Category Archives: Anthony Albanese

Australia news live: Queensland LNP candidate alleges he was assaulted; Sydney Harbour Bridge closed after fatal crash

Posted on by

Follow the day’s new live

New polling from the Australia Institute shows that Australians view the supermarkets as “public enemy No 1” in the cost of living crisis.

The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work surveyed 1,014 voters, and 83% said supermarkets deserve some blame – or a great deal of blame – for the soaring cost of living.

Australians are pointing the finger squarely at supermarkets as public enemy No 1 in the cost-of-living crisis … More people blame supermarkets for the cost-of-living crunch than governments or banks.

The public’s appetite for increased supermarket competition is unmistakable. Nearly two-thirds of voters see it as crucial for alleviating cost-of-living pressures … There’s likely to be political rewards for taking actions that increase supermarket competition.

Continue reading...

Albanese’s $4.3m home purchase could increase pressure to change property tax laws, Labor MPs suggest

Posted on by

Prime minister says he is focused on solving the housing crisis but the opposition has accused him of being out of touch with voters

Anthony Albanese may face renewed backbench pressure to ease capital gains tax concessions, as Labor MPs privately express dismay at his decision to buy a $4.3m waterfront home on the New South Wales Central Coast before an election in the middle of a housing crisis.

Some Labor MPs have suggested the feared political backlash over the prime minister’s house purchase may force the government to look again at removing some of the generous concessions to residential property investors.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Rio Tinto praised for ‘breaking ranks’ to back revamp of environment laws – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Queensland leaders to lock horns again in election debate

After their deputies traded blows, the Queensland premier and opposition leader are set to face off again ahead of the state election, AAP reports.

Continue reading...

Controversial dynamic ticket pricing to be banned in Australia amid sweeping federal crackdown

Posted on by

Anthony Albanese says ‘dodgy’ trading practices, ‘hidden fees and traps are putting even more pressure on the cost of living’ and need to be stopped

The “dynamic pricing” of concert tickets will be banned as the federal government cracks down on “dodgy” trading practices and tackles hidden fees and subscription “traps” for online shopping, gym memberships and airline tickets.

Anthony Albanese and the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will on Wednesday announce plans to ban unfair trading practices under Australian consumer law, the latest consumer-focused competition and pricing changes proposed by the government and badged as cost-of-living relief.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Hanson-Young calls for investigation of live music ticketing allegations; culprit flees botched ram raid with arm on fire

Posted on by

Follow today’s news live

The federal government has announced targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on five Iranian individuals it says is “contributing to Iran’s missile program.”

A statement from the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said Iran’s missile program “poses a material threat to regional and international security”, with the 1 October attack on Israel a “dangerous escalation that increased the risk of a wider regional war.”

Australia will continue to hold Iran to account for its reckless and destabilising actions.

We’re holding ministers accountable when the premier of Tasmania refused to. This project – for people who don’t know – is $500m over budget, five years delayed.

It’s a completely debacle. Someone needed to take responsibility. The premier [was] saying he wouldn’t do that, the parliament decided it would act and, at the last moment, the deputy premier resigned.

Continue reading...

Albanese backs Queensland premier’s opposition to nuclear power as early voting in state election opens

Posted on by

PM says Steven Miles’s plan to hold plebiscite on nuclear if Labor wins 26 October poll is a ‘matter for Queensland’ but he supports the stance

Anthony Albanese has backed Steven Miles’s opposition to nuclear power while joining the Queensland premier on the first day of pre-poll voting in the state election.

At a joint press conference in the Gold Coast on Monday, the prime minister was asked about Miles’s plan to hold a plebiscite on nuclear if Labor wins this month’s poll.

Continue reading...

Dfat says it has told Israel ‘unacceptable’ targeting of UN personnel in Lebanon must cease – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price on Voice referendum, one year on

The shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, was on ABC News Breakfast earlier on the first anniversary of the Voice referendum.

We have been calling for an inquiry into statutory authorities for the last 18 months, which we believe need to be looked at closely because of their failures to ... well, not all statutory authorities, but some, in terms of their failures of how they’re supposed to serve the interests of those that they are supposed to represent.

And this has been ongoing now and something that the Albanese Government has continued to ignore. But those voices – especially of Traditional Owners – that I have been speaking to, are growing louder, with more concern. And, really, there is a need to fix the structures that currently exist, and it begins with an inquiry.

There’s no evidence at all that current laws led by the Albanese government are stifling businesses from employing people. In fact, we’ve actually created nearly 1 million jobs since coming to office a bit over two years ago … So unfortunately, for some of the leading business groups calling for this, the evidence of what’s going on in the economy just doesn’t back up their wish list.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: QLD LNP leader says end of coal before 2030s ‘fanciful’; patients at Sydney GP given less-effective vaccines

Posted on by

The LNP leader, David Crisafulli, appears to be walking away from a commitment to 75% emissions reduction by 2035. Follow today’s news live

Rowland questioned on gambling ad ban

Michelle Rowland was also asked why it has taken 16 months for the government – as yet – to make no decision on gambling ads. The communications minister said the government has “been working diligently in this space” but action “should have been taken on this some 10 years ago”.

We’re working very closely with the states and territories because the vast majority of recommendations in our late colleague Peta Murphy’s report go to issues that go across commonwealth and state jurisdictions.

We’re also working very closely to ensure that there are no unintended consequences here and it’s actually effective.

We have every anticipation that we will be able to respond comprehensively this year and that’s what we’re working towards as a government.

We will be taking advice on the appropriate form in which that can be done. Legislation is obviously an option because there is an interactive gambling act at the commonwealth level, which enables some of these approaches to be implemented.

There will be penalty for the platforms just as they are now in the Online Safety Act … These penalties will be drafted and, as I said, we’re currently reviewing the Online Safety Act because the penalties as they stand … the maximum penalties are less than $1 million for some offences.

They are being challenged but, at the same time, the industry does understand the need to comply here and, by and large, does comply with the rules under the Online Safety Act.

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: Richard Marles tells question time ‘I feel very sad that events have got to where they have’ after chief of staff’s bullying allegations

Posted on by

Follow today’s news live

The opposition communications spokesperson, David Coleman, is speaking to ABC radio RN, criticising the government’s legislation designed to keep the NBN in public hands.

He is having trouble saying whether the opposition will support the bill, or whether a future Coalition government would want to sell the NBN.

We’re not going to just sort of immediately jump at some silly theatrical statement from the government. The adults in the room will review this in a normal way.

We’ve got no intention of changing the ownership structure of the NBN. Nobody does. And frankly, because the NBN is going so badly, there’s not exactly a lineup of people [wanting to buy it].

Parents are crying out for a degree of certainty, they’re crying out for government guidance, a lot more rule that people can follow. That doesn’t mean there won’t be challenging but at least provides a starting point for parents. It gives them a tool about how to address this and parents who have gone through all this and all the pain that social media can place upon their children, they’re the ones I think are the most powerful advocates for this reform.

Continue reading...

Australian teens approaching age limit could be spared from social media ban, ACT leader says

Posted on by

Exclusive: Andrew Barr says it ‘doesn’t make sense’ for existing users to be banned for a year or two before regaining access

It “doesn’t make sense” to remove existing teen users of social media from the platforms just a year or two before they regain access, Andrew Barr says.

The ACT chief minister’s comments point to the possibility that existing users could be grandfathered by the proposed social media ban so that they keep their accounts or are temporarily moved on to teen-friendly versions, such as that recently introduced for Instagram by Meta.

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: Dutton attacks Albanese for including calls for ceasefire and de-escalation in motion reflecting on 7 October

Posted on by

Follow today’s news live

So what’s that ARC research project on islands actually about, anyway?

A blog watcher has taken the trouble to look up the research project that has Liberal MP James Stevens all hot and bothered, Archipelagic Connections in Australian and Pacific Literature:

Australia is often defined as an isolated island-continent, ‘girt by sea’. This project aims to challenge this protectionist myth by analysing literary and historical connections between different geographical sites that have been represented as enclosed in Australian history.

It expects to offer new interpretations of interconnected narratives of Aboriginal Australian, South Sea Islander and migrant enclosure in Australian literature.

The project also contributes to national strategic initiatives into the ‘truth telling’ on Australia’s past relations to Aboriginal Australians and the study of environmental change in islands and archipelagos.

Continue reading...

Australian politicians mark 7 October anniversary – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

904 Australians and their immediate family members have now left Lebanon on assisted-departure flights – in addition to those who left on partner and commercial flights.

407 Australians left on 5 October, and 448 on 6 October.

Why so silent, Mark? This, I have been asked a lot. I have thought about it a lot too. I have said little in public about the Hamas-Israel war because I am not the foreign affairs minister. I am Australia’s first law officer. A minister, not a commentator. Just because I’m not talking doesn’t mean I don’t understand.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: NSW police minister says pro-Palestine protests must remain peaceful or ‘you can expect to be arrested’

Posted on by

A pro-Palestine rally will take place in Hyde Park from 1pm today, after NSW police previously attempted to stop it from happening in federal court. Follow the day’s news live

Australians arrive in Cyprus after being evacuated from Lebanon

Some images are coming through of Australian citizens, residents and their families arriving at Larnaca airport in Cyprus after being evacuated from Beirut yesterday.

This is a tragedy that has been playing out in the Middle East. It is obviously difficult. It is obviously complex.

That is a patent lie, and it’s an intentional lie, and it’s a lie intended to create division within Australian politics and from there, within Australian society.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: PM introduces Tu Le as Labor challenger for western Sydney seat of Fowler

Posted on by

Follow today’s news live

A joint police statement warns “there will be no tolerance for illegal behaviour or violence on any day of the year” in the lead-up to protests planned for the 7 October anniversary.

The statement comes from NSW police, Northern Territory police, the Queensland police service, South Australia police, Victoria police, Western Australia police, Tasmania police and Australian federal police.

Police respect the right to peacefully protest and assemble in Australia, however, there will be no tolerance for illegal behaviour or violence on any day of the year.

In Australia, there are offences that prohibit behaviour that incites or advocates violence or hatred based on race and religion, including the display of prohibited symbols in public under these circumstances.

The commission can confirm it carried out operational activity today at Parliament House. This was in relation to an ongoing investigation.

Continue reading...

Rally organisers and police reach agreement – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is speaking with ABC RN from New Zealand where he is meeting with regional counterparts.

Asked about the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, and whether “ceasefire negotiations in Gaza are now dead”, Marles said the “continued violence in the Middle East is obviously giving rise to enormous threat to civilian life”.

I think the international community is desperate to see an end to this violence, and certainly that’s how we’re exercising our international voice.

Israel has a right to defend itself. Every country has a right to defend itself, and to do so in a proportionate way. That said, we are calling for a ceasefire, along with the United States, along with other members of the international community.

The continued violence in the Middle East is giving rise to … unacceptable numbers of civilian lives lost, and the ongoing violence is a threat to civilian life. And we, along with international community, urge an end to this.

We have [been protesting for] 51 weeks in a row, [and it’s been] absolutely peaceful. Millions of Australians have come out, it’s not provocative at all.

What’s provocative is the fact that our government isn’t listening to tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of Australians, who have signed petitions, called their MPs, have done everything they’re supposed to do within this democratic framework to say ‘enough’ …

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Miles promises state-owned power company for Queensland; NSW police arrest woman following Sydney protest rally

Posted on by

Follow today’s news live

Children’s commissioner to address National Press Club today on youth justice

The children’s commissioner, Anne Hollonds, is due to address the National Press Club today on a new report calling for an overhaul of Australia’s approach to child justice.

That kind of slogan really is trying to show that ‘we’re really tough up here, we’re going to be tough on crime’. And what our report shows is that that approach, that traditional approach in this country, hasn’t worked and and that basically it’s evident that we’ve misunderstood the nature of the problem we’re trying to solve. We know that toughening up the justice system doesn’t actually prevent crime by children.

The idea that the states and territories could fix this on their own has been misguided, we need to work together on it.

Continue reading...

Assange says he is free because he ‘pled guilty to journalism’ – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

National weather forecasts

Sticking with the weather, here’s a look at the forecasts across Australia’s capital cities today:

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

Israel ‘needs to listen’ to international community, Albanese says as Wong calls for Lebanon and Gaza ceasefires

Posted on by

‘War has rules – even when confronting terrorists,’ Australia’s foreign affairs minister tells UN security council

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has urged his Israeli counterpart to “listen to the international community” amid fears of an escalating conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, also declared that the world “cannot allow any party to obstruct” peace in the Middle East as she pressed for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...