Category Archives: Australian politics

Australia’s ‘immoral’ coalmine decision akin to drowning Pacific neighbours, Tuvalu climate minister declares

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Labor government has undermined case to co-host 2026 UN climate summit with island nations, Dr Maina Talia declares

Tuvalu’s climate minister says Australia’s decision to approve three coalmine expansions calls into question the country’s claim to be a “member of the Pacific family” and undermines the Australian case to co-host the 2026 UN climate summit with island nations.

Dr Maina Talia said last week’s mine approvals, which analysts say could generate more than 1.3bn tonnes of carbon dioxide across their lifetime once the coal is shipped and burned overseas, was “a direct threat to our collective future”.

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Australia’s housing crisis may be starting to ease as home prices fall in four capital cities

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New data also shows auction figures softening while rent rises are at their slowest pace in years

Australia’s housing crisis may be starting to ease with dwelling price rises tapering off and rents increasing at their slowest pace in four years, data groups say.

Property values increased 0.4% in September, close to the 0.3% rise recorded for both the previous two months, CoreLogic reported. PropTrack’s housing index was basically flat, rising just 0.04% for the month.

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Criticism as British Australian public servant Aftab Malik appointed new Islamophobia envoy

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Some question the appointment of an official who has worked on controversial countering violent extremism programs

The Albanese government has announced British Australian public servant Aftab Malik as the special envoy to combat Islamophobia in Australia after months of delays.

But it has also sparked criticism, with some people within the Muslim community calling into question the thinking behind the appointment.

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Victoria police identify six possible criminal incidents after Hezbollah flags seen at weekend protests

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Federal government warns against importing ‘radical ideologies of conflict’ and threatens to cancel visa of anyone inciting ‘discord’

Victoria police say they have identified six possible criminal incidents relating to weekend protests in Melbourne against Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, after initial suggestions that no offences had been committed.

The AFP confirmed on Monday that it was expecting at least six reports of alleged crimes from their Victorian counterparts involving symbols and chants which are prohibited under federal hate speech law. It also said it would be writing to major news outlets asking for video footage of the protests which could assist in investigations.

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Malcolm Turnbull condemns UK’s ‘extraordinary’ hypocrisy over Spycatcher affair

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Exclusive: Former Australian PM witnessed ‘shocking act of perjury’ and says MI5 are still trying to hide something

The former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has accused the UK government of hypocrisy and concealment over the way it continues to block the release of secret files about the Spycatcher affair.

Before entering politics, Turnbull was a barrister for Peter Wright, a retired senior MI5 intelligence officer who revealed a series of illegal activities by the British security services in his memoir Spycatcher.

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Jim Chalmers to confirm first back-to-back federal budget surpluses in more than 15 years

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Treasurer cites lower government spending as the key driver behind the $15.8bn surplus, which is $6bn better than May’s forecast

Jim Chalmers will on Monday reveal a $15.8bn budget surplus in an economic update, more than $6bn higher than predicted at May’s federal budget.

The treasurer says the better-than-forecast budget position has come “entirely” from lower government spending, a detail the treasurer highlights as Labor comes under scrutiny from the opposition and the Reserve Bank over concerns that public expenditure is helping to drive inflation.

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How the most affluent Australians disproportionately benefit from negative gearing

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Those in the top tax bracket three times more likely to be negatively geared property investor, says economist

Negative gearing helps high-earning Australians the most, with those with income of more than $180,000 annually snaring almost one-quarter of the benefits, despite numbering just 5% of taxpayers.

Data from the Australian Taxation Office showed people who earn more than $180,000 were able to lower their collective tax bill by $1.3bn in 2021-2022 through negative gearing. The $1.3bn was roughly 25% of all the losses on rental properties claimed by taxpayers in that financial year.

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‘Clear timeline’ for Palestinian statehood needed: Penny Wong escalates language in UN speech

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Penny Wong says she shares frustration of ‘great majority of countries’ about a lack of progress to recognise a Palestinian state

Australia has suggested the world should set “a clear timeline for the international declaration of Palestinian statehood” in a sign of increasing frustration about the stalled peace process.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will float the idea in a speech to the UN general assembly in New York on Saturday Australian time (Friday US time). Benjamin Netanyahu was also due to address the gathering amid mounting concern about an escalating regional war.

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Australia news live: Keating says Labor ‘flogging a dead seahorse’ over Aukus deal; severe weather for parts of NSW and Queensland

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The BoM has issued a severe weather update for parts of north-east NSW and south-east Queensland as wet and windy weather continues to batter the east coast. Follow today’s news headlines live

Dutton says PM ‘desperately hoping’ interest rates will fall

Opposition leader Peter Dutton believes Western Australia will play a crucial role in the election. He told the West Australian:

My judgment is that we’re waiting for the results to come in from WA before we know the outcome of the election this time around.

It depends on whether the prime minister’s waiting to see if interest rates come down.

He’d be desperately hoping that they come down in February of next year and he can go from there.

We live in the territory. This is our home. We are fighting to protect our water from the dangers of fracking.

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Chalmers admits he sought advice about changing negative gearing but says it is not on Labor’s agenda

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Treasurer says it’s ‘not unusual’ for governments to get advice on ‘contentious issues’ but stresses changes to housing tax breaks are not in the works

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has conceded he did ask his department for information about possible changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions, but the government insists any reform to the controversial tax breaks are not yet on the agenda.

The Independent senator David Pocock said the government had multiple options to make the system more equitable through moderate changes while still protecting investments made by ordinary families.

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Mirror-like offering by supermarket giants may be stifling vigorous competition, ACCC report says

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Australian Competition and Consumer Commission uses special information gathering powers to examine ‘concerning’ reports from grocery suppliers

Australia’s major supermarkets provide broadly similar products, prices and loyalty programs in an oligopolistic market that may limit incentives to compete vigorously, the competition regulator has found in its interim report on the sector.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission also said grocery suppliers had raised “concerning” issues – such as being required to pay rebates for promotions to supermarkets – prompting the regulator to use its compulsory information gathering powers to examine the reported behaviour.

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NSW MP Gareth Ward says he went to parliament in his underwear at 4am after being locked out of his apartment

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Member for Kiama denies he was drunk at the time and says some media reports concerning the incident are ‘defamatory’

New South Wales politician Gareth Ward has denied being drunk when he went to state parliament at 4am on a Sunday morning in July, insisting he was simply collecting a spare key after locking himself out of his apartment in his underwear.

The Kiama MP said he made the eight-minute trip to parliament on foot from his Potts Point apartment on the “freezing” morning because he’d been locked out without his phone.

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ADF may assist Australians in Lebanon but government warns it can’t help everyone flee

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Defence force personnel already deployed to the Middle East may be called on to help in an evacuation operation after Israel said it was preparing for a possible ground operation

Australian defence force personnel who are already deployed to the Middle East may be called on to help in an evacuation operation from Lebanon as fears of a regional war escalate.

Government-wide contingency planning and talks with allies have been under way for “many months”, but there is no indication that a major Australian rescue operation is imminent.

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Opposition leader calls for university’s leaders to quit – as it happened

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The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has joined an international push “to hold the Taliban to account” under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Wong says:

We know the women and girls of Afghanistan are effectively being erased from public life by the various edicts the Taliban … have issued.

The steps we are taking with Germany, Canada and the Netherlands are unprecedented. We are intending to use the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, to which Afghanistan is a party, to take action.

If I can … say again to the Australian Lebanese community. This is a deeply distressing situation for so many of you. I know that there are many Australians in Lebanon. There are many Australians who have relatives, family and friends in Lebanon. I again urge Australians in Lebanon to leave now. There are flight cancelations and disruptions, and there is a risk that Beirut airport may close for an extended period of time.

Please do not wait for a preferred route. Please take the first option you can to leave. We continue to monitor the situation closely. We have been working with partners on contingency plans now for many months but I again say to anyone who any Australian who is in Lebanon: please leave now.

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Several Labor MPs ‘open’ to reforms to negative gearing to address housing crisis

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Some politicians welcome a fresh and bold response to address affordability, while others wary of resurrecting a debate lost at the 2019 election

Some Labor MPs say the government shouldn’t be afraid of considering reforms to negative gearing, with several caucus members saying they were “open” to fresh and bolder responses to the housing crisis.

But others are wary of reopening a debate lost at the 2019 election, calling for caution amid concerns of an election scare campaign.

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Greens MP invokes Whitlam in public housing push – as it happened

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Plibersek approves three coalmine expansions

We have more on environment minister Tanya Plibersek’s approval of three coalmine expansions on Tuesday from Graham Readfearn here.

There’s a range of everyday common health conditions that are unnecessarily blocking up our emergency departments and contributing to those wait times to see our precious general practitioners.

We would love to see more GPs. Who doesn’t love their local family doctor? My wife and I and our children certainly do. But we all know how difficult it is to not only find one, find one that bulk-bills, but find one that hasn’t closed their books and can take an appointment. That’s not just in the bush, that’s in our major capital cities as well, whether it’s after 6pm or on a weekend, when your local pharmacy is open.

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Gambling lobby pushes Labor to consider age verification to block minors from betting

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Meanwhile anti-gambling campaigner Tim Costello fears Albanese government will ‘squib’ on broad reform

Opponents of a gambling ad ban are pushing the federal government to instead consider using age verification to block minors from sports betting content.

Earlier this month the government announced plans to ban young children from accessing social media using age verification technology.

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Tanya Plibersek approves three coalmine expansions in move criticised as ‘the opposite of climate action’

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Decision angers environment groups with Australian Conservation Foundation saying Albanese government ‘continues to disappoint’

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, approved three coalmine expansions on Tuesday in a step described by conservationists as reckless and “the opposite of climate action”.

The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) said the three projects, all in New South Wales, would generate more than 1.3bn tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in their lifetime.

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Australia news live: RBA ‘didn’t explicitly consider’ hiking interest rates, governor says

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Reserve Bank leaves interest rate on hold for seventh meeting in a row. Follow all the days’s headlines live

Tony Armstrong is leaving ABC News Breakfast for a new show screening in 2025. He told viewers this morning:

I just want to thank Brekky and the broader ABC News team for welcoming me in with open arms and helping me grow over the past few years. I love live TV and those moments that are unplanned and unpredictable where anything can happen. I’ve been so lucky to be surrounded by an incredible team and it’s those friendships that I’m going to cherish the most.

How blessed we’ve been to have Tone on our screens every morning, bringing the sparkle, joy and heart that only Tony can! Tony is a wonderful friend and everyone at News Breakfast is going to miss his infectious and caring nature. I know it’s meant so much to me and to thousands upon thousands of First Nations viewers waking up to see Tony representing us on the daily. Can’t wait to see what you do next, Tone! Maybe sleep?!

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Guardian Essential poll: Twice as many voters back Labor’s housing bills as oppose them

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Just 20% of Greens voters supported blocking the government’s Build to Rent and Help to Buy legislation

More than twice as many voters support parliament passing the federal government’s two stranded housing bills as want them blocked, including a majority of Greens voters, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.

The survey of 1,117 voters found that 48% believe the Greens and Coalition should pass the Labor government’s Help to Buy and Build to Rent legislation, and argue for their own policies at the next federal election. Overall support for blocking the bills was at 22%, with 30% unsure and a margin of error of about 2%.

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