Australia politics live: Lidia Thorpe knocked to ground in struggle with police at anti-trans rights speaker’s Canberra event

Independent senator attempts to step up to podium after Pauline Hanson speaks in support of Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull. Follow the day’s news

Mark Butler says part of the issue is that vaping was allowed to “explode” so it’s a case of putting the genie back in the bottle – but he says the government is determined to do it, so the tobacco industry doesn’t win.

A parent told us last week that they found in their very young child’s pencil case, not a 16/17-year-old but a very young child’s pencil case, a vape that was deliberately designed to look like a highlighter pen. I mean, these things are insidious.

They are causing very real damage not just to the health of very young children but to behavioural issues at schools as well.

This is now the biggest behavioural issue in primary schools. I mean, this is this is an industry shamelessly marketing, not just to teenagers but to young children. When you look at these things, with pink unicorns on them and bubblegum flavors, these aren’t marketed to adults.

This is an industry that is trying to create a new generation of nicotine addicts so they get around all of the hard work. Our country and other countries have done over recent decades to stamp out smoking.

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Labor and Greens could agree to compromise on non-fossil fuel industries in safeguard mechanism

Greens in internal negotiations over backing down on demand for ban on new coal and gas projects in Labor’s climate policy

Labor could agree to treat existing non-fossil fuel industries – such as cement, aluminium and steel – differently to new coal and gas developments in a bid to reach agreement with the Greens on a signature climate policy.

But it is unclear whether the possible compromise on the design of the safeguard mechanism would be enough to win support for the Albanese government’s plan, which requires major industrial polluting sites to reduce emissions intensity onsite cuts or buy carbon offsets.

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MP says ‘we as NSW Liberals support asset recycling’ despite premier’s pledge to end privatisation

Exclusive: Felicity Wilson later told the Guardian a reelected Perrottet government would not privatise more assets

Felicity Wilson, the Liberal MP for the North Shore, has told voters a New South Wales Coalition government would continue asset recycling, spruiking the benefits of privatisation to pay for metro lines, healthcare and schools.

The comments made last Thursday at a candidate forum run contradictory to the premier’s promise not to sell off any more of the state’s assets and come amid political attacks from Labor asserting more privatisations would take place under a reelected Perrottet government.

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Teals and independents are fighting hard to win a seat in the NSW parliament. Have they done enough?

Three-horse races and optional preferential voting making calling seats ahead of Saturday’s state election a risky wager

Michael Regan, the independent running for the New South Wales seat of Wakehurst, has told staff he wants his to be the first seat called by the ABC’s election analyst, Antony Green, on Saturday night.

By that he means he wants to emulate the blistering win of the independent Zali Steggall, who scored a second term in the overlapping federal seat of Warringah in 2022 with more than 50% of the primary vote.

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Australia politics live: Albanese condemns Nazi salutes at anti-trans rally after Dutton and Dreyfus clash in question time

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Jacqui Lambie expresses concerns over housing fund costing

Over on ABC RN Breakfast, Jacqui Lambie is speaking about what it would take for her and Tammy Tyrrell to vote for the housing fund.

We are worried about the $500m annual cap on disbursements to the fund because the way that we’re working out if you look at the next five years is that that that is only going to build it the amount of houses that you need to and I’m sorry, the house that you need to build is only is gonna end up about $80,000 per house. That’s the first problem that they have right now.

We are worried also with the inflation on what that $500m looks like in the next nine or 10 years. That’s your other issue. So we are concerned about that.

Yeah, I think obviously we’ve got to take the advice of our intelligence agencies. And that advice is becoming stronger and stronger. I think it’s unwise to have a TikTok account on your government held phone. We’ve got to understand the world we live in and the risk of having these phones as members of parliament, the privileged position we have, does pose to our national security. So I think it is important that the government takes that advice and if that’s the advice we should act swiftly on it. I would be very disappointed if any members of my National party didn’t adhere to any advice given by a security agency on social media, particularly TikTok.

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NSW Labor labelled ‘amateurs’ by Perrottet after analysis shows election policy risks budget blowout

Chris Minns defends promise to scrap public sector wages cap as party leaders scramble in final week of NSW election campaigning

The New South Wales opposition leader, Chris Minns, has been forced to defend the cost of his signature wages policy after the state’s independent budget analysis agency noted “significant risks” of a blowout.

In a frantic final week of campaigning that has seen Dominic Perrottet set out on a two-day tour through the state’s south, focus has shifted to Labor’s promise to scrap the Coalition’s longstanding public sector wages cap.

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Cross-party anti-poverty push targets ‘inadequate’ jobseeker payments

Liberal and Labor MPs Bridget Archer and Alicia Payne unite in call for welfare boost

Two major-party MPs have launched a cross-party push to put the focus on unacceptable levels of poverty in Australia as they call for an increase to the “inadequate” jobseeker payment.

The parliamentary friends of ending poverty group, chaired by the Labor backbencher Alicia Payne and the Liberal MP Bridget Archer, will launch on Tuesday night with speeches from the Rev Tim Costello and the economist Chris Richardson, who has long called for an increase to unemployment benefits.

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Guardian Essential poll: support for Aukus and Indigenous voice declines

Anthony Albanese improves in personal measures, including honesty and vision, despite waning support for major policies

Public support for the Aukus nuclear submarine acquisition and the Indigenous voice to parliament have both declined, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.

The poll of 1,124 voters, released on Tuesday, suggests Australians are at odds with the Aukus deal, with just one in five voters labelling China a “threat to be confronted” and only one quarter happy to pay the price tag of up to $368bn to acquire nuclear submarines.

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Voters in city seats support ban on new coal and gas projects, poll shows

Majority in teal seats of Mackellar and Goldstein – and Labor’s Moreton and Bennelong – also say industry should not use offsets for emissions

The majority of voters in several metropolitan areas support stopping new coal and gas projects and believe industrial polluters should not be able to use carbon offsets for all their greenhouse gas emissions, according to new polling.

The progressive thinktank the Australia Institute commissioned uComms to poll more than 800 residents in each of two “teal” electorates – Mackellar and Goldstein – and the Labor-held seats of Moreton Bennelong and Sydney.

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Labor’s opposition to Iraq war ‘vindicated’, Richard Marles says

Defence minister says any decision to engage in armed conflict should be better debated and scrutinised

Richard Marles says opponents of the Iraq war have been vindicated, prompting fresh calls from campaigners to reform the Australian government’s war powers to prevent a repeat.

The defence minister, who is awaiting a report from a parliamentary inquiry into how the nation decides to engage in armed conflict, said such deployments were among the most significant any government could make.

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Coalition’s super changes will affect three times as many people as Labor’s plan, modelling shows

Jim Chalmers says figures based on Treasury projections reveals opposition’s ‘deception’

The Coalition’s superannuation changes will affect three times as many people as Labor’s new package over the long term, according to figures compiled by the Albanese government.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said the figures showed “the Coalition’s dishonesty, deception and double standards” ahead of the resumption of parliament on Monday.

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Timid NSW transport policies show Labor and the Coalition have taken their feet off the accelerator

No matter who wins the election, the task of tackling clogged roads and Sydney’s tolling mess will be immense

Sydney has been treated to a boom in public transport and road construction over the past decade, but the so far timid transport policies of the New South Wales election raise concerns the foot is coming off the accelerator.

The main policy differences to emerge between the Coalition and Labor surround how each side plans to expand the metro network westwards, Band-Aid solutions to address the cost of commuting through Sydney’s tolling mess and support for a contentious tunnel.

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Chris Minns says documents show Liberals considered privatising parts of Sydney Water

Labor to start final week of NSW election campaign by continuing pursuit of Perrottet government over its privatisation record

Documents canvassing the possible partial privatisation of a Sydney Water asset were compiled at the request of the New South Wales Treasury department, which the state Labor opposition will rely on to argue that the government was contemplating a broader sell-off of the asset.

Chris Minns will mark the start of the NSW election campaign’s final week on Sunday by continuing his pursuit of the Coalition over its record on privatisation, seeking to use documents compiled by the consultancy firm KPMG to argue that the premier, Dominic Perrottet, directed the public service to investigate a possible sale.

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Neo-Nazis and trans rights protesters clash in Melbourne; bushfire alert for parts of Great Ocean Road – as it happened

Melbourne forecast to reach 37C while northern regions of the state could exceed 40C. This blog is now closed

Federal government welcomes decision to hear MH17 case

The federal government has welcomed the International Civil Aviation Organization Council’s decision to hear Australia and the Netherlands’ case against Russia for the downing of flight MH17.

We have maintained since May 2018 that the Russian Federation is responsible under international law for the downing of Flight MH17.

We now look forward to presenting our legal arguments and evidence to the ICAO Council as we continue to seek to hold Russia to account.

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Peter Garrett says nuclear submarine deal ‘most costly and risky’ action ever taken by an Australian government

Midnight Oil frontman and ex Labor minister says the deal ‘stinks’ and backing Coalition’s Aukus pact is departure from established ALP policy

Former Labor environment minister Peter Garrett has lashed the Aukus nuclear submarine deal, calling the former Coalition administration’s decision “the most costly and risky action ever taken by any Australian government” and saying Anthony Albanese’s decision to back it was a departure from established ALP policy.

The Midnight Oil frontman and longtime nuclear disarmament activist claimed the $368 billion deal “stinks”, suggesting the money could be better spent and raising concerns about how Australia will dispose of nuclear waste from the boats.

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Four arrested after climate protesters occupy Dominic Perrottet’s office – as it happened

Six teenagers and a dozen adults occupied NSW premier’s office, protesting approval of new coal and gas projects. This blog is now closed

We’ve got some more information on the news the Albanese government is set to spend $1.3bn buying 220 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, said Australia would be working closely with the US to get more missile capability.

Making sure we have longer-range strike missiles is a really important capability for the country. It enables us to be able to reach out beyond our shores further and that’s ultimately how we are able to keep Australia safe.

The cruise missiles are a critical part of that, as are the submarines that launch them.

Our banking system is really well capitalised. It’s well regulated. We’re well placed in Australia to withstand some of the vulnerability in banking systems.

Whether it’s Silicon Valley banks, and the steps taken by the Americans, or credit Swiss, and the loans provided by the central bank, we’re monitoring it closely.

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Voice referendum bills still on track for parliament, Labor says, despite impasse in negotiations

Albanese government hopes to progress two bills in the coming parliamentary fortnight as working group advice is finalised

The Albanese government plans to progress two bills to set up the Indigenous voice referendum in the coming parliamentary fortnight, remaining confident the process remains on track despite its expert group of Aboriginal leaders still finalising its crucial advice to cabinet.

The referendum working group was expected to confirm its advice to government on the exact wording of the question and the constitutional amendment on Thursday. But a communique from its meeting in Adelaide, issued by Indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney’s office, said the process was still ongoing.

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Myer to close flagship Brisbane store – as it happened

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Turnbull concerned about UK economic situation

Malcolm Turnbull rounded out his concerns there with one shared with Paul Keating – although the language he used was a little more moderated than the former Labor PM is famous for.

The bottom line is their economy is sick. It’s got fundamental, sort of existential problems. And you’ve got to ask yourself, whether Britain is going to be able to sustain investment in its navy and its military in the years ahead, given this huge demand that they’ve got elsewhere, not least the National Health Service.

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Mark Latham to push for nuclear plants and ‘parental rights’ if made NSW kingmaker

Exclusive: Labor and Greens concerned One Nation could gain at least one additional seat in 25 March election

Mark Latham will seek to overturn a longstanding ban on nuclear power technologies, strengthen “parental rights” and protect Christians from vilification if One Nation picks up enough seats to make him a kingmaker after the New South Wales election.

The former federal Labor leader is attempting to grow his party’s upper house presence from two to four at the 25 March poll, capitalising on voter disillusionment and a loophole that has allowed him to resign and re-run at the top of the ticket.

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ABC staff to walk off job next week – as it happened

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Acting prime minister and defence minister Richard Marles has spoken to ABC News Breakfast this morning after the $368bn announcement of the Aukus deal yesterday.

In response to the reaction from China accusing Australia, the US and Britain of embarking on a “path of error and danger”, Marles defends making a decision that is in Australia’s national interest:

We are seeking to acquire this capability to make our contribution to the collective security of the region and the maintenance of the global rules-based order.

And one of the issues within our region we are witnessing the largest conventional military build-up that the world has seen since the end of the second world war. And it’s not Australia who is doing that, but that shapes the world in which we live.

We’re completely confident these are in complete compliance with non proliferation.

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