposition attacks on antisemitism

The Albanese government will attempt to pass minimum jail sentences of between one and six years for hate speech crimes in a bid to stave off opposition attacks on its response to antisemitism before the federal election.

The move marks a significant departure from Labor’s own national policy platform, which opposes minimum sentencing laws which it says do “not reduce crime”, “lead to unjust outcomes” and are “often discriminatory in practice”.

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DeepSeek banned from Australian government devices over national security concerns

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Home affairs minister Tony Burke says decision follows advice from intelligence agencies and is not impacted by AI chatbot’s country of origin, China

DeepSeek will be banned from all federal government devices as the Albanese government cracks down on the Chinese AI chatbot, citing unspecified national security risks.

The launch of DeepSeek’s AI generative chatbot rocked US tech stocks last week amid concerns over censorship and data security.

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PM labels Coalition’s tax-free lunch plan ‘worst, sloppiest policy’ as Treasury puts cost in the billions

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Costings commissioned by Jim Chalmers suggest policy at risk of being ‘rorted’ could cost up to $10bn a year


The Coalition’s policy for tax-deductible business lunches would cost between $1.6bn and $10bn a year, the Labor government claims, according to costings Jim Chalmers commissioned from his Treasury department.

The treasurer claimed the policy was at risk of being “rorted” by businesses claiming personal food expenses, adding further to confusion about the Coalition’s contentious meals and entertainment policy.

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Guardian Essential poll: more voters say Albanese ‘out of touch’ with ordinary Australians than Peter Dutton

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Survey also finds 40% of people say antisemitism is a major issue in Australia, while 48% say it is a minor issue

More voters see Peter Dutton as in touch with ordinary Australians, decisive and better in a crisis than Anthony Albanese, with the opposition leader’s standing improving on key leadership indicators in the latest Guardian Essential poll.

Parliament returns on Tuesday for potentially the last sitting fortnight before the federal election (which must be held by mid-May). Questions about the Labor government’s response to antisemitism and the alleged caravan bomb discovered in Sydney are expected to dominate the political agenda.

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Peter Dutton and home affairs department cleared of wrongdoing in case involving Melbourne terrorist

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No potential breaches found by independent inquiry into former Coalition government’s handling of Abdul Nacer Benbrika case

Peter Dutton and the home affairs department have been cleared of wrongdoing over what a judge described as “a serious interference with the administration of justice” in a court case involving Melbourne terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika.

But the independent review clearing Dutton and his former department will not be released publicly, Guardian Australia has confirmed.

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Australia tried to influence other countries and Unesco to keep Great Barrier Reef off in-danger list

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Exclusive: Documents seen by Guardian Australia show a sustained strategy approved by environment minister Tanya Plibersek

The Australian government carried out an international lobbying campaign to keep the Great Barrier Reef off a list of world heritage sites in danger, including dispatching politicians and officials to Unesco’s Paris headquarters and asking diplomats to gather intelligence on countries that could influence the decision.

The campaign is revealed in documents released to the Greens after a parliamentary request and show how Australia sought to influence Unesco and members of the 21-country world heritage committee in the lead up to a crunch meeting in July last year.

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Australia news live: youth vaping rates plummet after law reform; police alert 5000 Australians targeted by overseas romance scam

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The federal health minister cited data showing vape use among young Australians has significantly reduced meaning new laws are working. Follow today’s news live

Cyclone threat looms in northern Australia as drenched region braces for yet more rain

North Queensland is on cyclone watch with three tropical lows given a chance of developing in the coming days, bringing heavy rain that has flooded roads and homes.

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Inflation data isn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Labor – as Biden and Democrats will attest

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While a pre-election rate cut is widely seen as positive for incumbent governments, it doesn’t necessarily represent a path to victory in itself

The Reserve Bank of Australia is designed to be independent of government, but that does not mean its decisions do not have political consequences.

After Wednesday’s better-than-expected inflation reading, there is now broad consensus among economists that the RBA will cut interest rates next month.

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Australia news live: Angus Taylor says cost-of-living pain ‘far from over’ despite inflation falling to three-year low

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Labor adds homelessness focus to disability strategy

Australians with disabilities experiencing homelessness will be prioritised as the government commits to disability reforms, months after a scathing royal commission into the sector, AAP reports.

For the first time, they also include a number of national actions that all governments will work on together, with the disability community, to ensure people with disability right across Australia experience the benefits.

Some students, especially those in our cities, can see a career in agriculture as something that’s only for those who live in the regions or for those whose family own land that can be used to operate an agribusiness.

AgConnections aims to break down these misconceptions and build on the diversity of the industry, by highlighting and encouraging women and Indigenous Australians wanting to pursue a career in agriculture.

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Third arrest after alleged assault on police officers in Sydney – as it happened

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AFP warns parents over rise in AI-generated child abuse material

There has been an increase in the use of AI-generated child abuse material in the past year, including students creating material like deepfakes to harass or embarrass classmates, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation has said.

Children and young people are curious by nature, however, anything that depicts the abuse of someone under the age of 18 – whether that’s videos, images, drawings or stories – is child abuse material, irrespective of whether it is ‘real’ or not.

The AFP encourages all parents and guardians to have open and honest conversations with their child on this topic, particularly as AI technology continues to become increasingly accessible and integrated into platforms and products.

As a society, I think that it demonstrates the need for us to place a high value collectively on a civil political discourse, rather than an extreme one.

I wasn’t surprised to learn that of the 16 arrests, only one person was from South Australia and the rest were scattered from all over the country and for whatever reason, decided to convene in Adelaide.

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Open (your wallet) wide: Australians pay more for dental care than most OECD countries

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Australia ranks well when it comes to total dental care expenditure. But a closer look at the numbers reveals that trips to the dentist are a luxury many people can’t afford

Australia spent $11.1bn on dental care in 2021–2022, ranking it sixth out of 31 OECD countries for per capita expenditure.

At first glance, that statistic seems pretty good. Dig deeper? Not so much.

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Peter Dutton’s boilerplate campaign video is most interesting for what it omits

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The shots of sharing cuppas with constituents and laughing with his kids skates over the details of his ‘small family business’

Election season officially begins when the prime minister drives in the back of C1 to visit the governor general – but its unofficial commencement is when leaders start releasing soft-focus profile videos with their log cabin story, surrounded by family and backed by twinkling music.

For an opposition leader especially, whose contributions can often be overshadowed by the prime minister whose job they covet, the productions – often short yet packed with meaning – are a vital chance to re-introduce or repackage themselves to a public who might not know much about them.

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How Australia’s ‘unfair’ dental system – and the way $1.3bn is spent – is driving inequality and leaving millions of people behind

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Half of all government spending on dental care goes to private insurance rebates – meaning those without often skip treatment until things get worse

Patients bear the brunt of dentist fees. But of the $1.3bn the federal government spends on the nation’s teeth, more than half goes to subsidising the uptake of private health insurance.

The inequality of Australia’s dental care system can be seen in the numbers, says Peter Breadon, the health program director at the Grattan Institute.

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Australia news live: PM ridicules Sussan Ley’s ‘Mars’ analogy and calls out Grace Tame’s ‘disrespectful’ T-shirt

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Albanese calls Ley’s comparison of First Fleet to SpaceX ‘very strange’. Follow today’s news live

For people with disability, the end of 2024 was a rollercoaster.

New legislation for the National Disability Insurance Scheme started coming into effect in October, with new lists of what can and cannot be funded, changes to early intervention requirements and more, already altering the way 646,000 people receive support from the $35bn program.

I’m just so appalled by it. I can’t believe someone should be so heartless that they could do this.

It’s also about, I guess, community standards. Look, it’s a big city. There’s some bad people that live in it. I am appalled by this. I just can’t believe someone would be so heartless to do it in such a special part of the city. We deliberately put the police memorial in the middle of Sydney in the Domain. It’s not parked away in the back lots somewhere, because it needs to be said that if someone loses their life serving the people of NSW, they won’t be forgotten.

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