PM says opposition ‘tying themselves in knots’ as parliament resumes. Follow the day’s news live
School funding data
(continued from previous post)
Continue reading...Category Archives: Anthony Albanese
Climate groups welcome fuel efficiency standards – as it happened
This blog is now closed
Labor tried to amend stage-three tax cuts, Albanese says
Anthony Albanese says Labor attempted to amend the stage-three tax cuts but its proposal failed by a single vote:
What we did in the parliament in 2019 is two things. One, we tried to amend our the stage-three tax cuts. We weren’t successful. We failed by just one vote. When that occurred, we thought that we weren’t prepared to stand in the way of all of the government to say they knew what the economy would look like in five years’ time.
One of the things, David, I have done is go to the National Press Club – and say we have changed our position. Why? We listened to people and particularly low- and middle-income Australians are under financial pressure.
What I can’t do as prime minister of Australia is to wring my hands and say, “If only there was something I co-do about it” What we needed to do was to look at what is the best way we can take pressure off cost of living without putting pressure on inflation.
We want it to be passed as soon as possible. Certainly, it needs to be passed during this existing session, so as to provide that easy transition for employers, the tax office, for others as well.
Circumstances have changed. We’ve responded.
Continue reading...ACCC to investigate supermarket sector – as it happened
This blog is now closed.
- Israel accuses Australia of forgetting ‘Hamas’s culpability’ for Gaza war as ministers consider UNRWA funding
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
BoM issues wind weather warning for Tasmania
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds in parts of Tasmania.
Australia has a very important role to play as a signatory to the ICJ, a signatory to the genocide convention, to ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians and ensure that the investigations that are occurring with UNRWA … don’t inhibit funding and delivery of services that are going to basically save lives in coming days and weeks and months.
UNRWA has done the right thing in standing down the staff, sacking them. They have got an independent investigation occurring. 150 UN UNRWA staff have been killed, their families and children as well, over the past several months of this conflict. The UN is in the middle, sandwiched in the conflict, trying to do its best to save lives. Donor governments like Australia need to bear this in mind that, if funding ceases, there is nowhere else to turn to. People will simply collapse and die.
Continue reading...New Zealand to be briefed on Aukus – as it happened
This blog is now closed.
- Wong signals Labor wants to resume UN agency funding to ensure ‘fewer children are starving’ in Gaza
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking to ABC RN, and says news that the inflation rate has plunged to a two-year low of 4.1% is “welcoming, encouraging progress”.
… We know that people are still under pressure and we need to not be complacent about it. We need to continue to work as we have with our three point plan, having the surplus, making sure we deal with cost of living pressures without putting pressure on inflation, and dealing with … supply-chain issues as well.
With parliament resuming next week, this is a wake-up call that 2024 is the last chance for meaningful democratic reform ahead of the 2025 election …
Australians should go to the next election with strict political donation disclosure laws, truth in political advertising laws in force and information about who’s meeting ministers made public as a matter of course.
Continue reading...Australia news live: murder charge laid after ‘long, sad journey’ for disappeared 23-year-old’s family
Ms Bernard, a Kowanyama woman, was last seen at Archer River quarry on 10 February in 2013. Follow the day’s news live
Update on Queensland flooding
Senior BoM meteorologist Angus Hines spoke to ABC News Breakfast just earlier to provide an update on the rain and flooding in Queensland.
Last night the rainfall totals were between 50mm and 120mm which is still a very significant dose of rain, but bear in mind this time yesterday we were talking about 300mm leading to widespread flooding.
We could see these rivers with elevated levels for the next several days, as it will take a while for those flood waters to drain out, long past when the rainfall conditions have cleared up.
The goal for the AI taskforce is to be a trusted source of expert advice and assistance for the Law Society, and through it, for the solicitor profession across NSW. Its members will be drawn from the law, justice system, academia, and government.
The work of the taskforce will enhance the Law Society’s work to ensure that NSW leads the way in harnessing the best that AI has to offer for the legal profession while mitigating the risks.
Continue reading...Mayor issues flood warning – as it happened
This blog is now closed.
- Australian Sam Lee charged with conspiracy to commit fraud in US for role in $1.89bn ‘Ponzi scheme’
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
We’ve just spoken to St Vincent’s hospital and confirmed that the woman bitten by a shark in Sydney Harbour last night remains in hospital in a stable condition.
The woman, in her late 20s, was bitten on the right leg by a suspected bull shark in Elizabeth Bay last night.
Continue reading...Australia to spend $80m on business case for Sydney-Newcastle high speed rail
The announcement of a business case budget is the latest development in the Albanese government’s slow moving high speed rail project
The Albanese government will spend $80m developing a business case for the Sydney-to-Newcastle stretch of its east coast high speed rail line, as the decades-long project inches further forward.
The transport minister, Catherine King, said the allocation of $78.8m was part of Labor’s $500m election commitment to the early stages of high speed rail, with the initial Sydney-Newcastle leg representing a “crucial waypoint” on the project.
Continue reading...Working-class communities in Coalition-held seats the biggest winners in Labor’s stage-three tax cuts overhaul
Nearly 90% of areas in Australia better off under new plan, with taxpayers in remote and regional communities to gain the most, ANU analysis shows
- Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
Working-class communities in Coalition-held remote and regional electorates stand to gain the most from Labor’s proposed changes to income tax cuts, while voters in the byelection seat of Dunkley are also big winners.
The average taxpayer in Whitsunday, in the electorate of Dawson, East Pilbara in Durack, and Cairns in Leichhardt stands to gain over $600 more from Labor’s package than the Morrison government’s stage-three tax cuts, according to an analysis by the Australian National University associate professor Ben Phillips.
Continue reading...Peter Dutton refuses to commit to stage-three tax cut changes as Labor begins negotiations with Greens and crossbench
Anthony Albanese rejects calls for a fresh election by the opposition leader who continues to accuse the PM of breaking a promise
Peter Dutton has refused to commit the opposition to an official position on Labor’s amended stage-three tax cuts, as the government begins negotiations with the Greens and key independents.
Anthony Albanese said on Friday he would soon begin discussions with crossbenchers to get the updated tax cuts through parliament, as the Greens say they will push for further support for low-income earners.
Continue reading...Thousands rally in solidarity on Invasion Day in Melbourne, Sydney; AFL clubs call for 26 January date change – as it happened
This blog is now closed.
Australian and Aboriginal flags raised during Canberra ceremony
Following the welcome to country, the flag-raising ceremony has begun, with six flags raised including two Australian flags, two Aboriginal flags and two Torres Strait Islander flags.
Australia is home to the oldest continuous culture on Earth, 65,000 years of uninterrupted heritage, demonstrated by the unique archeological evidence found in the very ground that you may are sitting on, found in the rocks and stones of this very place. That makes this continent unique in the whole world.
Ngunnawal’s view of heritage transcends time, it is our way of being with nature, best expressed in the Ngunnawal language through the concepts of respect and deep honour, coming together in the wellbeing for all.
Continue reading...‘It’s a no-brainer’: what voters in upcoming Dunkley byelection say about Labor’s stage-three tax cut changes
Victorian electorate will be first test of support for overhaul that shifts more of the benefit to low- and middle-income earners amid cost-of-living pressures
Ilene Jones’s wishlist for a tax cut is simple – more money to spend on school fees, a laptop for her son and groceries.
“It’s just the basics. It’s not extravagant,” she says.
Continue reading...Australia news live: Townsville residents advised to shelter in place ahead of Cyclone Kirrily reaching Queensland coast
The latest advice from the Bureau of Meteorology is that Tropical Cyclone Kirrily will begin crossing the coast from 10pm tonight. Follow the day’s news live
- Albanese promises to double tax relief for average income Australians in stage-three overhaul
- Stage-three tax cuts: what’s changed and how we got here – video
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
As we flagged just earlier, wind gusts associated with Tropical Cyclone Kirrily have already begun around the Whitsundays, with gusts over 100km/h.
In a Facebook group for Whitsundays locals, a new resident has asked an innocent question:
Hey there I’m kind of new to town from Melbourne. Does anyone know how to tie my tree down so that it doesn’t blow away?
“I would use fairy lights.”
“If you hop around clockwise on your left leg 3 times and then do a Kangaroo hop to the right, the drop bears will take care of it by having the tree extend it’s roots deeper.”
“If you’re really from Melbourne you would know how to tie down a tree with the windy crap weather down there. Ride a kangaroo to bunnings [and] get some ratchets.”
“From the state of the supermarket shelves I’m guessing everyone is using toilet paper to tie their trees down.”
“Take the leaves off and store inside. The rest will be fine.”
Continue reading...Albanese promises to double tax relief for average income Australians in stage-three overhaul
Prime minister to use National Press Club address to defend new plan as the ‘right thing to do’
- Greg Jericho: The old cuts are dead. Long live Labor’s new policy, which 90% of Australians will cheer
- Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
Anthony Albanese has pledged to more than double tax relief for Australians on the average income in a suite of low and middle income tax cuts paid for by trimming benefits to high income earners.
At the National Press Club on Thursday the prime minister will defend Labor’s plan by arguing it will still deliver “a tax cut for every taxpayer” and that modification of the stage-three tax cuts was “the right thing to do” in changed economic circumstances.
Continue reading...Three dead after being pulled from water off Phillip Island – as it happened
This blog is now closed.
- Labor MPs endorse changes to stage-three tax cuts
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
Morrison to take up separate position at Dyne Asset Management
As we brought you just earlier, Scott Morrison will be taking up a role with international advisory and consulting firm American Global Strategies after his resignation from politics late February.
Well, firstly, I think we should be quite thoughtful of which category we’re talking about for farmers. If you’re talking about fruits and vegetables, we are in material deflation and have been for about four months … That is because of demand and supply in Australia. It’s a domestic product, it’s subject to demand and supply. It is causing pain for many of those farmers. But hopefully that situation will change with regard to the new year.
… We buy directly [where we can] from farmers, and we try and smooth out the price that they get so that they can plan and manage their business effectively.
But when you look at the red meat index, it does look like it’s trending up based on what’s happening offshore. So these things do flow through …
Continue reading...Australia news live: SA swelters as heatwave warnings issued in other states; fire ants nest south of Byron Bay destroyed
Follow the latest updates live
- Scott Morrison to resign from politics, Liberal sources say
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
Homelessness increasing across Australia, report finds
In January every year, the Productivity Commission releases its Report on Government Services, which “monitor[s] the performance of Australian governments in the delivery of important services to the community”.
The first thing is to stay connected with the emergency messaging and understand the alerts that may and will come out as the cyclone approaches the coast.
But more importantly, use the next 48 hours to 72 hours to prepare yourself and your family for a potential cyclone crossing and flooding event after. You can do simple things like keep the fuel in your car topped up now, make sure you have enough food in your house for 72 hours, [and] make sure you have battery charging packs for your phone. Very simple things you can do.
Continue reading...Albanese fuels cost-of-living relief expectations as MPs debate sticking with stage-three tax cuts
PM says Labor government will receive advice by Wednesday’s caucus meeting on how best to assist Australians struggling with rising costs
- Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
Anthony Albanese has continued to raise expectations of further cost-of-living relief as some backbench MPs debate the possibility Labor could modify stage-three income tax cuts to pay for new measures.
On Monday the prime minister said “if we can find ways to put extra dollars in people’s pockets, particularly those low and middle income earners who are doing it tough, then we’re prepared to do so”.
Continue reading...Weather warning for north Queensland – as it happened
This blog is now closed.
- Albanese fuels cost-of-living relief expectations as MPs debate sticking with stage-three tax cuts
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
‘No plans to change’ Australia Day, minister says
Speaking on the Today show, Amanda Rishworth is asked about a decision by Cricket Australia to scrap the term Australia Day at the Brisbane Test match this Friday.
We have absolutely no plans to change that. The prime minister has said that on a number of occasions.
I think it is important that we do, though, acknowledge that Australia Day for some people is a difficult day. For others, it’s a day that is the day they became an Australian citizen and that’s really important to them.
This is something you’ve been aware of for several months, in fact, perhaps longer than that. So, why fly to Canberra now?
This year will be a year of delivery. And so at the beginning of the year, it’s not uncommon for political parties to get together. I would suggest that the opposition, from time to time, has flown people to all one place. So, it is a bit two-faced to be criticising the Labor party here. But it will be an important meeting, as will this year be of us continuing to deliver help for Australians.
We don’t have parliament by Zoom. We don’t have a number of political meetings, committee meetings by Zoom. They are done in person. It is important that MPs do get together and actually put their views forward.
Continue reading...Albanese government secures further gas supply before meeting on cost-of-living relief
Deal aimed at keeping energy bills affordable will see 260 petajoules supplied to gas-fired power stations in Australia’s south-east coast until 2033
- Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
Australia’s south-east coast will be further guaranteed gas supply in an effort to keep lights on and energy bills affordable before predicted supply shortages at the decade’s end.
It comes as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has called Labor MPs and senators to Canberra on Wednesday for a snap caucus to discuss further cost-of-living relief measures put forward by Treasury.
Continue reading...Labor MP condemns Netanyahu’s rejection of Palestinian state as a step toward apartheid
Julian Hill labels Israeli prime minister’s position ‘appalling’ as he calls for financial consequences for Israeli settlers
Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration he rejects any moves to establish a Palestinian state after Israel’s offensive in Gaza has been labelled “appalling” and a step toward “apartheid” by influential Labor MP Julian Hill.
Hill has called for a suite of measures to respond, including financial consequences for Israeli settlers and an international push to fast-track recognition of a Palestinian state. The left faction convener argued that the “vast majority of the world recognises Israeli sovereignty only within the 1967 borders”.
Continue reading...BoM forecasts category three storm – as it happened
This blog is now closed.
- Queensland cyclone warning: premier urges residents on parts of coast to prepare for potential ‘severe impact’
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
Victoria police recover over $600,000 worth of drugs in raids
A man has had to let go of his prized Lego collection yesterday after police seized more than $600,000 worth of 1,4-Butanediol – a chemical that mirrors the drug GHB when ingested.
34kg of iodine – a precursor to methylamphetamine.
32kg of hypophosphorus acid – a precursor to methylamphetamine.
Illegal steroids.
Methylamphetamine.
A handgun.
An extendable baton.
Ammunition.
Three digital devices.
Continue reading...