Jim Chalmers hints concession on threshold for imports could finally lead to an agreement. Follow the latest updates live
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Two flights from Dubai land in Sydney and Melbourne
A second commercial flight landed in Sydney last night from Dubai and the first made its way to Melbourne from the Middle Eastern hub.
Continue reading...Biggest house price increases in February come in smaller capital cities as buyers undeterred by interest rate hikes
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Hot competition for cheaper Australian homes has powered a relentless “up-crash” in prices despite rising interest rates, economists warn.
Desperate first home buyers have bid up the price of affordable properties as they face off against investors, who have borrowed big despite government warnings they could lose tax discounts and deductions.
Continue reading...The home affairs minister says the One Nation leader was frustrated with the Muslim community because it ‘didn’t give her what she wanted’. Follow live updates
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Police investigating the mistaken kidnapping of grandfather Chris Baghsarian are appealing for information about suspicious car fires that could be related to the case, AAP reports.
Hopes are fading of finding the 85-year-old alive, who was taken captive more than a week ago when three men stormed his Sydney home and bundled him into an SUV.
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Total fire ban in parts of New South Wales
While a storm system continues to affect parts of New South Wales’ east, the state’s west faces extreme fire danger.
I expect it will be pretty much what the Nationals have wanted all along because it’s been really clear that they have set the agenda in terms of the energy and climate policy of the Liberal Party.
I’m genuinely concerned and genuinely disappointed that this has happened because we do need to take action on climate change.
I think my a lot of my community will be going ‘Why on earth has the Coalition done this if they are seeking to ever take back seats’ like mine?
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BoM’s axing of free flood forecasting ‘potentially deadly consequences’
Natural disaster-prone councils in south-east Queensland say the Bureau of Meteorology’s decision to axe its free real-time flood forecasting tool is a “cost shifting” exercise with “potentially deadly consequences”, with New South Wales emergency services also affected.
The main treatment for viral gastroenteritis is to rest and drink plenty of fluids. Most people recover without complications, but more urgent care may need to be sought for infants, people with suppressed immune systems, and the elderly, who may experience more serious illness.
Continue reading...ACIC report says total impact of illicit trade on economy amounted to $4bn in a year amid debate over cigarette excise
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The illegal tobacco market has left a $3.3bn hole in the federal government’s finances, with Australia’s national criminal intelligence agency warning organised crime’s dominance of the market is continuing to grow.
The Australian Taxation Office believes the illegal trade now accounts for one in five tobacco sales, which has led to reduced tax revenues despite the government’s excise on legal cigarettes reaching almost $30 for a pack of 20 sticks in September. The excise has increased almost eightfold since 2006, when it was $4.65.
Continue reading...Shoebridge accuses Labor of being ‘addicted to secrecy’. Follow today’s news live
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Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with some of the best overnight stories before Krishani Dhanji takes the controls.
Asio chief Mike Burgess gave a speech at the Lowy Institute in Sydney last night in which he said there were “at least” three countries whose governments were prepared to carry out assassinations on Australian soil. Asked whether it was too alarming, Burgess said that it was “incredibly important” for Australians to understand the dangers the country faced.
Continue reading...Reserve Bank’s decision to leave cash rate on hold was widely expected and major banks predict no interest rates cut until 2026
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The Reserve Bank has left the official interest rate on hold, as it warned house prices and rents will rise in 2026 after a surprise rebound in inflation.
The RBA’s monetary policy board on Tuesday kept the cash rate at 3.6%, where it has sat since August. Economists and banks overwhelmingly expected no change.
Continue reading...Employment department’s annual report shows just 11.7% of jobseekers ended up with jobs lasting at least 26 weeks last year
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Australia’s private employment services are failing to get jobseekers into long-term work, despite costing taxpayers millions of dollars each year, department documents show.
Just 11.7% of jobseekers in Australia found long-term employment through a job provider in the latest financial year, according to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations’ annual report.
Continue reading...The Liberal leader says the prime minister must extract ‘concrete’ results on Aukus and trade. Follow today’s news live
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Hume: Ley describing Melbourne as Australia’s ‘crime capital’ just ‘explaining what every Victorian already knows’
The federal Liberal senator for Victoria, Jane Hume, was on ABC Radio National a short time ago speaking about crime in the state.
Sussan and the shadow ministry team are putting together our policy agenda as we speak. It is only five months since the last election, but I don’t agree that there is nothing that a federal government cannot do. In fact, there are plenty of things that a federal government can get involved in to help states tackle crime, whether it be working for consistent bail laws across the country.
Continue reading...Treasurer says he spoke to former PM ‘half a dozen’ times before unveiling changes to his plans for superannuation tax concessions. Follow today’s news live
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Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Nick Visser will take over.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says he spoke to former Labor prime minister Paul Keating ‘half a dozen times’ last week as he finalised the federal government’s watered-down superannuation tax plan. More coming up.
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James Paterson says Hastie move to backbench part of Liberals’ ‘debate and contest about ideas’
The sooner the Liberal party can sort out its differences the better but it may take a while after Andrew Hastie’s departure to the back bench, according to one of the rogue MP’s closest colleagues.
But we do have to make sure we go through our processes. We have to make sure we have those debates.
One of the reflections we’ve all had about the last parliamentary term is that there wasn’t enough debate and contest about ideas, that we need to robustly contest policy before we settle on it.
On the back bench, I’ll continue to advocate for things I believe in.
Continue reading...Peter Briggs says relying on overseas construction is ‘folly’; industrial relations commission to rule this morning on government’s stoush with doctors. Follow the latest news live
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The former head of Australia’s submarine squadron has urged Australia against outsourcing boat construction overseas, as bureaucrats express confidence the US won’t scuttle Aukus, Australian Associated Press reports.
A parliamentary inquiry yesterday ran the rule over the Geelong treaty, a 50-year Aukus cooperation agreement between Australia and the UK signed in July.
There is no minimum protection in the treaty for a guaranteed work share for genuine Australian industry.
The Collins project has established a viable submarine supply chain within Australia.
Continue reading...Treasurer Jim Chalmers and BHP CEO Mike Henry to discuss reports of Chinese iron ore blockade
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The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will meet with the boss of BHP amid a shock report that the world’s largest mining company faces a Chinese blockade on its iron ore shipments.
Beijing’s state iron ore buyer has told steelmakers to pause imports of BHP ore, amid hardball negotiations over the price of the crucial resource, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
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PM brushes off Coalition criticism for attending UK Labour party’s national conference
Returning to Albanese’s appearance on Sky News this morning, the PM has shrugged off criticism from the Coalition that he is spending too much time engaging in international diplomacy after he attended the UK Labour party’s national conference.
What I do is work very hard representing Australia.
In Liverpool, I’ll be having discussions with ministers, not just with prime minister Starmer, about Aukus and about that progress, taking the opportunity to sit down with government ministers.
I think you can be strong on borders without being weak on humanity, and that’s what drives my government.
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Parents need boost to lift flagging vaccination rate
Parents need practical strategies such as easier access to appointments and bulk-billing to help reverse a concerning decline in childhood vaccination rates, research has found.
The top barriers were mostly around ability to get appointments easily, being able to prioritise their child’s vaccination over all of the other things that they have to get done, the cost of getting their child vaccinated.
We now know that that will be on the 20th of October. The point here is that they had spoken a number of times by phone. The relationship is conducted at many, many levels. It is going well.
We’ve got the lowest tariff rate. Aukus is happening at a pace. And so we’re really confident … about the progress of our relationship with the US.
Continue reading...US president berates Australia and others for recognising Palestine, but agrees to Albanese meeting in October. Follow today’s news live
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Albanese to make case for US capital to flow to Australian economy
Anthony Albanese and Australia’s ambassador to Washington, Kevin Rudd, are preparing to attend a major investment event in New York in the next few hours.
American capital and Australian manufacturing are a natural fit. And if we move now, we can make them an unbeatable combination. We can put our investment partnership at the centre of a defining global opportunity.
The world’s shift to clean energy represents the biggest change since the industrial revolution. We are looking at ever-increasing global demand for clean energy and the technology that generates and stores it.
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Low tariffs not dependent on sit-down meeting with Trump, Bowen says
On the potential for a meeting between Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump, Bowen has poured cold water on whether any charm offensive by the Australian PM might have turned the US from its present course.
There are plenty of world leaders who have met with Donald Trump who haven’t had good outcomes, who have got very high tariffs. Who have come over, had meetings, left optimistic and then they’ve got high tariffs. The way Anthony Albanese has managed the relationship, we have the world’s lowest tariff on Australia.
Results matter, David. Of course, the prime minister has made it clear he’s very happy to meet, but results matter. And this prime minister and this foreign minister and this government have delivered pretty good results when it comes to the bilateral relationship.
It’s not my place to announce these things, David. I’m a humble cabinet minister.
Of course a meeting with the president is always a good thing. But I’ll tell you what’s even more important is results. I’d much rather Anthony Albanese get a great result for our economy with the world’s lowest tariff without a meeting, than to have a meeting and get the opposite result, which is what many other world leaders have found themselves in that situation.
Well, we obviously have set Australia’s foreign policy based on our interests and our values. And while everyone is entitled to their views, we will determine Australian foreign policy, not anyone else. And we’ve determined a couple of things – that the time is right, in concert, as you said, with like-minded states.
We have been waiting 80 years for a two-state solution, and that we now see recognising Palestine as a step towards a two-state solution, not the result of negotiations.
Continue reading...Figure amounts to a $60bn fall by 2030 under any future scenario of emissions reduction in Australia, modelling predicts
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The value of Australia’s coal and gas exports is predicted to plummet by 50% over the next five years as global demand for fossil fuel falls, according to Treasury modelling.
The modelling, released on Thursday as the government announced its emissions reduction target for 2035, found the annual value of fossil fuel exports is predicted to fall by more than $60bn by 2030 under any future scenario of emissions reduction within Australia.
Continue reading...Deputy prime minister also said security arrangements between PNG and Australia were due for a ‘refresh’. Follow today’s news live
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‘We’ve got an eye to recruiting out of PNG into the defence force’ – Marles
Marles is asked about statements from his PNG counterpart about what may or may not be in the agreement, including more integration between PNG and Australian defences forces, and specifically whether there has been any confusion.
I’m very pleased to see the excitement that [the PNG defence minister] Billy [Joseph] is bringing to this and it does, to be honest, reflect the way in which we have been going about this agreement since the moment that he and I first met to do this refresh back in January this year and it has turned into something much more than a refresh.
It is a really significant agreement that we will be signing, but it does reflect the fact that we are doing so many more exercises together, so many more operations together. We are really working hand in glove as two defence forces and I think this is profoundly important.
I think what you can take, though, is that this is a really important statement from Papua New Guinea and indeed from Australia, to each other, and I think this is Papua New Guinea making it really clear that traditional partners, and they’ve talked about this a lot, the traditional partners is where they look to in terms of their security, and from an Australian point of view, PNG is obviously on our northern flank.
It really matters that we have the very best relationship that we can have with PNG in a security sense, and I’m really excited about the fact that this agreement is going to give expression to that.
We’re doing so much more with PNG now. I think it is fair to say that as we’ve walked down that path over the course of the last few months, and we’ve been doing it with a view to signing this agreement in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of PNG’s independence, it is fair to say a lot more ambition has been brought to this agreement and we are really excited about the agreement that we will be signing in the next few days.
It certainly will transform the defence relationship between Australia and PNG, but beyond that, if you look at the various defence agreements we have with countries around the world, actually, it is hugely significant in that context.
The prime minister will be signing this in the next few days, so I will let the prime minister make those announcements and you will see them shortly enough.
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