Category Archives: Australian politics

Troubled Whyalla steelworks gets $2.4bn government bailout as hunt for new owner begins

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GFG chair Sanjeev Gupta says SA government is on the ‘wrong course’ after it forced the operation into administration

A support package of $2.4bn will be poured into the Whyalla steelworks to protect thousands of jobs and “invest in the nation”, the prime minister says.

The federal and South Australian governments would “combine dollar for dollar on administration” to ensure the steelworks kept operating, and staff and creditors were paid, while a new owner was found, Anthony Albanese told steelworkers.

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Asio chief reveals foreign spies plotted to lure Australia-based activist overseas to injure or kill them

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Australia’s spy boss Mike Burgess highlights foreign intelligence operations, antisemitism and election disinformation in annual threat assessment speech

At least three countries have plotted to harm Australians abroad and on home soil, including a planned assassination to silence a human rights activist, Australia’s spy boss has revealed.

In a wide-ranging annual threat assessment speech on Wednesday night, which warned of an unprecedented level of threats until 2030, Mike Burgess, the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, highlighted a foreign intelligence operation foiled by his agency.

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As an election looms, will Australians remember Labor for one rate cut or the 12 hikes before that?

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The Albanese government had been sweating on the RBA decision, which clears the way for an election as soon as early April

Jim Chalmers tried to say he wasn’t taking credit for the big banks dropping their interest rates, but the sense of satisfaction – or perhaps relief – among other Labor MPs was palpable in the moments after the Reserve Bank of Australia announced its cut of 25 basis points.

Labor MPs Justine Elliot and Kristy McBain, both under pressure in tough races, tweeted “breaking” updates within two minutes of the announcement. Within a few more minutes, the likes of Jerome Laxale, Josh Wilson, Pat Conroy, Shayne Neumann, Mark Butler, Helen Polley, Tony Sheldon and the retiring Graham Perrett had also taken to their social media accounts to broadcast the news.

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Australia news live: embattled casino operator Star offered $650m lifeline; name of next cyclone changed from Anthony to avoid using PM’s name

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Hume rules out working with teals if Coalition wins 70-72 seats

Jane Hume was asked whether the Coalition was in a position to form any alliances with the crossbench, amid new polling from YouGov showing neither party looks to be coming out with a clear majority.

That would cause chaos, and would cause chaos politically and economically as well.

On average, the teals have voted with the Greens around 78% of the time, with Labor around 75% of the time, and with the Coalition around 18% of the time.

I think it’s really important to look at what people do rather than what people say. We’re planning on going to this election to win the election, because Australians deserve better than what they’ve had for the last three years.

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Convicted murderer among three members of NZYQ cohort to be resettled in Nauru under deal struck by Labor

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Three non-citizens with criminal histories taken into immigration detention in preparation for removal from Australia, home affairs minister says

Three members of the NZYQ cohort of non-citizens, including a convicted murderer, will be resettled in Nauru after the Albanese government struck a deal with the tiny Pacific nation for an undisclosed sum.

The trio were placed into immigration detention in preparation for their removal from Australia after being granted 30-year resettlement visas by Nauru on Saturday, the home affairs minster, Tony Burke, announced on Sunday.

The NZYQ cohort includes non-citizens released into the community in Australia as a result of a landmark 2023 high court decision, where the court ruled in favour of “NZYQ”, a stateless Rohingya man, who faced the prospect of detention for life because no country had agreed to resettle him, due to a criminal conviction for raping a 10-year-old in Australia.

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Labor announces new anti-bullying initiative for schools – as it happened

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On the upcoming election, Spender says “we need to see how this plays out” and that “it is very unclear exactly what [parliament] is going to look like in the end.”

On statements from Peter Dutton this morning that the Independents should back him in any minority government:

Yes, I’m sure that is what he thinks and it will depend on the numbers and the shape of the crossbench and what people are willing to negotiate and back at that time so I think we really need to look at it at the time.

In relation to climate, I haven’t worked with the Coalition because I don’t think they are committed to a transition in terms of the most cost-effective and frankly good for the climate transition that we have at the moment.

So my point is I take things on the basis of the arguments and on the basis of the evidence and I am very open to working with a coalition government and I’m open to working with the Labor government, but that depends on what they are actually going to put on the table.

What I want to see is good process, good parliamentary process where all of these issues are really fleshed out, where community can actually listen to the experts arguing about these laws so that we can get one answer that is going to get big money out of politics and make sure there is a level playing field.

Myself and I think others on the crossbench have approached decisions on parliament and how we vote and what we support really on the basis of what the evidence is saying. Is it in our long-term interests? What do our communities think? What are the experts think? Bringing that together, backing good ideas from all sides, working with all sides to try and get good policy through – that is how I will continue to behave whatever form the next parliament takes.

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‘People are paying too much’: Coalition could break up big insurance companies, Dutton says

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Opposition leader says more competition needed as growing numbers unable to afford home and car insurance

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, says the Coalition could seek to break up insurance companies found to be gouging policyholders and more competition is needed in the sector.

In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, Dutton said the Coalition’s divestiture policy – which threatens to carve apart big supermarkets and hardware chains as a “last resort” to combat price rip-offs – could also be applied to big insurers.

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Labor to ban foreign investors from buying existing homes for at least two years, replicating Coalition policy

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Critics cast doubt on effectiveness of policy, citing low volume of purchases by overseas buyers, as Labor seeks to improve housing affordability

Prospective home buyers will face less competition from overseas, with Labor promising to ban foreign investors from purchasing existing homes for at least two years.

But the restriction – which replicates a policy announced by the Coalition last year – will capture less than 0.4% of the housing market, casting doubts over its efficacy.

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Education minister accused of ‘political interference’ over review of funding for prominent pro-Palestinian academic

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Jason Clare has asked Australian Research Council board to investigate $870,000 grant to Randa Abdel-Fattah, who has faced criticism for controversial comments

Academics have accused the education minister of “arbitrary political interference” in the Australian Research Council after requesting the body’s board investigate the fellowship of a prominent academic and Palestinian advocate.

Randa Abdel-Fattah, the recipient of an ARC Future Fellowship and an academic at Macquarie University, has faced sustained criticism from the Coalition, some Jewish bodies and media outlets for a series of controversial comments, including alleging Zionists had “no claim or right to cultural safety”, and posting “May 2025 be the end of Israel” in the new year and changing her profile picture to a picture of a Palestinian paratrooper after the 7 October attacks.

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Premature speculation keeps parliament hot under the collar but Albanese quiet on election date

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Spectre of unconfirmed date looms over past fortnight as PM’s political theatre only fuels anticipation

Was that really the last week of parliament before the election? Every person in Canberra, from senior cabinet ministers to junior staffers, has a different theory.

MPs are acting as if they’re about to hit the election trail, with some giving farewell speeches. “See you in a few months if I don’t lose my seat”, one MP told me on Thursday night.

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Australia news live: ‘we have got your back’, Albanese tells steel workers amid speculation over Trump tariffs

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Australia prime minister says Trump giving ‘great consideration’ for an exemption. Follow the latest news headlines live

Dutton calls for more details on interaction between Australia and China in South China Sea

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has also weighed in on that interaction between Australian and Chinese aircraft in the South China Sea on Tuesday.

And then Richard Marles did a press conference to provide details. So we haven’t had a briefing on it as yet, but on what the deputy prime minister says it is deeply concerning because it puts that safety at risk, the safety of our personnel. And that is not something that Australia can tolerate.

[It] needs to be transparent in terms of what’s happened, and I just don’t think we’ve seen all of the detail yet from Richard Marles.

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Referendum needed for Dutton’s call to toughen citizenship-stripping laws, expert says

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Constitutional law expert Helen Irving says such a change appears to be a distraction from serious nature of anti-Israeli comments from NSW nurses

Peter Dutton’s proposal to toughen citizenship-stripping laws in response to comments made by two New South Wales nurses would probably require a referendum, a constitutional lawyer says.

Both major party leaders have been accused of a “bidding war” on who can look tougher on the issue, with Abul Rizvi, a former senior immigration official, urging politicians not to throw more petrol on the fire amid social tensions.

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Influencer to provide unedited video of nurses’ anti-Israeli threats as pair prevented from practising in Australia

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Mark Butler says pair have had their nurses’ registrations suspended following their ‘sickening comments’

New South Wales police have spoken to an Israeli influencer who they say has agreed to provide investigators with an unedited version of a video chat in which two Bankstown hospital nurses allegedly threatened Israeli patients.

The video attracted widespread political condemnation after it was published by the Israeli content creator Max Veifer and led to the male nurse issuing an apology. The video depicted an edited online conversation Veifer had with the two staff members on a video chat platform similar to Chatroulette.

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Share of wealth held by Australia’s poorest falls by almost 30% since 2004 – report

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Study by Monash University recommends spending increase to fix inequalities in housing, health and education

The wealth held by Australia’s bottom 40% has declined by almost a third in two decades while 3.3m live below the poverty line, a damning report into Australia’s track record on quality of life shows.

Monash University’s third Transforming Australia report, released Thursday, shows progress on more than half of the 80 indicators has stalled or is in freefall, painting a deteriorating picture of the country’s social, economic and environmental wellbeing.

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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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