Jane Hume renews push to lift nuclear energy ban – as it happened

7.07am GMT
What we learned today, Tuesday 28 October

With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. Have a lovely night. Krishani Dhanji will be back tomorrow morning to cover all things in the world of Australian politics.
Until then, here were today’s biggest developments:

The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirmed Australia has deported the first member of the NZYQ cohort to Nauru, triggering the start of its $2.5bn deal.
Police and the corporate regulator have raided offices of the software company WiseTech.
Queensland’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender patients has been overturned by the state’s supreme court.
Both TikTok and Meta have told the parliamentary inquiry on age assurance they will comply with the under-16s social media ban when it comes into effect, while Snapchat will apply it “unevenly”.
Optus will soon have to front a Senate inquiry to explain how it responded to its triple-zero outage in September, which was linked to the deaths of at least three people.
Rio Tinto says it is contemplating ceasing operations at its New South Wales-based Tomago aluminium smelter at the end of its current electricity supply contract.
And Sussan Ley, who said the very spelling of her own name was due to her “punk phase”, has criticised Anthony Albanese for wearing a T-shirt of celebrated post-punk band Joy Division.

Updated at 7.14am GMT

6.46am GMT

Tasmanian teachers stop work to school government on stalled deal
Frustrated teachers, firefighters, health and other public workers are walking off the job over three days in Tasmania to protest a “contemptuous” government wages offer, AAP reports.
Stop-work action forced schools to open several hours late in north-west Tasmania on Tuesday, with further disruptive rallies planned in Launceston on Wednesday and Hobart on Thursday.
Unions rejected the state government’s offer of a one-off 3% pay rise while longer-term deals are negotiated.
Hundreds of workers rallied at Burnie and Devonport in what the Health and Community Services Union secretary, Robbie Moore, said was evidence of unprecedented anger.
Ramped-up industrial action that could impact government income was also on the cards, he said.
The business, industry and resources minister, Felix Ellis, said the 3% offer was fair and included additional conditions around leave and entitlements.
The government plans to cut 2,500 public sector jobs to help balance the budget, with state debt forecast to reach $13bn by 2027/28.

Updated at 7.09am GMT

6.35am GMT

High court fight looms over woman’s terror flag charge
A woman accused of carrying the Hezbollah flag at a pro-Palestine rally will be the first person to challenge the validity of federal anti-terror laws, AAP reports.
Sarah Mouhanna has pleaded not guilty to causing a public display of a prohibited terrorist organisation symbol after a protest in the Sydney city centre on 29 September 2024.
The 20-year-old is the first person to contest national laws introduced in 2023 to stop the display of prohibited terrorist organisation symbols in public places, a court heard.
She was prepared to fight the charge in Sydney’s Downing Centre local court on Tuesday, but left with a much bigger fight on her hands after the magistrate refused to preside over the landmark case.
Mouhanna’s barrister said the law his client was accused of breaking was unconstitutional because it infringed on the implied freedom of political speech. There was also a dispute over whether the 20-year-old knew she was carrying the flag of a proscribed terrorist organisation, the court heard.
The magistrate, Christine Haskett, said the constitutional challenge meant she could not deal with the matter, which should instead be elevated to the nation’s highest court.
The case was adjourned until 18 November after Mouhanna flagged an intention to escalate the fight to the high court.

Updated at 7.09am GMT

6.26am GMT
Senate inquiry plans to question Optus executives over triple-zero outage

Optus will soon have to front a Senate inquiry to explain how it responded to its triple-zero outage in September, which was linked to the deaths of at least three people.
This afternoon, the Coalition and the Greens teamed up to send the incident and the response to an inquiry, which will deliver its report next February.
It’s expected the inquiry will hold its first inquiry as early as next Monday and will attempt to summon Optus executives in addition to the minister’s office and government officials, including the telco watchdog.

Updated at 6.32am GMT

6.13am GMT
Jane Hume to push for nuclear energy ban to be lifted

The Liberal backbencher Jane Hume will introduce a private member’s bill to lift the nuclear energy ban, renewing her party’s pursuit of the energy source just months after it was rejected at the federal election.
The Victorian senator on Tuesday announced plans for a bill to repeal the John Howard-era nuclear moratorium and allow the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Australian Renewable Energy Agency to invest in the technology.
Hume – a moderate Liberal who supports net zero – told Guardian Australia:

If you’re serious about getting emissions down, you’ve got to have all options on the table. If you’re not technology agnostic, well then your real objective is about blanketing the country in renewable energy projects, rather than genuinely lowering emissions and energy prices. The only way to be technology agnostic is to remove the moratorium on nuclear energy.

Hume’s proposal is a substantially watered-down version of the policy the Coalition took to the May election, which involved replacing retired coal-fired power stations with taxpayer-funded nuclear reactors at seven sites nationwide.

Updated at 6.26am GMT

6.04am GMT

If you missed it, the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has criticised Anthony Albanese for wearing the T-shirt of celebrated post-punk band Joy Division, five days ago, when on a plane.
She pointed out that Joy Division – the acclaimed and influential British band behind Love Will Tear Us Apart – had been named after “a wing of a Nazi concentration camp where Jewish women were forced into sexual slavery”.
Ian Curtis, the frontman of Joy Division between 1976 and 1980 (when he committed suicide aged 23) decided on the name after reading the novella House of Dolls, which referred to the term and was written by an Auschwitz survivor, according to numerous media reports.
The band was previously called Warsaw, and became New Order after Curtis’s death.
Watch the footage here:

Updated at 6.19am GMT

5.57am GMT

Three thousand Victorian students complete English as Additional Language exam
Jennifer Nguyen has been in Australia for the past three years – she moved to learn English and was one of the 3,000 international students doing the English as Additional Language test.
For the second part of the exam, students were asked to write a story based on three prompts – country, protest, personal journey or play. And for the third part, they were asked to analyse an argument.
In the second part, Jennifer wrote about moving to Australia, away from her family, and the things she has learned:

I blended in my own personal journey. I talked about how I came to Australia, and it changed my life. It was easy because it was my real experience, which I just changed to connect to the title and the stimulus.

Jennifer’s parents are home in Vietnam, and she says they called her five times this morning to check if she was awake and ready.
She says she misses them, but has grown a lot by being away from home at such a young age:

When I first came here, it was very challenging. Because I had to speak complete English, I was staying with a homestay, and the food was different. It was just so overwhelming. Sometimes I wanted to go home, but I did not give up.

Updated at 6.15am GMT

5.47am GMT

Year 12 Footscray High students jubilant after English exam
In Victoria, 47,000 VCE students completed the marathon three-hour English exam earlier today, and the mood was jubilant at Footscray high school’s basketball hall turned exam room.
Come Tuesday afternoon, Year 12s were picking up toasties, standing around with their friends and dissecting the prompts in the paper.
Noah Regassa, who is hoping to get good enough grades to get into criminal law, says there were no nasty surprises.
The first part of the exam asked students to write an analytic response to a text like Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin or Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder.
Noah spent last night before rewatching Sunset Boulevard and going through his notes.

I just hoped when I sat down, and I saw the text, it would just refresh everything in my mind, and everything would be OK. Honestly, it was easier than I expected. They could have made it so much harder for us. They could have bullied us with these prompts.

Herbie Grarock didn’t really have to worry about the exam – he has already got into Australian National University in Canberra, where he will do arts, with the hope of becoming a Greens politician.
But that doesn’t mean he didn’t take it seriously. He was up until almost midnight “scrolling through my quotes over and over again to try to memorise them”.

Updated at 6.16am GMT

5.38am GMT

Human rights groups accuse Labor of ‘ICE-like’ behaviour over deportation of NZYQ member to Nauru
Meanwhile, a coalition of four human rights organisations has condemned Labor over the offshore deal, calling it a “dark new chapter” for Australia’s legacy on asylum seekers.
While Nauru’s president, David Adeang, told the parliament last Friday that the first person had arrived under the new offshore detention deal, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) said it had been unable to make contact with the individual and held concerns for their wellbeing.
The ASRC’s deputy CEO, Jana Favero, described the Albanese government’s behaviour as “ICE-like”.

This is a scary, shocking precedent, and it is not what people voted for in the recent federal election.

Laura John, the associate legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said the federal government had disregarded the “basic rights” of migrants and refugees.

The government’s mass deportation plans have been shrouded in secrecy from the outset to ensure that it does not have to grapple with the real, human consequences of its actions.

Updated at 6.00am GMT

5.28am GMT

Opposition accuses federal government of ‘secrecy’ over deportation of first NZYQ member
The shadow home affairs minister, Jonathon Duniam, has criticised the federal government’s quiet deportation of the first NZYQ member to Nauru, urging Labor to be more open about the operations.
Tony Burke earlier today confirmed the first person to be deported to Nauru as part of a $2.5bn deal over three decades had touched down in Nauru last Friday.
No further information is known about the man’s circumstances or details.
Duniam, who took over the opposition portfolio from Andrew Hastie after his public disagreement over immigration policy, said the Albanese government had “not been open with Australians who deserve to know that they are safe”.

The government’s secrecy over this deportation also begs the question of what else it is hiding … the Coalition is urging the minister to deport all remaining NZYQ members as soon as possible. And it must not further bury any information that Australians deserve to know.

The 350 or so people within the NZYQ cohort were released following a high court ruling in November 2023 that found indefinite detention unconstitutional. Since 2014, Australia has automatically cancelled the visas of anyone who served 12 months or more in jail. This means while some in the cohort may have been convicted of serious or violent crimes, others may have served 12 months for a single offence, or series of minor offences.
With no valid visa for remaining in Australia, the cohort had been detained indefinitely because they could not be deported elsewhere due to being stateless or owed protection as a refugee.

Related: First person arrives on Nauru triggering Australia’s $2.5bn deal with island nation

Updated at 5.31am GMT

5.19am GMT

Aboriginal woman dies in custody in Tasmania
An Aboriginal woman has died in custody in Tasmania after suffering a serious medical episode while on remand, in what the state’s Aboriginal legal service believes is the first Indigenous death in incarceration since the 1990s.
The CEO of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service (TALS), Jake Smith, said they stood ready to support the family and community during the difficult time.

The loss of life will profoundly impact her family, the community and others across the state.

The woman was transferred to hospital in the early hours of Saturday from Mary Hutchinson Women’s Prison in Hobart, prison authorities say.
A Tasmania Prison Service spokeswoman said she experienced a “serious medical episode” and sadly passed away in hospital on Monday.
Her death has been referred to the coroner for investigation, as per process with any death in custody, the state prison director said.
Earlier this month, the state coroner of NSW revealed more First Nations people had died in custody in the state than ever before, pointing to soaring Aboriginal incarceration rates as a key driver behind the “profoundly distressing milestone”.
Twelve Indigenous people have died in NSW corrective services custody since January, while four have died in police operations – the highest number recorded in any full year.
-with AAP.

Updated at 5.44am GMT

5.06am GMT
Queensland premier says changes to BoM website are ‘not good enough’

Still on wild weather in Queensland, the premier, David Crisafulli, has taken aim at the Bureau of Meteorology’s new website for failing to allow Brisbane and surrounding residents to prepare for last weekend’s storms.
Speaking in state parliament this morning, he called the $4m update “flawed” and said “preparation was key” to mitigate damage from natural disasters:

The changes to the federally run Bureau of Meteorology website are not good enough. The changes to the website don’t make sense. The website is flawed. Easy access to individual radars have been removed.
The colour scheme we became accustomed to has changed, and platitudes from Canberra won’t cut it with Queenslanders.

The first redesign in 12 years, according to the bureau’s senior meteorologist, Andrea Peace, has raised the ire of some users, who quickly took to social media to tell the bureau just what they thought of the change.
Rain radars, weather maps, MetEye, industry pages, specialised forecasts and historical data can be found via tabs and buttons on the main page, some of which link back to the former site while pages are still being migrated across.
It has been criticised by some users for being confusing, clunky and “really, really bad”.
The state’s treasurer, David Janetzki, confirmed he had written to the federal environment minister, Murray Watt, to raise “significant concerns” with the website’s overhaul.

Related: ‘Your new website sucks’: Bureau of Meteorology redesign is lightning rod for heated criticism

Updated at 6.25am GMT

4.56am GMT

Insurance council declares Brisbane hailstorm a ‘significant event’ as 11,000 claims lodged
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared a “significant event” for a hailstorm in Brisbane over the weekend that led to 11,000 claims.
In a statement on Tuesday, the ICA confirmed it had put in place its preliminary catastrophe processes, assisting insurers to assess the insurance impact of the hail, heavy rain and strong winds.
Under the declaration, claims reporting processes begin and the ICA liaises with the government and agencies on the need for assistance.
It comes ahead of forecast storm activity to continue along the east coast.
The ICA said Sunday’s event may be escalated to an “insurance catastrophe” if more complex claims were lodged and if the geographical spread extended.
The ICA’s CEO, Andrew Hall, said insurers would be “moving quickly” to ensure communities received assistance.

While it’s too early to determine the complete insurance impact on homes and businesses, claims lodged to date include damage to motor vehicles, food spoilage due to power outages, smashed windows, and fallen trees.

Updated at 5.05am GMT

4.45am GMT

That’s all from me today, thanks for hanging out with me on the blog!
I’ll leave you with the wonderful Caitlin Cassidy to take you through the rest of the afternoon, and will see you here bright and early tomorrow.

Updated at 4.48am GMT

4.40am GMT

Tl;dr here’s what happened in QT

The spotlight was on Chris Bowen today, who was pressed on the future of the Tomago aluminium smelter’s workers, and the impact of high energy prices on industry more broadly.
Bowen (who seems to enjoy the drama of QT) said the government was doing everything it could to help secure the future of Tomago and that renewables were still the way to go to keep energy prices down.
The independent MP Kate Chaney asked about the government’s promised media literacy strategy – it’s still a couple of years away, but Anika Wells reminded us that there are concerns over the use of AI, and the space is changing rapidly.
Richard Marles had the time of his life in the big (read: PM’s) chair today, using a dixer to roast the Coalition, and called them a “bin fire”.
The Queensland Liberal MP Cameron Caldwell got booted out of QT by Milton Dick, who pleaded with everyone to get it together.

Updated at 4.51am GMT

4.37am GMT

Victorian Liberal leader reveals why he’s changed his position on voluntary assisted dying
The Victorian opposition leader, Brad Battin, has told reporters he will support a bill that amends the state’s voluntary assisted dying scheme, after opposing the introduction of the laws in 2017.
With debate on the bill beginning in the lower house on Tuesday afternoon, Battin says he’s changed his position after watching a close friend’s battle with cancer. He told reporters:

When it went through last time, I had some concerns that were raised, particularly within the community. Since that time, I’ve spoken to people who have gone through the process with voluntary assisted dying, and seeing the impact on their families … the relief that they had. To watch someone go through the pain of cancer, a close friend, and then see this go to the stage where they had the choice, it totally changed my mind. Totally changed my mind.

The bill follows an independent review of Victoria’s assisted dying laws, released in February. The review found Victoria, which was the first state in Australia to pass VAD laws in 2017, had become a “more conservative model” when compared with the other states that followed.
Here’s more on the changes:

Related: ‘Her death was tranquil’: why Eve is urging Victorian MPs to make access to voluntary assisted dying easier

Updated at 4.47am GMT

4.28am GMT
Ley launches extraordinary attack on PM over Joy Division T-shirt

Sussan Ley, who said the very spelling of her own name was due to her “punk phase”, has criticised Anthony Albanese for wearing the T-shirt of celebrated post-punk band Joy Division.
Referencing a T-shirt Albanese wore five days ago when departing his plane on arrival in Sydney, Ley claimed it was a “profound failure of judgment” which “fails the basic tests of leadership”. She pointed out that Joy Division – the acclaimed and influential British band behind Love Will Tear Us Apart – had been named after “a wing of a Nazi concentration camp where Jewish women were forced into sexual slavery”.
“At a time when Jewish Australians are facing a rise in antisemitism, when families are asking for reassurance and unity, the prime minister chose to parade an image derived from hatred and suffering,” Ley told parliament on Tuesday afternoon. Her office later distributed a transcript of the remarks to journalists.
Ley’s statement pointed out that Albanese discussed the band in a podcast in 2022, and said he wasn’t aware at the time of the origin of the name. The Sky News host Sharri Markson ran a segment on her TV show about Albanese’s T-shirt on Monday night, with Ley’s comments making similar points about the band and Albanese’s knowledge of the name’s origin.
The origin of Joy Division’s name is well known. The band dissolved after the death of its frontman, Ian Curtis, and its remaining members formed New Order.
Ley went on to claim Albanese “should apologise immediately and explain why he thought this was acceptable”.
Her comments come days after she briefly called for Kevin Rudd to be sacked as US ambassador – an overreach that several of her colleagues did not endorse, and which Ley later walked back after Liberal senator Jane Hume called it “churlish”.
Ley in June said she added an extra s to her name “during my rebel teenage years … I went through a punk phase”, and has referred often to her “punk rock past”.

Updated at 4.54am GMT

4.14am GMT

Question time ends
After a final dixer to Chris Bowen – who’s seen a lot of action in the last hour and 15 minutes – question time is over for today.

Updated at 4.21am GMT

4.12am GMT

Bowen hits back at Coalition’s handling of manufacturing closures
Will Chris Bowen apologise to industrial workers and their families and communities “impacted by the government’s failed energy policies”, the Liberal MP Terry Young asks.
Spoiler alert, there’s no apology, but Bowen promises to work every day “in the best interests of working Australians”.
And then there’s another dig at the Coalition’s hand in the end of the car manufacturing industry.

At this dispatch box, the then treasurer of Australia dared Holden to close their operations in Australia, which had existed for generations. The then treasurer of Australia said, when an aluminium smelter announced its closure, “We shouldn’t get too despondent about one facility closing.” What an outrageous offence to the workers of Australia. Not something that will happen on our watch.

Updated at 4.19am GMT

4.04am GMT

Crossbencher question prompts ‘colour-coded spreadsheet’ heckle
Back to the crossbench, Helen Haines asks about the “major and local community infrastructure program” which opened on 1 September as an invitation-only program.
She asks the industry minister, Catherine King, how organisations and councils in her electorate can be “invited” to apply for the funding.
King says this program is specifically for Labor’s election commitments.

At elections, political parties make election commitments, and then under the grant rules, we are required to establish a program to then fund, assess and contract those election commitments. That is what that fund does.

Someone in the opposition tries to heckle King, and shouts out that it’s a “colour-coded spreadsheet”, which is funny because it’s a reference to the infamous “sports rorts” debacle under the former Coalition government.
Separately, at the end of the answer, the Liberal MP Tim Wilson is asked to withdraw a remark – which, I’ll be honest, even in the room I didn’t hear! – but after some back and forth he does.

Updated at 4.15am GMT

3.57am GMT

Government ‘fighting every day to keep Tomago open’, Conroy says
The Nationals MP Alison Penfold asks the minister representing the industry minister about the impact of the potential closure of the Tomago smelter on industry, including a company that makes aluminium cans in her electorate. Her question is whether the minister will “admit that Labor’s energy policy is killing local jobs”.
There’s a bit of back and forth over whether it’s appropriate for Pat Conroy to answer when the question of energy policy should go to the energy minister. After some interjections and a plea of “help me help you” from Speaker Milton Dick, Conroy stands up.
Conroy says, “we’re fighting every day to keep Tomago open,” and argues that wholesale energy prices have come down since the Coalition was in government.

We have a range of policies to strengthen and grow the aluminium supply chain. From fixing mining approvals while protecting the environment, securing affordable gas for alumina refineries through the gas market review, and backing our smelters with the green aluminium production credit. We’re going to keep working on this, and we’ve got to keep working with Rio and the state government to explore every option.

He then takes a stab at the opposition, bringing up the end of the car manufacturing industry under the previous Coalition government.

Updated at 4.06am GMT

3.49am GMT

‘Keep cash king,’ says independent
The independent MP Andrew Gee says the government’s draft regulation to mandate that supermarkets and major fuel retailers carry cash and accept cash transactions up to $500 is a “dud”.
Gee says he has a bill that would apply to all businesses and all face-to-face cash transactions of $10,000 or less, which would “truly keep cash king”. Why won’t the government support it, he asks.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says there has to be a balance between allowing the public to use cash and not imposing an unnecessary burden on small businesses.

There is currently nothing preventing any business in Australia from refusing to accept cash. And we consider that situation to be unacceptable.
We know there’s a balance to be struck here between ensuring that Australians can use cash to pay for essentials, but also we don’t want to place unnecessary burdens on small businesses, particularly small businesses, particularly small businesses in the regions.

Chalmers says the regulations will be reviewed in three years.

Updated at 4.00am GMT

3.42am GMT

We’re staying on energy but switching tack slightly – Alex Hawke asks the government about a “secret departmental report” which the opposition has obtained under FoI, titled Industry Facilities At Risk – Key Dates And Proposed High-Level Handling, given to the government in June.
Hawke says the list of industrial facilities at risk has been redacted – so the question is, what are those businesses and how many Australian jobs are at risk?
Pat Conroy says he’ll take that on notice because it’s a hyper specific question and he’s not actually the industry minister (not too often we hear that in QT – it’s more of a Senate estimates vibe).
Hawke tries to table the document, which the leader of the House, Tony Burke, refuses:

I appreciate the help, but we’ve already got it. That’s the nature of a government document. Leave is not granted.

Updated at 3.55am GMT

3.37am GMT

Boyce questions Bowen about Gladstone power station jobs
Back to normal programming, the Nationals MP Colin Boyce asks whether the government can guarantee all of the jobs at risk by the possible closure of Gladstone power station in 2029. And he adds, will the jobs be safe under Labor’s “renewable energy only” approach.
Chris Bowen says he disagrees with the premise of the question, “just like I disagree with him that climate change isn’t primarily caused by human activity”.
Bowen then goes on a bit of a tangent on how much cheaper renewables are to fossil fuels, which the opposition doesn’t like, and asks the energy minister to focus on the jobs element of the question.
Milton Dick tells Bowen to be relevant to the jobs at the Gladstone power station. Bowen continues:

I can guarantee that we will ensure that energy policy is designed to ensure the supply of cheap and reliable energy not only for Australia’s households – which I’ll get to later in question time, perhaps – but Australia’s heavy industry.

Updated at 3.49am GMT

3.33am GMT

The Coalition’s ‘just a bin fire’, Marles says
It’s not too often Richard Marles gets free reign to roast in parliament. A little earlier, the acting prime minister was getting pretty animated during a dixer, when he called the opposition a bin fire.
Look, everyone was having a bit of fun while Marles tried to twist the knife on the opposition:

We have a former leader of the National party, a deputy prime minister of this country, now openly wondering whether he’s going to leave the Coalition and become a foot soldier in Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

But Michael McCormack (also a former leader) chimed in shouting “no I’m not!” from the benches – to plenty laughter.
Marles continued:

They are just a bin fire. And that fire is burning so out of control that, if they are not careful, it is liable to burn the bin.

Tim Wilson shouted: “Encore! Encore!”

Updated at 3.46am GMT

3.29am GMT

Tehan pursues Bowen on energy prices
The shadow energy minister, Dan Tehan, gives Chris Bowen another go at the dispatch box, asking him a similar question to Sussan Ley’s – how the government will deliver a future made in Australia “when all it can actually deliver is higher energy prices?”
Bowen says “we can” deliver that future:

We believe they [manufacturing industry] need a supply of energy which is cheap. And that’s why we are determined to continue the transition that’s under way in this country, which those opposite would stop …
Again, the honourable member quotes the Tomago statement today, which I had already quoted. And I had already quoted because it says – it says – that the submissions they’ve had from coal-fired power were uncompetitive. And that is true. And they also went on to say, “There is significant uncertainty about when renewable projects will be available at the scale we need.” That’s unfortunate. But we agree we should have more renewables quicker.

Updated at 3.45am GMT

3.23am GMT

Where’s the government’s media and literacy strategy?
As it gets harder to tell the difference between real and AI-generated content, the independent MP Kate Chaney asks Anika Wells what’s happening with the government’s media and literacy strategy and whether it will deal with deepfakes and misinformation.
After a long preamble on the dangers of AI deepfakes and an acknowledgment of how quickly the AI landscape is changing, Wells says that strategy will be developed over the next three years.

The news media literacy plan you referred to was announced by my predecessor as commencing this year, a program of work we’re looking to do over the coming three years. I look forward to continuing.

Updated at 4.12am GMT

3.18am GMT
Speaker demands ‘everyone do better’ as Coalition MP ejected from question time

Speaker Milton Dick is not having the outbursts today, and in the next dixer (which is also about the Tomago smelter) he boots out the LNP MP Cameron Caldwell.
Yesterday was a somewhat more animated question time, where two Labor MPs got kicked out. Today, Dick says:

For goodness sake, after I’d just told the chamber to lift standards to have that carry-on. Everyone do better today.

Another little note here, it’s always a little bemusing when the opposition’s questions and the government’s dixers fall on the same issue.
While Sussan Ley was testing Chris Bowen on the future of smelters and industry in Australia, the minister representing the industry minister, Pat Conroy, gets a question to spruik the government’s response to Rio Tinto’s statement today.

Updated at 3.29am GMT

3.14am GMT
Labor and opposition spar over energy

How can Labor promise a future made in Australia, Sussan Ley asks, when facilities like the Tomago aluminium smelter in NSW are considering shutting down as they struggle with high energy prices.
Chris Bowen acknowledges Rio Tinto refers to energy prices in its statement announcing that it will consult with its workers about Tomago’s future.
But he argues for more renewables in the grid. (As he answers, there’s plenty of heckling from the opposition benches – which garners a warning from the Speaker.)

They [Rio Tinto] go on to say that it is difficult to find enough renewable energy for the project. What they’re saying is what we say – that we need more of the cheapest and most reliable energy for our grid.
What we won’t do … is stand at this dispatch box and celebrate the death of manufacturing jobs in this country. I’m old enough to remember that happening. I’m old enough to be sitting there when a treasurer of Australia goaded manufacturing to leave this country. I remember what that was like, and it won’t happen on our watch.

Updated at 3.28am GMT

3.07am GMT
Question time begins

Sussan Ley is up and asks Chris Bowen about the intergovernmental brief from his department, which warns of a “further significant increase in retail electricity prices”.
Bowen says that Ley should read the whole quote. He says:

It says, “the draft default market offer points to further significant increase in retail electricity prices in the next financial year”. Now the important thing about the incoming government brief referring to the default market offer is that that market offer was already public. Not only when I received the incoming government brief – so it was hardly a revelation – but before the election.

He then brings up the former Coalition government changing the law that kept energy prices hidden until after the 2022 election.
Bowen ends his answer saying he “hopes” the opposition asks more questions on that incoming governmental brief.

Updated at 3.24am GMT

2.55am GMT

Actors urge Australian content quotas for streaming giants
Some of Australia’s most recognisable faces have descended on parliament today, calling for the government to fulfil its promise of implementing Australian content quotas for streaming giants.
Actors including Bryan Brown, Marta Dusseldorp and Nina Oyama fronted up to the media today, warning that Australian voices could be “taken away” if action isn’t taken.
They appeared alongside independent MPs including Zali Steggall and Nicolette Boele.
The arts minister, Tony Burke, has been a longtime advocate for local content quotas, but progress stalled last year and doesn’t seem to be moving anywhere. One of the sticking points is understood to be the free trade agreement between the US and Australia.

Updated at 3.11am GMT

2.28am GMT

Albanese pushes for trade diversity and investment in south-east Asia
Over in Kuala Lumpur, Anthony Albanese’s just spoken to reporters, fresh off the back of meetings with the leaders of the Philippines and Thailand.
The message of the trip is clear – south-east Asia is growing and Australia needs to diversify its trade.
Yesterday Albanese met with the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, and also spoke with Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi (who he says invited him to visit Japan).
The PM also spruiks the critical minerals deal signed with the US, when asked whether China will question the agreement.

From Australia’s perspective, what we want to do is to be more engaged in this region. In recent years, we’ve doubled our trade with this region. That means more jobs for Australians, more economic activity in Australia, as well as a more prosperous and secure region …
Just as Australia has benefited from resources in the last century, such as iron ore, that will continue. But we need to diversify our trade, and where we get that economic growth and activity from, and that’s why the deal was a good one.

Updated at 2.54am GMT

2.17am GMT
Watt says he was right to reject climate trigger in environment laws

The environment minister, Murray Watt, says he is seeking “tangible gains for the environment and for business” from the EPBC reforms, but has told Labor MPs that he was right to reject putting a “climate trigger” in the legislation.
A package of laws – updating the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and to set up an Environmental Protection Agency – were passed through Labor’s party room on Tuesday, clearing the way for the long-anticipated reforms to be tabled in parliament this week.
Watt told the party room that he wasn’t that keen to entertain amendments to his legislation when it hits parliament, but noted that business lobbyists were lobbying the Coalition and environmental groups were lobbying the Greens to pass the bill.
Watt noted the Business Council’s opposition to the Coalition’s call to split the main bill into smaller components.
According to a party spokesperson, a Labor MP in their meeting asked Watt what politicians should be telling their constituents about the climate-related issues pertaining to the bill.
Watt pointed out that Graeme Samuel’s report had ruled out setting up a “climate trigger” to block projects that would increase emissions. Another MP said it was important to explain this issue to constituents out in public.
Watt went on to say again that he believed the changes would lead to faster approval times for new projects, faster assessments and less duplication of effort with state governments.
He went on to say power to approve developments, which now sits with his department, would be delegated to the EPA – but that powers for the minister to step in and make decisions would remain.

Updated at 2.42am GMT

2.06am GMT

Triple-zero custodian bill passes Senate – with an increased penalty
Over in the Senate today, the government’s bill to legislate a triple zero custodian has passed – with an amendment.
The government agreed to the Greens’ amendment which increases the penalty under the act to $30m per contravention.
But amendments by the Coalition and crossbench – including to increase penalties further to $40m and forcing the custodian to establish a register of emergency call service outages – failed.
It means the bill will go back to the House for a vote with that new amendment.

Updated at 2.33am GMT

2.02am GMT
Marles scathing of Coalition 'clown show'

Acting prime minister Richard Marles has derided the Coalition as a “clown show”, claiming the Liberals and Nationals had “lost their nerve”.
Marles addressed Labor’s partyroom meeting this morning, with Anthony Albanese overseas at the Asean summit. He branded Albanese’s White House meeting with Donald Trump as a success, in particular hailing the work of US ambassador Kevin Rudd, and singling out the critical minerals deal.
A partyroom spokesperson said Marles had also praised the Labor caucus for having “remained calm when catastrophe was being predicted” by critics, contrasting what he called “discipline” on his side to what he described as a “clown show” in the Coalition. Marles said the partyroom had remained “calm amidst the noise” around the Trump meeting, and said Albanese was advancing Australia’s domestic interests on his world travels.

Updated at 2.22am GMT

1.52am GMT

First jet touches down at Western Sydney international airport
Earlier this morning, the first jet landed at the new Western Sydney international airport.
The plane, a New South Wales RFS 737 air tanker, touched down as part of a two-day multi-agency emergency exercise to test the airport’s response capabilities ahead of its opening to passengers in late 2026.
It is hoped the airport, in which the state and federal governments have invested tens of billions of dollars, will one day outstrip Sydney airport for passenger numbers, although concerns have been raised about its transport links to the city.
The federal transport minister, Catherine King, described the successful landing as “a historic moment”.

A lot of hard work has led up to this moment, from the earlier days of construction to now rigorous testing to become operationally ready ...
Already attracting significant investment into region, the airport’s future operations are also set to create thousands of jobs, on top of the 12,224 supported to date – over half of which were people from the local area.

RFS Large Air Tanker ‘Marie Bashir’ is the first large aircraft to land at the new Western Sydney International Airport.

Updated at 2.34am GMT

1.39am GMT
Court overturns Queensland’s puberty blocker ban

Queensland’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender patients has been overturned by the state’s supreme court.
Judge Peter Callaghan ruled in favour of a challenge by the parent of a transgender child. As a result the directive is unlawful.
On 28 January Queensland Health’s director general David Rosengren ordered that the directive be published after consulting with health service executives for just 22 minutes.
As exclusively reported by the Guardian, the legally mandated consultation had taken place at the same time as a press conference in which the health minister announced the decision.

Related: Queensland government held 21-minute consultation on puberty blocker ban at same time it announced decision

Callaghan’s ruling means that the Queensland Children’s Gender Service, based at the Queensland Children’s hospital, can again take new patients.
The ban, which only applied to transgender children, was widely condemned by health authorities. The federal sex discrimination commissioner Anna Cody described it as “harmful” and “discriminatory”.

Related: Queensland’s puberty blockers ban has potential to cause harm, sex discrimination commissioner says

Updated at 2.33am GMT

1.27am GMT
Burke confirms first NZYQ arrival in Nauru

The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has confirmed Australia has deported the first member of the NZYQ cohort to Nauru, triggering the start of its $2.5bn deal.
The federal government has said it is working methodically through the 350 or so within the noncitizens who are on a removal pathway.
In a statement on Tuesday, Burke said:

Nauru confirmed last Friday that the first transfer has occurred.
When someone’s visa is cancelled they should leave.

Updated at 2.22am GMT

1.22am GMT

Liberals to hold energy policy meeting but they say it won’t involve votes
Liberal MPs have played down a meeting this Friday morning on the opposition’s energy policy, suggesting it was misreported as setting the stage for a showdown between warring ideologies on climate change and emissions reduction.
At a joint party room meeting this morning, Liberal senator Jane Hume and Cook MP Simon Kennedy clarified the meeting would not be holding any votes on the finalised energy policy but was simply another consultation meeting with backbenchers.
It will be the ninth such meeting since the May election and the shadow energy minister, Dan Tehan, will be attending the meeting, which is expected to run for a maximum of three hours on Friday morning.
Internal energy stoushes aside, the party room also discussed support for a joint parliamentary committee into defence, similar to the set up for the powerful intelligence and security committee.
The headline-grabbing Barnaby Joyce did not attend this morning’s joint meeting.

Updated at 1.47am GMT

1.15am GMT
Fitch affirms Australia’s AAA credit rating

Australia’s top credit rating has been affirmed by Fitch, as the global ratings agency pointed to the country’s “resilient growth outlook” but warned that a sustained lift in government debt over coming years could threaten the coveted AAA score.
Australia is only one of nine countries to be rated AAA by all three major credit rating agencies, which gives the government access to cheaper finance from overseas lenders.
Fitch’s latest national report card said a pick up in consumption would drive an economic recovery through 2026 and 2027, underpinned by improving real incomes and a solid jobs market.
Australia had “strong” potential growth of 2.2%, Fitch said, which was higher than most of our peers and other top-rated countries.
Productivity growth has been “subdued” but should improve, with the ratings agency noting that reforms are likely to be “incremental”.
Australia is “relatively insulated from US tariff risks”, but exposed to weakness in China. Fitch also said:

Australia should benefit from a larger role in global critical-mineral supply chains ... but we do not foresee a repeat of the mining investment boom in the early 2010s.

Jim Chalmers said the report was a “powerful endorsement of Labor’s responsible economic management”.

We are realistic about the challenges facing our economy including growing global uncertainty, but our AAA rating is further proof Australia is coming at these challenges from a position of genuine economic strength.

Updated at 1.29am GMT

1.07am GMT

Greens team up with Coalition in call for Senate inquiry into Optus outake
The Greens expect top executives from Optus could face a Senate inquiry over recent triple zero outages within the fortnight if it’s passed later this afternoon.
In a party room briefing this morning, the minor party agreed to team up with the opposition to vote for an inquiry into the matter and hope to bring Optus executives to Parliament House as early as next Monday.
With the Greens and the Coalition both backing an inquiry in the upper house, it’s expected to pass. The Greens also want to turn the torch on the regulator’s role in the incidents.
Tuesday morning’s meeting also covered the Greens’ frustration with Labor’s proposed environmental protection law changes. The Greens believe there is very little in the way of environmental protections, and the bills are instead more focused on streamlining approvals for development proposals.
Read more about the bill by my colleague, Dan Jervis-Bardy, below:

Related: Environment minister could approve projects at odds with nature laws under Labor overhaul

Updated at 1.17am GMT

12.55am GMT
Federal police raid WiseTech offices in Sydney

Police and the corporate regulator have raided offices of the software company WiseTech.
The company told investors this morning that a search warrant was executed at its office in Sydney’s inner-south on Monday. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) said it executed at least one further search warrant, with the assistance of the Australian federal police, but Asic and WiseTech both declined to say where.
Asic in Sydney demanded documents relating to alleged trading by WiseTech’s billionaire founder, Richard White and three WiseTech employees from late 2024 to early 2025, Wisetech said. It was unable to confirm the other employees’ identities.
White is understood to have sold shares in the company he founded during a period where company directors were not permitted to trade, though he himself was not on the board or executive at the time, having stepped down from the company in October 2024 after weeks of damaging revelations about his personal life. White declined to comment on the search warrants but has previously said he received legal advice prior to trading.
Asic said the warrants related to an ongoing investigation but no charges had been laid. A spokesperson declined to comment on the scope of the investigation or whether the employees remained at Wisetech.
WiseTech said it would fully cooperate with any investigation and was not facing any allegations itself. Shares in the company have plummeted 16% in early trading this morning.

Updated at 12.59am GMT

12.43am GMT

Third victim of mine explosion in stable condition, NSW health minister says
The New South Wales health minister, Ryan Park, has provided a statement on the deaths of two mine workers in Cobar and injury of another person after an explosion early this morning.
Park confirmed the third victim, believed to be aged in her 20s, had been airlifted to Orange hospital and was in a stable condition.
Speaking to the media this morning, he said his heart went out to the two miners who lost their lives, the family and the community.

I come from a coal mining town … and these things are horrific. They have an incredible impact not only on the family but also on the entire community …
We had a patient airlifted to Orange Hospital and I can provide an update that they are in a stable condition at this stage and we will ensure at appropriate times that the community is kept informed but this is a very sad day for the people of western New South Wales and a sad day for the people of our country.
Mining remains a dangerous activity and something that despite all regulation and safety improvements that we have made it is still a risky and dangerous occupation and our heart goes out to everyone impacted.

Related: Cobar: two people killed in Endeavour mine explosion in far western NSW

Updated at 12.54am GMT

12.31am GMT
Albanese touts new Monash University campus in Malaysia

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will join Monash University in Kuala Lumpur today to announce a future Monash campus in the heart of the Malaysian capital.
Monash will partner with TRX city to deliver the $1bn campus, which is slated to have a capacity of 22,500 students from 2040.
Albanese said showcasing Australia’s “best in class higher education sector overseas is a huge opportunity for Australian jobs and investment”.

But it’s also an important opportunity to extend deep connections in our region and right around the world. That’s exactly what we’re seeing with this investment from Monash for a new campus in Malaysia: students learning from one of Australia’s leading international universities right here in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

Monash has had a presence in Malaysia since the 1990s, with about 11,000 students studying at its current campus in the city of Subang Jaya.

Updated at 12.50am GMT

12.19am GMT

NSW police to address media on Cobar mine explosion as tributes flow from politicians
Circling back to the press conference held by Tim Ayres earlier, and the science minister also paid tribute to two mine workers killed in Cobar in the far north-west of New South Wales earlier this morning.
Ayres said it would be “very distressing news for their families, their co-workers, and what is a tight-knit, small community there in Cobar”.

Everybody, all of us, including Jamie Chaffey, the new member for Parkes, [is] thinking about those families, and what is an unfolding situation in that very old-mining facility there in Cobar.

Supt Gerard Lawson of the Central North police district in NSW will address the media from Cobar at midday as inquiries begin into the circumstances surrounding the explosion.
While yet to be formally identified, police believe a man aged in his 60s and a woman aged in her 20s died, while a second woman, also aged in her 20s, is being treated in Cobar hospital for relatively minor injuries and shock.
Police say all three live in Cobar.

Related: Cobar: two people killed in Endeavour mine explosion in far western NSW

Updated at 12.33am GMT

12.05am GMT

Party room meetings taking place
Tuesdays during a sitting week mean party room meetings (which is also why the House and Senate haven’t started sitting as yet).
The meetings are both where upcoming legislation and a party’s positions on them are discussed, and usually also include a bit of a gee up from the leader.
We’ll get the DL on what was discussed in those meetings shortly!

Updated at 12.34am GMT

11.50pm GMT

NSW to release response to summit on drug-related harm
The New South Wales government will today release its response to a landmark summit held last year on how to reduce drug-related harms.
The Minns government has announced that it supports or supports in principle over 50 of the recommendations.
However, Guardian Australia understands that the government will defy recommendations to abolish the use of sniffer dogs and strip-searches at music festivals.
It has also only committed to investigating a medical defence for people who use medically prescribed cannabis, despite the report recommending the government commit to legislating it.
It has also only noted a recommendation on strengthening diversion programs for youth caught with drugs.
And has also only noted a recommendation to expand supervised injecting clinics.
We will have more information on the government’s response shortly.

Updated at 11.52pm GMT

11.41pm GMT

Industry minister will ‘exhaust every opportunity’ to secure Tomago’s future
A little earlier we brought you news that Rio Tinto is considering ceasing operations at the NSW-based Tomago aluminium smelter as it struggles with high energy prices.
Standing up a little earlier, the federal industry and science minister, Tim Ayres, said he’s “determined to exhaust every opportunity” to find a solution and protect the smelter’s workers.
Ayres says he has been working with the New South Wales government, and has come to the table with an offer to Rio Tinto but the parties “didn’t reach an agreed outcome”. (He wouldn’t give us any details of what was in that offer, and what Rio Tinto were asking for.)
He also nudged NSW and its premier Chris Minns to stay engaged in the talks.

Our process from now on will be on two tracks, working with the NSW government, Rio Tinto and the other owners of this facility … I am very focused, despite this being challenging news today, on exhausting every opportunity to secure new power purchasing agreements for that facility …
There have been offers made between the two governments, we are working very closely with the NSW government, there are, of course, challenges in all these kinds of negotiations.

The government most recently made a deal with the Queensland state government to keep the Mt Isa copper smelter running at the cost of $600m for three years.

Updated at 11.46pm GMT

11.37pm GMT

Queensland’s supreme court to hand down judgment on the state’s puberty blocker ban
The health minister, Tim Nicholls, announced the ban, which applies only to new transgender patients, in January. The court heard that health director general, David Rosengren, was holding legally mandated consultation with health executives at the same time, lasting 22 minutes.
The parent of a transgender child challenged the process behind the decision on three grounds: that the consultation was insufficient, that Rosengren had been unduly influenced by political interference, or that he had taken into account irrelevant factors.
But at a hearing last week, Jonathan Horton KC, acting for Queensland Health, told the court it was appropriate for cabinet to be involved and that the directive had changed as a result of the consultation.
Supreme court judge Peter Callaghan will hand down the judgment after 11.30am Queensland time today.

Related: Queensland puberty blocker ban unlawful due to ‘political’ interference and lack of consultation, court hears

Updated at 11.43pm GMT

11.02pm GMT

Malmsbury youth justice facility to reopen a year after it closed
The Malmsbury youth justice facility will reopen just a year after the Victorian government closed its doors, due to an increase in the number of young people on remand.
The Victorian corrections minister, Enver Erdogan, told reporters outside parliament this morning that the facility will reopen in a staged approach from early next year under a new model.
He says the initial 30 beds will be for a lower-risk cohort aged 17 years and older – freeing up more custodial beds at Cherry Creek and Parkville youth justice centres for serious high-risk offenders.
The new model at Malmsbury will deliver more education, vocational training and job opportunities for this lower-risk cohort, Erdogan says.
The cost of reopening the facility – which only closed at the end of 2024 – will be $140m over five years. An additional $4.8m will be spent on upgrading security at the centre.
Erdogan told reporters it wasn’t a mistake to close it:

There was no need for a third premises at the time for youth justice but of course times have changed, we’ve seen a 46% increase in the remand population. We are doing what we said we’d do, and that’s taking repeat dangerous offenders off our streets.

Updated at 11.10pm GMT

10.48pm GMT

City of Sydney passes Greens motion condemning NSW weapons expo
The City of Sydney last night passed a motion condemning a weapons expo that will be held in Sydney next week with the NSW government as the principal sponsor.
The Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition is taking place next week at Sydney’s International Convention Centre, and is being advertised as “the region’s premier commercial maritime and naval defence exposition connecting defence, industry, government and academia”.
The motion, which was moved by Greens councillor Matthew Thompson without amendments and had near unanimous support, noted that:

Many of the major stakeholders and sponsors of this event have direct connections to current, and historical, conflicts – enjoying staggering profits from the misery and suffering from conflict and war.

The motion included a request for Lord Mayor Clover Moore to write to the NSW premier, Chris Minns. It noted the letter should condemn the event, and express that it’s the responsibility of the government to promote de-escalation.
It also noted the letter should request that:

Events promoting and profiteering from the sale of tools and weapons of war, such as, but not limited to, the Indo Pacific Weapons Expo, not be hosted by the NSW Government in the City of Sydney Local Government Area in the future.

Updated at 10.57pm GMT

10.31pm GMT

Farrell says trade with south-east Asia helps avoid conflict and increase prosperity
As Anthony Albanese continues meeting with south-east Asian leaders at the Asean summit today, one senior minister says free trade is the key to maintaining peace in the region.
Yesterday, Albanese said the region is growing quickly and will become the fourth largest economy by the end of the decade – making it ripe for stronger relations and investment from Australia.
Jumping back to Don Farrell’s appearance on ABC News Breakfast, the trade minister said Australian businesses should invest more in the region and export more products such as food and wine.

We’ve got lots of advantages. Obviously, proximity is one of them, a very reliable route for supply chains, and also large numbers of south-east Asian migrants who’ve come to Australia: Filipinos, Indonesians, Vietnamese, Thais.
We don’t want conflict in our region, and one way to avoid conflict is to increase the prosperity of our region. How do we do that? Well, free and fair trade does that precisely … The more we can engage economically with the region, then the more peaceful our region is going to be, and that’s the way the Albanese government would like to see it.

Updated at 11.01pm GMT

10.22pm GMT
Rio Tinto mulling closing Tomago aluminium smelter

Rio Tinto said on Tuesday it is contemplating ceasing operations at its New South Wales-based Tomago aluminium smelter at the end of its current electricity supply contract, Reuters reports.
The Tomago aluminium smelter, which has been struggling with high power prices, has started a consultation process with employees on the potential future of its operations, but is yet to reach a decision.
The smelter’s existing electricity supply contract with AGL Energy expires in December 2028, with Tomago yet to identify a pathway that supports commercially sustainable operations beyond the period “despite extensive engagement and market approaches”, according to the miner’s statement.
Tomago Aluminium CEO, Jérôme Dozol, said:

Unfortunately, all market proposals received so far show future energy prices are not commercially viable, and there is significant uncertainty about when renewable projects will be available at the scale we need.

Updated at 11.14pm GMT

10.12pm GMT
'A planning system that says yes': Victoria announces major overhaul to get homes built faster

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is holding a press conference to announces what she says is the “biggest overhaul” of the state’s planning laws in decades.
Under changes to the Planning and Environment Act 1987, three new planning streams will be created to slash permit approval times to as little as 10 days for standalone houses and duplexes, 30 days for townhouses and low-rise developments and 60 days for larger developments.
Third party appeal rights – which allow anyone to object to a planning permit – will be scraped for homes, duplexes, townhouses and low rise apartment streams.
For higher density apartments, only those who are directly impacted – such as neighbours in the area – will be able to appeal.
Allan says a planning permit currently takes 140 days to get approved – and if there is an objection, it blows out to more than 300 days.

Victoria’s planning laws were written decades and decades ago. It was a very different time, a very different time. We need to not only bring our planning laws into the 21st century, we also need to overhaul them, to take them from being old fashioned nimby-type laws into a planning system that says yes and gets homes and projects built more quickly.

Updated at 10.23pm GMT

10.07pm GMT
Nationals senator accuses TikTok of intimidating and bullying his office

The Nationals senator Ross Cadell said a TikTok staff member called his office while he was in a previous hearing for the age assurance inquiry and intimidated his staff over questions he was asking.
At the parliamentary inquiry he said the TikTok staffer said: “We get on very well with the leader’s office, we get on very well with the shadow minister’s office. You shouldn’t be asking these questions.”He said it was intimidating and bullying.
TikTok’s director of policy in Australia, Ella Woods-Joyce, said she wasn’t aware of the incident:

I’m not aware of the details that you’re talking about, and what I can say is that the team needs to operate professionally and appropriately at all times, and I have confidence that that’s that’s what we do.

Cadell replied:

Do we think TikTok is too big to fail? ... Because I note there was an apology late last week or earlier this week by the person involved to my staff member, but it came only after the confirmation that you would attend [today]. There was nothing, no address, no recognition of this factor until you had to face some consequence and show up.

Cadell questioned whether TikTok was a “bullying behemoth that wants to get its own way at any cost”.
Woods-Joyce said “absolutely not”.

Updated at 11.18pm GMT

10.02pm GMT

MPs run riot in press v politicians touch football match
Barnaby Joyce and Matt Canavan got one back on the journalists this morning, claiming victory in the annual press v pollies touch football match.
Liberal MP Simon Kennedy bamboozled the press gallery defence, notching up the match highlight in scoring a try after a twinkletoes performance reminiscent of Brisbane star Reece Walsh. Nationals MPs Joyce and Canavan combined regularly through the middle, with strong defence and reliable carries for yardage, as a few fleet-footed staffers finished off the movements to score in the corners.
Even without Wallabies legend David Pocock taking the field, the politicians ran riot as the game went on. Not even the addition of minister Pat Conroy – referred to by some as the minister for rugby league – to the journos’ team could turn the tide.
Despite the press taking an early lead, with Sky News reporter Cam Reddin sidestepping through the defence with the ease of a seasoned politician dodging questions, the MPs piled on a number of unanswered tries to take a clear victory.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the pollies though. As Joyce took a carry but fumbled the ball, Canavan yelled in mock outrage “that’s why we’re getting rid of him”.
The final score? Unimportant. The numerical gap didn’t tell the whole story, the game on the paddock being much closer than it looked on the scoreboard. The real winner on the day, as it always is, was football itself.

Updated at 10.52pm GMT

9.54pm GMT

Minister defends Albanese government’s transparency record
Trade minister and special minister of state Don Farrell says he doesn’t agree that the government has dropped the ball on integrity and transparency.
The latest report from the Centre for Public Integrity, first released to Nine Newspapers, has given the government a failing grade following Anthony Albanese’s decision to cut opposition staff and attempts to tighten freedom of information laws.
Farrell tells ABC News Breakfast the government is doing more to increase transparency, including through its laws passed last term on electoral donations.

The amount [disclosure threshold] was $17,000. So, we have significantly dropped that money. More importantly, those donations have to be disclosed before the election. So, every … donation above $5,000 has to be disclosed before the next election. Now, I’d say that was very significant transparency issue.

Updated at 10.01pm GMT

9.39pm GMT

Labor will ‘probably end up’ doing EPBC deal with Coalition, Greens leader says
Jumping back to Larissa Waters on RN Breakfast this morning, the Greens leader said she’d been appalled by what the environment minister “has put in these so-called nature laws”, and accused Labor of writing a blank cheque for business.
Waters says she’s willing to work with the government and negotiate on the legislation, but believes Murray Watt will come to an agreement with the other side.

At the moment, this package is written for big business. And the Coalition, I think, are posturing and probably will end up doing a deal with Labor on this. The Greens want to see environment laws that work for nature, protect communities’ rights, and actually don’t see coal and gas and logging fast-tracked unabated. We’re willing to talk to government about that.

Last night it was revealed the environment minister would be able to approve projects at odds with nature laws if it was deemed in the “national interest” under the new EPBC legislation.
Safe to say, Waters is not happy with that.

They’re [the laws] already riddled with loopholes. But rather than fix those loopholes, the proposal by this environment minister under this government is to add additional loopholes and yet more fast-track mechanisms for coal and gas.

Updated at 9.48pm GMT

9.33pm GMT
Chance of RBA rate cut at next meeting is very slim, markets believe

The chance of a Melbourne Cup rate cut has been slashed to just 10%, according to financial markets.
Investors had been pricing in more like a 60% chance yesterday - but that was before Michele Bullock, the Reserve Bank’s governor, made it clear that she was more worried about a recent pick-up in inflation than last month’s jump in unemployment.
“There are still jobs being created, just not as many,” Bullock said on Monday night, adding that a jobless rate of 4.5% was “still pretty low”.

We’d always thought [unemployment] would drift up a bit. Maybe it’s drifted up a bit further than we thought, but it’s not a huge amount yet.

Tomorrow’s inflation report is expected to show price pressures were stronger than the RBA expected in the three months to September.
Economists still think there’s another rate cut or two in the works over coming months, although not likely until next year.
And financial market pricing still puts the chance of a rate cut by December at 80%.

Updated at 9.46pm GMT

9.32pm GMT

Former Nationals leader thinks Joyce won’t be going to One Nation ‘any time soon’
The Nationals MP and former party leader Michael McCormack reckons Barnaby Joyce won’t be going to One Nation “any time soon”, despite missing the partyroom meeting yesterday.
On the Today show a bit earlier, McCormack said Joyce has the responsibility to see out the rest of his term (he’s said he won’t recontest the next election in his seat of New England) with the Nats.
But he did say it was a “shame” Joyce didn’t turn up to yesterday’s meeting.

I think that’s what you need to do when people are prepared to hand out for you, and they’re prepared to don your yellow T-shirt with ‘I’m backing Barnaby’ on the back. I mean, he needs to continue to serve and sit with the Nationals …
I’ve always believed that life is determined by those who turn up. And it was a shame he didn’t turn up to the partyroom meeting.

The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, was at pains to say yesterday that it wasn’t the first time a sitting MP or senator had skipped out on party room meetings.

Updated at 9.41pm GMT

9.21pm GMT
TikTok and Meta to comply with under-16s ban

Both TikTok and Meta have also told the parliamentary inquiry on age assurance they will comply with the under-16s social media ban when it comes into effect.
There had been speculation that Meta might use its new teens account features for accounts of users aged between 13 and 18 to try to win an exemption for Instagram and Facebook for teens, but the company’s director of policy in Australia, Mia Garlick, told the inquiry that Meta was working to comply with the under-16s ban from 10 December and deactivating accounts from that date.
TikTok’s director of public policy in Australia, Ella Woods-Joyce, said the ban would push younger people into darker corners of the internet, but TikTok would comply with the law.

Updated at 9.38pm GMT

9.13pm GMT
One Nation announces name change and rebrand in ‘defining moment’ for party

In all the hubbub around parliament yesterday, Pauline Hanson announced a change to the name of her political party.
“Pauline Hanson’s One Nation” will officially become “One Nation” which she called a “defining moment”. In a statement, Hanson said:

The rebranding reinforces One Nation’s commitment to restoring trust in politics, protecting Australian values, and continuing the fight for everyday Australians across every state and territory.

One Nation has been gaining ground by targeting conservative voters frustrated with the Liberal and National parties.
It also coincides with some … discussions … between Hanson and Barnaby Joyce (though Joyce hasn’t confirmed anything yet on a possible defection from the Nationals, and has said he’ll keep his options open).

Updated at 9.24pm GMT

9.02pm GMT
Snapchat says it will comply with ‘unevenly applied’ under-16s social media ban

Snapchat users under the age of 16 will be kicked off the platform from 10 December, with the company telling the parliament that although it disagrees that the ban should apply to Snapchat, it will comply with the law.
Jennifer Stout, Snap’s SVP of global policy and platform operations, said in her written opening statement to a parliamentary inquiry on age assurance measures that Snapchat should be excluded as it would meet the definition of a messaging service that is supposed to be excluded under the ban, but the company will accept the ruling of the eSafety commissioner. She said:

We will comply with the law, even though we believe it has been unevenly applied and risks undermining community confidence in the law.
Beginning 10 December, we will disable accounts for Australian Snapchatters under 16. We know this will be difficult for young people who use Snapchat to communicate with their closest friends and family.

Stout said the ban could see teens pushed on to platforms that are not included in the ban, and that are less safe as a result.
Meta and TikTok are also appearing before the inquiry this morning.

Updated at 9.15pm GMT

8.59pm GMT

Greens push for inquiry into Optus triple zero outage
Optus still hasn’t been hauled in front of a Senate inquiry to explain the triple zero outage in September, says Greens leader Larissa Waters, who is pushing for another inquiry into the incident, above the investigations already under way.
On ABC RN Breakfast, Waters hails the government’s agreement to triple the penalties for telcos when they fail to connect customers to triple zero.

People’s very lives depend on it. And those increased penalties are long overdue. And so I’m really pleased that we’re now going to have that deterrent and try to make sure that telcos perform this essential service. And having them be accountable in front of a Senate inquiry is part of that.

The government’s legislation to introduce a triple zero custodian for oversight of the whole triple zero system is currently in front of the parliament. Are the Greens supportive?
Waters says the custodian should have been “up and running for quite some time” and that her party is “looking forward to that bill coming before the Senate”. It’s not a tick and flick exercise though – she warns the minor party will consider how high the penalties are whether criminal penalties should be introduced.

Updated at 9.13pm GMT

8.51pm GMT

Can the Liberals be an ‘effective opposition’ without a net zero policy?
Moving on to a different issue, “what on earth is going on” in the Liberal party with net zero, asks host Sally Sara.
Julian Leeser doesn’t give much away, giving us the standard lines of “we are going through a process” and “we’re reviewing our policies”.
A recap: shadow energy minister Dan Tehan is taking a relook at the net zero commitment, which is tricky because the Liberal moderates want it to stay but the hardline conservatives want it scrapped completely.
Sara asks if the Liberals can be an “effective opposition” at this time without a policy. Leeser says:

We’re a couple of years away from an election. This is the policy formulation process. Well, it’s only five months since the last election, and this is a sort of Bismarck laws and sausages moment. We are looking at our new direction, and we’re having a debate, and people are expressing different views.

OK … so I just had to Google that one – 18th century Prussian politician Otto von Bismarck apparently said “laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made” (or something similar to that effect).

Updated at 9.06pm GMT

8.45pm GMT

Leeser on childcare predators: ‘We need to throw the book at these people’
The shadow education minister, Julian Leeser, says last night’s Four Corners program on predators in childcare was “one of the most chilling things I have ever seen on television”.
Leeser, who was moved from the shadow attorney general portfolio in Sussan Ley’s latest reshuffle, tells ABC RN Breakfast “every available alternative” needs to be looked at to oversee the sector, when asked whether the opposition would support a national childcare commission (as many advocates have been pushing for).

We need to ensure that we’re giving law enforcement adequate tools. We need to ensure that the childcare regulators have the tools that they need as well. And that’s why I’ve written again to the minister this morning to offer our support because this just can’t be allowed to continue.
We need to throw the book at these people and we need to ensure that we’re throwing every resource to weed people out of the system and to bring people who are engaging in child sexual exploitation on the web or the dark web to justice.

Leeser introduced his private member’s bill to parliament yesterday which would introduce mandatory minimum sentences for child sexual abuse crimes. He calls on the government to pass it.

Updated at 9.03pm GMT

8.28pm GMT
Australia must 'rapidly' reduce emissions to meet 2030 target, Bowen's department warns

The government will need to “rapidly” reduce emissions to get to its 2030 target, warns Chris Bowen’s department.
The warning comes from the incoming governmental brief, first reported by the Australian newspaper, by the Department of ­Climate Change, Energy, the ­Environment and Water. It’s a brief every department gives their new minister, and is generally released through a freedom of information request. But this one took a little longer (and a little more effort) to be made public.
The minister for climate change and energy released the document after an order of production of documents request by Liberal senator Dean Smith.
The document is heavily redacted with entire pages blacked out.
The brief states:

Emission reductions need to accelerate rapidly to meet the 2030 target. Full and timely implementation of your first-term reforms will be essential. You can chart the forward path by setting a credible and ambitious 2035 target, building on the Future Made in Australia investments and through ongoing focus on leveraging Australia’s comparative advantages— renewable energy, critical minerals, and access to global capital as a global investment location.

The brief also warns the government must respond to the National Climate Risk Assessment as “a priority”.

Updated at 8.56pm GMT

8.14pm GMT
Environment laws won't be 'worth the paper they’re printed on' if Labor doesn't act on climate, Greens say

The Greens say the cost of not acting on climate change will be “far, far greater” than any cost associated with acting on it.
On the Today show this morning, Senator Nick McKim says the government needs to stop approving new coal and gas mines (something his party has been saying for years).
Labor will introduce its Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) later this week, but it still needs to win over the support of the Greens or the Coalition.
But McKim does acknowledge that you can’t do things “at any cost”.

The costs of not acting on climate change are astronomical and they’re already being felt in our communities through things like floods and bushfires and they’re also being felt in household budgets through things like a massive spike in insurance premiums …
If they [Labor] don’t do things like protect forests and if they don’t do things like protect our climate, [the laws are] not going to be worth the paper they’re printed on.

Updated at 8.54pm GMT

7.56pm GMT

Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you – thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
There’s plenty going on this morning, and lots of pollies out in the corridors getting ready for their media interviews – so let’s get straight into it!

Updated at 8.47pm GMT

7.56pm GMT
Hastie warns Liberals they are no longer living in the Howard era

More Coalition machinations now as Andrew Hastie has reportedly warned Liberals that “we are no longer living in the Howard era”, rejecting criticism of people speaking out against immigration and net zero policies.
As Coalition MPs prepare for a crucial meeting about climate policy in Canberra on Friday, the Nine newspapers reported that Hastie made the comments at a recent Liberal party meeting in Western Australia.
The Liberal MP reportedly said in a speech in Perth last week that most “so-called populist” voters just wanted government to protect their living standards but “their concerns around net zero are dismissed as climate denial, and their concerns around mass migration are dismissed as racist”.
He went on to argue that the Coalition needed to reposition itself because the “world has changed” from the days of centre-right governments and that the era of post-Cold War liberalism was dead.
Hastie reportedly said:

I want to make clear that we are no longer living in the same world of the Howard, Abbott, Turnbull or Morrison years. The world has changed.
The world is vastly different to 2005, but our party has unthinkingly hung on to most of the same beliefs and policies.
Yes, we can talk about tax and economic reform. They are good areas to focus on. But many people are crying out for a new political vision that places the Australian people at the centre of its orbit.

Updated at 8.44pm GMT

7.54pm GMT
Private health insurance product ‘phoenixing’ must end, AMA says

The peak medical body says regulatory loopholes must be closed to put an end to private health insurance product “phoenixing”.
The government is currently considering outlawing the deceptive practice where insurers close an existing product offering before opening an almost identical one at a higher price outside the regulated premium round process.
In a submission on the proposed amendments to legislation to do so, the Australia Medical Association has supported changes that would force insurers to use only the annual premium round to seek approval for the pricing of new products, unless in exceptional circumstances.
AMA president Dr Danielle McMullen said private health insurers have enjoyed extraordinary profits for many years with few consequences for poor behaviour:

Private health insurance premiums have outpaced wages and inflation in recent years, all while insurers’ management expenses and profits continue to soar.
The widespread practice of phoenixing is a major factor in consumers struggling to access the level of cover that meets their needs, and it is eroding public confidence in the private health system.
Private hospitals play a vital role, especially as more Australians seek care outside the overwhelmed public sector. But unacceptable conduct from insurers threatens the integrity of our entire healthcare landscape.

Updated at 8.46pm GMT

7.45pm GMT
Tens of thousands of students to sit VCE English exam

More than 50,000 students will sit a VCE examination today as the English and English as an Additional Language papers are held across Victorian testing centres.
In total, around 92,000 students will complete at least one VCE exam this year, and around 67,000 are expected to graduate with a VCE certificate. English has the most enrolments of any subject, with around 47,000 students sitting the written exam, while just over 3,000 are sitting English as an Additional Language.
Students as far flung as Latvia, Qatar, South Korea and Spain will also be getting involved, as around 700 international students sit written exams overseas.The final exam in Victoria takes place on 19 November, with students receiving results on 11 December.
The state’s deputy premier and minister for education, Ben Carroll, congratulated students on reaching their “important milestone”.

I wish you all the best for your VCE exams, and would like to acknowledge and thank the teachers, school staff and families who have supported you through to your very own Grand Final.

The state government will be hoping for calm this year after a rocky examination period in 2024 over a cheat sheet bungle, which led to the sacking of the entire board of Victoria’s curriculum authority. In 2022 and 2023, errors were also found in mathematics examinations.

7.34pm GMT
Real-time telco outage register to be established, minister says

The communications minister, Anika Wells, has told the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) she will formally direct the regulator to require telcos maintain a public register of network outages that is updated in real time, after the Optus triple zero outage in September.
The companies are already required to notify affected customers in real time about outage, but Wells said the public register, updated in real time, will provide greater transparency.
In an excerpt of the letter to Acma, provided to media, Wells said the direction was a response to the September outage, given triple zero is a critical public safety system that Australians need confidence in.She said:

I will be issuing a direction to the Acma to amend the Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard 2024 (CCO Standard) to mandate that telecommunications providers maintain a public register of their network outages.A public register of network outages will increase transparency and accountability around outages and related impacts on access to triple zero.

Updated at 8.29pm GMT

7.34pm GMT
Telcos to face $30m fines for failing to connect customers to triple zero

The fines for telcos that fail to connect customers to the triple zero connect will triple to $30m after Labor agreed to calls from the Greens and Coalition for higher penalties.
The larger fines were agreed on Monday during debate on the government’s legislation to establish a “custodian” to oversee the emergency network.
The Labor senator Nita Green, who was steering the laws through the upper house on behalf of communications minister Anika Wells, said:

We are not on the side of corporate criminals on this side of the chamber and we will certainly make sure that these penalties signify what the community standard and expectation is, but also from the government.

The Greens communications spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young, who pushed to raise the penalty to $30m, said:

This should send a message to all the telcos that they are on notice. Failure to ensure that this most basic emergency service is available will result in bigger penalties.

Updated at 8.28pm GMT

7.34pm GMT
McKenzie says Joyce situation ‘not unusual’ for Nationals amid net zero wrangling

The Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has said Barnaby Joyce’s walkout was “not an unusual situation” for the Nationals, as she has sought to downplay the influence of the Queensland MP on her party’s position on net zero.
Asked on the ABC’s 7.30 on Monday night if Joyce’s walkout risked destabilising the Nationals, McKenzie said he had not resigned from the party.

He is taking a break from the party room, like our current deputy leader Kevin Hogan did, like Darren Chester did … this is not unusual for this to be the case. And the facts remain that Barnaby, as deputy prime minister, minister and Senate leader, has made a significant contribution … I’m absolutely confident he’ll be considering all of that over coming months.

McKenzie rejected the suggestion that a potential decision by the Nationals to oppose net zero emissions would be “bowing to” Joyce’s demands on the issue.
Asked if net zero threatened to rupture the Coalition, McKenzie said it was “not our job to ensure that the Liberal party can win seats in capital cities”, but she hoped it would not.

Well, obviously I hope not … But at the end of the day, we’ve got a job to do here in Canberra, we’re going to continue to do that. People expect us to do that. And we haven’t made a decision yet. But we’re not going to take a backwards step in standing up for our people and our community.

Updated at 8.11pm GMT

7.33pm GMT
Joyce says he will make a decision on his future in the new year

Barnaby Joyce has told the Nine newspapers that he will consider his political future over the summer before making a decision next year about whether or not to throw in his lot with One Nation.
Joyce had admitted that he has talked to Pauline Hanson about joining One Nation but that nothing was “locked in”, sparking frenzied speculation about his intentions.
But in comments reported last night, he said if he had “wanted to be completely disruptive, of course, I suppose I would have resigned and wandered off”.
“I have said my piece, and now I want to take time, as hard as it is for me to turn down the volume, between now and the end of the year,” he said.
“I’ll consider my options and I haven’t made up mind.”

Updated at 8.17pm GMT

7.30pm GMT
Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best overnight stories before Krishani Dhanji takes you through the day’s events in Canberra and beyond.
It’s going to be a busy week for Coalition watchers as MPs prepare for their crunch meeting about net zero on Friday. One casualty of the issue is Barnaby Joyce, who is reported today to have said he will decide his future over the summer, while another climate naysayer, Andrew Hastie, has warned Liberals they can “no longer live” in the Howard era. More coming up.
Meanwhile telcos that fail to connect customers to triple zero face bigger fines after Labor accepted a push by the Greens and Coalition for higher penalties. Telcos will also be required to maintain a public register of network outages that is updated in real time, after the Optus triple-zero outage in September. More shortly.

Updated at 8.09pm GMT