Category Archives: Australian politics

Budget to include extra $2bn for infrastructure – as it happened

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Wilson promises Coalition will be ‘very clear’ on migration

Wilson is asked about comments made by the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, after the byelection that hinted at a rightward shift toward “ending mass migration” and stopping net zero policies.

I can assure you in the coming weeks we’re going to make it very clear what we’re for. Australians need to know that we’re in favour of families, community, small business and self-starters.

My focus on migration is how we make sure we get new Australians integrated successfully.

One of the reasons Australians have become very nervous about migration is they feel that people are coming to Australia and getting the benefits without making the contribution. And I want the best, boldest, most confident new Australians we can have.

There would be some nervous Labor MPs because what people want to see is change.

One of the most consistent messages is that people want someone who is going to fight for them and their future.

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David Pocock applauds $387m in extra funding for CSIRO after tens of thousands sign petition

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Analysis commissioned by independent senator found national science agency’s funding is at its lowest since 1978

The Albanese government will boost funding to CSIRO by $387.4m in a bid to meet the long-term costs of the national science agency.

It follows months of advocacy by scientists and staff after hundreds of job cuts and cost-cutting measures.

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One Nation candidate David Farley sought involvement with independent ‘Voices’ movement

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Exclusive: Farley discussed preferences and suggested platform before Voices group endorsed his rival Michelle Milthorpe as its candidate

One Nation’s Farrer candidate, David Farley, sought to cooperate with the community independent “Voices” movement before the last election, including discussing preferences and suggesting a platform for a House and Senate campaign, before the group endorsed Michelle Milthorpe as their candidate.

Documents seen by Guardian Australia show Farley – who is expected to win the Farrer byelection ahead of Milthorpe on Saturday – had been keen to meet with the independent Voices campaign in 2023 and 2024, including buying a ticket to their event, sharing ideas, and even discussing election preferences.

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News live: Bell says royal commission will look at ‘ugly displays of hostility’ towards Jewish Australians as hearings begin

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Meanwhile treasurer says next week’s budget will save more than it spends. Follow today’s news live

Jim Chalmers says next Tuesday’s budget will not extend the 26 cent fuel tax cut beyond June.

But with Australia “hostage” to the wild swings in global oil prices amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran, the treasurer said there was “a range of contingencies” prepared to help support households and the economy from any escalating damage as a result of the Middle East conflict.

The budget will be calibrated for the conditions, but it will also still be consistent with our ambitions.

The election began a year of delivery, and the budget will begin a year of more ambitious reform, reform which is made more not less, urgent by global inflation and global economic uncertainty.

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Australia news live: dozens paddle out in Sydney and Newcastle in solidarity with Gaza Flotilla; PM commits another $1.8bn to urgent care clinics

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Parents of Australian who was detained by IDF call for stronger government response. Follow updates live

Canavan defends Coalition decision to preference One Nation ahead of independent in Farrer: ‘Socialists and communists always go last’

Matt Canavan said he understood why voters in Farrer, set for a byelection next Saturday, were disillusioned with the federal opposition.

I‘ve been down there for 20 days, 15 nights – and 10 of those I’ve been in a swag – over the past month.

I’m doing everything I can to fight for them. I’d love to fight for that great part of our country again, it’s a wonderful part of our nation where we pioneered the use of irrigation and dams. It still produces 40% of our food, 60% of our fruit.

Under my leadership, [in] my view, socialists and communists always go last.

I think we need to really see how the overseas conflict evolves, how prices evolve for oil. But I think, you know, it is doing what it was intended to do. It’s not a silver bullet, but it is providing material support for people. And as I said, it’s providing support for people who are really doing it tough when they can’t shift away from using petrol.

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Barnaby Joyce blames campaign ‘pressure’ after One Nation Farrer candidate contradicts party on immigration

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David Farley says net overseas migration of 306,000 ‘probably not’ too much despite party policy to cap migrants at 130,000 per year

Barnaby Joyce has blamed “the pressure of a campaign” for One Nation’s Farrer candidate contradicting party policy on immigration and appearing to endorse Labor’s current intake.

The One Nation MP also claimed voters won’t worry about Gina Rinehart’s million-dollar donation of a private plane to Pauline Hanson’s party, claiming journalists were more interested than ordinary people in the lucrative gift from Rinehart’s company.

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Liberals claim victory in Nepean byelection ahead of state poll

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Anthony Marsh appears to be in commanding position in significant boost to opposition leader Jess Wilson

The Liberals have claimed victory in a key Victorian byelection seen as a preview of what to expect when the rest of the state hits the polls in November.

As counting continued in the Mornington peninsula seat of Nepean, the Liberal candidate, Anthony Marsh, appeared to be in a commanding position in a significant boost to opposition leader Jess Wilson.

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Federal government accused of watering down proposal to protect Australia’s threatened species and ecosystems

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Wilderness Society says changes undermined intent of national standards intended to reverse decline of plants, animals and ecosystems

Green groups have accused the Albanese government of watering down a proposal to protect threatened species and ecosystems.

National environmental standards were the key plank of reforms to Australia’s nature laws, passed by the parliament in November.

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Guardian Essential poll: Australians want higher tax on gas exports and extension of petrol excise cut

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The fuel crisis is seeing more voters keen to shift to renewable energy rather than stick with fossil fuels

Most Australians support taxing profits from gas exports and extending the cut to the fuel excise, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll, despite Anthony Albanese on Wednesday ruling out a new tax on existing gas export contracts.

The poll also found the fuel crisis is seeing more voters keen to shift to renewable energy rather than stick with fossil fuels. Australians also say they are already cutting back on travel, switching to public transport and reducing their use of aircon and heating amid the global fuel uncertainty.

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Trump administration labels Australia’s media bargaining laws ‘foreign extortion’

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Albanese defends plan forcing Meta, Google and TikTok to make deals with Australian news publishers through a levy

The Trump administration has described Australia’s moves to make big tech companies pay for news online as “extortion” but Anthony Albanese defended the plan by saying it was about protecting and rewarding media outlets for the work they produce.

Labor’s plan to encourage Meta, Google and TikTok to make deals with Australian news publishers, or face a 2.25% levy, is likely to be supported by the Coalition and Greens in parliament. But a bigger problem may be the ire of Donald Trump, who has strongly opposed extra regulation being imposed on US-based tech companies. A major tech industry lobby group on Wednesday urged the White House to consider retaliatory trade measures.

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Guardian Essential poll: more Australians approve of Hanson’s party leadership than Albanese or Taylor’s

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One Nation outperforms the Coalition for the first time, while the rightwing populist party’s leader has a positive rating among all age groups

A majority of surveyed Australians approve of Pauline Hanson’s leadership of One Nation, giving her a higher job approval rating than Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor, as the Guardian Essential poll finds the rightwing populist party is outperforming the Coalition for the first time.

The results come as Australians are becoming more pessimistic about the country and the economy, with the majority of respondents saying they expected things to get worse in coming months.

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Australians will call ‘bullshit’ on green energy without clear benefits, Rudd warns

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Former prime minister says policies will lose support without continued lower prices but sees some hope in US experience under Trump

Kevin Rudd has described Donald Trump’s cuts to support for green industries as “unfortunate”, warning that Australians would conclude the clean transition was “bullshit” if it did not offer tangible benefits to their lives.

But – in some of his first comments since finishing his term as Australia’s ambassador to the US – the former prime minister said climate policies would have staying power if they delivered affordable prices, a reliable energy supply and new job opportunities.

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Labor senator deletes Anzac Day Instagram post after mistakenly including raunchy rap song

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Images in Helen Polley’s post included a marching band, people laying wreaths and ex-serving members giving speeches set to a track by US rapper Chingy

A federal Labor senator has deleted a social media video which mistakenly included audio of an explicit rap song over a carousel of photos of Anzac Day commemorations.

Senator Helen Polley, a former shadow minister and current chair of parliament’s committee on law enforcement, posted a video compilation of images paying respect to Australia’s defence forces.

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Anti-immigration group claims it did not organise Anzac Day booing despite post asking ‘how loud will you be’

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Booing by rightwing groups of Indigenous leaders giving welcome to country speeches marred ceremonies for a second year running

An anti-immigration group has claimed it did not “organise” booing at welcome to country ceremonies at Anzac Day dawn services despite a social media post asking followers “how loud will you be this year”.

Booing by rightwing groups of Indigenous elders giving welcome to country speeches marred Anzac Day ceremonies for a second year running, and sparked another public debate about their role at public events. Uncle Ray Minniecon, who served in the armed forces and was booed while giving an acknowledgment of country at Sydney’s dawn service, said the mocking was “unexpected and unnecessary, but it happens”.

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Australia news live: Canavan says ‘too much talk of diversity’ in address to Canberra anti-immigration rally – as it happened

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The health and NDIS minister, Mark Butler, says Queensland will be “answerable to their community” if they don’t sign on to NDIS reforms, with billions of dollars of hospital funding on the line.

Every state and territory except for the sunshine state has signed a bilateral agreement with the government for the Thriving Kids program, which is designed to take children under nine with developmental delays or low to moderate autism off the NDIS.

Now every state and territory has signed a bilateral agreement with us that details the broad details of the Thriving Kids program … The only state that hasn’t signed yet is Queensland.

I tried to make clear again last week that is part of the deal that sees them get additional hospital funding and, frankly, they are answerable to their community if they don’t put the additional supports.

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Cory Bernardi repays more than $40,000 for flying on Gina Rinehart’s plane during SA election campaign

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Former Liberal party senator, who was elected to state upper house in March, says flights ‘worth every cent’

One Nation’s South Australian leader has paid back Australia’s richest person for private flights he took while campaigning in the state’s recent election.

Cory Bernardi confirmed on Saturday that he had reimbursed a “substantial” sum of money to Gina Rinehart’s company S Kidman & Co, to comply with new state laws that prohibit political parties and candidates from receiving electoral donations or gifts from individuals, businesses or unions.

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Governments failed to deliver $160m of river improvements including for now-parched NSW wetlands, report finds

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NSW and Queensland governments ‘severely underdelivered’ on promised infrastructure to improve water flows, independent review finds

Two state governments have drastically underdelivered more than $160m in infrastructure measures to improve river health in the northern Murray-Darling basin eight years since they were promised, a major independent review has found.

This includes failure by the New South Wales government to secure any of the private land access needed to improve water flows over floodplains in the state’s Gwydir region, where scientists had to scramble to rescue turtles in dried up wetlands last week.

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Australia news live: ‘weeks’ to restore production at Geelong refinery after blaze, Viva says; Chalmers warns of ‘big risks’ to inflation and growth

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Meanwhile ACT independent David Pocock is calling for a 25% tax on gas exports to fund welfare and housing. Follow today’s news live

Treasurer says capital gains changes and other tax reform still under consideration

Sticking with the budget, Chalmers said the government hasn’t made any decisions on capital gains tax reform.

We haven’t taken any decisions on those policies, whether the specific ones you mentioned [or others].

There’s more work to do on our options for tax reform in this budget.

The savings package won’t be exactly the same as what we would have been contemplating over the summer, but it will be a substantial savings package.

When we came to office the NDIS was out of control and it had strayed a long way from its original intended purpose.

It was growing around 22% when we got to office.

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Ben Roberts-Smith denies war crimes allegations – As it happened

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Defence Minister Richard Marles says the success of Australia’s alliance with the United States should not be measured against a single president or federal government in Canberra, insisting the longstanding ties will endure.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised Australia for not assisting with the war in Iran, while federal Labor, including Marles and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, say the White House has not made any specific request for assistance.

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Australia’s coalmine emissions are increasing. Is this how a major policy to cut climate pollution is meant to work?

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The Albanese government overhauled policy and promised significant pollution cuts – but carbon offsets are still being used as an excuse

Is this how a national scheme to cut climate pollution is supposed to work?

Australian government data released this week shows emissions from Australian coalmines increased last financial year. About 80% of the coalmines pumped more into the atmosphere than their government-imposed limit.

Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter

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